The Accidents of Youth is a 1819 book of short stories to warn children of the dangerous temptations they should avoid and the gory consequences for not following their mother's advice. Along with the text, there are several wonderful engravings to illustrate the situation.

This particular one is about the hazard of teasing a cat:

My mother used to say, 'Simon, you will be bitten, or scratched, or get kicked;' but I listened to nothing that she said, and continued to do as I pleased. I was soon punished, as you will hear.

"One of our neighbours had a Tom-Cat, whose whiskers were as long as my finger. I amused myself by pulling the hairs. &c.; for, as I have already told you, I was then as naughty as you are. My mother never ceased repeating to me, - 'Simon, the cat will scratch you, if you do not let him alone.' I took no notice of what she said, but went on my own way. One day, when the Tom-cat was in a worse humour than usual, and determined to defend his whiskers, he threw out his paw so nimbly, that he scratched me in the left eye, and burst it. Thus, for not having paid attention to the commands of my mother, God punished me with the loss of an eye.

Link [PDF] - via Internet Archive | More selection of fantastic children's book from the Internet Archive at STWALLSKULL Blog

Apparently, in the Netherlands, women are encouraged to give birth the natural way, at home, and with the help of midwives (who's trained and will get you to the hospital if there is a medical reason).

And that thing to the left is the standard equipment: a birthing stool. (But this one is special.) Amazone of Farqmazone blog explains:

These days most midwives carry one standard with them at deliveries. Sitting on it the birthing woman can make good use of gravity to help getting the child out. It also helps a little preventing a disaster zone down there…

But this is not a regular birthing stool.

The in-laws used to have a milk farm, so when the use of birthing stools came in use, a home made one was soon provided for the births of the third and fourth child.
Kneeling on it helps bearing the labour contractions better before, and after the birth, catching the placenta.

Link (Photo: Amazing Amazone [Flickr])

Been rickrolled? (Who hasn't?) Here's what Rick Astley, the guy whose song "Never Gonna Give You Up" is immortalized as a web meme/annoyance (thanks 4channers!) think about the whole thing:

Over the last year or so, Astley has watched with puzzled amazement as “Never Gonna Give You Up” has been mocked, celebrated, remixed and reprised, its original music video viewed millions of times on YouTube, all by a generation that could barely swallow its Gerber carrots when the song first topped the pop charts.

“I think it’s just one of those odd things where something gets picked up and people run with it,” Astley said. “But that’s what brilliant about the Internet.”

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/03/rick-astley-kin.html (Photo: TD Promotions)

Debbie Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident 8 years ago that robbed her of much of her memory. She cries every time she's told that her son was killed in Iraq, as if hearing the news for the first time.

After winning the lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the accident, her husband put the money in a trust to pay for Debbie's long-term care.

And now, retail giant Wal-Mart wants that money:

Eight years ago, Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan. [...]

Wal-Mart had paid out about $470,000 for Shank's medical expenses, but in 2005, Wal-Mart's health plan sued the Shanks for the same amount.

The Shanks didn't notice in the fine print of Wal-Mart's health plan policy that the company has the right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit.

In fact, they want the money so badly that the sued the family (and won):

Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley, who called Debbie Shank's case "unbelievably sad," replied in a statement: "Wal-Mart's plan is bound by very specific rules. ... We wish it could be more flexible in Mrs. Shank's case since her circumstances are clearly extraordinary, but this is done out of fairness to all associates who contribute to, and benefit from, the plan."

Jim Shank said he believes Wal-Mart should make an exception.

"My idea of a win-win is -- you keep the paperwork that says you won and let us keep the money so I can take care of my wife," he said.

The family's situation is so dire that last year Jim Shank divorced Debbie, so she could receive more money from Medicaid.

Jim Shank, 54, is recovering from prostate cancer, works two jobs and struggles to pay the bills. He's afraid he won't be able to send their youngest son to college and pay for his and Debbie's care.

"Who needs the money more? A disabled lady in a wheelchair with no future, whatsoever, or does Wal-Mart need $90 billion, plus $200,000?" he asked.

Legally, Wal-Mart is in the right. But morally, I don't think so. There's a Wal-Mar near where I work, and I shop there quite often. But after reading this, perhaps it's time to go to Target, which is a just little farther away.

Link

Photo: John H. Bradley

That burning crater near Darvaza, Turkmenistan, is called "The Door to Hell" by the locals. Decades ago, geologists were drilling for gas when they hit an underground cavern filled with gas. The drilling rig and camp collapsed into the cave and ignited the gas, which has been burning ever since.

Photographer John H. Bradley has more amazing photos of the Darvaz Burning Gas Crater: Link - via English Russia Fogonazos - Thanks Louise and Josh!

Phillips Connor has a series of YouTube clip for you to see:

[YouTube Link]

Black magic is taken very seriously in many parts of the world. In India, for example, people believe in "tantriks" (or black magic practitioners).

So, when Sanal Edamaruku, the president of Rationalist International, challenged a tantrik to kill him with black magic, it makes for an excellent television:

During the discussion, the tantrik showed a small human shape of wheat flour dough, laid a thread around it like a noose and tightened it. He claimed that he was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes by using black magic. Sanal challenged him to try and kill him.

