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The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar: An Eating Experience You Can’t Miss

2014-07-07T08:45:00.002-07:00

A breath-taking view of the ocean along with good food will be a treat to both the eyes and the mouth. Not far away from the shore of the beautiful Michanwi Pingwe beach lies a tiny seafood restaurant called the Rock Restaurant. This is said to be the one and only Rock Restaurant.

This is no less than a fantasy for this is no ordinary restaurant. Seated on a huge rock in the Indian Ocean which is off the coast of Zanzibar in Tanzania .The Rock is located in the southeast of the island and is easily accessible by a smooth-flowing route. It is a 10 minute drive from Paje, a 45 minute from Stone Town and an hour and a half from the north tip of the island. One can also reach there by a boat or swim or by simply walking up to the restaurant depending on the tide.

The restaurant serves a wide variety of seafood which one can relish on and the food served here is always fresh as the nature’s beauty surrounding it. The food has a distinct twist of the Zanzibari cuisine which include delicacies like Fish Carpaccio, Calamari prepared with prawns and zucchini or familiar treats like Lobster Spaghetti and much more. Besides, drinks such as wine, beer and soft drinks are also served.

The Rock is a cozy hut which offers an extensive menu for wines making it a hot spot for a romantic evening with your special someone or for some special occasions making it a memorable meal. The cooks at the Rock are said to prepare a rich seafood meal with great mastery and passion.

Some who have already been there say that, ”Eating at Rock Restaurant is an experience you can’t miss: colors, relish and sensations blend together in unique ‘edge of the world’ magic”. It is said to be a once in a lifetime experience to dine at the Rock. So you know where to head, the next time you visit the Tanzanian coast.

Mother Brings Baby Back to Life With Two Hours Of Loving Cuddles After Doctors Pronounce Him Dead.

2014-07-07T08:39:00.003-07:00

Kate Ogg, an Australian mother who gave birth to twins at 27 weeks after 3 hours of labor couldn't believe her ears when the doctors broke the news that her son, Jamie weighing 2lbs couldn't make it. At a Sydney hospital, Jamie’s twin sister Emily was fine and healthy at the time of delivery while her brother was resuscitated for twenty minutes to help him spring to life. When he didn't respond to the treatment, the parents had to be told the dreadful news.

Kate, unable to digest the news that her baby was dead, unwrapped him from his blanket and put him on her chest, against her skin. Kate and David, Jamie’s father talked to him telling him his name and that he had a sister, told him what all thing they would do with him throughout his life, touched him and hugged him for two hours before the little baby gasped for air. But the doctors dismissed it as a reflex action. The baby then gasped for more and more air and she fed Jamie with a bit of breast milk and the miracle touched the zenith. The baby started breathing. A while later, Jamie opened his eyes and moved his head that left the doctors both shocked and happy.

The brave and valiant mother highlighted the importance of skin-on-skin care for sick babies, a trend recently being adopted by many hospitals across the world. It is also known as the Kangaroo Care method adopted from the manner in which kangaroos keep the little ones in their pouch. This technique allows mothers to act as incubators to keep the new born babies warm and alive. This method also decreases the chances of infection and the rate of hypothermia in pre-mature and low weight babies. Skin-on-skin care method improves the sleep pattern of babies and drops down the severity of illness in them.

Kangaroo care approach is a scientific method that restores the baby’s temperature in a faster way than any incubator. For pre-mature babies who are likely to have a low body temperature, this method enables the mother to pass on the heat to the little one. As far as a research published in The Lancet goes, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that ninety percent of the babies who underwent this care revived normal body temperature in four hours as compared to sixty percent babies kept in incubators. This technique doesn't carry a risk of overheating as well as the excess heat is passed to the mother. Such an approach is also advised for older babies to calm them down as well as enhance their development.

David Ogg appreciates his wife for being warm and valiant at the time when most mothers would be devastated.

Swimming With Death-Brave Swiss Diver Risks His Life to Swim with Anacondas

2014-07-07T08:35:00.003-07:00

Franco Banfi, 53, a snake enthusiast and diver by profession went to Mato Grosso do Sul region of South America to closely observe and take pictures of this enormous beast.

This brave man was armed only with his camera when he joined the anacondas in their natural habitat for ten odd days. During his trip, he observed six female anacondas and went close to them to take their close-ups.

This region which lies in the heart of South America is known for its greenery and natural beauty. The name ‘Mato Grosso do Sul’ means ‘Thick forest of the south’.

The anaconda snakes coil themselves and wait for their prey silently. They immediately attack on seeing their prey which includes fish and rodents.

Banfi, who is a father of two kids, managed to capture the image of a massive anaconda that was lying on the river bank. The photographer was lucky since the huge beast had just devoured a capybara rodent and was not interested in eating the photographer as he was full. Banfi, who is a native of Switzerland, added that at first he was scared as he was not familiar with the animal. But later he realized that nothing wrong can happen if one respects the snake. The diver had never gone this close to any snake earlier. He added that an enormous anaconda is less scary and less dangerous than a small poisonous snake as one can easily see the huge anaconda and its actions.

Take a look at these amazing photographs

This Lake Doesn’t Just Kill, It Makes The Corpse Turn Stone

2014-07-07T08:19:00.003-07:00

The lake Natron in Northern Tanzania has been welcoming a lot of attention ever since the photographer Nick Brandt happened to grab hold of a few images of dead birds and such creatures off the coast. Of course there is nothing fascinating about the pictures of dead creatures, but what makes you gasp in a deep breath would be the way they were found on the shoreline – they were petrified.

The ultimate deception comes into play when any bird or an animal comes across this mysterious and deathly pool of water, they get confused by the hyper reflective surface, hit onto it right about just to be turned out to an insensible hard matter. Is this starting to look like another ‘Bermuda Triangle’? Though the word petrified might be a misnomer, Nick Brandt recollects that the birds he found on its coasts were literally calcified and looked like a stone carved figure of a bird perfectly preserved,although it wasn't as hard as a stone.He took them with him and set them up in its natural shape,still remaining as a token of obscurity.

