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A July dispatch by the German news service Deutsche Presse Agentur reported on Beijing’s trendy oxygen bars, where young professionals can unwind at the end of a hard day in an increasingly polluted city by inhaling fresh air for about $6 an hour. Special herbs and spices, some of which have medicinal qualities, can be mixed in for a higher price.
According to its recent press release, Kevis Rejuvenation Programs Inc., a Beverly Hills firm, is marketing a hair restoring shampoo that contains a cloned version of hyaluronic acid, which is found in human sperm and adds body to the hair. Kevis charges $25 for a bottle of this shampoo.
In May, the New York Times magazine featured a line of fashions created, modeled, and sold by inmates of the Oregon prison system. The jeans, shirts, and jackets of the Prison Blues label are carried in about 400 stores in the United States. Almost all the profits go to the prisoner workers (with deductions for taxes, room, board, and victim compensation).
Tampa sheriff’s officer David Parrish, admiring the failed escape attempt of inmate Ralph Johnson, who had a can of pepper spray concealed in his rectum: “Some people are more talented than others.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Shawn Belschwender.
