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Is it perfect timing, coincidence, or a message from beyond about the viability of this marriage? No, the wedding party didn't run for cover, but neither did they suffer from a tornado or air raid. It was most likely just a siren test. -via reddit
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
A woman in Sandy, Utah, was held against her will, along with her 17-month-old son, for almost five days by the father of her child. He had taken her cell phone and refused to let her leave, but she eventually found a laptop and was able to access Facebook.
Critchfield was on probation for charges related to a domestic violence incident. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h2c0EBQh7ry6lvOQe4V26jZtYLaA?docId=a60a26340e6140e3b1ef499c8f449b64 -via The Daily What
(Image credit: Salt Lake County Jail)
Police Sgt. Jon Arnold said the woman hid in a closet with a laptop to post her plea for help on the social networking website, saying she and her son would be "dead by morning" if they were not rescued.
The post prompted someone to call police, who went to the home to check on the woman's welfare.
"Facebook was her only outlet that she had at the home," Arnold said. "It just happened that she was able to use it."
Police arrested Troy Reed Critchfield, 33, and booked him into jail Saturday for investigation of aggravated kidnapping, forcible sodomy, aggravated assault, domestic violence, child abuse, animal cruelty and other charges.
Critchfield was on probation for charges related to a domestic violence incident. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h2c0EBQh7ry6lvOQe4V26jZtYLaA?docId=a60a26340e6140e3b1ef499c8f449b64 -via The Daily What
(Image credit: Salt Lake County Jail)
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There's nothing a tortoise likes better than a fresh tomato -just ask any tomato gardener! Kevin is no exception, but he desperately needs a teeny little pair of tortoiseshell glasses. He has terrible depth perception. The poor thing does get a bit or two eventually. -via Buzzfeed
Joe Johnson has lived at the Morningside retirement center in Greenwood, South Carolina, for about ten years now. He's been a regular blood donor for most of his life, and sees no reason to stop now.
There is no upper age limit for blood donation, as long as the donor is healthy. Johnson plans to continue giving, and says he is "good for a few years more." Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: AP/The Blood Connection)
Johnson said in the same phone call that he began donating after he joined the Army in Tennessee at age 21 and kept it up after moving to Florida, and then later South Carolina. The former infantry soldier said he served in Europe — though not in combat — and back in the United States, training National Guard forces.
"They'd say to us, 'Line up and give blood' and maybe out of 200 or so in the company, maybe 40 or 50 guys would do it. Some people would just walk away, but I never did," Johnson said. "I constantly gave blood. I had a routine going."
Johnson celebrated his 96th birthday on Tuesday with a cake, which Amerson said he insisted on sharing with some of the other 43 residents at the assisted living home. His most recent blood donation was a week earlier when a mobile unit made one of its periodic visits to the retirement home.
There is no upper age limit for blood donation, as long as the donor is healthy. Johnson plans to continue giving, and says he is "good for a few years more." Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: AP/The Blood Connection)
Calvinist preacher Roger Williams emigrated from England to the colonies with a wave of Puritans in 1630. He was fleeing religious strife, but found controversies in America as well -with the leaders of his own sect.
The philosophy Williams developed to deal with the struggle came to be called "the separation of church and state." And although the concept is a part of what the United States is about, people have argued over what it really means ever since. Smithsonian has an extensive article on Roger Williams and his ideas. Link
Williams did not differ with them on any point of theology. They shared the same faith, all worshiping the God of Calvin, seeing God in every facet of life and seeing man’s purpose as advancing the kingdom of God. But the colony’s leaders, both lay and clergy, firmly believed that the state must prevent error in religion. They believed that the success of the Massachusetts plantation depended upon it.
Williams believed that preventing error in religion was impossible, for it required people to interpret God’s law, and people would inevitably err. He therefore concluded that government must remove itself from anything that touched upon human beings’ relationship with God. A society built on the principles Massachusetts espoused would lead at best to hypocrisy, because forced worship, he wrote, “stincks in God’s nostrils.” At worst, such a society would lead to a foul corruption—not of the state, which was already corrupt, but of the church.
The philosophy Williams developed to deal with the struggle came to be called "the separation of church and state." And although the concept is a part of what the United States is about, people have argued over what it really means ever since. Smithsonian has an extensive article on Roger Williams and his ideas. Link
The Obscura Society took a tour of the Bunny Museum in Pasadena, California recently and brought back many pictures to post, in case you live to far away to visit in person.
