"Say What!?" Wednesday ElevenTwentyThirteen

Welcome to the first iteration of "Say What!?" Wednesday where I blog about random facts, news, topics happening in the world right now (or maybe old news that I'm fascinated be in particular this week), that made me say "What!?" followed by a brief sound-off of my thoughts/opinion/reaction.

So Away We Go:

First Up: Pregorexia: yup that's a thing. A little birdie (Twitter) told me so:

'Pregorexia': Extreme dieting while pregnant. http://t.co/uc0Nm4pKOc
— CNN (@CNN) November 20, 2013

According to the article:
"Pregorexia is not a formally recognized medial diagnosis. It is a term coined by the media, public and doctors in recent years to describe the eating disorder behaviors experienced by women while pregnant, which could include intense dieting and exercise, but also binging and purging.

While there are no known statistics on just how many pregnant women experience pregorexia, it is estimated that about 30% of American women don't gain enough weight during pregnancy, according to Dr. Ovidio Bermudez, the chief medical officer at the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado."

While I know the opposite approach to pregnancy, where a women eats whatever she wants (read: a lot of unhealthy food) because she is pregnant can lead to health concerns, I really think that when a woman's own body image issues put a life at risk, it's time to check in with ourselves as women and society as a whole. What do we believe "healthy" or "beautiful" look like, and do the two have to be mutually exclusive? Whether its photoshopped Victoria's Secret Models, every magazine cover in America (AIRBRUSHED), or our fellow women coworkers and friends, the images we allow ourselves to believe are normal and beautiful can be vastly different from what is actually healthy.  If anyone can figure out how to reconcile the two, let me know!

Next:

Typhoon Haiyan Relief, Great to See Support But How Effective Can That Support Be?

From a #Haiyan Twitter Search:

Avril Lavigne ‏@AvrilLavigne1h

Millions have been affected by Typhoon #Haiyan. Help survivors w/ @mercycorps & I’ll match your donation this week: http://bit.ly/17j0uWy 

•  
 

Expand

Intl Rescue Comm IRC ‏@theIRC1h

To help support the IRC's #Haiyan response, text REBUILD to 25383 to donate $10. Terms: http://mgive.org/t 

Followed by Za'atari Camp

Expand

1. BBC News (World) ‏@BBCWorld12h

   IN PICTURES: A week in Philippine city of Tacloban, devastated by Typhoon #Haiyan http://bbc.in/1jlygN4  pic.twitter.com/39T16gfoqz

    Retweeted 243 times

    Expand

   

1. USA for UNHCR ‏@UNRefugeeAgency1h

   Watch: a new video from UNHCR's team in #Tacloban city, one of the areas hardest hit by #Haiyan http://owl.li/r0AZ9 

I think it's great that celebrities are matching donations and that it's as easy as a text message to donate to the clean-up, humanitarian, and relief efforts. However, the realist/cynic in me wonders just how much money actually results in effective aid.  One of the biggest issues with this particular situation is that immediately following the storm a lot of aid couldn't reach those in need because of the utter devastation wreaked upon the infrastructure by the typhoon, as well as the geographic challenges of the Phillipines itself. Much of the initial aid piled up at airports undeliverable until ways could be cleared. It's unfortunate that even the best intentions couldn't save lives immediately following the typhoon but hopefully those who have survived thus far can benefit from the aid soon.
Lastly:
Instead of the Porcelain Throne, Let's Call it the Golden Throne?

According to BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25013393)
"A stash of 24 gold bars worth more than $1.1m has been discovered in the toilet compartment of a commercial plane in eastern India."

"As gold import duties have risen in an effort to curb domestic demand, the incentive to smuggle gold has risen.

The plane on which the 1kg (2.2lb) gold bars were found on Tuesday had reportedly come from Bangkok, local media reported, before making stops in India.

"The cleaning staff of the airport were going though their routine duties and found two bags in the toilets of the plane," airport director BP Mishra told AFP news agency.

The gold has been valued at between 70m and 90m rupees (up to $1.4m or £890,000)."

This makes me wonder if $1.4 million would be enough of an incentive to start checking the toilets (or as Jay-Z and Kanye might say "watch the Throne") on my next flight. Unfortunately, it would be a fruitless search unless I can find a reason to fly to India. Maybe I can talk with my boss... just kidding.

Let me know your thoughts (either on the articles, reactions to my opinions, or something you'd be interested in reading about next week) in the comments or on twitter @itzbizr