Crazy &^$# People Do

NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) — A former dentist in the U.S. has pleaded guilty to fraud for using paper clips instead of stainless steel posts in root canals.

Michael Clair will be sentenced next Monday after pleading guilty last week in a Massachusetts court to a variety of charges, including defrauding a government health program of $130,000, assault and battery, illegally prescribing prescription drugs and witness intimidation.

Authorities say instead of stainless steel posts for root canals, he used sections of paper clips — which can cause pain and even infection — in an effort to save money.

Attorney General Martha Coakley says paper clips can sometimes be used temporarily, but the 53-year-old Clair used the paper clips as a permanent fix.

Thomas Truong wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

?

Pipe cleaners would have been even more economical.

This week 17-year-old British factory worker Stacey Irvine was rushed to the hospital when she collapsed, struggling to breathe. During the exam, doctors were stunned to learn that Ms. Irvine had never in her life eaten fruit or vegetables; instead she had eaten almost nothing but fast-food chicken nuggets since she was two years old.

Her mother, Evonne Irvine, told reporters she had gone to great lengths to try to feed her daughter more nutritious food, at one point even trying to starve the girl, but it hadn’t worked. Stacey responded that, once she started eating nuggets, she “loved them so much they were all I would eat.”