A 41-year-old homeless man in Mobile, Alabama was treated with antivenom after he was bitten by a decapitated cottonmouth.
A friend of the man described the incident.
“I saw it swimming down along the creek and everything. And, I ran down and hit it with the machete and killed it and brought it up. He picked the head up and stuck himself right in the finger with it,” the man’s friend said.
The friend said the man purposefully stuck his finger in the snake’s mouth.
“He put his finger in there and all of a sudden the nerves, I guess, and it bit down on his finger.”
The man first refused medical treatment, but after he started showing symptoms of venom poisoning, he was taken to USA Medical Center, treated, and released. Link -via Arbroath
TIME Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people will be released on April 17th. You can read about the people being considered and leave your input for each at the poll site, which is open for voting until April 6th. The actual list will be chosen by TIME editors, but the winner of the internet poll will be honored as well. Currently leading the pack is Erik Martin, who is the general manager of reddit, followed by a wide variety of names ranging from Vladimir Putin to Zooey Deschanel to Jeremy Lin. A few non-people are there, too, such as KONY 2012 and Anonymous. Link -via reddit
The Decipher the Doodle Contest returns to NeatoBambino and it's another chance for you to win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The doodle in question (which you only see a small portion of here) was drawn by a five-year-old girl. What is it supposed to illustrate? Both the commenter closest to the correct answer and the commenter with the funniest wrong answer at the contest site will win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! Be sure to read all the rules before you leave an entry. Good luck! Link
DeviantART member Colin~Midwest made this suit of armor out of foam and fiberglass. It was a three-year project! The resulting look makes that effort worth the while. Read more about how he did it, and see lots more pictures, at Obscurus Crusade. Link -via reddit
Rocket scientist and data geek Nick Berry of DataGenetics has calculated the best strategy for winning the game Hangman. You might think you know which letters to pick first to maximize your chance of guessing right, but there's a lot more involved than you ever considered! The chart shown here is only one step on your way to judging the optimal guess. Master all the steps, and you'll be sending your kids off hanging their heads in shame the next time you play. Link
A formal apron? A Pikachu pinafore? With all this tulle, you wouldn't be making a mess in the kitchen with it, but put it over dress and it's perfect for prom or any other cosplay event! Custom made for you by Amanda Marin, it's available from Etsy shop Darling Amy. Link -via Geeks Are Sexy
If you have ever been fortunate enough to come across an abandoned piano, you probably recall how fascinated you were. Knowing how intricate, entertaining, and expensive they are, it's sad to think of someone just giving up on a piano -even if it's in terrible shape. The next best thing would be to see a photo collection of such pianos, which you'll find at Urban Ghosts. Link
When you want to go whole hog for a funeral, you can have a genuine bacon coffin for just $2,999.99!
This genuine bacon casket is made of 18 Gauge Gasketed Steel with Premium Bacon Exterior/Interior, and includes a Memorial and Record Tube, Adjustable Bed and Mattress and Stationary and Swingbar handles. It also includes a bacon air freshener for when you get that buried-underground, not-so-fresh feeling.
A man in East London, South Africa, knocked on the door of a home and asked if the resident had any work he could do. The couple who lived there were astonished to see what the man was wearing -their clothes!
He was decked out in the resident's shoes, socks, belt, a pair of trousers and one of his fiance's blouses.
"When I opened the door I was surprised because he was wearing our clothing," said the resident, who asked not to be named.
The man said he immediately went to the back garden and noticed their storeroom had been looted.
"My fiance and I were busy packing to move into a new house and most of our clothing and new linen were being kept there," he said.
