#including ones which lead to fatal crashes

[gay-jewish-bucky]

this has always confused me, but it's crazy that the co-pilot in the crash that lead to the 1500 hour rule, which has been empirically shown to not increase safety and was not even the cause of the crash (pilot fatigue was, this is still a problem for commercial pilots), had around 1.5x that many hours

[gngkook]

phoenix | prologue

summary: it's the year 2025, and the world has been ravaged by a new disease. what was intended to be a cure for cancer has turned into a fatal, contagious virus that has wiped out over half of the world's population. with scarce resources and the world left devastated, the remaining survivors turn on each other in a desperate attempt to salvage what little is left.

genre: post-apocalyptic au, strangers to enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, smut

pairing: jungkook x reader

word count: 1.8k

warnings: mentions of death, implications of sexual assault, use of weapons (bow and arrow), description of dead bodies, mentions of hunting

note: so, this is the prologue! i haven't edited it that much i only read over it once, so i'm sorry for any mistakes! as always, if you have questions, feel free to send in an ask!

also, if you want to be in the taglist for the future chapters, please leave a comment, message me, or leave me an ask!

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prologue

You gradually rouse from your sleep, the sound of raindrops softly pattering against the leaves of the trees that encircle you. You blink a few times, clearing the sleep from your eyes, and stretch your neck before pushing yourself upright from the tree trunk you rested against. Tilting your face upward, you allow the rain to wash away the last remnants of drowsiness.

Night had passed, and a new day had begun. 

You had grown accustomed to the forest during your stay of the past few weeks. It was tranquil, with only the wildlife for company. You had no desire to go back to civilization, or at least what it used to be. It brought back too many painful memories and served as a pointless reminder of the past. However, you would make an exception and return when you needed to replenish your supplies.

Looks like today’s that day

You sigh as you hoist the bag of supplies over your shoulder, and pick up your trusty bow and arrow, which had become your sole means of defense in this new world. You slide the arrows down your back, securing them in place, and take a firm grip on the bow with your left hand before beginning your trek to the nearby town.

You stride through the dense forest, carefully retracing your steps where you marked the trees to ensure you won't get lost. The morning is eerily dark, with heavy clouds obscuring any light from penetrating the thick canopy. However, you pay it no heed, your thoughts consumed solely with surviving another day. Eventually, the path leads you out of the forest and into a vast meadow that overlooks ruined buildings and demolished roads.

The sight triggers painful memories of the tragic event that wiped out most of humanity. The disease had come suddenly, spreading rapidly all over the world, and there was no time to develop vaccines or a cure.

Your mind drifts back to your last day with your family. You had just returned home from your first semester in college, and your grandparents were home to greet you. You spent the day talking to them about your college experience and your upcoming 19th birthday that you would've celebrated with them. You hadn’t realized then that those were your last moments with them.

The virus took lives quickly and without mercy. One wouldn't have realized they were infected until the virus began to disrupt their bodily functions. The virus started with the limbs, paralyzing the entire body, followed by the brain, causing unconsciousness, and finally, the heart, ceasing the flow of blood and resulting in death. The aftermath was catastrophic with increased rates of car and airplane crashes, buildings collapsing on civilians, and roads being destroyed. The disaster wiped out most of the world's population, leaving only a handful of survivors.

Including you.

Being alive in this world is harder than being dead. It’d only been a few months since that day and most of your days now consisted of you stocking up on food, water, and other survival necessities. Sometimes, you practice hunting in the forest with your bow and arrow to prepare yourself in case you run into other humans.

You cannot rely or trust anyone anymore. The scarcity of resources has pitted the remaining survivors against each other, creating a dangerous environment for any encounter. You are aware that some have joined forces to increase their chances of survival, but you steer clear of them. Their sheer numbers and superior weaponry make it unlikely that you would come out unscathed. Nevertheless, at times, you yearn to be part of a group. Life would be more bearable if you had others to share your struggles with. However, fear and apprehension holds you back. You have no desire to discover what these individuals are like. They are not the same people from before the outbreak. They have changed since then, and you are not willing to risk staying around to find out.

You knew that going into town was a risky move as you were more likely to run into people there compared to the forest. However, you had always been good at staying hidden, and you planned to use that skill to your advantage.

You start steadily moving down the meadow towards the direction of the town. You’d been here several times before to replenish on supplies from the old convenience store near the edge of town. As you approach, you notice the telltale signs of decomposing bodies scattered about, and you quickly wrap a piece of cloth around your nose and mouth to filter out the putrid odor. You make a conscious effort to avoid looking at the bodies, not wanting to confront the gruesome reality of how devastating the disease had been. 

When you arrive at the front of the store, you pause and peer inside. The lack of electricity makes it dark, which also means that you would be vulnerable if you were to enter.

Just make it quick

Determined, you bolted into the dark store, scanning the first aisle as you reached for your bag hanging on your shoulder. Grasping multiple bottles of water with one hand and your bow with the other, you swiftly tossed them into your bag before moving to the next aisle in search of any edible food. Your breath became heavy from the adrenaline of sprinting as you gathered the supplies you needed. However, you couldn't forget about the medical supplies, so you hurried towards the pharmacy section of the store. In a rush, you grabbed anything and everything, not having the luxury of time to discern what was necessary. The eerie silence and darkness only added to your growing anxiety.

Once you were sure you had everything you needed, you quickly zipped up your bag and made your way towards the entrance to exit the store. As soon as you stepped out into the open, you let out a sigh of relief. You were not particularly scared of the dark, but being in the store made you feel more exposed than you would have liked.

Turning in the direction back towards the forest you came from, you start heading back up to the meadow. Your mind was still reeling from the anxiety that you hadn’t noticed the presence behind you until—

“Well, look what we have here,” 

His voice was raspy and gruff and his grip on you tightened as you struggled to break free from his grasp.

“Haven’t seen a woman in so long. Looks like I got lucky today,” He rasped. You couldn't ignore the sinister tone in his voice, and the implications of his words were not lost on you. You knew that if you didn't find a way to escape from him soon, the consequences could be dire.

The old man abruptly spun you around, exposing his rough and rugged face, but before he could do anything else, your instincts took over and you delivered a swift knee to his groin.

“Fuckin’ bitch!”

He groans and releases his grasp on your arm. 

You didn't have much time left, so you quickly readjusted your grip on the bow and reached for an arrow, taking careful aim at his heart while he was still recovering from your knee strike. You pulled the arrow back and released it, hitting your intended target with precision. Moving quickly, you retrieved the arrow from his chest, where it had not lodged too deeply, and thrust it back into your quiver with the rest of your arrows. You didn't care if there was still blood on the arrow; you would just have to clean it later.

Your immediate priority was to put distance between yourself and the danger you had just encountered. You didn't want to take any chances by running back in the direction you had come from, fearing that there might be more men like him waiting for you. So, you chose to run in the opposite direction, not caring if you were running out of breath or becoming dehydrated. Your sole focus was to put as much distance as possible between yourself and the danger that lurked behind.

After running for what felt like an uncertain amount of time, you eventually found yourself gasping for breath and in desperate need of water. You spotted a nearby tree and leaned against it for support, placing your bow beside you. You focused on slowing down your breathing, allowing it to gradually return to normal. Then, you rummaged through your supply bag until you found a bottle of water you had grabbed from the store earlier. You opened the cap and took several large gulps, feeling the cool liquid quench your thirst and relieve your dehydration.

You took a few moments to calm your racing heart before taking stock of your surroundings. You were in a part of the forest you had never been to before. The trees were tall and thick, and the foliage was dense, making it difficult to see too far ahead. You knew that you had to keep moving, but you also needed to rest a bit longer.

You sat down on the ground, leaning your back against the tree and closing your eyes for a moment. The events from earlier replayed in your mind, and you couldn't shake off the fear and adrenaline that still coursed through your body. But you knew that you couldn't afford to dwell on it for too long.