Natron is one among the most alkaline lakes in the world with enormous amounts of sodium carbonate and baking soda that are believed to have contained in it from the volcanic ashes of the Great Rift Valley. And that’s how the name was coined. It holds within itself such harsh environment that barely any organism could survive within it unless they are adapted to it,like the extremophile fish and certain algae. The lake can reach a surface temperature of about 60 °C and a pH as high as 10. This might be just enough to burn the skin and gradually pull away its life. The whole phenomenon is believed to be due to the chemical composition of the lake which turns the animals into a shape resembling the Egyptian mummies.

Nevertheless,as against the popular belief that the lake turns anything into a stone, the process doesn't necessarily turn every living unadapted creature into a stony mass and it’s not essentially an instantaneous process, rather it occurs over extended periods.The place is a huge breeding ground for the North Africa’s lesser flamingos and certainly they come out alive, and yes, some might get trapped into this nature’s magic box turning itself into the epitome of misfortune.

These Horrific Origins behind Your Favorite Disney Movies Will Shock Your Childhood

2014-07-07T08:14:00.001-07:00

What’s not to love about animals that talk and brave boys and girls who overcame mean caretakers. In fact given a chance we watched those happy ending movies every day as kids. A look at the real stories behind these Disney movies however shows some gruesome details that were left out. Reading this will change how you viewed your childhood completely.
1. Cinderella

In the movie, Cinderella has a fairy godmother and loses her shoe because she is in a rush. In the real story though, Cinderella prays everyday by a tree she has planted by her mother’s grave. She loses her shoe because the prince cleverly enough uses pitch on the steps to make Cinderella stick to them but only the shoe gets lost. On attending her wedding, her two evil sisters get to have their eyes pecked out by birds.

2. The Little Mermaid

Image source: www.fanpop.com

In the movie, the mermaid rescues the prince and they fall in love. She visits a witch who gives her legs and gets her tongue in exchange. In the story, the mermaid’s only way to remain human is by finding a prince, kiss him; he falls in love with her and later marries her. If she fails she turns back to a mermaid in the movie but in the story, she dies. The penalty for having legs in the story is that every single step feels like she is walking on shards of sharp glass. The prince marries another woman and but the mermaid can’t kill him as is required of her and she instead turns into sea foam after throwing herself into the sea.

3. The Fox and the Hound

Image source: www.fanpop.com

A fox is raised by a hunter’s family but runs of into the wild in the book. On one of his returns to taunt the dogs, a dog breaks his chains and is hit by a train while trying to chase him. The devastated hunter vows to kill the fox but doesn’t catch him. The fox, Tod is killed by exhaustion from running while Copper the dog is shot dead due to old age. The movie though has a baby fox and puppy become great friends.

4. Beauty and the Beast

Image source: www.huffpost.com

Some accuracy is maintained in this one, but something is left out. Belle’s two wicked sisters persuade her not to leave after the beast allows her to go home for only a week. This is in the hopes that the beast eats her up alive on return due to anger. That’s no happy ending.

5. Pinocchio

Image source: www.huffpost.com

Pinocchio’s is more mischievous in the book. As soon as he learns to walk in the book, he runs off and has Geppetto arrested because the police think he is being abused. On his return home he kills a talking cricket and sells off his books for a Great Marionette Theatre ticket after Geppeto insists he returns to school. A fox and cat try to hang him after stealing his money but he changes and saves Geppetto from the terrible dogfish. The part where boys are turned into donkeys and sold off to evil circuses did end up in the movie though.

6. Sleeping Beauty

Image source: www.huffpost.com

The real story by Giambattista has a king knock on Sleeping Beauty’s castle and getting no answer climbs up to the window using a ladder. He rapes the unconscious princess and leaves. The princess awakes after giving birth to twins and surprisingly gets married to the same king who raped her. The King’s first wife finds out about the marriage and fails in a plan to kill the twins, cook them and have the king eat them. The king and princess live happily ever after. The movie adapted the updated version of Perrault that has a tamer version of the story.

7. Tangled

Image source: www.hdwallpapers.com

The Brothers Grimm version has the prince get Rapunzell pregnant before they escape. On discovering this, the evil sorceress cuts off her hair and chases her into the wilderness. The prince shows up and desperately jumps of the window and gets blinded by thorns. He wanders blindly while their twins are born. The prince finally finds Rapunzell after hearing her sweet voice. His sight is restored by her tears and they live happily after this in the prince’s kingdom.

8. The Lion King

Image source: www.fanpop.com

The movie was loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Imagine that! The king is killed by a jealous brother and when the son finds out declares revenge. He gets distracted but finally kills the jealous brother. Everyone dies though in Shakespeare’s version.

9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Image source: www.huffpost.com

In both the movie and the Brothers Grimm version, the evil queen asks the huntsman to kill Snow White in the forest. In the story though, the huntsman should bring back Snow Whites liver and heart to the queen. He brings back the heart and liver of a boar after he couldn’t kill her which the queen eats in the belief that they are Snow White’s. Yuck. Just like in the movie, Snow White becomes unconscious from eating an apple given by the queen. The book has a prince take her away in a glass coffin while still unconscious. Her carriers trip though and the apple dislodges from her throat. Snow White and the prince get married and during their wedding, they force the queen to walk in burning hot iron shoes to her death.

