Weird News Thread ....

[Jolie Rouge]

Swimsuit issue stars Albert Einstein
Magazine of fun facts branches out ... a little

By Todd Leopold ~~ CNN
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Posted: 11:46 AM EDT



The swimsuit issue of Mental Floss. www.mentalfloss.com


(CNN) -- Let Sports Illustrated have Vendela and Tyra Banks. Mental Floss will take Eleanor Roosevelt and Salvador Dali.

The magazine, devoted to providing facts and information in an entertaining setting, is putting out its first swimsuit issue.

"Our goal from the beginning has been to blur the line between education and entertainment," said Will Pearson, publisher and co-founder of the magazine. With swimsuit issues so popular among periodicals, Pearson and his crew decided "why not have one with our goal of education?"

So Mental Floss' swimsuit issue is a little different. The magazine features a dozen figures from the arts, culture, science and politics -- from the Beatles to Albert Einstein to Mao Zedong -- and accompanies photos of them in swimwear with a variety of fascinating facts about their lives and influences.

For example, surrealist artist Dali -- pictured in plaid shorts and a long-sleeved shirt with black and white splotches -- used to wear a homemade scent of fish glue and cow manure. And Mao liked to drive a van with "Ambulance: Donated by the New York Chinese Laundrymen" written on the side.

These sorts of tidbits and stories have earned a growing circulation for Mental Floss. Pearson says the magazine, which originated out of conversations and bull sessions at Duke University, has 10,000 subscribers and distributes 70,000 copies to newsstands -- not bad for a publication that's not even two years old. The magazine has a regular segment on CNN Headline News.

Of course, a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt in swim clothes -- she's wearing a kind of shift -- may not be everyone's cup of tea. Then again, says Pearson, he hopes Mental Floss lives up to its name. Let the other publications have the eye candy: "We wanted facts as bold as the images," he says.

[Advertisement]

[gemini26]

Rim Shot, Please

"Bill Clinton is out in California helping Governor Gray Davis. Well what
makes more sense than an impeached President helping out a recalled
Governor?"

[gemini26]

Grand Prix 'priest' has no regrets

A former Catholic priest who ran on to the track during the British Grand Prix said he has no regrets about the stunt as he walked free from jail.

Cornelius "Neil" Horan left court after being given a two month jail sentence for aggravated trespass at the Silverstone circuit.

He served more than two thirds of the sentence on remand.

The 56-year-old said outside Northampton Magistrates' Court he believed the hand of God had protected him and the drivers as he raced on to the track to promote the bible.

Horan, from Nunhead, south-east London, said he would not have carried out the protest at the Northamptonshire circuit on July 20 but a gate leading to the track had been left open and it represented a signal to him from God.

Horan pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the single charge of aggravated trespass during the British Grand Prix, which was won by the Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello.

A television audience of millions world-wide watched as Horan breached security and faced down cars wearing a Tam O'Shanter and kilt and carrying religious themed placards.

The protest took place on the fastest part of the course, the Hangar Straight, where speeds can reach up to 200mph.

Several drivers had to swerve to avoid him and the safety car had to be deployed to protect participants.

Horan, who is originally from County Kerry in the Irish Republic, was eventually wrestled to the ground by a race marshal, arrested and taken for questioning.

Prosecutor Suraj Minocha told magistrates it was "very clear" his actions were deliberate; he bought his ticket in advance, was carrying a change of clothing and placards and was fully aware of F1 racing.


Story filed: 15:25 Monday 1st September 2003

[gemini26]

Scientists make disgusting coffee mug appeal

Scientists have launched a search for Britain's most stomach-churning unwashed coffee mug.
The Royal Society of Chemistry wants to inspect the most spectacular growth of green gunge to be found in a forgotten mug at work.

To qualify, the mould floating on the top of the left over coffee must be clearly discernible.

It organised the contest to mark the discovery of penicillin 75 years ago.

Although coffee cup cultures are often green, any disgusting colour is allowed.

Staff in offices, factories and other workplaces are being asked to submit photos - but not to have the rank mugs delivered.

The most impressive entry will win 'an evening of culture' at a location near the sender's address.

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin at St Mary's Hospital in London on September 3, 1928, after leaving a dish in his laboratory while he went on holiday.

The mould that had grown in the dish paved the way to the antibiotics revolution which has saved millions of lives around the world.

Royal Society of Chemistry spokesman James McNish said: "The culture that developed on Fleming's laboratory dish has much in common with those ageing, ownerless coffee cups languishing on shelves and workstations in British offices and factories. Mould spores float through the air and are always on the lookout for a favourite place to grow.

