For Your Health

How seeing the same doctor helps your health

Patients are more likely to raise a health problem with […]

Healthier processed food? Essence of strawberry could be the key

University of Florida scientists believe they have pinpointed the exact compounds […]

Medical Journal Article on Sword Swallowing

The researchers were precise in their methodology:

We excluded cases in which injury was related to swallowing items other than swords, such as . . . jack hammers.

As well they should!

Brian Witcombe, a physician, and Dan Meyer, an executive in a professional organization for sword swallowers, published an article in a 2006 issue of the British Medical Journal. It evaluated the health risks of sheathing a sword inside the human esophagus. They surveyed 46 sword swallowers and determined that performers increase the likelihood of injury by “adding embellishments to their performance.”

Who engages in this performing art? Amy Kraft of The Week attended a meeting of sword swallowers. It was one of many held simultaneously at Ripley’s Believe It or Not locations around the United States. She writes that sword swallowing originated in India about 4,000 years ago. It requires careful and rigorous training:

To get there, you must first learn to suppress the gag reflex in the back of your throat, which sword swallowers work on for years. Then you have to flip back your epiglottis and relax several other involuntary muscles in the esophagus, which winds past major organs, including the heart. Finally, to get the sword into the stomach you have to relax the lower sphincter muscle and repress the stomach's retch reflex.

Peeing In The Pool Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

We’ve all heard of people doing it, we’ve all done it on the sly once or twice in our life, and we’ve all heard the urban legends about the colorful chemical that identifies the culprit.
I’m talking, of course, about peeing in the pool, and up until now it has been seen as a harmless, albeit gross, thing to do when you’re swimming those summer days away and don’t want to get out just to empty your bladder.
But scientists have discovered something that will ruin your summer- peeing in the pool can be hazardous to your health. According to scientist from China Agricultural University and Purdue University “compounds in urine mix with chlorine to form chemicals that have been linked to respiratory effects in swimmers”, so the next time you take a dip try to hold it until you get out- for your health.

Ziggy

San Marino

Tiny State, Big Baggage

by Walter Mayr

The trial of a former head of state has brought unwanted media attention on the often overlooked San Marino, the world's oldest Republic. The nation, which is already reeling from the financial crisis, is not amused. More

IKEA is Learning About Americans

IKEA conducted a survey of Americans to find out about their homes and lifestyles. Fast Company looked through it and found some interesting results, which they expanded on. Here's a sample.

1. Only 1% [of those surveyed] want their home to reflect how successful they have been.
Analysis: This may seem surprising, but in fact Americans often choose to lie to surveys to make themselves appear more humble.

2. 62% of respondents say they control the remote over their significant other, children, friends, or others. However, 74% of men are more likely to say they control the remote than women at 52%.
Analysis: Americans are warlike creatures who must wrest control of an item called a control.

Number one is kind of believable. I understand the theory of conspicuous consumption as well as the next person, but where I live, if your house looks nicer than your cousin’s house, that cousin will be over all the time asking to borrow money. Number two adds up to way over 100%, but that can be explained by the American habit of having a TV for every person in the house. You don’t have to argue over the channel if you’re in separate rooms.

If you want to see the entire IKEA report, you’ll find that here. I noticed that 27% percent of Americans use technology in their kitchens. The other 73% either don’t realize what technology means, or else they never go into the kitchen.

Man kidnapped his mother because she didn't want to move with him to Miami

A man from Richmond, Virginia arrested in South Carolina says he kidnapped his mother because she didn't want to move with him to Miami.

Regelio Lopez, 20, is accused of kidnapping his mother and stuffing her in the trunk of his Cadillac. A dashboard camera video released on Wednesday shows South Carolina troopers pulling over the Cadillac on February 25.

The troopers order Lopez to get on the ground, then open the trunk where a woman is found inside. Troopers had been looking for the Cadillac in connection with the Richmond kidnapping.

YouTube link. Original news video.