Here Are Some Incredible Facts About 9 Sets of Twins

2014-07-07T08:11:00.003-07:00

Pop culture will identify the twins as creepy according to the Grady Sisters from the shinning but science considers them fascinating. Twins have played a big part in the study of Nature vs. Nurture. Researchers have been captivated by these genetic photocopies. Science however fails to explain some of the coincidences that occur with twins that are identical. The tales involving the twins combine the real and uncanny; from the identical twins who earned perfect scores to the British school that has admitted 20 sets of twins. Read on to get more…

1. Twin mothers who gave birth on the same day
Twin sisters Aimee and Ashlee Nelson had an exciting New Year’s when they both gave birth within a two hour span to their respective sons, in an Ohio hospital. It was unexpected for them since their due dates were two weeks apart. Ashley’s call to her mom came two hours after Aimee’s, saying that she was headed to the hospital. Aiden, Ashley’s son was born at 2.03 pm some hours after Donavyn, Aimee’s son who was born at 12: 11 pm.

2. The 20 sets of twins in a British School
A middle school in Lincolnshire, England, is in the Guinness book of records for having 20 sets of twins in attendance. They blew the record of a previous holder by 12 sets! Incredibly, six sets of the twins are in 7th grade, a phenomenon even the teachers can’t explain. The twins are hard to tell apart since the school requires students to be dressed in identical blue and white uniforms. Due to this, teachers are thinking of getting the twins little name badges to pin on the lapels of their blazers.

3. Identical twins who got re-united after 35 years
Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein were adopted by different parents after being separated at birth. Their lives were so much similar though. They were both editors of their high school newspapers, studied film at their respective universities and finally became writers. They realized this only after they met for the first time at the age of 35, in 2003. They also found out that a scientist had separated them deliberately and hidden the truth from their adoptive parents. He was carrying out a controversial study of Nature vs. Nurture. He stashed the research in an archive in Yale University with the knowledge that it would be criticized. We cannot exactly pinpoint how he tracked their lives or what his final take was on the study but the twins have a conclusion of their own. "Since meeting Elyse, it is undeniable that genetics play a huge role — probably more than 50 percent," Bernstein told the Telegraph. "It's not just our taste in music or books; it goes beyond that. In her, I see the same basic personality. And yet, eventually we had to realize that we're different people with different life histories."

4. Identical twins who got excellent test scores
College entrance exams are dreaded by high school students looking to join colleges. The ACT and SAT’s are only aced by exceptional students. However, in 2008, Brian and Ross DeVol, identical twins from Nebraska, managed to both earn perfect ACT scores.

5. Identical twins adopted by two different families 250 miles apart.
The Shaws and MacLeods received the good news of the successful approval of their adoption application on Christmas Eve, 1999. They were each to adopt a Chinese girl. They were both part of a small Canadian based adoption agency but didn’t previously know each other. It didn’t take long however for them to notice the similarities of both girls when they shared photos of their soon to be kids. The Chinese orphanage assured them that they were not twins but after picking them up in China, there was no mistaking and a DNA test proved it. The two families became friends after this and promised to raise the girls as sisters regardless of the 250 mile distance between them. The twins, Lily and Gillian, still visit each other after every eight weeks and constantly email each other. They would both like to see each other more often but agree they would not change their situation since it wouldn’t be as interesting.

6. Identical twins that on the same day, broke the same arm.
In 2004, identical twins Mitchel and Elliot Cocks from Manchester, England broke their left arms. Mitchel fell off his backyard slide while Eliot tripped over the base of the same slide hours later. On check up at the hospital, the twins were found to have broken both their left arms.

7. The couple that got two sets of identical twins.
For more than a decade, Stephen and LeAnn Beloyan, had struggled to get pregnant. They were therefore very excited when their doctor informed them that were expecting twins. Another surprise came 7 weeks into the pregnancy, when the doctor informed them that they were not only expecting one but two sets of identical twins. Doctors put the odds of getting two sets of identical twins at one in 25 million and theirs was a rare occurrence. LeAnn gave birth on 7th June 2005, to Lauren, Sarah, Benjamin and Samuel in that order, each a minute apart from the next.

8. Identical twin children from identical twins.
The year 1998, in Twinsburg, Ohio, at the annual Twin Day Festival, Identical twin brothers Mark and Craig Sanders met identical twin sisters, Diane and Darlene Nettemeir. They got serious and on a trip to Las Vegas got lucky at poker. They took these odds to their favor, got engaged on the same day and later married in a joint ceremony. They built their homes side by side in Texas and despite the odds of one to a million, one of the couples, Craig and Diane, got identical twins of their own.

9. The “Twin Jims”
These twin set beats all the other twins’ stories out of the picture. Jim Lewis and Jim springer were born in 1940. They were adopted by separate families who named them James. They grew up 45 miles apart from each other, married twice -first to women named Linda and later to women named Betty, had children and named their sons James Allen and both had dogs named Toy. After 39 years of separation, they were reunited in 1979. They were both recruited for a study that found their results extraordinary. They shared the same medical histories, habits and a fondness for Chevy’s. They both vacationed on the same beach in Florida and had woodworking workshops in their garages. Beat that!

Israeli High Tech Gets Aggressive

2014-07-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

Israel has always taken a disproportionate share of global media attention. This has long held true in international politics, where Israel would prefer a little less attention, but also in high tech where the media attention on startup success has often been overstated and anecdotal.
For the better part of a decade, Israeli venture returns have been disappointing, frustrating many who were once convinced they had found the next big thing. But more than a decade after the last bubble burst, the Israeli venture capital industry has steadily matured, reaching a turning point over the past year.
The return profile in Israeli high-tech investments is improving remarkably as entrepreneurs build stronger, more ambitious startups with eyes on a much bigger prize and a higher probability of success. The Israeli tech industry may not be advancing at the pace that impatient investors and reporters demand, but the last decade has also proven that Israeli high tech is far from a fleeting trend.
As a fund that has been investing in Israel since 1992, with a dedicated office there since 2007, we at Bessemer see a stark difference today versus what we found in the Israeli startup environment 10 years ago.

