October 2016 – Page 9

October 28, 2016

No Such Thing As Churchill’s Secret Parrot

Andy, Anna, James and Anne discuss Coca Cola copycat companies, places where compasses don’t work and the dangers of farting on a plane.

October 28, 2016

The Weird Week in Review

Miss Cellania

filed under: week-in-review, weird news

Image credit:

YouTube

TREE ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC

Police in Portland, Maine, were called to remove a tree from the middle of the street on Monday. It turned out to be a man dressed as a tree.

Police identified the man as 30-year-old Asher Woodworth of Portland. He’s been charged with obstructing a public way. Police say his motivation was to see how people would react to what he called his “performance” and how he might impact “people’s natural choreography.”

Woodworth had to be escorted from the intersection after he declined to move along as police requested. In other words, he refused to “leaf.” It was not Woodworth’s first run-in with the law over his performance art.

COW PATTIES STOLEN FROM POO MUSEUM

The National Poo Museum on the Isle of Wight in the UK, suffered a burglary when unknown persons broke into a drying van and made off with a load of cow patties. The specimens were being prepared for a book launch. THe museum’s Nicola Winsland wrote a book of poetry called Pooems: A Humorous Anthology of Animal Poo. Winsland thinks the perpetrators did not know what they were taking. The drying process was only half-finished, and there isn’t time to process more cow patties. Museum curators are on the lookout for anyone acting or smelling suspiciously.

TEEN WAKES FROM COMA SPEAKING SPANISH

Soccer goalie Reuben Nsemoh was kicked in the head during a game last month and suffered a concussion that sent him into a three-day coma. When the 16-year-old woke up in the hospital, he could only speak Spanish! He knew a little Spanish, but temporarily lost his ability to communicate ins native English. In the time since then, his English has returned gradually, and his Spanish abilities have declined, although that may be because Nsemoh wasn’t comfortable in Spanish. He apparently knew more of it than he thought. Neurolinguistics professor Dr. Michel Paradis says Nsemoh’s experience isn’t all that rare.

“For a number of complex reasons, such individuals may recover either both languages to the same extent, one better than the other, or only one of the two,” Paradis explained. “These effects are either temporary or permanent ― again depending on a number of factors.”

Nsemoh is looking forward to playing soccer again when he is fully recovered, but his coach says he will have to wear a helmet.

FURRY FELON RANSACKS OAK BAY HOME

Christine Kiss and her husband came home to Oak Bay, British Columbia, after a five-week vacation trip and found their home had been ransacked. There were things out of place all over, but the den was almost destroyed. Some chocolate had been eaten, but no items were missing. Kiss called the Oak Bay Police Department. Officers came and found the guilty party behind the washing machine. It was a squirrel. Police took the squirrel into custody. The Kisses said they had been feeding a couple of squirrels during the summer, but they won’t do that again.

BACHELOR PARTY ADOPTS MOTHER DOG AND SEVEN PUPPIES

Eight Michigan men traveled to a cabin in the woods in Tennessee for a weekend to celebrate Mitchel Craddock’s upcoming wedding. Craddock, his father, and six friends were cooking bacon at the cabin when a hungry dog came to the door. They fed her bacon and gave her water. When she started producing milk, they followed her and found her seven puppies hidden in a hole in the forest! The men washed the dogs and decided to buy dog food instead of beer for the party. They brought the mother and puppies back home to Michigan, where each man took in one dog as their own. The wedding went off without a hitch, and the newlyweds now have two dogs.

October 28, 2016 – 1:41pm

October 28, 2016

Canada’s “Baby Box” Program Aims to Lower Infant Mortality Rate

Kirstin Fawcett

filed under: health, babies

Image credit:

iStock

Newborns in Finland sleep in boxes, not bassinets. Now, thanks to Canadian health officials, many infants in Nunavut will, too. As the CBC reports, the region’s health and education departments have joined forces to hand out more than 800 “baby boxes” to new parents in Canada’s northernmost province. They hope that the boxes will help reduce the region’s high infant mortality rates, as they did when they were first introduced in Finland nearly 80 years ago.

Baby boxes are cardboard containers filled with all the basic newborn essentials: clothing, sheets, toys, diapers, and hygiene products. They even come with a tiny mattress, so infants can sleep in the empty boxes once their contents are removed. According to experts, these makeshift box-beds lower babies’ chances of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), since they prevent them from rolling onto their stomachs [PDF].

Finland’s government began handing out baby boxes in the late 1930s. Initially, they were only given to low-income families, but soon they were gifted to all new parents, regardless of socioeconomic status. They’re credited with lowering the nation’s infant mortality rate from 90 in 1000 to less than two in 1000, the CBC reports.

Naturally, Canadian officials hope the boxes will also help babies in Nunavut. Nunavut is Canada’s most sparsely populated province, but it also has the highest birth rate, along with the nation’s highest rate of infant mortality—a rate five times higher than the national average.

For the most part, Nunavut’s baby boxes are like Finland’s, although they contain unique, culturally-specific items like children’s books written in the Inuit language. The boxes also include family planning materials for parents, like condoms and brochures on baby care and various health risks.

Nunavut’s new baby box initiative was piloted in Alberta earlier this year, through a program called “Welcome to Parenthood,” Huffington Post Canada reports. Now that it’s arrived in Nunavut, the province’s Department of Health will hand out the boxes to parents in 25 communities over the course of the next year (and beyond, if the program is successful). Parents can register for the boxes at prenatal appointments or community health centers.

“Reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and infant mortality is a priority,” said Minister of Health George Hickes in a news statement published by The Arctic Journal. “I’m thrilled that Nunavut is taking the lead on this baby box initiative—the first publicly funded universal program of its kind in Canada.”

