Category Archives: Wacky and Weird

Pepper leads to esophageal hole

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When I was a kid my dad made me eat a bunch of spicy food. I’m not sure why, but if he ordered hot wings at a restaurant the convention was that I had to try one. I’m a fan of heat now – but ghost peppers aren’t something I want to try.shutterstock_220826371

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a ghost pepper eating contest led to a whole in a competitor’s esophagus.

After eating a hamburger laced with ghost pepper puree, the man began vomiting and retching violently. Suffering from severe abdominal pain he was admitted to hospital where doctors discovered a 2.5-centimetre hole in his oesophagus.

The chili eater underwent emergency surgery and spent 23 days in hospital.

The ghost pepper, or bhut jolokia, was considered the world’s hottest chilli until 2013 when it was surpassed by the Carolina Reaper pepper.

Doctors writing in The Journal of Emergency Medicine have warned that the rise of food challenges may complicate diagnoses.

In this spicy situation, doctors initially assumed the man’s symptoms related to discomfort after his meal, before discovering the rupture in his oesophagus.

 

 

Stay classy Guelph: Paramedics met with angry vomit-tossing woman, fan runs on ice

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A crew of paramedics just managed to dodge being soaked with a bucket of vomit thrown by an angry woman, cops in Guelph, Ont., say. Guelph Police said officers were called to a residence on the city’s York Road to assist an EMS crew with a problematic patient.

guelphAn irate woman became infuriated with the crew and threw a bucket of vomit at them.

Cops say she missed and instead soaked expensive medical equipment with the vomit causing damage.

Patrica Pegalo, 22, of Guelph was arrested at the scene and charged with mischief over $5,000.

Meanwhile, an overexcited Guelph Storm Junior A hockey fan decided to show his enthusiasm by scaling the glass during a game with the home town Mississauga Ice Dogs.

No streaking was involved.

Soylent bars are making people barf

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Eve Peyser of Gizmodo reports that a month ago, Soylent released Food Bars, a product that allegedly “offers the same complete nutrition [as Soylent 2.0] but in a lighter, more portable form factor”. (According to scientists, Soylent 2.0 does not offer complete nutrition.) Based on the Soylent subreddit and the company’s own message boards, these bars have also been making its customers very sick.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 06: Jack Fitzpatrick vomits after a hard run during a Melbourne Demons AFL training session at Gosch's Paddock on November 6, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 06: Jack Fitzpatrick vomits after a hard run during a Melbourne Demons AFL training session at Gosch’s Paddock on November 6, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

One thread on the (by the way, truly excellent) Soylent subreddit begins: I think that the hypochondria on this subreddit can be a little irritating sometimes (“Is Soylent causing my left third toenail to turn yellow??”) however there seems to be some growing anecdotal evidence that food poisoning-like symptoms may be linked to Bar consumption…

Early in September, I experienced intense vomiting about 3-4 hours after eating a Food Bar. The vomiting lasted several hours. I think it was probably the worst vomiting episode I ever experienced. I did not experience diarrhoea.

Another Reddit thread on Food Bars reports that they made a Redditor either “so nauseous [they] have to puke, followed by horrible diarrhoea -option 2 [they] don’t get nauseous but still have uncontrollable diarrhoea.” There’s a third thread too.

Soylent has never faced any health code violations publicly, but last year, the company got in some trouble for reportedly violating the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act in California, which “requires companies to provide consumers with warnings on products that contain detectable amounts of harmful chemicals”. A non-profit called As You Sow filed legal action against Soylent due to the lead levels in their Soylent 1.5 powder, which were “12 to 25 times above California’s Safe Harbor level”. Of course, this was regarding a different product, but it’s still part of Soylent’s spotty history regarding product safety. At the very least, it raises interesting questions about how the FDA monitors Soylent, which might hope to be a tech company instead of a food company.

It’s unclear what standards Soylent bars have to adhere to, but they do come with the following warning label: “Children, women who are pregnant, nursing, or may become pregnant should consult their doctor before consuming Soylent Bar.”

