Silly/Odd News Stories from around the World

[TinyRedLeaf]

Starving yogi astounds scientists

Ahmedabad, India (May 10): An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television. During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment. "It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."

"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," he added. "As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He said he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.

- AFP

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Starving yogi astounds scientists

The last line reminded me of Hayate No Gotoku, while the "sunlight theory" made me thought of The End from MGS3.

[Xellos-_^]

Inhabitants of the notorious dolphin slaughtering township of Taiji have been found to have dangerously high levels of mercury in their bodies, thought to be due to the presence of large amounts of whale meat in their diets.

[NSFW]http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2010/05/10/whale-munchers-mad-as-hatters/[NSFW]

revenge of the Whales

[Arbitres]

Ahmedabad, India (May 10): An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television. During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment. "It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."

"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," he added. "As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He said he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.

- AFP

Astounding, but this is incredibly interesting. No normal human could go on without food or water. However, this puts that logic into question.

Intriguing.

[Jaden]

We'll just have to take his word for the 70 years but 14 days on nothing is already quite impressive. It's feasible, and if he's practiced yoga and meditation all his life, at that age he would be a master of minimizing his metabolism.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Larger breasts pay off for waitresses

Ithaca, New York (May 7): Professor Michael Lynn, who teaches marketing and tourism at Cornell University, surveyed 374 waitresses about their perceived "sexiness", breast size and other physical characteristics and correlated these results with the amount of tips the waitresses received.

His results indicate that evolutionary instinct trumps the ideals many patrons profess. Though most customers say they reward service, Prof Lynn reported that quality of service has less than a 2 per cent effect on the actual tip.

Instead, he found that waitresses with larger bra sizes received higher tips — as did women with blonde hair and slender bodies.

Gauging prospects
While this may seem self-evident to some, Prof Lynn said that "it's always important to test what seems like obvious cultural wisdom".

He added that his study could be useful to a potential waitress as it can help gauge her "prospects in the industry".

"It also informs management decisions about who to hire," Prof Lynn said, explaining that servers who earn higher tips are more desirable employees because they are likely to stay at their job longer.

Higher tips also indicate higher customer approval of the server and, by association, the establishment in general.

"(Restaurants) might very well want to hire waitresses who will earn larger tips," Prof Lynn said. "[These employees] can largely be identified through their physical characteristics."

No protection for the ugly
He acknowledged that such an open policy could offend some people. In actuality, Prof Lynn noted that many employers already take into account their applicants' appearances.

He referred, for example, to the popularity of restaurants such as Hooters, which openly capitalise on men's affinity for "attractive" — and, in particular, busty — servers.

"Ugly people are not a protected class, legally," Prof Lynn said. "It is not in fact illegal to hire only attractive waitresses."

He added that his research could plausibly be extended to the world beyond the restaurant as well.

"In general, attractive people earn higher incomes...and are evaluated more favourably," he said.

- THE CORNELL DAILY SUN

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by Arbitres

Astounding, but this is incredibly interesting. No normal human could go on without food or water. However, this puts that logic into question.

Intriguing.

Sigh, you almost had the right interpretation, but you missed it. Do I have to point out that this is India, the land of the caste system, honor killings, "monkey men" terrorizing cities, holy cows, belief in magic, etc? Until his claim of 70 years can be verified in controlled conditions, the only thing that can be believed is 14 days, which is possible if one prepares the body for it.

[MrTerrorist]

Istanbul's tuneless muezzins get voice training

[Arbitres]

Sigh, you almost had the right interpretation, but you missed it. Do I have to point out that this is India, the land of the caste system, honor killings, "monkey men" terrorizing cities, holy cows, belief in magic, etc? Until his claim of 70 years can be verified in controlled conditions, the only thing that can be believed is 14 days, which is possible if one prepares the body for it.

Sigh, you almost had the right interpretation, but you missed it. Do I have to point out I never said I believed he did it in 70 years? Only 14 days, as was stated. You have to do a good deal more for me to believe that.

Two weeks is a long time, and until recently I thought a person would be dead, or near dead, after the two week span of either food, water, or toilet.

etc?

[Tiberium Wolf]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Starving yogi astounds scientists

Man... he has the solution to the world hunger.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Playboy's eye-popping centrefold

Washington (May 12): Playboy readers are going to need glasses for a close look at the upcoming issue of the magazine: 3-D glasses.

