Man now regrets potato-only diet.

Submitted by our Coozer-Phile superstar, Jenny C. From Eater:

Chris Voigt, Executive Director of the Washington State Potatoes Commission, has vowed to eat 20 plain potatoes for 60 days in an attempt "to remind the public about the nutritional value of potatoes."

Make no mistake: This is a Grade-A stunt, but Voigt had no idea what he'd gotten himself into. He started October 1st; he's almost over the hump. Only 33 more days to go!

His original promise was to eat only plain potatoes. "No toppings, no chili, no sour cream, no cheese, no gravy, just potatoes and maybe some seasonings or herbs and a little oil for some of the cooking," he wrote on his website.

But Voigt's blog reveals an increasingly broken and desperate man. See the posts (no permalinks, ugh) in which he frets about things like having to eat four pounds of potatoes before going to bed. Who worries about such things? But worst of all, he even — gasp! — started cheating and used toppings like Taco Bell hot sauce and balsamic vinegar.

His stunt makes us worried. Very worried. >>>

His stunt makes us concerned for his health: At a Thai restaurant to celebrate his son's ninth birthday, there were no potatoes. So he was left to eat a 1/2 oz bag of potato chips. They were expired. He ate them anyway.

His stunt makes us grossed out: One day's meal was composed of three small bags of chips for breakfast, one baked potato for lunch, and an order of french fries at McDonald's for dinner.

His stunt has resulted in even more gross stunts: His wife made him potato ice cream by blending riced potatoes and ice and putting it in freezer. Topped with an ersatz chocolate sauce composed of a 1/2 cup cocoa powder, a 1/2 cup artificial sweetener, and water. What love will do!

His stunt makes us worried. Very worried: He told the Tri-City Herald about Tuesday. Tuesday was a bad day. Voigt really wanted a pickle. What does a man, who commits to eating only 20 potatoes a day for 60 days, do when he wants a pickle? Does he say, "Screw this stunt!" and just eat a pickle? No. He does not. He soaked a potato in pickle juice. And then he ate the potato.

We pray for you, Chris Voigt. We pray for you.

Coozer-Bits.

ZombieWatch: 10 uses for your body after you die.

ZombieWatch: Spirit of the dead alive and well in Haiti.

Science: Hints of lightweight dark matter particle found in space.

Misc: Stewart/Colbert rally schedule revealed.

Awesome: Time traveler talking on cell phone caught in 1920s Charlie Chaplin film.

Man arrested with 2,060 diamonds in stomach.

Talk about dirty diamonds... From Time:

Using laxatives and plenty of bananas, police in India have recovered 2,060 diamonds and precious stones from the stomach of an alleged jewel smuggler from Sri Lanka.

According to the Times of India, a "reliable informant" phoned authorities in the Indian city of Chennai in the early hours of Oct. 26 and said the suspect would arrive on an Air India flight later that morning. "That was the only information available and no other clue, but we zeroed in on him as soon as he came out of the airport and tried to board a taxi,'' Chennai suburban police commissioner S R Jangid said.

Police searched the man's two pieces of luggage to no avail, and grew suspicious as he struggled to sit still during questioning. The Sri Lankan blamed his discomfort on hemorrhoids. But the Indian super-sleuths couldn't be fooled. "The police," the paper reports, "took him to Chromepet Government Hospital. When doctors examined him, they found the stones lodged in his gut."

The man later admitted to acting as a human courier on three previous occasions, and he claimed to have received $225 each time. In this instance, he had placed the jewels into 42 condoms and swallowed them two and a half hours before his flight.

After police fed him laxatives, it took him six hours to eject the stones, estimated to be worth between $337,000 and $674,000. If only passing a stone were always so lucrative. . .

Dead: Paul the Octopus.

From BBC News:

Paul the octopus, an unlikely star of the 2010 World Cup who predicted the outcome of eight matches, has died at an aquarium in Germany.

Staff at the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen said they were devastated to learn that he had passed away during the night.

Paul made his name by successfully choosing a mussel from one of two boxes bearing the flags of competing nations.

Octopuses rarely live beyond two years so his death was not unexpected.

Paul was two-and-a-half years old and had been hatched at another centre at Weymouth in England in 2008.

