The Amazing Stuff

Meet Graham, The Only Man Who Can Survive A Car Crash

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 05:20:00 +0000

Meet Graham. He might look a little different but I assure you that he’s human. Well, sort of. The reason he looks the way he does is because his body has been modified to withstand a car crash.

Graham was created as part of a new Australian road safety campaign by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC). He was designed by sculptor Patricia Piccinini, a leading trauma surgeon, and a road safety engineer, who modified him based on their own knowledge of traffic accidents. The result isn’t a pretty sight but it’s certainly a sobering one. As you can see, Graham doesn’t have a neck because these snap easily in car accidents. He also has a flat, fleshy face to protect his ears and nose. And if you’re wondering about all those extra nipples, they’re to protect his ribs like a natural set of airbags.

Don’t have a body like Graham’s? Then think about slowing down next time you’re behind the wheel.

More info: Meetgraham.com | TAC | Patricia Piccinini (h/t)

Meet Graham. He might look different but I assure you that he’s human

The reason he looks the way he does is because his body has been modified to withstand a car crash

Graham was created as part of a new Australian road safety campaign

He was designed by sculptor Patricia Piccinini, a leading trauma surgeon, and a road safety engineer

He has multiple nipples to protect his ribs like a natural set of airbags

Graham’s brain is the same as yours, but his skull is bigger with more fluid and more ligaments to support the brain when a collision occurs

The brain is one of the most vulnerable parts of our body. It sits delicately surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, which acts as an inbuilt safety mechanism to protect the brain from day-to-day knocks and jolts.

Graham has a rather flat face and a lot of fatty tissue to absorb the energy of an impact

Our faces are a delicate mix of bone, muscle and cartilage. Many people injured in car accidents receive fractures to their nose, damaging not only the bone but disrupting sinuses and the delicate parts behind the cheekbone. To combat this, Graham has a rather flat face. His nose is reduced and his ears are protected by the larger structure of his skull and neck

Graham has been designed with airbag-like ribs with sacks that do a similar job to that of an airbag

Car seat belts are designed to use the strength of the ribs to help us withstand the forces of a crash. That’s why the three-point seatbelt rests across your ribs and sternum and across your pelvis. It loads the centre of your chest, spreading the force over the ribcage until the ribs break when the force becomes too great.

Graham’s skull is a lot bigger, it’s almost helmet like and it’s got these inbuilt crumple zones that would absorb the energy on impact

The skull absorbs a lot of force on impact simply by fracturing. Essentially this stops the force from carrying through to the brain in much the same way a helmet works. Graham’s skull has been engineered to absorb more of the impact earlier, much like a helmet.

Graham’s knees have movement in all directions so they are less likely to be injured

When a pedestrian is hit by a car it’s usually when they’re stepping out from a curb. On impact, the immediate problem is that the knee is only built to bend in one direction, so it will almost always break first. Depending on the force of the impact, the tendons can also pull, twist and hyperextend well beyond their intended radius.

Graham’s neck is fortified with a brace-like structure that protects his head from injury when there is a sudden movement

There is not enough strength in the neck to stop the head from jolting forward in a crash. The forward motion causes a hyperflexion injury and the backwards motion a hyperextension injury. Simply put, the neck is placed under more pressure than its structure can manage. The added danger is the spinal cord running through the neck. If it is to bend and stretch too much it will break, causing serious injuries like paraplegia or quadriplegia.

Graham has thicker and tougher skin to shield and reduce abrasions and road rash

A pedestrian impact is mostly blunt force trauma. However, if our bodies are pitched to the road or if broken glass is involved, then cuts and abrasions can occur. Skin is vulnerable to the road, with bitumen potentially wearing through clothing. This is even more important for motorcyclists and cyclists, who only have minimal protection between themselves and the road.

Strong, hoof-like legs with added joints allow him to jump out of the way quickly in a “spring-loaded” fashion

For pedestrian crashes, there are now so many variables that affect injury severity – the size of the vehicle, height, speed and angle of impact. And there are many situations where legs are badly damaged. In fact, injuries to the legs, feet and ankles can cause long-term debilitation because we are so reliant on them for everyday movement. The shin itself is the least protected bone in the body, with only a thin layer of skin covering it.

25 Most Unbelievable Feats Of Humans

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 04:08:00 +0000

The human body has been studied by doctors, scientists, anthropologists, biologists, and other experts for centuries. Therefore, it’s not surprising that we have such a comprehensive knowledge of how the human body actually works and what it is capable of. Naturally, there are certain limitations to our physical abilities and athletic performances. In spite of these limitations, there has been a number of cases of incredible feats performed by humans that go well beyond what most think is even possible. Take hysterical strength, for example. Also known as superhuman strength, hysterical strength is a display of extreme strength by humans (beyond what is believed to be normal) usually occurring when people are in life and death situations or during so called excited delirium. In the state of hysterical strength, people are believed to perform some extraordinary feats such as lifting cars with bare hands. But the feats you are about to see in this post are not just about human strength. People have been known to achieve other incredible things. From a man who tried to climb Mount Everest in shorts and a teenager who survived 18 days without food and water to a man who ate a plane, these are 25 Most Unbelievable Feats Of Humans.

Lifting a car with bare hands

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org (not the actual performer of the feat)

In 2012, in Glen Allen, Virginia, 22-year-old Lauren Kornacki rescued her father, Alec Kornacki, after the jack used to prop up his BMW slipped, pinning him under it. Lauren lifted the car, then performed CPR on her father and saved his life.

Longest ice bath

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Known as “The Iceman,” Wim Hof, a Dutch stunt performer, holds 20 world records including the world record for the longest ice bath. In 2011, he broke his own previous records by staying immersed in ice for 1 hour, 52 minutes, and 42 seconds.

Fifty marathons in fifty days

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: vimeo.com

Calling it the 50/50/50, American ultra-marathon runner Dean Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 US states in 50 consecutive days, beginning with the Lewis and Clark Marathon in St. Louis on Sept. 17, 2006, and finishing with the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5, 2006. After finishing the feat, Karnazes decided to run home to San Francisco from New York City.

Car balancing

Source: esquire.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

John Evans, known as the “professional head balancer,” was able to balance a 159-kilogram (352-pound) mini cooper on his head for 33 seconds in 1999. Holder of another 32 world records, he has balanced other things on his head including 101 bricks and 235 pints of beer.

Longest sleeplessness

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: youtube.com

In 1964, Randy Gardner, a high school student in San Diego, California, stayed awake for 264.4 hours (11 days, 24 minutes), setting the world record for sleeplessness. Gardner appeared to have fully recovered from his loss of sleep as no long term psychological or physical effects have been observed on him.

Longest underwater breath-hold

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: flickr.com (not the actual performer of the feat)

On 28 February 2016, Aleix Segura Vendrell, a professional free-diver from Spain, set the new world record for the longest time breath held voluntarily when he held his breath under water for 24 minutes and 3.45 seconds.

Helicopter pulled with ear

Source: worldrecordacademy.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

A Georgian man, Lasha Pataraia, earned himself a place in the Book of World Records by pulling a 7,734 kilogram (17,015 pound) military helicopter using just his left ear. He set the world record by pulling a MI8 helicopter 26 meters and 30 centimeters (28.4 yards and 11.8 inches).

Human spider

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Known as the Human Spider, Alain Robert, a French rock and urban climber, is famous for his free solo climbing and scaling skyscrapers using no climbing equipment. Robert has climbed landmarks including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Human lightning rod

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: pexels.com

American park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, Roy Cleveland Sullivan was hit by lightning on 7 different occasions between 1942 and 1977 and survived all of them. Known as the “Human Lightning Rod,” he is recognized by Guinness World Records as the person struck by lightning more recorded times than any other human being.

Niagara Falls tightrope walk

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Holder of 9 Guinness World Records, Nikolas Wallenda, an American acrobat, aerialist, stuntman, high wire artist, and author is best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls. It took him 2 years to get approval from Canada and the US to perform this incredible feat.

Highest dive

Source: guinnessworldrecords.com, image: en.wikipedia.org (not the actual performer of the feat)

In August 2015, 27-year-old Lazaro “Laso” Schaller leapt into the record books after achieving the highest dive from a diving board and simultaneously the highest cliff jump. The fearless stuntman threw himself feet-first off a 58.8 meter (192 feet, 10 inch) rock face into a pool of water in Switzerland.

Biggest wave surfed

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org (not the actual performer of the feat)

Garrett McNamara, an American professional big wave surfer and extreme waterman, is known for breaking the world record for largest wave ever surfed. In January 2013, McNamara broke his own previous world records by surfing an estimated 30-meter (100-foot) wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal.

Longest survival without food and water

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

In April 1979, then 18-year-old Andreas Mihavecz from Austria survived an incredible 18 days without food and water in a holding cell where he was put for being a passenger in a crashed car. He had been completely forgotten about by policemen responsible for him. Mihavecz holds the record of surviving the longest without any food or liquids.

Heroic savior

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: pixabay.com (not the actual performer of the feat)

Shavarsh Karapetyan, a retired Soviet Armenian swimmer and World and European champion, saved the lives of 20 people in a 1976 trolleybus accident in Yerevan, Armenia. The trolleybus, crowded with 92 passengers, sank into a dam at a depth of 10 meters (33 feet). Karapetyan jumped into the dam, broke through a window and started to pull the passengers out. He managed to save 20 of them before he himself lost consciousness in the murky water.

Greatest weight raised by a human

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Paul Anderson, an American weightlifter, strongman, and power-lifter performed the feat of lifting 2844.02 kilograms (6,270 pounds) in a back lift, which the Guinness Book of World Records lists as “the greatest weight ever raised by a human being.” Anderson might have lifted even heavier weights, but only this attempt was officially documented and recorded.

Aircraft pulled by a man

Source: guinnessworldrecords.com, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Kevin Fast from Canada pulled a CC-177 Globemaster III, a large military transport aircraft weighing 188.83 tons (416,299 pounds), a distance of 8.8 meters (28 feet, 10.46 inches) at Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario, Canada, on 17 September 2009.

Buried alive for ten days

Source: bbc.co.uk, image: flickr.com

In 2004, Czech fakir and magician Zdenek Zahradka spent ten days buried alive in a wooden coffin. He was without food and water during the feat, and he could only breathe through a ventilation pipe. Zahradka spent most of this crazy experiment sleeping and meditating about his life.

Survival of the highest fall without a parachute

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Vesna Vulovic is a Serbian former flight attendant who holds the distinction of being the world record holder for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 meters (33,333 ft). Vulovic fell out of a plane that exploded. She suffered multiple fractures, and she was in a coma for 27 days but after that, she fully recovered from her injuries and even continued to fly.

Deepest free-dive

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: flickr.com

Nicknamed “the Deepest Man On Earth,” Herbert Nitsch, an Austrian free-diver, has held world records in all of the 8 free-diving disciplines. The current free-diving world record champion, he has achieved 69 official World Records, usually surpassing his own previous records. His latest record dates back to June 2012 when he dived to the depth of 253.2 meters (831 feet).

Mountaineer in shorts

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

In 2009, Wim Hof (the same man who holds the record for the longest ice bath) climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters or 19,341 feet above sea level) wearing just shorts. Two years earlier, he climbed to an altitude of 6.7 kilometers (22,000 feet) on Mount Everest also wearing nothing but shorts and shoes, but failed to reach the summit due to a recurring foot injury.

Catching cannon balls with bare hands

Source: listverse.com, image: pixabay.com

Also called the “Cannonball King,” John Holtum, a Danish stuntman, could catch 23 kilogram (50 pound) cannonballs fired at him by his assistant. Unfortunately, Holtum’s initial attempt to catch a ball resulted in his losing three fingers.

Super mathematician

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Daniel Tammet is an English writer, essayist, translator, and autistic savant gifted with a facility for mathematical calculations, sequence memory, and natural language learning. In his mind, Tammet says, each positive integer up to 10,000 has its own unique shape, color, texture and feel. He holds the European record for reciting pi from memory to 22,514 digits in five hours and nine minutes. Tammet also speaks ten languages.

Rubberboy

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org (not the actual performer of the feat)

Known as the Rubberboy, Daniel Browning Smith is an American contortionist, actor, television host, comedian, sports entertainer, and stuntman, who holds the title of the most flexible person in history. During one of his feats, he dislocated his arms to crawl through an unstrung tennis racket.

Metal eater

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: youtube.com

Known as Monsieur Mangetout (“Mr. Eat-All”), Michel Lotito was a French entertainer, famous for deliberately consuming indigestible objects. His performances involved consumption of metal, glass, rubber, and other materials. He disassembled, cut-up, and consumed bicycles, shopping carts, televisions and even a plane Cessna 150. It is estimated that between 1959 and 1997, Lotito had eaten nearly nine tons of metal.

Torture king

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org (not the actual performer of the feat)

Tim Cridland (known by his stage name as Zamora the Torture King) is an American sideshow performer who performs extremely painful feats as entertainment. His stunts include fire eating, sword swallowing, body skewering, and even electrocution.

10 Surprising Facts About Snapchat

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 03:43:00 +0000

Everybody seems to have Snapchat right now, but apart from cool filters and instant messenger features, what else is interesting about this app? Check out the top ten facts below!

Drinks are a popular feature.
According to recent statistics, a staggering 93% of Snapchat users have sent a picture to somebody else of their drink! Over 60% sent pictures of people they don’t even know.

It’s been beaten only by Facebook.
Snapchat has become so popular now that Facebook is the only rival which can beat it. Snapchat regularly ranks at number 2, just behind our favourite social networking app.

Best friends or no best friends?
Snapchat users went slightly crazy in 2015 when the ‘best friends’ feature was taken away. Prior to this update, users could see the best friends of other users. 64% of people still want the ‘best friends’ list to come back.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again!
The founders, Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown Poster and Bobby Murphy, had tried 34 projects before coming up with the idea of Snapchat. Their idea was criticised, but it’s a good job they didn’t listen!

It’s original name was Picaboo.
When it first started in 2011, it was named Picaboo, but in 2012, it was renamed to Snapchat.

There are more than 7 billion pictures and videos per day.
As of 2016, there are over 7 billion pictures and videos which are viewed every single day by Snapchat users. This amount increased from 2 billion in May 2015.

Filters are one of the most popular features.
In 2015, Snapchat introduced a variety of filters which users could add to their pictures and videos. This is thought to have contributed to the increase in popularity for the app.

Women like it more than men do.
70% of the people using Snapchat are female, leaving just 30% from the male population. As of 2014, over half of the users are between the ages of 13 and 17.

Evan Spiegel and Taylor Swift?
Between 2014 and 2015, co-founder Evan Spiegel and pop singer Taylor Swift reportedly had a romance. Has she written a song about him yet though?!

Facebook really wants Snapchat…
Mark Zuckerberg first offered a billion dollars for Snapchat, but when he was declined, he came back with a $3 billion offer. Rejected once again, he returned the next day, promising a cheque for $4 billion. His offer wasn’t accepted.

25 Unique Things We’ve Learned About Virginity Over The Years

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 20:08:00 +0000

For thousands of years, one’s virginity has been seen in many different cultures as the most important gift a woman could give to her husband on their wedding night. Also, virginity has been the indicator of purity and divinity in major religious traditions, with two of the most noted examples being the Virgin Mary, of course, and Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom, law, and justice in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Fast-forward to contemporary Western society, where the word virginity is viewed with distaste, and the thing itself is seen as a shameful quality of usually a young person who has to get rid of it as soon as possible.

What has happened over time that has led the once-precious stock, so to speak, of someone’s virginity (particularly women) to lose its value in modern times? Obviously, a great many things have changed in the last century alone, but it appears that nowadays, more than ever before, an increasing number of young men and women see sex as a natural thing to do and not the taboo that it used to be. However, the list of 25 Unique Things We’ve Learned About Virginity Over the Years that follows might make you feel like some values are timeless.

Feature image: A Yee via Flickr

The term virgin is related to the Latin root virga, meaning “young shoot,” and virginem, meaning “maiden, unwedded girl or woman, fresh, unused.”

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

The word virgin appeared for the first time in the English language in the ninth century, but initially only applied to women.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

Throughout the centuries pearls have been seen in many cultures as a symbol of female virginity and purity, especially in the context of marriage or religious portraits.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Another popular symbol of virginity is the unicorn. According to various world traditions, only virgins could tame unicorns, meaning only virgins could calm male elements with their female ones.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

Flowers have traditionally been associated with female sexuality because they suggest growth and fertility and visually resemble female genitalia. To be more specific, the lily is almost exclusively associated with virginity, and its white petals and golden stamen are a visual reminder of the act of penetration.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Have you ever heard the phrase “a lord’s right”? If you’ve seen Braveheart, you may recall it. For those of you who haven’t seen the film or know the phrase, it referred to a bizarre and tragic medieval legal right in Britain that allowed the lord of an estate to take the virginity of the estate’s virgins on their wedding night.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

In certain countries, one’s virginity was sold as a valuable commodity. In Japan, for example, geishas would sell their virginity in a ritual called mizuage, but that ritual became illegal in 1959.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

“Technical virginity” is a phrase and concept used to describe a person who has engaged in other types of sex such as anal and oral but not vaginal.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

The Aztecs believed avocados were so sexually powerful that virgins were banned from eating them.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the demand for hymenoplasty, or revirgination, has been one of the fastest-growing surgeries in the past few years.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

The Greek word for virgin is parthenos. As you may know, one of the most famous monuments in the world, the Parthenon in Athens, was a temple dedicated to the virginity of Athena.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

From 1622’s The Changeling, we discover that there were a number of ways for a woman who had lost her virginity before marriage to deceive her future husband, including the use chicken blood or even scratching her genitalia.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

Some Shakespeare critics believe that the red-on-white pattern on Desdemona’s handkerchief in Othello is symbolic of her virginity and that her inability to produce the handkerchief led to her death.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

According to Mosaic Law, a bride’s family is to exhibit bloodstained sheets in public as proof of her virginity. If the bride could not do so, she was stoned to death. Surprisingly, many Western countries followed this tradition until quite recently.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

To this day in some African countries, an unmarried woman who is found not to be a virgin can be ostracized, shamed, or killed, even if her virginity was lost through the act of rape.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

Many doctors suggest that the presence or absence of the hymen is not adequate proof of virginity. Many women have thin hymens that are stretched or torn easily through bike riding or other sports activities.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

Some Orthodox Jews believe that the slate of a sexually experienced woman is wiped clean and that the ritual of the wedding cleanses her of her “carnal transgressions.”

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Worldwide, people “lose” their virginity the first time at an average age of 17.3, with individual country averages ranging from 15.6 in Iceland to 19.8 in India.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

The phrase “V card collecting” rose in popularity in the mid-2000’s among young American males who tried to have sex with as many virgins as possible.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

It seems that, at least in part, the organization Born Again Virgins of America! (BAVAM!) was founded in 2008 in response to this social development, with the express purpose of helping women (occasionally men, too) who regret having lost their virginity to “V card” collectors.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

The Wasted Lesson in Morals and The Medical Examination, two paintings by the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Godfried Schalken, portray virginity symbols better than any other art of that period. In the first painting, an older woman wags her finger at a younger one, cautioning her against opening a jewel casket. In the second painting, the girl weeps while a doctor examines a flask of her urine. Both works suggest that a chaste girl is sealed and impermeable, while an unchaste girl is incontinent and porous.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

In medieval Europe, vestal virgins were supposedly able to carry water in a sieve. This is why Queen Elizabeth I holds a sieve in her left hand to publicize her virginity in a famous 1579 portrait.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

However, and despite being known as the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I reportedly had affairs with the Earl of Leicester and others.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: Wikipedia

Ancient Roman priestesses were called vestal virgins. They were required to keep their hymens intact as proof of their virginity until the age of thirty, or they would be buried alive.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

“Chastity belts” appeared around the 1700’s and lasted until the 1930’s. They were typically fitted on teen girls to keep them virgins until marriage, but something many people don’t know is that the belts were also used to keep girls from masturbating, which was believed to cause infertility and demonic possession.

Source: virginity-facts.html, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

10 Attributes Of Fascism In The United States

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 12:23:00 +0000

Fascism is defined as “a political system headed by a dictator, in which the government controls business, and labor and opposition is not permitted.” Many people confuse fascism with communism, as both are well-known systems under which the government exercises extreme control over its citizens, but the two are ideologically dissimilar in one important way: While communism ostensibly (if not usually in practice) distributes power evenly among the people with “communal” ownership of resources, fascist societies tend to concentrate power among very few individuals with an emphasis on corporate interests over public.

Such a system inevitably leads to populations mired in poverty with restrictive laws, loss of basic personal freedoms, and no means of escaping debt, let alone accumulating wealth. Many in the United States believe that the country is scarily close to embracing this form of government, and still others believe that it already has. And indeed, there are many well-established aspects of fascist societies that have taken root in the United States, some more recently than others.

10 Intense Nationalism And Demagoguery

Much more than simple pride for one’s country, extreme nationalism is rooted in the notion that one’s individual identity is entirely associated with their national identity—such that individual identity cannot exist separately from that of their nation. Strong emotional ties to one’s nation result from such attitudes, but more often than not, the allegiance gained is to a perverted notion of national identity put forth by politicians or demagogues.

The term “demagogue” is used mostly derisively to refer to a politician who grows their base and amasses power not through the discussion of policy and real solutions to problems but by blatant appeal to fear, xenophobia, and outright ignorance. Of course, history has shown this to be an effective tactic among populations with little understanding of complex political issues but a strong sense of national identity. The fascist totalitarian regimes of World War II began with populist, grassroots movements headed by charismatic leaders who were able to use fears over loss of national identity to quickly amass power.

Obviously, the 2016 US presidential election cycle has demonstrated that demagoguery and appeals to bigotry and a desire to return the country to a mythical state of “greatness” can still gain substantial political points even in the modern day. But appeals to this ideal of “greatness” go nowhere without a contrast—an idea or group that can be pointed to as the problem. This is why campaigns based on intense nationalism will always have an accompanying feature:

9 Demonizing The ‘Other’

Those with even a basic knowledge of modern world history know that the Jewish people bore the brunt of the consequences of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Though non-white races, homosexuals, and ill-defined “gypsies” were persecuted as well, it was the Jews in particular who were singled out as being mostly to blame for Germany’s economic misfortunes and a perceived erosion of German culture. And this—the broad illustration of an easily definable enemy, an “other” that undermines the precious national identity—is an incredibly key component to the development of a fascist society.

It should go without saying that in the US today (though non-whites and gays are still part of the rhetoric), the scapegoated “other” is the Muslim. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Muslims have been the go-to counterpoint to the American identity. Immediately after the event, and despite decades of complicated US relations with the Middle East, then-president Bush insisted that the attack happened simply because Muslims “hate our freedom.”

Today, mainstream presidential candidates seriously advocate a moratorium on all Muslims entering the country, suggest (also in apparent seriousness) that all of the world’s billions of Muslims know which ones are terrorists, and state that ISIS is the greatest existing threat to the US. This is in spite of the fact that acts of radical Islamic terror overwhelmingly kill other Muslims—between 82 and 97 percent, according to a study by the United States’ own Counterterrorism Center.

