Not only are sweetbreads disappointingly NOT sweet and NOT bread, but it turns out they are made from the thymus and/or pancreas of either lambs or piglets. Egh. I always knew sweetbreads were made from a bunch of guts and never knew exactly which organs were lucky enough to make the grade. I’ll take a pass.
Archive for March, 2009
Did You Know Thymus = Sweetbreads?
Posted: Thursday, March 26th, 2009Get Guts Cheap
Posted: Thursday, March 12th, 2009
When the going gets guts, the guts go shopping. We got a bunch of samples back from the toy testing process that are totally fine — except they are missing their hangtags and labels. We figured we should celebrate their returning somewhat unscathed by offering them up at a discount to you, so we stuck some cheap-o lungs, liver, brains, kidneys and gallbladders in the Steals + Deals section of our website. So if you were planning on ripping the tags off anyway for better gutsy cuddling or you wanted to give a liver to your dog or whatever, now’s your chance to get them on the cheap. Stock is very limited, so go get ‘em if you want ‘em.
Ice, Ice, Baby, Too Cold
Posted: Thursday, March 12th, 2009
We are pleased to announce we’ll have a few items in this weekend’s show Freezer Isle, a plush art showcase of icy goodies and more put on by Phantom Galleries (they show in empty storefronts, mowing around for each show) and Evil Ice Cream. Also on hand, artsy stuff from plush-world luminaries UglyDolls, Dan Goodsell, Shawnimals, Anna Chambers, and more! At first I figured it was wrong to include guts in a show about edibles, but Evil Ice Cream’s Kerry helped broaden my horizons. “Don’t they keep kidneys on ice sometimes?” So I made a special icy heart, entitled “Cold Hearted”, plus Frankensteak will make an appearance along with the totally iced out crew from Carat Club. If you’re down in the OC this weekend, please check it out at 2736 E Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92869. The opening is Saturday, March 14, 7 pm-12 am.
Gut Whisperer
Posted: Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Why, oh why, don’t they make these for adults? I think that fabulous brain headband is set to sweep those lame metallic headbands worn by the likes of Paris Hilton aside in the world of fashion trendmaking. You heard it here first. Thanks to Julie W. for tipping me off to this fabulous gutsy apron by Lakeshore.
This is Your Brain on Doodling
Posted: Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Ever been caught drawing in class, during a meeting or while listening to someone blabbing on and on? I certainly have. Next time someone accuses you of doodling, though, tell them you are actually listening intently — and that science is on your side. A recently published brain study shows doodling actually helps people concentrate. Apparently the listening part of your brain works better when the drawing part of your brain is occupied — it keeps you from daydreaming and spacing out altogether. Sadly, the study did not conclude that doodlers are smarter than non-doodlers (heh heh). The study was kind of small — just 20 people were studied in each given task, so some might argue the data is statistically insignificant. I don’t care though. I’ll take any pro-doodling stance I can get.
Eat Your Heart Out, Metallica
Posted: Thursday, March 12th, 2009
For those about to rock the brain, we salute you. Check out The Hypothalamus Song on YouTube. Not only does this song rock, it tells you all about the hypo’s many parts and functions. Fabulous.
The Pituitary has a Posse
Posted: Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Wrestler, actor, and all-around big guy Andre the Giant definitely had a posse, but did you know he also had a pituitary condition? Andre owed his great size to acromegaly, more specifically gigantism, a hormonal disorder that sets the pituitary growth hormones into overdrive so the body keeps on growing…and growing…and growing, well into adulthood. The hands and feet are most often affected, resulting in abnormally large extremities, and even oversized organs, usually to serve the needs of a larger body size. You’d think a condition like this would be genetic, but it is often cause by tumors on the pituitary itself. Peep this fascinating video on the pituitary condition on National Geographic.
Heart of Gold Pins!
Posted: Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Peep the latest in nice things for nice people — a Heart of Gold pin! We’re very excited about this little guy, it’s the perfect way to say thank you — a little something to let ‘em know you love ‘em. Go crazy for gold guts and get it with our new metallic Heart of Gold tee or with the Heart of Gold plush, I just found two more in the back of my closet.
New Plushies Are Here! — Almost
Posted: Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Getting our plush toys tested has been a real learning experience here at I Heart Guts. Example #1: did you know you have to give the testing company about 14 samples of each plush so each test (mechanical, lead, etc.) can be performed on a different doll? For small-time toymakers like us, sending off 14 plushies of each gut was, literally, like ripping our hearts out. We make our guts in small batches, and each gut is special to us. Curious to see what testing process would do to our guts, we asked the testing people to send the stuff back so we could see what happened. Some of them did indeed have the stuffin’ beat out of them, some had their little faces ripped off. Sad. But the good news is some of them were just fine and that means we have SOLD OUT a very small number of the new plush around to sell fans of the intestine, spleen, bladder and stomach. These are prototypes, so please understand they do not have hangtags or labels on them explaining what they do. But you know what the intestine is all about anyway, right? Get them while they last, and if you miss these, don’t worry — the regular ones will be here in early May.
Gland Focus: The Good Ol' Parathyroid!
Posted: Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Not many folks know what the parathyroid is or does until — as with pretty much everything within our bodies — something goes wrong. Parathyroid hormones regulate calcium in the blood, which affects bone growth among other things. Folks with elevated amounts of the hormone have trouble with, according to Popular Science magazine, “stones (kidney stones), bones (fractures), moans (psychiatric problems) and groans (constipation).” A surprising new way to deal with parathyroid imbalance involves autotransplantation — instead of getting someone else’s parathyroid (rejection is always a problem), they take yours out, then put it back. Sometimes they even put it back in your arm rather than in your neck, where it belongs. Isn’t that amazing?
