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A case report was just published about a guy who took 40,000 MDMA pills over the course of nine years. That's nearly 4,500 Ecstasy tablets a year. That's an overall average of 12.18 pills per day. Funny enough, he's had some lasting side-effects, none of which sound particularly pleasant. The man, known as Mr A in the report in the scientific journal Psychosomatics, started using ecstasy at 21. For the first two years his use was an average of five pills per weekend. Gradually this escalated until he was taking around three and a half pills a day. At the peak, the man was taking an estimated 25 pills every day for four years. Surely the brain would have dumped all of its stored seratonin after the first pill or so? After that, he may as well have just been drinking Red Bull or swallowing diet pills. My brain hurts just thinking about it. At any rate, "Mr. A" says that he continued to feel the comedown effects for months after he stopped taking the E, similar to side-effects felt by lifelong alcoholics. While this is (obviously) an extreme case whose findings can't necessarily translate to occasional users, it's remarkable that this guy even survived. There have been deaths linked to MDMA use, but most of those are the results of water poisoning or impurities in the drug, as opposed to pure overdose. Meanwhile, the USA continues to research the use of MDMA in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There is no clear evidence that some people suffer allergic reactions to ecstasy. However, around 10% of Western users do lack a key liver enzyme CYP2D6 needed to break down MDMA. This may make them more sensitive to the effects and more prone to accidental overdose. "He came to us after deciding that he couldn't go on any more," said Dr Christos Kouimtsidis, the consultant psychiatrist at St George's Medical School in Tooting who treated him for five months. "He was having trouble functioning in everyday life." Source
A US wildlife officer's decision to bring a 5ft alligator into his daughter's school for a show-and-tell backfired when it escaped. Dave Brady had recently captured the reptile and thought he'd bring it into his daughters class, with its mouth taped shut, in Florida. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Stan Kirkland said it proved a hit with the class: "They were impressed," he said. Things started to go wrong when Mr Brady loaded the alligator back into his truck after the school visit in Panama City Beach. "Most people don't think they can jump, but they have an amazing ability to jump," Mr Kirkland said. "They can not only jump, they can run." The alligator successfully jumped out of the truck and ran off towards a local pond where it has so far managed to avoid recapture. Mr Kirkland asked people to keep an eye out for the alligator: "It's green, it's 5ft long and it was last seen on the lam," he added. Source
If we’re honest, this was bound to happen eventually. Last year, an Australian man put his entire life up on sale on eBay, and even found a buyer willing to pay $7,500 for the guy’s house, car, friends – everything he had except his wallet and passport. Now, trust the Chinese to go one better. An uncle in the city of Zhangsu in Jiangxi Province placed this ad on the online store aggregator Taobao.com last week. It seems innocent enough until you realise the lot up for auction is the baby. That’s right, and bidding starts at just ¥1, with shipping included. The man, identified in the advert as Mr Hu, explains he was prepared to send his niece into the unknown “because we want a boy, therefore decided to give (her) away to family of fate”. And he doesn’t stop there, the advert comes with a whole spec like a second hand car. We’re told the baby’s father has good health and a college education, and that the baby’s mother has fair skin and big eyes. The “kid’s also got the big eyes,” the ad continues, “very cute, hope everyone will think for the child”. Sincere buyers could meet the girl in person, it concluded. After the issue exploded onto the Chinese webverse, Taobao located the page, removed it and shut down the man’s account. Mr Hu, of course, was unrepentant. He told Chinese media that the family was extremely poor, and that they had always wanted a boy and his brother-in-law was the only son in the family. Before now, the 25-year-old said – without a shred of irony, we must assume – that he only used Taobao to sell household items he didn’t want anymore, like DVDs and alarm clocks. “I am not a human trafficker, it is adoption, and we do not require any money or material things in return,” he pleaded. Needless to say, even Chinese legislation is not that blind. Indeed, there are very strict rules governing adoption that state among other conditions that a child to be put up for adoption must first be an orphan. The rules further dictate that anybody who is not the legal guardian of such an orphan or a representative of a state social welfare agency faces being classified as a human trafficker and being hit with serious criminal charges. Of course, the advert did not go unanswered. Before the page was pulled a doctor from Anhui province contacted Mr Hu showing interest in adopting the girl. However the girl’s mother was reluctant (can anyone blamer her?) and matters did not go any further. You’re left wondering if there is anything sacred anymore that hasn’t already been placed at the mercy of the highest online bidder – at least until brain transplants become medically possible, that is. Source
