For two weeks now, I’ve had a cough and a constant tickle in my throat.  I went to the doctor and they told me it was an upper respiratory infection.  I got some pills, cough syrup, and a shot.  I hope he was right, and that I actually had an infection and not a tree growing in my lung like 28-year-old Artyom Sidorkin.

It’s pretty unusual to have a fir tree chunk in the tissue of your lung.  Doctors thing that Comrade Sidorkin somehow inhaled a fir tree seed that grew inside him, because the piece was too big to otherwise breathe in.  That’s pretty freaky, but when the other medical explanation for your coughing up blood is lung cancer, then having a tree in your respiratory system is the much better option.

I’ve covered some weird parasites before at PopFi, but I’m not even sure how this could happen.  Parasites can live off your blood and the food you ingest, but a tree needs sunlight and water, among other things.  How would the seedling even germinate in this guy’s lung without something to feed on?  I know seeds like to grow in dark, wet places but that is ridiculous.

Tags: Russia, unusual medical conditions, health, odd injuries, fir tree growing in lung, unusual parasites, Artyom Sidorkin, tree in lung

Fashion designer Marc Ecko’s designs draw from a variety of inspirations, but there’s nothing as cool as his Black Rhino clothing articles.  After all, the Black Rhino collection is the home of the incredibly awesome Black Rhino Jason Hoodie, inspired by Jason Voorhees and the classic 80’s slasher movies in the Friday the 13th series.  […]

Throughout history, there’s been one constant.  People are going to do whatever they can to make themselves more beautiful.  Whether it’s a tattoo of an Internet superstar like Tay Zonday, a tooth tattoo, an eyeball coloration, or even an amputation disguise, there’s no shortage of ideas on what people can do to the body to […]

As lights get smaller and more powerful, you’re going to start seeing them in more and more places.  For example, check out the Galaxy Dress from CuteCircuit.  This formal-style gown made of crinoline, chiffon, 4,000 Swarovski crystals, and 24,000 LEDs is a pretty impressive combination of form and function.  Assuming you want to function as […]

Canada’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day.
Tags: moment of silence, 11:11 on Novemeber 11, Remembrance Day, tributes, veterans

Twenty years ago today, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.  The wall, separating East and West Berlin, was a symbol of the Cold War between the free world and the Soviet Union.  Google has a great selection of images from Life Magazine detailing the history of the wall, and there’s also a […]

From the outside, Emma Cahill looks like your average school girl.  She just turned 16 and attends St Mary’s Convent School in Worcester, England.  She is active in sports and has many friends, but there’s one thing different about Emma.  At 6′5, she is the tallest teenage girl in the UK.
Fortunately for Emma, her unusual […]

The New York Marathon ran this weekend.  Surprisingly, the winner was an American; in fact, Eritrea-born Meb Keflezighi is the first American citizen to win the marathon since 1982 (the year after I was born).  However, with an estimated 42,000 runners in the marathon this year, not all of them are hardcore professionals.  There are […]