Heightened Ambition

Israeli entrepreneurs have always been ambitious, but the maturity of the Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem now gives emerging companies a better chance to deliver on big dreams and therefore a better chance of raising money to pursue them. Today’s crop of entrepreneurs has grown up in the startup ecosystem and seen peers disappointed by selling too early or shutting down only a couple years after raking it in. This means not only more serial entrepreneurs, but more maturity and experience in the first 50 hires these startups make.
The perspective shows. Venture-backed M&A and IPO exits have grown each year since 2011; Waze (Google) was the largest venture-backed M&A deal in 13 years, but so was Intucell (Cisco) when it was acquired earlier 2013 and XtremIO when it sold in 2012.
Wix, which started trading on NASDAQ late last year, was the largest IPO of a venture-backed Israeli start-up ever…and has since been followed by Varonis. But companies such as Mobileye, CyberArk, Outbrain and others will likely file this year if they haven’t filed confidentially already. And I am increasingly confident that in the near future, the first results of a Google search for “Israeli IPO” will yield links related to public offerings rather than the acclaimed Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

In most cases, these successes come years after rejecting otherwise lucrative offers, with management choosing an independent path despite higher risks. Remaining independent is generally much harder for Israeli startups relative to American peers.

To start, emphasis on cutting-edge tech and strategic partnerships triggers interest at a very early stage, well before a proper business has been built. And because scaling an independent business 6K miles away from the customer base is always daunting for the Israeli founder, accepting an early acquisition offer is often a very rational decision.

Direct Customer Acquisition

Startups become large, independent success stories when they “control their destiny,” which requires owning the distribution channel and, most importantly, owning the customer relationship. Historically, Israeli companies and their venture backers thought it sufficient to be the owner of unique and proprietary IP. For this reason, Israeli startup success typically hinged on building strategic partnerships and OEMs that could bring strong technology to far-away markets at a relatively low cost and low risk. It’s often forgotten, but this is how Checkpoint (Sun), Amdocs (AT&T), and Gilat (GE), became success stories.
Twenty years later, Israeli startups now know that such partnership shortcuts come at a profound cost to the company’s ability to stay independent long-term. Unfortunately, Israeli startups still tend to hire biz dev well ahead of sales, but the successful ones stand out for making every effort to own the means of customer acquisition as well as the resulting relationship.
This industry-wide transition is exemplified by the rise of Internet, SaaS and mobile companies — something once thought unthinkable in Israel. Wix, Waze and Outbrain each devised a method for scalable direct customer acquisition, whether it was through advertising channels, mobile platforms or sales reps. The same is true with many enterprise-focused companies, which increasingly eschew the “white knight” OEM and build an independent go-to-market strategy.

ShakeUp in the VC Landscape

American VCs first entered the Israeli market in the late nineties, focusing primarily on follow-on financings in startups originally funded by local Israeli funds. Over the last five years, the traditional roles of early-stage Israeli funds and later stage American funds have become blurred. Six American VCs with deal-makers residing in Israel, including BVP, are among the most active early stage investors in Israel and at least four newly established Israeli VCs are focused exclusively on later-stage opportunities.
The resulting American imprint at the early stage has been substantial, further fanning the flames of ambition and independence of Israeli entrepreneurs. American investors have brought not only larger checkbooks but a better read of the U.S. market and competitive landscape. American VCs have also introduced a more aggressive set of venture tools aimed at helping Israeli start-ups grow faster including growth equity financings, acquisition strategies and previously shunned founder liquidity. It’s American VC influence that’s behind the direct customer acquisition strategy and the spurning of strategic partnerships.

The Future Is Rosy

Recent high-profile exits have investors once again focused on Israel. Active VCs are reaping the rewards after much patience, and institutional investors – who were heading for the proverbial door – have paused and are taking a second look.
Some see these startups as not yet polished enough to warrant attention, but they do themselves a disservice. Israeli high tech has matured to a point where we will continue to see a steady stream of large M&A exits and IPOs for years to come. Israel is the only real technology rival to the Silicon Valley, and the Valley know this well. Just as political observers no longer view Israel as the underdog, few tech giants and investors are willing to underestimate the potential of an Israeli startup.

How to get fit while you shop

2014-07-06T08:58:00.003-07:00

Shopping workouts are the latest exercise craze gripping the nation with fitness fans squatting, curling and pressing their way around.

It was the fictional character Carrie Bradshaw who so honestly admitted that shopping is in fact her cardio workout and that’s why she couldn’t make the switch to online shopping — so why not get yourself a workout in while you buy the essentials?
Shopping workouts are the latest exercise craze gripping the nation with hundreds of fitness fans squatting, curling and pressing their way around in an attempt to stay fit, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
Clued up shoppers could be burning their way through up to 800 calories during an average shop.
That means twice weekly shoppers can burn 1,600 calories a week, or 83,200 calories per year.
Experts from shopping website Promotionalcodes.org.uk have come up with some exercises for shoppers who want to feel the burn.
Squats – bending to the bottom shelf: Instead of bending over to reach the lower shelved items in the supermarket, try sitting back into a squat.
Calories burnt: 51 calories in 10 minutes equivalent to one cookie
Calf raises – reaching up to the top shelf: When reaching for items on the top shelves, do some calf raises to strengthen the backs of your legs and shoulders. The exercise will also tone your calves.
Calories burnt: 34 calories in 10 minutes equivalent to one treacle toffee.
Arm curls – with tins: Arm curls don’t have to just be restricted to lifting heavy weights in the gym, and can actually help improve your posture all whilst strengthening and toning your arms.
Calories burnt: 80 calories for 10 minutes work, equivalent to a chocolate digestive biscuit.
Lunge – pushing the trolley: Pushing a trolley for an average 40-minute shop will burn 160 calories alone, which is the same amount as a large glass of rose wine. However, to help tone your legs, thighs and quadriceps, try performing lunges while walking around the supermarket and using your shopping trolley to lean on.
Calories burnt : 317 for a 40 minute shop or one cheeseburger
Side lunges – reaching into the chiller cabinet: Side lunges are a great exercise for working your side abdominals, thighs, bum and hamstrings all at the same time. This doesn’t burn a lot of calories but is great for toning those muscles.
Calories burnt: 20 calories or one mint.
Leg raises – while browsing: Leg raises are another exercise that can be done to work your thighs and quads. This move is perfect for doing whilst in the queue to pay or browsing items, and will also do wonders for your core stability and balance. To increase the workout, try lifting your legs up as high as you can to crunch your abs at the same time.
Calories burnt: 70 calories or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Arm raises – with bottles of water: Arm raises with bottles of water is a great alternative to lifting dumbbells in the gym and will tone your biceps a treat.

