“A young man who drank a quart of soy sauce went into a coma and nearly died from an excess of salt in his body, according to a recent case report. The 19-year-old, who drank the soy sauce after being dared by friends, is the first person known to have deliberately overdosed on such a high amount of salt and survived with no lasting neurological problems, according to the doctors in Virginia who reported his case. The case report was published online June 4 in the Journal of Emergency Medicine. Too much salt in the blood, a condition called hypernatremia, is usually seen in people with psychiatric conditions who develop a strong appetite for the condiment, said Dr. David J. Carlberg, who treated the young man and works as an emergency medicine physician at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.” w/ photos

“Countless studies have shown that texting while driving is dangerous. But perhaps this Saudi man hasn’t read any of these studies, because what he is doing is so over-the-top dangerous the only explanation is that he has never heard of danger. Either that or he’s just waiting for the ‘texting while sitting on the hood of a moving vehicle study’ before he makes any drastic changes in his lifestyle. In the video below, posted Wednesday on Gawker, an unidentified man casually plays on his phone while sitting on the hood of a car as it drives down a bustling roadway. Gawker reports that he was traveling from Riyadh to Mecca and that the car was going about 55 mph.” w/ photos

“A dog is really in the doghouse with its owner after causing his owner’s truck to crash into a house in Redding. It happened around 2 p.m. at Bobwhite Way and Partridge Drive. The driver had his dog in the front seat with him. The dog apparently couldn’t hold it any longer, and started going to the bathroom on the center console. The large dog apparently slipped from his perch, and fell onto the gas pedal. The driver said he couldn’t stop the truck before it went crashing into a house. Neighbor Richard Swayze said he heard it from his house down the block.” w/ photos

“We may not get the day off from work, but Michigan residents can now officially celebrate ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’ this September… ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’ is celebrated on Sept. 19 and has gained increasing popularity ever since humorist Dave Barry mentioned it in a newspaper column back in 2002, according to the TLAPD’s web site. Khan celebrated the passage by taking the podium Tuesday while wearing a black eye patch and saying, ‘It’s time, and now recognized, that the state of Michigan acknowledges this holiday and grants it the recognition it truly deserves.” w/ photo + video

“A contestant dressed as Santa Claus has won the right to call himself the undisputed office chair champion after breaking the tape at the end of the annual Danish Office Chair Championship 2013. This year’s jamboree saw 24 contestants participating in eight teams in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen. The rules for riders are simple – they career down a hill perched on top of their wheeled furniture as they battle to cross the finish line first. To protect contestants from falls and bumps, they all wore crash helmets, knee pads and elbow protectors.” w/ photos

“Paulden, Arizona is a small and quiet community, but lately there’s been some chatter over the new guy in town. It’s a nine-foot tall metal gargoyle with a wingspan of 13 feet. “It kind of symbolizes fire, I work metal and fire has it’s own spirit,” explains artist David Smith. Smith just moved into the neighborhood and says the day after he put up his prized possession the county told him to take it down. It’s not the size of the whole statue that has the county up in arms, it’s the size of something else.” w/ photo + video

“Honda engineers are racing to build the world’s fastest lawnmower after being put up to the task by Top Gear Magazine. They are targeting a speed of 130mph (210km/hr). That would easily beat the current record of 96.5mph claimed by the fuel additive firm, Gold Eagle. A first look at the machine – showing flames coming out of its exhaust – has been posted online. Honda said it had taken on the project to promote its ‘sporty credentials.” w/ photo + video

“Paul Bacon has pimped his ride by using bottle caps to make the front grille and the steering wheel is the top of a firework rocket. And he has spiced up the six cylinder engine – which pokes through the bonnet – with salt and pepper pots. His bubble car creation, named The Cosmotron, is legal to drive and boasts a top speed of 140mph. The 39-year-old used the chassis of an old BMW Z3 as the base for his car and sculpted its sleek curves using fibreglass matting.” w/ photos

“Rick Cavallaro has been called an idiot more times than he cares to remember. After posing the theory that a wind-powered vehicle can travel downwind faster than the wind, negating centuries of scientific belief, the Internet and its readers pointed, laughed and ridiculed the mad scientist. But on July 3, 2010, Cavarallo and his cronies silenced the doubters by constructing a wind-powered vehicle that travelled close to three times faster than the wind itself. For those wondering where one might buy a scientific-defying wind-powered machine, head over to eBay. The car nicknamed Blackbird is now for sale.” w/ photos

“Aside from keeping your face warm and looking cool (sometimes), your bushy beard could also help boost your bank balance. Beardvertising has been tipped to become the ‘next big thing’ in advertising and involves using a willing participant’s epic facial hair as mini billboards. That’s good news for lumberjacks and hipsters, with Kentucky-based advertising agency Cornett-IMS offering men $5 per day to wear the clip-on adverts.” w/ photos