Students hospitalised after eating ghost pepper chips

Fourteen high school students in Tokyo, Japan, were recently hospitalised with stomach aches, nausea and mouth pain after sharing a bag of potato chips infused with Bhut Jolokia peppers.

The students at Rokugo Koka High School in Tokyo’s Ota were among 33 students who had shared a bag of super-spicy potato chips infused with “Bhut Jolokia,” which was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s hottest pepper.”

The incident is being promoted as a cautionary tale for young students considering trying such spicy snacks. The infamous ghost pepper-infused chips are clearly labelled as “18+ curry chips.” On its website, the company also warns that “people with high blood pressure or a weak stomach should never eat them,” and “eating too much can cause an upset stomach, so share it with a friend.”

Man attempts admission in university for 16 years

Tang Shangjun, a 36-year-old man, dubbed “China’s most stubborn man,” took ‘gaokao’ — China’s notoriously difficult college admission exam — 16 times, aiming to get into Tsinghua University.

Tang Shangjun started in 2009, but has yet to achieve the score required for his desired majors, physics and chemistry. Despite improving his score to 649 in 2019, it still wasn’t enough. Last year, he scored 594 and now, at 36, he’s beginning to realise the difficulty of competing with younger graduates for jobs. It’s unclear if he will attempt the exam again next year.

Glass shard removed from liver

A 53-year-old Russian man, suffering from pain for nine years, discovered a 9cm glass shard embedded in his liver. He sought help at Kirov Regional Clinical Hospital in Russia, where he told doctors he had long experienced sharp pain and discomfort on the right side of his body, under his ribs, but never got it checked out. The man had no history of trauma and was unaware of how it got there.

A CT scan revealed the sharp object. Surgeons successfully removed the shard laparoscopically. It was said that the glass shard, encapsulated by connective tissue, could have caused severe complications.

Long-lost Star Trek props headed to auction

A California auction house announced a pair of long-lost props from the original Star Trek series have been found after more than 50 years and are headed to auction.

Julien’s Auctions announced the phaser and communicator will be auctioned as part of the co-branded event “Comic-Con Museum Presents: Julien’s Auctions & TCM 2024 Spotlight Series.” The props were used by William Shatner on screen in his role as Capt. James T. Kirk.

Don Hillenbrand, a Star Trek prop expert, authenticated the items as the “hero” versions used on screen in multiple episodes of the series. The props, made in 1966, were in the collection of a recently-deceased man who worked in the Hollywood prop industry for many years.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 17th, 2024