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If you thought bloodletting, maggots and leeches were all outdated in our modern world, you were wrong. In fact, they are only a handful of the many bizarro medical treatments that will leave you both disgusted and fascinated with their effectiveness when you read about strange medical treatments that are actually quite useful.
To be fair, bloodletting is far from a cure-all like medieval doctors believed, but it is still a useful practice in some cases. When someone suffers from excess iron, known as hemochromatosis, bloodletting is an effective means of releasing the built up iron. The treatment is also used to help people who have too many red blood cells in their blood stream, a condition known as polycythemia.
I know most people think the last thing they should ever see at a hospital is a maggot, but they can actually be a quite effective and sanitary way to treat wounds that do not respond to conventional medicinal treatments. The bowfly larvae eat away dead tissue and bacteria, allowing the healthy, living tissue to thrive. “I call them microsurgeons,” said Edgar Maeyens, Jr., a doctor in Coos Bay, Oregon, who employs maggot treatment. “They can do what we can’t do with scalpels and lasers.”
In many cases, the maggots can help treat festering wounds that have been open for weeks, even years, within only a day or two. While the treatment is pretty gross looking, patients rarely feel anything and when they do, it’s generally an itching or tickling sensation and nothing more.
Image via OakleyOriginals [Flickr]
What happens when you cross bloodletting and maggot therapy, you get bloodsucking leech therapy. Of course, the leeches aren’t used for everything, including headaches and ear infections, like they were in medieval times; instead they are used to help drain blood from swollen parts of the body after reconstructive surgery. Doctors find they are particularly helpful when the areas contain many blood vessels that can easily clot up, like the ear.
New studies are underway to find the effectiveness of leeches in other treatments, such as the reduction of pain and inflammation of osteoarthritis.
Apparently there have been thousands of micro-surgeons swarming the earth before mankind began, we just never had the science to back them up until now. Worm therapy is yet another insect treatment that is quite promising, and incredibly disgusting. The treatment involves the use of a parasitic worm (the type depends on the specific condition) being intentionally released within the patient’s body.
While scientists have still not drawn any firm conclusions as to the effectiveness of this treatment and the reason it seems to work, preliminary studies have been largely favorable in showing the parasites do have a positive effect. The worms have been used in a variety of treatments including celiac disease, Chron’s disease, allergies, asthma, multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis.
Image via AJC1 [Flickr]
How did they treat syphilis before antibiotics were discovered? With a little dose of malaria, that’s how. While it sounds crazy, this treatment is relatively effective. The high fever from the malaria kills the syphilis bacteria and malaria can then be treated with quinine.
If you ever find yourself suffering from syphilis and happen to have malaria treatments on hand, but no antibiotics, you can always try this treatment. Otherwise, it has fallen out of favor since we now have safer methods to treat the STD. Even so, it is still used in some parts of the world.
Image via psd [Flickr]
If you were grossed out by any of the other treatments so far, then you may want to skip past this probiotic treatment. Fecal bacteroetherapy is exactly what it sounds like, the treatment of certain diseases with fecal mater. It works by transplanting healthy fecal material from a donor and then inserting it anally via enema into the patient. The healthy bacteria from the sample are believed to help restore normality to the patient.
The treatment is considered quite effective for treating severe inflammatory bowel disorder and may be a good alternative treatment for Chron’s disease and a few other conditions.
Image via locator [Flickr]
Smoking is a bad habit in most cases, but people at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson disease may find the benefits to be worth the risks as studies have shown a 50% reduction in these diseases in smokers.
What’s the weirdest treatment you’ve ever undergone?
Source: National Geographic, Live Science, Wikipedia, Neatorama, Health Mad
If you thought KFC’s Double Down was bad, just wait until you get your hands on the new Fried Cheese Melt from Denny’s. The heart-stopping monstrosity combines 4 fried mozzarella sticks and a grilled cheese sandwich. At only $4 with a an included side of fries, it’s a lot more filling for the price tag than the Double Down. I have to admit, while I found the Double Down to be seriously nasty looking, I am a sucker for cheese, so this actually looks pretty good to me.
Would you eat it?
