Somethin Ordinary

10 Most Amazing Waterfalls on Earth

2010-05-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

What can one describe that will be guaranteed to leave you breathless every time you look at it? The clue could be the numerous rainbows that flash in and out of sight as water droplets momentarily capture the rays of the sun. You stand before one of the most awe-inspiring features of the natural world, lost in wonder at the power and beauty of the giant waterfall.

There is some dispute about the most powerful waterfall in the world. Victoria Falls lies on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Zambians call it 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' - “the smoke that thunders” - while Zimbabweans call it Victoria Falls. With a width of 1.7 km and a height of 108 m, it is thought the largest sheet of falling water anywhere in the world.
Discovered first by David Livingstone in 1855 and named after Queen Victoria of England, in the wet season, more than 19 million cubic feet of water flow over the falls each minute. The resulting spray, or smoke, can sometimes be seen from up to 25 miles away.

Of course, the citizens of the USA like to think they have the biggest falls at Niagara. The most powerful lie on the border between Ontario and New York. They are renowned for their beauty and as valuable source for hydroelectric power. There are many versions as to how the waterfalls got their names.

Niagara may come from the old Iroquois word for the river - Onguiaahra - "The Strait", and the Horseshoe Falls are reputed to hide the spirit of He-No, the Iroquois thunder god. Though they are truly massive in size, a mere 6,000,000 cubic feet of water flow every 60 seconds, rather less than the Victoria falls.

Not that volume alone is important from the point of view of the spectator. To be utterly dwarfed by the sight you see is equally awesome. The Angel Falls, with a total height of 3,212 feet, are the world’s highest waterfall, with the tallest single span of falling water on the planet. The Venezuelan Penom people called 'Kerepakupai merú' - “waterfall of the deepest place”. James “Jimmy” Angel made it known to the world in October 1937In Guyana we have the Kaieteur falls. These have the largest single drop waterfall. Five times higher than Niagara and twice the height of Victoria Falls, this wonder waterfall is 741ft tall and 370ft wide. On top of the ancient Guyana Shield in the middle of some of the most pristine rainforest left on the planet, this is truly a world wonder. Kaieteur is named after Central Guyana Patamona tribal chief named “Kai,” who sacrificed himself by canoeing over the falls to please the great spirit Makonaima to save his people from a savage tribe who were raiding their land. The word “Teur” means “falls” in their dialect.
India also has a spectacular set of falls at Jog, in the Indian state of Kannada. The Sharavathi river plunges 253m – 879 feet – as it drops over the edge.

The Chachapoya people in Peru had, until 2005 kept the secret of another very attractive waterfall. Stefan Ziemendorff, together with a group of Peruvian explorers, measured the total height at 2,531 feet making it one of the world’s tallest. Gocta falls were named after an ancient Chachapoyan village situated deep inside the area the locals inhabited between 800 and 1400 AD. This incredible set of falls remained unknown because locals believed that a beautiful blond maiden who lived in within them would cast an evil spell if the location were to be revealed.
Naturally the USA has its own high waterfall. At 2,390 feet, Yosemite falls are the seventh in the world, and a major attraction in Yosemite National Park in California. Yosemite literally means “those who kill”. The Yosemite tribes were composed of renegades from multiple tribes and were said to be killers by the surrounding tribes who feared them.
New Zealand is another area for dramatic spectacles of this type. Sutherland Falls - three spectacular leaps totalling 1,904 feet - is the highest of them. Part of the attraction of these falls is the leaping action of the water from the two main ledges on the mountain wall. Named after discoverer Donald Sutherland, who found the falls in search of a new route to Lake Wakatipu.
Yet another amazing display of waterfalls lays on the border between Argentina and Brazil. The brink of these falls is over 2.7 km wide and plunges 269 feet through 275 falls into the Iguacu River. The flow equals 1.3 million liters per second, so it is a wonderfully active attraction.
The Iguazu name comes from the Guarani or Tupi word meaning “great water.” Legend has it that a god planned to marry a lovely native girl, who fled with her mortal lover in a canoe. In rage, the god sliced the river creating the waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall.

Finally, we come to the Ozoud falls in Morrocco, 110m high and also spectacular. Waterfalls seem timeless and incredibly attractive. Who can seriously resist?

Amazing Underwater Photography

2010-01-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Underwater Photography

2010-01-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Tags: Wonderful, Cool, Awesome, Humor, Photograpy

Cool Underwater Photography

2010-01-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

Tags: Amazing, Interesting, Incredible, wonderful, Beautiful, Humor, Cool

Awesome Underwater Photography

2010-01-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

Tags: Awesome, Beautiful, Incredible, Interesting, Humor, Cool, Underwater, Photography

Amazing and Ordinary Giant Mushrooms!!!

2009-12-18T04:13:00.000-08:00

The image of gnomes sat atop giant toadstools is part of popular mythology and grist to the mill of the bad garden ornaments industry. Something clearly excites some people about the idea of giant mushrooms – and we’re not just talking bored housewives and tripped out ’60s rejects or latter day Doors fans like the dude pictured here. When giant shroomarooms are the dish of the day, everyone’s appetites are whetted over the prospect of seeing these fleshy, spore-bearing monstrosities.
Mexicans seem to have a particular penchant for mammoth mushrooms, or perhaps just good growing conditions or good fortune when it comes to stumbling on – or should that be into – the blasted things. Found at a coffee farm in the Mexican state of Chiapas in June 2007, this next freak of nature is incredible. Heck at well over two feet long and weighing in at 44 pounds, it’s bigger than a boy! Gets you wondering whether maybe there was some secret nuke testing in the area we weren’t told about.
Unless the gods are real fun guys (geddit?) fond of bringing about unlikely coincidences, the mustachioed Mexican biologist Rene Andrade pictured here is holding aloft the very same mushroom. Sure enough, it too was found growing on a coffee farm in Mexico, so we have to conclude the baton had been passed onto him so to speak. Apparently bus loads of envious mushroom picking enthusiasts from the Czech Republic began planning expeditions to the Central American state in the wake of the find.
Fungi-philes on flickr have been having fun with this next pic, with comments of “huge omelette at yours then eh?” and “make a great risotto” posted underneath. “Dryad’s saddle Polyporus squamosus, I think,” conjectures one bespectacled mycologist – that’s a fungus to you and me.
We leave you with a stunning shot of some luminous fungi with aspirations of climbing to the very top, Mycena chlorophanos. The luminosity of this fungi is due to a biochemical reaction of the type that occurs in bacteria, fish and fireflies, but it’s dazzling brightness isn’t enough to deter the cool-named Giant Panda Snail, which gorges on the stuff all day. Normally found on fallen logs in the rainforests of Australia, perhaps this specimen of M chlorophanos was trying to get away from its slimy assailant.

The Most Amazing and Strange Psychedelic Fish On Earth

2009-12-15T14:25:00.000-08:00

The Psychedelic Frogfish is not only funky looking (read: trippy) on the outside; its forward-facing eyes are extremely rare for fish, allowing it to have the same kind of depth perception that humans have. As well as this, its colourful, scaleless skin actually mimics the kind of coral it can be found around, reason for us to take a closer look at this anglerfish and its habitat.

Psychedelic ball – notice how all the stripes come together at the eyes:
The psychedelic frogfish (Histiophryne psychedelica) is a new species of 2009 – it was first described in the scientific journal Copeia by zoologists Ted Pietsch, Rachel Arnold, and David Hall. At 15 cm (6 cm), it is not small and must surely be striking. Frogfishes belong to the Antennariidae family and are a type of anglerfish. Unlike the latter, though, the psychedelic frogfish does not have the characteristic fleshy growth on the head, used for luring or angling prey.

Each fish has its own beautiful, unique pattern, like a fingerprint:
Like a typical frogfish, its skin is flabby, fleshy and scaleless. It may even be covered in protective mucus when swimming close to coral to avoid tearing. The fish’s skin pattern with its yellowish, brown and white stripes is – similar to a zebra’s – unique to each individual, a fact that allows scientists to identify different psychedelic frogfish in the wild quite easily. The pattern mimics the hard corals commonly found in its native habitat, the sea around Bali, Indonesia.

Fish or coral?

The turquoise dots in the fish’s face are actually not the eyes but brightly coloured patches around them, making the eyes look larger. This and the fact that the psychedelic frogfish can expand its head and extend its mouth forward, thus elongating the head to a shape more often seen in large fish, may indicate the fish’s strategy of looking larger and more impressive than it is, maybe to startle potential predators.

Hullo, did I startle you?
As mentioned earlier, the fish’s forward-facing eyes allow it to experience depth perception similar to that of humans, an unusual characteristic for most fish. This comes in handy given that, like most frogfish, the psychedelic frogfish doesn’t move very much but rather waits for prey to come to it, following it with its eyes and then sucking it in in just six milliseconds!

Don’t get too close to that mouth…
When it does move, though, a frogfish uses jet propulsion – that means walking on its pectoral fins over the seafloor rather than swimming. Plus, the fish takes on a ball shape and shoots water
through its gills to propel itself forward, making it look like, well, in the scientists’ words “an inflated rubber ball bouncing along the bottom.” An astonishing fish, we think, from whatever angle you look at it, and what a find!

