Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
World's oldest lightbulb still burning bright after 109 years
The world's oldest light bulb has been burning for 109 years - so little wonder it has a fan club with thousands of members and its own website.Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Beautiful Open Brain Coral on the Ocean Floor
Images of gore that would make an axe murderer proud are not the sort of stuff you would expect to find on the ocean floor, but with open brain corals that’s exactly what you get. Less gruesomely known as crater corals or pacific rose corals, open brain corals are a favourite with aquarium owners but might also prove popular with slasher movie fanatics or proponents of bad brain surgery, if only they knew. Take a gander and see what you think.Sunday, January 10, 2010
Michael Jackson WAS murdered: Death certificate amended by coroner after police investigation
Michael Jackson’s death has been officially ruled as murder, it was revealed today.
The cause of death on the 50-year-old’s death certificate has been amended to 'homicide' after months of speculation.
According to the document the King of Pop died from ‘acute Propofol intoxication’ due to an ‘intravenous injection from another’.
The cause of death on the 50-year-old’s death certificate has been amended to 'homicide' after months of speculation.
According to the document the King of Pop died from ‘acute Propofol intoxication’ due to an ‘intravenous injection from another’.
The moment a £140,000 Lamborghini parked UNDER another car
Finding a parking space can be a frustrating business sometimes.
But trying to slot a £140,000 supercar underneath another vehicle is not a tactic worth attempting – as these astonishing pictures show.
Somehow, while driving around Hollywood Hills, California, the skinny-nosed Lamborghini Gallardo slid right under the giant Saab 4x4, lifting it into the air.
And amazingly, the sports car seemed to hold up pretty well.
Despite damaging the front, the Lamborghni’s roof didn’t buckle under the two-ton Saab 9-7X.
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But trying to slot a £140,000 supercar underneath another vehicle is not a tactic worth attempting – as these astonishing pictures show.
Somehow, while driving around Hollywood Hills, California, the skinny-nosed Lamborghini Gallardo slid right under the giant Saab 4x4, lifting it into the air.And amazingly, the sports car seemed to hold up pretty well.
Despite damaging the front, the Lamborghni’s roof didn’t buckle under the two-ton Saab 9-7X.
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Insane and Sacred Valley
Peru’s Sacred Valley usually refers to a roughly 60-km stretch of land between the cities of Pisac and Ollantaytambo. Just 16 km south of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, the Sacred Valley often misses out to the more famous site of Machu Picchu – but as the following images show, quite undeservedly so as Sacred Valley offers stunning Andes Mountains views, winding roads and mind-boggling Inca architecture.Typical terrace architecture with buildings/temples at the top:
Just about 12 km northwest of Cusco is Sacsayhuaman, full of Inca ruins and a marvel of Inca construction skill. The belief today is that Sacsayuaman was mainly a military fortress. Its zigzag shape is said to resemble the open jaw of a puma, with the entire city of Cusco its body and the Plaza de Armas the navel, which the Incas believed to be the center of the world.Some of the stones weigh up to 125 tons!
Visitors to Pisac, about 30 km north of Cusco, are treated to stunning views of the Andes and an example of the Inca’s advanced masonry skills at the Pisac ruins with a Sun Temple, extensive terracing and aqueducts. The purpose of the Pisac ruins remains a mystery, but the settlement was located along a vital Inca road and connected the highlands with the Amazon rainforest just east of the mountains.The Pisac Inca ruin complex, nestled in the Andes:
About 70 km west of Pisac is the town of Ollantaytambo, best known for its fortress, which the Incan elite used for worshipping and studying astronomy. Also impressive are the terrace walls that served as an integral means of defense.Believe it or not, the stones of this wall are 3 m high!
Ollantaytambo
Image: Wolfgang Beyer
Many of the building foundations in the old town
were built by the Inca and most of the blocks used are still intact. To date, Ollantaytambo is the best surviving example of Inca town planning.
Ancient and less ancient in perfect harmony:
Moray is a small village about 50 km northwest of Cusco famous for its Inca architecture. What may remind us of crop circles or Roman amphitheatres actually once served an agricultural purpose. Used more like China’s ancient rice terraces, the Incas cultivated wheat, quinoa, grain, panti and kantu flowers here – harvest season on the various levels must have been quite a sight.Giant bathtub?