Men born in winter more likely to be lefties

2014-07-06T08:55:00.002-07:00

Winter babies, especially men, born between November and January are more likely to be left handed, says a study.

Winter babies, especially men, born between November and January are more likely to be left handed, a new study has claimed.
Various manual tasks in everyday life require the use of the right hand or are optimised for right-handers. Around 90 per cent of the general population is right-handed, only about 10 per cent is left-handed.
The study by Ulrich Tran, Stefan Stieger, and Martin Voracek from the University of Vienna comprised two large and independent samples of nearly 13000 adults from Austria and Germany.
Overall, 7.5 per cent of women and 8.8 per cent of men were left-handed.
“We were surprised to see that this imbalance was caused by more left-handed men being born specifically during November, December, and January. On a monthly average, 8.2 per cent of left-handed men were born during the period February to October. During November to January, this number rose to 10.5 per cent,” according to Ulrich Tran, lead author of the study.
“Presumably, the relative darkness during the period November to January is not directly connected to this birth seasonality of handedness. We assume that the relative brightness during the period May to July, half a year before, is its distal cause,” said Tran.
A theory, brought forth in the 1980s by US neurologists Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda, posits that testosterone delays the maturation of the left brain hemisphere during embryonic development.
The left brain hemisphere is dominant among right-handers, the right brain hemisphere is dominant among left-handers. Intra-uterine testosterone levels are higher in the male foetus, because of its own testosterone secretion, than in the female foetus.
However, the testosterone level of the mother and external factors may also affect intra-uterine testosterone levels. Specifically, more daylight may increase testosterone levels, making a seasonality effect plausible.
Previous studies on the subject provided mixed and inconsistent evidence. There was no clear indication which season has an effect, and whether seasonality affects men, women or both sexes equally.
According to the current findings, there is a small, but robust and replicable, effect of birth seasonality on handedness, affecting only men.
These results are consistent with a hormonal basis of handedness, corroborating thus an old and controversial theory.

NASA, Boeing to develop most powerful rocket for Mars

2014-07-06T08:53:00.003-07:00

The initial flight-test configuration will provide a 77-tonne capacity.

NASA and Boeing have inked a USD 2.8 billion deal to develop a giant rocket which is set to be the largest and most powerful ever built, paving the way for manned missions to Mars.
Boeing has finalised a contract with NASA to develop the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built.
In addition, Boeing has been tasked to study the SLS Exploration Upper Stage, which will further expand mission range and payload capabilities.
The agreement comes as NASA and the Boeing team complete the Critical Design Review (CDR) on the core stage – the last major review before full production begins.
“Our teams have dedicated themselves to ensuring that the SLS – the largest ever – will be built safely, affordably and on time,” Virginia Barnes, Boeing SLS vice president and programme manager said in a statement.
“We are passionate about NASA’s mission to explore deep space. It’s a very personal mission, as well as a national mandate,” said Barnes.
During the CDR, which began last month, experts examined and confirmed the final design of the rocket’s cryogenic stages that will hold liquefied hydrogen and oxygen.
This milestone marks NASA’s first CDR on a deep-space human exploration launch vehicle since 1961, when the Saturn V rocket underwent a similar design review as the US sought to land an astronaut on the Moon.
Scheduled for its initial test flight in 2017, the SLS is designed to be flexible and evolvable to meet a variety of crew and cargo mission needs.
The initial flight-test configuration will provide a 77-tonne capacity, and the final evolved two-stage configuration will provide a lift capability of more than 143
tonnes.

Talibani Wanted Man Turns Himself In For Reward

2014-07-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.

When U.S. troops went to confirm that Ashan had in fact come forward to claim the finder's fee, they were initially incredulous. “We asked him, ‘Is this you?' Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, ‘Yes, yes, that's me! Can I get my award now?'” recalled SPC Matthew Baker. A biometric scan confirmed that the man in Afghan custody was the insurgent they had been looking for. “This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the "Home Alone” burglars,” one U.S. official said.

Chinese Guy Sold His Kidney To Buy iPhone And iPad

2014-07-06T08:41:00.002-07:00

Hell yes!! you read it right a chinese student sold his kidney to buy iPhone and iPad.
His name is Xiao Zheng and he is a student in Anhui Province from China. He sold his Kidney for around $3400 to an unknown man to buy iPhone and iPad.The hospital where the operation apparently took place claims to know nothing of the operation and a man to whom the kidney was sold vanished without a trace. But this dude's now got a new iPhone 4 and iPad 2 to play with, so good luck to him .

Now authorities have indicted five people in central China for involvement in illegal organ trading after a teenager sold one of his kidneys to buy an iPhone and an iPad.

5000 Ducks Cause Epic Traffic Jam In China

2014-07-05T20:55:00.003-07:00

All of us have been stuck in a traffic jam. But only a few of us have been stuck in a traffic jam caused by a waddling horde of 5,000 ducks.

In chinese city of Taizhou,a farmer blocked a road with this 5,000 ducks when he relocated his enormous flock to a nearby pond, with help from only a long wooden pole and a couple of assistants.

According to local media, the farmer boasted that he didn't lose a single duck on the three-quarters-of-a-mile journey.

