That is one extremely lucky snowboarder.
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Friday, August 31, 2007
Monster Spider Web Spun In Texas
Arachnophobes may want to avoid Lake Tawakoni State Park in northern Texas. Entomologists have discovered a spider web that covers a 180m (650ft) stretch of trees and shrubs in the park.
The web was created by millions of small spiders and has park rangers puzzled as to why they have all teamed together to build this gigantic web.
Although it was initially described as "fairy-tale" white, it has turned brown from all the mosquitoes caught in its trap. Link
CNN has a video of the web.
Police Car Crashes Into Garden
A police car car rests in a family’s garden after catapulting off the road and smashing through a fence.
Shocked Mark Goddard, 22, watched from inside his parents’ house as the Volvo V70 — with blue lights flashing and siren blaring — flew into their washing line and bird bath, in Sarisbury, Hants.
He said: “Right before my eyes a police car came crashing into the garden about a foot off the ground. It was like something out of an action film.”
The cop driver suffered minor hand injuries and went to hospital. Link
World's Oldest Blogger
At 107 she is probably the world's older blogger and cyber granny Olive Riley may also lay claim to being the oldest YouTube user.
The great-grandmother of seven, updates her blog (or blob as she calls it), The Life of Riley, from her home on the Central Coast, Australia and it has won her thousands of fans across the world.
"I've got no ideas about computers, no idea at all," she said.
"It's a bit of fun, although I do get a bit tired sometimes."
"I thought I might have a few (readers) but I didn't think I'd have so many - but they all seem to be so happy about it," she said.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Baby Born With 12 Fingers, 12 Toes
A boy has been born with 12 fingers and 12 toes. The rare condition, called polydactylism, is usually genetic. His dad was born with an extra finger on his left hand. He'll have all the extra digits surgically removed in a couple of weeks, his mom said.
Geek Wedding Cakes
A collection of nerdy wedding cakes. [via]
Atlas Of The Visible Universe
This is an atlas of the visible universe (within 14 billion light years). You can zoom in the map all the way down to galaxies within 12.5 light years of Earth.
Cleaning The Millennium Stadium
This is a job I wouldn't fancy doing. Mind you, the view would be great. In case you are wondering, he's cleaning the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
Trashed Ferrari
What not to do with a Ferrari. [via]
Threadless $10 T-Shirt Sale
Threadless are running another $10 sale. Every t-shirt, including 14 new designs and 4 reprints, are on sale. The sale runs until September 3rd.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Driver Contiues Sleeping After Crashing Truck
A Chinese trucker who fell asleep at the wheel and drove off the side of the road, was so tired that he continued to sleep at the scene of the accident. [via]
Video: Crazy Taxi
Why can't taxis in Wales be this fun?
Game: Miss S.C. Teen USA's Geography Pop Quiz
Are you better at geography than Miss South Carolina? I got 6 out of 7.
Cappuccino Coast
A beach north of Sydney was turned into a 'big frothy cappuccino' recently in a freak of nature not seen for more than 30 years.
Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed.
All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles.
These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore.
As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.
The foam "surfs" towards shore until the wave "crashes", tossing the foam into the air.
"It's the same effect you get when you whip up a milk shake in a blender," explains a marine expert.
"The more powerful the swirl, the more foam you create on the surface and the lighter it becomes."
So in other words, the sea barfed everywhere. View more pics here.
Video: Columbian Kids Go to School in the Coolest Way Ever
The only way in and out of this remote Columbian village is either via a 2 hour hike through a jungle or using a zipline 1,200ft above a river. As the zipline journey only take a minute, everyone, including small children, opt for the crazy ride.
A View From The Top Of The World
A view of the Earth from 117,597 feet, taken on August 11, 2007 by a camera hanging from a helium balloon launched by a group of guys in Alberta, Canada. [via]
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
World's First Automated Restaurant Opens In Germany
A new restaurant has opened in Nuremberg that may be world's first automated sit-down restaurant.
For the magic to work at all, [the kitchen had to be installed] directly beneath the roof of the multistory restaurant. Customers order their meals using a touch-screen system that is placed at each table, and the entire restaurant is networked via a computer system. Customers' orders are registered upstairs in the kitchen and a computer in the cellar keeps track of supply stocks. The system also calculates the likely delivery times for drinks and meals at every table and keeps customers informed.
