Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones, 19, showed her commitment to Korean studies at Britain’s University of Sheffield by having her tongue surgically lengthened to improve her Korean pronunciation. The lingual frenectomy, which involves cutting a flap of skin that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth, lets her make sounds she couldn’t before. "My pronunciation was very foreign,’" said Brooksbank-Jones, "but now I can speak with a native Korean accent." (Britain’s Daily Mail)
THE MARCH OF PROGRESS
Scientists have created an artificial sphincter to combat fecal incontinence. Researchers looking to treat seniors with a "degenerated or weakened internal anal sphincter" reported in the journal Gastroenterology that they developed the "cellurized anal sphincter" by combining human muscle cells with mouse nerves, then growing them on a circular scaffold to make replacement sphincter rings. They implanted the lab-grown rings in mice, where they performed as intended. The team foresees developing the prosthesis for humans. (USA Today)
JAIL TREASURE
Canadian federal prison officials confiscated 2,444 forbidden items during searches of nine British Columbia prisons. The items ranged from homemade weapons and intoxicants (including fermented ketchup) to a new Michelin snow tire and a crab trap. Among other items seized: 30 cell phones, a homemade cell phone charger, a case of Fig Newtons, a kilo of bacon, four pounds of raw chicken and a cooked turkey breast complete with stuffing and cranberries. Most of the items smuggled into cells are "throw overs" at perimeter fences of the prisons, according to director of provincial corrections operations Terry Hackett. (The Vancouver Sun)
AND YET SHE DUMPED HIM
Hoping to win back his ex-girlfriend, Jordan Cardella, 20, asked a friend in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to shoot him so he could tell her he was attacked and she would feel sorry for him. According to the criminal complaint, Cardella told Michael C. Wezyk, 24, to shoot him in the back three times with a rifle, but when Wezyk shot him once in the arm, Cardella slumped over. Wezyk refused to shoot him again and took the rifle home. The girlfriend did not visit Cardella in the hospital, but police did and later arrested Wezyk. "This has to be the most phenomenally stupid case that I have ever seen," Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Rawsthorne said, prompting Wezyk to plead guilty and tell the judge he was "sorry to bring something so stupid into your courtroom." (Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel)
FLYING HOME TO MOM
After renting a small twin-engine airplane, Konrad Schmidt, 47, phoned his estranged mother, Rosemary Schmidt, 68, from the cockpit to ask if she’d be home because "I am just going to drop by." Swiss authorities said Schmidt then crashed into her home at high speed, causing a huge explosion and fireball that killed him. His mother, who was in the basement when her son attacked, survived. "They did not have a good relationship," a neighbour said. (Britain’s Daily Mail)
AFFIRMITIVE ACTION FOR WHITE PEOPLE
After graduating at the top of her class at McGehee High School, Kymberly Wimberly, 18, is suing the Arkansas school for racial discrimination because it named a white student with a lower grade point average as her co-valedictorian. Wimberly, who took advanced placement and honours courses and maintained the top GPA, even after she gave birth to a daughter during her junior year, said her mother, who works at the school, overheard school officials say they wanted to avoid the "big mess" of having her as valedictorian. (ABC News)
PERILS OF HOMEMADE HOVERCRAFTS
A 40-year-old New Zealand man was taking a hovercraft he built himself for its first ride when something went wrong with the engine, which caused a propeller blade to cut off his head, according to Auckland police Sgt. Colin Nuttall. (The New Zealand Herald)
TREES IN HIS GAS TANK
Joseph P. Williamson, 31, was checking for sugar in the gas tank of his girlfriend’s car in Pinellas County, Florida, by siphoning gas with a leaf blower. Sheriff’s official Tom Nestor said a spark from the blower caused an explosion that seriously burned Williamson. (Tampa-St. Petersburg’s Bay News 9)
