Piblokto

File this under Weird Medical Conditions. Piblokto is the Eskimo word for Arctic Hysteria. From Wikipedia:


From a 1965 newspaper article:

Between Piblokto and Windigo Psychosis the Arctic sounds like a great place to spend some time.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 08, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Medicine

Non-Cop Cop, Non-Schoolgirl Man, Non-Gun Gun

and the Morning Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Monday, December 8, 2008

Un-American Christmases
(1) In the Netherlands, enforcement against the list of "naughty" kids is carried out by Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete"), the errant former slave of Sinterklaas (but post-racially, ZP is just a booby-prize-delivering chimney sweep who, unlike Sinter, gets all sooted up when he slides down). (2) In Austria, it's the 7-ft-tall horned devil, Krampus, who roams the countryside swinging chains and switches against the bad kids. SpiegelOnline (12-5-2008) /// SpiegelOnline (12-2-2008)
Comments 'unamerican_christmases'

Christmastime means a more pro-active, micromanaging Lord
(1) Pelahatchie, Miss., student Lashaundra Clanton made classmates uneasy last week as she slipped into tongues and a Linda Blair voice for a couple of days and told 'em when they were going to die (but it wasn't Satan talking because Satan only tells lies, and Lashaundra says she was telling the truth) (2) Ron Mlodzik apparently had God's help winning the Reader's Digest's "Tell Us a Joke" contest (since it was an excruciatingly stupid joke) so he's giving the $3k prize money away to charity: "God played a role in this [so] I'll give it back to God." (3) God came through with help for this F State woman's mounting medical bills: He placed an image of the Virgin Mary on the woman's MRI scan so she can sell it on eBay. WAPT-TV (Jackson, Miss.) /// Kenosha (Wis.) News /// TCPalm.com (Stuart, Fla.)
Comments 'proactive_christmastime'

Usually, stabbing a guy 39 times would undermine your murder claim of "self-defense"
Eugene Falle, aka Preacher, made it work, though. "I told him just hurry up and die already . . .. So I keep stabbin' him and stabbin' him and stabbin' him and stabbin' him and stabbin' him . . .. He wouldn't bleed properly the way he should've bled, according to the movies." Edmonton Journal
Comments '39_stabbings'

Another contender for a news-story Lede of the Year
"A hooker and a Baptist minister having sex in a seedy motel room, where a camera was hidden in a clock radio. A videotape delivered to a radio talk show host by someone wearing oversized glasses, a fake beard, and surgical gloves." And so, another Atlantic City, N.J., official was caught doing something bad, by another Atlantic City, N.J., official doing something bad. Associated Press via The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Comments 'another_lede'

People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
Victor Brown, 35, a suspended cop, was charged with impersonating a cop by checking into a Rosemont, Ill., hotel, telling the clerk he was working undercover vice. But then, apparently, he called down and ordered "lotion and on-demand movies" for his room. Chicago Tribune
Comments 'victor_brown'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
Brit Peter Trigger's version: He has a perfect right to dress as he wishes and that he's no harm to anyone. Police version: A 59-yr-old man can't stand around outside the entrance to a primary school, wearing a short skirt with nothing underneath. Evening Telegraph (Kettering, England) [mug] /// The Sun (London) [Trigger in action]
Comments 'peter_trigger'

More Things to Worry About on Monday

People with arthritis in the hand can't grip their Glocks and SIG Sauers properly so a New Jersey company has developed the Palm Pistol gun ("Point and shoot couldn't be easier," the company says). (Bonus: They say it oughta be a medical-assistance device, paid for by Medicare.) New Scientist

In Bonn, Germany, a 54-yr-old man suffered a fatal heart attack inside a porno shop booth [Ed.: but poor news-reporting has deprived us of the name of that video so we could order it ourselves, er, for investigative purposes, of course]. The Local (Berlin)

The good mom, who insists that her teenager stay away from that dangerous street meth . . and use only mom's home-cooked meth. Greensburg (Ind.) Daily News
Comments 'worry_081208'

Comments on More Things to Worry About on Monday?

