Out of Ben's Mind

You probably have heard that hospitals are legally obligated to render emergency care to anyone who needs it, regardless of their ability to pay or even if they're undocumented immigrants. However, some state laws, such as New York's, make the situation even more insane by prohibiting hospitals from releasing a patient who has no safe place to be discharged to. A recent report in the New York Times noted that New York City hospitals currently house about 300 of those "continuing care" patients, with many having been there over five years and one now in his 13th year! In some states with similar laws, adult children of ailing parents have been known to take advantage of the situation by simply dropping off mom or dad at a hospital and leaving them there for the hospital to deal with. (New York Times)

 I can imagine each one of these... Not hard to at all.

The writers of WHITNEY HOUSTON’S hit “How Will I Know” recently said that the song was originally written for JANET JACKSON.

With that in mind, Spinner.com has put together a list of 11 Songs That Became Hits, But Were Originally Written for Someone Else.  Here’s the list:

Britney Spears‘ “… Baby One More Time” was originally written for TLC.

Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” was originally written for Janet Jackson.

Beyoncé’s “Halo” was originally written for Leona Lewis. 

Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” was originally written for Michael Jackson.

Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” was originally written for Pink . . . and Hilary Duff also passed on it.

Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” was originally written for Shawnna.

Rihanna’s “Umbrella” was originally written for Britney Spears.

Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” was originally written for Celine Dion.

Britney Spears‘ “Toxic” was originally written for Kylie Minogue.

Kelly Clarkson’s “Miss Independent” was originally written for Destiny’s Child . . . and Christina Aguilera also passed on it.

Rihanna’s “Disturbia” was originally written for Chris Brown.

Source: Spinner.Com

 Ya can't even make this stuff up!

Might want to think about this before you take your next Comtel Airlines flight. A recent charter flight on Comtel from India to Birmingham, England, made a stop in Vienna, Austria, to refuel. However, the pilots were then informed that Comtel's account with the airport was seriously overdrawn and there would be no gas until somebody coughed up around $31,000 bucks for refueling and take-off charges. After a six-hour standoff with airport officials, several of the 180 passengers were let off the plane, one by one, to visit an ATM until enough cash was collected to pay up! (MSNBC)

Okay -- so let's say we do actually get to Mars. What the heck are we going to eat? Eager to solve this fundamental problem, NASA is on the lookout for intergalactic chefs. They are putting together a four-month simulation in Hawaii where volunteers aim to develop a suitable menu for a hypothetical trip to the Red Planet. The "foodies" will spend the time in imitation spacesuits on a diet of regular astronaut food. They'll also be cooking a variety of durable meals to see what will and won't work in the environment with a focus on healthy, cheap food that doesn't make anybody sick. Those who wish to apply will need a serious interest in food along with a Bachelor's degree in engineering, biological or physical sciences, mathematics, or computer science. (ShortList.com)

A recent study revealed that having 354 Facebook friends seemed to be the tipping point after which people were increasingly less happy with their lives. Here's why. Facebook used to be a source of amusement and happiness -- why else would 483 million people check in daily? But if you find your news feed to be more of a bummer with each passing day, you're not alone. In a study presented at the recent Society for Personality and Social Psychology meeting, researchers asked a sample group of Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 65 to read some of their friends' status updates. Afterward, those Facebook users rated their lives as much less satisfying than people who didn't check their news feed first. Among the group who read updates, the study revealed that having 354 Facebook friends seemed to be the tipping point after which people were increasingly less happy with their lives. The reason: Much of how we judge our success in life is based on how we stack up against our peers. "The problem is that Facebook gives us a limited view of our friends' lives, and that view tends to be unrealistically positive," says study author Dilney Goncalves, Ph.D., a marketing professor at IE Business School in Madrid. The more friends you have, he adds, the more likely you are to spend your day enviously reading about someone's paradise vacation, new girlfriend, or job promotion. (Do you update your statuses at least twice a day? Then you might be a narcissist.) Goncalves recommends unsubscribing from your most prolific braggarts and fine-tuning your news feed. You can choose to read all updates from a friend, downgrade to a smaller portion of their updates, or view only what Mark Zuckerberg's voodoo determines to be their "most important" posts. Another option: Cut ties with excess acquaintances to reduce your stream to best buds only. That means your dentist, your freshman year hall-mate, and your overbearing ex can all get the axe. When you've reached a comfortable count, "learning about the success of your closest friends can actually make you happier," Goncalves says. (by Denny Watkins, Men's Health)

