This led the investigators to the home of the potluck’s gravy-preparer:

She reported having two pet bearded dragons at home. The gravy was never brought to a boil and drippings were added over several days. We visited her home and took environmental swabs. We found multiple swabs positive for Salmonella Labada, a rare serotype, including inside and outside the dragons’ terrarium, a dragon’s stool sample, a cloacal swab from a dragon (a fun activity!), bathroom sink, and kitchen sink.

I don’t really have anything else to say about this, other than it struck me as oddly funny.

Regardless, the moral of the story is don’t let your bearded dragons roam your kitchen countertop while you leisurely prepare mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh, and you should probably wash your hands too.

You’re looking at an x-ray of the abdominal area, and there’s something in there that shouldn’t be…can you guess what it is?

I found this in a journal (Surgical Rounds) that we get at work. It details a case of an 85 year old man who showed up in the ER complaining of acute abdominal pain. They ended up taking a look, and finding a perforated colon. No explanation. They stitch him up, and he shows up again about 2 years later. This time, there’s a “bar of soap” stuck up there (the patient says it helps with his impacted stools). They could feel it when they push around on his tummy, and so they took that x-ray. Turns out, it wasn’t a bar of soap.

I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Feel free to guess, or if that’s too much work, you can read the case report (and other information about perforated colons and sexual activity).