Amazing and Beautiful Tallest Trees On Earth

2009-12-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

North America’s northwestern coast seems to be a whole treasure trove when it comes to trees as most of the world’s tallest (and oldest) can be found here. We’ve focused on the world’s tallest, measured from top to bottom, rather than the stoutest trees, measured by girth. Lord of the Rings fans who love the Ents will enjoy this post!
6. Giant Sequoia – 94.8 m (311 ft)

Our first candidate is a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum). These trees are also called Sierra redwoods or Wellingtonians and reach average heights of 50–85 m (165–280 ft). The oldest known Giant Sequoia is 3,500 years old and the tallest one grows at Redwood Mountain Grove in California’s King’s Canyon National Park.

A Giant Sequoia in California’s Mariposa Big Trees Park:
Giant sequoias regenerate through seeds and a large tree can be expected to have thousands of seeds at any given point in time – around 11,000 cones. Their natural distribution is limited to the western Sierra Nevada and their conservation status has been determined as vulnerable.
5. The Carmanah Giant and other Sitka Spruces – 96 m (315 ft)

The Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) is the third tallest conifer species in the world (after the Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir), growing 50–70 m (165–231 ft) tall and occasionally up to 100 m tall. It is a native of North America’s west coast and can be found as far up north as Alaska’s Kodiak Island – its name pointing to these roots from the community of Sitka in Alaska.

A dead Sitka Spruce on Lake Quinault, still standing:
The tallest specimens are the Carmanah Giant at 96 m (315 ft) in Canada’s Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park
on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and two unnamed trees in California’s Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park that at 96.7 m (317.3 ft) are just a bit over 96 m tall.

The Carmanah Giant is Canada’s tallest tree:

3. Centurion Mountain Ash – 99.6 m (326.8 ft)

This Mountain Ash, also called Victorian Ash, Swamp or Stringy Gum, or Tasmanian Oak belongs to the Eucalyptus species (Eucalyptus regnans) native to southeastern Australia
and Tasmania
. With specimens reaching heights of over 90 m, this is one of the world’s tallest tree species. This particular tree named Centurion measures 99.6 m (326.8 ft) and grows south of Hobart in Tasmania. The tallest Eucalyptus specimens encountered by early European settlers in Tasmania have either been felled, fallen victim to bushfires or simply died of advanced age – their average life span being 400 years.

Tasmania’s El Grande, a 280-ft tall Eucalyptus regnans, was accidentally killed in 2002:

2. Stratosphere Giant – 112.83 m (370.5 ft)

This Coast Redwood in Humboldt
Redwoods State Park was at 112.83 m (370.5 ft) the world’s tallest until the discovery of No. 1. Though it is still growing, two trees in the same forest have been discovered since that are taller than the Stratosphere Giant. However, little is know about them and like the Stratosphere Giant and No. 1, their exact locations have not been disclosed for fear of damage through tourism.

Sequoia sempervirens reaching for the sky:

Coast Redwoods are native to a narrow strip of land only 750 km (470 miles) in length along the coast of California and southwestern Oregon. Sequoias belong to the subfamily of Sequoioideau in the cypress family of Cupressaceae and their conservation status is classified as vulnerable. They get their common name from the fact that their thick bark takes on a bright reddish brown colour when freshly exposed that becomes darker with weathering.

Tall giants at California’s Redwood National Park:

1. Hyperion Coast Redwood – 115.56 m (379.1 ft)

Finally, the world’s tallest tree: On September 8, 2006, this Sequoia or California Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) was discovered in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, a remote California forest. At 115.56 m (379.1 ft) and nine feet taller than its neighbour, the Stratosphere Giant, it was determined to be the world’s tallest tree. Hyperion is not only the world’s tallest tree but also the world’s tallest living thing. And it might also be one of the world’s oldest, given that redwoods live for up to 2,200 years – that’s older than our modern calculation of time.

Don’t miss this video of tree doctor Jim Spickler climbing the world’s tallest tree:

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Here’s a mind-boggling fact to close this post with: Did you know that fires do not kill sequoias but simply remove competing thin-barked species, therefore actually aiding sequoia regeneration? That’s one hell of a cool tree, literally!

Try burning that, sucker:

Amazing 70-ft Blue Whale that Washed Up on the Californian Coast

2009-12-02T03:23:00.001-08:00

To the inhabitants of Fort Bragg in California, it must have come as no small shock. On venturing down to the seashore, people aren’t prone to expect seeing a 72-feet long blue whale lying dead in the water, a gigantic gash in its flank from where the behemoth has been hit by a ship. Yet exactly such a tragedy took place last month on America’s west coast – demanding a massive clean-up operation for locals, mammal rescuers and others. Harrowing pictures accompany the story.
First sighted on October 19, 2009 after it had washed up on the rocks in Mendocino County, the gaping wound clearly visible in its side, the once majestic creature was estimated to weigh at least 50 tonnes. Students had to wait until low tide for the leviathan to reveal her lifeless form, before scrambling down the rock face to the water’s edge wielding cutting tools for collecting samples. Though sad, the whale’s death offered researchers a rare opportunity to learn more about the species at close quarters.
The whale – which had at some point given birth – perished after colliding with a ship contracted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just hours earlier, about seven miles offshore. The vessel had been mapping the ocean floor off the Californian coast to help choose future fish sanctuaries. Crew members reported feeling a shudder but not did not immediately realise what had happened until the whale later surfaced, blood gushing from its abdomen.
Controversy followed, with those opposed to the NOAA Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) the boat was collecting data for demanding an investigation into the death and an end to the NOAA’s activities there. Fishermen and Native Americans are among those it is said will lose out if the habitats the MLPA are studying are included in no-fishing zones. Some have also claimed the boat was negligent if there was no lookout on duty, but others maintain tracking whales at sea is very difficult.
Back at Fort Bragg, community members and scientists teamed up to take on the exhausting – and putrid – challenge of shifting the carcass of the blue whale – the largest animal ever to have existed. The effort involved removing body parts before cutting the whale into more portable pieces and hauling them up the cliff. The remains were taken away to be buried for several years where bugs and microbes will strip the flesh, preparing the skeleton to be reassembled and put on public display.
The blue whale was almost hunted to extinction at the beginning of the 20th century, and today the species is still endangered, with estimates placing the numbers in the world’s oceans at anywhere between 5,000 and 12,000. Although incidents of boats hitting whales are relatively rare, there are issues over whether sonar from ships can cause harm to baleen whales like the blue whale by disorientating them.

Whatever the case may be, the citizens of Fort Bragg got more than they bargained with the blue whale that washed up on their doorstep, and alas there was one less of the magnificent species on the planet.

With special thanks to Shannon Cusick, who sent us this idea. All photography by Larry Wagner.

World's Most Dangerous and Poisionous snakes found in the jungle

2009-11-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

Strange and Impossible Location for Building

2009-11-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

How To Make Potato Roses ?

2009-10-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, roses made from potatos, I would recommend this recipe to all girls who like cooking, very easy to do, able to eat and very beautiful to decorate roses in your daily meal or parties.

Beautiful and Stunning Paris triumphal arch photography

2009-10-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Eiffel Tower

The triumphal arch

Concorde Square

Madeleine

Opera

La Defense

Bastille

Invalides

Lafayette

Louvre Museum

La Seine

Notre Dame

Hotel de Ville

George Pompidou Art Modern Museum

Moulin Rouge

Sacred Hearth

Cite de Ciences

More of Paris

20 Awesome and Beautiful art in Ballpoint pen drawing

2009-10-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Beautiful realistic ballpoint pen drawings are based on the incredible detail photos that he takes on his camera.

Nature's Most Amazing and Strange Violent Storms

2009-10-15T10:12:00.000-07:00

Awesome and Amazing Versatility of Animal Tongues

2009-10-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Some animals put us to shame with their tongues and what they can do with them. No teenaged first French kiss nerves for any of the creatures featured here. The muscle in our mouths used to manipulate food for chewing and swallowing is also of course the primary organ of taste. Yet while our animal counterparts can’t use their tongues for its other main function in humans – speech – many creatures put them to other uses that might leave you tongue-tied.
The chameleon possesses a prehensile tongue adapted for rapidly striking prey that strays within striking distance. This remarkably long tongue can be twice the chameleon’s own body length and extends out faster than the human eye can follow, hitting prey in about 30 thousandths of a second. Usain Bolt, keep dreaming. The tip of this elastic tongue is a muscular, club-like structure covered in thick mucus that forms a suction cup. Once the tip sticks to a prey insect, the tongue is quickly drawn back into the mouth. Gulp.
If you thought the chameleon had a big tongue, check out the giant anteater’s, which can reach two feet (60 cm) in length. The anteater coats its tongue in sticky saliva during feeding, allowing it to ensnare ants, and can rapidly flick its tongue from its mouth up to 150 times per minute. After breaking into insect colonies and tree trunks using their long sharp claws, anteaters employ their tongues to collect eggs, larvae and adult insects, a few thousand of which they can guzzle in just minutes. Om nom nom nom nom.
Instead of using their tongues to munch on prey, snakes use them to sniff prey out. Smell is a snake’s means of tracking its victims: its forked tongue is used to collect airborne particles that are then passed onto special organs in the mouth for analysis. It all sounds very scientific. The fork in the tongue gives the snake a sort of directional sense of both smell and taste, and by constantly keeping its tongue in motion, snakes can determine the presence of other animals in their local environment. S’nifty.
Another beast with a beast of a tongue, the giraffe can extend its 18 inch (45 cm) mouth muscle to clean off bugs from its face or to feed. The specially adapted tongue is extremely tough to cope with the vicious tree thorns that are part of the giraffe’s diet. When removed from their natural environment and kept in captivity, giraffes show abnormal behaviours due to instinctive tendencies towards suckling the milk of their mothers – hence their excessive tongue lolling and licking of nearby objects. Awww.
Cats use their tongues to clean their bodies, and seem to do a much better job of it than dogs, which use theirs for the same purpose. The rows of hooked, backwards-facing spines on a cat’s tongue known as papillae act like the bristles of a hairbrush to help clean and detangle fur, so that licking means grooming. This probably makes a cat’s tongue far more vital to its wellbeing than ours are to us. When was the last time you used your tongue for that just-stepped-out-of-the-salon look? Don’t answer that.

