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    The Weirdest Driver’s License Ever?, the New Queen of Facebook, and Potter Takes Twitter


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    Austrian Niko Alm fought for three years before he was able to take his driver's license photo. Austrian authorities had issues with Alm's preferred headgear: a pasta strainer. Trending NowBut this week he finally was able to take the picture how he wanted, thanks to Austria's religious freedom laws. Alm is a self-described member of "the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster," which is spiking off the charts in Yahoo! Search. The satirical religion, also known as "pastafarianism," rejects creationism and says that an invisible flying spaghetti monster created the universe. The spaghetti church, which is headed by a "pastafarian primavera," was founded in 2005 when Kansas schools were under pressure to teach the theory of intelligent design rather than evolution. On his blog, Alm wrote, "Today I was able to get my new driving license, and in it you can clearly see that I'm wearing a colander on my head to demonstrate my allegiance to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster." It took three years for Alm to be able to take the photo, because he had to prove that he was psychologically fit to drive.

    Lady Gaga's been dethroned as the queen of Facebook. Rihanna snatched her crown at around noon yesterday when she gained more Facebook fans than Gaga. Even though Rihanna now has 40,576,000 fans to Gaga's 40,551,000, she's still 3 million shy of Facebook's king: Eminem. Just FYI, 46,754,784 people live in Spain. Angry Gaga fans have taken to Twitter try to get people to "unlike" Rihanna. But it's not all that bad for Lady Gaga, who still rules Twitter, with 11.6 million followers. (Though Justin Bieber's hot on her trail with just over 11 million.)

    Lastly, the months of anticipation for Harry Potter fans is finally over today with the release of "The Deathly Hallows -- Part 2." But the hype hasn't stopped on social media. Harry Potter Facebook updates and wall posts hit the social network at a rate of about one per second last night, as Potter fans flooded sold-out midnight showings of the film. Twitter's list of trending topics looks more like the credits that roll after Harry Potter movies. The trending list includes Neville Longbottom, Mrs. Weasley, and Alan Rickman. Some tweeters think Rickman, who played Severus Snape in the films, should win an Oscar. On FourSquare, Harry Potter fans got a special "badge" for attending the movie, which will get them a 25% discount on Harry Potter video games. Even though it's still opening day, the film's already brought in a reported $32 million in advance ticket sales.

    Do you think Austrian authorities should have allowed Niko Alm to wear a spaghetti strainer in his driver's license photo? Tell us on Facebook.

     

    654 comments

    • Mr. Gerbick  •  10 mths ago
      Ramen!
    • A Yahoo! User  •  10 mths ago
      looney bin
    • B  •  10 mths ago
      a mind isn't capable of rationalizing a spiritual God who made the Universe. So the spaghetti thing is their "way to make fun" of God creating everything. Actually, the display of limited human thinking still backs up and proves the Bible is right in 1 Corinthians 2:14 which states "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." So there you go. :)
      • Fatman 10 mths ago
        Beautifully put. Thank you B.
      • Milton 10 mths ago
        Ahh, I see what you did there. So your floating man in the sky is better than my spaghetti monster. THERE IS NO PROOF OF ANYTHING IN THE BIBLE RELATING TO A FLOATING MAGIC MONSTER.
      • Milton 10 mths ago
        and to reiterate, do you understand the difference between a proof and a theorem? One is PROVABLE, the other is just someone's guess that may or may not be correct. Many theorem's throughout history have been proven wrong.
    • Ali Doger  •  10 mths ago
      i love u sialkot
    • Jen  •  10 mths ago
      Well, in Indiana, we are not allowed to "smile" for driver licence pics anymore. Something to do with how the camera detects facial structure and terrorism. I guess it's techy. And maybe terrorists don't smile?
    • Thomas Dixon  •  10 mths ago
      I have met so many Asians who have converted to Christianity from fake churches with fake ministers that I had myself ordained in the United States legally. It was just to show them that anyone can be an ordained minister and I'm not even a Christian.
      • Thomas Dixon 10 mths ago
        Just do a web search and you will find many leagally recognized "churches" that will ordain you. I think I paid 20 dollars and received an I.D. card, an certificate of ordination and blank certificates that I can give to followers I ordain myself. By the way, I live in Asia.

