Category: Bazaar News

The surgeons risked their own lives, using uncommon procedures to avoid detonating the grenade.

Ukrainian military doctors recently performed a rare and dangerous procedure: removing a live, unexploded grenade from the chest of a patient.

According to a Facebook post from Ukrainian deputy minister of defense Hanna Maliar, “Not every wound in the heart area is deadly! Military doctors conducted an operation to remove a VOG grenade, which did not break, from the body of the soldier.”

And the operation was a success, with the soldier now in recovery.

Maliar shared an X-ray image of the grenade lodged in the soldier’s chest, as well as a photo of the operating surgeon, Andrii Verba, holding the live grenade after the nerve-wracking operation. Verba was described as “one of the most experienced surgeons” in Ukraine’s armed forces.

Verba was assisted in the surgery by a small team of sappers — military engineers — and notably conducted the operation without the use of electrocoagulation, a process by which an electric current controls bleeding during surgery by burning the edges of blood vessels. In this instance, however, electrocoagulation could have detonated the ammunition “at any time.”

The ammunition, a VOG grenade, measures roughly an inch and a half and can be fired a distance of well over 1,200 feet, per Live Science. It’s unclear how, exactly, it became lodged in the soldier’s chest, though.

“The unexploded part of the grenade was taken from under the heart. The grenade did not explode, but remained explosive,” wrote Ukrainian internal affairs ministerial adviser Anton Gerashchenko in a Telegram update. “There have never been such operations in the practice of our doctors.”

While this operation may have been the first of its kind for Ukrainian doctors, there are several cases of similar procedures in history — though not many.

Notably, a 1999 study in the journal of Military Medicine analyzed U.S. military data, finding 36 instances of unexploded ammunition being removed from patients dating back to World War II. Of those operations, 32 were successful. The other four patients died of their injuries.

Then, in 2006, U.S. military doctors removed a live grenade from a soldier’s abdomen, and in 2014, doctors removed live, possibly explosive, ammunition from a pregnant 23-year-old woman’s head in Afghanistan.

In the latter instance, the ammunition turned out not to be explosive, but the potential was enough for doctors to forego the use of electrocoagulation, just as the Ukrainian team did.

“I think this case will go down in medical textbooks,” Gerashchenko wrote.

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After reading about this miracle surgery, read about the early days of plastic surgery and its pioneering surgeon, Harold Gillies. Or, read about the Colorado woman who spent $10,000 to save her beloved pet chicken’s life.

As much as consumers marvel at the ability of smartphones to do everything from offer driving directions to track their workouts, they can be almost too capable: Features that may prove useful to users aren’t immediately obvious.

Case in point: The iPhone has a white noise feature, which may come as a pleasant surprise for troubled sleepers.

The tip seems to have originated with an Instagram account named PregnantChicken. To use the feature, you’ll need an iPhone no older than a 6S and iOS15 or newer. Go to Settings; Accessibility; Audio/Visual; and then Background Sounds. The phone offers six different and presumably soothing sounds that can help people fall asleep, including ocean, rain, and a stream.

You can also create a shortcut by going to Accessibility; Accessibility Shortcut; and then Background Sounds. Hitting your side or home button three times (depending on the model) activates and deactivates the feature.

Some people use white noise machines to create continuous, steady frequencies that play while they sleep. The main advantage is that the machine likely has better speakers than your phone. But there doesn’t appear to be any biological need for sleep noise of any kind: It’s more of a personal preference. The noise can block out sounds, like a slamming door or car horn, that might wake a person. Some might use it often enough they become habituated and can’t sleep without it. Presuming you have your iPhone nearby, that should be an easy problem to solve.

[h/t Travel + Leisure]

LEE COUNTY, Fla.– Diners at a Cape Coral restaurant got a surprise on Jan. 16 when a drunk man stood at the bar, pulled his penis out and urinated on the bar.

Michael Mole, 49, wore a backwards baseball cap, a dark blue pullover shirt, and blue jeans when some drinks went too far. Witnesses told police that restaurant employees took Mole outside and kicked him out of the restaurant, according to the Cape Coral Police Department.

At first, Mole was calm. Restaurant employees ordered an Uber to take Mole home.

