So, uh, you might want to take your contacts out.

Lian Kao, a Taiwanese undergraduate, lost her sight after an army of single-cell organisms devoured her eyeballs after she didn't take her contacts out for six months, the Daily Mail reports.

Yuji Kotani / Getty Images

Doctors said the 23-year-old had kept her contacts in at all times, even in the swimming pool.

Dimitri Otis / Getty Images

Not taking your contacts off apparently creates the perfect breeding ground for amoebas.

"Contact lens wearers are a high risk group that can easily be exposed to eye diseases," expert ophthalmologist Wu Jian-Liang told the Daily Mail. "A shortage of oxygen can destroy the surface of the epithelial tissue, creating tiny wounds into which the bacteria can easily infect, spreading to the rest of the eye and providing a perfect breeding ground."

Via sciscience.tumblr.com

You have been warned. Take your contacts out!

Via sobakodetortuga.tumblr.com

View Entire List ›

Whoops.

Facebook: grindhousemma

A mechanical malfunction with a coroner van's rear door likely was the cause of a bit of a macabre sight when a corpse strapped to a gurney fell from the car and onto a road in Feasterville, Penn. on Friday.

The coroner's office employee realized fairly quickly that the door had opened and the corpse had fallen out of the car outside of a busy shopping center around noon.

Witness Jerry Bradley, who helped push the body out of traffic, snapped a photo of the sheet-wrapped corpse.

"I thought someone was playing a prank. Someone is pranking people," Bradley told the Courier Times. "It was the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen."

The Bucks County Coroner's Office said it "deeply regrets" the incident.

T.J. Maxx apologized Friday after a store manager at a New Hampshire location told a Marathon bombing survivor that her service dog needed to be placed in a carriage or leave the store.

The manager of a Nashua-based T.J. Maxx ordered a service dog with its owner to leave the store or be put in a carriage.

wcvb.com

Sydney along with her mother Celeste were injured during the April 2013 bombing.

People Magazine / Via Facebook: CelesteandSydney

Celeste lost both her legs in the attack, while Sydney suffered shrapnel wounds.

Facebook: CelesteandSydney

Celeste and Sydney have become inspirations, during their ongoing recovery since the attack.

Above Sydney and Celeste, along with her sister, Carmen Acabbo, reach the finish line during the Boston Marathon in April 2014, just one year after the attack.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

View Entire List ›

The security officer claims he was unjustly fired after he reported a law enforcement official. Target says he was fired for insubordination.

A man was fired from his job at a Target in Virginia in May after he told the police about a shoplifter who he says was a law enforcement official, the Washington Post reports.

Facebook: profile.php

Dallas Northington, a security employee at the store who would often scan surveillance footage, gave the Leesburg, Va., police two security videos in which a man could be seen stealing toothpaste and other items. Two days after filing the report, he was fired for "insubordination."

Northington, who had worked at the store for eight years, said that Target told him he was fired for contacting the police without approval from his superiors.

The former security employee told the Post that he contacted the police on his own over countless shoplifting incidents without ever being told he shouldn't have done so.

The 29-year-old also said that he believed the man in the videos was a Fairfax County sheriff's deputy. He said that several of his supervisors and at least one policeman identified the man as a law enforcement officer.

"I'm confused and don't understand why," Northington, who is married and has two children, told the Post, adding that he's considering legal options. "I've been there for eight years, no issues. I'm just trying to provide for my family, and I just really want to get back to work."

The Target in Leesburg, Va.

leesburg.patch.com

The Post declined to identify the man because he has not been charged with a crime. The alleged suspect retired from the sheriff's office days after Northington filed his report.

The Leesburg Police Department told the paper it had not yet identified the suspect in the videos. A Target spokeswoman said that the company has "conducted a full investigation" and doesn't "believe there is any merit to this individual's claims."

Declan Leonard, Northington's attorney, did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed's requests for comment. Northington's father-in-law told BuzzFeed that his son-in-law is currently on vacation.

View Entire List ›

Duvet covers have been removed from the Urban Outfitters website after Hindus protested, calling it inappropriate to feature a religious deity “not meant to be slept upon.”

An Urban Outfitters duvet cover featuring Lord Ganesh was criticized by Hindus for being insensitive to their faith and has now been removed from the company's website.

"Lord Ganesh was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines," said Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the campaign, "and not to be slept upon."

Before the duvet cover was removed from the Urban Outfitters' website, it was on sale for almost two weeks for between $129.00–$169.00 and was described by the Philadelphia-based company as an "UO Exclusive" and "topped with a standout illustration by the talented Valentina Ramos."

