Curious
Times No. 341
March 23, 2006
YOUR
SOUL SUCKING JOB IS ALSO WRECKING YOUR SPERM
Research published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology reports
that a desk job may be hazardous to a man's ability to produce
offspring. Using special thermometers placed in research subject's
underwear (try not to picture it) the "scientists" found
that sitting down for more than one hour leads to a significant
increase in scrotal temperatures, which may affect the quality
of sperm being produced. The study concluded that men who are
trying to have children should be temporarily reassigned from
their desk jobs, or should get up and walk around every 30 minutes
to help lower the temperature of their nuts. (The Independent)
IT
TAKES BALLS TO HAVE CHILDREN
Speaking of scrotums, the United Daily News out of Taiwan reports
that the newest craze for couples wishing to conceive is to eat
mouse testicles. The urban legend has spread after several couples
claimed success despite being diagnosed as infertile. One couple
claimed to have conceived their baby less than one month after
eating six kilos of raw mouse testicles. (Ananova)
CRUEL
AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
Check out www.prisonexp.org for pretty thorough documentation
of what must be the most bizarre and notorious sociological experiment
ever carried out on willing volunteers. On August 14, 1971, professors
at Stanford University seperated two dozen college students (who
were selected from over 70 volunteers because they were considered
normal, healthy, intelligent people) into groups of guards and
prisoners, and set them up in a mock prison setting in order to
view the psychological effects of prison life. Within a few days
the guards became increasingly sadistic, using various methods
of abuse and degradation to establish control over the prisonsers,
and the prisoners began exhibiting all the classic symptoms of
actual inmates, with increasing depression, anxiety and withdrawal.
The study was ended after only six days after video footage showed
that the guards were escalating their abuse of prisoners during
the night when they thought the researchers weren't watching them.
JUDGING
A BOOK BY IT'S TITLE
Britain's Bookseller magazine has awarded it's "Oddest Book
Title of the Year" award to a book about being haunted called
""People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach
Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It."
A close second place finish went to the thrillingly named "Rhino
Horn Stockpile Management: Minimum Standards and Best Practices
from East and Southern Africa." (Reuters)
NEED
SOME EXCITEMENT IN YOUR LIFE?
Believe it or not, surfing for porn on the net does get boring
after a while... so if you're looking for a new hobby that might
actually get you outside once in a while, check out the exciting
world of sand collecting. Party on at SandCollectors.org, the
official website of the International Sand Collectors Society.
PARENTHOOD
FOR CONTROL FREAKS
A genetics lab in Fairfax, Virginia has developed a "sperm-sorting"
machine which can pretty much guarantee that your baby will be
the gender of your choice. For about US$2,500 the lab promises
a 91 per cent success rate for selecting girls and 74 per cent
for boys. So far approximately 300 babies have been born with
preselected gender. (The Guardian)
AND
PARENTHOOD FOR THOSE WHO JUST DON'T CARE
A man in Mississauga, Ontario, was stopped by police who spotted
a child playing in the back seat of his car. When they pulled
him over they found out why the child wasn't strapped in. Turns
out the man had used the child's safety seat to secure a case
of beer. (Mississaugua News)
BIG
FAT LIES
Big surprise. A study released by the Federal Trade Commissino
found that diet ads and commercials are full of lies. The report
concluded that about 40 per cent of weight-loss ads made statements
which were outright lies, and 55 per cent of the ads made at least
one statement which could not be backed up by any scientific research.
The study also found that deceptive advertising has increased
dramatically over the last decade and that testimonials and before-and-after
photos "rarely portrayed realistic weight loss." (unknowncountry.com)
I
SEE AN OUTRAGEOULSY EXPENSIVE ORGASM IN YOUR FUTURE
A Japanese woman is making some pretty good cash reading the fortune
of men by performing sexual acts on them. "Kaho," who
works in a brothel in Nagoya, claims that she has foreseen future
events for over 1,000 men in the past year, and has even helped
one man win a huge amount of money at the racecourse. For the
women in Japan, another psychic reads their futures by studying
their breasts. (Mainichi Daily News)
I-READ-IT-ON-THE-INTERNET-SO-IT-MUST-BE-TRUE
FACT OF THE WEEK
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered
blood donors.
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