[Image: a smiling person with brown skin and long, dark braids in the shower with a large device in hand and pointed at their teeth]
An entirely unexpected invention, and one that could make a big difference for folks who have trouble with oral hygiene due to chronic illness or disability!
From their IndieGoGo bio:
ToothShower is the world’s first complete oral care solution for the shower that does away with the need for flossing.
It’s easy to use and will fit right into your morning routine. Powered
by the water in your shower, ToothShower cleans 100% of teeth surfaces,
every nook and cranny of your teeth, not just 60% like the average
brushing.
It’s a little pricey ($89 via IndieGoGo campaign, $162 afterwards), but for the right person it could be just what the [dentist] ordered.
Looking for more resources on spoonie dental health? Check out our Oral Hygiene tag!
Here at Sock Dreams we employ many a gardening enthusiast, who are, of
course, also sock enthusiasts. Thus it should come as no surprise that
some of us are really, really into Ozone’s Witches Garden and
Apothecary Florals collections. These lines feature poisonous and
medicinal plants that are as interesting as they are beautiful. If, like
us, you dream of touring the poison garden at Alnwick Gardens, but
don’t get a lot of chances to visit England, these may be just the socks
for you! Join us on a virtual walk through Ozone’s poison garden…
A photo of signage at Alnwick’s Poison Garden, taken by Jo Jakeman, from flickr.
Disclaimer: we here at Sock Dreams do not recommend ingesting
any of the plants described below, even if they aren’t explicitly listed
as toxic. We are not doctors, chemists or botanists, and while we do
enjoy learning about poisonous plants, we are far from qualified to
claim that any of these are safe to use under any circumstances! Please
assume that they are not.
When Ozone first released their Witches Garden collection, it consisted of four styles: Morning Glory, Devil’s Breath, Belladonna, and Amanita Muscara.
Each label had “recipes” listing different combinations of these socks,
for various magical purposes. We love the idea of sock spells, and it’s
so much safer than using actual poisonous plants! Of course, we find
it’s just as fun knowing why you should not actually ingest these plants…The Morning Glory Crews depict what may be one of several blue morning glory species, but we suspect that it’s the infamous ipomoea tricolor, or “Heavenly Blue” shown here.
Though the seeds of this strain are known for their mild psychedelic
effects, there are lots of good reasons not to use them as such (not to
mention the inherent dangers of using any psychedelic substance). The
seeds don’t just contain a mild psychedelic – they also contain
glycosides, which cause nausea. Most people who have tried to abuse
morning glory seeds report unpleasant stomach cramps and sometimes
vomiting, which tend to outweigh any potentially positive effects.
Additionally, many commercially available seeds are chemically treated
to deter people from abusing them. All in all, we strongly suggest
sticking to the socks.
Next on our tour, we come upon a cluster of brightly colored
mushrooms. Their red caps are dotted with white spots, and something
about them just screams out to us, “don’t eat me!” It is the Amanita Muscara, or “fly aragic” and this is one seriously toxic toadstool.
Though historically there have been cases of death from amanita
poisoning, modern medicine has luckily been very successful in treating
it. So successful, in fact, that there hasn’t been a confirmed report of
death from poisoning by these fungi in over 100 years! Of course, even
non-deadly poisoning is going to be a bad time, so really, don’t try
these at home, in the woods, or anywhere else.
Next up is a big, shrubby plant covered in purple, bell-shaped flowers and shiny black berries. It is Belladonna, or atropa belladonna
if we’re being formal. Also known as deadly nightshade, this plant has a
long history of being used as a poison by ancient Romans, an anesthetic
prior to the middle ages, and even as a cosmetic!
The name belladonna is Italian for “beautiful woman,” and the plant
is called this because during the renaissance, Italian women used it to
make eye drops which dilated their pupils, as dark eyes were considered
more alluring at the time. In fact, the dilating drops used by
optometrists have the active ingredient atropine, which is the same
dilating chemical found in belladonna!
Continuing down the garden path, a stand of pendulous, orange, trumpet-shaped flowers catches our eye. It is brugmansia, also known as Devil’s Breath or, conversely, angel’s trumpet. All parts of this plant are toxic, but the seeds and leaves are especially so.
Mostly grown for ornamental purposes, the consequences of consuming
this plant are dire. In addition to unpleasant symptoms such as
tachycardia, migraines and death, devil’s breath can also cause
hallucinations which are known for being terrifying. While indigenous
South American cultures have traditionally used this plant for medicinal
purposes, we strongly advice against trying this yourself. In 1994, 112
people were admitted to hospitals for brugmansia poisoning in Florida
alone. The concentration of toxic alkaloids varies widely from plant to
plant, which makes determining a safe dosage nearly impossible. [source]
Moving out of the original portion of the garden, we discover an area
added on later… it seems the garden was expanded by popular demand at
some point. In the addition we come across a plant which features
purple star-shaped blooms, and which seems to have attracted
caterpillars and butterflies! It is solanum dulcamara, or Woody Nightshade, a cousin of the potato.
In Medieval times woody nightshade was thought to ward off witchcraft
when worn, though in North America it is currently considered a highly
invasive species, which makes it rather less desirable. Though fatal
human poisonings are not common, this plant is toxic. The socks, conveniently, are not.
Just past the nightshade we spy bright spears of bell-shaped flowers rocketing out of the ground. They are digitalis, or Fairy Gloves,
even more commonly known as fox gloves. While many people the world
over grow this biennial as an ornamental flower (many of us Portlanders
even find them volunteering in our gardens each spring) is it important to exercise caution regarding pets and children, as these beautiful flowers are, you guessed it, poisonous!
As
we enter a shady grove of trees, our eye is caught by something
glowing… what in the world could it be? Why, it is the elusive Bioluminescent Spores, and though 80 different species (including some poisonous ones!) can be
found in temperate and tropical forests around the world, to do so
involves being in the woods at night, without a flashlight. While this
can be very fun in a controlled setting such as Outdoor School, it can
be very dangerous in some areas. For easier thrills, we suggest wearing
the socks under blacklight!
Continuing down the path through the trees, we return at last to the
light, and leaving the poison garden, we find the relative safety of the
apothecary’s garden. The flowers found here have traditionally been
used in folk medicine, though we’re still definitely not suggesting that
you go out and eat them (or any other plants you’re not sure about).
Luckily for us, these flowers all have important symbolic meanings,
which means their socks do to! Poppies for sleep and peace, Marigolds to represent the sun, and Echinacea for strength and prosperity.
the grass in the original shrek movie is not grass. its hair. they used hair textures for the grass bc the actual grass for some reason in their computer modelling programs would not behave like grass so they used hair textures colored green.
elvis presley was a registered DEA officer who asked nixon for the title and was awarded it.
What else?
the great escape artist houdini was living in a time period where mysticism, fortune telling, ouija boards, seances and etc were becoming very common place and trendy. and he fucking hated it so much. so much that he would go to seances in disguise and make some bullshit off the wall shit like “my son died last year can you let me talk to him” and the seance person would be like ‘THIS IS YOUR SON HELLO FATHER’ then he’d rip off his disguise and be like YOU FRAUD I HAVE NO CHILDREN.
He died on Halloween night in detroit and as far as i know every year they hold seances on halloween trying to get in contact with his spirit. If seances work i bet his ghost is just pissed off and not responding out of raw spite.
foxes cant snarl like dogs and wolves cus the muscles in their muzzle dont allowe it so they just drop their jaws and scream.
valerian house archive 