I received a cool picture via email the other day – a river bridging over another river!  It’s man-made of course, but what a feat!  It bridges the River Elbe in Germany and connects two important shipping canals.  The project was put on hold indefinitely when Germany was split during the last century and was finally completed in 2003.  I think this is pretty cool, so I’ll share it and thank fellow tangents.org blogger Jamiahsh for sending it to me.  I don’t know why he didn’t put it on his blog, but I  figure he probably would have gotten a chance by now if that’s what he wanted to do with it 🙂  Check it out:

For more information about the bridge, click here.

With amusement and much scrutiny, I peruse most of the many email forwards I receive…  Occasionally, one will catch my eye.  Such is the case for the forward containing the following picture entitled: “Sauder Woodworking Company Takes Over GM”

I found it extremely amusing, but I began to think of the entertainment value of the aforementioned email forward.  Is this also amusing to  people who aren’t affected by the close proximity of the Sauder factories?  Do people who live far  outside of Archbold, Ohio get the joke?

Well, anyway, if you live where you get it, then HaHa –  we share a  joke.  It IS funny – Sauder is a huge employer in the area and  many locals have jobs assembling Sauder’s ‘assemble yourself’ kits of furnitiure.  The fact that someone crafted an email to tie it into the horrible economy and the down-sizing of GM is priceless…   but there I go again, overexplaining the joke.  If you get it, then you get it…  (and are probably located within 60 miles of Lake Erie), but if you have no idea what I’m talking about –  power to you to recognize regionally sensitive email forwards…  What are some of the regional forwards that have been haunting YOU?

I received a helpful email forward that I thought I  would share in case any of my readers have some stress and they  are looking for ways to unwind…

I really hope I’m not condoning cruelty here, but I found the following video I got in an email forward so amusing.  I figure in this era of photoshop and trick videography and the like, no one was harmed in the filming of the video, right?

Why your dog REALLY goes outside:

I received an interesting email forward the other day; it’s a Japanese video that shows a woman folding a shirt perfectly in a matter of seconds using an origami technique.  I haven’t tried it out yet; I’ve been too busy blogging instead of folding my laundry 🙂

I don’t have many fond memories of high school.  It wasn’t horrible, but it certainly hasn’t come close to being the best years of my life as some people had promised.  Even so, when I saw this copy of an email forward on my friend’s blog, I couldn’t resist filling it out and making it a blog post of my own, especially since he didn’t send me the email version for me to forward.  Feel free to make it an email and forward it to your friends.  Coincidentally, I’ve been working on a post about a different version of classmates.com…  stay tuned – I might eventually have time to finish it!  Here is a copy of the email forward:

Here is a fun email I received from my cousin who shares my alma mater as well as the year I graduated.  Some of the questions brought a chuckle as well as made me think.  See if it does the same for you.

Fill this out about your Senior Year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!!  FORWARD  (or post in comments) with name of high school and graduating year in the subject box. Send this to all your friends, but don’t forget to send it back to me.
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1. Did you date someone from your school? No

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No

3. Did you car pool to school?  yes

4. What kind of car did you have? black Pontiac Sunbird

5. What kind of car do you have now? minivan

6 . It’s Friday night…where are you now? In high school?  hanging out at a friends house, shooting pool or hanging out at Denny’s – lots of hanging out

7. What kind of job did you have in high school?  Wendy’s

8. What kind of job do you do now?  Homemaker

9. Were you a party animal?  more than some, less than others

10. Were you considered a flirt? no

11. Were you in band, orchestra? band freshman year

12. Were you a nerd?  depends who you asked I guess

13. Did you get suspended or expelled? no

14. Can you sing the fight song? no

15. Who was/were your favorite teacher? I don’t remember

16. Where did you sit during lunch? in my car – how dangerous was it to speed to McD’s and back in 25 mins every day?

17. What was your school’s full name?  this makes me nervous – are you trying to track me down?!?

18. When did you graduate? 1996

19. What was your school mascot?  Tigers

20. If you could go back and do it again, would you? no thanks

21. Did you have fun at Prom? not really

22. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? No

23. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? no

24. Do you still talk to people from school? trade a few emails a year with some people back and forth

25. School Colors? orange and black

26. If you could do 1 thing differently in high school, what would it  be?  I would have been a little nicer to people – not that I was mean, I was just quiet and disconnected from my huge community of a school.

