World Biggest 'Thriller' Dance Party

Thrill The World is a event where a group of crazed Michael Jackson fans attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Largest Simultaneous Dance to “Thriller.” According to the site, a record breaking 4,177 zombies in ten countries participated this year on October 28th.

Today is National Candy Corn Day

That's right. And what better time to highlight possibly the most specific blog I have yet to come across, one dedicated to the mysteries and joys of the yellow and orange candy that comes out once a year. It's called Sweet Candy Corn.

Highlights include:

recipe for candy corn sugar cookies

candy corn soap

candy corn photo gallery

and giant candy corn

Vote for Donuts

International chain Krispy Kreme is giving away a red, white and blue donut to anyone who votes on November 4th. I guess every little bit helps! Click here to find a location near you. One per customer.

The Pumpkin Chronicles

A man spent 8 days floating down the Wisconsin River inside a 750-pound pumpkin to raise money for charity.

p.s. - It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. eastern on ABC.

Who, Meme?

A one-word Meme from Kat:

Where is your cell phone? purse

Where is your significant other? unknown

Your hair color? brown

Your mother? sweet

Your father? calm

Your favorite thing? computer?

Your dream last night? hazy

Your dream/goal? contentment

The room you’re in? cubicle

Your hobby? travel

Your fear? mediocrity

Where do you want to be in 6 years? elsewhere

Where were you last night? couch

What you’re not? snobby

One of your wish-list items? house

Where you grew up? Baltimore

The last thing you did? email

What are you wearing? sweater

Your TV? consignment

Your pet? none

Your computer? mac

Your mood? Friday!

Missing someone? sure

Your car? missing

Something you’re not wearing? earrings

Favorite store? etsy

Your summer? hot

Love someone? deeply

Your favorite color? purple

When is the last time you laughed? today

Last time you cried? October

...Pass it on! (and remember, try to answer in one word!)

Vegetarians: Avoid Space Travel

Why? Well, apparently outer space reeks of steak. Says the UK Sun:

Astronauts reported the bizarre scents on their suits when they returned from space walks. The space agency has commissioned Steven Pearce of British fragrance firm Omega Ingredients to recreate the smells to help train spacemen. He said: “When astronauts were de-suiting and taking off helmets, they all reported quite particular odours. “We think it’s a high energy vibration in the molecule and that’s what we’re trying to add to it now.”

Lighten Up

There's a new lamp called Energy Seed that runs on the leftover juice in "dead" batteries. There's also the Spark Lamp, that lets you know how much energy you're using to power your home. Inhabitat says:

Conceived by Beverly Ng, the Spark Lamp is incredibly simple. During the day, the lamp is flipped upside down and placed next to the window to recharge. At night, the lamp is turned upright and switched on. At this point it establishes a wifi connection to the Internet and displays your home’s energy consumption by giving a soft green, yellow, or reddish glow for around three seconds.

For Your Information...

There are few things more strange looking than platypus and echidna babies. I think an echidna is an anteater. That thing looks like an uncooked turkey!

Elephants in Tennessee: Who Knew?

South of Nashville, in Hohenwald, Tenn., lies the nation's largest natural-habitat refuge. It's an elephant sanctuary that's home to 17 lady Asian and African pachyderms. Apparently, the nonprofit is not yet open to the public. They are still building a visitor center. But I would love to go. I saw a lady elephant at the zoo once that had a beard!

The NYTimes Home & Garden section visits Flaming Lips rocker Wayne Coyne at home. He and his wife are both junk freaks and their house seems pretty cool:

Seen from the street, it resembles a do-it-yourself version of a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie House; inside it feels mazelike and eccentric, qualities the couple have tried to enhance with color. Ms. Martin-Coyne painted an upstairs bedroom “breathless blue,” she said, after a sky blue shade of nail polish, and her art studio across the hallway has a pink rubber floor.

Water Cooler On Wheels to Help Developing Nations

As part of the first ever Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered contest, engineers at Ideo created a sort of water cooler on wheels called the Aquaduct. Accoring to the site, Aquaduct "is a pedal-powered concept vehicle that transports, filters, and stores water." They won the grand prize and hope to come up with a working model that people can use all over the world.

This is a great example of a simple design that can make a lot of people's lives easier. The site says that more than one billion people worldwide lack access to safe water and the UN estimates that in the developing world, women and children walk an average of four miles a day to collect water. Instead of walking, why not bike? And filter it while you're at it!

This reminds me of an article article from Popular Mechanics explains the new field of "appropriate technology," where engineers use "practical, usually small-scale designs to solve problems in the developing world." MIT professor Amy Smith is coming up with innovative solutions to bring charcoal to Peru, where people suffer respiratory infections as a result of burning waste for fuel.

Fake Baby as Travel Accessory?

Gadling reports on the "fake baby" trend, apparently popular in the UK, where women carry a lifelike doll so that they can avoid social interaction while traveling. They're called "reborns." And a UK talk show interviews other women who are feeling like empty nesters and like the attention that carrying a real looking baby around gets them. I have one word: creepsville.

Coffee roaster's guide

Finally! A step-by-step guide on how to make coffee with a French press! I always seem to screw it up...

Punk Rock Turtle

Weird turtle with an algae mohawk.

A 'cardboard' duvet helps the homeless?

A Dutch company is marketing Le Clochard quilt cover, made to look like a cardboard box. Forty percent of the proceeds go to housing young homeless people.