A Welsh View

He/She/He/She?

Meet Michael, born a man, then became Michelle, returned to being Michael again and has considered becoming Michelle again.

The $82,000 Toupee

A man who travelled across America to get hair treatment has filed a lawsuit after he discovered he didn't get what he had paid for.

The man paid $1,700 laser hair treatment that actually turned out to be a toupee glued onto his head and 'lasered' on with a hair dryer.

The legal bills on either side have now topped $80,000 - all over a syrup!

3.629KM 'Condom'

People tie 30,000 condoms to form a 3.269-kilometers line during an anti-AIDS event in Bucharest, capital of Romania, Oct. 28, 2007. More photos here. [via]

The World's Fattest Baby

At 7.75 kg (17.1 lb) at birth, Nadia Khalina may have taken the title of the world's heaviest baby. Since birth Nadia has lost some weight but doctors say she could have heart problems.

The heaviest baby ever born weighed 10.8 kg in the United States in 1879 but it died within 11 days. The latest edition of the Guinness Book of Records notes a Brazilian baby born this year weighed 7.57 kg. Nadia was heavier. Link (w/ photos)

Dozens Of Rescuers Called In To Move 35 Stone Woman

Dozens of firemen and Red Cross workers took part in an operation to transport a woman weighing 35 stones from her home in Colombia's northern city of Cucuta to a local hospital.

The rescuers were forced to knock down two walls and one door, using saws and drills, to get 70-year-old Clementina Rios out of her home, in an operation that took over four hours to complete.

The Daily Mail has more (embarrassing for the woman) photos of her being lifted using a crane.

20 Useless Body Parts

A list of 20 body parts that we could live without.

Man Goes For World Record Leg Hair

Wes Pemberton thinks he may have a world record. He’s submitted a hair on his leg as the world’s longest leg hair. A hair on his calf measures about five inches. The world record is 4.88 inches.

"I thought it was a hair from one of the girls in the car and it was attached. I'm just wondering 'what is this long hair doing attached to my leg'," he said.

"The world record is 4.88 inches. So I just kind of washed it, and tried to protect it. When I get in the shower, I condition it to make sure it stays nice and strong."

Link Video.

Top Ten Strangest Diseases

Gunslot.com has 10 very strange diseases such as werewolf syndrome, vampire disease and Walking Corpse Syndrome.

World's Oldest Man Turns 112

Tomoji Tanabe, right, the world's oldest man, receives a bouquet of flowers from Miyakonojo Major Makoto Nagamine to celebrates his 112th birthday Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007 at his house in the southern Japanese city in Miyazaki prefecture, or state. Born Sept. 18, 1895, Tanabe was named world's oldest male after the death of the Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, who died aged 115 last January. Link

Breasts Bounce More than Previously Thought During Exercise

A biomechanics professor at the University of Portsmouth in England has conducted a study that shows that women's breast bounce more during exercise than previously thought.

Haven't these professors got better things to study? Actually, what better things is there to study than women's breasts.

The Cricket Player Who Has Broken Every Finger

Cricket-crazy Dave Morrison shows off his crocked fingers — the result of half a century playing as a wicket keeper.

Dave, 64, has broken every digit over the years but was too scared of hospitals to get them treated.

Instead he left them to heal themselves with only bags of frozen peas to numb the pain — meaning each one is now crooked.

He finally saw doctors after a ball smashed his thumb. They were so amazed at his fingers they took a photo to use in medical lectures. LinkCricket

23 Needles Found in Woman's Body

Chinese surgeons will try to remove 23 needles from a woman that doctors believe may have been embedded under her skin by grandparents trying to kill her so that a baby boy might take her place.

The needles - about an inch in length - were discovered by X-ray after Luo Cuifen, 29, went to doctors complaining of blood in her urine.

Many of the needles have worked their way into Luo's vital organs including her lungs, liver, bladder and kidneys, making their removal difficult, said Qu Rui, a spokesman for the Richland International Hospital in Yunnan province's capital, Kunming.

He said six of the 23 needles, all of them in the woman's abdomen, would be removed Tuesday in the first of several expected operations.

Link

Vegetarians Offered Lower Insurance

Animal Friends Insurance, a not-for-profit insurance business, are offering a six per cent discount on insurance premiums for the UK’s three million or so veggies because they are less likely to suffer from major illnesses.

Medical evidence suggests non meat-eaters are up to 40 per cent less likely to likely to suffer some forms of cancer.

Elaine Fairfax, managing director of Animal Friends Insurance, said: “The life insurance industry needs to acknowledge that being a vegetarian can have a positive impact on life expectancy and reduce premiums accordingly.”

