About a year ago I posted an entry about cup stacking, since I found it hard to believe it was a real sport. Now after watching this video of Emily Fox stacking cups (requires windows media player and also viewable at speedstacks.com), I've got to say it's not only real but pretty impressive. I don't think I've ever seen cups move that fast. Assuming, that is, the video hasn't been speeded up.

Here's a photo that I received in my email (forwarded by Robert Avallone). My first impulse is to say that it looks real, though it's conceivable that someone whited out something that Jim Edmonds (on the right) was holding in his hand, making it look like he's groping Jason Marquis (on the left). I haven't been able to find any references to the photo online. Maybe this is an example of the 'Pope grope' that cardinals are said to use to check the gender of the Pope (following the Pope Joan debacle). Wait, no. Wrong type of Cardinals.

Curtis Heroman has decided to toss his hat into the ring to make himself eligible for the NBA draft. The unusual thing about this is that Heroman isn't a particularly good basketball player. He played in high school and competes on Louisiana State University's intramural team. But that's it. So he would seem to be an unlikely candidate for the NBA draft, but as it turns out, anyone can sign up to put their name on the list of eligible draftees. All you need to do is fill out the paperwork. It's just never occurred to anyone in the past to put their name on the list if they weren't a serious candidate. An NBA scout commented that "It sounds like he's playing a joke for his friends."

Watch out all you people who enjoy hitting golf balls. Justice will be done:

GOLF BALLS ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE READY FOR A NEW LEADER.
HERE'S A WARNING FROM THE GOLF BALL LIBERATION FRONT.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!
THE GOLF BALL LIBERATION ARMY IS ON THE WAY!

I never realized that coin stacking was a sport, nor that people could create such intricate stacks. Some of these things really seem to defy gravity. But I see no reason to believe that any of the images aren't real. It reminds me of rock balancing, which I posted about last year. Check out some of the other coin stack pictures here. (via Reality Carnival)

As a representative of Westchester Cable Services, Mark Sabia has been allowed into press boxes at sports games for years. The one problem is that Westchester Cable Services doesn't exist. The teams finally figured out he didn't belong there (but it was a good scam while it lasted):

Sabia, who lives in Ossining, was arrested Monday when he showed up to cover Opening Day at Shea and was charged with scamming season passes for almost all of New York's professional teams, as well as for several World Series and League Championship Series dating to 1998. He was charged with five felony counts of falsifying business records and 16 misdemeanor counts ranging from petit larceny to criminal impersonation.

The Diminutive Male Genitalia Disorder Research Organization (DMGDRO) "is a team of New Orleans, Louisiana-based scientists interested in the study of male sexual disorders and dysfunction." Their most recent research study, released on March 29, has found the "Long-Suspected Link Between Hunting and Small Penis Size". The press release elaborates: "Like much folklore, it appears that, certainly in this case, there is a foundation in fact. This is the first time that research has been conducted on men who hunt, and it shows quite definitively that the link between what we are calling ‘the thrill of the kill' and a smaller-than-average penis is statistically significant." Of course, none of this is true. It was created by PETA as an April Fool's Day hoax. It looks like they're keeping up the website so that the hoax will enjoy a longer-running career on the internet.

Given that I've posted periodically about various forms of urine therapy, I was intrigued to come across this slate.com article alleging that many professional baseball players regularly pee on their hands in the belief that the urine will toughen their skin:

"In a recent interview with ESPN's Gary Miller, Chicago Cubs outfielder Moises Alou revealed that during baseball season he urinates on his hands to toughen them up. Alou, one of the few major leaguers who doesn't wear gloves while batting, is backed up by Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who says, "You don't want to shake my hand during spring training." Even Cubs hurler Kerry Wood mentioned on a local radio show that he's tried the technique to remedy blisters on his pitching hand."

The article goes on to argue that urine probably would work well to soften your skin since urea is an ingredient in many commercial moisturizing lotions, but it's very doubtful that it will do anything to toughen up the skin. Slate.com figures that this hand-peeing fad is just another one of the many superstitions that baseball players get hooked on to try to improve their game.

Last month I posted about a man in Hong Kong who claims that he was able to lift a dumbbell weighing 165lbs with his penis. What I didn't know then was that there's an entire martial art based around penile weight lifting. It's called Jiu Jiu Shen Gong. For only $56.95 you can get a video that will teach you the secrets of this ancient skill. The video is titled Iron Crotch:

"You heard the stories, now experience the reality! Iron Crotch is the most talked about ancient Chinese practice! Called Jiu Jiu Shen Gong (99 Power Practice) this ancient skill unleashes your untapped potential and allows you to achieve your peak performance! Grandmaster Tu's students have lifted hundreds of pounds with their privates, even students in their 70s! Dramatically enhances your potency and helps with sexual response dysfunction or lack of interest in sex."

I believe this video is real, in the sense that the Martial Arts Mart really is offering it for sale. However, I'm not willing to believe that anyone is actually going to learn how to lift hundreds of pounds with their penis by watching it.

After reading about this, I'm just at a loss for words. How in the world is this guy lifting the weight? Is he using a string to tie it to himself? Or is he just somehow positioning himself to lift the dumbbell from the ground? Either way, it can't be real. 75kg is a lot of weight. About 165lbs. Many men would struggle to bench press that much (especially if they had never done any weight training). And, of course, the fact that the story is on Ananova doesn't lend it credibility:

A Chinese man has lifted a 75kg barbell for 10 seconds - with his penis. Zhan, from Harbin city, Helongjiang province, said the skill is a branch of Kung Fu, which is exclusive to his family. Zhan, 55, says his father taught him the skill to help him get fit after a serious illness when he was 18. He started training by lifting small bricks with his penis, then gradually added weights and extended duration, reports Yangtsi Evening Post. Zhan, a director of the Hong Kong Chinese Culture Development Fund, said he had no interest in applying to the Guinness Book of Records.

True or False: Did Stefan Sigmond of Transylvania gain the world record for smoking by smoking 800 cigarettes in less than six minutes? If I hadn't seen the picture I wouldn't have believed it was possible, but apparently it is true, although I'm a bit wary about whether using this 'special wheel-like device' should really count. It doesn't seem like you would be fully smoking all the cigarettes. Anyway, I hate smoking, but I'd love to see someone whip out a device like this at a bar and start puffing away. (via RealityCarnival)

I wish these pictures were fake, but they appear to be real. They show bodybuilder Greg Valentine. He got his arms that big by injecting a combination of steroids directly into them. At the risk of being insensitive, I'd say the results look pretty gross. In fact, his biceps no longer look like real biceps at all. They look like strange tumors growing out of his arm. It's a wonder that his biceps are functional at all. (via ChrisDiClerico.com)