You toss the empty water bottle back into your bag and stand up, taking a few moments to collect yourself. As you go to pick up your bow from beside you, you freeze when you hear voices in the distance.

You strain your ears, trying to make out what the person is saying. You cautiously pick up your bow and adjust your grip on it, preparing an arrow in case you need it. As you move in the direction of the voice, you tread carefully, trying to remain silent. Your eyes scan the surroundings, searching for any sign of human presence.

You suddenly spot a flash of dark brown hair and your nerves start kicking in. You grip your bow tightly and point an arrow in that direction. But before you can shoot, a hand covers your mouth, muffling your screams. The distinct smell of chemicals instantly fill your nose but you don’t have time to react.

Your eyelids begin to feel heavy, and your fingers loosen their grip on your bow and arrow until they fall to the ground with a dull thud.

“Jungkook! No!”

You hear another voice faintly yelling in the distance before your vision fades to black and your senses go numb.

[exhaled-spirals]

« Known globally for highly stylized genre films depicting the gritty underbelly of society with brutal violence and crimes, South Korean cinema was long characterized by what one film critic famously called “dark blue filter thrillers” mostly made by and starring men. If women appeared at all, it was often as one-dimensional clichés, serving as plot devices like a femme fatale, a murder or rape victim, an innocent lover or wife, or a self-sacrificing mother.

To challenge this norm and support women filmmakers, some women started to not only watch female-driven films but also buy more tickets than they could even use for such movies in a campaign called “spirit-sending”— meaning they would be at the theaters in spirit. The campaign turned a surefire box-office disaster to an award-winning hit, saving the career of a rare female director.

“It was truly a miracle,” Lee Ji-Won said of Miss Baek, her 2018 debut film about a female former convict trying to save a little girl from abusive parents. The drama, which portrays the friendship between two abuse survivors, was such a rarity in an industry dominated by what Lee called “films with cops, gangsters, naked women, or rom-coms” that it was snubbed by almost all investors and distributors. One investor promised to fund it only if Lee changed the lead character to a man. Another bet that “the disaster-in-waiting” would perish in cinemas in a week—a warning that almost materialized, as the film’s opening-day sales were so poor that it was projected to sell less than a quarter of the tickets required just to break even.

“Everybody, myself included, was so sure that the movie would crash and burn, and my career was over—until weird things started to happen on social media,” Lee told me.

Impressed by the rare women-led film with complex female characters, made by an even rarer woman director, many women watched it again and again, buying tickets even when they couldn’t attend. Ticket sales rebounded sharply as #SendingSpirit became a viral hashtag that continued for months until the film broke even. Miss Baek eventually won rave reviews and swept major awards, and the same investors who’d once snubbed Lee began to court her, begging to see her scripts.

“The gesture of solidarity by all these women was just overwhelming,” Lee said, wiping away tears. “They, like me, were so thirsty for movies portraying women as complex, multidimensional human beings.” In 2021, she finished shooting her second movie, featuring some of the country’s biggest stars.

The “spirit-sending” campaign lived on to drive the success of other women-led movies, like the film adaptation of Kim Ji-Young, Born 1982, allowing such films to defy the boycott campaigns that often targeted “feminism-stained movies.” While the film was hit by thousands of 0 percent ratings even before its official release (causing a vast gender disparity in its ratings on the top web portal—2.99 among men and 9.45 among women), Kim Ji-Young eventually became a hit watched by millions at home. Female-driven movies have grown in numbers and ticket sales since, led by a new generation of filmmakers like Lee and some male filmmakers as well. »

— Hawon Jung, Flowers of Fire: The Inside Story of South Korea's Feminist Movement

[foxwritesstuffsometimes]

BULLET TRAIN SPOILERS IMBOUND‼️ How tangerine might have survived (from someone who is still coping)

Part one: the wound itself

First of all let’s take into consideration the entry point of the wound, and the distance at which the offending weapon was fired.

From my view I find it highly likely it was in this rough area, close to an artery, but not necessary hitting one, as we were not given a close enough look. It wasn’t close enough to the jugular to 100% be a killing shot, however, it was likely to hit supaclavicular nerves, leading to weakness and pain within the shoulders, and possibly hitting the external jugular vein. This is not necessarily a fatal hit point, and the true danger of this specific wound would likely be of blood loss. However due to the nature of the attainment of the wound, and the close proximity if it was a grazed shot or one that was able to exit before any bullet fracture, the most major bleeding would have occurred from the exit wound, and the bullet may have left a small amount of cauterised tissue that may have halted some of the bleeding. Additionally after the wound has been obtained it is seen that tangerine swiftly passes out, Vasovagal syncope may have occurred, a process in which heart rate and blood pressure drops significantly leading to a lower level of blood flow. We see this slightly as the blood flow does, indeed, seem to slow after this occurs. When this has happened, the body will likely swiftly take notice of the damaged tissue and begin the process of hemostasis, forming a temporary seal in an attempt to prevent further blood loss and any possible infection. After this process is complete the blood flow should halt.

Part two: the finding of the body

But, what about when his body is found? Well, symptoms of blood loss include a slowed heart rate that may be weak enough to be undetectable and skin that is cold and clammy to the touch, possibly simulating a death where there may not have necessarily been one. I am of the belief that after looking for a heart beat and not finding one not many would also check for breathing, especially if it is slowed and shallowed, another possible symptom of injury. My theory is that after this occurs lemon likely left the body to continue planning with the others, and when they halted at Kyoto, the white deaths men likely cleaned up any evidence (bodies) that were found, possibly unwittingly moving a still very much alive tangerine from the train before the crash occurred. His men are then all seen to unthinkingly reboard the train leaving anything they were doing beforehand on the side after the explosion, and possibly leading to tangerine being left where he may have been found by civilians and possibly saved before the affects of his injury could finish him of.

Now listen folks, I’m not exactly a reliable source nor do I know fuckall of anything medically related, however I just wanted to put my theory out there, your welcome to use it if you so choose and I may be using it myself for upcoming fic works, so boom self promo! Lmk your thoughts and theories too I’m curious of what others think 👀

[mariacallous]

Russia has had significantly more women than men for decades. The country’s 2020 census found that women and girls made up about 54 percent of Russia’s population, while men made up about 46 percent. Since February 2022, this gender gap has almost certainly become even more pronounced, as more than 120,000 Russian men have been killed in the war against Ukraine. Journalists from the independent outlet Cherta Media spoke to demographers and sociologists about why Russia has had such a gender imbalance for so long — and how the invasion of Ukraine is affecting the situation. Meduza shares an abridged translation of their report.

Worldwide, about 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. At the same time, early childhood mortality is higher among boys than among girls. As a result, even with the small “head start” for boys, the ratio of boys to girls (and later men to women) within each generation becomes smaller over time, and by a certain age, the number of women in a given age cohort typically surpasses the number of men. But while in Japan, for example, this happens at about 56 years old, in Russia it happens at around 30.

Life expectancy is lower for men than for women in nearly every country in the world. In some countries, however, this difference is merely three or four years, while in others, it can reach 10 years or more. The latter scenario is especially common for post-Soviet countries.

In 2022, Russia became the country with the largest difference between the life expectancies of men and women: on average, men live nearly 11 years less. The result is a population gap of about 10 million: 68.4 million men vs. 78.8 million women. And the war only promises to exacerbate the disparity.

Why are there fewer men than women in Russia?

While it’s commonly believed that Russia’s gender imbalance stems directly from the turmoil of the early 20th century (when it experienced the Russian Civil War, the world wars, and the mass repressions of the 1930s), these events don’t explain why the gap persists, according to demographer Alexey Raksha. This is because while a majority of the people dying in them were men, the youngest surviving participants are currently over 95 years old. In the second half of the last century, meanwhile, there were no wars that significantly impacted the country’s demographic situation; even the Afghan War and the Chechen Wars killed a relatively small portion of Russia’s population.

