Consumerist
explanations
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modern culture
World's Most Scenic Pizza Hut Location?
Either this is the most awesome place to eat your pizza, or the most depressing, depending on how you view antiquities. I'm going to say awesome. After all, there was probably always a food stall of some sort nearby over the years. More » -
economy
Video: Drexel Shaft Demolished, In Beautiful Slo-Mo
This is a slow motion video of yesterday's demolition of the Drexel smokestack in Philly, set to "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. It is sad. Bye bye, factory economy, hello, glass tower economy (affordable office space now available). More » -
mad men
If Yours Isn't Good Enough, He'll Get Some At The Office
Marketers had a message for the housewives of the 1950s: they weren't doing a good enough job at home. Their husbands had to resort to going elsewhere for it. Why, even the girls at the office could do it much better.
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journalism
Directly Pitch Your Stories To Pro Video Journalists
VJ Movement is a new site that lets everyday people pitch their ideas for news stories to a group of selected global professional video journalists who then go on to produce them and post them online. Here's one about a poor Chinese immigrant turned professional gambler who plays poker so that his kids can live the American Dream in Orange County, California. More » -
facebook
Mafia Wars CEO Brags About Scamming Users From Day One
From the beginning, the profitability and viability of popular Facebook social networking games Mafia Wars and Farmville were predicated on the backs of scams, boasts Zynga CEO Mark Pincus in this video. "I did every horrible thing in the book just to get revenues," he crows in the clip to a gathered bunch of fellow scumbag app developers. More » -
condoms
Which Condom Holds The Most Air Before Exploding? (Video)
You might be be surprised how much air a condom can hold, or water (try 25 liters). But which holds the most before bursting to pieces? Our friend Theresa at Consumer Reports donned a lab coat and glasses to find out which brand of condoms came out on top in their durability tests. More » -
complaints
United Loses $12,418.28 Of Famous Rock Climber Steph Davis's Gear
Pro rock climber and base jumper Steph Davis is always superstitious about her last "flight." On any trip, the last jump off the cliff in her wing suit, she's sure something will go wrong. Recently, her fears came true, but not while hurtling herself off the Eiger. It was her flight on United, who lost $12,418.28 of her gear, including parachute. More » -
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inventors
Creator Of Baby Einstein Vids Admitted In 2005 She Didn't Know What She Was Doing
A website that focuses on female entrepreneurs interviewed the creator of the Baby Einstein video line back in 2005. As Boing Boing pointed out yesterday, her explanation of how she developed the videos is pretty funny. Well, Boing Boing calls it "damning," but it's funny that everyone—Disney included—took the product line so seriously. More » -
absurd
Brooke Shields Has Hypotrichosis
Oh no! Brooke Shields used to have stringy, stick-figure eyelashes! I figured this out after watching Consumer Reports' video dissection of a new commercial for Latisse, the glaucoma medication that has been rebranded as an expensive, temporary eyelash enhancer with side effects. More » -
health care mosh pit
Al Franken: How Many Medical Bankruptcies Are There In Switzerland?
We stray into politics often at our peril but I had to share this clip of Sen. Franken kneecapping a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute conservative think tank. In what was supposed to be a hearing on the Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act, Diana Furchtgott-Roth instead used her testimony to pillory against health care reform proposals not even being discussed. After Sen. Whitehouse asks her if she even read the bill at hand, Sen. Franken goes: "You said the way we're going will increase bankruptcies...How many bankruptcies because of medical crises were there last year in Switzerland?" More » -
finance
VIDEO: Derivatives Are Sort Of Like A Pre-Ordered Turkey
The business and financial news are full of something called "derivatives." But, okay, what is that? You're not the only one who's wondering. That's why Paddy Hirsch from the public radio program Marketplace put together a whiteboard, some stick figures, and a bunch of metaphorical turkeys to explain it all to us. More » -
videos
Consumerist At The White House, Part III: Regulating Credit Bureaus
Here's a question a lot of you asked: How will the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency deal with credit-report agencies like Equifax and TransUnion. Jump in for the answer from Diana Farrell, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. More » -
can you catch a disease from viral marketing?
Guy Catches Laptop With His Butt. Yawn.
Somehow we missed this gem two months ago, but here's a viral video sensation involving a trio of athletes who can catch slim laptops in their butts. More » -
economic collapse
You Wouldn't Be Eating Cat Food If We Had Listened To Brooksley Born
Meet the canary in the coal mine that no one wanted to listen to: Brooksley Born. As head of the obscure Commodity Futures Trading Commission she sounded the warning in the late 90's about the need for more transparency and regulation of the derivatives market, but a coalition of Beltway insiders, including the then rock star Alan Greenspan, formed against her to shut her up and shut her out. After the economic collapse, it's time for them to eat crow. Learn more in tonight's FRONTLINE presentation of "The Warning" on PBS at 9pm eastern, or watch online. More » -
videos
Consumerist Takes Your Financial Reform Questions To The White House, Part II
Last week, we brought your financial reform questions to Diana Farrell, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. In this segment, we ask how the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency will work, and how consumers will be able to get their complaints addressed. More » -
videos
Consumerist Videodrome #1
It's Consumerist Videodrome #1! Wherein I make several important announcements about new changes coming to the site and show off my new cat. More »
3:19 PM on Thu Oct 15 2009
By Ben Popken
4,314 views, 92 comments -
videos
Consumerist Takes Your Financial Reform Questions To The White House
You had questions, we got answers. On Tuesday, we went to Washington and interviewed Diana Farrell, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Here's a piece of the video of our interview, where Farrell answers your questions about payday lending and protections for underserved consumers. More »
