Odds and Ends ... With Some Other Things

[IceWizard]

If the text is too awful small,
just right click on the pic and
open in another window for the full size...

[Charon]

tad bit late imho. let me read it all later though

[IceWizard]

Things that make you go Hmmmmmm







Encephalitis lethargica was a baffling neurological illness that
emerged between 1915 and 1926. Patients typically began with
flu-like symptoms before slipping into deep lethargy,
and in severe cases lost the ability to move, speak, or respond—
conscious but effectively trapped within their own bodies.
Some individuals remained in this state for years, requiring
continuous care.The exact cause of encephalitis lethargica
was never conclusively identified.

Researchers debated whether it stemmed from a viral infection,
an autoimmune reaction, or some combination of factors, but no
firm explanation ever materialized.

The epidemic faded after the 1920s, though a small number
of chronic cases persisted.

A leading hypothesis connects the illness to the 1918 Spanish flu,
proposing that it may have been a post-viral neurological condition,
much like long COVID following SARS-CoV-2 or
shingles emerging long after chickenpox.

Even after decades of investigation,
scientists still lack a definitive answer for what triggered the
disease—or why it suddenly disappeared.



**************************************






Amou Haji, known worldwide as the “Dirtiest Man,” spent more than
sixty years refusing to bathe, convinced that soap and clean water
would make him ill. He lived completely outside normal hygiene
standards—eating roadkill, smoking out of metal pipes, and wandering
the Iranian countryside covered in soot and earth. Yet he survived
into his mid-90s, seemingly untouched by the infections people
expected he’d suffer. Then, after villagers finally convinced him to
bathe for the first time in decades,
he passed away just months later,
an eerie twist that only deepened his strange legend

[IceWizard]

Bourassa’s story is one of the boldest and most technically sophisticated
counterfeiting schemes in modern history. A former businessman from Quebec,
Bourassa became frustrated with his work life and made an astonishing pivot.
He decided to counterfeit U.S. currency not with crude reproductions but with
bills so meticulously engineered that federal investigators later said they were
among the most convincing fakes ever discovered. Bourassa sourced the exact
cotton-linen blend used in genuine U.S. dollars, studied ink compositions,
and replicated security features with near-perfect accuracy.

Between 2007 and 2012, he produced an estimated $250 million in high-quality
counterfeit $20 bills, distributing them globally. When authorities finally traced
the operation back to him, Bourassa was arrested and faced an enormous
prison sentence. But he leveraged the one thing law enforcement wanted most
the remaining counterfeit stock. He revealed the location of about $200 million
worth of fake notes he still had hidden, a find that prevented the
bills from entering circulation.

In an extraordinary legal outcome, Bourassa struck a deal with authorities.
Because he surrendered the remaining notes and cooperated fully, he served
only six weeks in prison a remarkably light sentence for one of the largest
counterfeiting operations ever uncovered.

Added fact: Bourassa’s counterfeit bills were so realistic that
U.S. Secret Service agents initially suspected they were dealing with an
inside job from someone who had access to official printing materials.

[Charon]

hmmm. imgur be a wee bit unusual.

[IceWizard]

The first bottled Coca-Cola appeared in 1894, shifting the drink from
soda fountains to widespread distribution. Few realize that the original
formula fully reflected its name, using coca leaves and kola nuts.
The South American coca leaves naturally contained coca*ne, which
was then legal and often viewed as medicinal.

Coca-Cola’s creator, Dr. John Stith Pemberton, was a pharmacist and
Civil War veteran who marketed the drink as a nerve tonic and remedy
for headaches, fatigue, and even addiction. As concerns about coca*ne
grew, the ingredient was gradually reduced and removed by 1929,
though coca leaves continued to be used for flavor under government
oversight. Beginning as a patent medicine, Coca-Cola evolved into a
global brand, with coca leaves still legally imported and processed
today for flavor extract and pharmaceutical use.
















In January 2016, the world was stunned when Rolling Stone published an explosive interview
conducted by actor Sean Penn with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the elusive and feared leader
of the Sinaloa Cartel. At the time, Guzmán had recently pulled off a dramatic escape from a
maximum-security Mexican prison by disappearing through an intricate mile-long tunnel dug
directly into his cell shower, turning him into one of the most hunted fugitives on the planet.

Penn, joined by Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, traveled in secrecy through cartel-controlled
territory to reach a hidden mountain safe house where the meeting would take place. What
unfolded was surreal: a Hollywood A-lister casually conversing with the most powerful drug
trafficker in the world. Guzmán spoke openly about his empire, even boasting about the vast
quantities of narcotics he moved across international borders. Penn later described the
encounter as a strange blend of cordial hospitality and ever-present danger.

The publication triggered an immediate firestorm. Critics argued that Penn blurred the line
between journalism and spectacle, while others accused him of providing a platform to a
violent criminal responsible for countless deaths. But behind the scenes, Mexican authorities
were quietly using the actors’ clandestine visit to narrow down Guzmán’s location. Within
months, their intelligence paid off, and Guzmán was captured after a dramatic raid in Los Mochis.

The entire episode remains one of the most unusual collisions of Hollywood fame,
investigative ambition, and the shadowy world of organized crime, a moment when
celebrity intrigue collided with international law enforcement.


Added Fact:

After his recapture, Guzmán was extradited to the United States in 2017,
where he was later sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years.
He now serves his sentence at the ADX Florence supermax facility in Colorado,
often called “the Alcatraz of the Rockies.”

[Charon]

[video=facebook]https://www.facebook.com/reel/4161967447419222[/video]

[Charon]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4161967447419222

15 or so things one needs to do to be wise. something like that. i cannot post up things anymore from here. sighs. IT IS WORTH WATCHING DUDES AND DUDETTES.

[Charon]

19 life lessons to learn. go ahead. its worth it. i just cannot post it up.

[IceWizard]