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A bull with an itchy bottom knocked a transformer off an electricity pole as he tried to scratch his backside - and cut power to 800 homes. Four-year-old Ron managed to avoid the box as it landed in his field, and escaped an 11,000 volt shock from the tumbling cables. But it left homes in three nearby villages in South Lanarkshire without electricity. Owner Hazel Laughton told BBC Scotland she was amazed that Ron had survived. It is thought that Ron, a limousin bull, brought the transformer down sometime between 22:00 and 23:00 on Thursday at East Shawtonhill Farm in...

If you have ever gone for a swim in a lake and later found your arms and legs covered in red itchy welts resembling mosquito bites, it is quite likely that you have encounter parasites related to the one being featured today. Trichobilharzia szidati is an avian blood fluke, and it has relatives living all over the world in both freshwater and marine environments. While they usually infect waterbirds like duck, they are not very good at telling birds apart from humans. To them, any warm-blooded terrestrial vertebrate animal is fair game, which is rather unfortunate for both humans and...

Not just for sushi — but for research. You know that burning sensation when you eat wasabi? Researchers at University of California San Francisco think new information about the so-called “wasabi receptor” can help improve pain medications. The wasabi receptor is a protein inside our nerve cells. It reacts to spicy things like wasabi, and even tear gas. UCSF researchers used new imaging technology to better map the protein. They're experimenting with blocking the pain receptor's response. Pain medications and anti-itch medications could become more effective as a result.

"No Ugly or Fat People on the Rope Line!" Remembering a Visit by Hillary Clinton The Place: Panama. The Date: 1997. The Event: Visit by First Lady Hillary Clinton to attend the Conference of Spouses of Heads of State and Government in the Americas (AKA, First Ladies of the Americas Summit). Holding the Bag: The Diplomad I was reminded of the above event in Panama by a news story out a couple of days ago reporting on a Hillary Clinton event in Miami. It seems that her security personnel seized the camera from a member of audience and deleted a...

Scientists have shown scratching helps relieve an itch as it blocks activity in some spinal cord nerve cells that transmit the sensation to the brain. However, the effect only seems to occur during itchiness itself - scratching at other times makes no difference. While it is widely-known scratching relieves an itch, the physiological mechanisms for how this works are little understood. The University of Minnesota study appears in Nature Neuroscience.

If you can make a flea cooperate with you, you're probably good at politics I have to say, this is probably the strangest subject we ever talked about on Dark Roasted Blend. However, it is such a rich showcase of miniature art and craftmanship, and the "wow" factor is there as well: A flea, with legs finer than a human hair, can pull up to 700 times its own weight! A flea can lift up to 60 times its own weight! A flea can jump over 150 times its own height! When we build circuses on Mars, or asteroids one...

You ever have one of those itches that you just can’t reach? It’s frustrating, especially when you don’t have anybody around to scratch it for you. It looks as if the dog in this video has figured out a way for a self service back scratch. Oooohh that looks like it feels good…just look at those legs twitching!!

Why Scratching Relieves An Itch ScienceDaily (Feb. 1, 2008) — In the first study to use imaging technology to see what goes on in the brain when we scratch, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have uncovered new clues about why scratching may be so relieving -- and why it can be hard to stop. "Our study shows for the first time how scratching may relieve itch," said lead author Gil Yosipovitch, M.D., a dermatologist who specializes in itch. "It's important to understand the mechanism of relief so we can develop more effective treatments. For some people, itch...

Ever had this happen to you? It's really kind of weird.

"GOOD MORNING, MRS. PRESIDENT" UNLIMITED ACCESS ^ | 1996 | Gary Aldrich EXCERPT FROM "UNLIMITED ACCESS" "Thanks, Gary. But I'm calling for another reason. I want to know what the heck is going on with Hillary Clinton." I wasn't sure what she meant. "I have a friend up here who just returned from a conference at the White House, and if what she tells me is true, Hillary must really be wacky!" "Like what?" "Well, three health insurance company executives hired my lobbyist friend to go with them to the White House to present their solution for the health care...

Help! Almost two years ago, hubs began having an itchy rash. The only thing that calms it is taking steroids, not good. It's been a tossup whether it's a dermatological or an allergy problem. He's seen two dermatologists who've biopsied and found nothing. Also, full battery of allergy tests and is allergic to a lot, soy in particular. It's said that the rash is possibly a form of psoriasis that lasts 2-5 years. When it's full bore he scratches while asleep and wakes up bleeding. Any help would be appreciated...thank you...

