Amazing Condom Dresses

Creative clothing made from condoms popping up all over the internet in such versatile and surprisingly beautiful styles, we have to wonder – could condom garments be an innovative new eco-fashion trend? And would you actually be willing to wear prophylactic couture?

Dangerous way of Hair Cutting in China

Bizarre Toilet related deaths and injuries

Unusual Spa Treatments

Beer Facelift

First chocolate and now alcohol—I guess we're all looking for new, non-caloric ways to experience our favorite things. If you love beer, but hate the subsequent bloat, head to a Spa and experience the healing power of the yeasts for a change. The vitamins in the beer bath are said to rejuvenate your pores and relieve tension in your muscles, giving your face a fresh “glow”—quite different from the glow you get after drinking a couple of Budweisers.

 

Fish Pedicure

An unusual spa treatment is being offered in London which exfoliates your feet using 150 fish. The Garra rufa fish have no teeth and nibble away dead skin using suction-shaped mouths leaving healthy new skin underneath untouched. The carp, which originated in Turkey, have long been used in the Far East to treat skin complaints such as eczema and psoriasis. In Japan they offer whole-body immersion fish spas and recently the craze has spread to the U.S, Europe and the UK. 

Snake Massage

A spa in Israel has put a unique spin on the standard massage. While some masseuses use soothing music or scented candles to supplement massages, owner Ida Barak prefers to use snakes; she believes that they have a calming effect and can alleviate joint pain. Imagine—lying facedown on a bed, strong hands rubbing oil on your back as a few snakes slither up and down your body. What could be more relaxing? 

Cactus Massage

Relaxation is the point of the Hakali Massage at Apuane Spa at the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in Mexico. The treatment provides a distinctly Mexican flair using spine-free cactus paddles to massage in a blend of nopal, a prickly pear cactus, and pulque, an alcohol made from the agave plant. 

Golden Facial

Cleopatra apparently slept in a gold mask every night to maintain youthful looking skin. Turns out, she was right. A revolutionary –and expensive spa treatment is based on the Queen of the Nile experience. Paper-thin squares of 24-karat gold are applied on the face along with hydrating compounds. The result includes firmer, more supple skin, and not surprisingly, a noticeable dent in your wallet. 

 Butt Facial

Facials aren't just for our faces anymore. All of our body parts need equal love, including our derriere. At Detroit-area spa Euphoria, the facials apply to this other set of cheeks — the ones you sit on. "We always try to come up with different ideas for services and I just hadn't seen it," said spa owner Lisa Johnson. "And that's an area that never gets the treatments it needs. Clients are still covered up as they have their derrieres cleansed and exfoliated. Then a masque is applied and any waxing, if needed, is done. The treatment ends with a warm paraffin treatment. The [biggest] problem with it is that people are so apprehensive. But once they get it, they're like, 'Oh my gosh, that feels so good.'

Reiki on Horseback

The Japanese practice of Reiki is focused on the belief that healing energy—when passed from practitioner to client—can correct imbalances in both spirit and body. Usually the practitioner is a human, but Rockin' Heart Ranch owner (and Certified Reiki Master) Christina DiBartolo believes that horses also possess an innate healing energy. Riding on horseback—either alone or with DiBartolo, and with her guidance—ostensibly allows a client to tap into that energy, and ease everything from physical aches and pains to emotional anxiety. 

Wine Bath

 Located in Kowakien Yunessun, the biggest, most popular spa center in Japan, reopened its doors every year for their most popular treatment. Hundreds of gallons of Beaujolais Nouveau, the most popular wine in Japan, are used during the 12 day period the wine spa welcomes its guests. For the last few years, Japanese wine lovers have had the opportunity to drink and bathe in the liquor they love so much, at the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun. The red pool is constantly fed wine through the wine-bottle-shaped spring, while a sommelier stands by to fill up the glasses of those craving some more Beaujolais Nouveau. Getting drunk is not going to make your wrinkles go away, but will definitely stop you from worrying about them for a few hours.

Gondola Massage

It should come as no surprise that the most romantic city in the world would be the home of an über-enticing spa treat. At Casanova Spa at Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Italy, relaxation-seekers who can't get enough of the city's sights can set sail with a Gondola Massage, performed in a private nook in one of Venice's alluring lagoons. To protect your skin, this outdoor massage is given using a special oil with SPF protection. 

Snow Cave Anti Sauna

This anti-sauna room is the perfect place to go to cool out after a sauna section. The indoor artificial snowstorm is merely to provide ambience, but believers say that a shot of extreme cold—especially after a stint in a hot tub or sauna—can help reduce hypertension and tighten pores. Avaiable at the Butlins Ocean Spa, located in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.

