In the News- The Latest Mummy?

Mummy- the Egyptian Way.
A former UK taxi driver has become the first man in over 3,000 years to be mummified in the way that the Egyptian Pharaohs were.  Alan Billis had been terminally ill with cancer when he volunteered to donate his body to the procedure. His wife backed him and his family is pleased with the results. He was sixty-one when he saw the ad in the paper for it and called and agreed to it. 

Dr Stephen Buckley, a chemist and research fellow at York University, has spent 19 years trying to uncover the preservation techniques which the Egyptians used during the 18th dynasty.

Alongside archaeologist Dr Jo Fletcher, Dr Buckley has studied mummified bodies, analysing tissue samples and finally putting his findings into practice by putting them to the test on Billis's body at Sheffield's Medico-Legal Centre.

When Alan's wife found out about the program, she was not surprised because this was "exactly thing kind of thing he would have done."

Dr Buckley has used specialist scientific equipment such as a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer to identify materials which were used by priests, including beeswax, oils and resins.
He went on to conduct a series of experiments using pigs' legs as a substitute for human flesh, rigging up makeshift desert conditions in his shed.
Billis's internal organs - including his lungs and intestines - were removed through an incision in his side, and the sterilised cavity was padded with linen, although the brain was left in place. Then the body's moisture content was removed using a caustic salt from the region, called natron which was described by Greek historian Herodotus in 450BC - 800 years after the 18th dynasty.
The scientists then immersed the corpse in a salt bath for more than a month to draw out the water. And to protect the skin from the harsh salt it was covered in a special protective layer of oils.
The body was then wrapped in linen - like the classic image of a mummy - protecting it from light and insects, and his wife made a visit, leaving favourite photographs and drawings by his grandchildren.

After three months of drying, the process was judged to be complete. 

The experiment was done because of research and scientific purposes.  

Your Trainer May be Not as Health as You think. 
Usually when people talk about weight loss, most of the time, these stories do not involve the people getting obese on purpose. But that's exactly what Drew Manning is doing. Since May he has gained 70 pounds. 

Drew is a personal trainer and has always been the “fit guy.” He’s now on a journey he calls Fit 2 Fat 2 Fitwhere he spends six months (he has about 4 weeks left) eating  unhealthy food and not exercising, then he will take six more months to get fit again. Why? To experience for himself what it’s like to be overweight, how tough it is to lose weight, and ultimately show others how to get fit.

The author of the article interviewed Mr. Manning and you can read the whole article and the interview, here.

As for my brother, who would never ever do this, I think it would be an eye opener for him to take a challenge like this. It might change his perspective some on some things. As for me, I think it's an interesting idea. I certainly wouldn't do it on purpose, and I have a hard enough time trying to gain weight that I might take longer than six months to actually get anywhere near obesity.

Give me a couple years and I might be able to do it. 

Bear Cub Decides He wants to be Human. 
The residents of Ketchikan, Alaska had a very furry surprise for them when they went to their local gorcery store Saterday evening. A bear cub was discovered milling in the produce section and was captured on camera by the assistant store manager, Joe Stoller. In a phone interview, Mr. Stoller said that the incident lasted only eight minutes, from the time the bear wandered into the store at 5:45 pm via the automatic doors, to the time it was escorted out of the store by a customer and placed outside. 

Apparently an announcment was heard over the speaker that a bear was in the produce aisle, but our camera man thought that the clerk speaking had said "bird." 

As for the cub, it was crying when picked up but didn't seem to be hungry and was simply looking for a place where he could be alone. Since Saturday, the bear as not been seen and hopefully found its mother.

To see the video of the cute and lost bear cub, click here.  

So, what do you think about all this news? Would you be willing to be mummified after death? Would you be willing to gain pounds? And what would you do if there was a wild animal in your grocery store?

Sincerely,
Sareh