This completion is conducted every year and this is the ninth consecutive year that this is being held. Besides this the completion that is scheduled this year has an added advantage. It is also open for high school graduates as well as seniors from Puerto Rico, Canada and US. They have to go ahead and design a poster expressing the new theme of the competition, and that is, You can create tomorrow. The contestants for this will be competing in two categories, the first is the high school graduates or adult and the second one is the high school seniors.

This year which will mark the 6th season of the competition will feature some of the old judges who would be beefed up with other new judges who know about different aspects in the design and fashion industry. There are basically two things that involved in the competition. The first involves the contestant making his location or stand to be unique and better than the stand of the other competitors and the second involves live demonstration of the activity of the designer. Each week there would elimination until there is only one designer standing. Many people are already expecting a lot from this year’s competition as online discussion is already showing.

The website Watch A Movie isparticularly popular for the various kinds of movies that are allowedto be watched online with the help of this link. On visiting the siteyou will be given over a dozen options of movies categories to choosefrom. On clicking on your favorite category there will be a number ofmovies displayed in that category. You can choose your favorite moviefrom that link and enjoy the time complete entertainment from any partof the world. The website also allows you to download a number of
movies from the internet on your personal computer. You can also ratethe movies you watch online or leave your personal comments about themovie for other to consider. Just visit the site and share the greatfun of watching internet movies.

Mati Suri Movie Poster

Seeing optical illusion in this “new” poster for Mati Suri movie, shouldn’t be too hard. It works in the same way Premonition poster did, only there are skulls (again).

The Decent Movie Poster

Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza star in “The Descent.”

The Final Destination Skull Movie Poster

This new poster has me a little depressed.  For started the film is apparently no longer titled “Final Destination 3D: Death Trip” which is just a great campy title.  Now it’s “The Final Destination”.  YAWN.  Also, could they make a more generic poster?  Creepy skull, shattered glass.  It doesn’t even mention that the film is in 3D!

Lightsabers – Star Wars

An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.” Whether your particular brand comes in badass red, noble hero blue, or Samuel L. Jedi purple, the lightsaber is such an intimidator, it can even make a two-foot Muppet seem tough. You don’t even have to use it, just flick it on and its unmistakable hum clearly says: “Somebody’s walking out of here without a limb.”

Neuralizer – Men in Black

The neuralizer was a tool used by the Men in Black in both films. This alien technology was borrowed by the MIB as K suggested in the first movie:
“This is a gift from some friends from out of town.”
The uses of eliminating someone’s memories are endless, especially is you are prone to screwing up a lot.

Copter Hat – Inspector Gadget

How many times did you watch Inspector Gadget and wished you could have at least one of his innovative gadgets to show off to your mates?
The power of flight, man! Not to mention the fashion of a sweet fedora.

Ultimate Swiss Army Knife – Get Smart

Get Smart is loaded with new gadgets, but this wild take on the famous utility knife tops them all
Contains all the same items of your standard Swiss Army Knife but also includes a blowgun, crossbow and blowtorch.

Remote Control – Click

The remote control with unending possibilities.
In “Click,” Adam Sandler plays Michael Newman, an overworked architect who discovers a truly universal remote, one that allows him to pause, fast-forward, mute and rewind real life

Utility Belt – Batman

Reason You Wish You Had It? 14 reasons to be exact. 2-way Radio, Batarangs, Infra-red Flashlight, Smoke Capsules, Fingerprint Kit, Miniature Camera, Lockpick Tools, Tear Gas Pellets, Micro-Processor Power Source, Micro-Cassete Recorder, Batline, Laser Torch, Plastic Explosive Grenades and a Rebreathing Apparatus.

Green Lantern Ring

A power ring is a weapon in the DC Universe, most notably used by the Green Lantern Corps. These rings are considered to be the most powerful weapons in the DC Universe, as its effects are limited only by the imagination and willpower of its wielder
Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring that gives the user great control over the physical world as long as the wielder has sufficient willpower and strength to wield it. While the ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern was magically powered, the rings worn by all subsequent Lanterns were technological creations of the Guardians of the Universe, who granted such rings to worthy candidates.
Reason You Wish You Had It? Is so freaking cool!!

