Westland, Michigan is taking the concept of mud-wrestling to a whole new level with the annual Mud Day event, where they crown one lucky, muck-covered girl Mud Queen. These girls spent the day playing in the mud lake, which was created by mixing 20,000 gallons of water with 200 tons of topsoil. About 1,000 children each year show up to play in the mud lake. As swelteringly hot as it’s been in New York City, it’ll take more than high temps to get me in a mud lake, even if there’s a pretty crown involved. Gross.
It is rare for customer service at any major retailer to be efficient and kind…but Zappos is both. After a recent transaction the retailer has gained a customer for life… me. The shoes I ordered were too small. I called Zappos to ask how to exchange. They sent me a return label via email and overnighted me a new pair…before I’d even sent back the old pair. A few days later I got a personal note in the mail from my customer service person, Michelle, which said, “Thank you for sharing your day with me.” I’ve learned that this kind of “put a smile in someone’s day” is company philosophy. Every customer service rep (hear this Verizon? Time Warner? AT&T?) should make Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s book 
Might as well trash my Macbook and iPhone, because according to Prince, the Internet is over. The pop star told the 
It’s 4th of July weekend, and what better way to celebrate than with sparkly explosions of fire? It’s an American tradition, but the Chinese were the ones to first use fireworks to scare away evil spirits as early as the 7th century. 2010’s displays are probably a little more elaborate, especially those on 
In honor of, well, being hungry, I came across these 
Last weekend I was at a restaurant with stuffed deer heads hanging on the wall. Fortunately, I was having a veggie burger. The heads did get the table talking about taxidermy. When most people think of taxidermy, they either think of creepy mad-scientist types stringing animal parts together, or hunter hobbyists immortalizing their prizes. Taxidermy began in the 1800s, when hunters began using the methods pioneered by leather tanners to preserve their trophies. The techniques didn’t take off until scientists and museums began using taxidermy to build anatomically accurate models of different animals and pose them in true-to-life and artistically arranged settings. To learn more about this freaky, yet fascinating art, check out 
