Minimalist poet, minimalist lifestyle

Green blood shocker

Surgeons operating on a man were shocked to find he had green blood.

Tests showed he had taken too many of a headache pill called sumatriptan.

He was diagnosed a rare condition in which sulphur from the sumatriptan combined with the blood's haemoglobin to change its colour.

The 42-year-old smoker had needed an operation on his leg to relieve a circulation problem in Vancouver, Canada, reports The Sun.

Dr Alana Flexman, of St Paul's Hospital, said: "During insertion, we normally see arterial blood come out. That's how we know we're in the right place. And normally that blood is bright red, as you would expect in an artery.

"But in his case, the blood kept coming back as dark green instead of bright red. It was sort of a green-black. Like an avocado skin maybe.

"We were very concerned, obviously."

The man made a full recovery.

TOKYO (AP) - Japan will get its first nursing home for dogs with round-the-clock monitoring by doctors and a team of puppies to help aging pooches feel younger, a pet products company said Wednesday.

Owners pay 98,000 yen ($800) a month to keep their dogs at the Soladi Care Home for pets, which opens Friday, according to a joint release by Soladi Co. and the Endo Veterinary clinic in Tochigi, eastern Japan.

Veterinarians at the home will offer round-the-clock monitoring and residents will be fed specially fortified food, the release said.

The home, which can accept 20 dogs at one time, will also employ puppies to play with the aging dogs to help them keep fit and feel younger, the release said.

Analysts say that a boom in pet ownership in Japan, coupled with better health care and a more balanced diet, has led to a surge in elderly pets in Japan.

That has spurred doting owners to turn to vitamins, aromatherapy and even acupuncture to help their companions through their old age.

A Kent man had to be freed by firemen after getting his penis stuck in a padlock.

The man, in his 50s, turned up at his local fire station in Margate after a sex game went wrong.

He was sent off to hospital, but medics could do nothing. So he returned to the fire station.

The key hole had been superglued so firemen had to use hydraulic cutters to release him.

He was eventually freed after two-and-a-half eye-watering hours.

A pal told The Sun: "God knows what he was up to - but he won't be trying it again in a hurry."