The centre's manager, Stefan Porwoll, said that Paul had correctly guessed the outcomes of seven of Germany's World Cup matches, including their defeats, and had "enthused people across every continent".

As the tournament progressed, the octopus's uncanny knack of selecting the correct box drew increasing interest from the world's media, culminating in his choice of Spain as the eventual winner.

He became an instant hero in Spain, prompting a request to have him put on display at Madrid zoo.

Amid the euphoria, he was even made an honorary citizen of a Spanish town before being made an ambassador for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

The Oberhausen centre said he had seemed fine when last checked on Monday night but was found dead on Tuesday morning.

"We are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life," Mr Porwoll said.

Zombies invade NYC during morning rush hour.

From Yahoo! News:

NEW YORK – As if the morning commute wasn't odd enough, intrepid New Yorkers trying to make their way to work on Tuesday had to battle past hordes of the walking dead. Two dozen zombies, their clothes spattered with fake blood, were staggering up and down the block outside Madison Square Garden. Downtown, others shuffled across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Some pedestrians looked startled or amused by the ghost-white actors with bruised-looking eyes. Some people ignored them entirely. Others whipped out their cell phone cameras.

Horror movie fan Linda Emery was thrilled to see the creatures.

"I'm into zombies, anything with zombies," said the 58-year-old home care provider from Brooklyn. It made a change from her usual commute.

"You see a lot of stuff, but not this stuff," she said.

Erik Machado, an audio engineer heading to work in New Jersey, was unfazed and passed by the scene with nary a glance at the nightmares walking around.

"Gotta commute, gotta go where I gotta go," the Queens resident said.

The stunt was part of a campaign in 26 cities worldwide promoting the Halloween premiere of the AMC television series "The Walking Dead." The show is being broadcast outside of the United States on Fox International Channels.

At one point, about 15 zombies crawled on the roof, hood and trunk of a parked, off-duty taxi.

Taxi driver David Pollack managed to escape from the horde, scrambling out of the back seat, playing along with the drama of it all.

"I think I'm going to be walking over the George Washington Bridge and heading over to Jersey, hopefully they haven't gotten there yet," he said.

He added, "I'm a tough New Yorker, but I don't mess with zombies."

Iowa GOP platform calls for no activities on Wednesdays.

From Raw Story:

The Iowa Republican Party is seeking to establish a "no-activities night" every Wednesday in the state.

"We support the establishment of a no-activities night on Wednesdays," reads section 4:33 of its platform.

The unique declaration is sandwiched between clauses stating a commitment to allowing Bibles in schools and supporting the right to teach one's kids how to drive.

It's unclear what activities will be off limits on Wednesdays, seeing as how some activities are necessary for survival.

The penalties for engaging in activities on Wednesdays is not stated, nor does the Iowa GOP specify whether the unacceptable activities will involve being indoors or outdoors, or the methods by which they will be enforced.

US traveler to be caned for overstaying visa in Singapore.

From Gadling, submitted by JenK:

Tourist visas and their respective extensions are a matter of hot discussion among travelers in Southeast Asia. Many countries only issues visas for 30, 60 or 90 days, but the long term traveler often has reason to stay beyond. As a result, many simply cross the border into another country, stay for a bit and turn right around, earning another tourist visa on the inbound journey. Some even riskier folks choose to stay past their visa date and simply face any punishment that the state issues forth. Usually, that penalty is minor.

That is unless you're Kamari Charlton, a US citizen who recently overstayed his visa in Singapore and who has now been sentenced to three lashings with a cane. Mr. Charlton, who stayed nearly six months longer than his visa allowed, was in the small Asian city state while his wife was on a medical visa. On departure he was detained pending investigation of assorted fiscal adventures -- when it was then revealed that his visa was past due.

The plot further thickens with Mr. Charlton's claim that he was discriminated against in the ruling -- a similar case with an Asian relative was dismissed with a fine.

Needless to say, this serves as a pretty extreme reminder to mind your visa's due date when entering a country. The consequences could be stronger than you think.

Baby dies after hysterical people see the devil in Paris.

From the Daily Record:

A baby boy was killed when 12 people leapt off a second-floor balcony - to "get away from the Devil".

Eight people, including several children, were hurt, some seriously. Police are trying to get to the bottom of the bizarre tragedy.

Survivors of the mass plunge from a flat in a Paris suburb said the incident began in the early hours of the morning when a dad got out of bed naked to feed his crying baby.

