Mechanical engineering and robotic surgery hasn’t yet reached the level where it can completely replace trained and skilled doctors, surgeons and surgical technologists, but it has gotten off to a good start. There are machines and devices that have been developed in both the public and private sectors that can not only complete complex procedures without a surgeon being physically present in the operating room, but they have also come very close to becoming completely autonomous. Some of are so impressive that they are starting to make some science fiction films look more like documentaries than action epics from the mind of some coked-up sci-fi writer.

The Da Vinci Surgical System

This system is one of the first fully robotic surgical systems to enter the medical profession and hospitals all around the world including Johns Hopkins where it is used for heart procedures and Stanford where doctors use it primarily for female infertility treatments and operations. It still requires the use of a human surgeon to operate the machine and make the proper incisions and sutures, but it does so in a minimally invasive way and can provide a deeper look into a patient.

The Probulator from “Futurama”

This extremely invasive (in every sense of the word) device is used by the state to do complete physicals on “de-frostees” before they enter the year 3000. The device may not serve the same purpose as it’s real word counterpart, but it’s remote control station and robotic arms that perform the function in place of a doctor seem eerily similar.

The Swimming Digestive Camera

Patients with intestinal problems have to endure a very invasive procedure in which a camera is fed through their intestinal tract and if they’re lucky, it’s STARTS through their mouth. Some medical researchers at the Osaka Medical College of Western Japan developed a tiny motorized camera can be controlled remotely as it swims through a patient’s intestines to give doctors a way of see a patient’s malady without surgery or invasive camera tubing.

The C.M.D.F. from “Fantastic Voyage”

This classic 1966 science-fiction epic takes place entirely inside a comatose human body as a crew of medical surgeons and surgical technologists attempt to save a human life by miniaturizing themselves and entering the patients through the bloodstream. Of course, medicine has yet to develop the kind of technology that can shrink anything down to microscopic size, especially since most of our current efforts are dedicated to making parts of the male and female anatomy bigger and more noticeable.

RI-MAN

Robots, whether they are built in the real world or constructed just the benefit of literature or film, are always imagined and conceived for the benefit of mankind. This big, soft and cuddly creature built by Riken’s Bio Mimetic Control Research Center in Nagoya, Japan aims to serve the same function by not only helping to transport hospital patients comfortably and safely but it also does so by looking cute and familiar to make the patient feel more at ease in their time of suffering.

Adam from the original “Outer Limits” episode “I, Robot”

The robot in this story was also raised not only to use its superhuman strength to serve mankind, but also to learn how to become a member of it in order to fulfill its creator’s ultimate goal. Unfortunately, the creator suffers a fatal accident in the doctor’s lab and the robot is accused of murdering him and as it is set off to its final execution, it saves the life of a small girl and destroys itself in the process. Hell, most humans couldn’t be programmed to do that.

Robosurgeon

It often seems that the ultimate goal of medical robotics is to completely replace the human element from the most highly trained physician down to the orderly who cleans up after the patient. The “Robosurgeon” could be the first step to that unthinkable goal. A working model of the robot operated on a 34-year-old man suffering from atrial fibrillation in Milan, Italy without any control or instruction from a medical doctor as physicians from around the world monitored its progress through a private video feed.

2-1B from “The Empire Strikes Back”

This robot from the final scene of the fifth chronological film in the “Star Wars” series is not only a very knowledgeable doctor and surgeon, but he actually has a very friendly bedside manner with his patients and a deep dedication to his profession. According to his “Star Wars Wookiepedia” page, it’s this very dedication and his alliance with the Rebellion that convinced Luke to insist that he work on his injured arm after his infamous first battle with Darth Vader.

Science and Religion… here are two things that do not go together like birds of a feather, or peas in a pod, or pork chops in applesauce.  But the two have to live together one way or another seeing as the world is technologically and scientifically developing at nearly the speed of light while the Light of Christ still illuminates the Bible Belt and beyond with the same intensity as ever.  The two world views are bound to clash on most of the issues, but perhaps there is some common ground somewhere.  Or maybe not.  Here are some of the ways Christians try to resist the proven facts of science.

Evolution

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One way in which Christian apologists try most fervently to undermine the progress of scientific knowledge is in the field of evolution.  After all, the theory of evolution is as central to our scientific understanding of the world as the Creation story is to Christian life today.  According to the Bible, the world was created in six days, God resting on the seventh.  Imagine God as an old man in a basement assembling a model train kit.  Animals and plants and people were set down meticulously in their finalized forms. 

Biologists have a different take.  According to their wacky theory, life actually began in a heap of sludge as simple cell units developed and slowly evolved towards complexity, developing characteristics which would serve the organisms in their specific environments. To further combat this, Christians came up with the backwards idea of Intelligent Design, in which God actually made flowers look sexy to bees and so on.

Quite frankly both of these scenarios are somewhat hard to wrap the mind around but don’t forget that Evolution is backed up by countless experiments and fossil records.  Creationism is backed up by… Creationists.  They may not have the hard evidence but boy do they have volume.

Dinosaurs

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If we’re going to talk evolution then we have to mention dinosaurs.  We have their bones and we’ve spent a lot of time assembling them for the benefit of countless field trips to the Natural History Museum.  Who were these beasts and what role do they play in human history?
 
