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From the Camp Bonifas wiki article:

Camp Bonifas^[2] is a Republic of Korea Army post (with a small United States Army force of the United States Forces Korea present) located 400 meters from the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone and 2400 meters from the military demarcation line, within the Joint Security Area and Panmunjom, along the Military Demarcation Line, which forms the border between South Korea (the Republic of Korea) and North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).

Camp Bonifas is home to the United Nations Command Security Battalion – Joint Security Area, whose primary mission is to monitor and enforce the Armistice agreement of 1953 between North and South Korea. South Korean and American soldiers (known as “security escorts”) conduct the United Nations Commander DMZ Orientation Program tours of the JSA and surrounding areas. The camp has a gift shop which sells DMZ- and JSA-related souvenirs.

There is a par 3 one-hole “golf course” at Camp Bonifas which includes an Astroturf green and is surrounded on three sides by minefields.^[3] Sports Illustrated called it “the most dangerous hole in golf” and there are reports that at least one shot exploded a land mine.^[3]

From the Klong Prem Central prison wiki page:

Klong Prem Central prison is a high-security prison in Bangkok, Thailand. The prison has several separate sections. The greater complex houses up to 20,000 inmates. Within the complex perimeter are the Women’s Central Prison (often referred to as “Lard Yao” or “Lard Yao women’s prison”), the Central Correction Institution for Drug Addicts (Bambat Phiset), Bangkok Special Prison, and Central Correctional Hospital. Bambat Phiset Prison caters specifically for drug addicts. Visiting rules and times vary and international visitors have some special privleges.

The Lard Yao men’s section takes custody of male offenders whose sentence term is not over 25 years. As of 2002 the men’s section holds 1,158 foreigners out of a total of 7,218 prisoners from 56 countries.^[1]

History

Klong Prem Central prison was originally a temporary prison established in 1944 in the Lard Yao district as a consequence of demands during World War Two when Thailand was at war with Britain and the United States.^[2] In 1959 it was used as a vocational training centre for those, in the words of the Thai corrections department, “who act and behave as gangsters”.^[3]

Prison World Cup

With some many foreign nationals the prison holds a soccer world cup.^[1] Teams of 10 are chosen by prison staff to represent Nigeria, Japan, the U.S., Italy, France, England, Germany and Thailand.^[1] Games comprise two 20-minute halves on an approximately half-sized pitch. The winners are given a copy of the real World Cup trophy made of wood in the prison workshop.^[1]

From the MC Hammer wiki article:

Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), best known by his stage names MC Hammer, Hammer and Hammertime, is a multi-platinum selling MC, entertainer and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame before losing a majority of his fortune, he is also known for his successful hit records, flamboyant dance techniques and trademark Hammer pants.

Burrell was born in Oakland, California. He grew up with his mother, a secretary, and eight siblings in a cramped apartment in a very rough section of East Oakland. If the baseball enthusiast wasn’t dancing in the Oakland Coliseum parking lot with a beatbox blaring, Burrell was selling stray baseballs. It was there that then Oakland A’s team owner Charles O. Finley spotted the 11-year-old Burrell doing splits and was impressed enough to invite him to a game, employ him as an office assistant and name him honorary Vice President.^[4]

Because of the success of the Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em album, Hammer had amassed approximately $33 million (USD).

$12 million of this total was used to have his home built in Fremont, California, 30 miles (50 km) south of where he grew up. Among the documented features this house had included:

• Recording studio
• 33 seat theater with stadium seating
• 2 swimming pools (one indoor/one outdoor)
• Tennis courts and a baseball diamond
• Waterfalls, ponds, and aquariums
• Mirrored Bathroom (at least $75,000 (£35,000) in mirrors throughout the house)
• $2 Million of Italian marble floors and a floor-to-ceiling gray marble office with customized marble niches for awards.
• Marble countertops in the kitchen (the house was heavily decorated in marble)
• A stop sign with “Hammertime!” engraved in to it, in reference to the song that made him famous
• Massive gold and black marble jacuzzi in the master bedroom
• Basketball courts
• Bowling alley
• 17 car garage
• Two gold-plated “Hammertime” gates for entrance to the property
• A dishwasher installed in his master bedroom for the purpose of “cleaning up after a midnight snack”

He additionally spent his fortune on:

• A fleet of 17 automobiles, including a Lamborghini, a stretch limousine, a Range Rover, and a De Lorean.
• Two helicopters.
• The huge entourage of over 300 people, most of whom were on his payroll, for total monthly wages of $500,000. This “posse” ended up contributing to some of his financial decline, as well as lower-selling albums that followed. He openly declared many of these people he tried to help out, were never really his true friends and were in it for the money and fame. This was mentioned not only in numerous interviews, but in his 1995 album bio as well.
• Leased Boeing 727.

