Best microbreweries in America

2011 Best Microbreweries in America. If your idea of trying new and inventive beer is popping open a can of Bud Light Lime, be prepared to have your eyes opened and your mind expanded by this collection of top-notch microbreweries, based on rankings from online magazines Spectrum Culture and AskMen.com.

Dry Dock Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Aurora, Colo.

This acclaimed microbrewery got its start when the owner of a home brew store decided to take his recipes to the people. After years of talking hops with local brewers, he opened a small taproom in 2005 before expanding to a larger facility in 2009.

Ballast Point Brewery
Headquarters: San Diego

Ballast Point Brewery got its start in back of a home-brew mart where co-founders Jack White and Yuseff created their first tasty brews. In 1996, it expanded to a full brewery site and stays true to its motto

Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Paso Robles, Calif.

This brewery is owned by relatives of this TV star. The Firestone family is better known by the people of San Louis Obispo County for their Union Jack IPA than their automotive business.

Port Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Solana Beach, Calif.

Continually ranked as one of the top microbreweries by both industry experts and enthusiasts, this fast-growing brewery has nearly doubled its brewing capacity since opening in 2006. If you're in the San Diego area, check out one of its Pizza Port brewpub locations

Brooklyn Brewery
Headquarters: Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Brooklyn Brewery prides itself on its use of this green energy source. Located in the hipster-laden Williamsburg neighborhood, this brewery is open daily to the public for tours and tastings.

Saranac Brewery
Headquarters: Utica, N.Y.

Founded in 1888 by German immigrants, the brewery is now under the leadership of third- and fourth-generation family members. While rooted in tradition, Saranac Brewery is not afraid to experiment with new flavors, including this sugary beer.

Boulevard Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Kansas City, Mo.

Founded in 1989, this top Midwest brewery touts its beers as fresh, flavorful, distinctive in character and unsurpassed in quality. One of its most popular offerings is this gold medal-winning brew.

Stone Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Escondido, Calif.

Originally founded in a neighboring town, this brewery with attitude is known for this "hoppy," hard-edge beer, which can be found on tap and in stores throughout this California city.

Dogfish Head Brewing
Headquarters: Rehoboth Beach, Del.

This uniquely named craft brewer stands out for its original beer concoctions. Its mad-scientist founder creates beers from ancient recipes dating back to 2700 B.C.

Great Lakes Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Cleveland

Great Lakes Brewing is best known for this seasonal brew, and native beer lovers flock to this downtown brewpub every year for its annual release party.

Four Peaks Brewery
Headquarters: Tempe, Ariz.

Offering Sun Devils fans an alternative to standard college beers, Four Peaks Brewery serves up a diverse selection of beverages, including this "singles brew."

Allagash Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Portland, Maine

Allagash specializes in beers brewed in this style, and the first beer brewed by this Northeastern brewery was a hit from the start.

Ninkasi Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Eugene, Ore.

Named after this goddess, this bold Northwest brewery turns brewing beer into a work of art. Next time you're in the area, try a sip of its flagship beer.

Ale Asylum
Headquarters: Madison, Wis.

This popular, locally owned brewery sits a short ride from this college campus. It offers entertaining tours and serves up tastings of its Triple Nova and righteously named beer.

Rogue Ales
Headquarters: Newport, Ore.

A Pacific Northwest staple for over two decades, this eclectic brewery is known for its unique handcrafted ales and clever packaging

Terminal Gravity Brewing
Headquarters: Enterprise, Ore.

Fans of the Terminal Gravity Brewery and Public House say it produces one of the best beers in Oregon. It's a small operation and proves size doesn't matter when it comes to making tasty brews.

Victory Brewing Co.
Headquarters: Downingtown, Pa.

This award-winning brewery in suburban Philadelphia is perennially listed as one of the best in the business. Try this IPA favorite or this seasonal brew.

Revolution Brewing
Headquarters: Chicago

This new-on-the-scene brewery has quickly become a mainstay in this Chicago neighborhood. Brewing an average of 35 beers each year, it keeps customers' taste buds guessing.

World’s Weirdest Wedding Customs

over the world, people practice numerous wedding customs that have been passed on through many generations. Although each has a long history of meaning and significance, many just seem strange and out of place in today’s culture. Are they just opportunities to playfully scam the bride and groom?
Check out some of the historical wedding customs that are still practiced today, much to the intrigue and wonderment of its audience. 
Blackening the Bride
In the Scottish pre-wedding tradition of “Blackening the Bride,” The bride is taken by surprise and covered with foul substances, such as eggs, various sauces, feathers, and well you name it…
The bride to be, officially blackened, is the then paraded around town, and of course a few pubs, for all to see.
Filmed in Fraserburgh and Rosehearty, in the north east of Scotland in 2007. A bride to be is subjected to a traditional ‘blackening’, one of the strangest of all pre-wedding traditions.

Broken Dishes, Kidnapping the Bride, and Log Sawing

Broken Dishes

A rather interesting German tradition involves shattering a large number of dishes before the wedding and having the bride and groom cleaned it up.

It is believed that the action of cleaning up the mass collection of broken dishes, which the family and friends have worked so hard to make, will help prepare the couple for their new lives together.

It might be a little destructive but everyone seems to enjoy themselves and like most customs, bring the couple good luck.