Hobby cook Mack began his journey down the automation road after throwing a dinner party for friends. Frustrated as he tried to balance the food he had made for his dinner guests, he came up with the no-hands serving idea.
"It would be easier if the food arrived on a slide," he thought to himself. After consulting with engineer friends and rejecting their ideas, he came up with his own: Specially made hotpots would slide down 15-foot steel spirals, using the forces of gravity, before coming to a slow stop on rails slanted upwards at the customers' tables.
"The principle is so charming because it's so simple," says an enthusiastic Mack. Ever on the go, Mack believes he has already spotted scouts from McDonald's among his customers -- and he would like to do business with the fast food chain.
Japan's Love Affair With Canine Fashion
Dogs now outnumber children aged 10 and under in Japan -- there were 13.1 million dogs in 2006. As the number of humans shrink, the dog population is growing, research firm Euromonitor said, and so is the market for dog-related products. More images. Link
Texperts Review
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the newly launched Texperts service and commented about how I didn't think it was worth £1 to ask a question.
Rhodri Thomas, Director of New Business Strategy at Texperts, contacted me shortly after offering me the chance to test out the service for free for a whole week. During the week I could ask as many questions as I wanted and not be charged. This would be a great opportunity to test out the speed and accuracy of the service.
In total I asked around 20 questions and I've listed some of them below along with the answers and response times.
Q. What is the world's rarest bird? A. Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii) thought to be rarest; extinct in native habitat but >60 in breeding program. Other contenders Night Parrot and Ivory Billed Woodpecker (two species which may or may not be extinct). Response time: 4 minutes.Q. When did the first human die of AIDS?
A. The world's first known case of AIDS has been traced to a sample of blood plasma from a man who died in 1959. Over 20 million have died of it since 1981.
Response time: 6 minutes.Q. What is the best selling beer in the world?
A. Budweiser has been the world's best-selling beer since 1957, and is distributed in more than 70 countris. Carling is Britain's best-selling beer.
Response time: 2 minutes.Q. What is the most remote village in Britain?
A. Inverie, on the Knoydart, Scotland is the most remote village in the UK. Britain's most remote mainland pub is also in the same village.
Response time: 5 minutes.Q. Who was the top scorer for Everton FC in the 1985-1986 football season?
A. Gary Lineker was Everton's top scorer in 1985/86 season. He scored 40 goals in all competitions. Graeme Sharp was second with 22.
Response time: 13 minutes.Q. Which airline has the worst safety record and which has the best?
A. Air Canada has been ranked as the world's safest airline. Surinam-based SLM is considered the worst, with a death rate of 238/million passengers.
Response time: 8 minutes.Q. Is civil war a good thing?
A. Generally no - leads to bloodshed, but recently Iraq's political leaders come closer to a unified leadership after bombings almost started civil war.
Response time: 8 minutes.
In general, I was very impressed with the answers and the response time varied from 2 minutes to 13 minutes. I'm not sure how their infrastructure is set up but it's impressive how the question is routed to the appropriate Textpert and returned so quickly. You can even respond to the answer to clarify or ask a further question.
There were a few responses that I wasn't happy with but I wasn't charged for them and the Texpert offered research the question further if I wanted. Here's an example.
Q. What is the coldest recorded temperature for the town of Newport, South Wales (UK)? A. Did you mean Newport (Shropshie)? It had the lowest recorded temperature in England : -26.1C on 10th January, 1982.Q. No, not Newport (Shropshire), Newport (Wales) - east of Cardiff.
A. Many apologies for the poor first answer. Unfortunately details of the Newport, South Wales are not currently available. If you contact us tomorrow we will call the MET office. Many apologies for this. No Charge.
So even though the Texpert didn't answer the question he did offer to find out the next day (I didn't respond so never did find out the coldest recorded temperature for Newport).
Speaking to Rhodri via email, he did offer some insight into how the Texpert system works. Many people, myself included, think that there is someone at the other end who quickly does a Google search or consults Wikipedia ("the enemy of anyone who wants real knowledge") but they actually employ a team of real experts (PhD students, professionals, people who also work in creative industries) who consult over 250 different sources as well as search engines.
