New cigarette packaging warning labels

Some of the 36 proposed new warning labels the FDA will require on cigarette packages. (some are pretty ghastly.) Via.

*Buy Remove Child Before Folding: The 101 Stupidest, Silliest, and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever at Amazon.

Get your grandparents a prescription handgun for the holidays?

This is the Palm Pistol, ergonomically designed for the elderly and disabled. Apparently, it's been classified as a medical device and might be covered by Medicare once released. Via these sites.

Here are a few more random links:

1. Warren Ellis invited artists to remake a comic book character from 1930 called "Captain Justice." Here are the results.

2. Brandon Jennings decided he'd teach the NBA a lesson and play a year in Europe rather than suffer through a year in college. His backers insisted he'd be revolutionary trailblazer. So how's the experiment going? Instead of starring at a major university, he's the fourth guard on a 4-4 Italian team.

3. New G.I. Joe movie action figures look like they'll be closer in quality to the 80's action figures, than the updated figures. Via.

4. The Chuck E. Cheeses in Los Angeles are loaded with germs. Via.

*Previously: .75 Caliber Pop Ray Gun.

*Buy toy ray guns at eBay.

Legendary Japanese baseball player Sadaharu Oh had his stomach removed, plus other news of the day

1. Sadaharu Oh had his entire stomach removed due to cancer. He hit 868 career homeruns in Japan. Link. Via. (Stomach toys on sale at Amazon.)






2. Good news if you want the benefits of drinking red wine, but (like me) hate drinking wine: Concord Grape Juice has the same benefits. Link. Via. (Photo via.)






3. Fun article about the 419 Eaters, who tricked a Nigerian scam artist into joining their fictitious church and travelling from Nigeria "to the dangerous and unpredictable capital of the predominantly Muslim country of Chad, while wearing the uniform of a Christian missionary." Link. Via. (Photo via.)






4. List of geeky theme cruises, including chess cruise, pirate cruise, and videogame cruise. Link. (Photo via.)





5. Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is taking classes at USC and finishing up his solo album. He explains, "The record is based on the character Helen Burns from "Jane Eyre." I love Charlotte Bronte and all of the Bronte sisters." Link. Via. (Photo via.)

*Find previous news posts here.

Buy Jasper Fforde's hilarious The Eyre Affair at Amazon.

Johnson and Johnson marketing contact lenses to eight-year-olds

Shirley Wang for the WSJ:

With stents and anemia drugs under pressure, Johnson & Johnson is looking for growth wherever it can find it. Are your kids ready for contact lenses? J&J’s Vistakon division sure thinks so.

[snip]

The typical bespectacled kid who switches to contacts does so around 15, Sneed said. “Our goal is to get contact lens wearers in earlier and staying longer,” he said. “In the future we believe contact lens wearers will range from 8 to 60 years of age. Dropping the entry-level age is integral to growing the category.”

Via.

Video: Alter-G, the $75,000 anti-gravity treadmill

Here's the official site. The Lakers are using one to rehab one of their players with a knee injury.

The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You: A Guide to Self-Diagnosis for Hypochondriacs

The official site says:

Hypochondriacs have long had to satisfy their needs for self-diagnosis with medical reference materials written for the masses, but this revolutionary book is dedicated entirely to the hypochondriac’s unique perspective on health. The world’s worst maladies, conveniently organized by symptom (real or imagined), will ignite even the mildest hypochondriac’s fantasy life. We’re all going to die of something—why not choose an ailment that’s rare and hard to pronounce?

The Complete Manual of Things That Might Kill You: A Guide to Self-diagnosis for Hypochondriacs

Senior citizens in Japan are not ready to welcome their robot overlords

"Most (elderly) people are not interested in robots. They see robots as overly-complicated and unpractical. They want to be able to get around their house, take a bath, get to the toilet and that's about it," said Ruth Campbell, a geriatric social worker at the University of Tokyo.

Japanese manufacturers have learned the hard way that the elderly want everyday products adapted to their needs -- easy to read for those with poor eyesight, big buttons for people with trembling hands and clear audio for the hard of hearing.

Among the most high-profile failures was Hopis, a furry pink dog-like robot capable of monitoring blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature.

Faced with poor sales, its manufacturer Sanyo stopped production of the robot dog and instead focused on utilitarian devices for the elderly such as height-adjustable countertops and phones with jumbo-sized keys.

Link. Via Core77.

"U.S. military practices genetic discrimination in denying benefits"

Eric Miller's career as an Army Ranger wasn't ended by a battlefield wound, but his DNA.

Lurking in his genes was a mutation that made him vulnerable to uncontrolled tumor growth. After suffering back pain during a tour in Afghanistan, he underwent three surgeries to remove tumors from his brain and spine that left him with numbness throughout the left side of his body.

So began his journey into a dreaded scenario of the genetic age.

Because he was born with the mutation, the Army argued it bore no responsibility for his illness and medically discharged him in 2005 without the disability benefits or health insurance he needed to fight his disease.

Read on.