This is the type of highly relevant data that is easily buried when the bulk of the public discussion is rooted in fear and irrationality, and the discussion is easily steered in that direction—not by politicians or demagogues themselves but by the corporations that fund and support them in a fascist political structure through use of the media.

8 Corporate Ownership Of Media

It bears noting that the fascist regimes of Hitler and Mussolini took place before the advent of modern mass media, including television, which, along with the Internet, is the means by which the vast majority of Americans consume their information. It can be demonstrably shown that instances of the type of selective reporting noted above are standard in Western media. To illustrate this example, analysis abounds showing that Islamic terrorism is reported on far more extensively in the Western media when it occurs in the Western world. In November 2015, in which three major terror attacks occurred, the one that took place in Paris received roughly 93 percent of the coverage within that month. The other two attacks took place in Beirut and Baghdad.

The reason that so many seemingly disparate media outlets are able to fall in line on such issues is simple: There really isn’t that much disparity. In the United States, six corporations—General Electric, NewsCorp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS—own 90 percent of all media in all formats. This is the result of serious consolidation over the last several decades; in 1983, that number was 50.

Thanks the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, such corporations now have the ability to contribute freely to organizations that support political candidates or movements. For a recent example, look no further than Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Dozens of individual media companies (all owned by the above six) have contributed to the campaign, and CNN has come under some fire during the election season for biased reporting on Clinton’s behalf. CNN is owned by Time Warner, a major contributor.

7 Dismantling Of Labor Unions

Key to fascist ideology is state ownership not just of resources but of labor. That being the case, privatized labor unions, which negotiate terms on behalf of workers and prevent abuses by employers, aren’t compatible in any way with a fascist government. After the Italian parliament elections in 1924, in which Benito Mussolini solidified his power, one of his first acts—after declaring other political parties illegal—was to outlaw labor unions and strikes. It was Mussolini who said, “Fascism should rightly be called corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.”

Labor unions have historically been a rich source of funding for political candidates, and endorsements from important unions could help secure elections, but in recent decades, there has been a dramatic shift in this dynamic. Strong anti-union platforms—particularly within the Republican party—have gotten several high-profile conservative politicians, such as Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and Michigan governor Rick Snyder, reelected in recent years in states with a traditionally strong labor presence.

This is due at least in part to a long-standing and ongoing effort on the part of the US political right to undermine, discredit, and disperse labor unions, and it has achieved a sort of snowballing effect: As unions become less visible, fewer Americans see them as essential, which further precipitates their decline. In the mid-1950s, union representation among wage and salaried worker in the US was around 35 percent. Today, it is less than eight percent.

6 Government Involvement In Religion

Historically, powerful religious institutions haven’t hindered the rise of fascist regimes—quite the opposite, in fact. Mussolini’s regime again provides an easy historical frame of reference for this, as the Roman Catholic Church was (and still is) the most powerful institution in Italy at the time of his rise.

Simply put, the rigid and somewhat archaic moral systems of traditional religious institutions tend to align very well with fascist, authoritarian notions of control. Mussolini was able to avoid coming into conflict with the church by simply adopting many of their official stances (which he likely would have done anyway) on issues such as contraception and divorce. A 1929 agreement between the church and regime known as the Lateran Treaties went so far as to make Roman Catholicism the official state religion.

Although the United States hasn’t gone to this extreme, an alarming 57 percent of Republicans asked in a recent poll believe that the US should, in direct violation of its own constitution, make Christianity its national religion. Demagogues like Donald Trump, a man who has earned that description ten times over in recent months, have always found convenient declarations of renewed religious faith to be an effective, cost-free means of immediately swaying a large portion of the populace. This is particularly true in heavily religious nations like the US.

5 Suspicious Elections

Since rigged elections are a hallmark of fascist regimes, any appearance of impropriety in the US election system, which has generally been considered sound, if inefficient and complicated, sets conspiracy theorists off about the rise of US fascism. From questions about the 2000 US presidential race, in which George W. Bush famously won the election despite losing the popular vote, up to the recent election cycle, in which candidates from both parties have encountered problems during the primaries with vote counts, late ballots, and even their names being left off ballots altogether, the perception of a “rigged system” has been picking up steam among the American public.

Even if elections aren’t directly rigged, the reality is that the old adage that “anyone can be president if they work hard enough” is probably completely untrue, and when it comes to who actually takes office, Americans have far less say than one might think. The presidential primary process, during which candidates are selected by their respective parties, has only been in place since the early 20th century. Before that, candidates were simply chosen in private by the parties.

Much has been made during the 2016 election of delegates and their role in the primary process, but even some delegates, like Curly Hoagland of North Dakota, admit that the process isn’t really designed to give the public as much of a choice as they may perceive:

The media has created the perception that the voters choose the nomination. That’s the conflict here. The rules are still designed to have a political party choose its nominee at a convention. That’s just the way it is.

If the presidential nominees and eventual winners did indeed represent the collective will of the American public, it would be a remarkable coincidence, as recent genealogy work has provided strong circumstantial evidence to the contrary. Every US president except one (Martin Van Buren) is directly related to the same English king, and the candidate with the most royal genes and chromosomes has won the presidency 100 percent of the time for the last 200 years.

4 Secret Trade Agreements

So-called free trade agreements, such as 1994’s infamous North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pact between the US, Mexico, and Canada, have a reliable history of looking out for corporate interests. The newest and one of the most controversial of these, the Transpacific Partnership, or TPP, was finalized in 2016 at the tail end of the Obama administration. Negotiations were conducted in private over five years, and the general public was given no details on its terms until the deal was already done.

One of the main thrusts of the agreement is copyright and patent law, which sounds innocuous enough until you consider that practically every aspect of modern business hinges on this and that all of the changes being implemented benefit corporate interests, not workers. For example, a tightening of patent regulations on medications or surgical procedures will allow practitioners to price these out of the range of lower income patients. Also, corporations will now be allowed to sue governments over lost profits due to regulatory changes, as cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris is doing right now. The tobacco giant is involved in litigation with Uruguay because, by national law, the country requires warning labels on cigarettes, which of course hurts profits. Such lawsuits are now possible because of TPP—which, again, was not approved by voters and was never even up for a vote.

Such secrecy in service of further consolidation of corporate power (and erosion of oversight) is truly problematic. Remember Mussolini’s words about fascism being essentially the merger of corporation and state. And with consolidation of power comes concentration of wealth, which inevitably leads to . . .

3 Extinction Of The Middle Class

While “income equality” has only become a buzzword over the last few years, the fact is that the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States has being steadily widening for decades, since the mid-1970s. The middle class is vanishing, not just in economically disadvantaged areas but everywhere. A 2016 Pew Research poll covering three quarters of the population showed that a clear majority of Americans are no longer in the middle class, and the majority of those exiting were not becoming richer but rather joining the lower class, although this was, of course, not always the case.

This is what we would expect to see in a climate in which corporate interests come before any other, and it constitutes a strong argument that, despite a centuries-old culture of American ingenuity and self-reliance, the US has become such a climate. If further evidence were required, one could look to the fact that despite unprecedented mismanagement, misappropriation, and outright greed by Wall Street bankers contributing to an economic crash from which the US economy still hasn’t recovered, the current number of bankers in jail for this conduct stands at one.

This has the effect of creating vast numbers of poor and disenfranchised workers who will literally cling to any meager source of income they can get, which is a perfect fit for a fascist economy, which is ideologically opposed to redistribution of wealth by any means, even to those whose labor produced it. Historically,it has also had the effect of angering, mobilizing, and even radicalizing poor workers—leading to another unmistakable hallmark of the totalitarian regime, which has unfortunately started to show up in the US:

2 Militarized Police

Many Americans can probably remember a time when the sight of local police officers wearing full body armor, carrying military weapons, and riding through the streets in military vehicles would have caused a panic. One might have assumed that an invasion was taking place or perhaps that martial law had been declared for some unthinkable reason. It is highly unfortunate that, after widespread coverage of incidents like the protests over the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the image and idea of US police responding to citizens as the US military would respond to foreign combatants is no longer unthinkable but almost commonplace.

The impetus for this unprecedented buildup of firepower by law enforcement, if not the reasoning behind it, can be traced to the 1990 version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which the US Congress revises and passes yearly. After a rise in drug-related violence in the 1980s, the Department of Defense was allowed to transfer surplus gear to local police departments at its discretion if said equipment was deemed suitable for antidrug activities. This, combined with $35 billion in grants to local law enforcement handed down by Congress after 9/11, has resulted not only with more and more police being armed with weapons of war, but in those weapons’ deployment and use on a regular basis.

That is to say, SWAT team deployments have risen from about 3,000 in 1980 to over 50,000 per year across the US currently, while in 2014, the FBI released data showing violent crime at its lowest level since 1978. The concern, as seen in Ferguson and elsewhere, is that this apparatus is just as effective—if not more so—at crushing dissent than deterring crime.

But for the truest indicator of the potential rise of fascism in the United States, one must look no further than its current political structure and the definition of fascism as set forth by Mussolini himself.

1 Corporate Money Rules Politics

It is a poorly kept secret that Koch Industries, owned by wealthy oilmen Charles and David Koch, wasted absolutely no time in exploiting the 2010 Citizens United ruling in every way possible. The Koch brothers and their small cadre of supremely wealthy donors have invested nearly $1 billion during this election cycle in order to influence the outcome. That’s over double the amount spent by the Republican National Committee in 2012.

Why? Well, according to the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute, it may be at least partially because Koch Industries is one of the top three polluters in the United States—right up there with ExxonMobil. With all of their formidable investment going to fill the coffers of Republicans (aka the party that’s extremely reluctant to even acknowledge the existence of man-made climate change) it’s not unreasonable to assume that Koch Industries expects a return on its investment in the form of continued lax regulations and impotent policies.

All of this is to say that while the merger of corporation and state in the US is not total, it is not theoretical, either. There are very powerful elements within both the political and corporate worlds that are making diligent progress down this road. In the interest of offering at least one concrete means toward helping to reverse it, perhaps start with overturning Citizens United?

The History of the PC

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 03:31:00 +0000

These days we take the world of computing for granted, using it in almost every aspect of our lives; emails, streaming, social media, at work and of course for pointless games (I’m looking at you Clash of Clans!). The question is do we really know where this technology came from? Do you know who invented the first computer or the first modern computer? Is there a difference between the two? Well that’s what we’re here to find out.

A computer is defined as an electronic device capable of receiving information and performing a sequence of operations predetermined by a program to produce a result as information or signals. The original computers weren’t anywhere near the likes of the Apple, HP or Dell devices we’re all used to, they were huge mechanically driven juggernauts utilizing relays, telephone equipment and vacuum tubes. Most of the original computer concepts were used during World War II. The most famous being the Bombe created by Alan Turing, used to help decipher German Enigma codes.

Here we’re going to focus on the PC, the version of the computer we all know best, as well as the main developments in technology that affected it. The PC, or Personal Computer, was a massive leap for technology and it was all due to the development of the first microprocessor which allowed machines to be sold at a much lower cost and effectively made them consumer goods. The term PC covers a broad range of areas including, desktop, laptop or tablet. This is nowhere near a complete list but here is a timeline of the significant PCs and technologies;

1977 – The first wave of home computers, ‘The Trinity’ as dubbed by Byte Magazine. These were the TRS-80 selling over 10,000 in the first month which had, hence the name, a Z80 microprocessor. The Commodore PET used the newly marketed MOS 6502 microprocessor and was quickly beaten by the Apple II due to its high color graphics and it even came with the game ‘Breakout’ on cassette as standard. All these offered 4KB or 8KB of RAM, utilized BASIC programming language and cassette storage.

1978 – The 5 ¼” floppy disc was released, and although there were previous versions, they were too expensive for the PC. The 5 ¼” was the most common form of PC data storage until the CD’s release.

1981 – The dawn of the laptop, or portables, begins. In this year, both the Osborne 1 and Epson HX-20 were released. The Osborne 1 weighed 24 pounds, had no battery and a 5″ CRT screen. The Epson had a 120×32 pixel LCD screen, a small printer and a re-chargeable battery.

The IBM PC 5150 was, to many, the PC they remember as the original. It had dual 5.25″ floppy disk drives, 64KB RAM and successful BIOS, so successful in fact that it led to a group of new companies termed ‘IBM compatibles’, including Compaq, Dell and HP.

1982 – The Commodore 64 was the highest-selling single personal computer ever, with over 20 million sold by 1994. In 1983 it was selling as many units as every other computer combined due to its low cost and availability in retail stores. This was also the year the first flip style laptops appeared, including the GRiD Compass 1100 which cost over $8000 and was used mainly by NASA, the military and other organizations.

1983– This was a big year for touch technology, The Gavilan SC was the first computer advertised as a “laptop” and had the world’s first touch-pad. The HP-150, the first home computer with touch screen technology, was also released. It detected finger movements through a built-in grid of infrared beams across the monitor’s front. However, the sensors collected dust and needed a lot of cleaning. Touch technology would be a difficult concept to master with many brands releasing their devices, all with their own issues, and many chose to go for the simpler stylus system including Apple with their PDA, the Newton many years later in 1993.

1984 – The reign of Apple continued with the Macintosh, giving many their first look at a GUI or Graphical User Interface, a vital part of any modern PC. Its supreme graphics were a result of the MacPaint program. In this year, one of the biggest changes came for computing, the CD-ROM, it was a few years until CD-R & RW’s came along but the CD allowed for greater storage and easier data management.

1985 – Windows 1.0 was born, giving the GUI interface of the Mac to Windows and stepping away from MS-DOS. It was quoted by Gates as “unique software designed for the serious PC user” utilizing drop-down menus, icons, scroll bars and information boxes as well as the much loved MS Paint.

1988 – The Compaq SLT 286 was released and was the first laptop to use VGA display commercially.

1990 – Windows NT was released; another GUI style interface and an improvement on 1.0, sparking legal issues between Microsoft and Apple about the way the software looked and felt.

Tim Berners-Lee also built the World Wide Web in 1990, giving us the first look at the internet as we know it. It included; HTTP – the most important internet protocol, HTML – a web coding language and the first Web browser, web server, and Web pages describing the project.

1994 – The Apple Power Macintosh was released; a high-end PC aimed at digital media and graphic designers and thus the bond was established. Also in this year, Netscape’s browser was born and gave way to a new wave of people accessing the web.

1995 – The operating system I remember the most fondly, Windows 95 was launched and, due to its huge success, became the system at the forefront for a long time. 95 was the first Windows OS with built-in internet support, to use the plug and play concept and to feature the iconic start button, taskbar and minimize/maximize and close options.

1998 – Google, everyone’s favorite search engine, was created. Google brought for many the developments in web browsing they needed and saw more people using the web.

1999 – Apple released its new iBook, the first device to have a Wi-Fi slot for the new industry-standard wireless platform and other brands quickly followed suit. Wi-Fi drastically improved home computing, allowing connection wherever you were within its range, this meant PCs would soon become common place in bedrooms and studies without the need for a cable.

2000 – The first USB flash drives were sold, improving on data management again. However this wouldn’t be as quick a death for the CD as they were for floppy disks.

2001 – The most popular OS of our time, Windows XP, was released. XP became the standard to which all else aspired, it had numerous versions in its life time and supported the latest in technology including remote desktop, system restore and encrypting file system.

2002 – The Microsoft Tablet PC was, as the name suggests, the first real PC style tablet. It used a stylus based touch-screen and ran Windows XP tablet edition but due to their weight had little success. This was also the year 1 billion PCs were officially sold.

2004 – A game-changing year for home computing. Facebook was launched gaining over 1 billion users to date. Skype was also released giving a simple and cheaper way of internet communication.

2005 – This year saw the death of the much loved IBM as it sold itself to Lenovo. YouTube was launched in 2005 giving us all infinitely more ways to procrastinate.

2006 – This year gave way to Microsoft’s biggest failure, Windows Vista. Vista was supposed to be a huge success offering Bitlocker drive encryption software for the first time, a more focused media centre and a brand new look. However, it was far from a success with the press and techy’s, myself included, branding it a failure. It was released prematurely with numerous problems such as its limited amount of compatible drivers.

2007 – Asus released the Eee, the first ultra-portable laptop called Netbooks, a term coined by Intel. The Eee was a huge success due to its small size, low cost and weight. It had a 4GB disk and 7” screen and gave way to a new wave of computing with many other brands releasing their version.

In this year, Estonia gave the world definitive proof of the significance of home computing when it carried out a general election on the internet. Although not technically home computing, in this year the Apple iPhone was released, and like the tablet saw many people move away from their PCs.

2009 – Windows 7, even after all these years and reinventions released, it’s still the option many companies go for. Windows 7 was built for the wireless age after Microsoft realized the success of laptops and the need to connect on the go.

2010 – The Apple iPad, the most well-known tablet of all, was born. With its 9.7” touch-screen display and the hordes of apps available it soon became a huge hit with customers, and competitor Android based devices started flooding the market.

2012 – The best of both worlds as it seems, the Microsoft Surface with its detachable keyboard and kickstand allowed you to have the convenience of a tablet with the usability of a laptop.

This was also the era of Windows 8 with its touch-friendly app and tile interface. 8 was the first real multi-platform software for use with touch devices and traditional PCs. It featured the Windows Store, a marketplace for apps. Although a great system for touch devices, it seemed to be less successful for the traditional PC, the start button being the biggest complaint.

2013 – The Apple MacBook used the revolutionizing Retina display technology which had 400 pixels-per-inch and was crowned one of the slimmest laptops around.

2015 – Windows 10 has been released, a free to upgrade OS seeing 75 million devices running 10 in the first month. Microsoft have definitely pushed the boundaries and improved the system significantly, offering a voice system similar to Apple’s Siri called Cortana, and the return of the start bar meant many sceptics are more than happy to fall for Microsoft once again.

So there we go, the first computers were nothing more than glorified mechanical machines built mainly for war-games. ‘The Trinity’ were the first leap forward, especially for Apple, establishing the home pc and leading the way for the likes of the Commodore 64 and the Apple Macintosh which made the PC more affordable and introducing new concepts like a GUI to the desktop world. The creation of laptops seemed to spell the end of the home PC, users loved the portability of these devices compared to the bulky desktop, and the tablet with its touch technology and size was the final nail in the coffin for most customers. Every concept, from the floppy disk to the flash drive, Windows 1.0 to 10, the Apple II to the Asus Eee, revolutionized the way we use the PC and home computing in general. There will always be a want for the new, the fast, the easy and the different and I personally can’t wait to see what the future holds. In 2009, laptops officially outsold desktop PCs and in 2013 tablets outsold both desktop PCs and laptops, reaching over 200 million more units by 2016. So whatever device you’re reading this on, remember where it came from, the originals, all pushing the boundaries of what we know as the PC.

10 Forgotten Conquerors From Ancient History

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:52:00 +0000

In Shelley’s famous poem Ozymandias, a broken statue lies in the empty desert, its pedestal hollowly boasting, “My name is Ozymandias, king of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!”The conquerors on this list boasted that they had “all the lands at [my] feet” or promised to make “Egypt taste the taste of my fingers!” But in the end, they, too, have been largely forgotten. Look upon their works and despair.

10Lugalzagesi

Civilization was born in ancient Sumeria, in the rich lands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. But by 2330 BC, the region was in an uproar and ancient cities lay in ruins. The culprit was Lugalzagesi, the king of Umma. Before inheriting the throne, Lugalzagesi was a priest of the goddess Nisaba and he has been labeled an “ecstatic” and a “bone fide berserk” by historians seeking to explain the unprecedented destruction he unleashed.

Shortly after inheriting the throne of Umma, Lugalzagesi also became king of Uruk, probably through marriage. He then launched a series of frenzied campaigns against the kingdom of Lagash, eventually conquering the city itself. A priest of Lagash reported that he “set fire to the [temples] . . . he plundered the palace of Tirash, he plundered the Abzubanda temple, he plundered the chapels of Enlil and Utu.”

In another inscription, the defeated king of Lagash bitterly cursed the conqueror: “The leader of Umma, having sacked Lagash, has committed a sin against Ningirsu. The hand which he has raised against him will be cut off! May Nisaba, the god of Lugalzagesi, ruler of Umma, make him bear the sin.”

But the conquest of Lagash only increased Lugalzagesi’s strength. Before long, he was ruler of all Sumeria, lord of primeval cities like Ur, Zabala, and Nippur. His armies raided from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean: “Enlil, king of all lands, gave to Lugalzagesi the kingship of the nation, directed all eyes of the land toward him, put all the lands at his feet . . . from east to west, Enlil permitted him no rival.”

Enlil must have changed his mind. Lugalzagesi’s conquests soon brought him into conflict with a minor ruler named Sargon. In a stunning upset, Sargon’s well-drilled troops defeated the primitive armies of Sumeria. Lugalzagesi was paraded in chains through Nippur and was soon all but forgotten, while Sargon of Akkad went on to found the first great empire in history.

9Modu Chanyu

The horse was first domesticated on the great Eurasian Steppe, the seemingly endless ocean of grass that runs from Mongolia to Eastern Europe. Every so often, the nomadic horsemen of the plains would unite under some great ruler and erupt on the civilized world. Some of these conquerors remain famous—-Attila, Genghis, Timur the Lame—-but Modu Chanyu, who was one of the earliest, is now almost forgotten in the West.

Modu’s father was king of the Xiongnu, a people who lived in what is now Mongolia. The king preferred Modu’s brother, so Modu had him killed and took power anyway. According to the Chinese historian Sima Qian, Modu invited his bodyguards for some archery practice and told them to use his favorite horse as a target. When some objected, Modu immediately executed them. Then, he told them to use his wife as a target. Again, some objected, and Modu killed them on the spot. Finally, he told the survivors that their new target was his father. They shot him without hesitation.

After murdering his siblings, Modu launched lightning campaigns against the Donghu and Yuezhi, forming a sprawling empire that stretched across the eastern steppes. In 200 BC, he lured the Chinese Emperor Gaozu into an ambush and forced him to sign a humiliating treaty. The Chinese had to pay tribute and Gaozu agreed to give his daughter as a concubine to Modu (he sent some other girl and lied that she was his daughter instead).

In a way, Gaozu was lucky—-the king of Yuezhi had his skull turned into a drinking cup by Modu’s son. Modu himself died in 174 BC, as the ruler of an empire that rivaled Alexander the Great’s in size.

8Cyaxares

For centuries, the mighty Assyrian Empire dominated the ancient Middle East. Its influence even extended to the lands of the Medes, in what is now Iran. The Medes had mixed feelings about this and a nobleman named Phraortes led a revolt around 653 BC. But the bowmen of Assyria were justly feared, and the rebellion was crushed. Phraortes was executed and his grieving son Cyaxares swore to finish what his father had started.