Paleontologists like Ross Geller from “Friends” will tell you that dinosaurs are an extinct species that roamed our planet hundreds of millions of years ago.  Christian fundamentalists don’t much care for this theory, or for that slick, Godless Ross character espousing it.  After all, it really throws a stick in the spokes of that Creation in a week idea. 

That’s why the fundies came up with what some like to call the Flintstone theory.  They argue that dinosaurs were placed on this earth, fully formed, along with the other animals God created, but then they died for some reason.  At the Creation Museum in Kentucky one can see, in full Flintstones style, dinosaurs and humans hanging around the ancient world together and having a dandy time of it. 

Others have gone for a more far-fetched explanation, reporting that dinosaur bones are props that God made and buried in the ground to test human faith.  Pretty sneaky, Lord!

Age of the World

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The age of the world is 4.5 billion years old according to the leading scientific minds.  We suspect this age based on radiometric age dating of lunar and meteorite materials found on our planet and beyond.  Sure there’s no timer glued onto the North Pole so we can’t be 100% sure, but we have a theory with some solid foundations.  The Christians have their theory as well, but the foundations are a little more shaky.
 
If we look at the Bible as a historical document, this world of ours is practically a newborn.  Creation is generally estimated by these “scholars” to be about 20,000 years in progress and the Earth itself at about 6,000.   

The humongous discrepancy in these ages (4.5 billion and 6,000) makes sense.  The parts fit together.  Evolution, a long and complex process, needs some time to happen.  Creationism only needs a moment, the rest of those 6,000 years being spent hanging out with pterodactyls, building pyramids, writing boring letters to the Corinthians and so on.   

Monogamy Vs. Free Love

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Christians hate sex.  No, that’s an oversimplification.  They love sex, one has to assume, but you’ve got to play by the rules of monogamy.  To many of us modern-minded folk today, marriage is an archaic social structure used to promote family and societal welfare.  To Christians, marriage is an ontological fact, a natural behavior for human beings.  To deviate from it means that not only are you failing ethically, but you are perverting a natural order. 

Science tells a different story.  Even if we avow marriage as a society, the data shows that it’s probably not all too natural for us.  Some animals mate for life… but usually not very smart ones.  Flightless birds with pea-sized brains are known to mate for life, but primates prefer to get around. 

Bonobo monkeys, for example, have sex with just about every other Bonobo they ever meet.  They engage in recreational sex, stress-release stress, conflict-resolution sex, oral sex and, um, solo-sex. Also, the Bible is a made-up, man-written fiction.

Stem Cells

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Stem Cells, pardon the religious parlance, are something of a real life miracle.  To define them broadly, Stem Cells are the seeds that have the potential to become a myriad other kinds of specialized cells.  They can take the form of almost any other kind of cell and thus present a unique medical and scientific opportunity.  The stem cells can be used to cure diseases such as diabetes, cardiac diseases, certain cancers and more. 

Why would anyone in their right mind, let alone Jesus, oppose such a miracle treatment?  Because it represents the ultimate hubris of course!  Also because these stem cells have in the past been harvested from discarded, unwanted fetuses.  It’s easy to understand how this would make a few people uncomfortable, especially the Bible thumpers, who have begun to claim that fetuses will not only be killed but harvested in the name of stem cells.

Homosexuality

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Homosexuality, Biblically speaking, might be a sin.  But is it really so bad?  Yes, God commands mankind to not have sex with people of the same sex, but if you read that section carefully it also says no shrimp, no multi-fabric blends in our clothing, and no cheeseburgers.  Despite this Christians don’t generally avoid shellfish, blended garments or McDonald’s.  Yet the gay thing, they’ve latched on to. 

Science tells us that sexual orientation is not a choice.  While the cause of sexual orientation is unclear, what is clear is that it’s set in stone from a pretty early age and can’t really be changed with drugs, therapy or prayer.   
Still, Christians are quick to point out that homosexuality represents a ‘corruption of nature’ and a moral failing to boot.  The result has been that religious organizations funnel millions and millions of dollars to causes that systematically rob gays and lesbians of their rights.  Meanwhile, the shrimp purveyors go unpunished! 

Natural Disaster

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Christian Fundamentalists, while preaching brotherhood and love, can have a surprising amount of bloodlust.  After any natural disaster, religious figures are quick to blame the event on some moral failing of the people most direly affected.
 
This, most likely, comes from the story of Noah and his arc.  God causes a flood to punish the world for its sins.  At the end of the story, however, God mentions that he will never pull some shit like that again.  Also, after its pointed out by Abraham, God admits that destroying whole cities over the sins of a few residents is just not ok.  This comes from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.   

Still, Hurricane Irene was blamed on New York’s new gay marriage legislation.  Katrina was also blamed on the gays.  Apparently gay people are the cause of all major weather catastrophes.   

