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30 September, 2006

Girl swallows 20 cobblestones !

Cobberstone in stomacheA girl from Foshan, China, swallowed down more than 20 cobblestones in a moment of anger after a big quarrel with her boyfriend. Initially, she thought the stones would be flushed out after clearing her bowels, but unfortunately they remained intact within her body for the next few days.

To make matters worse, she constantly felt that the stones were knocking against each other within her stomach which caused some pain and discomfort. After visiting the hospital and taking an X-ray, she was advised to undergo surgery to remove the stones. Shocked and not knowing what to do, she tried seeking for help at a local hospital’s online forum.

As further complications may occur if she delays her medical treatment, doctors have advised her to undergo treatment as soon as possible, with the first attempts through the non-painful gastroscope for extracting stones.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Link & Image: tom.com
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Naked car!

Car with a wire-pattern frame.Wow! This wiry little Volkswagen looks quite "naked". It appears that someone has replaced the car body with a wire-pattern frame. I wonder if it is functional though. If it does, it would be interesting to see what happens to the driver when it rains. Two more photos of the car are available on the following link.

Link & Image: Hemmings Auto Blog via Autoblog
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3.7 million dollars Rolls-Royce to make its first public appearance in China

3.8 million Rolls-RoyceThe world’s newest Rolls-Royce will be making its first appearance at Guangzhou’s first luxury goods exhibition in December 2006. Costing approximately 3.8 million dollars USD, this one and only Rolls-Royce is a lengthen version of the Phantom. Designed to be bulletproof and with a lengthened backseat space for rear passengers, it maintains Rolls-Royce’s first-class comfort and driving experience. Other well-know luxury cars like Porsche, Ferrari will also be showcasing their newest automobiles in the coming exhibition.

Please click on the image for a larger view.

Link & Image: Luxury
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29 September, 2006

Creating art with imagination

Clouds.Clouds are cute, fluffy and ever-changing. Are you good at inventing imaginary things or artistic forms when looking at it? This artist creates pretty interesting art from clouds.

A larger view is available by clicking on the above picture. See more imaginative clouds from the following links. Be amazed!

More Images: Cloud1, Cloud2, Cloud3
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Zingfu - Photo fun

Zingfu.Have you ever wanted to see yourself on the cover of Rolling Stone? How about appearing on a giant screen in Times Square? Zingfu has close to 100 different templates ranging from celebrities magazines to embarrassing situations of all kinds that allows you to do just that. Just select the desired template, upload your own photo followed by some minor adjustments and you are done. The results are amazing. Proceed to the following link to have some fun.

Link & Image: Zingfu via Photojojo
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Most advanced thermonuclear fusion reactor

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST).Chinese scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the research of thermonuclear fusion. They have successfully conducted their first test of an experimental thermonuclear reactor, which replicates the energy generating process of the sun.

The first test lasted nearly 3 seconds, and generated an electrical current of 200 kilo amperes. The device is planned to eventually create a plasma lasting 1,000 consecutive seconds, the longest a fusion reactor has ever run. Wan Yuanxi, general manager of Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) said that the deuterium extracted from one liter of seawater could produce energy equivalent to that generated by burning 300 liters of gasoline.

The EAST is an upgrade of China's first-generation Tokamak device and the first of its kind in operation in the world, said Chinese scientists. The Institute of Plasma Physics spent eight years and 25 million USD on building the experimental reactor. The columniform device, made with special stainless steel, is about 5 meters in diameter, 12 meters high and weighs 400 tons. Compared with similar devices in other countries, EAST cost the least money and time to be built and is the first in operation, said Li Jiangang, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics.

The EAST would be the most advanced thermonuclear fusion reactor in the world for the next ten years, said Dr. Gary Jackson from General Atomics of the United States, who participated in the research.

Link & Image: Lian He Zao Bao
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Home makes unusual journey across harbor

1910 Queen Anne-style home.This old house took an unusual journey across a large natural harbor (Florida’s Tampa Bay) to its new home.

Perched on a barge, the 1910 Queen Anne-style home was moved across the bay while the curious gathered on the nearby Skyway bridge to watch the house pass underneath.

On Monday, movers lifted the 220-ton house from the lot where it was built and onto the barge. They had to wait for proper tides before crossing the bay.

George Corbett and his wife purchased the home because Palmetto City officials said the house had to go to make room for a waterfront revitalization plan.

Corbett spent nearly a year working out the details on how to move the house 25 miles to the north to a spot in Ruskin, Fla.

A video which shows the barge carrying the home across Tampa Bay is available on the following link.

Link & Image: Turnto10 via Arbroath
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28 September, 2006

Electronic Road Pricing using GPS system

Electronic Road Pricing gantry.Land Transport Authority(LTA) of Singapore is testing a new global positioning system(GPS) which may well replace the existing Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system. This change removes the need for ERP gantries; each new gantry costs approximately 1 million SGD and although they can be removed and relocated to a new site for deployment in order to save costs, it is often inconvenient and expensive to do so. With GPS however, new ERP areas can be setup with more ease plus it's less time consuming. The new system will also require all vehicles to have their current In-vehicle Units (IUs) changed and operates as follows:

  • Prior to entering the ERP zone, there will be a board sign indication that there is ERP in operation further ahead.
  • If ERP is within 100m ahead, the new unit will sound and beep to inform the driver.
  • The GPS system will track if the vehicle has entered the ERP zone.

Singapore is the first country to setup a large scale ERP system with the aim of reducing traffic levels on congested roads during peak hours.

Link: Lian He Zao Bao
Image: Wikipedia
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Empires that control the Middle East

Middle East history.The following site has a cool animation which shows the various empires that control the Middle East from 3000 B.C. to 2006 A.D. along with their zones of influence. See 5000 years of history in 90 seconds from the following link.

Link & Image: Maps of War
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Colourful Coffins

CoffinI never knew such colourful coffins existed. That is until I came across the following site. Check out the other designs.


Link & Image: Colourful Coffins via Botinok
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Moscow City scale model

Moscow City scale model.This very cool scale model of Moscow City is now on sale for USD 3 million.

