Study: If You Don’t Want to Appear Elderly to Others, “Shop Until You Drop”

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Do Americans associate old age with telltale physical signs like wrinkles and crow’s feet? Or do they believe that passing a certain age defines a person as ‘over the hill’? According to a new study, neither – a person is defined by how old they act, and how independent they are.

For instance, consumers who can no longer shop for themselves, complete housework, or drive their cars are considered ‘old,’ the study claims.

According to the new study by Oregon State University researcher Michelle Barnhart, activities that define one’s independence are the most important markers of age. In much of America, a person’s independence is closely tied to their ability to drive, shop, and cook for themselves. Because of these unwritten adages, those who are too feeble to carry shopping bags or operate their vehicle are looked at as someone in their twilight years.

To conduct her research, Ms Barnhart conducted in-depth interviews with consumers in their late 80s, as well as their caregivers and family members – often the subject’s adult children in their 50s and 60s.

She found that the Baby Boomers, who are aging themselves, did not wish to be seen as old, but often treated their own parents as ‘old people’ – not allowing them to exercise independence where they could and assuming they’re scatterbrained as well as slow.

Read more from this story HERE.

“Gone With the Wind”: Odor Eating Undies Hide Embarrassing Smells

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It’s the nightmare scenario in any confined space – breaking wind, only to discover it smells rather more unpleasant than expected. But these cringeworthy moments could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new brand of odour-eating underwear.

The Japanese textile company selling underpants claims they neutralize the smell of flatulence. The pants are said to be a big hit with Japanese businessmen, as it means they can break wind without getting caught. But there’s also a pink pair for women, too.

The odor-absorbing range, known as Deoest, effectively kills odor from wind. It does this using ceramic particles in the material fibers, which are said to absorb and neutralize gassy smells.

A word of warning, however: there is no word on whether they might mask any sound.

Read more from this story HERE.

Energy Drinks Linked to Heart Attacks, ‘Spontaneous Abortion’

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You know those little vials of who-knows-what that TV bills as a healthier alternative to energy drinks. Turns out they might make you die. Or to be more specific, the flavored energy shot “has been mentioned in some 90 filings with the F.D.A., including more than 30 that involved serious or life-threatening injuries like heart attacks, convulsions and, in one case, a spontaneous abortion,” according to a New York Times investigation.

Don’t worry, 5-Hour Energy fans, Monster Energy drink is a culprit, too. Following a review of FDA records, The Times found that 5-Hour Energy was implicated in at least 13 deaths over the last four years, while Monster was cited in five deaths in a review last month. Both the paper and the FDA are careful to point out that correlation does not equal causation in these horrifying examples of pick-me-ups gone wrong. Nevertheless, we’re pretty sure coffee will remain our stimulant of choice for the foreseeable future.

The scariest thing about the Times report isn’t necessarily the threat of heart attack or spontaneous abortion. It’s the fact that nobody really knows what’s going on with energy drinks — or in 5-Hour Energy’s case “dietary supplements” — that become implicated in fatalities. Even scarier, is that the companies making these potions know that it’s happening. They’re required by federal law to report cases that link their products to fatalities to the FDA. They don’t want to talk about it either. “I am not interested in making any comment,” Manoj Bhargava, the chief executive of Living Essentials, the company that makes 5-Hour Energy. (Go ahead and let the irony of that company name sink in.)

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Police Tase Man While Putting Out Neighbor’s Fire to Keep Him From “Hurting Himself”

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Daniel Jensen did what he believed anyone else would do after seeing his neighbor’s house on fire. He turned on his garden hose and started spraying.

The home next door was ten feet from his outer wall, and the wind was causing the flames to scorch his house.

“They were billowing up in the roof and starting to catch the fence on fire,” Jensen said. That’s why he is angry and confused about the actions of Pinellas Park police the night of November 8.

Jensen said when police arrived at his neighbor’s house, they ordered him to stop spraying. Jensen claimed that police told him not to bother fighting the fire, and to “let the house go.”

“I couldn’t believe what I heard,” Jensen said. “That it was an insurance problem. Let the insurance company handle it.”

Bolivian City to Castrate Rapists and Cut Off Hands of Thieves

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Thieves will be getting a lot more than a slap on the wrist in one Bolivian city, and convicted rapists will face something a whole lot worse.

