Also, because of my love of lists and trivia I have collected lots of books on those topics – many of which have ended up as inspiration for lists here.

This Christmas I recommend either giving someone a book – or buying one or two for yourself – especially if you haven’t read a good book in ages.

This list only contains books I have on my own bookcase, that I would not hesitate in recommending to Listversers.

This is a fun little book filled with the worst things in the world – such as dangerous people or places, disgusting or hideous creatures, and more. In thoroughly researched, scathingly funny essays, author Mark Frauenfelder avoids the obvious and digs deep to tell the fascinating tales of the worst people, places and things on Earth for the reader’s amusement and edification. Half of the entries are also mischievously illustrated by the author. This is a perfect book for bedtime reading.

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In The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean goes through the periodic table of elements and tells a story or anecdote about it. The book presents a parade of entertaining anecdotes about scientists (mad and otherwise) while covering such topics as thallium (Tl, 81) poisoning, the invention of the silicon (Si, 14) transistor, and how the ruthenium (Ru, 44) fountain pen point made millions for the Parker company. With a constant flow of fun facts bubbling to the surface, this is just the sort of book that will be loved by anyone who is a fan of trivia and snippets of information.

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This is a great book for anyone who wants to know the secrets behind things we aren’t meant to do – including how to make counterfeit money, how to break into a car, how to become a religious icon, and even contains a funny list of ten things you shouldn’t say to a cop – such as: “Well, when I reached down to pick up my bag of crack, my gun fell off my lap and got lodged between the brake pedal and the gas pedal, forcing me to speed out of control.” Humor (or lack thereof) aside, this really is a very interesting book that will appeal to most people.

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In this book, the author neatly dispatches many of the most treasured stories to be found in schoolbooks, and repeated elsewhere. He relates that Emperor Nero did not fiddle as Rome burned because the fiddle or violin wasn’t invented until the 16th century (you heard that here first!). His enemies are the source of that story and he had plenty of them. Paul Revere did his best to alert the extensive Colonial militia that the British were coming, but they got to him first, holding him for a while as the word was spread, by a variety of means. The Bastille was stormed because the crowd wanted to get at its store of gunpowder. Its political prisoners actually lived in comfortable quarters. All things considered, this book provides a very interesting new look at history.

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This is a very amusing little book compiled by doctors to answer all of those questions we all want to know the answer to but are either too embarrassed to ask or don’t know anyone that can give us the answer. Some of the questions asked are: “Why do men wake up in the morning with an erection?” and “why do you see stars when you are hit on the head?” The answers? You will have to buy the book!

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From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly Everything reports what happened and how humans figured it out. To accomplish this daunting literary task, Bill Bryson uses hundreds of sources, from popular science books to interviews with luminaries in various fields. His aim is to help people like him, who rejected stale school textbooks and dry explanations, to appreciate how we have used science to understand the smallest particles and the unimaginably vast expanses of space.

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You’ll find everything you forgot from school–as well as plenty you never even learned–in this all-purpose reference book, an instant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated version takes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from American studies to philosophy to world history. Along the way, Judy Jones and William Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plot of Othello to the difference between fission and fusion. This book has featured elsewhere on Listverse and it is so good it is even in our bookstore.

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Do you know how to make something that can tell whether the $20 bill in your wallet is a fake? Or how to generate battery power with simple household items? Or how to create your own home security system? Science-savvy author Cy Tymony does. And now you can learn how to create these things – and more than 40 other handy gadgets and gizmos – in Sneaky Uses For Everyday Things. More than a simple do-it-yourself guide, this quirky collection is a valuable resource for transforming ordinary objects into the extraordinary. The best thing about this book is that you don’t just get to read it – you get to put into practice the many suggestions found in it – a wonderful way to while away a wintery weekend.

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Armchair Reader: The Book of Myths & Misconceptions shines a bright new light on hundreds of “facts” that are widely (and incorrectly) accepted as truths. Give it a read and you will be able to impress, educate and discredit friends. This book will obviously appeal to those of you who are especially fond of our Fact & Fiction category. This is, for me at least, a must-have book for anyone that comes to Listverse.