Men's Sweat Attracts Women

According to a new study to pick up the ladies, a 20-minute workout on the elliptical machine should do just fine.

The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience and conducted by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, found that women who sniffed a chemical found in male sweat experienced "heightened mood, physiological arousal and subjective sexual arousal."

"This is the first time anyone has demonstrated that a change in women hormonal levels is induced by sniffing an identified compound of male sweat," said Claire Wyart, a post-doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley and the leader of the study.

The study focused on androstadienone (AND), a component of sweat. Previous studies have found male sweat -- specifically from the underarm -- can increase the secretion of luteinizing hormone in women, responsible for stimulating ovulation.

Another study showed female sweat, when applied to the upper lip of another woman, can alter the menstrual cycle of the subject to coincide with the sweat provider, according to a press release.

"Many people argue that human pheromones don't exist, because humans don't exhibit stereotyped behavior," Wyart said. "Nonetheless, this male chemical signal, [AND], does cause hormonal as well as physiological and psychological changes in women. More cognitive studies need to be done to understand how [AND] affects female cognitive functions."

Research was conducted on 48 Berkeley undergraduate women, each of which took 20 sniffs from vials containing either AND or a control -- in this case -- yeast. Scientists then took saliva samples from the women to measure cortisol levels, a hormone used to respond to stress. The increased hormone levels were found within 15 minutes after the testing began and lasted for more than an hour.

Chewing Gum blows Man's Head Off

A STUDENT blew his head off when he tried to make a Willy Wonka-style long-lasting chewing gum. The home-made sweet EXPLODED in his mouth. Experts believe an ingredient reacted with saliva when the 25-year-old chemistry student tried to blow a bubble. The lad's parents dashed into his room after hearing a "loud pop", police said. They found their son lying dead with his jaw blown away. Sources said the student at Kiev Polytechnic Institute in the Ukraine enjoyed experimenting with food and citric acid. And he wanted to invent a different kind of chewing gum - just like Willie Wonka did in the Roald Dahl books and film for Violet Beauregarde. Forensic experts travelled from Kiev to the victim's home in the northern city of Konotop yesterday to examine his gum. Local cops were too afraid to touch the stuff in case it exploded and blew them up too. One policeman said: "A loud pop was heard from the student's room. When his relatives entered, they saw the lower part of his face blown away. They were absolutely horrified."

Crisis in economic crisis

A married Chinese businessman who could no longer afford five mistresses held a competition to decide which one to keep.

But the contest took a fatal turn when one of the women, eliminated for her looks, drove the man and the four other competitors off a cliff, Chinese media reported.

The spurned mistress died and the other passengers were injured, the reports said.

Police initially thought the car had plummeted off a mountain road in eastern China on December 6 by accident. Then they learned of the contest through a letter the dead woman had left behind, the Shanghai Daily newspaper said.

The 29-year-old woman, identified only as Yu, was a waitress when she met the businessman at a restaurant in the coastal city of Qingdao in 2000.

At the time, the businessman, identified only by his last name — Fan — was married and had four other mistresses, according to the Peninsula Metropolis Daily newspaper in Qingdao.

The women knew of one another, but none elected to break up with the man and give up their rent-free apartment and a 5,000 yuan ($730) monthly allowance, the reports said.

When the economy soured, the businessman apparently decided to let go of all but one mistress.

He staged a private talent show in May, without telling the women his intentions. An instructor from a local modeling agency judged the women on the way they looked, how they sang and how much alcohol they could hold, the Shanghai Daily said.

The judge knocked out Yu in the first round of the competition based on her looks. Angry, she decided to exact revenge by telling her lover and the four other women to accompany her on a sightseeing trip before she returned to her home province, the media reports said.

It was during the trip that Yu reportedly drove the car off the cliff.

Fan shut down his company after the crash and paid Yu’s parents 580,000 yuan ($84,744) as compensation for her death.

The four other women left him, as did his wife when she learned of the affairs.

Guinness World Records Book 2009

The 54th edition of the Guinness World Records book has been released. In the 2009 version we can find a few interesting world records such as:

The World’s Oldest Bridesmaid (105 years old)

The Most Expensive Ice-cream Sundae (£12,000)

The World’s Longest Dog, with a nose to tail length of 2m 32cm (7.61 feet)

Oldest living person (114 years and 115 days – Edna Parker, US)

Largest underwater press conference (61 journalists)

Most rotations hanging from a power drill (141)

Worlds fastest talker (655 words per minute)

Fastest suitcase escape (7.04 seconds)

Oldest DNA (800,000 years)

Many of the records in the book were set on last year’s Guinness World Records Day (November 9) when 200,000 people around the world joined in to make or break records as part of the international event.