No chewing noises, please!

Chewing noise can be too irritable, but, to Derrol Murphy, these noises are unacceptable that he has estranged himself from relatives over fears he might ‘fly into a rage’.

Murphy has ended relationships because of the noise his partners make while eating or when clearing their throat. He even said he has almost come to blows with colleagues for clicking pens.

Derrol diagnosed himself with misophonia, a condition that makes people irritable about ordinary sounds humans make. He says he is learning to manage his condition but wants more people to be aware of it.

He said, “I thought I was crazy for many years. Little noises would make me just fly into a rage. People don’t understand it and I can’t explain it. It’s affected relationships, especially family members”

Murphy is now trying to overcome the noises by listening to music, watching TV or putting on headphones. The NHS (National Health Services) recommends relaxation techniques such as concentrating on breathing to remove stress.

Sea turtle hatchling with two heads

The Sea Turtle Patrol on Hilton Head Island posted a photo to Facebook showing the tiny turtle with two heads, a condition known as being bicephalic.

“This mutation is more common in reptiles than in other animals, but it is still very rare,” the post said. Patrol member Jayme Davidson Lopko made the discovery while conducting a nest inventory. The turtle — dubbed Squirt and Crush after sea turtles from Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo — was released into the ocean.

Corn stalk sprouts 28 cobs!

A New Jersey man might have a Guinness World Record in his yard after his corn stalk sprouted 28 ears of corn.

Matt Jacovelli of Deptford said he was surprised when the corn stalk started ‘exploding’ with cobs, and soon the number had grown to at least 28.

“I started counting the cobs. It was more than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime,” Jacovelli told.

Jacovelli said he has reached out to Guinness World Records for information on officially verifying the number of cobs, which would beat the current record of 16, which was set in 2009 by a corn stalk in Swedesburg, Iowa.

The New Jersey man said he grows tomatoes and other plants, but he isn’t a professional farmer — he didn’t even plant the corn stalk on purpose.

“I feed the birds and rabbits and squirrels. The squirrels carried the seed all around my house and buried it,” he said. “So the squirrels actually planted it.

Kenyan chef cooks for 75 hours straight

A Kenyan chef broke a Guinness World Record when she prepared meals for 75 consecutive hours, completing 400 individual recipes.

Chef Maliha Mohammad, finished cooking at the Kenya Bay Beach Resort in Mombasa, marking 75 hours of nonstop cooking.

Maliha’s kitchen marathon beat the previous record of 68 hours, 30 minutes of nonstop cooking, set by Rickey Lumpkin of California.

The chef completed 400 unique recipes during the record attempt, including both local and international cuisine. Her dishes included more than 10 types of pizza and her signature dish, Korean chicken Bulgogi.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 14th, 2019