Thread: Weird True Facts

Alot of amputations lately


'I've just cut my arm off'



A Brighton man knocked on his neighbour's door after a chainsaw accident and calmly said: "I've just cut my arm off."
John Stirling, 59, was pruning a tree when the saw slipped and severed his left arm below the elbow, reports The Sun.
He went next door to tell horrified neighbour Steve Francis, who said: "He was as relaxed as can be. I didn't realise anything was wrong until I looked down and saw his arm missing."
Mr Francis, 49, called 999 and was told how to tie a tourniquet with a belt as ambulancemen raced to the scene.
He then fetched the missing limb - packing it in a bag of frozen pastries, while Mr Stirling waited on a stool.
Mr Francis, of Telscombe Cliffs, near Brighton, said: "John wasn't screaming. He's a brave man - I can't believe he didn't faint."
Mr Stirling is recovering after 14 hours of surgery to reattach his arm at East Grinstead's Queen Victoria Hospital.
A hospital spokesman said: "Early indications are the operation went well."

Perth in Western Australia gets more rain than London - It is just heavy and short, over a few months of the year - unlike the London drizzle! Useless but apparently true!

In March 1997, near Krakow in Poland, a 30-year-old farmer named Krystof Azninski was drinking with friends when it was suggested they all strip naked and play some `men's games'. This being Poland, the masculine activity they had in mind consisted of hitting each other over the head with frozen turnips. However, one man upped the ante by grabbing a chainsaw and cutting off the end of his foot. Not to be outdone, Azninski grabbed the saw and shouted `Watch this, then'. He swung the saw at his own head, cutting it off. Later, by way of an epitaph, one of his drinking chums commented: `It's because when he was young he put on his sister's underwear. But he died like a man.'

Paul Stiller, from New Jersey who, in September, was injured by a quarter-stick of dynamite that blew up in his car. He and his wife Bonnie were driving around at 2am, bored. So the couple lit the dynamite and lobbed it out of the car window to see what would happen, but apparently failed to notice that the window was closed at the time.

One night in August Kerry Bingham, from Tacoma, had been drinking with several friends when one of them said they knew a person who had bungee-jumped from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the middle of traffic. The conversation grew more heated and at least 10 men trooped along the walkway of the bridge at 4:30 am. Upon arrival at the midpoint they discovered that no one had brought a bungee rope. Bingham, though, pointed out a coil of cable lying nearby. One end of the cable was secured around Bingham's leg and the other end was tied to the bridge. His fall lasted 40 feet before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously survived and was rescued by two passing fishermen. His foot was never located.

Three contenders, however, managed to fulfil the major requisite of the prize, and their deaths were duly acknowledged for their spectacular pointlessness. There was the 41-year-old Detroit man who in September got stuck and drowned in two feet of water after squeezing head-first through an 18-inch-wide sewer grate to retrieve his car keys.

In October, a 49-year-old San Francisco stockbroker, who was, according to his wife, `totally zoned when he ran', accidentally jogged off a 200-foot-high cliff on his daily run.

Lest the judges be accused of pro-American bias, however, this year's Darwin Award again went to a European: German zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt of Paderborn. Riesfeldt, alarmed by a lengthy bout of constipation suffered by Stefan, an elephant in his charge, fed the animal 22 doses of animal laxative and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes. This was not enough, however, to cause any movement and Friedrich, 46, decided to give the plugged-up pachyderm an olive-oil enema. This did the trick, though rather quicker than the keeper had imagined. Stefan let fly, with the keeper in the line of fire: Riesfeldt was suffocated under more than 200 pounds of discharge. `The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr Riesfeldt to the ground, where he struck his head on a rock and lay unconscious as the elephant continued to evacuate his bowels on top of him,' said Paderborn police detective Erik Dern. `With no one there to help him, he lay under all that dung for at least an hour before a watchman came along, and during that time he suffocated.'

WHAT NEXT, A MCSPACESTATION FLY BY?

The Irish Times reported December 4, 1996, McDonald's Corporation had opened a new restaurant that week at the Swedish ski resort of Lindvallen, northwest of Stockholm. Naming it McSki, McDonald's proclaimed it the world's first "ski through" restaurant.


HE'D SMARTLY PACKED HIS GOLDEN PARACHUTE, EARLY

By October of 2000, it was determined the CEO of Lucent Technologies, Richard McGinn, had failed to reach promised financial targets, with the company admitting earnings had been greatly exaggerated. This started an investigation by the SEC, way too late. In January 2002, 16,000 workers were laid off. What about the poor CEO McGinn? He took his $12.5 million in cash and stock, then continued to work at his other job, on the audit committee of American Express.


