Carl Pettit
Carl Pettit is a columnist, editor and writer working for an array of colorful publications. He specializes in cultural and social issues, as well as East Asia, politics and satire.
Carl Pettit
[
5 Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About the Backyard: Swings, Climbing Walls and More
If you want to get your kids outside, away from their Xbox or Wii, and interested in some of your backyard garden projects, you’ll probably need to be somewhat inventive with your gardening ideas. Pulling weeds and planting flowerbeds just won’t cut it for most of children. Think incentive here.
We have some ideas.
[
4 Creative and Unusual Garden Furniture Ideas You Can Do Yourself
Sure, you could take the easy route and head on over to Ikea or your local lawn-and-garden shop and pick up a few pieces of outdoor furniture for your backyard. But if you really want to impress your friends and indulge your creative flair, you might want to consider some of these more unusual options:
[
10 Unusual Winter Activities You Might Not Know About
This winter, when the snow is piled high outside your doorway, or in the mountains nearby, you could head out into the cold and build a snowman or have an epic snowball fight. Those are some time-honored winter traditions, yet when the temperature drops, there’s so much more you can do.
[
10 Unusual Historical Events That Happened During Christmas
Everyone knows Christmas Day is all about tearing open presents, spending time with loved ones, gorging on lots of good food and celebrating the holiday spirit in general. Even though most of us have got the holiday thing down by now, some folks out there might not be aware of some of the unusual and history-making events marking Christmas Day and Christmas Eve in the past.
[
10 Grinches Who Tried to Ruin Christmas
Christmastime should be about family, generosity and good cheer, but sometimes there are a few baddies lurking about to spoil everyone’s fun. We’re talking about nasty Christmas villains here. Thankfully most of them are merely figments of some storyteller’s imagination. But not all of them. There are always a few real life Yuletide rogues out there just waiting to make a mess of the winter holidays.
[
10 Extreme Christmas Trees
Most people are familiar with the massive, and very impressive, Christmas tree that graces New York City’s Rockefeller Center every year. This tree has come to symbolize the holiday season for millions of people, and is something of national icon, appearing as a backdrop in countless movies and television specials.
[
10 Fictional Bars You Can Actually Visit
If you’re a TV and cinema buff, as well as a barfly, you just might be able to combine your passions together. The characters inhabiting our film and television fantasy worlds need places to hang out, just like we do.
[
Sweet Lips, Tennessee — The Real Story Behind the Name
Some towns don’t have a lot going on. They don’t have heavy industry, or Internet startups, or a booming population, or a prime location on a beautiful stretch of beach or a magnificent ski slope. Sweet Lips, Tennessee, may lack these things, but the folks who live there can definitely boast about their town's pretty "sweet" name.
[
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico – The Real Story Behind the Name
With a name like Truth or Consequences and an isolated location in the American West, you could be forgiven for thinking that this New Mexican town got its name from some bloody gunfight or a hard-nosed sheriff who wanted to urge potential visiting troublemakers to go elsewhere. The real story, though, is a bit stranger.
[
Man With World’s Lowest Voice Makes Record Book
How low can you go? Tim Storms might be tired of that question, but he’d probably be willing to bet you a large sum of money (if he’s a betting man) that he can sing a heck of a lot lower than you, or anyone you know, can. Tim’s deep register is so low, in fact, that Guinness World Records named his voice as the lowest human voice on the planet.
[
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Mermaids
Mermaids have long captured the imagination of the public. They’ve thrilled us in "documentaries", paintings fairytales and in the cinema. Sometimes these seafaring fish-ladies come to the aid of men (helpful!), and sometimes they just want to hug you to death and drown you (less helpful). Here are a few "facts" about these mythical creatures you might want to know before your next boat trip.
[
Teen Girl Slips Handcuffs, Steals Police Vehicle and Leads Cops on Merry Chase
It’s tough being young and wild, especially if you live in a small Colorado mountain town. Sometimes kids just have to invent their own kind of fun. Perhaps 18-year-old Shelby Figueroa was thinking just that when she slammed her car into the back of an unmarked police SUV in Clear Creek, Colorado. The five-foot-tall suspect was subsequently detained and placed into the back of another police SUV. And then the real excitement began.