End of the World

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If there is one thing that religious people and members of the scientific community agree on, it’s the apocalypse.  Listen to a fundamentalist preacher on the subject and then listen to Al Gore and you’ll find some startling similarities.  The end is near.  The end will be hot and full of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 
 
But the messages are not identical.  While Al Gore bases his theories on research and tries to impart on people that we can change our ways and avoid this disaster, religious people have no such hope.  Many of them look forward hungrily to the end of the world.  Since the beginning of Christianity there have been nuts on the street claiming that the apocalypse is near. 

This is probably because the apocalypse and the subsequent judgment will at last provide Christian fundamentalists with an affirmation that their beliefs are correct.  Accordingly they look forward to the day with drooling mouths, evidenced by the popularity of the Evangelist novel series “Left Behind,” about the rapture and the torments of the poor sinners who are… left behind.  It’s been made into a video game filled with hellfire and violence, and it is approved by priests around the country.

The Right to Die

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One arena in which the religion vs science debate rages regards the right to death. Time after time the media is filled with stories of individuals on life support, completely brain-dead but, with the aid of machinery, still breathing and living… technically. 

Often times the loved ones of these individuals want to pull the plug, reasoning that they need closure and that there is no longer anything of their loved one left inside the braindead body.  But religious fanatics oppose this with astonishing anger and resentment.

After all, to pull the plug is to play God, right?  Well, maybe… but maybe the whole life support machine system is playing God — without the help of the machine, these people would surely have died much sooner.  And why is it so bad to play God anyways?  What would Jesus Do, after all?

The history of the international fraternity of Freemasonry is riddled with secrets. Attempting to make a definitive account of its beliefs, rituals and influence would prove to be an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task. By their very nature, the Freemasons are a mysterious group, and although in the 21st century they claim to be “less a secret society and more a society with many secrets,” they do not relinquish covert information to non-members readily. What is known about the Freemasons is that a phenomenal number of great innovators, thinkers and influential individuals have been, upon closer inspection, members of this shadowy organization. The following inventive and original minds all, in their own ways, changed the world — and they were also all members of the Freemasons.

10. Vannevar Bush (1890 – 1974)

American engineer, scientist and developer of the first electronic analogue computer Vannevar Bush is perhaps best remembered as the author of the revolutionary essay “As We May Think.” Published in 1945, it envisaged much of the technology we take for granted today, including personal computers, the Internet, hypertext, online encyclopedias, and speech recognition software. In 1939, Bush — a Worshipful Master in Massachusetts’s Richard C. Maclaurin Lodge — was appointed president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; as such he assumed considerable influence with the US Government in military and scientific research. Bush was involved in the development and proposed use of the atomic bomb. And, as the alleged head of the “Majestic 12” — the purported code name of a secret committee of scientists, leaders and officials formed by President Harry Truman — Bush is rumored to have investigated UFO activity in the wake of the Roswell incident, the supposed crash of an alien aircraft in New Mexico in 1947. The secrets his fellow Lodge members may have heard are almost too immense to contemplate.

9. Sandford Fleming (1827 – 1915)

Sir Sandford Fleming was a Scottish-born Canadian inventor and engineer. Perhaps best known as the man who, in 1851, designed the first Canadian postage stamp, Fleming is also often credited with the invention of standard time zones. Amongst his many achievements, Fleming was chief engineer of the cross-continental Canadian Pacific Railway. Knighted by Queen Victoria in 1897, Fleming was also a Freemason. Freemasonry helped Fleming in no small way, providing him with links to many influential members across the international fraternity. His proposal of world time zones was supported by many powerful masons, most notably the fourth Governor General of Canada, 9th Duke of Argyll John Campbell. Fleming’s engineering genius also helped to bring about the trans-Pacific submarine telegraph cable, which some have dubbed the “Victorian Internet.”

8. John Theophilus Desaguliers (1683 – 1744)

The French-born astronomer, scientist, natural philosopher and priest Rev. John Theophilus Desaguliers has been credited with the invention of the planetarium and is also remembered as the man who took steam engine design a step further though the addition of a safety valve. Influenced by Sir Isaac Newton, whom he was an assistant to, the Oxford-educated Desaguliers chose to settle in England. Desaguliers was also an extremely prominent Freemason and a major force both in collating the early history of the society and in attracting noblemen to the world’s first known Grand Lodge — the Premier Grand Lodge of England. Mystery shrouds his connection with Freemasonry up to 1719, but in that year he was elected the third Grand Master, and after serving in this post he subsequently held various prestigious positions within the Fraternity — in his adopted home as well as in Europe. Desaguliers, who appears to have invested far more time in science and Freemasonry than he did in the Church of England, has been called the “Father of Modern speculative Freemasonry.”

7. King Camp Gillette (1855 – 1932)

It can be reasonably claimed that the American innovator King Camp Gillette changed the world when he launched the cheap, disposable safety razor to a grateful public in 1901. Yet the founder of the world famous Gillette brand (now a business unit of Procter & Gamble), who was known for his business acumen and innovative marketing strategies, was also a Freemason. Little is known of Gillette’s personal experience within the Fraternity, but his political ideas are well documented and must surely have been shared among other members. Gillette was a “Utopian Socialist,” and envisioned a single public-owned corporation that controlled the entire world’s industry. He also imagined a giant US-wide city named Metropolis that would be powered exclusively by Niagara Falls. King Camp Gillette: dreamer; inventor; Freemason.

