Top10-o-Maniac!

1. Phuket, Thailand - This is definitely not a good one to learn the hard way and to make it even more difficult, advice on the correct way to pronounce it can vary. To avoid scowls, general disdain, and possibly worse, go with "Pu-get."

2. Mooball, Australia - While Mooball may sound like a cute term of bovine endearment, it's actually pronounced "Moo-bull." Read more »

1. A change of clothes ?I have this listed as number one because contrary to how important it is, this item is often forgotten. By simply having a change of clothes on hand, my family has been saved from many pee-pee and pooh-pooh disasters.

2. A Tide stick - During one Sunday morning service, while observing the Lord's Supper, my husband was holding one of our daughters in his lap and the grape juice in his free hand. Without warning, the baby flew up her arms and made a mad dive for the juice, splattering its contents all over Daddy's good shirt. Fortunately, there was no need to panic because Mommy immediately produced a tide stick to save the day. Whew, crisis averted. Read more »

Largest drugmakers by 2008 pharmaceutical sales, according to estimates by data company IMS Health. The figures exclude medical devices, animal health products and some consumer health products.

Pfizer and No. 12 Wyeth's combined total would be about $59.1 billion and Merck and No. 18 Schering-Plough's $39.6 billion. Read more »

1. Atlantis Found? Might these be the ruins of the lost continent of Atlantis? Eager explorers certainly thought so, trumpeting this grid off the coast of Africa as streets in the mythical sunken city. Observers noted the area appeared to be the size of Wales, making such a large grid an impressive feat of ancient urban planning. The real explanation is far less fun: Google Earth engineers soon announced that the grid pattern was merely a digital artifact created by the sonar boats collecting mapping data. Whispers still linger, but it doesn't look like anyone will be dredging up a forgotten civilization anytime soon.

2. Firefox Crop Circles - Maybe alien technology isn't so foreign after all. This Firefox crop circle sprouted up in a corn field in Oregon, but its origins are no mystery. In 2006, the Oregon State University Linux Users group created the giant logo - spanning more than 45,000 square feet - to celebrate the Web browser's 50 millionth download. Read more »

1. Google outage - Millions of internet users worldwide sit up and take notice when Google goes down. The latest outage on Tuesday 24 February lasted for more than two hours, with the web giant attributing the unplanned downtime to testing new software during datacentre maintenance. Google has promised that the minority of subscribers who were paying to use Google services at the time will receive 15 days of free access. On 11 August 2008 Google's Gmail site went down for a couple of hours, again inconveniencing millions of people.

2. 1901 Census site - The Public Record Office made the mistake of advertising its 1901 census web site heavily in advance of its launch, thereby stoking unprecedented levels of interest in geneology and UK ancestry around the world. Not only did the site promptly crash under the weight of an estimated 30 million visitors a day (it was designed to handle a daily influx of just one million visitors), it was withdrawn five days after its official opening in January 2002 and stayed down for a further seven months. Read more »

1. King-Size Homer. Homer decides deliberately to gain 61 pounds to qualify as disabled so he can work from home. Lisa, naturally, is outraged. Lisa: "I must protest. You're abusing a program intended to help the unfortunate." Homer: "Hee hee hee, I'm not saying it isn't sleazy, honey. But try to see it my way: all my life I've been an obese man trapped inside a fat man's body." (Ep: King-Size Homer. Series 7)

2. Unpossible. Principal Skinner hands the sublimely hapless Ralph Wiggum a report card to take to his parents because he's flunking English. Ralph: "Me fail English? That's unpossible." (Ep: Lisa on Ice. Series 8) Read more »

1. Polar Bear Swim (Saturday @ 2pm) - Can anything be wackier than intentionally jumping into 40 degree water? This weekend scads of folks are doin' it. Polar Bear Swim participants compete in a swimming race in Lake Tahoe, beyond the end of Gar Woods' pier and back (approx. 225 yards). Hundreds gather to watch these [fool] hardy souls as they brave the cold water.

2. Snowfest Parade (Saturday @ 11:30 am) - See Tahoe's wackiest and wildest strut down North Lake Blvd. in Tahoe City. "Tahoe City Through Time" is this year's parade theme so come early and get the best spot to see Tahoe at its wackiest. Read more »

10. Honda Element - This square peg had charm upon its introduction and was a surprising hit with the fathers and grandfathers of its target demographic, but the Honda Element has become one of our top 10 cars to can. Always ungainly, underpowered and -- to some -- "unbeautiful," the Honda/Acura lineup has plenty of SUVs that aren't has-been novelty acts.

9. Kia Amanti - It's no accident that Kia, the more humble kin of Hyundai, trades a little polish and sophistication in the name of no-nonsense transportation. Even with that caveat, the full-size Kia Amanti is out of its league. Some cars have retro touches, but the Amanti looks 15 years old sitting on the showroom floor. With no significant advantage over its peers in this crowded segment, it easily earns a spot as one of our cars to can. Read more »