Happy Birthday, World’s Oldest Man
File this one under “amazing” rather than “weird.” Tomoji Tanabe turned 113 last Thursday, and get this–says he wants to live for five more years. Why five? Since he wanted to live “for infinity” last year, maybe he’s getting tired now.

Tanabe is the oldest man but not the oldest person on the planet, by the way. That title belongs to Indiana’s Edna Parker at 115 years. On a personal note, my great grandmother died last year after reaching 102–and in surprisingly good health, to boot.

Would You Wear a Deceased Loved One?
Yes, I mean “wear” literally. This link takes you to a story about companies that create artificial diamonds out of deceased people’s ashes.

Or their hair.
Or the ashes of a beloved pet.

The ashes contain carbon, see, and if you put carbon under high pressure and temperature, you get synthetic diamonds. These companies use that technology to produce a remembrance that lasts forever and, um, sparkles.

Yeah, I think I’d stick with photographs and memories, but hey–whatever helps people grieve.

Wilma: A Face From Our Past
File this one under “science” and “history.” This is Wilma, a new artists’ and scientists’ rendering of a Neanderthal face, based for the very first time on DNA. 43,000 year-old DNA, to be exact. Apparently, the DNA showed some Neanderthals were redheads.

Filed under: Weird Health Wednesdays