#1. A Major Head Case
Margret Wegner underwent surgery in August to remove a pencil that had been
stuck inside her head for 55 years. The German woman had suffered from
chronic headaches and nosebleeds after falling at age 4 with the writing
implement in hand. "The pencil went right through my skin and disappeared
into my head," she said. It was too risky at the time to remove the
three-inch object, which did not pierce any vital parts of her brain. But
thanks to significant technological improvements, this summer surgeons in
Berlin were able to remove all but the pencil's tip.