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

Most people know misused quotation marks can actually transform the poor, helpless noun they enclose into its anti-self, conveying the opposite of its intrinsic meaning. For example, how much protection can someone dubbed a "security guard" really provide in place of your classic old-style security guard? And nudge nudge wink wink, one interpretation of this restaurant's "non smoking" claim is that it's actually inviting patrons to light up. And lord only knows what sort of foodstuff a "donut maker" concocts. None for us, thanks! Every once in awhile, though, perhaps those little parallel lines simply communicate graphically what people won't speak aloud. Understand the concept yet? No? Then check out this video demonstration from Chris Farley. Yes, this is a "great" blog. Well, you know what we mean.

If you despaired at missing WNYC's Amy Sedaris Craft Challenge, a second chance has just winked your way. Team Wiggly, "an underground collective on a mission to make the world a happier place," wants you to join its ranks in planting plastic googly eyes on targeted locales around the globe. Where are those targets? Should you join operation Wiggly that will be for you to decide. Already, team representatives have acted on a snow drift in Austria, a palm tree alongside the Spanish coast, and one unsuspecting X-ray machine in a Kingston hospital. The addition of the wide-eyed plastic orbs exposes personality and connections that might otherwise remain hidden. A Swiss fire hydrant opens its arms wide with joy. A log in Central Park emits a silent, Munch-like shriek. And a west London trash can reveals its close relation to Oscar the Grouch.

Steve collects street signs and traffic signals. At last count, he had over 350 of them. (It's important to note that Steve's collection is 100% legal -- he's naturally pretty defensive about this.) When he's not hunting down every permutation of street marker, Steve designs web sites -- and it shows. My Crazy Hobby is clean, fluid, and informative. Steve presents his signs as a sleek array of thumbnails, rather than a cumbersome click-through album. He provides pithy captions. He offers cool "roll-over" perspectives. As a result, you can browse through vintage stop signs or examine speed limit placards from the 1950s. If you stop and yield to this site, you may exceed your two-hour parking limit. Consider this a warning.