Amazing Insects with alien faces

2009-10-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

8 Most Weird and Bizarre Body Modifications

2009-07-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Corneal tattooing is not only possible, but it has been known and done now for over 2,000 years — it became almost commonplace in the late 19th century and into the 20th century to correct defects such as corneal scarring and leucomas.
These days, it is done less often because contact lenses are very effective at covering these defects, and prosthetic technology is also more accessible. However, not everyone can wear contact lenses, and not everyone wants their eyeball popped out even if it is blind; hence cosmetic tattooing of the eye.

2. Scarification
Scarification is the creative and artistic application of scars in a controlled manner to achieve an aesthetically or spiritually pleasing result. In the process of body scarification, scars are formed by cutting the skin. Even though many people hold that scarification is no more painful than tattooing, it is somehow more "intense" to most of them.

3. 3D-Art Implant
A 3D-Art implant is any object implanted fully under the skin for the purpose of affecting a sculptural change of the surface. The "invention" and popularization of implants as 3D-Art is credited primarily to Steve Haworth. Implants can be stretched just like piercings. A good example of this are horn implants—they start as smaller implants, and are then taken out when healed and replaced with slightly larger ones. This process is repeated to achieve the final size. There are some risks of irritation to the skin above the implant if this process is pushed too fast, as with all stretching.

4. Corset Piercings
One of the newest trends in body modification comes in the form of corset piercings. They are a series of surface piercings arranged up the back in two vertical columns. The piercing is located in the spot where the eyelets would be if one was wearing a corset. It is a symmetrical piercing with an equal number of holes on each side. As few as four holes can be used (two on each side) up to as many as the expanse of skin will allow.

5. Branding
The Human Branding is, perhaps, the most painful of all body modifications. In full-scale branding, the iron is heated hot enough and applied long enough that the resulting wound is a third degree burn, which destroys the nerve. These third-degree burns never regain sensitivity. It will make a silver scarred area in the shape of the third degree burn, due to destruction of the entire dermis layer of the skin. The surrounding skin will eventually fill in areas that haven’t been severely damaged, which takes years.

6. Body Suspension
Body suspension is the act of suspending the human body via temporary piercings made just before the suspension process. The body is then raised either partially or completely from the ground by especially modified fishing hooks.

7. Tongue bifurcation
One of the newest body modifications to hit the scene is tongue splitting, or tongue bifurcation. The process involves literally cutting the tongue in half directly down the center. Once the tongue is split it is possible to move both sections independently of one another.

8. Pointy Ears

14 Most Funniest Movie-Inspired Tattoos

2009-07-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

Most Bizarre and Diabolical Fish On Earth

2009-07-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Awesome 3D Fractals Stranger than Fiction

2009-07-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

From clouds to coastlines, snowflakes to seashells, fractals are everywhere in our environments.
They’re also prevalent in the way humans have instinctively designed their habitats. In African architecture, circular houses appear in circles of circles, and rectangular houses in rectangles of rectangles. Yet despite having always been there before our eyes – often too close or too far to see – fractals are a modern scientific discovery. As these stunning images from Dark Roasted Blend demonstrate, it is only with the advent of computers that our collective consciousness has been fully awakened to their cosmic dimensions.
The maths behind fractals began to crystallise in the 1600s through the work of philosopher and mathematician Leibniz, inventor of the binary system, the basis for virtually all modern computing. It’s therefore ironic that when fractal graphs appeared in the work of later mathematicians some 200 years later, it still needed the help of today’s computer graphics to bring the wonder of what had been discovered to life.
Now fractal generating software can create all kinds of fractal images, some more traditional, though no less strange, others of an industrial or post-industrial imagining like these ”Mechanical Fractals” by Jock Cooper. Coming across like Borg cubes from Star Trek or the surface of the Star Wars Death Star, these are images of a world in which computers and space technology dominate.
But Cooper’s more familiar-shaped images of fractals also have an intensely space meets cyberspace age quality about them. The guys at Dark Roasted Blend even saw an “interstellar war between alien energy beings” emerging from the contours of this last picture. Mathematics may have drawn our attention to the infinitely repeated patterns of fractals, but psychedelic substances seem to have played their part in opening some eyes wider.

Dogs in swimsuits at fashion show

2009-07-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Dogs wearing designer clothes strutted their stuff on the catwalk during a fashion show with a canine twist.
Accompanied by two-legged models, the pooches paraded a series of fetching outfits from swimsuits to evening wear.

The Taipie-based company which launched the collection hope to catch the eye of dog lovers who treat their pets as family members.

"I want my dog to dress up like me, just like mother and daughter in the same style dress," said one owner.

The dog-wear company plans to open markets in China, Japan and Australia.

10 People with Unbelievable Medical Conditions

2009-07-13T02:04:00.000-07:00

The Man Who Can't Get Fat

Mr Perry, 59, can eat whatever he likes - including unlimited pies, burgers and desserts - and never get fat. He cannot put on weight because of a condition called lipodystrophy that makes his body rapidly burn fat.
He used to be a chubby child, but at age 12 the fat dropped off "almost over night". He initially tried to eat more to gain weight, but it had no effect. Mr Perry, of Ilford in Essex, endured a decade of tests before the illness was diagnosed. It finally emerged that his body produces six times the normal level of insulin. Doctors have admitted that the condition would be a "slimmer's dream".
The Man Who Doesn't Feel Cold

Dutchman Wim Hof, also known as the Iceman, is the man that swam under ice, and stood in bins filled with ice. He climbed the Mt. Blanc in shorts in the icy cold, harvested world records and always stands for new challenges.
Scientists can't really explain it, but the 48-year-old Dutchman is able to withstand, and even thrive, in temperatures that could be fatal to the average person.

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep: stayed awake 24 hours a day for years.

Rhett Lamb is often cranky like any other 3-year-old toddler, but there's one thing that makes him completely different: he has a rare medical condition in which he can't sleep a wink.
Rhett is awake nearly 24 hours a day, and his condition has baffled his parents and doctors for years. They took clock shifts watching his every sleep-deprived mood to determine what ailed the young boy.
After a number of conflicting opinions, Shannon and David Lamb finally learned what was wrong with their child: Doctors diagnosed Rhett with an extremely rare condition called chiari malformation.
"The brain literally is squeezed into the spinal column. What happens is you get compression, squeezing, strangulating of the brain stem, which has all the vital functions that control sleep, speech, our cranial nerves, our circulatory system, even our breathing system," Savard said.

The Girl Who is Allergic to Water.

Teenager Ashleigh Morris can't go swimming, soak in a hot bath or enjoy a shower after a stressful day's work - she's allergic to water. Even sweating brings the 19-year-old out in a painful rash.
Ashleigh, from Melbourne, Australia, is allergic to water of any temperature, a condition she's lived with since she was 14. She suffers from an extremely rare skin disorder called Aquagenic Urticaria - so unusual that only a handful of cases are documented worldwide.

The Woman Who Can't Forget.

That's the story of AJ, an extraordinary 40-year-old married woman who remembers everything.
McGaugh and fellow UCI researchers Larry Cahill and Elizabeth Parker have been studying the extraordinary case of a person who has "nonstop, uncontrollable and automatic" memory of her personal history and countless public events. If you randomly pick a date from the past 25 years and ask her about it, she'll usually provide elaborate, verifiable details about what happened to her that day and if there were any significant news events on topics that interested her. She usually also recalls what day of the week it was and what the weather was like.
The 40-year-old woman, who was given the code name AJ to protect her privacy, is so unusual that UCI coined a name for her condition in a recent issue of the journal Neurocase: hyperthymestic syndrome.

The Girl Who Eats Only Tic Tacs.

Eet Natalie Cooper, a 17-year-old teenager who has a mystery illness that makes her sick every time she eats anything. Well, almost anything. She can eat one thing that doesn't make her sick: Tic tac mint!
For reasons that doctors are unable to explain, Tic tacs are the only thing she can stomach, meaning she has to get the rest of her sustenance from a specially formulated feed through a tube.

The Musician Who Can't Stop Hiccupping.

Chris Sands, 24, from Lincoln, hiccups as often as every two seconds - and sometimes even when he is asleep. He has tried a variety of cures, including hypnosis and yoga, but nothing has worked. Mr Sands thinks his problem stems from an acid reflux condition caused by a damaged valve in his stomach. "If the acid levels are severe enough they are going to do keyhole surgery and grab part of my stomach and wrap it around the valve to tighten it," he said.
Mr Sands, who is a backing singer in the group Ebullient, said the condition has hampered his career as he has only been able to perform four times. In the next couple of weeks --as of the day of the report--, doctors at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre will put a tube into his stomach to monitor acid levels and decide if keyhole surgery is possible.

