Top 10 Most Polluted Cities in the World

Here’s a list of most polluted cities in the world. As We know various kind of industry and human activity that don’t respect to the environment have destructed some places in the world. I guess you will never want to visit these cities. So Let’s take a look at those most polluted cities in the world and learn from theme

10. La Oroya, Peru

Lead is a contaminant that appears most frequently on Blacksmith list. In La Oroya, a mining town in the Andes Mountains, Peru, 99% of children have blood levels that exceed the limit that can be tolerated, because the influence of the smelter that has polluted the city since 1922. Average levels of lead, according to a survey in 1999, is three times the WHO limit. Even after active emissions from the smelter is reduced, which issued will remain the lead in La Oroya’s soil for centuries, and there is no plan to clean it. The number of people potentially affected is around 35,000.

La Oroya, Peru

9. Yapi, India

If India is on the overall environment more healthy compared to the giant neighbor China, it is because India is growing much more slowly. But that has changed, starting in towns like Vapi, which sits at the southern end of 400-km-long industrial belt. For citizens of Vapi, the cost has grown so severe: mercury levels in groundwater in the city reported 96 times higher than WHO safety levels, and heavy metals contained in the air and local products. The number of people potentially affected is around 71 000.

Yapi,India

8. Norilsk, Rusia

Norilsk was founded in 1935 as a Siberian slave labor camps, and life there has pretty much gone down since. There’s a lot of Movers go out from the city as the bad city condition. The city is the home of the world’s largest heavy metal smelting complex, more than 4 million tons of cadmium, copper, tin, nickel, arsenic, selenium and zinc are released into the air each year. Air samples exceed the maximum allowance for both copper and nickel, and deaths from respiratory diseases is much higher than in Russia overall. Within 30 miles (48 km) from the nickel smelter there is no single tree can life. It’s just empty land. The number of people potentially affected is around 134,000.

Norilsk, Rusia

7. Tianying, China

Tianying accounts for more than half of China’s tin production. Poor technology and worse regulation, much of the toxic metal ends in Tianying’s land and water, and then an effect on the flow of blood from children, which can cause lowered IQ. Some examples of Wheat has been found to contain lead levels up to 24 times the standard Chinese. Total people potentially affected is around 140,000.

Tianying,China

6. Kabwe, Zambia

When the rich tin deposits were discovered near Kabwe in 1902, Zambia was a British colony called Northern Rhodesia, and little attention is given to the impact of toxic metals that may be indigenous in Zambia. Unfortunately, there has been almost no progress in the decades since, and although the mine and smelter are no longer operating, lead levels in Kabwe are astronomical. On average, lead concentrations in children is five to 10 times the permissible level of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and can even be high enough to kill. The number of people potentially affected is around 255,000.

Kabwe, Zambia

5. Sumqayit, Azerbaijan

Another legacy of the Soviet Union that ignore the environment. Stalin once boasted that he could correct mistakes Sumqayit nature’s. A lot of factories, while they are operational, released as much as 120,000 tons of harmful emissions, including mercury, into the air each year. Most factories have closed, but still pollutants – and there is no action to take responsibility for them. The number of people potentially affected is around 275,000.

Sumqayit, Azerbaijan

4. Dzerzhinsk, Rusia

The legacy of the Cold War weapons programs has left environmental blackspots throughout the former Soviet Union, but Dzerzhinsk is by far the worst in terms of environmental cleanliness. The city environmental agency estimates that nearly 300000 tonnes of chemical waste, including some of the most dangerous Neurotoxins known to man, dumped in Dzerzhinsk between 1930 and 1998. Dioxin infected parts of the city water and phenol at levels reportedly 17 million times the safe limit. Guinness Book of World Records named Dzerzhinsk the most chemically polluted city on Earth, and in 2003 with the death rate exceeds the birth rate by 260%. The number of people potentially affected is around 300,000.

Dzerzhinsk, Rusia

3. Sukinda, India

If you saw Erin Brockovich, you will know what is hexavalent chromium. It is wicked heavy metal that is used for the production of stainless steel and leather tanning and very carcinogenic if inhaled or swallowed. Sukinda, is the largest open player of chromite ore mines in the world, 60% of the drinking water contains hexavalent chromium at levels more than twice of international standard. Indian health group estimated that 84.75% of deaths in the mining areas, where there are no regulations on the diseases associated with chromite. There’s no effort to clean up contamination. The number of people potentially affected is around 2.6 million.

Sukinda, India

2. Linfen, Cina

The city is located in Shanxi province that in fact is the heart of China’s coal, and the hills around Linfen is decorated with mining, legal and illegal, and the air filled with burning coal. Do not hang your laundry, because it’ll turn black before drying. China’s State Environmental Protection Agency says that Linfen has the worst air in the country, which is saying something, considering that the World Bank has reported that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are Chinese. The number of people potentially affected: 3 million

Linfen, China

1. Chernobyl, Ukraine

When Chernobyl reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, a damaged plant released 100 times more radiation into the air rather than the effects of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today the 19-mi (30-km) exclusion zone around the plant remains occupied, and between 1992 and 2002 more than 4000 cases of thyroid cancer cases diagnosed among Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian children who live in the fall zone. That’s the largest industrial accident in the world. Fortunately, work is being done to prevent further radiation spill from a nuclear plant ruins. The number of people potentially affected was initially estimated at 5.5 million people, but it’s now debatable.

Chernobyl, Ukraine

50 INTERESTING FACTS

1. If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.

2. If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. For when a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.

3. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

4. Your tongue is germ free only if it is pink. If it is white there is a thin film of bacteria on it.

5. The Mercedes-Benz motto is “Das Beste oder Nichts” meaning “the best or nothing”.

6. The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal.

7. The pupil of the eye expands as much as 45 percent when a person looks at something pleasing.

8. The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night.

9. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the imune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

10. The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

11. Dalmatians are born without spots.

12. Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

13. The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).

14. Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.

15. The owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids.

16. The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.

17. Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks.

18. The color blue has a calming effect. It causes the brain to release calming hormones.

19. Every time you sneeze some of your brain cells die.

20. Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.

21. The verb “cleave” is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.

22. When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.

23. When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.

24. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle was built in 1903, and used a tomato can for a carburetor.

25. The lion that roars in the MGM logo is named Volney.

26. Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.

27. Switching letters is called spoonerism. For example, saying jag of Flapan, instead of flag of Japan.

28. It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.

29. The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

30. There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

31. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

32. Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

33. It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.

34. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

35. Most soccer players run 7 miles in a game.

36. The only part of the body that has no blood supply is the cornea in the eye. It takes in oxygen directly from the air.

37. Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.

38. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch (and make it look like it
is smiling).

39. Colgate faced big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking countries. Colgate translates into the command “go hang yourself.”

40. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning its head are the rabbit and the parrot.

41. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

42. The average person laughs 13 times a day.

43. Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are:Mizaru(See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru(Speak no evil)

44. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

45. German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.

46. Large kangaroos cover more than 30 feet with each jump.

47. Whip makes a cracking sound because its tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

48. Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn. Suddenly the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.

49. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural cause.

50. The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet!!

Fashion Trends: Eyelash Extensions

Semi-permanent eyelash extensions are a great alternative to those who wish to make their eyelashes look fuller and longer, but who do not wish to get permanent lash implants. The technology available today means that no one will know you are wearing “fake” eyelashes. They look just like the real thing. Many actresses and models wear semi permanent eyelash extensions to make their lashes look more beautiful on the screen. You probably never even noticed that they were not their real lashes!

Eyelash extensions are not just for celebrities though. All sorts of women wear them. They have lots of advantages – for example, you will save money and time on buying and applying mascara and eye makeup and will always have glamorous looking eyes without any hassle.

Extensions need to be applied by a qualified beautician. Although there fake ones you can do yourself at home, these are not as high quality and will look quite fake. If you go to a beautician to get your lash extensions done, you will come home with a high quality job that looks real and natural.

How Do Lash Extensions Work?

Lash extensions work by attaching individual strands of faux lashes onto your own eyelashes. Synthetic lashes are applied to your existing lashes to create a fuller and longer look. They claim to stay in place even during activities such as swimming. They take about an hour to apply and last for up to two months. After two months, you can decide if you want to have them done again. That is one of the advantages to semi-permanent extensions over permanent ones.

A good beautician will be able to match the correct shade to your natural eyelashes. If they have a good range, you should be able to choose an extension that is as close to your natural lash color as possible. Extensions also come in different lengths and thickness, so you will be able to choose ones that look natural, not stuck on and fake.

Semi-permanent eyelash extensions are safe and easy. As long as you go to a trained professional, you are likely to come out with glamorous, natural looking eyes.

Does Green Tea Work as an Anti Skin Aging Treatment?

The theory behind using green tea in anti aging treatment regimens is pretty simple. Since it is known that free radicals are a factor in many health risks which include premature skin aging, one way to treat it is to deal with the free radicals in our body.

Free radicals are substances that cause a lot of damage in your body at the cellular level. They are known to destroy cells and could cause health problems if left unchecked. On the other hand, it is well known that antioxidants are substances that counteract the effects of free radicals by helping the body stop their progress and get rid of them by flushing them out.

