Whether or not we like it, mascots are here to stay, no matter how stupid or creepy they may be. However, there are actually some cool ones out there. I admit, I had a tough time narrowing down the list to just 9. Here are three that didn’t make the cut, and then the list starts with number 9…

12.) McGruff the Crime Dog

11.) Chester Cheetah

10.) Michelin Man

9.) Tony the Tiger

Why he’s cool:
Tony is such a happy-go-lucky guy, how can he not be cool? Tigers as a whole are cool animals. Tigers that eat cereal are even cooler. Besides, if Tony the Tiger wear a freakin’ ascot that has his own name on it. If that doesn’t scream cool, then what does?

8.) Cool Spot

Why he’s cool:
This late 1980′s mascot for 7 Up just oozes cool. Cool is in his own name! Mr. Spot even had two video games created that starred him. The first game even won an award! Cool Spot seems like that guy at the pool or beach that attracts all the hot girls in bikinis and sips on pina coladas. It’s a shame that he isn’t seen much anymore.

7.) Energizer Bunny

So cool that he has a float!

6.) Cap’n Crunch

Wouldn't you want this guy to be your father?

5.) Taco Bell Chihuahua

Why she’s cool:
Perhaps one of the most beloved fast food icons in recent memory, the Taco Bell Chihuahua radiated cool. The dog, named Gidget, did something not many chihuahuas could do – look important. Just ask anyone who was around during that time and ask them to tell you one thing about Taco Bell. Chances are, they will answer about the dog.

4.) M&M’s – Red and Yellow

Why they’re cool:
These two candies are the perfect compliments to each other. Yellow is always a happy guy while Red is more cynical of things, like Santa. What about them makes them cool? Their conversations with each other, of course. Whenever you get one cynic and one gullible personality together in the same room, hilarity ensues. And as everyone knows, humor is cool.

3.) Toucan Sam

Why he’s cool:
Toucan Sam is probably my favorite mascot out of everyone on this list. Like tigers, toucans are cool animals. They are full of color and vibrance. He’s well-liked by many; it’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like Toucan Sam. Every time you hear the word “toucan,” you’ll undoubtedly think of Toucan Sam. It’s ingrained in our nature. That’s what makes this bird so damn cool.

2.) GEICO Gecko

Why he’s cool:
Geckos are awesome. British accents are awesome. Geckos that speak in British accents are even more awesome.

1.) Dos Equis Man (The Most Interesting Man in the World)

He lives vicariously...through himself!

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Originally Published June 16, 2009.

There comes a time when a new fad sweeps the nation and sometimes the world. More often than not, these fads disappear as quickly as they came, leaving only the people who came up with the idea swimming in millions of dollars in profit. It makes you think “Why didn’t I think of that?” Well you didn’t – yet. After reading through these ideas, maybe inspiration will come and you’ll become a millionaire.

1.) Pet Rock

Could you take care of this family?

2.) Snuggie/Slanket

Snuggies are one of the newest fads for the new millennium. Also known as Slankets, the Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves to cover your arms. The advertisement for the Snuggie shows a woman so cold and so confused by her current blanket that she has to use a Snuggie. While there has been a show of strong support for the Snuggie, evidenced by fan pages on Facebook, detractors comment that it is just a backwards coat or robe. Sales of the Snuggie and Slanket have reached over 5 million units and counting. Wish you would have thought of it? Check out the Snuggie commercial.

3.) Big Mouth Billy Bass

Remember walking in the store and then all of a sudden you hear someone saying “Don’t Worry, Be Happy?” It’s not someone, it’s…a fish talking, err singing, to you. Big Mouth Billy Bass was the original singing fish that eventually spawned other singing creatures such as the singing deer, the singing great white shark, and the singing lobster in the 90s. There’s no doubt that you knew someone who had this product. Eventually, the singing bass product craze fizzled out, but you can still find them around on eBay and in garage sales everywhere.