6. Traian Vuia (1872 – 1950)

The Romanian inventor, engineer and aviation pioneer Traian Vuia was one of the earliest innovators in flight technology. In 1906, his self-propelled, fixed-wing aircraft – complete with landing wheels – managed to fly 39 feet, approximately 3 feet off the ground. What is less well known is that the aeronautics genius was a member of Romania’s Masonic Order, which had grown steadily more organized following the unification of its lodges in 1880. It has been reported that, in the wake of World War I, Vuia was part of a small group of Freemasons who traveled to the Peace Conference in Paris to facilitate links with the Paris Ernest Renan Lodge — and in turn, between the governments of the two countries. As a world famous innovator and designer, Vuia’s value to Romania and his lodge was priceless, while journalists who were part of the French fraternity ensured Romania got good press at the conference.

5. Antonio Meucci (1808 – 1889)

It is widely held that Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone. However, it is also claimed that inventor, revolutionary thinker and unconfirmed Freemason Antonio Meucci had devised the principles of the telephone when Bell was still an infant, and had a working model by 1859 — long before Bell and others. Unfortunately for the Italian, due to technical omissions relating to vocal sounds in his patent — which was filed five years before Bell’s — he never gained the credit for his work; until recently, that is. In 2002, the US Congress officially recognized Meucci’s work in the development of the telephone. The rumors of Meucci’s involvement with the Freemasons appear to be largely down to his close friendship with the great military hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, the unifier of Italy. Garibaldi was an active Mason and arrived in New York around the same time as Meucci. The two shared ideas, and it seems likely that Freemasonry played some part in this exchange.

4. James Bowie (1796 – 1836)

James “Jim” Bowie, legendary frontiersman, pioneer, battle hero and reputed joint designer of the Bowie knife (with a little help from his brother, Rezin), is something of a folk hero in American cultural history. Bowie’s fame was born of violent circumstances. Having been shot and stabbed in the famous brawl known as the Sandbar Fight, Bowie killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish, Norris Wright, with an unusually long knife. It’s said that this became the basis for the design of the now-famous hunting knife. While many different manufacturers have produced their own versions of the blade, Bowie can lay claim to being the original inspiration for the design. Among his many other roles — including a slave trader and land speculator — Bowie was an esteemed member of L’Humble Chaumiere Lodge No. 19 at Opelousas, Louisiana. Yet just as his life appeared to be at its most settled and comfortable, his wife and children were killed in a cholera outbreak. He then fought and died alongside fellow national icons Davy Crockett and William Travis at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.

3. Samuel Colt (1814 – 1862)

The American industrialist and inventor Samuel Colt is best known for popularizing the revolver that eventually led to the Colt Single Action Army, otherwise known as the Colt .45. He applied for his first patent at the age of 18, and his dream of perfecting the ‘impossible gun’ never faded. An engaging and pioneering character in the world of munitions and other fields, Colt once made a living as “the celebrated Dr. Coult,” lecturing on chemistry and performing demonstrations of the effects of Nitrous Oxide on willing audience members. Like his manufacturing rival Daniel Leavitt — who patented the first revolver after his own — and another great firearms exponent, Richard Gatling, Colt was also an active Freemason. Colt’s name will forever be associated with the gun, and interestingly his products were of great use to fellow Masons Benito Juárez, Simon Bolivar, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Sam Houston in their various violent revolutionary activities.

2. The Montgolfier Brothers (Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (1740 – 1810) and Jacque-Étienne Montgolfier (1745 – 1799))

The celebrated French inventors the Montgolfier Brothers — arguably the earliest important names in the history of aviation — performed the first manned ascent of a hot air balloon in 1783. Based on experiments with bags made of paper and fabric and a naked flame, their paper-lined silk balloon was lifted 6,562 feet in the air. In the same year they successfully transported first animals (a sheep, a rooster and a duck) and then later human passengers, the first one being Jacque-Étienne himself. Less is known about the brothers’ lives as Freemasons, but like Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier — who made the first untethered manned flight in a Montgolfier balloon — they were active members of the Fraternity.

1. Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)

Benjamin Franklin, the great statesman, scientist, political theorist and philosopher, is without doubt one of the most important inventors and public figures in American history. The creator of the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses and the glass harmonica also believed in generously donating his genius and never patented his work. He was a true Renaissance man, and possibly his greatest gift to civilization was the lightning rod, which led to a greater understanding of the nature of electricity. Franklin was active as a Freemason from at least as early as 1731, when he was initiated into St. John’s Lodge in Philadelphia. Appointed Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1934, he was heavily involved in Masonic work his entire life, and edited and reprinted Scotland’s Rev. James Anderson’s Constitutions of the Free-Masons in the same year as his high appointment. This was the first Masonic book in America and effectively linked the “Antient” and the “Modern” world. Franklin, known as the “First American,” was instrumental in the creation of modern America and, in doing so, brought the secrets of Freemasonry to a new nation. Or at least to its chosen few.