This was no mean task, particularly considering that the Scythians had invaded Media in the meantime. But Cyaxares quietly submitted to Scythian rule until he was able to lure their leaders to a banquet. Once the Scythians were drunk, Cyaxares had them slaughtered. Next, he united the Medes into one kingdom under his command. He reformed the Mede army with new weapons and a focus on horsemen, which the Assyrians lacked.

In 614 BC, the Medes attacked, sacking the Assyrian stronghold at Ashur. Over the next two years, they ground closer to the Assyrian capital Ninevah, which fell in 612. Cyaxares had avenged his father and destroyed the greatest empire of the day. The Median Empire seemed destined to dominate the ancient world—-and it might have, had Cyaxares’s successor not had the misfortune to cross an young man called Cyrus, the leader of an obscure tribe called the Persians.

7Nabopolassar

But Cyaxares and the Medes weren’t alone in the great war against Assyria. To overthrow such a mighty empire, they formed an alliance with Nabopolassar, a rebel who had made himself king of the ancient city of Babylon.

Babylon was one of the jewels in the crown of the Assyrian Empire, but the Assyrians were cruel and greedy rulers, and the sprawling city always longed to regain its former independence. It revolted in 705, but the Assyrian king Sennacherib came down like the wolf on the fold and virtually leveled the city after a devastating siege. Another revolt in 651 was crushed almost as severely.

Nabopolassar himself was born to an obscure tribe of Chaldeans outside Babylon and even his monuments describe him as the “son of a nobody.” But he became a famed resistance leader, leading a guerrilla campaign centered in the marshy delta region of the Tigris and Euphrates. When the citizens of Babylon overthrew their governor in 630 BC, they invited the dogged veteran to become their king.

For 15 years, Nabopolassar fought a desperate campaign to dislodge the Assyrians from Babylonia. By 616, he had succeeded and was able to launch attacks on Assyria itself. In 612, he signed a treaty with Cyaxares and their combined forces destroyed Ninevah. Afterward, they split the Assyrian Empire between them. Nabopolassar then destroyed an Assyrian rump state in Syria, while his forces defeated an Egyptian attempt to intervene.

Nabopolassar died in 605 and the Neo-Babylonian Empire he founded crumbled when Cyrus the Great’s Persians appeared outside Babylon a few decades later.

6Piye

In the eighth century BC, the ancient kingdom of Egypt had collapsed into chaos. Minor kings squabbled over the cities, and the north was dominated by Libyan warlords, who were less than keen on the Egyptian gods. Concerned, the priests of Amun looked south to Nubia, to the “Black Pharoahs” of Kush. This powerful African kingdom was heavily influenced by Egypt (to this day, Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt itself). Now, Kush found itself keeping Egyptian culture alive.

Unlike most of the people on this list, the Kushite Pharaoh Piye was a rather reluctant conqueror. Although his influence extended over southern Egypt, he might have been happy to let the north go its own way. But Piye was a true believer and couldn’t allow Amun to be disrespected. A famous monument records his rage: “I swear, as Re loves me, as my father Amun favors me, I shall go north myself . . . And I shall let Lower Egypt taste the taste of my fingers!”

Sure enough, Piye’s armies stormed up the Nile, sprinkling themselves in holy water before each battle. The Libyan fleet burned on the Nile, while the Nubians stormed Hermopolis and Memphis. The Delta lord Tefnakht surrendered, writing to Piye that “I cannot stand before your flame, I dread your grandeur.” Then, having achieved total victory, the pious Piye withdrew and returned to his home in Nubia.

Unsurprisingly, his successor Shabaka was less retiring and returned to Egypt in 719 BC, mopping up the remaining opposition founding the 25th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

5 Dhu Nawas

In the sixth century AD, the last Jewish king of Arabia watched a bloody battle rage along a beach in Yemen. His name was Yusuf Al-As’ar, but due to his flowing hair, he was usually known as Dhu Nawas, “Lord of the Sidelocks.” Seeing that his enemies were victorious, he turned and spurred his heavily armored horse into the Red Sea, which was living up to its name with the blood of the fallen. Before long, the waves had swallowed him up.

In the decades before the arrival of Islam, Yemen was caught up in the struggle between Zoroastrian Persia and the Christian powers of Byzantium and Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia). In fact, Abyssinian governor had ruled Yemen before Dhu Nawas seized power. It’s possible that his conversion to Judaism was intended to assert his independence from both Persia and Abyssinia. Either way, the chronicles agree that he launched a campaign against the Abyssinians Christians in Yemen, massacring them wherever possible.

By around AD 525, Dhu Nawas was complete control of the Yemen. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go down well in Abyssinia and the Negus (king) Kaleb soon launched a full-scale invasion from his capital at Axum. Always proactive, Dhu Nawas met the Africans on the beach they tried to land on, but the Abyssinians were simply too powerful and before long he was forced to undertake his famous ride into the sea.

4Brennus

Under Alexander the Great, the Greeks and Macedonians conquered much of the known world. But after Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his successors fell to warring with each other, and his empire collapsed. Just over 40 years later, things had deteriorated to the point that an army of Celtic tribesmen were able to sweep down from the north and plunder his old kingdom of Macedon.

The Gauls were led by a chieftain known as Brennus, who had brought together a large army from various tribes. After raiding Macedon, Brennus (which might actually be a title rather than a name) proposed heading south for the even richer target of Greece. Panicked, the Greeks threw together an alliance and decided to make a stand at the pass of Thermopylae, where the 300 of Sparta had faced the Persians many years before.

But Brennus was no fool and sent troops to raid the exposed Greek state of Aetolia. Panicked, the Aetolians abandoned Thermopylae to defend their lands, leaving the defenders reduced in numbers. Next, Brennus paid the locals to show him the same path Xerxes had once used to outflank the 300. Sensing which way the wind was blowing, the Greeks declined to make another last stand and managed to make a break for it onboard the Athenian navy.

Brennus now had Greece at his mercy and he marched on the rich oracle at Delphi. But the Gauls fell to arguing among themselves and were delayed. Just as they were about to attack Delphi, a sudden snowstorm set in. The Greeks, claiming a miracle, attacked and drove the Celts back into the north. But for many years after, there were rumors of a sacred pool in Gaul, glimmering with sacrificed Greek gold and jewels.

3Pachacuti

In the 15th century, a Peruvian group known as the Chanca were vigorously expanding their state. The Chanca had a large and experienced army and talented generals, and few dared stand against them. Around 1438, they decided to attack Cuzco, the capital of an obscure mountain people known as the Incas. The Incan ruler Viracocha and his heir, Urcon, sensibly abandoned the capital and fled. But Viracocha’s son Cusi Yupanqui refused to run.

Mustering a few loyalists, Cusi Yupanqui somehow managed to defeat the Chanca in a battle in which even the stones rose from the field and came to his aid. That boast might reflect the reality of how Cusi Yupanqui managed to defeat the larger Chanca army—-in later years the Inca had a penchant for crushing their enemies in rockslides. In any case, Cusi Yupanqui emerged triumphant and took a new name, Pachacuti, which means “Earthshaker.” His cowardly father was deposed and his brother was murdered and Pachacuti set out to make the Inca into an empire.

First, Pachacuti attacked the cities surrounding Cuzco, using the excuse that they hadn’t come to help the Inca when the Chanca attacked. Once he had established a solid power base, he struck out wider, conquering huge and ancient provinces: Vilcas, Soras, Aymaraes, Omayasos. When his general Capac Yupanki conquered the north, Pachacuti welcomed him back with open arms and then had him immediately executed, before he could become a threat.

By the time Pachacuti was an old man, the Inca were the dominant power in Peru. Finally satisfied, the Earthshaker passed the army over to his son and quietly retired to relax and tinker around with Cuzco’s architecture.

2Zenobia

Of course, very few women ruled in their own right in the ancient world, but the few who did were usually more than a match for their male peers. Take Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, who was so tough she marched on foot with her troops and often outdrank them as well. In the third century AD, Zenobia cobbled together a short-lived empire that spanned from Egypt to Turkey and seemed a real threat to the power of Rome.

Her rise to power started when she married Lucius Odaenthus, the Roman governor of Syria. The two apparently made a formidable team, although Zenobia famously refused to actually sleep with her husband except to conceive their only son. In 266 BC, Lucius was mysteriously assassinated, along with his son from a previous marriage. Instead of waiting for Rome to appoint a new governor, Zenobia gave the position to her young son and appointed herself as regent.

At the time, Rome was ruled by a succession of short-lived emperors who were too busy being murdered to challenge Zenobia. Next, she turned her gaze to Egypt. Not wanting to completely break with Rome, she sent an agent to Egypt to start a rebellion against Rome. Then her armies swooped in to crush the “rebellion” and return Egypt to Roman rule—-via Zenobia’s court in Palmyra of course. Unfortunately, an actual Roman army turned up in Egypt, forcing Zenobia to show her true colors and slaughter them.

Sensing which way the wind was blowing, the whole Roman east rapidly swore allegiance to Zenobia. But winds change, and Rome eventually did find a competent emperor in the old soldier Aurelian, who defeated Zenobia in a hard fought campaign (she escaped at least three sieges, in one case alone on a camel holding her son). The Queen of Palmyra was taken back to Rome, where she was allowed to live out her old age in quiet obscurity.

1Lord 8 Deer Jaguar Claw

In the 11th century, the Mixtec were a squabbling group of principalities on the Pacific coast of Mexico. They chronicled their history in codices that combined pictures and words in a way not unlike a modern comic books. Many of the codices tell the story of the conqueror 8 Deer Jaguar Claw, who rose to great heights and met a tragic end.

8 Deer Jaguar Claw was born into the royal family of Tilantongo, but he wasn’t in line for the throne. So at 18 he sought out a meeting with the oracle Lady 9 Grass, a terrifying figure who seems to have lacked any flesh on her lower jaw. The codices are a little unclear, but either 9 Grass advised 8 Deer to journey to the shore, or exiled him there. Either way, 8 Deer and his followers left Tilantongo and founded a coastal town called Tututepec.

Now 8 Deer’s genius really started to show through. He formed an alliance with a group of Toltec merchants, who were eager to acquire coastal goods like salt and cacao. With the profits, 8 Deer began a campaign of conquest, starting with small villages along the shore and moving on to larger cities inland. As his wealth and power grew, the other members of Tilantongo’s royal family started dying, putting him closer to the throne. Doubtless 8 Deer was shocked when a last brother was mysteriously stabbed to death, making him the new king.

8 Deer’s next move was to launch an assault on Tilantongo’s ancient enemy, a city known as Red-And-White Bundle. This was personal for 8 Deer, because he had long been secretly in love with 9 Monkey, wife of Red-And-White Bundle’s king. Tragically, 8 Deer stormed into the enemy palace to find 9 Monkey and her husband dying. In an uncharacteristic moment of weakness, 8 Deer couldn’t bring himself to execute 9 Monkey’s son. It was a mistake.

Before long, 9 Monkey’s son had escaped his imprisonment and made his way to the Zapotec Empire, which was concerned at the thought of 8 Deer uniting the Mixtec. With a Zapotec army at his back, 9 Monkey’s son returned and defeated the aging 8 Deer. The conqueror was personally executed by the boy he had spared for love.

25 Little Known Nifty And Cool Facts About Tom Hanks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:29:00 +0000

On this day, one of the greatest and most popular American actors; Tom Hanks, will be celebrating his 60th birthday. Whether you liked him in his role as Jimmy Dugan in the 1992 comedy-drama A League of Their Own, as Jim Lovell in the 1995 documentary drama space adventure film, Apollo 13, as Richard Phillips in the 2013 American biographical survival thriller Captain Phillips, as Andrew Beckett in the 1993 American drama Philadelphia, or in his iconic role as Forrest Gump in the 1994 American epic romantic-comedy-drama film Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks is undoubtedly one of the most successful, popular and critically acclaimed Hollywood actors of all time. Renowned for his exceptional acting talent, Tom Hanks has appeared in over a hundred of films, television series, and stage performances. We have seen him fight in wars, survive on an uninhabited island, search for the legendary Holy Grail and even travel to space. As Tom has been constantly in the spot light, we are sure you are somewhat familiar with this amazing actor, but we bet there is a handful of things and cool facts you do not know about him. To pay tribute to this Hollywood icon on the occasion of his 60th birthday, we took our time to compile a list featuring 25 Little Known Nifty And Cool Facts About Tom Hanks. Happy birthday Tom!

A proud American, Tom Hanks was born in Concord, California, but his mother, Janet Marylyn, was of Portuguese descent, while his father, Amos Hanks, had English ancestry.

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Just 4 years after Tom was born, his parents divorced. Young Tom and his older sister, Sandra, and brother, Larry, went with their father while the youngest child, Jim, stayed with their mother. In his childhood, Tom´s family moved often. By the age of ten, Hanks had lived in ten different houses.

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: flickr.com

Tom Hanks is a third cousin, four generations removed, of former President Abraham Lincoln. Their common ancestor is John Hanks (1680 – 1740), who was the great-great-grandfather of Lincoln and the six-time great-grandfather of Tom Hanks.

Source: moviefone.com, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Before he played a gay lawyer with AIDS in the famous 1993 drama “Philadelphia,” Hanks lost 35 pounds (16 kilograms) and even thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role.

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: youtube.com

The movie´s iconic song, “The Streets of Philadelphia,” written and sung by Bruce Springsteen, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and four Grammy Awards. Hanks and Springsteen have been close friends since their childhood.

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom Hanks is a keen fan of the English soccer club Aston Villa. He first revealed he was a Villa supporter in 2001 and has frequently sported the club´s claret and blue scarf while attending red carpet events.

Source: dailymail.co.uk, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Talking about English soccer, Tom Hanks might be one of the most successful bettors ever. In April 2016, he said he had bet £100 on Leicester to win the Premier League at the beginning of the season when the odds were 5000/1 as Leicester were the league´s biggest outsiders. Incredibly, Leicester won the league, but it remains a mystery if Hanks had really placed the bet or not.

Source: telegraph.co.uk, image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom Hanks shares his birthday, July 9th, with musicians Jack White, David O’Hara, Courtney Love, actor Chris Cooper, and politician Donald Rumsfeld.

Source: moviefone.com, image: commons.wikimedia.org

On October 7, 2013, on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” Tom Hanks announced that he has Type 2 diabetes.

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom Hanks cited the help of a nearby ice cream shop which helped him gain 30 pounds (13.6 kilograms) for his role in the famous 1992 American comedy-drama, “A League of Their Own.”

Source: imdb.com, image: youtube.com

He was not always the cool, confident Tom Hanks we are all so familiar with. He told the Rolling Stone Magazine that when he was growing up, “I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy.”

Source: neatorama.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

Before marrying his second wife, actress Rita Wilson in 1988, Tom Hanks converted to the Greek Orthodox Church, the religion of Wilson and her family.

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom Hanks has been involved in politics. He has donated to many Democratic politicians, and during the 2008 United States presidential election, he uploaded a video to his MySpace account endorsing Barack Obama. Hanks also supports same-sex marriages.

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Tom Hanks has 4 children. With his first wife, actress Samantha Lewes, he has son Colin Hanks (born 1977) and daughter Elizabeth (born 1982). With his second wife, actress Rita Wilson, he has sons Chester Marlon (born 1990) and Truman Theodore (born 1995).

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Tom Hanks has played a captain in 3 different movies: Apollo 13 (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Captain Phillips (2013).

Source: imdb.com, image: youtube.com

His films have grossed more than $4.3 billion at American and Canadian box offices and more than $8.5 billion worldwide, making him the 4th highest-grossing actor of all time (after Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson, and Morgan Freeman).

Source: imbd.com, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Before Tom Hanks kicked off his acting career, one of his jobs was a hotel bellman. Some of the celebrity guests whose bags he carried were Cher, Sidney Poitier, Slappy White, and Bill Withers.

Source: imbd.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

Apart from soccer, Tom Hanks is a huge fan of football and baseball. He supports the Oakland Raiders in football and the Cleveland Indians in baseball.

Source: neatorama.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

He has played with Meg Ryan in 3 movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), and You’ve Got Mail (1998). In reality, Tom and Meg are close friends.

Source: imbd.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom Hanks is not just a great actor. He is also a successful film producer. He has produced over 20 films including the 2002 Canadian-American romantic comedy, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” and the 2004 American 3-D animated musical fantasy film, “The Polar Express.”

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom Hanks is an avid collector of typewriters. He has purchased over 80 typewriters from around the world and has been collecting them “for no particular reason” since 1978.

Source: whatculture.com, image: commons.wikimedia.org

A dedicated proponent of environmentalism, Hanks is an investor in electric vehicles and owns a Toyota RAV4 EV and the first production AC Propulsion eBox.

Source and image: en.wikipedia.org

A supporter of NASA’s manned space program, Hanks said he originally wanted to be an astronaut. In fact, the asteroid 12818 Tomhanks was named after him.

Source: en.wikipedia.org, image: commons.wikimedia.org

Tom Hanks is a big fan of Monty Python, the famous British surreal comedy group. He even became a member of the group for one night – at the 2002 memorial concert for George Harrison.

Source: imbd.com, image: en.wikipedia.org

Tom’s all-time favorite movie is “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). His second favorite is the Beatles’ 1964 film, “A Hard Day’s Night.” He is also a fan of the British science-fiction television program, “Doctor Who.”

Source: neatorama.com, image: commons.wikimedia.org

10 Buildings That Dominate Their Urban Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:26:00 +0000

The world today has its fair share of record-breaking tall buildings. Every several years, another one somewhere on the planet goes up and sets the new standard. But as humanity strives to go higher and higher, we can’t forget those buildings that today don’t seem that tall when compared to what else is out there, but which utterly dominate the urban landscape they’re in. Some cities around the world, though not especially known for their skyscrapers, if any at all, have buildings that stand alone, towering over everything else that surrounds them. We’ll be discussing 10 such buildings in this list below.

10. Burj Khalifa – UAE

In order to get the obvious out of the way first, we’ve decided to start off this list with the tallest: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. While this city, and entire region for that matter, doesn’t lack its share of skyscrapers, the Burj Khalifa, standing at 2,716.5 feet, towers over the rest, as if they were mere hovels. This is the largest building currently in existence and there is no place within the city of Dubai where you can’t see it. Construction began in 2004 and the tower opened six years later.

Besides holding the record for the tallest building on Earth, it can also call itself the “tallest free-standing structure in the world”, with the highest number of stories and highest occupied floor. It also has the highest standing outdoor observation deck and an elevator with the longest travel distance. It’s so tall that those living at the top have to do their prayers two minutes after those on the ground, since the sun still shines up there, after the rest of Dubai falls into darkness.

In 2010 it received the “Best Tall Building Middle East & Africa” award by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Organization (which is apparently an actual award?), as well as many other titles and awards. Though there are plans to build an even larger (7,874 feet tall) building called Dubai City Tower, three times the height of Burj Khalifa, it will be a while until that will become a reality, if it ever does.

9. Sagrada Família Basílica – Barcelona, Spain

The second tallest building in Barcelona, The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is only surpassed by Torre de Collserola, a communications tower, perched high up on a hill on the outskirts of the city. Nevertheless, down in the city center, no other building challenges this mighty church. Standing as high as 557 feet off the ground, its work began back in 1882 and was designed under Antoni Gaudi, who took over the project one year later.

He dedicated the last part of his life to it, dying in 1926 at age 73, when less than a quarter of the church had been built. Some 90 years later and still not finished, its progress can be called slow at best. The reason for this is the fact that its construction draws its funds only from private donations and was even interrupted during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s, only to resume intermittent construction in the 1950s.

Combining Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, Sagrada Família is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica. Describing it, art critic Rainer Zerbst said, “It is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art,” and Paul Goldberger called it, “The most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages.” George Orwell, on the other hand, called it “One of the most hideous buildings in the world.“ Whatever the case may be, construction reached its midpoint in 2010, with its completion being anticipated in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi’s death.

8. Ryugyong Hotel – Pyongyang, North Korea

The Ryugyong Hotel is a 105-story, pyramid-shaped skyscraper, located in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital. Its name, “Ryugyong,” translates to “capital of willows” – which is also one of Pyongyang’s historical names. Still unfinished, its construction began back in 1987, during North Korea’s height. But it was halted in 1992 when the country went through a severe economic recession after the Soviet Union’s collapse. It was estimated to cost somewhere around $750 million to build, or two percent of the entire North Korean GDP.

Even if it was topped out when work on it was stopped, it still had no exterior windows or interior fittings. North Korean officials were embarrassed by the project and had all the official photographs of the city edited, so as to not show the massive concrete monolith. The hotel was removed from all printed maps of Pyongyang and became known as the “Hotel of Doom” or “Phantom Hotel.” The Korean government went so far as to even deny the hotel’s very existence for over a decade.

In 2008, however, construction on it resumed, and the exterior was completed three years later. Plans were to open the hotel in 2012, thus celebrating the centenary of Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, but it didn’t happen. Its original opening date was set in 1989, in time for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. Had this been achieved, Ryugyong would have been the tallest hotel in the world at the time. Nevertheless, at 1,080 feet, it still stands today as the tallest building in Pyongyang, and the rest of North Korea itself.

7. Taipei 101 – Taipei, Taiwan

Located in the capital city of Taiwan, Taipei, this tower was officially classified as the tallest building in the world in 2004, only being surpassed in 2009 by the Burj Khalifa. Towering at 1,667 feet, it’s by far the tallest building around. Designs for both the interior and exterior of the tower are rich in Chinese culture. It incorporates the traditional Chinese pagoda architectural design, within the shape of bamboo flowers. The total cost for its construction was estimated to be somewhere around $1.6 billion and has a LEED – EBOM Platinum Certification, making Taipei 101 the world’s tallest Green Building.

It also houses the fastest elevators in the world, with a top speed of 55 feet per second, and a total of 61 such elevators. Its outside blue-green glass offers UV light protection for those inside and the Tower’s lights display one of seven colors in the light spectrum from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. each evening. In order to protect it from any eventual typhoons or earthquakes, Taipei 101 is fitted with one of the largest damper systems in the world. Located at the 88^th floor, an 800 metric ton spherical ball acts as a counterweight anytime the huge tower swings or shakes, thus offering it a great deal of stabilization.

6. The Palace of Parliament – Bucharest, Romania

During the height of the Communist regime in Romania, the capital city of Bucharest was hit by a tremendous earthquake in 1977. Many buildings were severely damaged as a result, and the president at that time, Nicolae Ceausescu, took advantage of the situation. He proposed a plan to consolidate the city and rebuild it with a more “modern” design. While Bucharest was boasting its own unique architectural design, a fifth of the old city center was razed to the ground to make room for grand boulevards, tall apartment buildings, and a huge structure worthy of the dictator’s megalomania.

By no means the tallest in the world, the Palace of Parliament still dominates its immediate surroundings. Perched on a hill, the structure towers some 282 feet into the air, and goes another 301 feet underground. With a total of 1,100 rooms it covers a surface area of 3.7 million square feet, making it the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon. And according to Guinness World Records, it’s the heaviest building in the world. It’s made out of 700,000 metric tons of steel and bronze, a million square feet of marble, 3,500 metric tons of crystal, and 900,000 square meters of wood. Its inside is luxurious, to say the least. In the 1990s, Donald Trump proposed to transform it into the largest casino in the world.

