Read My Lips - the blog

Feeling no pain

If you enjoy fishing, you can rest assured that you are not traumatizing those cute, slimy, squiggly creatures used to entice fish onto your hooks. In a study funded by the government of Norway, it was determined that the use of earthworms as fishbait does not constitute cruelty to animals. The conclusion of the study indicates that, indeed, these creatures feel no pain

Norway might have considered banning the use of live worms as fish bait if the study had found they felt pain, but Prof Farstad said: "It seems to be only reflex curling when put on the hook ... They might sense something but it is not painful and does not compromise their well-being."

Prof Farstad said most invertebrates, including lobsters and crabs boiled alive, did not feel pain because, unlike mammals, they did not have a big brain to read the signals. Source.

Or, taking this logic to another level, is it possible that pain tolerance for some people is inversely proportional to the size of their brains?

Texas: A man convicted of robbery worked out a deal to pay $9600 in damages rather than serve a prison sentence. For payment, he provided the court a check -- a *forged* check. He got 10 years.

(Location Unknown): A man went into a drug store, pulled a gun, announced a robbery, and pulled a Hefty-bag face mask over his head -- and realized that he'd forgotten to cut eye holes in the mask.

Sao Paulo, Brazil: Psychiatrist Oscar Dominguez was listening to a patient talk about her sex life when he pulled out a gun and shot her to death. As he explained to the court, "I just couldn't take those nut cases anymore."

Rouen, France: Moments after robbing a bank, Jules Duprer jumped into a car, shouting, "Get away quick, before the cops come." He failed to notice that the car he was counting on to spirit him to safety was a *police* car.

(Location Unknown): A gentleman awoke one cold morning and found that his car would not start; the problem was a frozen fuel line. No problem for Mr. Brilliant -- one need only warm up the gas, right? So he siphoned off the fuel, put it into a pot, took it into the kitchen and heated it up on the stove....

Source.