6 Scary Food Ingredients We have Everyday!

2014-07-05T20:52:00.001-07:00

1.Artificial Raspberry flavor milked from the anal glands of a beaver

We all love the raspberry flavor. But have you ever wondered from where this tasty artificial raspberry flavor comes from? This Artificial raspberry flavor contains castoreum which is extracted from the anal glands of beaver, a semi aquatic rodent. Castoreum is used in making perfumes and as a food additive. You might have noticed castoreum in list of natural flavors on a food product’s label. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of United States claims that castoreum is a safe food additive. Its annual industry consumption is around 300 pounds.

The key component of artificial raspberry, castoreum is the ooze from the castor sacs of beaver. It is the yellow secretion that comes out of a beaver along with urine. Through this scented secretion, the beaver marks its territory. Now this bitter truth is hard to believe. Next time try not to think about this bitter truth while having your favorite raspberry icecream.
All artificial raspberry flavored food products like ice creams, yogurts, teas, candies, Jell-o, fruit flavored drinks contain castoreum as a key component. Castoreum is also used in some cigarettes and perfumes. Romans believed that the fumes produced by burning castoreum could induce abortion in females.

This bitter truth is surely a bad news for all the foodies who would feel disgusted after reading this fact. They would no longer be able to enjoy their favorite food products.

2.Estrogen containing milk: A Cancer Causing Agent

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Milk, a must drink for all kids and adults is not that healthy as it is supposed to be. The milk available from the modern dairies these days is a cancer causing agent. Shocked? Here’s the reason. In modern dairies, the cows are milked 300 days a year, most of the time these cows are pregnant. At later stages of pregnancy, cows release large quantities of a hormone called estrogen. This natural estrogen is 100,000 times more harmful than estrogen-like compounds found in pesticides. Consumption of estrogen containing milk and other milk products like cheese leads to breast cancers in women and testicular cancer among men aged 20 to 39. So next time you force your kid to have milk, keep this fact in mind that you might be forcing your kid to have cancer.

3.The healthy and tasty chicken nuggets: A source of TBHQ or Butane.

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Love chicken nuggets? But here’s a fact that would make you hate it. Chicken nuggets contain tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) which is a form of Butane, an antioxidant derived from petroleum. According to a recent study, all packaged food products remain ‘fresh’ for months since they are sprayed with Butane. It is known that consuming a single gram of TBHQ may cause delirium, suffocation, nausea, vomiting and even collapse. Ingesting five grams of this chemical may even kill you. Strangely the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) still allows food processors to use this component in our food products.

4.Spinach dust on the veggie snacks

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You think that you are having your daily dose of nutrition while munching those healthy snacks? Well here’s an eye opener. The green shine on those snacks is not the actual healthy spinach. It is actually just the powdered spinach dust. This spinach dust is the spinach that is totally dehydrated and thus is devoid of any nutrition. So this green sheen on your ‘healthy’ veggie snacks is same as actual dust.

5.Propylene Glycol (antifreeze): From your Car to your Stomach

Propylene Glycol or antifreeze is used in cars to prevent the freezing of water which is used as a coolant in car radiators. This chemical is extremely dangerous as it penetrates the skin and is known to cause heart, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage if sufficient quantity is absorbed by the body.

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This harmful chemical is used in our favorite commercial ice creams to prevent them from getting hard as a rock. You might have noticed that when you make ice cream at home, it gets hard as rock that it doesn’t come up easily with scoop but on the other hand the commercial ice creams can be easily scooped out. Thanks to the poisonous anti-freeze mixture in those ice creams.
The bitter truth is that this component antifreeze is not even labeled on our ice creams.

6.Vanillin: A waste product from wood/ petrochemical industry

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We all consume artificial vanilla flavored food products like soda, candy, yogurts and baked cookies. The artificial vanilla flavor comes from vanillin, only a small amount of which is derived from lignin wastes that is a by-product of wood pulp industries. Most of the synthetic vanillin is derived from from guaiacol, a petrochemical product. Imagine your favorite ice cream contain a petrochemical product, something that you use in your car. Gross isn’t it? Vanillin is also known to trigger migraine headaches.

Did You Know That There Exists Black Skinned Chicken?

2014-07-05T20:48:00.003-07:00

Several black chicken breeds exist especially in Asia but the Chinese Silkie is the most popular. Silkies are attractive birds that are covered in silk like fluffy plumage. Underneath all that beauty however, the chicken’s skin and internal organs are all completely black. They are mostly sold in the western world as ornaments, but in China the Silkies are considered a delicacy. They are savored for their deep gammy flavor and are rarely roasted. They are also considered good moms since they can hatch other bird’s eggs.

The Chinese refer to them as the “black-boned chicken” or “wu gu ji” and have been using its medicinal value since the seventh or eighth century. Women use it to boost their energy after giving birth and it also has a positive effect on lungs, stomach, yin and blood when consumed. The Chinese take full advantage of the Silkies medicinal value by using it to make an amber colored soup that is mixed with dried wolfberries, ginseng and jujubes.

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A genetic study carried out and published in 2011, found out that the uniqueness of the Silkie chicken (fibromelanosis) is brought about by a genetic mutation that is unusual. This mutation is characterized as “a complex rearrangement that leads to increased expression of Endothelin 3, a gene which is known for promoting the growth of pigment cells”. The skin, internal organs and bones are black due to the massive expansion of the pigment cells.

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They also interestingly have a high carnosine content which is a peptide that occurs naturally. This is used by people who want to increase muscle mass and is sold as a dietary supplement. It’s also used to alleviate autism and diabetes and to ward off aging effects. According to studies, black chicken is a rich source of carnosine that can also be used to prevent joint inflammation, atherosclerosis and protect against Alzheimer’s.

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According to a British Poultry Science study, the black chicken eggs are healthier. If used when cooking cakes, they help increase the antioxidant levels while improving the quality of the product. Compared to regular chicken eggs, these eggs also possess unsaturated fatty acids in higher levels. The black chicken, according to those who have eaten it tastes no different from ordinary chicken but some consider it a little sweeter. Would you eat a silkie and savor the sweetness of the black meat.