It now houses the Romanian Parliament, which occupies a mere 30% of its space. Its construction began in the early 1980s but wasn’t finished by the time the Communist regime was toppled in 1989. No further additions have been brought to it, and the decision was made to leave it as is. It has an energy consumption equivalent to a city of 250,000 inhabitants.

5. Eiffel Tower – Paris, France

When the Nazis took over Paris, Hitler came by to gloat in his triumph over the French and parade throughout the city. But in the night before his arrival, the French Resistance cut the elevator cables of this famous landmark, forcing Hitler to climb the 1,665 stairs, which he never did. While he did manage to conquer Paris, he never did conquer the Eiffel Tower. In 1944, when it became evident that the Allies would retake the city, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to turn the city into rubble, including the tower itself. The General never did carry out the command, and shortly after Paris was retaken the Tower’s lifts began working again.

Standing at 984 feet tall (1,063 when including the antenna at the top), the Eiffel Tower was the largest manmade structure in the world for 41 years from 1889 to 1930, when the Chrysler Building in New York was finished. It’s still the tallest in Paris. Though it was built for an exposition, it was never intended to be permanent and was scheduled to be demolished in 1909. However, it was spared this fate after being repurposed as a giant radio antenna. It was also originally intended to be built in Barcelona, but obviously that never happened.

It’s made out of 18,000 individual metallic parts, joined together by 2.5 million rivets, and its height varies by up to six inches depending on the outside temperature. At the moment it’s the most visited paid-for monument in the world, with roughly seven million visitors each year. And as a result, the lifts that Hitler couldn’t use back in 1940 travel on average a distance of 64,000 miles; two and a half times the circumference of the Earth. What most of us don’t know is that in 2008, the tower got “married” to a woman by the name of Erika La Tour Eiffel, whose name is in honor of her “partner.”

4. Lotte World Tower – Seoul, South Korea

Though not yet finished, the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea was topped out in December 2015, with the completion of its 123^rd floor. Towering at 1,820 feet, it is the tallest building in South Korea and in fact, the entire OCDE. It’s expected to be finished in October 2016. The uppermost part, floors 120 to 123 of Lotte World Tower, will serve as an observatory. Floors 117 to 119 will be home to an art gallery. A hotel, offices, a medical center, and other amenities are also expected to open.

On March 27, 2016, there was a break-in reported at the tower. While fearing North Korean infiltration, the authorities were alerted about this intrusion. That turned out to not be the case, however. Two photographers, Vitaly Raskalov and Vadim Makhorov from Ukraine and Russia, respectively, climbed to the top in order to take pictures and a video. The duo is renowned throughout the world in the exploration of high-rise architectural structures like skyscrapers, bridges, historic sites, and cathedrals.

3. The Eastern Gates of Belgrade – Serbia

While Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade is renowned for its many gates were built throughout the centuries, offering its citizens both access and protection, the latest two additions had a somewhat different purpose. Built during the late 1970s and early 1980s by the Yugoslavian Communist regime, the Western Gate, more commonly known as the Genex Tower, is 35 stories (460 feet) tall. One part serves as an apartment block, while the other is an office building for the Genex Group. The building was designed to greet and amaze people coming in from the west, as the road connects Belgrade to its airport. But while this tower was especially designed as a gateway, per se, its Eastern counterpart was not.

The Eastern Gates of Belgrade are in fact a series of three identical, gigantic apartment blocks. They’re officially known as the Rudo Apartment Complex, after a town in Bosnia. This complex utterly overshadows the surrounding urban landscape of Belgrade, and is made to house more than 2,000 people. Made in a Socialist Realist architectural style, more commonly known as brutalist architecture, the three towers each stand at 325 feet tall. As if from an Orwellian dystopian future, they do look like something out of Blade Runner. Compared to their sister building at the other side of town, these three giant monoliths were dubbed as “the Eastern Gates of Belgrade.”

2. Tokyo Skytree – Tokyo, Japan

In 2011, upon reaching an astounding height of 2,080 feet, Tokyo Skytree became the tallest building in Japan, the tallest tower in the world, and the second tallest structure ever made after Burj Khalifa. It acts as the primary television and radio broadcast site in Tokyo, since the old tower was slowly surrounded by tall buildings and its signal power decreased over time. Completed in 2012, the base has a structure similar to a tripod. From about 1,150 feet upward, the tower’s structure is cylindrical, offering to those inside a beautiful panoramic view of the river and city. It has two observatories, located at 1,150 feet and 1,480 feet, with the top one featuring a glass floor for its visitors to look straight down at the streets below.

Typical to the Japanese, the Tokyo Skytree is equipped with state of the art security systems, specifically tailored for the country’s frequent earthquakes. Its name was selected from a total number of six candidates, and was put to a national vote. The name “Tokyo Skytree” won by a majority of 30%, with the second most popular name being “Tokyo Edo Tower.” Its exterior is painted in a unique color called “Skytree White.” This is based on the traditional Japanese bluish-white color called aijiro, and helps the tower blend in harmoniously with its surroundings. After dark, the tower is illuminated in two different patterns, alternating daily. A sky-blue one, called Iki (chic, stylish), and a purple one called Miyabi (elegance, refinement).

1. Abraj Al Bait – Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Also known as the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, this humongous building is government-owned and located in the holiest place within the Muslim world: Mecca, Saudi Arabia. With a height of 1,972 feet, it is the fourth tallest freestanding structure in the world. It holds the largest clock on Earth, and the structure itself is visible from up to 16 miles away. Some 21,000 white and green colored lights, the same as the Saudi Flag and fitted at the top of the clock, flash to signal Islam’s five-times daily prayers, and are visible as far as 19 miles away.

Abraj Al Bait’s construction began back in 2004 and was completed in 2012, offering 1,542 guest rooms and residences for around 10,000 pilgrims arriving in the city during the annual Hajj ceremony. It is conveniently located just across the street from the Masjid al Haram mosque, and has countless other facilities throughout its immense structure. The entire complex was built after the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, an 18^th century Ottoman citadel overlooking the Grand Mosque. The destruction of the fort in 2002 by the Saudi government sparked Turkish, international, and even domestic outcry.

25 Epic Firework Fails That You Probably Shouldn’t Laugh At But Will Anyways

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 00:14:00 +0000

It’s that time of the year again where firework fails are a common sources of amusement for the masses. Forget about setting off fireworks of your own, just sit back, relax, and let someone else fail at it. It will be less painful and much more humorous. If you still want to set off some fireworks, be sure to avoid landing in our fireworks fail list…because we will laugh at you. These are 25 Epic Firework Fails That You Probably Shouldn’t Laugh At But Will Anyways.

Excuse me, that’s not where your head should go

Image: www.viral-next.com

Take a picture, the pain will last longer

Image: guff.com

This “Superhero” has found his kryptonite

Image: www.viralnova.com

This is not going to end well…

Image: youtube.com

Well that escalated quickly

Image: lolzbook.com

Man, you are doing it wrong.

Image: www.houstonpress.com

Turning your drone into a rocket-shooting machine might not be as funny as you expected.

Image: ottawa.ctvnews.ca

You will never outrun the rocket.

Image: amazingtravelers.com

You though spicy food would mess you up…you thought wrong.

Image: www.collegehumor.com

That moment when your idea is brilliant

Image: giphy.com

The so called boomerang rocket

Image: weknowmemes.com

For even more fails, check out these 25 hilarious advertising placement fails.

Safety first.

Image: bbs.ziling.com

This adds a new meaning to “hot dog”

Image: www.netanimations.net

That’s one form of birth control

Image: viralnova.com

Some people just make you wonder about humanity

Image: reddit.com

“It’s so pretty. Must. Stand. By it.”

Image: collegehumor.com

Let’s burn stuff on the table, because that’s always a good idea

Image: thechive.com

Don’t pretend you have it under control when you don’t.

Image: youtube.com

She had the most explosive wedding ever

Image: www.huffingtonpost.com

Do you want forest fires? Because this is how you get forest fires.

Image: giphy.com

Don’t entrust fireworks to weird pyromaniacs.

Image: collegehumor.com

Model parent right here

Image: gallerily.com

With friends like these, I’d be in jail…

Image: www.gifbin.com

What is it with people wanting to burn trees? Cool firework rocket launcher though

Image: www.lolbrary.com

That’s probably not the best seat in the house

Image: www.funniestmemes.com

July | Special Days of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 23:44:00 +0000

Lord Byron once said of July it is the month when English winter ends, only to recommence in August – but to hell with Lord Byron! On average the warmest month in the UK, July is known as both Picnic Month and Ice Cream Month! Named after famed Roman Emperor Julius Caesar by decision of the Roman Senate in 44 BC, this month was originally the fifth month of the old calendar and because of this it was previously known as Quintilis, meaning fifth.

Until the 18^th Century, the word’s English pronunciation focused heavily on the first syllable, making it rhyme with words like ‘truly’ or ‘duly’. July is a pretty unique month, being known for the month in which a grand total of seven US Presidents have died in – more than any other month – and also known for being the midway point of the year. However, July the 3^rd is the year’s midway point, not July the 1^st. There are many and more interesting days in July, most of them encouraging us to get our fair share of the good weather! So let’s jump straight in with…

1^st July – Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day. There’s nothing more refreshing on a glorious summers day than an ice cream. But today isn’t just about ice cream, oh no, today is about getting creative with your ice cream flavors. For a lot of people that could just be getting an ice cream they wouldn’t usually eat, like a mint choc-chip or something. But some people will get downright weird with their creative flavors – in the Philippines some people have crocodile egg ice cream, or in Tokyo you can get raw horse flesh flavored ice cream!

2^nd July – I Forgot Day. Not quite sure I can remember what this one’s about… no, wait! Founded in 1999 by Gaye Anderson, today is a day about making up for all the things you’ve forgotten this year so far: birthdays, anniversaries, gatherings – today’s the day to clear your conscience and make it all right. Just make sure you don’t forget!

3^rd July – International Plastic Bag Free Day. In the U.K. you recently had to start paying 5p for a plastic bag pretty much everywhere, which means this day is now a lot easier to observe for the Brits! Today is about making the most minor change in your daily routine, like taking a plastic bag to the shop with you or just not getting one at all, and making a big change to the world at large.

4^th July – Independence from Meat Day. Now it’s not the most well-known Independence Day, that being the other day synonymous with July 4^th. Although a day created give people the challenge of going meat-free for a day, to me this day is about honoring every vegetarian out there who has ever sworn a solemn vow to never again eat a tasty bacon sandwich. In a world of mass production those people who choose to go meat free aren’t really helping less animals die, so on this day I will take it upon myself to dispose of some of the meat that goes to waste, in the form of a tasty bacon sandwich.

5^th July – Bikini Day. This day is celebrated on the anniversary of the bikini’s invention way back in 1946 by Parisian fashion designer Louis Reard. A great excuse getting to the nearest beach and making the most of the sun!

6^th July – Kissing Day. Did you know that kissing for one minute burns three calories? It’s true, and it just might be the line to help you celebrate this joyous day!

7^th July – Tell The Truth Day. Today is about trying to create a more truthful world, even just for a day. So today just cut out the lies, but try not be brutal with your truths as you very well could end up offending somebody!

8^th July – SCUD Day. I know what you’re thinking, but no, this isn’t a day for honoring the series of Russian ballistic missiles known as Scud Missiles. The SCUD in this day stands for ‘Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama’, and it’s a day all about taking a step back from the dramas in our lives and learning to see the humor in a situation. Laughter is good for you, body and mind, so have a laugh at the drama today instead of getting drawn into it.

9^th July – Sugar Cookie Day. In the 1700’s a group of Germanic settles arrived in Pennsylvania, and combined sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda and vanilla to create the humble sugar cookie. A delicious treat, sugar cookies are notoriously easy to cook and a great dish to make with children – give them a cookie cutter, some dough and watch them go!

10^th July – Don’t Step On A Bee Day. Today is a day that exists to help raise awareness of the fate of bees and the incredibly huge part they play in our global ecosystem. Something that may help you celebrate this day is the knowledge that when you see a still bee most of the time it is just too exhausted to fly back to its hive, rather than dying. Scoop it up in a cup, mix some water and sugar together then put a drop of the syrup next to the bee. The bee will feed on the syrup, become energized, and fly away to its hive to continue its good work!

11^th July – World Population Day. Created in 1989 by the UN Development Programme, this day is about raising awareness of population growth and the issues that come with it such as hunger, disease, welfare and warfare, as well as the need for universal access to global reproductive healthcare.

12^th July – Etch A Sketch Day. There’s nothing like an Etch a Sketch to take us all on a trip down nostalgia lane… Originally created by French electrician Andre Cassagnes in the 1950’s, this toy became a staple of Western popular culture and to this day is still considered one of the greatest toys ever made by many. Anybody can use an Etch a Sketch, regardless of skill. Some people, like me, struggle to sling together some rudimentary lines, whereas others can reproduce even the most elegant pieces of art like the Mona Lisa!

13^th July – Embrace Your Geekness Day. Nowadays everybody is a bit of a geek. Comic books are cool, so is animé, computer games too. There’s many a nerdy thing that is now the norm. But today don’t just be a little bit of a geek, go full geek. Embrace it and own it!

14^th July – Shark Awareness Day. Researchers estimate that roughly 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year. Sharks themselves are older than the dinosaurs; they are the perfect culmination of over 420 million years of evolution. In all the time sharks have existed they have been an incredibly vital cornerstone of our whole global ecology, so today is about raising awareness that sharks are more friend than foe, more happy-go-lucky Australian than merciless killing machine.

15^th July – Gummi Worm Day. Originally created by German sweet company Trolli (pioneers of many a great gummy-sweet) in 1981, Gummi Worms are traditionally used to catch gummy fish with. Nah, just kidding. They’re tasty delicious treats and you should have no trouble figuring out how to celebrate this day.

16^th July – World Snake Day. Although snakes have gotten a bad rep over the years, most of them truly are harmless. With roughly 3,458 species of snake in the world, only about 600 are venomous – and not all of those are venomous enough to kill a person. Some people, me included, would say that snakes make the greatest pets around. They’re hardy, some are very easy and cheap to keep, and if you treat them kindly they can be more loyal than a dog. Take today to learn a bit more than you already know about these majestic creatures.

17^th July – Yellow Pig Day. In the 1960’s two Princeton math students become obsessed with the number 17, eventually going a little crazy over analysing it. So in their numerical delirium they created the concept of a yellow pig with 17 toes, 17 teeth and 17… well, everything. So today celebrate these crazy academics by being your eccentric yellow pig self!

18^th July – Caviar Day. Caviar is instantly linked to the upper class. So to me, this day celebrates the idea of laughing at our stinking rich counterparts for thinking eating Sturgeon eggs makes them superior!

19^th July – Daiquiri Day. Supposedly invented by American mining engineer Jennings Cox during his time in Cuba at the turn of the 20^th Century, this drink has since become one of the most well-known cocktails out there. So celebrate in style with a nice refreshing daiquiri!

20^th July – Space Exploration Day. It’s no coincidence that today is also Moon Day, as the date itself celebrates man first walking on the Moon. However, that was the first small step in a very long journey of exploration, one that will continue for generations to come. Take today to expand your knowledge about space, after all there’s just as much knowledge to learn as there is space to explore.

21^st July – Junk Food Day. Today is a day about making up for all those celery pieces and carrot sticks you’ve been eating. Live today by the old Italian saying of “Live to eat, not eat to live”. To hell with a slim figure, give me that double cheeseburger and some extra fries too!

22^nd July – Hammock Day. The hammock was first invented by the Mayan thousands of years ago in Mesoamerica, and introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus. Hammocks are still hugely popular today and with good reason! They’re proven to give you a deeper and more relaxed sleep than just a regular bed. So if you’re lucky enough to have somewhere to string up a hammock then do so and hang loose!

23^rd July – Gorgeous Grandma Day. Today is a day about celebrating your grandma and just how gorgeous she is! My own grandma is a gorgeous lady, and I’m going to take this opportunity to tell her, and you should tell your grandma too!

24^th July – Tell An Old Joke Day. This is a day about cranking out the old-man humor and having a good laugh over it. Be it a chicken crossing the road, three lords walking into a tavern, or somebody knock-knocking at your door, make sure you tell an old joke today and make sure you laugh at it!

25^th July – Thread The Needle Day. Although this day is traditionally about the literal first step in sewing, it can be taken on a more metaphorical level. To thread a needle effortlessly is something that takes lots of practice, skill, and patience. These are all virtues to be cultivated so take today to reflect on where a little patience and practice will get you in life – whether it’s threading a needle or something completely different.

26^th July – All or Nothing Day. Today is a day to push yourself to exceed your best expectations. Today is all about death or glory, victory or defeat. Today you push yourself to succeed and settle for nothing less than perfection. Be it a last minute assignment hand-in or a job application; just make sure you win in style.

27^th July – Take Your Houseplants For A Walk Day. If you’re proud about your plants today is the day to show it. Take them out for stroll around the neighborhood to get some fresh air!

28^th July – Milk Chocolate Day. Not to be confused with just Chocolate Day, celebrates the staple of the chocolate world. Invented in 1887 by Daniel Peter in Vevey, Switzerland, it was originally named ‘Gala’ from the Greek, meaning ‘from the milk’. Celebrate today with ease as milk chocolate is now the most common type of chocolate around.

29^th July – Rain Day. Rain holds a lot of meaning both environmentally and metaphorically. In some countries it brings the end of droughts, whereas in others it brings life to crops. And in the UK you can bet it will rain just as much in summer as it does in winter so you can count on it raining today!

30^th July – Cheesecake Day. The modest cheesecake is believed to have been first created on the Greek island of Samos. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that Ancient Greeks would eat cheesecake before the Olympics as early as 776 BC in order to energize themselves. Today is a great day to celebrate, because in my humble opinion, the cheesecake is the king of all cakes.

31^st July – Talk In an Elevator Day. Everybody is guilty of standindaysg in awkward silence in an elevator – we all do it. So today break the habit and replace the awkward silence with some old fashioned awkward small talk!

Please check back next month for the special days in August!

10 Most Bizarre Courthouse Suicides

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:29:00 +0000

Unfortunately, it is not that uncommon for tragedies to unfold in a courtroom, often where tensions are high and the dangerous linger. Weâ€™ve seen it throughout history with numerous judges being shot, lawyers being murdered, and people taking the law into their own hands.

However, when one inflicts the harm solely on themselves to end their own misery, it leaves those who bear witness not only haunted by the memory of what theyâ€™ve seen but forever questioning one’s despair and desperation. The following is a list of 10 people who refused to allow the legal system to play out, thus determining their own fate.

Featured image credit: TomoNews US via YouTube

10 Itâ€™s A Bird, Itâ€™s A Plane, Itâ€™s . . .

In 2015, 22-year-old Tyquan Richardson of Atlanta, Georgia, was appearing at the Fulton County Superior Court Diversion Center at 10:00 AM for a pretrial interview. His case was about a previous drug charge in which Richardson was going to have to enter a drug intervention program.

When Richardson appeared at the courthouse, he had in his possession a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun. Richardson tried to conceal the pistol but to no avail. When it was discovered, Richardson was immediately placed in handcuffs and brought to a conference room on the third floor to await the consequences of a gun charge.

Understanding that he had made a major error in judgment and fearing jail time, Richardson panicked, stood up, and bolted past four officers toward the window. Throwing his body through the glass, he fell 12 meters (40 ft) and landed face-first on the concrete below. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

9 Going Down

In 2015, a 25-year-old man by the name of Erik B. Barnett was once again in front of a judge to answer for a recent failed drug test. The type of drugs in Barnettâ€™s system for the failed test was not released to the public.

However, the judge at the Bell County Courthouse in Pineville, Kentucky, decided that due to Barnettâ€™s violation, he would have to go back to jail. After the ruling, Barnett was led away by a bailiff, and in a clear breach of protocol, he was not handcuffed.

Barnett and the bailiff entered an elevator, and when the doors closed, fearing his future imprisonment, Barnett made his move. He struck the bailiff, knocking him down to the floor. He then proceeded to grab the bailiffâ€™s gun and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The bailiff was not injured in the ordeal but, not surprisingly, was very shaken up and most likely was drenched in a lot of blood not his own.

8 Justice Served?

In 2013, 48-year-old Steve Parsons was found guilty by a jury of his peers in a Maryville, Missouri, courtroom on two felony counts of sodomizing a 14-year-old girl. Moments after the verdict was read, Parsons fell to the floor and began convulsing violently.

To say the least, those who knew Parsons personally, such as his family and friends, were shocked at the sight of him flapping around like a fish out of water. Parsons was sentenced to a maximum of seven years in prison and selfishly thought that was too much time even though his young victim had received a life sentence.

After an autopsy was performed, it was concluded in the coroner’s report that Parsons had swallowed a cyanide pill following the guilty verdict. Parsons was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. It turns out that a week or so prior, Parsons had received an overnight delivery of cyanide. Apparently, he wasnâ€™t too confident in his defense.

7 ‘Drop It! Drop It!’

On March 7, 2000, Anne Faville was found dead in her Virginia home of what appeared to be an accident by choking on a piece of chicken. Twelve years later, new light was shed on the case and her husband, Mark, was charged with murder. He had suffocated her because she was about to leave him for another man.

In 2015, 70-year-old Mark Faville was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter at the Montgomery County Courthouse. Following the verdict, Mark was led from the courtroom to an adjacent holding cell.

Moments later, shouts from deputies demanding “drop it, drop it” could be heard echoing through the courtroom. At first, few details were released to the public as to what had transpired behind the closed doors. But one thing was certain: Mark was dead.

It turns out that Mark had in his possession a “nonmetallic” item that he had used to slice himself, thus bleeding out and succumbing to his wound(s). Details about the item in question have not been released to the public out of concerns as to how that could impact future courthouse security.

6 Six Feet Off The Floor

On December 15, 2015, 48-year-old Kenneth Ray Thornhill of Texas was standing before a jury at the 75th District Court. The previous year, he had been busted for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.

On that December morning at 11:15 AM, Thornhill was found guilty on the felony drug charges and was facing some pretty serious jail time. The judge called for a lunch recess, and upon returning to court, Thornhill would be sentenced accordingly.

The jury was excused for the hour, and Thornhill was to be brought to his holding cell, which was located immediately adjacent to the courtroom. The officers followed protocol by removing Thornhillâ€™s belt and personal property, fingerprinting him, and then placing him in his cell to await his sentencing.

One hour later, Thornhill was dead. While alone in his cell, he had removed his blue dress shirt, secured it to a cell bar approximately 2 meters (6 ft) off the floor, and hanged himself. Medical personnel attempted to revive him, but it was too late.

5 Mad Scientist

We have already seen the use of cyanide as a means of suicide on this list, and we will see it once again after this. However, what is very intriguing about the case surrounding Alan Bruce Chmurny is that he was a scientist who undoubtedly was extremely intelligent yet had a dark and evil soul.