They said the man's wife saw him moving around and started screaming that she had seen the Devil.

The man was then stabbed in the hand by his wife's sister and thrown out through the door of the flat.

But when he tried to get back in, the other people inside grabbed their children and jumped off the 20-foot balcony.

A spokeswoman for the local prosecutor's office said: "Panic erupted."

The family involved are of African origin, possibly from Angola. Police found no evidence of drug use or religious rituals at the flat.

One of the children, a four-month-old baby boy, died in hospital several hours after the incident.

Several of those hurt in the jump have multiple injuries.

Detectives are questioning the man who sparked the incident, and another male who jumped from the balcony with a two-year-old girl in his arms.

The prosecutor's office spokeswoman said: "A number of points remain to be cleared up."

Exposure to light at night may lead to weight gain.

From AOL Health, submitted by Coozer-Phile Jen C!

Exposure to light at night, when the body is programmed to shutdown or go into sleep mood, may lead to weight gain -- even if the person exposed to the light is not eating extra calories.

Ohio State University researchers recently discovered that mice exposed to light at night, particularly dim light, gained more weight than their counterparts who lived in a normal light/dark cycle even thought the mice exposed to light at night didn't eat more food.

"What was actually happening was that mice with light at night were shifting when they were eating," says Laura Fonken, lead study author and a doctoral student in Ohio State's neuroscience department. "They were eating during their rest phase."

So what does this mean for humans who stay up late watching TV or surfing the Internet?

"It's hard to predict," says Fonken, "but evidence suggests this may be true in humans, too."

She suspects there may be a link between humans' increased exposure to light at night and the increase in rates of obesity nationwide.

Celery kills 4.

From CNN:

Authorities have shut down a Texas food processing plant, saying it was contaminated by bacteria linked to the deaths of four people, state health officials said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Wednesday ordered Sangar Produce and Processing to immediately stop processing food and recall all products shipped from its San Antonio plant since January. This comes after state laboratory results showed Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause severe illness, in chopped celery at the plant.

Four people died after contracting listeriosis after consuming celery that had been processed at the Sangar plant, said Carrie Williams, a department spokeswoman. State health authorities came to this determination while investigating 10 cases in which people with serious underlying health problems contracted listeriosis over an 8-month period.

Six of those cases -- in Bexar, Travis and Hidalgo counties -- were linked to chopped celery processed at the SanGar plant, the state health services department said. Four of those people died, as did one other person who authorities believe got listeriosis from another source not connected with Sangar products.

20-year-old woman becomes police chief in ultra-violent Mexican city.

I don't believe in God, but God be with her all the same. From CNN:

Some headlines are hailing her as the bravest woman in Mexico. Marisol Valles Garcia, all of 20 years old, says she's just tired of everyone being afraid.

Valles Garcia, a criminology student, became the police chief this week of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent municipalities in the border state of Chihuahua. She was the only person who accepted the top job in a police force whose officers have been abducted and even killed.

"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia said Wednesday in an interview with CNN en Español. "It's like all human beings. There will always be fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility and security."

There's good reason for the fear. Just this past weekend, a 59-year-old local mayor, Rito Grado Serrano, and his 37-year-old son, Rogoberto Grado Villa, were killed in a house in which they they were hiding in nearby Ciudad Juarez. Another area mayor was killed in June.

Juarez is the bloodiest city in Mexico, with a reported 2,500 people killed in drug violence this year. Praxedis G. Guerrero is located about 35 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez. Both are in the state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas.

Nationwide, the federal government says, more than 28,000 people have lost their lives since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels after taking office in December 2006.

Valles Garcia sees a non-violent role for her 13-member force, which will be mostly female and unarmed.

"The weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention," she told CNN en Español. "Our work will be pure prevention. We are not going to be doing anything else other than prevention."

Valles Garcia said she aims to establish programs in neighborhoods and schools, to win back security in public spaces and to foster greater cooperation among neighbors so they can form watch committees.

She has recruited three other women to join the force in the small municipality of 8,500 people, the government-run Notimex news agency said this week.

Valles Garcia said Wednesday she gladly accepted when Mayor Jose Luis Guerrero offered her the job. The first couple of days have gone smoothly, she said.

