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Spider Web Covers Field

Posted by michael on from the arachnophobia dept.

doconnor writes "A huge spider web covering a clover field was found by biology professor Brian Thair. It was made by millions of spiders and was thick enough to hold coins. It wasn't sticky for catching insects. It's not known why the spiders did it. CBC News has an article and an interview in RealAudio."

5 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Scientist burns penis with hot laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Did someone hack CNN/Reuters???

    http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/11/22/offbeat.lapto p. burn.reut/index.html

    Scientist burns penis with hot laptop

    LONDON, England (Reuters) --Laptops have always been a hot item but a 50-year-old scientist didn't realize to what extent until he burned his penis.

    The previously healthy father of two remembered feeling a burning sensation after he had been writing a report at home for about an hour with the computer on his lap.

    He noticed a redness and irritation the following day but it wasn't until he was examined by a doctor that he realized how much damage had been done.

    "The ventral part of his scrotal skin had turned red, and there was a blister with a diameter of about two centimeters (0.8 inches)," Claes-Gorn Ostenson, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, wrote in a letter published in The Lancet medical journal Friday.

    Two days later, the blisters broke and the wounds became infected and then crusted but after about a week the unidentified scientist was "healing quite rapidly."

    Ostenson noted that the computer manual did warn against operating it directly on exposed skin but said the patient had lap burns even though he had been wearing trousers and underpants.

    1. Re:Scientist burns penis with hot laptop by CableModemSniper · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Wow. This is not a troll or Goatse.cx link. That is amazing. I hope someone submits it.

      --
      Why not fork?
    2. Re:Scientist burns penis with hot laptop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      McFacts abut the McDonalds Coffee Lawsuit

      McDonald's knew its coffee sometimes caused serious injuries - more than 700 incidents of scalding coffee burns in the past decade have been settled by the Corporation - and yet they never so much as consulted a burn expert regarding the issue.

      The woman involved in this infamous case suffered very serious injuries - third degree burns on her groin, thighs and buttocks that required skin grafts and a seven-day hospital stay.

      The woman, an 81-year old former department store clerk who had never before filed suit against anyone, said she wouldn't have brought the lawsuit against McDonald's had the Corporation not dismissed her request for compensation for medical bills.

      After careful deliberation, the jury found McDonald's was liable because the facts were overwhelmingly against the company. When it came to the punitive damages, the jury found that McDonald's had engaged in willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct, and rendered a punitive damage award of 2.7 million dollars. (The equivalent of just two days of coffee sales, McDonalds Corporation generates revenues in excess of 1.3 million dollars daily from the sale of its coffee, selling 1 billion cups each year.)

      On appeal, a judge lowered the award to $480,000, a fact not widely publicized in the media.

      A report in Liability Week, September 29, 1997, indicated that Kathleen Gilliam, 73, suffered first degree burns when a cup of coffee spilled onto her lap. Reports also indicate that McDonald's consistently keeps its coffee at 185 degrees, still approximately 20 degrees hotter than at other restaurants. Third degree burns occur at this temperature in just two to seven seconds, requiring skin grafting, debridement and whirlpool treatments that cost tens of thousands of dollars and result in permanent disfigurement, extreme pain and disability to the victims for many months, and in some cases, years.

      Re: smoking, I agree. But I can't stand people who use this as an example of a frivolous lawsuit.

  2. BAD MODERATION by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    An outrage. You deserve a Funny or two for that one. Please accept this humble AC's "props" in lieu thereof.

    1. Re:BAD MODERATION by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      What exactly was funny about that post? Was he referring to his own post or something?