MacGyver in Mesopotamia

Soldiers in Iraq are really an innovative bunch :P

"Makeshift medics: Tampons are great for plugging up bullet wounds, soldiers say, and nothing seals a punctured chest like Saran Wrap.

Sealed lips: After cholera scares hit the region, some soldiers began using lip balm—or Vaseline—to coat their mouths when they showered, to keep out contaminated water.

Sticky situation: During her training at Fort Dix, N.J., Spc. Cynthia Brabant got in the habit of putting tape, sticky-side up, around her bed to catch poisonous insects. Now in Baghdad, she stretches socks over her boots at night to keep the scorpions out. "It's kind of silly," she says, "but it works."

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