I have a confession to make.
Sometimes it's hard for me to come up with themes or, for that
matter, unrelated lists of stuff to write about in these columns. So,
last night, I asked some of my buddies what they'd like me to write
about. Plenty of great ideas were offered, but my friend and fellow
blogger Christina Majaski came up with one I couldn't resist: boobs.
“You can't go wrong with
boobs,” she said.
“That will certainly
generate a lot of traffic,” I replied, and so this week's edition
of Fun Friday Facts was born.
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| Enjoy! ~ brbyug |
1) In the United States
alone, there are estimated to be about four million fake boobies.
That's a lot of fake boobies. That means two million American women
are susceptible to the dangerous health complications associated with
breast implants, which, as I've discussed before, can include hardening ofthe implants to a rock-like consistency.
2) Not only that, but ladies
who get breast implants seem to be as much as three times more likely
to commit suicide. Researchers believe that's nothing to due with the
toxic effects of the implants themselves. Instead, they suspect that
many women who get breast implants may be suffering from underlying
psychological issues, such as hating themselves.
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| These will not solve your problems, honey. |
3) The first successful
breast augmentation surgery was performed in 1895, by a surgeon
called Vincenz Czerny. Czerny performed this procedure to correct the
shape of his patient's breast after tumor removal. He used some of
the patient's own body fat, a technique still used today.
Most early breast
augmentations weren't so successful, however. Surgeons used all
manner of horrifying things to augment patients' breasts, including
paraffin wax injections, glass balls, sponges, wool, ground rubber,
wads of tape, and ox cartilage.
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| Screw it, let's just cram something in there. ~ US Navy |
Surgeons in the 1940s and
1950s attempted injecting the breasts with surgical fillers, usually
silicone, which backfired disastrously. The 50,000 women who had this
procedure latter need mastectomies.
Silicone gel implants of the
type still used today came along in 1961. American surgeons Frank
Gerow and Thomas Cronin invented them.
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| And there was much rejoicing. |
4) A lady's breasts tend to sag as she gets older. That's because the breasts continue to
accumulate fatty tissue over time. Instead of making the breasts
larger, as one might hope, they just contribute to the hard work done
by gravity.
Sleeping on your stomach can
also contribute to breast sagging, because it can gradually stretch
the skin of the breast and change its shape. Apparently, you're
supposed to sleep on your side, with a pillow under your boobs, to
support them.
Smoking cigarettes will also
cause your breasts to sag. That's because smoking cigarettes sucks
the life right out of you.
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| Damn straight. |
5) Various types of bras
have been worn throughout history. The earliest bras date back to at
least the 14 century BC, so they're not quite as old as flush
toilets, but hey, that's still pretty old. Corsets and corset-like
garments were popular in both the East and the West from about the
1500s to the second World War.
Herminie Cadolle, a
Frenchwoman, invented the first modern brassiere in 1889. Commercial
manufacture of bras began in the 1930s. Bras and elastic girdles
gained popularity during WWII, when metal rationing prevented the
wide-scale manufacture of traditional corsets. The girdle slowly fell
out of favor during the later half of the 20th century.
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| Thank God. |
6) As it so happens, men
have nipples for a reason.
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| Who knew? |
Under the right conditions,
men can produce breastmilk. Famine, especially when combined with
prolonged, strenuous physical activity, can stimulate the man's brain
to produce prolactin, the hormone responsible for breastmilk
production, usually after proper nutrition is restored. Certain
drugs, including those given to cancer patients, or any drug that
affects the pituitary gland, can also stimulate male lactation.
Some evidence suggests that
fathers will produce these hormones by simply offering their babies a
breast (if you wanna call it that). In 2002, a Sri Lankan widower
began suckling his baby daughter when she refused to drink powdered
formula. To his surprise, he began producing milk and was able to
feed the girl.
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| Awwww...*sniff* |