The Uber came and employees tried to help Mole into the car. Police reports say Mole could barely talk. Slurring his words, he was incoherent.

Someone told Mole the police were called.

Mole was infuriated after he heard the bad news.

He began to scream. He ran across Cape Coral Parkway West, even stopping traffic. Police reports said a car hit on the breaks to avoid hitting the man.

A witness told police they thought Mole fell when the car stopped. The man was resilient, and resumed his running and screaming.

Cape Coral Police found Mole and arrested him in the parking lot of Chiquita Dental Care.

Police took Mole to a cell at the Cape Coral Police Department, but he screamed, yelled and banged on his cell door.

Mole was brought from the Cape Coral Police Department to the Lee County jail because of his disorderly conduct.

He was charged with disorderly intoxication and received a trespass warning.

Archaeologists suspect that all 142 dogs died at the same time — but there are no signs of violence on their remains.

The sands of Egypt are rich with historical discoveries, but archaeologists working near Cairo recently came across a puzzling find while excavating a necropolis. There, they unearthed the ancient remains of an eight-year-old child laid carefully across the bodies of 142 dogs.

Archaeologists with the Centre for Egyptological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (CEI RAS) made the strange discovery while excavating a necropolis at the Faiyum Oasis, west of the Nile River and approximately 60 miles south of Cairo. According to Euro Weekly News, the burial appears to date from between the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.

“A child of eight to nine years old was laid on top of the bodies of 142 dogs of different ages, mostly puppies (87 percent),” CEI RAS explained. Though this scene was strange enough, archaeologists noted an additional oddity: someone had placed a linen bag placed around the child’s head.

“Burials like those discovered by the Centre’s specialists are not typical for Egypt,” CEI RAS noted, speculating, “The mass burial of dogs may indicate a synthesis of religious and magical ideas of the Egyptians and foreigners living in [Faiyum], which gave rise to new forms of ritual practice.”

But despite the head-scratching scene, archaeologists uncovered a couple of clues about what may have happened to the dogs and to the child.

According to Heritage Daily, archaeologists discovered traces of blue clay on the dogs’ remains. Since a similar type of clay was commonly found in reservoirs in ancient Egypt, it’s possible that some kind of catastrophic flood killed the animals. Plus, there’s no sign of violence on the dogs, so drowning is a likely explanation for why so many of them died at once.

The child’s role in the burial is murky, however. It’s unclear how the child related to the dogs, though archaeologists have speculated that the child may have been caring for the animals when they suddenly died.

As for the linen bag around the child’s head? That presents an even deeper mystery. Heritage Daily reports that archaeologists have found a body with a similar bag at the necropolis before, but with a big difference. Namely, that body had an arrow in its chest — and had likely been executed.

Though questions remain, the discovery of the child and the dogs offers a tantalizing glimpse into ancient Egyptian life. Heritage Daily notes that the strange find was made near the ancient Egyptian town of Crocodilopolis, a once-thriving settlement dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek.

Archaeologists from CEI RAS have been excavating the Faiyum Oasis necropolis for the past several years. In addition to the child buried with 142 dogs, they’ve also uncovered other burials dating from between the fourth century B.C.E and the seventh century C.E.

Hopefully, these burials will paint a fuller picture of what life was like in this part of ancient Egypt thousands of years ago. Maybe, subsequent discoveries in the necropolis will even answer questions about what happened to this young child and the 142 dogs buried alongside them.

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After reading about the ancient Egyptian child found mysteriously buried with 142 dogs in the Faiyum Oasis necropolis, discover the story of the Stone Age child who may have been buried with a wolf in present-day Finland. Or, see how archaeologists discovered a strange cat mummy in Egypt with the remains of three different cats inside.

A group of pugs is called a grumble. Whatever you think of pugs, there’s something cute and silly about the grouping name. It’s certainly better than a “murder” of crows, right? Now those are some animals who got a raw deal.

Why a group of pugs is called a grumble

You can actually use “grumble” or “a grumbling” to refer to a group of pugs. But why?

Pugs are known for the snorting sound they make because of the shape of their nose. We suppose that sounds like a grumble.

But it’s more likely that the breed’s characteristic deep, throaty barking sounds are the grumble being referred to.