Link Via Consumerist
July is National Ice Cream Month and it is indeed a great month to enjoy a cool scoop of your favorite flavors. If you’re looking to expand your tasting horizons to some of the stranger flavors in the ice cream rainbow, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve collected the weirdest and wackiest ice cream flavors from around the world for your enjoyment.
You’ll notice some of the flavors seen on other lists, like lychee, red bean and sesame, are not included here, as they are everyday dessert flavors in their country, and therefore, not all that strange as an ice cream flavoring. Instead, this article focuses on those flavors that make even the most native-son of a given region ask “what the heck were you thinking?”
It could be debated whether or not this North American frozen treat is technically an ice cream, being as how it’s made without any cream or even vegan-friendly cream substitutes, but its nickname, “Eskimo Ice Cream” and its shocking ingredients certainly qualify it to be on this list. So what’s in agutuk? Snow, berries, seal oil and reindeer fat. If cute animals make delicious food, then this has got to be the best ice cream around.
Image via Andrea Pokrzywinski [Flickr]
As for more traditional ice creams with non-traditional flavors, this savory crab ice cream is described as more of a frozen crab bisque than what you would normally think of as ice cream.
The lobster ice cream seems a lot more along the lines of a traditional American dessert product, as it has a sugary butter base with chunks of sweet lobster blended in. A Massachusetts dessert parlor started making the treat just to prove that they actually do concoct their own flavors. Surprisingly, the flavor took off and is now one of the most popular items served.
For an equally luxurious treat, consider the caviar ice cream by Philippe Faur. If that’s not your style, he also makes mustard, Roquefort, black truffles, pepper and foie gras flavor as well. Unlike the lobster ice creams, these aren’t meant for dessert though, they are actually intended as a side dish or appetizer to tantalize the senses and prepare you for accompanying flavors to come.
Apparently luxurious savory ice creams aren’t actually a modern trend, but an old time classic that has been long forgotten about. Lorraine Eaton discovered and posted a recipe for oyster ice cream that dates back to 1824 and was supposedly a popular treat amongst the upper classes in the time of the Revolutionary War. The dish itself is essentially just an oyster stew with the oysters strained out. Reviews from Eaton’s recreation of the dish seem fairly mixed and one tester nearly vomited after tasting it, but it would certainly be a brave appetizer for those who want to feel a gourmet connection with the founding fathers.
If you’re looking for a customizable fish-based ice cream, better head to Cold Stone Creamery in Florida’s Fernandina Beach during the local shrimp fest to try their shrimp ice cream with your choice of mix-ins. Apparently, the light flavor of shrimp makes this base a perfect compliment to tropical fruits like pineapple and coconut.
The Japanese are known for being very open to new flavors. In fact, ice cream itself is even a fairly recent addition to the national palate, which is why they are so open to experimenting with flavor combinations most Americans could never even imagine. Some fun flavors you might be afraid to try include octopus, squid ink and eel. Supposedly the octopus flavor isn’t too bad and it doesn’t have any chunks in it unless you buy it garnished with tentacles. Squid ink has a rather mild flavor, so the pitch black sweet also gets fairly high ratings, even from non-natives.
On the other hand, eel seems to be limited to those with more “acquired tastes” for the fish and is said to taste incredibly fishy, or as one reviewer put it, “imagine a section of the ocean where about eight thousand very large sea creatures have died and started to decompose.” I’m all for exotic tastes, but this is one I think I’d have to pass on.
Images via wilhelmja [Flickr], Katherine Donaldson [Flickr] and Associated Content
The famous Manneken Pis statue in BrusselsPhoto: Stylva [Flickr CC commons]
You pee, I pee, we all pee – but have you ever given thought to what exactly you’re flushing out of your body? In her book That’s Disgusting! An Adult Guide to What’s Gross, Tasteless, Rude, Crude, and Lewd, Greta Garbage explains all sorts of bizarre trivia about urine.
