The following words have been recognized by the Oxford, Cambridge and/or Merriam-Webster dictionaries over the course of 2016.
biffy (n.): a toilet or outhouse.
Category Archive: Wreckollection
Jan 01
Vital Statistics 2016
|
Vital Statistics |
2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
| a Canadian dollar is worth | $ 0.74 US | $ 0.72US | $ 0.86US | $ 0.94US |
| an ounce of Gold is worth | $ 1,152 US | $ 1,060 US | $ 1,199US | $ 1,204US |
| a Bitcoin is worth | $ 969US | $ 430US | $ 319.70US | $ 757.50US |
| S&P/TSX Composite Index | 15,287 | 13,009 | 14,632 | 13,621 |
| a domestic postage stamp costs | $ 1.00 | $ 1.00 | $ 1.00 | $ 0.63 |
| a local Bell pay phone call(if u can find one) | $ 0.50 | $ 0.50 | $ 0.50 | $ 0.50 |
| a liter of Pepsi costs | $ 2.49 | $ 2.49 | $ 2.49 | $ 2.49 |
| a liter of water costs | $ 2.49 | $ 2.49 | $ 2.49 | $ 2.39 |
| a liter of milk costs (purchased in a four liter bag) | $ 1.07 | $ 1.00 | $ 1.00 | $ 1.35 |
| a liter of gasoline costs | $ 1.04 | $ 0.81 | $ 0.94 | $ 1.27 |
| a loaf of bread costs | $ 3.29 | $ 3.19 | $ 3.49 | $ 3.49 |
| a paperback novel costs | $12.99 | $11.99 | $11.99 | $10.99 |
| a weekly (Time) magazine costs | $ 7.99 | $ 6.99 | $ 6.99 | $ 6.99 |
| a comic book costs | $ 3.99 | $ 3.99 | $ 3.99 | $ 2.99 |
| a daily newspaper costs | $ 1.52 | $ 1.52 | $ 1.52 | $ 1.43 |
| a regular bus ride costs | $ 3.65 | $ 3.55 | $ 3.45 | $ 3.40 |
| a medium cup of coffee costs | $ 1.62 | $ 1.57 | $ 1.57 | $ 1.52 |
| a basic cable television package | $40.48 | $40.48 | $39.48 | $38.67 |
| a first run movie rental costs | $ 5.99 | $ 5.99 | $ 5.99 | $ 4.99 |
| an adult movie theatre ticket costs | $11.50 | $10.99 | $10.99 | $10.99 |
| a children’s movie theatre ticket costs | $ 8.50 | $ 8.50 | $ 7.99 | $ 7.99 |
| Minimum wage (Ontario) | $11.40/hr | $11.25/hr | $11.00/hr | $10.25/hr |
| an adult men’s haircut | $19.00 | $19.00 | $19.00 | $18.00 |
| a medium combination pizza | $16.75 | $16.75 | $15.75 | $16.25 |
| Current World Population | 7,475,142,566 |
| Births this year | 143,518,237 |
| Deaths this year | 60,101,523 |
| Net population growth this year | 83,416,714 |
Bonus – Other Vital Stat Meters at a Glance: http://www.worldometers.info/
Jan 01
Predictions for the Year 2017
Germany outlaws the use of cologne in public gatherings.
US President Trump declares a “War on Winter” and wastes no time liberating the Great Lakes from Canada “Just ‘Cos” they failed to satisfy his demand that they stop sending Canadian Cold Fronts off of their side of the lakes. Canada’s Prime Minister strongly objects with the announcement that he has unfriended President Trump on Facebook and that he has instructed his followers to no longer heart any of “The Donald’s” tweets. The die is cast as the selfi-made PM (with a little help from his dad’s legacy) squares off against the self-made President (with a small loan of a million dollars from his dad).
US Congress orders Twitter to add the same “Two-Person-Rule” that is used to prevent the accidental or malicious launch of a nuclear missile by a single individual to their Twitter “send” logic.
Ashley Madison is announced the winner of a privatization contract that makes them responsible for staffing the White House and advising the president on foreign affairs.
Charlie Sheen is appointed to the new Office of Harassment Adjudication and Locker Room talk.
Kim Kardashian is appointed Secretary of the Treasury (and Bling).
President Trump’s first mega-million dollar public work is the beautification of Mount Rushmore. He has the existing heads demolished to make room for his own much larger head.
The National Inquirer becomes America’s very first State Run news service.
The editor in chief of the National Inquirer is appointed to the new position of Secretary of Education, Communications and Bald-faced Lies.
American 5th graders are added to the terrorist watch list on the grounds that they represent a clear and present danger to future republican elections.
Those American’s who are not smarter than a 5th grader, smarten up and stop paying taxes.
