Dog dies next to his master’s grave

A loyal dog has been found dead next to his owner’s grave — having slept there every night for 11 years. Miguel Guzman’s family initially thought the German shepherd named Capitan had run away a few months after Mr Guzman’s death in 2006.

But months later, while visiting the cemetery in Cordoba, Argentina, the family found Capitan by his owner’s grave.

They had no idea how the dog managed to find the cemetery where his master was buried. Fittingly, Capitan died next to Mr Guzman’s body in the Municipal Cemetery of Villa Carlos Paz, at the age of 15.

When he was found living there, the cemetery’s director Hector Baccega said: “The dog appeared here by itself, going around the whole cemetery until it arrived, by itself, at its owner’s grave. Nobody had brought him here.”

Cry baby cry!

This tradition is 400 years old and it is believed that if a baby cries in the wrestler’s hands, then it will bring good health and fortune to the child. It is also assumed that it will keep the child away from evil spirits. The custom takes place in weird Naki Zumo Japanese festival where all the parents gather and pay up to 70 pounds for such an act. Sumo wrestlers hold the babies in the air and the baby that cries the loudest and for the longest time is announced as the winner.

If the child fails to cry, the referee enters the ground and frightens the kids with wacky performances and by wearing scary masks.

What is mad honey?

The dark, reddish, ‘mad honey,’ known as deli bal in Turkey, contains an ingredient from rhododendron nectar called grayanotoxin — a natural neurotoxin that, even in small quantities, brings on light-headedness and sometimes, hallucinations.

When over-imbibed, however, the honey can cause low blood pressure and irregularities in the heartbeat that bring on nausea, numbness, blurred vision, fainting, potent hallucinations, seizures, and even death, in rare cases.

Tree of death

The Manchineel tree looks harmless, but it is the most dangerous tree in the world. Its fruit is nick-named as ‘little apple of death’. Also known as the beach apple, Manchineel tree has a superficial resemblance of its fruit and leaves to those of an apple tree. All parts of the tree contain strong toxins, some unidentified. The tree has a milky sap that contains phorbol and other skin irritants. If you happen to get it on your skin, it causes immense allergic reactions or dermatitis. Standing below the tree during the rain will cause skin blisters. The sap is highly acidic and has been known to damage paint on cars. Burning the tree causes ocular injuries if the smoke reaches the eyes. The fruit if eaten is also fatal and ingestion produces sever gastroenteritis with bleeding, shock, bacterial super infection and airway compromise.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 7th, 2018