Category: News of the Weird

DARWIN WAS WRONG

Any theory that contends Texas Republicans evolved from monkeys is implausible, blasphemous, and just plain stupid.

Clearly, it was the other way around.

Phone sex operators outsourced to India

Some Call Centers in Bangalore and Mumbai have received some bizarre requests from the Western countries. Some call center operators have secretly set up phone sex operations in India.

That’s globalization for you.

From a site talking about the evils of sucralose sweetener:

Splenda is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar, but the sweetness is forced, not like a natural sugar the body uses for fuel, says Dr. Hull. And although corporations say Splenda is safe, they have said the same thing about aspartame, which is now linked to disease and obesity. They also claim that the chlorine atoms in Splenda are altered and therefore safe, yet it’s known that any animal that eats chlorine (especially on a regular basis) is at risk of cancer.

Emphasis mine. Common table salt, in case you forgot, is NaCl/Sodium Chloride; for that matter, the body uses chlorine atoms internally for a number of purposes, including producing stomache acid.

This is not to say that sucralose is safe or not, just that the argument this kook is presenting is, well, silly.

…and a counterpart to “John School”…?

The 25 students in jeans and T-shirts could have been in any career that requires hustle. The classes, covering topics such as effective marketing, stress reduction and legal issues, could have been part of any professional development seminar.

But this was “Whore College,” and any illusion it was just another corporate how-to for young go-getters abruptly ended at the

Chlamydia Outbreak Kills a Dozen Penguins

An outbreak of chlamydia at the San Francisco Zoo has left a dozen penguins dead, according to a spokesman.

The bacteria, which was most likely transmitted to the birds by an infected seagull, is spread through airborne saliva or other bodily fluids, said Bob Jenkins, the zoo’s director of animal care and conservation. A similar disease is sexually transmitted in humans.

“Infected seagull”… right. That’s the ticket.

Ozzy, son get their muay Thai kicks in Pattaya

Superstars Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne – stars of the popular reality television series “The Osbournes”– watched from ringside yesterday as their only son fought in his first muay-Thai bout in Pattaya.

“Fighting Jack” Osbourne donned the muay-Thai mongkon (traditional headband) and boxing gloves to fight against veteran muay-Thai professional “The Man” at the Pattaya Stadium last night.

From Reuters/Yahoo News: Norwegian Court Convicts First Woman for Rape

OSLO (Reuters) – A Norwegian court has sentenced a woman to nine months in jail for raping a man, the first such conviction in the Scandinavian country that prides itself for its egalitarianism.

The 31-year-old man fell asleep on a sofa at a party in January last year and told the court in the western city of Bergen he woke to find the 23-year-old woman was having oral sex with him.

French forest wanderer finds 20 tonnes of gourmet meats

A man walking in a forest near here reportedly found 20 tonnes of gourmet meats wrapped in plastic and still edible.

The salami and cured hams, found Saturday morning, may have been dumped by thieves…

For the “those wacky Japanese” file…

Japan’s virgin wives turn to sex volunteers

The 200 women a year who seek help at a clinic in the Tokyo suburbs have not had sex with their husbands in up to 20 years, and some never, according to Kim Myong-gan, who runs the clinic.

Mr Kim’s short-term solution is unconventional. After an initial 20,000 yen (£100) counselling session, he produces photographs of 45 men, mostly professionals in their 40s, with whom the women are invited to go on dates and then, in almost all cases, arrange regular assignations in hotel rooms.

Mr Kim dismissed charges that his service was little more than a male prostitution ring. “The men volunteer and pay half the hotel and restaurant bills, so legally there is absolutely nothing wrong with it,” he said.

…over here, I can only imagine the cow that the radical right would have over “organized infidelity” pushed by a mental health/social services professional.

The rest of the article is pretty interesting on their demographic challenges, but not nearly as juicy as this clip or the headline would imply.

Gerbil on DBA provides:

Big doings over at Sesame Street…Cookie Monster is
cutting back on the cookies:

Cookie Monster Eating Fewer Cookies:

Something must be wrong in the land of Muppets. First PBS announced that “Sesame Street” would kick off its 35th season this week with a multiyear story arc about healthy habits. No problem there; childhood obesity rates are soaring. Then I learned of changes that turned my “Sesame Street” world upside-down.

My beloved blue, furry monster — who sang “C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me” — is now advocating eating healthy. There’s even a new song — “A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food,” where Cookie Monster learns there are “anytime” foods and “sometimes” foods.