Photo

Web Surfing

Barbara McGuire
Published: Thursday, May 31, 2001

www.bushorchimp.com

The age-old question of whether the human species evolved from lower primates may now be answered thanks to good ol’ George W. Bush. Though the president hasn’t actually funded any research in these studies, a clever Web site creator has taken it upon himself to point out the striking similarities between George W. and chimpanzees on www.bushorchimp.com. Bill Feldspar, the brains behind the site, claims that his site is not in anyway meant to be anti-Republican or even anti-Bush – he just wanted to point out the remarkable resemblance between these two mammals. Likewise, visitors to the site need not be fans or haters of President Bush – everyone will likely find the photographs funny. What Feldspar has done, quite successfully, is pair up photographs of Bush in various poses with photographs of chimpanzees in similar forms. Users get shots of Bush with various facial expressions, paired with chimpanzees making almost exactly the same faces. The resemblance is uncanny. Bush yawning looks exactly like an ape yawning. Even a photo of Bush flashing his pearly whites has a matching, and equally amusing, chimpanzee counterpart. Only one photo of Bush rests solo on the page without a twin, because according to Feldspar, he couldn’t find a chimp making an equally dumb face. It makes site goers wonder, who is the more evolved species? In addition to getting a great laugh from the plethora of photos, users can also purchase a T-shirt designed with their choice of images. Though the options aren’t as plentiful as the rest of the site, there is most likely a future favorite T-shirt for every visitor. An especially amusing design is one with Bush wearing a cowboy hat, paired with a Curious George stuffed animal in a Western outfit. Here, just the photo of Bush would be enough to evoke laughs out of a site user. For those visitors who don’t have the $16.99 to purchase a shirt, worry not, the site won’t let them leave empty handed. Also available is a free downloadable desktop image or screen saver featuring Bush and his chimpanzee friends. So whether or not www.bushorchimp.com provides conclusive answers to the evolutionary question (really, it doesn’t), site goers can still have a blast as they search the site for clues.

Barbara McGuire Rating: 9

Am I Going Down?

www.amigoingdown.com

With the summer only three short weeks away, many students are probably in the midst of planning a great, relaxing vacation – hopefully to somewhere other than Los Angeles. For those planning a trip that requires boarding an airplane, a visit to www.amigoingdown.com might be a necessary addition to their to-do list. This helpful, yet somewhat pessimistic site, has users type in their flight information, such as destination, airline and month, and then calculates this all together and pumps out a “personalized mortality statistic.” This number represents a user’s chance of dying mid-flight on their specific trip. Not too cheery, especially with the added commentary that may say something like, “That’s a little worse than usual for this route.” With advice like that, users may want to change airlines, or maybe even the month they are planning their vacation. If it could lower the statistics, why not? Looks like that vacation may not be so relaxing. Nervous flyers may not find the statistics entirely promising, but for those white-knuckled passengers, amigoingdown.com also provides references to self-help flight fear books, as well as their own “handy hints.” These tips recommend that travelers choose the largest plane possible, pick non-stop flights, listen to the pre-flight safety demonstration and always keep their seat belt tightly fastened. This area of the site also clues users in to the various causes of plane crashes. Site goers can learn about the related death statistics for each cause, such as turbulence, which has only killed 20 passengers and four crew members since 1980 – not too shabby. While the already paranoid may not find a friend in www.amigoingdown, many other curious and non-intimidated flyers will enjoy the site’s frank and straightforward nature, in addition to its helpful hints.

Barbara McGuire Rating: 7