The tantrik tried. He chanted his mantras (magic words): “Om lingalingalinalinga, kilikili….” But his efforts did not show any impact on Sanal – not after three minutes, and not after five. The time was extended and extended again. The original discussion
program should have ended here, but the “breaking news” of the ongoing great tantra challenge was overrunning all program schedules. [...]

After nearly two hours, the anchor declared the tantrik’s failure. The tantrik, unwilling to admit defeat, tried the excuse that a very strong god whom Sanal might be worshipping obviously protected him. “No, I am an atheist,” said Sanal Edamaruku. Finally, the disgraced tantrik tried to save his face by claiming that there was a never-failing special black magic for ultimate destruction, which could, however, only been done at night. Bad luck again, he did not get away with this, but was challenged to prove his claim this very night in another “breaking news” live program.

Read the rest of the story: Link - via Pharyngula

Does a boomerang return when thrown in zero-gravity? Japanese astronaut Takao Doi did the experiment aboard the International Space Station:

Before he flew on the U.S. shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station on March 11, astronaut Takao Doi told the press he wanted to test the boomerang in space. The idea came to him by request from his friend Yashuhiro Togai, a world boomerang champion. Doi has completed the test as promised and claims the boomerang worked well at the International Space Station.

A spokeswoman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency told the Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun that astronaut Takao Doi threw a boomerang and watched it come back.

Takao Doi told his wife in a chat from space that he was very surprised when the boomerang came back. He said it flies the same way it does on Earth.

Link

Weburbanist has a neat post about 5 Places You've Probably Never Thought to Go Skiing. Amongst the far out places are Lebanon (check the weather and the political climate before you go), Bolivia (the highest ski slope in the world) and this one above: Dubai.

The Ski Dubai indoor slope has over 20,000 square meters of interior space and accommodates snowboarding and sledding in addition to skiing. Since it is, of course, not weather-dependent it is open all year round with five runs of varying difficulty and a freestyle zone. The building is highly energy-efficient but of course no indoor ski area in the desert can be considered environmentally friendly.

How much money do they have anyways? Link

If you don't understand a whit about what's happening with the credit crisis and the whole subprime mortgage mess, here's a primer - in cartoon form - at Joey deVilla's Accordion Guy blog: Link

Or, if you're literary and like readin' words, the New York Times has a nice write up.

Raise your hand if you don’t quite understand this whole
financial crisis.

It has been going on for seven months now, and many people probably feel as if they should understand it. But they don’t, not really. The part about the housing crash seems simple enough. With banks whispering sweet encouragement, people bought homes they couldn’t afford, and now they are falling behind on their mortgages.

But the overwhelming majority of homeowners are doing just fine. So how is it that a mess concentrated in one part of the mortgage business — subprime loans — has frozen the credit markets, sent stock
markets gyrating, caused the collapse of Bear Stearns, left the economy on the brink of the worst recession in a generation and forced the Federal Reserve to take its boldest action since the Depression?

Link

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first US President to have a telephone and a typewriter in the White House.

You may not remember Hayes, but he started the very first Easter Egg hunt on the lawn of the White House, a tradition that still continues today on the Monday after Easter.

Back in the days, people aren't afraid to call fat people "chubby" - not even a company that made its name selling fashionable plus-size clothing and lingerie to women! Here's a vintage Lane Bryant ad selling "charming Chubby-size Clothes" for "girls and teens too chubby to fit into regular sizes"

via Found in Mom's Basement

To his neighbors, Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy are just another young happy couple living in a quiet Oregon neighborhood. But Thomas is no ordinary man: he is transgender and now ... he is pregnant!

Ten years ago, when Nancy and I became a couple, the idea of us
having a child was more dream than plan. I always wanted to have children. However, due to severe endometriosis 20 years ago, Nancy had to undergo a hysterectomy and is unable to carry a child. But after the success of our custom screen-printing business and a move from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest two years ago, the timing finally seemed right. I stopped taking my bimonthly testosterone injections. It had been roughly eight years since I had my last menstrual cycle, so this wasn’t a decision that I took lightly. My body regulated itself after about four months, and I didn’t have to take any exogenous estrogen, progesterone, or fertility drugs to aid my pregnancy.

Naturally, some people are shocked:

Our situation sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by our situation. Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have laughed at us. Friends and family have been unsupportive; most of Nancy’s family doesn’t even know I’m transgender.

Link - via Boing Boing

Film-maker John Downer had a brilliant idea. He attached cameras to elephants and let them loose in an animal reserve to capture wildlife photos as you've never seen before:

He fixed webcams to four elephants. One carried a "trunk-cam" - a device resembling a huge log concealing a camera which could be held in its trunk and dangled close to the ground.

Another had a "tusk-cam" hooked over its tusk. The elephants moved so steadily that the images are pin-sharp. Other log-cams were left on the forest floor. [...]

Don't miss this one: Link (Photo: John Downer)

"If it squirms, it's biology; if it stinks, it's chemistry; if it doesn't work, it's physics; and if you can't understand it, it's mathematics."

- Magnus Pyke, scientist (mad scientist, actually)

GeekAlerts posted a clip of this guy singing a cover of Michael Jackson's song "Bad" in Bulgarian "Music Idol" TV show a few days ago ...

Here's another one: a 29-year-old Valentina Hasan from the village of Zvezdelina in the Kardzhali Province singing Mariah Carey's "Ken Lee." Simply awesome.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - Thanks Chris and Noelle!