In fact, the current imbalance is due to the high rate of male deaths due to everyday causes, such as murders, suicides, car crashes, and other fatal accidents. Male mortality from chronic diseases is also exceptionally high, and many Russian men lead lifestyles that accelerate the progression of these diseases, Raksha says. The death rate from cardiovascular diseases among men aged 16–59, for example, is 3.1 times higher than among women of the same age.

“One major factor here is toxic masculinity — a kind of male behavior that’s prevalent in certain countries, including Russia,” sociologist Irina Tartakovskaya tells Cherta. “Men in these countries often pay less attention to their health because it doesn’t fit their idea of a ‘real man,’ the idea that one should be strong and ignore any ailment they’re suffering from. This model leads to risky behavior among men: involvement in criminal activity, aggressive driving, and, as a result, car accidents — all of which increase male mortality.”

But the biggest reason for the high mortality rate among men is alcohol abuse. “Every year, at least 150,000–200,000 people die in Russia due to alcohol, and about 80 percent of them are men,” Raksha says. “Alcohol leads to the development of various fatal illnesses, from liver cirrhosis to cardiovascular diseases, and often triggers external causes of death as well. For example, a majority of murders are committed under the influence of alcohol.” He notes that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s anti-alcoholism campaign in the 1980s led to a 3.5-year increase in male life expectancy.

“From 2006 to 2018, the consumption of life-threatening beverages decreased as people began switching to ‘lighter’ alcohol,” Raksha explains. “However, the situation changed drastically due to the ‘vodka lobby.’ In the 2010s, [the authorities] ‘cracked down’ on beer and other low-alcohol drinks, imposing new customs duties and increasing excise taxes on them but not on stronger beverages. By the start of 2024, the situation had become even worse: the full force of excise taxes and duties, along with further legal restrictions, had hit wine, beer, and low-alcohol beverages the hardest, while duties on cheap imported liquor didn’t just remain the same but were lowered. As a result, people gradually started returning to stronger drinks like domestic whiskey, which inevitably leads to an increase in mortality.”

The high prevalence in Russia of alcoholism and tobacco use — another major contributor to the high male mortality rate — is attributable to the country’s social conditions, Tartakovskaya says. According to her, most Russians have few opportunities for social mobility or maintaining a high quality of life, which leads them to engage in destructive behaviors to cope with the stress.

What role does the Soviet past play?

In the 1960s, male mortality began rising in all socialist countries, while female mortality, if it increased at all, rose at a much lower rate. The mortality gap widened, and this trend has persisted ever since. According to a British study from 1996, the difference between mortality rates in Eastern Europe and those in Western Europe was primarily a result of differing behavioral patterns: neglecting one’s personal health, as well as alcohol and tobacco addiction, were particularly common among men in socialist bloc countries.

Analysts from the think tank To Be Precise have identified several factors that they say likely contributed to the higher levels of destructive behaviors in these countries. These include:

Ideological norms that prioritized societal interests over individual well-being and promoted the idea that “life should include an element of heroism”;

A higher share of the population doing hazardous jobs or working in facilities with unhealthy conditions;

The media’s promotion of the ideal man as someone strong who never complains.

“Ideas about masculinity differed between socialist and capitalist countries. In capitalist societies, men could assert themselves by starting businesses, building careers, and making profits. Someone with these aspirations would take care of his health, as it was an important tool for his success,” Tartakovskaya says. “But there was no equivalent in socialist societies. The pursuit of personal success and good earnings was frowned upon as ‘careerism’ and seen as a denial of societal norms and values. This meant that men could assert themselves only through service to the state, often at the expense of their health.”

These, along with other societal patterns with roots in the Soviet period, have been “absorbed” into the cultures and lifestyles of people in former socialist countries and continue to affect them today: in almost all such countries, men live significantly shorter lives than women. Overcoming these patterns will be a long and difficult process, according to an analyst from To Be Precise: “Behavioral models aren’t easily changed, and 30–40 years is a short period for this kind of shift.”

The social effects of gender gaps

Large gender imbalances can lead to a range of problems in modern societies, according to Tartakovskaya. “When there’s a shortage of brides and numerous young men unable to start families, it typically generates social tension and widespread frustration. [Among other things,] it often gives rise to incel [“involuntary celibate”] movements,” she explains.

On the other hand, a shortage of men creates its own set of problems. In traditional societies, according to Tartakovskaya, it leads to a labor shortage and a subordinate role for women, who are forced to compete for men’s attention and the chance to have a family. “When there were too few men, many women would remain unmarried [and] would be treated with contempt and scorn,” she says.

While contemporary Russian society generally puts much less social pressure on women to start families, Tartakovskaya says, the demographic imbalance still poses major challenges for them. “No matter how modern our world becomes, traditional systems continue to shape us and our understanding of it. Girls are taught from a young age in [Russian] society that they’ll have to fight for men’s attention and compete with other women for this ‘limited resource.’ This leads to increased anxiety and other mental health issues among women, while at the societal level, it hinders cooperation and solidarity,” she says.

These problems are exacerbated when state propaganda supports the idea of traditionalism, as has happened in Russia in recent years. Moreover, Russia’s economy continues to operate within a patriarchal framework: many jobs are simply unavailable to women. Given the shortage of men, this results in a labor deficit.

Another issue tied to the shortage of men and their early deaths is the large number of single mothers in Russia. About 40 percent of all families with children in the country have single mothers, and while society no longer stigmatizes them the way it once did, they remain an especially vulnerable group, tasked with supporting both themselves and their children while often struggling to find stable employment.

“The government is forced to spend substantial amounts of money on their support, but in most cases, it’s unable to protect these women or compensate for the loss of breadwinners,” an analyst from To Be Precise explains. “There are various benefits and support programs [for single mothers], but the level of assistance they provide isn’t enough for a family supported by a single woman to lead a decent life.”

The impact of the war

Around 2006, the gap between Russia’s life expectancy and those in developed countries began narrowing, and the difference between men’s and women’s life expectancies began decreasing, according to Alexey Raksha. By early 2020, Russia’s gender gap had fallen to just under 10 years. The situation worsened somewhat with the COVID-19 pandemic, which Russia responded to less effectively than most Western countries. Then the Kremlin launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. Today, Russia’s life expectancy is lower than it was in 2018–2019, and the gap between male and female mortality has widened to nearly 11 years.

About 2–3 percent of Russia’s male population is involved in the war. But because the average age of these men is 35, their “reproductive value” is much higher than the 2–3 percent figure suggests, according to Raksha: if it weren’t for the war, many of these men would likely be starting families.

“The special military operation has a significant impact on the life strategies even of families and individuals not directly involved in the conflict,” Raksha says. “Some of them decide to leave the country, while others are postponing their reproductive plans due to a sense of instability. As a result, fewer children, including boys, are being born.”

At the same time, according to market reports, alcohol sales in Russia have surged in recent years, which suggests consumption has too, Tartokovskaya says. This could result in additional premature deaths in the years to come, particularly among men. Like the war, alcohol causes deaths primarily among the young. Meanwhile, Raksha predicts the situation will only increase in the near future: “Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related mortality could very well rise among soldiers returning from the front lines,” he says.

The war and the loss of young, working-age Russians is already creating a labor shortage, according to Tartokovskaya. How the government might address this issue is unclear; in Raksha’s view, labor migration is unlikely to be a viable solution.

“Bringing in a large number of migrants is politically disadvantageous for the state: an excess of migrants can spark xenophobia and fuel local resentment. Moreover, migrants are increasingly reluctant to come to Russia: it’s becoming unsafe for them, and salaries in rubles are becoming less competitive in the international labor market due to difficulties with currency transfers and unpredictable exchange rate fluctuations, even though [these salaries] have been increasing markedly,” Raksha says.

At the same time, Russia’s increased male mortality rate may put additional strain on the government’s social policies, according to analysts from To Be Precise: “High male mortality could lead to an increase in widows and single mothers, and if the state fails to act and provide support, this could bring a rise in poverty.”