We reached out to Soylent for comment but had not received a response at time of writing.

What’s behind Oregon’s Marionberry mania?

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I love the berries, especially the tart blackberries.

marion-barry-1They grew voraciously in my aunt’s backwoods where as kids, we’d pick them by the bucketful. She also made great pies.

According to Tove Danovich of NPR, blackberries also grow voraciously in the Pacific Northwest and it’s not rare to stumble across rural barns or abandoned homes that have been completely consumed by the thorny vine. Let them grow too close to a window, and they’ll break the glass. They’re common — easy to forage and hard to get too excited about. At least compared to the marionberry, a type of blackberry that has become an Oregon obsession.

One of the reasons the marionberry is so beloved is because it is entirely a product of Oregon. It’s “born and raised” in state, so to speak.

The marionberry, a cross between Chehalem and Olallie blackberries, was bred at Oregon State University as part of a berry-developing partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture that dates back to the early 1900s. It’s named for Marion County in the Willamette Valley, where most of the field trials took place (not for former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, right, exactly as shown).

marionberryWhen the berry was introduced in the 1950s, it was widely hailed as the most delicious blackberry commercial cultivar around. Even today, people rave over its tart-yet-sweet flavor — think of a cross between raspberries and blackberries. (Though there is some raspberry in its DNA, the red fruits are more like a genetic great-great grandparent to the marionberry.)

WKRP in reality ‘Barbaric’ tradition of throwing live turkeys from planes continues in the Ozarks

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We were going to do Canadian Thanksgiving in Australia, but too much hockey (the ice kind, including world women’s hockey day, which garnered international attention for Brisbane – that’s Sorenne at the front with the candy-cane stick, and Amy behind her) and the lack of turkeys at this time of year, meant a postponement until the end of November (we’re American too, eh?).

womens-hockeyBut it didn’t stop the people at the annual Turkey Trot Festival in Yellville, Ark., from throwing a live turkey from a moving airplane 500 feet above the ground on Saturday.

If history is any guide, one of three things will happen next.

Option 1: The bird drops like a rock and dies on impact.

Option 2: The animal awkwardly flutters to the ground, where it’ll be mobbed by excited townspeople who jostle for control of the frightened animal before it’s slaughtered.

Option 3: The bird catches a stiff, serendipitous breeze and glides into the sunset to freedom.

Anywhere else, you might call it animal cruelty, or maybe the “annual turkey sky death lottery.”

In Yellville (pop. 1,204), they call the turkey drop “an Ozark Mountain tradition” — one that has more or less remained intact for 71 years.

Due to protests and weather concerns, the drops were put on hold from 2012 to 2014. But they’re back and resumed like old times on Friday, and many locals are rushing to defend the practice.

Terry Ott, a county judge, downplayed concerns about the well-being of the birds during an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

turkeys-cant-fly“They’re not going to crash,” Ott told the paper. “They’re birds. They can fly.”

He added that the event is “important to the community” and “brings in a lot of money.”

Max Brantley, a senior editor at the Arkansas Times, decried the practice in a blog post earlier this week, calling the drop “inhumane.”

“They could probably get a good crowd in Yellville for a drawing and quartering, too,” he wrote. “Here’s an idea for sport: A drop of frozen Butterball turkeys from 500 feet over the cheering crowd.”

Brantley went on to quote Yvonne Thaxton, a professor of poultry science at the University of Arkansas, who told the Democrat-Gazette that the birds naturally remain at an altitude of 100 feet or less. The turkey drop occurs at an altitude of 500 feet, the paper reported.

“Placing turkeys in an environment that is new to them is stressful,” she said. “In the case of an airplane, the noise would also be a stress-producing fear reaction.

“Dropping one from 500 feet is a horrific act of abuse,” she added. “There is no justification for this practice.”

Mark Hutchings, a biologist supervisor for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, told the Democrat-Gazette that wild turkeys are adept fliers.

