Jenny Gathorne-Hardy reported, in a first-person account to London's "The Independent", that she drilled a hole in her skull with only local anesthetic for pain relief. She wanted to test the theory that adults' brains would function better if blood were allowed to circulate to the uppermost area, which is made difficult because of the natural fusing of the skull bones. She says she feels calmer, and the mental exhaustion she had become so used to is now gone.
Some people believe one's state and degree of consciousness are related to the volume of blood in the brain. And according to some theories of evolution, while the adoption of an upright stance undoubtedly brought certain benefits to humans, it caused the flow of blood to and through the head to be limited by gravity. This, according to the theorists, reduced the range of human consciousness.
Stranger than Fiction Magazine is your premier source for tales of the bizarre and extraordinary. Published quarterly. Established 2004.
Fall 2004 issue (here)