Warning: not for the squeamish. True to the title of her book, Greta Garbage’s book is like a No Holds Barred trivia book about really gross things. You’ve been warned (or if this sort of things interest you, then “urine” for a treat!) more …
With all the food monstrosities featured on Neatorama on a regular basis, is it any wonder that we are huge fans of March 28th’s Something On A Stick Day? After all, aside from wrapping something with bacon, how else can you improve any given food so easy? Of course, if you wrap bacon around most of these top ten foods on a stick, you could only make them better.
On second thought, why wrap everything with bacon when you could just put a thick slice of bacon on a stick? To make things even better, try coating it with French fries glued on with corndog batter and then deep fry it. As the creator says, you could make it a bacon wrapped hot dog on a stick, but why bother with the inferior hot dog meat?
If you like your bacon to be served on the sweet side though, perhaps you’d prefer this delightfully disgusting treat. Simply take some thick-cut bacon and fold it around a stick, then wrap it in angel food, deep fry it all and then dunk it in chocolate. Got milk?
Perhaps fatty pig but isn’t your favorite deep-fried animal remnant though. Maybe you like chicken innards or blood. If you think gizzards and fried hearts are gross, you’d better stay away from the street food in the Philippines, where deep fried chicken intestines and gelatinous chicken blood are both served on sticks. At least the chicken blood is kind of good for you.
The street food of the Philippines has nothing on the diversity of the food stalls on the streets of Beijing though. Many visitors to the Olympics have written about their surprise about finding scorpions, dung beetles, lizards, starfish, seahorses and more on a stick. According to Sun Hainan, a young food trader in the area, “Seahorses are good for men’s kidneys and their virility, Crustaceans are good for girls -they improve their skin and looks- and lizards boost virility.”
Link Image via AudreyH [Flickr]
There’s something about batter that just makes things on a stick that much more delicious. Compare the image of seahorses on a stick to this delightfully Japanese treat of tempura octopus tentacles on a stick. It’s hard to deny this treat would only look half as tempting without the delightful tempura batter.
While other countries may think they have the on-a-stick concept down, I’m still convinced it’s something Americans have in their blood. After all, who else but a Southern woman (namely Paula Deen) would think to pair her deep-fried turkey with stuffing on a stick?
Americans even improve the foods of other nations. While the picture may look like a simple meatball on a stick, it is much more. There is actually pasta cooked right inside the meatball itself to create a full spaghetti and meatball dinner with just one stickful of goodness.
Link Image via Deacon Steve [Flickr]
Of course, not all foods on a stick need to be deep fried. These minipies on a stick aren’t exactly great for you, but at least they’re baked rather than fried. Think of them as soft, chewy lollipops, or as pies you can munch on the go.
Speaking of delicious sweet treats on a stick, how about some little cinnamon rolls? The creator, Zoe, apparently makes an array of bread products on sticks, but what could be better than a cinnamon roll pop? Zoe created these treats and others to compete in the prestigious Minnesota State Fair. Just check out some of their amazing stick-foods available.
The Minnesota State Fair’s Oodles of Noodle booth just might have been where This Is Why You’re Fat reader Emily Fredrix discovered this ooey-gooey deep-fried s’more on a stick.
If you’re looking for a DIY on-a-stick project that makes a great gift, you might want to consider making some of these delicious and lovely hot chocolates on a stick. Simply use the stick as a stirrer in a cup of warm milk and you’ll have rich, creamy cocoa that’s sure to keep you warm in the winter.
Your turn readers. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen on a stick? Also which of these would you most likely snack on? I have to admit, I think the s’more on a stick looks like pure heaven.
Scientific jobs can be glamorous and certainly are interesting, but they often a lot of hard work, and possibly gross work. Popular Science has published its annual list of the ten worst jobs in science. One of the less offensive is “armpit detective”.
Groups at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and at Florida International University hope to isolate the compounds that give us each a unique aroma. The problem is that our diet, medications, toiletries and other factors make it difficult to discern natural scent from manufactured odorants. And so, since 1973, George Preti of Monell has collected human odors, recently focusing on the underarm, the mouth and urine.
