“Doctors have found a 4-inch-long leech living in an impossible place – the windpipe of a 16-year-old boy. Two months ago, Tao Jiayuan felt ill and his voice became hoarse. His mother thought he had caught a cold and gave him some medicine – it didn’t work. Gradually the boy lost weight and felt weak. It wasn’t until he had difficulty breathing that his family took him to hospital. Doctors found a leech living in his windpipe. Nan’an Division of Yibin No. 2 Hospital, in Yibin City in southwest China’s Sichuan province, performed an operation on the boy late last week and removed the leech. The bloodsucker seemed hardly affected by the dose of anaesthetic given to the boy and kept creeping on the white paper when it was out of the boy’s throat. Though it is an extreme case, it is possible for leeches to steal their way into the human body, according to Doctor Chen Bing who was in charge of the operation.” w/ photo + video

“According to a local newspaper, Kura has been excreting stones from her right eye for the last two weeks but doctors are not sure what is causing the phenomenon. On average the young girl weeps between 12 to 25 stones a day. Nitya says she doesn’t feel any pain but her right eye swells before the stones drop out. Her grandfather Gopal Reddy says he first noticed the strange happenings in October. ‘Initially, we thought it was some divine power and prayed to God for this phenomenon to stop,’ he told the Star online. The girl’s parents have seen several different specialists but none have had an answer.” w/ photo

“Yang says what improved his health was ‘iron crotch’ qigong, which he studied after meeting the practice’s founder, Tu Jin-sheng. Yang showed his friends the results of his daily practice. First, he uses a red cloth to tie several iron disks to his genitals to warm up. When he feels prepared, he steps onto two pedestals and crouches down to tie iron weights weighing 507lbs to his penis. He then stands up slowly, lifting the iron disks off the ground for 30 seconds. His friends have been, for lack of a better word, fascinated by his performance… Qigong is usually practiced to improve health, mediation, breathing and movement. The practice is closely tied to theories of self-cultivation in Chinese philosophy and comes in various forms and styles.” w/ photo

“A dedicated farmer has taught his prized pig, which was born without back legs, to walk upright on his front legs. Proud Ge Xinping, from Mengcheng in eastern China’s Anhui Province, says he thought the deformed piglet would die after he was born in July. However, after lots of time and devotion the pig has learnt how to walk on its forelegs and is now the talk of the town. ‘Villagers all love it as it walks like an upside down gymnast,’ Ge said. Elsewhere in China, pig breeders are not having such luck. More than 100 people in the Henan province have been sentenced for planning to contaminate pork with the drug, Clenbuterol, which makes the meat leaner but can have adverse affects on humans.” w/ photo

“The white sliced loaf flew out of her shopping bag on the back seat and became wedged between her head and the roof of the car after she hit a telegraph pole and lost control. The $1.52 Hovis Soft White was still in place when firefighters arrived to cut her from the wreckage an hour later. The 51-year-old from Stronachlachar, Stirling, escaped with minor cuts and bruises but managed to write off her Nissan Note. The mother-of-two said: ‘It stopped my head hitting the top of the car, and saved my life. ‘For some reason, the airbags didn’t inflate so the loaf was the only cushion I had. ‘I’ve written Hovis an email to say thank you. I’ll always feel a certain loyalty to it now.” w/ photo

“Two months after Meng Xiaoting’s blind puppy disappeared without trace she had given up hope of finding him – until a friend read a story about the discovery of a dog down a manhole. The cute young dog, named Dou Dou, went missing in September while out for walkies with its owner in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. She scoured the area in search of her pet but he was nowhere to be seen. Realizing the improbability of a blind dog finding its way home without help, she accepted she would never see Dou Dou again. However, when her friend told her of a newspaper story about a puppy with eye problems who had been trapped for several months down a manhole in Shandong Province, she knew it had to be more than just be a coincidence. ‘I immediately found the newspaper and from the picture I instantly knew it’s my Dou Dou,’ she said.” w/ photo

“A new incentive in Virginia Beach rewards students and teachers with cash for good grades on advanced placement exams. ‘I think we’re trying to build an incentive for students to take on some of this rigorous work,’ Advanced Placement Chemistry teacher Patty Cook said. At Salem High School, Cook has more AP students this year than last. ‘They really come away with some great experience,’ Cook said. The rigorous course gives students a glimpse at college level work. And this year there is an extra bonus for students and teachers. Salem High School has teamed up with the National Math and Science Initiative. Through a privately backed grant, students received $100 for every three, four or five they earn on an Advanced Placement exam. Teachers are paid as well.” w/ photo + video

“A flood of gooey black muck dropped from a tanker truck disabled about 150 cars and damaged an unknown number of other vehicles along a nearly 40-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, officials said. A leaking valve on a tanker spread driveway sealant over the eastbound lanes of a long stretch of the Turnpike between New Castle and the Oakmont Service Plaza on Tuesday night, Turnpike spokesman Bill Capone said. Turnpike operations officials on Wednesday said 150 or more cars were disabled when the sticky goo covered their tires and wheels. Some state police and turnpike maintenance vehicles had to be towed away after getting stuck in the tar-like substance, according to the turnpike operations center. Traffic was moving normally by Wednesday morning, but the sticky mess had already hindered the travel plans of some motorists traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday.” w/ photo + video

“Frustrated resident Tim Backhouse took drastic action when it came to limiting the number of speeding vehicles in the village of Bow, Devon – painting a 15ft-high 30mph sign on the side of his house. The father of three was concerned about the high volume of cars speeding by his home, so after the council failed to take action the 47-year-old took matters into his own hands. Mr Backhouse spent four hours painting the 30mph sign using specialist ladders and red and white emulsion paint. The end result was a speed-limit sign that’s about as obvious as any we’ve ever seen. After constant rejections from highway officials, the painting of the sign cost Mr Backhouse a relatively paltry $133. ‘I know it might seem like a bit of a drastic measure but I’m sick and tired of motorists, lorries in particular, speeding through,’ he said.” w/ photo

“She’s kind of hard to miss — a pony with a pink mane and tail. That’s why it’s so hard to understand how a valley woman’s pony went missing in the night. Siri Cole runs a unique business, Charming Party Ponies. She owns petite little ponies, available for rent at parties and festivals. Pixie is a 10-year-old white Welsh pony mare, Cole’s prized possession. “I love her, she’s really dear to me,” she says. “I really want her back.” Pixie performed at a festival offering rides to children. She was put away in her stall about 9 p.m. The next morning, she was nowhere to be found.” w/ photo + video