October 2017 – Viral News Rocks

Oct312017 by No Comments

Carson: Debates are like gladiator death matches

Washington (CNN)Dr. Ben Carson says he doesn't get enough speaking time at Republican presidential debates, because he isn't as entertaining as other gladiators on stage."It reminds me a little bit of Ancient Rome, where everybody wanted to go to the Colosseum and see the blood and gore while their society was crumbling around them," the retired neurosurgeon told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on Friday morning.Fox News debate moderators gave Carson the least time to speak during Thursday night's debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Carson got 6 minutes and 11 seconds -- less than half of the time given to Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, according to analysis from NPR. And it was still a fraction of the time given to governors Jeb Bush and John Kasich."I probably spoke least but had the most to say," Carson...

Oct312017 by No Comments

4 Things That Were Going To Kill Us All (Until They Didn’t)

As Nietzsche once said, "That which doesn't kill us nevertheless ends up in a thinkpiece about how it's going to kill us." Every technological breakthrough or big cultural shift seems to come with some portion of the population shouting, "The end is nigh!" In Ancient Greece, Socrates complained that the invention of writing would ruin everyone's memory. In modern times, we all know that the internet and smartphones are destroying our brains. (We know this because it's one of the many facts we've learned from the internet, on our smartphones.) There have been countless articles written about how our modern devices are making us unhappy, socially incompetent weirdos. But these articles underestimate what unhappy, socially incompetent weirdos we've always been. And that's not a new thing. Tha...

Oct312017 by No Comments

8 Disgusting Facts About Ancient Rome That Will Make You Nauseous

Ancient Rome was a pretty amazing place. Between 753 BC and 476 AD, Romans were among the most technologically and culturally advanced people on Earth. Despite them forming the basis of modern society, Romans held a number of pretty insane beliefs and practices, at least by today's standards. Here are a few of the most disgusting. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('VN_PG_DCBP_ATF'); }); (If you're in the middle of eating lunch, maybe you should save this one for later.) 1. The Poop Sponge iStock Rome was one of the first cities in the world to have what we might consider an advanced plumbing system. Public toilets in Rome were commonplace. While this might seem like great news, these public toilets weren't without t...

Oct312017 by No Comments

Here’s Your Ultimate Drinking Game To Kick Off The 2016 Summer Olympics

Take A Drink Anytime: Someone mentions Michael Phelps being a record holder. They talk abouthow they’ve “slashed the budget” for the opening ceremony/the Olympics in general in comparison to Beijing. There is a panoramic shot of the statue. There’s talk about the Amazon rainforest or the environment. A commentator is uncomfortable by the “sexy” nature of the opening ceremony. There is a celebrity you do not recognize on screen. There is some sort of pyrotechnic or artistic way of forming the iconic Olympic rings, or there’s an emotional zoom in/out shot of them and the Olympic logo set to horns music. Take Two Drinks When: Someone mentions the Zika virus. Someone shames Russia about the doping scandal. A commentator spends way too much time...

Oct302017 by No Comments

How to live like an Italian playboy: Ancient Rome on four wheels

(CNN)Even if you haven't visited the Appian Way in Rome, you've probably seen it before. The road heading south from the Eternal City has featured in "Ben Hur" and the movies of Federico Fellini, including "La Dolce Vita". So there was plenty of history for Fiat heir Lapo Elkann to explore when he took Derek Blasberg on a tour of Ancient Rome for CNN Style.Elkann, the man who revamped the Fiat 500, runs three other independent companies in eyewear, advertising and car customization. Whatever venture he pursues, automobiles will always be a touchstone for the Italian motorcar heir.READ: The beauty of Australia's hot rods"Cars to me are the biggest love of my life," says Elkann. "I do believe that the taste and style Italians have on cars, with all our long history, and the people who work ...

Oct302017 by No Comments

Here Are 11 Weird Things You Do That Indicate You’re Good In Bed

Let's be honest and say that no one has probably ever said, "You know what? I'm looking for someone who is horrible in bed. Line forms to the left!" No, sex isn't everything, but it is one of those areas that people would probably like to think they (kind of) excel at. But according to research, there are actually indicators before you even get into bed that prove youve got the moves. Giphy Its not just about your bedroom skills, but actual things that even border on being weird that prove you know your way around a bedroom. You Drink a Lot Of Wine Giphy A 2009 study by the University of Florence in Italy found that women who drink two glasses of wine a day are better in bed and more sexually satisfied than those who only drink one glass of wine a day or none ...

Oct302017 by No Comments

Hillary Haunted By Big, Stupid Weiners

Two weeks out from a potentially historic election, we’re not talking about the female candidate’s credentials. All we’re talking about is sexually misbehaving men.">In the book of Genesis, Eve is the first to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Her hapless husband, Adam, has no choice but to obey the whims of his wife; once theyve both tasted of the forbidden fruit, both realize theyre naked, and God, his divine feelings extremely hurt, casts them out of Paradise. This marks the beginning of one of humanitys oldest traditions: mens dicks getting them in huge, stupid trouble.A lot has happened between the commission of original sin and the year 2016pyramids, cars, Dippin Dotsand America, the country people who know nothing about Ancient Rome would declare the greatest c

Oct302017 by No Comments

Peter Thiel Isn’t the First to Think Young People’s Blood Will Make Him Immortal

The Trump-loving gay tech billionaire wants to use young people's blood to live forever—and so did Ancient Greeks and Leonardo da Vinci.">Peter Thiel, billionaire tech investor, has revealed a somewhat unsavory interest in the blood of the young. Thiel, like many other Silicon Valley billionaires, is interested in prolonging life expectancy and escaping death. But, unlike Googles Calico project, or Oracle Founder Larry Ellisons $430 million foundation to fight aging, Thiel has a particular interest in medical vampirism.Thiels interest, he has said, is primarily personal. In the past he has taken human-growth hormones and investigated calorie-restricting diets. Now he is interested in parabiosis, the practice of using blood transfusions from young people to promote longevity. In an inter

Oct292017 by No Comments

He Would Never Say It, But This Is Donald Trump’s Favorite Rhetorical Device

Donald Trump, sophist? The current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination is known for speaking in a simplistic style that even fourth graders can understand, often going on bizarre, grammar-defying, stream-of-consciousness tirades that would make any English teacher cringe. But buried beneath Trump's bombast, silliness, and schoolyard taunts like "sad!" or "loser" is his clever use of a rhetorical device that dates back to ancient Rome. Apophasis, similar to paralipsis, is a figure of speech typically used to bring up a taboo subject by either denying it or pretending to pass over it. The philosopher Cicero frequently used the device, which means "to say no." For example, one could claim to have "no interest in talking about allegations of sexual misc...

Oct292017 by No Comments

Google Is Celebrating The Antikythera Mechanism’s Discovery But What The Hell Is It?

You may have noticed a rather curious looking Google Doodle crop up on your desktop today, and if youve been brave enough to click on through, you may have been confronted with something called the Antikythera Mechanism. For those who dont know what this is, prepare yourself for some seriously sexy historical science. Once upon atime in Ancient Greece, around 150 BCE, someone decided to build a computer. Not a digital computer like we all know and love/hate today, but an analogue one. A computer describes anything that uses set rules to perform a task automatically, at least after a human kickstarts it into life. Take Lord Kelvin formally Sir William Thomson and his tide-predicting machine. Using bolts, cogs, gears, and dials, this contraption was designed to predict the ebb and flow of s...