ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont man has escaped jury duty — by getting dismissed for wearing a prisoner costume.
James Lowe of Barnet says he was released from jury duty on Tuesday when he showed up to court wearing a black-and-white-striped jumpsuit with a matching beanie.
The Caledonian Record (http://bit.ly/1QKMx6S ) reports that Lowe showed up on time and joined other prospective jurors before the start of the selection process. Deputies directed him to an empty courtroom to meet with the judge, who told him to leave.
Lowe says the judge told him he could’ve been found in contempt of court. That could’ve meant a fine or jail time.
Lowe says the juror instructions don’t restrict clothing, but that he’s happy to be released because of his work schedule and family obligations.
]]>He needs the wood cut stat. So there is no time to get a wood stand…
Ummmm, this person doesn’t deserves to use electricity again. Back to the 1400s buddy…
I said six hunnit fiddy dollars.
Where do I even begin? Never mind…
]]>The Aka pygmies of Africa’s Congo basin are known to smoke a lot of pot, and a new study suggests there may be a big benefit to all that toking, at least for the men: those who smoked the most marijuana were significantly less likely to be heavily infected with parasitic worms.
Taste for drugs. The researchers behind the study believe the finding helps explain why humans have a taste for all sorts of drugs. Previous research conducted by the team found that Aka who smoked more tobacco also had fewer parasites.
“The gist is that most popular drugs, including nicotine, THC [tetrahydrocannabinol, pot’s main psychoactive component], cocaine, caffeine, and opium, are plant neurotoxins that evolved to deter, not reward, plant consumption. So why do humans everywhere enthusiastically consume such plant neurotoxins?” Dr. Edward Hagen, an anthropologist at Washington State University in Vancouver, told The Huffington Post in an email. “Non-human animals often consume plant toxins to kill their own parasites, and we thought maybe humans might be doing the same thing.”
For the study, Hagen and his colleagues surveyed more than 370 men and women living along the Lobaye River in the Central African Republic. They found that 70 percent of the men reported smoking marijuana. Only 6 percent of women did — which the researchers attribute to the fact that in the absence of modern birth control, most women between the ages of 18 and 40 are pregnant or nursing.
Urine samples taken from the men confirmed that 68 percent of them had smoked recently.
Worm burden. When the researchers took stool samples from the men to assess their “worm burden,” they found that 95 percent of them were infected with parasites. High concentrations of THCA — a byproduct of THC in the urine — were associated with a low number of worms.
Still, it’s not entirely clear that pot is what kept the heavy smokers’ parasites in check. Previous studies showed that marijuana does kill worms in petri dishes, but according to Hagen that doesn’t necessarily mean pot has the same effect in humans.
“We have one study in one population,” he said in the email. “Many more studies are needed to confirm that cannabis actually does reduce worm infections in a live human being.”
Closer look at the link. The researchers are calling for more research into the link between THC and the immune system.
The study was published online on May 29, 2015 in the American Journal of Human Biology.
]]>Sex is a beautiful thing. It can also be difficult, terrifying or painful for some. Here are 10 such disorders that ruin sex for the people who have them.
10. Priapism
You know how at the tail end of Viagra commercials, after the previously limp man is happy and suggestively smiling with a woman, doing activities that aren’t sex related at all, that voice comes on and quickly states some side effects along with the phrase “if you have an erection that lasts more than 4 hours, seek help?” Well, that’s referring to priapism, a disorder that occurs when blood flows into the penis, but not out. It’s considered a medical emergency, and can lead to erectile disfunction, a disfigured penis and, in extreme cases, gangrene of the penis. We all know how gangrene is treated, right?
9. NREM Arousal Parasomnia
That’s a fancy way of saying “sleep sex.” People who suffer from sexsomnia engage in sexual activity while in the depths of REM sleep. It’s terrifying on many fronts, especially considering the dubiousness of consent in that situation: both yours and that of your potential partner. Sexsomnia sufferers have been convicted of sexual assault, though sometimes their condition has also worked as a legal defense.
8. Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder
Also known as PGAD, Weiss Disease or restless genital syndrome, persistent genital arousal disorder may sound fun for women, but it’s actually a horribly inconvenient and damaging disorder. It was just recently identified in 2001, so not much is known about what causes it. It’s most commonly found in people who have undergone hormone-therapy and menopausal women. A brief reprieve can be achieved through orgasm, but those genitals can become restless again as quickly as a few minutes.
]]>Cooking a meal is/was more like microwaving Cup Noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
When your roommate’s parents visit you try to act interested in meeting them, but you really just want them to buy you lunch.
Getting fast food when you can finally afford McDonald’s, you take advantage and stock up on extra napkins and ketchup packets for later.
Buying alcohol you buy the $9 whiskey that tastes like dirt, but you will drink every bit of it. That is, if you are 21, of course.
]]>A Houston man is suing the cemetery where his wife was buried eight years ago after the woman’s casket rose up out of the ground during recent floods that wreaked havoc in Texas.
High waters caused a coffin containing the remains of Carolyn Joyce Fobbs-Lee to rise to the surface last week at Riceville Cemetery in southwest Houston. The coffin traveled 150 feet and ended up on a concrete hiking trail along the bayou, KHOU reports.
Richard Lee, the deceased woman’s husband, said the cemetery told him he’d have to pay a discounted burial fee before the casket could be placed back underground.
Lee, 65, and his wife were married for 37 years before she died of lung disease in 2007 at the age of 57.
He said the tragedy never should have happened because his wife was interred in a sealed concrete vault, according to Newser.
Lee’s lawyer, Annie McAdams, said her client paid more than $11,000 for the vault, which should have held up against flood waters.
“Clearly something went wrong here,” McAdams told the Houston Chronicle. “Bodies are not supposed to come up.”
McAdams told the paper an expert she hired to examine the vault said it had been inadequately sealed and lacked the proper holes which would let water pass in and out in a flood.
Lee filed the lawsuit after getting little help from the cemetery or its owner, Riceville Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
Neither the cemetery nor the church have responded to Lee’s allegations, and didn’t immediately return calls for comment from The Huffington Post.
Though a rival business, George Lewis Funeral Homes, has offered to rebury Lee’s wife at no cost, McAdams says her client still wants his wife to be re-buried at Riceville Cemetery.
“That’s their home church, they were married there. They were parishioners for over 30 years,” McAdams told Click2Houston.com. “When Mr. Lee talks about the church, that’s his family, that’s his home and he wants to be buried next to her.”
]]>SELENA GOMEZ
For her 21st birthday, Selena Gomez enjoyed dinner with friends at Bagatelle restaurant. However, they surprised her with a special birthday cake made from her favorite fast food, Jack In The Box tacos. Following her taco binge, the group of friends headed to Beacher’s Madhouse to enjoy VIP seats for the “Busty Heart Show.”
Jessie JJESSIE
UK singer and songwriter Jessie J, cannot seem to get enough burgers from In-N-Out Burger. She often posts to her Facebook page and sends out Tweets mentioning her frequent stops to In-N-Out Burger for lunch, dinner, and even a late snack before heading to bed.
Kevin Levrone
Mustafa Mohammad
Paul Dillet
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