By NOMAAN MERCHANT The Associated Press DALLAS — Miniature laundry detergent packets arrived on store shelves in recent months as an alternative to bulky bottles and messy spills. But doctors across the country say children are confusing the tiny, brightly colored packets with candy and swallowing them.Nearly 250 cases have been reported this year to poison control centers. Though they remain a tiny fraction of the thousands of poisoning calls received every year about household medicines and other cleaning supplies, doctors are concerned. The symptoms they see in connection with ingesting the packets — such as nausea and breathing problems — are more severe than typical detergent poisoning."We're not quite sure why it's happening," said Dr. Kurt Kleinschmidt, a Dallas toxicologist and professor at the ... Continue reading →
A vial said to contain a blood sample from President Ronald Reagan is being auctioned online. (Credit: PFCAuction.com) (CBS News) An online auction house is accepting online bids for a glass vial purportedly containing a blood sample of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan. According to PFCAuctions.com, the 5-inch glass vial contains dried blood residue from President Reagan, from a sample taken at the time of the assassination attempt on the president in 1981. As of Tuesday afternoon, bidding for the vial passed 7,000 pounds (around $11,000). The online auction ends Thursday at 2 p.m. ET. The Reagan Presidential Foundation expressed outrage. "If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase," ... Continue reading →
22 May 2012 Last updated at 13:29 ET TV remote control inventor Eugene Polley dies at 96 A 1955 advertisement for Flash-Matic, the first wireless TV remote control The inventor of the television remote control has died at the age of 96, his former employer has said. Eugene Polley passed away of natural causes on Sunday at a Chicago hospital, said Zenith Electronics. His 1955 invention, Flash-Matic, pointed a beam of light at photo cells in the screen, turning the set on and off and changing the channels. His invention was a luxury add-on in the days before hundreds of cable television channels. Born in Chicago in 1915, Polley began his engineering career in 1935. He worked at Zenith for 47 years, earning 18 US ... Continue reading →