Anapads

Figure 1 from the paper… we presume that this is the onion.

According to this medical report published in 1961, a 24-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital in London with a lump in her vagina. After a medical examination, she was informed that it wasn’t a tumor–it was an onion. In her vagina. Apparently, her lover had left it there. And no, this was not published in “The Onion” (link to full text is below).

An unusual case of vaginal tumour.

“A young unmarried woman aged 24 years, suffering from cancerophobia, came to the clinic in an acute anxiety state, convinced that she had a malignant growth, having, she stated, only that morning felt a hard lump in the vagina.

She was a well-nourished person and there was no history of loss of weight, menstrual iregularity, or vaginal discharge; nor was there any previous history of gynaecological or other relevant disorder. She did, however, exhibit signs of emotional distress with sweaty palms and tachycardia.

Examination.
A large, hard, smooth lump filed the vagina. On removal it was found to be a globular circumscribed object, possessing no capsule, and on section was seen to have a laminated structure (Figure). It was identified as a specimen of “liliaceaeoma” or an Allium cepa.

The encyclopaedia defines the Allium cepa as one of the family Liliaceae. It has been cultivated from ancient times and probably originated in Asia. The edible part is the bulb containing an acrid volatile oil, giving a strong flavour. The allium is a bienial, the common species producing a bulb in the first season and seeds in the second. The example shewn is evidently of the first season.

Result.
On being informed that she had no cancer, but rather an onion, the patient shewed no signs of pleasure or of gratitude on being so quickly cured of her complaint and relieved of her anxiety. Instead she exhibited signs of anger, the reason for which was the same as had caused the presence of this unexpected vegetable in such an unusual garden. It appeared that her male consort and herself had indulged very freely in alcohol on the previous evening and that he had departed sometime during the night leaving her in a deep sleep on the bed. The removal of the onion from a bunch of its fellows hanging on the back of the door, and its subsequent insertion, had been his parting gesture of affection.”

[This is the full article, but the free PDF is also available here.]

Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Rectal oven mitt
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Rectal salami
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: So THAT’s where that condom went…

The post Friday Flashback: My love for you has many layers, like the onion…that I left inside you. appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

Fig. 1.
Coital model at SSL Cambridge Technical Centre.

It’s probably not surprising that condoms are put through rigorous testing by their manufacturers. And it probably makes sense that the machines used would look…realistic. Here, the makers of Durex condoms report the results of this testing, along with evaluations of returned broken condoms (eww!), over a period of 7 years. They found that most of the breakage that was not due to misuse was due to “blunt puncture,” where “the tip of the thrusting male penis progressively stretches one part of the intact condom wall until it ultimately breaks.” They are careful to note that this is not a manufacturing defect, but simply due to “the circumstances that arise during an individual act of intercourse.” 

Male condoms that break in use do so mostly by a “blunt puncture” mechanism.

“BACKGROUND:
Published condom breakage studies typically report the percentage of failures but rarely provide any evidence on the mechanism of failure.
METHODS:
Over a period of 7 years, broken condoms returned to a supplier (SSL, Durex) via consumer complaints were examined to determine the cause of failure. Also, some consumers who reported breakage but did not return condoms were sent a questionnaire on the causes of breakage. Finally, theories proposed for the mechanism of breakage were investigated on a laboratory coital model.
RESULTS:
Nearly 1000 (n=972) returned condoms made from natural rubber and polyurethane were examined. Visible features on those that were broken, were classified. Evidence combined from examining returns, questionnaire responses and the coital model strongly suggests a single predominant mechanism of failure we named “blunt puncture,” where the tip of the thrusting male penis progressively stretches one part of the intact condom wall until it ultimately breaks.
CONCLUSIONS:
Blunt puncture appears to be the mechanism of breakage responsible for more than 90% of condom breakage not attributable to misuse. Knowledge of the main mechanism of breakage should help develop better user instructions, better test methods and, ultimately, better condoms.”

