PERCHED on the edge of an Antarctic ice sheet, Lewis Gordon Pugh surveys the waves. At 0 °C, water does not get much colder than the sea beneath him. Undeterred, Pugh unzips his jacket, strips down to his swimming trunks and dives in. Most of us would start to hyperventilate uncontrollably if we dived into such cold water. Pugh doesn't even gasp in pain but instead starts swimming. In December 2005, when Pugh took this plunge (pictured above), he went on to swim a kilometre in just over 18 minutes. Many ordinary people would drown after just a few minutes in such cold water. Pugh, however, not only survived but went on to make several more long-distance swims in extremely cold water (see graph). So what makes him able to keep swimming in such extreme cold? A study of Pugh published last month has confirmed that his response to cold water is anything but normal. Remarkably, though, while Pugh may have some innate advantages, it seems his near-superhuman ability is largely down to training - so perhaps it could be something we are all able to learn. Pugh is far from the first to swim in icy water. There is a long tradition in Russia, China and many northern European countries of carving holes in frozen lakes, rivers or sea ice and diving in, often as part of a cultural or religious ritual. These are normally just quick dips, though: rarely do they involve distance swimming. Japanese and Korean pearl divers used to swim without wetsuits in temperatures of around 10 °C for up to 30 minutes. Part of their secret is their metabolism: the colder the water that Japanese Ama divers swim in during winter months, the higher their resting metabolic rate. Even so, studies of Japanese Ama divers who have been diving for many years show that their response is not that different from the rest of us. Their core body temperature drops to 35 °C after 30 minutes in cold water - just above hypothermia, the point beyond which the body cannot warm up again without help. In read more »

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“Think” Fear Factor and Iron Chef combined and you have THE potentially most disgusting buffet of expertly prepared food delicacies on the planet. The world is truly a diverse place especially when you launch a gustatory exploration of what have become curious ick-factor foods for a modernized, watered-down, American palate. Truth is as “foreign” as most of these dishes can be, many have deep cultural underpinnings, some of them the side dishes of famous feasts and the tables of kings. All the vital organs of just about any species have been consumed at one time or another and some of them are rich in the best dietary nutrients. Amazonian ants, half-cooked fetal eggs, wriggly worms of all kinds and stages of life, hoofs, beaks, ears, and eyeballs have all been efficiently put to good culinary use. Prep methods are just as enticing: fermenting, pickling, infusing, boiling, blowtorching, decomposing, and simply served live and wriggling. Culinary Thrill-Seeking for Some, Time-Honored Traditions for Others. If you’re a gag-seeker, foodie adventurer, or looking for some tantalizing new ethnic dish to serve to guests that goes well beyond the ordinary dinner party fare, here are some of the notoriously “I hope I’m never served…” foods, and how they’re prepared, from around the globe.

Color me surprised at the revelation that the WNBA has cheerleaders, female cheerleaders at that. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. I mean, who is the WNBA's target demographic? Guys? Check. Women? Not really. Lesbian women? Check. So having female cheerleaders makes more sense than I thought. Witness the Connecticut franchise's squad below...So if you have a hot bod and some gymnastic ability, live in the Connecticut area and don't mind women in lumberjack shirts with buzz cuts drooling over you at every game, here's your chance!

UNIVERSITY students have built a car they say is capable of outsprinting a Ferrari, as part of a course revolutionising the way engineering is taught. A group of some 30 University of Liverpool students gathered yesterday on the concrete apron at the former Liverpool Airport, in Speke, to test out the speed wagon they have developed. Every detail from ballbearings to the all-important roll bar on their prototype single-seater was worked on by third and fourth year engineers. Dr Peter Fox, the engineering lecturer overseeing the trial run, yesterday said: "In the past, the traditional engineering course has had very little in the way of a practical element. "But this gets their hands dirty." Fourth-year aerospace student engineer and team leader Gilbert Lock said: "If you’d given a student a spanner, they would have given you a funny look. "They might have been uncomfortable with actually doing anything in the real world. "This has helped it become second nature." Yesterday, the group of Liverpool engineers knelt, bent and twisted over the car with a range of wrenches and Allen keys to carry out mini-pit stops. The tiny vehicle they are tuning up boasts an Aprilia RXV550 motorbike engine and is capable of hitting 60mph in 3.9 seconds. Russian student Alex Yashin was pictured belting along the former runway outside the Crowne Plaza as his colleagues stood close by bearing a fire extinguisher and fire blanket. Alex was dressed in the all-in- one kit worn by a racing driver.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- He's been known as 'His Airness' or 'Sir Michael' amongst many other nicknames bestowed upon quite possibly the greatest player to suit up in the NBA. Michael Jordan's likeness also will forever live outside the United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls, with his statue serving as a fitting honor to the incredible force who spearheaded six of the past seven major championships in Chicago. The mere mention of his name still draws an excited reaction from people all over the country who appreciate the game's greatest competitor. But a time existed where baseball, and not basketball, stood as the driving athletic force for Jordan. It was a somewhat controversial period, with critics pointing out everything from Jordan's star power usurping a spot that belonged to a more deserving young player, to the assumption that he didn't succeed in his attempt to reach the Major Leagues. Many of those closest to Jordan's diamond gems couldn't disagree more fervently. Jordan was not only a hard-working Minor Leaguer, who fit into any clubhouse, but also an individual who handled a potentially crazy situation with class and dignity. On the 15th anniversary of Jordan's arrival to Spring Training with the White Sox in Florida, MLB.com takes a look back at this incredible effort from a man who hadn't played baseball in almost 15 years, exploring Jordan as a baseball player from a few different perspectives. For events that took place involving Jordan from 1993-94, White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf still can recall what happened with seemingly perfect chronological detail."Well, the story actually started on a Sunday in July," said Reinsdorf, speaking recently on the deck outside his office at Camelback Ranch. "Michael was at our game, up in a box with me and [then general manager Ron] Schueler. The two of them got me and said Michael has something he wants to talk about."He said he wants to go to Kannapolis and just play a couple of games. He had taken battin read more »