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

Since the 1970s, crash test dummies - mechanical surrogates of the human body - have been used to determine car safety.

The technology is used to estimate the effectiveness of seatbelts and safety features in new vehicle designs.

Until now the most commonly used dummy has been based on the average male build and weight.

However, women represent about half of all drivers and are more prone to injury in like-for-like accidents.

The dummy that is sometimes used as a proxy for women is a scaled-down version of the male one, roughly the size of a 12-year-old girl.

At 149cm tall (4ft 8ins) and weighing 48kg (7st 5lb), it represents the smallest 5% of women by the standards of the mid-1970s.

However, a team of Swedish engineers has finally developed the first dummy, or to use the more technical term - seat evaluation tool - designed on the body of the average woman.

Their dummy is 162cm (5ft 3ins) tall and weighs 62kg (9st 7lbs), more representative of the female population.

So why have safety regulators not asked for it before now?

"You can see that this is a bias," said Tjark Kreuzinger, who specialises in the field for Toyota in Europe. "When all the men in the meetings decide, they tend to look to their feet and say 'this is it'.

"I would never say that anybody does it intentionally but it's just the mere fact that it's typically a male decision - and that's why we do not have [average] female dummies."

Several times a day in a lab in the Swedish city of Linköping, road accidents are simulated and the consequences are analysed. The sensors and transducers within the dummy provide potentially lifesaving data, measuring the precise physical forces exerted on each body part in a crash event.

The team record data including velocity of impact, crushing force, bending, torque of the body and braking rates.

They are focused on seeing what happens to the biomechanics of the dummy during low-impact rear collisions.

When a woman is in a car crash she is up to three times more likely to suffer whiplash injuries in rear impacts in comparison with a man, according to US government data. Although whiplash is not usually fatal, it can lead to physical disabilities - some of which can be permanent.

It is these statistics that drive Astrid Linder, the director of traffic safety at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, who is leading the research in Linköping.

"We know from injury statistics that if we look at low severity impacts females are at higher risk.

"So, in order to ensure that you identify the seats that have the best protection for both parts of the population, we definitely need to have the part of the population at highest risk represented," she told the BBC.

Dr Linder believes her research can help shape the way cars are specified in the future and she stresses the key differences between men and women. Females are shorter and lighter than males, on average, and they have different muscle strengths.

Because of this they physically respond differently in a car crash.

"We have differences in the shape of the torso and the centre of gravity and the outline of our hips and pelvis," she explained.

But Dr Linder will still need regulators to enforce the use of the average female she has developed.

Currently there is no legal requirement for car safety tests for rear impact collisions to be carried out on anything other than the average man.

Although some car companies are already using them in their own safety tests they are not yet used in EU or US regulatory tests.

Engineers are starting to create more diverse dummies, including dummies that represent babies, elderly and overweight people.

The average female dummy in Linköping has a fully flexible spine, which means the team can look at what happens to the whole spine, from the head to the lower back, when a woman is injured.

US company Humanetics is the largest manufacturer of crash test dummies worldwide and is seen as the leading voice when it comes to the precision of the technology.

CEO Christopher O'Connor told the BBC he believes that safety has "advanced significantly over the last 20, 30, 40 years" but it "really hasn't taken into account the differences between a male and a female".

"You can't have the same device to test a man and a woman. We're not going to crack the injuries we are seeing today unless we put sensors there to measure those injuries.

"By measuring those injuries we can then have safer cars with safer airbags, with safer seatbelts, with safer occupant compartments that allow for different sizes."

The UN is examining its regulations on crash testing and will determine whether they need to be changed to better protect all drivers.

If changes are made to involve a crash test dummy representing the average female, there is an expectation that women will one day be safer behind the wheel.

"My hope for the future is that the safety of vehicles will be assessed for both parts of the population," Dr Linder said.

[beardedmrbean]

A 29-year-old woman who stabbed to death a man who "loved and supported" her because he ran out of money has been jailed for at least 25 years.

Lauren Harris, of no fixed address, murdered David Mark Wilcox at his flat with accomplice David Webster, who bludgeoned him with a vodka bottle.

Webster, 43, of Lacey Street, Widnes, Cheshire, was jailed for at least 23 years after the pair were convicted last week.

Mr Justice Pepperall told Harris at Mold Crown Court the killing of the 65-year-old, who "had loved and supported you,” was "brutal and senseless".

A third man, Thomas Whitely, 33, of Colwyn Bay, had also been charged with murder but was cleared.

The jury heard that North Wales Police went to a property in Bay View Road, near Colwyn Bay town centre, in Conwy county, where Mr Wilcox was found stabbed and battered to death in an armchair.

He had been punched, kicked and stamped on and had broken ribs.

During sentencing Mr Justice Pepperall said: "I detect no remorse."

At one point as she was led into the dock Harris sang Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

Andrew Ford KC, prosecuting, told jurors she had previous convictions for assault, including an unlawful wounding in 2022 in which a knife was used against a partner in a block of flats in Old Colwyn.

CCTV footage was played to the court and footage was also played of her assaulting men in the centre of Wrexham and Colwyn Bay.

Mr Ford said Harris also had a string of convictions for theft.

Harris had used Mr Wilcox’s bank cards at two ATMs in a bid to withdraw cash for drugs.

The judge said the murder may have happened out of anger that the money had dried up. Harris had crashed and abandoned Mr Wilcox’s car soon after the murder.

The court heard Harris took a “leading” role.

But the judge told Webster, who had a history of violence: "You were a willing accomplice in this brutal crime. It was you who bludgeoned your victim with a vodka bottle."

Mr Justice Pepperall said Webster lied about how he had Mr Wilcox’s watches.

"The appalling truth is you stole one of the watches from a dying man’s wrist," he said.

The court heard Mr Wilcox had moved to support Harris as he sought to turn her life around, but he started to struggle with his finances.

In the days before he was killed she began a relationship with Webster.

The court heard they spent money on drugs.

“This was a sustained and vicious attack in which you showed Mr Wilcox no mercy,” the judge said.

"From his defensive injuries it was clear the victim suffered greatly.”

Dean Quick of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Mr Wilcox was stabbed in his own home, suffering injuries that proved to be fatal.

“The CPS placed all the evidence before the jury who have returned guilty verdicts for Harris and Webster.

“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Wilcox who have had to deal with a terrible loss.”

Supt Sarah-Jayne Williams of North Wales Police called the killing “violent and senseless".

“Harris and Webster callously murdered Mark in his own home in a sustained attack, where he should have been safe," she said.

[deer-sabaism]

facts about cannibalism — i have weird hyperfixations, i know.

what's cannibalism? cannibalism is the act of one individual of a species consuming all or part of another individual of the same species as food. cannibalism exists in the animal kingdom and rarely among humans for various reasons, ranging from survival to ritualistic practices.

the first type is defined as eating members of another group (conquered enemies, for example) and the second one, the eating of members of your own group, usually associated with ritual burial ceremonies.

cannibalism has been documented throughout human history, with one of the earliest recorded instances being the Gough’s Cave in England, where human bones from approximately 15,000 years ago showed signs of cannibalistic practices.

in certain cultures, cannibalism was performed as a ritualistic act, believed to transfer the strength or spirit of the consumed to the eater.

the Fore people of Papua New Guinea practiced transumption, a form of cannibalism, until the late 20th century, which led to the spread of the fatal prion disease kuru.

throughout history, there have been numerous accounts of cannibalism for survival. sailors lost at sea, explorers in uncharted territories, and victims of sieges and famines have resorted to consuming human flesh.

the case of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes in 1972, is a well-documented instance where survivors ate the deceased to stay alive.

many cultures have myths and folklore featuring cannibalistic giants or monsters, such as the Wendigo in Algonquian folklore, which is said to embody both the act of cannibalism and the insatiable greed that leads to it.

cannibalism has been a recurring theme in literature and film, often used to explore themes of survival, horror, or the breakdown of societal norms. movies like "The Silence of the Lambs" and books like "Hannibal" by Thomas Harris have brought cannibalism into popular culture.

