random factoid of the day, from kathrynt

Turns out that gingivitis bacteria release prostaglandins. Prostaglandins make your gums all soft and puffy and bleedy and bendy, which gives the bacteria more fun places to hide. But they get into your bloodstream (see: bleedy), and those same prostaglandins are the ones that ripen a pregnant woman's cervix and cause labor. So if the gum disease is bad enough, it can cause incompetent cervix and premature labor. If you google "pregnancy gingivitis premature" you'll find more info.
Source: from here

I've read that gum disease is implicated in heart problems as well...and I'm using a prescription toothpaste because my medication-induced dry mouth was creating cavities.

Funny how we persist in thinking that dental care is its own little separate world, eh?

on a funny topic

takhisis has a terrific thread on, I kid you not, theme songs for Biblical characters. Some of the ones that caught my eye were:

Lot's Daughters	"You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi
Onan	"I Touch Myself" by the Divinyls
Joshua	"The Wall" Pink Floyd
Rahab	"Hot Child in the City", Nick Gilder
Deborah	"Bitch", Meredith Brooks
Daniel	"The Lion Sleeps Tonight", The Weavers
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego	"Ring of Fire", Johnny Cash
Job	"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", Stevie Nicks
Lazarus	"Dead Man's Party", Oingo Boingo
Jesus to Judas	"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", U2

...and what I consider the best of the lot: Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit" for Jesus.

Sex Ed in Europe

That Forever Pregnant? article that people are linking to? It links to a "Special Report" on teen sex, including an article on how sex ed is handled in Europe. The article is under the cut.

( "The main difference is that in the States sexual activity is considered a risk. Here we consider it a pleasure." )

I like the emphasis on preventing teen pregnancy...but then, I consider having a child one can't raise to be immoral, and most teens don't have the money or the maturity.