In the video, Lopez tells officers he was heading to live in Miami and says he put her in the trunk because she didn't want to go with him. "What made you do that?" a trooper is heard asking. "I was alone," Lopez responds. Lopez is now back in Richmond where he faces a kidnapping charge.

Man with meth arrested three times in three days

A man who police say drove his pickup into a building in Roseburg, Oregon early on Sunday morning has been arrested again. And again.

Roseburg police arrested Michael John Querubin, 48, of Roseburg, after police said he was driving under the influence of a controlled substance when he drove his pickup into the building. Police charged Querubin with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless driving and unlawful possession of meth. Querubin was cited and released from the Douglas County Jail.

 

At about 1:40am on Tuesday, Sheriff's deputies arrested Querubin in the 4800 block of NE Stephens, charging him with unlawful possession of meth. He was again cited and released from the Douglas County Jail. According to the Sheriff's office, Querubin was arrested for the second time on Tuesday shortly before 10:30pm in the 3400 block of Cleveland Hill Road.

Deputies charged Querubin with driving under the influence of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of meth. Querubin was lodged in the Douglas County Jail. Sheriff's deputy Dwes Hutson says the arresting officer in each case has discretion on whether to cite and release a suspect to appear in court, or to lodge them in the jail.

Reluctant whistle-blower finally breathes sigh of relief

A Chinese man who swallowed a plastic whistle when he was 9-years-old and made shrill whistle sounds after falling asleep at night for 15 years has finally been able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Liu Yougang, 23, successfully had an operation to take the whistle out at West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Monday. Liu swallowed the whistle in 1999 but the doctor did not find it in his body.

Liu said that he always found it difficult to breathe in the past 15 years. He also coughed continuously all year round. Zhu Hui, a doctor from the bronchoscope room at West China Hospital examined Liu on February 21 and discovered a foreign object wrapped in granulation tissue in his right lower lobe bronchus.

After half an hour of surgery, the whistle was successfully removed. Zhu said, "The whistle had been embedded in my body for many years and had been broken down gradually." Liu can now speak and eat normally and was recently discharged from hospital.

Man who chased $20 bill down storm drain became stuck underground for two days

A twenty-dollar bill dropped into a storm drain led to a Lawton, Oklahoma man being stuck in the city's underground water drainage system for two days. The man told police that he dropped the money into a storm water drain. He said that he had no choice but to go in after the lost money. But once underground, he lost his way, leaving him with little to do but hope someone would hear his calls for help.

Daily Comic Relief

Luxury Ice Fishing Shacks

The sturdier fishermen of the Upper Midwest of the United States are fond of venturing out to iced-over lakes. Fishing requires time and patience. Ice fishing requires both while enduring cold temperatures. That’s why many drag shacks onto the ice, where they can enjoy essential amenities, such as beer and heaters.

But now these ice fishermen can enjoy shacks far superior to crude wooden structures. Ice Castle Fish Houses, a company in Montevideo, Minnesota, builds veritable ice fishing mansions.

They come with full kitchens, showers, satellite television and beds. There are even air conditioners, which could really come in handy down here in Texas.

When it’s time to actually fish, just pull up a comfortable chair, open a plug in the floor and drop down a line.

Arachnophobia

A teenager who got trapped behind a wardrobe, before being confronted with a spider, called 999 and had to be freed by three firefighters. Reece Thomas, an A-level pupil at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy, decided to rearrange his bedroom on Tuesday afternoon.
He has told how his wardrobe got stuck as he moved it and he became firmly wedged. Then the teenager, who is petrified of spiders, spotted an arachnid and, seeing no other option, called Sussex Police on 999. They alerted firefighters to Reece's plight and a crew went to the home he shares with his parents, Paul and Sarah Goodwin, in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, and freed him.

The 17-year-old, who is studying for qualifications in sports, maths, leadership and IT, said he was physically uninjured but was panicking. He said: “I felt quite claustrophobic and did not like it. I am very embarrassed.” He added: “I was just moving my furniture when I got stuck. I moved it one inch and it must have slipped and got stuck by the bed because next thing I knew I could not move.