The Girl That Collapses Every Time She Laughs.
Kay Underwood, 20, has cataplexy, which means that almost any sort of strong emotion triggers a dramatic weakening of her muscles. Exhilaration, anger, fear, surprise, awe and even embarrassment can also cause sufferers to suddenly collapse on the spot.
Kay, of Barrow-upon- Soar, Leicestershire (UK), who was diagnosed with the condition five years ago, once collapsed more than 40 times in a single day. She said: "People find it very odd when it happens, and it isn't always easy to cope with strangers' reactions. "
Like most cataplexy sufferers, Ms Underwood is also battling narcolepsy - a condition that makes her drop off to sleep without warning. Narcolepsy affects around 30,000 people in the UK and about 70 per cent of them also have cataplexy.

The Woman Who is Allergic to Modern Technology.

For most people talking on a mobile phone, cooking dinner in the microwave or driving in a car is simply part of modern living in 21st century Britain. But completing any such tasks is impossible for Debbie Bird - because she is allergic to Cell Phones and Microwaves.
The 39-year-old is so sensitive to the electromagnetic field (emf) or 'smog' created by computers, mobile phones, microwave ovens and even some cars, that she develops a painful skin rash and her eyelids swell to three times their size if she goes near them. As a consequence, Mrs Bird, a health spa manager, has transformed her home into an EMF-free zone to try and stay healthy. 'I can no longer do things that I used to take for granted,' Mrs Bird said. "My day-to-day life has been seriously affected by EMF".

10 Most Poisonous and Dangerous Animals in the World

2009-07-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

14 Awesome FAIL Moments

2009-06-29T14:04:00.000-07:00

Manhole Fail
Question/Answer Fail
CCTV Fail
Diversion Fail
iTunes Fail
Wine Rack Fail
Plumbing Fail
Name Fail
Advertising Fail
Maze Fail
Gender Fail
Emergency Exit Fail
Rocket Science Fail
Car Fail

15 Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

2009-05-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Amazing Art of Invisibility

2009-05-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

When people are asked what superpower they would opt for given the choice, it’s alarming how many go for invisibility. Then, you could go wherever you want and do whatever you want, within reason, of course. You want first class to Sydney? No worries, just rock on up to the best empty seats on the jumbo, and enjoy. Although, you’d have to use your powers for good, too, so karma wouldn’t bite you in the butt. That said it’s probably not the first thing camouflage artists think of when they decide to paint people to blend in with their surroundings.

Desiree Palmen is one such artist. Over a number of years, Dutch born Desiree has photographed various projects throughout Europe. Here are just a few of her images, modeled by friends:

Part of the street surveillance camera project, Streetwise

These images were part of Desiree’s Camouflage project

Another artist specializing in camouflage is Liu Bolin, from China. His stance is slightly different than Desiree’s, but the result is similar.

Liu says:

Chameleon has the unique property of changing hues to match the color of the surroundings for self-protection. Rattlesnake can bury most of the body in sand soil. This can not only protect itself but also have a better access to food. There are also many animals, such as gecko, beetle etc., which have learnt to deal with the environment and the enemy in the longtime fight of life and death. In order to survive, good concealment has become the most critical factor.

Heart Everywhere

2009-05-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

18 World Vestigial Marvellous Spectacle

2009-04-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Amazing Tree Monsters in The World

2009-04-12T12:08:00.001-07:00

Lai Thi Dao - Vietnamese Girl Facial Tumor

2009-02-25T10:52:00.000-08:00

Lai Thi Dao, a 15 year old Vietnamese girl had just underwent surgery for a 16 pound (7 kilogram) facial tumor in Miami.
Finally free from the ordeal, doctors at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Center said that Lai’s tumor was one of the largest reported. The condition is called a Schwannoma tumor which is relative common and usually benign.

International Kid’s Fund is seeking charity to help cover the cost of the treatment which was estimated to cost around $107,000. The surgery has restored Lai’s difficult life even for the simplest tasks of eating, drinking and sleeping.

Amusing Mugshot T-Shirts

2009-02-23T01:54:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Treehugging Art

2009-02-20T11:00:00.002-08:00

Strange and Weirdest Ads Ever

2009-02-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes people cross all limits in order to advertise their products and they are very successful in drawing our attention by using disturbingly weird stuff. Here is some outstanding examples how to amaze customers.

Mad Japanese Kid Lives in Ancient Hut that he Created

2009-02-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

On warm, summer nights, kids might ask their parents to let them sleep under the stars.
They’ll set up a tent, snuggle into their sleeping bags and tell ghost stories all night long. And if they get too cold or feel that the ground is too hard, they’ll just find their way back to their comfy beds. But this is not the case with the industrious 14-year-old Shogo Kasai; he built his very own Jomon period (10,000 BC to 400 BC), Japanese pit house out of bamboo and rice straw, and intends to live in it for a few weeks at a time!

Kasai already spent a night in his humble abode last October, sleeping on what he calls a comfortable straw mat for a bed. He even got a charcoal fire going inside the 2.5-m-high, 4-m-in-diameter hut to make himself an authentic Jomon-style dinner. Naturally, the next step is for him to leave his current home and live in his backyard pit house for weeks at a time, cooking and making his own Jomon period clothing.

Jomon-era pit dwellings at Kabayama

Early Jomon-period pit houses were circular, like the one Kasai built. After a hole in the ground is dug out, wooden pillars are placed in the pit as supports and a thatched roof is bundled on top. Kabayama and the Sannai Maruyama sites are excellent examples of preserved Jomon communities.

Fire pit inside a Jomon-era pit dwelling at Kabayama

Fascinated by archaeology, Kasai sought advice from museum officials and pored over books in order to re-create this ancient Japanese building style. He wants to be an archaeologist when he grows up, and he’s well on his way, earning the top prize at the local museum last year for a report he wrote about pit dwelling construction.

Reconstructed Jomon pit house at Sannai Maruyama Site

Incredible New Bicycles from Around the World

2009-02-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

In many parts of the world, bicycles are the number one means of transportation, mainly because they are more affordable than motorcycles and cars.
This is true in rural Africa and India as much as for the student population of Amsterdam and Hamburg. Now there are three inventions on the market – the bamboo, backpack and all-weather bikes – that will convince even the staunchest bicycle-phobe that cycling doesn’t only save on petrol, parking tickets and gym expenses; no, it’s also cool!

California-based bicycle company Calfee Design developed the bamboo bicycle in 2005 as a publicity stunt, producing only 12 prototypes for employees, relatives and friends. However, the bike’s sturdiness and comfort were such a success that the company soon started production. In 2006, founder Craig Calfee even went a step further – in fact, many steps and miles further, all the way to Ghana to help set up local bamboo bicycle workshops.
In Ghana, more than getting from A to B, the bicycle is a means of transporting people, goods and water as well. Plus, bamboo can be locally grown, even in dry areas, so bamboo bikes cost less and eliminate the need to import more expensive and less durable steel bikes. Also, making bamboo bikes is intensive work that requires skill, but not much investment in equipment or electricity. So once a local workshop is set up, it provides opportunities for skilled workers and training opportunities for local youths. And so far, no one has figured out how to make bamboo bicycles in a factory, therefore keeping competition and mass produced products out of the market.

Calfee’s extra sturdy cargo bamboo bicycle made in Ghana

Even for car enthusiasts who blame bad weather on their lack of enthusiasm for cycling, there is a cycle on the market: This Way all-weather bicycle by Swedish designer Torkel Döhmers. But though the roof is a start, maybe for protection from insects (remember those million-insect days?), it seems hardly enough protection from a fully fledged rain shower, especially without rain gear. And though the low-lying design is attractive and good for the back, it does expose the cyclist to more pollution, especially when driving on the road. On the other hand, the bike’s ergonomic design – plus rising petrol and car prices
– might fulfill its desired purpose: swaying a few people away from the car or motorcycle and onto this bike.
This Way all-weather bicycle by Torkel Döhmers
Bergmönch, a German company, has come up with a specialised bicycle for mountain climbers. You climb up with your mountain bike folded up in a backpack and then ride it back down, on your knees like a monk – hence the company’s name: literally ‘mountain monk’. The idea unfolded because mountain climbers or hikers frequently complain of joint aches when going downhill. Use of a bicycle would alleviate this problem. Plus, the company hopes to attract a new target group: adventure hikers who find just climbing
up and down too boring and would rather go for a thrilling ride downhill. On designated mountain trails only, of course.

Bergmönch fold up backpack bicycle
Now, assuming one has the required cash, as none of these bikes come cheap (around $2000), for cycle enthusiasts the only question remaining is: which one to choose?

Old Kitchen Utensils To Light Up Your Home

2009-02-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

Old household objects get a chance to shine once more when they're fashioned into lovely light fixtures by Parisian designer Gilles Eichenbaum of Garbage. Pots, pans, forks, kettles, hats or phones; you name the garage sale item and Eichenbaum's probably re-used it in his one-of-a-kind lamps. Quirky and fun, these lights will make for a wonderful addition to any home.
Eichenbaum first started making his charming lanterns during his travels, using his imagination to create useful objects out of limited but available resources – like making a lampshade out of a pot or a chair out of scrap wood. Eventually what started out as a hobby became a successful business as his artsy but useful lamps garnered interest from those around him.
We've gathered a few images of Eichenbaum's light fixtures here, but we encourage you to check out his website, or Greenupgrader, where there are many more unique creations.

