After suffering horrific injuries in a car accident, 65-year-old Doris Smith had to have her left arm amputated. As if that weren't bad enough, three rings she was wearing on her left hand have now gone missing. Police, ambulance, and hospital staff are investigating the incident, but so far nobody has found a trace of the missing jewelry. Mrs. Smith's son said, "You'd like to think nobody would have stolen them with the state my mum was in. It's not so much the financial value of them — it's the sentimental value."

Knowing that nothing makes a woman feel more sexy than a trip to the OB/GYN, Dr. Andrew Scheinfeld has decided to start selling sex toys at his practice. Scheinfeld says the idea was born out of personal experience. He found himself embarrassed while shopping for some things to spice up his own marriage and decided he wanted to offer woman a less embarrassing place to do their adult purchasing. "I was very paranoid, thinking everyone was looking at me saying, 'Look at the old guy with the sex toy in a briefcase,'" he said. "Here I am, an OB/GYN. If I felt that way, how a woman might feel going into a shop like that would be very difficult."

A study conducted by the University of Toronto has found that exposure to fast-food logos can cause people to feel impatient and make them more likely to buy things. Subjects in the study were exposed to nearly imperceptible flashes of images (for 12 to 80 milliseconds) which included fast-food logos for some. The subjects were then asked to read about and choose between two different kinds of skin-care treatments, one of which was a three-in-one. Those who had the logos flashed before them read "significantly faster" and chose the more time-saving skin product. From the article: "The researchers concluded 'fast food, originally designed to save time, can have the unexpected consequence of inducing haste and impatience' and 'preference for time-saving products when there are potentially other important aspects upon which to choose a product.' So, basically, driving past a McDonald's on the highway has the potential to not only make you drive faster, it will make you more likely to buy two-for-one Pantene Pro-V Shampoo and Conditioner the next time you go to Duane Reade. One, it seems, is considerably less ominous than the other." I guess this explains why my nephews will chew on their seat belts and try to get out the windows just to be first into the McDonald's Playland.

Here's a tribute to the most perfect scream ever recorded.

scamdetect writes "Strathmore's Who's Who says that inclusion in its two-thousand-page directory honoring 'distinguished professionals' is a real honor. They only include 'individuals who have demonstrated leadership and achievement in their occupation, industry or profession.' So how did UK based scam awareness website Scam Detectives get a pet snake approved for inclusion by the 'publishing committee' for his outstanding work in 'Rodent Control'? It turns out that if you have $1,200 to spare, you're in!"

Everyone knows that George Washington couldn't tell a lie. What you probably didn't know is that he couldn't return a library book on time. From the article: "New York City's oldest library says one of its ledgers shows that the president has racked up 220 years' worth of late fees on two books he borrowed, but never returned. One of the books was the 'Law of Nations,' which deals with international relations. The other was a volume of debates from Britain's House of Commons. Both books were due on Nov. 2, 1789."

A former vice president of the University of Arizona, Sharon Kha, is fighting her Parkinson's disease in an unusual way — she's rapping. Even though there is no cure, some experts believe that the disease can be slowed with mental and physical exercises. For Kha that means writing, memorizing, and performing rap songs. She raps faster than she would normally speak, saying she has to "push myself verbally." From the article: "She's been rapping for the past three years. Each morning she walks a mile to her favorite midtown coffee shop ... often composing and reciting her rap songs as she walks. The songs, with names like 'Shake It!' and 'Tremor,' are sprinkled with insider information about Parkinson's, such as erratic sleep patterns, a fear of falling, and the frustration of putting on a sock."

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that state legislators in Wisconsin raced against the clock to pass a bill designating Lactococcus lactis as Wisconsin's official state microbe. 'The first time I heard the idea, I thought, I've got more important things to do than spending my time honoring a microbe,' says Gary Hebl, a Democratic state representative who proposed the bill which, he says, would make Wisconsin the first state in the nation to grant such a designation, 'but this microbe is really a very hard worker,' added Hebl, referring to the bacterium supported by the Department of Bacteriology at UW — Madison used to make cheddar, Colby, and Monterey Jack cheese. The proposal faced only one detractor in committee ('the opponent was clearly lactose-intolerant,' says Hebl), and there was no sign of a last-minute campaign from other bacteria, so by evening, the Assembly had approved the measure, 56 to 41. In case there were any doubts about Wisconsin's priorities, a separate bill also awaits consideration in Madison, declaring cheese Wisconsin's state snack."

Officials say retired New York prison food services director Howard Dean had a really hard time waiting for the weekend, so he skipped work on Fridays for 17 years. Dean made sure, however, to include those Friday hours on his time cards. The extra hours and bogus travel expenses netted Dean nearly $500,000, according to officials. From the article: "State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Inspector General Joseph Fisch said their investigation found Howard Dean, 64, of Locke, bilked the state Treasury of about $230,000 by skipping work at the state's Food Production Center in Rome every Friday for 17 years but claiming the hours on his time cards, the New York Post reported Wednesday."