Kidnapping the Bride Also in Germany, though more popular in the smaller villages, is the tradition of kidnapping the bride. Friends of both the bride and groom will steal the bride and hide her somewhere, and the groom has to look for her. The groom usually begins by visiting the local pub and inviting people to join him on the search.

Log Sawing - Yet another German wedding tradition is the log sawing. After the wedding ceremony, the newlywedded couple must work together to saw a log in half. How neatly and quickly they do it is supposed to predict how they will be able to work together as a couple.

Stealing the Groom's Shoes - In India, the groom must take off his shoes prior to the wedding ceremony. His family is solely responsible for guarding and hiding the shoes from the bride's family, who are supposed to try to steal the shoes. Supposedly this tradition is taken very seriously, and both families will go to great lengths to fulfill their duties. If the bride's family succeeds in stealing the shoes, the groom has to pay them the amount of money requested to get them back.

Kissing the Bride & Groom - If the bride disappears from a Swedish wedding reception, all of the women line up to kiss the groom in her absence. The same goes for the groom--if he leaves, all the men run up to kiss the bride.

 Banging Pots & Pans - The French's famous post-wedding tradition is known as Chiverie, where the family and friends of the newlyweds gather outside of where ever the couple is residing the night of the wedding. They then bang pots, pans, and blow horns creating a ruckus to startle the couple. The couple is supposed to go outside still wearing their wedding attire and provide drinks and refreshments to the pranksters.

The wedding favors tradition, however, aren't always used throughout the world - it is most popular in North America and Europe. Seems like there are a couple of really crazy wedding customs all over the world that are just, well...out of this world

shortest celebrity marriages

Britney Spears' recent wedding to Jason Allen Alexander may be the record-holder for shortest celebrity wedding. Just hours after tying the knot, they were filing for an annullment. Although Britney Spear’s marriage and divorce to Kevin Federline has been the subject of many magazines and tabloids, it will not be known as her shortest marriage. Her annulment in 2004 of her marriage to hometown friend Jason Alexander occurred just 55 hours after their Vegas wedding took place.What other brief celebrity weddings are in the running for the title?

8 months - Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd
wed October 2001, split July 2002.
(see also Jennifer Lopez and Ojani Noa wed February 1997, split March 1998. 13 months.
8 months - Elizabeth Taylor and Nicky Hilton
May 1950, split January 1951.
Famed bride Elizabeth Taylor got a jump on her string of weddings with her first marriage to hotelier (and grandfather to sisters Nicky and Paris Hilton) Nicky Hilton. 19 year-old Elizabeth reportedly said about the wedding, "I have a woman's body and a child's emotions."


7 months - Courtney Thorne-Smith and Andrew Conrad
wed June 2000, split January 2001.
They couldn't even make it to when their wedding pictures were infamously published by Instyle Magazine in February/March 2001.

5 months - Shannen Doherty and Ashley Hamilton
wed September 1993, split February 1994.
(See also Shannen Doherty and Rick Salomon wed February 2002, split November 2002. 9 months. Yes, this is the same Rick Salomon of the Paris Hilton sex tape fame.)

5 months -Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman
wed November 1998, split March 1999.
Like Britney and Jason, these two were wed in a quickie Vegas wedding. Rodman initially tried to get an annullment after nine days of wedded bliss, but the two managed to stick it out another four and a half months.

4 months, 24 days - Charlie Sheen and Donna Peele
wed September 1995, split February 1996.

3 months, 15 days - Lisa Marie Presley and Nicolas Cage
wed August 2002, split November 2002.
(See also Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson wed May 1994, split December 1995. 20 months.)

32 days - Ernest Borgnine and Ethel Merman
wed June 1964, split July 1964. 32 days

30 days - Drew Barrymore and Jeremy Thomas
wed March 1994, split April 1994.
(see also Drew Barrymore and Tom Green wed July 2001, split December 2001. Five months.)

9 days - Cher and Gregg Allman
wed July 1975, split July 1975.
Kids, another example of why you've got to watch out for those Vegas weddings. Just three days after divorcing Sonny Bono, Cher and musician Gregg Allman spontaneously flew to Vegas in his Lear Jet to wed. However, she reportedly soon discovered that his drug and alcohol problems were too much for her, and filed for divorce after only nine days.

8 days - Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips
wed October 1970, split November 1970.

6 hours - Rudolph Valentino & Jean Acker
wed and split November 1919.
The jury's still out on whether Britney's marriage was shorter than famed lover Rudolph Valentino's. After just six hours, the bride locked Valentino out of the honeymoon suite! He soon gave up and headed home. However, they didn't finalize a divorce until 1922.





Married 9 times, Hollywood socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor claims that she had one of the shortest celebrity marriages when her nuptials to Felipe de Alba were annulled after only one day in 1982. After Alba, Gabor married her ninth husband Prince Frederick von Anhalt, who said he had an affair with Anna Nicole Smith and could possibly be the father of her daughter, Dannielyn.A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it,” Gabor has expressed.

When you think of actress Robin Givens you may remember her horrible year long marriage to boxer Mike Tyson, however you may not know that her marriage to tennis instructor Syetozar Marinkovic lasted as long as the day they wed in 1997. Givens may have had some depressive days to go through but has since learned to move on with her life.To love somebody who you feel can actually do you much harm, it’s really confusing,” she said about Tyson.