NOTE: the following comes from videotape in the private collection of Peter Paul. ============================================================== In March of 2000, a month after Hillary Rodham officially announced a run for the U.S. Senate from New York, she came to Los Angeles for money. The setting was an intimate gathering in the home of Zev Braun. After her introduction by Braun, she made some interesting comments. I thought you might enjoy these. "Ah, you know Roosevelt, President Roosevelt, ah, had that memorable phrase that, ah, his generation had a rendezvous with destiny and there are a number of people in this room who've...

MIDI - STEPPING STONE (Monkees) Hey, hey, hey New York, you're my stepping stone Hey, hey, hey New York, you're my stepping stone My concern is what will be best for me I'm still hoping you will support Hillary I came to your state with my carpetbag I will hardly serve...too bad if that's a drag Hey, hey, hey New York, you're my stepping stone Hey, hey, hey New York, you're my stepping stone You're my stepping stone...you're my stepping stone I'm the Yankee Curse since the day that I won It is just too bad that it can't...

It is unfortunate that civilisation has taken a firm position against the institution of public scratching. Apes do it, lions do it, squirrels do it with abandon. In this context, I am happy to report that the Indian Man, particularly the North Indian variety, has refused to submit to the arcane ways of civilisation and continues to scratch away at himself with some diligence. In his case, the scratching is localised in a part of the anatomy that occurs frequently in his conversation, often with reference to some close relatives. To the lay eye, there are three distinct ways of...

Not very (First) Lady-like As New York's junior senator, Hillary Clinton has proved herself a paragon of poise - and one of the Democrats' brightest stars. She rivals President Bush in her ability to raise cash and is frequently touted as a future President herself. But the charismatic Clinton was not always so polished. New York attorney Joseph Califano Jr. - a longtime Democrat powerbroker who worked for Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter between stints as a corporate lawyer - remembers quite a different Hillary. In his soon-to-be-published memoir, "Inside: A Public and Private Life," Califano recalls the first...

http://www.billybear4kids.com/midi/MIDITunes.html MIDI - IF YOU'RE HAPPY Does the Perky One have sex with Hillary I swear, that is what I saw on NBC Do they do it in the attic That's remaining enigmatic Does the Perky One have sex with Hillary Are they using a few sex toys just for fun Does the Energizer Bunny make them run Do they do it in the attic That's remaining enigmatic Are they using a few sex toys just for fun Does the Perky One have kneepads made of gold Does she mind a woman who is icy cold Do they do it...

http://www.garyrog.50megs.com/midi1.html MIDI - GEORGY GIRL Hey there, Hillary...you are someone I don't want to see But the colonel says I'm busted if I do not agree...I'm puking Hey there, Hillary...Thanksgiving should be more kind to me I would rather have some carnal knowledge with goats, you see You're in that crusty pantsuit that we have seen on TV I keep on asking myself, why me? I'm puking now Hey there, Hillary...you are really cold as you can be I would rather clean up camel dung for eternity Than dine with you...my dear Hillary Hey there, Hillary...fate decided it would screw...

MIDI - IN MY ROOM She is flying to Iraq, also AfghanistanOn her broom...on her broom In the air they see fat ankles and a sagging canOn her broom...on her broom There's no shoulder-fired missile that can worry her That's because a witch's broom has no heat signature It's Thanksgiving and she's proving turkeys really flyOn her broom...on her broom...on her broom...on her broom...etc.

MIDI - I AM A ROCK Thanksgiving day...and Queen Hillary will be there She shows up for her photo-op Colonels have been ordered...pretend that your troops care Even though no single warrior wants her there Off to Iraq...off to Afgha-an-istan She wants to be...the one giving them their orders Lord, help us if that ever shall be The colonels have been ordered...pretend your troops care Although no single warrior wants her there Off to Iraq...off to Afghanistan Make no mistake...she would feminize the Army And do more damage than is imaginable The colonels have been ordered...pretend that your troops...

MIDI - IT'S MY PARTY (if a popup appears, you do not have to download the language program) Everyone's off to the caucuses now...yes, Iowa is the place I'll suck the oxygen out...everywhere they'll see my face It's my party, you can get on your knees now...get on your knees now...get on your knees now I am your queen and it's all about me If you think that you should try stopping me, I have just two words --- Ron Brown Do not dare get in my way...no one's gonna take me down It's my party, you can get...