Hover Board – Back to the Future

Ever since you were a kid you’ve wanted something like this and probably even heard
rumors that they were coming out some day, only to be crushed again when you find out the truth.

James Bond’s Aston Martin

The Aston Martin was first introduced in Goldfinger with machine guns, a back shield, an oil slick, rotating license plates and tire slashers. Different models made appearances in Thunderball, The Living Daylights, Die Another Day and Casino Royale
.Each model had cool add-ons like a cloaking shield, laser weapons and even a defibrillator. God, I want one of those cars

Jack Bauer’s PDA – 24

Like James Bond’s mobile phone from Tomorrow Never Dies, Jack Bauer’s PDA could do almost anything. Satellite photos or building schematics? No problem! Encrypted messages from terrorists? Piece of cake! As long as Chloe was feeding him the information, there wasn’t anything that his PDA couldn’t do.

The Shoe Phone – Get Smart

Okay, I know it’s a little odd to put a clunky shoe phone on the list. However, the shoe phone was from the 60s, and it was actually pretty cool… as well as funny.

The Watches – Spy Kids

Carmen and Juni Cortez had a ton of cool gadgets as the littlest secret agents in the biz. But it was their multifunctional watch that was their coolest toy. If only it told time.

Freddy’s Glove – A Nightmare on Elm Street

One Two, Freddy’s Comin’ For You…Three Four, Better Lock The Door..’ We all know the rhyme,

This creature is most probably the creation of an environmental problem. Children at a nursery in Weston-super-Mare, England spotted the three headed frog hopping in the garden.

The blog famous cyclops kitten, Cy was first thought to be a joke photo manipulation. Living only for a day, It had only one eye and was noseless.

The most infamous headless chicken, Mike wowed the world by living for 18 months which indefinitely entered it into the Guinness World Records. It could still live becuase most of his brain stem and ear was left on his body.

Nope this is not photoshop manipulated. A female polar bear named Pelusa turned purple after she was given a special treatment to clear up a skin condition. This has attracted crowds at the Mendoza City Zoo in Argentina. The fur has returned to normal after a few days.

Genetic mutation called ‘feather duster’ of a parakeet.

Dolphins has taken a pink hue in the Pear River Delta situated between Hong Kong and Macau. It is not known why they are pink in colour but several assumptions include the lack of natural predators or the pink colour is a byproduct of blushing to regulate body temperature.

The two-month old animal, named Cham Leck which means ’strange,’ was given to monks at a local pagoda by a farmer who feared the six legged cow would bring him bad fortune.

The hooded seal has a large elastic nasal cavity and when fully inflated resembles a large black ruber ball. They are large aggresive mammals that can exceed 3m in length and 400kg in weight.

The large ocean sunfish vies for the title of strangest fish in the sea. It has an almost circular, flattened body. It weighs up to 2 tons and 3m long. The head is almost a third of the whole body length.

If you had your facts about the Siberian tiger being the largest cat, then you are wrong. The liger is the world’s largest cat, a cross breed between a male lion and a female tiger. They exhibit conflicts between the social habits of the lion and solitary habits of the tiger.

