For two weeks in June 2008, heavy rains and widespread flooding pummeled the Midwest. The nation's worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, the floodwaters decimated downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, causing an estimated five billion dollars in damage and displacing over 2,000 people. The waters of the Cedar River crested at 31.2 feet, the highest in the town's 168-year history. The flood ripped buildings from their foundations, tumbling and twisting homes and offices.

My husband and I watched all of this on the news. "Look," said my husband pointing to the television. "It's the library." Only one floor of the two-story … Read More

Forget sex. Kissing can be one of the most intimate, sensual, and just plain fun things you can do with another person. And as anyone who is sex-educated knows: the better the foreplay, the better the sex. Read on to discover ten unusual kissing facts, and be grateful that locking lips no longer leads you to the guillotine.

1. According to anthropologists, 90 percent of people kiss. But that doesn’t mean that kissing is the same for everyone. Kissing customs vary across the world.

For instance, certain African tribes literally kiss the ground of their leaders, while in many … Read More

Is New York ready for same-sex marriage?

Gov. David Paterson thinks so.

Paterson announced a proposal today to allow same-sex marriage in the Empire State.

Accompanied by political leaders, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he framed the issue as a matter of equality.

"I'm introducing a bill to bring marriage equality to the state of New York,'' the Associated Press quoted Paterson saying. Paterson listed a whopping 1,350 civil protections same-sex couples are denied that straight couples have.

"Rights should not be stifled by fear. What we should understand is that silence should not be a response to injustice. And that … Read More

From The Des Moines Register By Jennifer Jacobs

The erotic corn dog eating contest at the Iowa State Fair might have to go away.

The competition, which is organized by a Des Moines area radio station and tends to draw a raucous and appreciative crowd, is too tasteless, according to at least one fair board member.

After the topic came up Monday during the board’s critique of this year’s state fair, fair manager Gary Slater said he hasn’t seen it himself. YourTango’s Take We really don’t have much to add to this: Uh, State Fair, check, Radio Contest, check, … Read More