From the Murderabilia wiki article:

Murderabilia, also known as murderbilia and serial killer art, is a term identifying collectibles related to murders, murderers or other violent crimes, coined by Andy Kahan, director of the Houston-based Mayor’s Crime Victims Office.^[1][2]

This is a very controversial area of the collecting world, as evidenced by the public backlash to the idea of selling and/or profiting from violent crimes. Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting, or restricting such actions.

An example of controversy arising from the sale of murderabilia is when the artwork of a serial killer was sold online in Massachusetts. Lawmakers proposed to block the activity, setting off a debate on free speech rights of prisoners.^{[3][dead link]}Another example is that of Wayne Lo, an American school shooter, who caused controversy after it was found that he was selling his artwork on a website.

John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, and Henry Lee Lucas are a few of the better known American serial killer artists. Perry Smith, the mass murderer known from Truman Capote’s famous nonfiction work In Cold Blood, was also a prolific artist.

Collectors typically must have direct contact to obtain and authenticate this art. The actual pieces can sell for large sums of money depending on the individual artist, and their notoriety through serial killing. There are a few collectors who have sites dedicated to their collection, such as Serial killers ink^[4] Prison Bound Serial Killers,^[5] and Redrum Autographs,^[6]

From the GG Allin wiki article:

Kevin Michael “GG” Allin (August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock singer-songwriter who performed and recorded with many punk-rock groups during his career.

Allin is best remembered for his notorious live performances that typically featured wildly transgressive acts such as Allin defecating and urinating onstage, rolling in feces and often consuming excrement, committing self-injury, performing naked, and committing violent actions toward the audience—often doing many of these things simultaneously. Although more notorious for his stage antics than for his wide body of music, he recorded prolifically, not only in the punk rock genre, but also in spoken word, country and Rolling Stones-influenced rock.

Life

Childhood

GG was born as Jesus Christ Allin at Weeks Memorial Hospital in Lancaster, New Hampshire. He was given this messianic name because his father, Merle Colby Allin, Sr., told his young wife, Arleta Gunther, that Jesus Christ Himself had visited him and told him that his newborn son would be a great and all powerful man in the vein of the Messiah.^[5][2]

As a young child, his older brother Merle Allin, Jr. was unable to pronounce “Jesus” properly and kept calling him “Jeje”, which became “GG”. The family lived in a log cabin with no water or electricity. Allin’s father, who forbade all conversation in the home after dark, was a religious fanatic and an antisocial man, and was allegedly violent towards his wife and children, though GG himself never used this as an excuse for any of his own eccentricities.

Last days and death

In his last show the power went out during the second song, after which he trashed the venue and walked the streets of New York naked and covered in blood and feces, surrounded by fans whom he openly embraced.^[13] On VH1’s Freakiest Concert Moments, Allin’s final show ranked at number four.

At his funeral, Allin’s bloated, discolored corpse was dressed in his black leather jacket and trademark jock strap. He had a bottle of Jim Beam beside him in his casket, per his wishes (openly stated in his self-penned acoustic country ballad, “When I Die”). As part of his brother’s request, the mortician was instructed not to wash the corpse (which smelled strongly of feces), or apply any makeup. The funeral became a wild party. Friends posed with the corpse, placing drugs and whiskey into its mouth. As the funeral ended, his brother put a pair of headphones on Allin. The headphones were plugged into a portable cassette player, in which was loaded a copy of The Suicide Sessions. The video of his funeral is widely available for purchase, and is an extra feature on the Hated DVD and some bootleg VHS tapes.^[14]

From the Pringles wiki article:

Pringles is a brand of potato chip produced by Procter & Gamble. Pringles are sold in over 30 countries and have yearly sales of over $1 billion.^[1]

Beginnings

Even though the Pringles brand of potato chips was first sold in the United States in October 1968, this product was not rolled out across America until the mid-1970s.^[2] They were originally known as “Pringle’s Newfangled Potato Chips”, but the name was slightly altered for introduction to the national market. Procter & Gamble chose the “Pringles” name from a Cincinnati telephone book, having been inspired by the street name of Pringle Drive in Finneytown, Ohio, simply due to its pleasing sound.^[3] The original Pringles television commercials were written, produced and directed by Thomas Scott Cadden (composer of the original Mr. Clean Jingle) in 1968, while working at Tatham-Laird and Kudner Advertising Agency in Chicago.

