NYC Issues Warning On Toad Venom Aphrodisiac

Health officials are warning New Yorkers to stay away from an illegal aphrodisiac made from toad venom after the product apparently killed a man.

The city's poison control center issued the warning Friday after receiving a hospital report that a 35-year-old man who ingested the hard, brown substance died earlier this month.

The product is sold under names including Piedra, Love Stone, Jamaican Stone, Black Stone and Chinese Rock at sex shops and neighborhood stores. It is banned by the Food and Drug Administration.

City health officials said the victim, whose identity was not released, was admitted to the hospital complaining of chest and abdominal pain. He died two days later.

Health officials said the hardened resin, made with venom from toads of the Bufo genus, contains chemicals that can disrupt heart rhythms.

The aphrodisiac was supposed to have been applied to the skin, not eaten, but authorities said even that use can be harmful.

"There is no definitely safe way to use it," said Dr. Robert Hoffman, director of the city's poison control center. "Don't buy it. Don't sell it. If you have it, don't use it. Throw it out."

The same type of product killed a 40-year-old man in Brooklyn in 2002 and at least four New Yorkers in the early 1990s. A 17-year-old boy also fell seriously ill, but survived following hours of aggressive treatment.

Following that outbreak, city investigators went looking for the poison and found it was being sold sporadically in grocery stores, smoke shops and from street vendors.

Inspectors have been on the lookout for the stuff ever since, but identifying it isn't always easy. It is sometimes sold in packaging labeled only in foreign languages.

It isn't clear how available the aphrodisiac is elsewhere in the U.S., although some similar products have been seized from suspected drug traffickers in other East Coast cities, authorities said.

Toad Venom Aphrodisiac
Toad Venom Aphrodisiac

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Kid's Are NOT Inflatable!

A Cambodian father and mechanic learned the hard way not to inflate children when he inserted an air hose designed to fill car tires into his 5-year-old son's anus and blew him up, local media reported on Thursday.

The Khmer-language Rasmei Kampuchea daily reported Try Sienghym was "playing" with his son Sok Sambo when the incident took place.

The paper said the child's stomach became distended and his concerned mother rushed him to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

"The father very much regrets playing like this now," the paper quoted a family member as saying.

Father Inflates Child
Father Inflates Child

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New Skunk Ape Evidence Found In Big Cypress, Florida

The Big Cypress Natural Preserve is home to many animals. But only a few believe it is actually home to the skunk ape.

Devoting 40 years to Skunk Ape research, Dave Shealy stumbled on a rare find - what he says are their breeding grounds. He showed ABC7 the spot where supposed skunk ape droppings, along with water and animal traffic, prove his theory.

"This particular area contains everything that a small group of animals would need to survive and this is where we found the track," said Shealy.

That track, found Friday morning, is believed to be from that of a young skunk ape.

"The more I looked at it and saw the round toes and the differences, that's when I knew I found a juvenile skunk ape track. I was very excited," said Shealy.

He says wide open spaces are where a skunk ape is most likely to be. But the big question is if they really exist, how come so few people claim to have seen them.

"You don't always see them - they're wild animals," said Shealy.

Shealy went back out Friday night hoping his new find will get him one step closer to shedding light on the skunk ape mystery.

Skunk Ape Evidence Found
Skunk Ape Evidence Found

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All Points Bulletin: Calling All 'Exorcists'!

Hundreds of Germans, tortured by inner voices, are on the search for priests who can free them from what they believe to be the grip of the Devil, according to an extraordinary radio documentary that has stirred an awkward debate about exorcism in the Catholic Church.

“Over the past year alone I have received requests from around 350 people who think they are possessed by an evil spirit,” says Father Joerg Mueller, who heads a group of priests, doctors and therapists to deal with the problem. “Therapy hasn't worked for them; they want exorcism — a prayer that can free them.”

Father Mueller, who is based in a Bavarian monastery, was talking to a team from WDR, the state radio network, which was allowed to record extracts from eight exorcisms.

A Polish exorcist, named only as Father Wiktor, suggested that this was only a fraction of the actual number seeking help.

“I would say that every day at least one person is undergoing a full-scale exorcism,” he told WDR.

This has come as a shock to the Catholic Church in Germany, which has shied away from exorcism since the tragic case of Anneliese Michel in 1973.

Ms Michel, 23, from a strongly Catholic Bavarian village, had epilepsy and suffered from hallucinations. Two priests were authorised to perform an exorcism. They performed the ritual 67 times until she died, having starved herself to 31kg (68lb).