AT TIMES LIKE THESE SNAKES GET "THEIR LEGS PULLED"

The first thing a red-sided garter snake (thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) does upon awakening from 8 months of hibernation is look for female snakes to mate with. Soon as he spots one, the lusty serpent intermingles around her body until they roll together to form a tight-stitched ball. When females are scarce, some male snakes will hide in the grass, then act female. The original lusty male will try and have sex with that male until he wears him out. Then, and only then, will the phony female crawl away, hopefully to ecstasy, with one less male to compete with. (While, all the while, probably denying his enjoyment of bi-sexuality?)


FOR MANY, THIS SHOT WAS DEADLY

In a national speech in 1976, U.S. President Gerald Ford encouraged all citizens to, "Get your swine flu immunization." With this encouragement, from Ford and others, one in four Americans did. But an immunopathological reaction caused some 500 who took the shot to develop Guillain-Barre syndrome, resulting in the deaths of 25 people from severe pulmonary complications. That is more dead than killed by the virus itself.


WHY DIDN'T THEY RECORD HIS BIRTH IN THEIR FAMILY BIBLE?

The idea of using Jesus Christ's birthday to start calendars with A.D. (Anno Domini) didn't begin until approximately 525 years after his death. While generally believed and accepted he began his ministry around age 30, the actual years of his life are still argued. Best guess from many researchers, Jesus was born between the years of 7 and 2 B.C., his death occurring between 26 and 36 A.D. This means The Crucifixion occurred while he was between the ages of 28 to 43.


LET'S HOPE THEY TOOK A BITE OUT OF HIS BILL, OVER THIS

The Associated Press reports doctors at a Wellington, New Zealand, hospital operated on an 81-year-old man in February of 2005, and during that procedure lost the patient's false teeth. After the operation, and after the patient complained of severe pain, a laryngoscope down his throat found the lost teeth immediately.


WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD? NOPE, MUCH MORE THAN THAT

There are 117 elements on the Periodic Table of Elements, with the most expensive of the lot probably being protactinium. This element is both rare and hard to isolate. In 1961, the British government captured 125 grams of protactinium from 60 tons of material, costing about $500,000 US to extract. That made the value of this element about $4,000 US per gram (0.035274 oz). There are currently no uses for protactinium, other than in scientific research. In addition to being scarce, it's highly radioactive and very toxic.

Odourless underpants



A US company has performed a great service to humanity by inventing an underwear fabric that absorbs all smells.
The material is inserted into a pair of pants with two self-adhesive strips and traps any pongs or whiffs, reports The Sun.
The 'gas neutralisers' are made from carbon fabric that has undergone activated carbon anti-microbial treatment. Called Subtle Butt, they sell in five-packs for about £5.
They were invented by a company called Garment Guard which already sells disposable cotton underarm inserts which absorb perspiration to prevent embarrassing wet marks.
The company blurb says: "From the brilliant minds at Garment Guard comes our newest product, Subtle Butt.
"This pack of 5 saving graces effectively filters the odour caused by flatulence. Simply stick it in the right place and you're ready for a chilli cook-off."
However, the fabric, called Subtle Butt, does not silence noises - so does not signal the end of embarrassing flatulence.

Python tried to eat keeper's head


A zoo owner had to be rescued in Germany when a 12ft snake began trying to eat her head.

Renate Klosse was cleaning its cage when the nine-stone tiger python named Antonia clamped its jaws on her face.
She tried to relieve the pressure from its 70 teeth by sticking her thumbs into its jawbone, reports The Sun.
Colleagues sprayed it with hoses until it slithered off at Uhldingen Zoo near Stuttgart. Renate was treated for bites and shock.
A police spokeswoman said: "Its jaws opened so wide that it was able to completely cover the woman's face."
Python expert Jan Knoll explained: "Pressure on the jaw would have given the reptile pain. The water would have made it lose its sense of smell and disorientate it."
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IF HE WORE GLASSES HE'D NEED CONTACTS, AFTER THAT

J. Paul Getty III, grandson of billionaire J. Paul Getty, was kidnapped by the Italian Red Brigade, July 10, 1973. They demanded $17 million for his release. Sadly, grandfather and most family members figured the boy was faking it to siphon money from his stingy grandfather, and let him remain with his captives for 5 months. The desperate kidnappers finally broke the stalemate by cutting off the boy's right ear, sending it to a Rome newspaper with a reduced demand for $3.2 million. Getty senior negotiated the ransom down to $2 million, paid it, and the boy was released with no further torture.