Two-sided chandelier

kettle

kettle desk lamp

Old X-Rays Seen in a New Light

Are you one of those people who likes to put everything in their house to good use? Then this is for you. If you have old x-rays gathering dust in the closet, get them out and convert them into beautiful lamp shades! This is what three design students in Sweden have done.

Product design students Elin Hedlund, Emmelie Karlström and Sture Pallarp of Stockholm's Beckmans College of Design came up with this clever idea, which provides a new life for old x-rays. What better way to illustrate (and illuminate) that story of your fall from a horse when you were six years old than with the x-ray showing the fracture?

Dung Bunnies Art Made of Manure

2009-02-05T01:33:00.000-08:00

Take two and a half acres of land, a couple of horses and a plethora of manure and what do you get? Even though dung sculptures may not be the first thing that comes to mind, it certainly was for Susan Bell.

Bell, a painter from Denver, Colorado, conceived the idea of dung sculptures amidst a humorous conversation with some fellow artists. After extensive research on creating molds and much experimentation, Bell came up with a formula to create her ‘Dung Bunnies’.

Horse manure is gathered, turned twice yearly, and left to decompose for two years. The manure, practically free of odor, is put through a cement mixer and then fitted into wire mesh moldings. Since horses digest 20 percent of the grass they eat, a lot of grass remains in their manure. With a composition similar to adobe, this horse manure mixture is easy to mold.

Bunnies, cats, frogs, snails and ducks make up the variety of garden sculptures Bell sells from her gallery, various farmer’s markets and her online site. Those with a particularly keen sense of humor can even purchase the ‘married couple’ sculpture; modeled after a wedding cake ornament. Bell produces on average 30 sculptures per week while concentrating on her painting.

Although feces aren’t a new medium to modern art, as a Dung Bunny, it serves an additional purpose. These sculptures not only enrich a garden ornamentally, but environmentally as a fertilizer. So if you want something that can add nutrition as well as beauty to your garden, look into Dung Bunnies. Or you can try to make one of your own. Check out Susan’s Dung Bunny site to see how.

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Dog deliver 13 puppies

2009-02-04T00:52:00.000-08:00

A fireman who helped his German Shepherd give birth to seven puppies was astonished to later return home to discover the dog was in labour again.

Andrew Louis, 26, stayed with three-year-old Lila as she delivered a further six puppies over the next two hours.

The 26-year-old had earlier helped Lila give birth to seven pups and, confident that her labour had finished, drove his girlfriend Jennifer to work.

But on his return home he was shocked to discover that Lila, who he has had since she was eight weeks old, had started giving birth again.

And over the next two hours the fireman from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, had to help out as she gave birth to another six pups.

Mr Louis, who works in Easterhouse Fire Station, said: 'I was stunned. I never thought for a minute she would give birth to so many.

'An average German Shepherd litter is six to eight pups. And, as this was Lila's first litter, I was told to expect it to be smaller.

'I thought seven pups was great but 13 left me gobsmacked.'

Mr Louis's role as midwife started at 3.30am on Monday, when Lila's waters broke.

He patiently waited as pup after pup was born and only left his beloved pet's side when he was sure she had finished.

But he was stunned when he was still watching her give birth 11 hours later.

He added: 'We had not intended Lila to have pups yet but she and our other German Shepherd, two-year-old Levi, took the matter out of our hands.

'When we realised she was pregnant I arranged time off work so I would be there for her labour.

'So after her waters broke it was just a case of sitting back waiting for the pups to be born.

'The first arrived at 5.10am followed by the second at 6.50am, and others at 6.55am, 7.20am, 7.28am, 7.45am and 7.58am.

'Lila had everything perfectly under control. She was licking her pups clean as they arrived and proving a super mother.

'From what I had been told I thought seven pups would be her labour completed and I felt confident enough to take Jen to work.

'But when I returned home Lila wasn't settled and at 9.40am started giving birth again.

'Pup number nine arrived at 9.56 and the next at 10.14am.

'I had to give her a hand with number 11, which seemed to get stuck but at 11am I managed to pull it out.

'Number 12 arrived at 11.45am and again we thought she was finished. But, to our amazement, at 2.15pm she gave birth to number 13.

'They are all really beautiful. I wish we could keep them all. But we will be making sure they only go to good homes."

A Zorse is a Horse - of Course

2009-01-31T04:07:00.001-08:00

What happens when you cross a zebra with a horse? The result isn’t really a horse, it’s a zorse, of course! Meet Eclyse — a zebra / horse hybrid, born on a ranch in Germany. Not part from any fabled Frankenstein style story or science experiment gone bad — she’s the product of a holiday romance in designer breeding. Might make you think twice before dashing away on that little rendezvous yourself.

Typically, most zorses have stripes across their entire body, but Eclyse has only two blocks of stripes — on her face and her hind quarters.

Eclyse inherits her pure white markings from her mother, a horse named Eclipse. Eclipse’s owners sent her to a ranch in Italy for breeding, where she met a rugged, handsome young zebra named Ulysses.

One thing led to another as rendezvous’ often do. When she returned home to Germany, Eclipse surprised her keepers by producing a little half-horse, half-zebra with extraordinarily unusual markings.

Ranch spokesman Udo Richter commented: “You can tell she is a mix just by looking at her. But in temperament she can also exhibit characteristics from each parent.” reports Metro.

“She is usually relatively tame like a horse but occasionally shows the fiery temperament of a zebra, leaping around like one.”

Not convinced that zorses actually exist? Here’s more living proof for you.

King Tooth Pulls Train with Teeth - New World Record

2009-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

King Tooth set a new world record by pulling a 7 coach train using nothing but a steel rope and his bare teeth for the heaviest weight pulled by teeth. The Malaysian man’s achievement — whose real name is Rathakrishnan Velu – is projected to be accepted into the Guinness World Records within 2-3 weeks once the information has been verified, said his manager Anna Chidambar.

You could literally see how strained his neck muscles were as Velu pulled the 297.1 ton train over 9 feet, 2.2 inches (2.8 meters) along tracks at a railway station in Kuala Lumpur.

“I don’t know what toothpaste he uses but I am sure a lot companies will be looking to endorse their products from Rathakrishnan.” said Maximus Ongkili, a Cabinet minister, who was an eyewitness to the feat.

Just before his attempt, Rathakrishnan closed his eyes, took deep breaths, and held his left index finger against his nose and right index finger against his chest. Then he touched his forehead and the top of his head before sitting on the ground to begin reports the Daily Mail.

Dozens of spectators were cheering and clapping as they chanted ‘Malaysia Boleh!’ and ‘Malaysia Can’ as Valu sat down and pulled the train, grasping both tracks for support, pushing his feet against the wooden beams to thrust himself backwards.

In his second and third attempts Rathakrishnan moved the train 2 feet, 4.7 inches (.73 meters), and 8 feet, 1.6 inches (2.48 meters).

“We are slightly disappointed … he would have liked to end up with a longer distance but at the end of the day it is still a record.” said Chidambar.

Rathakrishnan also holds the previous world record for the heaviest weight pulled with teeth when he dragged a lighter 260.8 ton train over 13 feet, 9.3 inches (4.2 meters) on October 18, 2003.

Rathakrishnan — a strict vegetarian ethnic Indian — attributes his strength to an Indian form of meditation and daily jaw training. He also runs at least 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) and lifts bars up to 551 pounds (250 kilos).

How to pull large objects with your teeth

How does one pull a 50,000 pound bus with their teeth?

The main force required to move the bus is the rolling resistance of the tires, which is dependant upon the weight of the bus and the coefficient of rolling resistance of the tires.

How Stuff Works explains that the tires on any vehicle flatten as they move, which takes force to make them deform. The less they deform, the less force it takes. A steel train wheel has less than one-tenth the resistance of a car tire because it doesn’t deform as much as it rolls.

Ensuring the tire pressure on the bus is correct or slightly high can minimize the resistance. Assuming the coefficient is 0.006, the force needed to pull the bus is 0.006 multiplied by the weight of the bus, or 0.006 times 50,000 pounds, which equals 300 pounds. There could be extra force from brake drag or friction in the driveline, thereby bumping it to a generous estimate to move the bus requires 400 pounds of force.

It’s possible for a person to exert 400 pounds of force with their legs and hold it with their teeth, but there’s still the factor of traction. The coefficient of friction between your shoes and the ground determines how much force you can apply in the horizontal direction before your feet slip. About the best coefficient you could hope for is 1.0. If your shoes had a coefficient of 1.0, you could apply a force equal to your weight in the horizontal direction. Unless you weighed much more than 400 pounds, you wouldn’t be able to exert that much force against the ground.

A key factor is to increase your traction. One can anchor a ladder to the road and use the steps of the ladder to push against. To pull a train, a person could push against the railroad ties. This reduces the traction because you’re now pushing against a vertical surface instead of a horizontal one, so the force you apply against the ladder is in the same direction as the force you apply against the bus. Thus it’s more like lifting a 400 pound weight with your legs.