One of the most powerful antioxidants available today is the green tea. Drinking green tea everyday is one good way to maintain control of the free radicals in your system that you could easily get from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, from unhealthy eating habits and other unsound lifestyle habits like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

Of course, it will also help if you could quit such bad habits and maintain a healthy lifestyle that involve eating lots of green leafy vegetables and fruits which are also good sources of antioxidants.

A new technology in the skin care manufacturing process has enabled some companies like Replenix to come up with a way to incorporate green tea extracts into their skin care formulas. This is pretty cutting edge and has created another option for many wrinkle fighters.

The possibilities are vast because with this development, skin care products manufacturers can also find ways to combine the benefits of green tea with other proven anti aging substances. This has actually been done by Replenix as they have already created green tea extracts and retinol facial products!

Yes, drinking tea has been known to be a positive habit that you can do to improve your general health. Now, with these developments, it is now possible to apply green tea topically on your skin and reap similar benefits!

Building Your Own Dog Kennel

Once you start thinking about buying a dog you will automatically start to think of all the accessories that will need to be bought for it: water and food bowls, a bed, toys and the all important dog kennel. Dog kennels are recommended by dog behaviourists as a good place to put your dog when you don’t want him under your feet or if you have visitors are nervous around him. It is important that the kennel is seen as a safe and comfortable place and is not used as a form of punishment. Of course once you have decided that you need a kennel you will be swamped with the huge variety available, from plastic portable kennels, through kennel cages to the traditional wooden dog kennel.

If you decide that you would like a wooden home for your dog then you may find building a dog kennel to be a very satisfying experience. Start by drawing out dog kennel plans which show 3D dimensions of the structure. It needs to be taller than head height, long enough to lie down in and wide enough to turn around in. One of the advantages of producing your own dog kennel design is that you can make it unique and ensure that it has all the features that your dog requires. It is important that the kennel is insulated to keep in the heat in the winter and to keep it cool in the summer and that it is made from good quality wood which won’t warp after a few seasons of rain and sunshine.

Your dog kennel design can be as elaborate as your woodworking skills will allow. Some people have kennels with 2 rooms so that the dog has somewhere to sleep and another room to rest in with a view of the outside world. A flat roof is easier to build but a pitched roof is more attractive if you want something aesthetically pleasing.

Crucial Points to Consider When Selecting Fan Heaters

Fan heaters are basically a type of fan that functions to heat up air to warm up its surrounding area. They are the top choice when heating an area where other heating options are impossible or impractical to install. The great thing about this kind of heater is that they are relatively inexpensive and you can use them in practically anywhere. To put it simply, fan home heaters offer a cheap and inexpensive way of warming up a particular room or area. They basically provide on-the-spot or direct heating by producing a current of warm air and then circulating it within the targeted area, object or person. The only main drawback of this kind of heater is that they have limited heating capacity. They are not designed to warm up larger areas and they can’t be used for longer periods of time.

Whether you plan to invest in a mini tower fan or a portable fan heater, it is important that you know some basic facts about them. This is important to help you determine if buying one is a worthy investment. With that said, here are some vital parameters that you should closely examine.

The Included Features

As with other types of heaters, fan electric heaters are also packed with varying features. Newer and advanced models will, of course, carry more sophisticated features such as a thermostat with frost protection, heat settings control, motorized oscillating base, and different power levels. Since different models offer different features, you have to be certain on the features that you would like your heater to have.

Heating Capacity and Technology

These heaters typically use a metal-coil element that is installed inside the unit as well as a fan that functions to push or pull air over the metal element, and to circulate heat. Their capacity varies greatly, which can range from 2 kW up to 3 kW. There are also other models that use watts to pertain to the heat capacity of the unit.

Cost of the Unit

Last but not the least, you have to take note of the cost of the fan heater. Though prices of fan heaters are fairly cheap, their cost is still varied. High-end and newer models will cost more than the older ones. In general, these heaters can cost anywhere around $15 to $70, give or take.

Jump Roping to Lose Weight

If you are working out on a regular basis but still not able to lose though last few pounds there is something new you can add in to your routine. While high intensity workouts using strength training machines will help burn fat adding in a regiment of jump roping will shred those last stubborn pounds. Jump roping is very beneficial for your heart and a great way to get more definition.

Jump roping is a fast effective fat burning workout because it releases massive amounts of HGH. HGH is a natural hormone that the body releases to burn body fat. A high level of HGH in your body is the quickest route to burning body fat! Low intensity cardio doesn’t release HGH. Making the absolute best way to increase HGH is performing high intensity cardio for 30-60 seconds, followed by a minute of rest or low intensity cardio.

Jump roping makes it very easy to reach a high intensity level very quickly. Jump roping also will increase your vertical jump quickly. If you are playing any sports an increased jumping ability will serve you very well.

Here is a 15 minute fat shredding workout:

• Set a timer
• Jump Rope for 3 minutes at a slow warm up pace
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Jump rope as fast as possible for 60 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Jump Rope as quickly as possible for 60 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Repeat this cycle for up to 15-20 minutes

You can add a lot of variety to your jump roping workout routine. Try jumping on one foot, switch feet, double spins, criss-cross, and more. Adding variation can help but be sure to keep up the speed and intensity. This workout will absolutely burn fat but if you immediately follow it up an additional 20 minutes on an exercise bike or stair master your results will be even more awesome.

Truly Enjoy Tea with the Tea Infuser

At the dawn of the 19th century a brilliant man invented the tea infuser. It only took a few decades before no proper household could be found without one. Tea infusers became incredibly popular.

In the past loose tea leaves were used to make tea. The leaves were put into the pot, and the tea was left to strain. After the tea had finished straining, the leaves had to be cleaned up out of the pot. This was a pretty messy process.

Making tea became much easier with the invention of the tea infuser, so it was no surprise that it became popular very quickly. No more cleaning of the pot and no more straining of the tea. The tea infuser took off.

In the present most people use teabags for their tea, but true tea enthusiasts all concur on one thing: Infused tea is much better. These enthusiasts know their tea, and wouldn’t even consider drinking tea made with a teabag. They’ve tasted the excellence of infused tea, and can never go back.

Every type of teabag that’s available also comes in loose leaves or herbs intended for infusers. Herbs, green tea or slim tea are capable of being infused. The taste even becomes much richer when the tea is prepared in this manner.

Infusers come in single cup format or intended for larger servings. You can even get a pot that has an infusing mechanism within it. That combines a pot and an infuser in one, and might even save you some money. If you think this might be a good option for you, look around for a tea infuser pot.

When it comes to tea, there’s no better investment than a tea infuser. Ignorance is not bliss in this case. You have not really enjoyed tea, unless you’ve enjoyed it infused.

What A Writer’s Day Is Really Like

Ah, the carefree and creative life of a writer! Alas, if you think that’s how it is, you’re sadly mistaken. Far more writers are in a state of constant panic, racing against deadlines. They’re not sitting down and writing deep and meaningful works of literature. More than likely, they’re writing short articles about how to get rid of acne or something else that means nothing to them.

Freelance writers have it a little better in that regard, because they can, at least sometimes, pick subjects of interest to them to write about. The downside to freelancing is that freelancers spend almost as much time looking for work as they spend working.

There are times when everything falls nicely into place and a writer can sit down and write about things they’re interested in and get paid for it. Sometimes, an assignment can last for weeks. A female freelancer, for example, might get a commission to write a hundred product descriptions for a jewelry website. For a week or two, she will be blissfully writing erudite descriptions of rhodium earrings, pearl necklaces and other types of jewelry.

There was a time when online writing was a great way to make money. The economic slowdown has changed that, though. Now it seems like everyone is looking for work writing online. Even university lecturers and professional journalists are moonlighting. An extra twenty dollars for a few hours evening work beats nothing and is certainly a step up from watching TV to divert your mind from your troubles.

For all of the downsides to writing, you would be hard pressed to find a writer who wants to give it away in favor of a nine to five job. Once you’ve done it for awhile, you get addicted to the freedom of freelancing, even when you’re working longer hours for less money than you would in a day job.

Writers love to write. Even when they can’t pour their hearts and souls into creative works, they love the challenge of words. When you’re a man who has been commissioned to write a series of articles about hobo handbags, the words don’t come naturally. But when you knuckle down and get to work, you have to find an angle that makes you enthusiastic about them and translate that enthusiasm into words that will sell the product.

After the article is done, the writer feels a certain glow inside. They are proud of a job well done and also relieved, because they know they’ll have food on the table after they’ve been paid.

No, there’s nothing glamorous about a writer’s working day. But is there anything glamorous about most jobs? At least, as a freelance writer, you can leave your office when you’re sick of working and not get fired.

3 Steps For Article Marketing Research

Article marketing is an essential part of internet marketing. No matter how long you’ve been doing internet marketing, there is a chance you’ve heard about it at some point in time

Like a novelist, an article writer should also do some research and plan their article writing. This is the reason why everyone should be preparing an research and a writing plan before you start. Don’t be scared, the plan does not have to be very elaborate or complicated, as long as it’s workable and delivers a high quality result.