The centrefold picture in the June edition of Playboy will be in 3-D, Playboy spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey said yesterday. A pair of 3-D glasses like those that helped the film Avatar shatter box office records will be included with the issue of the magazine which hits American newsstands on Friday.

"It's kind of neat," Ms Hennessey said of the 3-D centrefold featuring 2010 Playmate of the Year Hope Dworacyzk. "There's a wine glass that she's holding and when you stand back with the glasses on that comes right out at you," she told AFP. "You kind of really feel like you're in, so to speak, in the pictorial with her."

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner said he wanted to create a 3-D pictorial for the very first issue of Playboy, but didn't have enough money to include the 3-D glasses.

"I think Playboy fans will enjoy seeing our Playmate of the Year's true form," Mr Hefner added in a statement.

- AFP

[TinyRedLeaf]

A Hard Day's Night of the Living Dead

London (May 11): The Beatles will soon be making it to the silver screen as zombies — the movie adaptation of the book Paul Is Undead will see the Fab Four being cast as flesh-eaters.

According to leading film blog Deadline, film Company Double Feature — whose bosses have produced hits like Pulp Fiction and Erin Brockovich — has bagged the rights to the book by author Alan Goldsher.

The book portrays John Lennon as a zombie who kills his bandmate Paul McCartney and the rest of the group come back as the undead.

They kill and eat the brains of fans even as they try to evade their nemesis, zombie-killer Mick Jagger.

"I am a huge Beatles fan like the rest of the world and Alan's mash-up, which really showcases his love of music history and his appreciation of the zombie world, is a fun, funny read," the Mirror quoted Stacey Sher of Double Feature, as saying.

She added: "How can you not love a book where Jesus agrees with zombie John Lennon, that the Beatles are in fact bigger than him?"

[Woopzilla]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Istanbul's tuneless muezzins get voice training

Haha, I love the comparison of the two sound clips.

Decided to youtube for some videos of the Azan to hear it in full and some sound really beauitful.

[Vexx]

This probably is funnier to North Americans.. but the lampooning here of one of our more bombastic rightwing moonbat commentators is just hilarious, particularly to those who didn't fail history or a dozen other subjects. Nailed with his own quotes:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/we...s?xrs=share_fb

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Vexx

This probably is funnier to North Americans.. but the lampooning here of one of our more bombastic rightwing moonbat commentators is just hilarious, particularly to those who didn't fail history or a dozen other subjects. Nailed with his own quotes:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/we...s?xrs=share_fb

It's probably funniest if you live somewhere where the region lockout doesn't affect you.

Canadians should try looking here though:
http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca/Displ...d-4af630555d7c

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by Vexx

This probably is funnier to North Americans.. but the lampooning here of one of our more bombastic rightwing moonbat commentators is just hilarious, particularly to those who didn't fail history or a dozen other subjects. Nailed with his own quotes:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/we...s?xrs=share_fb

If only there was more of this in the A Laugh A Day Thread. I like comedy that is closer to cabaret than slap stick.

[Haruka_Kitten]

Originally Posted by President Obama has a 'smokin' little body'

* Admirer tells President Obama he's a "hottie"
* Also told he's got a "smokin' little body"
* President warns First Lady may get jealous

US President Barack Obama got more spice than he bargained for today when he made an unexpected visit to an upstate New York restaurant to pick up some chicken wings.

“You're a hottie with a smokin' little body," Luann Haley, 45, told Mr Obama when he entered Duff’s Famous Wings restaurant near Buffalo.

The President offered Ms Haley a hug, but warned her First Lady Michelle Obama could be watching on television.

The Department of Education contractor did not appear fazed.

"Hi Michelle, eat your heart out," Ms Haley responded.

Mr Obama ordered five regular wings and five extra spicy on recommendation of the crowd.

The President travelled to Buffalo to tour ISI Industrial Support, where he will take questions about job creation during a town hall meeting.

Haha, really? . Sorry, he isn't my type XD

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Harufox

Haha, really? . Sorry, he isn't my type XD

I forsee her house getting bombed to pieces by CIA Predator drones, as authorised by Michelle Obama.

[Kaijo]

Gotta love Japan: http://www.examiner.com/x-10430-Japa...oming-to-Japan

[MrTerrorist]

Shirts worn by Japan PM Yukio Hatoyama draw derision
To be fair to the critics, those are some bad choice of shirts.