From the Inside Out

The guys and gals from Improv Everywhere are at it again. This time, they staged the improv action in a grocery store as a follow-up to their popular “food court musical.” It’s pretty funny. Check it out:

For more information on how they pulled it off and enlisted the help of Scott Brown & Anthony King (authors of the hit Off-Broadway musical, Gutenberg!) as songwriters, visit the Improv Everywhere blog.

Let’s face it…we’re in the middle of a recession, and people are searching for ways to cut unnecessary costs. Some are canceling their home phone lines and relying solely on mobile phones. Others are getting rid of cable, using coupons, and eating at home more often.

Now there’s another — albeit less traditional — expense you can eliminate from your budget. If you’re a pool owner, you know that pool maintenance can be a costly expense. Weekly pool service is not cheap, and while the do-it-yourself method is less expensive, you still have to pay for all of the costly chemicals. According to code enforcement officers in Wellington, Florida, there’s a cheaper way to keep the pool clean…buy catfish.

Yes, that’s right. In one Florida town, they are using catfish to keep swimming pools clean in foreclosed homes. The city was spending almost $7,000 per month of taxpayer funds on chemicals to clean pools until they had the bright idea to use algae-eating fish instead. Apparently, it’s working. They use 15 catfish in a single pool to keep the water sanitary and avoid health hazards. The creatures are much cheaper, and they keep the pool looking attractive for future home buyers.

So, if you’re looking for another expense to cut until the economy recovers, fire the pool guy and buy a few catfish. They not only clean your pool, but they also could become your new pet. And if you ever get hungry, you can just go fishing in your own backyard — catfish for dinner, yum! The benefits just keep adding up!

If your week has been half as bad as mine, then you probably need a good laugh. Look no further than PeopleOfWalMart.com. The site was founded in August of 2009 by three friends after an inspirational trip to WalMart.

If you’ve ever been to a WalMart store, you will get the joke. All of us have seen those people who are a walking advertisement for “what not to wear.” The people who didn’t look in the mirror before going to the store or who just didn’t care enough to get dressed before they left the house. I don’t know why, but it seems that a lot of those people shop at WalMart. Apparently the founders of PeopleOfWalMart.com also noticed the same phenomenon and decided to create a website to honor those crazy shoppers.

Check out the “sweet undies” example below and then head over to the POWM site for a few more laughs.

They’ve been the butt of many jokes, but now they’re taking over! Snuggies are everywhere, and they seem to have taken on a cult-like status. Over four million have been sold. There are 250 Snuggies groups on Facebook — one even boasts more than 6,000 members! The cheesy infomercial has been parodied hundreds of times on YouTube. There’s even a “Cult of Snuggie” video which has garnered over 400,000 views. Unbelievable!

Now, the madness is continuing with a newly announced extension of the product line. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Anne Flynn, director of marketing for the company explained, “The original Snuggie blanket was such a success, we decided to extend the product line to include the entire family, which, for many of us, means a dog.”

She claim that dogs need to stay comfy on their morning walks and cold winter evenings. So they designed a special Snuggie just for your canine companion. This new Snuggie retains the look, fabric, and label of the original, but it accommodates four legs and secures like a coat so dogs can walk comfortably.

Snuggie for dogs is available online and comes in four sizes — extra-small, small, medium, and large. It costs 14.95 and comes with a few extra goodies thrown in for “free.” It also comes with another campy commercial.

Now the cult followers can snap photos of themselves and their dogs wearing their Snuggies for the online photo album. Check it out; it’s hilarious!

Everyone knows the traditional definition of the mile high club, but now there may be a new one. Airline passengers are starting a new trend by grabbing their cameras and capturing pictures of their reflections in the lavatory mirrors while in flight. It may not be as fun as the original mile high club, but it’s definitely an easier task to accomplish.

Some people hold their noses in the pictures, making fun of the strange odors that always seem to reside in that small, cramped space. Others give their best “myspace” pose or take pictures of the objects in the lavatory. Then, they post the pictures online for others to enjoy.

Passengers aren’t the only ones getting involved in the action. Pilots and flight attendants are playing along too. Laviating is what flight attendant Heather Poole calls it. She says it’s a play on the word aviator, and people who photograph themselves in the airplane lavatory are labeled “laviators.”

Heather also writes a blog on Gadling, and she has started her own collection of mile high headshots from laviators. She’s looking for more people to join the club, so the next time you’re in a plane and bored just grab your camera and head to the lavatory for a quick photoshoot. When you land, send your pics to Heather, and she’ll add ‘em to her growing collection.

Not sure how to take a good self portrait? Check out these great tips, then check out Heather’s blog and Laviators Club pics. For more laviators, you can also check out pics on Flickr.