Bush or Chimp?
www.bushorchimp.com
The age-old question of whether the human species evolved from
lower primates may now be answered thanks to good ol’ George
W. Bush. Though the president hasn’t actually funded any
research in these studies, a clever Web site creator has taken it
upon himself to point out the striking similarities between George
W. and chimpanzees on www.bushorchimp.com. Bill
Feldspar, the brains behind the site, claims that his site is not
in anyway meant to be anti-Republican or even anti-Bush ““ he
just wanted to point out the remarkable resemblance between these
two mammals. Likewise, visitors to the site need not be fans or
haters of President Bush ““ everyone will likely find the
photographs funny. What Feldspar has done, quite successfully, is
pair up photographs of Bush in various poses with photographs of
chimpanzees in similar forms. Users get shots of Bush with various
facial expressions, paired with chimpanzees making almost exactly
the same faces. The resemblance is uncanny. Bush yawning looks
exactly like an ape yawning. Even a photo of Bush flashing his
pearly whites has a matching, and equally amusing, chimpanzee
counterpart. Only one photo of Bush rests solo on the page without
a twin, because according to Feldspar, he couldn’t find a
chimp making an equally dumb face. It makes site goers wonder, who
is the more evolved species? In addition to getting a great laugh
from the plethora of photos, users can also purchase a T-shirt
designed with their choice of images. Though the options
aren’t as plentiful as the rest of the site, there is most
likely a future favorite T-shirt for every visitor. An especially
amusing design is one with Bush wearing a cowboy hat, paired with a
Curious George stuffed animal in a Western outfit. Here, just the
photo of Bush would be enough to evoke laughs out of a site user.
For those visitors who don’t have the $16.99 to purchase a
shirt, worry not, the site won’t let them leave empty handed.
Also available is a free downloadable desktop image or screen saver
featuring Bush and his chimpanzee friends. So whether or not
www.bushorchimp.com provides conclusive answers to the evolutionary
question (really, it doesn’t), site goers can still have a
blast as they search the site for clues.
Barbara McGuire Rating: 9
Am I Going Down?
www.amigoingdown.com
With the summer only three short weeks away, many students are
probably in the midst of planning a great, relaxing vacation
““ hopefully to somewhere other than Los Angeles. For those
planning a trip that requires boarding an airplane, a visit to
www.amigoingdown.com might be a necessary addition to their to-do
list. This helpful, yet somewhat pessimistic site, has users type
in their flight information, such as destination, airline and
month, and then calculates this all together and pumps out a
“personalized mortality statistic.” This number
represents a user’s chance of dying mid-flight on their
specific trip. Not too cheery, especially with the added commentary
that may say something like, “That’s a little worse
than usual for this route.” With advice like that, users may
want to change airlines, or maybe even the month they are planning
their vacation. If it could lower the statistics, why not? Looks
like that vacation may not be so relaxing. Nervous flyers may not
find the statistics entirely promising, but for those
white-knuckled passengers, amigoingdown.com also provides
references to self-help flight fear books, as well as their own
“handy hints.” These tips recommend that travelers
choose the largest plane possible, pick non-stop flights, listen to
the pre-flight safety demonstration and always keep their seat belt
tightly fastened. This area of the site also clues users in to the
various causes of plane crashes. Site goers can learn about the
related death statistics for each cause, such as turbulence, which
has only killed 20 passengers and four crew members since 1980
““ not too shabby. While the already paranoid may not find a
friend in www.amigoingdown, many other curious and non-intimidated
flyers will enjoy the site’s frank and straightforward
nature, in addition to its helpful hints.
Barbara McGuire Rating: 7