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This is a book that will be especially loved by anyone who liked our list of places you can’t go. In this book, the doors of some of the world’s best-hidden places and most secretive organizations have been thrown wide open! Some of the names are familiar: Area 51, Yale’s Skull and Bones, Opus Dei, the Esalen Institute. Others are more obscure, hidden by fate or purposeful deception, such as the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, the super-secure facility where Vice President Dick Cheney was secreted after the 9/11 attacks, and Germany’s Wewelsburg Castle, which was intended to become the mythological centerpiece of the Nazi Regime. Readers can take an unprecedented look deep inside the off-the-map military installations and shadowy organizations that operate in the murkiest corners of our world. This is not a throwaway quick read – it is an intelligent and incredibly well researched book you are guaranteed to love.

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The Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists is the first of what will eventually be a trilogy of books based on Listverse. It covers all of the categories on Listverse and presents the best lists from each in an easy to read and convenient form. Perfect for the coffee table or reading in bed.

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The unprecedented popularity of our first book resulted in the creation of the Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists – focusing entirely on the various bizarre topics that appear on Listverse. For top 10 list aficionados this is a must-buy book that includes lists never seen on Listverse before.

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Do you still want more? Over the years we have amassed hundreds of lists containing brilliant books that we would recommend to anyone that loves Listverse. That equates to thousands of books – enough to keep you reading for the rest of your life!

There are two types of people in the world: those that love Christmas commercials and those that don’t.

I’ve always been a sucker for all things Christmas, including ads, and I could watch them for hours. Actually, I just did! Here are eleven great Christmas spots.

There are several you may remember fondly, and one or two you might be seeing for the first time.

1. Folgers Coffee ad/Peter comes home. This is the ultimate holiday commercial, the one against which all others are judged.

This was filmed around 1986, and it is remembered and beloved by TV fans everywhere. It’s odd that Folgers doesn’t just keep running this ad every Christmas (it came back a few years ago but hasn’t aired since). Instead they have a really poor modern version of the ad, with a son coming home from Africa and practically flirting with his sister. Folgers, please bring back this vintage spot.

2. Staples and the gift-wrapped dog. This commercial ran several years ago, and for some bizarre reason no one has even uploaded it to the web yet. Come on, Internet! This is a truly funny ad that shows a new family dog all covered in wrapping paper and wagging his tail.

If anyone knows where we can see this, let us know in the comments.

3. McDonald’s Gift Certificates. I was 10 years old when this commercial came out (in 1975) and I remember it like it was yesterday. That’s Corey Feldman, long before, well, ‘The Two Coreys.’

4. Go Phone Commercial with Norm MacDonald. Christmas on TV is often marked by the appearance of stop-motion animation, and this great Go Phone ad captures that feeling perfectly, while at the same time adding a lot of humor. This must be a very frustrating world to live in, where giant hands can just rip the roof off your house.

5. Hershey’s Kisses. This is a very basic commercial, but that’s why it’s so effective. The various colors of the Hershey’s Kisses world play ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas.’

6. Flintstones/Fruity Pebbles. What makes this commercial great is that you hardly ever see characters from a TV show doing separate commercials for a product. But since the actual product is related to ‘The Flintstones,’ you get to see Fred and Barney interact with cereal and Santa. Another classic spot they should bring back.

7. Campbell’s Soup. Not a Christmas commercial per se, more of a cold weather commercial, but it’s winter and ‘Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow’ is always associated with the holidays. This spot has a kid melted by the heat of some Campbell’s soup.

Of course, the same effect could be achieved by a hot cup of tea or another brand of soup, but still!

8. Schweppes Retro People. I had to include these spots because they’re so clever and, well, bizarre.

9. M&Ms and Santa. It doesn’t seem like it, but this ad is actually over 15 years old. The M&M guys catch Santa visiting the house and both are shocked when they see each other.

One thing I’ve never understood: why doesn’t Santa know that the M&M guys exist? Doesn’t he bring them presents? Shouldn’t Santa know everything?

10. Lucky Strike. This spot is from the ’50s, and since Don Draper came up with the “It’s Toasted” line (nudge nudge wink wink), Sterling Cooper must have had something to do with this commercial.

Do people give cartons of cigarettes as gifts anymore?

11. Norelco Santa. OK, by popular demand, here’s the Norelco spot. It really does bring back memories (there were actually a few versions of the ad – this is one of the ads from the ’70s).

photo credit: Jon Cornforth

Snow can change a landscape photo into a winter wonderland photo. The whiteness of the snow tends to add a nice contrast to the normal colors of a scene which makes for very effective photos.

