In and Out of Planet Earth2008

Paul X:
[Paul X is spending sixty minutes underwater] Thirty-six minutes: I can't feel my weight. I'm completely weightless. I can still feel and I have needs and urges. Jane's other nasty habit includes sucking; thumb sucking that is. According to world's figures from the World Health Organization -and they do have such figures! - 18% of us suck our thumbs, 10 to 12% appears to be women. According to the medical establishment 'thumb sucking is the process of sucking on the thumb for oral gratification'. It is a powerful need in infants and it is a normal activity with its peak occurrence at about age two. If thumb sucking continues past age four, malocclusion of the teeth -abnormal contact between the teeth of the upper and lower jaw- may develop. Sucking is the chief source of pleasure for an infant. Studies have found that sucking not associated with eating results in increased weight gain in premature infants and decreased crying. Doctors seem to believe that thumb sucking is unnatural and a health hazard in adults. Are the doctors implying that they favour alcoholism, heroin and cocaine addiction and heavy smoking? That is unclear. Some people could find it offensive to see other people sucking on a fag.