Knowing the three priorities in article marketing research – the topic, your readers and your call to action, gives you a good start for an informative and relevant article.

The Audience

Your priorities should be knowing your audience and your readers.Knowing who your audience is, what they want and what they expect from your article will give you the edge of providing them with the appropriate article. It’s the simple premise of “>article marketing tips

Remember that your readers are a big contributor to your article marketing campaign success. Helping your readers should be your very first priority!

The Article Format

By completing the first step, knowing your audience, you automatically find out your topic. When writing your article, you should also consider which format your article should take. Is it a “How To” article, is it a “Avoid These Mistakes” article, or maybe it’s a simple story. An interesting, and readable article format will determine whether readers love your article and recommend it to others, or whether they hate it and throw it in the bin.

Your Ideal Outcome

You’re not doing this for fun, you also have a goal you want to achieve. Maybe you want to make affiliate commissions or increase the ranking of your website – whatever it is you should always keep your eyes on the prize. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time and expertise on creating articles without maximising your return.

Finding the balance between great article research and using your time efficiently to achieve your outcome is really important. It will help you to create much better quality article marketing campaign and achieve great “>search engine optimization while also knowing that your time is being well used. So if you’re building an online marketing business, getting a great quality article marketing campaign is going tomake a huge difference to your business. And your profitability too if you’re doing the right thing.

What Is SEO Copywriting

The last few years has seen a big increase in demand for SEO copywriting. The reason for this is that websites rely on performing well on search engines; SEO friendly articles can help them do this. Combining SEO efforts and Copywriting is like killing two birds with one stone.

Explaining The Difference Between SEO Copywriting And SEO Articles/Blog Entries

In all honesty most of the articles that are written for SEO purposes are not very good. Quite a high number will have grammatical and spelling mistakes and even worse is the fact that there is a high number of them which will be of absolutely no use to the reader as the content is so poor. Most of these articles are written purely for the search engines but unfortunately it is humans who read them most of the time.

When it comes to SEO copywriting, the articles that are written are going to be using SEO tactics while still trying to generate some interest in a service or product. What you end up with are articles that performs well on the search engine and are also something that can help a reader find out more about a product. The person looking at this piece of copywriting might not feel convinced enough to make a purchase, but at least they won’t feel they have been tricked into reading unintelligible rubbish.

Lately more and more articles which are written are not done so purely for their SEO friendliness. Although you may have to pay slightly more for SEO copywriting, it may be worth it because it will help you to increase your sales. Poorly written SEO articles just makes a company look amateurish and possibly illegal. Your website could be seriously damaged by using these articles even if the search engine is fooled by them initially. When it comes to advertising on the internet, SEO copywriting really is the way to go.

Panama hotels

Wow! Last week me and my family went to Panama City and enjoyed a lot in Panama hotels!! We enjoyed a lot in casino, hotel, spa etc… We also took different different treatments, massages, facials etc… This Panama City attracts lots of tourist. This city also has some world class restaurants, hotels and many more… This city also has some wonderful natural acoustics. There was a Grand Hotel between the shores of two gleaming oceans. We enjoyed a lot in that five-star accommodation. It has lots of rooms with wonderful customer service. We enjoyed a lot in that luxurious hotel. Panama city has some wonderful transportation, Healthcare, Sports facilities and many more… one of the wonderful moment we had in Panama is the entrance to the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean. On the other side there is a monument erected in the Plaza de Francia in honor of the workers and French engineers. We participated in Rate Fest 2010 in which we got one more night stay in the five start accomodation for free of cost. The excellent rooms, executive Lounge, fabulous restaurants, nightclubs, spa etc… still keeping us in excited state. If you have planned for any trip then don’t miss panama city in you list! I am waiting for a day to visit it again.!!

Rocket

Do you know how rockets are moving against gravitational force?? It is due to the ejection of fluid. It ejects the fluid in a fast manner. First rocket was launched in the thirteenth century but by the end of twentieth century human beings started traveling in rockets successfully. Rockets are also used in fireworks. Day by day the rockets are prepared in light weight and in efficient manner. They are becoming powerful day by day.

Annuity Rates

Do you want to find the best rates in Annuities by comparing them? then visit www.freeannuityrates.com and use the best annuity calculator to calculate the best Annuity Rates. This is a user friendly interface which provides the best quotes within seconds. They are also giving wonderful customer support to the customers. You can also find the best annuity guide which will be very helpful for the customers. Visit www.freeannuityrates.com now!

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born in 22 April 1974. He was born in Mumbai. He has one elder brother named Ajit. He is proudly called as Little Master, Master Blaster etc… He is now 35 years old. He made his first test debut against Pakistan in 14 November 1989. His ODI debut is also against Pakistan in 17 December 1989. He has crossed 12,543 runs in test cricket and more than 16,522 runs in ODI cricket. His top score in test match career is 248* and 186* in ODI career. He has taken more than 155 wickets in ODI and more than 43 wickets in test cricket. Tendulkar is the Icon player and he is the captain for the Mumbai Indian’s Team.

Vacation Rentals

We all know that vacations are taken not only to bring relaxation to our mind and body. Vacation is a period of time where you will be like a new man without any official tensions and stress, you will be fully with your family. Always taking a vacation is good for maintaining relationships and for many other things but it will get even better if you choose the best vacation rentals . While choosing vacation rental you have to be very careful in selecting. If you are about to take vacation then I will strongly recommend you to visit the site vacationrentals.org to select the best vacation rentals where you can find the best vacation rentals at a good deal. Watch & Review This Funny Vacation Rental Video

Bicycle

Bicycle is a non-polluting vehicle. It is a vehicle which can be driven by the humans. They are introduced by the end of 18th century. But within short period of time more than one billion bicycles wee sold out all over the world. The fixed Non-moving bicycles are used in gym. It is also used in fitness centers. Fifty years ago the wheels of the bicycle is vary in its size. But now they are manufactured in same size. BSA is a popular company in manufacturing bicycles.

Computer World

Last week my friend bought PC along with printers through online at cheap rate. I too as planning to get a Apple Laptop. Printer is must and there are lots of attractive accessories available in the Internet. Mac is an Operating System developed by Apple Inc. This is th first Operating System released in the year 1986. Till now its very famous. This Operating System has very high resistance against Computer Virus & Hacker Threats than any other Operating Systems. So I advised my friend to install MAC and its very user friendly too!! This month is really an exciting month because of this new PC.

Bill Gates

Bill gates was born in 28th October on Washington in the year 1955. He has started the Microsoft Corporation with Paul Allen. For more than 16 years he was the richest person in the world and no one can even compete with him. But now he is the 3rd richest person in the world. In the year 2000 he became the CEO of Microsoft. His company (Microsoft) made a revolution in Desktop computers history. He is now 53 years old and still he is working as a non-executive chairman. Gate was graduated in the year 1973. In an aptitude test he scored 1590 out of 1600

Nokia N73

N73 is proudly called as multimedia computer. It is launched in the year 2006 with many loaded software’s. It has built in Visual FM Radio, RealPlayer, and it supports instant messaging. It also supports MS word, MS power Point, MS Access, MS excels etc in the software’s namely QUICK word, QUICK powers Point, QUICK Access, QUICK excel etc… We can also install many java applications and we can delete the software if it is not longer used. Its built in memory is 64MB. It can be extended up to 4GB. It weight is 116gram. Like N70 this also has VGA camera in the front.

Avast Antivirus

Avast is famous antivirus software which is available in four types of packages namely

• Desktop protection
• Small Business Protection
• Corporate Solution
• FREE Software

Recently in a survey it is mentioned that more than 70 million users are using avast antivirus software. It is user friendly and it is capable to perform in a very high speed. Besides giving protection to viruses it also gives protection from malwares. We can also download avast professional edition software for free because they are giving 60 days trial use for that software. After that we have to buy to continue using avast professional edition software. This software is really rocking in the market. Just try this amazing software for free!

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a protocol which is used to transfer data between devices easily and quickly. But it can only be used to transfer data for short distances. Nowadays the Bluetooth is very powerful and we can even share data at the rate of 1Mb/s. Bluetooth can transfer data from a range of 1 meter to 100 meter’s. In the 21st century mobile Bluetooth is the famous one. When it is combined with wifi it becomes more powerful and it is widely used in the field of IT.

Nokia N72

Nokia N72 is Symbian OS S60 Second Edition. Its internal memory is 20MB. It is extendable up to 1 GB. GPRS facility is available in N72. Its weight is 124gram. It has a 2 mega pixel built-in-camera. Its screen is 176 x 208 pixels in size and it supports 256,000 colors. Nokia N70 is re-branded as N72 with single side of camera. The difference between N70 and N72 is the removal of 3g from the front. It lacks 3g and wi-fi. This is done to make it cheaper. Its features are similar to N70. It has Bluetooth and FM Radio. It also supports 3d java Games.

Body Fact

Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second.

Scorpion Fact

Even a small amount of alcohol placed on a scorpion will make it go crazy and sting itself to death.

Chocolate fact

The average chocolate bar has 8 insects' legs in it.

Paper Fact

No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 8 times.

Sony was called Totsuken

SONY was originally called 'Totsuken'.