We’ve been inundated with wild turkeys in Kansas and Brisbane.

I’ve never seen one fly.

Although I love that this clip end with CCR’s, It Came Outta the Sky.

More throwing poop: Drunk man in UK police cell hurled poop at CCTV camera

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A disgruntled man pooped on the floor of a police cell after his request for toilet roll was said to have been ignored.

pay-shoplifter-poops-on-supermarket-floorIan Brock, 31, was caught on CCTV pulling his trousers down and defecating in a corner.

He then smeared his own excrement on the walls and threw a lump of it at the camera.

Brock, of Rectory Road, Llangwm, pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage when he appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday (October 4).

Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones said Brock had been arrested for an unrelated matter and was “highly intoxicated” when he carried out the dirty protest.

“In interview, he admitted what he had done and said he was disgusted with himself,” said Mr Pritchard-Jones.

In the spirit of the US Presidential debate: 4 professors involved in philosophy brawl find feces in their mail

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Andrew Mytelka of The Chronicle of Higher Education reports  four philosophy professors who were involved in a dust-up with Brian Leiter, an influential figure in the field, received packages of excrement in the mail last summer, and critics of Mr. Leiter are accusing him of being at the bottom of the fecal attack, reports BuzzFeed.

everyone-poopwMr. Leiter, a professor at the University of Chicago and founding editor of the Philosophical Gourmet Report, a powerful ranking of graduate programs, is known for his combative style and caustic judgments of colleagues and programs, but he has forcefully denied the accusations.

“This is about trying to embarrass me,” he told BuzzFeed. “This isn’t about the recipients.”

The four professors — Carrie Ichikawa Jenkins of the University of British Columbia, Sally Haslanger of MIT, J. David Velleman of NYU, and Carolyn D. Jennings of the University of California at Merced — said the poop packages were unequivocal threats and attempts to silence them. The incident presumably stems from Ms. Jenkins’s criticism two years ago of philosophers who don’t treat their colleagues, especially “professionally vulnerable” junior scholars, with respect — an implicit critique of Mr. Leiter and his Philosophical Gourmet Report. The other professors supported her perspective.

Coaching little kids hockey is just as bad (not the kids, the parents).

Taco Bell to turn Canadian restaurant into airbnb

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You might be a fan of a Taco Bell’s food, but would you sleep in one?

taco-bell-airbnbThe fast food chain is transforming one of its restaurants in Ontario, Canada into an Airbnb.

There will be two bunk beds, couches and a big screen TV, as well as a “Taco Bell butler” for the winner and three friends.

The one night-only contest aims to promote Taco Bell’s “Steak Doubledillas,” a quesadilla with double the amount of steak.

S. Korean men investigated after eating missing sheepdog

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South Korean police say they are investigating accusations that four men killed someone’s missing sheepdog before eating it in a case that has infuriated many and caused debate on the country’s dog-eating culture.

sam-sheepdog-wolfPolice official Choi Won-kyu, from the rural city of Iksan, said Friday the men admitted to butchering and eating the dog but they said they found it dead on the side of the road.

Choi says a witness claimed seeing the dog hurt but alive hours before the men butchered it.

Although the popularity of eating dog meat is fading somewhat in South Korea, an estimated 2 million dogs are still slaughtered every year for food.

 

Hockey, food safety and losing

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Now that things are normalized, with the kids back in school, I’ve had some time to think about Sunday’s practice.

dp-sorenne-becI’m quite proud of the kids at Coff’s Harbour; we went from a team that was beating us 15-0 at the start of the year, to a 1-1 tie; great improvement

And Kaleb was awesome in goal (come practice whenever you like at acacia ridge, i can work with him).

Anyone else want to play goal this weekend and get some practice in? Alex? Liem?

I’ve got a coupe of drills I want to run, and one is attached below, along with short area games; we can divide the ice up into 3 sections, so children are not standing around too long

I regret to inform you that Kyle has resigned as head coach of the atom majors. This was not a decision taken lightly, but we’re all volunteers, and sometimes it’s best to move on.