Related content:
Friday Flashback: Accidental condom inhalation.
NCBI ROFL: Does semen have antidepressant properties?
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2011/02/25/ncbi-rofl-and-the-grossest-study-award-goes-to/

The post Flashback Friday: Ever wonder how they test condoms? Behold the “laboratory coital model.” appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

Since we’re already seeing holiday decorations go up in our favorite stores, we better get some holiday hairstyle ideas up on your faaavorite beauty website! Not sure about you guys but I often find myself working until the very last second, then rushing home, then rushing out with a bottle of bubbly in one hand and red lipstick in the other. With so many fancy festivities toward the end of the year, it’s always a good idea to have some 10 minute hairstyles on tap. This one is definitely a TBD favorite. The style is similar to my signature “Fun Bun” tutorial you might remember from a couple years ago. The main difference is, you can tease this one to make it as voluminous as you’d like. This updo reminds me of one of those super-famous//super-massive//super-chic SJP buns! Alright… here’s how you take your hair from a work bun to a party bun…

You will need: a comb, bobby pins (large + small), a small clear elastic, travel sized hairspray that fits in your purse if you plan on doing this after work without going home.

1. Take your original topknot down letting it fall into a pony, and then smooth any flyaways with hairspray and the fine side of your comb.
2. Tease small sections using your favorite teasing comb or teasing brush.
3. Keep going until you’ve teased the entire ponytail.
4. Smooth over the front-facing side lightly (not too much) using your comb and then add a small clear ponytail holder about 3-4 inches from the ends as you see in the photo.
5. Once you’ve secured the small clear ponytail holder, gently roll all of the hair under. Roll it under until the clear ponytail holder meets the big ponytail holder.
6. Now pin the clear ponytail holder next to your big ponytail holder.
7. Thread the tail end of the ponytail thru the front as you see in photo 7.
8. Lightly tease the end of the ponytail.
9. Now add the tail up and into your bun hairspraying as you go. The reason for this step is this piece will keep your bun from looking like some kind of pastry! The little piece you’re adding in there diffuses the shape of the bun.
10. Secure the edges of the bun with some hair pins.
11. Give the bun one final spray all over.
12. Wait just a couple seconds and then press the bun down like you see in photo 12. Do that a couple times. It gives the bun a little more texture. (Make sure you don’t get any rings caught in it!)

There it is! The big ol’ party bun. Hope you wear it with your favorite sparkly get up this holiday season. Last week we saw so many of your gorgeous Rodarte-inspired braids! If you try this updo, don’t forget to tag us in your instagram @thebeautydept! Can’t wait to see what you accessorize with!

faceplantmay:

today-isawindingroad:

mvtk42:

monkeysaysficus:

hey, whatcha doing? are these the internets? can I internet too?

This seems familiar…

THIS

GUY’S

FREAKING

DOG

IS

RUINING

MY

LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEE

But so is the dude, he’s pretty smokin

ancientrelic:

kataraa:

digitalfisticuffs:

As ideias básicas por trás do conceito de vida adulta, ao menos a vida adulta como venderam pra gente, são basicamente três: autonomia, estabilidade e maturidade.

Autonomia porque resolvemos nossas coisas sozinhos. Pagamos nossas contas sozinhos, moramos sozinhos, trabalhamos sozinhos, decidimos sozinhos. Mas trabalhamos em equipes, temos que consultar um chefe, arrumamos namoradas, passamos finais de semana na casa dos pais. Pedimos opinião dos amigos, consultamos resenhas na internet, temos happy hours com galera, nos sentimos sozinhos, trocamos piadas horríveis em grupos do whatsapp. Mandamos mensagens longas demais quando bebemos, vemos filmes que nos fazem lembrar de pessoas, queremos dividir com os outros aquela música. Escrevemos pra alcançar pessoas, viajamos pra encontrar pessoas, dormimos encostados em pessoas. Sentimos falta de outras pessoas de manhã.

Estabilidade porque temos coisas certas, coisas organizadas, coisas estáveis. Temos um namoro firme, um emprego estável, uma vida organizada. Mas ela pode descobrir que gosta de outro cara, vocês podem se cansar de estar juntos, você pode se apaixonar pela voz da secretária eletrônica como no trailer de um filme. Você pode ser demitido, a empresa pode passar por uma fusão, existe o downsizing, existe o saco cheio, existe a vontade de largar essa merda toda que bate todo dia ali pelo meio da tarde, quando você lembra que seu sonho era fazer um musical de terror sobre fantoches. Existe a crise econômica, a crise dos trinta, a crise de meia idade, a crise existencial, existe o el niño. Existe a gravidez fora dos planos, existem os pais que se separam, existe o irmão que viaja, existe a proposta inesperada, existe a chance de ir pra muito longe ganhar muito menos fazendo algo que você goste muito mais.