It is back from USSR times, when Soviet leaders had a little craze on making such epic compositions. It was ordered from an artist Efim Deshalyt in 1976. The size of the model exceeds 400 square feet.

The model really takes a lot of electricity - it turns on and off outdoor and indoor lighting according to the time of the day. Thousands of little lamps are used in every window of each house, even the boats on Moscow rivers have lights on board.

More photographs of this fascinating model can be found on the following link.

Link & Image: English Russia
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Researching on Mona Lisa using modern 3D technology

Mona LisaMona Lisa had just given birth to her second son when she sat for the painting, based on the discovery made by a team of Canadian scientists who used special infrared and three-dimensional technology to peer through hitherto impenetrable paint layers on the work. Bruno Mottin of the French Museums' Center for Research and Restoration said that on very close examination of the painting it became clear that the Mona Lisa's dress was covered in a thin transparent gauze veil.

Link: CNN
Image:Clopin
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302 carats Greenland Ruby

Greenland rubyThis Greenland gemstone was carved from a 440 carat uncut ruby discovered in 2005 in the Fiskenaesset district of Greenland and has an estimated value of $500,000 Canadian. Frankly speaking, I still prefer diamonds as they emit some form of mesmerising shine.





Link & Image: Luxist
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27 September, 2006

Gopher Broke

Gopher Broke.This short animation called Gopher Broke by Blur Studio is awesome!

In this Academy Award Nominated short animation, a hungry gopher hatches a clever plan to get a quick snack but discovers that even the best laid plans can go utterly awry. He quickly learns that no matter how hungry he may be, there is no free lunch.

Watch it from the following link. Have fun!

Link: YouTube
Image: Blur Studio
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Most expensive private island in the world

Hat Island.Vatu Vara, located in Fiji, is the most beautiful and expensive private island in the world. This magnificent island is on sale for 75 million dollars. Due to the summit's shape, it is also referred to as ‘Hat Island’. Its jungle-clad peak stands at 314 meters (1,030 feet) tall while its aquamarine lagoon contains a myriad of queer and familiar fish.

This is an extinct volcano that has become overgrown by coral reefs to form an atoll. The flat top was once at sea level, which is why the summit is flat. The topography of the island is more reminiscent of Krabi in Thailand, Langkawi in Malaysia or the Aru Islands in Irian Jaya.

Mel Gibson owns Mago Island just 30 kilometres to the east.

More photographs and information on the island can be found from the following link.

Link & Image: Dutton Direct via Arbroath
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Ugliest Vegetable

Winner of the Ugly Vegetable competition.
This parsnip with an uncanny similarity to a creature from the depths of the ocean is the winner of the ugliest vegetable competition in England. It was grown by Mrs Hilary in Bedford and stood out from the rest of the entries ranging from multi-layered tomatoes to twisted carrots.

Link & Image: The National Trust via Eglobe1
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Microscopic Art

Snow White and the 7 dwarfs in the eye of a needle.Willard Wigan, a resident of Birmingham UK, is the creator of the smallest works of art on Earth. He has a learning disability (Dyslexia) but is now emerging as one of the greatest micro-miniaturist of all time.

His sculptures are created within the eye of a tiny sewing needle, on the head of a pin, the tip of an eyelash or a grain of sand. Some of his creations are a couple of times smaller than the full stop at the end of this sentence. In order to meet the immeasurable precision and tolerances required to create the pieces, he works only around midnight. Some of his work can only be done between heartbeats.

You can find more of his amazing artworks from the following link.

Link & Image: Willard Wigan via Something Beautifull
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World's Biggest Burger

The world's largest burger.At a whopping 35 kg and measuring 60 cm in diameter and 35 cm in height, this burger is the largest burger on planet Earth. It is named Big Bob’s Texas Belt Buster and is available on the regular menu of Bob Schindler’s restaurant Bob’s BBQ & Grill in Thailand. Can’t help but wonder how many person it takes to finish such a gigantic burger? But it surely won’t be a problem for the dinosaurs.

“You can order it in the morning and it will be ready to eat in the evening“ says Bob Schindler… He was aiming to build a burger that hit the 60 pound mark but a few miscalculations resulted in the burger going well over the target weight.

The birth of the burger started off with a custom made bun made in Bob's in house bakery, and then 25 kg of Bob's top quality beef was cooked 6 ½ hours down to 20.4 kg. No burger is complete with toppings and this burger was topped off with 2 large heads of lettuce, 15 tomato's, 4 large onions, 35 slices of cheese, 1½ cups of mustard, 1 cup of ketchup, 4 whole pickles, 4 whole Jalapeños. Once the official certification is received, it will be added to the Guinness World records database under The World's Largest Commercially Available Hamburger.

Link & Image: Cheeseburger via Steveisbored
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26 September, 2006

Bulletproof Vest which repels armour piercing rounds

Bulletproof vest.These bulletproof vests are much lighter than traditional ones, stop armour piercing rounds and are even certified for dives, plus they do look better than traditional ones. What more can one ask for!







Link: DefenseTech via Gizmodo
Image: Gizmodo

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Tasty paper

Edible paperImage yourself having the stuff every day? How about eating some paper for a change? No kidding! At Moto restaurant in Chicago is offering food that will change the way that people perceive and eat food. All this is made possible by using a modified Canon i560 inkjet printer that prints flavoured images onto edible paper. The print cartridges are filled with food-based "inks", including juiced carrots, tomatoes and purple potatoes, and the paper tray contains sheets of soybean and potato starch. The printouts are flavoured by dipping them in a powder of dehydrated soy sauce, squash, sugar, vegetables or sour cream, and then they are frozen, baked or fried. Now, that's high-tech food for a change!

Link & Image: First Science
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Lap Mug

Lap Mug.The Lap Mug is designed for indulging on the sofa. Its uniquely shaped base allows you to nest it easily and securely in your lap. The only drawback to this mug is that it must be almost entirely empty before it can be set on the table or floor.