FORT WORTH, Texas - A 39-year-old man has confessed to breaking into the home of an elderly woman early Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, and forcing her to watch as he performed a sex act on himself, police said. Mitchel Wayne Stewart also ordered the 77-year-old woman to make him a sandwich before he fled with her cell phone, police said. Stewart, 39, was being held Thursday at the Mansfield Jail on charges of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit sexual assault and theft of property. The burglary happened at about 1:30 a.m. CDT Monday, said Sgt. Pedro Criado, police spokesman. The woman, Criado said, awoke at the sound of her doorbell. She went to the front door, and it was suddenly kicked in by a man later identified as Stewart, who grabbed her by the arm and forced her to a living room chair. "After he committed the sex act," Criado said, "Stewart demanded that the victim make him a sandwich." She complied and then told the man to leave, which he did, but not before grabbing her cell phone, Criado said. At about 11 a.m. Monday, a police detective working security at a Walmart, stopped Stewart on suspicion of theft. Stewart still had the woman's cell phone, Criado said. "Stewart was subsequently arrested and taken to the sexual assault unit where he was interviewed and questioned," Criado said. He then confessed to the early-morning home invasion, Criado said. Detectives "believe that Stewart may be responsible for a similar crime that occurred back in August," Criado said. "That case is still pending criminal charges at this time." Bond for Stewart was set at $5,000 for the theft charge, but no bond was listed for the burglary charge, according to jail records. Source
DULUTH, Minn. — A motorized La-Z-Boy used by a man who pleaded guilty to driving it drunk is going up for auction. But police said interested bidders need to keep it off the streets. The chair, powered by a lawnmower engine, comes equipped with a stereo, cup holders and lights. Police in Proctor, in northern Minnesota, are putting the seized chair up for auction on eBay on Thursday. The proceeds will go to the police, state and the prosecuting attorney. But Chief Walter Wobig cautions that the chair isn't "street legal," so any buyer should stick to the living room — or at most a parade. The former owner, Dennis LeRoy Anderson, pleaded guilty this month to operating the chair while intoxicated. His family is also auctioning on eBay an autographed photo of him riding the La-Z-Boy to help with his fees. Source ORIGINAL ARTICLE
CARROLL, Iowa - Police had no trouble identifying two men accused of trying to break into a Carroll apartment. Police were responding to a call about an attempted burglary when they pulled over a car matching the alleged suspects' vehicle. Inside the car, officers found two men with their faces blackened with permanent marker. Police said the caller described two men with painted faces attempting to break into an apartment Friday night before driving off. Matthew McNelly, 23, and Joey Miller, 20, were arrested at gunpoint after officers were told they might be armed. Neither man had a weapon. McNelly and Miller were each charged with attempted second-degree burglary. Both men were released after posting bond. Source
SAN DIEGO - A man who sneaked a bag of his feces into a San Diego courtroom during his home-invasion robbery trial, smeared it on his lawyer and threw it at jurors has been sentenced to 31 years in prison. Superior Court Judge Frank Brown on Monday sentenced Weusi McGowan for robbery, burglary and two assault charges stemming from the feces-flinging incident during his January trial. McGowan, who attorneys say suffers from mental illness, had asked for a mistrial because he believed jurors had seen him in restraints when he entered the courtroom. Several days after his request was denied, McGowan pulled out a bag of excrement he had hidden in his clothing, rubbed it on his lawyer and tossed it at the jury, hitting one juror's computer case. Source
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Police are investigating after an Athens woman scared off a would-be burglar by acting like a dog. The Athens Banner-Herald reported Monday that the woman scared off the suspect around 11 p.m. Saturday. According to police, the woman got on the floor and began scratching at the door and acting like a large dog when the suspicious man tried turning the woman's door knob. The police report did not say what specific dog-like behaviors, such as barking, the woman mimicked. The woman said the man, who appeared to be homeless, quickly ran from the porch. Police searched the neighborhood for him, but were unsuccessful. Source
Parents and teachers in China are protesting after a sculpture of a tiny girl with giant breasts was installed in a city park. The sculpture depicts a 20cm tall girl with breasts that are five metres high and wide, reports News Express. Parents have protested at the installation in Foshan City, Guangdong province, which they say is highly embarrassing. One local mum, called Liang, complained: "The park used to be a great place for families, but now what attracts my son the most is the huge breasts. "I have tried to educate him with some scientific knowledge, but all he thinks when he sees the statue are smutty thoughts." And a kindergarten teacher, who brought her class to visit the park, says it shocked some of them to tears. "The little girls were scared and cried loudly, asking me if they would grow those huge things, and boys laughed crazily," she said. A park spokesman said the statue was intended as a permanent fixture in the park but admitted it had been repeatedly damaged - with one person even trying to fit it with a giant bra. "It's normal to have disagreements about art, we can understand it," said the spokesman. Source
Article Submitted by grahamsherman01@gmail.com. Thank You! A six-year-old Chinese girl has doctors puzzled after thick grey hair started growing all over her body, earning her the nickname "cat-girl". Li Xiaoyuan, from Fengkai in southern China, had a small birthmark on her back just months ago, which has since grown to cover her entire back and parts of her arms and face, The Sun reports. "Doctors told us it was just how a birthmark even when it started spreading but now it covers half her body," her father Li Yan was quoted as saying. "None of the other children want to play with her, they are calling her cat-girl and are really mean." Her mother Li Jian said it broke her heart to see her daughter suffer like this. A surgeon at Zhaoqing City Dermalogical l Hospital in China's Guangdong province said Li Xiaoyuan may have a rare skin disease that makes normal moles run amok. Dr Lou Zhongquan said laser surgery could have been used if the skin problem was smaller, but there would be a significant chance of post surgery haemorrhage if Li was operated on. Source