In 2001, Chmurny was on trial for attempted murder at Howard Circuit Court in Maryland. His plot to kill a former coworker was intriguing as well. Was he planning on using a gun? No. A knife? No. Strangulation? Wrong again.

Perhaps those were beneath him on an intellectual scale. Instead, Chmurny placed mercury tablets in the air ducts of his former coworkerâ€™s station wagon. You have to give him credit for originality.

After being found guilty of attempted murder, he faced a maximum sentence of more than 30 years behind bars, and at his age, most likely that meant a life sentence. In saying so, he took his fate into his own hands, said goodbye to his attorney, and swallowed a cyanide pill in open court, which obviously proved fatal.

4 The Garage

Wylie Chambers, 57, was described as a handsome man who presented himself well. However, he was known to have quite the temper from time to time, and that proved true on June 6, 2014.

On that summer day, Chambers apparently lost his cool when he pulled a gun on two female relatives, demanding that they tell him the whereabouts of his girlfriend. We can assume that his girlfriend had good reasons for keeping her distance that particular day.

In frustration, Chambers fired a warning shot at the ground. No one was hurt, and nothing further happened other than Chambers being arrested. Chambers was apparently unaware of the consequences that would result from his actions. He had hoped for only probation, and having turned down a plea deal for a three-year stint in prison, he now faced up to 40 years.

His attorney described Chambers as being “unusually upset” about the idea of being behind bars. He was also extremely concerned about the well-being of his dog, which was undergoing surgery at the time of the trial.

When the judge called for a lunch recess, Chambers made his way to the courthouse garage, took a gun from his car, and shot himself in the head. The courthouse went on lockdown for about an hour, not allowing anyone to enter or exit the building. Chambersâ€™s attorney described him as not being “prison material.”

3 The Basement

In January 2015, 48-year-old Robert Newell shot himself in the head at the Thurgood Marshall US Courthouse at 40 Centre Street in Lower Manhattan. The incident took place around 5:30 AM in the basement locker room when Newell was nearing the end of his shift as a security officer for the courthouse. It was reported that Newell was alone at the time, and no one bore witness to the suicide.

A further investigation into this story shows that Newell was a retired police officer for the NYPD. He had joined the force in 1986, serving in both the US Marshals Service as well as the Narcotics Division. However, following an on-the-job injury that Newell sustained when a criminal slammed into his patrol car, he was forced to retire in 2000. He had been on disability and was suffering from neck and spinal injuries. Apparently, years of pain and an unwanted retirement drove him to the edge.

2 France

In October 2015, 63-year-old lawyer Joseph Scipilliti entered a courthouse in Melun, France—located on the outskirts of Paris—and calmly walked past guards. He planned to end not only his life but the life of Franceâ€™s youngest court “president of the bar,” Henrique Vannier.

To clarify, a president of the bar is an individual whose professional duties are to oversee conflicts between lawyers and their clients. Upon entering Vannierâ€™s office, Scipilliti pulled a gun and shot Vannier three times and then turned the gun on himself.

Vannier was shot in the shoulder, hip, and chest. However, he was not killed and was rushed to the hospital in critical but stable condition. The day before the shooting, Scipilliti had had a disciplinary meeting with Vannier about verbal and written threats that Scipilliti had made toward Vannier. Scipilliti was facing a three-year suspension from practicing law.

The attack was premeditated. Scipilliti had written in a diary that he published online: “Suicide on its own achieves nothing. A few days later, no one will remember. To make people take notice, you must make a big noise.”

1 Michael Marin

Michael Marinâ€™s death stunned the state of Arizona and perhaps the nation when in 2012, after being convicted on arson charges for burning down his Phoenix mansion, he placed his head in his hands and calmly slipped a cyanide pill into his mouth. As stunned viewers watched on TV, Marin began snorting, gagging, and turning red as a beet. He ultimately collapsed to the floor.

The one-time millionaire—who had once been seen in scuba gear along with an oxygen tank as he emerged from a bedroom window of his home that he had engulfed in flames—was later pronounced dead of cyanide poisoning.

What captivated Arizona was that a man had not only committed suicide in an open court but that they had seen it unfold on television, which was hard for one to comprehend. A feeling of justice was felt for his guilty verdict yet a sense of sadness in regard to an unnecessary means to an end.

Woman Gets Trolled After Announcing Her Pregnancy To The Wrong Person

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:07:00 +0000

Having a baby is a life-changing experience. It might even change your life for the better. But when you get pregnant by someone else’s boyfriend, and then announce it in a string of furious texts to the person who you think is the dude’s girlfriend but actually isn’t, well, that can also change your life. But not in a good way. Especially when it ends up on the internet.

That’s exactly what happened recently, and since the hilarious exchanges were shared on Imgur they’ve been viewed more than 200k times. The story starts normally enough (sort of), when the user – named OddOod – received a text from a random person stating that “Youre (sic) boyfriend made me pregnant”. But realizing that the sender had the wrong number, and spying a golden opportunity for some trolling, the recipient decided to have a little fun. Read the full hilarious conversation below.

Blue Wine Is A Thing Now

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 17:26:00 +0000

Everybody knows that red wine is for red meat, white wine is for white meat, and rosé is for, well, whatever rosé is for. But what about blue wine? What does that go with? We have no idea. It’s not something we’ve ever had to think about before. Until now that is.

Because believe it or not, blue wine is now actually a thing thanks to Gik, a Spanish startup that’s hoping to redefine our drinking experience. They made it in collaboration with the University of the Basque Country and Azti Tecnecalia, a food research team, and the wine consists of both red and white grapes sourced from various vineyards across Spain. The blue tint comes from a combination of anthocyanin (a pigment found in grape skin) and indigo dye, and as Gik explains on their website, they chose the color because it represents “movement, innovation and infinity.” The wine will soon be available throughout selected countries in Europe, and each bottle will cost around £8.

More info: Gik

Forget red and white, now blue wine is a thing

It was invented by Gik, a Spanish company that hopes to redefine our drinking experience

They made it with the help of the University of the Basque Country and a food research team

The wine consists of both red and white grapes sourced from various vineyards across Spain

The blue color comes from anthocyanin, a pigment found in grape skin

The only question is, what food will it go with?

25 Most Loved and Successful YouTubers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 17:11:00 +0000

One of the most thrilling things about living in the twenty-first century is witnessing all the drastic technological and cultural changes taking place. Despite being quite young, the Internet has undoubtedly played a significant role in this phenomenon since the rapid changes taking place in modern society are best illustrated on the Web than anywhere else in the world. According to Socialnomics, more than a billion unique users per month will join YouTube and watch some of the most successful YouTubers out there. As one easily understands, in a more fair and balanced economical society these numbers would be even higher.

But what makes YouTube so special and popular? To begin with, anyone can launch a video channel on YouTube and post regular updates that are entertaining, informational, or just promote your website. So, only eleven years after launching, YouTube has become the absolute indicator of a performer or celebrity’s popularity, and in many cases can predict a film’s success from the number of views its trailer gets. More impressively, YouTube has produced its own superstars—everyday people who have become rich and/or famous exclusively through the site—with some of them making millions annually thanks to their success. We’re not even exaggerating! These are 25 Most Loved and Successful YouTubers.

Submitted by YouTuber MineFall MG fnaf timmy mangle

BBQ Pit Boys (Over 600,000 Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

YouTube hosts a lot of food channels, but if you want the best tips for your next BBQ adventure, there’s no channel like the BBQ Pit Boys. This is the spot for old-school barbecue and grilling recipes to serve up at your next pit, family picnic, or tailgate party.

Superwoman (8.5 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Superwoman, whose birth name is Lilly Saini Singh, carries the title of the most famous YouTuber of Indian descent. Since she started in October 2010, her videos have received more than a billion views, and her channel has reached 8.5 million subscribers and counting. Additionally, Lilly is one of the highest paid YouTubers, ranking eighth on Forbes’s list of the World’s Highest Paid YouTube Stars, earning a reported $3 million in 2015.

Limitless EXP (947K Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Vincent Valentine is one of the coolest and most honest pranksters online, and if you’ve ever watched any of his videos, you’ve probably noticed he never sets up pranks to get views, as many pranksters have been accused of doing. The Las Vegas–based YouTuber has nearly a million subscribers on his main channel, Limitless EXP, and also has a vlog where he posts videos about his personal “mythology.”

Kassem G (2.6 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Kassem G is a popular Web-based comedian and the most famous YouTuber of Middle Eastern descent. Born in Jordan to a Jordanian father and Egyptian mother, he moved to Florida when he was four and grew up in California. With more than 2.6 million subscribers and nearly half a billion views, Kassem G has posted several hundred videos on his channel, with the California On, Going Deep, and Street Music web series being some of the most watched in the States.

SkyDoesMinecraft (11.9 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Twenty-three-year-old Adam Dahlberg is a massively popular Minecraft YouTuber who originally became popular as part of a Minecraft team called Team Crafted. Just as Michael Jackson left the Jackson 5 and Justin Timberlake left NSYNC for glorious solo careers, in 2014 Adam stated on Twitter that he was leaving the group to go solo. With nearly 12 million subscribers to his YouTube channel in less than two years we all agree he made the right choice.

Bethany Mota (9.9 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Bethany Mota is a YouTuber from California who posts videos about her biggest passion: fashion and style. She started her stellar online career by uploading videos about outfit ideas, makeup and hair tutorials, recipes, and DIY ideas. After her immense success on YouTube, she ended up on Dancing with the Stars, where she reached the finals, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially after taking into account how her channel has nearly 10 million hard-core subscribers who would probably vote for her no matter what.

Zoella (10.4 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Zoe Elizabeth Sugg is an English fashion and beauty vlogger who goes by the YouTube nickname Zoella. To get an idea of how huge this young lady has become, back in November 2014, her debut novel broke the record for highest first-week sales for a first-time novelist since Nielsen BookScan began compiling such records in 1998. Yep, she even broke J. K. Rowling’s records.

Markiplier (12.4 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Mark Edward Fischbach might just be another name to you, but his YouTube channel under the pseudonym Markiplier has attracted more than 12 million dedicated subscribers and more than 4 billion views. What does Fischbach do that he has so many fans, you ask? Well, he plays survival horror and action video games and sometimes comments on them, while having fun! Not bad, huh?

Ray William Johnson (10.6 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Ray William Johnson is an American comedian, writer, and rapper, who is probably better known for his YouTube channel and web series, Equals Three. As of April 2016, the channel has reached more than 3 billion views and almost 11 million subscribers, making it one of the most viewed channels on YouTube.

Furious Pete (2.8 Millions Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Peter Czerwinski, better known by his stage name Furious Pete, is a Polish-Canadian competitive eater. Furious Pete currently holds nine Guinness World Records in eating, but he became famous worldwide thanks to his YouTube channel, which has reached nearly 3 million subscribers—more than any other competitive eater in the world.

VitalyzdTv (8.9 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, better known by his YouTube username VitalyzdTv, is a Russian-born YouTube personality and the undisputed champion of pranks. If you’re a soccer fan then you probably remember him for entering the field and interrupting the 2014 World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina. His main channel videos, as of April 2016 had garnered more than 1.1 billion views and more than 8.7 million subscribers, while his vlog channel has more than 107 million views and 1.6 million subscribers.

El Rubius (17.5 Millions Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

El Rubius is a Spanish YouTuber whose channel primarily consists of gameplay and video blogs. His channel is currently the fourth most subscribed to and the second most successful in Spanish, with more than 17 million subscribers and 3.5 billion views.

TheFineBros (13.8 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Benny Fine and Rafi Fine are the guys behind The Fine Brothers YouTube channel and the creators of the extremely successful React series. In React’s various iterations (Kids React, Teens React, Elders React, and YouTubers React), TheFineBros show viral videos to subjects and film their reactions. Many consider TheFineBros to be two of the first YouTube stars because they have been creating online content since 2004. Their channel has more than 14 million subscribers.

Epic Rap Battles of History (13.1 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Epic Rap Battles of History is a YouTube series created by Peter Shukoff (a.k.a. Nice Peter) and Lloyd Ahlquist (a.k.a. EpicLLOYD). The series pits famous historical and pop culture figures, real and fictional, against each other in a rap battle format. As of April 2016, Epic Rap Battles of History has more than 13.1 million subscribers and over 2.7 billion views.

KSI (12+ Millions Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

KSI is an English comedian and YouTube personality who will occasionally rap if he’s in the mood to. KSI became famous thanks to his FIFA gameplay/commentary videos and his obsession with soccer. His YouTube channel currently has more than 12 million subscribers.

Smosh (22 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Ian Andrew Hecox and Anthony Padilla are the American Web-based sketch-comedy duo known as Smosh. Their channel has attracted more than 21 million subscribers and has attained an incredible 5.4 billion views. The good news for fans is that they are currently expanding to include others to handle animated, foreign-language, and gaming videos, while—as you may have noticed—their sketches already include more actors.

PrankvsPrank (10 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Jesse M. Wellens and his girlfriend, Jeana Smith, had the brilliant idea back in 2007 to play pranks on each other and then post the videos of them on YouTube. These videos usually show how they prepare to prank each other and of course record their reaction, which is usually very funny. With more than 1.7 billion views and nearly 10 million subscribers, the happy couple is quite rich as well these days.

TheWillyrex (7 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

The Willyrex is the YouTube username of the Spanish videogame commentator Guillermo Diaz, who is known for his Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto V, Happy Wheels, and Minecraft videos. With nearly 7 million subscribers, Willyrex does nothing more than play certain video games with his fellow YouTube friends in front of his millions of fans.

VanossGaming (over 16 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Evan Fong, whom you most likely know as VanossGaming, is the most famous Canadian YouTuber and one of the most popular videogame commentators in the world. He focuses almost exclusively on gaming culture and usually offers helpful gameplay tips in his videos. Since starting his channel in 2011, Fong has gained more than 16 million subscribers, and his videos have reached and begun to surpass an astonishing 4 billion views.

Yuya (14 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Mariand Castrejon, best known as Yuya, posts about all things beauty on her super successful channel and is considered an icon among the youth in her native Mexico. She currently ranks as one of the most subscribed to YouTubers in history with more than 14 million subscribers.

JennaMarbles (15 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

You might not know her as Jenna N. Mourey, but you definitely know her by the pseudonym Jenna Marbles. This American YouTube personality, vlogger, and comedian is considered the “queen” of YouTube. With more than 15 million subscribers, her channel is the most subscribed to on YouTube operated by a female.

TheDiamondMinecart (10 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Daniel Middleton, widely known as TheDiamondMinecart, is one of the most popular British YouTubers. He’s known for uploading many videos (he has nearly two thousand videos and counting), and his channel has more than 10 million subscribers. He is considered by many to be the “king” of Minecraft on YouTube.

HolaSoyGermán (27 Millions Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

HolaSoyGermán is a Chilean YouTube comedian, musician, and writer, among other things. When he’s not making funny videos, he is producing songs with his band, which you can find on his YouTube channel. He is the second most successful YouTuber in the world at the moment with more than 27 million subscribers and the top non-English-speaking YouTuber in history.

Ryan Higa (16 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

Ryan Higa, also known by his YouTube username Nigahiga, is a Japanese-American YouTuber and comedian. His hilariously funny videos have been viewed over 2.6 billion times and as of April 2016, his YouTube channel has reached over 16 million subscribers.

PewDiePie (43 Million Subscribers)

Source and Image: YouTube

YouTube personality PewDiePie is a Swedish comedian and the undisputed king of YouTube. With more than 43 million subscribers, he’s by far the most famous and rich YouTuber in the world. Back in 2014 his channel surpassed Rihanna’s Vevo account on YouTube to become the most viewed channel of all time. As of April 2016, his channel had received over 11.5 billion views.

April | Special Days of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 21:00:00 +0000

The month of April has universal significance as being the month that welcomes the season of spring. April’s origin has it ranked as the second month of the year by ancient Romans before King Numa Pompilius came along and shoved Ianuarius (January) and Februarius (February) at the beginning of the year, leaving poor old April to languish at fourth place in the calendar. Not even a place on the podium for April. Further research indicates that the most metal name April ever held was given by, unsurprisingly, the Finnish, who in the past referred to it as the “slash-and-burn-[month]”. This was in reference to the practice of burning sections of forest to make fields. So lets take a look at some special days in April!

April 1^st – One Cent Day. I vow that what I am about to tell you is not a joke, because I never joke on April Fool’s Day if I can help it. April 1^st is One Cent Day, which has borne Abraham Lincoln’s face since 1909, and costs the U.S Mint 2 cents to make. If you fall victim to some kind of “penny glued to the floor” trick today, just remember that it’s that coins day to shine.

April 2^nd – Ferret Day. According to the American Ferret Association, today is the day to focus on “ferret issues such as welfare, care, nutrition and responsible ownership”. But once you have finished that, I suggest that you go and play with a ferret immediately, their preferred method of playing is called the “weasel war dance” and involves hopping around and bumping into things.

April 3^rd – Find A Rainbow Day. Today you are not looking for the pot of gold, but rather the rainbow itself, Find a Rainbow day falls on April 3^rd every year because this is the most likely time to see rainbows with the rains of spring and the sky getting brighter. They even form at night, if the moonlight is bright enough, though they are usually just white and are more commonly referred to as moonbows.

April 4^th – Walk Around Things Day. The name is meant to be taken both literally and figuratively. Today you must avoid physical obstacles by walking around them, but also avoid uncomfortable situations like getting out of helping a friend to move, by walking around the situation verbally. This day was obviously created by somebody who thought that a) trying to get out of an awkward situation just isn’t tricky enough, and b) as a species we tend to walk into things an awful lot.

April 5^th – Deep Dish Pizza Day. Deep Dish Pizza Day is yet another day where we can celebrate pizza, this time a variation that was invented in Chicago in 1943. With a much thicker crust than its flatbread counterpart, deep dish pizza is baked in a pan similar to a cake pan, to allow room for all those beautiful toppings.

April 6^th – Teflon Day. On Teflon Day we salute the accidental invention of of polytetrafluoroethylene (more commonly known as Teflon) on April 6^th 1938. Its inventor, Dr. Roy Plunkett, was inducted into the Inventors’ Hall of Fame in 1985 for trying to make a CFC coolant and getting distracted by the slippery white substance blocking his equipment. But your refrigerator’s loss was your frying pan’s gain.

April 7^th – No Housework Day. A personal favourite, is that day when you don’t have to feel guilty when you convince yourself that the giant pile of clothes on your floor can wait another day, it’s practically mandatory. Or, if you are the kind of person who has morals, perhaps you could help somebody else celebrate this No Housework Day by doing a few chores for someone who deserves break.

April 8^th – Empanada Day. The name means to wrap in bread, and just about anything can come wrapped in that bread, because empanadas have possibly the most varieties of anything, ever. They can be sweet, they can be savoury, you can have them for lunch, they can be spicy, they can be vegetarian, they can come with chicken, you can have them for breakfast, they can come with beef; basically if you can wrap it in pastry you can have it as an empanada. Originating in Portugal and the north west of Spain, empanadas are believed to be a derivative of Indian samosas. So go out today and eat an empanada, if you’ve never tried one then make today the day you try this tasty pastry.

April 9^th – Name Yourself Day. Ever wonder what your life would have been like if your mother hadn’t changed her mind at the last second and called you Moonbeam? Well today you can find out. Name Yourself Day is celebrated every April 9^th,and invites you to try out a new name for 24 hours. Just don’t choose Moonbeam, I’ve got dibs this year.

April 10^th – Encourage A Young Writer Day. Today we celebrate the future of all things literary, though it sounds suspiciously like something a well-meaning English teacher thought up. However, extensive research has found nothing on the official origins of this date, so there’s nothing to stop me from taking a guess. So if you happen to come across somebody who is young, and could feasibly be a writer, then tousle their hair and say something encouraging, because we’re all counting on you to make sure the next great novel is better than Twilight.

April 11^th – Teach Children To Save Day. The American Bankers Association have sponsored this day since its inception in 1997. Volunteers from the banking world give talks at schools across America about the importance of saving money from an early age.

April 12^th – Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. Don’t let the name fool you, not only can you grill cheese sandwiches, you can fry them, make them in a toaster oven, or even on the barbecue. Eat a grilled cheese sandwich today, and if you accidentally get burned, don’t blame us.

April 13^th – Scrabble Day. Triple letter scores and rare consonants abound as today is Scrabble Day. Scrabble started out life as Criss-Crosswords, a variation of the earlier invented Lexiko by Alfred Mosher Butts in 1938. Ten years later Connecticut resident James Brunot bought the rights to Criss-Crosswords and simplified the rules, changing the name to Scrabble. Brunot’s family actually lost money when they started to distribute the game, and so the rights were sold in 1952 to the company that made Scrabble a household name Slechow and Righter. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise the name, because after a business world game of musical ‘buy-the-company’, the company went bankrupt after being bought by Coleco and Hasbro ended up owning the game.

April 14^th – Reach As High As You Can Day. Today is all about pursuing your dreams – Achieving your goals & actively trying to make your dream a reality. Have you always wanted to write a book? Maybe start a band and get famous? Do you want to start a business and be the world’s sexiest china dolphin salesperson? Today is the day to make it happen, and when you have achieved your goal, remember where you got this sage advice. We do take cheques, but cash is preferred.

April 15^th – Take a Wild Guess Day. Created by Jim Barber, specifically to coincide with tax day in the U.S., April 15^th. While we hope that those doing their taxes neglect to take the spirit of the day to heart, the more sensible of us can use this day to just be really silly when somebody says “Guess what?”.

April 16^th – Wear Your Pyjamas to Work Day. Fairly self-explanatory, but I think it’s only really appropriate for office workers and those unlucky souls in retail. Your pyjama bottoms may be comfy, but can you imagine the pain of a cut or abrasion caused by the fact that those same pyjama bottoms didn’t quite cover the places that your uniform does?

April 17^th – Haiku Day. Haikus began life as a poetic abstract that introduces a longer, collection of linked poems; by 1644 it had become an independent, legitimate, art form of its own. Here is our own attempt at a Haiku, and don’t judge too harshly because they almost never rhyme and don’t seem to have a hint of a rhythm:

April seventeenth

Is the day we celebrate

Haiku poetry

Okay so it’s not exactly Shakespeare, but today you’ve got to count your syllables because if it isn’t 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables then you’ll look pretty silly at that haiku battle you’ve got coming up.

April 18^th – Animal Crackers Day. These cute little treats have been in production since 1902, and today we celebrate that little monkey that helped Ben Affleck seduce Liv Tyler in Armageddon, and all 36 of his tasty friends.

April 19^th – Hanging Out Day. Don’t let the name fool you, this kind of hanging out does not involve your Xbox, a bunch of friends, and a very large bag of chips. Instead it involves hanging out your laundry rather than using your dryer. Founded in 1995, Hanging Out Day is meant to highlight the energy that we use on a daily basis, and to cut it by one appliance. Since electric clothes dryers can count for up to 10% of a household’s energy usage, and sunshine and wind cost the planet nothing, dryers were selected as the appliance to be turned off. So hang out your laundry and help to save the world, one laundry load at a time.

