"Find the Mass of Undifferentiated Cells" - nope, they're differentiated all right. :)

Bebinn is right - here're more hints: head on the left-hand side, foot (and toes) on the right.

Actually, I've blogged about Fucking, Austria a while back!

Thanks p3on - that's twice today! I've updated the main post for the RSS readers.

Oops - fixed now. Thanks p3on!

So a couple of people asked me, why did I believe the story as true?

Of course, there is a small footnote in the bottom of the article saying that it was published April 1st, 1999 - this shoulda clued me in but I just didn't see it.

BME doesn't usually print hoaxes (or at least I don't think they do). Indeed, the site is dedicated to unusual and extreme body modification (check the website out at your own risk, especially the "heavy or extreme" mods).

Amputation-fetish is also not unknown (see, for example: Apotemnophilia. BME even has a section dedicated to it (along other things I can't mention here!)

So, what was unusual is the reattachment of the arm. I suppose it's possible, hence the post on neatorama.

Anyhow, I could have simply erased the entry - but that wouldn't be fair. I have to admit that I was had. :)

I ain't ashamed - I admit I had to look up "bistable multivibrator". According to this website, it means "flip-flop".

Sorry - typo. Fixed now.

Or jail time.

Yup, good catch guys! :0 oh well, BME 1 Gullible Alex 0.

Thanks Lyn! The Capuchins' Catacombs in Palermo is quite creepy:

Children are sometimes posed. Two are seated together in a small rocking chair. Rosalia Lombardo was one of the last corpses to make it to the catacombs before the local authorities discontinued the practice. Rosalia died about 1920 and is nicknamed the "Sleeping Beauty". It was said that her sister and family visited her coffin often after her death.

A couple of interesting links:

The Standard-Times update | UMass Dartmouth to investigate story.

BoingBoing: Debate on veracity of story.

How hard is it to check if someone's been eating at night? From The Sydney Morning Herald:

NEPAL'S "Buddha boy" is under investigation by the authorities, who question his claim not to have eaten anything for six months and are examining his followers' finances.

The Government believes Ram Bomjon, 15, may be eating at night when his shrine is closed to visitors.

I think the original reason is probably a little bit more mundane:

Legend has it that in the late 13th century a handful of earth from Christ's grave was brought to Sedlec and scattered over the graveyard, thus turning it into a pilgrimage site for people from all over Central Europe. The medieval plague epidemic saw thousands of people being buried there, far too many for the graveyard to cope with.

This website has more info.

Zena's in the UK, which is a lot less sue-happy than the US. :)

Well, I think it's actually Möbius, right?