Overall, my opinion of the service has changed a lot and whilst I would still go hunting for the answer myself most of the time (I enjoy a challenge) when time is of the essence, Texperts is an invaluable tool. Be careful though, it can easily become additive!
P.S. If you think you have what it takes to become a Texpert, try having a go at the Tex-Factor quiz.
Coffee Drinks Illustrated
Side-by-side diagrams of a common coffee drinks.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Artist Sets Sail In Life-Size Paper Boat
Artist Frank Boelter set sails in his lifesize paper boat as he leaves a shipyard in Lauenburg, Germany.
He constructed the 9-metre vessel from 'Tetrapack' and fearlessly sailed it up the Elbe, despite the fact the light material is more commonly used for packaging milk.
The £110 boat is 30 feet long, weighs 55 pounds, uses a 170-square-metre piece of Tetrapack paper, and took only two hours to construct. It is expected to last four days before it disintegrates. Link
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Happy 40th Birthday Big Mac
A happy belated birthday to the Big Mac that turned 40 on August 22nd.
The Big Mac was first introduced in 1967 by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald's franchise owner in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. A year later it was being sold in McDonald's all across America. Today, McDonald's estimates that 560 million Big Macs are sold each year in America.
To celebrate the burger's anniversary, Delligatti, 89, and his family opened a Big Mac Museum Restaurant this week in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, full of memorabilia, celebratory exhibits and the world's largest Big Mac statue. Link
Related: Meet Don Gotske, the man who has eaten over 22,000 Big Macs since 1972.
Study: Jessica Alba Has The Perfect Wiggle
According to mathematicians at Cambridge University, Jessica Alba has the ultimate sexy strut.
The academics found that it is the ratio between hips and waist that puts the sway into a woman's walk - and the nearer that ratio is to 0.7, the better.
This ratio provides the body with the right torso strength to produce a more angular swing and bounce to the hips during the walking motion.
Therefore, a woman with a 25in waist and 36in hips would have just the right proportions to carry off a sexy swagger as she walks.
The Jessica Alba sashay beat off competition from Kate Moss, Angelina Jolie and even Marilyn Monroe, whose walk along a railway platform in Some Like It Hot is one of the most famous in film history.
While Monroe was a fraction off the target ratio with 0.69, the Cambridge team said that Alba had the perfect proportions.
Game: World of Solitaire
World of Solitaire is an ajax solitaire game that has many variations of the game as well as many different options. It's not as fast as a desktop based game but is still as fun.
Panorama Of Tokyo In 1865
This panorama of Tokyo (Edo) was taken in 1865 or 1866 by Greek photographer Felice Beato (one of the first photographers to take pictures of East Asia) and consists of five albumen prints joined together. [via]
Sturgeonface
Sturgeonface - the new Internet meme? [via]
Saturday, August 25, 2007
TubeCast.tv
Tubecast.tv is a new Internet video startup that is building a user interface layer on top of the online video services like YouTube.
Completely browser based (rather than a download like Joost), each channel on Tubecast shows videos in a schedule but you can easily click through them to view the video that you want. There are groups of channels such as music videos, movies and martial arts but I was only able to view the music channels. The interface is pretty slick and videos start almost instantly. [via]
Video: Kid Take Cops on Cat and Mouse Game
You would have thought that after driving up and down the same street half a dozen times, the police would have put up a blockade rather than all following the car in a line.
Woman Collects 23,000 Plastic Bags
Collecting queen Carol Vaughan really is a bag lady - after amassing more than 23,000 plastic bags.
While most people search for ways of getting rid of the items, Carol can't get enough of them.
The 63-year-old started building up her collection 20 years ago.
And the crazy collector from Birmingham, West Midlands, has now seen her treasure trove peak at the 23,000 mark. Link [via]
Top 10 Physically Modified People (Freaks)
His parents must be so proud of him.
Pervy Pap Takes A Peek Up Paris Hilton's Skirt
No point. We've seen it all before.
Weird Deep-Sea Creatures Found in Atlantic
National Geographic has some photos of some very weird and rare creatures observed in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