        The founders of the Church that ordained me registered their church because they wanted to show people that under American law anyone can be a legally recognized Minister and open their own church.
    • Matthew  •  10 mths ago
      There are some very offensive remarks mocking people with religious beliefs. It's you're right to decide whether you believe in a God or not, but don't mock those that think differently then you do. The people that say they actually have a brain I challenge you to say I don't. I have a bachelor's degree in Biology and am going to medical school yet I'm a christian and have faith in a benevolent all powerful creator. I laugh when people say that we have science now, while it is a very useful tool most anyone who has studied scientfic principles like myself know science helps us answer the who, what, where, and when but never the why. That's for human reason to answer and is subject to different interpretations. Please respect religious beliefs even if you don't agree with them just as we "believers" respect your right to your own opinion. Thank you
    • AK  •  10 mths ago
      Makes just as much sense as scientology and that's recognized as a religion.
    • ∩í¢σ·╘Ä·Üs  •  10 mths ago
      Is The Spaghetti Monster is god, Is the devil called "Anti-pasta?" hmm?
    • muxz  •  10 mths ago
      It's like scientology but intentionally funny.
    • daydreams83  •  10 mths ago
      I prefer linguine, personally.
    • Bub  •  10 mths ago
      More people have been killed and en-slaved in the name of god then anything else!
    • old time  •  10 mths ago
      "pastafarian primavera" ??
      That is using your noodle!
    • John  •  10 mths ago
      THE DAY OF LEFTOVERS SHALL COME! REPENT AND ACCEPT THE SPAGHETTI OR YOU WILL BE DAMNED TO MEATBALL HELL!!!
    • Just Me  •  10 mths ago
      a Spaghetti priest touched my noodle
    • Friga  •  10 mths ago
      I'm a Christian but I think an Atheist has as much right to wear what he wants on his head as the religious.
    • T  •  10 mths ago
      I am a Christian but I am also a believer in liberty, therefor I think we should all be allowed to believe whatever we want without being attacked for it. There are people on here telling atheists they are going to hell...that's not what Jesus would do from what I've read about him. Then there are atheist on here calling others beliefs "ridiculous" or "fairy Tale" or "idiotic". They never stop to think that spontaneous creation is no less a "fairy tale" belief then any other. Without proof it is just that a belief. If this guy believes in a flying spaghetti monster then I support his right to believe and will not attack his belief...but if he is merely mocking religion then he is a hypocrite and should find something more constructive to do with his time.

      Here's an idea you believe what you believe and I'll believe what I believe and we'll leave it at that. No attacks, no name calling, it just is what it is.
    • Nathaniel Flack  •  10 mths ago
      It always makes me sad to see all the hatred towards religion...it doesn't make me angry, I can understand, in a way...but I don't believe in God because the Bible tells me he's real, that wouldn't be any sort of belief at all, I believe in God because a long time ago I wanted to know if He was real, and I asked Him, and He showed me, in a personal way, because it HAS to be personal.
      I just don't understand all the hatred...I don't shove my beliefs down anybody's throat, but I've had atheist friends and family come down on me with their beliefs pretty hard when they found out I believe in God....sure there are hypocrites, and false Christians, and false people of every religion, but not everyone is that way. Can't we just get along without the hate?
    • Bub  •  10 mths ago
      If it weren’t for religion holding the human race back, we would probably be 1000 years ahead in technology and science!
    • Fu Q2  •  10 mths ago
      So let me get this straight you die hard religious extremist....God is a peace and loving God but he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, God is a loving God who believes in peace 100% of the time but he flooded the Earth because he didnt like his creation? If the God from the Bible is 100% all knowing, powerful then why would he destroy his "creation", did the "Perfect Person" make a "mistake". Jesus and God from the Bible are so loving, caring, love-thy-neighbor but if an atheist lives their life in a proper fashion they will "burn in some mysterious lake of fire for all eternity". You people are funny, contradictory and hypocritical but of course when someone points your foolishness out to you all you do is thumbs down and quote Bible verses. According to the Bible snakes can talk, a man lived inside of a whales belly and man can part the open sea to talk through it...yeah that all sounds reasonable.

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