Beyond Beyond the Fringe category archive

This is weirdly disturbing and disturbingly weird. SeattlePI reports:

New research in biomechanics suggests that young people are developing hornlike spikes at the back of their skulls – bone spurs caused by the forward tilt of the head, which shifts weight from the spine to the muscles at the back of the head, causing bone growth in the connecting tendons and ligaments. The weight transfer that causes the buildup can be compared to the way the skin thickens into a callus as a response to pressure or abrasion.

The result is a hook or hornlike feature jutting out from the skull, just above the neck.

X-rays at the link.

You can’t make this stuff up.

“I got people.”

Afterthought:

Sometimes, when I walk into a restaurant and see four persons all seated at a table with their heads buried in their phones, I can’t help but wonder, “Why the hell did they bother going out together?”

They’ve never seen a flower before.

Furrfu.

(I found the missing link!)

Steve Albrecht remembers his time in the air.

Aside:

After 30 years as a road warrior in jobs that required lots of travel, I hope never to step on an airplane again, especially as the airlines seem committed to making cattle cars seem attractive by comparison. I must, however, say that none of my flights was as eventful as the ones he relates. The worst things that happened to me were nearly getting bumped in St. Louis (when the ticket agent saw my expression, he silently changed his mind) and a missed connection in Phoenix (my American Express travel agent had me reaccommodated in one phone call).

You can’t make this stuff up.

Oh, my.

Lay off those double vodka-and-tonics.

A Colorado man is facing federal charges after allegedly groping a female airline passenger and then urinating on the seat in front of him, according to an FBI affidavit.

Words fail me.

Michael Wiegold tries to figure out why persons are fascinated by selfies, both their own and those of others. A nugget:

One explanation for why people are so drawn to looking at selfies could be a psychological framework called social comparison theory.

The theory’s originator, Leon Festinger, proposed that people have an innate drive to evaluate themselves in comparison with others. This is done to improve how we feel about ourselves (self-enhancement), evaluate ourselves (self-evaluation), prove we really are the way we think we are (self-verification) and become better than we are (self-improvement).

It’s a list that suggests a range of motives that appear quite positive. But reality, unfortunately, is not so upbeat. Those most likely to post selfies appear to have lower self-esteem than those who don’t.

In sum, selfies draw attention, which seems like a good thing. But so do car accidents.

Follow the link for the complete article.

Quite the carnival on Carnival . . . .

The trouble started after the Carnival Legend, which can carry more than 2,000 people, set sail from Melbourne to New Caledonia last week – though there are disputes of exactly when and why it all began. . . .

Others, however, said a single family of about two dozen people seemed intent on provoking conflicts – spitting in the pool, screaming in the smoking area and fighting with passengers and staff over any provocation.

“They were looking for trouble from the minute they got on the ship,” Kellie Peterson told 3AW. “Anyone and everything. They even picked on a 16-year-old boy because they thought he looked at them.”

Spam thefts are breaking out all over Hawaii.

These Spam snatchers are not hungry people desperate for Spam, said Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. They are most likely part of a Spam black market that’s taking off in a state where the demand for Spam knows no bounds.