Comet fact

A comet's tail always points away from the sun.

Andromeda Galaxy Facts

Closest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy is Andromeda and even traveling at the speed of light it would take 2 million years to reach it. Andromeda Galaxy, Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 30 smaller galaxies belong to a group called Local Group. There are 100 billion galaxies that we can observe. Prediction is that there is much more, but Hubble Space Telescope couldn't detect them. The Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way is predicted to merge within the next 5 billion years. In the event like this smaller galaxies are consumed by larger ones. Andromeda galaxy is twice as large as Milky Way.

Donkey Plus Horse Equals?

When a female horse and a male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and a female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny. When a male zebra and a female donkey mate the offspring is called a donk or zebrass. All of these resulting offspring are sterile (can't have babies).

Hypoallergenic Cats

People that are allergic to cats will be able to pet them without sneezing and scratching. Genetically engineered cats will be produced to help people with allergies enjoy their sneeze-free kitties Allerca, Inc., a biotechnology firm in San Diego, California, says it has bred Hypoallergenic Cats and is now taking orders from customers in the United States.

Do You Want Blue Skin?

If you would prefer bluish skin then your diet should include silver. An over exposure to the chemical form of silver causes an acute discoloration of the skin from normal to blue or bluish-gray in human beings or animals. This condition is called as Argyria. The word is a derivative of the Greek word 'argyros' which implies 'silver'. It is due to the deposition of the silver salts on one's eyes, skin and other internal organs. In the pre-antibiotic times, this skin disease was more prevalent due to the use of silver in the nasal drops. This disease has now been recognized as a permanent skin disease that is slowly becoming common. 58-year-old Paul Karason suffered a shocking side effect from the drug "colloidal silver," which he used to treat a skin condition; his skin turned blue. Paul Karason looked like an ordinary man until about a decade ago, when he began treating himself with silver. Patients develop argyria, which is the permanent collection of silver under the skin. Karason is blue for the rest of his life!

Ladybug Facts

There are more than 5000 ladybug species. Ladybugs usually eat plant lice. However, Asian species when introduced to the Europe attacked European ladybugs. Dots on the ladybugs have nothing to do with the years of living. Some ladybugs have up to 22 dots on the back. Average lifespan of these cute bugs is three years. Some people believe that ladybugs can predict the weather. If they fell off your hand it would rain, if they flew away it would be fine.

Facts About Marijuana

Cannabis was first cultivated in China around 4000 B.C. and the U.S. Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. Twelve Americans receive prescribed marijuana from the U.S. government. There are three main types of Marijuana: Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica and Cannabis Ruderalis. Cannabis Sativa grows taller and it gives more of a head high. Indica is a short bushy plant and the high is more muscle relaxing throughout the body. Cannabis Ruderalis grows in colder climates (Eastern Europe and Russia). Skunk is the strong Cannabis Indica hybrid. Interesting fact about marijuana is that marijuana cures/prevents more than 100 diseases including cancer and depression. We advise you to watch following videos:

Lion And Tiger = Liger

What happens when a male lion and a female tiger breed? A Liger - the largest of all felines. A liger looks like a giant lion with diffused stripes and some male ligers grow sparse manes. These massive creatures are 10 feet long on average and weigh about 700 lb (320kg). Liger love swimming - trait common to tigers but lacking in lions. Ligers have been bred in captivity, deliberately and accidentally, since shortly before World War II. The largest liger alive today is appropriately named Hercules and lives in Jungle Island in Miami.

What Is Yahoo!?

Yahoo the complex internet organism has complicated name. Word "Yahoo" is shortcut for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle". It was coined by PhD candidates at Stanford University: David Filo and Jerry Yang.

What Is Google?

Google, the Internet search company founded in September 1998. by Larry Page & Sergey Brin, got it's name from the word Googol, which represents number 1 followed with hundred zeros after it.

History Of Amazon.com

Jeff Bezos coined the term Amazon.com from the earlier name Cadabra.com. It was the excellent way to present large volume online bookstore. But did he have hidden intentions? It is hard to believe but in the early Internet days, when Yahoo was dominant search engine, results on one page were listed alphabetically. Amazon would always appear above its competition for a specific keywords. This could be a breaking point for Jeff to expand and became what it is today.

Myspace Facts

MySpace was founded by former Friendster members Chris Dewolfe and Tom Anderson in 2003. They saw opportunity to beat Friendster with more options and less restrictions for social network users. MySpace was purchased in 2005 for $580 million by Rupert Murdoch creator of a media empire that includes 20th Century Fox and the Fox television stations. MySpace has more than 40 billion page views a month. Google paid $900 million to be MySpace's search provider. MySpace runs on Microsoft .NET Framework, operating under Windows 2003 server and applications written in C# for ASP.NET.

Internet Addiction Facts

Are you addicted to your online connection? Are you one of those crazy folks that can't wait to read the email with your morning coffee? Doctors are calling it serious addiction combined with: Cybersexual Addiction, Computer Addiction and Cyber-Relational Addiction. They even managed to stamp the cool names for it, like Internet Addictive Disorder (IAD) or the Internet Overuse Syndrome (IOS). Based on the latest research and simple human reasoning. Internet addiction should not be labeled as addiction like gambling or drug addiction. There should be a strict line that distances other addictions from the internet addiction. Staying in touch with your friends or watching funny YouTube videos is not a destructive behavior which usually characterizes major addictions. If you gamble on the internet then you are not addicted to the internet, but online gambling. Internet is a wonderful tool, but like everything else in this Universe there is the sunny side and the dark side of the pyramid of life. Stay Positive!

Google Pagerank Facts

Here are some facts about page ranks that a webmaster should keep in mind. The sites do not have a page rank, pages have. PageRank to some level is link referral program. The page "A" ranks higher when it gets referred by another page "B", however just the number of referrals or links is not enough for a page to rank high. The rank of "B" site which refers user to site "A", is also important in determining the rank of site "A". To check the PR of a page, download Google toolbar or use Firefox plugin. PageRank is bit outdated Google technology. Today Google uses advanced algorithms in order to produce search results. Formula calculates many variables such: Keyword Usage Score, Domain Strength, Content Quality Score, User Data and Inbound Links. However, webmasters around the world still compete for good PageRank since it represents popularity of your page. PageRank is trademark of Google, but true patent owner of PageRank is Stanford University. Google has exclusive license rights to use PageRank. The cost of this right was 1.8 million shares of Google ($336 million in 2005).

Facebook Finally Makes Money

Facebook's user base is constantly growing and now it reaches more than 300 million active FaceBook users. With 50 million mobile users FaceBook wants you to stay connected to your friends and family where ever you go. The interesting fact is that FaceBook just recently started making profits (in 2009). Enormous expenses and growing databases pushed FaceBook inventors to re-invent their advertising market. 2009 was the great year for FaceBook even this being the year of greatest recession since 1930's. We as users hope that FaceBook will continue working on privacy issues and never share our individual information with companies and government agencies. Shhhhh, soon we can expect voice chat directly from FaceBook.

Twitter Facts

Twitter is a micro-blogging social network service which allows users to share not-so-important things in their life by answering a simple question: "What are you doing?" Answers to this question are organized in a short messages called Tweets, length is limited to 140 characters. The good thing about Twitter, there is no "noise" created by boring people since "friendships" are not mutual - you can "follow" interesting people while they don't have to follow you. In February 2009, Twitter had a monthly growth (of users) of over 1300 percent - several times more than Facebook. Twitter made huge success from the mobile device users (in 2009 there was 735,000 unique mobile visitors).

Google Quantum Algorithm

Several reports suggest that in the past three years Google has developed a quantum algorithm that is capable of automatically recognizing and sorting objects from videos or still images. This has been achieved by using physics that exists at the subatomic level. Several research teams have been working on the development of quantum processors that can store data as quantum bits. These qbits represent both the 0 and 1 that are used in the binary computer language simultaneously. That dual possibility state allows for much more efficient processing and information storage. To consider an example given by Google, an average computer requires 500,000 peeks to find a particular object hidden in one of a million drawers on an average. But such a quantum computer could locate the position the ball by just peeking into 1000 out of the million drawers.

The Great Wall Myth

It is common mistake to say that The Great wall of China is visible from outer space. It is too thin to be noticed from such a great distance. There are no man made structures that are visible from space or moon. Man made objects start to disappear after 300 miles up. From that distance you can barely see the outline of the Great China Wall. If we consider that distance from Earth to Moon is around 384,403 kilometers/238,857 miles then we can draw reasonable conclusion that it would be impossible to see any man-made structures from such a distance. Astronaut Alan Bean said: "The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white (clouds), some blue (ocean), patches of yellow (deserts), and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible on this scale. In fact, when first leaving earth's orbit and only a few thousand miles away, no man-made object is visible at that point either."

The Seven Wonders

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World compiled by ancient Greek historians are: The Great Pyramid of Giza, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, The Colossus of Rhodes and The Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Is This The Last Pope?

St. Malachy, (d. 1148) Irish Bishop and Seer, produced an accurate list of future popes which began with Pope Celestine II in the year 1143.
The prophecy is concerned with the succession of the Popes and there will be one more Pope after the current Pope Benedict XVI according to the prophecies of St. Malachy.