cannibalism is illegal in most countries, though the act itself is not explicitly mentioned in the law; rather, it is often prosecuted under laws against murder, desecration of corpses, or assault.

in medical science, the transplantation of human organs and tissues can be seen as a form of cannibalism, though it is, of course, conducted for life-saving purposes and with consent.

research into prion diseases like kuru has provided valuable insights into neurodegenerative diseases and the risks associated with consuming human neural tissue.

with advances in lab-grown meats and other synthetic food technologies, some speculate about the ethical implications of creating human flesh for consumption without the need for death or harm.

cannibalism can cause severe psychological effects, including trauma, PTSD, guilt, shame, dissociation, social isolation, and stigmatization. it can deeply impact identity and self-perception, particularly when conflicting with cultural or religious beliefs. survival cannibalism may lead to survival guilt, while instances involving psychopathy can reflect broader antisocial behaviors. long-term mental health issues like depression and anxiety are also common. thw psychological impact varies based on individual resilience and circumstances.

climate change could potentially increase instances of cannibalism in the animal kingdom as resources become scarcer and species are forced into closer quarters or new territories.

there have been rare instances of self-cannibalism, known as autophagy, where individuals consume parts of their own bodies, often as a result of mental illness or extreme starvation.

cannibalism is studied in various academic fields, including anthropology, psychology, and biology, to understand its historical, cultural, and biological aspects.

educational discussions about cannibalism can challenge students to think critically about ethical issues, human behavior, and the diversity of cultural practices around the world.

cannibalism, a topic as old as humanity, spans across cultures and continents, revealing both dark and fascinating aspects of human history. Whether driven by necessity, ritual, or psychological compulsion, the act of consuming human flesh highlights social and ethical issues.

thanks for reading :)

[verxsyon]

canon compliant bsd. dazai x ability user!gn!reader

started to binge bsd this week and now i’m on s4 >:))). gotta say eng dub for this series is honestly amazing (addicted to akutagawa’s voice tbh i'm here for it). s2 gave me so much brain rot so lo and behold, this idea with dazai.

might be a series. kinda like slice of life of reader and dazai and pm!dazai to ada!dazai. or an equivalent of an 100k+ fic slow burn lmao. 

reader’s ability is named momentum, which is the title of the potential series. the following bullet points are how their ability works. hopefully it makes sense lmao:

it’s an amplification ability that works on ability users, themself included. allows them to exceed their limits for a short period of time. activates by adrenaline rush. themself: only step required if applied to themself. ability users: needs to achieve that step plus contacting anyone through touch. think of it as a sound amplifier. it won’t work if the source and reader are too far away from each other. 

there can be fatal consequences from using the ability as it is dependent on adrenaline rush, which can have negative impacts. ability users: their abilities are at risk of overload, possibly leading to death. themself: would experience adrenal crashes and may not use their ability from 1 day to 6 weeks depending on the severity of the adrenaline rush.

reader despises it due to what happened to their older sibling, trying to repress it as much as possible and want to get rid of it (if that’s a thing). they basically want to live a normal life, a promise made to their dying older sibling. after their death, reader inherited their house and left all of their belongings untouched. they’re still able to go to school despite all that, though doesn’t have many friends.

the goal of normalcy ends when they meet dazai at the school rooftop at 15, the time when he became an executive of pm. similar to atsushi’s first encounter, he tries a new way to commit suicide by jumping off there, scaring reader shitless. they consider dazai as their first friend.

he’s anything but normal. people are after him for who knows what reason, and unfortunately reader got dragged into the mess of an enemy group’s crossfire. they’re forced to use their ability to protect him and themself. long story short knowing dazai, it’s a setup orchestrated by him. the enemy group’s none other than his division to capture the one responsible for a certain incident years ago, which involved their older sibling.

this is like a good chunk of the prologue. afterwards it’s the slice of life stuff featuring the pm and the ada ofc with some special division over there. expect fallouts between dazai and reader tho because that’s bound to happen.

[bubblymochicat]

Fuck it. Ducktales 2017 au.

Donald Duck is a selkie. One of Scrooge's ancestors was a selkie and the gene has just been recessive for centuries until Donald's bad luck struck and it just so happened to wake up in him. No one knew growing up except his parents and they took his coat away when he was like five or six because they were scared of losing him to the ocean. That's the reason his voice sounds the way it does.

They never told anyone, including Donald. I imagine that after they died and the twins moved in with Scrooge that it just got shoved in a box and stashed somewhere in the attic or something. Point is, no one knows that Donald is a selkie. All they know is that he's a bit of a weird kid who just so happens to stare at the ocean just a little too intently when he sees it (Scrooge just thinks its wanderlust, Della just thinks he's a weirdo).

It surprisingly wasn't that bad in the navy. It was almost like the closer he got to the water the more at home he felt which is why he got a houseboat to raise the boys on.

Anyways, life goes on pretty normally (and I'm gonna place this in like about halfway through season three) until on one adventure that Donald happened to come on, they encounter a whole group of selkies. Nothing bad happens, but they all kinda keep giving each other looks and staring really pointedly at Donald which he thinks is weird but might just be because of his voice.

He also notices that he feels this ache in his chest when he gets too close to them, like the ache he gets when he looks out at the ocean. Eventually a conversation gets started between him and the group and the selkies are dropping all these hints about being one of them that are just fucking jumping over Donald's head until one of them gets tired and just straight up asks him if he ever aches for the ocean.

He's a little caught off guard at first but begins to open up about how sometimes he feels like the waves are trying to pull him closer and about the ache he gets. At this point the selkies kind of raise their eyebrows at each other as they all collectively realize that this random ass dude with a whole family of non selkie ducks is one of them.

They then try to shift the topic over to his coat to try and find out how much the guy knows and if he's gonna be alright. So out comes the question, "Do you have a favorite coat?" Donald blinks in surprise. It was kind of a random question. He looked between the three people seated across from him and noticed not for the first time that they all had on beautiful white fur coats.

He was suddenly reminded of his childhood and absently started recounting his memory, "I remember having a coat when I was really little that I absolutely loved. It really was the best thing. It was so white it almost looked blue and it was the softest thing I've ever touched. And sometimes-" (here he leaned in like he was whispering a fatal secret) "when I would sit and wear it I could swear that I could hear the ocean waves crashing into shore,"

Well any doubt the selkies may have had before before was completely gone now. They start hatching a scheme to get him to stay with them (pure intentions, but poorly executed) and end up kind of kidnapping him. This leads to the McDuck and co going on an adventure to get him back where they possibly discover his true nature.

Maybe due to both being around others of his kind and the ocean in a sacred selkie place Donald starts to get ill without his coat so then everyone else is freaking out trying to find it.

Anywho, there's that I guess. Enjoy :)

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

Takaaki is definitely just one to stay up late at night just for some stuff. He knows he should already be in bed since he does have work in the morning and especially since he wakes up at 4 in the morning just to do shit. Like make breakfast and lunch for him, his spouse and the kids. But he's just really bad at falling asleep. But he got better, until he adopted a buncha kids who usually go out at night for things.

Sayaka, she goes out for concerts and fan meets and interviews.

Toko/Genocide Jill, usually out and about, most likely trying to find their next victim or out killing their victim.

Takemichi, he's in a gang that mostly hangs out and ride around at night.

Same goes for Kiyondo, except he just hangs out with Mondo for a bit before heading home. He wasn't the type to get into gang business. He was a delinquent, yes, but not one for gangs in his opinion.

Peko would sometimes leave because of Fuyuhiko needing her at the moment. But those moments were rare. And he has full trust in her to be safe.

Those kids being outside late at night always worried him. Even if he didn't show it much. So he'd just stay up as long as he needed to to make sure his kids are walking through that door, safe. If they're a little late, he makes sure to call them. (Like if he already wasn't calling them or texting them every few hours or even minutes.) He just needs to make sure they're okay.

