And the mummy went searching through the museum groaning “Who has my big toe?” Ok, ok, I’m done with the bad campfire story now. Just thought I’d share some historical news, since I do love history.
An artificial big toe attached to the foot of an Egyptian mummy could be the world’s oldest prosthetic body part, British researchers said on Friday.
The fake toe, which is made of wood and leather and is currently on display at the Cairo Museum in Egypt, dates from between 1 000 and 600 BC.
Researchers at Manchester University in northwest England hope to prove it was used to help someone who had lost their original big toe to walk.
If they do, it could mean that prosthetic body parts were in use up to 700 years earlier than was previously thought.
The oldest known prosthesis is a bronze Roman leg dating from about 300 BC which was kept at the Royal College of Surgeons in London but was destroyed during a German bombing raid in the Second World War.
A second false big toe, which is on display at the British Museum, will also be tested by scientists in Manchester.
“If either one is functional, it may be interesting to manufacture it with modern materials and trial it for use on people with missing toes,” said Jacky Finch, a researcher working on the study.
She added that the Cairo toe is the most likely to have been a prosthesis, because it shows signs of wear and is attached to a “well-healed” amputation site.
The London toe, by contrast, does not bend and is therefore more likely to have been cosmetic, she said. Source
The Crawl
So, the Crawl for Cancer was a great success. I drank a lot of beer, got a t-shirt, had fun, and helped support a great cause. I hope to participate in the next one. Here’s a brief recap of what happened.
At the first bar we went to, the royal blue team was done with their four pitchers before we even got ours, so needless to say, we had some catching up to do. We continued to drink quickly at each bar. On our fourth bar we ran into the green team, which we had not seen at any of the other bars, and they said they were finished. That our fourth bar was their fifth. I don’t know if that was true, but the green team were good people. I enjoyed drinking with them. Buncha drunks. The fifth bar was probably the best just because it was cool, I finally got to sit a bit, and the after-party downstairs was rockin’. I danced a bit, yes, I danced. I must have been drunk.
Anyway, it was a great time, and if you want to see pictures (lots more just added) check them out on Flickr
Drink Beer and Cure Cancer
Tomorrow I’m participating in the Crawl for Cancer. For those of you who don’t know what this is, you pay an amount of money ($45) to drink in different bars (5). All the proceeds are donated to find a cure for cancer. This is something I can really get behind. You won’t see me running 5k. That’s something I can’t do, but drinking beer is. So if you talk to me tomorrow evening, chances are I’ll be drunk. The crawl starts at 1 and will last probably 4 or 5 hours.
Update: Here are some pics from my phone from the event. A full post and more pictures coming soon.
Common- The People
Common has been a constant force in conscious hip hop music for many years. He’s dropped classic albums for a decade now. Whether it’s his early work as Common Sense, his experimental work such as Electric Circus, his mainstream crossover with Like Water for Chocolate, he’s been able to bring conscious hip hop to the masses with great success. His last few offerings have seen him teamed up with the amazing producing skills, and fellow Chicago native, Kanye West. There is nothing like hearing Common over a Kanye beat, they fit together so well. Common’s new album, Finding Forever released yesterday and it is definitely worth checking out. Buy it, request his first single, “The People,” and let radio, television, and record companies know that there is a market for real hip hop and not everyone wants to hear crap like 50 Cent, The Game, and Young Jeezy.
[audio:http://pieceofshep.com/audio/03-The_People.mp3]Who Has My Big Toe?
And the mummy went searching through the museum groaning “Who has my big toe?” Ok, ok, I’m done with the bad campfire story now. Just thought I’d share some historical news, since I do love history.
A Truly Democratic Culture
This quote was on my iGoogle today:
Oh so very true. Especially with all the crap on TV these days; Dancing With the Stars, anything starring David Caruso, American Idol, any game show or “reality” program really.