When Lightning Strikes

... it can make some pretty dramatic video. Here's what happened in Chicago last evening: simultaneous strikes of (left to right) The John Hancock Building, Trump Tower, and the Willis Tower (formerly the "Sears" Tower):

From Craig Shimala on Vimeo.

-Wes

The Microbiology of Trophies

Remember "cooties" in grade school? You know, the germs or disease that girls gave boys or boys gave girls in grade school if they touched? Well, it seems they're becoming an an epidemic (video).

So thank goodness someone checked for "cooties" on the Stanley Cup:

The NHL champion Blackhawks' beloved trophy stopped by the Chicago Tribune newsroom Thursday, and so we took the opportunity to do something the Cup's keeper said had never been done: We swabbed it for germs.

We sent the samples to the Chicago lab EMSL Analytical, which found very little general bacteria and no signs of staph, salmonella or E. coli.

"It's surprisingly clean," lab manager Nancy McDonald said.

Just 400 counts of general bacteria were found, she said. By comparison, a desk in an office typically has more than 10,000.

No staph species detected?

Hmmm.

Me thinks there was a sampling error...

-Wes

Nurses and Their Pets

One of our EP nurses shared this photo of her pet with me this morning:



Got to admire its choice of uniform, but given the weight of this bunny, it probably should have opted for a Bud Lite.

-Wes

Another Artistic Diversion

Here's some cool art by British artist Chris Gilmour made from nothing but cardboard.

I wonder if he could make a heart?

-Wes

Cardiology as Cards

Fun art by physician-turned-artist Don Stewart, MD appears this morning in the Birmingham News.

-Wes

The X-Ray Tech Pointillist

Neo-impressionists used it, so why not an xray technician? Stunning works by a talented artist. You can see how he created his works on video if you scroll down on this webpage.

-Wes