He'd sometimes just wait outside smoking and patiently waiting. He gets really scared sometimes that they're not gonna make it home. Jill could get caught with blood or during a killing which could lead to imprisonment. They'd most likely not kill her since she's still a minor. But they'd also be all in trouble for having a serial killer in their home and not having her reported. But Takaaki doesn't worry much as he knows Jill is smart. His daughter is smart enough to not get caught.

He gets scared that Sayaka would be harmed in any way. She's famous, everyone loves her. There are those that despise her or just mildly criticize her. She has her group mates to help her if anything, but they're still vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of either way. And they're not knife or bullet proof either! It makes him spiral into intense fear. But he tries to remain calm and puts his trust on Sayaka to be careful. He always makes sure she's carrying some form of protection, including the other girls. They're just as important as Sayaka.

His worries with Takemichi and Kiyondo are also very intense. They're hanging out with a gang. People die in gang fights. And there are motorcycles involved, too, those things can easily kill someone if they don't have any protective gear. And none of those guys wear helmets. It worries him that they'll crash and die and Takaaki would have to deal with the death of both his sons due to some careless driving. And he'd never forgive Mondo Owada for that. Never in the rest of his living years in this fucking world. Takemichi and Kiyondo are good in fights, yes, but sometimes they get really violent and dangerous if some asshole decides just fists aren't enough.

If they don't notice anything, they could get stabbed. Or get bludgeoned on the head to death by something. Anything! Even getting beaten to death. He tries to trust those two (and Mondo as well as he is also in this) in getting home safe. Maybe with a few scratches and injuries, yes. That's fine. Just as long as they're breathing, walking, talking, all bodily functions working. He can patch them up, no sweat. He just can't patch up a fatal wound fast enough to save them. And shit...the police on duty wouldn't do shit to help them, probably.

He does tell Mondo, Michi and Kiyo to call him immediately if there is something going on and they need help. They can help each other, but Takaaki just wants to be there to help. He can't help it.

And the same goes for everyone else. He'll be there if they need help immediately. That's why he stays up, because he's just too worried to fall asleep peacefully. That's all. And he'll continue staying up as long as he can just to make sure everyone is okay. It's his job as a parent. To trust that everyone gets home safe and he'll stay up to see for himself.

[popentertainmentconcertreviews]

Big Star – Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA – December 6, 2022

Perhaps you’ve heard the legend. An unknown rock band puts out a debut album on an imprint on of a record label more well-known for rhythm-based artists. The album gets good critical buzz, but only sells a handful of copies. The group releases a follow-up, which also barely makes a ripple. Members of the band split off, and the third release turns out to be essentially a solo album by the original lead singer.

The albums start showing up in record store cutout bins. They still don’t do all that well, but it seems that just about everyone who buys their records ends up starting their own band. And years after the band had broken up, they became a cult favorite band, beloved by a passionate base.

No, we’re not telling the story of the Velvet Underground. Well, okay it is the VU’s story, but it is also the tale of Big Star. The Memphis foursome, made up of former Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton, guitarist Chris Bell, bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens, put together a sweet and spicy sound, mixing rock and swooning ballads and becoming one of the first power pop bands.

It has now been 50 years since the release of the debut album #1 Record, which has become considered a bit of a lesser-known classic, as did the second album Radio City. Guitarist Bell left the band to go solo after the release of Radio City, although his solo album I Am the Cosmos was not released until after his 1978 death in a car crash. Hummel also left the band after Radio City to finish college, eventually working for Lockheed Martin for decades before his death of cancer in 2010.

Chilton and Stephens reunited in 1993 and toured on and off for many years until Chilton had a fatal heart attack, also in 2010. Stephens returned to his day job – running Ardent Records, the formerly Stax-distributed label that Big Star had recorded for all those years earlier. It seemed like Stephens would never play the music again, until he announced this limited 50th anniversary tour celebrating the band.

However, this isn’t just the case of a classic band touring with one surviving member and a bunch of kids young enough the be the sons (or grandsons) of the original artists. For the Big Star 50 tour, members of some of the most respected alt-rock bands of the 90s – and all Big Star fans – came together to make up the rest of the band. These included Mike Mills (of REM), Pat Sansone (of Wilco), Chris Stamey (of the dBs) and Jon Auer (of the Posies).

In fact, Auer (and his former Posies cohort Ken Stringfellow) had toured with Chilton and Stevens in the revamped Big Star on and off from 1993 to 2010, when Chilton died. They even did a 2005 album together called In Space. (Stringfellow is no longer involved with Auer or Big Star due to fall out from a series of 2021 sexual abuse allegations.) Therefore, Auer has been playing this music well longer than half of the original Big Star members ever did.

And the other new “band” members here obviously had the chops and the love for the music to make this show rock. There was also a guest appearance for this show on two songs by Adam Weiner, lead singer of the band Low Cut Connie.

The concert was split into two acts. First, they played the entirety of the #1 Record album – in order. Then after a brief intermission they came back and played a bunch of fan favorites – a great deal of which came from Radio City, but they also did some cool unexpected rarities – including a simply gorgeous version of Bell’s solo single “I Am the Cosmos.”

All five musicians (six if you count special guest Weiner, who played on two songs and sang one) traded off on lead vocals and instruments. Band favorites like “Don’t Lie to Me,” “Ballad of El Goodo” and “Jesus Christ” sounded fantastic, peaking with a stellar version of “September Gurls” featuring Mills on vocals.

Still, to this day, it’s a complete mystery that this band never became huge. At least we got the opportunity to bask in their stellar songbook for one more night.

Copyright ©2022 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: December 10, 2022.

Photos by Jay S. Jacobs © 2022. All rights reserved.

[mushi-shield]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who authorities say fatally stabbed her partner at their Los Angeles apartment Monday then threw her two children from a moving SUV onto the freeway, killing her infant daughter, was an astrologer who called the impending solar eclipse “the epitome of spiritual warfare” in an online post days earlier.

Los Angeles police believe Danielle Cherakiyah Johnson, 34, posted on X as an astrology influencer and recording artist with the moniker “ Ayoka,” in the days leading up to the violence, which began hours before the eclipse peaked in Southern California, said Lt. Guy Golan.

While detectives have reviewed Johnson’s posts, police are not considering the eclipse to be a precipitating or contributing factor to the slayings “because we just don’t know why she did what she did,” Golan told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“We’ve taken all the facts we can, but without being able to interview her and without having something more tangible than a post on X, I don’t know how much weight you can give to somebody (saying) there’s an apocalypse and attribute it to one of the most horrific murders we’ve had in LA,” Golan, who is head of the homicide unit investigating the case, said.

Authorities say Johnson and her partner, 29-year-old Jaelen Allen Chaney, had an argument around 3:40 a.m. Monday in their apartment in Woodland Hills, about 25 miles (42 km) northwest of downtown LA. Johnson stabbed Chaney and fled with her kids, an 8-month-old girl and her 9-year-old sister, in a Porsche Cayenne.

Johnson then drove along Interstate 405 in Culver City and threw her daughters out of the moving SUV around 4:30 a.m., police said. The baby was pronounced dead on the road, but the older daughter — who witnessed the stabbing — survived with moderate injuries.

Johnson traveled southwest to Redondo Beach, where a half-hour later she was driving over 100 miles per hour (160 kph) and crashed into a tree. The LAPD is investigating whether the solo crash was an apparent suicide.

The Los Angeles Times first reported on Johnson’s social media activities in connection with the killings.

“Get your protection on and your heart in the right place,” she posted April 4 to more than 105,000 followers on X. “The world is very obviously changing right now and if you ever needed to pick a side, the time to do right in your life is now. Stay strong you got this.”

On April 5, she posted in all caps, “Wake up wake up the apocalypse is here. Everyone who has ears listen. Your time to choose what you believe is now.”