April 20^th – Chinese Language Day. Mandarin has the most native speakers, 955 million as of 2010, that’s 145 of the world’s population. So today learn a simple Mandarin phrase and say it incessantly till everyone around knows what it means. That’s teaching your friends, a little at a time.

April 21^st – Kindergarten Day. You have the perfect excuse to nap, finger paint and sing songs about various barnyard animals. The first kindergartens to open and deal with all those toddler tantrums were in 18^th century Bavaria. And while the name literally translates to “child garden”, it was coined by a German man, Friedrich Frobel, who intended the name to be metaphorical, as the idea behind kindergarten is to allow children to grow into social creatures naturally.

April 22^nd – Jelly Bean Day. These tasty treats come in literally any flavour you can think of, so there’s something to please everyone. Jelly beans have been around since the mid-19^th century, when people used to send them to soldiers during the American Civil War.

April 23^rd – Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Unlike the oddly formed haiku, April 23^rd is the day we talk like Shakespeare. Iambic pentameter and lots of telling the air around you exactly how you feel and exactly what you’re going to do about it.

April 24^th – Pigs In A Blanket Day. Today you can celebrate in two main ways, you can a) eat a sausage wrapped in some kind of croissant or pastry, or b) you can eat the British version of pigs in blankets: a small sausage wrapped in bacon. Various version of pigs in a blanket are found in and around eastern Europe, where they are called “sausage in dough” in Russia, and “sausage in a dressing gown” in Germany.

April 25^th – DNA Day. On April 25^th we salute James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins, who on this day in 1953, published their first papers on the discovery of DNA and its double helix formation. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) can also be referred to as the “building blocks of life”, since this molecule features in all known living organisms and a number of viruses. There has been controversy over the discovery of DNA since the single female on the list, Rosalind Franklin, was only recognised for her contributions to the scientific discovery after she died in 1958. Her male colleagues were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1962 for the discovery of DNA.

April 26^th – Pretzel Day. Whether you like them crunchy and by the handful, or soft and big enough to fill you up, celebrate the knotted bread that can trace its origins as far back as 610 AD. There are many different accounts of the origin of the humble pretzel, but most agree that they held religious significance within Catholicism over a thousand years ago. One version of the pretzels inception states that they began life as a treat given to children who learned their prayers. And a Germanic folk story involves desperate bakers inventing them when they were held hostage by “dignatories”.

April 27^th – Tell A Story Day. You know how there’s always that one person you know who can talk and talk about the most inane details of their lives? And no matter how hard you try you just cannot seem to escape the incessant boredom? Well April 27^th is Tell A Story Day, so you have to put up with it. More fun ways to celebrate Tell A Story Day include reading a story to someone younger than you, going to the local library and taking part in the various activities there, or saying hello to your grandparents and just waiting for the stories of way back when.

April 28^th – Blueberry Pie Day. Celebrate with a big slice of blueberry pie and the hope that since it’s a holiday, the calories won’t count. Blueberry pies have been eaten in America since the first settlers arrived in the 16^th century. Blueberry pie is considered to be the easiest fruit pie to make because the blueberries themselves require no preparation besides a quick wash. But the people who think that bake pies all the time, so don’t feel bad if you burn yours.

April 29^th – Zipper Day. The day we appreciate the simple clasping mechanism that keeps our jeans closed, our dresses proper, and prevents all of our stuff from falling out of various bags. Elias Howe patented a precursor to the zipper in 1851, under the much less catchy name of “Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure”. At least 64 years and four additional engineers contributed to the debut of the modern zipper in 1925, where it was used for fastening boots and tobacco pouches. By 1930 zippers were used on children’s clothing because of how easy they are to use.

April 30^th – Bugs Bunny Day. On April 30^th we salute [one of] animations oldest and wiliest characters, it’s Bugs Bunny Day. Bugs Bunny was originally voiced by Mel “man of a thousand voices” Blanc, who also voiced, most notably, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Sylvester the Cat, Speedy Gonzales, Pepé Le Pew, Wile E. Coyote, and the Tasmanian Devil. Originally Bugs Bunny was white, but by the third cartoon to feature him, the animators had settled on the iconic grey colour. The “wascally wabbit” gained his immense popularity during World War II, apparently because of his free attitude. However, an incredibly racist cartoon was made in 1944 featuring Bugs Bunny, since many animation studios pitted their characters against the likes of Hitler and Mussolini at that time. The cartoon has since been pulled from distribution. If you’re wondering who they pitted Bugs against, it was the Japanese.

Please check back next month for the special days in May!

May | Special Days of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 20:53:00 +0000

Known in Britain as the National Smile Month, May is the door to summer, and with it comes beer-gardens, BBQs, and kick-a-bouts at the park – a good reason for anybody to smile. May is a pretty unique month as during any given year no other month will start and end with the same days that May does. It was called Tri-Milchi by the Anglo Saxons for the knowledge that lush, green grass lead to milking cows three times a day! However, May was originally named after Maia, the Greek Goddess of Fertility, and this month celebrates the products of fertility with Baby Day on the 2^nd of May. But past Baby Day May sure holds some real gems in the special calendar, including one of my personal favorites – Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day! There are many wacky and crazy days in May so let’s get started with…

1^st May – Batman Day. The caped crusader made his first appearance on the 1^st of May 1939 in Detective Comics Issue #27, which means that today he is 77 years old! So today don your cape and mask and become the symbol your city needs.

2^nd May – Baby Day. Yup, today is Baby Day. They’re pink, squishy, noisy, and occasionally cute. But more importantly they’re the next generation. They’re not really great at doing anything now, but give them a little time and they could be the world’s next genius.

3^rd May – Two Different Colored Shoes Day. After becoming tired of the monotony and routine of day-to-day life, Dr Arlene Kaiser created what has become a day of celebrating the courage taken to step outside your routine. It’s also a great excuse to be your normal, quirky and colorful self in a grey corporate world.

4^th May – Star Wars Day. Go without saying, this one should, but say it for you I will. May the fourth be with you. Today is the day that all wings report in, that Order 66 is executed, the day that there is an awakening in The Force. Kick back and enjoy a great excuse (as if you need one) to watch something – anything – Star Wars. Just keep your lightsaber handy, you never know when you’ll need it.

5^th May – Cartoonists Day. This day celebrates the first ever publication of a cartoon, The Yellow Kid by Richard F. Outcault, in 1895. Since all those years ago cartoons have seeped into our lives through every media outlet possible. If it weren’t for The Yellow Kid all those years ago we probably wouldn’t be watching Iron Man and Captain America slugging it out on the big-screen.

6^th May – Beverage Day. This day celebrates the humble beverage. The lush liquid with which we wash down our meals. For me, Beverage Day is all about that first beer-garden beer, but for you it can be about any beverage you’d love to gulp down.

7^th May – Roast Leg of Lamb Day. Crispy, brown, and crusted in aromatic herbs, a leg of lamb is a wonderful thing when roasted. Today is an easy day to celebrate and a tasty one too!

8^th May – No Socks Day. Today is day all about freedom of movement… for your toes. That’s right people, ditch the socks, go barefoot, and feel the freedom of the wind upon your feet.

9^th May – Lost Sock Memorial Day. What a perfect day to follow No Socks Day. Today we spare a thought for the fallen brothers of our sock drawers, and those lonely single socks sitting there without their companions. Missing socks, you are gone but not forgotten.

10^th May – Stay Up All Night Day. On the surface of it all, this day is about rebelling against sleep, capturing your youth, and pulling a legendary all-nighter. But it’s worthwhile thinking of those who have no option but to stay up all night: the taxi driver who takes you home in the early hours of the morning, the clerks at the 24-hour corner shop, and the doctors treating patients until the rise of the dawn.

11^th May – Eat What You Want Day. For some of us, this is every day. But for those who are always counting calories and stressing about diets, today is the day just to forget about all of it and eat what you want. Just go all out: burgers, chips, cookies and milkshakes – eat them all!

12^th May – Limerick Day. Named after the Irish town of Limerick,

This type of rhyme is as solid as brick,

Today we celebrate,

It’s really great,

The humble rhyming Limerick.

I tried, okay?

13^th May – Leprechaun Day. They’re tiny, green, Irish, and they’re guarding that magical pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow. So if you’re out and about today and you see a rainbow you better get chasing it – because there’s no doubt that the Leprechauns are sat on that gold waiting for you!

14^th May – Dance Like A Chicken Day. Created in the 1950’s by Swiss Accordion player Werner Thomas and originally called ‘The Duck Dance’, no wedding or school disco is complete without a good old Chicken Dance. So bust out your chicken-moves and get in chicken-shape for the summer!

15^th May – Chocolate Chip Day. You get them in pretty much anything sweet and baked – muffins, cookies, brownies – chocolate chips have lived in the desert world ever since making their appearance first in cookies in 1937. So grab a cookie, muffin or brownie and enjoy the divine power of the chocolate chip!

16^th May – Sea Monkey Day. If you don’t know what a Sea Monkey is, then it’s probably safe to say you grew up in the digital age. Developed in 1957 one year after the popularisation of Ant Farms, Sea Monkeys were sold everywhere as the ‘instant pet’ that you’d take home in a powdered form, put into water, and then sit back and watch as they swam around like crazy! So there’s no better way to celebrate then getting yourself a packet of Sea Monkeys and watching them come to life in front of your very own eyes.

17^th May – Pack Rat Day. This is a day that celebrates our inner-hoarder, and encourages us to give a second thought to throwing away things that might seem like rubbish – as you never know whether or not they’re hidden treasures.

18^th May – No Dirty Dishes Day. As I write this whilst looking over at the pile of dishes needing to be done, I can’t help but wish today way the 18th of May. Today is a day that’s all about going 24 hours without washing your dirty dishes. So let them pile up in style to celebrate No Dirty Dishes Day!

19^th May – May Ray Day. Today is all about celebrating the first rays of summer. Go to a park for the day or have some friends over for a BBQ – just make sure you soak up those May Day Rays today… unless it’s raining!

20^th May – Pick Strawberries Day. Today, much like the day before is a day all about celebrating the coming of summer. As everybody knows, with summer comes the re-emergence of ‘Pick Your Own’ fruit farms, the king of which is by far the ‘Pick Your Own’ Strawberry farms. So today get outside, find your local PYO, and enjoy the heavenly delights of the most delicious fresh-picked, local fruit.

21^st May – Rapture Party Day. This is a day that’s all about living life as though the world was about to end. For some of us that might mean partying until you drop, whereas for others it might mean a simple day on the couch watching your favorite films and eating your favorite junk-food. Regardless of what it means to you make sure you live this day as though it was your last day on Earth – because you never know, it very well might be!

22^nd May – Goth Day. Goths are kind of like the Sith of the fashion world. They gravitate towards the dark side and enjoy black clothing. Why not dress up in your darkest black clothes and embrace your inner Goth today.

23^rd May – Turtle Day. I think I speak for just about everybody when I say that I like turtles! Today is a day for celebrating these wonderful creatures that have lived on our Earth in one way or another for 220 million years! A great way to celebrate is to get online, find out some cool turtle facts and tell them to your friends. Like this one: did know that turtles can breathe through their butts?

24^th May – Brother’s Day. Today is about the bond between brothers, and cherishing that bond and celebrating just how special it is. Over the years there have been many famous brothers including the Kennedy brothers and the Wright Brothers. So today give your bro a call and tell him just how much he means to you.

25^th May – Towel Day. This day acts as a tribute to author Douglas Adams, who wrote famed novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s a rather easy day to celebrate and it’s done by taking a towel with your wherever you go, be it work, school, or just to the shops. The only thing that’s important on this day is that you don’t forget to bring a towel!

26^th May – Blueberry Cheesecake Day. I am a guy with a sweet-tooth, so I can’t deny blueberry cheesecake the honour it deserves. Today I suggest everybody celebrates alongside me by stuffing your face with blueberry cheesecake!

27^th May – Sun Screen Day. Although synthetic sunscreen has existed since the late 1920’s, in early times such as those of Ancient Greece people would use many different things as sunscreen – including olive oil! Today is a day about raising awareness of the health benefits that sunscreen brings to our lives – and ironically coincides with Don’t Fry Day which is all about applying sunscreen!

28^th May – Hamburger Day. Hamburgers can trace their lineage all the way back to the late 1800’s before they became hugely popular in 1904. Since then they have become the staple of takeaway food and come in many sizes and shapes, so it’s safe to say you won’t be far away from a place where they have all the burgers you could want!

29^th May – Put A Pillow On Your Fridge Day. This bizarre holiday can actually trace its roots back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution, where families would place a piece of cloth either on or in their larder in order to bring prosperity and good luck to their household. Although this day died out, it became revived with people choosing to place a pillow on their fridge rather than cloth on their larder. So today your pillow becomes a multi-purpose tool and it brings you good luck. Just make sure to post your pictures online and spread the joy of this wonderful day with everyone!

30^th May – Water A Flower Day. This is a day all about bringing a little color and life to our world. Without plants that flower it’s safe to say that our world would consist of far more barren tones. So brighten up your garden and your lives and water a flower today!

31^st May – Save Your Hearing Day. When you’re young you tend to often turn everything up to 11 and not think about the ramifications. That’s why today is celebrated with something called the 60:60 rule. This is about listening to your MP3 or watching TV at 60% of the volume for 60 minutes less. For such a small sacrifice it may have a very large pay-out when you’re older and your hearing is immaculate.

Please check back next month for the special days in June!

June | Special Days of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 20:52:00 +0000

The month of June is one of the four months that contain only 30 days. June 1^st brings with it new seasons, with meteorological summer beginning in the Northern Hemisphere, and meteorological winter beginning in the Southern Hemisphere. The month of June, like all the best superheroes, has several origin stories. One theory states that June was named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife to Jupiter and goddess of marriage. Another theory states that June got its name from the Latin word “iuniores” which roughly translates to “younger”, since it follows the month of May which is rumoured to have been named after the Latin word for “elders” (which is “maiores” if anyone is interested).

The days of June are a varied bunch, with three separate days devoted to eating your vegetables, and another five devoted to deliciously sweet treats that are best eaten in moderation. Whatever the celebration, from Dare Day (June 1^st) to Meteor Day (June 30^th), we have all you need to spread a little random joy in your corner of the world.

1^st June – Dare Day. Today is the day to dare yourself, or someone else, to do something crazy. Just make it legal and preferably safe! We can’t afford a lawsuit because you decided that dodging traffic was something you just had to do today.

2^nd June – Rocky Road Day. Chocolate, marshmallows and nuts. What’s not to love about this day? You can eat it as a candy bar, you can eat it in delicious oddly shaped chunks, and above all, you can eat it in ice cream. Don’t worry about all the extra calories though, because we have several days of healthy eating coming our way to make up for all the rocky road related treats we can eat today (it’s practically mandatory).

3^rd June – Repeat Day. 3^rd June – Repeat Day. 3^rd June – Repeat- Okay I think you get the idea. Today is Repeat Day, and because it’s Repeat Day, you have to repeat things over and over again… Because it’s Repeat Day. Now, not all the things you do in your day warrant a repeat, you can probably leave off the extra tooth brushing, if only for your poor gums. But why not try watching the same film a couple of times? Maybe you missed something the first time. Or you could really annoy people by repeating everything you say like Foghorn Leghorn. Like Foghorn Leghorn. Like F- I’ll let myself out.

4^th June – Cheese Day. Cheese pre-dates recorded history. How cool is that? Archaeologists theorise that cheese has been around since about 8000BC. Everyone made cheese, so nobody is really sure where it originated. There is evidence of early cheese making in Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. In England they roll it down hills and chase after it. Celebrate today by ordering everything with cheese!

5^th June – World Environment Day. This day was started in 1974 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Each year has its own theme to do with the environment and how we, as a species, can improve it. This year’s theme is “Illegal trade in Wildlife”, which is not as punchy as last years “Seven Billion Dreams; One Planet; Consume With Care”, but catchiness is not usually at the top of the list when it comes to bettering our environment and undoing the damage humans have wrought upon the world since the industrial revolution. If the environment and preventing illegal animal trade is not something you want to celebrate today, just keep in mind that poaching has increased by over 7,700% since 2007. We have entered a period of mass extinction that is even more deadly than the meteor that helped kill off the last of the dinosaurs, and part of that is due to the exponential rise in illegal wildlife trades.

6^th June – Yo-Yo Day. The humble yo-yo can trace its roots back to ancient Greece; we know this because of a number of vases and plates that can be found with pictures of children playing with them. But, enough about the peculiar record keeping of the ancient Greeks, and onto the 1920’s, when the modern yo-yo (the kind you can do tricks with) was designed by Pedro Flores. Flores was a Fillipino immigrant who redesigned the humble “bandalore” into a more trick friendly “yo-yo”. Thanks to him you can go “around the world” without moving an inch. Celebrate by trying out a trick, or, failing that, watching the pros online.

7^th June – Chocolate Ice Cream Day. Yet another day lauding the beautiful foods that keep gyms in business. Chocolate Ice Cream Day falls at the beginning of summer (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere), so this is a perfect opportunity to go out into the sunshine and enjoy some tasty chocolate ice cream.

8^th June – Best Friends Day. Today is all about your best friend, be they animal or human. Spend some time with your best friend today and spoil each other. Or hurl insults at each other if that is more your style.

9^th June – Donald Duck Day. Good old Donald Duck made his debut in 1934 in a cartoon entitled “The Wise Little Hen”. Walt Disney’s previous creation Mickey Mouse had become a role model for many children, and so he needed a new character to showcase just how funny a short temper can be. However, Donald Duck is not just Mickey’s angry friend, he happens to be the Disney character that has featured in the most Disney films. He is also the most published comic book character outside of the superhero genre.

10^th June – Ballpoint Pen Day. The original ballpoint pen was devised in 1888 by John J. Loud. However this first incarnation of everyone’s favourite chew toy was full of problems and the patent held by Loud eventually lapsed. It was not until 1938, when Hungarian newspaper editor Laszlo Biro got fed up of ink smudges and refilling fountain pens, and enlisted his brother, a chemist, to help him come up with the perfect kind of ink to couple with the ball and socket design, that the world at large was introduced to the humble biro. When ballpoints came to America, in 1945, they were priced at $12.50 each.

11^th June – Corn On The Cob Day. This staple food is by far the most difficult to eat politely. Apparently is has caused many an etiquette expert to hang up her pearls in dismay and quit telling rich people how to avoid insulting other rich people. Apparently eating it with your hands is permissible, but using a knife or spoon to scrape off the kernels for easier consumption is preferred. I say cover it in butter and try not to burn your fingers, because corn on the cob is the perfect side dish for a BBQ and June is a perfect time to have one.

12^th June – Loving Day. On this day in 1967 the Supreme Court struck down all anti-miscegenation laws, which stated that interracial couples were not allowed to marry. It began when Mildred, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, got married in Washington DC and returned home to Richmond, Virginia. Virginia was one of the remaining 16 states of America that still outlawed interracial marriage, so they had to plead guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace & dignity of the Commonwealth”, because history is full of idiots. They avoided having to go to jail for being in love by agreeing to leave Virginia, but the sheer stupidity of the laws there urged them to take the matter to the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and after a court case hilariously entitled “Loving vs. Virginia”, they won the right to be married in the last 16 states that were dragging their heels. The Lovings returned to Virginia and, to the surprise and dismay of a lot of bigots, the world did not end.

13^th June – Sewing Machine Day. The first attempt to mechanise sewing happened in 1755, and the first “sewing machine” was used mainly to sew saddles and canvas ship sails. It was not until 1842 that the sewing machines that we are familiar with came into being. There are seven billion people in this world, and most of them, being unable to grow a thick enough coat of fur, need clothes. Imagine how hard this task would be if they had never invented the sewing machine.

14^th June – Pop Goes The Weasel Day. You know the tune, even if you’ve forgotten the words. What other song gives you the excuse to make the “pop” noise? This nursery rhyme dates back to 1850’s England, where it seemed to have come into being in two separate parts. The tune began life as a simple, and very popular, dance song, and the lyrics were added two years later.

15^th June – Smile Power Day. Smiles are universal. All human beings (barring the most tragic ones) smile. Smiles can be used to dispel tension, put people at ease, and are, evolutionarily speaking, a good indicator that the human smiling at you isn’t about to steal your wallet and rip your ears off (unlike chimpanzees, who smile to show you their teeth and warn you that they might be about to use them). However, culturally speaking, smiles can mean many different things around the world. For example, in parts of Asia people smile when they are embarrassed. And if you smile too much at people in the former Soviet Union, they will think you are a dishonest person. If you don’t happen to live in the former Soviet Union, spread the joy today with the power of a smile.

16^th June – Fresh Veggies Day. Today you pay for all the chocolate and cheese that June has indulged you in. The good thing is that vegetables are about the healthiest thing around, packed with everything good for us just short of financial stability. Vegetables are essential for maintaining a well-balanced, healthy diet. And they taste great roasted or smothered in cheese.

17^th June – Eat Your Veggies Day. Yesterday we rejoiced at the health benefits of the fresh vegetable, from humble carrot, to the just plain weird cauliflower. And today you have to eat them. Yes, even the broccoli.

18^th June – Splurge Day. Created in 1994 by Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith, Splurge Day is all about treating yourself. Take yourself out for an expensive meal. Buy yourself those shoes/that game/that giant pizza you always wanted but couldn’t get because you’re sensible with money. Celebrate by indulging yourself, and don’t feel guilty about it!

19^th June – World Sauntering Day. Nothing makes me happier than a day created out of spite. And here it is; World Sauntering Day was created in 1979 by W.T Rabe, because jogging had gotten popular in his neck of the woods and he hated it. He felt that these trendy new joggers did not take in enough of the world around them, so he decided to create a day devoted to wandering around slowly and taking in all the sights. He probably ate chocolate in front of gym windows as well, the legend.

20^th June – Ice Cream Soda Day. This tasty beverage was invented in 1874 in Philadelphia by Robert McCay Green. The phrase “necessity is the mother of invention” is extremely applicable here, since Mr. Green ran out of ice for his soda and used the coldest thing he had on hand – ice cream. And the rest is history. Ice cream soda is popular around the world, in the U.K. they call it a “coke float”, and in Australia they call is a “spider” because of course they do.

21^st June – Daylight Appreciation Day. In the Northern Hemisphere, June 21^st is generally recognised as the summer solstice, the day with most hours of daylight. So in accordance with ancient Pagan tradition, we enjoy the sunshine all the way from 3am to 11pm. Spend today outdoors, getting a good dose of Vitamin D, avoiding housework and any other kind of work you have to be indoors to do.

22^nd June – Chocolate Eclair Day. The name eclair is French, and means “flash of lightning”, the name was given to the delectable pastry because they could be eaten so quickly (in a flash). Chocolate eclairs are made with choux pastry, which is the only pastry that is made in a pan. Once the choux pastry is cooked it is hollow, and persons unknown back in nineteenth century France decided that that was just not good enough, so they filled it with cream and topped it with chocolate. And we thank them for it, though our waistlines might not!