I have always supported Kyle and think he is a great coach. He has done wonderful things with the atom majors this year.

He will be out on the ice Sunday to help out — cause that’s how he is — but will no longer have to deal with the politics.

I fully understand, and it’s why I stood down as head coach for the club a couple of months ago.

For Kyle and I, our shared coaching philosophy is continuous improvement, lotsa smiles.

ADM kids

Even Sporer

http://www.admkids.com/news_article/show/700395?referrer_id

In the vast ocean of youth hockey, the best way for some of the youngest fish to learn is not by swimming in a single-file, straight line, but by spreading their fins and doing a little of everything.

And it’s not opinion. It’s science.

“Chaos can be fun,” said Dave Starman, masters-level instructor for USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program and college hockey scout for the Montreal Canadiens.

hubris-humilityLess Structure, More Development

NHL practices can be military-like in precision. When it comes to practices for younger players, less – in terms of structure – can be more.

“It’s important, especially at the younger level, because if they’re not moving around, they don’t have the ability to teach themselves to do a lot of things,” Starman said. “I can stand there and tell a kid to move his foot one way, or move his foot another way, but when that kid goes out there and starts moving his feet around, and falls down, and gets up, all that trial-and-error just makes you a better player because you’re teaching yourself a lot of stuff.”

More than Cross-Ice

That’s where USA Hockey’s American Development Model (ADM) comes in, a program Starman said is tailor-made to be the guiding principle of an 8U practice.

“Number one is, people need to realize that the ADM is more than just cross-ice playing,” Starman said. “The beauty of the ADM is that it’s laid out so clearly, and part two of it is it’s so science-based.

“What you’re reading is not hypothesis; what you’re reading is fact.”

Keeping Kids Engaged

Keeping things fresh and lively, Starman said, are keys to maximizing what a young player is getting out of a practice.

Unconventional drills and games can be the key to helping harness different skills a hockey player needs to be successful.

“For 8Us, look at sharks and minnows,” Starman said. “Sharks and minnows is chaos, but the beauty of sharks and minnows for our little kids is they can skate from one side of the rink to the other in any pattern they want to.

“They’re not getting told, ‘Go in a straight line, and make a left,’ or, ‘Make two circles, and take a shot.’ They’re figuring out where to go, they’re finding open space, and they’re figuring out a way to avoid being tagged. They’re keeping their head up, conscious of where the danger is.”

No Standing Around

At such a young age, and still firmly in developmental mode, Starman said keeping hockey enjoyable and a fun game is also paramount.

“There’s no sport for taking out the garbage, because kids don’t want to do it,” Starman said. “For hockey, it’s kind of the same thing. If you make it something they have to go to, or make it something that’s not enjoyable, they’re not going to play.”

That’s precisely where the ADM comes in.

“The one thing the ADM has done is allow both coaches and players to have a little more fun because of the fact that you’re in more small-area games, you’re in more stations, your compete level is higher, your ability to get more kids moving at the same time (is higher), and I’m talking even up to the bantams,” Starman said. “The best way to make a kid not want to play is to make him or her stand around and watch others play. With what we’re doing right now, everybody is in motion; there’s not a lot of standing around.”

Teach a Kid to Fish

It can create chaos, like Starman said, but a little chaos in the ocean could be just what the fishes need.

“You know the expression ‘You give a man a fish, he can eat for a night, but you teach him to fish, he can eat forever?'” Starman said. “A lot of that is true when you get into unstructured situations in their small areas because they’re teaching themselves.

“When you teach yourself something, you tend to remember it a lot longer than being taught something that either, one, you may not understand right away, or two, you’re not in the mental frame of mind to learn.

“That’s one of the major reasons why we’ve made a lot of strides with our younger players. They’re having more fun because they’re picking a lot of things up through their own play and competition.”