]]> http://www.alltopmovies.net/top-10-strangest-animals/feed/ 3 http://www.alltopmovies.net/the-10-coolest-places-to-swim/ http://www.alltopmovies.net/the-10-coolest-places-to-swim/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:36:45 +0000 admin http://alltopmovies.net/?p=137

1. Bioluminescent Bay

Located in Puerto Rico, on Vieques Island, there is a shallow body of water with a narrow inlet known as Mosquito Bay. In each gallon of the bay there are 720,000 phosphorescent single-celled organisms that glow when they are agitated. It is a defense mechanism — the glowing is designed to daze whatever predator is bothering the tiny dinoflagellates. All together the bay, on a moonless night, will produce more than enough light to read. Swimming in Mosquito Bay will cause your limbs to be bathed in blue-green light. If you stop moving the light will dim, and eventually disappear completely, but each time you twitch it begins anew. Every time your kayak moves it too will be illuminated. It’s also easy to spot larger creatures; when manta rays or large jellies enter the mangrove swamps gentle rings of light form around them. If you scoop up a handful of the water you can watch individual glowing plankton roll down your arms and hands. And the salinity of the water, like the Dead Sea below, is high enough you can float sitting upright. Photographing Biobay isn’t easy, so there aren’t many high quality pictures of it, but enjoy the ones we found below.

2. Jellyfish Lake

12,000 to 15,000 years ago one of the limestone rock islands in the nation of Palau sealed itself off from the ocean and became a marine lake. A few jellyfish were sealed inside, and with virtually no predators, they began multiplying and evolving. Today more than 10 million jellyfish inhabit Ongeim’l Tketau, known as Jellyfish Lake to tourists. Their sting became evolutionarily useless, and has been lost over time, to the point that the jellies are completely harmless to swim with. Swimming in Jellyfish lake, surrounded by a translucent sea of rhythmically pulsing creatures, is known to be unbelievably serene. The jellies, varying in size from basketballs to blackberries, slowly undulate as they follow the path of the sun across the surface of the lake.

Please read rest of post on Super Tight Stuff

10. Intellectual Property Rights vs. Nature: Can Anyone “Own” Life?

A controversy is ongoing today between biological researchers and broader society on the issue of patenting the genes and genomes of living organisms. In 1980 the first patent on a genetically engineered bacteria was granted by the U.S. Supreme Court and the rush was on to patent the “products of nature.” Soon patents were being issued on discovered ‘new’ species of plants and animals even when they weren’t genetically engineered. Isolated and cloned DNA sequences encoding useful proteins are also patentable at present, despite the fact that they are ubiquitous in nature.

This legal and commercial situation has led to giant pharmaceutical companies obtaining patents on genes, gene products and even things like vitamins. Some indigenous people have discovered that the stranger who took that blood test now owns their entire genome! The National Institutes of Health tried in the early 1990s to patent more than 2,000 gene segments sequenced by Craig Venter during the Human Genome Project, even though neither NIH nor Venter knew what their function was. This controversy will not be going away soon, and the biotech industry risks losing public support due to its dismissal of important ethical concerns.

9. Steady State vs. Big Bang: Hoyle’s Derogatory Terms

In 1912, just three years before Albert Einstein published his theory of General Relativity [GR], Vesto Slipher measured the Doppler shift of a spiral galaxy and determined that almost all of these celestial ‘nebulae’ were receding from the earth at great speed. A decade later Alexander Friedmann derived equations from GR that showed the universe might be expanding. Two years after that Georges Lemaitre put these findings together and predicted that the recession of distant nebulae was due to the expansion of the universe.

It was Fred Hoyle who coined the term “Big Bang” in 1949 to describe the idea that the universe had a beginning, a derogatory term that stuck better than his own cosmological model, which he called “Steady State.” Hoyle postulated that new matter was being created as the universe expanded, so that it always remained roughly the same at any point in time. With confirmation of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation in 1964 the Big Bang became the ’standard cosmological model’ after half a century of scientific argumentation and theoretical turf-wars.

8. Einstein vs. QT: The Gambling God

“God does not play dice with the universe,” said the man who became an icon of physics with his theories of special and general relativity, Albert Einstein. In 1927 Einstein began a series of debates with quantum explorer Niels Bohr about quantum indeterminism, its epistemological basis and interpretation.