The couple held the man for police for 45 minutes, but he escaped before they arrived. The thief was later caught by security guards. Link -via Arbroath
From the producers of "Sonic and Sensibility" and "Pizza Hut and Prejudice" (which I hope become real things) it's the mashup for American fast food fans! Actually it's a video from Josh Weiner. And possibly the perfect sponsor for the TV show Downton Abbey. -via Metafilter
The Washington Post recently announced the winners of its sixth annual Peeps Show diorama contest. This year's finalists were heavy on political scenes, but this entry from Megan Hustings and Rachel Hamilton particularly caught my eye. It's based on the meme What People Think I Do (previously on Neatorama). The captions are small to read on the complete picture, but if you go to the WaPo link, you can advance the slideshow and see each panel individually. The best is what Just Born (the company that makes Peeps) thinks Peeps are! Link
Last week we told you about Batman being pulled over by the police in Montgomery County, Maryland for driving his black Lamborghini without proper plates. There turns out to be much more to the story. This Caped Crusader's alter ego is businessman Lenny B. Robinson, who spends his money and his spare time encouraging sick children in hospitals. And he's serious about his mission. Washington Post journalist Michael S. Rosenwald, who is a friend of Robinson, accompanied him on a trip to the cancer ward at Children’s National Medical Center in Northwest Washington.
It took Batman approximately 20 minutes to reach the elevators. He stopped to hand out Batman toys to every child he saw, picking them up for pictures, asking them how they were feeling. LaTon Dicks snapped a photo of Batman standing behind her son DeLeon in his wheelchair. She’d recognized the Batmobile on her way in to the hospital. Like everyone else, she’d seen a TV report on him being stopped for speeding and protested, “You can’t pull over Batman.”
When Batman finally reached the elevator for the slow ride up to the cancer ward, I could see his face already sweating behind the mask. He told me he loses 5 to 6 pounds in water weight when he wears the superhero uniform. He paid $5,000 for it. He spends $25,000 a year of his own money on Batman toys and memorabilia. He signs every book, hat, T-shirt and backpack he hands out — Batman.
Batman is 48. He is a self-made success and has the bank account to prove it. He recently sold, for a pile of cash, a commercial cleaning business that he started as a teenager. He became interested in Batman through his son Brandon, who was obsessed with the caped crusader when he was little. “I used to call him Batman,” he told me. “His obsession became my obsession.”
Batman began visiting Baltimore area hospitals in 2001, sometimes with his now teenage son Brandon playing Robin. Once other hospitals and charities heard about his car and his cape, Batman was put on superhero speed dial for children’s causes around the region. He visits sick kids at least couple times a month, sometimes more often. He visits schools, too, to talk about bullying. He does not do birthday parties.
The article describes some of Robinson's Batman's interactions with the kids, so you should have a hanky ready. Link -via Metafilter
Chemists at Rice University synthesized the cutest little molecules you've ever seen, using chains of chemical reactions. If you have the credentials, you might be able to access the original paper and find out exactly what they did, but even if you don't, you'll enjoy a gallery of molecular diagrams following the Nanoputians through their life cycle, from the Nanotoddler phase through the entire family's maturity. Link
Last week, in a 36-hour operation, Richard Lee Norris (shown here before his accident) received a full face transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The transplant team was led by reconstructive specialist Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez.
"We utilized innovative surgical practices and computerized techniques to precisely transplant the mid-face, maxilla and mandible including teeth, and a portion of the tongue. In addition, the transplant included all facial soft tissue from the scalp to the neck, including the underlying muscles to enable facial expression, and sensory and motor nerves to restore feeling and function," explains Dr. Rodriquez. "Our goal is to restore function as well as have aesthetically pleasing results."
The face transplant recipient, 37-year-old Richard Lee Norris of Hillsville, Virginia, was injured in 1997 in a gun accident. Since that time, he has undergone multiple life-saving and reconstructive surgeries. Due to the accident, Mr. Norris lost his lips and nose and had limited movement of his mouth. Mr. Norris first came to the University of Maryland Medical Center in 2005 to discuss reconstructive options with Dr. Rodriguez.
A set of photographs have been released that show how extensive the surgery was, and so far it seems to be quite successful. The pictures may be disturbing to some people, but in my opinion they are okay for all but the most squeamish, so go ahead and take a look at the amazing life-changing work. The surgery was funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).