Meet The Two-Legged Dog, Faith, Who Is An Honorary Sergeant In The U.S Army

2014-07-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Faith, is an eleven year old Labrador-chow cross who is a favorite at hospitals and army bases. She is a sight to watch as she ‘marches’ around using her hind legs while clothed in a military jacket.

Jude Stringfellow her owner, says that Faith is an inspiration to the young men. It’s always emotional for her as she watches them respond to Faith. Faith shows that a lot can be achieved even against the odds and she loves when Faith makes the soldiers smile.

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Faith was born with one of her front legs missing while the other had to be amputated because it was severely deformed. She got rejected by the mother but Ms. Stringfellow’s son, Reuben, adopted the tiny animal and took great care of it.

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They carried the puppy for the first few months but eventually coached her and she learned how to walk. They used peanut butter on a spoon as lure. Faith learned how to balance using her hind legs and to jump so as to move forward. The puppy now walks on its own and moves quickly with confidence. He has become quite a sensation appearing regularly on most U.S talk shows and various newspapers. A book is being published about her entitled ‘With a Little Faith’.

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Ms Stringfellow runs a website that is devoted to her dog. She receives hundreds of letters and emails from fans each day. Her son’s service in Iraq inspired her decision to take Faith to hospitals with veterans. She gave up her teaching post so as to take Faith around the world. Her aim is to let people realize that one can possess a perfect soul even with out a perfect body.

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During these visits, Faith walks around laughing and barking. She is excited to see the veterans.

'There is a lot of crying, pointing and surprise. From those who have lost friends or limbs, there can be silence. Some will shake my hand and thank me; some will pat her on the head. There is a lot of quiet, heartfelt, really deep emotion.’ Ms Stringfellow said.

Beast Sensor On Indiegogo Tracks Your Weight-lifting In Real Time

2014-07-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

In recent years hardware has appeared to track your gym workouts. PushStrength andGymWatch are both devices that will measure your reps as you grunt and build those muscles lifting weights.

A new kid on the block is Beast and it’s currently trying to raise $60,000 on Indiegogo.

This little device differentiates itself by being suitable for all exercises (not only a few) and by displaying results in real-time. In theory this creates more motivation and prevents you do the wrong movements as you lift.

Developed in Milan, Italy, the sensor is magnetic and can be attached to barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells or gym machines and to the body itself for performing free body exercises with the Beast Vest. It then links to a smartphone app to record the data.

The Beast shows you in real-time how much you are pushing yourself by lifting weights, using a machine or performing bodyweight exercises. You can chose to visualize speed, power or strength and monitor your performance while working out. On the accompanying app, you can review your results while resting between each set and get indications about how to make your training more effective. For example the Beast App accesses all your data to suggest the optimal weight to use or the number of reps to perform to reach your training goal faster.

Mercury, More Colorful Than We Ever Thought

2014-07-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

We all know of the planet Mercury being most well known for its position closest to the sun. Mercury speeds around the sun at only 88 times a year making it the fastest planet in our solar system by 31 miles per second. As a matter of fact, it gets as close as 29 million miles away from the sun and can reach temps of upward 800 fahrenheit. The night time temps are extreme as well due to the lack of atmosphere the planet has. Those can reach a nasty -280 Fahrenheit!

What we didn't know until recent was its true colors, literally. Mercury was always the gray planet closest to the sun. Our universe explorers NASA have a satellite in orbit called Messenger. Messenger is equipt with a multi filtered camera system that allows itself to isolate color variations and combine them for incredible photographs. It can actually perform mineralogical studies from orbit! In the pictures below you can see how Messenger's pictures differentiate rock types and colors. The yellowish color indicates a younger surface while the blueish color is a more aged surface. The younger surface is obvious due to its lack of impact scares caused by speeding space debris. Astronomers wish these color patterns could be viewed by the bare eye, unfortunately they can only be viewed this way through the Messenger's camera technologies.

The Messenger was moving at such a high rate of speed that scientists could not decipher the mineral composition in the images. On the upside, Messenger has already settled into orbit in 2011. What this means is now the scientists will be able to map the surface of Mercury to the satellites CPU giving us space junkies even better detail and more info on this beat up, fried planet. We will keep our followers up to date as possible with further images when made available.

Some Of The Most Unique Airports In The World.

2014-07-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

1. Princess Juliana International Airport

It’s also known as the Saint Maarten International Airport. Very low-altitude flyover landing approaches are one of its characteristics. This is because one end of its runway is extremely close to the shore and Maho Beach. In fact the planes go right above the people on the beach before they land, it’s scary!

2. Ibrahim Nasir International Airport

It’s commonly known as Male International airport. It’s located near the capital island of Male on Hulhule Island in the North Male Atoll. the airport is built on its own island and looks like a gigantic aircraft carrier from the sky.

3. Tenzing-Hillary Airport

It’s also known as Lukla Airport. It’s rated as the most dangerous airport in the world, according to a program on the History Channel, ‘Most Extreme Airports’ in 2010. The airport has one of the steepest runways in the world. Aircrafts have to land uphill and depart downhill. Chances of a successful aborted takeoff or go-around are literally impossible. A 2000’ foot drop into the valley is at the Southwest while the opposite end has a rugged terrain. It’s also famous for being the starting point for any one climbing Mt. Everest.

4. Paro Airport

Located 6km from Paro, in a deep valley found on the banks of river Paro Chuu, Paro airport is Bhutan’s only international airport. It’s considered one of the most challenging airports due to the surrounding peaks that are as high as 18,000 ft. As of October 2009, landing at the airport was only certified to eight pilots. Flights are restricted from sunrise to sunset (daylight hours) and can only be done under visual meteorological conditions.

5. Kansai International Airport

Found in Osaka Bay, Japan, Kansai International Airport is 1.6 miles wide and 2.5 miles long. It’s entirely offshore on a manmade island. The airport is so big that it can be seen from space.