The arguments revolved around what is known as the measurement problem and whether or not particles in the quantum state were really both wave and particle at the same time until measurements were made. Einstein wanted to insist that the apparent indeterminacy at the quantum level was just a (temporary) inability to measure certain properties, while Bohr maintained the impossibility of determining precise values of certain properties because at the quantum level the values were by nature uncertain. Bohr eventually won on the striking results of the Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen [EPR] experiment which arose from these debates and established the phenomenon of quantum non-locality.

7. Tesla vs. Edison: AC-DC’s Greatest Hits

In 1856 a boy was born in Croatia who became both a genius and an enigma during a time of great scientific, technological and social change. His name was Nikola Tesla and his passion was electricity and electromagnetism. The rivalry between Tesla and native born genius Thomas Edison at the turn of the 20th century became the stuff of scientific legend.

Tesla worked as an assistant to Edison when he first came to America. He designed a DC (direct current) system for Edison, who then refused to pay him the bonuses he’d promised. So Tesla struck out on his own to develop AC (alternating current) transmission. By 1915 the New York Times reported that the Nobel Prize in Physics was to be jointly shared by Tesla and Edison, though so strong was their personal animosity toward each other that both refused to accept it if the other was named. The prize went instead to two other researchers for work on X-ray crystallography. Six months after Tesla died penniless in 1943 the US Supreme Court invalidated 1909 Nobel winner Marconi’s most important patent for radio transmission and recognized Tesla as the inventor.

6. The Great Devonian Controversy: Plowing Darwin’s Road

The nineteenth century heralded many important advancements in scientific theory, including the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species in 1859. The idea of evolution had been floating around in the scientific community for some time, with camps arguing for traditional creationism and the inheritance of acquired traits versus an ancient earth timeline and the transmutation of life forms over deep time. Darwin’s theory of natural selection enjoyed the increasing support of science as the debate over geological data developed during the 1830s to establish various ages of rock strata according to the type of fossils that could be found embedded in those layers.

Darwin had worked with geologist Adam Sedgwick before his journey to the Galapagos Islands, and found his theory dependent on stratigraphy as it steadily developed a scientific consensus in the intervening years. The controversy and Darwin’s theory initiated search for what became known as “transitional fossils,” a search that continues to this day.

5. Newton vs. Leibniz: Fluxions and Fluents

Sir Isaac Newton was an intellectual scrapper of considerable repute who was never shy of throwing power around or taking ideas and data from others without attribution. The long fight between Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who discovered calculus is the most famous. Leibniz was unarguably the first to publish on the subjects of differential and integral calculus, 20 years before Newton. Yet letters from Newton expounding his theories of “fluxional” calculus exactly coincide with Leibniz’s work.

A major scientific bruhaha ensued, with defenders in both camps. Leibniz appealed to the Royal Society, allowing Newton as its president to appoint the investigating committee from among his friends, and even to write the committee’s report accusing Leibniz of plagiarism. Historians of science now credit both Leibniz and Newton with the discovery of calculus, probably because neither Newton nor Leibniz are around to argue about it any more.

4. Galileo vs. The Church: Our Sunny Neighborhood

Galileo Galilei published in 1610 his observations through his telescope to argue in favor of the Copernican sun-centered cosmological model against the then-predominant Ptolemaic view. He demonstrated his telescope to the Jesuit College and encountered little resistance. Then, in 1632 he published Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems and quickly found himself summoned to appear before the Inquisition on charges of heresy.

Galileo was forced to recant his support for the Copernican model and spent the rest of his life under house arrest, though with rather lenient travel and visitation allowances. His works were finally dropped from the Index of prohibited books in 1835. In 1992 Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the “Galileo Affair” was handled, officially conceding on the part of the church that the earth is not stationary and that the planets orbit the sun.

3. Martin Luther vs. The Church: Reformation

In the year 1517 the Catholic monk Martin Luther nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany to argue against the doctrine and practice of selling indulgences. These arguments were quickly translated from Latin into German and widely disseminated with the help of the newly-invented printing press, and led to Luther’s excommunication in 1520. The great Reformation quickly ensued.