Therefore, I declare that Britney Spears and Jason Allen Alexander take the prize for shortest celebrity marriage!

strangest wedding customs

Top 6 of the World's Strangest Wedding Customs

While weddings are universal affairs, it is the various traditions and customs associated with this ceremony that are as varied as the human race itself. Want to know how some of us exchange their wedding vows - and, more importantly, what happens before and after the wedding?
Welcome to the 6 strangest wedding customs around the world!
1. India. A very traditional custom is for the bride's sisters and cousins to hide the groom's shoes when he arrives at their house for the wedding. Indian customs demand that shows be removed at the entrance of the mandap or altar where the wedding is solemnised, and that is the when the groom's shoes are 'stolen'. It is a battle of wits and ingenuity between the bride's family, that does its best to steal the shoes, and the groom's family that tries to protect them at all costs. There is much laughter and teasing. If the bride's relatives succeed in stealing the shoes, the poor groom has to shell out whatever amount the girls demand to get his footwear back.
2. Scotland. Perhaps the honour for the weirdest wedding custom goes to Scotland where 'Blackening the bride' is practised as an important pre-wedding ritual. Of course, the poor bride has absolutely no idea just when she will be bombarded with the foulest of substances - she is taken totally by surprise. Her friends throw black liquid, eggs, sauces and any other revolting substance they can lay their hands on. The ordeal doesn't end here. After being blackened, the bride-to-be is paraded all through town!
3. Germany. Shattering a large number of porcelain or glass dishes prior to the wedding is a long-held German tradition. The bride and groom have to clean up the mess themselves. The belief behind this seemingly destructive act is that it will bring the couple good luck. Another custom more common in the villages of Germany is 'kidnapping the bride' by friends of both, the bride and the groom, and having the groom to hunt for her. The third custom is 'log sawing' in which a log is placed between two sawhorses and both the newlyweds have to work together to saw it in half.
4. Poland. In keeping with an ancient Polish tradition, the groom and his parents arrive at the bride's house before the wedding, where both sets of parents bless the couple. Another quaint old custom is to prepare 'passing gates' that leads to the reception venue for the newlyweds. The couple has to 'bribe' their way through by offering vodka to the 'gate keepers'. At the reception gate, the newlywed couple is accorded a warm welcome by the parents with the traditional bread and salt. While the bread signifies prosperity, salt represents hardship of life which the couple will face together.
5. Sweden. There are two customs that dominate a Swedish wedding - coins in the bride's shoes and kissing the guests. Her father places a silver coin in her left shoe while a gold coin from her mother is placed in her right shoe, symbolising that she will never be in want. At the wedding reception, the guests await an opportunity to kiss either the bride or the groom, sometimes both of the stars are favourable! If the groom goes out of the room for a while, all the male guests get to kiss the bride, and vice versa - all in a queue though.
6. France. The French have a wedding night prank that goes by the name of 'Chiverie'. In this, the friends and relatives of the newly weds gather outside their room and get busy clanging and banging assorted pots and pans. The din is intended to disturb the resting couple, and have them come out in their wedding attire. They are then expected to provide refreshments to the 'trespassers'.

Former journalist Daya writes extensively about gift giving and the tricky etiquette involved in romance and relationships on the web. Her forte is wedding anniversaries -- how to celebrate them, what gifts to give, etc. See Daya's best picks for anniversary presents for women that guarantee to thrill the fussiest of women. At 1st wedding anniversary gifts, Daya offers a detailed guide to the traditional jewellery (freshwater pearl) and traditional (paper) gifts for the landmark 1st year anniversary.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4896384

Surprising Celeb Hookups

Surprising celeb hookups.Couple alert! Nothing is better fodder for the gossip columns and the rumor mills than when celebs become an item. The recent odd pairing of movie stars Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn had people talking. Check out what other surprising couples had gossip columns abuzz.

Scarlett Johansson & Sean Penn
The screen siren  and the noted actor  recently called it quits after dating for a few months. 

Benicio Del Toro & Kimberly Stewart
People were scratching their heads after it was announced that the partying socialite  was pregnant with the Academy Award-winning actor's baby.

Evan Rachel Wood & Marilyn Manson
The young beauty and the goth-shock rocker  ended their strange two-year relationship during their engagement

Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green
Despite their age difference  the rising actress  and B-list actor Green (known for this popular '90s show) were married last year

Calista Flockhart & Harrison Ford
When Ford  left his screenwriter wife of 21 years for the much younger Flockhart  many thought it was just a fling, but they've been together since 2002 and were married last year .

Rachel McAdams & Michael Sheen
McAdams dated this Hollywood hunk  before stepping out recently at the Cannes Film Festival with Brit actor Sheen  another one of her co-stars

Miley Cyrus & John Mayer
A serial dater of gorgeous women  singer Mayer was seen kissing  the much younger teen queen Cyrus at a certain event .

Holly Madison & Criss Angel
Playboy beauty Madison shocked many when she started dating "Mindfreak" star Angel  after her public breakup.

Mandy Moore & Ryan Adams
Coming from opposite music genres, Adams , an indie rocker, and Moore  a pop star and actress , shocked the music world when they got married.

Angelina Jolie & Billy Bob Thornton
One of Hollywood's oddest couples  Jolie and Thornton took public display of affection  to a new level when they revealed that they wore these.

Nicolas Cage & Lisa Marie Presley
Presley is used to high-profile relationships  but she admitted her quick marriage to Cage was a mistake.

Heather Locklear & David Spade
Locklear is known for dating rockers  so it was surprising when news broke that she was dating funnyman Spade. Get details on the split.

