Four Bad Bladder Stories

PopCandy shared a link yesterday to Peerun.com, a site that hopes to solve one of life's biggest problems "“ finding a time to pee during movies. Now that peeing during movies isn't a problem anymore (if you can hold it to the recommended point), let's look at four times when a full bladder did present a problem.

The 1998 Golden Globes

The Golden Globes are known for their spontaneous and wild moments, often fueled by the ceremony's open bar. But perhaps the most memorable was in 1998, when Christine Lahti was announced as the winner for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Her name was called but"¦she didn't come up to the stage. After some creative vamping by the presenters and Robin Williams, Lahti finally rushed in and explained that she was in the bathroom. To her credit, Lahti never let the moment embarrass her "“ at the next year's ceremony, she walked on stage with a piece of toilet paper deliberately stuck to her shoe.

The Freedom 7 Launch

This was hardly the last time NASA had urine issues, though. Early astronauts were outfitted with bags for defecation or special diapers. And this Wired article describes a 2005 project NASA explored to convert astronaut's urine into drinking water.

Tycho Brahe's deathbed

Legend has it that famed astronomer Tycho Brahe died after he refused to use the bathroom at a banquet and his bladder burst. While part of that story is correct, the real cause of his death is far more interesting. A 1991 forensics investigation into Brahe's death (a case 391 years old at that point) revealed high amounts of mercury and later tests showed that the mercury had been digested, suggesting Brahe was either poisoned or was munching on thermometers. Various accounts from the time of Brahe's death show that the astronomer did go to a banquet and did refuse to pee, but once he got home found that he was unable to urinate. He died days later after suffering from intense pain, fevers and the continued inability to urinate. The exhumations don't show his bladder troubles as the cause of his death, so the best theory now is that Brahe tried to fix his prostate problems with a self-concocted mercury medicine.

During Hugh Jackman's performance in Beauty and the Beast