Extreme drought ahead for US.

From LiveScience:

Extreme drought is likely in store in the coming decades for parts of the United States and the broader Western Hemisphere, scientists said today (Oct. 19), cautioning that we should expect dry conditions unlike anything seen in modern times.

The likely culprit: warming temperatures linked to climate change.

"We are facing the possibility of widespread drought in the coming decades, but this has yet to be fully recognized by both the public and the climate change research community," said National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist and study team member Aiguo Dai. "If the projections in this study come even close to being realized, the consequences for society worldwide will be enormous."

Droughts can be associated with significantly reduced precipitation, dry soils that fail to sustain crops, and reduced levels in reservoirs and other bodies of water that can imperil drinking supplies.

However, Dai cautioned that the findings are based on the best current projections of greenhouse gas emissions. What actually happens in coming decades will depend on many factors, including actual future emissions of greenhouse gases as well as natural climate cycles such as El Niño.

Coozer-Bits.

Awesome: Panda Pambassador is best job in the world.

Science: How the leopard got its spots.

D'oh: Campaign ad even gets opponent wrong.

Creepy: UK to record and store every email, phone call, and website visit.

Man awarded Bronze Star 66 years after daring rescue.

From the NY Daily News:

A New Yorker who orchestrated the largest air rescue of American soldiers behind enemy lines in history was honored 66 years after the heroic operation.

George Vujnovich, 95, a retired salesman from Queens, was bestowed the Bronze Star on Sunday for bringing home 512 downed airmen in 1944 from what was then Yugoslavia.

"I feel deeply satisfied," said Vujnovich, who was studying in Belgrade when the war broke out and was later tapped by the OSS, a predecessor of the CIA. "Not for myself, but for men who gave their lives to save these airmen."

Born in the U.S. to Serbian parents, he knew his way around the Nazi-occupied Balkans and was called on to help the U.S. rescue the airmen downed while bombing Hitler's oil fields in Romania.

A secret air strip was built inside a corn field to allow cargo planes to land and rescue the Americans, who were hidden by the local resistance.

"It was a genius plan," said Tony Orsini, 87, a B-24 navigator who was one of the rescued men. "It all took place without any casualties."

Orsini, of Iselin, N.J., who hid under a bed to avoid the Nazis, recalled "the gracious attitude of the Serbian people." And he joked about "all the rakija I drank," referring to the alcoholic beverage of choice in the area.

Yesterday he was at Vujnovich's side during the ceremony at the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava in Manhattan.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven Oluic, who prepared the medal submission, called what was dubbed the Halyard Mission "an incredible feat that will echo in the annals of American military."

Anthony Bourdain to pen graphic novel.

From the Food Section:

It's been reported that author and "No Reservations" host Anthony Bourdain is working on a graphic novel about food, but now Eater notes that Vertigo, the publisher of the upcoming book, has just publicly confirmed that a book is in the works.

Bourdain will write the graphic novel in collaboration with novelist Joel Rose, along with illustrations by artist Langdon Foss. Vertigo provides these additional details:

"GET JIRO! is a futuristic action thriller that takes America’s newfound obsession with exotic cuisine to a manic, violent extreme. It takes place in a world where food and the secrets of how to prepare it are the source of all power leading master chefs to fight over Jiro, a mysterious top-notch sushi chef with ideas of his own."

By the way, contrary to those earlier reports, the title is not Get Gyro! so if you were expecting lamb, tahini, and pita to figure into the plot, you might be sorely disappointed.

Cali mayor charged with purse snatching.

From CBS News:

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (CBS/AP) A prominent resident of San Gabriel, Calif. in suburban Los Angeles was early arrested Friday after he allegedly snatched a woman's purse and took her for a wild ride, clinging to his sport utility vehicle.

That prominent resident is the mayor.

San Gabriel police say Mayor Albert Y.M. Huang was booked in jail for investigation of felony assault, felony robbery and misdemeanor battery.

Police say the 35-year-old Huang was in a parking lot arguing with the woman about money, when he grabbed her purse and got into his SUV. Investigators say the woman was standing on the running board and reaching through the passenger window when Mayor Huang sped away, reaching speeds of 45 mph for more than a quarter-mile.

The woman's name and her relationship to the mayor weren't released.

Zombie Watch: Decomposing corpse wakes up.