4.) Bottled Water

I think I'll just use the tap, thanks

5.) Plastic Fake Wishbones

You know the story. It’s Thanksgiving and you split the wishbone, only to find out you lost. Bummer. Wait til’ next year. Well those days are over now because if you lose, you can whip out a fake plastic wishbone and keep trying until you win (at $3 a bone). Question: does your wish still come true after you’ve lost a couple of times in a row beforehand? Plastic wishbones, coming to a Thanksgiving dinner near you! Get these products before they run out for Thanksgiving.

6.) Doggles

Self-explanatory

Images Sources:

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Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Being the day after Thanksgiving, it is usually one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with stores opening in the wee hours of the morning to sell stuff that you already saw for 10 months straight. People line up for blocks waiting for the doors to open to attempt to be the first one to buy that new HD TV on “sale.” Here are 7 things that are guaranteed to happen during the madness that is Black Friday.

1.) Stampedes and Long Lines

Yes, stampedes. People will gather together in a giant herd just grazing in the parking lot, but when the store opens its doors, they will become a giant crazed stampede of bargain shoppers. The stampedes are becoming so dangerous that a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death in 2008 when he opened up the doors. It’s eerily similar to the scene in The Lion King when Mufasa dies saving Simba.

This scene did not make the final film

2.) Injuries

With all that stampeding going on, there will be injuries. After the initial rush, though, is where the real damage happens. Shoppers are battling each other to grab that last pair of jeans, tripping each other to get to the Home & Garden department first, or shooting each other over toys.

Does anyone see a size 8?

3.) Really long checkout lines

What happens when all those people who rushed into the store are ready to buy and checkout? You’ll have to wait in another line to buy whatever it is you waited since 4 a.m. outside the store to get in the first place. Sometimes checkout lines can be an hour long. Some people wait in that long of a line just for one item. One item. If they only realized they could come back tomorrow or next week or go online and get the item and wait less than 10 minutes in a checkout line.

This better be the best damn pair of pants I've ever worn..

4.) Coffee

You may be asking yourself how do these people do it? How do they have the energy to wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning to stake out in front of a store and battle people to the death for a Tickle-Me-Elmo? Coffee, that’s how! Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, McDonald’s and other places serving coffee get big business from Black Friday shoppers. Sometimes the lines at these places are just as long as the ones in the stores. If only someone would setup a Port-A-Potty outside the stores and charge a nickel for someone to use it…

NEED COFFEE!

5.) Identity Theft

Millions of credit cards will be swiped on Black Friday. How do you know that the temp cashier hired for the holiday season isn’t a con artist or a identity thief? What’s that? Background checks you say? If he is an identity thief, he can just use another identity and clear the background check. Let’s not forget all the credit cards that will fall out of wallets and purses or be dropped on the ground, never to be used appropriately again.

6.) Empty Shelves

After the Black Friday rush, walk into a store. Look at their shelves. What do you see? Some of these stores look like barren wastelands like supermarkets do before a disaster. Some of the more popular stores may have more inventory to help repopulate the shelves, but it will take a few hours until the store looks like it did before the Black Friday shopper apocalypse.

7.) Hot electronic items will be gone within 30 minutes

The newest electronic toys will be gone within 30 minutes of the store opening. Why? Because people want new and hip technology and a way to say they are better everyone else who waited in line. Isn’t that what the holiday spirit is all about in the end?

Image Sources:

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Mascots are usually the human embodiment of a brand. It is a way for everyone to connect with a brand in their own way through the mascot. As we all know though, sometimes mascots for brands just don’t make sense. Other times, the mascot makes us not want to buy the brand because the mascot is well…a little creepy. With that in mind, I present to you the 9 creepiest commercial mascots. Starting with number 9…

9.) Mr. Peanut

Why he’s creepy:
Anyone who has a monocle just seems creepy to me. It’s like he knows something that you don’t know. Or maybe he’s undressing you with his eyes and he likes what he sees. Who knows what he hides under his top hat? Maybe it’s a condom? Or it could even be a sub-machine gun and he will go on a killing rampage. I really don’t know. Mr. Peanut is one just one of those guys you don’t want to meet alone in back alley. You could get raped or killed. Or both.