"The competition is a way of illustrating the point that science sometimes involves some luck and happenstance."

Photograph entries should be emailed to [email protected], or posted to Culture Shock, Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, London S1J OBA.

Just in case anyone is tempted to cheat by patiently waiting for their coffee mug to bloom, the closing date is September 10.

[gemini26]

Ancient menstrual treatment can cure baldness - claim

German researchers claim a plant used by American Indian medicine-men to help menstrual problems can also cure baldness.

Scientists at Ruhr University in Bochum say black cohosh was the first known herbal agent that could stop hormone-related hair loss and even thicken growth.

The oestrogen-like substance has been used for generations by the Indians and is a big-selling herbal remedy in the US for rheumatism, back pain and menstrual stress.

Black cohosh is native to eastern North America and grows about three metres high.

The university said it used a new, kinder testing system on its human guinea pigs.

[gemini26]

Pubic hair transplants are big business in South Korea

Transplanted pubic hair is the latest trend in South Korea, where it is regarded as a sign of fertility.

Surgeon Afschin Fatemi, from Unna in Germany, said: "In the West, women try to reduce their genital hair as much as possible, but in Korea the trend is for forestation."

He said a mass of pubic hair was considered a sign of fertility, which was why many women were paying as much as £1,700 to have hair transplanted from their heads.

Fatemi added: "The structure of head and pubic hair on Asians is quite similar. The implanted hair isn't long and rarely falls out."

The operation is conducted under local anaesthetic and bandaging can be removed after just one day.

[gemini26]

Woman gets divorce because husband dreams of first wife

A Romanian woman is asking for a divorce because her husband keeps calling out his first wife's name while he is asleep.

The woman, from Focsani, says she could not live with a man who kept thinking about his ex-wife every night almost three months after she married him.

She told National Newspaper: "It was like that woman, with whom he has a child, still obsesses him.

"I asked my husband to go see a shrink but said I was the crazy one. So how could I live with a man who sleeps besides me but has sex with the ex-wife in his dreams."

[gemini26]

Spanish mayor bans men from going out on Thursdays

Men in a small Spanish town are to be banned from going out on Thursday nights to give women a chance to let their hair down.

Javier Checa, mayor of Torredonjimeno in southern Spain, said: "In future Thursday will be a day for women.

"Then women can go out and enjoy themselves and the men will stay at home."

The 47-year-old mayor said men should clean the house and look after the children at least once a week "instead of going out drinking beer with friends".

The mayor said he would deploy teams of women to patrol the streets and anyone caught out will be fined £3.50.

The new regulation will come into effect in October and the ban will cover the period between 9pm and 2am.

Over 14,000 people live in Torredonjimeno with 52 per cent of the population being made up of women.

[gemini26]

Man started fire to get out of sex

A man has been arrested in Croatia after allegedly starting a fire near his house to avoid having sex with his wife.

Svetin Gulisija, 26, from Seget, told police he had started the fire in woods behind his house because he was too tired to have sex with Oleandra, after working on a building site all day.

The couple had to be evacuated from the house as firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control, local media reported.

Gulisija is being held in custody pending further enquiries.

[gemini26]

Couple enjoy married bliss - in silence

A Chinese couple believe they have found the recipe to married bliss - by not talking to each other five years.

The middle-aged husband and wife from Leiqing, Zhejiang province, last exchanged words in 1998, even though they live under the same roof and sleep in the same bed.

The couple, who used to argue ferociously every day, say they have saved their marriage by refusing even to acknowledge each other's existence.

"We haven't had an argument in five years," the husband told the East Day newspaper.

[gemini26]

'Smelly fart' wins man £60,000

A Swedish man has been awarded nearly £60,000 compensation after he was sacked for telling off a colleague for breaking wind.

Computer technician Goran Andervass took the Swedish Bank, at Riksbanken, to industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal.

He said he rebuked his un-named colleague because he believed he had deliberately broken wind in his office.

"My colleague was absolutely aware of the awful smell. It was pure provocation," he told Aftonbladet.

"I felt provoked by the fart at 7.30am and it made me terribly angry."

The colleague complained to management who suspended Mr Andervass and later made him redundant. He took legal action and was recently awarded the equivalent of £58,000.

Krister Skoglund, of the Swedish Work Environment Authority, commented: "If a fart is done on purpose when going into somebody's office it is important that management takes the matter seriously."