From News.com.au:

An elderly woman police found "dead" on the bathroom floor of her Maryland home woke up several hours later as an employee from the State Anatomy Board went to collect her remains.

The woman, 89-year-old Ruth Shillinglaw Johnson, lay on the floor for three hours while officers notified her family, doctor and the medical examiner of her death, The Capital in Annapolis reported.

According to the police report, they noticed an odor "similar to a decomposition smell" in the house on October 1 after being called by a neighbour who had not seen the woman for a few days.

When they found Ms Johnson she was reportedly blue and not breathing. The officers did not check for a pulse because they believed she had been dead for a number of days.

Police learned from her son that Ms Johnson had made arrangements with the State Anatomy Board to donate her body for science - and it was when the board's employee came to collect her that she woke up.

Ms Johnson was taken to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center for medical treatment and was discharged on Wednesday.

Kung fu sisters challenge suitors to fighting tournament.

From Orange:

A pair of kung fu sisters have given traditional dating the chop - to hold a challenge tournament where only the survivors will get the chance to date them.

Marital arts experts Xiao Lin, 22, and little sister Yin, 21, are to stage a three day fighting festival in Foushan, south east China, where only the toughest suitors stand a chance of getting through.

First contestants must show off their archery skills, then they must carry a heavy weight over sharpened bamboo spears, and finally they have to defeat one of the sisters in full contact combat.

Only then will contestants earn the right to remove the girls' masks and propose to them.

"They can chose open hand or any weapon they wish but we won't be holding back. If they can't beat us they aren't worthy," explained Lin.

"We tried dating agencies but the men we met were all too weak. We could beat them easily," said Yin.

"So we went back to ancient ways called Bi Wu Zhao Qin - which was the way warrior princesses would find their men."

But so far, only a trickle of brave contestants has come forward.

"I'm a very good martial artist - but I think I'd want to see them with the masks off before I decided whether I wanted to fight for them," said one doubtful suitor.

Whooping cough still epidemic in California.

Parents, get your kids vaccinated for christ's sake. From ABC News:

The pertussis epidemic continues in California, which has seen 5,658 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases as of this week.

That is the most cases seen in the state since 1950, when there were 6,613, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The rate of illness -- 14.5 per 100,000 population -- is the highest since 1959 (16.1 per 100,000).

Of the cases with hospitalization information, 10 percent required admission. Three-quarters of hospitalizations occurred in infants younger than 6 months, and of those, three-quarters were Hispanic.

Nine babies have died, including eight younger than 2 months -- the age at which pertussis vaccination starts -- and one 2-month-old who had been born prematurely and who had received just one dose of the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccine (Tdap). Eight of the infants were Hispanic, which fits a trend of a disproportionate number of deaths among that ethnic group reaching back to 1998.

The first indication of an increase in pertussis cases in California was detected in April, and an epidemic was declared by CDPH director Dr. Mark Horton in June.

Since then, CDPH has been actively encouraging the public to get vaccinated. The agency expanded its recommendations for a booster dose -- typically administered around age 11 -- to comprise everyone 7 years and older who is not fully immunized, including adults of all ages. It specifically noted the importance of vaccination in women of reproductive age before, during, or immediately after pregnancy and in other people who have close contact with pregnant women or infants.

Mountain goat kills hiker.

It has begun. From ABC News:

A 63-year-old man has died in a Port Angeles hospital after an attack from what state rangers believe was an angry mountain goat in Olympic National Park.

Park services officials said that Robert H. Boardman, of Port Angeles, Washington, was gored on Saturday while hiking close to the park's Klahhane Ridge. He was transported by U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to the hospital, where he later died.

"I am deeply saddened by this tragedy," said Karen Gustin, Olympic National Park superintendent. "My thoughts are with his family and friends."

It is unclear what sort of injuries Boardman suffered from the attack, but early investigations indicate that it was his encounter with a mountain goat that led to his injuries. Rangers have now tracked down and killed the animal, which will be analyzed by a veterinary pathologist, according to ABC News affiliate KOMO.

Officials said this is the only known fatal attack by a mountain goat in the park's history, and that there are roughly 3000 mountain goats in the park.

Family and friends told KOMO that Boardman was an experienced hiker, a diabetes nurse and a musician who loved the Olympic Mountains.