Children of Japan

Wow.
Worst. Timing. Ever.
Release a friendly documentary about Japanese kids in the same year as Pearl Harbor.
Wow.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 06, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Family, Foreign Customs, Documentaries, 1940s, Asia

Instant Karma

Jesse Gonzalez, 24, of Bridgeport Connecticut, was struck by a car and a bus while fleeing the scene of a fatal shooting Monday evening. Apparently Jesse and his father, Joaquin Gonzalez, had a history of domestic violence and officers had been called to their home before to settle disputes. But the argument on February 22 ended badly. Jesse is accused of shooting his father in the head, killing him. The article includes photos and a video.

Posted By: Nethie - Wed Feb 24, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Crime, Family, Goofs and Screw-ups

Do It Yourself Insemination

Ladies! Is your biological clock ticking away but there's no man in your life? Have no fear, the do it yourself insemination kit is here! But what is it and where does it come from? Well, back in 2005, Britian changed a law that affects the anonymity of sperm donors and has since seen a huge drop in the amount of sperm being donated. This has lead to women seeking fertility treatments abroad, and in a growing number of cases, buying do it yourself insemination kits from the internet. Yes, that means you can buy an unknown man's sperm online and use it to inseminate yourself in the comfort of your own home. The kit (shown) contains a sterile semen container, lubricant, a plastic speculum, disposable gloves and sterile pasteur pipettes. You can read more about the process here and order the kit. (Bonus! You can also order a vibrator for men.) Frankly, I would think you'd have to be extremely flexible to do this by yourself.

Posted By: Nethie - Sun Jan 24, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Family, Science, Sexuality, Body Fluids

Thanksgivings of Yore

You still have enough time in the next two weeks to rearrange your life so that your holiday mirrors the Eisenhowerian perfection on display here

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 14, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Family, Holidays, Television, 1950s

Cheating

Obviously, Bernie Madoff and too many other prominent figures were never exposed to this video in their youth

Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 24, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Education, Family, Juvenile Delinquency, Teenagers, Lies, Dishonesty and Cheating, Documentaries, 1950s

Friendship Begins at Home

Posted By: Paul - Wed Sep 16, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Family, Movies, Documentaries, 1940s

Mother Takes a Holiday

Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 10, 2009 - Comments (2)
Category: Domestic, Marriage, Family, Children, Husbands, Teenagers, Wives, Movies, Documentaries, Advertising, Products, 1950s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Weird Science - Biology

Men are now obsolete, thanks to work by scientists at the Northeast England Stem Cell Institute. Professor Karim Nayernia and team have managed a "scientific first" by inducing stem cells into becoming artificial sperm in laboratory conditions. In mice, these sperm have proven able to fertilise eggs and produce viable offspring, opening the door to potential new infertility treatments in humans. Additionally, the stem cells themselves may come from either sex, raising the possibility of children being born without the traditional male input. Any such treatment is many years away however, and there are still problems to be overcome, not least that all the mice babies so far produced by this technique had abnormally short lives. Nayernia admits that the process is not perfect, but says that it could be ready for human trials in less than ten years (Telegraph).

But mothers, don't kick out the old man yet, not if you want a little help with the childcare that is. A team from the "Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution" in France has confirmed a prediction of the theory of evolution that fathers will invest more in children that resemble them. A total of 30 Senegalese families were studied and the paternal investment and resemblance were quantified for each. As expected, there was a significant correlation between the resemblance and investment scores, but also between investment and the nutrition and health of the child. So it seems we fathers still have our uses, for now (Science Daily).

Animals do many weird things to avoid being eaten, from camouflage, to making themselves look bigger or more dangerous, to having a false head or eye on a less vital point to divert attackers. However, one spider has a tactic that's never been observed before; it makes decoy models of itself. The Cyclosa mulmeinensis spider of Orchid Island, near Taiwan, decorates its web with pellets of silk the same size and (to wasps) colour as itself, then hides among them. Researchers from Tunghai University were actually able to observe wasp predators attacking the decoys while the spider escaped, confirming the effectiveness of the trick. The strategy is not without risk though, by having more spider sized blobs on it, the web may also be easier for the wasps to detect (Daily Mail).



More in extended >>

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Wed Jul 08, 2009 - Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Babies, Family, Insects and Spiders, Medicine, Science, Anthropology

The Shaggs

Here's an oldie-but-goodie from the catalog of weird music: MY PAL FOOT-FOOT, by the Shaggs.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 05, 2009 - Comments (4)
Category: Cryptozoology, Fictional Monsters, Family, Music, 1960s

A Miracle or a Freak of Nature?

Sixteen year old Brooke Greenberg doesn't age. She doesn't grow, physically, or get sick, like everyone else. In fact, the only parts of Brooke that grow normally are her nails and her hair. She can't speak, but uses the sounds that a toddler might use to vocalize what she wants. She must also have a tube in her stomach in order to eat, since her esophagus hasn't developed to handle "grown up" foods. Her doctors are baffled but her family believes she is here to help us answer the questions of mortality. You can read more about Brooke here.

Posted By: Nethie - Fri Jun 26, 2009 - Comments (5)
Category: Family, Health, Medicine, Science