Peoples Daily WEEKEND, SATURDAY — SUNDAY, AUGUST 29 - 30, 2015
Page 49
Oddities
Girl, 2, eats toilet brushes
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ily Mullins, two, has Pica, described as the persistent eating of non-food items with no nutrition. The tot will stop at nothing to nibble on brushes, shower puffs, clothes and more and has even attempted consuming a toilet brush. Mum-of-two, Kate Ovington, 27, has to keep a constant watch on her. “I am always worried about what Lily is going to try and eat next. I try to tell her that the things she is always putting in her mouth are going to make her feel poorly, but she doesn’t understand. “She loves to pull the hair out of her toy and eat it. When I tell her to stop she hides it under her pillow and sometimes I don’t realise until it is too late. I am always worried about what she is going to move on to and try to eat next. She particularly loves anything with hair or bristles.” Lily started having her unusual eating habits as a baby and Kate just imagined she was being like any baby and was curious. “But then she started actually biting bits off the sponges and trying to swallow them. People said to me that she was just being a child, but I knew it was something more than that. It is the hygiene and choking aspect of it all that worries me the
most,” Kate said. Doctors are baffled by Lily’s behaviour and it was a nursery teacher who suggested it might be Pica. As she grows older, her interest in normal food worsened and Kate fears for the future. “She only likes apples and strawberries. As she is getting older she’d definitely get worse with normal food. The worst was when my partner, Liam, smashed the screen on his phone. Before we knew it, she was trying to eat the little pieces of glass. It is just so difficult. How do you explain to a two-year-old that they shouldn’t be doing that?” A spokesman from the Challenging Behaviour Foundation said: “Pica refers to eating objects that are inedible such as stones, coins, shampoo, clothing and cigarette butts. Children and adults may eat one specific inedible object or lots of different ones. “Research into the causes, assessment and strategies for pica is very limited. The specific causes of pica are not clear. Whilst some objects pass through the body without harm, pica can potentially be life threatening. Risks include vomiting, constipation, infections, blockages in the gut and intestines, choking and poisoning.”
Couple still eating their wedding cake 60 yrs after
I
t might be traditional for a married couple to keep a tier of their wedding cake for their first anniversary or for their first child’s christening, but this couple have taken it to a whole new level. Ann and Ken Fredericks have been married for 60 years after tying the knot in New York in 1955, and they admitted that they still have some of the original cake left. The dark fruit cake was made by Ann’s grandmother for their marriage ceremony on August 19. And now, each year, on their anniversary, they take out a little bit of the
cake to enjoy alongside a bottle of champagne. The pair said the cake has never spoiled and simply needs a drop of brandy to keep it moist. Ann, who lives with her husband in Satellite Beach, Florida, told Florida Today: “I have to say it is dry, tastes a little dry but it tastes like cake. A little bit of brandy never hurt anybody.” Mr Fredericks added: “Maybe that is the reason we have been around so long.” According to the couple, there is no secret to storing the cake either, it is simply put into a tin and placed in a kitchen cupboard.
Man sues neighbour paid to impregnate wife after 72 attempts
A
29-year old German, Demetrius Soupolos, has sued his neighbour, 34-year old Frank Maus for breach of contract after the latter failed to impregnate his wife in 72 different attempts. Soupolos had hired Maus to impregnate his former
beauty queen wife, Traute, as he was sterile and wanted a baby. He thought Maus would be a good choice as he resembled him and is a father of two. Soupolos paid Maus Sh260,000 for the job and for three evenings a
week for the next six months, Maus tried desperately a total of 72 times to impregnate Traute. When Traute did not get pregnant after six months, Soupolos insisted Maus go for a medical examination which
revealed he was sterile as well. Mau’s wife was then forced to confess that he was not the real father of her two kids. In his defence, Maus said he did not ‘guarantee’ conception, only that he would give a ‘honest’ shot at it.