Was Humpty Dumpty always an egg? Does anyone know?

"On January 22, 1879 -- the legendary "Day of the Zulu," when more than twenty thousand Zulu warriors nearly wiped out the forces of the invading British army -- even the sun was on the side of the Zulu Nation. A partial solar eclipse during the battle obscured the view of the redcoats, making it difficult for them to see the attacking Zulu warriors. But the Zulu triumph on that day was no freak victory: it came about through a combination of superior battle strategy and fierce weapons, aided by potent traditional medicine.
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Of course, the Zulu might never have vanquished the British at Isandlwana without the help of traditional Zulu medicines. Some scholars have suggested that Zulu pharmacopoeia provided more of a psychological boost than any real physiological effect. But recent scientific studies show that the medicines contained some very potent drugs. For example, warriors were given a cannabis (marijuana)-based snuff to take during battle. Analysis of the snuff has revealed that it contained extremely high levels of THC, a powerful hallucinogen, and yet no detectable levels of the chemicals that cause the sedative effects of marijuana.

Also in the Zulu war medicine chest: the bulb of a flower in the Amaryllis family, called Boophane disticha, or the Bushman Poison Bulb. Studies have shown that the bulb -- which was also used by southern Africans to help mummify bodies -- contains buphanidrine, an alkaloid, like codeine and morphine (although it is not related to them) with hallucinogenic and pain-killing properties. According to botanist Ben-Erik van Wyk of Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, South Africa, the dosage of buphanidrine necessary to reduce pain is very close to the toxic dose, "but in a very experienced traditional healer's hands it should be safe. They usually assess the strength of a bulb by testing it on themselves."

In addition, warriors sometimes ingested a hallucinogenic mushroom containing a toxin called muscimol. The chemical, present in fly agaric -- a mushroom that can attract and kill flies -- is said to induce a state of expanded perception in those who ingest it. Warriors who consumed those mushrooms, researchers speculate, might have been utterly without fear, believing themselves impervious to British bullets. "

I saw this last night. Fuck amsterdam, go to africa and become a zulu warrior.

Day of the zulu

"What's the strangest thing you've eaten?

We tried giant anteater once. It wasn't very good. It started tasting like formic acid after a few bites. I've eaten a large number of different kinds of bats. Once we ran out of food in northern Peru, and we ate whatever we could get our hands on, including palm weevils. The grubs are about two inches long and maybe half an inch in diameter, and they are just wonderfully good, particularly when you're hungry. They are somewhat like chestnuts if you eat them alive, but if you fry them they taste a bit like melted cheese.

Is there anything you've refused to eat?

On our first trip to the Amazon we were living with an Indian group out in eastern Peru called the Cashínáwa. We were invited over to a neighbour's house for dinner that night and they'd just returned from a long hunting trip and they'd brought back some smoked monkeys. But smoking only does a partial job of curing the meat. And in order to eat what they served us you had to pick off the living maggots, which was not very pleasant. But we were obliged to at least make the effort because this was a delicacy and we were in a foreign household being offered the best. That was tough."

Adventures with rats

"We are planning to Flash Mob David Blaine on Monday 13th October at precisely 7.44pm.
Why???

Blaine is encasing himself in a Perspex box and trying to go without food for 44 days. For his New York stunt (standing still for three days) he said “It was the freaks, the freaks in the middle of the night that kept me going…” – we want us to show him that the British Humour of London Freaks may well create his biggest challenge yet!"

The 5 Steps To Blaine-Based Flashmob Fun!

"Two Norwegian journalists have been given police protection after publishing an article on how to get sex from Muslim women."

Journalists given police protection over Muslim sex article

"Tracking down wireless numbers will soon be easier, and that means the sales pitches will find you, wherever you are"
"ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN. For most of their brief history, telemarketers have stuck to landline phones. But that could soon change, says Rene Link, vice-president for marketing at wireless consultancy InCode Telecom in San Diego. Soon after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implements its wireless number portability rules on Nov. 24, it's expected that most phone customers will also be able to keep the same number when they switch from regular landline to wireless service. And as that happens, telemarketers almost certainly will start reaching people via their mobile phones."

Telemarketers' Next Target: Cell Phones

Go Elonka:)

STLtoday - News - Story

"He said: "I don't know how this happened. One minute we were playing and the next he had the gun in his mouth. This dog is my best friend.""

Mexican shot by his own dog

"A man obsessed with vampires, who murdered his best friend because he thought it would make him immortal, has been jailed for life."

'Vampire' murderer jailed for life

""Are we pooping now?" Skyler Russert, 8, kept asking the lab-coat clad "Dr. Perry Stalsis" -- really museum staffer Rick McDaniel -- whose mock-doc name plays on "peristalsis," the muscular contractions that shove food through our innards. "

Engrossing education in San Jose Kids learn bodily functions with glee