THEY JUST LOVED THEIR FAMILIES TO DEATH

The New York Times reported, in 1992, from Ginowan, Japan, 62-year-old Reverend Shigeaki Kinjo wanted that country's text books to tell the whole truth as to what he and many other young Japanese men did to their families near the end of World War II. Truth is, while Allied forces prepared to take over Okinawa (March 1945), those brainwashed like Kinjo were convinced Allied troops would rape and murder their women. So, rather than have their enemies do these horrible deeds, these loving sons and brothers systematically murdered their own mothers, sisters and all the very young, putting them out of their misery.

HIS BURNING DESIRE GOT OUT OF HAND

Police Chief John Tuchek of Lanesboro, Minnesota, finally came up with an idea on how to look like a super hero to his girlfriend. All he had do was start a fire with cardboard outside her apartment, then "come to the rescue." Problem was, the wind. Before Chief Tuchek could extinguish his small flame, it set the building on fire, causing an estimated $500,000 in damages.

A ROSE IS A ROSE, BUT THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT

The perile (Catharanthus us) is a perennial plant native to Madagascar and India. It is poisonous to domestic animals, but, at the same time, the source of substances used in treating cancer, especially childhood leukemia (studies found it up to 80% effective against this disease).

Funny Sheena, they were talking about the same thing on Gardeners World last night.

PC's roadside delivery


A policeman who planned to pull over a driver found himself helping to deliver his baby on the roadside.

PC Dan Wells was on his way back to Fulham Police station when he noticed a BMW driving erratically.
Michael Nadel had actually overtaken the police car to ask for help as his wife Natalia was in labour, reports the Daily Telegraph.
PC Wells said: "I was about to have words with him about the way he was driving and then he said his wife was having a baby."
Mr Nadel, 39, returned to his wife Natalia, 31, but seconds later came back to the police to tell them the labour was moving faster than expected.
The Russian couple from Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, were on their way to the Portland Hospital in central London when Mrs Nadel started having contractions.
Pc Wells opened the door and saw Mrs Nadel pushing the baby, when he noticed something was not right.
"The head was out and it was kind of blue. We could see the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck," he said.
He quickly unwrapped the umbilical cord which was suffocating the baby's neck and restoring the oxygen supply to the infant. Baby Nikol, a girl, was born at 3am and weighed 6.4lbs.
Mr Nadel, a banker, said: "It was very dramatic. I'd like to say thanks to him. The policeman really helped us."

SUN TAN LOTION PROBABLY NOT A BIG SELLER

From the 1880's to World War II, Coney Island, New York, was the largest U.S. amusement park. It also had a very modest attitude concerning swim wear. Until the 1920's, women were required to wear a body-covering swimsuit and dark hose, which could easily weigh 15-pounds when exposed to the ocean's water. In 1918 alone, nearly one-hundred women were arrested for not wearing hose and exposing their legs. Women weren't the only ones required to cover up. As late as the 1930's, men who exposed their chests could be fined $50 and spend ten days in jail.


HERE'S ONE JUST FOR FUN

According to standup Comic Wally Wong: "I used to work at the unemployment office. I hated that job because when they fired me, I still had to show up at work the next day."


WATER AS WARM AS URINE, NAMED AFTER A BABY

The weather condition known as El Niño, meaning "the boy" in Spanish, was not named after just any boy. According to folklore, that term began with Peruvian fishermen off the Pacific coast, who noticed warm currents of water each year just after Christmas. So, they named that current for the baby Jesus.

THIS HAPPENS WITH 17,000 U.N. PEACEKEEPERS ON SITE

World wire services reported from Bukava, Congo, October 2007, violent rapes were common place there. Gynecologist Doctor Denis Mukwege said on daily average he saw 10 women and girls who had been violently raped, many so sadistically attacked their reproduction and digestive systems were beyond repair. Mukwege said all females were in danger. He, himself, had treated rape victims from ages 3 to 75 years. Adding, "(some) ask me if they will ever be able to have children, and it is hard to look into their eyes." (The United Nations reported 27,000 sexual assaults were reported in this South Kiva province alone in 2006.)


DO YOU KNOW WHEN "ONCE IN A BLUE MOON" IS?

You've heard the phrase "once in a blue moon." In case you didn't know, that term applies to the 2nd full moon in a month in which two full moons occur. It takes the moon 29 1/2 days to complete a cycle. And, with all but February having either 30 or 31 days, in 100 years, about 41 months have two. In other words, once in a blue moon means around every 2.4 years.

Cleese's lemur honour


John Cleese says having a species of lemur named after him is a greater honour than a knighthood.
The 68-year-old, who declined a CBE in 1996, spoke out as he visited Bristol Zoo Gardens, where he first saw a lemur as a boy.
Cleese told The Sun: "I've had a species named after me. I would rather have that than a knighthood or peerage."