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Dec 08, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

Sweet Dreams

See three more videos by Kirsten Lepore here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 07, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Surrealism, Food, Nutrition, Sexuality, Video, Cartoons

Space Beer

In 2006 scientists grew barley on the International Space Station as part of an experiment to determine whether crops can survive in space (and one day feed astronauts living up there). They found that "the barley showed almost no ill effects from growing in microgravity or radiation. The scientists found only one enzyme increased from slight oxygen deprivation, but the plants did well." Back on Earth Sapporo recently brewed 100 bottles of "Space Beer" from the barley.

An increase of only one enzyme? This must be disappointing news to the Chinese, who for decades have been blasting seeds and sperm into space, in the theory that the combination of cosmic radiation and microgravity will produce mutations that will yield larger, stronger varieties. They even have a Center for Space Breeding. I think they've been watching too many 1950's science-fiction movies.

Back in 2007 a purple "space potato" grown from seeds taken onboard the Shenzhou IV space mission were all the rage in Shanghai restaurants. (Reportedly they tasted more "glutinous" than normal potatoes.)

And in 2005, as I've noted before, there were reports the Chinese had carried pig sperm into space, in the hope of breeding larger, tastier pigs.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 06, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Food, Space Travel

From the Ground Up

Are you getting enough alfalfa in your diet?

Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 06, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Agriculture, Business, Products, Nutrition, Documentaries, 1950s

A Broken Toilet, Forgetful People, Breathalyzers in Parliament

and the Afternoon Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Friday, December 5, 2008

Chris Woodruff, 22, busted already three times for no car insurance, printed up his own policy all official-looking and mostly fooled the cop (except for its expiration date, February 31). Daily Telegraph (London)

The famous patient "H.M." died at a nursing home at age 82, the fella with "profound amnesia," meaning not only that he recalled only a couple of sketchy things from early in his life but that he had lost the ability to form new memories (sorta like Drew Barrymore in "50 First Dates"). New York Times

There's also "toxic epidermal necrolysis," which can be caught from ordinary medications (like ibuprofen, for instance), yet can result in the outer layer of skin separating from the body, and as with this Newfoundland girl, survival is touch and go. St. John's Telegram via Vancouver Sun

Several Aussie Members of Parliament demand breathalyzer testing of MP's before votes (if we have them for "people driving cranes [we] should have [them] for people writing laws"). Agence France-Presse via Yahoo

"It's not a 'second chance.' It's more like a 22nd chance." (That was a teacher's union official in Grand Rapids, Mich., complaining about a proposal that would give most high school students who actually earn "F" grades on a course to get an "H" instead and thus have the option of a second bite at the course in summer school with no H or F on the record [unless, presumably, they fail in the summer, which would be, maybe, a "K" and then . . ah, never mind]. WOOD-TV (Grand Rapids)

Carla Maldonado, the 40-yr-old wife of David Maldonado, was arrested when their DVD collection turned up images of Carla servicing dogs (with mugshot [of Carla, not a dog . . I think]). WTSP-TV (St. Petersburg)

Recurring Theme: Toilets break, users fall in the bowl, hurt themselves, sue. Associated Press via Yahoo

Professor Music's Weird Link o' the Day
Speaking of the renewable-amnesia guy (above) and the woman whose disease trashed 3/4 of her outer layer of skin (above): ABC's crack Health unit has a handy list of 10 Baffling Medical Conditions, ranging from the fairly familiar (Foreign Accent Syndrome and Music-Induced Seizures) to the, well, baffling (can't open your eyes for 3 days at a time, can't ever forget anything). [Capital punishment, though, for the ABC webmaster, 'cause it's a mothercheneying "slideshow."] ABC News

Today's Newsrangers: Gary Davidson, Mindy Cohen, Billy Ray, H.Thompson, Mark Neunder, Gil Nelson, Karl Olson, Gary Goldberg,
Yesterday's Newsrangers: Rick Duff, Dave Abdoo, Kurt Knochel, Perry Levin, John Holsinger
Comments on the Afternoon Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Friday?
Comments 'cycle_081205'

Posted By: Chuck - Fri Dec 05, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

