It took me a second to realize that brothers-in-law were being classified as inanimate

Yeah, Alex, me too. Though I have a brother-in-law who's pretty close to being inanimate...nah! But--several years ago I read where an older gentleman in England sat in a
chair for something like seven years. His nephew said they took him to the bathroom every so often, and if I recall correctly that was the only time he moved. There was no mention of how he took in sustenance, I don't think. Then he came out of this trance-like state. If it had not been in Discover magazine, I would have dismissed it outright.
I'm still not sure I believe it.