Link & Image: TheLermontHupton via Slashfood
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World's smallest cell phone

Xun Chi 138.Xun Chi 138 is the world’s smallest cell phone. It is just 6.7 cm long and weighs only 55 grams. Due to its relatively small size, it is not possible to include a keyboard. As a workaround, it features a touchscreen (260k colours) with handwriting recognition. In addition, the phone also features a 1.3 Megapixel camera, USB port, WAP, GPRS, MP3 player and 138 MB of onboard memory.

Link & Image: Gizmodo
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Toast Art

Toast art.Lennie Payne, an acclaimed "Toast Artist", creates works of art with slices of bread. The explaination of the whole process by Lennie is as follows:

"When bread is dry, it won't degrade or go moldy, so by flattening the bread, and then lacquering it, to keep the moisture out, the bread stays dry and won’t rot. This is done after the bread has been toasted. You use a gas blowtorch to scorch the bread and turn it black, and then scrap away the burnt bread to create different tonal values. Once the bread is lacquered on all sides, which helps to vitrify the bread, it is stuck onto a base with some silicone adhesive."

You can find more of Lennie's artwork on the following link.

Link & Image: Toast2Art via Make
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World's greatest competitive eater sets a new record

Takeru Kobayashi.The world’s greatest competitive eater, Takeru Kobayashi had set a new world record by eating 41 lobster rolls within ten minutes. At the World Lobster Eating Challenge, Kobayashi defeated a team of 4 eaters which managed just 25 rolls collectively. Wow. He managed to defeat the team by such a wide margin. That is an incredible feat indeed.

The Japanese star who was never defeated since turning professional in 1998 takes home a winning prize of $10,000 USD.

Link & Image: Market Wire
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Fruit & Wine Art

Fruit art 1.
Fruit art 2. Fruit art 3.
Fruit art 4. Fruit art 5.

The above are some creative ways of turning the fruits on your kitchen table into something decorative. They will surely brighten up anyone's days. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Wine caddies.These wine caddies made from steel and copper are so cute. Who says empty wine bottles are useless?

Link & Image: Sina
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Interesting designs

structure made of cards.
Gigantic watermelon house.Even the simplest designs can make a great impact. The gigantic watermelon sure makes me drool, whereas the structure made of cards sure looks beautiful yet complex!

Link & Image: Sina
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Poor kid with elephant skin

Kid with elephant skin.A 9 year old kid in Wuhan, China has contracted a rare skin disease since birth which causes the skin around his upper body, arms, neck and some small parts of his face to look like those of an elephant, with large amount of hair growing on the affected areas. As a result, other kids avoid playing with him and hence he tends to be very quiet and reserved. Unfortunately, doctors have yet to find a cure and they can only suggest that he can undergo a skin graft surgery for his face.


Link & Image: Chu Tian Du Shi Bao
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World class airport with no air-conditioning?

External view of Suvarnabhumi airport.
After a long construction period of 44 years, the Suvarnabhumi airport will start operating on 28th September 2006, replacing the 60 year old Don Muang airport. Some interesting facts of this fascinating airport are as follows:

Design architecture:

This airport costs 3.7 billion USD to construct, with a unique “camping tent” design. The 7-storey building has only one passenger hall and the first 2 levels are both underground. The airport has 2 parallel runways (60 m. wide, 4,000 m. and 3700 m. long) and 2 parallel taxiways to accommodate simultaneous departures and arrivals. It has a total of 120 parking bays (51 with contact gates and 69 remote gates) and 5 of these are capable of accommodating the Airbus A380 aircraft.

Internal view of Suvarnabhumi airport.
Airport with no air-conditioning:

Surprisingly, the Suvarnabhumi airport has no air-conditioning! However, it does use a green and environment friendly “co-generation plant” system – using cold water to flow through the ground for each and every floor and then directing the resulting cold air to above 2.5 metre above the ground, hence keeping the air temperature 21-24◦C. How innovative! But it may be difficult to maintain this temperature when a large number of passengers arrive at the airport in the near future.

Transportation System:

Suvarnabhumi airport is 25 km away from Bangkok city. In order to provide passengers with a faster router to the city, the Thailand government has plans to complete the construction of an underground a sky train system that links to the city area within one and a half year period. By then, it will only take 15 minutes to travel from the airport to Bangkok’s city area.

For more information or a video of the new airport, please click on the New Bangkok Airport Guide link.

Link: New Bangkok Airport Guide & Lian He Zao Bao
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25 September, 2006

Nosing around

A Proboscis monkey.The Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is a reddish-brown animal which spends most of its time in trees or bushes and feeds on leafs. It can only be found in the costal areas of East-Borneo and the Mentawai Islands west of Sumatra. The most distinctive trait of this monkey is of course its large protruding nose.

The reason behind having a large nose is still unclear and it has been suggested that it is simply a result of sexual selection: female Proboscis monkeys prefer big-nosed mates, thus propagating the trait.

This is a highly endangered species, and only 1,000 are known to still exist in the wild.

In this photograph,
Victo, a male Proboscis monkey, pauses during an afternoon feeding session at Singapore Zoo.

Link & Image: Stuff
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First drum under heaven

First Drum under Heaven.Wow. Look at the size of that drum. Liu Zhibin and his wife sit atop the “First Drum under Heaven” in Shangchuankou Village in Yangling, northwest China’s Shannxi Province. It took the couple along with 12 other drum makers 108 days to complete building it. With a diameter of 3.68 meters and a height of 1.98 meters, it might just enter the Guinness World Records.
Link & Image: China Daily
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Sound voting

Voting system.Gambia of Africa has a unique voting system for it’s presidential election as majority of it’s people has little or no education. Each of the 670,000 registered voters will cast his or her “sound vote” into one of the colored drums. When voting, each voter enters a small shed and throws the marble into the desired colored drums which represent the presidential candidates. As the marble rolls through a pipe and strikes the drum, a bell sound will be heard, and hence the official will know who the vote belongs to. If, however, the marble gets stuck along the pipe and no sound is heard, the vote will be treated as invalid. As this system is largely dependant on the bell sound, hence bicycles are forbidden to in areas nearby the polling booth in order to prevent the bicycle bell from disrupting the election process.

