The World’s Newest Human Ken Doll Actually Looks Plastic

Brazilian model Mauricio Galdi is the newest addition to the growing band of surgically-enhanced men branded ‘Human Ken Dolls’. After a total of eight procedures in the past decade, his face now looks like that of the popular plastic doll.

Mauricio, 27, claims that he wasn’t really aiming for the ‘Ken’ look, but now that the media’s given him the title, he doesn’t mind cashing in on the publicity. “I never sought out to be the Brazilian human Ken,” he said. “It was something that came to me, television sought to give me that title.”

We find that kind of hard to believe though, given the fact that he’s been obsessed with dolls since childhood. Growing up in a middle class household in Sao Paulo, Mauricio admitted that he often felt jealous of little girls because it was socially acceptable for them to play with Barbie and Ken. “I saw them playing with dolls and I wanted to do the same,” he admitted, “but I never did for fear of prejudice.”

As he grew older, Mauricio ultimately outgrew his childhood desire to play with dolls. But his obsession with Ken’s flawless features only increased. At age 17, he enrolled in an acting class, where he was told that he wasn’t considered ‘beautiful’. That’s when he decided to go under the knife.

He began with a simple nose job, but soon got addicted and opted for more complicated treatments. Over the years, he has had two more nose jobs and polymethylmethacrylate (filler) injections on his cheeks, chin, and legs. In his current avatar, he has attracted over 20,000 Instagram followers, with whom he regularly shares his glamorous headshots.

Mauricio attracted even more media attention when he got into a public brawl with fellow Brazilian Ken Doll Celso Santebanes. Celso, who achieved the title along with his own line of ‘Celso Dolls’ last year, seemingly didn’t enjoy sharing the limelight. He accused Mauricio of being an opportunist who was trying to squeeze his way into the Human Ken Doll market. In response, Mauricio insisted that he was the ‘real’ Human Ken Doll, not Celso.

South Korea's Latest Fashion Accessory: Face Masks To Protect From MERS

It may be more psychological than logical. Everyone from school children to the nation’s excellently fashion-forward teens are covering up in the face of MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a coronavirus that aims straight for the lungs and makes breathing a challenge. The culprit? Virus particles that spread between people who are in nearby contact, apparently from saliva and secretions that are released when people cough or sneeze.

Most cases, including the 154 reported so far in South Korea, are spread from infected patients in hospitals to health care personnel or close caregivers. But that hasn’t stopped Korean residents from buying out the supply of face masks in the capital city of Seoul, where the first patient sough medical care after becoming ill.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care personnel or others who come in contact with MERS patients should wear something called an N-95 respirator, which has a disposable, fitted facepiece filter that can stop users from breathing in droplets that may contain the virus.

Paper face masks, which fit loosely over the face, can also block large droplets or splatter but can’t completely avoid someone from inhaling viruses, particularly if they are in close contact with an infected person for a relatively long time. Public areas in South Korea aren’t particularly high-risk locales, but the idea that some barrier is better than no barrier is likely driving the sales of these masks, some of which come adorned with popular cartoon characters and other logos. It’s also an extension of the Asian habit of donning masks when you’re sick—not so much to protect yourself from getting infected with something, but to stop you from infecting others.

Woman Wearing Floor-Like Outfit Goes Viral With Millions Of Views

Imgur user beedat posted a picture two days ago with the simple explainer: ‘Wearing the floor’. She expanded underneath: ‘I walked into the room and realized the floor had chosen the same outfit.’

Following this realization that the top half of her outfit was identical to the pebble-dash effect flooring, while the bottom half matched the carpet, the anonymous user did the only logical thing: she got her friend to stand on a chair while she lay on the floor to get a picture.

The photo has now had almost 1.5 million views online. Although one might have thought Beedat covered her face with her hands to continue her anonymity (obviously, expecting the picture to generate some level of internet notoriety), the reality is much more innocent.

"I didn't really know whether to smile or not, so i just went with the safest option," she wrote in the picture's comments. Of course, this isn't the first dress to go viral this year.