Katy Perry & Russell Brand
Outspoken Brit comedian Brand  and colorful pop singer Perry  surprised many when they announced their relationship and later got married.

Nick Cannon & Mariah Carey
It was no fling when music diva Carey  and teen star Cannon announced their relationship. The two were married  and recently welcomed two new additions.

dream jobs that aren't

If you've always fantasized about pursuing a certain line of work, by all means, you should follow your heart. But before you dive headfirst into your dream career, you might want to investigate the facts. Under scrutiny, even a seemingly ideal job is bound to reveal some imperfections.

Warning: Potential disillusionment ahead! The following are the confessions of three professionals willing to divulge the hidden downsides of their dream jobs (and why they're still passionate about their careers despite knowing the truth).

The Dream Job: Restaurant Critic
Let's review the job description for this one: Eat delicious meals at fantastic restaurants and expense every morsel, sit in your pajamas in the cozy comfort of your home while you type up your opinion of the meal, get the thrill of seeing your name in print, eat more delectable freebies, write, repeat, then wait for the paychecks to roll in. That's all there is to it, right?


The Reality
"I am always concerned with consumption/weight control," confides Charyn Pfeuffer, a freelance writer and the food, wine and travel editor for Valley Lifestyles magazine, e-mailing from a fitness spa where she's "performing hours upon hours of exercise daily as a damage control attempt for the havoc my career wreaks upon my body."

"I regularly eat many-coursed meals (which means many, many calories), frequently attend winemaker dinners and love to cook at home as well, so it's hard to stick to any sort of diet," Pfeuffer laments. "Moderation doesn't really exist in this career."

In addition to health concerns, Pfeuffer acknowledges that it can be unnerving to know her words hold such sway over both her readers and the businesses she critiques. "It is tough to be in a position where you are judging someone else's creativity and passion," Pfueffer says. "It is a tremendous amount of responsibility to play a role in how the public perceives someone else's livelihood."

And of course, there's the pay, which Pfeuffer describes as less than impressive, joking, "[There's] nothing like having your rusted 1980 bright yellow Volvo valeted at some of the finest restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles."

Still, Pfeuffer feels the upsides of being a restaurant critic easily outweigh the downsides. "I adore what I do for a living and the once-in-a-lifetime experiences it affords me," she says. "Like some people idolize athletes, I idolize the creativity of chefs."

Dream Job: Vineyard and Winery Owner
Is there a more romanticized profession than owning a vineyard? It's difficult to even hear the word and not imagine golden Tuscan hillsides, an outdoor table crowded with wine carafes, soft cheeses and fresh fruit, and an enormous tub filled with laughing, long-limbed women, the purple stains of wine creeping up their legs as they crush grapes below their bare feet.

The Reality
"First of all, there's no vacation at all, no holidays, no retirement fun and no insurance," says Jeff Pipes, the owner of the sustainably-farmed and organic Pipestone Vineyards and Winery in Paso Robles, California.

Before entering this line of work, Pipes suggests asking yourself some serious questions: "Do you know about surveying, soils, chemistry and biology? Will you mind getting up at two in the morning for five weeks to turn on your frost control system?  Can you work seven days a week for months on end? Do you have enough cash to live on for five to eight years after you buy your property and plant the vineyard?" If not, Pipes says, running a vineyard probably isn't for you.

"Remember," he adds, "this is farming.  You can do everything right, and have a year or more of effort into it, and then Mother Nature can ruin you in just a few minutes with a frost or hail or a storm.  You have to be prepared to be wiped out at any moment."

Still, Pipes is passionate about his chosen career. "Wine is one of the few foods where you can know the place from where it came, the family that grew it and made it, and the year and weather that made the wine taste like it does with each vintage," he says. "I love my life, every minute of it, but it's not for everyone in this fast-paced day and age."

The Dream Job: Fashion Merchandiser
Style Network addicts dream about parlaying their obsession with clothing into an exciting career in the fashion industry, envisioning themselves swathed in couture as they rub elbows with celebrities at the Milan fashion shows. Many of the stylish set aspire to a role as a fashion merchandiser for a specialty store, where they see themselves steering the hottest new trends in clothing and accessories.

The Reality
"People have the misconception that fashion merchandisers just play with clothes all day long, when in reality you are running a multi-million-dollar business," says Carolyn Williams, senior merchant of female accessories for Abercrombie & Fitch. "You still have to make Excel spreadsheets and analyze numbers."

Merchandisers must have profound knowledge of their target customer, and be able to foresee and capitalize on fashion trends. In addition to overseeing new product designs, they evaluate manufacturing costs, supervise production and determine retail prices. Ultimately, merchandisers are held accountable if a product they've developed fails to bring revenue to their company.

"It's not glamorous -- you don't spend your days going to fashion shows," Williams reveals, adding, "It's hard work, with long hours. And overall, it's not a highly paid profession."

And yet, even with the long hours and lack of glamour, Williams still feels that she has a dream job. "You get to take the idea of running a business," she says, "and apply it to an industry everyone can relate to. After all, we're all consumers and we all spend money on clothes. It's the best of both worlds -- fashion and business."

strangest jobs

In the good old days before electricity and massive industry, many jobs that now require no or little labor, were undertaken by humans. This list looks at ten jobs that are now (mostly) extinct. Each job contains at least one element of the bizarre. Be sure to add your own favorites to the comments.