Link & Image: Sina
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24 September, 2006

Bird that can moonwalk

Bird's moonwalk.This Manakin bird moves in what look like Michael Jackson’s Moonwalk dance. These beautiful moves are made in order to seduce his female. Check it out.







Video & Image: YouTube
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Anti-terrorist Luggage Lock

TSA Lock.Although the plot to blow up UK flights to the US was disrupted two months ago, it has once again highlighted the importance of airport security and screening of checked-in luggage. As a result, for all flights between UK and US, each passenger luggage to be checked in are required to have TSA locks installed; otherwise that piece of luggage must not be locked during luggage check-in.

What makes the TSA lock so special? The TSA lock has a number lock (what's new!) plus a special key lock which only certain airport security staff are equipped with. Hence in the event whereby a piece of suspicious luggage is found and the owner isn't nearby, the security personnel will be able to inspect that luggage without having to purposely locate the passenger or cause other passengers to panic. Otherwise, the security personnel will have to no choice but to force open the luggage, damaging the luggage in the process.

Link & Image: Mirrcolock
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23 September, 2006

Pig Mattress

Pig MattressEmily, an 8 year old girl, is lying comfortably on a 5 month old Yorkshire pig for the last time, as it is to be auctioned at a market in Oxford, US. Perhaps the bed mattress makers can consider using pigs as their inspiration for their next generation mattresses?

Source: Lian He Zao Bao
Image: Bits & Pieces
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Unique Meal - Crocodile Meat

Croc meal.Frankly, I have tasted many delicacies, but I guess I can never bring myself to try out the "Crocodile head" delicacy that was prepared during a Zhejiang gourmet competition. Although it looks scary, the Chinese believe that crocodile meat can be used to cure minor ailments such as cough, asthma, rheumatism and diabetes! This also proves a saying that Chinese typically eat anything ranging from those that crawl on ground to those that fly in the air.

In many countries, the crocodile is an endangered species, hence please don't try to prepare this dish at home!

Link & Image: GMW
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22 September, 2006

Gold pony to fete royal birth

A gold pony."All that glitters is gold!" It seems the shine and glitter of gold never fail to attract our love and affection. We've seen the Golden Palace in Hong Kong, Gold Mooncake from China and now in Japan there is a Gold pony specially made to to commemorate the birth of Prince Hisahito. The pony, whose market price is worth $1.3 million USD, will be sold if there is an order after being displayed at the company's main store in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo, and outlets in Nagoya.

Link & Image: Kyodo
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World's smallest teddy bear

Tiny Ted.Tiny Ted.The world’s smallest teddy bear is only 5mm high. This teddy bear called Mini the Pooh is made by German sculptor Bettina Kaminski. It is so incredibly tiny that it is almost invisible to the naked eye. More photos of it can be found from the following link.


Link & Image: Ботинок

Update: There is an even smaller teddy at 4.5mm tall that holds the world record. It is hand sewn by Cheryl Moss. Some info about it:

From Mossie Bears:
He is fully jointed with hand sewn eyes, nose and mouth. He lives in the Cheju Island Teddy bear museum in Korea and is displayed under a magnifying glass, for all to see.

Thanks, Cheryl Moss !

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Flower that looks like a bird

A flower which look like birds.This vibrant flower when photographed from a certain angle looks very much like a bird. The results are quite cool. Check out the interesting photoset from the following link.







Link & Image: Photowebs
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Pole to Pole Manpowered 2007

Path taken from North Pole to South PoleJames Hooper and Rob Gauntlett, two 19 year old teenagers from UK are embarking on a remarkable journey that will take them from the North Pole to the South Pole using only human and natural power. They have already succeeded in setting foot on the summit of Mount Everest earlier this year on 17 May 2006. However, this is the first time such an expedition is attempted.

Their challenge called “180 Degrees – Pole to Pole Manpowered” will begin in March 2007. This groundbreaking adventure will be a combination of skiing, cycling and sailing. The whole journey will cover 17,000 miles over 3 continents and is estimated to take 10 months to complete. Check out the introductory video from the following link.

Link: Image: 180Degrees
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Very early recorded sound

An Edison cylinder phonograph.Have you ever wondered what the earliest audio recordings sound like? National Park Service has an amazing collection of some of the oldest audio recordings ever recorded by a phonograph. These recordings date back as far as 1888. Check it out from the following link.




Link: National Park Service
Image: Wikipedia
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Furniture made from bikes

A Milano Lounge Chair.Bike Furniture Design manufactures furniture from recycled bicycles parts as well as components from other transportation industries. Since the original bike, Bike Furniture Designs have grown to include a wide-ranging collection of high-quality tables, bar stools, loveseats, and more chairs. What an interesting way of recycling scrap. Check out all these neat looking furnitures from the following link.

Link & Image: Bike Furniture Design via Bicycle Design
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An artificial heart that doesn't beat

HeartMateII - A continuous flow cardiac assist device.At present, artificial hearts work by making use of an implanted hydraulic pumping system to simulate a natural heart beat. However if O.H. “Bud” Frazier, a prominent heart surgeon has his way, artificial hearts in the future will pump blood through the body continuously rather than with the periodic beat of the normal heart.

Pumps that work on this principle, known as continuous flow pumps, are already in clinical use as part of "ventricular assist devices," which are implanted into patients with some remaining heart function to help circulate blood through the body. (Artificial hearts replace the heart entirely).

"Continuous flow pumps are like little turbo machines," says Tim Baldwin, program director of the advanced technologies and surgery branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda MD. "They are more durable and allow you to make smaller devices."

With Frazier's continuous flow design for an entirely artificial heart, a severely damaged heart is removed and replaced with two rotor-based pumps that continually cycle blood through the body, completely taking over the function of the heart.

Link & Image: Technology Review
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Man bites panda after panda bites man

a panda bear eating bamboos.Zhang Xinyan from China’s central Henan province was drunk when he climbed into the enclosure of Gu Gu, a seven-year-old panda at Beijing Zoo. Apparently, he wanted to hug the bear who was eating bamboo at the time. However, Gu Gu was startled by Zhang’s approach and bit him twice on the leg. In retaliation, Zhang bit back. He said “I took the opportunity to bite the panda's back, but its fur was too thick”. Eventually, he was rescued by a zoo worker. The panda was shocked by the experience, but was ready to receive tourists once again.