You won’t want to read this while eating. However, as a bonus you’ll see what the best job in science is! Link -via Digg
A lot of people buy clothes and immediately wear them without washing them, but a recent study has come out showing that this can be an unintentionally filthy habit. Good Morning America went to a number of both high-end and low-end retailers and purchased 14 items of clothing, which they then sent to Dr. Philip Tierno, director of microbiology and immunology at New York University, to test. The results were surprisingly disgusting; many of the items had fecal germs on them and one blouse also had vaginal organisms and yeast on it. Some of the samples had many people’s secretions, while others only had one heavily contaminated person’s germs.
While this isn’t usually enough to make you sick, it could be and either way, it is certainly disgusting.
Link Image via Clean Wal-Mart [Flickr].
The
following is a Neatorama
Shop Story, a narrative starring the products carried in this blog’s
very own online store.
I Once Had a Chum from Nantucket
Summer, 1975. Quint, Dreyfuss and I had just boarded the Queequeg, a bigger boat sailing out of Nantucket. As the lithe, long torsoed teen temptresses and the shoreline that was their spawning ground grew smaller, the salty sea spread herself avast before us, forcing us to feel the magnitude of our own smallness whilst we succumbed to her every swell. Three sailors bobbing alone at sea, chummy in demeanor and aroma, comparing conquests, cutoffs and scars.
As per our manly agreement, we each brought one piece of personal swag. Ever the practical one, I had stowed the largest and most atmospheric jug of rum my summer sundries stipend could secure. Quint’s contribution was a family-sized stick of Old Spice for our mutual use upon disembarkation. As the sun set on the darkened sea, Dreyfuss, whose method, it is widely known today, requires that he never break character from “creepy annoying guy who smells even worse than you’d think,” finally revealed his trade secret, a strict diet of Chum Bucket: green candies, the color of sea sickness itself. Wafting up from the hinged tin came a bouquet of the gutted remains of the day’s catch sloshed overboard and washed ashore, decaying in tide pools for a fortnight until the slurry has congealed into a concentrated algae-crusted outcropping that just might make you sick if you lick it, captured in an after-dinner mint. If you have ever wondered what a gentleman from Nantucket tastes like, but due to geographic limitations have been unable to sample one, now is your chance. (Disclaimer: unlike in an actual close encounter with Dreyfuss or Quint, crabs are not included).
Chum Bucket is canned with artificial seafood flavor, so it just might be safe for vegans. Probably better not to take the risk, since the charming graphics on the tin imply that pureed pirate may be the actual source of the synthesized swill seasoning and octopussy scent. These candies cast the distinct smell and aftertaste of canine glucosamine supplements (waste not, want not), so if you savor the aroma of seaspray-dampened elderly arthritic Portuguese Water Dog, then this is the perfect people treat for you. It is an appropriate gift for fishermen, briny sea hags, and anyone who has ever wished for a candy that looks, smells and tastes like sweetened sea scum. It is the must-have goodie bag item for your next pirate party.
________
The story above is written by the dynamic duo Drs. Ernest and Convalescence Bidet-Wellville (hey, I didn’t name ‘em) of the University of Self-Conscious Consumerism in Olde Busytowne, Connecticut. I suspect they write cover stories for the CIA, so if I’m inexplicably missing the next few days, you know what happened.
Available from the Neatorama Shop: Chum Bucket Candy | See also our vast selection of other Offbeat Mints and Candies
We’ve posted our share of artery clogging-fair foods before, including the deep-fried Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich, but now KFC’s giving them all a run for their money. This heart attack-waiting-to-happen is called the Double Down Sandwich and it’s made of two deep fried chicken breasts used as bread for a bacon and cheese sandwich. It’s apparently only available in limited areas, so I’m wondering, have any of you Neatorama readers tried it and lived to tell the tale? For those of you who haven’t, would you try this delicious, bacony, deathwich?
Link Via Consumerist
Did you know frozen peaches and peas can actually be healthier for you than fresh ones? Were you aware that Chicken McNuggets actually contain beef extract?
There’s a whole lot most of us don’t know about the foods we eat every day and HowStuffWorks is here to fill us in on some of that info. Of course, I don’t recommend reading this if you’ve just ate -particularly if you just ate canned mushrooms.