Oh baby, baby… it is a very wild world.  More wild, in fact, than it was when Cat Stevens first sang about it in 1970.  One way in which this wildness is manifested is the increased use of drugs and prevalence of substance addiction, an issue brought to light by shows like “Intervention” and people like Nicole Richie.  It’s enough to make one long for simpler times when men wore hats, ladies blushed, and people didn’t need such elaborate chemical compounds to have fun on a Friday night.

But if we look a little closer, the days of yore might not be quite so innocent as they seem.  Maybe raves weren’t as popular back then as they are today, but people were popping, drinking, smoking and snorting many of the same delightful substances that fill Lindsay Lohan’s purse today!  Stranger still… these substances used to be legal, making our so-called modern age look like a prudish and puritanical version of the past.  How did our Great Great Grandmothers and Grandfathers get away with it?  Often the answer was as simple as marketing: call the drugs medicine.

Meth

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Meth, according to almost anyone you ask, is a dangerous drug.  In addition to increasing energy and giving you an emotional jolt before you head to an all night orgy set to songs by Robyn, it is devastatingly addictive and is known to lead to bad choices in haircut, tooth loss, and psychosis.  Messing with Meth is simply not the same as smoking a doobie behind the Junior High — and almost 100% of addicts say they were tragically hooked the very first time they tried it.

All the same, there was a time when this toxin was not only legal but was available at your local Duane Reade… or whatever pharmacy people were going to in the nineteenth century.  Norodin (a brand name for Meth) was prescribed for people with light depression… presumably to turn it into heavy depression once a full blown chemical addiction kicked in.  Still, it was said that Norodin was just the thing for dispelling “the shadows of mild mental depression.” One in five doctors recommend Meth?  Now there’s a reason to get happy!

Marijuana

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Our country stands at a crossroads regarding Marijuana.  Considering that its psychoactive effects are less significant than a bottle of over-the-counter Robitussin it is amazing to see how this handsome little plant has played such a great roll in politics, policy, philosophy, and religion in the U.S. and beyond.  In California you can get some premium sticky bud if you have a tummy ache and a doctor’s note.  In most other states, however, you have to go through the hassle of texting a code word to some jerk on a bicycle introduced to you by your nephew… all to get a buzz on.

But once upon a time (up until the early 1900’s) use of Marijuana in the United States was completely unrestricted.  It was grown for use in textiles and paper by farmers across the land and no doubt puffed on by 19th century farm boys who could only dream of a day when such an experience would be enhanced by the advent of Pink Floyd and Liberal Arts educations.

Heroin

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Do you remember what your mother did for you when you were sick with sniffles as a child?  Most likely her solution to this problem involved some combination of chicken noodle soup, a VHS of your favorite Disney movie, and Heroin … right?

Probably not, but once upon a time Heroin, which was developed in 1874 as a substitute for Morphine, was used as a cough suppressant.  Watching any “Intervention” episode focused on Heroin addiction will make you wonder why anyone would ever choose that over a cough, no matter how hacking and wet.

Still, it took over 30 years for people to realize that the cough was worth it and by the time they did it was apparently too late… the drug remains a ghoulish figure on the scene of American addiction to this very day and the common cold has yet to be cured.

MDMA

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We don’t have to suffer through a trip to Grandma’s house to hear about the glory days of legal Ecstasy use.  Chances are that mom and dad enjoyed its free reign seeing as it was legal just a few short decades ago.  Developed in 1912, MDMA achieved popularity in the seventies when a Berkeley professor noted its remarkable abilities in combating a wide array of psychiatric conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression.

But when it was discovered that the substance was also good for a great night out dancing to horrible club-beats and caressing friends’ faces, an emergency ban was thrown on it.  Modern-day ravers and druggies still enjoy this recreational substance all over the world, but unfortunately, because of the ban, the people who could actually derive real benefit from it are still deprived.

Roofies

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GHB, also known as the date-rape drug and “Roofies” are one of the most feared drugs today.  Any club-goer with savvy knows to keep an eye on his or her drink from the first pour to the last sip as its not uncommon for club creepers and date rapists to slip this small but dangerous drug into a drink and take advantage of the weakened victim. The drug is odorless and tasteless, making it even easier for predators to slip it into a drink as the victim turns around for even just a second.

Shockingly, this drug was not made a federally controlled substance until the late, great year of 2000 even though it was developed all the way back in the wild 1960s.  Its depressive and palliative effects were used medically for anesthetic purposes and the drug was often given to women in childbirth to alleviate some of their pain.

Interestingly enough, however, the drug has very recently come back into medical use as a treatment for narcolepsy.  Strange, as it seems to have a knocking-out effect.

LSD

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LSD or acid is a powerful hallucinogenic known for causing users to “trip balls”, see God or Buddha, and occasionally jump off buildings with the conviction that they can fly.  In vogue mostly among the country’s dreadlocked war protestors, LSD was developed by accident in 1943.  Its unique effects were seized upon by the U.S. government itself, which tested the drug as a means of mind control and truth extraction.

As anyone who has ever been around a person on LSD surely knows, not much truth is coming out of their lips unless it’s regarding the hidden nature of the cosmos or how strange hands are when you really look at them.  In 1970, after a decade of abuse by the Haight-Ashbury crowd, the government finally put the kibosh on the substance.