A gong farmer or gongfermor was the term used in Tudor England for a person who removed human excrement from privies and cesspits, gong being another word for dung. Gong farmers were only allowed to work at night and the waste they collected, known as night soil, had to be taken outside the city or town boundaries. As flushing water closets became more widely used, the profession of gong farming disappeared. A latrine or privy was the toilet of the Middle Ages. A gong farmer dug out the cesspits and emptied the excrement. Gong farmers were only allowed to work between 9 pm and 5 am, and were permitted to live only in certain areas, for reasons that should not be too elusive. Due to the noxious fumes produced by human excrement, coroners’ reports exist of gong farmers dying of asphyxiation. This was obviously a shit job to have.

Groom of the Stool

The Groom of the Stool was a male servant in the household of an English monarch who, among other duties, “preside[d] over the office of royal excretion,” that is, he had the task of cleaning the monarch’s anus after defecation. In the early years of Henry VIII’s reign, the title was awarded to minions of the King, court companions who spent time with him in the Privy chamber. These were the sons of noblemen or important members of the gentry. In time they came to act as virtual personal secretaries to the King, carrying out a variety of administrative tasks within his private rooms. The position was an especially prized one, as it allowed one unobstructed access to the King’s attention. Despite being the official bum-wiper of the king, the Groom of the Stool had a very high social standing.
Whipping Boy

A whipping boy, in the 1600s and 1700s, was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. Whipping boys were established in the English court during the monarchies of the 15th century and 16th century. They were created because the idea of the Divine Right of Kings, which stated that kings were appointed by God, and implied that no one but the king was worthy of punishing the king’s son. Since the king was rarely around to punish his son when necessary, tutors to the young prince found it extremely difficult to enforce rules or learning. Whipping boys were generally of high birth, and were educated with the prince since birth. Due to the fact that the prince and whipping boy grew up together since birth, they usually formed an emotional bond. The strong bond that developed between a prince and his whipping boy dramatically increased the effectiveness of using a whipping boy as a form of punishment for a prince. The idea of the whipping boys was that seeing a friend being whipped or beaten for something that he had done wrong would be likely to ensure that the prince would not make the same mistake again.
Fuller

Fulling is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate oils, dirt, and other impurities, and making it thicker. In days gone by, the fullers were often slaves. In Roman times, fulling was conducted by slaves standing ankle deep in tubs of human urine and cloth. Urine was so important to the fulling business that urine was taxed. Urine, known as ‘wash’, was a source of ammonium salts and assisted in cleansing and whitening the cloth. By the medieval period, fuller’s earth had been introduced for use in the process which ameliorated the process and removed the need for urine.
Resurrectionist

In Britain, the crime of snatching a body was only a misdemeanor and so was punishable by a small fine only. This led to a huge industry in body snatching in order to provide corpses to the blossoming medical schools of Europe. One method the body-snatchers used was to dig at the head end of a recent burial, digging with a wooden spade (quieter than metal). When they reached the coffin (in London the graves were quite shallow), they broke open the coffin, put a rope around the corpse and dragged it out. They were often careful not to steal anything such as jewelry or clothes as this would cause them to be liable to a felony charge. During 1827 and 1828, some Edinburgh resurrectionists including Burke and Hare changed their tactics from grave-robbing to murder, as they were paid more for very fresh corpses. Their activities, and those of the London Burkers who imitated them, resulted in the passage of the Anatomy Act 1832. This allowed unclaimed bodies and those donated by relatives to be used for the study of anatomy. This effectively ended the body snatching business.
Dog Whipper

A dog whipper was a church official charged with removing unruly dogs from a church or church grounds during services. In some areas of Europe during the 16th to 19th centuries it was not uncommon for household dogs to accompany – or at least follow – their owners to church services. If these animals became disruptive it was the job of the dog whipper to remove them from the church, allowing the service to continue in peace. Dog whippers were usually provided with a whip (hence the title) or a pair of large wooden tongs with which to remove the animals. They were generally paid for their services, and records of payments to the local dog whipper exist in old parish account books in many English churches.
Toad Doctor

Toad doctors were practitioners of a specific tradition of medicinal folk magic, operating in western England until the end of the 19th century. Their main concern was healing scrofula (then called “the King’s Evil,” a skin disease), though they were also believed to cure other ailments including those resulting from witchcraft. They cured the sick by placing a live toad, or the leg of one, in a muslin bag and hanging it around the sick person’s neck. Needless to say this job would also require growing or gathering up a large collection of toads, and in the case of doctors who used just the leg, chopping their legs off to give to their patient.
Knocker-Up

A Knocker-up was a profession in England and Ireland that started during and lasted well into the Industrial Revolution, before alarm clocks were affordable or reliable. A knocker-up’s job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time. The knocker-up often used a long and light stick (often bamboo) to reach windows on higher floors. In return, the knocker-up would be paid a few pence a week for this job. The knocker-up would not leave a client’s window until they were assured the client had been awoken. This all leads to the obvious question: who knocks up the knocker-up?
Toshers and Mudlarks

A tosher was someone who scavenges in the sewers, especially in London during the Victorian period. The toshers decided to cut out the middle man and it was a common sight in 19th Century Wapping for whole families to whip off a manhole cover and go down into the sewers, where they would find rich pickings. As most toshers would reek of the sewers, they were not popular with the neighbors. Similarly, the mudlarks were people who would dredge the banks of the Thames in the early morning when the tide was out. They would have to wade through unprocessed sewerage and even sometimes dead bodies in order to find little treasures to sell. In a kind of weird twist, this is now the popular hobby of some middle class Londoners who travel the banks to clean up trash.