“My parents said I should have called them first.” He added: “I want to say thank-you to the firefighters, who did not look very impressed when they came to help me. But there was a spider and I really don't like spiders.” His mother added: “I couldn't believe it when he told me. He is getting stick from people saying he is looking for Narnia.” Sussex Police and East Sussex Fire and Rescue both confirmed they were aware of the incident. A police spokesman said they received the call but the job was more suitable for the fire service.

Poisoned dog saved by bottle of vodka

When Charlie the Maltese terrier was just hours away from death last weekend, vets saved his life with a bottle of vodka.

 

The curious canine was rushed to the Animal Accident & Emergency hospital, having licked some coolant in his owner Jacinta Rosewarne’s garage at Melton, west of Melbourne, Australia.

Vets realised Charlie had ethylene glycol poisoning, which can cause kidney failure within hours and, left untreated, leads to death. So they grabbed a bottle of vodka and started feeding it to Charlie through a tube down his nose and then intravenously.

YouTube link.

“He was definitely drunk,” Ms Rosewarne said. “He was stumbling around, I’d go to pat him and he’d push me away like a normal drunk person, he was vomiting a little, whining like a drunk. I thought it was hilarious ... It was distressing but funny at the same time.” Charlie had 700ml of vodka in two days, a miracle treatment which saved his life but left him with an almighty hangover.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

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Today is - Napping Day

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Today in History

515 BC		The building of the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem is completed.
241 BC		The Roman fleet sinks 50 Carthaginian ships in the Battle of Aegusa.
49 BC		Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon and invades Italy.
1656		In the colony of Virginia, suffrage is extended to all free men regardless of their religion.
1776		"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine is published.
1785		Thomas Jefferson is appointed minister to France.
1806		The Dutch in Cape Town, South Africa surrender to the British.
1814		Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated by an allied army at the Battle of Laon, France.
1848		The treaty of Guadeloupe-Hidalgo is signed which ends the United States' war with Mexico.
1876		Alexander Graham Bell makes the first telephone call to Thomas Watson saying "Watson, come here. I need you."
1893		New Mexico State University cancels its first graduation ceremony, because the only graduate was robbed and killed the night before.
1902		The Boers of South Africa score their last victory over the British, capturing British General Methuen and 200 men.
1910		Slavery is abolished in China.
1924		The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a New York state law forbidding late-night work for women.
1927		Prussia lifts its Nazi ban, Adolf Hitler is allowed to speak in public.
1933		Nevada becomes the first U.S. state to regulate drugs.
1941		Vichy France threatens to use its navy unless Britain allows food to reach France.
1943		Adolf Hitler calls Field Marshall Erwin Rommel back from Tunisia in North Africa.
1944		The Irish refuse to oust all Axis envoys and deny the accusation of spying on Allied troops.
1945		American B-29 bombers attack Tokyo, killing 100,000.
1947		The Big Four meet in Moscow to discuss the future of Germany.
1948		Author Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of F. Scott) dies in a fire at Highland Hospital.
1953		North Korean gunners at Wonsan fire on the USS Missouri, the ship responds by firing 998 rounds at the enemy position.
1954		President Dwight Eisenhower calls Senator Joseph McCarthy a peril to the Republican Party.
1966		The North Vietnamese capture a Green Beret camp at Ashau Valley.
1969		James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King and is sentenced to 99 years in jail.
1971		The Senate approves a Constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to 18.
1975		The North Vietnamese Army attacks the South Vietnamese town of Ban Me Thout, the offensive will end with total victory in Vietnam.
1980		Iran's leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, lends his support to the militants holding the American hostages in Tehran.
1982		The United States bans Libyan oil imports, because of the continued support of terrorism.
1987		The Vatican condemns surrogate parenting as well as test-tube and artificial insemination.

Non Sequitur

Did you know ...

That this tea party candidate mocks gunshot victims on facebook

Is Lysistrata the answer to the repugican cabal?