23^rd June – Pink Day. The color pink has been described by many of the great authors, from Homer to Lucretius, which is impressive since they didn’t actually name it “pink” until the 17^th Century. Until the 17^th Century “pink” was a verb that meant “to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern” (which is why they’re called “pinking shears”) and the color pink was always referred to as “rosy” or as a “pale red”. Now, you don’t have to dress in pink from head to toe today if you have a particular aversion to the color, but it sure would confuse a lot of people around you. Pink is the color people associate with: love, beauty, charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, femininity, and the romantic.

24^th June – Pralines Day. Pralines are not just something they make on Masterchef to show off. They are a mixture of nuts and sugar syrup, and sometimes cream. The nuts can be ground or whole, the sugar syrup can be milky or pure caramel. There are commonly three main types of pralines. French pralines are simply almonds and caramelized sugar. American pralines are made with either pecans or hazelnuts, with a creamy sugar syrup. And Belgian pralines are just chocolatey, nutty, tiny parcels of heaven. If you’ve never tried anything more adventurous than a praline cookie (a cookie containing ground nuts) then indulge yourself and try all three!

25^th June – Catfish Day. Today is not about celebrating those twisted individuals who make money off the lonely by pretending to be a hot, blonde, 23 year old. No, today dates back to 1987, when President Ronald Reagan decreed that the 25^th of June was Catfish Day. I’m sure there was a discussion beforehand. Catfish are an excellent source of vitamin D and get their name from the prominent “barbels” on their face, giving them the appearance of having whiskers. Fish is an excellent alternative to meat and carries many health benefits, so you can have it deep fried and not feel so guilty.

26^th June – Chocolate Pudding Day. We have finally come to the last food themed day of June, and what a day to go out on. Chocolate Pudding Day is celebrated by eating massive amounts of chocolate pudding, which can trace its origins all the way back to 1903, where it debuted in Mary Harris Frazer’s “Kentucky Receipt Book”. Buy it ready-made, or make it from scratch, either way this is the last day of June that you can stuff yourself silly with a food not meant to be consumed in great quantities.

27^th June – Sunglasses Day. Just like our skin gets sunburn, so do our eyes. And sunburn to the eyes results in a big patch of your field of vision just disappearing and not coming back for a while. Like when a camera flash goes off. In cases of prolonged staring at the sun (thirty minutes), vision disturbances did not get better for 3 months. Buy yourself a pair of sunglasses, you’ll look cool and your eyes will thank you.

28^th June – Paul Bunyan Day. You should all have heard of Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack whose best friend is Babe the Blue Ox. He is a staple of American folklore, though many experts have questioned the legitimacy of his origins as a folklore hero, arguing that he was simply a hero of “fakelore”, being a literary invention passed off as an older character whose origins lie in the oral tradition of storytelling. Either way, what a day to dress up like a lumberjack and paint the local cows blue. You could attempt to imitate some of his exploits today, but skating on a hot skillet with pats of butter on your feet is quite dangerous. We suggest getting to know some of the stories of this American icon.

29^th June – Waffle Iron Day. Does your waffle iron sit dejected in your cupboard? Do you even own a waffle iron? Well today is the day to remedy that. Waffle irons have been around since the 14^th Century, originating in the Netherlands and Belgium. And, while there have been a lot of days this June dedicated to stuffing yourself with delicacies or adding cheese to everything, today is different, you can have waffles as part of a healthy breakfast, safe in the knowledge that if it was good enough for the Vikings, then it’s good enough for you.

30^th June – Meteor Day. The word meteor comes from the Greek word meteoros, which means high in the sky. Since most meteors occur from between 42 and 77 miles from the surface of the earth, this name is very fitting. Meteors shed glowing material once they come into contact with heated air particles in our atmosphere, creating the famous “tail”, and they come in orange, yellow, blue, red, and purple. The middle of summer is approaching and what better way to make the most of the warm evenings than by placing a blanket somewhere grassy and watching for a shooting star?

Please check back next month for the special days in July!

10 Fascinating Theories To Explain Déjà Vu

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 20:14:00 +0000

Déjà vu is the name given to the unsettling feeling we get when we feel we have been in the exact same situation before. For a few seconds, we are convinced that we have lived the moment previously—to the point where it almost feels like we can predict what is going to happen next. Then just as quickly as the bizarre feeling comes, it goes and we’re back to our normal reality.

Although an actual cause of déjà vu has yet to be confirmed by science, over 40 theories have been proposed to try to explain it. This list includes 10 of the most interesting and thought-provoking examples!

10 A ‘Mix-Up’ Of Senses And Memory

This hypothesis tries to explain the sensation of déjà vu by linking it to our sensory perspectives. A famous psychological experiment, the Grant et al study, shows that our memory is context dependent, meaning that we can recall information better when placed in the same environment in which we studied it.

This helps to explain déjà vu by showing how stimuli in the environment can easily provoke a memory. A certain sight or smell might trigger our subconscious mind to recall a time when we saw or heard the same thing.

This would also explain why the same déjà vu experiences can recur. When we remember something, it increases the strength of our neural pathways, meaning we are more likely to recall something which we repeatedly think about.

However, this theory doesn’t offer an explanation as to why déjà vu occurs when the person experiencing it doesn’t recognize any of the stimuli involved in the déjà vu.

9 Dual Processing

Similar to the previous theory, this hypothesis is another that involves memory acting incorrectly or using “higher processing.” When we originally perceive something, our brain places it into our short-term memory. If we continue to revise the processed information, it will eventually be transferred into our long-term memory where it is easier for us to retrieve.

Items stored in our short-term memory will be lost if we do not make an effort to fully encode them. (For example, we will only temporarily remember the price of an item we bought.)

This theory suggests that when we perceive something, our brain is simultaneously trying to encode the new memory into our long-term memory, thereby creating the uncomfortable illusion that we have experienced it before. This theory may be confusing because it doesn’t explain why the brain has timing errors in some moments but not others, although this could be due to a small malfunction in the brain that is common to us all.

8 Parallel Universe Theory

The idea that we live among millions of parallel universes containing millions of versions of ourselves carrying out our own lives with a diversity of different possibilities has always been a somewhat exciting thought. Déjà vu could actually contribute to this theory!

Believers in this theory claim that the human experience of déjà vu can be explained by considering the unsettling feeling of having lived a moment before as a “crossover” with a parallel universe. This would mean that whatever you’re doing while experiencing the déjà vu, a parallel version of you is doing it in a different universe simultaneously, therefore creating an alignment between the two universes!

Although intriguing, this theory is not backed with much scientific evidence, which makes it difficult to accept. However, the multiverse theory, which states that millions of universes form randomly side by side with only an exceptional few forming with the accessories to support life like ours, could help to assist this hypothesis.

7 Familiarity-Based Recognition

When we recognize a stimulus in our environment, we are using our “recognition memory” which comes in two forms: familiarity and recollection.

Recollection memory is when we recall seeing something which we have seen before (such as recognizing someone who lives on your street in a local store). This is our brain retrieving and applying true information which we have encoded into our memory.

Familiarity-based recognition, however, is a little different. This is what happens when we believe we are seeing something we recognize, but we have no memory of it actually happening previously (such as seeing someone familiar in a local store but not being able to recall why we recognize them).

Déjà vu could be a form of familiarity-based recognition, which would explain why we have such strong feelings of recognition when we experience the déjà vu. This theory has also been psychologically tested by having participants look at a list of celebrity names and later a collection of celebrity photos. However, some of the photos were not included in the names given to the participants earlier.

Even so, the participants still showed faint recognition of the celebrities they could not identify solely through the photographs if their names had appeared on the list earlier. This could mean that déjà vu occurs when we have a faint memory of something happening previously, but the memory is not strong enough for us to recall where we remember it from.

6 The Hologram Theory

The hologram theory is the idea that our memories are formed like three-dimensional images, which means they have a structured frame network to them. This theory, proposed by Hermon Sno, suggests that the entire formation of a memory can be reconstructed by one element.

Therefore, if one stimulus in your environment (a sound, smell, etc.) reminds you of a previous moment you have experienced, the entire memory can be recreated by your mind like a hologram. This explains déjà vu by suggesting that when something in our current environment reminds us of our past, our brain makes a connection to the past event and produces a “hologram” of the memory to make it feel like we are reliving it.

The reason we don’t recognize the memory after the moment of déjà vu has passed is because the stimulus that triggers the formation of a hologram memory is often hidden from our conscious perception. You may experience déjà vu when picking up a can because the feeling of the metal is the same as a bike handle you once had.

5 Precognitive Dreams

A precognitive dream is where a dream we have predicts something that happens in the future—someone finds themselves in a situation they had previously dreamed about. A lot of people report having precognitive dreams about great tragedies (such as the sinking of the Titanic), suggesting that humans have a subconscious sixth sense!

This could explain déjà vu by suggesting that the moment we have the experience of living something before is when we have previously dreamed about the present happenings. For example, you may have a dream about driving on a certain road and then later you drive on the same road as the one in your dream.

You have a precognitive recollection of the road which allows you to recognize it. As dreaming is not a conscious process, this explains why we don’t consciously recognize the stimulus (the road from the example) yet still feel that it is familiar.

4 Divided Attention

Divided attention theory suggests that déjà vu occurs due to a subliminal recognition of the object in our experience of déjà vu. This means that our subconscious mind (the thoughts that we are unaware of) recalls the stimulus, but our conscious mind doesn’t.

This theory was tested in an experiment involving student participants who were shown a series of images of different locations and then asked to identify which locations they were familiar with. However, prior to the experiment, the students were flashed images of some of the locations they had never visited. (The images didn’t last long enough for their conscious minds to register them.)

Students were much more likely to recognize the locations they hadn’t visited that had been shown to their subconscious than the locations they hadn’t visited that hadn’t been shown to them subconsciously. This demonstrates how our subconscious mind is able to hold an image, allowing us to show recognition of it.

This means that déjà vu could be our recognizing a message we have received subconsciously. Believers in this theory believe that subconscious messages can be communicated to us through the Internet, TV, and other social media devices.

3 Amygdala

The amygdala is a small region of our brain. With one located in each cerebral hemisphere, the amygdala is involved in our experience of emotion (most commonly anger or fear).

The amygdala is responsible for our fear response to things in our environment. So if you’re afraid of spiders, your amygdala will process your response when you see one. When we’re put in a dangerous situation, our amygdala may act to temporarily disorient our brain. If you were standing underneath a falling tree, your amygdala may have a panic response that causes your brain to malfunction.

The amygdala can be used to explain déjà vu if we consider the moment as a temporary brain malfunction. If we are placed in a situation that is almost the same as a situation we have been in before but it is changed somehow (for example, the layout of a house may be identical to another you have been in, but the actual furniture could be different), our amygdala could produce a panic response. This means we are put in a temporary state of confusion, and this could be our experience of déjà vu.

2 Reincarnation

The general theory of reincarnation is that we lived as someone else in a previous life before we were born into this life. Although there are some intriguing accounts of people who seem to recall accurate personal details of their past lives, believers in reincarnation claim that the majority of us move into the next life with no recollection of the previous one.

This means that we carry no direct memories from our old life. Believers in reincarnation say that we come into our new life with a set of signals that reflect states of consciousness. This means that memories created on one level of consciousness cannot be retrieved in another (like being unable to recall something that happened while you were drunk).

As déjà vu occurs in an abnormal level of consciousness, the theory of reincarnation would explain the experience by referring to the moment as a signal from a previous life. There could be a trigger in the environment which allows the transition of consciousness to occur. Perhaps we recognize a certain sound, smell, or image from our previous existence and momentarily remember our previous life (which would explain why we feel we are reliving the past in the present).

However, there is no way to scientifically prove or disprove this theory. It all comes down to a matter of faith!

1 A ‘Glitch’ In Reality

The “glitch” theory is perhaps the most bizarre yet exciting explanation included on our list. Déjà vu may seem like a minor moment in your lifetime which you soon forget after it happens, but if this theory is true, déjà vu could actually be a phenomenal event.

Glitch theory describes déjà vu as a momentary breakdown in our reality. Einstein famously suggested that there is no such thing as time—that time is a human creation made to establish order and structure.

However, time might simply be an illusion from which déjà vu gives us a small break. This would explain why we feel we have lived the moment before. If time is a made-up convention, then what we believe to be the past, present, and future are actually all happening simultaneously. Therefore, when déjà vu occurs, we are simply slipping into a greater level of consciousness where we are able to live more than one experience at the same time.

This theory has wider implications, too. If déjà vu is really a glitch in reality, this may mean that damage to the foundations of our universe are created whenever an experience of déjà vu occurs. Some people hypothesize that these are the moments when UFOs can be sighted because déjà vu opens up bridges between different realities.

Exciting . . . yet so far impossible to prove.

25 Fascinating Facts About Zeus: King Of Olympus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 16:37:00 +0000

When we talk about religion in antiquity, very few gods came close to Zeus in terms of popularity and worship. Zeus was the king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; he was god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, and justice. He was first worshiped by the Greeks, then by the Romans (who referred to him as Jupiter), and then by the peoples of many other parts of the world. As the father of the gods, Zeus ensured that each deity performed their individual duty, punished their misdeeds, settled their disputes, and acted as their all-knowing counselor and mighty friend.

Zeus also loved to frequently interfere in human lives. He often took a paternal interest in the actions and well-being of mortals. He watched over them with tender solicitude, rewarding truth, charity, and fairness, while severely punishing perjury and cruelty. Even though he’s mostly remembered for his wild love affairs with numerous mortal women, Zeus was also the protector of the poorest and demanded that the wealthy inhabitants of the earth be attentive to the needs of their less fortunate fellow citizens. Take a look at these 25 Fascinating Facts About Zeus.

Zeus was the child of Kronos and Rhea, the youngest of his siblings, though sometimes he is reckoned the oldest, as the others required disgorging from Kronos’s stomach.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Zeus avoided being swallowed by his father, who had been told one of his children would overthrow him, when Rhea hid him in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete and sought help from Gaia.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

According to another legend, Zeus was raised by a goat named Amalthea, while a company of soldiers danced, shouted, and clashed their spears against their shields every night so that Kronos would not hear the baby’s cries.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Zeus vanquished his father and released his siblings, who were still living in Kronos’s stomach.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Thanks to this action and after the revolt against his father, Zeus became the ruler of heaven and earth. Along with Hades (god of the underworld) and Poseidon (god of the sea), Zeus shared the rule of the world and became king of Olympus.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Even though he’s known for causing thunder and lightning, Zeus was once a rain god. One way or another, he was always associated with the weather.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Maybe that explains why the legendary Greek poet Homer believed heaven was located on the summit of Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and the logical home for a weather god.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Physically, Zeus is often described or depicted in art as a strong, tall, muscular man, with a black or gray beard and long curly hair.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

His wife, Hera, was also his sister. However, Zeus was not very faithful to her and he’s widely known for his many erotic escapades. These relationships resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Minos, the Muses, and the great Heracles.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Zeus fathered Heracles, the most famous mythical hero of all time, by deception. He disguised himself as Amphitryon, Alcmene’s husband, in order to have sex with her.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Very few are aware that before Zeus married Hera, he had already been married twice. After the victorious war against his father, Zeus married Metis, the Titaness of wisdom and daughter of Okeanos and Tethys. After his marriage to Metis, Zeus married Themis, the Titaness of justice. With her he had the Moirae (the Fates), the Horae (the Hours), and Astraea.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

If you enjoyed this list, you may also enjoy these 25 Fascinating Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Greek Gods.

According to Works and Days by Hesiod, Zeus was a carefree god who loved to laugh out loud. He was regarded as wise, fair, merciful, and prudent. He was also unpredictable—nobody was able to guess the decisions he would make.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Zeus was also known for his bad temper; he was easily angered, which could be very destructive. When angry he would hurl lightning bolts and cause violent storms that wreaked havoc on Earth.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Maybe that explains why his servants were named Force and Violence.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Zeus’s punishments could be really severe. For example, when Prometheus stole fire from him and gave it to humans, he condemned Prometheus to having his liver eaten daily by a giant eagle.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Athena was said to have sprung from Zeus’s head. She was his favorite child, with whom he shared the thunderbolt and aegis (his shield).

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a colossal ruined temple in the center of Athens that was dedicated to Zeus. Construction began in the sixth century BCE during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world. When it was completed under the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian in the second century CE, it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Depictions of Zeus as a bull, the form he took when raping Europa, are found on the Greek two-euro coin and on the UK identity card for visa holders. Mary Beard, professor of Classics at Cambridge University, has criticized this for its seeming glorification of rape.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes erected a statue of Zeus Olympios in the Judean Temple in Jerusalem. Hellenized Jews referred to this statue as Ba’al Shamen, which means “lord of heaven.”

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Zeus was identified with the Roman god Jupiter and associated in the syncretic classical imagination with various other deities, such as the Egyptian Ammon and the Etruscan Tinia.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Although most oracle sites were usually dedicated to Apollo, heroes, or various goddesses like Themis, a few sites were dedicated to Zeus. In addition, some foreign oracles, such as Ba’al’s at Heliopolis (Lebanon), were associated with Zeus in Greek or Jupiter in Latin.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

The major center where all Greeks converged to pay homage to their chief god was Olympia. Their quadrennial festival featured the famous Olympic Games, which were held each year to honor Zeus.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Zeus believed in the importance of keeping one’s word and would punish anyone who lied or deceived others in business.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

His sacred bird was the golden eagle, which he kept by his side at all times. Like him, the eagle was a symbol of strength, courage, and justice. It later became a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

Well before Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and other global religions, Zeus was the first god to enjoy worldwide fame and acceptance. Thanks to the ancient Greek kingdoms and empires, with Alexander the Great’s being the greatest example, Zeus and ancient Greek religion traveled to most parts of the then known world. With the rise of the Roman Empire, which had adopted the Greek religion, Zeus became the first god of antiquity to enjoy worship in many different regions of the world.

Source: greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Image: Wikipedia

10 Mind-Blowing Secret Operations From World War II

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:51:00 +0000

During World War II, tons of secret operations were conducted by both sides. While many were daring, some of them stand out as incredible, with mind-blowing operations that seem straight out of a historical thriller novel.

10 The Olterra

The plan sounds like something from a spy movie—to use a secret underwater base as a jumping-off point for launching and recovering midget submarines that would destroy British shipping. That’s exactly what the Italians planned and eventually executed. An Italian cargo ship, the Olterra, was stuck in Spain after World War II broke out and just happened to be anchored across the harbor from the British fortress at Gibraltar. Italy managed to secretly smuggle several tiny midget submarines through Spain and onto the Olterra as well as equipment to maintain the submarines. A hole was cut in the ship below the waterline to allow midget submarines and combat divers to secretly exit.

The first operation in December 1942 ended in disaster, with three deaths and two combat divers taken captive. However, a second operation in 1943 was successful in sinking three cargo ships, and another operation later that year sunk three more. The British had their suspicions, given that the Olterra was anchored right across the harbor from them, but never found out the truth until Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943.

9 Operation Frankton

In December 1942, 10 British special forces soldiers were secretly sent to a French port to destroy things and otherwise cause mayhem. Their mode of transport? Canoes. Having realized that valuable war materials were flowing from Asia to Germany through the port of Bordeaux, the British decided that this choke point had to be stemmed. As more destructive ways of destroying the ships in the port could have caused civilian casualties, the British decided on a commando surgical strike. A royal marine came up with the insane plan of commandos paddling canoes into the port and sticking explosives onto the ships.

A British submarine surfaced off the French coast and launched five canoes, each carrying two commandos, for the strike. The port was hundreds of miles inland up a river, and the commandos had to paddle the whole way, taking several days to make the journey and hiding on the shore during the day. Only two of the boats managed to reach the safety of inland waters; two others capsized, and one disappeared. After reaching the harbor, the four remaining commandos blew up six ships.

Two of the commandos were captured and executed, but the other two were smuggled out of France and into Spain by French resistance members. The strike was a huge propaganda boost for the struggling Allies, and the Germans were forced to guard their ships more closely from then on, an increased expenditure of resources.

8 Operation Zeppelin

By 1944, the tide had turned against Nazi Germany, and Soviet troops were knocking at Germany’s door. In 1942, the Nazis had begun a series of operations designed to hinder the Red Army by starting anti-Soviet uprisings and otherwise messing with the Soviets. The Nazis were never very successful with these endeavors, but kept at them. Operation Zeppelin, the plot to assassinate Joseph Stalin in 1944, was part of this.

As part of the plot, two Soviet defectors were trained for the mission, equipped with special assassination tools, and given a myriad of false documentation to allow them to slip through Soviet lines, get into Moscow and close to Stalin, and kill him. Before the mission, the agents, a man and a woman, had gotten married to each other. The agents were inserted into the Soviet Union via a cargo plane, which crashed. However, the crew and the two agents were unharmed, and the agents set off on a motorcycle.

They would have reached Moscow, except that it was raining, and a guard at the first checkpoint they reached became suspicious because the two motorcycle riders headed toward Moscow were relatively dry despite the rain.

7 Operation Gunnerside

When the British became aware of Germany’s nuclear program, the obvious course of action was to sabotage it wherever they could. As the Nazis were producing a lot of heavy water, critical for their nuclear program, at a Norwegian hydroelectric power plant, the British resolved to destroy it. The first commandos sent to attack the base in 1943 were almost all captured and executed by the Nazis after their aircraft crashed, and the Nazis beefed up security around the power plant. Searchlights, more guards, and a minefield proved to be formidable obstacles. The British were not deterred.

Six more Norwegian commandos were parachuted into Norway in 1943 to join up with the four surviving commandos from the previous raid. In late February 1943, they decided to attack the power plant again. The 10 commandos had to avoid Nazi defenses by climbing down a ravine, crossing a freezing river, and climbing up the other side under the cover of darkness. They entered the plant by sneaking through a rail line.

Inside the plant, there were no guards, but the commandos found an elderly caretaker who was extremely helpful to them. After planting the explosives, they politely waited for the caretaker to find his misplaced glasses before they destroyed the power plant and escaped. Although the Nazis tried to repair the plant, the Allies destroyed it in an air strike a few months later.

6 The Kreipe Operation

Probably one of the craziest operations ever conducted by Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the war, the operation to kidnap General Kreipe, the commander of the German garrison on Crete, was designed to engender resistance on the occupied island. Having been secretly inserted onto the island months before the kidnapping would take place, the two commandos tasked with the operation put their plan into action in April 1944.

Dressing as German troops, the two commandos, with the help of the Cretan resistance, hailed the general’s car and then surprised and killed the general’s bodyguards. Stuffing Kreipe in the back of the car, the commandos, now disguised as the general and his driver, drove past more than 20 German checkpoints without the Germans knowing that anything was amiss. After abandoning the car and moving the general, the two commandos had to hide from German patrols while waiting to be extracted by a submarine.

The operation was a huge embarrassment to the Germans and a massive morale boost to the Cretan resistance and population.