Jester

We have all heard of the court Jester – the fool who was permitted to insult the king without losing his head – as long as it made the king laugh. It was a job that came with accolades and with fear. It is also a job unlike any existent today. How many families do you know that employ a private “comedian” so to speak? But, while the job did vanish from history for hundreds of years, as recently as 1999 one Kingdom (Tonga) has appointed an official jester. In a bizarre (and very amusing) twist, the man appointed happened to also be the government’s financial advisor. He was later embroiled in a financial scandal. The American jester to the Tongan court was Jesse Bogdonoff and he is pictured above.

Celebrities' first jobs

Celebrities' first jobs.School is out, and summer has begun. Will you be lounging by the pool or working 40 hours a week like some of your favorite celebrities used to? From summer jobs to just making ends meet, let's look at some first occupations of the famous.

Eva Mendes
Miami native Eva Mendes is no stranger to the sun, but her summer job working at this mall staple might be something she wants to keep in the dark.
John Krasinski
The lovable and hilarious star of "The Office"  was a summer camp counselor in Boston when he was 16.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus may seem like a spoiled child star to some, but this singer and actress  had her first job scrubbing toilets at the age of 11. Seems like hard work for the daughter of big-time country singer.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp has played everything from a pirate  to a murderous singing barber, but his first job was far less glamorous. Depp sold ink pens and worked at a gas station before he made it big.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé may be a powerhouse diva and the first woman to headline one of the largest rock festivals in the world, but she got her start sweeping up hair in her mother's salon.
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom might be married to a Victoria's Secret Angel and star in blockbuster hits, but his first job was far less glamorous. He worked as a "clay trapper" at a gentleman's shooting club.
Amy Adams
Amy Adams tackles wholesome roles now, but her fist job was a bit risqué. Adams served food at this restaurant chain.
Ashton Kutcher
Known for his goofball starring roles and crazy pranks, Kutcher had a first job that was far more mundane. He swept floors at a General Mills factory in his hometown.
Tina Fey
Fey is a woman of many talents: author, writer of a hit show, Emmy winner, actress, comedian and -- snack bar server? The last job on the list might not fit, but it was Fey's first, at the local swim club.
Steve Carell
Steve Carell  played a horrible boss on "The Office," and it turns out he was horrible at his first summer job, too. Carell worked as a mail carrier, but quit because he was "very, very bad at it."
Steven Spielberg
This Oscar winner, humanitarian and Hollywood heavyweight  spent his young summers whitewashing fruit trees before he got into the director's chair.
Madonna
Madonna worked behind the counter at a morning favorite stop. It has been said she was fired for squirting jelly doughnuts at the customers.
Brad Pitt
Before he settled into his role as ultimate A-list hottie, Brad Pitt  did almost every odd job you can think of, from moving refrigerators to driving limos. Pitt even dressed up in a chicken costume.
Mick Jagger
Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger  used to sell ice cream from behind a pushcart. Far cry from singing to thousands onstage.
Colin Powell
General, diplomat and baby furniture salesman? That's right. Although it's hard to imagine the man in a "softer" job, he did just that while growing up in the Bronx.
Warren Buffett
This legendary investor and committed philanthropist spent his first working days in his grandfather's grocery store. Maybe that is where he picked up the frugal values he is so famous for.
Ozzy Osbourne
The "Prince of Darkness" and ultimate rock 'n' roll bad boy  got his start working at a fairly gruesome place. Remember this incident?
Matthew McConaughey
Young Matthew McConaughey showed little interest in his family's oil business. Instead, he hightailed it to Australia and found work washing dishes and shoveling chicken manure.
Gwen Stefani
Now famous for her rock-hard abs  killer fashion sense and energetic tunes, Stefani spent her first summers behind the counter at this fast food joint. You wouldn't believe it now, but she reportedly getting "so fat!"

Best self tanners Five Tips To Find The Best Self Tanner

If you want to achieve that 'just back from the beach' look and flaunt bronze tanned skin then you need the best self tanner. Self tanners give a beautiful golden glow to your skin without subjecting you to the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. However, you cannot just depend on any tanning product available in the market, as some of them can give an awkward color to your skin or make your complexion uneven or pale.

Here are some tips for choosing the best self tanner.

Look For Ingredients 
The main purpose of sunless tanning is to avoid the harmful effects, like skin cancer and sun burns, of Sun tanning. But, remember that self tanners contain chemicals that react with the cells of the upper layer of the skin to give you a tanned look. Therefore, before buying a tanning product, you should check its ingredients. They should be safe and should cause no side effects. Some of the ingredients found in the best self tanners are DHA (Di-Hydroxyl acetone) and Tyrosine. If your skin is sensitive, you should consult your dermatologist before buying a self-tanner.

It Should Contain Moisturizers 
The best self tanners come loaded with moisturizers to give you a glowing tan. Moreover, they are easy to apply and give an even color. Therefore, you should look for sunless tanning products that contain the goodness of moisturizers like Aloe Vera and botanical extracts. Such products will not only give you golden hue but also make your skin smooth and supple.

It Should Be Suitable for Your Skin Color 
Especially, if you are fair-skinned, you should choose your self-tanner very carefully. It should give your skin a natural bronze glow. Avoid products that make your skin very dark; otherwise you may end up looking artificial.

It Should Be Odor Free 
Some chemicals used in self-tanners have strong odors. Therefore, you should choose a product that is odorless or pleasant smelling. Else, you will find it difficult to use the product.

Try the Product before Buying 
Even the best self tanner may not suit you. Therefore, before buying a product, you should ask the brand for samples. This will help you to know how effective the product is, what type of smell it has, whether it is suitable for your skin color and type, and if it has some side effects.

To make the best use of the product you choose, you should read the instructions given on its label carefully. Tanning products work best when applied on exfoliated skin. Exfoliation removes the dead skin cells and ensures uniform tanning of the skin. Also, first you should apply only a small amount of the product. It takes few hours for these products to show results and they can be re-applied depending upon what type of color you want.

There are many self tanning lotions, creams, and sprays available in the market. Therefore, choosing the best self tanner could be a tricky task. Before buying a product, you should read reviews about it on the Internet. This may help you avoid products that may cause nasty rashes or bad skin color tone.

A self tanner could give you a bronze look without spending hours under the Sun. If you are looking for the best self tanner, please visit http://www.sunlabsonline.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6002431

All time kids tv shows The Best Ever Kids TV Programmes

I have been giving some thought to what were the best Kids TV programmes of all time and this has caused huge arguments between friends and colleagues and it will undoubtedly have a lot of people outraged because I've left out their favourite. That is part of the fun though...
My Top Ten Kids TV Programmes Of All Time:
1) Big Barn Farm. Although this is a very new TV show it is the only time I can ever remember the whole house stopping to watch a programme and that is why it's at number one. My lads aged 2 & 4 both love it and I have to admit all the adults think it is extremely clever too. Real animals in a real farm act out the story and due to camera trickery their lips move too. Works well with some splendid narration. My favourite characters are Digger the dog and Madame the French cow who says "Moo-La-La".
2) Lazytown.The Icelandic TV show featuring Sportacus has been a hit in over 100 countries and dubbed into at least 12 languages. The star of the show is Sportacus, played by Magnus Scheving a gymnastics champion. The show has been directly responsible for an increase in sales of fruit and vegetables which Sportacus refers to as "Sports Candy".
3) Dr Who. First aired in 1963 it is the longest running science fiction show anywhere. My favourite story so far is "Genesis Of The Daleks" which had a lot of social comment comment and parallels. David Tennant may be fantastic as the Doctor but at least my wife doesn't drool over Tom Baker which is another good reason for picking this story.
4) The Mr Men. Superb 5 minute stories read brilliantly by the late Arthur Lowe.
5) The Wombles. The original Eco-Warriors who made good use of the things that the evryday folk leave behind. Wonderful storytelling by Bernard Cribbins whose voice suited the programme wonderfully. My favourite womble was Orinocco who was always hungry unless he was sleeping.
6) Blakes Seven. A cult piece of wobbly walled 1970s sci-fi which was basically Robin Hood in space. Some very good storylines in the early shows as freedom fighter Roj Blake and his band of outlaws take on the evil Terran Federation lead by the evil Servarlan.
7) Scooby Doo. Scooby, Shaggy, & a bag full of scooby snacks. 'Nuff said.

You can drop by to my website and see some the comments this is getting there if you want to. It's at [http://www.kidsstuffandstories.com/]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1265892

top tv animals

Flipper- September 19, 1964 at 7:30pm on NBC-Life Span: 3 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: This mild-mannered bottlenose dolphin swam his way into the hearts of a generation of children with his joyous laugh, seafaring adventures, and ability to avoid the tuna can. Plus, that infectious theme song just dove into your subconscious and still surfaces forty-plus years later -- "They called him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning..."

Life Is Wild- October 7, 2007 at 8pm on The CW-Life Span: 4 months-Wildlife or Mildlife: Life certainly was "Wild" for the Clarke family, who relocated with their veterinarian father from the urban jungle of New York to the floral jungle of Africa. Unfortunately, viewers didn't flock to the show, and it went extinct after thirteen episodes.


Daktari-January 11, 1966 at 7:30pm on CBS-Life Span: 4 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: In the vast jungle of television programs, this wild African-set series was the only place to sight Clarence the cross-eyed lion and Judy the chimp. These inter-species pals were the real stars of the series and they dethroned Dr. Marsh Tracy as the show's alpha male.

Born Free-September 9, 1974 at 8pm on NBC-Life Span: 3 months-Wildlife or Mildlife: Joy and George Adamson raised orphaned lion cubs in the wild African Sahara. Since the series was based on the Oscar-nominated film of the same name, it should have been king of the TV jungle. Instead, the pride left this weakling series behind to be devoured by TV network jackals.

A Peaceable Kingdom-September 20, 1989 at 8pm on CBS-Life Span: 2 months-Wildlife or Mildlife: Set in the mild Los Angeles County Zoo rather than the great outdoors, zoo director Rebecca Cafferty, her herd of doctors and employees, and her pride of three kids had tales that intertwined like mating boas. If this series was one of Rebecca's animal patients, she would have put it out of its misery -- just like CBS did.

The Wild Thornberrys-First Sighting: September 1, 1998 at 8pm on Nickelodeon-Life Span: 5 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: Not only wildlife, but a wild life, too. Eliza traveled the world in a souped-up RV with her nature-show filming parents, a Tasmanian-devil adopted brother, and a refined chimp named Darwin. Eliza even had the Dr. Dolittle gift of animal gab -- and she was polite too -- addressing a lion with the line, "It is a great honor to meet such a magnificent lion as yourself, sir."

Gentle Ben-September 10, 1967 at 7:30pm on CBS-Life Span: 2 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: Teaching kids everywhere the (possibly misleading) lesson that bears can be as sweet as the honey they crave, the "Gentle" giant Ben followed his young owner everywhere through the Florida everglades. It's only fitting that the young actor, Clint Howard, was later the best friend of a bear once again -- he voiced Winnie the Pooh's friend, Roo, in the '70s.

Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp-September 12, 1970 at 9am on ABC-Life Span: 2 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: With a wild concept for a mild Saturday-morning timeslot, this series featured Lancelot Link, a talking chimp as a secret agent, and his partner Marta Hairi. After this series was tranquilized, Saturday mornings were never the simian again.

Beastmaster-Early October 1999 in Syndication (various times and networks across the country)-Life Span: 3 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: A continuation of the wild "BeastMaster" movies with Daniel Goddard taking the role of the tanned-and-toned Dar who can telepathically communicate with animals. Even though Goddard had definite animal magnetism, one critic was not impressed, saying he "is about as charismatic as a Stairmaster" instead of a BeastMaster.

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams-March 2, 1977 at 8pm on NBC-Life Span: 2 years-Wildlife or Mildlife: In the 1850s, wrongfully-convicted James "Grizzly" Adams finds the trials of the forest much more forgiving than the predators of civilization -- and bounty hunters. Viewers were curious whether he was really innocent, but they were really tracking which was wilder -- Grizzly's pet bear Ben or his mountain-man beard.
24- February 4, 2003 at 9:35pm on FOX-Life Span: One episode-Wildlife or Mildlife: The wild storyline in which 24 jumped the cougar. Kim wanders the wilderness of Los Angeles, sees a cougar, runs away and gets caught in an animal trap. Actress Elisha Cuthbert wasn't so lucky since she joined the list of Actors Mauled by Lions and was sent to the hospital for a tetanus shot, but no stitches.

'90s Nickelodeon stars

 '90s Nickelodeon stars. With Nickelodeon churning out a whole new crop of teen stars on popular shows, let's take a look at Nickelodeon's most famous '90s shows and the stars who were in them.

 'All That'
When: 1994-2000, 2002-2004

Then: The sketch comedy show helped launch the careers of some of its young stars.

Now: Kenan Thompson is now a member of this sketch comedy show; "The Loud Librarian" (who?) appeared in a Vince Vaughn movie; this singer hosts "America's Got Talent"; and this actress was only 10 years old when

 'Clarissa Explains It All'
When: 1991-1994

Then: The spunky teen shared the facts of teenage life for four seasons, while warring with her brother, Ferguson, and getting some help from her best friend, Sam.

Now: Melissa Joan Hart, who went on to star in another show, is currently in this ABC Family show; Sean O'Neal stepped away from acting after this movie; and Jason Zimbler owns a theater company in this Northwest city.

 'The Secret World of Alex Mack'
When: 1994-1998

Then: The chemically enhanced teen only let her best friend Raymond and sister Annie know about her secret powers.

Now: The star starred in a popular teen movie, recently guest starred on a '60s themed show and joined the cast of a tropical cop show.

 'Hey Dude'
When: 1989-1999

Then: Set and filmed on a dude ranch, the show followed teenagers who worked the ranch for the summer.

Now: The show launched the career of this blond actress; this teen heartthrob starred with another Nickelodeon star; and this character actor appeared on this medical drama and was last seen on an ABC show.

 'Salute Your Shorts'
When: 1991-1992

Then: Set at Camp Anawanna, the show followed a group of summer camp kids.

Now: Donkey Lips wore a bubble wrap suit in this movie; Telly appeared in a daytime soap opera; and see if you can recognize Ug's voice in this movie or this one.

 'Double Dare'
When: 1986-193

Then: This slimy game show was a favorite that combined trivia, physical challenges, an obstacle course and lots of green goo.

Now: Nickelodeon tried to revive the show in 2000 with "Double Dare 2000", but you can catch the former host currently hosting a tasty Food Network show.

 'Legends of the Hidden Temple'
When: 1993-1995

Then: Six two-person teams answered trivia and battled through an ancient temple obstacle course.

Now: The former host starred in a 2006 thriller and was in the pilot episode of this detective show.

 'The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo'
When: 1996-1998

Then: Shelby, with help from her best friend, solved mysteries as an intern at a police station and lived with her innkeeper grandfather.

Now: IreneNg was on a soap opera and graduated from an Ivy League school. Pat Morita lent his voice to another popular Nickelodeon show and passed away in 2005.

 'Roundhouse'
When: 1992-1996

Then: This sketch comedy show had themes dealing with daily life. It was also full of original music and dance performances.

Now: She can be seen as a dancer in a recent Cher movie; this actress was on a Broadway tour in 2006; and this singer made a name for herself in contemporary Christian music.

'Are You Afraid of the Dark?'
When: 1990-2000

Then: This freaky show featured a group of the kids who got together around a campfire and told scary stories.

Now: The group's leader worked as a weatherman; this actress was in a country singer's sitcom; and this actress recently played a girlfriend on an HBO comedy.