Dog bites passenger and flight attendant, forces US Airways landing in Pittsburgh

Mandy is one tough bitch.

On US Airways Flight 522 from Newark to Phoenix, this 12-pound Manchester terrier busted out of its cage. You would have too … if the drugs had worn off. With no more sedatives in her system, Mandy bit a man sitting next to her 89-year-old owner. Then, the dog shot up and down the aisle, also biting a flight attendant, according to the NY Post.

As a result of this mutt’s mayhem, an emergency landing in Pittsburgh became necessary. Mandy and her owner didn’t get back on, though. They were moved to a different flight.

[photo by crossfirecw via Flickr]

10 U.S. Cities where profanity prevails

He, we’re all prone to a bit of profanity every now and then – some of us more than others. I’ve had my ass butt handed to me by the Gadling editors over my (finally) occasional use of some foul language, though I’ve taken steps to (as they say) improve myself. Well, I was happy to see when flipping through my RSS feed that I’m not the only person who likes to drop an f-bomb every now and then. In fact, there are entire cities engaging in such behavior, according to a recent article on Business Insider.

So, how am I going to pick my next home? Well, I’ll start by looking at the 10 most obscene cities it the United States. Strangely, New York isn’t on the list, probably because we have a small vocal minority that engages in the sorts of foul phrasing, while the rest of the city tends to be squeaky clean.

So, who’s on the list? These are the 10 cities and towns where you’re most likely to find mouths washed out with soap.1. Ashburn, Virginia
There are only 90,000 people here, but they know how to cuss! The Washington, DC suburb made its first time on the list a big one, coming in at the top spot.

2. Tampa, Florida
Tampa found a way to climb from #8 in 2009 to #2 in 2010, something of an accomplishment, according to a handful of people.

3. Herndon, Virginia
What is it about Virginia? Is there something in the water? A problem with the schools’ vocabulary lessons?

4. Rochester, New York
Who cares?

5. Irvine, California
The fourth-best place to live in the United States has achieved this distinction because you can say whatever the fuck you want.

6. Newark, New Jersey
Duh.

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Someone must have brought Miss Manners to the largest city in Pennsylvania – it ranked third the past two years, according to Business Insider.

8. Louisville, Kentucky
It ranked #10 last year and #1 the year before. So, there’s a bit of a backslide here, but it hasn’t been too bad.

9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Like Virginia (and California), Pennsylvania makes the list twice.

10. Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada (tie)
Did you really think these two wouldn’t make it?

Curious about how Business Insider came up with the results? Check out the “methodology”:

To find the most obscene cities in America, we plugged the “seven dirty words you can never say on television” — made popular by George Carlin — into Google Trends. We gave each city a score for each of the seven words, assigning more points to cities ranking higher up on each list.

If there’s a better use for the internet, I have yet to see it!

[photo by DanCentury via Flickr]

Toyota’s Farm to Table Tour takes sustainable eating on the road

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Yeah, right. Toyota just needs damage control. As if feel-good, treehugging road trips make up for all those recalls.” But before you judge, let us separate the issue from the mission.

This is Toyota’s second annual Farm to Table Tour, in which 11 farmers markets nationwide participate with the automotive giant to visit “farmers markets across the country to showcase the connection between farmers, chefs, farmers markets, and the communities they serve, and to give market shoppers the opportunity to experience Toyota’s hybrid vehicles.” On each stop, up to 12 local chefs and farmers pair up to highlight seasonal ingredients through free tastings. Talks on eating locally and sustainably, culinary vacation giveaways, gardening information, and test rides in a 2010 Prius, Highlander Hybrid, or Camry Hybrid are also part of each market collaboration.

Toyota is also making financial donations to the participating markets, as well as to the Farmers Market Coalition. In addition, the company is using eco-friendly materials and purchasing carbon credits through TerraPass to offset the educational tour’s carbon footprint.

Tour stops include Birmingham, Pittsburgh, Chattanooga, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City. The Washington DC FARMFRESH Market by the White House stop on July 29th features influential chef Nora Pouillon, of Restaurant Nora, the nation’s first certified organic restaurant, which opened in 1999. Regardless of how you may feel about Toyota, the company deserves props for its ongoing commitment to sustainability, and supporting family farms. And that ain’t a bad thing.

Pittsburgh restaurant features ‘conflict cuisine’

Most American travelers will never set foot in Iran, but at least now if they make it to Pittsburgh, they can enjoy some of the country’s delicious cuisine. It’s the idea behind a new take-out restaurant called Conflict Kitchen, a new eatery that’s attempting to feature cuisine from countries the United States is in conflict with.

Conflict Kitchen might serve food, but it’s hardly your normal carry-out joint. The project, which was started by artist Jon Rubin, will regularly shift themes to feature a different “conflict country” and promote cross-cultural understanding. The first four months are devoted to a collaboration with Pittsburgh’s Iranian community. In addition to delicious food like the Kubideh Sandwich, Conflict Kitchen also plans to host events, performances and discussion surrounding this much discussed Middle Eastern country. Though there’s been no announcement on the project’s website, chances are good that other “rogue states” like North Korea, Venezuela and Afghanistan will get similar treatment.

The Conflict Kitchen project raises an interesting question. Who are we demonizing when we disagree with a country’s politics? Is it the government of that country? Or is it also the people who live there, many of whom have nothing to do with the policies we dislike? Perhaps by traveling and through projects like Conflict Kitchen we can learn to better differentiate between the two.

Pittsburgh International Airport after hours

Missing your connecting flight can be frustrating. Having an overnight layover can be annoying. But we all have two choices when airlines throw us a curveball: Mope or make the best of it. Ashley Klinger chose the latter when she was stuck in Pittsburgh International Airport overnight recently. With the help of a video camera, solitude and an epic amount of imagination, she turned an abandoned airport into her own personal playhouse.

Kudos to Ashley for channeling her creativity rather than anger during an extended layover. While we don’t recommend that you kill your airport delays this way, we do suggest that you try to stay as positive as Ashley did. You’re going to be waiting no matter what you do, so you might as well be in a good mood while you do it.

Via Jezebel.