The company is still selling many other items designed by the Venezuelan-born graphic artist Valentina Ramos and was also selling Lord Ganesh pillowcases to go with the duvet cover.

Urban Outfitters

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, thanked Urban Outfitters for removing the item from its website, but said an official apology from Urban Outfitters was still due.

Lord Ganesh is worshipped as god of wisdom and removed of obstacles in Hinduism and members of the community protested the deity's image being featured on a duvet cover, saying it was highly inappropriate and trivializing.

"You can put him in a frame and on the wall. That is fine," Zed said. "But not to be put on the bed, on which you lie and your feet will go on. That is very inappropriate."

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters / Reuters

In December, Urban Outfitters removed socks from its website that featured Lord Ganesh’s image, after the Hindu community criticized placing the god on one's feet.

Urban Outfitters

In 2012, the company sold a shirt that resembled the yellow Star of David patch Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany. In March of this year, the retailer was asked to remove a shirt that said "Jesus, I'm Drunk" with a picture of Jesus holding a beer.

Christian and Jewish leaders had joined with the Hindu community and called on Urban Outfitters to remove the Lord Ganesh duvet cover.

View Entire List ›

This sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan.

This is Emily Heaton. Her dad, Jeremiah, just bought her a "kingdom" in Africa. It's an 800 square mile stretch of desert in Northern Africa.

AP Photo/The Bristol Herald Courier, David Crigger

Many have tried to take the unclaimed land between the Sudan and Egypt in last 100 years. But Heaton believes that he now rightfully owns the area because he traveled there and planted a flag.

AP Photo/The Bristol Herald Courier, David Crigger

Heaton went to the region, known as Bir Tawil, in June and planted his family's flag in the ground there. The crest was made by Heaton's three daughters.

Among Heaton's other adventures was an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2012.

facebook.com

"Over the years a few arm-chair explorers have attempted to 'claim' Bir Tawil by simply writing a blog entry or creating a website. These half-hearted, illegitimate claims have not been recognized by any government.

Today, with the full support of the Egyptian government, I traveled 14 hours through the open desert to reach Bir Tawil. Once in the Bir Tawil region, I planted a flag, designed by my children and made a physical claim on the land."

View Entire List ›

BuzzFeed reported on allegations that a teacher pursued inappropriate relationships with teenage girls at two Los Angeles schools. Do you have a story of inappropriate behavior or abuse at your school?

Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP

BuzzFeed will not publish any of this information without first contacting you.

LINK: Teacher Leaves Elite LA School After Alleged Student Affair, Inappropriate Relationships

View Entire List ›

“When I get my Kimmy on I feel like I’m unstoppable and untouchable and I feel like no one can stop me and I can make something of myself,” she said.

"I was badly bullied at school and it took me two years to realize that I wasn't [what the bullies were calling me]," she said. "I was told every day that I was the 'ugliest thing alive' and I should 'kill myself.'"

youtube.com

View Entire List ›

“Oh my God, I love Chipotle, Chipotle is my life.” (What we imagine to have been their pillow talk.)

Michael Suh and Nicole Germack were arrested by Newark, Del., police officers Saturday night after they were spotted having sex on the roof of a local Chipotle.

Photos provided by Newark, Del. PD / Via philadelphia.cbslocal.com

The officer that found them told the couple to stop but they reportedly continued for another 15-20 seconds before stopping. Both were charged with Resisting Arrest, Lewdness, Indecent Exposure, Loitering and Conspiracy.

google.com

Interestingly, only two blocks down street, a similar incident happened on St. Patrick's Day in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot.

google.com

View Entire List ›

A horrible tragedy turned a music video into a window to loss.

youtube.com

The film crew would follow the twentysomethings as they want about their everyday lives at the end of the semester, riding dirtbikes, drinking beers, building bonfires, and giving each other tattoos.

"I wanted to freeze the last remnants of youth still left in my brother — to record him in this tender, fleeting age of early college years," Haney told NPR.

youtube.com

"I was really drawn to them, so I cast them in the video," he told Vice. "They're not pre-canned, pre-fabricated hipsters — they're real people."

View Entire List ›

“Such a humanitarian emergency demands as a first urgent measure that these minors be protected and duly taken in,” the pope said.

Tony Gentile / Reuters / Reuters

Pope Francis on Monday called on the international community to take urgent action to protect the thousands of unaccompanied children migrating from Central America to the United States.

