Before boarding his plane from Tampa to Newark, Peter Shankman jokingly asked Morton’s Steakhouse over Twitter if they could meet him with a porterhouse steak when he landed. Lo and behold, they did. [More]
awesome
Are You "Baller" Enough To Get Secret No-Contract Cell Service?
By 8.3.11
It’s buried on the websites but you could be saving on your cellphone service every month if you signed up for one of their no contract plans. Not only are you not locked into contract, the actual per-monthly bill is cheaper, for exactly the same plan. [More]
I Solved Citibank ATM Pen Shortage With Duct Tape, TD Bank Pens
By 6.3.11
Reader Greg was sick of there never being any pens at the Citibank ATM at 8th ave and 16th st in NYC. They had those metal pens attached to wire like they always do, but people had stolen the pen innards and they were never replaced. (Probably because the bank got sick of replacing them.) So Greg came up with his own solution. He grabbed some free pens that are always in abundance at TD Bank and duct taped them to the empty Citibank pen barrels. [More]
Horses Pull Tanker Out Of Snow In Pennsylvania
By 2.25.11
Luckily for the driver of a tanker stuck in the snow in Pennsylvania, an Amish man driving a team of horses happened by and offered the vehicle a tow. [More]
You Should Definitely Buy Cameron's House From "Ferris Bueller"
By 1.5.11
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a wonderful movie, which means you should definitely pay $1.65M (Ferrari not included) for this cantilevered steel-and-glass house designed by architects A. James Speyer and David Haid in 1953 — also known as “Cameron’s House.” (Infamous garage shown here.) [More]
Costco Replaces Scotch Bottle, Saves Christmas
By 12.13.10
Travis has a rich tradition of an annual bottle of scotch at Christmas, a tradition that was nearly shattered along with his bottle when it slipped from its box. Luckily Costco has an even longer and richer tradition of being really cool about refunds. [More]
6 Towns In America Where You Can Get Free Land
By 10.29.10
There’s still such a thing as homesteading in America. Here’s 6 cities where they’re giving away free land: [More]
Glossary Of Coupon Ninja Message Board Terms
By 9.16.10
You want to get in on the hot coupon action. You read stories like the one yesterday about the lady who bought 51 items for $45.56 using coupons and you think, damn, I want to go to there. The best deals are getting swapped among elite coupon freaks in online coupon forums where they trade the latest coupons, tips and tactics and refine their deal strategies. But penetrating these zones can seem daunting for the novice, especially when they speak in their own coded language. DND9? OOP? WYB? To help out, here’s a big glossary of common coupon terms and abbreviations to help get you started and not come off as such a newbie. [More]
College Library Parodies Old Spice Commercials To Coax Students From Dorm Rooms
By 7.16.10
I’m a college librarian by training. One of the challenges in the profession right now is convincing students who have grown up with instantaneous access to information from home that a library has something to offer them. Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library reached out to students by producing a video that shows off library resources and looks awfully…. familiar. [More]
Old Spice's Brilliant Marketing Your Product Could Market Like
By 7.14.10
We at Consumerist mostly focus on when companies screw up, with some exceptions. We must give credit for brilliant marketing strategies when it is due, though, and yesterday’s personalized YouTube video blitz by Old Spice’s towel-wrapped spokesman, Isaiah “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Mustafa, qualifies as brilliant. [More]
How On Earth Did They Make That Old Spice Commercial?
By 7.2.10
A new commercial in Old Spice’s “the man your man could smell like” series of ads hit the airwaves and the Internets this week. If you’re not delighted, you should be. The commercials are silly, visually interesting, and–according to their star, the very visually interesting actor Isaiah Mustafa–surprisingly low-tech behind the scenes. [More]
USB Typewriter Turns Ancient Object Into Something Almost Useful
By 6.15.10
If you’re a computer user of a (cough, cough) certain age, you may think the IBM Model M is the only real keyboard and everything else is a poor imitation. If you’re of an even hoarier vintage, you may wax nostalgic for your trusty Underwood. Well, wax no more! The USB Typewriter is here, and it will take your century-old doorstop and turn it into a keyboard for a newfangled computer faster than you can say Jack Robinson!
Get Off Junk Mail Lists With Blitz Calling
By 6.10.10
This is an awesome new tactic for getting off junk mail lists. I just learned it from Phillip, a Consumerist reader I met at the Consumers Union Activist Summit, who is eating a sandwich next to me. He calls it “Blitz Calling” and he’s used it to successfully get off seven different junk mail lists that initially tried to ignore him. [More]
These Radio Shack Answering Machine Messages Are Excellent
By 5.7.10
Some humanitarian has purchased a cassette tape of answering machine messages produced by Radio Shack in 1985 for $0.10 at the library and has made them available online for you to use. [More]
Wendy's Employee And Customer Reenact Jerry Springer Episode At Drive-Through
By 5.4.10
Wendy’s employee Lorissa Mendez and Wendy’s customer Ashley A. Roberts have been feuding over the father of Mendez’s child. Ashley and her two friends pulled up at the drive through at 1 a.m. Sunday morning while Lorissa was working, and according to Lorissa they started “talking shit” about her. Lorissa responded by throwing a cup of fruit punch in Ashley’s face. The police were called once Ashley tried to climb through the drive-through window to get at Lorissa. Meanwhile someone at the counter was probably wondering why his Frosty order was taking so long to fill. [More]
Oneida Actually Means The Whole "Guarantee" Thing
By 2.25.10
Thomas bought a set of Oneida flatware about a dozen years ago. He writes that he assumed that he just needed to buy new knives when his came apart at the handles, but someone advised him to contact the company. He did, and was amazed at Oneida’s response to his request. [More]
Ok, Someone Should Have Thought This VeggieTales Cookie Cutter Through
By 10.10.09
Reader Aaron was in his local Christian bookstore when he found something, um, interesting. It’s a VeggieTales cookie cutter, right? Let’s all stop for a moment and think about this.
