A species of mushroom that grows in the…

A species of mushroom that grows in the northern hemisphere can get people high, but some other chemicals in the mushroom also make you very ill. However if a reindeer eats the mushrooms, the illness producing toxins are filtered out but the hallucinogen survives in the reindeer urine. It’s called Amanita Muscaria, aka Fly Agaric and can be seen in most Alice in Wonderland pictures. Pretty red (and sometimes yellow) mushrooms with whiteish patches on the surface.

Legend also has it that the royalty in Siberia would eat them and the peasants would fight to get the noble’s night pot because he could get high on the piss but not have any of the toxins.

My Girlfriend in Walk

For those who would like to hold someone’s hand as they walk around, but can’t find anyone human who will oblige, engineers at Gifu University in Japan have invented the “My Girlfriend in Walk”. It’s a robotic hand covered in soft, skin-like gel that will grip your hand. Plus, it emits the scent of a woman’s shampoo, and (through a smartphone app) can simulate the sounds of breathing and rustling clothes.

The inventors hope that it might help people who have been isolated due to the pandemic.