An update of the official index for classifying medical conditions — for research and quality control, and for insurance claims — was released recently, to take effect in October, 2013.
It replaced the current 18,000 codes with 140,000 much more specific ones.
A Wall Street Journal report noted, for example, 72 different codes for injuries involving birds, depending on the type.
“Bitten by turtle” is different from “struck by turtle.”
Different codes cover injuries in “opera houses,” on squash courts, and exactly where in or around a mobile home an injury occurred.
“Walked into lamppost, initial encounter” is distinct from “walked into lamppost, subsequent encounter.”
Codes cover conditions stemming from encounters with extraterrestrials and conditions resulting from “burn due to water skis on fire.”
“Bizarre personal appearance” has a code, as well as “very low level of personal hygiene.”
Take your
Punjabi
and jab it
British authorities threatened Iain Turnbull, 63, with a fine (equivalent of $1,530) because he refused to complete the mandatory census earlier this year.
Turnbull, from Wales, was protesting that the government, intending to be progressively “inclusive,” made available census questionnaires and instructions in such languages as Urdu, Punjabi and Tagalog — but not Welsh (one of Britain’s native languages, spoken by a half-million citizens).
(Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa Fla. 33679 or go to www.newsoftheweird.com.)