Oddity Central

Oddity Central

The Tragic Story of Rebecca Méndez Jiménez, ” La Loca de San Blas”

Posted: 11 Dec 2013 03:00 AM PST

Mexican rock band Maná released a hit single in 1997 – En el muelle de San Blas (In the Wharf of San Blas). The song is based on the true and tragic story of Rebeca Méndez Jiménez, the woman who waited for her love for 41 long years. She died in September last year, at age 63. Local authorities are planning to erect a statue in her honor at the San Blas Port.

I read Rebeca's story in bits and pieces across various Spanish websites. No one seems to know exactly what happened to her; she was suffering from several mental disorders during her final years.

Local legend states that in her youth, she fell in love with a fisherman named Manuel. He went out to sea, promising to return to her soon and marry her. Rebeca was so excited that she put on her bridal clothes and waited for his return. Unfortunately, Manuel fell victim to a hurricane, never to return to his love. Since then, Rebeca had been spotted roaming the streets at the port of San Blas. Locals have seen her wandering without any direction, sometimes sitting before the lighthouse and listening to seagulls. She always wore a white dress, with a veil covering her head.

en-el-muelle-de-San-Blas

The Truth about “Heaven’s Trail”, the Infamous Photo That Captured the Imagination of Millions

Posted: 11 Dec 2013 02:00 AM PST

Heaven's Trail is a breathtaking photograph that went viral almost the moment it was published online a couple of years ago. Like most good things on the internet, the original source was soon lost; no one had any idea where the picture was clicked, or even if it was real.

One explanation on the internet was: "There's this place in Ireland where every two years, the stars line up with this trail on June 10th to June 18th. It's called Heaven's Trail." Many thought that the view in the picture was impossible. They assumed that the photographer had taken two completely unrelated shots and merged them together.

Heaven's Trail was shared extensively on blogs, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. One blogger wrote, "I feel pretty comfortable calling utter bullshit on this." The photograph itself is pretty spectacular. I can understand why people would be curious to know its origins. The stairs in the picture lead up to pretty much nowhere. At the horizon there's a surreal, heavenly light illuminating a man who appears to be running into the stars.

Heavens-Trail

Scientists Create Candy That Doesn’t Cause Cavities

Posted: 11 Dec 2013 01:00 AM PST

Dentists have always warned us that too much candy will cause cavities. But all that could be a thing of the past, thanks to a new experiment by scientists from the Berlin biotechnology firm, OrganoBalance.

It turns out that candy doesn't cause cavities at all. The bad guys are actually the bacteria that remain on our teeth after we eat sugary treats. So the scientists' logic was simple – reduce the amount of 'bad' bacteria in candy, and the chances of cavities should naturally decrease.

After you eat a normal piece of candy, the bacteria on your teeth slowly release an acid that eats into tooth enamel. When the enamel wears down, it causes cavities to develop. One of the most common strains of bacteria responsible for cavities is mutans streptococci. When you chew candy, this bacteria is released into the saliva. If you swallow or spit, some of the bacteria is removed, but the remaining sits on your teeth and causes them to rot.

candy

Comments system

Disqus Shortname