Link: Topix.net
Image: Sfdavidz
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Gold bra that costs 1.89 million

Gold bra.Korea's Golden Zone has launched a 1.89 million USD gold bra during a fashion show in Seoul. Most ladies will definitely love to have one of these for their private collection, but I wonder if it is comfortable to wear?

















Link & Image: Hankooki.com
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Mobile phone for the blind and visually impaired

LG handphone.LG Electronics has recently released a "talking mobile headset" which is able to read books for those whom are visually impaired.Users of the gadget can download approximately 300 audio books from the Internet site of LG Sangam Library and the user interface of the LF1300 is also customized for the blind, enabling handset users to control it through a voice guidance system.

Link & Image: Hankooki.com
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21 September, 2006

Battery breakthrough: recharging via USB port

USB batteries.These USB batteries work just as the normal batteries do. The only difference is when they run out of power; you can just pop off the lid and recharge them via a USB port. As long as you are near a PC, you won't need any bulky chargers anymore. Each of these NiMH (nickel-metal-hydride) batteries requires 5 hours to get its full charge. Currently, they’re available in just the AA flavor which cost $24 USD for a two-pack.

These batteries might just deliver the same killer blow to the battery market that memory sticks did to floppy discs.

Link & Image: USBCell via Slashdot
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Give the umbrella a shake – and it’s dry!

Nanonanu umbrella.How do you deal with a soaking wet umbrella? Let it dry off somewhere and create a big puddle of water where it is placed. Have you ever wish that you can clean and dry your umbrella completely just by giving it a good shake? Now you can. This revolutionary umbrella named NanoNuno, modeled on the natural phenomenon of the lotus leaf allows you to do just that.

In nature, a fascinating effect is produced by the microscopic, rough nanostructure on the leaves of the lotus plant: Dirt and moisture simply roll off. This is because there is a much smaller surface area to which things can stick than on a smooth surface. The design of your NanoNuno umbrella is based on this natural principle, with the result that moisture does not penetrate the fabric and so there is no tedious drying.

This umbrella is now available from Pro-Idee at £49.95 ($94 USD).

Link & Image: Pro-Idee via SciFi
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RV with parking space for a car

RV with parking space for a car.Wow! This RV features a compartment for parking your private car. In this photo, a red Mercedes is parked atop the RV's sliding platform. Interesting design! More pictures of it are available on the following link.



Link & Image: Ezprezzo via Blog on a Toothpick
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Golden Palace

Golden Palace.








Hong Kong newest tourist attraction named "The Golden House" is built from 2 tonnes of gold and costs 300 million HK (38 million USD) dollars to build. Its design is based mainly on Europe's ancient palace, sculpture and artwork, and it will be open to the public on September 23, 2006. Hoping to attraction more mainland China tourists, it is also possible for couples use this new attraction as a place for exchanging wedding vows. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

Golden Palace.Golden Palace.











Link & Image: Tom.com
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Glowing Mood

Mood beams.Having one of those Monday blues or can't find someone you can talk to? Try out one of the Mood beams that glows through a series of colours in time with music and noise you make, which may brighten up your day !

Link & Image: Shiny Shiny
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High Tea with Lamborghini

High tea with Lamborghini.Ever tried having high tea with a Lamborghini placed at the center of the table? The following quote from Autoblog describes an interesting setup of a Lamborghini resting only on 4 tea cups! Frankly speaking, I would rather have the Lamborghini rather that the tea cups.

Thanksgiving with the family would be so much more bearable if Grandma were forced to pass the gravy around the front fender of a Lamborghini Gallardo. This odd display is set up outside the William Ashley store in downtown Toronto to promote a contest for a 20-piece set of fine china.

The Gallardo was hoisted up with a crane and delicately set atop four tea cups beneath each wheel. There's literally nothing holding up this car's curb weight of 3,153 lbs. except four tiny tea cups. It's rather odd to use a high performance exotic like the Lamborghini Gallardo to excite the tea and crumpets crowd, but we suspect the car's Kermit green color is more than enough to attract interest from passersby.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Link & Image: Autoblog
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20 September, 2006

Cool Honda Civic advertisement

Honda Civic advertisement.This Honda Civic advertisement is amazing. Rather than recording all the sounds made by the car, it was generated by a choir through humming and/or hand movements only. Sounds generated include ignition, entering a tunnel, falling raindrops, traversing on various road surfaces, zooming past other cars and more.

After watching the video, you will be so impressed by the choir that you will forget that this is a car advertisement. Check it out on the following link.

Video & Image: YouTube
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Food based jewellery design

Amy Secrest jewellery.







Do you love food? How about wearing one? These jewelleries by Amy Secrest are completely handmade and all their designs are based on food. Her jewellery has style, fun and is somewhat cartoony. Check them out from the following link.

Link & Image: PixelGirlShop via Japundit
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Double decker living

London’s double decker bus.This interesting design concept converts London’s iconic double decker buses into comfortable and affordable temporary living spaces. Each bus is redesigned with areas for sleeping, cooking, eating, showering and chilling out. Sofas, table, LCD TV, DVD player, fridge and microwave can all be found on the lower deck. It is an environmentally friendly, spacious, and secure accommodation which can accommodate up to five occupants. One doesn’t need a hotel room to sleep in style!

Link & Image: Double Decker Living via The Cool Hunter
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Bird moms manipulate birth order to protect sons

A newly hatched house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) and its not-yet-hatched siblings.New research indicates that bird moms protect her sons from the blood-suckers by laying male eggs later than those containing their sturdier sisters during mite season. It’s a remarkable find. Nature never fails to amaze.

"Sons are more sensitive to the mites than daughters," said Alexander V. Badyaev of The University of Arizona in Tucson. "Mothers minimize sons' exposure to mites by laying male eggs later than female eggs. As a result, the males are in the nest fewer days."

Males that grew during mite season did more of their development in the egg before hatching. Their mothers accelerated their sons' growth, both in the egg and after they hatched. The male chicks that grow up during mite season end up just as big as ones from the mite-free time of the year.

