Taking hourglass figure too literally

Lujan’s doctors actually first suggested she wear corsets to protect her muscles and ligaments and avoid painful symptoms such as fatigue. Pics/Instagram

Ruth Lujan - who goes by @abracadabra.patadecabra on TikTok - has revealed how she shrank her waist down to 11.8 inches by wearing corsets.The 26-year-old former Mexican ballerina was diagnosed at 19 with hyperlaxity syndrome, a rare condition in which the ligaments that support joints have more stretchiness, according to Summit Orthopedics.

Her ballet teacher was the first to notice something was wrong with her movements and advised her to consult a doctor. After her initial shock at being diagnosed with hyperlaxity, she went through a grieving process of sorts. "It made me feel so sad," Lujan said. "Because this condition is never going to allow me to wear ballet shoes again."

Lujan's doctors actually first suggested she wears corsets to protect her muscles and ligaments and avoid painful symptoms such as fatigue, and stiffness with clicking in her joints. "Your muscles become weak, your ligaments, too, and, of course, your spine," Lujan went on to explain in a YouTube video documenting her unusual journey. Following the doctor's orders, she started to wear the waist-tightening undergarments. At first, she was hesitant about it, but then she began to enjoy the cinched hourglass look it gave her.

"The practice has given me more confidence and self-love. I feel empowered by my ability to shape my body the way I want to, and I'm proud of the way I look," the former ballerina confessed. "I've shrunk my waist to 11.8 inches," Lujan reveals. "Who doesn't want a really small waist - like a mermaid?"

11.8
Inches - that's the size of this Mexican ballerina's waist

Paid to be a good daughter

Chinese parents pay daughter to quit job and live with them

A 40-year-old woman's decision to quit her job and become a ‘full-time daughter' in the employment of her own parents has sparked controversy in China. Last year, after 15 years of working for a news agency, 40-year-old Nianan quit her job. She had to be on-call virtually 24 hours a day and was constantly under stress. Luckily, her parents came up with a better employment offer if she just quit the job that made her so miserable. "Why don't you just quit your job? We'll take care of you financially," the woman's parents said, promising to pay her 4,000 yuan ($570) per month if she just came and lived with them. That obviously meant no more housing costs, and saving massively on food and various household items, as the parents would take care of such expenses. So Nianan quit her job and became a ‘full-time daughter'.

Until death breaks us apart - or down

A Dutch intrepid inventor, Bob Hendrikx, is now "growing" coffins by combining mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, together with hemp fiber. While wooden coffins take years to break down in the soil, the mushroom versions delivers the remains to nature in barely a month-and-a-half.

Blind faith works - and gives back your sight

80-year-old Lynley Hood, who had lost her eyesight over a decade ago due to glaucoma, recently recovered her vision after being administered a placebo treatment for her chronic back pain. After four weeks of electrical stimulation, her eyesight recovered to nearly 100 percent.

Vulva worship at this buddhist shrine

Thai Buddhists took golden idol worship to another level after praying at the altar of a giant gilded vagina. Creator Naowaratkotchaporn Simethawong, a cultist, Buddhist nun, affectionately known as Mother Brahmin, built the statue so women could increase their fertility.

Runaway steer

A team of wranglers - including one on horseback - chased and captured a wayward steer named Lester across several lanes of a Detroit-area freeway. The video shows a rider on horseback lassoing Lester, who then runs into the median and hops a guardrail onto the freeway's southbound shoulder before it is stopped.

Brainy snack

Research shared by California Walnuts as part of a study for the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study found that eating walnuts as a daily snack is a proven way to boost your health and potentially live longer. Participants who ate walnuts early on in life experienced a better heart disease risk profile as they aged.