Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Extraordinary Book of Facts: And Bizarre Information

Fun information for everyone's favorite reading room. All things weird and wonderful are covered in this volume of Uncle John's collection.

From Uncle John's daily calendar: You Are What You Eat, February 15, 2007

Fruit bat soup. This delicacy from Micronesia is made from the meat of a fruit bat (also called a flying fox), simmered in water, ginger, and onion and topped with scallions, soy sauce, and coconut cream.

Chia pet salad. This dish features the edible sprouts of Salvia columbariae- related to the sage plant. The "fur" the grows out of the ceramic cow, frog, hippo, puppy, or whatever is stripped from the pottery and tossed lightly with peppery nastutiums and beanlike tulip flowers.

$12.21 on amazon.com

Stretch mark cream reviews

Let's just be honest here. As of the date of this writing, there is no miracle cure for stretch marks. There is no remedy out there today that will make your stretch marks disappear completely. If you're blessed with miraculous skin, then maybe. But if you're human, then nuh-uh. Sorry. So be very very suspicious of infomercials or ads for ANY product that claims to remove the battle scars. It's a lie. But I know that you knew that already, at least in your gut.

The good news is that there ARE remedies out there that will help improve the appearance of stretch marks. And depending on your skin, the results can be quite good. A year ago, a few friends and I did our own market research study, testing out some of the stuff out there. For three months, we massaged the lotions, gels, and creams on our stretch marks. Some women even used two different brands, only applying one to one side or their body and the other to the opposite side. We all took before and after shots. (I recommend taking before and after shots because sometimes the results are subtle and you won't remember the original marks.)

We all saw some improvement in our before and after photos and even to our own eyes, using both the cheapest and priciest gunk out there.

Here are our results:

Emu oil. Lots of people sing the praises of the oil from this animal and it definitely made a difference on my friend K___, who had some pretty severe stretch marks on her stomach. You can find this online, at some health stores, and as an indredient in some stretch mark lotions.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter. Medium results for my friend T, who is olive-skinned and had some not-too-bad battle scars from pregnancy. I used this with plain olice oil on my belly during pregnancy and didn't get stretch marks there.

Mustela. Love this brand for their baby products, but probably the least visible results of the group. Also used on the least visible stretch marks, so that probably skewed the outcome some.

Mederma. First formulated as a scar treatment, this showed good results after a few months. Two women in our group used it, and one found that it irritated her skin a little. Oh well.

Stri-Vectin. Expensive but effective. Definitely seemed to improve the shape and visibility of the stretch marks. Dermatologists often say that this product and RetinA can improve the tightness of skin.

We all saw some improvement using the above products, which range in price from $5 to $140. The difficulty with testing these types of skin products was clear with our group. It's impossible to know how any person's skin will react to the complex blend of ingredients in any stretch mark lotion. Too many variable to name. The good news? Even the worst results showed some subtle improvements. Without before and after shots, we wouldn't have caught the difference. So remember to take photos.

A few key things to remember:

Sooner rather than later: One of our testers used the cream on 10-yr old stretch marks as well as her more recent baby stretch marks. She noticed a big difference in the newer marks using the Mederma than with the older ones.

Overall health and the sands of time: It's impossible to test how effective stretch mark lotions are because dermatologists say that ALL stretch marks fade over time. By 9 months post-partum, most women's stretch marks will have faded to a few shades lighter than their own skin tone. Yes, even if they've done nothing. But keeping your skin and body hydrated, taking vitamins, and staying fit will help your skin in any circumstance. So dermatologists do recommend doing those things to aid in healing those stretch marks.

Skin massage: Massage may also be a key component of the effectiveness of stretch mark lotions. If you massage your skin 2-3 times a day, your skin's appearance will improve over time regardless of which cream you're using. There is a whole cellulite treatment based on this theory called endermologie.


When buying a stretch mark lotion, there are too many choices out there. But here is a list of some of the most popular ingredients found in effective stretch mark lotions:

Shea butter
Cocoa butter
Emu oil
Aloe
Sweet almond oil
Vitamin E
Glycolic Acid
Collagen
Olive oil

Happy Shopping!

noose necklace

Disney couture? The phrase may make your head spin round and round exorcist-style, but the jewelry is shockingly hip. The line marries nostalgia with contemporary trends, and the tinkerbell and Alice in Wonderland lines are pretty tempting. This noose necklace from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection is macabre-chic. You don't have to be goth to show a bit of your dark side.

$80 at jestjewels

Sexy umbrella

I'm an umbrella lover and the British sites are like raingear porn for me. So it's only fitting that I'd love the brollies designed by lingerie designer Chantal Thomass. A satin bow, black lace, and pink pin-striping can chase some of the rainy day blues away.

$214 at brolliesgalore