Ear to the ground:

“I started smoking because my family read that nicotine helps with degenerative heart disease.”
– Reverse logic at its worst, but making all the nightly wine drinkers feel not nearly as extreme

Sibling rivalry

Occasionally, we here at the Telegraph like to check in with Durango’s sister cities, and this week brings us an update from our much-larger hermana to the south, Durango, Mexico.

According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, women in this high-altitude city have taken beauty to new extremes. Seems fashionistas have taken to gluing the deadly Centruroides Suffusus scorpion to their fingernails in what surely is the world’s most dangerous manicure.

Billed as the second-most poisonous scorpion in the country, venom from the tiny predatory arachnids can kill an adult human in as little as 15 minutes. More than a thousand people were killed in Durango state in northern Mexico by the deadly insects last year.

Fortunately, the ones being used for nail bedazzling are dead – but still retain their stingers.

“It started out as a sick joke,” beauty parlor owner Rocío Vidales, who is pioneering the bizarre beauty treatment, told the MailOnline. “We’ve had women come here from across North America specifically to have baby scorpions fitted to their nails.”

The trend started in September when Lupita Garcia, a scorpion artisan and enthusiast, suggested to the staff at Rocío’s to have a Scorpion-themed manicure. And she wasn’t talking about the ’80s German superband.

“Most people think scorpions are to be feared, but I think they are animals of real beauty. I’m always innovating new ways to make art out of scorpions,” said Garcia.

Lest you think you want to glom onto this latest beauty craze, beware. Scorpions can still rock you like a hurricane, even after they’ve been annihilated with bug spray or a shoe.

“The pain of the venom is very intense,” Garcia, who has taken three trips to the emergency room, told the Daily Mail. “It gives you a terrible headache, your nose begins to bleed, your tongue goes numb and your throat feels like it’s lined with fur.”

No word on whether Durango, Colo., nail salons will start offering the Mexican manicures, but for now, we’ll stick to non-life threatening French ones.