Her social media also included a mix of antisemitic screeds, conspiracy theories about vaccines and warnings about the end of the world alongside astrological predictions and positive affirmations. Also on April 5, she posted the word “LOVE” dozens of times. Her personal website offers a variety of services including “zodiac healing work,” “alcohol balancing system” and an “aura cleanse.”

Johnson’s internet presence and online following dates back years. The Fader, a music magazine, interviewed her in 2016 as an astrology personality.

“She was very standoffish,” said Norman Linder, a Woodland Hills neighbor. He only saw Johnson and her daughters a few times before in the apartment complex.

Another neighbor, Anita Mazer, told the AP that when she saw the family, “I just said ‘hello.’ The baby was really cute,” she said Wednesday. “It’s horrible.”

Golan said there were no calls for police to respond to the couple’s apartment prior to Monday’s killing, when neighbors called 911 after seeing the door open. Johnson did not have a felony criminal record in California and there were no indications of reported domestic violence.

Detectives did not immediately link the Woodland Hills slaying to the daughters, Golan said. He was in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood when he started getting push alerts from news organizations on his cellphone about the infant’s death on the roadway in Culver City. Investigators realized there might be a connection between two missing children from the family’s apartment and the tragedy on the interstate.

“I was like ‘Oh, there’s two young girls who were stranded on the 405 Freeway.’ That is such a random and terrible thing to hear about. And we knew there were two young children,” Golan continued. “We were setting up an Amber Alert.”

Golan said detectives discovered candles and cards inside the apartment, but he was not sure whether they were tarot cards.

“They didn’t look like your standard deck of cards that you would play poker with,” he said.

The solar eclipse’s path of totality stretched from Mazatlán, Mexico, to Newfoundland, Canada, a swath approximately 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide. Revelers were engulfed in darkness at state parks, on city rooftops and in small towns when the moon blocked out the sun, though Southern California only saw a partial eclipse that peaked at 11:12 a.m.

Across the globe, the celestial event spawned fears of the apocalypse and other suspicions rooted in religion and spirituality. But Golan noted that others who posted online about their eclipse-related worries did not commit violence like Johnson.

“How many people wrote about it,” he said, “and didn’t go out and murder somebody?”

[severeprincesheep]

My comment on Michael Mosley's documentary Eat, Fast, Live Longer

This documentary almost perfectly illustrates why fasting is not such a great idea, as I've discovered at my own cost.

Michael Mosley was diagnosed with too much visceral fat (that's the kind that kills you) and was either diabetic or pre-diabetic. He watched his father die of this disease so he was deeply concerned. Diabetes tends to be regarded as an incurable, chronic, fatal disease, so he decided to speak to some of the world's leading experts on gerontology (that's the science of aging) to see what could be done.

Fasting came up as a strong contender. Under Valter Longo's guidance and supervision he underwent a rigorous four day fast, no food, only water. At the end of that fast every single symptom of his disease had massively improved. Valter even bragged that if Michael could find some other way to get that much improvement in such a short space of time, without taking any pills or causing him any harm, that he would be very interested to hear about it. All he had to do was forego eating four days in a row, every month.

However not even a month later all his symptoms were back and worse than ever. Which means that arguably not only was fasting not the solution but it even worsened the condition. Michael didn't confront Valter with this but he also never bothered to investigate any further in that general direction.

Instead he turned to another expert, Canadian scientist Krista Varady who assured him that it's possible for you to eat whatever diet you want - including fast food! - and never have to fast... as long as you do a type of modified fast every week, where on two non-consecutive days of the week (say, on Tuesdays and Fridays) you have only one small meal.

Michael modified this strategy (he is a doctor after all, he can't tell people to eat fast food) and turned this into a wholesome Mediterranean diet of three meals a day made from real food, with absolutely no snacking; and then on "fasting" days one healthy 500 calories meal, like an omelet. He calls it the 5:2 Fast.

By following this self-imposed regimen he swears he's lost all the extra weight in visceral fat that his doctors wanted him to lose and was cured of his diabetes, and he has the medical tests to prove it.

This only goes to show that it really is true what they say that it's not crash diets or indeed crash fasts, but rather what you eat every day consistently that matters. It's not fasting or how rigorously you do it or how often that will fix your dietary issues, but rather figuring out what you should be eating on a daily basis.

And this is where I diverge from him, because as most doctors he is an unquestioning believer in a plant-based diet and I, like so many other people, find that I can only cope with a carnivore diet with little to no plants. All plants give me symptoms, all plants make me sick, fiber especially.

Even though as noted he is never confrontational with the doctors and researchers who extolled the benefits of fasting to him he is far from being the only one to have discovered that fasting can be counter-productive. Dr. Elizabeth Bright is point blank anti-fasting, and she's specialized in women's health.

Speaking for myself when I tried fasting it made me physically and mentally dysfunctional. I believe that a great deal of the pain I had to endure was due to accumulation of oxalates in my body and to a phenomenon called "oxalate dumping" (Sally Norton talks about this extensively) where years of accumulated oxalates in your body starts getting dumped out when you stop all intake of plant foods. I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone (BTW, the solution is to have a cup of black tea, that contains a lot of oxalates and so halts the process).

As for my mental health it was as though there was a second brain inside me that couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I could not smile. It was like being buried in a tomb. When the fast was finally over that second brain was in disbelief, as if it had never understood that yes of course the fast would be over eventually. In other words, fasting made me clinically depressed throughout its duration. I will never do it again. I lost my voice and when it came back it was cracked for many weeks. I sounded like a little old lady.

As is always the case, going in I had absolutely no clue that any of this could happen even though I swear I read one book and watched literally dozens of videos on the subject before I gave it a try. People are never warned about downsides. Diets are cults and those who recommend them NEVER warn anybody about the negatives, they always portray their diet/god or regimen/religion as ideal. I even remember someone claiming that you don't regain the weight you lose through fasting. That's a lie of course, and understand that if that were the case it would be a terrible, crippling outcome. You only become a diabetic when all your fat cells are so full that they can't take in any more energy. Even though no one wants to be fat losing this ability only means becoming a diabetic sooner.

TL;DR, maybe fasting is useful when your diet is so toxic to you that going off it completely brings you instant relief. If there is anything in your diet that you're allergic to, halting all food will quite naturally heal you but starving yourself because you can't handle your diet is not sustainable. Sooner or later you're going to have to eat something that your body can handle. You don't owe it to a toxic diet to eat it and then deal with the consequences by starving yourself. You have to find out what food it is that you're allergic to and then exclude it.

That's what the carnivore diet is for, it's essentially an all-meat elimination diet. For a month or two you just eat meat and the fat of animals, some salt, a lot of water, that's it. Lots of people eliminate dairy as well, as it's a well known allergen. Then you start re-introducing plant foods back into your diet, just one food at a time, to see how your body responds. Lots of people find they can never have plant foods again. I'm sorry that Michael will never try this because of his prejudices as a doctor, but there it is.

[scotianostra]

On October 9th 1921 tragedy struck when the SS Rowan sank off the Rhinns of Galloway with 34 deaths.

A number of them were members of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra (SSO), a jazz band described as the "pop stars" of their day. They had just finished their tour of Scotland in Glasgow and were on their way on board the SS Rowan to perform in Ireland when disaster struck.

The Clyde built ship has been described as a fast and beautiful ship cruising at 16 knots on routes on the west coast until, with the outbreak of World War One, she was requisitioned by the army and converted to an armed boarding vessel. She survived the dangers of the war at sea and returned to her owners soon after the conclusion of the conflict and returned to her normal service.

The audience at the Lyric Theatre, Glasgow on the afternoon of 8th October, 1921 could not have imagined the catastrophic effect of their cries for an encore by the Southern Syncopated Orchestra. The resultant delay to the departure of the orchestra set in motion a series of events which was to lead to the tragic sinking of the Rowan in the early hours of the following morning in one of the most unusual incidents in the history of Clyde shipping.