Pugs have a distinct, low-pitched bark that sounds like a growl or a grumble. Pugs are known for being very vocal and expressive.

It’s worth noting that a group of any dog breed is called a kennel, pack, or litter but different animals have different colloquial names, like a pride of lions.

How did we get pugs?

Pugs are actually an ancient breed of dogs that originate in China. They were known as “lo-sze” and were kept by the Emperors of China as lapdogs and companions.

They were also used as guard dogs and were highly valued for their loyalty and affectionate nature. Pugs were kept in the imperial palace and were considered a symbol of royalty and prestige.

Pugs were first brought to Europe in the 16th century by traders and soon became popular among the European nobility. They were particularly popular in Holland and England, where they were bred to have a shorter snout and a cocked tail.

The breed was further refined in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the modern Pug we know today was developed. Pugs were officially recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1885.

Pugs are known for their distinctive wrinkles, short snout, and compact size, which makes them well-suited for living in small spaces. They also have friendly and playful personalities.

Pug problems

Pugs are a brachycephalic (short-nosed) breed. As a result, they’re prone to a number of health problems due to their unique facial structure.

For example, their short snout and small trachea can make it difficult for them to breathe, leading to respiratory issues or heat stroke in hot weather. In addition, they’re bulging eyes make them more likely to develop injuries, infections, and eyelid and cornea issues.

Pugs are also prone to skin fold dermatitis since the wrinkles on their faces can trap moisture and bacteria, leading to skin irritation and infection. Hip dysplasia and obesity are other risks in pugs due to their breeding.

That’s certainly something to grumble about!

However, proper care and regular vet checkups can help prevent or manage these health issues and ensure a good quality of life for a pug. — WTF fun facts

Source: “A Group of Pugs is Called…” — National Purebred Dog Day

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On the evening of July 19, 1952, a bizarre incident occurred in the skies over Washington, D.C., that would last into the early morning hours of July 20.

Air traffic controllers watched as objects materialized on their radar screens and flew over the White House and the Capitol—air space that was restricted. “It was very erratic. It went left and right,” one of the air traffic controllers would later say. “We knew it wasn’t an airplane, because a plane flies in one direction. But it was a strong signal, just like an airplane.” A Capital Airlines pilot reported seeing six fast-moving lights that had “no tail, no recognizable shape … just bright lights against a dark sky” over the course of 14 minutes. Air Force radar also picked up the objects, whatever they were, but they vanished just as fast as they were spotted. Scrambled jets sent to investigate found nothing.

At that point, UFOs were a hot topic in the U.S., thanks in part to an article that had appeared in an April 1952 issue of LIFE magazine called “Have We Visitors From Space?” What was happening in D.C. would prove to be “the climax of the 1952 flap,” Curtis Peebles wrote in Watch the Skies!: A Chronicle of the UFO Myth, and kicked flying saucer obsession into high gear. “Unidentified flying objects exploded into the public consciousness then,” Mark Rodeghier, scientific director for the Center for UFO Studies, told The New York Times in 2018. “There was concern in a way you hadn’t seen before.”

The press went wild. “SAUCERS SWARM OVER CAPITAL,” screamed just one headline about the incident, which made news around the country—and the world.

Perhaps these headlines were what inspired evangelical minister Reverend Louis A. Gardner to write physicist Albert Einstein asking for his opinion on flying saucers. Did he believe saucers came from space—specifically Mars or Venus, Gardner wondered? Or were UFOs some kind of military technology experiments created by the U.S. Air Force … or America’s foes?

At this point in his career, Einstein was one of the most renowned scientists in the world. He’d released his theory of general relativity, nabbed the Nobel Prize for Physics, spoken out against racism in America, and urged former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt to pursue nuclear research, influencing the creation of the Manhattan Project (a fact he would come to regret). And he was still performing research at Princeton University’s Institute for Advanced Study, even though he had technically retired in 1945.

Einstein was famous, and busy—so one could have forgiven him for if he had chosen not to reply to Gardner’s query. But he did reply, on July 23, 1952, writing on letterhead from the Institute for Advanced Study.

