The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of Carolina Naturally.

In that case we have the healthiest brains in the world right here in the office ...!

 

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Today in History

269		Diocletian is proclaimed emperor of Numerian in Asia Minor by his soldiers. He had been the commander of the emperor’s bodyguard.
1695		Zumbi dos Palmares, the Brazilian leader of a 100-year-old rebel slave group, is killed in an ambush.
1700		Sweden’s 17-year-old King Charles XII defeats the Russians at Narva.
1903		In Cheyenne, Wyoming, 42-year-old hired gunman Tom Horn is hanged for the murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell.
1914		Bulgaria proclaims its neutrality in the First World War.
1928		Mrs. Glen Hyde becomes the first woman to dare the Grand Canyon rapids in a scow (a flat-bottomed boat that is pushed along with a pole).
1931		Japan and China reject the League of Council terms for Manchuria at Geneva.
1943		U.S. Army and Marine soldiers attack the Japanese-held islands of Makin and Tarawa, respectively, in the Central Pacific.
1945		The Nazi war crime trials begin at Nuremberg.
1947		Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) marries Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in Westminster Abbey.
1950		U.S. troops push to the Yalu River, within five miles of Manchuria.
1955		The Maryland National Guard is ordered desegregated.
1962		President John F. Kennedy bars religious or racial discrimination in federally funded housing.
1967		U.S. census reports the population at 200 million.
1971		The United States announces it will give Turkey $35 million for farmers who agree to stop growing opium poppies.
1974		The United States files an antitrust suit to break up ATT.
1978		South Africa backs down on a plan to install black rule in neighboring Namibia.
1981		Microsoft Windows 1.0 released.
1992		Fire in England’s Windsor Castle causes over £50 million in damages.
1998		First module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched.
2008		Dow Jones Industrial Average sinks to lowest level in 11 years in response to failures in the US financial system

The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year…

The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2015 isn’t even a word. It’s an emoji, specifically the crying emoji you see here. It’s a whole new language.

This year Oxford University Press have partnered with leading mobile technology business SwiftKey to explore frequency and usage statistics for some of the most popular emoji across the world, and [this one] was chosen because it was the most used emoji globally in 2015. SwiftKey identified that [this one] made up 20% of all the emojis used in the UK in 2015, and 17% of those in the US: a sharp rise from 4% and 9% respectively in 2014. The word emoji has seen a similar surge: although it has been found in English since 1997, usage more than tripled in 2015 over the previous year according to data from the Oxford Dictionaries Corpus.

There’s more about the decision to go with an emoji, plus the revelation of the eight other words that made the shortlist at the Oxford Dictionaries blog.

Crunning

The latest new sport that doesn’t make any sense is called "crunning." You may think it’s a mashup of crying and running, but no, it means running and crawling. As in, running on your hands and feet. It hit the mainstream when some interns on The Today Show demonstrated it for the TV viewing audience. I’m not holding my breath that it will become a craze. The sport, or, more accurately, "fitness activity" is promoted by Australian Shaun McCarthy, who coined the term. That’s him in the picture.

As to whether crunning is actually beneficial, science seems to settle on a resounding "eh." Is crunning healthier than eating a slab of spam pressed between two pieces of cheesecake? Sure! Is it better for you than watching every single episode of Guiding Light back-to-back while chain drinking BuzzBallz and eating butter with your hands? I'm no doctor, but I say "probably!" Is it better for you than running upright on two feet like a person still clinging to a shred of pride? Absolutely not. Still: "I actually see the Crossfitters at my gym crawling around like that all the time," a friend told me via email.

You can see videos of crunning and read more about it at Gothamist. It might invoke nightmarish memories of middle school gym class.

Comic Book From 1980 Revealed Doctor Who's Real Name

The Doctor's real name (or lack thereof) has been used as a running joke since the early days of Doctor Who, and even though Steven Moffat recently claimed The Doctor's real name is Mildred we know this is simply not true.But what about this unpronounceable, and totally mathematical, name that appeared in a Doctor Who comic book from 1980, could this be The Doctor's true name?