Destroyed in Seconds:  Bulldozer Rampage

Watch more clips from this Discovery Channel show here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 05, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Destruction, Television

Knitted Dissections

You'll surely want to pick up the knitting patterns to reproduce these creations, to be found at the Etsy site.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 05, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Crafts, Death, Science

District of Calamity, a Rubbermaid Hideout, More Senior Confusion

and the Morning Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Friday, December 5, 2008

[editorial speechlessness]
The severely ink-stained Michael Campbell. The Smoking Gun
Comments 'michael_campbell'

District of Calamity: Still crazy after all these years
One day after settling a lawsuit based on the inexplicably fatal 2004 jailhouse mishandling of quadriplegic Jonathan Magbie (arrested for having medical marijuana, which is not legal in D.C.), here we are again. Three D.C. paramedics/EMT's sent to the home of a 911 caller with chest pains diagnosed him as having acid reflux, advised Pepto-Bismol, and left, and six hours later, the man went belly-up. Washington Post Dec. 3 /// Dec. 2
Comments 'district_calamity'

Your Daily Losers
(1) Joseph Womack, 22, was arrested for burglary, found inside the home hiding in a 3-foot by 3-foot by 2-foot high Rubbermaid-type container. KCRA-TV (Sacramento)
(2) F-Stater Janice Benton of Ocala was charged with murdering a man during a fight that started when he got jealous that she was talking to other men in a bar. The lovely Ms. Benton might be fit for this section, but not as much as anyone who would be possessive of Janice Benton. Ocala Star-Banner
Comments 'womack_benton'

People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
Wesley Cox, 44, was busted in Boulder, Colo., standing outside a stranger's window with a video camera. At his home, police found dozens of undergarments and several Boulder High School cheerleaders' uniforms. KMGH-TV (Denver)
Comments 'wesley_cox'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
The justice system really needs you here. Timothy Havens, 38, was charged with shooting his estranged wife in the head while they were having a little bedroom "reunion," but he swears it was just an unfortunate accident while he was reaching for something. WDTN-TV (Dayton, Ohio) via WLFI-TV (Lafayette, Ind.)
Comments 'timothy_havens'

More Things to Worry About on Friday

Slapstick comes to Austin: A home invader fled on foot to a nearby golf course, with police on his heels. He hopped in a golf cart, police hopped in another, and the Mack Sennett comedy was on, zig-zagging over the course. KVUE-TV (Austin, Tex.)

Armless people who can drive cars with their feet are so 20th century because there's now a licensed armless airplane pilot. NBC via KUSA-TV (Denver)

"I'm a good mother . . . I'm a good decisionmaker," said Angela Honeycutt, 39, to the mother of a boy who she admitted showering with and kissing (but not "touching" and certainly no sex). Philadelphia Inquirer

Recurring Theme: Three seniors, blood-alcohol 0.0, trouble distinguishing "brake" from "gas," plowed their cars into various things and people (in Milwaukie, Ore., age 83, driving 50 feet into a sporting goods' store) (in Dallas, age 82, into a Cub Scout troop in a Christmas parade, wounding 12) (in Austin, age 94 and a former state Supreme Court justice, through a retaining wall and into a downtown lake). (Bonus: His Honor still practices law!) Clackamas County Sheriff's Office /// Associated Press via Houston Chronicle /// KEYE-TV (Austin)

Comments on More Things to Worry About on Friday?
Comments 'worry_081205'

Posted By: Chuck - Fri Dec 05, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

Name That List, #8

What is this a list of? Click on "More" or "Comments" for the answer.

• An old horse pistol (not cocked)
• A novel titled The Surprises of Love, Exemplified in the Romance of a Day..., with annotations
• Ovid's Metamorphoses
• A paper souvenir "printed on the River Thames, Feb. 3rd, 1814."
• A lottery ticket for 1796
• A double-ended fob purse made of steel beads (containing silver and copper coins and tokens).
• A woman's embroidered nightcap
• An ivory dice-box.
• A bone puzzle with rings.
• A set of brass money weights.
• A pair of gold inlaid, ear-rings.
• A cameo or worked pebble.

More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 05, 2008 - Comments (6)
Category: Name That List