In a letter read by Vatican envoy Christophe Pierre at a migration and development conference in Mexico City, the pope said "such a humanitarian emergency demands as a first urgent measure that these minors be protected and duly taken in," AFP reported.

Pope Francis also noted the particular dangers children from Central America and Mexico face when traveling alone.

"This is a category of migrants from Central America and Mexico itself who cross the border with the United States under extreme conditions and in pursuit of a hope that in most cases turns out to be vain," the pope wrote in the letter dated July 11.

The message from Pope Francis comes as U.S. officials struggle to deal with a spike in the number of unaccompanied minors from Central America apprehended by agents at the U.S.-Mexico border. More than 52,000 have been processed by border agents since October, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The U.S. government in early June declared the surge an "urgent humanitarian situation" and started taking measures to process and house the minors in shelters throughout the country.

Officials in the Obama administration have said they are working with the governments of Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, to discourage migrants from making the trip. The federal government is also funding Spanish-language campaigns in the U.S., Mexico and some countries in Central America for the same purpose.

Last week, President Obama asked Congress for $3.7 billion in supplemental funding for resources intended to fast-track the minors through the U.S. immigration system. The administration has said many of the minors will be returned to their home countries.

The World Health Organization says there are 888 cases, including 539 deaths since February.

A Red Cross worker in Guinea in April.

CELLOU BINANI/AFP / Getty Images

As a deadly Ebola epidemic spreads across western Africa, world leaders are scrambling to find solutions. Here's what you need to know about the disease and the havoc it is wreaking:

The World Health Organization (WHO) began reporting on the epidemic in March, and initial estimates indicated the outbreak began in early 2014. However, subsequent investigation traced the likely origins of the epidemic back even further, to a 2-year-old child who died in Guinea on Dec. 6, 2013. Investigators believe a health care worker then became infected and carried the disease to other parts of the country. By late March, 49 people had been diagnosed, 29 of whom died.

As of July 1, the disease had spread to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. It is affecting both rural communities as well as Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

Centers for Disease Control / Via cdc.gov

View Entire List ›

UPDATED: Execution of John Middleton is on hold for now, but more legal wrangling is expected Wednesday morning.

The stay of execution will remain in place overnight, per a filing by John Middleton's lawyer. Lawyers for Middleton will respond by 8 a.m. CT to the state's request that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals lift the stay of execution. If the stay is lifted, Middleton's execution can take place at any time on July 16.

Updated — July 15, 11:48 p.m.

The district court judge issued stay of John Middleton's execution. [Update at 12:04 a.m. July 16: Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is appealing the stay to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.] [Update at 12:30 a.m.: Koster asks 8th Circuit to "do the same thing it did a few hours ago, and again vacate the stay [of execution.]" ]

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals denied John Middleton's request for an en banc rehearing. It did so before even receiving any written opposition to the rehearing from the state. (See order at bottom of post.) Middleton's execution is set for 12:01 a.m. Central Time Wednesday. [Update at 11:45 p.m.: Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is yet to announce a decision on a clemency request, and a further stay request is still pending before the district court judge.]

View Entire List ›

A woman in Japan was allegedly arrested for breaking obscenity laws while crowdfunding for a 3D-printed “Pussy Boat.”

Japanese artist Rokudenashiko, whose real name is Megumi Igarashi, was crowdfunding her dream of making a kayak that was shaped like her vagina when she was reportedly arrested for breaking an obscenity law.

gamersledge.com

The 42-year-old allegedly broke Japanese obscenity laws by sending 3D printer data of her scanned vagina through email to over 30 people.

Those who contributed to the "Pussy Boat" crowdfunding project could get 3D scanned data of Rokudenashiko's privates.

She was arrested based on a law in Japan that makes it illegal to sell, distribute, or display “obscene objects.”

6d745.com

In Japan women's privates are not typically spoken about, so Rokudenashiko hopes to demistify female privates through her art.

"Vagina has been thought to be obscene because it has been overly hidden; although it is just a part of a woman’s body,” she explained. “I wanted to make the vagina more ‘casual’."

6d745.com

View Entire List ›

“Someone needed help and they felt privileged to be given the opportunity.” UPDATE: The VA also sent Michael Sulsona a brand new wheelchair.

Michael Sulsona is a Vietnam veteran who has been waiting for a new wheelchair for the last two years. He says the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) has denied his requests for a replacement.

Michael Sulsona / Via silive.com

"In 1971, I stepped on a land mine in Vietnam and lost both legs above the knee.