Redditor swanzie shared this earth shattering info, but many weren't convinced since comic book adaptations of movies and TV shows tend to stray from the show's canon as conceived by the creators. Still, it would explain why he would rather simply be known as The Doctor...

Anonymous Declares War On ISIL, Takes Down 5,500 Terror-Linked Accounts In Two Days

What terrifies a terrorist?
Their private information.
Read more 

Airlines Do Fixes on the Cheap by Sending Planes Abroad to Unlicensed Mechanics

Airlines Do Fixes on the Cheap by Sending Planes Abroad to Unlicensed Mechanics

Is Skipping Breakfast Bad For You?

Is Skipping Breakfast Bad For You? The Surprising Truth

Working Up A Sweat May Protect Men From Lethal Prostate Cancer

Working Up A Sweat May Protect Men From Lethal Prostate Cancer

A study that tracked tens of thousands of midlife and older men for more than 20 years has found that vigorous exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits may cut their chances of developing a lethal type of prostate cancer by up to 68 percent. While most prostate...

Are We Close to Ending Malaria?

Are We Close to Ending Malaria?

Around the world, rates of malaria infection have been steadily dropping. Is this the beginning of the end of the malaria parasite?

Mother Who Used Medical Cannabis to Treat Deadly Disease Had Her Son Taken Away, Faces 28 Years in Prison

Mother Who Used Medical Cannabis to Treat Deadly Disease Had Her Son Taken Away, Faces 28 Years in Prison

Most People Won't Change Their Minds, Even If They're Proven Wrong

This explains so much!

Iowa neo-Nazi stomps helpless black man’s face — knocks out woman who tries to intervene

Iowa neo-Nazi stomps helpless black man’s face — knocks out woman who tries to intervene

A white supremacist convicted felon repeatedly stomped a black man’s face during an argument over music at an Iowa bar.

Here are seven famous refugees who made America — and the world — a much better place

Here are seven famous refugees who made America — and the world — a much better place

The crisis of refugees streaming from the bloody civil war in Syria has been ongoing, with hundreds of thousands of people desperately fleeing the Middle East.

Man in Joker mask busted after vowing to murder one Arab person every week

Man in Joker mask busted after vowing to murder one Arab person every week

In the video, which was posted to YouTube but has since been removed, a man wearing a Joker-like mask holds a pistol while making the threats.

Paranoid Woman Gets Four Innocent Muslims Kicked Off Of Flight For Using Smartphone

The reality of flying while Muslim: You can be thrown off of any plane for nearly any reason if someone says they’re scared of you.

Read more 

Vodka-swilling, spade-swinging flasher exposed genitals and made death threats in the street

A vodka-swilling man who exposed himself to a shocked woman from his front window, before flashing police as they arrived to arrest him, has been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years. Drunken David Helens had earlier been spotted swinging a spade in the street by the same witness while drinking from a spirit bottle, leading her to call the police. When he returned to his flat, she saw the 26-year-old pull down his trousers and expose his genitals while ranting that he would ‘kill everyone’. When police were dispatched to his address in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, he flashed officers before making lurid sexual comments in their direction . Helens admitted charges of exposure and using threatening, abusive words or behavior when he appeared before South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Monday. The court heard that Helens is seeking support to tackle drink problems, which have fueled his offending. Glenda Beck, prosecuting, said; “At 11.05pm the witness saw Helens run out of his address, carrying a spade and waving it about in a threatening manner. The defendant appeared drunk. She was across the road and called police as she feared for his and her own safety. She later saw him pull down his trousers and expose himself at his front window, shouting ‘I’m going to kill everyone.’
“When he saw the police arrive, he pulled his trousers down again and made sexual comments to the police. He was then arrested.” David Hatfield, defending, said Helens only gets into trouble with the law when he has drank to excess. He said: “When drink is in, wit is out – that is the case with David Helens. When he does not drink there is never any problem with him. His offenses have been caused by him having excessive amounts to drink. He can hardly remember the incident. This must’ve terribly unpleasant for those who witnessed the incidents.” Helens was given a 12-month community order last December after making a malicious 999 call to the ambulance service claiming a friend had been shot in the chest.
But he had been playing a violent video shooting game on his PlayStation and admitted the call was total fantasy after police and the ambulance service were sparked into action. He was given a fresh 12-month community order for his latest offense, with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and must complete a six-month alcohol treatment order. He was also fined £100 and must pay a criminal courts charge of £180, prosecution costs of £85 and a £60 victim surcharge, as well as having to sign on as a sexual offender until November 2020. Gareth Cracknell, chairman of the magistrates, said: “This is not a very nice thing to do is it. We understand you are engaging with Turning Point (an alcohol misuse support service) about your alcohol issues. What you have done is very stupid. These kind of offenses must stop. We don’t want to see you here again.”