Pope Leo X issued a lengthy rebuttal to Luther’s charges in an encyclical reiterating Church doctrine, which didn’t sway public sentiment in Germany and other parts of Northern Europe. Protestantism became firmly rooted as a sort of declaration of independence from the control of Rome. This in turn led to tremendous social changes along with the decline of feudalism and the rise of commercialism as well as conflicts between Catholic and Protestant claims to territories in the New World.

2. Paul vs. James: Universalizing The Faith

Surely the Council of Jerusalem [circa 50 c.e.] has to be counted among the most important of intellectual arguments, for the philosophical sub-discipline of theology. It was a clash between James the Just and the great evangelist Paul within two decades of the crucifixion of Jesus. It was about whether or not Christians would be held to the strictures of Judaic Law.

James was titular head of the Church in Jerusalem, while Paul was busy establishing congregations across the Mediterranean portion of the Roman empire among gentiles. The primary issue appears to have been a requirement for circumcision, but others related to dietary provisions, etc. were also present. While some of these issues are still debated today, the consensus is that Paul ‘won’ the debate so that Christians are not held to Judaic Law which was “fulfilled” by the figure of Christ. The rest, as they say, is history.

1. Socrates vs. The Gods: Triumph of Reason

Greek philosophy helped to shape the metaphysics of the civilized world in the last half of the first millennium b.c.e. There were many divergent schools of philosophy competing with one another by the time the Sophists came along maintaining that truth was entirely a matter of persuasion by argument rather than something absolute. Socrates rose from among Sophist ranks and became famous for walking the talk so well that he made some enemies in high places.

Socrates taught that ethics were not a matter of divine decree, but are best the result of human reason and individual conscience. Socrates was charged with impiety (disbelief in the state’s gods, corrupting the morals of the youth), convicted by a margin of 6 out of 50 votes, and committed suicide by drinking poison. Through his student Plato and Plato’s student Aristotle, the intellectual tools of reason and logic lived on to become part of the guiding philosophy of the Enlightenment and science.

Surgery in the Middle Ages was crude and blunt and … PAINFUL! Surgeons had a very poor understanding of human anatomy, anesthetics and antiseptic techniques to keep wounds and incisions from infection. It was not a pleasant time to be a patient, but if you valued your life, there was no choice. To relieve the pain, you submitted to more pain, and with any luck, you might get better. Surgeons in the early part of the Middle Ages were often monks because they had access to the best medical literature – often written by Arab scholars. But in 1215, the Pope said monks had to stop practicing surgery, so they instructed peasants to perform various forms of surgery. Farmers, who had little experience other than castrating animals, came into demand to perform anything from removing painful tooth abscesses to performing eye cataract surgery.

But there were some great successes. Archeologists in England found the skull of a peasant man from about 1100 who had been struck in the head by a heavy, blunt object. Close examination shows the man had been given life-saving surgery called trepanning, where a hole was drilled and a section of the skull was lifted, allowing smashed bone segments to be removed. The surgery alleviated pressure on the brain and the man recovered. We can only guess how painful it must have been!

Dwale: A crude anesthetic that could cause death in itself
Surgery in the Middle Ages was really only used in life/death circumstances. One reason is that there was no reliable anesthetic to dull the excruciating pain caused by the rough cutting and procedures. Some potions used to relieve pain or induce sleep during surgery were potentially lethal. An example was a concoction of lettuce juice, gall from a castrated boar, briony, opium, henbane, hemlock juice and vinegar. This was mixed with wine before being given to the patient.

The Middle English word used to describe an anesthetic potion was “dwale” (pronounced dwaluh).

The hemlock juice alone could easily have caused death. While the anesthetic might induce a profound sleep, allowing a surgery to take place, it might be so strong that the patient would stop breathing.