There are lots of pictures of the Bunny Museum at Atlas Obscura. Link
The Bunny Museum was born on Valentine’s Day, 1993 when Steve Lubanski gave his then girlfriend (now wife) Candace Frazee a white plush bunny clutching a heart, an homage to her nickname for him, “Honey Bunny”. It became a “thing” for the couple, and according to Candace, who is also an expert on angels and Swedenborgian theology, they have been giving each other bunny gifts daily ever since. The couple won the Guinness Award in 1999 when they hit over 8,000 and have never looked back, turning their modest Pasadena home into a bunnicopia of collectibles, all painstakingly dusted and organized by theme. They share their bunny palace with 5 live rabbits, the freeze dried remains of pet bunnies past, and some regal looking cats, including a friendly bengal cat named Benji.
There are lots of pictures of the Bunny Museum at Atlas Obscura. Link
A weather map from yesterday shows Godzilla eating Iowa while Mothra (or is it Rodan?) zooms in from the Pacific Northwest. We are all doomed! Link
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A red panda decided to move in with a family in the suburbs of Leshan, Sichuan Province, China, last week. The homeowners were watching the wild panda as they ate a meal outside, and slowly approached to get a better look. The panda ran into the house through an open door, and made himself at home. The word spread, and neighbors came to have their pictures made with the panda. Local authorities took the panda and released him into the wild within a few days. Link -via Arbroath
The plants of the genus Platycerium are more commonly known as Staghorn or Elkhorn ferns. They grow on trees, but are not parasites, because they generate their own nutrition from water and sunlight. However, they grow on other trees, and produces two types of fern fronds -one to catch sunlight, the other to surround its roots, hold water, and connect the plant to the tree. Read more about these fascinating ferns and see lots of pictures at Kuriositas. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: D. Gordon E. Robertson)
A look at a transitory medical concept
by Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Improbable Research staff
The years 1974–2009 saw the inspiration, birth, and death of a medical ailment that puzzled some physicians, inspired others, and perhaps made no impact upon most. Its history played out in the pages of several medical journals. Here are glimpses at the most pertinent chapters.
“Guitar Nipple,” P. Curtis, British Medical Journal, April 27, 1974, p. 226. The author, in Winchester, UK explains:
I have recently seen three patients with traumatic mastitis of one breast. These were all girls aged between 8 and 10 and the mastitis consisted of a slightly inflamed cystic swelling about the base of the nipple. Questioning revealed that all three were learning to play the classical guitar, which requires close attention to the position of the instrument in relation to the body. In each case a full-sized guitar was used and the edge of the soundbox pressed against the nipple. Two of the patients were right-handed and consequently had a right-sided mastitis while the third was left-handed with a left-sided mastitis. When the guitar playing was stopped the mastitis subsided spontaneously.
“Cello Scrotum,” J.M. Murphy, British Medical Journal, May 11, 1974, p. 335. The author, in Chalford, Gloucester, U.K., explains:
Though I have not come across ‘guitar nipple’ as reported by Dr. P. Curtis (27 April, p. 226), I did once come across a case of ‘cello scrotum’ caused by irritation from the body of the cello. The patient in question was a professional musician and played in rehearsal, practice, or concert for several hours each day.
“’Cello Scrotum’ Questioned,” Philip E. Shapiro, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 24, no. 4, April 1991, p. 665. The author, at Yale University, explains:
I question the accuracy of the information under the designation of “cello scrotum.” The authors cite just one case, which is not their own. That case consists of a brief (9-line) letter to the editor in which the author states that a professional cellist had “cello scrotum” caused by “irritation from the body of the cello.” I find this a bit puzzling. When the cello is held in typical playing position, the body of the instrument is not near the scrotum. Contact of the body of the cello with the scrotum would require an extremely awkward playing position, which I have never seen a playing cellist assume.
“Cello Scrotum Confession,” Elaine Murphy and John M. Murphy, British Medical Journal, January 27, 2009, p. 288. (Thanks to Caroline Richmond and Kenneth Mackenzie for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, the former at the House of Lords in London, the latter at St Peter’s Brewery in Bungay, Suffolk, U.K., explain:
Perhaps after 34 years it’s time for us to confess that we invented cello scrotum. Reading Curtis’s 1974 letter to the BMJ on guitar nipple, we thought it highly likely to be a spoof and decided to go one further by submitting a letter pretending to have noted a similar phenomenon in cellists, signed by the non-doctor one of us (JMM). Anyone who has ever watched a cello being played would realise the physical impossibility of our claim.
Somewhat to our astonishment, the letter was published. The following Christmas we sent a card to Dr Curtis of guitar nipple fame, only to discover that he knew nothing about it—another joke we suspect. We have been dining out on this story ever since. We were thrilled once more to be quoted in [your recent article] “A symphony of maladies.”
Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.
by Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Improbable Research staff
The years 1974–2009 saw the inspiration, birth, and death of a medical ailment that puzzled some physicians, inspired others, and perhaps made no impact upon most. Its history played out in the pages of several medical journals. Here are glimpses at the most pertinent chapters.