Your teeth have to be able to hold the rope with 400 pounds of force, but they’re not doing the lifting. Neither is your neck supporting much of the weight. Since you have to lean back to push against the ladder for traction, most of the force is transmitted down your spine. The closer you can get to the ground, the less force your neck muscles have to apply.

Double Sword Swallowing Guinness World Record Holder

2009-01-24T04:44:00.000-08:00

World renowned Natasha Veruschka won Guinness immortality by swallowing 13 swords for which the belly dancer nearly died of her injuries of a severe hemorrhage — a bystander pushed dollar bills into her belt, triggering 3 blades in her throat to scissor.

Natasha won her 2nd world title in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She and 8 sword swallowers of the Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) broke the 2002 SSAI and Guinness World Record by simultaneously swallowing a total of 52 swords on September 3, 2005 at the ‘Big Swallow’ annual sideshow.

Born in India of white Russian and British descent, the world’s only sword swallowing belly dancer has lived, studied, and performed her art around the world, and currently lives in New York City. Natasha Veruschka trained for the art with ‘Sai Master’ John Bradshaw of Bradshaw’s Circus World of Curiosities.

The ‘Neon Sword’ is the most dangerous on her ‘Swords on the Menu’ — 24 inches of glass and poison gas.

1. Guinness World Record — the most swords swallowed at once — thirteen 22 inch (55 centimeters) long swords

2. Guinness World Record — the most swords swallowed at once by a group (52). Natasha downed 11 swords

3. SSAI World Record — longest sword swallowed by a female — 27.5 inches (69 centimeters) long

4. SSAI World Record — the only female ‘Neon Sword Swallower’ — 24 inches (60 centimeters) long

5. SSAI World Record — the only female ‘Sai Weapon Sword Swallower’ 24 inches (60 centimeters) long

6. SSAI World Record — the most swords swallowed simultaneously — thirteen 22 inch (55 centimeters) long swords)!

7. SSAI World Record — the most swords simultaneously swallowed by a group (50). Natasha swallowed 11 swords

The ‘World Class Belly Dancer’ has won scores of national and international belly dancing contests. The dance is but one of many reasons her shows are so widely received.

Natasha has been featured by CNN, HBO, MTV, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and National Geography to name but a few.

Natasha swallows seven swords at once in her ‘Sword Sandwich’ performance, then removes them one by one.

The art of sword swallowing began more than 4000 years ago in India and the Middle East. It requires fierce mind-over-matter to control the body and repress natural reflexes in order to insert the solid steel blades from 15 to 25 inches down the esophagus and into the stomach.

With the demise of the traveling circus sideshow over the past 30 years, there are currently less than 40 full-time professional sword swallowers actively performing the ancient but deadly art around the world today.

scientists say Amazing 'Hobbit' skull found in Indonesia is not human

2009-01-22T01:11:00.000-08:00

Scientists analysing a 'hobbit'-sized skull found five years ago have claimed that it is not human.

The fossil was discovered in Indonesia and named Homo floresiensis, or 'hobbit', but its species was not known.

Now researchers at the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University claim the shape of skull is consistent with a scaled-down human ancestor but not with modern humans, Science Daily reports.

They used 3-D shape analysis to study the size, shape and asymmetry of the cranium.

They compared it with other extinct homini species as well as with modern humans and apes.

Karen Baab said: 'The overall shape of the skull, particularly the part that surrounds the brain looks similar to fossils more than 1.5 million years older from Africa and Eurasia, rather than modern humans, even though Homo floresiensis is documented from 17,000 to 95,000 years ago.'The researchers believe their findings counter one scientific theory that says the creature was a diminutive human that had suffered microcephaly, which leads to a smaller cranium.

They concluded that the skull had not suffered microcephaly because the difference between its right and left sides were not as great as would be expected in that case.

Dr Baab recognised, however, that the controversy as to the evolutionary origins of the 'hobbit' will continue.

Most Dangerous Natural Infinity Pool on Earth

2009-01-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

Attracting daredevils and water babies who love to live on the edge and will go to any depth to experience the ultimate life’s thrill, Devil’s Swimming Pool has to be the world’s most dangerous naturally formed pool, located mere inches from the lip of the Victoria Falls rim at a height of 360 feet (108 meters), before the raging waters spill into the vast gorges below in deafening sound.

During rainy season, some are swept instantly over the falls — including the occasional hippo and foolish humans — to their death and oftentimes found swirling about and washed up at the north-east end of the Second Gorge, about 820 feet (250 meters) south of the falls.

But generally from September through December when water levels are lower, daring individuals can jump in to be carried away within inches of the chasm without continuing over the edge and falling into the gorge.

A natural but slippery rock wall just below the water’s surface at the very edge of the falls forms a barrier that stops them from crashing over despite the current, with thrill-seekers exhilarated from the dangers nearby as the swimmers get within inches of their deaths.

Devil’s Pool is definitely one of the most surreal locations on Earth.

Forming the largest single sheet of falling water in the world, the Victoria Falls — originally called Mosi-oa-Tunya, or Smoke That Thunders by locals — are situated on the Zambezi River, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe in southern Africa, accessed via Livingstone Island.

The falls are by some measures, the largest waterfall in the world, as well as being among the most unusual in form, and having arguably the most diverse and easily seen wildlife of any major waterfall.

Up to 500 million liters (132,275 gallons) of water cascade per minute over the mile-wide (1.7 kilometer) falls, creating a spectacular explosion of rainbow colored spray that rises over 1,300 feet (400 meters) — and sometimes even twice as high — which can be seen as far as 30 miles (50 kilometers) away.

At full moon, a ‘moonbow’ can be seen in the spray instead of the usual daylight rainbow.

During the flood season from February to May, it’s impossible to see the foot of the falls and most of its face, and the walks along the cliff opposite it are in a constant shower and shrouded in mist. Close to the edge of the cliff, spray shoots upward like inverted rain, especially at Zambia’s Knife-Edge Bridge.

Victoria Falls — later named as such by Europeans — are one of Africa’s major tourist attractions, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where many of Africa’s animals and birds can be seen in the immediate vicinity.

Thousands of thrill-seekers descend on the falls annually, scuttling across rocks and wading through shallows across the precipice to reach the pool from the town of Victoria Falls in Nature’s most exhilarating theme park.

The unusual form of Victoria Falls virtually enables the entire width of the falls to be viewed face-on at the same level as the top, from as close as 200 feet (60 meters). Few other waterfalls allow such a close approach on foot.

The whole Zambezi River drops into a deep, narrow slot-like chasm, connected to a long series of gorges.

For a long distance leading to the falls, the Zambezi river flows over a level sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley bounded by low and distant sandstone hills. The river’s course is speckled with numerous tree covered islands, increasing in number as it approaches the falls.

The unusual form of Victoria Falls virtually enables the entire width of the falls to be viewed face-on at the same level as the top, from as close as 200 feet (60 meters). Few other waterfalls allow such a close approach on foot.

The whole Zambezi River drops into a deep, narrow slot-like chasm, connected to a long series of gorges.

For a long distance leading to the falls, the Zambezi river flows over a level sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley bounded by low and distant sandstone hills. The river’s course is speckled with numerous tree covered islands, increasing in number as it approaches the falls.

No mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys are present which might be expected to create a waterfall — only a flat plateau extending hundreds of miles in all directions.

The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a chasm 200 to 400 feet (60 to120 meters) wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau.

The depth of the chasm — called the First Gorge — varies from 262 feet (80 meters) on the western end to 360 feet (108 meters) in the center. The only outlet to the First Gorge is a 360 foot (110 meter) wide gap about two-thirds of the way across the width of the falls from the western end, through which the entire river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges.

Two islands on the crest of the falls — Boaruka Island (or Cataract Island) near the western bank, and Livingstone Island near the middle — are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams.

The main streams are named Leaping Water — called Devil’s Cataract by some — Main Falls, Rainbow Falls (the highest) and the Eastern Cataract.

The gorge below the Songwe called the Batoka Gorge — also used as an umbrella name for all the gorges — is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) long. The straight line distance to its end is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the falls and takes the river through the basalt plateau to the valley in which Lake Kariba now lies.

For more than 100,000 years, the falls have been receding upstream through the Batoka Gorges, eroding the sandstone-filled cracks to form the gorges. The river has fallen in different eras into different chasms which now form a series of sharply zig-zagging gorges downstream from the falls.

Zambia and Zimbabwe each share the falls, and both have national parks to protect them and towns serving as tourism centers — Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and Livingstone in Zambia, and Victoria Falls National Park and the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

In 2006, hotel occupancy on the Zimbabwean side was about 30%, while the Zambian side was at near-capacity, with rates reaching $630 US per night. The rapid development has prompted the United Nations to consider revoking the fall’s status as a World Heritage Site. Problems of waste disposal and a lack of effective management of the falls’ environment are also a concern.

Grueling Guinea Pig Games of the 2009 Olympics

2009-01-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Guinea Pig Games (GPG) Olympics have started with an amazing opening as rascally rodents display their dedication to their chosen sports. In the struggle for survival, only the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals with their stamina, prowess, and incredible feats to win gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Their docile nature, responsiveness to handling and feeding, and the relative ease of caring for them, continue to make the guinea pig a popular pet, which furry fellas world-wide fear may be the very thing that bridges them from being taken seriously in their own class of world Olympics.

