Technology is a double-edged sword. It may be the future, but for some kids the digital age provides novel ways to cheat and get away with it.
More and more students are texting each other test answers and photos of exams, and YouTube is the cheater's helper, with dozens of videos instructing students on how to scan a soft drink bottle wrapper, then digitally erase the nutrition information and replace it with test answers or formulas.
What's even scarier than this elaborate scheme is that this video has had almost 7 million hits.
Vice chancellor for technology and learning services at South Orange Community College District in California, Robert Bramucci says cheating is "epidemic" and more creative than ever.
The website Spycheatstuff.com sells a mail order kit that transforms a cellphone or iPod into a hands-free cheating device, allowing the useNew Ways to Cheatr to get answers remotely without even putting down their pencil.
According to the non-profit advocacy group, Common Sense Media, over 35% of teens ages 13 to 17 report using cellphones to cheat, many of whom don't think it's a big deal.
All I want for Christmas is... a lap dance?
Believe it or not, one Chicago strip club has set out a bartering system in a bid to boost seasonal altruism: in exchange for bringing in an unused, unwrapped toy, customers will receive a free lap dance.
It sure beats canned food, right? The idea may be ingenious, but as it turns out it isn't so original, after all. The toy drive by the Admiral Theatre is similar to that held in by a troupe of Edmonton strippers every year. The maverick ladies of X Bar strip club held a Strip-a-Thon last month in which they donated wages and tip money to help kids in need.
"All of us have done so well over the past years, and it's our way of giving back to the community," said X Bar's Shannon Pederson. "A lot of the girls have really busy schedules, and so this is their small way of donating to the (holiday) spirit."
Nevermind Santa's sleigh. I hope the girls have booked a few U-Hauls to schlep the goodies to kids everywhere.
So if your husband suddenly embarks on some mad, inexplicable quest to Toys 'R Us, don't say you haven't been warned... After all, charity starts at home. Ho ho ho!
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