Archaic Texas Laws Have Led Up To 240,000 Women To Perform Their Own Abortions

The closing of safe, clean clinics across the state has brought the back alley abortion back to Texas.
Read more 

Teenage burglar ate food before masturbating into fridge

A homeowner in Laurel, Maryland, was surprised after a teenage burglar committed a lewd act into their refrigerator after eating from it during a break-in. Anne Arundel County Police first began investigating a burglary on Oct. 5., when an electronic tablet was stolen.

After the theft, the victim installed an interior camera system in the home to capture any other misdeeds. On Nov. 7, another burglary was reported at the same home that was captured on the interior camera system that recorded the suspect inside of the home.
Police say the video showed that the teenage suspect entered the home, ate some of the resident’s food, and then masturbated into the refrigerator. The suspect left after stealing cash from the residence. The suspect was identified as a 15-year-old boy who lives nearby in Laurel. Last week, a search warrant was served at the boy’s residence, where police say evidence recovered includes the clothing the suspect was wearing during the recorded burglary.
Police learned the stolen tablet from the first burglary had been sold to a neighbor, who was cooperative and gave the device to investigators for further analysis. The 15-year-old was arrested and confessed to his involvement in the break-ins police say. He was placed in the Cheltenham Youth Facility pending an upcoming court appearance. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of theft of less than $1,000, theft of less than $100 and cause to ingest bodily fluid.

Woman ran over ex-husband's foot after sexual position dispute at storage facility

A 45-year-old Florida woman was arrested on Saturday evening following a series of events that began with a trip to a storage unit with her ex-husband (with whom she has recently reunited). According to police, Wendy Luper and Michael Vaccaro, who were married for 12 years, drove together to retrieve some of his belongings from their storage unit in Bradenton.

While parked in the rear of the facility, “Luper got undressed, and asked Vaccaro if he wanted to have sexual intercourse,” police reported. “Vaccaro agreed, and told Luper to lay down.” But Luper, a court filing notes, “did not want to have sexual intercourse in that position and stated no.” It is unclear where the pair was planning to tryst, or the position that was rejected by Luper. During a subsequent argument, Luper allegedly struck Vaccaro in the head with a thrown object.
As Vaccaro sought to remove some of his belongings from the car’s rear seat, Luper allegedly accelerated the vehicle “with Vaccaro still half way inside the vehicle.” As Vaccaro “pulled out of the vehicle,” Luper drove over his right foot. When officers arrived at the scene, Vaccaro was bleeding from a head wound and his right foot appeared to be swelling. After being contacted by police, Luper returned to the vicinity of the storage facility.
“She was unable to explain” Vaccaro’s injuries, noted police, who added that she “stated Vaccaro wanted to have sex with her.” Luper, who works as a housekeeper, was arrested for domestic battery. She was booked into jail on the misdemeanor charge and released from custody after posting $750 bond. Luper was arrested in August for domestic battery after she allegedly punched Vaccaro in the face, neck, and arm after he ignored her request to do laundry. Prosecutors subsequently declined to pursue the misdemeanor charge against Luper.

