‘You can’t keep secrets from your mom. It always finds a way to come out.’
A student who hadn’t told her mum she had her nipples pierced has been rumbled by an X-ray.
Sydney Allen, 20, was getting scans on her spine due to a rare disorder and her mother was with her when the X-rays were revealed to her in the hospital – but the scan revealed more than expected.
Design photo
“My mum had no idea,” Sydney, from Clearwater, Florida, told the Press Association. “When the scan was first pulled up I started laughing hysterically as well as the doctor.
“She was not as happy, but kept her composure in front of the doctor, just stating ‘we’re going to have to talk about this later’.
“I guess the big lesson I learned from all of this is that you can’t keep secrets from your mom. It always finds a way to come out.”
Fortunately, Sydney said once the initial shock had passed her mum “no longer cared as much” and agreed the X-ray was “pretty funny”.
It turns out Sydney’s not alone either.
Although the piercing-revealing X-rays are entertaining, Sydney says her favourite response to her picture going viral is hearing from other people with her condition.
Sydney has syringomyelia, a disorder which causes the spinal cord to build up with fluid, caused by Chiari malformation – a condition in which brain tissue extends into your spinal canal.
“I was getting the X-ray to check the alignment of my spine,” said Sydney. “If my spine is aligned it helps relieve pain a bit.
“It’s a pretty rare disease and I have never talked to anyone my age that also has it so it has been really awesome to discuss tips and doctor referrals.”
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made her first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum, a step that experts say bolstered her status as her father's potential heir.
The visit, which occurred on New Year’s Day on Thursday, even sparked speculation that the girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 13, could be named a high-level official at the upcoming ruling Workers’ Party congress.
Images carried by North Korea’s state media on Friday showed Kim Ju Ae standing in the front row with her parents and deeply bowing at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather are on display.
The palace is “a place that symbolizes legitimacy of the North Korean regime” and her visit there ahead of the Workers' Party congress is a politically orchestrated move, said Cheong Seong-Chang, deputy head of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.
Kim Jong Un, 41, is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea since the country's foundation in 1948. He often marks key state anniversaries by visiting the Kumsusan palace and paying respect to his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Cheong predicted that Kim Jong Un could give his daughter the first secretary post at the Workers' Party, the party's No. 2 job, at the congress. Other experts say she is too young to accept such a high-profile post and might be provided with lower-level jobs.
The congress, the first of its kind in five years, is meant to establish new priorities in state policies and reshuffle officials. North Korea hasn't said when it will hold it, but the National Intelligence Service, South Korea's spy agency, said it likely will be held either in January or February.
Since first appearing in state media in November 2022, Kim Ju Ae has accompanied her father at a slew of events including military parades and missile launches. In September, Kim Jong Un brought her on his trip to Beijing. During New Years' Day celebrations this week, she kissed her father on the cheek, showing their closeness.
In January 2024, the NIS said it viewed Kim Ju Ae as her father's likely heir. Some outside experts disagree with that assessment, citing Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age and the extremely male-dominated nature of North Korea’s power hierarchy. The NIS told lawmakers in November that Kim appeared to have no major health problems.
Revealing the young Kim Ju Ae was a surprise to foreign experts because neither Kim Jong Un nor Kim Jong Il were mentioned in North Korean state media before they became adults. Some observers say Kim Jong Un likely aimed to shore up public support for his plan to extend the family's rule by repeatedly disclosing Kim Ju Ae in public events.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, leader Kim Jong Un, center right, his wife Ri Sol Ju, third left, and their daughter, center, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, visit Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
