Immigrants to share their biggest surprises about American culture ... "I had not seen or even heard of braces before [coming to America]. I had friends in Korea who had really messed up teeth, but it wasn't necessarily seen as any kind of defect. Istarted seventh grade in the US and several of the kids had braces - the type with wires going across both upper and bottom teeth with a metal holder in front of each tooth. They looked almost like robots. I didn't actually find out what they were until maybe two years or so later, because I didn't have the language skill to ask about them initially. To me, teeth were just what you had. If you had good teeth, you had good teeth. Bad teeth, then bad teeth. It didn't seem like you could move your teeth like that. They felt very solidly planted in my mouth so the entire concept was foreign." - Chae An, 45, attorney, South Korean (by Serena Solomon on vice.com) Read more here.
Drink up, stay young?
Drinking alcohol might make the people you're with seem younger, funnier, and more attractive. However, Warner Leisure Hotels has commissioned the first drink that supposedly has an anti-ageing effect on the drinker. It's "anti-ageing gin", which is being marketed as Anti-Agin.The gin is described as being "For those that want to do everything they can to stay young, but don't want to give up alcohol." The anti-ageing effect comes from "classic botanicals known for their rejuvenating properties and combining it with drinkable collagen." It's said to be "the alcoholic equivalent of a facial". (Source: Weird Universe)
Bill Ralston is running for council and has not become a contract killer, as this flyer might suggest. Photo / Supplied
A 22-year-old Canadian woman visiting Times Square found a man's "free hugs" sign really meant she could get a free hug and a free black eye. Police said the woman took a picture with Jermaine Himmelstein, 24, who was holding a sign that said "free hugs". Police said he then demanded three times that the woman give him money -- and she refused each time. After the third denial, he punched her in the face. He was charged with robbery and fraudulent accosting. He has been arrested 16 times in the last four years. (Source: abc7NY.com)