But recent events in the 2009 GPG Olympics have vindicated guineas throughout the planet from these stereotypes.
Rowing rodents Ricky and Rafael clawed their way to victory in the battle of the boats for the GPG Olympic rowing event for gold. Much to the GPG official’s amazement, the pair decided only moments before the race to switch boats like a golfer decides to change clubs.

“It’s like when you try on running shoes in the store. You try a pair of Nikes and a pair of Reeboks and one just feels better.” said Rafael.

It may very well have been the deciding factor than won them their prized medal.

Wil Liam Tell displayed his expert marksmanship with the crossbow as he took aim at his target. Tell had been promised the gold if he shot the apple nose-on, which he performed effortlessly, splitting the fruit with a single bolt from his crossbow without mishap.
It was a slam dunk when these water rats displayed no fear in the challenge to get their fur wet. Nosing ahead, Papael Phelps performed great feats in the pool, claiming 6 gold medals and 2 bronze to match the record aggregate for a single GPG Olympics, a feat which could net him $1 million from a swimwear company.

Papael says he trains for 8 hours a day in his private pool at home. The rest of his day consists mainly of feeding on fresh grass hay, apples, cabbage, carrots, celery, and spinach along with complex dietary supplements to maintain his health fitness and garner energy.
Called the Night Rider, or better known as Sir Jules (R), the British cyclist has enjoyed more success on 2 wheels than any other cycling rodent in history, with a feat of 3 gold medals under his belt at the 2005 GPG, receiving royal recognition by the Queen.

Stunned spectators watched the race in shock as the Olympic cycling champion barely won the event by a whisker in the semi-finals. Rumors have since circulated that he was distracted by the news that guineas would no longer compete with humans in the Tour de Rats in France this upcoming summer.

In a giant leap for rodentkind in the men’s pole vaulting event, Igor Bubka of the so-called “6 meters club,” broke the outdoor men’s world-record 24 times culminating in his current world record of 20.5 feet (6.25 meters).

Igor says he had a lot of practice since childhood in his homeland where poles were used as a practical means of passing over natural obstacles in marshy places in the provinces of Friesland in The Netherlands, along the North Sea.

Artificial draining of these marshes created a network of open drains or canals intersecting each other. In order to cross these without getting wet, while avoiding tedious roundabout journeys over bridges, a stack of jumping poles was kept at every home and used for vaulting over the canals.

Setting a new gold standard for his kind, Chubby Cheeks received a taste of Bad Ronnie’s badminton supremacy, losing to the austere athlete’s expert skill in the finals of the men’s GPG Olympic badminton tournament.

But the game was not without controversy of its own, when Squeakers Solomon’s coach was caught betting on his match. The gambling stint caused an outrage amongst the GPG officials and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who called for tough love, resulting in Squeakers to be banned from the Olympics and stripped of his silver medal.

Peter Pestbrook’s (L) mother bribed him with $5 to take fencing. His talent and drive gained him a place on the 1976 Olympic Team. For more than 20 years the fluffy rodent has dominated saber fencing in the U.S. and 6 Olympics, winning the national title 13 times.

The semifinal had to be stopped for about 10 minutes after Peter lost his cork and slashed the hand of his opponent, Bitey Betus, with the score even at 42 to 42.

Pestbrook is expected to take gold for the Fencing Men’s Individual Foil, but it could be a close shave against his worldly contender.

Since 1988, table tennis has been an Olympic sport. The Chinese ping-pong team has won all medals in World Table Tennis Championships and Olympic Games 4 times, which has placed more pressure on the team.

Their head coach has maintained low goals for 2009, stating that the current team has to face greater difficulties than the last Chinese ping-pong team for game, pet, and match, but says they still have the strength to win gold medals in the 4 events.

With the amazing prowess that would make his ancestors Heracles and Zeus proud, Hairycles defeated his fellow guinea pigs in the 100-meter running race in a record 10.73 seconds, and not only took the gold, but was also crowned with a wreath of wild olive branches.

Pumping fur iron in the heavyweight true Olympic GPG weightlifting championship is Louie Long who lifted more than 5 times his weight of 13.2 pounds (6 kilos) for the title, followed by his compatriot Stinger Skittles for silver at 12.5 pounds (5.7 kilos). The bronze medal was taken by Tim Tun Tae at 12.2 pounds (5.5 kilos).

Mad Hummad Hali, widely known for his fighting style, which he describes as “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He’s the only guinea pig to have won the linear heavyweight championship 3 times, and the contender for this year’s gold. Hali was also the winner of the Olympic Light-heavyweight gold medal in 2005.

The heavyweight furball has made a name for himself for great hand-speed, with swift feet and taunting tactics. While Hali has been renowned for his fast, sharp out-fighting style, he also has a great chin, and has displayed great courage and an ability to take a punch throughout his career.

Splitting hairs, Lolo Lones, a beautiful world champion hurdler (L) is vying for the gold against champion hurdler Dana Dawlinson (R) who won the 400-meter hurdles world championships in 2001 and 2005 and is Australia’s best chance of a track gold.

Rani Ralkia, the reigning Olympic champion in the 400-meter hurdles, told reporters she was “shocked” to learn she had tested positive for the banned substance methyltrienolone and would be unable to defend her gold medal. A total of 15 furry pigs from Guinea including Ralkia have tested positive for methyltrienolone.

Thirty-Three Tricky Tongue Twisters (For Hours Of Fun)

2009-01-16T12:24:00.000-08:00

Who doesn’t love tongue twisters? A tongue twister is a phrase designed to be difficult to articulate properly. In other words, it twists your tongue. Tongue twisters are great fun, nonetheless, and a perfect way to kill time.
By the way, many tongue twisters also make use of alliteration, to get the desired effect.

So, here’s a list of thirty-three tricky tongue twisters to have some fun with. Enjoy tongue twisting!
1. A quick witted cricket critic.
2. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
3. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
4. Roberta ran rings around the Roman ruins.
5. I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish.
6. Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.
7. Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.
8. Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.
9. Betty bought butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought better butter to make the bitter butter better.
10. Six savory sausages sizzling
11. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
12. The boot black bought the black boot back.
13. Which witch wished which wicked wish?
14. Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.
15. Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.
16. Gertie’s great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie’s grammar.
17. The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.
18. Did Dick Pickens prick his pinkie pickling cheap cling peaches in an inch of Pinch or framing his famed French finch photos?
19. How many cookies could a good cook cook if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies. [P.S: this one's really twisted!]
20. Three short sword sheaths.
21. Six slimy snails sailed silently.
22. Seven slick slimey snakes slowly sliding southward.
23. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch.
24. Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.
25. Don’t pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps.
26. Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.
27. Who washed Washington’s white woollen underwear when Washington’s washer woman went west?
28. Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks.
29. The big black bug bit a big black bear
30. The soldiers shouldered shooters on their shoulders.
31. Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves.
32. Little Mike left his bike like Tike at Spike’s.
33. How many sheets could a sheet slitter slit if a sheet slitter could slit sheets?

Pictured: The anatomically correct model of the human brain Art made of wool

2009-01-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

As complicated to create as the brain is intricate, a psychiatrist has knitted herself an exact replica of the human body's most complex organ.

Taking Karen Norberg almost a year to knit, the 1.5 scale brain is colour-coded to represent the different elements and areas that make up the human mind.

Knitted using 100 percent cotton yarn, the woolen brain is nine inches at its longest excluding the spinal cord that exudes from its base.

Ms Norberg says: 'The traditional fibre arts - including knitting and crochet - are a very flexible medium for making complex forms,'

'The process of construction was also much more similar to the actual growth of a real brain than it would have been if I'd been using a material such as clay or metal.

'You can see very naturally how the 'rippling' effect of the cerebral cortex emerges from properties that probably have to do with nerve cell growth.
'In the case of knitting, the effect is created by 'increasing' the number of stitches in each row.'

A passionate knitter in her spare time, Ms Norberg, from Boston, was inspired to attempt the challenge of knitting a human organ.

She said: 'I was ready to start a new project, and was looking for something related to the human body, that would also have an element of humour,'

'In this case, for me, there are two humorous aspects: one is simply to undertake such a ridiculously complex, time consuming project for no practical reason; the second is the idea of making a somewhat mysterious and difficult object - a brain - out of a 'cuddly', cheerfully coloured, familiar material like cotton yarn.'

Knitting each of the brains' different cores separately and then joining them together through a stitch, Karen spent over one year on and off creating her brain art in her down time.

'I begin by constructing separate elements that make sense as related structural forms - the brainstem, the cerebellum, the deep structures involved in memory and emotion (like the amygdala and hippocampus), and then the cortex,' says Dr Norberg.

'Then I assembled the parts together. The spinal cord consists of straight strands of string extending backwards from the base of what's called the brainstem.'
Karen's brain art caused such a stir amongst her colleagues that the Boston Museum of Science now has a permanent exhibit for it.

'The brain is the seat of the mind; but it is a biological, evolved structure - we're extremely good at doing things that our computers (so far) find difficult, and we're bad at doing things computers can do well,' says Karen.

Lost for ways to fill her spare time, Karen is now exploring ways of furthering her incredible brain art.

'I'm thinking of posters or t-shirts, but I am not so sure whether people will want to walk around with a knitted brain on the front of their clothes,' says Karen.