President Trump “borrows” funding from American Charitable Organizations to erect larger than life statues of himself in every American city while smaller municipalities (and private golf clubs) are blessed with larger than [Chairman] Mao murals of “The Donald“.
Samsung recoups all of its losses from last year’s smart phone recall with the announced creation of their new smart munitions division. Hock your Glock and trash that Taser because the Galaxy “Smart Grenade” is now America’s fashionable weapon of choice.
The real-estate of global warming becomes apparent when we learn that all of the land in Northern Canada was surreptitiously purchased by rich global warming deniers that were posing as eco-tourists aboard last year’s Northwest Passage cruise ship.
Absolutely none of these predictions come true (I hope).
Jan 01
Epilogue 2016
There you have it. 2016 was a year that was dominated by fake news and creepy clowns (and one creepy clown manufactured enough fake news to get himself elected). Oh well, as America’s greatest philosopher once predicted… “stupid is as stupid does.” Now its Back to the Future for everyone (how far back, only His Royal Guyness knows for sure).
Jan 01
2015 Year-end Review
The Chinese called it the Year of the Goat. The United Nations dubbed 2015 the International Year of Soils. It was the year that Ford’s Mustang and Sugar Bear turned 50. Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity turned 100 years old in 2015 which also marked the 100th anniversary of:
- the neon tube advertising sign
- Pyrex Glassware
- the Raggedy Ann doll
- the US Coast Guard
- Typhoid Mary’s arrest
- the 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WW I
- the poem “In Flanders Fields”
- Babe Ruth’s 1st home run
- the sinking of the SS Lusitania by German submarine; 1198 lives lost
- the 1st device to record telephone conversations (Edison’s telescribe)
- the 1st all-metal aircraft (Junkers J-1) test flown at Dessau, Germany
- the 1st black world heavyweight boxing champion (Jack Johnson)
- the resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan (America’s 1st terrorist org.)
- the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian Genocide
The bad news: It was not the best of years. A lot of people died for no apparent reason in 2015 unless, of course, God really did will it.
The Good news: On the brighter side, mankind has survived yet another predicted apocalypse – a.k.a. the Blood Moon Prophesy. What’s more is that no-one is predicting the world’s demise in 2016. I see nothing looming from the Christian, Muslim, Atheist or garden variety Nut-Job camps. Speaking of Nut-jobs…
Jan 01
Story of the Year 2015
“ISIS[pect] Jihad a Different Outcome in Mind.”
In a move that has both Napoleon and Hitler rolling in their graves, ISIS opens a second front with Russia by blowing up a Russian airliner in Egypt. In so doing they defuse a potentially explosive impasse between Russian and American forces over Syria.
But wait, there’s more! Not only do they inadvertently mediate irreconcilable Russo-American differences, they follow up with another cowardly attack in Paris that results in the French eventually fighting back. Even Anonymous, an anti-establishment group of hackers, has joined the fray on the side of their enemies in the establishment.
Jan 01
Person(s) of the Year 2015
Anonymous
A mysterious group of unnamed hacktivists who have announced that they are stripping terrorists of their secret weapon (i.e. their own anonymity). In addition to threatening to publish the names of charter members of the Ku Klux Klan in America, they are also outing (a.k.a. doxxing) ISIS recruiters and their digital communication networks.
Jan 01
Feel Good Story of the Year 2015
Canadians Unite to Oust Repressive Regime!
Just when we thought nothing could trump 2014’s feel good story (i.e. the demise of King Joffrey, the absolute most unlikable character on HBO’s hit television ,“Game of Thrones” series), our real-life Canadian conservative Prime Sinister, Stephen Harper is dethroned. Smart* Canadians everywhere say, “Hey stupid! It’s not about which party leader is best qualified to run the country without the assistance of his (or her) elected members of parliament, it’s about who is going to listen to, and dare we say, heed the advice of our riding’s elected representative.”
* Smart Canadians believe democracy in general and parliamentary democracy in particular should not endorse the suppression of information and transparency via scientific gag orders, gagged party back-benchers and cabinet ministers, restrictions on media, prorogued parliaments, eliminating the long form census, a voter suppression scandal, supreme court challenges, and fear mongering, etc.
Jan 01
Sleeper Story of the Year 2015
“Serious Global Water Shortages by 2030”
According to one shocking US government report that was released last year, the global need for water will exceed the global supply of water by 40 percent by the year 2030. Even Chinese authorities, not known for their candor on any subject, are warning that they are becoming, “perilously close to the internationally recognized benchmark for water shortages.”
Jan 01
Statistic of the Year 2015
State of the Workers’ State in China
China’s communist capital is concerned that their communist Workers’ State is making a statement re the State’s treatment of the labour movement. Only time will tell who is going to capitalize on this new twist.
Related Statistic: With 190 billionaires and more than two million millionaires, China tags just behind the US in number of high-net-worth individuals. — Forbes magazine and Boston Consulting Group.