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Extraodinary Fishermen Catch Sharks with Kayaks and Rods
2007-12-17 23:53:00
A new world record is set by four fishermen. With just kayaks and and simple rods, they set out an expedition to shark-infested waters off Alaska to catch sharks. On site, they were surrounded by 200 to 300 salmon sharks which were up to nine feet long and weighed between 400 and 1,000 lbs. They manage to catch four of the sharks with Avet 50 reels and large pieces of salmon as bait."We are all experienced anglers and kayakers so either as a whole or individually, we felt confident in our personal abilities and limits," said the captain."Our biggest concerns were staying upright in the kayaks and keeping from getting tangled up in the gear and pulled over as well."There were so many sharks thrashing around us it was crazy. Even while fighting these fish, others were crashing the surface only feet away." Link via Hoovaloo
More About: Catch , Rods , Kaya , Fisher

Dogs Display Aspect of Human Intelligence, Study Shows
2007-12-17 16:00:00
Using landscape and dog photographs, Friederike Range and colleagues from the University of Vienna, Austria, were able to show for the first time that dogs are capable of learning how to classify complex colour photographs and place them into categories in the same way that humans do. "These results show that the dogs were able to form a concept, that is 'dog', although the experiment cannot tell us whether they recognized the dog pictures as actual dogs," said Dr Range."Using touch-screen computers with dogs opens up a whole world of possibilities on how to test the cognitive abilities of dogs." Link
More About: Dogs , Study , Intelligence , Human , Display

Human Evolution Speeding Up, Anthropologists Say
2007-12-17 14:01:00
Anthropologist Henry C. Harpending and his colleagues believe that humans are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past. Their genetic analysis suggests people are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, with residents of various continents becoming increasingly different from one another."Rapid population growth has been coupled with vast changes in cultures and ecology, creating new opportunities for adaptation," the study says. "The past 10,000 years have seen rapid skeletal and dental evolution in human populations, as well as the appearance of many new genetic responses to diet and disease." Link
More About: Evolution , Human , Speeding , Logi

Super Strength Ancient Roman Glue Discovered
2007-12-17 13:45:00
A superglue used by ancient Roman s have been discovered by Frank Willer, the Rheinischen Landes Museum's chief restorer. He found traces of the superglue while examining a helmet (above) unearthed in 1986 near the German town of Xanten, on what was once the bed of the Rhine. According to new findings, Roman warriors repaired their battle accessories with a superglue that is still sticking around after 2,000 years, despite long exposure to water, time and air."The helmet, which dates from the 1st century B.C., was given to the museum for restoration. I discovered the glue accidentally, while removing a tiny sample of metal from the helmet with a fine saw. The heat from the tool caused the silver laurel leaves on the helmet to peel off, leaving thread-like traces of the glue behind," Willer said. Link
More About: Super , Ancient

Great Pyramid Built Inside Out, French Architect Says
2007-12-16 23:50:00
According to a French architect, Ancient Egyptians built the 480-foot-high (146-meter-high) Great Pyramid of Giza from the inside out. This findings is based on eight years of study of Jean-Pierre Houdin, who has created a three-dimensional computer simulation to present his hypothesis. He says his findings solve the mystery of how the massive monument just outside Cairo was constructed.The 4,500-year-old tomb of Pharaoh Khufu, he concluded, was built using a ramp that spirals around the pyramid's interior 30 to 45 feet (9 to 14 meters) behind the exterior surface (see image at above)."I am completely comfortable with this theory," Houdin said in a telephone interview from Paris. He was in the French capital on Friday to show the simulation to 400 spectators wearing 3-D goggles. Link
More About: Inside , Great Pyramid

World's Most Expensive Pizza Yet at $1000
2007-12-16 23:40:00
Nino Selimaj, owner of six New York City pizza restaurants, offers the world's most expensive pizza as $1000. This gourmet pizza is 12″ with a thin crust, topped with lobster tail, six different types of caviar including salmon roe, creme fraiche (a fancy type of cheese), and chives. Link
More About: Pizza , Most Expensive

Bolivia's Road of Death, World's Most Dangerous Road
2007-12-16 13:12:00
(Updated. Thanks to Anonymous for the comment.) Bolivia's Road of Death or the North Yungas Road (also Grove’s Road, Coroico Road, Camino de las Yungas, "El Camino de la Muerte", "Death Road") is considered as the world's most dangerous road in 1995 by the Inter-American Development Bank. The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan prisoners. One estimate is that 200-300 travelers were killed yearly along the road. The road descends from approx. 14,100 ft (4300 m) to 6200 ft (330 m), transitioning quickly from cool altiplano terrain to rain forest as it winds through very steep hillsides and atop cliffs. Link
More About: Dangerous

Christmas Card Arrives After 93 Years
2007-12-16 02:51:00
(Note: Picture above is not the actual card) A Christmas card mailed in 1914 finally arrived to it's intended destination. The postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl, dated Dec. 23, 1914, was mailed to Ethel Martin of Oberlin, from her cousins in Alma, Nebraska. Since Ethel Martin is deceased, the post office gave the card to a relative, her sister-in-law Bernice Martin.It's a mystery where it spent most of the last century, Oberlin Postmaster Steve Schultz said. "It's surprising that it never got thrown away," he said. "How someone found it, I don't know." Link
More About: Card , Years , Christmas card

World's First Facial Transplant, a Success
2007-12-16 02:32:00
Isabelle Dinoire is the recipient of the world's first ever facial transplant. According to her doctor, she can now smile a little. Her case shows that the controversial surgery can work—but it also highlighted the risks involved. Since the transplant, she dealt with complications such as two tissue-rejection episodes, two kidney failures, anemia and high blood pressure."Everyone in the world said this should not be done because the world was not ready and the risks were too high," said one plastic surgeon. Dinoire is said to be happy, and unafraid to walk the street. "She now has a human face," said one of her doctors. "If she wanted to kiss someone, she could." Link
More About: Success , Facial

Cloned Cat, Glows in the Dark
2007-12-16 02:20:00
A team from the Gyeongsang National University, led by professor Kong Il-keun, were able to genetically alter a cat. The cloned cat gives off a red fluorescence glow under ultraviolet light. Above, a cloned Turkish Angola kitten gives off a red fluorescence glow while an ordinary one appears to be green. The cloned cat’s genes were modified with a fluorescent protein. Link
More About: Dark , The Dark , Cloned