To start of with, what do you think about this – a ‘chastity belt’ lingerie fitted with GPS tracking system’. Lingerie maker Lucia Lorio of Brazil says it’s designed for ‘modern, techno-savvy woman’. But feminist are calling it a modern-day slaver and are urging women to boycott the GPS underwear

Meanwhile, Swedish health authorities are causing controversy with their decision to supply free prosthetic penises that are not fully functional to transsexual men. Seems these free prosthetic penises [are] strictly flaccid a situation that some call ridiculous. But the Swedish health authorities have no choice – government regulations prohibit them from using taxpayers money for either products or procedures that might be considered sexual aids.

If this article – The 25 Weirdest Things Eaten By A Human – is anything to go by, Xray technicans see it all. The article exposes some of the more extreme items that people have eaten, from a ‘prisoner who has being held in a cell with wire mesh walls attempted to eat his way out of jail’ to a ‘man in England tried to walk out of a jewelry store with an engagement ring by swallowing it.’

And talking about strange things to eat, what about this collection of foods from around the world…

Weird Things People Eat Around The World – Amazing videos are here

And finally, lifehacker thinks they have the answer to Obama’s hypoallergenic dog problem – a robotic pet.

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Pornography or art?

Disgusting or entertaining?

You choose….

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Sounds extreme. But is it really ? People have been starting over forever. Think Pilgrims. Think immigrants.

But Ian Usher’s way of starting over involves selling his life on e-bay…

From Sunday, June 22 for one week, Usher’s life is up for sale on eBay with the package including his $US420,000 ($NZ556,000) three-bedroom house in Perth, Western Australia, a trial for his job at a rug store, his car, motorbike, clothes and even friends.

Turns out Usher’s not the first one to try and sell his life on e-bay. According to this Reuters article….

• Australian philosophy student Nicael Holt, 24, offered his life to the highest bidder last year to protest mass consumerism.
• American John Freyer started All My Life For Sale (www.allmylifeforsale.com) in 2001 and sold everything he owned on eBay, later visiting the people who bought his things.
• Adam Burtle, a 20-year-old US university student, offered his soul for sale on eBay in 2001, with bidding hitting $US400 before eBay called it off. Burtle admitted he was a bored geek.

Unlike Burtle, Usher appears to be the real deal. The homepage of his website A Life 4 Sale says it all…

Hi there, my name is Ian Usher, and I have had enough of my life! I don’t want it any more! You can have it if you like!

No, I’m not contemplating suicide, I am going to sell my life!! I have my reasons, for further details click the “Why” tab below. However, I am still not sure whether this is inspired madness, complete foolishness, or just some sort of mid-life crisis.

Whatever it is, it’s all going up for sale in one big auction. Everything I have and everything I am.

On the day it is all sold and settled I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet in one pocket and my passport in the other, nothing else at all, and get on the train, with no idea where I am going or what the future holds for me.

He’s got me intrigued. What about you?

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The people of her rural Indian village did not see this as a deformity. They believed that she was a ‘gift from God’, christened her ‘Lakshmi‘ after the four-armed Hindu Goddess of wealth, and queued outside the house to be blessed by the girl.

But the actual cause of the extra limbs was that the girl had a twin who hadn’t fully developed and instead became attached to Lakshmi’s body at the pelvis.

Lakshmi made headlines around the world last month when a team of surgeons spent 27 hours removing the extra limbs, separating her spinal cord and kidney from the twin, re-orientating the bladder and genital systems, and then closing up the pelvic girdle.

It was an amazing story with a heartwarming ending…

Now, just three months after the surgery, she is taking her first steps. According to Sharan Patil, chief orthopedic surgeon and chairman of Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore where the surgery was performed, Lakshmi is ‘… “now moving with a walker, holding onto objects — a table, a chair — and moving a little bit…”

Now you can watch Lakshmi’s journey on National Geographic Channel this coming Sunday (22 June) at 9pm Pacific.

If, like me, you can’t get the National Geographic Channel you can still get learn more about Lakshmi by visiting National Geographic online.

View the picture gallery, read a Q&A with Doctor Sharan Patil (lead surgeon), and see a preview of the hour long episode at the National Geographic website.

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Even the medics couldn’t see the paintbrush. All that was evident at the time was a 5 cm cut below his left eye. But a CT scan painted a fuller picture, showing a cylindrical foreign body positioned from the left orbit to the right thalamus. Everyone assumed it was a piece of wood. Imagine the surgeon’s surprise when it turned out to be a paintbrush. And prehaps more amazing was that the patient suffered no neurological symptoms or side effects.

If you want to see what the CT looked like head over to .Street Anatomy for a collection of CT images.

