What Caught My Eye Today - Google, Colombia, Brazil, Zippers

Fred's Note: In honor of April Fool's Day, we lighten up the mood a bit and mix it up with items of a more esoteric nature (especially true of our fourth item).

Google - Every year, Google goes all out for April Fools’ Day. The company not only pulls together more jokes than all the other tech giants, but the company makes a point to outdo itself too. Geek on, my friends, geek on! Among the gags that Google came out with this year:

• Google Maps Treasure Mode (click here) - Google has created a new treasure map mode on Google Maps. Personally, I prefer the 2D version they had in 2012, but the instructional video for this one is still worth checking out. 
• YouTube is closing - Apparently all this time the site has been an eight-year contest, the goal of which was to find the best video ever created. Google says it has 30,000 technicians working on narrowing down the list. It has even managed to get YouTube celebrities and film reviewers on board to participate in the prank. This has the be the cream of this year's crop and one of the all-time greats in Google's pranking history. Simply brilliant.
• Google Nose (click here) - Google Nose is a new service that lets you search to find out what your queries smell like. Vintage Google on this gag. The banality in which they describe the service is what makes it so good. In every way (other than the obvious) it looks like a legitimate service.
• Gmail Blue (click here) - Google has made everything blue in Gmail . All characters, buttons, and menus are now blue. The video is priceless (nice cameo appearance to boot) and you know what, it doesn't look half bad.
• Google Wallet Mobile ATM (click here) - Google Wallet Mobile ATM is a device that attaches to your smartphone after which it “dispenses money instantly and effortlessly. Where do I sign?

Colombia - Two spectators were gored to death and dozens injured at a bullfight in northern Colombia.  Unlike Spanish bullfights, in which a single matador in the ring faces down a bull and kills it, Colombian bullfights allow spectators to run or ride horseback around the ring. The bulls are not killed, but spectators often are. While there is little risk in diluting the gene pool with this lot, you have applaud them for their sense of fair play. Going mano a mano with a bull might not be the smartest idea, but bravo for leveling the playing field.

Brazil - Domestic workers in Brazil now have the same rights as other workers.  I think that we should take a moment and give ourselves a hand.  Its only 13 years into the twenty-first century, and we finally seem to be making some real progress on this whole indentured servitude thing. Well done, everyone. A recently passed law gives the nation's estimated 7 million maids and cooks the right to be paid overtime if they work more than eight hours a day or 44 hours a week. Middle class Brazilian families have traditionally had a daily maid to do all the housework and laundry, but many have cut back in recent years as maids' wages rose. Alas, as is the case with some many things, progress doesn't come without consequence. The mental image of the middle class making its bed and doing its own laundry, is almost more than I can bear.

Zippers - Despite the fact that it is April Fools Day, I swear this is a legitimate story. Over the past decade, more than 17,500 people in the United States - mostly men - have sought emergency room treatment after trapping their genitals in the teeth of their trouser zippers. Occasionally, a zipper injury requires surgery, including unwanted circumcision. I'm thinking the public humiliation would be far worse  than surgery, but maybe that's just me. More often  the biggest risk is infection by the multitude of bacteria that a penis tends to harbor. It's a wonder the ladies want to come anywhere near us men. Wearing underwear and avoiding distractions while zipping can help prevent an accident. One would sort of assume this sort of advice would be self-evident. For those who do get stuck, the key is not to panic. Yet more pearls of wisdom. If easing the zipper down doesn't work, seek professional help. Great idea. There is no standard medical procedure for freeing sufferers.  You don't say. Current methods employ everything from mineral oil to screwdrivers and wire cutters. Let me ask you this. After shredding your junk in a zipper, do you really want to subject it to more sharp or pointed objects?