5 Operation Postmaster

When the British started to suspect that Nazi U-boats refueled from or received targeting data from camouflaged civilian cargo ships in neutral ports, the admiralty sent a small group of SOE commandos to investigate and neutralize the threat to British shipping. In the course of their investigations during 1941, they came upon three suspicious ships which might have been guiding U-boats secretly via radio. Unfortunately, the boats were in neutral Spain. That didn’t deter the commandos, however.

The commandos threw a party for the crews of the three ships. While they were out partying, the commandos sneaked onto the vessels, overpowered the sentries onboard, blew up the anchor chains with explosives, and sailed the ships out of the harbor to rendezvous with a Royal Navy patrol boat.

The operation was a complete success and raised the standing of the SOE among the eyes of the British Cabinet, who would be persuaded to invest more resources in the then-fledgling organization.

4 Operation Corona

When Britain started striking back at Nazi Germany with bombers, they also started trolling the Nazi night fighter pilots tasked with hunting down the British bombers. The British used people who could speak German to impersonate German air controllers, broadcasting false orders to confuse German fighter pilots. It was called Operation Corona.

The massive scope of the operation was only possible because of, ironically, German-speaking Jewish refugees who had escaped Germany and settled in Britain. Now, these refugees were breaking into Luftwaffe radio channels and playing merry hell with the Luftwaffe’s ability to direct their night fighters. In one particular instance in 1943, the British got nearly all the German night fighters to fly home, and only one aircraft was lost during that night. Another time, a German night fighter which had gotten lost was diverted to a British airfield and captured.

3 Operation Peppermint

During World War II, right up until the first successful nuclear test, some Allied scientists believed that the use of radioactive substances in warfare would be more important than an actual nuclear weapon. The Allies concluded after some research that while the offensive use of radiological warfare was unlikely because of problems with delivery, the defensive use of such weapons, by, for example, deliberately contaminating beaches on which enemy soldiers were to land, was far more likely. Since the Allies were aware that the Nazis had a nuclear program, they became worried that the Nazis would unleash a radioactive death trap on Allied soldiers as they took back Europe.

In 1942, in response to these concerns, the Allies started to develop portable sensors to detect radioactivity. By the time 1944 came around and the Allied invasion of Europe was coming up, the Allies had developed tools to detect radioactivity. Supreme Commander Eisenhower was briefed by the head of the Manhattan Project, and instructions went out to Allied troops to report certain illnesses or symptoms to Allied High Command. Soldiers equipped with the portable detectors conducted tests of the equipment in England. Hundreds of detectors were held in reserve to be distributed. However, the Nazis didn’t have any radioactive weapons, so Operation Peppermint, the operation to detect and respond to radioactive weapons, was never put into effect.

2 Operation Source

In 1943, the German battleship Tirpitz was hiding out in Norwegian fjords, positioned to threaten Allied convoys from Britain to the Soviet Union. Even worse for the British, the four battleships tasked with keeping the Tirpitz at bay were desperately needed to fight against the Japanese in the Pacific. With this in mind, as well as the fact that the Tirpitz was the responsibility of the Royal Navy to defeat, the British admiralty came up with a daring plan to damage the Tirpitz using midget submarines.

The X-craft midget submarines, each weighing 35 tons, had a pair of 2-ton explosive charges attached to their sides. The plan was for several of the submarines to sneak past German defenses, drop the explosive charges under the Tirpitz, and then sneak out before the explosives detonated. Six of the X-craft were tasked with attacking various capital ships that the Nazis had in Norway, with three tasked with attacking the Tirpitz.

Due to various difficulties with the mission and the loss of three of the submarines, only Tirpitz ended up being targeted. On September 22, 1943, three midget submarines slipped into the fjord where the Tirpitz was anchored. Two of them managed to sneak past the anti-torpedo nets around the Tirpitz and lay charges, but all of the boats were either captured or sunk afterward. However, the explosive charges worked, blowing big holes in the bottom of the battleship and causing damage that took half a year to repair.

1 Operation Biting

When the Germans started deploying a new radar in France in 1941, the British high command decided that they had to get their hands on a German radar set to see how it worked and to create countermeasures to it. The task fell to a newly formed Parachute Battalion, which would escort a radar technician into France and guard him as he dismantled a radar set. The Royal Navy would then extract him and the radar back to Britain.

On February 20, 1942, the battalion was dropped by parachute into France. Surprising the radar station and disassembling the radar through brute force while holding off German reinforcements, the paratroopers and the technician then found their way to the beach. It was barred by a pillbox, which they had to destroy. Then, they found that they couldn’t signal the ships that were to pick them up and had to fire a flare to attract their attention, all the while preparing for a German attack on their position.

The successful operation was a huge morale booster at a time when Nazi Germany still seemed invincible. It also gave Britain a huge advantage in electronic warfare at the time.

The 13 Most Awkward One-Night Stands Of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:49:00 +0000

Having a one-night stand could be construed as a good or bad thing depending on which way you look at it. Some men and women find it empowering to be with someone without any emotional attachment in order to ‘scratch an itch’ and are not bothered by what society deems as ‘too many sexual partners‘ while others find it difficult to separate sex and feelings.

If you’ve ever had a one-night stand, you’ll know that more often than not, there is a level of awkwardness during or after the encounter. It could be something as small as realising you were wearing your ridiculously fashionable beer googles the night before or something very embarrassing like puking in a one-night stand’s drawer while he’s asleep. Whether you’ve indulged in the no-pants-dance with a stranger or not, these 13 people know the true definition of an awkward one-night stand and were willing to share it with us via Whisper.

1. Burn

I’m all for letting yourself go every once in a while but if you’re inviting someone over to stay for an entire day the least you could do is learn their name.

2. Mom’s on-board

It looks as though this guy’s mom is totally fine with her son bringing home randoms. She’s even encouraging it, in a roundabout way.

3. Taking the blame

What would you do if this were you? Knowing me, I’d probably admit that it was me that puked but that’s just because I can’t tell a lie to save my life.

4. You’re still short, though

Technically, girl, you’re a thief but you’re still $20 short so I guess everyone loses here.

5. Can’t handle an ample bosom

Give the guy some slack, he could of done a whole lot worse. Also, it’s probably the first time he’s ever touched a pair of breasts.

6. Must of been a good night

It must have taken a great night with someone in order to tell such a massive lie. What looks worse to your boss, though, being arrested or having sex? Hmm.

7. Serves you right

Well, karma is a good looking bitch!

8. Who does that?

Out of everything in his bedroom she decided to steal a pillow? Sounds like some voodoo stuff to me.

9. Beer, urine – you can’t tell the difference

There is actually quite a distinct difference between the two but hey, if the guy bought it then cool.

10. Not into it

Imagine the poor girl was a virgin and the guy just ran away. How traumatic that would have been?

11. Nope

She must have dropped her beer goggles during the act.

12. Evidence

Hey, at least it wasn’t a parent or relative.

13. The smell, though?!

Surely it must have smelled? Who does that, though – really?!

Besides the folk that weren’t caught out for their sneaky acts, a lot of them faced a tonne of embarrassment. I couldn’t imagine the sheer terror it must have been for the woman whose cable guy saw a used condom on her kitchen counter. At least it wasn’t a spectacle for the public to see, though, like when Gigi Hadid had an accidental nip slip on the catwalk or when this bride had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction on her wedding day.

10 UFO Stories From The Vietnam War Era

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:46:00 +0000

The Vietnam War was not well-known for its UFO sightings, but there were stories passed around by servicemen in the combat area and by people back home. Some of these stories are much more believable than others, but all of them show that the human mind is always looking for explanations for odd events.

10 HMAS Hobart

Although the North Vietnamese had helicopters early in the war, they rarely used helicopters by the middle of the war. Thus, a lot of the UFO sightings from the war revolve around bright floating objects because crews knew that they couldn’t be North Vietnamese helicopters.

In June 1968, Australian spotters saw 30 floating lights near the DMZ. Fearing another Tet Offensive–style attack, NATO forces promptly scrambled F-4 fighters and patrol boats to intercept. The lights turned seaward and came under fire from various ships in the area. Unfortunately, a US Navy swift boat got hit by friendly missiles and sank, killing five of the crew.

Amid the confusion, the Australian destroyer HMAS Hobart sat ready to engage the enemy. At 3:30 AM, the commander called “Action Stations” when the radar room detected an airplane coming in fast with no IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe). The plane opened fire on the HMAS Hobart, damaging the ship and killing crew members.

Throughout the confusion, the F-4s tried to make contact with the floating lights. But there were only a few inconclusive engagements. Later that night, the pilots returned to their base.

The next morning, no wreckage of enemy helicopters was found, even though there was a flurry of antiaircraft fire trying to intercept the lights. Eventually, the incident was chalked up to atmospheric disturbances or possible helicopter activity.

General George S. Brown, commander of the 7th US Air Force, went on record after the war with his beliefs. Although the government had grouped all UFO sightings under the heading of enemy helicopter activity, Brown believed that the Hobart incident was a case of UFO interference in military operations.

9 Pete Mazzola’s Sighting

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Pete Mazzola was a young soldier. Although not interested in UFOs at the time that he shipped off to the front, Mazzola experienced sightings that made him believe in UFOs.

Throughout his tour, Mazzola noted that he saw many “meteors” that moved in a way that was unlike a normal shooting star. Later in the war, he even had a direct experience with a UFO.

While on patrol, his squad got pinned down by enemy soldiers. They stayed low and hid, hoping to find a way out of the mess. As they were trying to figure out a way home, they saw bright objects rise up over the paddy fields and hover in the air.

When the objects rose in the air, they took fire from the American warships to the south. But surprisingly, the Vietcong also started shooting at the floating lights. Neither side could touch the objects. Mazzola recalls seeing the shells explode just short of the lights, even though they were right on target. Whatever the lights were, neither the Americans nor the Vietcong recognized them as friendly.

The experience had such an effect on Mazzola that he founded an organization called the Scientific Bureau For Investigation after the war. Based out of New York, Mazzola dedicated his life to researching UFO experiences and other paranormal events.

8 Coyne Incident

Although it did not occur in Vietnam, the Coyne incident of 1973 was a classic case of a UFO sighting by the US Air Force that occurred during the Vietnam era. The incident is named after Major Larry Coyne, the commander of the helicopter involved.

A four-man army reserve crew was conducting a routine training flight at 760 meters (2,500 ft) above Mansfield, Ohio, when they spotted a red light in the distance approaching their helicopter. They braced for impact, but the object stopped right in front of the helicopter.

Once the crew recovered from the collision scare, they realized that the object was shaped like a cigar. From the undercarriage, a green light illuminated the helicopter cabin. After a few seconds, the strange object flew off.

As the crew decided to return to base, they noticed that they had climbed a few thousand feet during the few seconds of the incident. The climb occurred at a faster speed than they would normally be able to achieve. But the climb was especially strange because the pilot had set the controls for a 20-degree dive.

All of the crew members confirmed the story, and people on the ground also stated that they had seen something strange near the helicopter. In UFO circles, the Coyne incident is considered to be one of the most reliable UFO stories because multiple witnesses shared their stories. It remains one of the most interesting sightings of the Vietnam era.

7 Skylab 3 UFO

Another incident that did not occur in Vietnam but still occurred during the war was the UFO sighting by Skylab in 1973. The Skylab 3 mission was plagued with problems, including a frequent loss of radio contact.

Right before the three astronauts on Skylab returned to Earth, they were out of radio contact and noticed something strange while gazing out of the wardroom window. Grabbing his camera, astronaut Owen Garriott took a picture of the object, which looked weird and squiggly.

After radio contact came back, the astronauts told CAPCOM that they had seen a red light oscillating outside the space station. Then it got washed out by the Sun and became invisible. It was the closest, brightest object that they had seen during the mission.

After returning to Earth, Garriott stuck by his story. In his debriefing, fellow astronaut Jack Lousma mentioned that this was the only satellite of the many observed during the mission that looked like something not from Earth.

In recent years, skeptics have chalked up the picture to debris or optical tricks, but it remains one of the earliest UFO sightings in space.

6 Shag Harbor, 1967

One of the weirder sightings from the Vietnam era was the Shag Harbor incident in 1967 in Nova Scotia. On the night of October 4, multiple witnesses reported that they saw a bright object descend from the sky and crash into the harbor.

The first sighting was by a Canadian DC-9, which reported a large rectangular object falling from the sky that was trailed by explosions. Locals also reported it to nearby authorities. Soon, officers arrived on the scene, thinking that an airplane had crashed into the ocean.

Organizing with local fishermen, the authorities searched for debris or survivors. Neither was found. Checking with both Canadian and American government agencies, the Canadians determined that there were no missing aircraft on the Eastern seaboard. They could not figure out where the object had come from.

Locals described it as moving quickly and sounding like a bomb exploding overhead. But nobody was able to figure out what the mysterious aircraft was. Everybody just decided that it was a UFO.

5 Las Vegas 1962 Incident

The military was already experiencing incidents with UFOs as they were building up to war in Vietnam. For example, in 1962, there was a UFO crash at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.

Initial reports stated that radar had tracked a fast-moving object over Mesquite (near Las Vegas) but had lost contact after that. Days later, witnesses started to come forward with their own stories of the incident.

Contradictory stories popped up about where the mysterious object had landed. Some people believed that it had crashed in Utah. Others believed that it had set down near a power station in Eureka, Nevada. Still others reported that they had seen an explosion over Mesquite. Most sources indicated that the object had crashed somewhere near Las Vegas.

Multiple people called the Las Vegas sheriff’s office to report odd lights in the sky. Near Las Vegas, other witnesses talked about seeing the object explode over the desert. Residents around the city led search teams into the desert to find the crash site.

But nobody ever found debris or evidence of a crashed object. When the US government ended their investigation, they noted that the radar contact was true, but there was no way to trust the visual sightings. Thus, the case was impossible to analyze.

4 USS Kilauea Sighting

Many of the UFO cases in the Vietnam War are not verifiable and are mostly passed around as stories between soldiers. One such story is that of crewman Norman Burns’s odd encounter with a water UFO near the end of the war. At the time, he was serving on the USS Kilauea during a patrol of the Indian Ocean.

One night in 1974, Burns and a friend were standing on the deck of their ship, idly watching another ship in front of them in formation. The ship was kicking up a trail of phosphorus algae behind it.

Suddenly, the trail began to glow and got extremely bright. Out of nowhere, a ball of light leaped out of the water, rolled over the destroyer, and dived back into the water. Burns recalls that the ball was 30–60 meters (150–200 ft) in diameter. Everybody on watch also saw the light, but no one was able to identify what it was.

3 B-52 Shot Down By A UFO

Another interesting UFO story in Vietnam revolves around a crashed B-52 bomber. The paper trail for this story is vague, but it remains a common tale in UFO circles.

The incident is a part of Project Grudge, a US Air Force investigation of UFO sightings which supposedly ended in 1951. But UFO researchers believe that it was still operating in Vietnam.

In the 1970s, Green Beret Captain William English was assigned to Laos to investigate a downed B-52 bomber. The aircraft was lost under mysterious circumstances, and the US Air Force was eager to retrieve evidence from it.

Captain English successfully found the airplane, which seemed in unusually good shape. The only damage on the bomber was normal damage expected from a crash landing. When English opened the hatch, he found all the crew still strapped in their seats but horribly disfigured and mutilated. There was no other damage in the cockpit.

English collected samples and turned the bodies in for autopsy. But after the incident, the Laos government deported him. Whether or not this story is true, it is an interesting tale from the end of the Vietnam War.

2 Nha Trang Base 1966 Sighting

The US base of Nha Trang was an important strategic location for the US. In 1966, it was also the sight of one of the most interesting UFO encounters of the war. Unlike other encounters, this one had a few thousand soldiers as witnesses.

During a night without fighting, the American GIs got together to watch an outdoor movie. Bulldozers were working on hills nearby, and two Skyraider attack planes were warming up their engines for a mission. An oil tanker was also close by in the harbor.

As the soldiers watched their movie, the sky to the north suddenly lit up. Initially, the soldiers thought that it was a flare. But suddenly, the light moved toward the base.

Eyewitnesses reported that the light moved erratically, speeding up and slowing down. It was flying at around 7,600 meters (25,000 ft). Suddenly, the light stopped and dived downward, hovering 90–150 meters (300–500 ft) off the ground.

When the light descended, all the electrical equipment in the base shorted out, including the engines on the Skyraiders and the bulldozers. The light hovered for a bit and then shot straight up, disappearing into the night sky. Eventually, the power came back, but nobody could understand what had happened.

1 Patrol Boat Attack And Only Known UFO Photograph

In 1968, two patrol boats in the DMZ between North and South Vietnam spotted a couple of UFOs approaching them. The two UFOs stopped and hovered over the first patrol boat. Crew members of the second patrol boat watched as a flash of light from the UFOs completely engulfed the first boat and destroyed it in a huge explosion.

In a separate incident, the only known photograph of a UFO from the Vietnam War was taken in 1967. An American serviceman was riding in the back of a truck in Chu Lai when he spotted an odd object.

With his Electro-35 Yashica camera, the soldier took a picture of a cylindrical object hovering just above the country road. These sorts of experiences made UFO stories somewhat common during the Vietnam War.

10 Signs You’re Addicted To Online Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:22:00 +0000

Online shopping lights up the same reward centres in the brain that are associated with drug and food addiction. For anyone under the spell of the ASOS website, this is easy to believe. The joy of nabbing the last pair of jeans in your size and finding a 10% off coupon is all too real. Then there’s the obsessive refreshing of the tracking page, and the palpable excitement in the air as the delivery truck pulls up.

When you finally have the items in your grubby little mitts, they almost never live up to your expectations. But that’s okay, because you know it’s not the winning, but the taking part that counts.

1. There are days when you can’t concentrate at work because you are thinking about the flash ASOS sale that you’re currently missing. Unless of course your desk is situated in a corner in which case you already have seven pairs of shoes in your basket

2. You have to constantly reassure yourself with excuses about why your addiction is okay

3. ‘Only one left’ will increase your heart rate more than any class A stimulant could ever dream of

4. The thought of shopping IRL actually scares you. Think of all… the people…

5. You never, ever have any money left in your account at the end of each month

6. Finishing college was extremely difficult, not because you were faced with the prospect of the real world for the first time, but because your student discount expired

7. Waiting for the post to arrive is a strangely pleasant form of torture that you secretly love more than the delivery itself

7. You’re on a first name basis with the lady at the Post Office. Free returns FTW

8. You can never purchase just one item and be done with it. That would be like, bad for the planet, right?

9. You Google ‘how to stop spending money’ and discover that in order to do that you will need to stop buying things. The stress of this realisation leads to more shopping

10. You’ve come to terms with your addiction, because unlike meth or cheese, it makes you look pretty damn great

25 Unbelievable US Congress Facts You Might Not Know

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 21:07:00 +0000

Congress is somewhat mysterious to the average American. To most people it is just some place that politicians meet and discuss things. They probably make some rules, change some rules, get rid of other rules. It doesn’t seem like a very fun place to be, or a place that would be filled with very likable people. Something like Wall Street except with politics and laws. But is that all that their is to this critical institution? It has been around since the birth of the United States. And legislative bodies made up of representatives from the population are an important aspect of democracies around the globe. Therefore, it is important for us to understand the history and purpose of such institutions. In the span of only a couple hundred years Congress has had its share of eventfulness. Today we are going to go over some of the crazier things that have happened in its short past. We are also going to learn about some of the more unique aspects of what Congress does and the laws that it passes. Some are controversial, some are useful, and obviously some are just incomprehensible. These are 25 unbelievable US congress facts you might not know!

Featured Image: wikipedia

In 1814, when the British invaded Washington they held a mock Congress where they voted on whether to burn Washington to the ground. The decision was a unanimous yes.

Source: plymrock.org, Image: wikipedia

In 1985, when Frank Zappa testified before Congress to protest the censorship of rock lyrics, he famously told Congress “they were treating dandruff by decapitation”

Source: downlode.org, Image: wikipedia

When Walter Washington became the first Mayor of Washington DC, he also became the first African American mayor of any major city in the US.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

After Walter sent a proposed budget to Congress, Democrat John L. McMillan sent a bunch of watermelons to Walter’s office

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Disney managed to lobby Congress to have Mickey Mouse’s copyright extended. This new law is known as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

In 1990, Congress gave the Pentagon 7 years to pass its financial audit. That deadline has been continuously extended and today it runs until 2017.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Either the President or Congress can declare someone an honorary citizen of the United States. This has only been done 7 times

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

The 27th Amendment to the Constitution restricts Congress from raising its pay. It was ratified in 1992…over 200 years after it was first approved

Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay

In 1986, Congress voted to impose sanctions against South Africa. President Reagan vetoed the bill but Congress vetoed his veto. This was the first time something like this had ever happened

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Congress originally voted to pay George Washington $25,000 per year. He turned it down to maintain his image has being a public servant but later accepted it in order to prevent the presidency from being restricted to wealthy individuals who can afford to serve without pay

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

The drinking age in the US was raised from 18 to 21 due to the lobby of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. They got Congress to pass a law penalizing any state that didn’t comply

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Between 2008 and 2010, 30 American corporations spent more money lobbying than they did paying taxes. In fact, it was found that on average they spent nearly half a million dollars…per day

Source: ibtimes.com, Image: wikipedia

The state of Idaho has a meaningless name. Lobbyists had managed to convince Congress that “idaho” is a Shochone word for “gem of the mountains” but it really wasn’t, and nobody ever checked to make sure.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

“Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance during the Cold War to show resistance to Communism because the Communists were atheistic

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

For a period of 10 days in 2014 Wikipedia had to ban IPs from Congress because of “disruptive editing”

Source: rt.com, Image: wikipedia

Since 1909, Congress has played a baseball game against itself, the Republicans vs the Democrats. So far the Republicans have won two extra games

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

In 1971, Mike Gravel, a senator from Alaska read thousands of pages of pentagon papers in Congress in order to expose lies about the Vietnam War

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

The 94th Congress passed American Public Law 94-479 which states that no officer can ever outrank George Washington. This means that if a general ever attains 6 stars, Washington would be upgraded to 7 stars.

Source: gpo.gov, Image: wikipedia

The only member of Congress to have ever been killed while on the job was Leo Ryan. During a human rights investigation in Jonestown he was assassinated.

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

In 1927, millions of people petitioned Congress to switch to the metric system. The manufacturing industry, however, opposed the petition saying that the cost of conversion would be too high

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

Congress funds an Arabic channel called Alhurra. As with other forms of US public diplomacy it is not allowed to be shown in the United States

Source: sourcewatch.org, Image: wikipedia

Woodrow Wilson vetoed the Volstead Act but Congress ended up passing it anyway. This signaled the start of the era of prohibition

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

In 1970, the US Postal Service went on strike after Congress only raised their pay by 4%

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia

At the same time, Congress raised their own wages by 41%

Source: wikipedia

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, only one member of Congress (out of 470) voted against the war. It was Jeannette Rankin, the first female member of Congress. She said that “as a woman I can’t go to war and I refuse to send anyone else”

Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia