Chengdu, China, street barber Xiong Gaowu offers a most unusual service at his roadside location in Sichuan Province. For $12, Xiong will scrap the inside of his customers' eyelids using a straight razor, according to Reuters.
Xiong suggests being "gentle, very, very gentle" when performing eyelid shaving, or "blade wash eyes," as the technique is known in Mandarin.
A Chengdu ophthalmologist, Dr. Qu Chao, says shaving may unblock moisturizing sebaceous glands along the rim of the eyelid, leading to a more comfortable and refreshed feeling. "If he can properly sterilize the tools that he uses, I can see there is still a space for this technique to survive," Qu said.
Compulsion
A 35-year-old man employed a unique method for dealing with his depression: swallowing metal. Maksud Khan was rushed to surgery at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Satna, India, after developing severe abdominal pains, according to Metro News. An endoscopy showed that Khan had "coins, nails and nut-bolts in his stomach," said Dr. Priyank Sharma, who led the surgical team. In late November, surgeons removed 263 coins, 100 nails and other metal items, including razor blades and dog chains, from Khan's stomach. His family had no idea he had been ingesting metal, and Khan promised doctors he would never eat metal again.
Unclear on the concept
• In Iowa, autumn is breeding season for deer, when the animals can get a little wacky and try to cross roadways. It's also the time of year when the Iowa Department of Transportation begins fielding questions from drivers asking why deer crossing signs aren't erected at safer spots for deer to cross. "This sign isn't intended to tell deer where to cross," the Iowa DOT helpfully posted on its Facebook page on Oct. 24, according to the Des Moines Register. "It's for drivers to be alert that deer have been in this area in the past." State Farm Insurance reports that Iowa drivers have the fourth-highest likelihood in the U.S. of hitting a deer. Coincidence?
• Rocky, an enterprising 7-month-old border collie in Devon, England, took the command "bring the sheep home" a little too literally in early November when he herded nine sheep into his owner's kitchen. "I was in the kitchen and heard a noise," Rocky's owner, Rosalyn Edwards, told the BBC. "I turned around and the sheep were just standing there. It was funny at the time, but then there was quite a lot of wee, poo and mud everywhere." The sheep stood around for a few minutes, then allowed themselves to be shown out the front door.
Irony
As elder members of the First United Methodist Church in Tellico Plains, Tenn., gathered on Nov. 16 to discuss the recent church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, one of those present asked if anyone had brought a gun to church. One man spoke up and said he carries a gun everywhere, reported WATE-TV, and produced the gun, emptying the chambers before passing the weapon around. When the owner got the gun back, he replaced the magazine and recharged the chamber — accidentally squeezing the trigger and shooting himself in the hand and his wife in the abdomen. Both victims were taken by helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment of noncritical injuries.
News of the Weird is compiled by the editors at Andrews McMeel Syndication. Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