Maturidade porque se espera que ao crescer a gente, bem, a gente cresça. Decisões sérias, escolhas ponderadas, atitudes adultas. Mas enchemos a casa de memorabília, gastamos com férias o dinheiro da casa, compramos o carro que é mais bonito, escolhemos destinos de viagem baseados num filme das gêmeas Olsen que vimos na sessão da tarde mas não admitimos isso em público e dizemos que é por causa dos restaurantes. Batemos boca no trabalho por causa de besteira, discutimos no trânsito por causa de besteira, terminamos relacionamentos por causa de besteira, dizemos que os outros só se preocupam com besteira. Reclamamos dos outros na internet, usamos a página de comentários, mentimos pro cara do censo, compramos coisas do polishop porque agora temos dinheiro pra isso. Temos sabres de luz do ladoda vodka nas prateleiras da sala.

Então acho que, sendo a vida adulta mais um conceito vago do que uma meta, sendo o amadurecimento mais um processo sem fim do que um estado alcançável, sendo a casa dos 30 mais um marco simbólico e uma autorização implícita pra reclamar de dores nas costas sempre que conveniente do que algum deadline social onde se torna inaceitável atender o próprio telefone fixo se passando por outra pessoa pra não resolver um assunto, nós, como um todo, não estamos nos saindo tão mal assim.

Photo: flickr/letmehearyousaydeskomdeskom

There are some medical case studies that are so fantastical that it’s pretty hard to believe that they aren’t urban legends. Our favorite example is the Conception by Oral Sex, but this is a really close second.

Accidental condom inhalation.

“A 27-year-old lady presented with persistent cough, sputum and fever for the preceding six months. In spite of trials with antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis treatment for the preceeding four months, her symptoms did not improve. A subsequent chest radiograph showed non-homogeneous collapse-consolidation of right upper lobe. Videobronchoscopy revealed an inverted bag like structure in right upper lobe bronchus and rigid bronchoscopic removal with biopsy forceps confirmed the presence of a condom. Detailed retrospective history also confirmed accidental inhalation of the condom during fellatio.”

Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Accidental anal intercourse: does it really happen?
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Double feature: Personalities of punks and perils of their pointy parkas.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Oh, the irony!

WTF is NCBI ROFL? Read our FAQ!

The post Friday Flashback: Accidental condom inhalation. appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

Photo: flickr/Flavio~

We don’t usually post pre-prints, but we couldn’t resist this one. A group of physicists from Georgia Tech went to Zoo Atlanta to watch animals urinating. To their surprise, they discovered that regardless of size, most mammals urinate for about the same amount of time (21 seconds), despite large differences in bladder volume, a phenomenon they term the “Law of Urination”. They explain this law using physics, and illustrate their explanation with an amazing video (below) that is absolutely a must-see. 

Law of Urination: all mammals empty their bladders over the same duration

“The urinary system evolved to eject fluids from the body quickly and efficiently. Despite a long history of successful urology treatments in humans and animals, the physics of urination has received comparatively little attention. In this combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we elucidate the hydrodynamics of urination across five orders of magnitude in animal mass, from mice to elephants. Using high-speed fluid dynamics videos and flow-rate measurement at Zoo Atlanta, we discover the “Law of Urination”, which states animals empty their bladders over nearly constant duration of average 21 seconds (standard deviation 13 seconds), despite a difference in bladder volume from 100 mL to 100 L. This feat is made possible by the increasing urethra length of large animals which amplifies gravitational force and flow rate. We also demonstrate the challenges faced by the urinary system for rodents and other small mammals for which urine flow is limited to single drops. Our findings reveal the urethra evolved as a flow-enhancing device, enabling the urinary system to be scaled up without compromising its function. This study may help in the diagnosis of urinary problems in animals and in inspiring the design of scalable hydrodynamic systems based on those in nature.”

Bonus video from arxiv:

Related content:
NCBI ROFL: What’s happening in your brain while you pee?
NCBI ROFL: How do alligator erections work?
NCBI ROFL: Whale ménage à trois: now with 1,000-kg testes!

The post Regardless of bladder size, all mammals pee for approximately 21 seconds (with video goodness). appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

A sort of alternate ending for this one.

oh-deir:

ACTUAL MESSAGE OF (500) DAYS OF SUMMER THAT NO ONE ACTUALLY REALIZES

revirando as coisas aqui achei essas páginas antigas que fiz pra MAD

Photo: flickr/Kevin Cortopassi

Are humans that different from gas particles? Not according to these physicists. They carefully studied online videos of mosh pits at heavy metal concerts, measured the motions of each participant, and then determined how well their data fit simplified models of particle physics. Amazingly, the best fit for mosh pits was to the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, which “describes particle speeds in gases, where the particles move freely without interacting with one another, except for very brief elastic collisions in which they may exchange momentum and kinetic energy, but do not change their respective states of intramolecular excitation” Sounds like a mosh pit to me!