Link: ScienceDaily
Image: © Alex Badyaev
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Artificial skin that feels just like human skin

Artifical skin.Researchers in Japan led by robotics professor Takashi Maeno in collaboration with major cosmetics manufacturer, Kao Corporation, have developed an artificial skin that feels just like human skin. We are now one step closer to achieving the goal of making a human like robot.

Skin, the largest organ of the human body, consists of a soft layer of tissue (dermis) covered by a tougher protective layer (epidermis). The artificial skin developed by Kao and Keio mimics the feel of human skin with a 1-cm thick “dermis” of elastic silicone covered by a 0.2-mm thick “epidermis” of firm urethane. Countless tiny hexagonal indentations etched into the urethane epidermis provide it with a very realistic texture.

In a series of unscientific tests, 10 out of 12 people who touched the skin thought it felt like human skin, while equipment designed to measure the mechanical properties of skin confirmed the artificial skin had characteristics resembling human skin.

Link & Image: Pink Tentacle
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Think outside the box

Sneaker art.Shoe boxes sure do make excellent material to create sneaker art. Really great work, check them out. They were made by I Have Pop in association with Solebox. Larger views are available from the following link.

Link: Shoes via Paper Forest
Image: I Have Pop
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Turning war artifacts into guitars - Escopetarras

Guitars known as Escopetarras.Cesar Lopez, a Colombian musician, created these guitars known as “Escopetarras” with the help of musical instrument craftsman, Luis Alberto. It was initially made out of Winchester rifles but is now made from AK47. Lopez got the inspiration for this invention when he noticed the similarities between his guitar and a soldier’s rifle while standing outside a bombed Bogotá club.

It is indeed a very creative way of converting war artifacts into something actually useful.

Guitar known as Escopetarras.





Link & Image: CrunchGear
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Star-nosed mole

A star-nosed mole.This photo shows an adult star-nosed mole. It is the fastest eating mammal which takes less than a quarter of a second to identify and consume individual food items.

It lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and molluscs. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging; often, these tunnels exit underwater. It is active day and night and remains active in winter, when it has been observed tunneling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams.

The Star-nosed mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole's most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.

The star-nosed mole mates in late winter or early spring, and the female has one litter of typically 4 or 5 young in late spring or early summer.

Link & Image: Yahoo News & Wikipedia (Thanks Kelvin!)
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19 September, 2006

Strongman lifts helicopter

Franz Muellner supporting a helicopter.Franz Muellner, an Austrian strongman, secured his place in the Guinness Book of World Records when he managed to support a 1.8 tonne helicopter which landed on his back for almost a minute. This is incredible. I never knew a human can be that strong. This record breaking attempt was held in the Austrian capital’s Prater Park. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Link & Image: Ananova
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Split second moment of a speeding bullet

Bullet passing through a sheet of paper.Have you ever wonder what happens when a bullet passes through objects at high speeds? The following link contains an interesting photoset which captures the split second moment when the bullet passes through various objects.



Link & Photoset: Hemmy.net
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Shark That Walks on Fins Is Discovered

A new species of shark (Hemiscyillum freycineti).Scientists from Conservation International discovered dozens of new species while combing through undersea fauna off Indonesia's Papua province. The most interesting find was a shark (Hemiscyillum freycineti) that walks on its fins at the bottom of the sea. From the Associated Press:

Erdmann and his team claim to have discovered 52 new species, including 24 new species of fish, 20 new species of coral and eight new species of shrimp. Among the highlights were an epaulette shark that walks on its fins, a praying mantis-like shrimp and scores of reef-building corals, he said.

Erdmann said the discoveries add to an already legendary reputation for the area, which stretches for 70,000 square miles on the northwestern end of Indonesia's Papua province.

Dubbed Asia's "Coral Triangle," it is home to more than 1,200 species of fish and almost 600 species of reef-building coral, or 75 percent of the world's known total.

Link & Image: Washington Post via Boing Boing
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Carrot which looks like a child's foot

Carrot FootA 60 year old man bought a few carrots at a local market and upon reaching home, he discovered that one of them looked like a child's foot. Fascinated by what he saw, he immediately brought his carrot to a nearby studio to have 2 photos of the carrot taken. Someone there even offered to buy his carrot, but he promptly refused the offer! Click on the picture for a larger view.

Link & Image: Xinhua Wang
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Two-headed snake

Two-headed snake.This two-headed snake with alternate reddish and black stripes has a body length of 25 cm, with it's head separated via as a V-shaped glyph. Each head is of the same size, and has it's own set of eyes and mouth. It glides swiftly with it's tongue stretching out of it's 2 mouths, but it's two heads almost always move in separate directions, as if they were a pair of opposing magnets. Experts believe that this snake is a result of gene mutation, most probably triggered due to the excessive use of chemical agent, agricultural chemicals and environmental pollution. However, they also pointed out that such mutant species do not tend to live long.

Link & Image: Ren Ming Wang
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Exquisite moon cake, anyone?

golden moon cake.I've always enjoyed moon cakes, but have never tasted one made of crystal with a gold coin in its hollow center. Yes, that's right; this "golden moon cake" is designed for displaying purposes rather than filling your stomach!

According to the shop employee, each box of golden moon cake consists of 4 moon cakes, and besides the golden moon cake series, there is also the "silver moon cake" - made from high grade silver. The price of these moon cakes is based mainly on its weight, and they range from approximately US$162 to US$4,139.

After "tasting" the golden moon cake, how about an edible moon cake for a change? Well guys, you've got another choice - the "abalony moon cake"! Apparently, these US$84 moon cakes aren't very popular with the Chinese locals. "Why is it so?” one might ask. The reason is simple: these moon cakes are too expensive and hence it is against the common tradition of enjoying a piece of tasty and affordable moon cake with a cup of Chinese tea. Gesh.. I'm now really feeling hungry.

Link & Image: Xin Hua (golden moon cake) & Xin Hua (abalony moon cake)
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18 September, 2006

Honey, I shrunk the fast food!