8.) Colonel Sanders

Why he’s creepy:
It’s not that the Colonel himself is creepy. It’s the fact that anyone you run into that looks like Colonel Sanders ends up creeping you out. We all do it. We all know at least one guy that looks like the Colonel. We mock him for the way he looks. Besides, isn’t it time that KFC turn to a new mascot? An old guy with crazy white hair making fried chicken isn’t exactly the most appealing, especially since we consider old guys that have crazy white hair to be mad scientists.

7.) Kool-Aid Man

OH YEAH!!!

6.) Wendy

Why she’s creepy:
In case you don’t know the story, Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas named the restaurant chain after his daughter. The logo even looks like her. In case you haven’t seen the real picture of Wendy, click here. If that doesn’t creep you out, then I don’t know what will. There’s just something about ginger children that make us get goosebumps. They are most likely evil. At least Wendy’s mascot is not as bad as other restaurant chains (hint hint).

5. CEO Jack in the Box

Don't ride with strangers

4.) Grimace

What is he??

3.) Quizno’s Rat

Hold the plague

2.) Ronald McDonald

Why he’s creepy:
Ronald McDonald is a clown. He has red hair. He has a pale white face. He wears stripes and a yellow jumpsuit. He loves children. His statue is on benches near McDonald’s restaurants, prompting people to go ahead and take a picture with him or to “pretend” to do various sexual acts to his statue. We all know that if you needed to hire a clown for your child’s birthday, you would NOT be calling Ronald McDonald. His earlier incarnations are just as creepy as the current one. Who knows, if McDonald’s does take over the world, then he might be our new national symbol.

1.) The King

Why he’s creepy:
Ronald McDonald had been the top creeper until recently, when Burger King revealed The King. He is everywhere. He was in the NFL. He is even besides your bed waiting until you awake. Go ahead and try it, if you don’t understand how creepy that is. Just have someone come into your room before your alarm goes off wearing the King outfit and see what you do. I bet you won’t have smiles and giggles on your face. They even sell The King Halloween masks to scare little children with! The King, by far, is the creepiest mascot of all time.

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The decline in the global economy has caused many companies to collapse and declare bankruptcy – see: Circuit City, Lehman Brothers, and Washington Mutual. Other companies have not only survived the economy, but continue to grow and rake in the billions. Here is a short list of “candidates” that have the best chance to take over the world, one product and dollar at a time.

1.) McDonald’s

I'm loving it = I'm taking over?

2.) Apple

Sure, in the 80s and 90s Apple was a struggling company and played second fiddle to Microsoft. Times have changed. Apple is one of the “hippest” companies around, offering cool products such as the iPod, iPhone, Macbook, and even rumors of a tablet PC (Click the link and you will see quite possibly the most incredible computer ever). It was even named the most admired brand in the world in 2009 by Fortune Magazine. Apple has slowly positioned themselves in markets such as cell phones, consumer electronics and music distribution. At the pace they are going, we will soon be driving in our iCars to go to iGrocery in order to get supplies to make dinner for your iLover.

3.) Wal-Mart

Unlike Apple, Wal*Mart is not looked at favorably. People dislike Wal*Mart for various reasons, one of the main ones being its labor practices. However, Wal*Mart is always packed. In 2008, Wal*Mart had the highest revenue of any public company in the world. In any given week, 1/3 of the entire US population will have visited a Wal*Mart. Wrap your head around that fact for a second. In your neighborhood, you can probably name two to three stores that serve your area alone. Wal*Marts offer almost everything you can need, and are now offering banking services. What’s next for Wal*Mart? I will tell you. World Domination.

4.) Google

Who doesn’t know about Google? There’s a good chance that you used Google’s search engine to find this post. There’s also an even better chance that you have used Google’s search engine today. The name of the company has also become a verb! Heck, their unofficial motto is “Don’t be evil”. Whenever you have to look up something, Google is the place to go. Google has everything you could need online: email (Gmail), blogging (Blogger), office documents (Docs), videos (YouTube), a web browser (Chrome), directions with satellite photos (GoogleEarth and GoogleMaps), a photo editor (Picasa), search engine, as well as advertising programs (AdWords and AdSense). Google also offers a mobile phone operating system in Android.