Cocaine

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Cocaine is a huge part of American culture.  Illicit and illegal, yes, but where would the nation’s models, singers, heiresses and college students be without it?  A quick snort of “nose candy” and you are guaranteed heightened energy and nearly fifteen minutes of tenuous and fleeting self-confidence.

But believe it or not… Kate Moss and Charlie Sheen are not the most notable people to have taken a ride on the cocaine train.  Tons of famous figures from history loved the stuff, including one Sigmund Freud who used it as a therapeutic tool.

Also, ever wonder why your favorite soft drink has the same name as your favorite drug?  Well, Coca-Cola used to list Cocaine as an ingredient.  Modern Cocaine came about in the 1860s and enjoyed legality until 1914 when everyone stopped doing it and it was never seen again… of course.

Opium

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In the mid-nineteenth century Opium use was brought to the West by the influx of Chinese laborers.  There the drug had been used for centuries and it really made a splash in Europe and the United States as Opium dens sprung up like so many Starbucks locations.

Derived from the Poppy seed, smoking Opium produces euphoria, relaxation, and a delightful fogginess of mind.  It was also given to women to fight menstrual cramps and, goodness gracious, given to crying babies to… you know… shut them up.  It really was a great Mother’s Little Helper.

Peyote

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Mescaline, also known as Peyote, is an American grown hallucinogen famous for its historic use in Native American religious ceremonies.  Despite being made illegal in some states during the 20s and 30s, Peyote was legally enjoyed by most states throughout the 60s… when it really counted.  Hippies tired of their boring white bread, Christian upbringings turned to the writings of Don Juan and other Native American spiritual guides before taking Peyote to engender their own Spirit Quests.  These people now hold down respectable jobs where they play Minesweeper at their cubicle desks, but no doubt they still think fondly of their desert wandering and spiritual Peyote visions.

In 1970 the drug was outlawed but many Native American places of worship are allowed exemption from this ban.  This was a nice gesture of the U.S. government, all things considered.  But today’s college students get no such break.

Mushrooms

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Despite having been used for thousands of years, people were debating the existence of Hallucinogenic mushrooms up until the early 1900s.  Commonly thought of as a natural LSD,Mushrooms produce profound visual and audio hallucinations wherein the true nature of the human experience is dubiously bestowed on the drug-taker for the duration of about eight hours.

In the 60’s the drug was made famous by writer and philosopher Timothy Leary who espoused its use as a tool for spiritual and psychological development and mushrooms quickly became a huge part of American hippie subculture.  But towards the end of the 60s, as America’s other favorite pastimes became illegal one by one, mushrooms bit the dust as well with a federal ban.

If you are scared by the booming industry of doctors and hospitals and fake flu shots — you should be. Every generation opts to undergo ‘cures’ which are not really cures at all, but ridiculous charades with no medical effects whatsoever (except for negative ones). Doctors think they know everything just because they went to medical school, but there’s a whole other world of alternate medicine out there that they don’t want you to know about, just because it’s probably insanely dangerous.  Don’t let Big Pharma scare you!  You can be scared by these crazy cures instead.

Dead Scorpions on the Face

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Don’t let some “doctor” say that you need “prescribed medicine” just because he has some fancy degree.  In China, you can have scorpion carcasses applied directly to your face.  That’s way more badass than some doctor injecting you with a mystery serum.

Bee Stings

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Ever get stung by a bee?  Turns out, that bee may have been trying to cure your aching bones or MS.  So if you’re laid up with a complicated medical issue, you really have nothing to lose by punching the nearest beehive.  At least the beehive will be down and you’ll probably have a nice handful of honey to go along with your agonizing, painful, curative stings.

Mummy Powder

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In the 12th Century, being a “doctor” meant doing things like prescribing mummy powder for wounds and bruises.  This usually happened after some meddling kids and a dog foiled the mummy’s plan and captured him.  Sadly, science has yet to find a cure made from phantoms or swamp monsters.

Tobacco Smoke Enema

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There was an actual time when a doctor would blow smoke up your ass and you’d pay him for the privilege.  Learned from the Native Americans (who obviously took a prank on their European friends way too far), the smoke is believed to help you poop or at the very least, make your poop smell like a carton of Marlboros.

Mercury

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In the 2nd Century, the Chinese began to “cure” Syphilis with mercury, which just goes to show you how desperate people get with their junk is on the line.  This treatment lasted all the way to the 20th century, when insurance companies realized that mercury was too expensive and rare to give to their customers.

Electricity

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When your genitals aren’t functioning, guys will pretty much try anything.  In the 18th and 19th centuries, the thing to try was electricity on the ol’ wiener.  Shockingly, this Johnson abuse didn’t work and sadly, there was no YouTube then so we could mock the idiots who tried it.

Terrapin Touch

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Once again, the Chinese have crazy remedies, including applying a terrapin to your face.  Sadly, your local CVS does not have terrapins in stock and they are a special order.

Malaria

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Maybe it’s the idea of “fighting fire with fire”, but using malaria to fight syphilis sounds like burning down your house just to kill the roaches.  This cure actually works, though it is exceedingly dangerous.  Maybe it would be better just to lay off the hookers and use a condom.

