Gulp! Sword artist’s record is hard to swallow

Chayne Hultgren swallowed 18 swords simultaneously, each 28 inches long

Excerpt:

“Chayne Hultgren, also known by his stage name The Space Cowboy, beat the record he had set in 2008 by swallowing the swords, each 72 cm (28.35 inches) long, at an outdoor event in central Sydney.”

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Did you hear the one about…

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com
Daryl is MSNBC's own cartoonist and host of this site. To reproduce Daryl's cartoons in your publication, e-mail us,

The $9,150 toothpick

Save your

toothpicks,everyone –-

if you ever become

famous, you could make your grandchildren rich. As evidence, consider Exhibit A: An ivory and gold toothpick once owned by Charles Dickens that just sold at a New York City auction for $9,150.

In case you're wondering whether the British writer really used the toothpick –- (and secretly hoping that maybe he didn't) –- an authentication letter from sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth says Dickens put the toothpick to use "when travelling and on his last visit to America."

If you think this is silly and extravagant Go to MSNBC.MSN.com (under Tech & Money)to see eleven more examples.

Need More Evidence the Senate Is Absurd? Look No Further

“According to Sen. Harry Reid's office, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), utilizing a quirk of Senate procedure that allows an individual to halt a nominee's progression, has placed a blanket hold* on all pending nominations. Not just one or two folks that he has worries about. All 70 prospective appointees. And he's not doing it out of concerns over their suitability or qualifications. He's doing it to get some pork for his state. From Congress Daily:”

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Photo source

Who Owns Your DNA?

Why patenting genes is a bad idea.

“Ever since the first human gene was patented in 1982, there's been a near-universal "What??!!" when people hear that it's legal for someone to own the rights to our DNA. Blame the Constitution, which empowers Congress to give inventors "the exclusive right" to their discoveries;" the patent office, which interprets "discoveries" as including genes; and the courts, which have said similar patents "promote the progress of science," as the Framers wrote.

So far, all that has trumped complaints that patents on human genes (of which some 40,000, covering about one fifth of the genome, have been issued) "halt research, prevent medical testing, and keep vital information from you and your doctor," as novelist Michael Crichton wrote in 2007. But maybe not for much longer.”

Go here to read the rest. Photo source