Minature fast food.Do you love fast food, but yet are afraid of gaining weight? How about trying out the miniature version of it instead?

A very crafty woman responded to a "craft challenge" and created a teeny tiny Splenda-packet-sized tray of fast food. Tiny replicas of food are nothing new, but when the replicas are made with real food and are actually edible, that's quite an achievement.

The crafter used tiny pickles, tomatoes, and the innermost rings of onions, but made the bun, the burger patty, and French fries herself. Her husband fashioned the tray from clay. The photo here shows just how small the entire tray is, but a super close-up of the tiny burger on the craftster forum is incredible. You would never guess that the burger fits on your fingertip.

Link & Image: Craftster Forum via Slashfood
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Real Life Hobbit House

A real life hobbit house.This house was built by Simon Dale with maximum regard for the environment. It is dug into a hillside and constructed using natural materials. The coolest aspect of this house is its resemblance to the hobbit house featured in the movie “Lord of the Rings”.

You are looking at pictures of our family home. It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).

Link & Image: SimonDale via Neatorama
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A solar boat to cross the Atlantic

A solar-powered boat.We have all heard of a solar-powered car. How about a solar-powered boat which is entirely dependent on sunlight?

A group of Swiss people will soon attempt to realize the first Atlantic crossing with a solar boat. This ship, named "sun21", is a 14-meter-long catamaran able to sleep 5 or 6 persons. The goal is to leave Seville, Spain, in December 2006 and to reach ports in Florida and New York in the spring of 2007. This solar-powered boat will achieve its 7,000 miles trip at a speed of 5-6 knots (10-12 km/h) by using photovoltaic cells and without spending a single gallon of fuel.

It will be the first solar boat ever to cross the Atlantic: entirely dependent on sunlight, not consuming one drop of gasoline. It might just enter the Guinness Book of Records. The boat will cost about $556,000 to build and it will be for sale at some point after its crossing.

Link & Image: Roland Piquepaille via Slashdot
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Terra-cotta Warrior Is Alive !

Terra-cotta WarriorMany of us have seen someone posting as a statue in the movies to avoid being spotted by the enemy. But in China, a German tourist was so obsessed with the Terracotta Army that he put on a self-made Qin soldier uniform and jumped into the burial pit consisting of Terracotta Army. As he stayed still and was well camouflaged, a number of tourists and security staff could not even spot him. Even when he was later being approached by the security staff and a translator, he continued to stay still and refused to respond to them. Left with no choice, the security personnel finally lifted the fake terra-cotta warrior out the burial pit.

So I guess certain scenes in the movies do happen in real-life, right?

From Wikipedia:
The Terracotta Army or Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses is a collection of 8,099 life-size terra cotta figures of warriors and horses located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. Each figure is life-like and life-sized and they vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank. The colored lacquer finish, molded faces (each is individual), and real weapons and armor used in manufacturing these figures creates a realistic appearance and stands as a testament to the amount of labor and skill involved in their construction. It is also proof of the incredible amount of power the First Emperor possessed to order such a monumental undertaking as the manufacturing of the Terracotta Army.

Link & Image: Sina
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17 September, 2006

Message Egg

Message egg.I have no idea how they managed to produce this astonishing and deeply silly product “Message Egg”. If you would like to get a unique gift for someone, this is the one for you.

Just pop open the can, add water and within a matter of hours, the egg will begin to crack and a bean plant will grow from it with your message on it – 'Happy Birthday', 'I love you', 'Good luck', 'Best wishes' etc. The bean will germinate in about 5 to 7 days, by which time the message will be fully 'hatched' for all to see. The bean can then be planted to grow.

Messages that will appear.






Link & Image: I Want One of Those via Popgadget
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The Ninja Text Generator

Ninja carving out the name Spluch.Have a ninja carve out your text with his katana from the following site. Just enter your own text and press the button. The generator will also create HTML code you can use to display the animation on your own website. Have fun.

Link & Image: The Ninja Text Generator
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Paper Art

Paper art.Peter Callesen makes remarkably elegant art by transforming a flat piece of white paper into a 3D form as an almost magic process. The figures still stick to their origin, without the possibility of escaping. Check out his photoset from the following link.

Link & Image: Peter Callesen via Drawn
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Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo

A buffalo.Here is something interesting about the English language. According to Wikipedia,

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." is a grammatically valid sentence used as an example of how homophones can be used to create complicated constructs. A homophone is a word which is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, for example: carat, caret, carrot and karat.

Homophones are often used to create puns, deceive the reader (as in crossword puzzles) or to suggest multiple meanings. The last usage is common in poetry and creative literature. An example of this is seen in Dylan Thomas' radio play "Under Milk Wood": "The shops in mourning" where 'mourning' can be heard as 'mourning' or 'morning'.

Link: Wikipedia
Image: Seanabrady
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Ugly Duckling Cucumber

A cucumber shaped like an ugly duckling.Jenny Bumpass spotted this oddly-shaped cucumber in her back garden in Hogsthorpe, Lincs, United Kingdom. It is shaped like an ugly duckling.



Link & Image: Eglobe1
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16 September, 2006

The unusual shoe - Crocs

Crocs.





I have always been wondering why there are so many people wearing these unusual shoes (Crocs) nowadays. To me, it looks more like bedroom slippers and doesn’t look elegant enough to be worn outdoors.

I chanced upon a departmental store selling it and after making some enquiries, I found that the main reason for its popularity is threefold. Firstly, since it is really soft, it feels very comfortable. Secondly, weighing at only 6 ounces, one could fly wearing it. Lastly, it is designed such that air passes through thus keeping the feet cool at all times. It looks pretty cute too and comes in various design and vibrant colours. No wonder it is becoming more common nowadays.

You can find out more about it from the following link.

Link & Image: Crocs.com
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Boat which looks like a futuristic jet

Cool boat.Is that a futuristic jet? No, it is actually a boat though it doesn’t look like one. A built-in transparent window which lies beneath the boat allows one to view the underwater world. In addition, it appears to come in various configurations. This cool and innovative boat was spotted in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Check out the photoset from the following link.

