The new and the odd

I have recently discovered something that may seem a bit odd to many of you, but most people who have tried this swear by it and I have to admit that it did work for me.

A neti pot.

For those not familiar with it, the neti pot is an ancient device that uses saline solution and gravity to flush out the nasal passages. It is purported to help decrease allergies, sinus pressure, sinus infections, and other problems including the headaches and earaches that accompany these conditions.

I acquired a cold this weekend and was fairly miserable. I saw the neti pot while at the pharmacy and decided to try it one the recommendation of a friend. I was amazed. I still had my cold, my sinuses were still inflamed, but by flushing out the nasal passage it cleared a great deal of the congestion. I could breathe again.

I did learn one important lesson the second time I went to use the neti pot. Don’t do this if you can’t get any air passage through one side of your nose. The spout of the neti pot is placed in one nostril. By tilting your head, gravity pulls the water up the passage and out through the other nostril. If you have a completely blocked nasal passage that won’t allow any air through, it isn’t going to allow water through either. The water then seeks its secondary exit. Down the back of your throat, which is not pleasant.

I know it sounds gross and even a bit scary. But I have to admit, it did a wonderful job.


Now some rather odd stories that had me scratching my head today:

Manners are very important, especially if you are breaking the law. I ran across an interesting news story today about a British burglar who broke into a 91 year old woman’s home about 4am one morning. The confrontation frightened the woman considerably. And the good manners part? The burglar sent the woman flowers and a note of apology indicating he regretted frightening her. He’d thought the house was empty. Police are hoping he’ll turn himself in.

And watch out for golfers. Evidently the aging baby-boomer generation is bringing their love of muscle cars to the world of golf. Recently in Utah a man in a “souped up” golf cart managed to evade police cruisers. The suspect had been doing spinouts in a local park when police began to chase him. The officers lost him after he “jumped” a ditch.

Thieves seem to be getting more and more creative these days. And what they’re stealing is getting more unusual. The government of Jamaica is trying to figure out who stole one of their beaches. Yep. One of their beaches. It turns out 500 truckloads of white sand from Coral Springs. The president of Jamaica has demanded that someone explain how 500 truckloads of sand could be stolen without anyone noticing until the dead was done. I’m hoping he’ll share this information with the rest of us.


Urban legends. There are those stories that sound so outrageous that we just have to pause and consider that they are true. Well, a Michigan man has moved one urban legend into the realm of reality. Police arrested a man a couple of days ago for using a carwash vacuum cleaner to…well…do himself a really big favor.

Finally, some female members of the Australian Navy have had their buoyancy improved at the taxpayers’ expense. The Australian Navy has been paying for breast augmentation for what it called “psychological” reasons. It claimed that without the augmentation the female sailors wouldn’t have been fit for deployment.