For the past two years, I have been waiting to receive a new wheelchair from the Veterans Administration. In addition, I have been told that I am not entitled to a spare wheelchair.

On the evening of July 7, my wheelchair fell apart again, while shopping at Lowe's Home Improvement Center in on Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor.

Three employees, David, Marcus and Souleyman jumped to my assistance immediately. They placed me in another chair while they went to work. They took the wheelchair apart and replaced the broken parts and told me, "We're going to make this chair like new."

I left 45 minutes after closing hours in my wheelchair that was like new.

I kept thanking them and all they could say was, "It was our honor."

The actions of these three employees at Lowe's showed me there are some who still believe in stepping to the plate.

They didn't ask any questions, didn't feel the need to fill out any forms or make phone calls. Someone needed help and they felt privileged to be given the opportunity."

View Entire List ›

The California teenager had left a note saying he could no longer “handle school” and had “no friends,” according to the $1 million claim that was rejected by the school. The teen’s parents say a video of their son allegedly masturbating in a school bathroom stall went viral.

The parents of 14-year-old Matthew Burdette, who committed suicide after being allegedly bullied, had filed a claim of $1 million against the San Diego school district in May.

According to Burdette's parents, their son was "mercilessly bullied" after a video taken of him allegedly masturbating in a school bathroom went viral.

His parents say the school district is responsible for their son's death and allege that officials did nothing to stop the harassment faced by Burdette in the weeks leading up to his suicide.

The claim filed in May was rejected by the school. The family now has six months to file a lawsuit.

Burdette, a student of University City High School in San Diego, killed himself Nov. 29. He left a suicide note saying he was unable to "handle school" and had "no friends."

tributes.com

tributes.com

According to the complaint, on Nov. 15, Burdette's teacher asked him to leave the class for eating sunflower seeds. The unsupervised teen had "no place to go" and wandered the school halls before going to the bathroom.

Without his knowledge, a student videotaped Burdette allegedly masturbating in the bathroom stall. Within hours, the video was uploaded on Snapchat and Vine and went viral among UCHS students as well as students from other schools in the district.

The complaint then states that from the moment the video was posted, "Matthew was mercilessly bullied, harassed, and teased" by students who had seen it.

Despite being aware of the video and ongoing bullying, Burdette's parents claim that the school personnel "did nothing to protect Matthew and stop the harassment that ultimately led to his suicide."

Burdette's parents say that their once "positive and outgoing" son was "visibly wrought with insecurity and depression" as he continued to be bullied days after the video was posted.

tributes.com

View Entire List ›

“The world has gone mad.”

Comedy Central / Via youtube.com

"Look at this. The Gaza reporter looks like an extra from Hurt Locker."

vine.co

"While the reporter in Israel looks like he is going to bang out his standup and then head to a Jimmy Buffet concert."

vine.co

Here's a clip from The Daily Show segment:

Watch the full 8-minute segment on Hulu.

youtube.com

View Entire List ›

Video shows a driver running over a fellow motorist after a brief encounter, then leaving the injured man behind after checking his own car for damage.

In what appears to be a case of extreme road rage, video posted to YouTube this week shows an exchange between two motorists on a street in Moscow before one driver suddenly accelerates and mercilessly runs over the other, pinning him against his vehicle.

The person behind the footage of the incident said the driver of the white BMW has been identified and is now considered a fugitive, according to Russia Today. The injured man was helped by witnesses and taken to a local hospital.

vine.co / Via youtu.be

The driver of the white car is then seen exiting his vehicle to check for damage before leaving the scene and the injured man behind. Watch the full dash-cam video:

Police confirmed the accident to Russia Today, but refused to provide details.

youtube.com

(h/t to Jim Roberts)

Close call.

A seaplane from Juneau was about to land in Angoon...

When a whale spouted water!

The seaplane pulled up just in time to narrowly avoid hitting the whale.

View Entire List ›

Instagram has since reinstated her account and apologized.

Samm Newman is a 19-year-old college student from Ohio and her Instagram was recently deleted.

Instagram: @snicolen58 / Via nbc4i.com

She posted this selfie to Instagram. After posting the picture her account, which had 500 followers at the time, was deleted.

Instagram: @snicolen58 / Via nbc4i.com

Newman was upset about it because she felt like Instagram was a safe place where she could feel comfortable with her body.

nbc4i.com

She told local reporters that there was a double standard on Instagram. She didn't understand why her underwear selfie was deleted when thinner girls could post even racier photos.

nbc4i.com

View Entire List ›