Odd Jobs and Professions...

After writing about Barbara Walters and her vibrator named selfie I said it was the last time I would write that word in the blog. I guess I was mistaken since I must use it today.

Headline: Selfies (probably) not spreading head lice among teens, expert says.

The source of the story is a woman who offers lice removal services in Northern California. She claims she is seeing "a huge increase of head lice in teens this year" because they are "sticking their heads together every day to take cellphone pics."

A Harvard professor and physician says there's no truth to the story and it's a "marketing ploy, pure and simple. Whenever one of these louse salons opens a new branch, there always seems to be an epidemic. It's good for business."

We have a pest control company spray the perimeter of the house every ninety days. They found termites the first day of the bathroom renovation and did a treatment for them.

There are day spas that do massage and skin care. Wanda goes to one here in town. 

These services I'm familiar with but a head lice spa and removal service is a first for me.

Louse removal service returned 22 million hits.

Here are a few; Honeycombers, Lice Doctors, Hair Whisperers, Hair Fairies, Hair Angles and one company that makes house calls, Louse Calls.

My maybe father Irving and his father before him were barbers so you might say I grew up around hair. I've never had head lice, I've never dealt with head lice, I've never given much thought (even as a nurse) to head lice. Honestly, I'm astonished, I had no idea there were businesses that catered to head lice.

"I'm going to the spa for a mani-pedi and louse removal."

How do you get rid of a large louse?.....Divorce him.

Last week I got an e-mail from AAA offering me a discount on a cheese making class and it got me thinking about unusual occupations. By the way, there can be up to twenty-one steps to cheese making. I'll stick to buying Brie at Costco. 

I consider head lice removal a rather nasty and strange occupation. Here are a few more odd and unusual jobs.

1. Breath odor evaluator

What they do: Odor judges smell nasty morning breath or breath "insulted" with strong scents, like garlic or coffee. They rate the breath on a scale from one to nine, one being the worst. To test odor-reducing products like gum or mouthwash, they smell the breath again and assign it a new rating.

2. Ribbon candy puller

What they do: After a heated combination of sugar, corn syrup, water and coloring agent has cooled, batches of different colors are laid out side by side. Someone then pulls the candy thin until it's about an inch wide. The final product is a multicolored hard candy.

3. Ocularist

What they do: In short, they paint artificial eyes. It sounds easier than it is, since as with real eyes, no two are exactly the same.

4. Flatulence smell-reduction underwear maker

What they do: Create underwear that protect against bad human gas for people who suffer from gastrointestinal problems. The underwear is made with various materials and filters to help remedy hydrogen sulfide gases, the main offender in foul smells.

5. Crack filler

What they do: Using a silicone sealant, they repair the wear and tear inflicted on monumental structures, like Mount Rushmore.

6. Potato chip inspector

What they do: Search for over-cooked or clumped chips to discard as they come down the assembly line.

7. Paper towel sniffer

What they do: Paper towel manufacturers prefer their products to be odorless before, during and after their use. Naturally, paper towel sniffers ensure that once a paper towel is used, there is no noticeable scent.

8. Ball tester

What they do: Assess basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls for air-retention, inflation, roundness, weight and reboundability.

9. Tampon tester

What they do: Check all sizes of tampons for absorbency and cord strength in accordance with FDA standards. Most testers check up to 125 pieces per day.

10. Barbie dress designer

What they do: Fashion designers at Mattel Toys, the company behind Barbie, create hundreds of new styles for Barbie and her ever-expanding entourage.

Hilltop Labs in Cincinnati, Ohio has been conducting odor tests for over fifty years. My Aunt Belle was a "smell subject' one summer. She had us kids in stitches telling us how her arm pits, feet and breath were "sniffed" throughout the day.

Better to be the sniff-e than the sniff-er.

And finally, here are a few newsworthy stories you're sure to like.

A Texas man who was able to escape from police on Saturday night is back in custody after he called 911 to report that his handcuffs were too tight.

Dyonta Rose was handcuffed and arrested on drug charges after police allegedly found narcotics in his backpack. When the officer left Rose alone, the 29-year-old was able to escape while still wearing his handcuffs.

Later that evening, Rose called 911 and requested an ambulance because the cuffs were cutting off his circulation.

Rose is now looking at felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, escape, tampering with evidence and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

A Maryland woman was arrested for allegedly attacking her neighbor with a knife during an argument about dog poop.

Annapolis police said the 59-year-old victim told officers neighbor Tameka Dareese Wright, 36, had become angry when asked to pick up dog feces the victim believed to have come from Wright's dog.

Wright allegedly retrieved a knife from her home during the argument and swung it at the other woman causing a laceration to her hand.

Police said there were several witnesses to the incident.

Wright was arrested on charges of first and second-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure and reckless endangerment.

I've written stories about fights over alcohol and food and even football teams. This is the first over dog crap and it's a fine example of the old proverb: You (or your pet) shouldn't shit where you eat (or live).