Surgeon examined himself and discovered his appendix.

In 1961, Leonid Rogozov, 27, was the only surgeon in the Soviet Antarctic Expedition. During the expedition, he felt severe pain in the stomach and had a high fever. Rogozov examined himself and discovered that his appendix was inflamed and could burst at any time. With a local anesthesia, he operated himself to remove the appendix. An engineer and a meteorologist assisted...

Read More

Daydreaming is good for you!

Although it has been derided in the past as infantile, neurotic or failing to be mentally disciplined, neurologists have discovered that daydreaming - and more specifically, wandering mind - is vital for certain brain functions. They've found that a wandering mind can be protective and even help you stay on course for longer term goals.  A wandering mind helps the brain...

Read More

Elephants heard the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami coming

When the 2004 tsunami struck coasts along the Indian Ocean, it was not a sixth sense that made elephants run for the hills, often carrying unsuspecting tourists on their backs to safety. It was because they heard the tsunami coming. A tsunami is a very long water wave, its wavelength hundreds of miles long in the deep ocean. But in shallow water near land the wavelength shortens....

Read More

A new £2000 procedure TATTOOS a buzz cut into bald men!

Going bald upsets men more than bankruptcy or bachelorhood. But now there’s a cure set to save them money and heartache - by tattooing ‘hair’ on. HIS (Hair-Ink-Skin) Hair has launched an innovative new technique to disguise baldness - using a unique form of tattoos. And it has become so popular that bookings have soared by 20 per cent in the past 12 months. Celebrity...

Read More

In Japan they have square watermelons.

Japan appears to have cornered the market on square-shaped fruit. Farmers in the southern Japanese town of Zentsuji have figured out how to grow their watermelons so they turn out square. It's not a fad. The technique actually has practical applications. "The reason they're doing this in Japan is because of lack of space," said Samantha Winters of the National Watermelon Promotion...

Read More

A river in Thailand randomly shoots red fireballs into the air. No one knows why.

Weird things are happening some 70 - 100 kilometres downstream from the Vientiane - capital of Laos. In the nights from the muddy waters of Mekong river appear red glowing balls which quickly rise up in the air and disappear without noise (some, who manage to be close to the lights, report silent hiss). These mysterious sparkles are small, but sometimes they reach a size...

Read More

The Youngest Mother Ever Was 5 Years Old!

Peruvian five-year-old Lina Medina, accompanied by her 11-month-old-son Gerardo, and Doctor Lozada who attended her son's birth, are shown in this 1940 file photo taken in Lima's hospital. When her child was born by Caesarean section in May 1939, Medina made medical history, and is still the youngest known mother in the world. Lina Medina's parents thought their 5-year-old...

Read More

Why Bilinguals Are Smarter..!!

SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain,...

Read More

Iceland is mostly green and grassy, while Greenland is mainly cold and icy.

Dear Straight Dope: I'm curious to know about one of the greatest marketing ploys in history, namely, did Iceland and Greenland at one time switch names to fool invaders? What did the people of old Iceland have to say about the sudden influx of pillaging tourists? Since many Americans supposedly can't find their own country on the map, what's stopping Canada from pulling a...

Read More

Woman Accused of Dumping Mayo on Library Books

Idaho police believe they've nabbed Boise's messiest reader. Since May 2009, officials have been on the lookout for a person who has been smearing mustard, mayo and other barbecue staples on more than 100 library books. Boise police now say they've cracked the curious case of the condiments, arresting 74-year-old Joy L. Cassidy outside Boise's Ada County Library on Sunday....

Read More

An Indiana State Prison lets murderers adopt cats in their cells.

Cats started the Indiana State Prison cat program. One by one, over the years, they arrived, entering the prison through the bars of the North Gate, depositing litters of kittens into the eager arms and hearts of the inmates there. Indiana State Prison is a men’s maximum security prison. Before coming here, I had mentioned my impending visit in various conversations. Concerned...

Read More

Nokia Patents Vibrating Tattoos

A magnetic vibrating tattoo has to be one of the strangest patent applications in quite a while, but Finnish phone giant Nokia has filed a U.S. patent for just that. According to the patent application, Nokia is proposing “a material attachable to skin, the material capable of detecting a magnetic field and transferring a perceivable stimulus to the skin, wherein the perceivable...

Read More

Mount Rushmore was built on land that the US gave to Native Americans, then stole back!

The creation of Mount Rushmore is a story of struggle -- and to some, desecration. The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux, the original occupants of the area when white settlers arrived. For some, the four presidents carved in the hill are not without negative symbolism. The Sioux have never had much luck dealing with white men. In the Treaty of 1868, the U.S. government...

Read More