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Well, congratulations, everybody! It’s the end of the month, and you’re still kickin’! Um… you ARE still kickin’ aren’t you?

Anyhoo - since it’s that time of the month again (no, silly, not that time!), here’s a roundup of just a few of the more unusual items going on out there…

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen - the time has come for another exciting edition of… OOB!

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Dept. of Insanity

If you’re insane (or maybe just a little crazy… nah, insane is the right word), then you’d probably love to try out one of these babies. Ky Michaelson, a.k.a. “Rocketman”, is an artist/stuntman/inventor who has a love of, well, all things rocket-powered.

He’s created quite a few rocket-powered vehicles, many of which have been used in various and sundry movies and TV shows. Yes, they all work (although how well they work is sorta “up for grabs”), and some of the designs literally boggle the mind (sound of mind being boggled).

Among them, the Rocket-powered toilet pictured here is most definitely my favorite (although, based on personal experience with similar seating designs, I would guess it’s probably got a rather short range - 20 minutes, max).

The amazing thing about these creations is they are literally works of art. In fact, you can view many of them at the Bloomington Art Gallery, in Bloomington, Minnesota. Next time you’re in town, drop by!

Dept. of … LOVE

From an M&M ad campaign:“What is it about the green ones?”

Yep, that’s the question, all right. Despite their tongue-in-cheek denials, M&M’S® took advantage of the long-standing rumor of aphrodisiac-like properties for their green candies (which of course those killjoys at snopes.com are still trying to disprove).

This year, the company released bags of green-only M&Ms just in time for Valentine’s Day. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see their sales figures from that week?

Dept. of Health

As a former smoker (quit cold turkey in 1978 and never looked back) I bring you this public service announcement on behalf of all smokers who have to take their smoke breaks outside in cold weather.

Apparently Philip Morris is bound and determined to capture this particular niche market by developing and marketing worldwide a new, shorter cigarette with - get this - the same amount of nicotine as the longer versions. That’s so smokers can get their full dose without having to spend as much time out in freezing weather, don’cha know. Uh-huh.

Why would PM bother, you ask? Well, it seems the Global-Warming crowd is trying to ban outdoor heaters because of their effects on climate change. Yep, much like the ones smokers crowd around now when they smoke outside in cold weather.

Nice to know they care, and are thinkin’ of you, isn’t it?

Dept. of “I Can’t Believe You’re Going to Eat That!”

If Wimpy, the hamburger-eating character is your hero, then this ought to be good news for you!

82-year-old company Katadyn, best known for mobile water sterilization and desalination equipment, has finally gone where no one has gone before (sounds like yet another commercial opp for William Shatner) and produced the world’s first cheeseburger in a can (sound of crowd cheering going “eww- yuck!”)

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, you can now enjoy that cheeseburger in even the remotest parts of the Earth! From the tallest peaks of the Himalayas to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, you can be sure of getting a fresh burger whenever and wherever you want. Sorta puts new meaning to the phrase, “I can haz cheezeburger”, doesn’t it?

‘Course, I can’t vouch for it’s quality, though…

Dept. of Self-Promotion

Did you know there’s a new installment of OOB every month? Yes indeedy! So if you’re interested in an even bigger helping of the strange, the unusual, and the just plain whacko (that is, as opposed to extraordinary whacko), you might want to check out previous editions.

Hey, it’s easy! Just click on that cute little Archives button up there at the top, then scroll down the categories list and click on OOB. In fact, I double-dog dare you! (But don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

(By the way, if you have any great suggestions for future OOB items, by all means drop me a line at rhruzek@sbcglobal.net. If I use one of your suggestions, to demonstrate my undying gratitude, I’ll mention your name and link to you.)

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!