This article is classified "Fictional"
I realize there are some poor souls out there that are taking exams at
this time, many more who will take exams at some time or other in their
life. Therefore, it is with deep concern that I post the following
article, taken from a reputable journal. Please read this and take it
to heart - it may save your life.
MOSCOW --
Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the
bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the
middle of a championship game.
No one else was hurt in the fatal explosion but four players and three
officials at the Moscow Candidate Masters' Chess Championships were
sprayed with blood and brain matter when Nikolai Titov's head suddenly
blew apart. Experts say he suffered from a condition called
Hyper-Cerebral Electrosis or HCE.
"He was deep in concentration with his eyes focused on the board," says
Titov's opponent, Vladimir Dobrynin. "All of a sudden his hands flew to
his temples and he screamed in pain. Everyone looked up from their
games, startled by the noise. Then, as if someone had put a bomb in his
cranium, his head popped like a firecracker."
Incredibly, Titiov's is not the first case in which a person's head has
spontaneously exploded. Five people are known to have died of HCE in
the last 25 years. The most recent death occurred just three years ago
in 1991, when European psychic Barbara Nicole's skull burst. Miss
Nicole's story was reported by newspapers worldwide, including WWN.
"HCE is an extremely rare physical imbalance," said Dr. Anatoly
Martinenko, famed neurologist and expert on the human brain who did the
autopsy on the brilliant chess expert. "It is a condition in which the
circuits of the brain become overloaded by the body's own electricity.
The explosions happen during periods of intense mental activity when
lots of current is surging through the brain.
"Victims are highly intelligent people with great powers of concentration.
Both Miss Nicole and Mr. Titov were intense people who tended to keep
those cerebral circuits overloaded. In a way it could be said they were
literally too smart for their own good."
Although Dr. Martinenko says there are probably many undiagnosed cases,
he hastens to add that very few people will die from HCE. "Most people
who have it will never know. At this point, medical science still
doesn't know much about HCE. And since fatalities are so rare it will
probably be years before research money becomes available."
In the meantime, the doctor urges people to take it easy and not think
too hard for long periods of time. "Take frequent relaxation breaks
when you're doing things that take lots of mental focus," he recommends.
As a public service, WWN has added the following sidebar:
How to tell if your head is about to blow up
--------------------------------------------
Although HCE is very rare, it can kill. Dr. Martinenko says knowing you
have the condition can greatly improve your odds of surviving it. A
"yes" answer to any three of the following seven questions could mean
that you have HCE:
1) Does your head sometimes ache when you think too hard?
(Head pain can indicate overloaded brain circuits.)
2) Do you ever hear a faint ringing or humming sound in your
ears? (It could be the sound of electricity in the skull
cavity.)
3) Do you sometimes find yourself unable to get a thought out
of your head? (This is a possible sign of too much
electrical activity in the cerebral cortex.)
4) Do you spend more than five hours a day reading, balancing
your checkbook, or other thoughtful activity? (A common
symptom of HCE is a tendency to over-use the brain.)
5) When you get angry or frustrated do you feel pressure in
your temples? (Friends of people who died of HCE say the
victims often complained of head pressure in times of strong
emotion.)
6) Do you ever over-eat on ice cream, doughnuts and other
sweets? (A craving for sugar is typical of people with too
much electrical pressure in the cranium.)
7) Do you tend to analyze yourself too much? (HCE sufferers
are often introspective, "over-thinking" their lives.)