Paracelsus, a medieval Swiss physician, was the first to use ether for its anesthetic qualities. Ether did not gain wide acceptance and its use declined. It was rediscovered in America some 300 years later. Paracelsus also used laudanum, a tincture of opium, to alleviate pain. (Photo by: pubmedcentral)

Spells: Pagan rituals and religious penance as a form of cure
Early medieval medicine was often a mix of the pagan, religious and scientific. As the church gained more control, pagan “rituals” were made punishable offences. One such punishable offence might have been the following:

“When [the healer] approaches the house where the sick person lies, if [the healer] finds a stone lying nearby, [he turns] the stone over and looks in the place where the stone was lying [to see] if there anything living under it, and if [the healer] finds there a worm or a fly or an ant or anything that moves, they [the healer] avers that the sick person will recover.” (From The Corrector & Physician).

Patients who had contracted the bubonic plague were told to perform penance – the practice of confessing one’s sins, then performing a religious devotion prescribed by a priest – a common “treatment.” They were told they might be spared death if they correctly confessed their sins. (Photo by: motv)

Eye Cataract Surgery: Painful procedure that rarely saved patients’ sight
An early operation for removal of a cataract included inserting a sharp instrument, such a knife or large needle, through the cornea and forcing the lens of the eye out of its capsule and down to the bottom of the eye.

Once Islamic medicine became more widely followed in medieval Europe, cataract surgery improved. The syringe was used for the extraction of cataracts by suction. A hollow metallic hypodermic syringe was inserted through the white part of the eye and successfully extracted the cataracts through suction.

Blocked Bladders: Metallic catheters inserted into the bladder
Blockage of urine in the bladder, due to syphilis and other venereal diseases, was fairly common at a time when antibiotics were not available. The urinary catheter – a metal tube inserted through the urethra into the bladder – was first used in the mid-1300s. When a tube could not easily be passed into the bladder to relieve the obstruction, other procedures to enter the bladder were devised, some quite novel, though all probably as painful and dangerous as the condition itself.

Here is a description of the treatment of kidney stones: “If there is a stone in the bladder make sure of it as follows: have a strong person sit on a bench, his feet on a stool; the patient sits on his lap, legs bound to his neck with a bandage, or steadied on the shoulders of the assistants. The physician stands before the patient and inserts two fingers of his right hand into the anus, pressing with his left fist over the patient’s pubes. With his fingers engaging the bladder from above, let him work over all of it. If he finds a hard, firm pellet it is a stone in the bladder… If you want to extract the stone, precede it with light diet and fasting for two days beforehand. On the third day, … locate the stone, bring it to the neck of the bladder; there, at the entrance, with two fingers above the anus incise lengthwise with an instrument and extract the stone.” (Photo by: McKinney Collection)

Surgeons on the Battlefield: Pulling of arrows was a nasty business
Use of the longbow – a large powerful bow that could shoot arrows great distances – flourished in the Middle Ages. This created a real problem for battlefield surgeons: how to remove arrows from the bodies of soldiers.

The heads of war arrows weren’t necessarily glued onto the shafts, but attached with warm beeswax. After the wax set, they could be handled normally, but once shot into something if the shaft was pulled, the head would come off inside the body.

One answer was the arrow spoon, based on a design by an Arab physician, named Albucasis. The spoon is inserted into the wound and attaches itself around the arrowhead to be drawn from a wound without causing further damage as the barbs rip out.

Wounds such as these were also treated with cautery, where red hot irons were applied to the wound so that the tissue and veins sealed over, preventing blood loss and infection. Cautery was especially used in amputations.

A famous illustration for surgeons was called, “The Wound Man,” which showed the various kinds of wounds a battlefield surgeon might expect to see. (Photo by: FM)

Bloodletting: A cure-all for almost any ailment
Physicians in the Middle Ages believed that most human illnesses were the result of excess fluid in the body (called humour). The cure was removing excess fluid by taking large amounts of blood out of the body. Two of the main methods of bloodletting were leeching and venesection.

