Naked Gym

For those who want to be really buff, a Dutch gym is introducing training sessions for nudists.

The Sunday morning sessions were added by popular demand and "anyone who shows up just to ogle will be thrown out", said gym manager Patrick de Man in the town of Heteren.

"This is a special session for naturists and we will be very strict in enforcing this," he said.

The "nudifit" sessions, which will begin on March 4, have attracted a strong response -- both negative and positive, he said.

Staff, who will remain clothed during the sessions, will pay special attention to hygiene, ensuring clients cover machinery and bikes with towels or disposable covers, he added.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

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Eggvertising

Which came first -- the chicken or the ad? In a month-long campaign that began in Japan on Thursday, 1.8-cm (0.8-inch) advertising stickers touting chicken ramen instant noodles will be stuck on the shells of ordinary eggs, sold in packs of 10.

"The chance of people taking the ads directly into their hands is very high this way," said Takako Maruyama, a spokeswoman at public relations firm Sunny Side Up Inc.

Plans are to sell some 300,000 packs by the end of the month at certain branches of retailer Daiei Inc.

Although cost-per-egg figures are not available, she said the total cost for the campaign, whose sponsor is Nissin Food Products Co., will run some 7 million to 8 million yen ($58,000-$66,000).

The ad campaign, inspired by similar advertising in the United States, is the first of its kind in Japan, said to be the world's largest per capita consumer of eggs.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.


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World Chili Record Goes To Mexico

For most people, even the smallest bite of a raw chili pepper means a flushed face and a rush for a gulp of water. But Manuel Quiroz can guzzle down dozens of Mexico's spiciest chilies, rub them on his skin and even squeeze their juice into his eyes without so much as blinking.

The 54-year-old Mexico City taxi driver said Saturday that he has made thousands of dollars with his talent and wants to become the world champion chili eater. But first he needs to find an organization that can crown him with that title.

"Chilies don't sting me. They don't affect me. It's just like eating fruit," Quiroz said at a market in the Mexican capital. Shoppers stared in amazement as he crunched on a habanero, the hottest chili pepper in a country that likes its food spicy.

Quiroz said he discovered his talent when he was 7 and grew up betting people that he could eat more chilies than they could. He never lost.

"I'm the best. No one can rival me," he said.

His biggest windfall came when he entered a competition organized by a local television station and took home the $2,000 purse.

Quiroz said he plans to try to get his abilities recognized by Guinness World Records. To his knowledge, no one in the world can swallow more chilies.

"Chilies are the pride of Mexico," Quiroz said. "The world chili-eating champion has got to be here."

Quiroz said he has never been examined by a doctor to find out if there is a medical explanation for his extraordinary endurance to the spice.

"Why would I go and see a doctor?" he said. "There is nothing wrong with me. Eating chilies makes me feel great."

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.

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