We’ve all been there, stuck in traffic, staring at a sea of break lights. One thought goes through your head as traffic stands still, “what caused all of this?!” Was it a problem with someone’s car? A blown tire perhaps? A driver on their cell phone? Sure, it could have been any of those, but if you were driving on Interstate 20/59 near Tuscaloosa, Alabama it was the tooth fairy that caused the shutdown of a three-lane highway. Ok, that’s not fair, the tooth fairy didn’t cause the crash, I wouldn’t want to soil the tooth fairy’s reputation. But a trucker had a loose tooth and lost control of his vehicle when he tried to remove the loose tooth with his hands while driving. Luckily there were no major injuries caused by this accident, but there was a whole lot of inconvenience caused. Distracted driving is no joke, regardless of how comical the distraction is. We’re glad to hear that no one was hurt, hopefully the tooth fairy brings enough money to cover damages, but last I checked the going rate for a tooth was much less.
We’ve talked about the likes of Uber and Lyft on here before, but now a new contender is tossing their hat into the personal taxi service ring. Drivr is a start up out of Cincinnati that follows much the same model as Uber. You can call up a driver to bring you door to door for $2.50 a mile (a minimum of $15). The difference here is that Drivr utilizes only Tesla electric cars. Not only do you get to arrive at your destinations in style, but you also get to do it with a clean conscious as you save the environment by traveling via electric car. Because there is no need for gasoline; Drivr is able to operate at a lower coast compared to their gas-guzzling competitors. Although the operation is only in Cincinnati currently, if it proves to be a success, you can expect it to spring up in other cities as well.
Back in my day, college classes were actually hard. Sure, you could take an elective here or there that was easy for you, but that was your one free pass. Creative writing students at the University of Pennsylvania now have the option to take a class entitled “wasting time on the internet.” Yes, the class is exactly what the title of the course claims to be. All you need is a laptop and a way to connect to Wi-Fi. During the class there is no communication with others unless it is delivered online. The idea behind the class is that there is a lot of inspiration to be found on the Internet, and students should learn to not just waste time, but harness that information and turn it into something creative. If you ask me it is a glorious time to be in college if this can get you three credits. To any students of this class that may stumble upon this blog, make sure to follow us on Facebook and twitter as well to help you waste a little more time. You get credit and we get follows, win win.
Electric bus sounds like it could be the next big thing to hit the music scene. Although it would make a good band name, it’s not the next big thing in music, but it is the next big thing in green transportation. We’ve seen the push for electric cars, so going electric with buses seems to be the next logical step. They are larger, use more fuel than a car, run (and typically pollute the air) in high population areas and they could stand a boost in popularity. We are starting to see electric buses pop up around the world. South Korea started rolling out electric buses, and recently Louisville, Kentucky launched a fleet of ten fully electric buses. If we see success from these new buses being on the street, hopefully other cities will follow suit. Replacing current buses with new electric ones not only will have a great impact on the environment, but the new updated buses could attract new riders. More riders sharing a bus to work means less cars on the road, and when those gas-powered cars are replaced by one giant electric bus, we all win.
There’s no excuse for not using the bus anymore. Eclipse, a black Labrador in Seattle, Washington, uses the bus to get to the dog park. I know what you’re thinking; “a lot of owners take their dog on the bus to get places…” That is true, and also admirable, but this dog takes the bus ALONE! Eclipse and his owner live a few blocks from the dog park and right in front of the bus stop. Eclipse and his owner will wait at the bus stop while his owner smokes a cigarette. Sometimes Eclipse’s owner doesn’t finish his cigarette in time so the dog will jump on the bus without him and meet him at the dog park. The bus driver and commuters all know Eclipse by now because this is a normal occurrence. They all enjoy when Eclipse is on the bus. They say he grabs an open seat and watches out the window for his stop where he gets off when the bus opens the doors. So the next time you think that you can’t take the bus because you don’t know the schedule, or you’re afraid you’d miss your stop, or whatever other excuse you have, just remember that in Seattle, Washington there is a dog that has already figured it all out.