Hot Irons for Hemorrhoids

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Keep in mind, medieval doctors lived in the era when there was a lot of torture  (no doubt we’ll be seeing some waterboard cures soon).  The Middle Ages monks believed that by using hot irons, you could remove your hemorrhoids and probably scream a whole lot.

Heroin for Kids!

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Heroin was widely touted as a miracle drug.  Then again, what else do you expect to hear from people who are probably already addicted to heroin?  Heroin was put into cough syrup, which was no doubt given to kids.  The kids didn’t like the medicine at first, but then they couldn’t get enough!

Urine Therapy

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Roman and Indian cultures gave us urine therapy.  But then again, they also gave us vomitoriums and insanely hot restaurant buffets.  When ‘urine’ trouble, rubbing pee in during a massage or drinking it was said to cure a variety of ailments and make you smell like that guy that begs for change on the subway platform.

Bloodletting

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We’re not sure who was the first medieval jackhole to say, “Hey, as long as you’re sick, let’s bleed you.”  For some reason, people thought this was a good idea.  It would be hundreds of years later before it became cool with your Goth nephew that works at Hot Topic.

Penis Exerciser

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Get your mind out of the gutter!  This is a serious instrument of body change!  You can’t rely on those Korean girls to do it every time you go to the massage parlor. Besides, that costs extra.

Trepanation

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Did you ever hear that expression, “I need that like I need a hole in the head”?  Well, some people take that expression in a different way.  They believe that by drilling holes into their skulls they can relieve pressure, and they usually do…When their brains come pouring out.

Honey Mummies

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Hands down, the most insane cure of all time was developed in Arabia around the 16th century.  It involved men who would literally eat themselves to death by consuming only honey.  Then, once they died, their bodies were sealed in honey for many years.  Their tasty bodies would then be used to treat wounds.  Sure, it sounds extreme, but it’s still the only thing that’s 100% covered on Arabian HMO’s.

Image: Kai Krause

BP CEO Tony Hayward has admitted that BP made mistakes early on in dealing with the Gulf Coast oil spill. But he defended BP’s overall response to the crisis. The Guardian has more:

…in a bullish interview with the Guardian at BP’s crisis centre in Houston, Hayward promised that BP would “fix” the disaster, which is on course to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the worst US oil spill in history. Hayward said that BP was “increasingly confident” that progress was being made in trying to find ways to seal the faulty blow-out preventer, which failed to shut down the well, and stem the flow of oil.

(Hayward) admitted that BP had made mistakes in its early response to the crisis. BP initially refused to compensate fishermen who were unable to produce written proof of their normal earnings even though most keep no such record. He also said BP had made a mistake when fishermen signing up to help with the relief effort were required to sign agreements limiting their receipt of any future damages from BP. “It was a bit bumpy to get it going. We made a few little mistakes early on.”

BP’s Alaska and Texas City disasters set the stage for the previous CEO, John Browne, to be shown the door. I doubt Hayward’s job is as safe as he claims.

BP has spend $450 million on the oil spill so far, according to the Wall Street Journal–and it still hasn’t figured out a workable solution. Let’s hope the company works out its kinks quickly.

Natural disasters often strike without warning, causing death and destruction which usually results in significant financial devastation as well. While the total economic impact of the 2010 Haiti earthquake is not yet known, the cost is expected to be in the billions. Here is a look at the most costly natural disasters in history.

Note: the following is pure speculation and may be an example of mass hysteria mongering.

8. HRP-4C the Robot Supermodel

This saucy sexpot fembot (just check out that ass!) has an unlimited capacity to eat tiny designer salads, pull perfect pouts and snort endless lines of cocaine. Due to its total lack of human feelings it is perfect for the utterly superficial job of supermodel and won’t spiral into an emotional breakdown everytime something nasty is written about it in the papers. Let’s be honest, we won’t miss the tiny-minded bunch of turkeys we’ve got as models at the moment. And anyway, robots are sexaaay… Unfortunately this robot is more deadly siren than heavenly angel as, true to form, concealed in her bosoms are large calibre machineguns (have I watched too Austin Powers too many times?). To be honest, I still find this damn sexy… And just so you know, when the fembots take over, all you out of work supermodels can come stay with me.

7. Mobiro the Robotic Violinist

Concert violinists and music teachers the world over, be afraid. Be very afraid. Toyota’s ‘Mobiro’ is a 5 ft. tall robot with an uncanny ability to play the violin. And here’s the bad news: ‘Mobiro’ is only the latest in Toyota’s ensemble of musical robots that already includes a trumpeter, trombonist and several others. It uses its 17 computer controlled joints and agile fingers to hold the instrument and delicately sound out sweet airs – but don’t be fooled by its humanoid charms. Once ‘Mobiro’ and its friends have replaced all the musicians in the world (and hold a monopoly on your ears) they will begin to transmit inaudible telekinetic pulses designed to reprogram and enslave us. Before long we’ll all be dancing to the beat of their drum – as long as we’re not immediately earmarked for euthanasia, that is.

