Interesting Wikipedia articles?

[vonuber]

'Teen escort company, also called a youth transport firm, is a term used in the United States to describe a business that specializes in forcibly transporting teenagers from their homes to various facilities.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_escort_company

Blimey.

[cuprabob]

vonuber said:

'Teen escort company, also called a youth transport firm, is a term used in the United States to describe a business that specializes in forcibly transporting teenagers from their homes to various facilities.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_escort_company

Blimey.

Can i ask how you stumbled upon this?

[vonuber]

cuprabob said:

Can i ask how you stumbled upon this?

Youtube video - 'what should be illegal but isn't.'

[Some Gump]

bloody hell, so in america, you can kidnap people as long as you do so as a company?

Imagine being a kid and being abducted by some wannabe "operator" types and dumped at one of those religious nut job places. You'd be scarred for life =(

[Rostfritt]

Some Gump said:

bloody hell, so in america, you can kidnap people as long as you do so as a company?

Imagine being a kid and being abducted by some wannabe "operator" types and dumped at one of those religious nut job places. You'd be scarred for life =(

I'm guessing that as a minor your parents' permission is all that is required? That is totally messed up and you should probably have your kids taken off you if you even consider using something like this.

If you think this is just used for drug addiction, you are probably wrong, this would be used for kids caught smoking a joint, or to send them to gay conversion camp, which are still legal in some states.

[Brother D]

Why you would never win the top prizes in mc
Donald's monopoly game

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Monop...

[glazbagun]

Brother D said:

Why you would never win the top prizes in mc
Donald's monopoly game

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Monop...

Brilliant. At the other end of the scale, in the Phillippines, Pepsi were inundated with winners after a bottling plant error:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Number_Fever

[Mr E]

Brother D said:

Why you would never win the top prizes in mc
Donald's monopoly game

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Monop...

There was a tv show about this.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillions

[Rostfritt]

glazbagun said:

Brilliant. At the other end of the scale, in the Phillippines, Pepsi were inundated with winners after a bottling plant error:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Number_Fever

Incredible. Pepsi has done some absurd things in the past, like having to buy someone a fighter jet because of another marketing gimmick gone wrong and at one point having the second largest naval fleet in the world.

[glazbagun]

Rostfritt said:

glazbagun said:

Brilliant. At the other end of the scale, in the Phillippines, Pepsi were inundated with winners after a bottling plant error:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Number_Fever

Incredible. Pepsi has done some absurd things in the past, like having to buy someone a fighter jet because of another marketing gimmick gone wrong and at one point having the second largest naval fleet in the world.

I knew about the fighter jet lawsuit (which was totally awesome!) but not the naval fleet. That's insane!

wiki said:

Due to Soviet restrictions on transporting rubles abroad, PepsiCo struck a barter deal whereby Stolichnaya vodka would be exchanged for Pepsi syrup. This deal lasted until 1990, when the USSR and PepsiCo re-negotiated a $3 billion deal to exchange syrup for vodka and a small fleet of Soviet warships including 17 submarines, a frigate, a cruiser and a destroyer.[43][44][45] This deal fell through before it could take place due to the fall of the Soviet Union and was renegotiated with the former nations of the USSR. The new trade deal included receiving cheese from Russia to supply its Pizza Hut locations and receiving double-hulled tankers from Ukraine

[anonymous-user]

Rostfritt said:

like having to buy someone a fighter jet because of another marketing gimmick gone wrong

the case was found in Pepsi's favour, so no jet ever given.

[Truckosaurus]

Rostfritt said:

...Pepsi has done some absurd things in the past, like having to buy someone a fighter jet because of another marketing gimmick gone wrong....

Something similar has just happened in the States, someone won a new Corvette from a State Lottery and where normally people just take the cash alternative this chap demanded the car. Problem is there aren't any that aren't already sold (or ones available are selling for a premium (as that is legal over there)....

https://www.thedrive.com/news/38830/georgia-man-wi...

[MissChief]

There was also a radio station in the US that ran a competition for a Toyota but actually gave away a toy today.

[MissChief]

MissChief said:

There was also a restaurant in the US that ran a competition for a Toyota but actually gave away a toy today.

https://www.boredpanda.com/toy-yoda-toyota-hooters-prank-gone-wrong-jodee-berry/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

[Rostfritt]

Truckosaurus said:

Something similar has just happened in the States, someone won a new Corvette from a State Lottery and where normally people just take the cash alternative this chap demanded the car. Problem is there aren't any that aren't already sold (or ones available are selling for a premium (as that is legal over there)....

https://www.thedrive.com/news/38830/georgia-man-wi...

Oh yes they always give a cash alternative. In the states any prizes you win, whether from a lottery or a gameshow or competition counts as declarable income. Because of that, if you won a car you would then have to cough up the income tax in that year. Because of this, many prize winners end up selling the prize they win and end up keeping the difference.

I think the fighter jet thing was lampooned by the Simpsons when Bart wins an elephant.

[Bright Halo]

This is just incredible. The longest siege in human history.
Has a film ever been made about this, if not why not?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Siege_of_Gibra...

[glazbagun]

Bright Halo said:

This is just incredible. The longest siege in human history.
Has a film ever been made about this, if not why not?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Siege_of_Gibra...

It's amazing isn't it? Up there with the battle of Thermopylae.

[Bright Halo]

Great pub quiz question.
“Where was the largest battle of the American war of independence fought?”
Answer
Gibraltar

[Jaska]

Giving this thread a small shot in the arm as it helps pass boring work days

Was reading through the wiki for guinness world records and there's some interesting ones that have been declared 'unsafe' over the years under the defining records section:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness_World_Rec...

Can't have things like heaviest fish, most collected currency, fastest beer drank...

[Roofless Toothless]

This was mentioned on a Radio 4 programme I was listening to the other day.

The Ship of Miracles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Meredith_Victory