Recipe

According to the patent, Pringles were invented by Alexander Liepa of Montgomery, Ohio.^[4] Science-fiction and fantasy author Gene Wolfe developed the machine that cooks them.^[5]

Pringles have less than fifty-percent potato content.^[6]

Pringles container uses

Because of the metallic interior and long, tubular shape, the cans have been used to make Wi-Fi network antennas, known as cantennas.^[14]

Cans can also be used to make “cannons,” or “poppers,” by putting a round hole in the bottom end of the can and blowing hard. A loud popping sound will be made as the lid flies off. When filled with little bits of paper, the paper shoots out like confetti when the lid flies off.

The popular newspaper comic Dilbert references a use for the Pringles can. Dilbert rolls up his clothing in a Pringles tube so he can change clothes at work without having to drive home.

Pringles containers can also be used to hold up to three tennis balls. This similarity of shape was the subject of a joke by Mitch Hedberg, who speculated that tennis balls were what Pringles had originally intended to make.

From the Domo-kun wiki article:

Domo (Dōmo-kun^?) is the mascot of Japan’s NHK television station, appearing in several 30 second stop-motion sketches shown as station identification during shows.

Domo, the main character, is described as “a strange creature that hatched from an egg.” ^[5] Domo’s favorite food is Japanese-style meat and potato stew, and he has a strong dislike for apples, because of an unexplained mystery in his DNA. Domo can only communicate via producing a low-pitched noise which sounds somewhat like his own name, but other characters appear to understand him. Domo-kun is known to pass gas repeatedly when nervous or upset. ^[5]

Domo lives in an underground cave with Mr. Usaji ^[6][5], known in Japanese-language versions as Usajii, a portmanteau of the words usagi, (rabbit), and jii (old man, grandpa). Mr. Usaji is a wise old rabbit who loves to watch television and drink astringent green tea. Mr. Usaji is not into any “new” materials, and does not own a telephone. In terms of fashion, Mr. Usaji focuses on materials instead of shapes. Mr. Usaji’s favorite food is carrots, and his least favorite food is “something that is meaningless.”

Also in the cave live two bats, a mother named Maya ^[6] (Shinobu in the Japanese version) and her child Mario (Morio in the Japanese version). Maya has a drinking problem; her favorite foods are seasonal while her least favorite food is, ironically, alcohol. Mario’s favorite food is Japanese-style tomato spaghetti, while his least favorite food is shiitake mushrooms.^[6][5]

The other main character in the shorts is a weasel girl named Tashanna ^{[6] [5]} (Tā-chan in the Japanese version). Tashanna, 17 years old, is a weasel who aspires to be a fashion stylist or model in Tokyo and is always using technology (televisions, mobile phones, and cameras).  According to the English site, she is also looking for a boyfriend. Tashanna’s favorite food is apricot and mint tarts, and her least favorite food is sea urchin. ^[5] The Japanese name originates from the word “multichannel” (, tachanneru^?) of digital broadcasting.

Hungry Bear (Harapekoguma^?), a large and powerful bear, feels too hungry to take advantage of his strength.^[5]

The Ghost (Hyūtarou^?) randomly appears and disappears.^[5][7]

From the Katzenklavier wiki article:

A cat piano or Katzenklavier (German) is a musical instrument designed by Athanasius Kircher. It consists of a line of cats fixed in place with their tails stretched out underneath a keyboard. Nails would be placed under the keys, causing the cats to cry out in pain when a key was pressed. The cats would be arranged according to the natural tone of their voices.

The instrument was described by German physician Johann Christian Reil (1759-1813) for the purpose of treating patients who had lost the ability to focus their attention. Reil believed that if they were forced to see and listen to this instrument, it would inevitably capture their attention and they would be cured (Richards, 1998).