Collective Motion of Humans in Mosh and Circle Pits at Heavy Metal Concerts

“Human collective behavior can vary from calm to panicked depending on social context. Using videos publicly available online, we study the highly energized collective motion of attendees at heavy metal concerts. We find these extreme social gatherings generate similarly extreme behaviors: a disordered gaslike state called a mosh pit and an ordered vortexlike state called a circle pit. Both phenomena are reproduced in flocking simulations demonstrating that human collective behavior is consistent with the predictions of simplified models.”

Bonus figure from the main text:

FIG. 2 (color online). (a) Single video frame illustrating a characteristic mosh pit [8]. (b) The same video image with overlaid velocity field. To facilitate comparisons with (a), this image is not corrected for perspective distortions. Inset shows the measured velocity-velocity correlation cvv (solid black circles) as a function of distance r, as well as the best fit to a pure exponential (black line, R2 1⁄4 0:97). (c) The measured PDF for speed from the same video (solid black circles), the best fit to a 2D Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution (black line), and the speed distribution found in simulations (yellow squares). Inset shows the best-fit temperature as a function of time illustrating that an initially ‘‘hot’’ mosh pit ‘‘cools down.’’ Error estimates are in red for all plots.

Thanks to Thomas for the tip!

Related content:
NCBI ROFL: Head and neck injury risks in heavy metal: head bangers stuck between rock and a hard bass.
NCBI ROFL: The physics of penguin huddling.
NCBI ROFL: The fluid mechanics of coffee rings.

The post On the physics of mosh pits. appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

Photo: flickr/tristanf

(It’s Red Hot Science Week here at Seriously, Science? All week long we will be featuring science that focuses on the color red.)

If you’re wondering whether scientists have a sense of humor, look no further. This Norwegian ecologist decided to diagnose Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, concluding that the famous reindeer was suffering from a parasitic infection of his respiratory system (LOL!)  Maybe that’s why the other reindeer never let him join in their games?

Epidemiology of reindeer parasites.

“Every Christmas we sing about Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer, but do we give much thought to why his nose is red? The general consensus is that Rudolf has caught a cold, but as far as I know no proper diagnosis has been made of his abnormal condition. I think that, rather than having a cold, Rudolf is suffering from a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. To some this may seem a bit far-fetched as one would not expect an animal living with Santa Claus at the North Pole to be plagued by parasites, but I shall show otherwise.”

Related content:
NCBI ROFL: Is that a subcutaneous larva or a hair?
NCBI ROFL: Want to cure your malaria? Get wasted!
NCBI ROFL: The fecal odor of sick hedgehogs mediates olfactory attraction of the tick Ixodes hexagonus.

The post Flashback Friday: The real reason Rudolph’s nose was red. appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

Photo: flickr/Tiago Celestino

It’s well known that men have higher rates of heart disease than women. But is there a difference between “girlier” and “manlier” men when it comes to heart disease death rates? This study surveyed over 1500 men and women to determine whether femininity vs. masculinity was associated with risk of death from coronary heart disease. They found that men identified as “feminine” or “expressive” had a lower risk of death from heart disease than those who had a more stereotypically masculine self-image, suggesting that differences in heart disease death rates between men and women might not solely be physiological. Maybe the stereotypically masculine men are just too stubborn to go to the doctor?

Decreased risk of death from coronary heart disease amongst men with higher ‘femininity’ scores: a general population cohort study.

“CONTEXT:
At all ages men have higher rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) than women, although similar proportions of men and women eventually die of CHD. Gender differences in CHD incidence and mortality are often explained in relation to biological (hormonal) and behavioural risk factors (e.g. smoking), but psychological factors and broader social constructions of gender are rarely considered.
OBJECTIVE:
To examine the relationship between measures of gender role orientation at baseline in 1988 and mortality from CHD over 17 years (to June 2005).
DESIGN:
Prospective cohort study linked to national mortality reporting.
SETTING:
Socially varied, mainly urban area centred on city of Glasgow in West Central Scotland, UK.
PARTICIPANTS:
In total, 1551 participants (704 men and 847 women) aged 55 years took part in detailed interviews with nurses trained in survey methods in 1988. These included a wide range of measures of physical development and functioning, self reported health and health behaviour, personal and social circumstances and a measure of gender role orientation (yielding scores for ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Mortality from CHD up to June 2005 (88 CHD deaths in men; 41 CHD deaths in women).
RESULTS:
After adjusting for smoking, binge drinking, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, household income and psychological well-being, higher ‘femininity’ scores in men were associated with a lower risk of CHD death (hazards ratio per unit increase in ‘femininity’ score 0.65, 95% CIs 0.48-0.87, P = 0.004). No such relationship was observed amongst women. ‘Masculinity’ scores were unrelated to CHD mortality in either men or women.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that social constructions of gender influence the risk of ill health, here death from CHD. Men who are less able to identify themselves with characteristics identified as ‘feminine’ or expressive (who have a more limited stereotypically masculine self-image) may be at increased risk of coronary disease. Further research on the link between social constructions of gender and health is needed.”