Hello, Guitar Nipple
“Guitar Nipple,” P. Curtis, British Medical Journal, April 27, 1974, p. 226. The author, in Winchester, UK explains:
I have recently seen three patients with traumatic mastitis of one breast. These were all girls aged between 8 and 10 and the mastitis consisted of a slightly inflamed cystic swelling about the base of the nipple. Questioning revealed that all three were learning to play the classical guitar, which requires close attention to the position of the instrument in relation to the body. In each case a full-sized guitar was used and the edge of the soundbox pressed against the nipple. Two of the patients were right-handed and consequently had a right-sided mastitis while the third was left-handed with a left-sided mastitis. When the guitar playing was stopped the mastitis subsided spontaneously.
Hello, Cello Scrotum
“Cello Scrotum,” J.M. Murphy, British Medical Journal, May 11, 1974, p. 335. The author, in Chalford, Gloucester, U.K., explains:
Though I have not come across ‘guitar nipple’ as reported by Dr. P. Curtis (27 April, p. 226), I did once come across a case of ‘cello scrotum’ caused by irritation from the body of the cello. The patient in question was a professional musician and played in rehearsal, practice, or concert for several hours each day.
Cello Scrotum Questioned
“’Cello Scrotum’ Questioned,” Philip E. Shapiro, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 24, no. 4, April 1991, p. 665. The author, at Yale University, explains:
I question the accuracy of the information under the designation of “cello scrotum.” The authors cite just one case, which is not their own. That case consists of a brief (9-line) letter to the editor in which the author states that a professional cellist had “cello scrotum” caused by “irritation from the body of the cello.” I find this a bit puzzling. When the cello is held in typical playing position, the body of the instrument is not near the scrotum. Contact of the body of the cello with the scrotum would require an extremely awkward playing position, which I have never seen a playing cellist assume.
Goodbye, Cello Scrotum
“Cello Scrotum Confession,” Elaine Murphy and John M. Murphy, British Medical Journal, January 27, 2009, p. 288. (Thanks to Caroline Richmond and Kenneth Mackenzie for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, the former at the House of Lords in London, the latter at St Peter’s Brewery in Bungay, Suffolk, U.K., explain:
Perhaps after 34 years it’s time for us to confess that we invented cello scrotum. Reading Curtis’s 1974 letter to the BMJ on guitar nipple, we thought it highly likely to be a spoof and decided to go one further by submitting a letter pretending to have noted a similar phenomenon in cellists, signed by the non-doctor one of us (JMM). Anyone who has ever watched a cello being played would realise the physical impossibility of our claim.
Somewhat to our astonishment, the letter was published. The following Christmas we sent a card to Dr Curtis of guitar nipple fame, only to discover that he knew nothing about it—another joke we suspect. We have been dining out on this story ever since. We were thrilled once more to be quoted in [your recent article] “A symphony of maladies.”
__________________________
This article is republished with permission from the March-April 2009 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. You can download or purchase back issues of the magazine, or subscribe to receive future issues. Or get a subscription for someone as a gift!Visit their website for more research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK.
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A young wolf cub puppy hears and returns the call of the wild. How can one pup be so gosh-darned adorable? -via I Am Bored
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Etsy presents a surprisingly interesting history of glitter. -via Laughing Squid
The Dead Sea is more than eight times saltier than ocean water, and there is less water in it every year -and that means it's getting even saltier. The salt formations seen from the air is quite surreal. See more pictures in a collection at Boing Boing. Link
(Image credit: Baz Ratner/Reuters)
Daniel the shelter cat only has 26 toes, which is not enough to earn him a world record, but is certainly more than you or I have! The polydactyl cat was taken in by the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center when shelter owner Amy Rowell spotted him at the pound, and now Daniel has returned the favor -by saving the shelter.
The mortgage is not yet paid off, so Daniel will continue to solicit funds for the shelter. Link -via mental_floss
Unable to afford its raised rent at a suburban mall, the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center needed to buy a new building. To raise the necessary funds, Rowell solicited $26 donations – $1 for each of Daniel's tootsies.
Donors opened their hearts and their wallets, and $125,000 poured in within the space of just six weeks, the Associated Press reports – $5,000 more than the goal. And most of it came in the form of $26 donations.
The mortgage is not yet paid off, so Daniel will continue to solicit funds for the shelter. Link -via mental_floss
Hey, wanna take a look inside the prop house at Universal Studios? You won't believe all the stuff they have stuffed away to use in movies! Unreality magazine has a gallery of photos from the warehouse. Some of it is real, some is made just for the movies, but if they do their job right, you'll never know which is which! Link
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