I've heard of stamps and coins, but frankly this is a little disturbing. An Alberta dentist recently bagged himself a pretty rare collectible at Britain's Omega Auctions.
Michael Zuk admitted $31,000 was a "fair chunk of change for a tooth" after purchasing the tooth of the legendary Beatle front man who was shot dead in New York City in 1980. The tooth was reportedly obtained by Lennon's housekeeper, Dorothy Jarlett while she worked for him in 1964.
"This is perhaps the last piece of John Lennon's DNA, so it's pretty well priceless in my mind," said Zuk, who penned Confessions of a Former Cosmetic Dentist, a book about celebrities with unusual teeth. John Lennon was no exception to the British stereotype parodied (by Canuck comedian Mike Myers) in the Austin Powers movies.
Rather than keep the Beatles memorabilia safely tucked away, Zuk ought to showcase the rotten lower molar in his dentistry practice as a cautionary tale to patients to keep up with their flossing and brushing.
Do you collect anything? Is it ethical for things like teeth to be made available by public auction?
Image Credit: dailymail.co.uk
"
Is that a baby you're carrying, Kate, or are you just famished? During her recent public visit to Copenhagen, Kate Middleton's behaviour had Royal watchers scratching their heads. Is she? Could she be... pregnant?
No doubt it could be a case of wishful thinking for reporters and idolators worldwide, but as the Daily Mail noted, the Duchess of Cambridge did turn down champagne as well as peanut paste (a no-no for pregnant women in this age of allergy awareness).
Of course, Palace officials wouldn't comment on the rumours, although they did confirm that Kate apparently does have a peanut allergy.
Culture vultures also noted that the red coat Kate donned seemed a little too big for her and, just maybe, concealed a baby bump.
The Duchess was also seen rubbing her tummy over a dozen times, which may well be a subconscious tic. Then again, maybe not. If the anorexia rumours are true, then maybe she was just bloody ravenous and hoping the paparazzi couldn't hear her stomach rumbling!
Either way, the girl can't win.
There are the restless nights when your sizeable bump prevents you from sleeping. Then the ensuing sleepless weeks following the birth of a baby. But what about all the months afterwards?
For many of us, so says the New York Times, insomnia becomes "a permanent modus operandi" leading us to turn to sleeping pills to get some much-needed shut eye.
“Most of the time I get stuck mulling over the logistics of how everything’s going to get done — my brain really digs down the minutiae,” said 45-year-old mom Cheryl Downs McCoy, who admits to consulting a sleep therapist and trying every prescription and over-the-counter soporific, from Ambien to low-dose anti-depressants, to get some Zs.
Whether it's Lunesta or melatonin or even Xanax, as many as 3 in 10 American moms are popping pills a few times a week to quell all the worries and thoughts that keep them lying awake at night according to “Women and Sleep,” a 2007 National Sleep Foundation study.
Chris Baldwin, a 43-year-old mom of two, claims she even gets a "hangover" after weaning herself off of Tylenol PM. Apparently women suffer from insomnia more than men. Why is that?
In the above study, 80 per cent of women reported being "just too stressed or worried to turn out the proverbial lights."
It's the hamster in the wheel syndrome. Women find it hard to wind down, because there is always so much to do and so little time in which to do it all.
Some moms actually use the early morning wakings to get creative or brainstorm about tackling the day ahead. For others, the insomnia is a blessing in disguise.
“I’m pretty sure I wake up at 3 because subconsciously, I know I’ll have this time to myself,” claims McCoy. “It’s the only time in a 24-hour period when no one needs me or wants me or expects me to do something. Despite the inconvenience, it’s a time that’s blissfully mine.”
How do you unwind and put a lid on worries at the end of the day? Do you ever take anything to help you fall asleep?
Printer-friendly version