Intricate and painstaking, Karen's brain art is definitely the smart way to use a ball of wool.

Unhealthy Models

2009-01-13T05:15:00.000-08:00

Worlds Most Amazing & Incredible Skateboarding Dogs

2009-01-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

You know that skateboarding has come full circle when it goes to the dogs — literally. From bulldogs to Yorkies and everything in-between, hard-core skateboarders have been teaching their beloved companions the moves, and among the cream of the crop and becoming an internet sensation is Tillman, the English bulldog.

The tan and white pooch can ride on 3 legs and kick with the other before jumping on, steer left and right around corners, and even tackle ramps, weaving in and out of amazed bystanders at breakneck speeds.

And when he comes a cropper he coolly flips the board over, tucks it under a paw and lifts it up with his teeth before putting it back on the ground.

The 3-year-old dog has become a worldwide star after his owner Ron Davis posted a video of Tillman skateboarding on the internet, which has been viewed by more than 4,000,000 people.

“He absolutely loves it and just whizzes around.” said Ron.

The zany bulldog has become a star and featured on TV shows, commercials, and sports events since his first video of his antics was released on the web.

Tillman started skating when he was only 6 weeks old. Ron said he discovered the incredible talent when he stood him on a skateboard while he was merely a tiny puppy.

“To begin with he was too little to push it along himself so he used to just stand on it and wobble.”

“I tried teaching him how to push off with his paw and he soon got the hang of it and took to it like a duck to water.”

“As he has grown and got stronger he has picked up speed and he can now go faster than I can run.” said the construction manager from California.

“He doesn’t just stumble along; he can properly skate down roads at speeds of more than 10 mph (16km/h).”

Tillman has become so popular that he has to skate in secret locations to avoid the massive crowds he draws wherever he goes.

“In all other aspects Tillman is a normal dog.” Ron says.

“Some dogs have a passion for chasing balls but Tillman’s is skateboarding — he lives for it really.”

Natures Spectacular Geometry of Snowflakes Frost and Ice

2009-01-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

While widely believed that no 2 snowflakes are alike, a researcher caused a frosty flurry when she made the first discovery of a matching set of snow crystals over 2 decades ago. Here we will take a look at the wintery wonderland of Mother Nature all her splendor and glory as she reveals her spectacular artwork with incredible geometry of ephemeral snowflakes, frost and ice.

Snow flakes by Wilson Bentley : “Studies among the Snow Crystals, The Snowflake Man”
from Annual Summary of the “Monthly Weather Review” for 1902. Bentley was a bachelor
farmer whose hobby was photographing snow flakes.

Although it’s extremely unlikely for any 2 macroscopic objects in the universe to bear an identical molecular structure, there are nonetheless no known scientific laws that prevent it. The theory was put under the microscope when Nancy C. Knight, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, reported that she discovered matching snow crystals in 1988. The crystals were however not exactly snow flakes in the usual sense, but hollow hexagonal prisms.

But how are snowflakes actually created? The process begins in a saturated cloud with subfreezing temperatures. Snow crystals grow as water vapor is deposited on microscopic particles, and the snow flakes form when the crystals collide and stick together. Crystals can be shaped like stars, columns, needles, plates or lumps.

The exact details of the sticking mechanism remains controversial — possibilities include mechanical interlocking, sintering, electrostatic attraction as well as the existence of a ’sticky’ liquid-like layer on the crystal surface.

The shape of the snowflake is determined largely by the temperature and humidity at which it forms. Rarely, triangular snowflakes can form in 3-fold symmetry at a temperature of around 28 °F (−2 °C). The most common snow particles are visibly irregular, although near-perfect snowflakes may be more common in pictures because they’re more visually appealing.

Planar crystals — thin and flat — grow in the air between freezing temperature of 32 °F (0 °C) and 27 °F (−3 °C). Between 27 °F (−3 °C) and 18 °F (−8 °C), the crystals will form needles or hollow columns or prisms — long thin pencil-like shapes. From 18 °F (−8 °C) to −8 °F (−22 °C), the habit goes back to plate-like, often with branched or fern-like features.

The maximum difference in vapor pressure between liquid and ice is at about 5 °F (−15 °C) where crystals grow most rapidly at the expense of the liquid droplets. At temperatures below −8 °F (−22 °C), the crystal habit again becomes column-like, although many more complex habits also form such as side-planes, bullet-rosettes and planar types depending on the conditions and ice nuclei.

Most samples of snow crystals are observed by researchers at moderate magnifications of 30X to 500X, often using a low temperature scanning electron microscope (LT-SEM).

Snow samples are very fragile and exposure to the light necessary to photograph them using light microscopes can change structures and even melt them. Using LT-SEM, samples are frozen to temperatures below −170 °C where they can be placed in a vacuum and observed for many hours with no structural changes.

Ghost of a melting snowflake. Photo Audreyjm529

The 4 classes of snowflakes include:

• Columns — a class of snow flakes shaped like a 6-sided column.

• Dendrites — the classic snow flake shape that has 6 points, making it somewhat star shaped. A crystal dendrite is a crystal that develops with a typical multi-branching tree-like form. Dendritic crystal growth is very common and illustrated by snowflake formation and frost patterns on a window. Dendritic crystallization forms a natural fractal pattern.

• Needles — a class of snow flakes that are acicular in shape — their length is much longer than their diameter, like a needle.

• Rimed snow — snowflakes that are partially or completely coated in tiny frozen water droplets called rime. Rime forms on a snow flake when it passes through a super-cooled cloud.

Watermelon snow is a reddish-pink colored snow that smells like watermelons, and is caused by a red-colored green algae called Chlamydomonas nivalis.
Magnification of a snow crystal using a low temperature scanning electron microscope.
Photo Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Nature’s Fantastic Frost
When Jack Frost celebrates winter leaving his dazzling crystal patterns on windows on cold winter mornings, it’s a magnificently fleeting sight to behold, captured here for eternity in photographs.
If a solid surface is chilled below the dew point of the surrounding air and the surface itself is colder than freezing, frost will form on the surface. Frost consists of spicules of ice which grow out from the solid surface. The size of the crystals depends on time, temperature, and the amount of water vapor available, and is usually translucent in appearance.

Because cold air is denser than warm air, in calm weather cold air pools at ground level. This is known as surface temperature inversion, and explains why frost is more common and extensive in low-lying areas. Areas where frost forms due to cold air trapped against the ground or against a solid barrier such as a wall are known as “frost pockets.”
Photo Clearly Ambiguous

There are many types of frost, such as radiation — also called hoar frost or hoarfrost — and window frost.

Hoar frost refers to the white ice crystals loosely deposited on the ground or exposed objects that form on cold clear nights when radiation losses into the open skies cause objects to become colder than the surrounding air. A related effect is flood frost which occurs when air cooled by ground-level radiation losses travels downhill to form pockets of very cold air in depressions, valleys, and hollows. Hoar frost can form in these areas even when the air temperature a few feet above ground is well above freezing.
Hoar frost on a birch tree by a river. Photo Ptrktn
Located between Calcutt and Stockton, Warwickshire. Photo Dave Hamster
Hoar frost may have different names depending on where it forms:

• Air hoar is a deposit of hoar frost on objects above the surface, such as tree branches, plant stems, and wires.

• Surface hoar is formed by fernlike ice crystals directly deposited on snow, ice, or already frozen surfaces.

• Crevasse hoar consists in crystals that form in glacial crevasses where water vapor can accumulate under calm weather conditions.

• Depth hoar refers to cup shaped, faceted crystals formed within dry snow beneath the surface.

Depth hoar is a common cause of avalanches when it forms in air spaces within snow, especially below a snow crust, and subsequent layers of snow fall on top of it. The layer of depth hoar consists of angular crystals that do not bond well to each other or other layers of snow, causing upper layers to slide off under the right conditions, especially when upper layers are well bonded within themselves.
Hoar frost that grows on the snow surface due to water vapor moving up through
the snow on cold, clear nights. Photo JossDude

Window frost — also called fern frost — forms when a glass pane is exposed to very cold air on the outside and moderately moist air on the inside. If the pane is not a good insulator, such as a single pane window, water vapor condenses on the glass forming magnificent patterns. The glass surface influences the shape of crystals, so imperfections, scratches or dust can modify the way ice nucleates.

Advection frost — also called wind frost — refers to tiny ice spikes forming when a very cold wind blows over branches of trees, poles, and other surfaces, and can rim the edge of flowers and leaves. It usually forms against the direction of the wind, and can occur at any hour of day and night.

Nature’s Beauty in Ice
Nature paints her land with ice appearing in forms as varied as snowflakes and hail, icicles, glaciers, pack ice, and entire polar ice caps.
Icicles form similar to stalactites in appearance, as water drips and re-freezes. Over time continued water runoff will cause the icicle to grow. If an icicle grows long enough to touch the ground — or its corresponding ice spike growing up from the ground — it’s called an ice column.
Feather ice on a plateau near Alta, Norway. The crystals form at temperatures
below −22 °F (−30 °C). Photo Craig Thom

The subsequent photos are the effects of a storm followed by sub zero temperatures in Versoix, a town near Geneva City, Switzerland, on the Leman Lake.

Amazing Tablet Buddha Art

2009-01-06T02:22:00.000-08:00