Monopoly Facts

Monopoly was invented by Charles B. Darrow during the Depression in the 1934 and at first it was rejected by Parker Brothers due to "52 design errors"! Streets in Monopoly are taken from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Game was very popular in Cuba until Fidel Castro took power and burned all the Monopoly sets. Standard Monopoly bank starts with $15,140 and it is estimated that Monopoly has been sold 250 million times through out the world.

Dubai Facts

Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world. No taxes on income and there are no personal taxes either. In Dubai Emirates Mall you can ski indoors while shopping, measuring 400 meters and using 6000 tons of snow. Burj Dubai will become the world's tallest building, along with the world's tallest man-made structure when it is completed. Eighty percent of Dubai residents are foreigners.

Number Thirteen Facts

The fear of number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia and it was derived from treiskaideka, the Greek word for thirteen and phobia. There were thirteen people at Christ's Last Supper before his captivity, it is recorder that Christ was crucified on Friday. Routine mission to the moon goes drastically wrong on Apollo 13. Some hotels skip number thirteen when numbering rooms. In Formula 1, there is no car with the number 13.

The Pyramids Were White

The stereotypical vision of the Egyptian Pyramids are large mountain like brown piles of stone uprooting from the desert having a rough contour. Though when first constructed around 2500 BC. The pyramids were paper white and as smooth as glass, toping the pyramid was a golden capstone that gleamed in the desert sun. It was an amazing spectacle. The pyramids somewhat stayed in this state until the Arab invasion of Egypt around AD 500. The Arab invaders stripped the pyramid of it's smooth limestone and built a huge section of Cairo. Many of the Mosques and Palaces of Cairo consist of the Ancient stones of the pyramids. Quite sad actually.

Hawaiian Alphabet

The Hawaiian Alphabet only contains 12 letters: a, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p and w. Every word ends with a vowel. A glottal stop is also used, called an 'okina (meaning cutting, 'oki meaning cut and na meaning -ing). It used to be called an 'u'ina (meaning snap).

Facts About India

The name India is derived from the river Indus. The game of chess originated from India. The decimal code along with the place value system was an original Indian development. The highest cricket ground of the world is in Chail, approximately 2444 meters above sea level. Budhayana an Indian mathematician was the first to calculate the value of "pi" mathematically and explained the concept of Pythagorean Theorem in the 6th century. The Indian railway is the largest employer in the world, over a million people work for it. The game of snake and ladders was discovered in India by Gyandev in the 13th century.

Hollywood Facts

Are you aware of the interesting facts about Hollywood, the world renowned name in the motion picture industry? This district of Los Angeles has the well-known Hollywood sign. In reality, this sign was built in 1923 by one of the real estate agents and an investor, Harry Chandler, with a motive of advertisement. He spent around $21, 000 for this and wanted it to stay for 18 months. But at that stage he was not aware that this construction would become a legend in itself. Today, the famous Hollywood sign is more than 80 years old. Initially, the sign used to read "Hollywood Land". But in 1949, "Land" was removed and only "Hollywood" remained. Today, the sign is taken care of by "Hollywood Sign Trust" which was formed in the year of 1995. On September 18, 1932, Lillian Millicent "Peg" Entwistle after unsuccessful Hollywood carrier, jumped from the letter 'H' into her death. She was only 24 years old.

Mystery Missing Dates

Did you know the days/dates between 2nd and 14th September in 1752 did NOT exist? This is because this was the year that the calendar changed from the Julian (Julius Caesar) to the Gregorian (Pope Gregory XIII) calendar and because the Julian calendar did not have leap years, they had to cut out dates to make the years correct for the new calendar. So the days went 1, 2, 14, 15, 16....30. But the month still ended with 30 so people worked for 11 days less but got paid for 30 days. This is how paid leave started. England was the last country to adopt this system.

The Eternal Flame In Iraq

The Eternal flame in Iraq is the name lent to flames coming out of the natural gas vents since thousands of years at 'Baba Gurgur' oilfield in Kirkuk, which lies two hundred and fifty kilometers to the north-east of Baghdad. This was discovered for the first time in Northern Iraq in 1927. The name in Kurdish means 'father of flames'. Before the discovery of the 'Ghawar fields' in Saudi Arabia in 1950s, the 'Baba Gurgur' oilfield was the largest oilfield. Numerous poems have been since then written on these ever burning flames. The Eternal Fire was first described by Herodotus and ancient Greek author Plutarch.

Five Richest People Today

We actually had to modify this fact due to recent changes in the billionaire world. Thirteen years our buddy Bill Gates from Winblows was the richest man in the world. However, as of 2008 the top five richest people are: 1. Warren Buffett (Stocks and investments), 2.Carlos Slim Helu (Mexican telecom mogul), 3. William Gates III (Windows and more), 4. Lakshmi Mittal (World's largest steelmaker - India), 5. Mukesh Ambani (Petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries - India). We will try to update this list as soon as rich get richer.

Is Someone Lying To You?

Lie is usually manifested by these signs: a sudden increase in the number of "ums" and "ahs.", overly defensive, no eye contact, lying is stressful, they will try to be sarcastic, turning his body away from you, talking fast, making statements that contradict each other, unusual body language or a hand reaching to cover mouth.

Albert Einstein Facts

Einstein declined the presidency of the state of Israel when it was offered to him in 1952 by state leaders. The element einsteinium, discovered in 1952, was named in honor of Albert Einstein. Picture of Einstein sticking his tongue was taken on his 72nd birthday by annoying press photographer Arthur Sasse. Albert loved the photo so much that he cut his image out and send it to all his friends.

Deeper Love Facts

What is love? David Icke said: "Infinite Love is the Only Truth Everything Else is Illusion." However, scientists tried to explain love using our genes as the base of the medical study. Basically, they found that we are attracted to persons that are genetically immune to the diseases and weaknesses that we are weak to. However, Alchemy teaches us completely different approach. Alchemy or old sacred studies believe that our body (Personal Self) is build around four energies (or four egos) that make up our Personal Self (our body). Those four energies are: Physical Energy with its Needs, Sensational with its Desires, Emotional with its Feelings and Intellectual Energy with its Ideas. To reach Higher Self (our soul) these energies must be balanced. Since this is very hard to do, in our distorted world, we usually seek for someone (soul mate) that will help us achieve Higher Existence (same like our genes our soul mate's energies could fill half empty energies and empty our half spilling energies). Alchemy believes that we are not born with the soul, only with the seed of spirituality, and that our purpose in this dimension is to find our souls or to find our Higher Self. You wanted to make gold from the ordinary metal?

Facts About Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama (Known as Berry in high school) was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Barack's mother was a white Christian from Kansas and his father was Muslim from Kenya. His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili, but he was known as "O'Bomber" because of his basketball skills during the high school years. Interesting facts about Barack Obama: he tried cocaine and marijuana, Barack uses Apple Mac for his computer needs, Secret Service gave him code name "renegade", Barack smokes cigarettes and he never drinks coffee, he is left-handed and loves to play poker.

Oldest Women

Jeanne Louise Calment of Arles, France was the world's longest living person. Jeanne was born on February 21, 1875 and died on August 4, 1997. Her height was 4'11" (1.50m). Jeanne died at the age of 122 in a nursing home in Arles. She lived 122 years and 164 days (44,724 days total). Jeanne's name appears in the Guinness Book of World Records. At age 121, she released her two CDs, one in French and another in English titled, Maitresse du Temps (Time's Mistress). During the end stage, she became blind, she could not hear properly and was confined to a wheelchair but was in high spirits and mentally alert. Interesting fact is that Jeanne smoked cigarettes until the age of 117.

Dream Facts

Dream is a semi-conscious state where we have absolutely no control over our thoughts and expressions (unless we master lucid dreaming). Did you know that most of us spend six years or more of our lifetime dreaming? Research proves that all of us dream at least twice or more in our sleep though we may not remember when we get up. In 5 minutes of waking, half of our dream is forgotten and within 10 minutes, almost all dreams are forgotten. People who are blind from birth too dream. It is just that the dreams of these individuals are formed by other sense such as the touch, smell, sound and taste. During roman era some dreams were even discussed and interpreted in the senate as the dream was considered to be a God sent message for the mankind. Lucid dreams are considered those dreams where person can take full or partial control of their dreams. Most important fact in order to be aware that we are dreaming is practice. Writing down and keeping track of your dreams is very important. Second thing is noticing signs or triggers that can help us stay aware that we are in dreaming state. Once we start dreaming lucidly we could control the imaginary experiences in the dream environment. This is extremely important for people that have nightmares. Interesting facts is that our body is paralyzed during our sleep probably to prevent the body from acting out dreams.

Bachelors Leading 1 Billion

India which is one of the densely populated country had a bachelor (a man who has never been married) prime minister, president and defense minister in 2000. For 4-5 years when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister. Coincidence? India is the second country in the world after China to cross the one billion mark. India's population rose by 21.34 % between 1991 - 2001.