“Dear Sir,” Einstein wrote. “Those people have seen something. What it is I do not know and am not curious to know. Sincerely yours, Albert Einstein.”

It’s an interesting response from a man who typically championed curiosity. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing,” he once said. In fact, just a few months before Gardner wrote to him, Einstein told his biographer, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”

Whatever his reasons for not being curious about what, exactly, people were seeing in the skies across America, Einstein’s succinct response to Gardner made news around the U.S. (Some of the stories even featured photos of a giddy Gardner holding the letter.) “Saucers not Einstein’s Dish,” one paper punnily headlined a piece about the letter. “Curious About Sky Disks? Not ‘The Brain,’” read another.

Also making the news? More UFOs over D.C., which appeared in the sky on July 26 and 27. Radar spotted as many as 14 objects in the sky. One sergeant at Andrews Air Force Base saw “a bluish white light move … at an incredible rate of speed. … These lights did not have the characteristics of shooting stars. There was no trails and [they] seemed to go out rather than disappear, and traveled faster than any shooting star I have ever seen.”

The Air Force received a record-breaking 500 reports of UFOs that month. They denied that what had been seen was any craft of theirs, and ultimately blamed what had happened (which would come to be known as “the Washington Invasion”) on the weather and meteors—but true believers, and those who had seen the phenomena themselves, weren’t convinced.

Do you know the Nike waffle iron story? They’re two things that seem to have nothing in common. However, the first pair of Nike sneakers were made in a waffle iron. The company patented the design as the “Nike Waffle” in 1974.

The weird Nike waffle iron story

The design for the sole of the first Nike shoe was created by a co-founder of Nike, Bill Bowerman, who was a track coach at the University of Oregon. Bowerman was always looking for ways to improve the performance of his athletes.

One day, while making waffles for breakfast, he noticed the unique pattern on the waffle iron and had an idea to create a shoe sole with a similar pattern. He experimented with pouring liquid urethane into his wife’s waffle iron and the Waffle sole was born.

Nike named the shoe the “Nike Waffle Trainer” and introduced it in 1974.

It was a revolutionary design that provided excellent traction and durability. It quickly became a favorite among athletes.

Nike makes its mark

The Nike Waffle Trainer was a success for Nike in the 1970s. It helped establish the company as a major player in the athletic shoe market.

Top runners wore the shoe and helped Nike become known as a company that produced high-performance athletic footwear.

Nike not only patented the design but used the waffle sole in many of their other shoe models in the following years. The Waffle Trainer was one of the first shoes that Nike marketed as a performance shoe.

Nike still produces shoes with waffle soles. But they’re not as common as they were in the 1970s.

The company still uses the Waffle sole design in some of the company’s retro releases of the Waffle Trainer and other models like the Nike Waffle Racer. The waffle sole is also used in some of Nike’s newer running shoes since it provides excellent traction and durability.

While the Waffle Trainer is not as prevalent as it was in the past, it remains an iconic and important shoe in the company’s history and is still popular among some sneaker enthusiasts.

The cost of a Nike Waffle shoe can vary depending on the specific model. For example, the retail price of the Waffle Racer, which is one of the most popular models of the Waffle series, is around $85. However, prices can be higher or lower depending on the colorway, edition, and other factors. Retro releases of the Waffle Trainer can be more expensive, as they are considered collectible items and can be sold at a premium price. Prices for these retro releases can be anywhere from $100 to $200 or even more, depending on the condition of the shoe and its rarity.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “How a Dirty Old Waffle Iron Became Nike’s Holy Grail” — Popular Mechanics

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In March 2022, NASA astronomers at San Diego’s Zwicky Transient Facility spotted a previously undiscovered green comet orbiting Jupiter. They named it C/2022 E3 (ZTF). 

Not only has the comet gotten brighter since then, but it’s also exited Jupiter’s territory and entered ours. This month, as ABC News reports, you can even catch a glimpse of it—here’s how.

The comet, heading northwest, just passed its perihelion—its closest point to the sun—on January 12, and it will reach its closest point to Earth on February 2. 