Snow photos can also make for unique nature photos and can often sell for a higher price because they are so appealing. Unfortunately some snowy locations where the very rare animals live such as penguins and polar bears are very hard to reach and require a great deal of risk and effort.

Bright and white snow can be trickier to capture effectively then most photographers think. The light readers on cameras tend to see snow as very bright so it sets the exposure for the brightness of the snow leaving the background and other objects almost as dark as a silhouette.

Most experienced photographers overexpose the snow photos they take leaving the snow as bright as it is in real life and the rest of the frame well-exposed as it should be.

Snow can also disrupt the camera’s automatic white balance sensor so you should also make sure that you either adjust the white balance to suit the snow or switch the auto white balance mode to the snow white balance mode.

30 Photos

photo credit: thrumyeye

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: Jon Cornforth

photo credit: fluxxus1

photo credit: Peter Bowers

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: thephotogrumbler

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: Peter Bowers

photo credit: Tailgun2009

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: fluxxus1

photo credit: Peter Bowers

photo credit: Mikko Lagerstedt

photo credit: Puk3y101

photo credit: Iamidaho

photo credit: Randi Scott

photo credit: Peter Bowers

photo credit: Peter Bowers

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photo credit: Richard Dumoulin

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photo credit: KEENPRESS Photography

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photo credit: DigitalDesigns

The most celebrated festival has knocked at the door. The air is full of joy and celebration. Children have decided their gifts to be asked from Santa Claus.

Therefore, I thought to do something unusual and unique with the celebration. Check out these weird yet funny Santa Claus images, which portray a different Santa. I am sure to hear your loud laughter while checking these images

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Santa Hijacked

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Christmas Carol

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Christmas Burglar

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Santa On Phone

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Santa Is Coming

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Santa Gang

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Messy Santa

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Drunken Santa

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Smacked Santa

By now you probably have your Christmas tree installed and decorated.

But if not, you might try something unusual. Take a look at these strange, unusual and funny Christmas trees.

Twenty-five years ago, Kris Marshall of Iowa draped a strand of Christmas lights across his pickup truck. Now, eight incarnations later, the Christmas Truck has 3,000lights. Matt Hardigree writes for Jalopnik:

It’s amazingly nontechnical, it’s literally just lights taped to a truck. According to Marshall “It’s not very scientific, it’s a hideous site in the daylight, there’s black tape and wires in the daytime.” But at night it’s amazing. Marshall has used eight trucks and added dozens of strand since, though it’s always a 2WD Chevy/GMC with a regular cab and eight-foot truck bed “the way a truck ought to look.”

By his own estimate there are 50-to-70 strings with a mixture of 50 and 100 lights each, making a conservative estimate of 3,000 lights. There are no LEDs, just the cheap $0.89 strings, though he’d like to add some to take pressure off the taxed generator.

Christmas isn’t just about cookies – it is also a great time of year to serve cake. Whether you are looking for an elegant cake design to serve at your holiday party, celebrating a Christmas birthday or planning a cake for a Christmas wedding, we have you covered with great pictures and design ideas.

It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to stick to your standard company logo. At Christmas time, we let web designers have a bit of fun, and in our world of brand identity, we can spread a smile of joy.

But say a prayer; pray for all the other ones: all those weary web travelers who have woken up and jumped into their regular browsing routine.

If it weren’t for all the Christmas-themed logos, would they know it’s Christmas time at all?

Yes, it’s Christmas, and you’ll find bits of holiday cheer on almost every major website. Like every year, we’ve scouted the web and listed a couple of Christmas logos we like.

Of course, if you know of any other cool examples, please let us know in the comments. And yes, Merry Christmas to you all!

source: mashable.com

As 2009 sneaks its way into the annals of history, many are taking this time of year to join for the holidays or reflect on the year that was.

As the most measurable, social year in human history, the tools of 2009 showed us how fast something can catch on, who is talking about what and how small the world has become.

In that spirit, we have created some data visualizations to show how Christmas buzz is taking shape and what products are being talked about on the web.

1. Christmas on Twitter

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Christmas, though confined to a day or two in December, is a buzz term all year long, with an escalation of thousands per day starting in the Fall and ratcheting up to a fever pitch as the holiday grows closer. Though we haven’t seen the full spike mature yet, tweets containing either the term “xmas” or “Christmas’ are now nearing 20,000 per hour or over 300 per minute.