6. Gibraltar International Airport

The airport has very little space that its runway goes through the busiest road in the district, the Winston Churchill Avenue. The airport serves only flights to and from the UK. To prevent collisions when planes are taking off, gates are closed so that cars don’t cross the runway.

7. Ice Runway, Antartica

It’s used during the summer Antarctic field season by the US Antarctic Program. This is due to its closeness to the McMurdo station. Its runway can handle giant planes. The annual sea-ice runway gets constructed every start of season and used till the ice begins to break up in early December. Pilots report that the runway is as stable as landing on concrete.

8. Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport

It’s 3,236m above sea level making it one of the highest airports worldwide. Flights can only take off and land in the morning due to mountain winds in the afternoon. Passengers have to be at the airport two hours before departure to provide adequate time for security. Security checks are paramount in this airport due to terrorism problems.

9. Courchevel Airport, France

A strip of tarmac, 1,700 ft, that is located 6,000 ft above sea level, serves as the airport. It’s on a slope on the French Alps in the town of Courchevel. The runway rises uphill in a bizarre way then dips dangerously downhill. No instrument approach procedures are available when landing, which makes it very tricky during low clouds and fog. It also appeared on ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, the James Bond movie.

10. Agatti Aerodrome, Lakshadweep, India

It’s surrounded by the Indian Ocean and is 4,000 ft long. It’s the only airport in Lakshadweep, India. The short runway presents a lot of danger and proposals to extend it have been made.

12 Craziest Things Invented By Japanese

2014-07-04T22:41:00.000-07:00

#1 DRYER FOR NAILS

After "painting" your nails, simply put the hand below these tiny tubes, and pimp the air with your other hand.

#2 BUTTER IN STICK
Quick,easy and accurate way to apply butter on bread.

#3 UMBRELLA WHICH COLLECTS WATER
Umbrella That protects from rain and also enables you to collect water in chamber which you can carry around your waist.

#4 LIPSTICK MASK

For more accurate lipstick.

#5 FAKE FOOTSTEPS

You can rotate its sole by 180 degree.

#6 SPAGHETTI COOLING
Well described in photo below.

#7 GLASSES FOR EYE DROPS

#8 FOR DADDIES
Now men can also feed milk to babies,no excuse.

#9 COOL HELMET
For sleeping in metro or train.

#10 AMAZING UMBRELLA
Not even single drop of rain.

#11 CHEW METER

Well weird one ,i couldn't understand its use.

#12 FINGER TOOTH BRUSH
This one is cool.

Unbelievable Anime-Faced Chinese Model.

2014-07-04T22:35:00.001-07:00

There is a chinese blogger and model name Tina Leopard with a face like that of a shoujo manga anime character has been attracting attention on the Internet, she has extremely sharp chin and wide eyes like anime,which is sometimes hard to believe that it could be real.

Apparently, there’s a new fashion trend sweeping across China – the anime look. The country’s most popular social media sites are practically flooded with tons of photos of young people clearly going out of their way to look as much like an anime character as possible. The trend took off last summer, when a girl going by the name of KOKO uploaded photos and videos showing her thin body, pointy chin and disproportionately large eyes. It turned out she used all kinds of makeup tricks to achieve her anime look, and her photos were apparently also altered in Photoshop, but that didn’t seem to matter much to people who wanted to look like the characters in popular Japanese cartoons. And while some of them actually look pretty cool, others are just plain freaky. Case in point, Tina Leopard, a young Chinese model whose extreme facial features have often been compared to those of an alien.

She uses makeup to make her eyes look bigger and, with her naturally long, slender nose and hair that covers both sides of her face, she is able to maintain the appearance, Ms. Leopard also uses fake eyelashes, contact lenses and buckets of makeup. She then posts photos of her on her Weibo microblog and gets thousands of comments.

Invisible Bank Robber Redefines Dumbness.

2014-07-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

In Iran, a man fell prey to the common trick of overpowering one's mind using superstition, manipulation and placing faith. A bogus conjurer wooed a man, encouraging his shortcuts of becoming rich by making him believe that with an enchantment of certain holy words he had vanished. Now, he could rob as much as he wants to satiate his greed.

Believing in the faux augurer, the man entered a bank to make his dreams come true. Presuming that people would wonder how things are being snatched, he started grabbing the money from the crowd ,although none of this happened and in fact people hold caught of the poor deceptive and handed him over to the Tehran police which is now searching for these escape artists.

The unfortunate burglar paid 5 million Rials which is approximately €290 or 390$ to the sorcerer and in return got certain spells to tie on his arm with a convention of going invisible and a conviction with free stay in jail.

He told state-run newspaper Jam-e Jam: 'I made a mistake. I understand now what a big trick was played on me.'

Eiffel Tower Under Construction year 1888

2014-07-04T22:27:00.002-07:00

Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) is the symbol of Paris, one of the most visited tourist attractions and the best known tower in the world.

The Eiffel Tower is 300 meters (984 ft) tall and was designed by Gustave Eiffel for the Universal Exibition of 1889 and stirred great controversy among the Paris citizens. After its opening the intellectuals of Paris gathered to protest against the grotesque Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world until 1931 when the Empire State building in New York was built. Gustave Eiffel also constructed the framework of the Statue of Liberty in New York City.

The Eiffel Tower is made of iron and has three observation levels, all accessible by elevators. The first level is at 57 meters (187 ft) and has a post office. The second level features a restaurant and is at 115 meters (376 ft) and the third level is at 276 meters (905 ft) and has observation deck that can hold 800 people. During the summer it gets very crowded and the wait can be as much as an hour per level.

Here Are Some Shocking Photos Of People Posing With Alligators In The 1920’S At The Los Angeles Alligator Farm.

2014-07-04T22:24:00.004-07:00

Located in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood, Los Angeles, CA, the farm was both a major tourist attraction and an alligator farm from the year 1907 to 1953. It was a popular getaway for the local Angelinos. Admission fee was 25 cents and they got an opportunity to purchase various forms of reptilian trinkets that included rubber alligators.