6. Motoman SDA-10 the Robot Chef

Are you one of those chefs who always burns the toast and struggles to remember how long you boil an egg for? If so we have an announcement for you: YOU ARE BEING REPLACED BY A ROBOT. ‘Motoman’ can produce over three dozen savoury Japanese pancakes in four seconds (or something like that…), is never late for work and never makes mistakes – bad news for all those chefs who consider the microwave essential to haute cuisine. But even worse news is that once ‘Motoman’ is installed in every restaurant and diner in the land, he will start to adopt the attitude of the ‘soup Nazi’. The weak will be selected and brutally made into perfect pieces of sushi, before being force-fed to the rest of us whilst we are held in an electrified pen, guarded by cruel robot sentries.

5. RI-MAN Elderly Care Robot

RI-MAN is the world’s first robot designed to lift and carry humans, and before long will put all those working with the elderly out of a job. Not only can RI-MAN lift up the elderly when they get bored of scrabble and place them down in front of the TV, but it can also serve them up their mushy food, as well as use its ability to see, hear and smell to sense when they’re about to go into cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, once we’re all lying helpless in our own mess, relying on teams of robot helpers to move us around, it won’t be that comfy chair in front of the TV they’ll be dropping us in – but a giant extermination pit, brimful of acid.

4. Home Assistant Robot

Tokyo University’s Home Assistant robot can carry out simple domestic chores such as wiping floors, washing, cleaning dishes and even moving furniture. It is equipped with 5 cameras and laser sensors, and 6 hands with three joints each. Cleaners and mothers everywhere will be out of a job when HAR gets its act together, and then instead of placing dirty laundry in the washing machine HAR will be placing you and your children in there.

3. AIBO the Robot Dog

Sony’s AIBO robot dog is able to walk, ‘see’ its environment via camera, and recognize spoken commands. Added to this it’s damn cute – in a manly sort of metallic/gadget way – and will soon have the standard family dog out of its job. AIBO was marketed as a novelty alternative to a real dog that places its owner firmly at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence technology, and perfect for the kids to play with as it won’t bite or make any mess (what’s not to love?). What they don’t tell you is that it is programmed to transform from cute ‘family dog’ into vicious ‘attack dog’. Once the robots’ take over of the world is complete AIBOs will patrol the streets in brutal gangs, mauling anyone out after curfew hour.

2. MechaDroid C3 the Receptionist

The MechaDroid Type C3 robot receptionist uses face recognition technology to recognize the faces of visitors to a company’s reception desk. The MechaDroid never makes mistakes, knows perfect directions for everyone and eliminates all those awkward conversations with receptionists, but it does have one drawback – along with those little conversations goes the chance to flirt. Eventually all receptionists will be history and a MechaDroid will control entry and exit of every firm, store and home in the country. These unflinching droids will at first deny us access to all public buildings, and soon after be used to trap us in our own homes indefinitely, forcing us to face slow death through starvation.

1. Asimo the Waiter

If you are a hotel butler or a waiter you’d better watch your back – there’s a robot out there that’s after your job. ASIMO can greet and escort guests, and after getting its assigned humans sorted out, can deliver trays of drinks. This humanoid biped is ‘comfortable’ around humans (meaning it can choose its movements independently) allowing it to dodge spewing drunks or unwanted groping hands at parties. Yes, it’s true, having a robot sounds like no substitute for a cute young waiter or waitress, but let me remind you of the HRp-4C robot supermodel – a mechanised waitress who is also hot? Beauty. In the future Asimo will deliver tiny parcels of radioactive matter before forcing us to eat them, rendering our brains useless lumps of jelly.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Images: gameimp, palgus, steve keys, Tracy O, kosmokomik, wikipedia, takomabibelot

Mr. Williamson’s work focuses on the boundaries of the firm, and the reasons for economic activity inside of firms: Why is there so much vertical integration in the marketplace? Why don’t we all just work for ourselves and sign contracts with each other instead of working together inside of a big company?

Would a third alternative be to outsource negotiations? Also, I’m not sure whether Williamson’s work covered this, but finding clients when you’re working for yourself is another time- and money-suck. The corporation helps in that instance, too.

Elinor Ostrom’s work had to do with group management of common resources. Her findings negate the dominance of socialism or privatization:

Ms. Ostrom’s work focuses on the commons, such as how pools of users manage natural resources as common property. The traditional view is that common ownership results in excessive exploitation of resources — the so-called tragedy of the commons that occurs when fishermen overfish a common pond, for example. The proposed solution is usually to make users bear the external costs of their utilization by privatizing the resource or imposing government regulations such as taxes or quotas.

Ms. Ostrom’s empirical research has shown that this explanation is “overly simplistic,” the prize committee says: There are many cases around the world in which common property is “surprisingly well-managed.” In these cases commons users “create and enforce rules that mitigate overexploitation” without having to resort to privatization and government regulation (which can both pose their own practical difficulties).

Ostrom found that some grasslands in Asia’s interior were governed better by groups than socialist or private concerns. One explanation for this could be that governments or companies don’t have an interest in the welfare of the individuals affected by the resource. Thus, they’ll cull it for their own advantage, rather than maximizing its utility–something a group might do to ensure the survival of its community or family.

I wonder whether Ostrom analyzed cases where groups compete over the same resource. I can’t see that competition leading to a particularly peaceful or efficient solution.