Dogs Head Lives Without Body

In 1940 Dr. S.S. Bryukhonenko at the Institute of Experimental Physiology and Therapy, Voronezh, U.S.S.R conducted research where he experimented with dogs and proved that dogs head can live without its body for three days. Special artificial conditions were created to power the head with arterial and venous pumps. Dog's isolated head reacted to all basic external stimulants: light, sound, pain and taste. This disturbing Russian experiment helped scientist around the world to create artificial organs that are used by many medical institutes. More recently Dr. Robert White of Ohio claims that he transplanted a monkey's head onto another monkey's body. If you have a good stomach check this odd video which shows in detail how dog's head is living without body.

Maya Predicts Our Future

Maya people were masters of mathematics and calendars and they were keeping track of time using three separate calendars. For predictions about the beginning and end of the world they used Long Count calender. And on December 21st 2012, the Long Count will be at the point zero which Maya predicts as the end of time and beginning of the new world. The Mayas were very accurate in their predictions and they predicted invasions on their soil and the World Wars.

Cars Fuelled By Hydrogen

Cars today put out a lot of pollution, and use up fossil fuels. Predictions are that hydrogen cars with combination of solar and electricity source, are the future of transportation. Device that is the size of microwave oven may be all you need to fuel your car in the future. Using small device, hydrogen can be easily and cleanly extracted from water and power family car for up to 150 kilometers.

Lorem Ipsum Facts

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Lorem Ipsum comes from sections 1.10.32 and 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero, written in 45 BC. This book is a treatise on the theory of ethics, very popular during the Renaissance. The first line of Lorem Ipsum, "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..", comes from a line in section 1.10.32.

The Wilhelm Scream

In the 1951 movie Distant Drums starring Gary Cooper, a small band of soldiers were crossing a swamp in pursuit of Seminole Indians. While wading through the Everglades one unnamed soldier was attacked and dragged underwater by an alligator. His last sound as he died was a startled scream. In The Charge at Feather River two years later, a soldier named Private Wilhelm screamed in what sounded like alligator-assaulted agony when he was struck by an arrow. In fact, his cry of pained surprise was practically identical to unnamed soldier’s. Both men would soon be forgotten as a bit parts in B-movies, seen by relatively few moviegoers. But the holler they bellowed went on to be heard by millions– if not billions– of people worldwide.

Number Stations

Short wave radio enthusiasts worldwide have heard of the strange and elusive Numbers Channels. It is a name that refers to any one of several of unusual broadcasts that usually start at a very specific time, though often from different locations. The broadcasts contain some odd elements like excerpts of music, a regular attention message, and a sting of phonetic letters or numbers—for which they are named. For the most part, the signals make no sense—at least not to most people—the messages are fairly random, and there is not enough information in the broadcast itself to allow one to decipher it. Such transmissions are fairly common. They are most often reported in Europe, but can be found anywhere. Each adheres to a strict schedule, and often begin at either the hour or half-after. Most of the time the voice reading these letters is female, though sometimes male or a child’s. Despite being without any obvious function, they seem pretty harmless. So why does no licensed radio station admit to sending them, no government will admit to sanctioning them, and no one will confess to being responsible for them?

Project Babylon: Gerald Bull’s Downfall

Gerald Bull is a prime example of a man who created his own luck–unfortunately for him most of it was bad. A brilliant and distinguished artillery engineer, Bull spent much of his life in the upper echelons of government-funded weapons research. Though his career took him down a convoluted and often difficult path, he devoted his professional life to a single-minded pursuit of his dream: to build a gun large enough to shoot satellites into orbit. Bull nearly single-handedly resurrected the science of supergun artillery, and in so doing played a major role in 2 wars. But Bull’s confrontational style and brusque manner won him very few friends within the governments for which he worked. His poor networking skills combined with a near total disregard for the dangerous politics in which he meddled led to heavy fines, a short stint in prison, and ultimately, to his assassination.

John Frum and the Cargo Cults

Every year on February 15th, natives of Tanna Island in the Republic of Vanuatu hold a grand celebration in honor of an imaginary man named John Frum. Villagers clothe themselves in homemade US Army britches, paint “USA” on their bare chests and backs, and run a replica of Old Glory up the flagpole alongside the Marine Corps Emblem and the state flag of Georgia. Barefoot soldiers then march in perfect step in the shadow of Yasur, the island’s active volcano, with red-tipped bamboo “rifles” slung over their shoulders. February 15th is known as John Frum day on Tanna Island, and these activities are the islanders’ holiest religious service.

The Alcatraz Redemption

Officially, there were never any successful escape attempts from California’s notorious Alcatraz Prison. Nicknamed ‘The Rock’, Alcatraz is located on the tiny island of the same name in San Francisco Bay. It is about one and a quarter miles from the mainland, outside reasonable swimming distance and surrounded by strong ocean currents. This location afforded it formidable defenses against escape. Between 1934 and 1963, when the prison was operating, only fourteen attempts were made; most of the escapees involved were shot by guards or recaptured. One exception, however, came in 1962. Prisoners Frank Lee Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John Anglin had spent months developing an elaborate plan to get out of the imposing structure, as well as a way to cross San Francisco Bay to the mainland with a makeshift raft. After lights-out on the night of 11 June 1962, the trio decided that the time was right and set their plan in motion. After that, however, they were never seen again.

Misbehaving Pituitaries

At the base of the human brain there lies a tiny organ called the pituitary gland. About the size of a pea, this demure little gland produces and secretes a cocktail of hormones into the bloodstream from its bony nook inside the skull, helping the body to govern many internal systems. The pituitary is perhaps most well-known for its production of the amino acid protein somatotropin, a growth hormone which stimulates cell reproduction and bodily development. This humble chemical factory typically produces some amount of growth hormone throughout an individual’s life, though the volume usually drops off precipitously after adolescence. In spite of its small size, however, misbehaving pituitaries have been known to cause massive consequences for their owners.

The Deepest Hole

Over forty years ago, researchers in the Soviet Union began an ambitious drilling project whose goal was to penetrate the Earth’s upper crust and sample the warm, mysterious area where the crust and mantle intermingle– the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or “Moho.” So deep is this area that the Russian scientists had to invent new ways of drilling, and some of their new methods proved quite inventive. But despite the valiant effort which spanned several decades, the Russians never reached their goal, and many of the Earth’s secrets were left undiscovered. The work done by the Soviets did, however, provide a plethora of information about what lies just beneath the surface, and it continues to be scientifically useful today. The project is known as the Kola Superdeep Borehole.

Damn Distractions

In the North American fur-trading days, many trappers came to rely on a high-calorie, long-endurance foodstuff known as pemmican, a recipe which was borrowed from the native peoples. Pemmican was produced by using rocks to smash fat and berries into thin strips of dried meat, fusing them together into a primitive meaty-and-fruity power bar. A more modern version of this chewy chow can be found here at Damn Interesting, as we smash sweet excuse-berries into thin strips of dried-out articles for your masticating pleasure.

We hope you won’t mind a handful of classic articles as we make some book-related preparations. We need a few more days to finish planting the art-related bush that we were beating around in our book announcement, and there are a number of other exciting additions afoot. We’ll keep you abreast of our progress in the days ahead.

On a related note, the very attractive Damn Interesting magnets have arrived, and they will shortly be sent out to all who donated $15 or more to the book effort. Exclamation point.

On an unrelated note, if you like to print the articles from Damn Interesting, you’ll find that the paper presentation of our pages has been much improved. It was previously pretty poor.

Bad Rye and the Salem Witches

In the late 1600s, the Puritan settlement of Salem in Massachusetts toppled into chaos when accusations of witchcraft began to appear. Two young girls, aged nine and eleven, were said to have fallen victim to fits “beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease,” including screams, strange contortions, and throwing objects. The village doctor, unable to explain the symptoms, suggested that witchcraft may be afoot in Salem. Others in the settlement began to exhibit similar inexplicable behavior, and shortly the accusations began to fly. The infamous trials that followed left nineteen people hanged to death, and scores of others imprisoned under suspicion of supernatural wrongdoing. Today, few would suggest that those punished were actually guilty of witchcraft, but the true cause of the errant behavior in Salem’s citizens is still a mystery. One theory– perhaps the most intriguing yet offered– suggests that the community’s rye crop may have been partially to blame. Moreover, such maladjusted rye may have played a role in many of history’s mysterious events.

Mincemeat and the Imaginary Man

Early in the morning on the 1st of May 1943, a fisherman on a beach in Spain discovered a waterlogged corpse which had washed ashore during the night. The dead man was clothed in British military attire and a life preserver, and he had a briefcase chained to his lifeless body. Apparently a casualty of an airplane accident at sea, the body was transported to the local port, where its discovery was reported to the Nazi officials stationed in the city of Huelva. From his personal effects, the man was identified as Major William Martin, a temporary captain and acting major in the British Royal Marines. Rather than allowing possible military intelligence to go unintercepted, the local agents for the Abwehr– the German intelligence organization– coaxed the briefcase open to examine its contents. Inside, along with the man’s personal effects, the Nazis discovered a personal correspondence between Lt. Gen. Sir Archibald Nye, vice chief of the Imperial General Staff, and General Sir Harold Alexander, the British commander in North Africa. This letter described key details of the Allies’ plans to invade Nazi-held territory. It seemed that luck was favoring Germany; but the discovery ultimately resulted in disaster for the Nazis.