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What your are about to see may change your life as a sports fan forever. When I decided to search the interweb for nose picking incidents in sports history, I had no idea the shocking results that I was about to uncover. Not only is the sports world filled with a lot of nose pickers, but most of those nose pickers are  compulsive booger eaters. Perhaps boogers are the source of many great athletes power and what makes them such great competitors? Now that the truth has potentially been revealed, don't be surprised if you see Alex Rodriguez doing a lot of booger eating this season.

David Falk speaks in adages and anecdotes, every catchphrase and tale conveying a lesson from nearly four decades as an elite N.B.A. agent. The stories come in rapid-fire fashion, their themes accentuated by an All-Star cast of characters, including Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and David Stern.As Falk intently delivers this oral history, the lessons coalesce in one stark, alarming prediction: the N.B.A. and its players are heading for a profound labor battle. The nation’s economy is buckling. Too many teams are losing money. League revenue is flat, and the salary cap is about to shrink for only the second time in its history. The N.B.A.’s system is broken, Falk says, and fixing it will require radical measures that almost guarantee a standoff in 2011, when the collective bargaining agreement expires. “I think it’s going to be very, very extreme,” Falk said, “because I think that the times are extreme.” How extreme? Falk said he believed Stern, the commissioner, would push for a hard salary cap, shorter contracts, a higher age limit on incoming players, elimination of the midlevel cap exception and an overall reduction in the players’ percentage of revenue. And, Falk said, Stern will probably get what he wants. “The owners have the economic wherewithal to shut the thing down for two years, whatever it takes, to get a system that will work long term,” he said in an extensive interview to discuss his new book. “The players do not have the economic wherewithal to sit out one year.” Falk’s comments will surely irritate the players union and many of his fellow agents. But then, his new book is called “The Bald Truth” for reasons beyond his smooth head. In 35 years as an N.B.A. agent — and for much of that time, its most powerful agent — Falk has earned a reputation for brutal honesty. In fact, Chapter 3 of his book is titled, “Blunt is Beautiful — Stay Tr read more »

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Rinspeed sure has a few odd vehicles in its stable — just look at the company's transparent car, or its underwater convertible. Now Rinspeed is rolling out the diminutive iChange in time for the Geneva Motor Show, which the company bills as "the world's first car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board," and everything from the shape-shifting seats (shown first in the gallery below) to the ignition is controllable with an iPhone. From Rinspeed: An initial walk-around reveals that the concept car has no doors. The entire electrically powered roof section… tilts forward to allow passengers to board. Also gone are such mundane things as a key. Its role is filled by an Apple iPhone, which also controls the most important vehicle functions… The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries that are available in two different stack configurations for short- and long-distance driving. So you get to sit up front like you're piloting a jet while one to three passengers sit behind, depending on how you have the seats laid out. We may never be driving anything even resembling the iChange, but it sure is purty — as the pictures below handily prove.

St Pierre and his corner have been accused of rubbing Vaseline on his shoulders and back to make it harder for Penn to get any grip when grappling. The controversy has raged for weeks with Penn posting a video on his website detailing the allegations and asking the Nevada State Athletic Commission to investigate. As one of the UFC's official cutmen Duran is responsible for applying Vaseline to the fighter's faces before they enter the Octagon but during the round the fighter's own cornermen can apply more Vaseline to their fighter and it is at this point that Duran thinks Pierre may have accidentally gotten some on his back and shoulders. Duran is also open to the possibility that it might not have been so unintentional: "You have trainers that come from the old school where you learn certain techniques to give your fighter an advantage." Either way the UFC have instigated new procedures to try and ensure that it doesn't happen again. Vaseline is now banned in dressing rooms and at the Octagon and can only be applied by one of the UFC's own cutmen. All sports have to ensure their competitors respect the rules but in a sport where an unfair advantage for one fighter can mean serious injury for the other, it's vital.