Link

Video: Man Born With Three Feet

[via]

Plain Soap As Effective As Antibacterial But Without The Risk

Research by a University of Michigan public health professor has shown that antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain soaps and may render some common antibiotics less effective.

Because of the way the main active ingredient—triclosan—in many antibacterial soaps reacts in the cells, it may cause some bacteria to become resistant to commonly used drugs such as amoxicillin, the researchers say. These changes have not been detected at the population level, but e-coli bacteria bugs adapted in lab experiments showed resistance when exposed to as much as 0.1 percent wt/vol triclosan soap.

"What we are saying is that these e-coli could survive in the concentrations that we use in our (consumer formulated) antibacterial soaps," Aiello said. "What it means for consumers is that we need to be aware of what's in the products. The soaps containing triclosan used in the community setting are no more effective than plain soap at preventing infectious illness symptoms, as well as reducing bacteria on the hands."

Link

Baby Born With 12 Fingers, 12 Toes

A boy has been born with 12 fingers and 12 toes. The rare condition, called polydactylism, is usually genetic. His dad was born with an extra finger on his left hand. He'll have all the extra digits surgically removed in a couple of weeks, his mom said.

Video: Man Survives Record Tumour Surgery

If you think you look ugly, spare a thought for 31-year-old Huang Chunsai. He has just had a part of a 23kg tumour removed from his face. Despite the size of it he can still walk, breathe and eat.

Largest Hand In The World

The man with the largest hand in the world will be looking forward to a normal life after undergoing radical plastic surgery at Shanghai No. 9 People's Hospital.

Liu Hua, a 24-year-old Jiangsu Province native, was born with a left thumb, index and middle finger much larger than normal.

Liu was suffering from a rare disease called macrodactyly, a birth defect in which toes or fingers are abnormally large.

On July 20 surgeons began a seven-hour operation to reduce the size of Liu's fingers and thumb. Doctors removed 5.1kg of flesh and bone in the procedure.

"This was the first stage. The patient will regain the use of most of his left hand after rehabilitation," Chen said. "A second operation is scheduled in six months to reshape his left arm and shoulder." Link

World's Oldest Father Has 21st Child At 90

The world's oldest father has done it again, fathering a child for at least the 21st time, at the age of 90.

Indian farmer Nanu Ram Jogi, who is married to his fourth wife, boasts he does not want to stop, and plans to continue producing children until he is 100.

Mr Jogi's children and grandchildren live in six houses attached to his two-storey family home. Link

Video: Robert Earl Hughes

Once the world's heaviest man, Robert Earl Hughes holds the title for having the world's largest chest measurement ever recorded on a human at 124 inches (10 feet 4 inches or 3.15 m). His weight peaked at 486 kg (1,069 lb).

Related: Most obese humans

Video: Another Reason Why You Should Quit Smoking

I know that if a video was made showing what fast food or alcohol does to you it would probably be just as gross but this anti-smoking video is still pretty hard hitting. It's quite surprising the amount of tar that a 20-a-day smoker breathes in.

Woman Gives Birth To Giant Baby

After a six-hour struggle and with the help of four midwives, a woman has given birth to a baby weighing an astonishing 14lb 7oz, almost twice the birth weight of the average baby. I bet that's made a few of the female reader wince.

Woman Gives Birth To Rare Identical Triplets

A British woman has given birth to identical triplets in western Austria. The babies — girls named Amy, Kim and Zoe — were delivered Monday by Caesarean section, a hospital in the city of Feldkirch said in a statement.

The babies, conceived naturally without fertility treatments, weighed in at 1,500 grams (3.3 pounds) and measured 40 centimeters (15.7 inches).

The likelihood of giving birth to identical triplets is 1 in 200 million. Link

The Man Bra

A new bra for men has been made by an Australian company that is designed to flatten man boobs.

The creators of the Male Support Vest promise it will flatten the chest, make breasts less noticeable and reduce bounce during physical activity.

Available in white, black and beige, they are custom fit to individual measurements and are also designed for men suffering from gynecomastia, a medical condition that causes enlarged breasts in men.

The vest costs $85 and is available by mail order.

Man Surprised By Face Bug Infestation

One doctor thought the bleeding, strange bumps on Aaron Dallas' head might have been a gnat bite. A specialist thought it was shingles, though both doctors held out the possibility that it was something far more disturbing.

Then the bumps started moving.

A doctor found five active bot fly larvae living on Dallas' head, near the top of his skull, a few weeks after a mosquito apparently placed them there.

'I'd put my hand back there and feel them moving. I thought it was blood coursing through my head,' said Dallas, of Carbondale.

