Posts filed under 'Freaky'
Popular U.S. sub shop “Quizno’s” has been stonewalling the public on their mandatory nutritional data factsheets. In the U.S. restaurants are required to provide this information to customers, and many actually feature their data sheets right on the walls of their dining areas.
Mysteriously though, Quizno’s seems to be willing to just pay any fines and NOT release this information. Apparently it was once available on their website, but has since been removed. A recent thread on MeFi has turned up one place where this data can still be found: About.com’s Calorie Count web site.
So check it out for the “skinny” on the toasty subs so good they’ll make you shoot yourself in the chest three times!
March 14th, 2007
According to one biological theory that is gaining more and more acceptance,
you have an extra brain.
It’s called the enteric nervous system, and is a collection of neural tissue that wraps in sheaths around your digestive tract, from esophagus to colon. It is fairly well separated from the cranial brain, growing independently during fetal development, and only later being joined by the Vagus nerve.
It is speculated that “nervous stomach” conditions such as colitis and irritable bowel syndrome may be caused the enteric nervous system. The discipline of neurogastroenterology is studying the connection between these (and other) disorders and the “belly brain”.
For more information:
Complex and Hidden Brain in Gut Makes Stomachaches and Butterflies [NYTimes]
March 12th, 2007
Have you heard of either Parkour or Free Running yet?
These two related but different disciplines are (cue the oxymoron police) “popular underground sports” originating in france and the U.S. respectively. They involve running at top speed over distance without skirting any obstacles. I’m not talking about on a high-school track with hurdles, but an urban cityscape filled with moving cars and inconveniently placed buildings.
The trend began in France with the Traceurs, or practitioners of Parkour. Eventually the sport forked into standard Parkour, concerned with simplicity of motion in getting from A to B, and Free Running, which places a value on aesthetic interpretation and artistry. Both are breathtaking to watch- and very dangerous.
I’m going to throw out a few links here, but what you really need to do is go to this YouTube search results page and have a look. You’d swear these people were stunt doubles for Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger!
Read more:
Parkour [Wikipedia]
Parkour.com
American Parkour
August 17th, 2006
You must observe this.
Treadmills were never meant to be this…sassy.
August 5th, 2006
If you are a gadget and gizmo freak, I’ve got a small bonanza for you today.
I came across a cool widget site called StrangeNewProducts.com, and while it’s no MedGadget, they do seem to showcase some interesting health toys from time to time. I’ll share three from their front page.
Hand Held Bug Bite Relief - A company called MorePower2U is marketing a new device called “Therapik“, claming to provide temporary relief from bug bite irritation by the use of heat.
Wrist Water Bottle - A company called HydroSport is marketing a new water bottle that fits on your wrist.
Described as a “Wrist Water Bottle”, each unit holds 5.5oz of water or sports drink, for a total of 11oz when you have one on each wrist. When fully loaded, the unique bottle weighs one-half pound, providing you with some additional exercise.
Wearable Wrist Rests - A company out in Arizona is now selling wrist rests that you wear on your wrists. Called, “Wristease“, they have a thick piece of padding on the underside that acts like a wrist rest. This way you can bounce back-n-forth to various computer workstations without having to carry your wrist rest with you (a problem that many of us have).
August 3rd, 2006
Fraser at BlogJam has posted an offbeat DIY for taking the edge off a bad hangover.
Potentially inspired by his former employer’s (UK rockers The Cure) fetish for Pepto Bismol, Fraser decided to make ice cream out of the pink peptic pacifier.
His post is complete with correspondence with Proctor and Gamble (they said not to do it), a complete set of photos, and an easy to follow recipe.
From the article:
“The taste? Actually, it’s quite nice. The vanilla and sugar temper the metallic bitterness of the medicine, giving the end result a flavour not too dissimilar to black cherry. And as a hangover cure? Initial studies are encouraging, with no negative side-effects experienced as yet. A mild mid-week drinking session provided the first test, and while my cross-breed concoction certainly didn’t eliminate the suffering altogether, the benefits did not go unnoticed.”
Read More:
pepto-bismol ice cream [BlogJam]
UPDATE: A related post? Zoo fights heatwave with meat ice cream [MyWay]
July 27th, 2006
British scientists have studied the way a deer’s antlers can protrude through the skin without allowing an infection to set in at the point of perforation. This study has had a profound impact on the science of Bionics.
Previously, prostheses were strictly “strap-on” devices, not integrated directly into a patient’s musculoskeletal system. Now, thanks to these researchers, science has the ability to have titanium structures go from within a section of bone, through the skin and into a prosthetic device, allowing direct attachment of bionic prosthetic devices. The expectation is that this will lead to artificial limbs that can be directly controlled by the central nervous system.
Currently, the system is being used with patients only requiring artificial fingers or thumbs. Within five years, it is expected that legs and arms will be tested as well.
Read More:
‘Bionic’ limb breakthrough made
See previous stories on Bionics at Health-Hack:
FutureMed: “Bionic” arm overblown
FutureMed: More on Bionics
July 7th, 2006
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… (as the old joke goes). We’re a little behind this week (see previous post What to do if You Are In a Car Crash), but Wired reports (along with everyone else at this point - hat tip to BoingBoing- that some folks are getting magnets surgically embedded in their fingertips and developing a sixth, electro-magnetic sense.
The new sense apparently allows the implantees to sense proximity to electrical fields and magnetic sources.
From the article:
“Body-mod artists Jesse Jarrell and Steve Haworth’s original idea was to implant a magnet to carry metal gadgets. It turns out that doesn’t work: If you try to carry something magnetic on your implant regularly, the pinched skin between the magnets dies and your body rejects the implant. But they came up with a new application when a mutual friend suffered an accident that left a shard of iron in his finger. He worked with audio equipment, and found that he could tell which speakers were magnetized from the sensation that passed through his finger at close range.”
Read more:
A Sixth Sense for a Wired World [Wired]
June 15th, 2006
Self-experimental dieting does not begin and end with Seth Roberts, it seems. MetaFilter points us toward the blog of AngryMan, who is video blogging his experiment with a diet comprised entirely of a pelletized, “nutritionally complete” primate food product. That’s for primates, not made of them. The food? Monkey Chow.
I happen to be familiar with this stuff because I worked with animals many years ago. We used to feed Purina Monkey Chow soaked in water to ailing birds and as a supplemental treat for rats. Monkey chow pellets are about the size of a small charcoal briquette, beige in color, surprisingly light and even more porous than a pumice stone. The brand AngryMan is using is ZuPreem, but I’d bet it is similar.
AngryMan is taking a somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude about this, but apparently the main things he’s noticed are a pronounced craving for meat and a worsening of the aroma of his, um, movements.
Read/View more:
The Monkey Chow Diaries
June 8th, 2006
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