[h/t CBC]

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

October 28, 2016 – 1:30pm

October 28, 2016

Male Birth Control Is 96 Percent Effective, Study Finds

Jake Rossen

filed under: medicine, science

Image credit:

IStock

Women have always endured the brunt of responsibility when it comes to arranging for pharmacological birth control methods, with drug companies slow to provide options for men. Attempts like an injectable gel or an implant that inhibits sperm cell production are in various stages of development, but it appears one contender might be closer—and more practical—than the rest.

A new study published in The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism [PDF] found that men who were given injections of the hormones testosterone and norethisterone enanthate every eight weeks had a reduced sperm count within six months that was sufficient to prevent pregnancy 96 percent of the time.

Exogenous testosterone—meaning testosterone that has been added to, not produced by, the body—inhibits sperm production, although past attempts to use it as a form of birth control have been mixed: Too much of it can result in long-term endocrine issues. By using it alongside the norethisterone, researchers could reduce the dose and still be successful in suppressing sperm count below 1 million per milliliter.

While the numbers are promising, researchers still have their work cut out for them. Although the amount of testosterone administered was reduced, it can still affect numerous functions in the body, and subjects experienced a cascade of side effects: depression, irritability, and libido changes. Nearly half of participants complained of acne.

Some of these unwanted symptoms were severe enough for subjects to drop out, although the study’s authors maintain the effects were usually mild in nature and not dissimilar to those experienced by women, who have long struggled with the hormonal roulette that birth control can ignite. But with the vast majority of the male enrollees—75 percent—saying they were satisfied and would use the method if it became commercially available, they may not have to endure it for much longer.

[h/t Vocativ]

October 28, 2016 – 1:15pm

October 28, 2016

What’s the Kennection?

Kennection Questions:

The triple point of what substance is used to define the Celsius temperature scale?

What biggest box office hit of 1990 almost starred Paul Hogan, as Patrick Swayze only took the lead after Hogan turned it down?

Wimbledon is now the only Grand Slam tennis tournament played on what surface?

What mythical creature appears on the flag of Wales?

What does the letter 'E' stand for in cars like the Chevy Spark EV, the Honda Fit EV, and the Kia Soul EV?

What's the "Kennection"?

Schedule Publish:

Content not scheduled for publishing.

Friday, October 28, 2016 – 13:13

Quiz Number:

104

October 28, 2016

Don’t Miss Out on Friday’s Best Amazon Deals

Smart Shopping Team

filed under: shopping

Image credit:

amazon / istock

As a recurring feature, our team combs the Web and shares some amazing Amazon deals we’ve turned up. Here’s what caught our eye today, October 28.

Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers, including Amazon, and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Good luck deal hunting!

October 28, 2016 – 11:26am

Amazon Product Id:

B00UH1Z2OG

October 28, 2016

The Harsh Method a Silent Film Company Used to Reject Scripts

Michele Debczak

filed under: History, Movies

Image credit:

iStock

Whether you just found out you’re not right for a job you applied for or recently had bad luck with a date, rejection always stings. Most people say they would prefer blunt language over an easy letdown, but if this form rejection letter was still in use, they might have second thoughts.

This checklist, spotted by Open Culture after it was tweeted by Ted Gioia, was used in the 1910s by the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company.

The silent film studio was the outfit behind a few classic movies, including a series of Charlie Chaplin comedies in 1915. But for every brilliant film script they received there were numerous duds. Instead of sending sugar-coated letters to every screenplay that got rejected, they drafted up a handy checklist of reasons why it might not work. As you can see below, the list gets brutally honest at points, with “Weak Plot,” “Not Interesting,” and “Illegible” all listed as potential issues.

Ted Gioia via Twitter

In the age of ghosting and overly formal emails, it’s refreshing to think of a time when rejections could be so straightforward. Unfortunately, Essanay didn’t stick around long enough for their unconventional rejection style to spread through the rest of the industry: After merging with three other studios in 1918 they were absorbed by Warner Bros. in 1925.

[h/t Open Culture]

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.

October 28, 2016 – 12:30pm

October 28, 2016

Newsletter Item for (12865): What’s the Origin of Jack-O’-Lanterns?

Headline:

What’s the Origin of Jack-O’-Lanterns?

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Today’s Big Question: What’s the origin of Jack-O’-Lanterns?

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History

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What’s the Origin of Jack-O’-Lanterns?

October 28, 2016

Newsletter Item for (87786): 7 Boo-zy Beers to Drink This Halloween

Headline:

7 Boo-zy Beers to Drink This Halloween

mfna_dek:

Zombies, devils, and monsters dominate these scary brews.

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mfna_eyebrow:

Booze

mfna_real_node:

7 Boo-zy Beers to Drink This Halloween

October 28, 2016

Newsletter Item for (69429): How Teal Pumpkins Can Make Halloween Safer for Kids With Allergies

Headline:

Teal Pumpkins Make Halloween Safer for Kids With Allergies

mfna_dek:

Trick-or-treating no longer has to be the scariest part of Halloween for kids with allergies: The Teal Pumpkin Project is helping make Halloween inclusive for the one in 13 American children afflicted by painting a pumpkin teal and placing it outside their homes.

Image:

mfna_eyebrow:

Live Smarter

mfna_real_node:

How Teal Pumpkins Can Make Halloween Safer for Kids With Allergies

TREE ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC

COW PATTIES STOLEN FROM POO MUSEUM

TEEN WAKES FROM COMA SPEAKING SPANISH

FURRY FELON RANSACKS OAK BAY HOME

BACHELOR PARTY ADOPTS MOTHER DOG AND SEVEN PUPPIES

GADGETS

KITCHEN

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