Under a controversial, new law system for Bolivia’s indigenous people in the city of El Alto, thieves will have their hands amputated and those found guilty of rape will be chemically castrated.

After being sentenced in a newly created court, the unlucky crooks will be operated on by trained doctors paid to perform the procedures. However, if the doctors refuse to put the perps under the knife, lesser-trained, indigenous doctors from the surrounding highlands will be brought in to do the job.

Chemical castration is the administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity.

“Indigenous justice is handled differently, not between four walls as ordinary justice is. We will not be sending people to jail in these cases,” said Carmelo Titirico, leader of the National Council for Ayllu y Marka people, according to the New York Daily News.

Read more from this story HERE.

Scientists at Stanford University Discover Artificial, Conductive Skin That Heals Itself

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Scientists have invented the first artificial skin that can both sense subtle pressure and heal itself when torn or cut – and could one day be used for the screens on mobile phones.

A team from Stanford University are the first to create a synthetic skin that can not only repair damage to itself but is also able, crucially, to conduct electricity.

It is this crucial latter property that promises to make it useful in the field of consumer electronics.

One of the major bugbears smartphone users have had, particularly the iPhone, was propensity of the screen on the devices to smash when dropped.

A transparent, healable polymer that can sense pressure could be invaluable for making future generations of devices more resilient to breakages.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russian Woman Attacked By Wolf, Axes It To Death

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apBeware of 56-year-old Russian women with axes.

A lone wolf attacked Aishat Maksudova outside her sister’s home in Russia’s province of Dagestan in the North Caucasus Mountains.

The animal bit the farmer on her arm and her leg and she fell to the ground, crying out for help from other villagers. No one was in earshot. So she reached for an ax she had brought along to repair a fence, and with remarkable aplomb, she hit the wolf over the head several times until his teeth unclenched.

Read more from this story HERE.

Man Napping in Cornfield Ran Over, Sucked into Combine

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Photo credit: Martin PettittA man taking a nap in a cornfield on the West End was run over Wednesday by a farmer who was harvesting corn.

Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Lt. Kent O’Donnell said the 57-year-old, whose name will not be released, was passing through town on the Greyhound bus from Washington, D.C. He was walking along the 4900 block of Grand Avenue when he decided to take a rest.

“He said that he stepped off the busy road and about three rows of corn into the field,” O’Donnell said. “He said he didn’t have intentions of sleeping but fell asleep anyway.”

At about 1:15 p.m., the landowner drove a combine into the field to harvest corn. The farmer drove about 50 yards when the combine shuddered, O’Donnell said.

“The farmer thought he had driven over a fence post or an irrigation pipe, but once he turned the machine off, he could hear a man screaming,” he said.

The machine had caught the man’s clothing and sucked him into the cutter, O’Donnell said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Strapped San Francisco Slashes Government Services But Now Offering Free Sex Change Operations

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In the midst of cash-strapped Californians approving new taxes to prevent further cuts in essential state services, San Francisco health officials appear to have found the money to fund what they say is a much-needed service to residents living in the City by the Bay:

Sex changes.

The gender-switching surgeries are part of a comprehensive program for treating transgender people that the city’s Health Commission green-lighted on Tuesday and announced two days later. Backers say it will help ease the mental anguish of people who feel they are trapped in bodies of the wrong gender, but critics wonder why the taxpayers should foot the bill.

“Taxpayers cannot afford this, as there are unintended costs and unintended consequences unrelated to the actual surgery, such as their longer-term hormone treatment, psychology needs and other longer term health issues,” said Thomas Moyer, a City by the Bay resident and author of “A Conservative Survival Guide to San Francisco.”

Under Mayor Ed Lee, the city’s current budget topped $7 billion for the first time in history this year. In addition to the local tax burden, residents have seen their cash-strapped state slash an array of services.

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/09/gender-bender-spenders-san-francisco-to-foot-bill-for-sex-changes/#ixzz2BpN2TeGw

Forget Solyandra Solar! Try a Urine Powered Generator

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What have you built lately? 14-year-olds Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and 15-year-old Bello Eniola have created a urine powered generator.

Here’s how it works:

•Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which cracks the urea into nitrogen, water, and hydrogen.

•The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder.

•The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas.

•This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator.

•1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity.

If this doesn’t motivate you to go out and start thinking about how you can really make an impact, then I don’t know what will.

Read more from this story HERE.