Compare this to last year when we showed a very similar graph and tweets for “Christmas” were topping out at 40k per day and you’ll get a sense of how much Twitter has exploded in 2009.

2. Christmas in the News

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Since November 1, Google News is showing 111,493 new results and a massive 106 million new blog results for the term “Christmas”, driven in part by the indexing of tweets, as the search giant makes a meaningful move into the real-time future.

3. Christmas in Photos and Video

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As the social web matured this year, photo and video sharing has become second nature to many. With more smartphones and applications making this type of engagement possible, expect to see these sectors flourishing in 2010. Notice below, videos tagged “Christmas” on YouTube () pushed the video portal to its public API return max for a tag to 1 million by mid-December.

4. Obama Vs. Claus

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President Obama is one of the most talked about people on Twitter year round, but in this season, he and Santa duel for prominence in the public’s mind.

5. Love Vs. Hate

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In the epic battle of love vs. hate, there is a clear winner on Twitter this holiday season.

6. Location-Based Tweets in NYC

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An important trend for 2010, as recently described by Pete Cashmore, is location-based social networking. And in the spirit of special sharing, here is a new feature set we at Wiredset are rolling out with Trendrr for the very first time: Data surrounding “check-ins” on Foursquare (). Here’s a sample look at possible holiday activity in the Big Apple, as shown in “check-ins” per day.

7. Holiday Retail Wars

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And where are the “Twitterati” spending their shopping time? This graph, first shown by Jennifer Van Grove in a piece on Black Friday, shows how the rest of the heavy shopping season buzz panned out — with Amazon staying on top of giant retailers on Twitter.

8. Kindle Vs. iPhone

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Here is a look at Twitter buzz for two personal devices that captured America’s attention, harnessed imagination, and drove innovation in 2009. To put the buzz in perspective, most TV shows get less than 5,000 tweets per week. This shows the conversation levels per day.

9. Smartphone Blog Buzz

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With an average of over 100 million blog results returned for a typical Google () search, iPhone is clearly the hottest blog topic in the smartphone category. Here’s a look at some others in the blog space.

10. Video Games

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The multi-billion dollar gaming industry is here to stay and will be a staple this holiday season in many homes. You can see the peaks driven by a flurry of new game announcements this fall, followed by a look at how new games are fairing on Amazon.

11. Zhu Zhu Pets on Amazon

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Every year there is a product that comes out of nowhere to become a must-have for the kiddos. This year the Zhu Zhus — robotic hamsters — are the new entrant making waves in the children’s category. Even with a consumer group contending parts of the anatomy to be unsafe in early December, the fuzzy robots have made their mark on consumers this year.

12. The 12 Days of Christmas Tweets

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Most know the song, but few can remember all the words to “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The first five days of Christmas are the most talked about on Twitter. Here is a look at them all.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto , Osuleo ]]> http://www.bestchristmasdays.com/2009/12/the-12-graphs-of-christmas/feed/ 0 http://www.bestchristmasdays.com/2009/12/the-pirate-bay-goes-retro-for-christmas/ http://www.bestchristmasdays.com/2009/12/the-pirate-bay-goes-retro-for-christmas/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:58:44 +0000 admin http://www.bestchristmasdays.com/?p=184 Remember how one of the most popular torrent sharing sites, The Pirate Bay, looked back in 2003?

Today, you have a chance to refresh your memory, because the pirates have gone retro, changing the layout of the site to the way it looked back then, when the Internet was innocent and there was no pile of lawsuits on their desk.

Surprisingly enough, the site actually looks quite good; some might even argue that it’s easier to navigate than it is in its current iteration.

There is one slight problem, though: the site is entirely in Swedish. The reason is explained on the Pirate Bay blog:

“In 2003 we started out as a tracker (on a tiny adsl connection in Mexico) mainly for Swedes. Today our servers operate in many countries and our users can be found wherever a tiny bit of internets can be found.”

The Pirate Bay folks aren’t content to merely look back with nostalgia, though; they’re planning exciting things for the next year.

“Enough with the old! Bring on the new! 2010 has no room for boring debates about old worn out values that old rotting industries try to shove down your throats. 2010 will be the year of the hydra. Let thousands of new exciting projects emerge!”