The “Wow” Signal

It’s no rare occurrence in science fiction: The introverted researcher working the graveyard shift at a SETI radio observatory jumps out of his seat in surprise when the red light blinks on the control panel. “We’re getting a signal!” he shouts into a phone as needles dance across paper chart recorders, and scientists rapidly converge on the scene. At some point someone yells, “Get me the President!” at the person whose job it is to get presidents. On August 15th, 1977, such a signal was received at the Big Ear radio observatory in Ohio, though the ensuing drama was considerably more subdued. The volunteer who spotted the pattern on the paper logs circled the data and wrote “Wow!” in the margin. The radio telescope was observing space as part of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program, and it was the most compelling signal the receiver had recorded in its fourteen years of operation. It was powerful enough to push the Big Ear’s monitoring device off the charts.

The Flying Saucers of North America

Under the cover of darkness on 07 October 1959, a convoy of military vehicles escorted a flatbed truck through the abandoned streets of Malton, Canada just outside of Toronto. Local police had arranged to clear the route from a top-secret aircraft hangar to Toronto harbor, so the drivers paid little mind to traffic laws as they traversed the city. Upon arrival at the harbor the concealed cargo would be transferred to a US Navy tugboat, where it would make its way to a special NASA research facility in the United States under close guard. The exaggerated security was understandable given the circumstances: The secret stowed beneath the truck’s tarps was a real-life flying saucer.

A Fluke of Nature

As the sun rises over a grassy pasture, and the morning light glints from the countless clinging drops of dew, a single snail resolutely inches toward a mound of steaming nourishment. But unbeknownst to the armored gastropod, this seemingly ordinary heap of cow dung conceals a legion of tiny Dicrocoelium dendriticum eggs, each of which contains the embryo of a sinister mind-controlling parasite. As the snail gorges itself on the fibrous feast, it unwittingly sets the collection of unborn lancet flukes on a miniature adventure which will lead them through slime, zombies, and bile to ultimately find their own unique kind of utopia.

The Farewell Dossier

In 1982, operatives from the USSR’s Committee for State Security– known internationally as the KGB– celebrated the procurement of a very elusive bit of Western technology. The Soviets were developing a highly lucrative pipeline to carry natural gas across the expanse of Siberia, but they lacked the software to manage the complex array of pumps, valves, turbines, and storage facilities that the system would require. The United States possessed such software, but the US government had predictably turned down their Cold War opponent’s request to purchase the product. Never ones to allow the limitations of the law to dictate their actions, the KGB officials inserted an agent to abduct the technology from a Canadian firm. Unbeknownst to the Soviet spies, the software they stole sported a little something extra: a few lines of computer code which had been inserted just for them.

The Fall of the Eastland

At a pier on the Chicago River on 24 July 1915, as the passenger steamer SS Eastland prepared to embark across lake Michigan, chief engineer Joseph Erickson grew increasingly concerned about his ship’s demeanor. While the long line of passengers strolled up the gangplank, the engine room crew pumped water into the ballast tanks to keep the ship and its shifting load on an even keel. But the Eastland was being more persnickety than usual on that particular morning, seemingly intent on leaning a bit to one side or the other. The hundreds of Western Electric employees on board the passenger liner were bound for the company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana, just across the lake. The annual event was typically filled with frolicking and festivity, so the ship was brimming with excited families and plentiful picnic baskets. When the vessel reached its capacity of 2,500, the gangplank was brought in and the ship’s orchestra sprang into action in the ballroom. Many passengers began dancing in spite of the crowded conditions, unconcerned with the slowly increasing slope of the dance floor.

Spring Break, Damnit

Sometime soon we’ll be reading through the writing samples we’ve received, so if you sent a sample we’ll get back to you. We’re also laboring to mail out the multitude of book-donation magnets.

By popular demand, we are withholding re-runs and apologies. For those who enjoy the occasional classic, you’re welcome to play Russian Roulette with our archives. For those who appreciate apologies… sorry, we can’t help you.

Submersible Aircraft Carriers

On 09 September 1942, at about 6:00am Pacific War Time, a lookout on the US Oregon coast spotted a single incoming aircraft. The small, unmarked biplane plane sputtered and popped as it flew through the dawn mist. It slowly made its way over a heavily wooded area which was known to be particularly prone to forest fires, and dropped a pair of cylinders from a low altitude. Soon a column of smoke became visible from the forest as the strange plane turned around, its distinct engine noise fading back towards the ocean.

Immediately, Howard “Razz” Gardner– the lookout who had first spotted the aircraft– dove into the thick forest to battle the developing blaze. By the time the larger support crew penetrated the woods with their firefighting equipment four and a half hours later, Gardner and a fellow lookout had managed to wrestle the fire into submission. As the crew helped to mop up the last of the smoldering mess, the investigators found the remains of the offending ordnance. The fragments of the phosphorus incendiary bombs were stamped with Japanese markings.

The event came to be known as the Lookout Air Raid, and it marked the first time that the continental United States was bombed by an enemy aircraft. It was determined that the aircraft responsible was a Yokosuka E14Y floatplane, and that it had managed to reach the US coast because it had been launched from an unlikely platform: a Japanese submarine lingering just offshore.

Silent Lucidity

There was a time that I could fly. I jutted my right fist into the air, and launched into the sky. My stomach dropped with the sensation of breaking gravity’s bond, and the summer air cooled as I reached higher. When the roads were so far below as to be an indistinct ashen blur, I halted and curled my legs under me as I was pelted by icy crystals of clouds, and surveyed all below. There was a moment of idle indecision, but in the end it mattered not at all. I picked a direction and dove. The experience was one of my many brushes with Lucid Dreaming. It is a phenomenon that many discredit, naming it a hoax and naturalist mythology despite the fact that it has strong scientific evidence supporting it as a real occurrence. With a devoted training regimen, most anyone can learn to harness their own subconscious to experience surrealistic events and places. In a controlled dream, one can pursue anything from the cessation of nightmares, to investigating problems, to engaging in sexual fantasies, to my personal choice—jetting around the skies like Superman.

Damn Radio Activity

If you live in the Miami area and you own one of those fancy new AM radio receiver sets, you’re in luck. I’ll be doing a short interview on Sports Talk 790 AM The Ticket today at about 6:15pm Eastern Time. It’s guaranteed to modulate your amplitude.

For those lacking in Miami proximity and/or AM radios, I hope to get my mitts on an MP3 copy of the interview to post here. Update: Here’s the MP3. I’m a scientist!

Project Alpha and the Spoon Benders

In the late 1960s, a young Israeli man named Uri Geller gained a substantial amount of attention and fame following a collection of remarkable demonstrations on US and British television. In full view of astonished audiences, Uri was seemingly able to manipulate metal with his mind. Spoons softened in his hands, keys curled at the gentle stroke of his fingers, and he was able to cause compasses to wobble at his cajoling. He was also known to restart stopped wristwatches by merely holding them in his hands. According to Geller, these feats were the products of sheer will, a phenomenon known as psychokinesis.

In addition to his mental metallurgy and magnetism, the dashing young Israeli demonstrated potent psychic abilities, most notably in his ability to reproduce drawings which he had never seen. A volunteer would draw a picture while Uri was not watching, and Geller would use his gifts to attempt to reproduce the image. Although his recreations were not always completely accurate, they were sufficiently similar as to provoke astonishment from onlookers.

Geller’s high-profile exploits in the 1970s significantly raised awareness of “paranormal science” worldwide, and since that time many have gone on to mimic his feats. Though there are throngs of skeptics who have reproduced his handiwork under the harsh light of reality, there are still a handful of yet-to-be-explained effects exhibited by Geller and his spoon-bending contemporaries.

How Not to be Seen

Humans have long been fascinated by the concept of invisibility. From H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man to Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility, purveyors of fiction have pondered what one would do if one could move about unseen. Invisibility is often portrayed as a perfect transparency– ala the Invisible Man– however this method is in conflict with the laws of nature as we understand them. Moreover, a transparent person would be plagued with a host of difficulties that seem quite insurmountable. Any consumed food or drink would be embarrassingly visible as it meanders through the digestive system, and these visible nutrients would immediately begin to integrate into the body. That’s to say nothing of wardrobe problems and social difficulties.

The competing approach to invisibility involves some sort of cloaking device to route photons around an object. This method is somewhat more feasible, but of course it comes with its own unique set of complications. For instance, if all the outside light is diverted around something, no light is able to reach an observer inside, leaving them unable to see out.

These difficulties and others have long left all serious speculation about invisibility lodged safely in the distant future. But this is no longer so. In October of 2006, Professor Sir John Pendry of the Imperial College London announced the successful creation of a rudimentary cloaking device which nudges the idea a bit closer to reality. Perhaps most surprising of all, the whole concept rests on a fairly simple physical principle of light– one that requires no electricity to operate, and that every high-schooler learns in basic physics.