After her death the priests and her parents were sentenced to six-months' suspended jail sentences for not referring her for medical treatment.

That verdict and the publicity — two films were made about the case including The Exorcism of Emily Rose in 2005 — scared the Church hierarchy. Permission for a full exorcism now has to be granted by a bishop, but few permits have been given. In a poll of German dioceses, only Paderborn admitted to having authorised three exorcisms.

Frustrated by the lack of exorcists in their own country, disturbed Germans are turning to esoteric spiritual healers and priests in Switzerland and Poland. Andrzej Trojanowski, a Polish priest, even has plans to set up an exorcism centre in Poczernin, on the Polish-German border.

WDR broadcast some of the sessions of the exorcists with Ms Michel. She is heard growling and barking. “Tell the truth in the name of the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary!” commands Father Arnold Renz. The answer comes in the form of a long, terrifying scream.

The recording is making the Church leadership more reluctant to address the needs of the supposedly possessed. Yet by doing so the bishops are flying in the face of the Pope, who urged a convention of exorcists to “carry on your important work in the service of the Church”.

Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican exorcist-in-chief, has performed the ritual more than 40,000 times.

The Vatican aim appears to be to place at least one exorcist in each diocese to ensure that the distressed do not drift away from the Church. In Germany, however, that drift is already happening.

“I would say that 90 per cent of those who think they are posessed by the Devil are mentally ill,” said Father Mueller. A large number of them have suffered sexual abuse as children. Some think that an exorcism is easier than long years of psychotherapy.

He added: “But about ten per cent of the people who approach us have some sign of demonic possession and then you have to turn to special, charismatic men and women who have the gift of being able to feel and recognise if demons have entered someone.”

Only a handful qualify for exorcism. He gave the example of a widow who was convinced that her late husband had returned, in demonic form, to taunt her. She was offered psychotherapy.

Counting the Devil

300 Estimated number of trained exorcists in Italy

70 Estimated number of exorcists in Poland

84 Pages in the Vatican's 1999 Latin “rule book” on exorcism

Source: Times archives

Exorcisms Rising Germany
Exorcisms Rising Germany

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Interesting Crop Circles Appear In Amsterdam

Massive Crop Circle at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

New Amsterdam Crop Circles May 2008 From Air
Crop circles appear near Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on the 17th of May 2008. The 3 very large circles seem to have been burned away by a high powered heat source.

Interesting Crop Circles Appear Amsterdam
Interesting Crop Circles Appear Amsterdam

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West Virginia Woman Called Medical Miracle

A West Virginia woman was being transferred to the Cleveland Clinic after walking the line between life and death.

Doctors are calling Val Thomas a medical miracle. They said they can't explain how she is alive.

They said Thomas suffered two heart attacks and had no brain waves for more than 17 hours. At about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, her heart stopped and she had no pulse. A respiratory machine kept her breathing and rigor mortis had set in, doctors said.

"Her skin had already started to harden and her fingers curled. Death had set in," said son Jim Thomas.

They rushed her to a West Virginia hospital. Doctors put Thomas on a special machine which induces hypothermia. The treatment involves lowering the body temperature for up to 24 hours before warming a patient up.

After that procedure, her heart stopped again.

"She had no neurological function," said Dr. Kevin Eggleston.

Her family said goodbye and doctors removed all the tubes.

However, Thomas was kept on a ventilator a little while longer as an organ donor issue was discussed.

Ten minutes later the woman woke up and started talking.

"She (nurse) said, 'I'm so sorry Mrs. Thomas.' And mom said, 'That's OK honey. That's OK," Jim Thomas said.

Val Thomas and her family strongly believe that the Lord granted them their miracle and they want everyone to know.

"I know God has something in store for me, another purpose. I don't know what it is but I'm sure he'll tell me," she said.

She was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for specialist to check her out. Doctors said amazingly she has no blockage and will be fine.

West Virginia Woman Called Medical Miracle
West Virginia Woman Called Medical Miracle

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Video: Wolf Packs In Indiana?

A pack of 'wolf-like' canines was sighted and later shot in Gatchel, Indiana. Tests are currently being done to determine what these canines actually are, either wolves or hybrids.

Wolf Packs Indiana
Wolf Packs Indiana

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Video: McMinnville, Oregon UFO - May 11, 1950

McMinnville Oregon UFOs May 11, 1950
Video: McMinnville, Oregon UFO - May 11, 1950. One of the earliest sightings though it has been questioned by many skeptics.

Video McMinnville Oregon UFO
Video McMinnville Oregon UFO

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