There's a high tendency for people in my apartment complex to park illegally just to "run in for a second," even when there's an open space not 12 feet away. Of course, "a second" is frequently a loose translation of "10 minutes," during which time they block others from leaving.

I've noticed this phenomenon more and more in parking lots everywhere I go, indicating a widespread, misguided belief that there's some individual time allotment to park illegally, not to mention the pervasive misconception that turning on one's hazard lights negates the law.

So, in a comical fit of annoyance last night, I whipped up this informative flowchart for these misguided parkers.

As Arizona celebrates its 100th year of statehood this month, The Arizona Republic has chosen to mark the occasion by choosing Weird Arizona as its book of the month for February!

The 14th officially marks the Copper State's centennial, and I am honored to have one of my books mentioned in conjunction with the celebration. As the Republic explains, "with all the official observations and speeches, we thought it might be good to remember it isn't all solemnity and that Arizona's weirdness goes way back."

Please take a moment to read Richard Nilsen's terrific review.

I don't think it will ever become a beloved roadside attraction like The World's Largest Ball of Twine, but one man has certainly earned his place in the record books by creating the largest ever ball of chewed nicotine gum.

Let's ignore the fact that the reported 95,200 pieces that make up the ball divided by 6 years of collecting equals more than 43 pieces of gum per day, and the fact that he's kept that habit up for 9 years on top of that, and the fact that he has to heat piles of the stuff in a sauna to soften it up for addition to the sphere ...

... no, never mind. I can't ignore that. Blech.

The 1964 Cadillac hearse that carried the body of President John F. Kennedy after his assassination, mentioned in a post last week, sold over the weekend for $160,000. (Video below.)

The hearse was made famous when it transported the body of John F. Kennedy, and his wife Jacqueline, from Parkland Memorial Hospital to Dallas Love Field, where Air Force One was parked.

The vehicle's seller previously put the vehicle up for auction in 2007 with a reserve price of $1 million, but the bid reached only $900,000 before auction's end. Of course, that still would have been $740,000 more than what it earned on Saturday.

In retrospect, that makes it an absolute steal for Saturday's winning bidder, Stephen Tebo, who says he plans to display the hearse in a yet-to-be-built car museum along with 400 other vehicles he already owns. Tebo expects to open the museum in the Boulder, Colorado, area in about 10 years. ... Continued