Sympathy for the Devil

There are few things as thrilling as the story of a dramatic escape, especially one with a happy ending. It is understandable, therefore, that the public is often disappointed and critical when a kidnapping victim found alive is revealed to have had seemingly enough contact with the outside world to make such an escape. Stories of survival can feel ruined when there turns out to have been what looks like an ‘easy way out’.

One well-publicized example was that of Elizabeth Smart, the Utah teenager who was abducted at knifepoint from her bedroom in 2002. Nine months later she and her captors were stopped by police not far from her home. Elizabeth was in disguise, and lied about her identity. It was not until some time after being handcuffed and separated from the abductors that she began to cooperate. More recently, Missouri teenager Shawn Hornbeck was found in early 2007 after having been kidnapped and held for more than four years outside St. Louis, only 50 miles from home. Unlike Smart, Hornbeck was able to tell police officers who he was; it was revealed, though, that Hornbeck had been allowed Internet access and a fair degree of autonomy.

In such cases, it is extremely easy to blame the victims; it seems very plausible that the kidnapped individuals were simply not clever, resourceful, or courageous enough to flee their respective abductors. However, this disturbing tendency has little to do with any supposed weakness on the part of the victim. Given the right conditions, abductors are able to exert an astonishing amount of influence over their victims – to the point at which the captive has full loyalty to his or her captor while believing that this was his or her own choice. It is a cognitive phenomenon related to brainwashing and known as Stockholm syndrome.

Bad Blood in Tuskegee

Early in the twentieth century, the medical community was practically helpless in its battle against syphilis. The crippling affliction was spreading at an alarming rate in certain areas, particularly among the poorer segments of the world population. Even for those who could afford medical care, the only known treatments rivaled the disease itself in the harm they did to sufferers. In 1932, Dr. Taliaferro Clark from the United States Public Health Service (PHS) launched a study in Macon County, Alabama in order to document the progression of this troublesome sexually-transmitted disease. The region was home to hundreds of poor and mostly illiterate black farmers, and cases of syphilis had reached alarming proportions. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was undertaken in the hopes that a deeper understanding of syphilis would provide new insights on potential treatments, and possibly justify a government-funded treatment program. But from these noble beginnings, a lack of funds and a shortage of ethics led to one of the most shameful clinical mishaps in US history.

The Windscale Disaster

hIn the wake of World War 2 the United States government enacted legislation which prohibited any other nations from receiving the scientific bounty derived from the Manhattan Project. This meant that despite the participation of British scientists in the project, Britain recieved none of the benefits of the research. The year after the United States’ first successful nuclear bomb test in July of 1945, the British government decided that they too must develop a nuclear program in order to maintain their position as a world power. This pilot project eventually developed into the Windscale Nuclear plant. In October 1957, after several years of successful operation, the workers at Windscale noticed some curious readings from their temperature monitoring equipment as they carried out standard maintenance. The reactor temperature was slowly rising during a time that they expected it to be falling. The remote detection equipment seemed to be malfunctioning, so two plant workers donned protective equipment and hiked to the reactor to inspect it in person. When they arrived, they were alarmed to discover that the interior of the uranium-filled reactor was ablaze.

Staying Abreast of Human Sexuality

There are 1.75 million animal species that have been noted and named by our scientific classification system. Of them, there are 5,800 types of mammal. All mammals are warm-blooded and have a four-chambered heart, but so do birds. Most mammals give birth to live young, but there are exceptions to that. Mammals all have hair, but again they share that trait with other creatures–in this case spiders. In fact there is only one truly defining characteristic of mammals that is unique, and that is the trait for with they are named: the mammary gland. All mammalian species posses a gland that secretes or oozes milk for the repast of their young. In most cases the mammary gland becomes enlarged during lactation, and diminishes to almost unnoticeable when the milk is unneeded. However, amidst all 5,800 mammals, there is only one species that has perpetually swollen mammary glands. Odds are you are a member of this strangely anomalous, difficult to explain species. At first glance the human breast defies explanation, but there are those who have spent careers and lifetimes in pursuit of explaining the relative enormity of the bust. Theories about the abundance abound. As of yet there is no consensus as to why the human female is so endowed, but staying abreast of the emerging ideas can make for titillating research.

The Birth Control of Yesteryear

Approximately 2,600 years ago– around 630 BCE– the Greek island of Thera was plagued by drought and overpopulation. According to legend, an assortment of settlers were selected to sail south to establish a colony in more hospitable climes. The men and women apprehensively put to sea, and the gaggle of enterprising Greeks eventually erected the city of Cyrene on Africa’s northern tip. There, the settlers encountered a local herb which would ultimately bring them and their progeny fantastic wealth. The prized plant became such a key pillar of the Cyrenean economy that its likeness was stamped upon many of the city’s gold and silver coins. The images often depicted a regal-looking woman sitting in a chair, with one hand touching the herb and her other hand pointing at her genitals. The plant was known as silphium or laserwort, and its heart-shaped fruit purportedly brought the ancient world a highly sought-after freedom: the opportunity to enjoy sex with very little risk of pregnancy.

A Walk in the Valley of the Uncanny

In June 2006 at the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories in Keihanna, Japan, reporters and scientists gathered for the unveiling of a major new project by Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro. Once everyone had arrived, an assistant pulled back a curtain to reveal…another Dr. Ishiguro? Certainly the second figure had a very strong resemblance to Dr. Ishiguro, wearing the same glasses and dressed in the same clothing. Seated in a chair, the duplicate was rocking one foot back and forth, blinking and adjusting itself. It looked around and then, in ordinary Japanese, introduced itself; it was named Geminoid HI-1.

For the reporters, up to that point virtually the only clue that Geminoid was an android had come from knowing that Ishiguro is a prominent roboticist. Ishiguro’s creation is more a puppet than an android, strictly speaking; Ishiguro speaks and acts through it via the Internet. As well as transmitting his voice, a motion-capture system allows Ishiguro to project the movements of his mouth and upper body onto Geminoid. The android itself is built of silicone and steel, and based on casts taken from Ishiguro’s body. Regular, small actions such as blinking are controlled by autonomous programs.

The strikingly realistic robot has since been met largely with wonder and admiration, which could mark success for Ishiguro in more ways than the obvious. Although Ishiguro’s earlier android projects were only a little less realistic, they tended to disturb viewers. This is consistent with a 1970 hypothesis by Dr. Masahiro Mori, another Japanese roboticist. Although not yet well-investigated by science, Mori’s “Uncanny Valley” theory holds that as a simulation of a human being’s appearance and/or motion becomes increasingly accurate, there is very suddenly a point at which humans’ interest in the creation turns into utter repulsion.

Half Science and Hafnium Bombs

In the latter half of 1998, a small clutch of researchers and students at the University of Texas embarked upon a groundbreaking experiment. Within a large outbuilding marked with a slapdash sign reading “Center for Quantum Electronics”, the team powered up a makeshift x-ray emitter and directed its radiation beam at an overturned disposable coffee cup. Atop the improvised styrofoam platform was a tiny smear of one of the most expensive materials on Earth: a variation of the chemical element hafnium known as Hf-178-m2. The researchers’ contraption– cobbled together from a scavenged dental x-ray machine and an audio amplifier– bombarded the sample with radiation for several days as monitoring equipment quietly collected data. When the experiment ended and the measurements were scrutinized, the project leader Dr. Carl B. Collins declared unambiguous success. If his conclusions are accurate, Collins and his colleagues may have found the key to developing fist-sized bombs which can deliver destruction equivalent to a dozen tons of conventional explosives. Despite considerable skepticism from the scientific community, the US Department of Defense has since spent millions of dollars probing the physicist’s findings.

Beware the Dangers of Oxygen

There’s a caustic substance common to our environment whose very presence turns iron into brittle rust, dramatically increases the risk of fire and explosion, and sometimes destroys the cells of the very organisms that depend on it for survival. This substance that makes up 21% of our atmosphere is Diatomic oxygen (O₂), more widely know as just oxygen. Of course, oxygen has its good points. Besides being necessary for respiration and the reliable combustion engine, it can be liquefied and used as rocket fuel. Oxygen is also widely used in the world of medicine as a means to imbue the body with a greater amount of the needed gas. But recent studies indicate that administering oxygen might be doing less good than hoped–and in fact be causing harm. No one is immune to the dangers of oxygen, but the people who might most suffer the ill effects are infants newly introduced to breathing, and those who are clinically dead.

Heavy Water and the Norwegians

On 19 November 1942, a pair of Royal Air Force Halifax bombers shouldered their way through thick winter clouds over Norway with troop-carrying assault gliders in tow. Inside each glider a payload of professional saboteurs from the 1st British Airborne Division weathered a rough ride as the planes approached their intended landing site on frozen lake Møsvatn. Somewhere in the snow-encased hills below, a team of Norwegian commandos vigilantly awaited their arrival. The ultimate objective of the joint mission was to penetrate and incapacitate the Vemork hydroelectric plant, a fortified Nazi facility nestled high in the mountains of Norway. Though the plant’s original purpose had been the production of electricity and fertilizer, the German occupiers were capitalizing on the facility’s ability to collect large amounts of heavy-water– a key ingredient in the Nazi effort to develop an atomic bomb.