'I could hear them. I actually thought I was going crazy.'

This site has a video of what was removed and was made by the man's wife. Link [Thanks Kent]

Shy Guys 'Could Face Heart Risk'

A 30 year study suggests that shy or anti-social males are 50% more likely to suffer from a fatal heart attack or stroke.

How Much Is Your Body Worth?

$4015.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating

How much are you worth?

England Introduces Smoking Ban

With the introduction of a smoking ban in England this morning, it is now illegal to smoke in public places in the whole of the UK. We've had the ban in place since April and it has been so much more pleasurable going to the pub and not coming home smelling like an ashtray.

Hot-Dog Eating Champion Gets Jaw Arthritis

A Japanese man who set a world record by wolfing down 53 hot dogs in 12 minutes has suffered a severe jaw injury due to his rigorous training, making his next title uncertain.

Takeru 'Tsunami' said he can only open his mouth to make a gap the size of a fingertip after being diagnosed with jaw arthritis.

The injury occurred only a week after the slender 29-year-old started training to win his sixth straight title at the annual July 4 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating contest on New York's Coney Island. Link

Penis Hacking All The Rage

Thailand has become the world centre of penis reattachment surgery as more and more women hack off cheating spouses penises.

Doctors and psychologists blame the attacks on a mix of Thailand's tradition of polygamy, which was banned about 100 years ago but still persists, and the fact that the phallus is revered as a symbol of power and fertility.

The phenomenon has become so widespread that doctors have had to keep up with increasingly inventive and angry wives and lovers who want to prevent the offending item from being reattached.

The Average Human Being Gets 400 Miles Per Gallon At 3 Mph.

According to these calculations, the average human gets 400 mile to the gallon traveling at 3mph.

"A 155 lb human walking at 3 mph will burn 246 kcal/hour, or 82 kcal/mile. Feed that human one gallon of gas in potential energy -- 31,548 kcal -- and he'll have enough energy to walk for 128 hours."

[via]

Man Loses 401lbs, Left With A Huge Amount Of Excess SKin

Weird pictures and documentary footage of a man who lost 401lbs and was left with a huge amount of excess skin.

I used to weigh 630 pounds. I have been overweight all my life. I was close to death. I was written off by everyone, even myself. All of a sudden I woke up it seemed from my dispair and I relized feeling sorry about my life wasn’t going to solve my problems. I decided to change my existance. I weigh 229 now, I lost 401 pounds but I have excess skin. I wear a Large shirt and I can fit in a 34 waist.

[via]

Mites Setup Home In Man's Ears For 2 Years

After two years of constantly hearing noises and wriggling in his ear, a man has had a colony of mites removed.

"For years I had no idea what was wrong. I had been hearing continual bubble and squeak noises in my ears and it was worse at night. Sometimes I would get up in the morning and think I would be lucky if I had got any sleep.

"And there was movement. That was the worst - the itch. Many times during the day and night I would stick my fingers and cotton buds in my ears to try and relieve the itch. It was unreachable."

The 49-year-old twice visited his doctor, who flushed his ears out with warm water. There was no respite.

He experienced short-term relief when a nurse suctioned his ear out.

"Then I read an article on tinnitus - about noises in your ears - and I thought, 'I am getting older, that's what I have. I will just have to learn to live with it."'

As a last ditch attempt late last year he visited Tolbecs Ear Centre in Hamilton. "A nurse there took one look and called in her boss and others. Then the microbiologist got called in. They were all quite excited," Mr Balvert said.

"There were about a 100 of them. It was a well-stocked breeding ground."

Ms O'Leary used suction to remove all visible mites and eggs.

Link [Thanks Kent]

Don't Eat Hair From Your Mother's Hairbrush

This image (and others) was supposedly taken by a surgeon who found a huge hairball inside a man's stomach. The man suffered from Rapunzel's Syndrome and had been eating hair including some from his mother's hairbrush. The site also shows pictures of a tongue stud that was removed from an appendix!

Your Alcohol Habits Revealed In A Tuft Of Hair

A company called TrimegaLabs offers a test that can test how much alcohol you have consumed over the past few months or even years by examining your hair.

Current tests involving blood or saliva are only useful in the few days after consuming alcohol but the £345 test from Trimega will determine not only if you have consumed alcohol but also how much.

The test works by measuring substances - called fatty acid derivatives - absorbed by the hair as a by-product of alcohol being broken down by the body. [via]

Britain's Only Primordial Dwarf

23-month old Alex Connerty is Britain's only primordial dwarf and because of the condition he is destined to spend the rest of his life standing less than 3ft tall. Alex is only 2ft 4in, weighs less than a stone and wears clothes designed for six-month-olds.