They have just announced that they will develop a new operating system (also called Chrome), a new communication tool in Google Wave, and Google Voice. This is just the beginning. Accept your Google overlords when they come knocking on your door. Oh, and if you try to sue them for invasion of privacy, how are you going to get the information you need? Google will have indexed all of the world’s information by then.  But then again, this is also the company that brought you this:

Look at Step 23

Our Google future looks bright.

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Throughout human history, there have been countless inventions that have changed the way we live and think about the world. The wheel, the formation of steel, the automobile and the television are examples of these life changing inventions. Today, technology is progressing so fast that something new today will be obsolete tomorrow. Here are the top 10 inventions that we can (and have done so in the past) live without, but we would rather not because we love these things.

11.) Footwear

Here’s a special bonus for all of you. Footwear didn’t make the top 10 but they are still pretty important. Primitive villages around the world still live without footwear, but would you? Imagine walking around New York with no shoes on. Yeah, no thanks.

10.) Global Positioning System (GPS)

With a GPS, you can just walk out of the house without needing any addresses or names- it does it all for you. Yes, Mapquest and Google Maps count too (for those without a GPS in their vehicles, like me). You can just go and grab an atlas or a map and try to read the tiny lettering and road signs, but do you really want to deal with that? With the invention of GPS, it’s a wonder if anyone can read an actual map anymore.

9.) Can Opener

The can opener is an ingenious invention. In the early 1800s, cans were made of a thicker metal than they are today. You needed a knife, chisel, a heavy stone, or even your head to open those things. With the can opener, just a simple turn of the rotary will get that can open. Now there are electric and automated openers. No need to wait for your Chef Boyardee anymore.

8.) Umbrella

Without the umbrella, we would be devoid of the hit song by Rihanna -  we would also be out in the rain getting soaked. While you can use something else to help keep you dry (perhaps a textbook?), nothing quite works as an umbrella. Whenever it’s raining and you don’t have one, you silently (or loudly) curse yourself for not having one.

7.) Toothbrush

The toothbrush is one of the most under appreciated inventions in all of history. It is part of our morning routine, and yet we hardly pay it attention, just when we need to replace it. We can technically live without it, as many generations just skipped tooth brushing. To put it in perspective, imagine not brushing your teeth after you just ate some garlic bread or tuna fish. Understand why we would rather live with it?

6.) Washer and Dryer

For many people, the washer and dryer has always been invented and it is where you put your clothes.
Previous generations haven’t been so lucky. They had to hand wash each article of clothing and then dry them out on a rope (which is common today still). Who wants to hand wash clothes on those tin washboards? Just put them in and just wait for the magic.

5.) Air Conditioners

If you live in near the equator like me (Florida), then you are grateful for air conditioning. There are many people, villages, and cultures that do not use AC, and seem to do quite fine without it. But, I don’t think I’ll be turning off the air conditioner in the middle of summer anytime soon.

4.) Microwave Oven

So you just had dinner, and there are leftovers. You put the leftovers in the refrigerator. The next day you are hungry and decide to have those leftovers. What do you put them in to heat them up? The microwave of course! Cultures have previously used cauldrons, fires, steam, and other things to heat food up, but those things couldn’t heat up a Healthy Choice TV dinner could they?

3.) Cell Phone

The cell phone is becoming ubiquitous in many places around the world. It is so convenient and useful to have with you to keep in touch with friends far away, or to call for help in places where there might not be telephone landlines. Sure, we could live with just a landline, but with the cell phone, we can call our loved phones and text people (because we are too lazy to call them) from anywhere in the world (almost).

2.) Computers and High Speed Internet

This entry could not have existed without computers or the internet. The internet is much like the cell phone, connecting people and enabling them to communicate. Computers help store information and provide us entertainment in one place (no need for a tv, music player, since the computer does all their functions). However, high speed internet is what we really can’t live without. I remember when the internet started catching on with households, and you had to hear that dial-up signal. My parents still use dial-up in fact, but by the time they connect, I could have been to 10 different websites. I’d rather not live with dial-up or without my laptop.

1.) Toilet Paper and the Toilet

Imagine our life without the toilet. Just holes in the ground. Imagine our life without toilet paper. That’s why it’s number 1.

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