Let's talk about perspective. People are losing their jobs by the millions. They're losing their homes, too. Many of us who do still have jobs are being asked to take paycuts, or do without raises or bonuses, all while paying the same or more for goods and services. Meanwhile, retirement accounts everywhere have become a complete joke, thanks to Ponzi schemes and one of the most volatile stock markets in decades. People are losing millions there, too. It's depressing to see our economy in such shambles. It's depressing to see good people losing so, so much. And then there's Stacey Dales. The former Chicago Sky guard made headlines this week, particularly on Internet blogs, for a decision she made that smacks of arrogance and ingratitude in this climate. She decided to quit her sideline reporting job at ESPN. Why did she quit, you ask? Well, it's a reason any one of us might give for quitting a job, particularly in these challenging times. (I hope my sarcasm came through there.) According to reports and sources at ESPN, Dales had to fly coach for business travel to and from games while many of her colleagues were flying first class. Yes, you read that right. Dales quit a desirable, high-profile, and what I'm sure was a very nice-paying job because she had to slum it with the common folk - common folk that includes, of course, other white-collar professionals who are expected to travel coach for business every single day. "At some point, you have to take a stand at whatever you are doing in life," Dales told The Oklahoman, which served as her hometown newspaper when she played her college ball at Oklahoma. "That's not sounding like a feminist. That's not sounding like a spoiled, rotten kid. That's making a business decision that affects the quality of your life. That was an important thing for me." OK. Sure. Um, what exactly was it that Dales is standing up for again? Note to Stacey: We're in an economic depression here. Companies all over the globe, even ESPN, I read more »

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While I think Lance Armstrong is pretty awesome for having won the Tour de France seven times, I know he almost certainly cheated in most of them. He's never tested positive for doping or performance-enhancing drugs, but there's a lot of circumstantial evidence out there to suggest that he's never been a clean rider. Not that that's a big deal, since everyone in cycling cheats. Naturally though, Armstrong is not a fan of people who go out of their way to suggest he may in fact be dirty. Like say this guy below who ran after Armstrong during the Amgen Tour of California, which concludes today.

Of all the flukes seen on a golf course, greenkeeper Richard Mitchell can claim one of the strangest. As he took his chainsaw to a leylandii tree, he hit the exact spot where a ball was embedded in the wood and sliced through it. The ball apparently lodged in a fork of the tree many years ago when a golfer hooked a drive on the first tee. The conifer grew around the ball and it remained hidden in the screen of 15 trees. Trimmed, sanded and varnished, it is to become a rather unusual trophy board at Eaton Golf Club in Norwich. Mr Mitchell discovered the ball last month after he felled the 40ft trees, planted 37 years ago, and began cutting the timber into 4ft lengths for firewood. The piece of wood with the half ball visible is being preserved and varnished by former club captain Jim Cook who is a skilled woodworker. It will then be kept behind the bar and used to record the names of everyone who gets a hole-in-one on the 198-yard ninth hole. Peter Johns, the manager of the £675-a-year club, said: 'It is just an incredible find. "We think it came off the first tee. It must have lodged in a fork or embedded itself in the trunk and the tree grew round it.'If Richard had cut the trunk an inch or two either way we'd never have known it was there.'

His white wrestling boots still bear the mark of the WWE — streaks of green paint. It happened during a World Wrestling Entertainment television show, when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon poured paint on "Eugene," staining his jacket and boots. When Nick Dinsmore looks at that stain now, it brings back the screams from the crowd, all the passion and adrenaline from the days when he wrestled as Eugene for WWE, one of the largest the professional wrestling organizations in the world. Only tonight, Dinsmore's long road back to The Show has brought him to a former "gentlemen's club" now known as Club Destiny in Middletown, Ohio. About 100 people have come out for the Halloween-themed performance. Dinsmore enters tossing candy to the audience and then places fake spider webs on the head of a balding referee. In the ring, he ends holding his leg in agony as three "heels," or bad guys, place a chair on his left leg and appear to jump on it. It's like a real-life scene from the movie "The Wrestler," for which Mickey Rourke may win Best Actor tonight at the Oscars. After the match, leaning on a crutch, his curly hair slicked back with sweat, Dinsmore sits down to have his picture taken with another wrestling star and members of the audience for $10. The Foo Fighters song "My Hero" blasts in the background: "There goes my hero Watch him as he goes There goes my hero He's ordinary" Dinsmore probably will net a little more than $300 for the show. While he changes into his street clothes in a dingy room upstairs, his fiancé, Stephanie Fischer, waits downstairs — away from the rowdy 10-year-old boys shouting "You suck" at the heels, the men in football jerseys carrying armfuls of beer and the women holding signs plastered with names of their favorite fighters. A former country music and local entertainment television show host from South Dakota, Fischer met Dinsmore when he was touring with the WWE. She gave up her career to follow his. She moved into his Seller read more »

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Mickey Rourke may win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as the past-his-prime Randy “The Ram” Robinson in The Wrestler, but what became of all the real-life wrestlers who entertained you as a kid? A depressingly high number of former stars have passed away, and many more continue on in wrestling in some capacity. Others, though, have drifted away from the business and started new lives free of choreographed violence. Here are a few of our favorites.