For the duration of January, skygazers in the Northern Hemisphere should be able to see it in the early morning with the aid of a telescope or binoculars. You might be able to make it out with your naked eye “under dark skies,” according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but as “comets are notoriously unpredictable,” there’s no guarantee. The sky should be especially dark during the new moon phase on January 21, so that’s not a bad day to scan the skies for a greenish blur. People in the Southern Hemisphere will get a chance to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) beginning in early February.

This particular comet’s history is shrouded in mystery, but we know it doesn’t visit us often—if, in fact, it ever has. “If C/2022 E3 has ever passed through the solar system before, it would have last been seen in the sky more than 10,000 years ago,” Jon Giorgini, a senior analyst at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told NPR. 

The comet’s nucleus is surrounded by a cloud of gas and dust called the coma. As the comet travels closer and closer to the sun, radiation causes energy fluctuations in some of those gases. This process can cause two of them—cyanogen and diatomic carbon—to appear green to us.

[h/t ABC News]

Many decisions go into having children, from the names you give them to the diaper brand you buy. One of the most important choices a parent will make is where they raise their kids. To see the best states for young families in the U.S., check out the list below.

To determine the top states to raise children in 2023, the data analysts at Wallethub weighed metrics in several categories. Opportunities for recreation, safety, education, and affordability were some of the qualities that boosted a state’s family-friendliness factor.

Massachusetts comes out as the No.1 state in the country for kids and parents, with an overall score of 66.14 out of 100. Though it ranks 22nd in socioeconomics, it’s the second best state when it comes to affordability and education and child care, bringing it to the top of the list. Behind it is Minnesota, which ranks fifth in socioeconomic factors like divorce rate, unemployment rate, and wealth inequality. New York, North Dakota, and Vermont round out the top five.

The factors that went into this analysis are just some of the reasons a family may want to move. Other motives—such as specific job offers or proximity to relatives—vary on a case by case basis. If you’re not ready to make a permanent change, consider taking your loved ones on vacation to one of the best states for family camping trips.

1. Massachusetts
2. Minnesota
3. New York
4. North Dakota
5. Vermont
6. New Hampshire
7. New Jersey
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa
10. Connecticut
11. Rhode Island
12. Washington
13. Illinois
14. South Dakota
15. Utah

After Walter Collins vanished in 1928, police made his mother take in an impostor of the boy — then forced her into a psychiatric ward when she insisted that the child wasn’t her son.

On March 10, 1928, nine-year-old Walter Collins asked his mother, Christine, for some money to see a movie. Per the Los Angeles Times, she handed him a dime and sent him on his way — but she never saw him again.

Los Angeles police quickly began searching for the boy when he failed to return home from the theater, but they came up empty-handed. Then, five months later, a child claiming to be young Walter turned up in Illinois. Although Christine Collins insisted the boy was not her son, the police were adamant that he was, and they even forced her into a psychiatric ward when she continued to deny their claims.

The impostor eventually admitted that he wasn’t Walter Collins after all. Around the same time, investigators came across a grisly crime scene on a ranch in Wineville, 50 miles outside of L.A. There, a man named Gordon Stewart Northcott had been kidnapping, sexually abusing, and killing young boys with the help of his mother, Sarah Louise Northcott.

Though the police never found any physical evidence linking Northcott to Walter’s disappearance, the killer verbally admitted to murdering the boy on at least one occasion, and Sarah Northcott said she’d also been involved in his death. She was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for Walter’s murder — but the mystery surrounding the boy’s disappearance and the bizarre series of events that ensued remain a source of intrigue to this day.

The Mysterious Disappearance Of Walter Collins

When Walter Collins vanished while walking to a Lincoln Heights movie theater in March 1928, he became one of a string of boys who disappeared from the surrounding area beginning in 1926. A month prior, a headless child had been found in nearby La Puente. And two months later, young brothers Nelson and Lewis Winslow went missing from L.A.’s Pomona neighborhood.

At the time, the city’s police force was facing criticism due to recent corruption scandals, and officers were further embarrassed when they failed to locate Walter in a timely manner. However, they had very little information to go on.

Walter’s father, who was serving time in Folsom State Prison, thought a former inmate may have kidnapped his son as revenge, because part of his job in the facility’s cafeteria was to report infractions.

Meanwhile, according to Crime Museum, a gas station attendant in Glendale claimed he’d seen a “foreign” couple with a dead boy in the back of their car. He identified the body as Walter’s after seeing a photograph of the child.

