Nov
30
2012

New Mum Announces Baby Hashtag on Facebook—Of Course

A Hashtag is Born

New Mum Announces Baby Hashtag on Facebook—Of Course

You would hope it's a joke or some desperate means to go viral for a day, but apparently a new baby girl in the UK has been named Hashtag—after "the ubiquitous # symbol in social media."

According to an article in the Guardian, the new mum announced her baby name choice on Facebook, so it must be so. 
 
In an age where the names just keep getting weirder in an ever-elusive quest for originality. new parents seem not to care that their decision now will lead to many a black eye and bloody nose in the playground later. 
 
Seems this mother wasn't the first to derive inspiration from the lexicon of social media; Israeli parents Lior and Vardit Adler reportedly named their daughter "Like" after the Facebook button. 
 
Aside from the plain silly, other names are just offensive. The Guardian points to a renaming ceremony that took place in India, where parents hoping for sons named their girls—all 285 of them—"Nakusa" or "Nakushi," which translates as "unwanted."
 
Baby names often capture certain trends and are rooted to a particular era. At least it will be easy to guess baby Hashtag's age as she grows old. Ditto for little Kindle and little Gangnam. And in case you're wondering, Facebook has already been taken.
 
Oh well, it beats this year's top names, according to BabyCentre: Sophia and Aiden. So much for originality. But before you go all wacky, consider the effects an ill-advised name can have on your child...
 
Think Hashtag is bad? Check out these corkers from last year...Cast your vote—what's the most bizarre baby name you've ever heard? 
Nov
30
2012

Jessica Simpson's Big Bouncing Bombshell

Two Under Two

Jessica Simpson's Big Bouncing Bombshell

Right after Weight Watchers (WW) paid her a small fortune to lose the baby pounds, Jessica Simpson is reportedly pregnant again—a mere seven months after giving birth to her little man, Maxwell. 

According to an article in US Weekly, though the pregnancy wasn't planned, the singer is in fact expecting another baby with her fiance, ex NFLer Eric Johnson:

"She really is overjoyed!" says the source.

Simpson has so far failed to comment, yet the official announcement will surely follow since the fashionista rarely shies away from the public eye. Fat chance WW will pay out again.

Happy news, but it will no doubt be tough for the star to go through another pregnancy so soon, not to mention having two children under two. For many parents, the closer the age of the siblings, the better.

Would you want back-to-back pregnancies? What's the ideal age gap between babies?

 

Nov
29
2012

Health Shocker: Grapefruit Can Kill You

Potentially Fatal Fruit

Health Shocker: Grapefruit Can Kill You

Grapefruit. What was once thought of as a superfood—the breakfast of champions—has the potential to kill you if taken with certain prescribed drugs. Eating or drinking as little as 250ml of grapefruit juice can cause a potentially lethal interaction with more than 85 oral medications, according to new research from Western University. 

According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen, in the past four years the number of meds with potentially adverse interaction with grapefruit has shot up from 17 to some 43.

"Half of these drugs actually can cause sudden death," said researcher David Bailey, a clinical pharmacologist at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont. Such interactions can translate into "acute kidney or respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, or other serious effects."

A chemical in grapefruit conflicts with an enzyme, affecting how drugs are absorbed, potentially resulting in an overdose. Some affected meds include statins (used to lower cholesterol levels), heart drugs, anti-psychotics and certain pain medicines.

Other citruses with a similar effect include limes, pomelos and Seville oranges.

"Your urine looks like wine," said Bailey. "You can be in such extreme pain that you literally can't walk across the room and your kidneys have totally shut down.

Other drugs won't work at all if grapefruit is eaten. Best advice: if you're a grapefruit aficionado, check with your doctor before taking new meds. 

Photo via Flickr, CC