Archive for the ‘Hallucinations’ Category

The Popsicle Responsible for Miracles & Hallucinations All Over London

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012

If you’ve never heard of ‘The Icecreamists’, a cutting edge ice cream lab/shop/parlor in Covent, London where owner Mark O’ Connor came under fire last year for his breastmilk ice cream.

But breastmillk was SO last year.

This year, O’ Connor’s latest creation is called the Vice Lolly (for those that’ve never heard the term, ‘lolly’ refers to candy or sweets…there…we’ve performed our community service for the week).

Made from a mix of holy water imported from the spring at the Grotto of Massabielle at Lourdes, sugar and 80% absinthe frozen into the shape of a pistol.

The holy water, taken from a spring where a 14 year-old claimed she saw a vision of the Virgin Mary. Thousands now flock to the grotto hoping for miracle cures to whatever ailments they may have. Which is what makes this popsicle so expensive…priests sell the supposed miracle holy water for about $123 a liter (~1 quart).

Next time you’re in London, you can experience your own visions via this absinthe imbued popsicle for about $28 (USD).

[The Icecreamists]

Posted in Food, Hallucinations | 4 Comments »

Magnetically Induced Hallucinations, And You

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

skitched-20100513-131607.jpgWhat is Transcranial magnetic stimulation?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an extraordinary technique pioneered by neuroscientists to explore the workings of the brain. The idea is to place a human in a rapidly changing magnetic field that is powerful enough to induce currents in neurons in the brain. Then sit back and see what happens.

Since TMS was invented in the 1980s, it has become a powerful way of investigating how the brain works. Because the fields can be tightly focused, it is possible to generate currents in very specific areas of the brain to see what they do.

Focus the field in the visual cortex, for example, and the induced eddys cause the subject to ‘see’ lights that appear as discs and lines. Move the the field within the cortex and the subject sees the lights move too.

This has led some researchers to think about taking the technology from the lab and into the field where it could have all sorts of uses from the heat of battle to office Christmas party shenanigans.

[Technology Review]

Posted in Hallucinations, Science | Comments Off on Magnetically Induced Hallucinations, And You