Primordial dwarfism is a very rare inherited disorder and the cause is unknown. It affects an estimated one in three million people. The oldest known sufferer is 43.

His family have launched the Walking with Giants fundraising campaign - in an attempt to send him to America to meet the world's leading dwarf expert.

There is a strong US-based support network for families whose children are primordial dwarves. The Connertys regularly speak to and email parents with children like Alex.

Every year those families attend the week-long Annual Convention of Little People of America where medical workshops and social events allow those with dwarfism to mix and learn. This year, the conference will be held in Seattle from June 29 and the family is hoping to raise £5,000 so they can attend.

Sue said: "It would benefit Alex greatly to meet other children like him so he knows that is not alone in the world of giants. It would be good for all of us to meet other families in our situation.”

I rarely give money to charity and the only one I tend to give to is the Royal National Lifeboats Institution, but after reading about Alex I decided to donate some money to help him get to America. As of yesterday they were one-fifth of the way to raising the money required.

Wales Starts Public Smoking Ban

As of 6am this morning, I can now go to the pub and not come home stinking of smoke. That's because Wales has banned smoking in enclosed public spaces. This is something that me and a lot of other people have been waiting for for a long time and it's going to be interesting to what impact it has.

A ban is already in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland and England will soon be implementing their bans. By July 1st you will not be able to smoke in enclosed public spaces in the whole of the UK.

20 Things You Didn't Know About Skin

20 things you didn't know about skin such as...

#Globally, dead skin accounts for about a billion tons of dust in the atmosphere. Your skin sheds 50,000 cells every minute.

# One experiment revealed that Meissner corpuscles—touch receptors that are concentrated in the fingertips and palms, lips and tongue, nipples, penis and clitoris—respond to a pressure of just 20 milligrams, the weight of a fly.

# The skin releases as much as three gallons of sweat a day in hot weather. The areas that don't sweat are the nail bed, the margins of the lips, the tip of the penis, and the eardrums.

Eextremely Bizarre Skin Condition

This poor guy in Eastern Europe has a horrible skin disease that affects his hands and feet.

The man has keratin-like matter growing out of the skin on hands and feet, which started when he was young, and very slowly continues to spread and grow. The areas begin as skin lesions, and the matter sprouts from those spots. The growths are very difficult to remove, and the man has so far just had to learn to live with it. There are a few medical precedents to this man's case, but nothing is certain until more tests are done.

[via]

Video: Through The Eyes Of An Anorexic Girl

A hard-hitting advert about anorexia. [via]

Video: 400lbs At Age 7

Shocking footage of a 400lb 7-year-old girl who struggles to move and breathe. [via]

Symptom Search

Symptom Search is a hypochondriac's dream. It allows you to either search for symptom or select one of 50 top symptoms. You can also built up a list of symptoms to try and narrow down what may be wrong with you. [via]

Video: Hiccups For Three Weeks

I posted a link to a story about a girl who has been hiccuping constantly for three weeks on Peculiarosities. Here is a video of her being interviewed. It's interesting to see that she stops hiccuping when she starts to talk. [via]

Amazing 'Vanishing Twin' Pics Revealed

Leaps in ultrasound technology have revealed Vanishing Twin Syndrome for the first time, giving expectant mothers a better understanding of life - and death - in the womb.

Channel 4's Miracles in the Womb programme has created amazing footage from life-like models based on the latest 4D ultrasound images.

And for the first time ever it has captured Vanishing Twin Syndrome whereby another baby begins to develop, dies and is absorbed into the womb leaving an empty sack. Read more.

How to Make Bacon Soap

Apparently soap can be made from any fat, including bacon fat! [via]

Can You Get Cancer From Hugging?

A woman claims to have caught a form of cancer from hugging her father.

Video: Man With the Worst Facial Tumors Ever

This poor guy has facial tumours so bad that it's made him blind. I wouldn't mind seeing the outcome of the surgery. [via]

Video: Very Tall Woman

Either the short woman is really short or the tall woman is really tall. [via]

Blokes - Would You Quit Sex For £1m?

According to a poll of 2,000 men by condom company Durex, 3 out of 10 British men (or 9 million men) would give up sex for life in return for £1m. 9% said that they would stay celibate if it meant never having to work again, 3% said they would go without if it meant their football team winning the Premiership, FA and European Cups and 1% said they would swap sex for a lifetime supply of beer. Link

Video: Pus

These two videos have to be the grossest things I've seen. They are filmed in Africa and show huge amounts of pus being drained from a boy and a man.