Arkansas judge accused of coercing young men into sex in exchange for lighter sentences

Arkansas judge accused of coercing young men into sex in exchange for lighter sentences

An Arkansas judge was accused of targeting “young Caucasian male litigants” and using his position to offer them lighter sentences in exchange for sex.

Missouri cop shot Taser prong into woman’s eye for trying to stop her attackers

Missouri cop shot Taser prong into woman’s eye for trying to stop her attackers

A Missouri woman is suing St. Louis County and a police officer after a Taser prong lodged in her eye and left her at a risk for blindness.

California teen sues cop who threw her face-first to the ground hours after she graduated high school

California teen sues cop who threw her face-first to the ground hours after she graduated high school

18-year-old Gabbi Lemos was brutally assaulted by a police officer after celebrating her graduation from high school at her home.

Skull Carved from a Meteorite

The Los Angeles salesroom of Bonhams, an auction house firm, is offering what it claims is the largest meteorite sculpture in the world. It is Yorick, a sculpture named for the dead jester that Hamlet spoke to in Shakespeare's play.
Artist Lee Downey carved it from one of the many meteorites that lay scattered around Gibeon, Namibia. It arrived on Earth about a thousand years ago some four billion years after the metal was formed in space.
I'd love to see a forensic scientist do a facial reconstruction of this skull. Let's see what Yorick looked like when Hamlet knew him.

Ancient Board Game Found in Looted China Tomb

Ancient Board Game Found in Looted China Tomb

Pieces from a mysterious board game that hasn't been played for 1,500 years were discovered in a 2,300-year-old tomb.

Earth News

Quakes Could Trigger Massive Supervolcano Eruptions

Supervolcanoes, such as the one dormant under Yellowstone National Park, may erupt when cracks form in the roofs of the chambers holding their molten rock, according to a new study.

Severe Weather Kicks Up in Plains, South Again

High winds, hail and tornadoes threaten the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast again this week.

‘UFO’ Captured In Photo Of Earth Taken From The ISS

 

Is the truth out there?
Conspiracy theorists believe that it just might be, after an astronaut on the ISS tweeted this picture - with what appears to be a UFO hanging ominously in the top right hand corner.
The picture was shared by astronaut Scott Kelly - who has spent almost a year in orbit, and now alien conspiracists believe that the photo is an attempt by Kelly ‘to tell the world about the existence of aliens.’
Freaky.
In a YouTube video, conspiracy theorist Sonofmabarker says: ‘You can clearly see a large object with two lights on each end.“

Astronomical News

Superflares Spell Doom For Life on 'Habitable' Exoplanet

In the search for Earth-like worlds beyond the solar system, Kepler-438b seems to have it all. Alas, its angry star is a poor host for any potential lifeforms.

Is This the Loneliest Galaxy in the Universe?

Shimmering deep inside a cosmic supervoid is MCG+01-02-015, a pristine galaxy that is the undisputed galactic loner of the universe.

Strange Stellar Spirals Could Hide Baby Exoplanets

Ripple patterns in the dust around young stars may show off where giant planets are lurking.

Epic Auroras Throughout the Solar System: Photos

Where can you catch a light show in the solar system? Here are some of the locations where we have seen auroras.

Animal News

Top 10 Most Virile Male Animals

A survey of over 100 mammal species shows which males have the longest and/or most plentiful sperm.

Snake-Killing Fungus in Eastern U.S. Identified

Species of snake in nine states are vulnerable to an often deadly disease.

'Protein Compass' May Show Pigeons the Way Home

A pair of proteins may hold the key to how animals like pigeons, sharks and bees sense the Earth's magnetic field and use it to navigate.

Animal Pictures