Neither of these leads helped detectives, however, and Walter’s case went cold for several months. Then, in August 1928, a boy claiming to be Walter Collins turned up in Illinois — and sparked a police scandal.

How A Crafty Impostor Tried To Fool Christine Collins

Christine Collins had spent five agonizing months waiting for any information about her son’s fate when hope arrived unexpectedly from halfway across the country. Police picked up a boy in DeKalb, Illinois who said his name was Walter Collins. They sent photos to Christine, who wasn’t convinced. However, officers talked her into “trying out” the child and brought him to L.A.

After three weeks, Christine marched back to the police station with Walter’s dental records and a list of signed statements from people who had known her son. She insisted that the boy from Illinois was an impostor and that she wanted nothing more to do with him.

To save face, officers called Christine Collins a “lunatic” and accused her of trying to embarrass them. They said she was simply attempting to shirk her responsibilities as a mother. According to the Mirror, the police forced the grieving mother into a psychiatric facility using “Code 12,” a policy that allowed them to simply get rid of “difficult” citizens.

While Christine was institutionalized, however, “Walter” admitted that he was indeed an impostor after all when a handwriting expert analyzed his writing style compared to that of the real Walter. His true name was Arthur Hutchens. He was 12 years old and had decided to impersonate Collins after someone mentioned that he resembled the missing boy. He wanted to go to Hollywood in hopes of meeting his cowboy idol, Tom Mix, so he went along with his made-up story for as long as possible.

Around the same time as the truth about Arthur was coming to light, police made another discovery on a ranch 50 miles outside of L.A. A man named Gordon Stewart Northcott had been kidnapping and murdering young boys — and Walter may have been one of his victims.

Inside The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders

Starting in 1926, Gordon Stewart Northcott began abducting male children, raping them on his ranch in Wineville, California, and bludgeoning them to death with an ax. He later claimed that he abused the young boys because he “loved them.”

He was only caught in September 1928 when his cousin contacted authorities and told them that Northcott had kidnapped her teenage brother and was abusing him. When detectives arrived on Northcott’s property, they uncovered the grisly truth about the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders.

On the ranch, investigators found the scattered bone fragments of young males and axes with blood and human hair encrusted on their blades. Reportedly, Northcott verbally admitted that he’d killed five boys, including Walter Collins and the Winslow brothers who had disappeared shortly after him. He confessed that he kidnapped boys to rape them, killed them when he got bored, and then used quicklime to dispose of their remains.

He did all of this, he said, with the help of his mother, Sarah — with whom he also claimed he had an incestuous relationship.

However, when it came time to write and sign an official confession, Northcott changed his story and said he’d only killed one person, a Mexican boy named Alvin Gothea, in February 1928. With no physical evidence linking Walter to the ranch, the boy’s fate was still unknown. Then, Sarah Northcott came forward with a story of her own.

What Really Happened To Walter Collins?

Sarah Louise Northcott eventually confessed that she had been the one to kill Walter Collins. She dealt him a fatal blow with an ax, she said, and buried him near the chicken coop. She was sentenced to life in prison for his murder.

Meanwhile, Gordon Stewart Northcott was found guilty in February 1929 of killing the Winslow brothers and one other unnamed victim. He was sentenced to death and hanged on Oct. 2, 1930 — and the knowledge of the true fate of Walter Collins may have died with him.

To this day, nobody knows what really happened to Walter Collins. Though Sarah Northcott was convicted of his murder, police never found any real evidence that the boy had ever even been on the ranch.

It’s possible that he was abducted by one of his father’s prison enemies or ended up in the back of a “foreign” couple’s car. His body may have been covered in quicklime on Gordon Stewart Northcott’s ranch, never to be seen again. Or perhaps he was never murdered at all. Whatever the truth may be, the story of Walter Collins continues to baffle people to this day.

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After reading about the tragic story of Walter Collins, go inside the chilling disappearance of Bryce Laspisa, the man who mysteriously vanished while driving through rural California in the middle of the night. Then, learn about Sierra LaMar, the 15-year-old cheerleader who disappeared on her way to school.