Compiled from mainstream news sources by Roland SweetRhiannon Brooksbank-Jones, 19, showed her commitment to Korean studies at Britain’s University of Sheffield by having her tongue surgically lengthened to improve her Korean pronunciation. The lingual frenectomy, which involves cutting a flap of skin that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth, lets her make sounds she couldn’t before. "My pronunciation was very foreign,’" said Brooksbank-Jones, "but now I can speak with a native Korean accent." (Britain’s Daily Mail)
THE MARCH OF PROGRESS
Scientists have created an artificial sphincter to combat fecal incontinence. Researchers looking to treat seniors with a "degenerated or weakened internal anal sphincter" reported in the journal Gastroenterology that they developed the "cellurized anal sphincter" by combining human muscle cells with mouse nerves, then growing them on a circular scaffold to make replacement sphincter rings. They implanted the lab-grown rings in mice, where they performed as intended. The team foresees developing the prosthesis for humans. (USA Today)
JAIL TREASURE
Canadian federal prison officials confiscated 2,444 forbidden items during searches of nine British Columbia prisons. The items ranged from homemade weapons and intoxicants (including fermented ketchup) to a new Michelin snow tire and a crab trap. Among other items seized: 30 cell phones, a homemade cell phone charger, a case of Fig Newtons, a kilo of bacon, four pounds of raw chicken and a cooked turkey breast complete with stuffing and cranberries. Most of the items smuggled into cells are "throw overs" at perimeter fences of the prisons, according to director of provincial corrections operations Terry Hackett. (The Vancouver Sun)
AND YET SHE DUMPED HIM
Hoping to win back his ex-girlfriend, Jordan Cardella, 20, asked a friend in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to shoot him so he could tell her he was attacked and she would feel sorry for him. According to the criminal complaint, Cardella told Michael C. Wezyk, 24, to shoot him in the back three times with a rifle, but when Wezyk shot him once in the arm, Cardella slumped over. Wezyk refused to shoot him again and took the rifle home. The girlfriend did not visit Cardella in the hospital, but police did and later arrested Wezyk. "This has to be the most phenomenally stupid case that I have ever seen," Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Christopher Rawsthorne said, prompting Wezyk to plead guilty and tell the judge he was "sorry to bring something so stupid into your courtroom." (Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel)
FLYING HOME TO MOM
After renting a small twin-engine airplane, Konrad Schmidt, 47, phoned his estranged mother, Rosemary Schmidt, 68, from the cockpit to ask if she’d be home because "I am just going to drop by." Swiss authorities said Schmidt then crashed into her home at high speed, causing a huge explosion and fireball that killed him. His mother, who was in the basement when her son attacked, survived. "They did not have a good relationship," a neighbour said. (Britain’s Daily Mail)
AFFIRMITIVE ACTION FOR WHITE PEOPLE
After graduating at the top of her class at McGehee High School, Kymberly Wimberly, 18, is suing the Arkansas school for racial discrimination because it named a white student with a lower grade point average as her co-valedictorian. Wimberly, who took advanced placement and honours courses and maintained the top GPA, even after she gave birth to a daughter during her junior year, said her mother, who works at the school, overheard school officials say they wanted to avoid the "big mess" of having her as valedictorian. (ABC News)
PERILS OF HOMEMADE HOVERCRAFTS
A 40-year-old New Zealand man was taking a hovercraft he built himself for its first ride when something went wrong with the engine, which caused a propeller blade to cut off his head, according to Auckland police Sgt. Colin Nuttall. (The New Zealand Herald)
TREES IN HIS GAS TANK
Joseph P. Williamson, 31, was checking for sugar in the gas tank of his girlfriend’s car in Pinellas County, Florida, by siphoning gas with a leaf blower. Sheriff’s official Tom Nestor said a spark from the blower caused an explosion that seriously burned Williamson. (Tampa-St. Petersburg’s Bay News 9)
Compiled from mainstream news sources by Roland Sweet
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