Gud writes "According to The Washington Post a 9-year-old was able to hack into his county's school computer network and change such things as passwords, course work, and enrollment info. From the article: 'Police say a 9-year-old McLean boy hacked into the Blackboard Learning System used by the county school system to change teachers' and staff members' passwords, change or delete course content, and change course enrollment. One of the victims was Fairfax Superintendent Jack D. Dale, according to an affidavit filed by a Fairfax detective in Fairfax Circuit Court this week. But police and school officials decided no harm, no foul. The boy did not intend to do any serious damage, and didn't, so the police withdrew and are allowing the school district to handle the half-grown hacker.'"

Amanda Flowers always liked her Wii Fit but now she can't get enough of it. Amanda claims a fall from her balance board damaged a nerve and has left her suffering from persistent sexual arousal syndrome. From the article: "The catering worker said: 'It began as a twinge down below before surging through my body. Sometimes it built up into a trembling orgasm.' A doctor diagnosed her with persistent sexual arousal syndrome due to a damaged nerve."

Most women want to be seen by everyone on their wedding day, but there are those special brides who know the value of being able to hide in the trees should the need arise. For those ladies, "A Touch of Camo" offers a wide array of camouflage and hunter wedding accessories. Whether you're looking for a camo flower basket, a hunter's orange choker, or a wedding dress in mossy oak, this website is for you. (Warning: There is only one size 16 all mossy oak gown left in stock — act now!)

mr_sifter writes "UK games retailer GameStation revealed that it legally owns the souls of thousands of customers, thanks to a clause it secretly added to the online terms and conditions for its website. The 'Immortal Soul Clause' was added as part of an attempt to highlight how few customers read the terms and conditions of an online sale. GameStation claims that 88 percent of customers did not read the clause, which gives legal ownership of the customer's soul over to the UK-based games retailer. The remaining 12 percent of customers however did notice the clause and clicked the relevant opt-out box, netting themselves a £5 GBP gift voucher in the process."

Funded in part by Taser International, a recent study was done to learn the effects of being tasered while on methamphetamines. Since someone would probably complain about researchers going around and tasering meth addicts, they used sheep instead. From the article: "The less-lethal device of choice was the Taser X26, a standard law enforcement tool which can fire at suspects from a distance of 35 feet. Researchers shocked sixteen anesthetized sheep after dosing the animals with an IV drip of methamphetamine hydrochloride. Some of the smaller sheep weighing less than 70.5 pounds suffered exacerbated heart symptoms related to meth use. But neither the smaller nor larger sheep showed signs of the ventricular fibrillation condition, a highly abnormal heart rhythm that can become fatal."

Attorneys for Dominica Juliano claim that she was burned and developed psychological problems after a store clerk aimed a hand-held price scanner at her face. Store attorneys say their scanners uses a harmless LED light and that the girl had serious health problems before she was scanned. From the article: "Dominica Juliano was 12 when she and her grandmother entered the Country Fair store in Erie in June 2004. A clerk allegedly called the girl 'grumpy' before flashing his hand-held bar code scanner over her face and telling her to smile. Attorneys for Ms. Juliano and her guardian say the girl was sensitive to light and burned, and later developed post-traumatic stress and Tourette's syndrome."

People who suffer from a rare genetic disorder called Williams Syndrome have a complete lack of social fear. They experience no anxiety or concerns about meeting new people or being put into any social situation, and a new study by Andreia Santos suggests that they also don't have any racial bias. From the article: "Typically, children start overtly gravitating towards their own ethnic groups from the tender age of three. Groups of people from all over the globe and all sorts of cultures show these biases. Even autistic children, who can have severe difficulties with social relationships, show signs of racial stereotypes. But Santos says that the Williams syndrome kids are the first group of humans devoid of such racial bias, although, as we’ll see, not everyone agrees."

At least 50% of my paychecks would be converted into tokens and put into one of many Neo-Geo machines at the arcade when I was in high school. It's good that my favorite old games finally have an anthem.

What does it take to hide from a 300-man search party in Argentina? Disguise yourself as a sheep. Robbers Maximiliano Pereyra, 25, and Ariel Diaz, 28, broke out of a maximum security prison and used stolen sheep hides to evade 300 police on their trail. From the article: "A farm worker said: 'They were wearing grey clothes but had full sheepskins, including the sheep heads, over their heads and backs.' Police said spotting the pair among thousands of sheep is 'almost impossible.'"

New York anthropology professor Philip Haseley wants young people to get the best education possible, and part of that education, he says, should be about UFOs. Haseley thinks universities should offer classes on UFOs and other unexplained phenomena from space. "[A sighting] happens to millions of people [around the world]. It's about time we looked into this as a worthy area of study. It's important that the whole subject be brought out in the open and investigated," he said. I want to believe the truth is out there in 500 words or less.

Dominic Deville thought that kids would rather have an evil clown for their birthday parties instead of the usual balloon animal variety, and it looks like he's right. Deville's evil clown service starts out with him contacting his "victims" to tell them they're being watched. He then sends text messages, phone calls, and booby-trapped letters warning that they're going to get cake smashed in their face. "It's all in fun and if at any point the kids get scared or their parents are concerned we stop right there," he explained. "But most kids absolutely love being scared senseless."