These Japanese snacks are actually called “Sea Otter Boogers” and apparently are quite tasty treats made of candied black beans. They’re yours for only about $6, of course, you have to speak Japanese to order them.
When you need a bandage your options are rather limited – the traditional boring old band-aid or some embarrassing cartoon character-endorsed variation. Sometimes you just want something a little different and what can be better than these twisted scab bandages. They’re gross, fun and are far better than having Hello Kitty cover your boo-boo.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by whitespace.
These soaps are really cool, in a disturbing, nursing home kinda way. Apparently, they even have a nice minty scent.
This is a story too gross to make up. A plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills is in trouble for modifying his engine to run on liposuctioned fat. Several ex-patients are suing Dr. Craig Bittner because they did not agree to having their excess used for his benefit. Apparently this isn’t the first time something like this has happened or else California wouldn’t already have a law on the books banning people from using human medical waste to power vehicles.
Whatever happened to appreciating the search for alternate fuel sources?
Link Via Consumerist, Photo by dotbenjamin [Flickr]
There’s been an abundance of cute on the web, particularly lately. At least one site aims to counter this movement, and that is Ugly Overload. I’ve been waiting for a great post to share, and this quick collection of tongues is just what the doctor ordered…although, I have to say, I still find the giraffe tongue to be quite cute.
The luxury world of the couture is an interesting place. People are always on the search for the newest, most shocking art or fashion to impress their other rich friends. The culinary world is no exception. While there are still people who love their lobster and fillet mignon, many modern chefs like to experiment with the newest and craziest ingredients, while others like to reach back deep into the past -say, the middle ages- for inspiration. As a result, there are some gourmet foods that are just too out there for the average man and woman to even begin to comprehend. I invite you, my friends, to travel this weird world with me, the strange land of the couture gourmets.
Eating a roasted bird isn't really that crazy, but the process leading up to the roasting of Ortolan birds has actually caused France to declare it illegal for humane reasons. Ortolan birds are nocturnal, sparrow-like birds. To prepare them for cooking, the live birds are trapped in a dark box. The darkness messes with their eating schedule and causes them to continually eat until they are about two to three times their original size. After a proper level of obesity has occurred, the birds are drowned in brandy or other liquor and then, finally, roasted.
Funny how a country that defends fois gras even finds this practice too barbaric. If tortured animals make yummier meals, than this little guy must be quite a treat.
Have
you ever ate a duck and thought, “I could get so much more out of those
bones and guts?” If so, Canard à la Rouennaise is right up your alley.
Basically, the recipe takes a nice roast duck, then places the carcass
in a press and crushes the juice out of everything left over. The result
is a very bloody, very rich “sauce” that can cost around $1000 a plate.
While the presentation may be quite interesting, as they crush the duck right at your table, I just can't understand paying that much for some blood. I know a lot of people love marrow, but isn't this just too crazy?
Corn
smut is a fungus that destroys corn crops. Like many indigenous people,
early villagers decided to make the most out of a bad situation and ate
the fungus that took over their crop. Nowadays, the smut is considered
to be quite a delicacy and sometimes costs more than corn itself.
This is the only thing on this list I have actually ate, of course, that's probably because I don't have the money to be a real gourmet foodie. Surprisingly, it's very delicious if you get it from a good restaurant -preferably one actually in Mexico. It's similar to mushrooms and quite has a nice aroma.
Source (Photo: Zampano [Flickr])
Many
people claim durian is quite good. The smell however, is one of the worst
things on Earth. It is said that you can smell the durian fruit stands
from all the way down the street. Some hotels and airports refuse to let
people bring the fruit inside for fear that it will chase away their customers.
While many people hate the fruit -smell is closely associated with taste after all, many people are quite passionate about their love of durian. The fruit is said to be strongly flavored and savory, with a custard-like texture. Anthony Bordain may have described it the best when he said, "its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."
Source (Photo: Sama Sama - Massa [Flickr])
Here's a food that wouldn't be so strange if it was served in any other manner. Even other foods eaten alive, like shrimp aren't that strange, the main thing here is the whole life-threatening thing. Live octopi can choke you with their moving tentacles. It's a real-life kill or be killed situation.