In leeching, the physician attached a leech, a blood-sucking worm, to the patient, probably on that part of the body most severely affected by the patient’s condition. The worms would suck off a quantity of blood before falling off.

Venesection was the direct opening of a vein, generally on the inside of the arm, for the draining of a substantial quantity of blood. The tool used for venesection was the fleam, a narrow half-inch long blade, which penetrates the vein, and leaves a small wound. The blood ran into a bowl, which was used to measure the amount of blood taken.

Monks in various monasteries had regular bloodletting treatments – whether they were sick or not – as a means of keeping good health. They had to be excused from regular duties for several days while they recovered. (Photo by: McKinney Collection and FM)

Childbirth: Women told to prepare for their death
Childbirth in the Middle Ages was considered so deadly that the Church told pregnant women to prepare their shrouds and confess their sins in case of death.

Midwives were important to the Church due to their role in emergency baptisms and were regulated by Roman Catholic law. A popular medieval saying was, “The better the witch; the better the midwife”; to guard against witchcraft, the Church required midwives to be licensed by a bishop and swear an oath not to use magic when assisting women through labour.

In situations where a baby’s abnormal birth position slowed its delivery, the birth attendant turned the infant inutero or shook the bed to attempt to reposition the fetus externally. A dead baby who failed to be delivered would be dismembered in the womb with sharp instruments and removed with a “squeezer.” A retained placenta was delivered by means of counterweights, which pulled it out by force. (Photo by: Wikipedia)

Clysters: A medieval method of injecting medicines into the anus
The medieval version of the enema was known as the clyster, which is really an instrument for injecting fluids into the body through the anus. The clyster was a long metallic tube with a cupped end, into which the medicinal fluid was poured. The other end, a dull point, which was drilled with several small holes, was inserted into the anus. Fluids were poured in and a plunger was used to inject the fluids into the colon area, using a pumping action.

The most common fluid used was lukewarm water, though occasionally medical concoctions, such as thinned boar’s bile or vinegar, were used.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the medieval clyster was replaced by the more common bulb syringe. In France, the treatment became quite fashionable. King Louis XIV had over 2,000 enemas during his reign, sometimes holding court while the ceremony progressed. (Photo by: CMA)

Hemorrhoids: Agony of the anus treated with hot irons
Treatment of many diseases in the Middle Ages included prayers to patron saints for possible divine intervention. A seventh century Irish monk, St. Fiacre, was the patron saint for hemorrhoid sufferers. He developed hemorrhoids from digging in his garden, one day, and sat on a stone which gave him a miraculous cure. The stone survives to this day with the imprint of his hemorrhoids and is visited by many hoping for a similar cure. The disease was often called “St. Fiacre’s curse” in the Middle Ages.

In more extreme cases of hemorrhoids, medieval physicians used their cautery irons to treat the problem. Others believed that simply pulling them out with their fingernails was a solution, a solution that the Greek physician, Hippocrates suggested.

The 12th century Jewish physician Moses Maimonides wrote a seven-chapter treatise on hemorrhoids and disagreed with the use of surgery, instead prescribing the most common treatment used to this day: the sitz bath

1. Wolf Urine Lure-32 oz

The blurb says: “Use our 100% urine lures to create the illusion predators are present in the area you wish.”

Reviewer Glenn Berkemeier says: ”Today is Valentine’s Day and I hoped that a little splash of this would drive my lady wild. But alas… I sleep alone again. Also I keep hearing all this howling outside my bedroom.”

2. Bombproof Your Horse

The blurb says: “A clearly illustrated manual that shows equestrians how to prepare their horses for the unexpected, turning them into safer, more pleasurable mounts.”

Reviewer Adam ‘The Zebra’ Popovich says: “I spent several hours reading this book, and there is absolutely no information about bombproofing horses, which the title implies. Because of this, I lost my fourth Arabian this month due to horse bandits.”

3. Paul Ross – 20 Inch Canvas Print

The blurb says: “A 2001 portrait of TV presenter Paul Ross, on the set of his new Daytime TV Quiz – No Win No Fee.” Sat in a whicker chair. With a glass of water.

