Craving some speedy, accurately prepared, clearly enunciated junk food with a typographically proper menu? QSR has released their yearly Best Drive Thru rankings, with reports for speed of service, order accuracy, speaker clarity, and menuboard appearance. Overall description of the survey, survey questions and demographics, and Methodology (via the consumerist and chicago trib)
posted by aerotive on Oct 3, 2009 - 39 comments

Fast Food Apartheid: The Los Angeles City Council has placed a one-year moratorium on the opening of fast-food restaurants in sections of the city with low-income residents. The council says it's meant to encourage healthy fare in locations that lack ready access to supermarkets and healthy restaurant. This columnist calls it "fast food apartheid." We're not talking anymore about preaching diet and exercise, disclosing calorie counts, or restricting sodas in schools. We're talking about banning the sale of food to adults. Treating French fries like cigarettes or liquor.
posted by Cool Papa Bell on Jul 31, 2008 - 282 comments

Since 1997 ThrustSSC holds the World Record for land speed, going as far as to officially break the sound barrier - something that the Budweiser Rocket claimed doing much earlier, but under unoffical circumstances - or outright suspicion and disbelief. With Thrust SSC looking like something out of a Podracer lineup, the inboard and outboard video is something to behold. While workman-like and almost boring in calculated precision, it can get hairy. [more inside]
posted by loquacious on Jun 4, 2008 - 25 comments

"After a period of collective indigestion induced by the 2004 documentary Super Size Me and the 2001 book Fast Food Nation and its subsequent film adaptation, much of the industry is returning to its traditional customers—men—and its traditional food—meat—served up in ever-greater quantities. Although CKE's signature behemoths—the Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger and Hardee's Monster Thickburger, both introduced in 2004—out-calorie all comers, Burger King narrowed the gap with its Triple Whopper With Cheese (2005); Wendy's unveiled the Baconator (2007)...and Taco Bell awakened the industry to new possibilities with its 2006 campaign, which urged customers to enjoy a "fourth meal" each day."
posted by Pater Aletheias on Jun 1, 2008 - 89 comments

Fasting may be the remedy for jet lag. By overiding your clock (audio interview 12 min) that prepares your body to eat, it is likely that you can reset your body's clock. Might this be the missing step in training yourself to be an early riser? via
posted by bigmusic on May 23, 2008 - 22 comments

Use everyone's logic and vocabulary skills to figure out what the secret word is.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 20, 2007 - 27 comments

Can you name all the books of the bible? How about all fifty U.S. states? Every U.S. president? All the Academy Awards Best Picture winners since 1927? And can you do it in under two minutes? embedded Google video
posted by zardoz on Jun 13, 2007 - 25 comments

"I'm not from here, so when I was told that what these boys do in the fields makes 'em fast, I didn't believe it." Welcome to Muck City.
posted by kyleg on Apr 16, 2007 - 17 comments

Go faster, shoot tankers (flash)
posted by klangklangston on Apr 6, 2007 - 20 comments

Finger tapping is a very fast guitar technique in which the picking hand is used to "tap" individual notes on the fretboard, while the fretting hand can either remain stationary or be used to do hammer-ons/pull-offs to create even faster playing. Popularized in rock music by Eddie van Halen (YT, great visual example) in the late 1970's, the technique has become almost essential for speed/metal guitar players. Although finger tapping has been dismissed as "wankery" by some, I think that the intense, jazzy stylings of Stanley Jordan prove them wrong. (here is Stanley playing two guitars!) For more tapping madness you can enjoy the furious, virtuous insanity of Dragonforce (full video), and be sure not to miss the speed genius of Mr. Batio. Tapping isn't just for metal though, you can do it on a bass or an acoustic (amazing video).

Want to learn how? This lesson should get you started.
posted by baphomet on Dec 21, 2006 - 117 comments

Metal Storm Limited specializes in weapon systems featuring rapid fire electronically fired bullets, up to 1 million a minute. The weapons platform can be used to make the worlds strongest handgun as well as be used to equip unmanned drones with firepower. The most frightening of which is perhaps the "dragonfly" micro copter. Their site has a number of videos showcasing some of the various weapons applications. Metal Storm has been around for a while, without getting a product to market, but with a recent influx of funding it doesn't look like they are going to go out of business any time soon.
posted by reverendX on Jul 10, 2006 - 50 comments

Feel the need for speed? Dodge Tomahawk motorcycle. 0-60MPH in 2.5 seconds and top speed 300+ MPH. Maverick from Top Gun woulda loved one of these. (Flash intro with rather loud music)
posted by RonZ on Sep 14, 2005 - 50 comments

Everybody loves to hate the Arby's oven mitt. A slightly crazed version of mitt-hate. An editorial on how the commercials could have been amusing, but instead fell flat. Finally, scary stuff you can buy from Arby's (link on the left nav, can't link directly).
posted by tb0n3 on Dec 1, 2004 - 43 comments

Fast for George W. Bush. "If you are willing to fast at least one day a month primarily for George W. Bush's holiness (and other areas, such as bipartisan work among the Democrats and Republicans, Wisdom in his work, wisdom for his cabinet, healing for our nation, etc. ... but primarily holiness) then we encourage you to sign up and join us [...] Our goal is to have 1,000 people fasting for the President each day. That will greatly encourage him and keep him accountable when the Evil One seeks to sidetrack him from his commitment to the Lord. "
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Feb 24, 2003 - 92 comments