Yahoo! Picks - bringing you the best of the Web since 1995

As 2007 comes to a close, we're marking 12 years of Yahoo! Picks. To celebrate, we've called up some of our favorite features from the past dozen years. Today's Pick originally ran August 6, 2002. Here it is again, still tracking that glorious mix of American star wattage and Japanese products:

"This site defines a Japander as "a western star who uses his or her fame to make large sums of money in a short time by advertising products in Japan that they would probably never use." Watch Hollywood stars from Dan Aykroyd to Catherine Zeta-Jones shill for Japanese drinks, cars, and other products. Madonna wields a samurai sword and claims she's "pure" in support of some clear, drinkable product. A half-naked Harrison Ford hangs out in a steam room and praises the taste of a good, cold frosty beer. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays mah-jong to promote "Genki" drinks. Leonardo DiCaprio pushes credit cards and cars. Winona Ryder gets giggly in bed with her Caffe Latte packaged drink. And there are three full pages of Brad Pitt—most clips find him hawking Edwin, which, we suspect, is a brand of jeans given how much the camera lingers on Pitt's posterior. Some might call them sellouts; we just call them entertaining."

Also check out our votes for the Best Picks of 2007. Enjoy!

Jan 01, 2008
Good-Bye From Yahoo! Picks - Good-bye!

Dec 31, 2007
Long Awkward Pose - smile for the camera. Keep smiling.

Dec 28, 2007
Starship Dimensions - space invaders.

Dec 27, 2007
Kiddie Records Weekly - the gang's all here.

Dec 25, 2007
Scared of Santa - who is that bearded man?

Yahoo!'s crack team of editors serves up the coolest, funniest, or quirkiest sites we encounter on the Web. Got a favorite new link of your own? Share it with us!