This has got to be some kind of modern record. Back in 'olden days' -- i.e. before a wondrous invention called the pill -- women had small armies of offspring, mostly to help run farms.
These days it seems not only crazy to have more than half a dozen children, but reckless, too. So why are Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar the exception to the rule?
The “19 Kids and Counting” Duggars told the Today Show that they're expecting another baby. Their 20th.
They already have two sets of twins, and incredibly, all children in the brood were conceived naturally, although at 45, Mrs. Duggar's last pregnancy posed a host of health problems for both her and daughter Josie. In fact, Josie was delivered three and a half months premature, weighing only one pound, six ounces.
Even more incredibly, mom to be for the umpteenth time, Michelle is excited at the prospect of another mouth to feed. "I was not thinking that God would give us another one, and we are just so grateful,” said Mrs. Duggar who is in her second trimester.
Is it irresponsible and selfish to have so many children in this day and age, or go forth and multiply as you see fit for the Duggars?
Talk about sweeping romantic gestures. When Brian McGuinn married his wife over five years ago, he likely would have done anything for her. But I'll bet he never expected that would include sifting tons of garbage at a landfill site.
After shaving one night, McGuinn tossed his a disposable razor, along with his wife's 1.5-carat, custom-designed platinum diamond engagement ring, into the garbage.
A man of action, McGuinn quickly contacted the Wheelabrator dump in Pompano Beach, Miami. Donning a mask, thick leather gloves, a hard hat and a full protective suit, he waded through "nine tons of garbage and 10-foot high piles of rotting trash."
Locating a proverbial needle in a haystack must've seemed easier. Yet McGuinn soldiered on, and 90 minutes later uncovered the precious ring "covered in disgusting black sludge, but still intact."
After giving the ring a thorough cleaning at a jewellers, McGuinn drove to his wife Anna's office and slipped the ring back on her finger.
"It was unbelievable," she said. "I'm never taking it off again."
I should hope not. I'm sure McGuinn earned some big fat brownie points in his gallant effort to get the ring back.
Have you ever lost something really precious? If you got it back, how did you do it?
To be fair, Ashton Kutcher isn't the first or only celeb to put his foot in his mouth on Twitter. Russell Crowe and Ricky Gervais come to mind... After all, giving someone in the public eye 140-characters' worth of free reign was always bound to end in tears and copious retractions.
While Twitter allows fans direct access to their favourite stars -- with no 'middle man' to act as a buffer -- the social media tool has become a PR nightmare for many an A-lister.
In Kutcher's case: defending Penn State football coach Joe Paterno who was fired for covering up Jerry Sandusky's alleged sex abuse of young boys. Following his faux pas, the 33-year-old Two and a Half Men actor pledged to tweet no more until he found a better way to manage his feed and/or seal his lips.
"I feel responsible for delivering an informed opinion and not spreading gossip or rumors through my Twitter feed," blogged Kutcher. "While I feel that running this feed myself gives me a closer relationship to my friends and fans, I've come to realize that it has grown into more [than] a fun tool to communicate with people."
Like the legions of foot-in-mouth celebs before him, Kutcher claimed that he's "truely (sic) sorry if I offended anyone." Although he will maintain his Twitter account, Kutcher's tweets will be moderated by his PR team at Katalyst Media "to ensure the quality of its content."
In an era of increasingly transparent media, celebrities are being exposed for making inappropriate or ignorant comments. Stars are only human, but -- aside from performing for known tyrants like Gaddafi -- should we forgive them for erring on the wrong side of political correctness now and then?
Would you bother to follow celebrities with managed Twitter accounts like Kutcher, or would the lack of authenticity put you off?
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