The site is still fully functional with a system of irrigation canals and an aqueduct system. Until recently, locals even grew corn, but agriculture was given up in favour of preserving the site and tourism. If you ever mill about in Moray, consider this: Some of the terraces descend to a depth of around 150 m – or the height of a 50-story skyscraper – creating temperature differences between the lowest and highest levels of 15 ºC, naturally found between sea level and a mountain of 1000 m for example. Amazingly clever and beautiful, isn’t it?The whole complex is huge:
The fact that amazing sites like Moray were discovered often decades after the more famous Machu Picchu makes us wonder and hope that there may be more stunning sites around just waiting to be discovered…
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Bridges Amazingly Devoured by Cloud
The sight of bridges devoured by fog and appearing to float in the air evokes all kinds of fantastic associations – magic faraway lands and fairytale bridges in the sky to name but a few. Even so, a certain ominous quality also pervades such scenes. If bridges represent humankind’s capacity to cross natural divides like rivers, bays and valleys, masses of cloud at ground level can also be a serious visibility hazard – a sign that we don’t always have it our own way on this planet.Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, New York
With a central span of 4,260 feet (1,298 m), the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is the largest suspension bridge in the US and was the longest in the world when completed in 1964. Connecting the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island in New York City, its massive towers can be seen for miles around – when not disappearing into a bank of fog as in this atmospheric shot. High enough to allow ships to pass beneath it, it is not high enough to escape the clutches of such low-lying cloud.Junction Bridge, Arkansas
Next up is the Junction Bridge, a former railroad bridge, constructed in 1884, which was recently converted into a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists. Here we see it vanishing mysteriously into fog lying over the Arkansas River. Despite the calm appearance of this image, fog has of course contributed to some serious transport accidents – among them the 2007 crash of the MV COSCO Busan container ship into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which resulted in a major oil spill.Millau Viaduct, France
Completed in 2004, the Millau Viaduct is a giant bridge spanning the valley of the Tarn River in southern France. At more than 984ft (300 m) high, it is by far the tallest road bridge in Europe and even taller than the Eiffel Tower. Here its concrete and steel pillars are seen soaring high above the morning fog of the Tarn Valley, making for a spectacular sight. Valley fog forms in mountain valleys due to heavier cold air settling in the valley, with warmer air passing over the mountains above.Forth Rail Bridge, Scotland
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Completed in 1890, it was the first bridge in Britain to be constructed of steel alone, and even today is considered an engineering marvel. It is 2.5 km (1.5 miles) long, with a double track rising some 150 ft (46 m) above high tide. Haar, like that seen here veiling the Forth Bridge, is a coastal fog found along lands bordering the North Sea, typically formed over the sea and carried to land by wind.Second Severn Crossing, England and Wales
Seen here vanishing into a soup of fog over the mouth of the River Severn, the Second Severn Crossing connects Wales and England, and was inaugurated in 1996 to boost the traffic capacity of the original Severn Bridge. This 5.2 km (3.2 mile) long, S-shaped crossing has only twice been closed by weather, but it is not uncommon to see it swathed in fog. Sea fog is often down to salt particles from salt spray, produced by breaking waves, that can condense even in relatively dry air.Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Japan
Opened in 1998, Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo Bridge has the longest central span of any suspension bridge, at 6,532 ft (1,991 m). This impressive structure, seen here vanishing into the fog, crosses the busy Akashi Strait, a dangerous waterway that often suffers severe storms. The current there is very strong, sometimes there are whirlpools, and occasionally ships disappear, as in 1955, when two ferries sank killing 168 children. In this light, a bridge, however fog-shrouded, is no bad thing.Golden Gate Bridge, California
Spanning the opening of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge is a globally recognised symbol of California, and the world’s most photographed bridge. With its Art Deco elements and distinctive colour – partly chosen to enhance its visibility in fog – this wonder of modern design was finished in 1937. The bridge must contend with the famous San Francisco fog, created when warm, moist air blows in from the Pacific across the cold water of the California Current. The cool, moist wind swirls along the coast devouring everything in its path – including this American icon.Tags:
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