That "post-racial America" is a dangerous lie

About this gun fail

The repugican Lie Dies as the Obama Economy Hits 48 Straight Months of Job Growth

For the shrub's entire 8 years, job growth was just 1.1 million. Yet under Obama, the private sector has had 48 straight months of job growth, with businesses adding 8.7 million …

We hear a lot about this fictional liberal land under President Obama, where job creation was killed by Obamacare and liberal ideas have destroyed the country. Reality, of course, is quite different. In fact, reality is almost the exact opposite. For the shrub’s entire 8 years, job growth was just 1.1 million. Yet under Obama, the private sector has had 48 straight months of job growth, with businesses adding 8.7 million jobs. Today’s job numbers are a good example of the disconnect. “Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 175,000 in February, and the unemployment rate, at 6.7 percent, changed little,” per Erica L. Groshen, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jason Furman, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, put these numbers in perspective in a statement in which he explained that February was the 48th straight month of private sector job growth, “February 2014 was the 48th straight month of private-sector job growth, with businesses adding 8.7 million jobs over that time.”
This matters because we hear a lot from Republicans about how Obama is killing jobs. However, Rick Newman pointed out in January of 2013 for US News that in shrub’s first term, he created zero job growth, even before the shrub recession. “When the shrub began his first term in January 2001, total nonfarm employment was 132.47 million. When his second term began four years later, it was 132.45 million, or effectively zero job growth.”
So, even though we know math is not a repugican cabal forte, I am hoping we can all agree that zero is smaller than any number above zero. Newman continued the math, “From February 2001 to February 2005, the economy created 164,000 jobs, for a 0.1 percent gain during shrub’s first term. From February 2009 through December 2012, the economy created nearly 1.2 million jobs, a 0.9 percent improvement.”
The repugicans built that zero to .1 percent gain job growth. In shrub’s entire 8 year term, total job growth was just 1.1 million. Obama created more jobs in his first term than the shrub did in his entire 2 terms. Although we have to hand public sector job growth to the shrub. Yes, the Big Government repubgicans don’t like to talk about reality much. They killed public sector jobs under Obama, in an attempt to make his job numbers look bad and cripple government, but ironically, this is only making Obama the Private Sector Job Growth President.
While things are far from great, repugicans really shouldn’t be pointing fingers and tittering about job numbers that are much better than their cabal created.
Job numbers are typically impacted by bad weather but the job growth rate still picked up. Jason Furman explained, “Despite a major snowstorm that hit the East Coast during the reference week for the labor market surveys, the rate of job growth picked up from the December and January pace.”
But as always with this one-party attempt to recover from the Great Recession of 2008, things are not rosy. We have a long way to go. Furman continued, “Nevertheless, the unemployment rate remains elevated, and for too many Americans, wages have been slow to rise.”
What to do about this… We could do a) Nothing (the repugican Plan) except kill emergency unemployment benefit extension or b) Consider the President’s budget which includes job training and other job stimulating policies.
Furman elaborated, “This week, the President put out a budget that can make progress on these issues by investing in education, job training, and innovation, by expanding tax credits for working Americans, and by extending the emergency unemployment benefits that has expired for 2 million Americans. And while the President encourages Congress to act on his proposals, he will also continue to take action on his own wherever possible to support job growth and expand economic opportunity.”
The repugicans already said they would not consider the President’s budget, so Obama is already working with governors in a regional effort to raise the minimum wage. The repugicans in Congress not only don’t want to raise the minimum wage, but are now making noise about killing it all together. They just threw 2 million off of emergency unemployment benefits in addition to blocking a bill for veterans benefits as well.
When it comes to which party we can trust with the economy and with jobs, contrary to conventional wisdom, it is the Democratic Party that paid for programs as they went, balanced the budget, got a surplus, added more jobs, and stayed a steady course instead of the rickety repugican rise and crash style of totally unregulated industry. This is not to claim that things are great. We have a lot of work to do, especially for the middle and working classes. But Democrats will have to do that work alone, as repugicans have made it clear that they will do nothing but obstruct any efforts to make things better.