Related content:
NCBI ROFL: Smiling faces rated more feminine than serious faces in Japan.
NCBI ROFL: The scent of a woman.
NCBI ROFL: Impressions of people with gender-ambiguous male or female first names.

The post More “feminine” men are less likely to die from heart disease. appeared first on Seriously, Science?.

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chachixo:

lmao omg I think I injured myself laughing. 

O xkcd publicou recentemente uma tirinha linda sobre uma certa orquídea:

(q1: “Existem orquídeas cujas flores se parecem com abelhas fêmeas. Quando abelhas machos tentam copular com elas, elas tarnsferem pólen.”

q2: “Esta orquídea, Ophrys apifera, faz flores mas nenhuma abelha pousa nelas porque a abelha que ela mimetiza se exinguiu muito tempo atrás.”

q3: “Sem seu parceiro, a orquídea apelou para a auto-polinização, uma estratégia genética desesperada que só retarda o inevitável. Nada sobrou da abelha, mas sabemos que ela existiu pela forma da flor.”

 q4:”Esta é uma interpretação da lanta de como uma abelha fêmea é vista pela abelha macho” “Uau! Então…”

q5: “… a única memória da abelha é uma pintura feita por uma flor moribunda.”

q8: “Eu me lembrarei da su abelha, orquídea. Eu me lembrarei de você.”)

Muitas orquídeas possuem flores que imitam uma abelha fêmea a fim de atrair abelha machos para que elas transportem pólen de uma flor a outra. Outras espécies do gênero são polinizadas por abelhas que existem ainda hoje e esta é a única delas que tem auto-polinização. Algumas pessoas criticaram o autor da tirinha por utilizar uma linguagem poética que não é tão precisa quanto a linguagem científica. Eu discordo. Acho que ele conseguiu destilar muito bem o fenômeno científico na tirinha e ainda conseguiu colocar uma mensagem agridoce sobre a vida, o universo e tudo mais.

Um brinde à evolução!

Fontes: xkcd e wikimedia

Hipsters aside, most of the straight women I’ve talked to have stated a strong preference for clean-shaven men, which makes the research presented in this paper a bit of surprise. When shown pictures of the same men with differing facial hair lengths, both men and women expressed a preference for full beards and heavy stubble, respectively. But pictures are one thing, and beard burn is another. We demand a followup study that requires the participants to actually kiss those hairy faces!

The role of facial hair in women’s perceptions of men’s attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities.

“Facial hair strongly influences people’s judgments of men’s socio-sexual attributes. However, the nature of these judgments is often contradictory. The levels of intermediate facial hair growth presented to raters and the stage of female raters’ menstrual cycles might have influenced past findings. We quantified men’s and women’s judgments of attractiveness, health, masculinity and parenting abilities for photographs of men who were clean-shaven, lightly or heavily stubbled and fully bearded. We also tested the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use on women’s ratings. Women judged faces with heavy stubble as most attractive and heavy beards, light stubble and clean-shaven faces as similarly less attractive. In contrast, men rated full beards and heavy stubble as most attractive, followed closely by clean-shaven and light stubble as least attractive. Men and women rated full beards highest for parenting ability and healthiness. Masculinity ratings increased linearly as facial hair increased, and this effect was more pronounced in women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle, although attractiveness ratings did not differ according to fertility. Our findings confirm that beardedness affects judgments of male socio-sexual attributes and suggest that an intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive while full-bearded men may be perceived as better fathers who could protect and invest in offspring.”

Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: If you want to get hired, better shave that beard.
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Innocent until proven bearded.TLE
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Frequency of pubic hair transfer during sexual intercourse.

The post Facial hair scientifically proven sexy. appeared first on Seriously, Science?.