Reviewer Fossickson Greeb-Streebling says: “Don’t buy this picture. It looks fine on the website, but the one they send you is upside-down. My wife hasn’t stopped crying for a week.”

4. How Green Were the Nazis?: Nature, Environment, and Nation in the Third Reich

The blurb says: “How Green Were the Nazis? Nature, Environment, and Nation in the Third Reich is the first book to examine the Third Reich’s environmental policies and to offer an in-depth exploration of the intersections between brown ideologies and green practices. This landmark book underscores the fact that the ‘green’ policies of the Nazis were more than a mere episode or aberration in environmental history.”

Reviewer The Kinniburgh Kid says: “My eldest step-son bought me a copy for my birthday and it’s a gift that goes on giving. I haven’t read more than a couple of hundred words in it, but having it on view on my desk at work is a real conversation starter.”

5. Sigmund Freud Psychology Action Figure

The blurb says: “Celebrate the great achievements of the man responsible for modern psychotherapy with this Sigmund Freud Action Figure. Prop him on your desk or nightstand to inspire you to explore the depths of your unconscious and embrace the symbolism of your dreams.”

Reviewer Raul A. Suarez Giacoman “Alex G says: “I just recently bought this item for my younger sister who is actually studying Psychology… needles [sic] to say she loved it!”

6. People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About it

The blurb says: “This book is an explanation of the inexplicable. Hill has woven a fascinating narrative, incorporating the history and theory of what happens when people die, with a particular emphasis on the last forty years and the rich information the new consciousness movement has brought.”

Alas, no reader reviewers. But people who bought this also bought: Fabulous Small Jews and The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories. Quite a demographic.

7. Dolly The Sexy Inflatable Sheep

The blurb says: “Meet dolly, the sexy inflatable sheep. Genetically modified for your pleasure, ewe’ll never want another partner! Never again be alone at night, she’s the plastic pal who’s fun to be with. No more suspicious baas from the bedroom!”

No-one brave enough to admit buying this, either.

8. Large Bag of Bones – 10 Pounds

The blurb says: “Contains approximately 10 pounds of assorted 4th quality bones. This bag contains life-size skull, humerus, hand (on wire), hip bone and sacrum (tail bone). Also contains a foot, lower jaw, clavicle, ribs, vertebrae, arm and leg bones in various sizes from life-size to mini. 4th quality bones may be imperfect, discolored, unfinished, or have missing hardware.”

Reviewer Ian says: “Not only was the final product terrible, but when I went to throw them away, one of the pointier ribs tore a hole through the bag, spilling tibulae and fibulae onto the sidewalk. This led to a very awkward conversation with my neighbour, and subsequently, the police. In short, I cannot recommend these bones, nor can I recommend Target store-brand trash bags (kitchen size).”

9. 5Lb Fat Replica

The blurb says: “A grossly dramatic replica of 5 lbs of fat. Shows the additional blood vessels needed to maintain additional fat. Made of pliable long-lasting vinyl.”

Reviewer Jonathyn R. Brown “jonathyn” says: “Using fat in demonstrations is unhealthy and rather offensive, I’ve come to find out. And when someone told me about these replicas, I was simply amazed. First off, they look like the real thing, if memory serves. All I have now is an orange stain on my passenger seat to go by (note to all, crack a window on those hot days if you’re going shopping and leaving your demo fat in the car).”

10. C**t coloring book: Drawings

The blurb says: “‘In 1973 I set out to do drawings of women’s genitals for use in sex education groups. I wanted the drawings to be lovely and informative, to give pleasure and affirmation. I organised the drawings into a coloring book because a major way we learn to understand the world, as children, is by coloring. As adults many of us still need to learn about our external sexual anatomy.’

Reviewer E B Mulligan says: “This is a coloring book of full-page drawings of women’s vaginas.”