But a paintbrush is not the oddest object to be found in the head. Neurophilosophy has an interesting post that reveals some more unusual penetrating brain injuries.

And then there’s Phineas Gage, a 19th century railway worker who survived having a meter long iron rod shot through his head. He became a both a medical curiosity and the means by which doctors were able to study the effects of damage to the brain. These days, Phineas Gage’s skull sits on display at The Warren Anatomical Musuem at Harvard Medical School where it is still the topic of much discussion.

It’s a fascinating story that you can listen to over at BBC Case Study.

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Could you take a knife to your throat and cut? Not sure I could, but this man has done so, not once but twice. And in doing so, has become his own savior. Seems his throat swelled up to the point where he could not breathe and afraid that the emergency services would not arrive in time, decided to perform a little ‘life saving’ surgery.

Dead, not Dead…

Her heart stopped despite intensive medical treatment following two heart attacks. She had no brain waves for 17 hours and rigor mortis seemed to be setting in. The family said their goodbyes and the patient remained hooked up to the ventilator while possible organ donation was discussed. But it seemed Val Thomas had other ideas. She suddened ‘awoke’ and started talking. She is, according to the doctors, a medical miracle.

Solar Powered Bra…

Japanese inventors are at it again with another bizarre invention. This time they have come up with a unique way to raise awareness of global warming – an environmentally friendly bra. Designed to conserve energy, it’s able to generate enough power to charge an iPod or cell phone. There’s a few hitches though. You can’t wear clothing over it, it cannot be washed, and will get damaged in the rain.

Underwear that monitors blood pressure…

The Philips consumer electronics company want to create underwear that can constantly monitor a person’s blood pressure. Apparently, the sensors embedded in the waist of the underpants would be able to measure the ‘electrical impedance of the tissue beneath it – a property that changes as the pulse wave passes by.’

And finally…

How about a real life iron man that would be able to keep the body active and safe while it’s recovering from injury. That’s the idea behind this robotic suit, a sleek white ecoskeleton that is in the works at Cyberdine, Inc.

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You will not believe your eyes.

My first thought when I saw them was ‘they can’t be for real’ but apparently they are…

My second thought – how in the world would they ever find clothes that fit…

My third thought – why in the world would they do this to themselves…

Luckily,there is a new movie, Bigger Stronger Faster, due to be release at the end of the month that might be able to explain why some guys (and girls) have the need to turn their bodies into muscle bound caricatures. Made by the producers of Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, this movie, according to a Variety magazine review, offers an in-depth yet personal look at the use of steriods among athletes obsessed with body image and winning at all costs.

Bigger Stronger Faster trailer…

Further reading about bodybuilding and steroids:

The Truth About Professional Body Builders

5 Reasons Not to Take Anabolic Steroids.

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Wowza. Now here’s a story that’ll make you think twice about the phrase “Shit or get off the pot”.

Seems a 35-year-old Kansas woman by the name of Pam Babcock has been spending so much time on the pot that her skin actually started growing around the seat. No, I swear I’m not kidding.

What’s more? This didn’t happen overnight. Nah, this poor woman has been living in her boyfriend’s bathroom for two years. Two years!

Says boyfriend Kory McFarren:

“She is an adult; she made her own decision. I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it.”

Well sure, guy. Who wouldn’t find it commonplace to have another human being occupying your bathroom for years on end. I mean, yeah. Totally normal.

According to McFarren, his lady had a phobia about leaving the bathroom due to a tumultuous childhood. Her visits to the powder room became progressively longer until one day she decided she was going to stay, “like it was a safe place for her”.

During this time, Ms. Babcock moved around the bathroom, bathed, ate and drank, and changed into clothes that McFarren brought to her. The two had conversations and an otherwise normal relationship (um, I wonder if that includes, well, you know). Pretty much business as usual – except it all happened in the loo.

McFarren finally called the law on February 27 after Babcock became groggy. Police found her sitting on the toilet, clothed but with her pants pulled down mid-thigh, with atrophied legs. The toilet seat had to be removed from the tank with a pry bar, and hitched a ride on Babcock’s ass all the way to the hospital, where it was finally removed.

Babcock initially refused any help, saying she was okay and didn’t want to leave. But with a bit of coaxing, she finally conceded. McFarren maintains that he asked her to leave the bathroom every day, but her answer would always be, “Maybe tomorrow”.

While Babcock is listed in fair condition at our source’s press time, she does have an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves and may sentence her to a wheelchair.

So, um, if we didn’t learn a life’s lesson here, than, wow. If you have to hit the porcelain throne, get yer business done and get out. And if you are stricken with a phobia (which is totally serious and we are definitely not making fun of), try to make sure you get help before you start a new (and unsavory) trend in bum jewelry.

Source

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