Dipping your dinner in alcohol is said to help knock them out momentarily and make them less deadly, but that is to be debated. Truly skilled baby octopi eaters will barely chew their meals before gulping them down, but amateurs generally choose to chew them thoroughly -which can take up to 15 minutes. As you can see in the video, eating the treat can be quite a challenge for a novice.
French
foodies flip over a lot of things, but two things they hold close to heart
are caviar and escargot. So a pair of snail farmers thought, “why not
combine them?” The flavor is said to be delicate and quite nice, but from
what I hear, most people still prefer caviar.
The process to making snail caviar is a carefully guarded secret by the couple who invented it. We do know it involves very happy snails getting freaky in a huge barn and a hand review all of the eggs to make sure they are up to par. Between there being only one supplier and requiring quite tedious harvesting, all done by hand, the price of the snail caviar is quite high -about $82 an ounce to be more specific.
Source (Photo: Fr Antunes [Flickr])
Bird
nest soup, as the name suggests, is created using nests created by the
nests of cave swifts. These specific birds create their nest from their
own saliva, which hardens into a sort of shell. When boiled, the nest
creates a unique flavor and jelly-like consistency that is quite popular
in many parts of Asia -at least, amongst those who can afford it. The
nests are one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans.
Just one bowl of the soup costs between $30 and $100 American dollars.
Of the multiple species of cave swifts that create these nests, the most expensive nests come from in a red shaded and are said to have additional medicinal qualities. These health benefits range from curing asthma to boosting the immune system to aiding digestion. Like many medicinal meals from the East though, this has not been scientifically proven as of yet.
Photo: Chadedwardxxx
[Flickr]
Surely you've heard the urban legend that someone bought a carton of eggs, cracked one open and found a chicken fetus inside? Well, this is sort of the same thing, except it's not an urban legend and it's a duck instead of a chicken. Oh yeah, and it's on purpose.
Basically, you take your fertilized egg, boil it and there's your meal. Most people seem to eat the egg around the fetus and then snack down the baby duckling bones and all. The “ripeness” of the egg varies from country to country, but it can be eaten any time from being boneless and tiny to pretty much being baby ducks with tender bones and beaks.
I
must admit, it was hard to choose the ranking positions for this list.
It's hard to compare duck fetus to corn fungus to killer octopi, but I
have to say that coffee beans that have been partially digested definitely
deserve a place in the top three. If the title or photo of this one hasn't
given it away already, let me be clear. Kopi Luwak is a very popular coffee
blend right now, despite the fact that the beans get their special flavor
by being eaten and then pooped out by a civet -a cute mammal from South-east
Asia.
The coffee is one of the most expensive brews in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 a pound. Because the digestive enzymes of the civets break down the proteins in the beans that ordinarily make coffee bitter, the blend is naturally sweeter.
Casu Marzu is a sheep's milk cheese loaded with writhing, live fly larva. It is illegal in many countries for its obvious health dangers, but for some reason, foodies still actively seek it out. Even worse, the cheese can become toxic after the maggots die, so it has to be eaten while they are still very alive. The texture is rather creamy and it is generally served on Sardinian flat bread. Dinners are expected to keep their hands over the cheese as they place it in their mouth because these larva can jump up to 15 cm -potentially right into dinner's eyes.
This is one of the only things on this list that makes me want to throw up just by looking at it. I mean, this is one food that almost makes Gordon Ramsay puke -that alone says how disgusting this specialty is. Flies are filthy and eating the living bodies and excrement of their larva is just not right, regardless of where you're from.
Have any of you ever experienced these foods? What did you think of them? If not, what was the weirdest thing you ever ate?
MSN and Marie Claire have paired up to bring you a fun list of gifts you don’t want. While some of them are actually kinda cool, like the beta fish book ends, there are certainly some wonderfully terrible gift ideas listed as well.
The gold pills shown to the right sound exactly like an old Dave Chapelle sketch, as they’re supposed to bling out your “leavings.” I have to agree with MSN on this one, I certainly do not want this as a gift, even if the person giving them spent oer $400 on my present.
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