I received another ‘getting to know you’ email forward, and this one promises to be ‘different’ so here goes…

Here’s a new one & it’s much better than previous versions. Cut and paste and fill in the answers. Then, send to all your friends!
*A – Age:              30
*B – Bed size:      Queen
*C – Chore you hate:   drying dishes
* D    Dessert you love:   depends upon my mood
*E – Essential start of your day item:    yogurt
*F – Favorite actor(s):      Steve Carell, Tom Hanks
*G – Gold or Silver:          Gold
*H – Height:         5 ft. 8 in.
*I – Instruments you play:   little bit of piano, various percussion instruments
*J – Job title:    Homemaker
*K – Kid(s):   3 girls and a boy
*L – Living arrangements:  Husband, 4 kids, 2 dogs, and a parrot
*M – Mom’s name:    Phyllis
*N – Nicknames:     Mom, Lis
*O – Overnight hospital stay other than birth:  other than MY birth or any birth?  Cuz I’ve had 4 kids…  Also some ear infections when I was a baby.
*P – Phobia or fear:   frogs
*Q – Favorite quote: Until I can think of a better one – “Abraham Lincoln said, if you are a racist, I will attack you with the North.”  – Michael Scott 
*R – Right or left handed:    Right
*S – Siblings:    1 older sister
*T-  Talent:  multi-tasking
*U – Unique skill:    I can hang a spoon off the end of my nose
*V – Vegetable you hate:    peas
 *W   Worst habit:   procrastination
*X – X ray:    dental
*Y – Yummy food you make:  I just made a California blend soup yesterday out of leftovers that everyone loved
*Z – Zodiac Sign:      Cancer, the crab!

Yet another email forward struck my fancy…  this one’s a personality test to determine which cartoon character you’re most like.  With 29 points, I am SpongeBob SquarePants, and my husband got 31 points, so he is also SpongeBob.  Not sure how truthful this is, but fun to take the little quiz.  I know, I should get a life…  but what about the person who sat and mapped out this whole personality test?
This is fun.
 
Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character. Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character you most resemble?
A group of investigators got together and analyze the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test.
Answer all the questions (only 10) with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results.
Do not cheat by looking at the end of the e-mail before you are done .
Then forward this to all your friends (including the person who sent it to you) and change the subject of this message to what character is you.
1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts)
d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)
 
2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
b) Alternative (1 pt.)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
d) Country (5 pts )
e)Pop (3 pts.)
 
3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
c) Musical (3 pts.)
d) Romance (4 pts.)
e) Documentary (5 pts.)
 
4. Which of these occupations would you choose if you only could pick one?
a) Waiter (4 pts.)
b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
c) Teacher (3 pts.)
d) Police (2 pts.)
e) Cashier (1 pt.)
 
5. What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts.)
b) Read (4 pts.)
c) Watch television (2 pts.)
d) Listen to music (1 pt.)
e) Sleep (3 pts.)
 
6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt.)
b) White (5 pts.)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts)
d) Dark Blue(2 pts.)
e) Red (4 pts.)
 
7. What do you prefer to eat?
a) Snow (3 pts.)
b) Pizza (2 pts.)
c) Sushi (1 pt.)
d) Pasta (4 pts.)
e) Salad (5 pts.)
 
8. What is your favorite holiday ?
a) Halloween (1 pt.)
b) Christmas (3 pts.)
c) New Year’s (2 pts.)
d) Valentine’s Day(4 pts.)
e) Thanksgiving (5 pts.)
 
9. If you could go to one of these places, which would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts.)
b) Spain (5 pts.)
c) Las Vegas (1 pt.)
d) Hawaii (4 pts.)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)
 
10. Which of the following people would you prefer to spend time with?
a) Someone smart (5 pts.)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
c) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt.)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts.)
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)
 
 
Now add up your points and find the answer you have been waiting for! Put your cartoon character’s name in the subject line and forward it to your friends and back to the person that sent this to you.
 
 
 
(10-16 points) You are Garfield:
You are very comfortable, easy going , and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn’t mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember, your happy spirit may hurt you or others.
(17-23 points) You are Snoopy:
You are fun; you are very cool and popular. You always know what’s in and you’re never out of style, you are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once, but you always come home with the family values that you learned. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.
(24-28 points) You are Elmo:
You have lots of friends and are popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer. Dreaming too big could cause many conflicts in your life.
(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants. You are the classic person everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never wants to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it’s funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people and you will be stress free.
(36-43 points) You are Charlie Brown:
You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few birthdays. Don’t let your passion confuse you with reality.
(44-50 points ) You are Dexter:
You are smart and definitely a thinker. Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles.You maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes. Try to do less over thinking every once in a while to spice things up a bit with spontaneity.
 
Now don’t spoil it! Have some fun! Change the subject of the e-mail to the name of your cartoon character and send it on.

I have a few drafts of blog posts started, but I haven’t really felt like writing lately – too much effort when my mind is so preoccupied.  Then I got this fun forward in my email and thought it would make a good blog post.  Little effort on my part, which is great because I’m so tired from not being able to sleep.  And it is actually a pretty fun forward; I looked it up for each of my kids and put them at the bottom of the list – enjoy:

THIS IS REALLY FUN!