Link: PhotoWebs
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Power Boots

A pair of power boots.Here is a pair of power boots invented by the Russian scientist, Viktor Gordeyev. Each boot includes a single diesel cylinder which can be powered by diesel fuel, biodiesel, vegetable oil or waste vegetable oil. It increases the running and walking speed of the user up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) per hour or more. I would certainly like to own one.

Check out the video of it in action from the following link.

Link: Image: Cycle Santa Monica
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World "shortest" car!

Shortest CarA Southwest England's repair workshop boss has recently modified an old FIAT 126 to a automobile which is only 53 cm tall in 3 days.

This mini racing car can reach a top speed of 105 km, and it is also "shorter" than the world's current shortest car by 5 cm! Unfortunately, as he is 1.9 meters tall and can't fit into his new toy, this automobile is currently been driven and demonstrated by his colleague.

Link & Image: Ynet.com
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15 September, 2006

World's oldest condom

World's oldest condom.The world’s oldest surviving condom is now on display in an Austrian museum. It is now 366 years old.

The reusable condom dates back to 1640 and is completely intact, as is its original users' manual, written in Latin.

The manual suggests that users immerse the condom in warm milk prior to its use to avoid diseases. The antique, found in Lund in Sweden, is made of pig intestine and is one of 250 ancient objects related to sex on display at the Tirolean County Museum in Austria this summer.

Link & Image: Laughing Machine
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Kid teaches grownups how to master video games

Eight year old kid that teaches grownups how to master a popular video game.Wow! This little kid which is only 8 years of age is making tons of money by teaching grownups how to master a popular video game.

The brown-eyed second grader, Victor De Leon III, has been tutoring gaming greenhorns in Halo 2, an Xbox game in which the player fights to save Earth from destruction, for $25 an hour. That's a ton of money, considering most of his peers have no income beyond their tooth-fairy stash.

"It's fun," said the digital-pastime prodigy, who's been tutoring people online from the gaming room of his Mastic home for more than a year.

Link & Image: New York Post
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Arctic Ice Melting Rapidly

Comparison of artic ice mass between 2004 and 2005.Scientists say that the rate of ice loss in the Arctic is accelerating.

According to data from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite, between 2004 and 2005 the Arctic lost an unprecedented 14 percent of its perennial sea ice (shown in white)—some 280,000 square miles (725,000 square kilometers), or an area the size of Texas.

Perennial ice remains year-round and has a thickness of ten feet (three meters) or more. That ice was replaced with seasonal ice 1 to 7 feet (0.3 to 2.1 meters) thick (shown in pink), which is much more vulnerable to melting in the summer.

Since the 1970s summer ice in the Arctic has reduced at a rate of 6.4 to 7.8 percent per decade, the researchers write in the September 7 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters. This suggests ice loss may now be occurring up to 18 times more quickly.

Link: National Geographic
Image: AGU
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Woman gets bionic arm controlled by thoughts

Woman with a bionic arm.The first generation bionic arm is born and it is controlled by thought. It certainly reminds the older generation of the excellent television series “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman”.
A woman who lost her arm at the shoulder in a horrible motorcycle accident has become the fourth person (and first woman) to become the recipient of a bionic arm that's controlled by her thoughts.

By simply thinking about the banana sitting next to her arm she reaches out and grabs it for an easy peel. She still has no feeling in the arm or hand, but just being able to function more like she did before the accident is a huge relief. "I use it to help with cooking, for holding a laundry basket, for folding clothes — all kinds of daily tasks," she says. She hopes to get an upgrade in the future to allow her to have tactile feelings in the hand, making grasping objects much easier and a more natural experience.

Link & Image: SciFi
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14 September, 2006

Making faces out of onions

An example from The Onion Face Paint Project.A couple of months ago, someone started a Flickr group called the Onion Face Paint Project. A picture of some onions was provided and invitees were asked to draw faces on them. The result is a rather fun and interesting photoset of silly images of vegetables.

The image above is one such example. Click on the image to view the dialog between the vegetables. Check out the complete photoset at the following link.

Photoset: Onion Face Paint Project
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New substitute for blood makes one look as white as Michael Jackson!

Donated blood.Looks like being “pale” may be the new healthy look in future because the new substitute for blood looks like milk. That is if the researchers in Singapore have their way.

They are well on their way to concocting a substitute for the very fluid that keeps us alive – blood. If it works out, the researchers suggest that it might even have an edge, in certain areas, over the real thing.

“Blood is complex, difficult to handle and has a limited storage life span of 35 days,” said Dr Perry Travers, senior consultant of Emergency Medicine at Alexandra Hospital, who is the principal investigator of the research group. “The demand is also unpredictable and it may hold transmissible diseases. If we can replace it then we can do away with all these problems.”

“Theoretically you will be able to replace all the blood in your body with the blood substitute, but you will be white so you will look like Michael Jackson,” said Dr Travers.” I think some ladies would find that very attractive!”

Link: Today
Image: Foxicat
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One small step for robots - jumping

Jumping robot.Toyota has developed a robot leg that can jump like a human’s. This is a major breakthrough from today’s stiff-jointed machines.

The one-meter (3.3-foot) leg has a joint on its toe letting it jump as high as four centimeters (1.6 inches) by bending and stretching its toe and another knee-like joint, Japan's top automaker said Wednesday.

"This is a basic technology that can be applied to a two-legged robot in future," said a Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman.

Link & Image: Physorg.com
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13 September, 2006

A Diamond made from Baby Hair

Synthetic diamond made from the hair of newborn babies.A Russian company called New Age Diamonds produces gem-quality synthetic diamonds in the lab. The raw material for the creation of such diamonds is either human or animal hair.

Diamonds are, like humans, carbon based, and therefore it is possible to, under lab conditions, make humans into diamonds.

They have recently entered the Japanese market with a new product called “Heart-In Baby Diamond” – basically a synthetic diamond made from the hair of newborn babies. Prices range from USD $3,500 for a 0.2-carat canary yellow diamond to USD $17,000 for a 0.8-carat chameleon red diamond.

Link: Heart-In Baby Diamond via ShinyShiny
Image: ShinyShiny
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