Saturday, July 21, 2007

Wierd accident...


The Mummy's Curse

The year was 1910. Egyptologist Douglas Murray was sought out by a diseased and ragged looking American. He told Murray he had an offer that would most likely be the most priceless and important find of his whole career, a mummy case, complete with mummy, of an ancient Egyptian high priestess of the temple of Ammon-Ra who supposedly lived in Thebes around 1600 BC.

Murray was quick to write the American a check, drawn from the Bank of London, but the check was never cashed. The American died that night.

A colleague of Murray's told him the legend behind his new purchase. The ancient high priestess had held high office in the then feared Cult of the Dead, helping to turn the once rich and fertile land in the Valley of the Nile into a bare wasteland, a truly desolate place. Inscribed on the walls of her tomb were warnings of death and terror for anyone disturbing her resting place. Believing it was a load of poppycock, Murray laughed at the warning. Three days later, while on a hunting trip, his gun exploded in his hand, causing him months of almost constant pain spent in hospital. The wound eventually became infected, and fearing the gangrene would spread, his arm was amputated at the elbow.

When his health returned he set sail for England, mummy case and all. During the trip, two Egyptian servants who had handled the mummy case were found dead. They were considered to be young, strong, healthy men, so their deaths came very unexpectedly. Upon arriving in London, Murray took a good long look at his acquisition, and while examining the carved gold and painted image of the priestess, he later told friends that "the face seemed to come alive with a stare that chilled to the bone."

Murray decided t was time to get rid of the mummy case. A lady friend of his persuaded him to sell it to her, and within weeks her mother died, her lover left her, and she herself was diagnosed with what could only be called a 'wasting' disease. Was it perhaps the same disease to plague the American? Whatever it was, she insisted that Murray take it back.

He then gave it to a British museum, and it seemed that the 'curse' was no less effective there, either. A photographer dropped stone cold dead while photographing the mummy case, and the man in charge of the cases exhibit was soon found dead in his own bed. In light of these events, the museums head honcho's met privately and unanimously decided to give it to a prestigious New York museum. The case was sent with no fanfare, but the case never reached it's destination, for it sunk to the bottom of the sea along with the Titanic and almost 1500 souls in April of 1912.

Wierd accident...


Friday, July 20, 2007

Estonians win international wife-carrying tournament

Recently, a couple of Estonians were adjudged the best in an international wife-carrying championship in central Finland in which more than 50 couples from various states participated.

The championship organisers borrowed the idea from a 19th century outlaw, who recruited new members of his gang only after conducting special tests for power and smartness. Some of them kidnapped women from local villages.

The modern tournament covers a distance of 253.5 metres. Contestants have to carry their women across sand, pebble, grass and asphalt strips and one-metre-deep ditches filled with water.

Bachelors can also participate in the tournament and can borrow a wife from their friends or neighbours.

According to the rules, the wife cannot weigh less than 49 kgs. Otherwise, an extra load will be added.

The tournament includes a 100-metre individual race and a relay, in which women substitute relay batons. When the woman is passed from one contestant to another, the man has to stop and have a drink.

An Estonian couple made a record of 55.5 seconds in 2000. Their record has not been outdone.

Another Estonian couple won this year's tournament with 1 minute and 1.7 seconds. The winners received a beer keg, which weighs as much as the carried wife.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Wierd accident...


In Big Apple, Botox over lunch...

Busy New Yorkers a bit worse for wear need only a lunch-time to look better, thanks to a drop-in Botox salon.

In the latest quick-fix indulgence for people on the run, a Botox-only boutique has opened off ritzy Park Avenue where shoppers and harried professionals can walk in for a jab of Botox to smooth away facial lines and be out within 30 minutes.

Plastic surgeons Andrew Elkwood and Michael Rose opened New York's first Botox boutique, Smoothmed, after realising their cosmetic surgery practice contained a group of people who wanted Botox but didn't want to wait for the five to ten-minute injections.

"In a lot of respects, the taboo of cosmetic surgery is leaving society, especially the injectables," Elkwood said. "What we wanted to do was make it very accessible, take it very seriously but give, administer it, in a comfortable atmosphere. A salon-like atmosphere. We do all the worrying on the back end."

Elkwood says patients' medical histories are reviewed before any treatment and all women are given a pregnancy test to ensure it is safe before receiving any shots of Botox, which is regarded by some as the fountain of youth

Stressful?
























































Fire-fighters cut holes in wrong house

Fire-fighters in Massachusetts drove to a vacant house on July 17th, cut holes in the roof and walls, and broke windows to test their tools and their proficiency only to discover it was the wrong house.

They were supposed to be two blocks away at a house slated for demolition.

The owners of the damaged home now want the town to pay for the mistake, but they are trying to keep a sense of humour about it.

“Accidents happen,'' said Jeffrey Luu, who owns the house in Braintree with his brother, Clayton. “Luckily, nobody got hurt,'' added Clayton Luu.

The home had been vacant since an electrical fire last year left a scorch mark up one side. The knee-high grass had not been cut in several weeks.

The owners were planning a renovation of the house just not this much of one.

The fire department is conducting an internal investigation, Deputy Chief John Donahue said in a statement, but officials otherwise remained tight-lipped and red-faced about the incident.

Meanwhile, the house where the fire-fighters were supposed to train was demolished later on the same day as scheduled.

Monday, July 16, 2007

3,009 Chinese break skipping world record

A group of 3,009 people set a world record on July 12th in central China, becoming the largest group to skip rope at one time.

The participants ranged in age from 5 to 68, and skipped rope for three minutes. Officials of Guinness World Records were on hand in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, and acknowledged the feat.

The previous record was set by 2,474 people on January 23, 2005, in Hong Kong.

The skipping ropes used July 12th will be sent to 30 elementary schools in rural Hunan.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Elephant beats keeper for late meals

A Pakistani zoo is appealing for donations to help feed its sole elephant, Suzi, which gets angry and beats its keeper with a stick when its meals are late.

When Suzi is not fed on time it holds its master's cane in its trunk and starts beating him.

The zoo is hoping philanthropists and schools will "adopt" Suzi and pay for the elephant’s food - since the zoo does not have enough funds to feed Suzi.

Stressed executives asked to smash hotel rooms

A Spanish hotel chain ran a competition for stressed executives to let off steam in a fashion usually reserved for rock stars - by smashing hotel rooms.

NH Hotels allowed 30 people chosen by a team of psychologists to help demolish the interior of the 11-year old NH Alcala hotel in central Madrid as part of its refurbishment. The chosen 30, armed with mallet and hard hat, were allowed to destroy any part of the 146-room building, from bringing down walls to smashing windows.

The demolition took place on July 3. The executives, reportedly, enjoyed themselves immensely. We hope their stress levels improved!