The orchestra had booked passage on the Rowan to Dublin for their next engagement and were due to meet the ship at Greenock that evening. If Captain Brown on the Rowan had not chosen to wait for almost an hour to meet the orchestra from the train at Greenock his ship would have passed the place of its fatal collision without incident. The Rowan finally left Greenock at around 7pm on Saturday 8th October and sailed south towards Ailsa Craig and Galloway.

Five hours later, after an uneventful voyage down the Firth, she reached the Galloway coast where the visibility was dramatically reduced by banks of thick fog rolling across the North Channel. Captain Brown slowed the Rowan to around half her normal steaming speed and continued southwards on his journey. At about 12:10am the American steamer West Camak suddenly appeared out of the fog and, despite efforts by both captains, collided with the stern of the Rowan. Although damage to the Rowan was not severe, Captain Brown ordered all the passengers on deck and the ship’s lifesaving equipment made ready. This precaution was to save many lives.

Just as the passengers were beginning to recover from the collision with the West Camak the SS Clan Malcolm, en route from Glasgow to Birkenhead, appeared and crashed into the Rowan on her starboard side amidships, almost cutting her in two. The passengers and crew were sent sprawling across the decks and many were thrown overboard into the sea. The Rowan sank almost immediately leaving the West Camak, the Clan Malcolm and the destroyer HMS Wrestler, which had answered the West Camak’s distress call, to rescue around one hundred passengers and crew.

Despite the darkness, poor visibility and rough seas, they were successful in picking up seventy seven cold and frightened survivors who had been clinging to life rafts or wreckage from the Rowan. Almost all of them had been wearing lifebelts or lifejackets at the time of the second collision and it is certain that, if Captain Brown had not been so cautious, more lives would have been lost. As it was, around twenty people, including the captain himself, lost their lives in the disaster. Many of the survivors were landed a few hours later at Princes Pier, Greenock where large crowds had gathered to hear the story of this strange, double collision and listen to the terrifying experience of the survivors.

Despite the loss of lives, the orchestra would go on to complete its delayed dates in Ireland, but it would be disbanded soon afterwards.  Members of the family came back to Scotland for the 85th anniversary of the disaster and a wreath was laid at the “spot” where she sank. From what I can gather  there were no official events to mark the centenary last year, maybe due to the pandemic? 

[dan6085]

**The Attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001: Events and Controversies**

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a defining moment in modern history, with the most iconic images being the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. However, an equally significant event occurred at the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense. At 9:37 a.m. on that day, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, killing 125 people inside the building and all 64 people on board the plane. The attack on the Pentagon, like the events at the World Trade Center, has been the subject of numerous investigations and has fueled a variety of controversies, from questions about the official narrative to suspicions of cover-ups.

### The Attack on the Pentagon

American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757, took off from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., at 8:20 a.m., bound for Los Angeles. Hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists about 30 minutes into the flight, the plane was turned back toward Washington, D.C., and eventually crashed into the western side of the Pentagon at approximately 9:37 a.m. The impact caused significant damage to the Pentagon's outer ring, and a fire spread through the building, leading to the partial collapse of the structure. The crash killed 125 Pentagon employees, along with the passengers and crew aboard the plane, bringing the total number of fatalities to 189.

The attack on the Pentagon, the nerve center of the U.S. military, was a direct strike at the heart of American defense infrastructure. While the majority of public attention was understandably focused on the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon attack had profound symbolic and operational significance, as it demonstrated the vulnerability of even the most secure U.S. government institutions to terrorist strikes.

### Official Investigations and Reports

In the aftermath of the attack, both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted thorough investigations into the crash of Flight 77. The 9/11 Commission Report, released in 2004, provided a detailed account of the hijacking, the flight path of the plane, and the actions of the terrorists, led by Hani Hanjour. According to the report, Hanjour had trained as a pilot and was able to execute a complex and precise maneuver to hit the Pentagon at ground level.

The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and other agencies conducted investigations into the structural damage to the Pentagon, determining that the building’s relatively low casualty count was due to the recent renovations that had included reinforcing parts of the structure to withstand terrorist attacks and explosions.

### Controversies and Conspiracy Theories

Despite the official findings, the attack on the Pentagon has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories and controversies. A significant portion of skepticism stems from the lack of extensive video footage showing the actual impact of Flight 77 on the building, with only a few frames of security camera footage released to the public. Critics argue that the available footage does not clearly show a plane hitting the Pentagon, leading some to claim that a missile, rather than a commercial airliner, struck the building. These theories often point to the relatively small size of the hole in the Pentagon's exterior compared to the wingspan of a Boeing 757 and the absence of large pieces of plane wreckage in the immediate aftermath.

### The "No Plane" Theory

One of the most pervasive conspiracy theories regarding the Pentagon attack is the "no plane" theory, which posits that a missile or drone, rather than a commercial airplane, struck the building. This theory gained traction in the years following 9/11, fueled by eyewitness accounts that seemed contradictory and the limited photographic evidence of the crash site. Proponents of this theory argue that the damage to the Pentagon, including the hole in the building’s façade, was inconsistent with what would be expected from a large airliner.

In response, aviation and structural experts have refuted these claims, explaining that much of Flight 77 was vaporized on impact due to the extreme heat generated by the crash and the resulting fire. Additionally, investigators recovered numerous pieces of wreckage from the crash site, including parts of the plane's landing gear, fuselage, and black boxes, which helped confirm that American Airlines Flight 77 was indeed the aircraft involved.

### The Maneuver and Pilot Skill Debate

Another controversial aspect of the Pentagon attack involves the skill of the pilot, Hani Hanjour. Some conspiracy theorists argue that Hanjour, despite his flight training, lacked the expertise to perform the complex, high-speed maneuver required to crash the plane into the Pentagon at ground level. This claim has led some to suggest that the flight was remotely controlled or that another party was involved in the attack.

However, aviation experts have pointed out that while Hanjour may not have been a highly skilled pilot, the maneuver he performed was not as difficult as claimed by conspiracy theorists. The descending turn into the Pentagon required moderate flying skills, and Hanjour’s training, though limited, would have been sufficient to execute it. Additionally, there were no technical anomalies found with the flight’s instruments that would suggest external interference or remote control.

### The Missing Plane Wreckage and Fire Damage

Another point of contention has been the apparent lack of visible wreckage from Flight 77 at the crash site. Conspiracy theorists argue that the absence of large debris, such as wings or tail sections, is inconsistent with a typical plane crash. Furthermore, they question why there were no discernible scorch marks from the plane's wings and fuel on the exterior walls of the Pentagon.

Investigators and experts, however, have explained that much of the wreckage was consumed in the intense fire that followed the crash. Additionally, the speed and angle of impact caused the plane to disintegrate into smaller pieces, many of which were embedded inside the building. Photographs from the aftermath show identifiable parts of the plane, including landing gear and fuselage fragments, which were later recovered and cataloged as evidence.

### Government Response and Public Mistrust

The U.S. government’s handling of information surrounding the Pentagon attack has contributed to the persistence of conspiracy theories. The delayed release of security camera footage and the limited access given to independent investigators have led some to suspect a cover-up. These concerns are compounded by broader mistrust of government institutions, which has grown since 9/11 due to controversial decisions such as the invasion of Iraq and the passage of the Patriot Act.

While official investigations have consistently affirmed that Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, the lack of transparency and inconsistencies in public communication have fueled speculation. The Pentagon attack, much like other aspects of 9/11, has become a focal point for broader debates about government accountability, transparency, and the role of intelligence agencies in preventing or allowing terrorist attacks.

### Conclusion

The attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, remains one of the most scrutinized events in recent U.S. history. While the official narrative provides a clear account of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the building, the controversies and conspiracy theories surrounding the event have persisted for over two decades. Whether driven by skepticism, mistrust of the government, or genuine concerns about the available evidence, the debate over what happened at the Pentagon reflects the broader uncertainties and emotions that continue to define the legacy of 9/11. For many, the attack on the Pentagon will always be a reminder of the complexities of that fateful day and the challenges of distinguishing fact from fiction in times of crisis.