10 Facts About the Monster Truck Tour

By Ryan D. Hogan

The Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam is one of the U.S.'s most popular touring attractions. Every year, more than 4 million fans attend 325-plus events to root for Monster Jam trucks like Grave Digger, Monster Mutt Rottweiler, El Toro Loco, and Jurassic Attack.

Already leading the charge in 2011 is perennial fan-favorite Dennis Anderson and his monster truck, Grave Digger. The driving legend started the year on the right track by winning the Double Down trophy at the Monster Jam event in Houston, Texas. Also starting the New Year off well are drivers Tom Meents (Maximum Destruction), Adam Anderson (Grave Digger Legend), and Linsey Weenk (Lucas Oil Crusader).

Now that you're caught up on what's going on in 2011, let's take a look at ten interesting facts about Monster Jam, the nation's most popular monster truck tour.

• It takes a team of eight working around-the-clock for three days to get a venue ready for a Monster Jam event. The average track constructed in an arena uses about 700 cubic yards of dirt while a stadium uses 3,500 cubic yards. It's not out of the ordinary for a track to need more than 200 dump truck loads of dirt.

• At every Monster Jam event expect to see at least two forms of competition: racing and freestyle. The racing competition pits two trucks, side-by-side, driving through a course. The truck that crosses the finish line first and has the fewest penalties is the winner. In freestyle, drivers have a limited amount of time to dazzle the crowd (who are also the judges) with their monster truck skills.

• Grave Digger is the most popular monster truck of all-time. The original was created by superstar Dennis Anderson back in 1981. Today, there are six Grave Digger trucks competing in Monster Jam. That's impressive considering that each one costs over $250,000 to build and needs $100,000 worth of spare parts.

• As with any sport, Monster Jam has its own vocabulary. For instance, there's the phrase, "pull the pin." When a truck rolls over, someone needs to "pull the pin" on the rear bumper. Doing that cuts power to the vehicle. Then there's "riding the wave." That refers to landing hard and bouncing on one tire for a considerable distance.

• The NFL's Atlanta Falcons threw a wrench into the 2011 Monster Jam calendar. Thanks to the Falcons hosting a home playoff game on Jan. 15, the Monster Jam event scheduled for that day had to be bumped to Feb. 12. If you had tickets you can either trade your tickets for a related event, or request a refund.

• Exactly how big and powerful are these average Monster Jam trucks? Most trucks are approximately 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Their tires are 66 inches tall. Monster truck engines can generate anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower. This power enables the behemoth vehicles to reach speeds of 100 m.p.h.

• Do you know that a monster truck driver generally sits in the center of the vehicle? They do this for weight distribution issues and visibility. All drivers sit in custom seats molded for their frame. Their heads and necks are secured in restraint devices, and they wear 5-point harness seatbelts. Just like it is for all racing circuits, safety is Monster Jam's number one priority.

• Monster Jam has several themed vehicles dedicated to comic/cartoon characters. Iron Man, Superman, and Batman all have their own monster truck. The latter is more of the 1960's Batman due to the high tail fins bracketing the truck's bed. There's also a monster truck dedicated to Taz (Tasmanian Devil), the famous Looney Tunes character.

• Thunder National is another monster truck circuit that falls under the auspices of Monster Jam. These events cater to families, are usually held in smaller arenas, and don't race on dirt tracks. In 2011, you can catch Thunder Nationals in places like Wichita, Wheeling, Grand Rapids and Rockford. Don't worry, the big time trucks like Grave Digger and El Toro Loco show up at these events too.

• Ever wonder where Monster Jam gets all those cars they crush? Well, the wrecked rides are shipped in from local-area junkyards. However, monster trucks do more than just smash cars they also destroy vans, buses, motor homes, ambulances, and airplanes. On average, Monster Jam goes through about 3,000 cars a year. By the way, after the show is over all the cars are returned to the junkyard.

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Ryan Hogan writes for ClickitTicket.com, a website that sells a wide range of affordable sports tickets such as Monster Truck tickets. Also read a regularly-updated sports and concert blog.

My New Ceiling Insulation

By Lyuben Gergiev

I have considered for a long time to renovate my apartment. Recently that though has become even stronger as I have new neighbors that are very noisy. They have moved in three months ago and the noise they make is unbearable. They have two children that are very young and run around nonstop. They also don’t seem to remove their shoes as I can hear the woman’s high heels every morning before she goes to work. I have wondered what to do to save myself from all that noise.

The next day I went to visit my sister, which is an architect and lives in the town nearby. I shared my problems with her and to my biggest surprise she had a solution. She told me that her latest project was insulating a building that has just been finished. However, the builders have missed to place insulation and now it has to be done. She said that she found a company called Rockwool that had the best product for that purpose. They have used it and the people living in the building are very happy with the qualities of insulation. I think that is exactly what I need. We had a lunch and a coffee afterwards and then I left.

The next morning I went on the internet to search some more info for the company and also to get the details of their branches. I was amazed that they had an office in the area I live. I went there straight away to see what they could offer me. I explained the problem to the sales representative and he said that they have the perfect product for me – ceiling insulation. The best bit was that the properties of that ceiling insulation were endless however, the ones that concerned me the most were the following – fire resistance, water and moisture repellant and soundproofing. What a result! The insulation came in flat pieces and was easy to work with. I used to work as a builder so I was confident that I could do the job properly. I called my mate just to help me. The insulation is lightweight but quite bulky so I needed someone to hand it over to me.

The next day we had it ready and by the end of the day the job was finished. I was very impressed with my new ceiling insulation as it reduced the noise from upstairs and not only that but it is helping to retain the heat in the apartment rather than keeping the neighbors warm.

I would suggest to any of you not to hesitate and purchase this quality insulation from the leader on the market and you will feel the results immediately. The investment is well worth it and will bring you much comfort. Furthermore, you will seal the most common places where the heat escapes from your home during the winter and you will reduce your energy expenses as well.

Published At: Isnare.com Free Articles Directory - http://www.isnare.com/Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=779713&ca=Family+Concerns

DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.

After reading this article I think, you should find prices for ceiling insulation (interesting to know is that the Danish term is Isolering af loft find priser) and also read more from this article.