Harriet, the world's oldest captive land animal, has died at the grand old age of 175 (or maybe 176). Believed by some to have been captured by Charles Darwin on his expedition to the Galapagos Islands in 1835 and mistaken for a male for the first 124 years of her life, Harriet's life came to an end when she suffered a heart attack yesterday and died in her sleep. [via]
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Saturday, June 24, 2006
Video: Impaled On A Javelin
This guy gets impaled on a javelin and lives to tell the tale. Don't click if you don't want to see the javelin sticking through his head. [via]
Philips VOIP 433
The Philips VOIP 433 phone that I won at the Windows Live Session in London last month was delivered today. It was a bit of a surprise as I had totally forgotten about it. The phone is really good, it's easy to install and links in with Windows Live Messenger. To bring up your contacts simply press the Messenger button on the phone and select a contact to call. I've tried calling a landline from the phone and the quality is pretty good. It's a lot like making a mobile call. Now all I need is some contacts on Messenger to call.
I'm not sure how readily available the phone is, it's listed on Littlewoods for £89 but doesn't look like it's available yet.
Thanks Romain for inviting me to the Live Session so that I could get the chance to win the phone.
NES Controller Phone
How to make a functional phone using a Nokia 3200 and a NES controller. [via]
Friday, June 23, 2006
Video: Japanese Pranksters
A Japanese TV show plays pranks on people using a portaloo. (Update: Link changed) [Thanks Todd]
Video: Karting
A guy drives his kart around town. It looks fast but it sure is bumpy. [via]
Woman Gets Married In 25 Stone Wedding Dress
Bride Carly O’Brien wanted a big wedding — so she wore a dress weighing 25 stone. But the £25,000 creation, to outdo model Jordan’s, was 8ft wide and got stuck in the church door.
It took twenty people an hour and a half to heave 16-year-old Carly through and up the aisle followed by her 60ft long train. Carly, who spent nine and a half hours getting into it, was exhausted when she got to the altar in Gloucester. - The Sun
Video: Kamiaze Blows Himself Up
Rather than be captured, this Japanese Kamikaze pilot blows himself up with a grenade. [via]
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Video: Angelina Jolie In 1986
A video of a young Angelina Jolie at her very first Oscar ceremony in 1986. I bet she doesn't want to be reminded about that dress. [via]
Surgeons to Operate on Boy's Unprotected Heart
7-year-old Chen Jiakun can't run, can't jump and even crying is dangerous. The reason whyhe can't do these things is because he does not have a sternum or muscles that protect his heart.
The boy from east China's Shandong Province was born with a very rare syndrome called "pentalogy of Cantrell." The disease, only reported once in China, means the boy suffers from a complex constellation of defects including congenital heart disease and sternum abnormalities.
In front of Chen's chest is a large mass containing his heart and intestines. People can see and feel how his heart is beating under the skin. The mass swells and throbs if he moves quickly. And coughing will cause it to grow to 15 centimeters long--almost three times its usual size.
A group of around 10 doctors will soon perform an operation to cover the heart using other parts of the sternum.
Video: Covered In Pen
Here's a video of a friend of mine who got so drunk on a stag weekend last week that he didn't feel his 'friends' drawing on him. After 10 mins of drawing on him with his own marker and filming him with his own camera he was pretty much covered. Conveniently, after he had one side of his face covered he turned over so the other have could be drawn on. Apparently it took around 5 baths to get all of the marker off.
Incidentally, he wasn't the groom. The groom got away with nothing being done to him.
Video: Redlight Crash
A dumb driver jumps a red light and hits a motorbike. [via]
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Man Throws Away £20,000
BBC: Town chaos as cash thrown in air
People in Aberystwyth had an unexpected windfall when a man showered what is thought to be thousands of pounds into the air at a pedestrian crossing.
The man was heard to shout: "Who wants free money?" seconds before hurling the cash into the air in Alexandra Road.
"I just couldn't believe my eyes," said Mr Morris. "All the money was in £20 notes and I've heard rumours that the man threw about £20,000 away."
The incident caused chaos as drivers and pedestrians, some on their hands and knees, picked up the money.
Video: Rally Crash
Take a ride inside a raly car as it flips over. [via]
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Chainless Bike
No more catching your trousers (or skin) in your bike chain. This new chainless bike from Dynacraft has an internal drive shaft which offers less maintenance, greater safety and a cleaner solution than a conventional chain-driven bike. [via]
Weird Flavour Toothpaste
Breath Palette offers a 31-piece toothpaste kit that contains 31 flavours such as Darjeeling Tea, Indian Curry, L’Espresso and Cola. The kit costs $160 but you can also purchase smaller kits such as the Smoothie and Sweet Tooth kits for $22. [via]
Rare "Rainbow" Spotted Over Idaho
Known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc, this rare sight was caught on film on June 3 as it hung over northern Idaho near the Washington State border. Read more... [via]
The Hanging Monastery
Built in 491, Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of the Hengshan Mountain - also known as the North Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains in China - and hangs on the west cliff of Jinxia Gorge more than 50 meters above the ground.
The monastery has survived for 1,400 years although it was largely rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Read more about the monastery here and here and view more pics here. [via]
Video: Hollywood-Style Gun Battle
A Hollywood-style gun battle takes place outside a US courtroom and involes an AK-47, a cop that rides around on the bonnet of a police car and ends with a car chase. They don't get any better than this. [via]
Woman Pregnant With At Least 5 Babies
Qiao Yubo, pregnant with at least five babies, walks with her husband near their home in China's northeast Jilin province.
Qiao, who is 1.67 metres tall, has a waistline of 1.75 metres five months into her pregnancy.
She eats up to seven meals a day and her excessive bulk is causing difficulties in getting around with taxi drivers too afraid to take her. - Hamilton Spectator
[via]
Update: Thanks to Kandle for pointing out that this story is actually fake. It turns out that the woman was actually carrying a bundle of clothes. Steve was close with his beer keg theory.
Prince Phillip Lets One Rip
Did Prince Phillip let one rip during the Queen's 80th birthday celebration? Judging by Prince Harry's actions it looks like he may well have. Look at what happened next and decide for yourself.
Company Develops Nicotine Water
A new drink has been developed in California for smokers who have to fly or find themselves in a place where they can't light up.
Nic Light is the equivalent of smoking two cigarettes and according to testers tastes like water with a hint of lemon and nicotine. Ewww.
The drink is available at some terminals at LAX and is being stocked at other airports across the US. [via]
The Human Can Opener
A guy opening beer cans with just his mouth is a cool party trick but I think the camera man is interested in filming something else in the room. [via]
Monday, June 19, 2006
Beer Battered Deep Fried Bacon Double Quarter Pounder
Mmmm....heart-attack inducing. (The site is a little slow) [via]
Video: Funny DUI
Fake or not, this video is funny! [via Jason & the AWV Forum]
Best USB Drive Ever
More pics here.
Over Exaggerated Celebrity Features
Celebrity facial features are over exaggerated for this Worth1000 contest. There are some really good ones in the contest but some of them look no different such as this Steve Buscemi picture.
China's Death Buses
Meet China's 'death bus'. These mobile execution chambers are driven around China and are used to perfrom lethal injection executions. They have been in use since 2004 when Zhang Shiqiang became one of the first people to be executed in one. They are increasingly being used as an alternative to death by firing squad which is still the most widely used form of execution. Read more...
Video: Dolphin vs Seagull
A seagull picks the wrong time to fly by an aquarium show. [via]