A 15-year-old Michigan boy has no idea how he was able to lift a 2,000-pound Buick so his grandfather could escape from underneath. Austin Smith was working on the 1991 Buick with his grandfather, Ernest “Papa Ernie” Monhollen, at his grandparents’ Ida Township home Saturday when the car fell from the cinder blocks holding it up and trapped Monhollen underneath. Smith said he instinctively grabbed the front end of the 2,000-pound car and was able to lift it enough for his grandfather to get out. Monhollen was treated for a serious cut to his face, fractured ribs and a fractured eye socket.

There is a strong correlation between left/right brain dominance and the ear people choose to listen to a cell phone with, a new study found. In the study conducted by the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, more than 70% of participants held their cell phones up to the ear on the same side as their dominant hand. Left brain dominant people – those whose speech and language center is on the left side of the brain – are more likely to use their right hand for writing and other everyday tasks, including holding a cell phone. This practice, researchers said, appears illogical since it is challenging to listen on the phone with the right ear and take notes with the right hand. Similarly, right brain dominant people are more likely to use the left hand to hold the phone, researchers found.

A movie trailer-type video promoting a new extreme sport called "Ultimate Tazer Ball" has gone viral. The sport appears to resemble soccer in many ways, except played with a giant soccer ball (think: about as big around as a hula hoop) and the four players on each team are equipped with 300,000-volt tazer guns they can use to zap rival players to induce a muscle spasm which will make them drop the ball or fall down. While there have been no official games played as of yet, the sport's American creators insist it is genuine and claim they are planning to form a league. The YouTube clip has racked up over a million views, and the game's inventors say the stun guns are designed to deliver eight milliamps of current- well below the lethal dose of one amp. In the video clip, one zapped player warns: "If you're scared, don't play." Another adds: "It hurts, man, it doesn't feel good." (Ananova)

President Obama just couldn’t say no. Mick Jagger held out a mic almost by way of command, and soon Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them. The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club last night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future – and the President himself. The surprise performance by Obama came at the end of the night when they sang “Sweet Home Chicago,” the blues anthem of Obama’s hometown. Buddy Guy prodded the president, saying he’d heard that Obama sang part of an Al Green song recently, adding, “you gotta keep it up.” Then Jagger handed over the mic, and Obama seemed compelled to comply.

Drew Barrymore, who is engaged to Will Kopelman, sparked rumors she might be pregnant with her first child after being spotted with what seems to be a baby scan in her hand. The actress, who’s turning 37 today, was leaving a doctor’s office in Beverly Hills accompanied by her fiancé. While TMZ has a picture of the actress with the baby scan in hand, nothing has been confirmed yet. Her rep refused to comment on the baby speculations.

Canadians can now buy into the Green Bay Packers. The team says they’ve gotten approval from Canadian authorities to sell stock north of the border. Green Bay is the only publicly-owned NFL team. Shares cost $250 each. But ownership just brings bragging rights. The shares pay no dividends and have virtually no re-sale value. The Packers offered 280,000 shares for sale. There were 17,000 left as of last Tuesday. The stock sale ends on February 29th. The team says the money raised will be used to expand Lambeau Field.

In an act of defiance against “the suits” who interrupted her acceptance speech from British Album of the Year, Adele flipped the bird to the crowd at last night’s Brit Awards. The 23-year-old, who won six Grammys last week, had also picked up the Brit for Best Female Artist of the Year at the show. Adele explained after the awards that the gesture wasn’t intended for her fans and that she wished nothing but the best for them. “I was about to thank the British public for their support and they cut me off, and I’m sorry if I offended anyone” she said. “But the suits offended me, so thank you very much for all of your support.”