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In October a British dermatologist reported that a 26-year-old female patient, involved in hormone therapy to get rid of excess facial hair, suddenly became sexually irresistible to her pet rottweiler. The doctor, writing in the medical journal the Lancet, said the dog “would not leave her alone” and attributed its behavior to changes in the woman’s skin secretions.
An eight-month study at the University of Iowa Hospital, released in July and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported that hospital personnel who work with patients wash their hands less than half as often as rules require. Resulting infections may cost $10 billion a year.
Swedish justice minister Gun Hellsvik came under criticism in October over a rehabilitation program established to help prison inmates adjust to society. The program included an in-prison session to teach inmates skeet shooting–by letting them practice with shotguns.
The Weirdo-American Community
Carl Jeffrey, 44, shot himself to death in Phoenix in August after blowing up his home with explosives. Jeffrey had just lost a long battle with the IRS over back taxes and had received notice to vacate the home.