This instrument was also described by the French writer Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin in his book Musiciana, extraits d’ouvrages rare ou bizarre (Musiciana, descriptions of rare or bizarre inventions):

When the King of Spain Felipe II was in Brussels in 1549 visiting his brother the Emperor Charles V, each saw the other rejoicing at the sight of a completely singular procession. At the head marched an enormous bull whose horns were burning, between which there was also a small devil. Behind the bull a young boy sewn into a bear skin ride on a horse whose ears and tail were cut off. Then came the archangel Saint Michael in bright clothing, and carrying a balance in his hand.

The most curious was on a chariot that carried the most singular music that can be imagined. It held a bear that played the organ; instead of pipes, there were sixteen cat heads each with its body confined; the tails were sticking out and were held to be played as the strings on a piano, if a key was pressed on the keyboard, the corresponding tail would be pulled hard, and it would produce each time a lamentable meow. The historian Juan Christoval Calvete, noted the cats were arranged properly to produce a succession of notes from the octave… (chromatically, I think).

This abominable orchestra arranged itself inside a theater where monkeys, wolves, deer and other animals danced to the sounds of this infernal music.^[1]

From the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon wiki article:

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon occurs when a person, after having learned some (usually obscure) fact, word, phrase, or other item for the first time, encounters that item again, perhaps several times, shortly after having learned it. This is a specialised version of the effect of serendipity.

The “Baader-Meinhof phenomenon” was coined by a reader of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Terry Mullen. The Minnesota newspaper runs a daily column called “Bulletin Board,” for which readers, using pseudonyms (in this case it was ‘Gigetto on Lincoln’), submit humorous or interesting anecdotes. The term was coined when Mullen submitted a story around 1986,^[1] about how he first heard about the terrorist group known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang and then heard about it again a short while later from a different source.

Readers suddenly piled on with their own versions of the phenomenon, which quickly came to be known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. Today, all similar stories are published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Bulletin Board under the heading “Baader Meinhof Phenomenon.”

Editors of the section distinguish between “Baader-Meinhof” and “Joy of Juxtaposition,” as related categories. A B-M, as it’s popularly named, requires that the item not be seasonal, e.g. two references to St Nicholas in December, and not be especially commonplace. Technically, a B-M occurs in a 24 hour space, although there can be some leeway on this requirement. When readers submit a possible B-M, the editors rule on its acceptability. Their ruling cannot be appealed.

According to social scientist Brian Townsend, this ‘phenomenon’ is a result of our limited perception of our surroundings. Take the concept of Schadenfreude, which is a German word for “taking joy in the misfortune of others”. This concept is discussed periodically in mainstream media and other sources. If one does not know what it is, and has no intention of learning what it is, one may hear the term and easily forget about it, as it does not ‘fit’ into the person’s conceptions of reality. They may even rationalize that they heard a different word. However, once the person understands what the concept means, they will then notice it when the concept comes up in day-to-day life. It is a logical error to assume that because one has learned of the concept, now the world is talking about it. Rather it is much more correct to assume that before understanding the concept, the person made few or no memories concerning the concept, as it was outside the realm of their understanding.

From the Mitsuo Matayoshi wiki article:

Mitsuo Matayoshi is a Japanese politician, self-styled as The only God Mitsuo Matayoshi Jesus Christ or Jesus Matayoshi. He is the leader of the World Economic Community Party.

His concept is both religious and political, a mix of Christian eschatology like Augustine’s De civitas Dei and modern political moralistic conservatism. According to his program he will do the Last Judgement as the Christ but the way to do this is totally within the current political system and its legitimacy. His first step as the Savior is to be appointed the prime minister of Japan. Then he will reform Japanese society and then the United Nations should offer him the honor of its General Secretary. Then Matayoshi Jesus will reign over the whole world with two legitimate authorities, not only religious but also political. He won’t allow any nation to place their army outsides of its border, hence the USA should withdraw their army from all overseas positions, including Okinawa. After his Judgment he will throw out those who make the current world corrupted into the Fire (see Revelation).

He has presented himself in many elections but he has not won yet. He has become well-known for his eccentric campaigns where he urges opponents to commit suicide by hara-kiri (disembowelment, note that he avoids the more polite seppuku) and says that he will cast them into Gehenna. Like most Japanese politicians, he campaigns in a single small regulation size mini-van fitted with oversized loudspeakers. Unlike most however, he blasts his campaign slogans in a ridiculous, stylized, kabuki-inspired voice.