The four legged ugly duckling

A rare mutation has left the ugly duckling named Stumpy, with an extra two legs behind the two he runs about on. The creature would not survive in the wild, but owner Nicky Janaway who runs the farm in the Hampshire, UK, said "We will make sure he's OK and hopefully he will carry on running around and using the extra two legs as stabilisers."

A duck with four legs hardly survives, such was the case when a four-legged duckling was born in Queensland, Australia in 2002, but died soon afterwards. But stumpy, against all odds survived into adulthood and amazes even it's owner.

Stumpy's condition has earned him fame, he made the headlines and made television appearances across the globe after his birth and an online blog has been ensuring fans can follow his every move.

In April '07, one of Stumpy's extra legs caught in a pen that was specially made for him, he cleanly snapped it and he had no idea anything had happened. Now down to a three-legged duck, it's actually a positive outcome since now he can roam the farm freely. The other leg is tucked up so it has no chance of getting stuck.

Source : BBC News

Back to top

Janitor's hidden talent

The sweet sound of a Chopin waltz ripples around the gothic vaulting and stained glass of Glasgow University. These are played by a young pianist from Poland now migrated to UK. Aleksander Kudajczyk, fresh from his music studies and seeing no future in Poland, stepped on a plane at Krakow Airport and flew to Prestwick.

So where to find this talented pianist's pieces? Perhaps we can grab a CD from the local stores and bring back home to enjoy. Or perhaps he has his own music school that we can send our kids to learn from this young, brilliant chap.

Believe it or not, Aleksander actually working as a janitor at the Glasgow University! In the hope of finding a teaching job after arriving in UK, instead he found himself working a few hours a day as a cleaner in Glasgow University's School of Law, starting every morning at 7am. It still earns him around $800 a month, more than what he earn in Poland for teaching music. In Poland, he believes he would be getting around 900 Polish zloties ($320) teaching music.

Eventually, the urge to play began to stir and he asked if he could practice on the grand piano in the chapel, just across the quadrangle from the law school. His casual performance was picked up on the chapel's webcam by astonished staff who suddenly became aware of the talent they had in their midst, hidden under a cleaner's overall. Chaplaincy secretary Joan Keenan said his music was so amazing that colleagues also logged on to watch. Since then, the University invited him to play a concert of Chopin pieces during Glasgow's West End Festival and received a rapturous applause from the audience.

Amazingly, this real life story is strikingly resemblance of the movie Good Will Hunting in 1997. Though Will Hunting acted by Matt Damon has genius-level intelligence such as a talent for memorizing facts and an intuitive ability to prove sophisticated mathematical theorems, he works as a janitor at MIT.

One day, Will solved a difficult graduate-level math problem that Professor Gerald Lambeau, a Fields Medalist and combinatorialist, left on a chalkboard as a challenge to his students and hoping someone might solve the problem by the semester's end. Everyone at MIT wonders who solved it, and Lambeau puts another problem on the board, one that took he and his colleagues two years to prove. Will is discovered in the act of solving the problem, and Lambeau initially thinks that Will is vandalizing the board and chases him away. When Will turns out to have solved it correctly, Lambeau tries to track Will down.

Source : BBC News

Back to top

German Giant rabbit

Meet Herman, a 7.7kg (22lb), 3ft rabbit with ears alone measuring at 21 centimeters which is the total height of an average domestic rabbit. Herman belongs to one of the breed called the German Giant, but most of them will reach a maximum weight of 6kg (18lb). Herman just kept growing.

Lived in Berlin, Germany, owner Hans Wagner built a solid oak hutch and feed Herman about 2kg of food and supplements daily. Hans Wagner said his favorite food is lettuce. Herman could be the world's biggest rabbit, but Guinness World Records have stopped accepting entries because feared that people will over-feed their pets. German Giants do not exist in the wild, and have been developed by breeders.

Source : Herman

Back to top

Noble Heineken beer bottle

Alfred Freddy Heineken, the man seen by many as responsible for the beer's global success, had been closely involved in the family brewing business since the age of 18. The richest man in the Netherlands designed the famous green Heineken bottle and the logo with the red star and the black banner bearing the brand name.

Famed for his flair for marketing and advertising, he once said: "Had I not been a beer brewer, I would have become an advertising man." His motto was said to be "I don't sell beer, I sell warmth." He enjoyed a reputation as one of the Netherlands' most flamboyant entrepreneurs.

During the 1950's, Freddy Heineken actually came out with a noble idea to use emptied beer bottle as building materials. One day, Freddy Heineken was strolling along by the sea in Jamaica, and was shocked at the number of beer bottles littering the beach. He was also concerned with the lack of cheap building materials, and at the resulting living conditions for the poor.

Combining the two together, he envisioned a “World Beer" bottle which would be imported for drinking but kept for construction. He developed the square beer bottle that he believed could be used as a brick to help solve environmental pollution and housing shortages in developing countries. A 10’ x 10’ shack would take approximately 1000 bottles to build an average home. Unfortunately, the Heineken management disagreed and therefore rejected the "World Beer" bottle idea.

He was the company's chief executive between 1971 and 1989. Later, he became president of the supervisory board. Freddy Heineken passed away in 2002 and his daughter Charlene de Carvalho Heineken will take over the family's controlling interest.

Source : BBC News

Back to top

Man without a face

When a rare fungal infection called mucormycosis invaded Mark Tatum's sinuses in 1998, doctors had to remove much of his face just to save his life. If they hadn't taken out his infected eyes, nose, cheekbones, upper jaw and teeth, the fungus could have traveled to his brain and killed him.

Using skin and tissue from his leg, doctors have to reconstructed the roof of Tatum's mouth so he could speak and eat. Then they took a bone from his leg and put it into his face. On top of that bone they built titanium bridgework. Magnets in that bridgework hold in place a new prosthetic "face." Now, two years and 11 surgeries later, Tatum has a new face.

It was created by University of Louisville prosthodontist Zafrulla Khan, who called the prosthesis the most extensive he has ever made or heard about. Tatum, who wears sunglasses to hide the fact that his fake eyes don't blink, hopes that the prosthetic will get him out more in public. "Look at me now," the 45-year-old Owensboro, Kentucky, resident said. "I may not be beautiful, but I'm damn near it."

Tatum says two things saved him when he was near death. The love of his wife, Nancy, and a dream in which he saw his granddaughter Leah reaching out for his help.

Source : CNN

Back to top

Undying puppy love

This is a very touching love story about a dog couple. It all began in 1986, a mongrel named Shiro accompanied his master Toshikazu Nakamura across the Kerama Islands strait. There, in a place called Zamami, Shiro met with another mongrel named Marilyn and it was love at first sight. Then the time came when Shiro must leave the island with his master.

After that, they noticed that Shiro was frequently missing from the house since morning and he came back late in the night. When he came back, he was wet and shivering. Mr Nakamura was curious. "Where does Shiro go?" he wondered. "Why is he wet when he comes back?"

One morning Mr Nakamura followed Shiro. Shiro walked to the beach, ran into the water, and began to swim. Mr Nakamura jumped into his boat and followed his dog. Then when he was tired, he climbed onto a rock and rested. A few minutes later he jumped back into the water and continued swimming.

Shiro swam for three hours. Then he arrived at an island. He walked onto the beach, shook the water off, and walked toward town. Mr Nakamura followed him. He saw Shiro walked to a house and a dog was waiting in front of the house. Shiro ran to the dog, and the two dogs began to play. It was Marilyn! He just couldn't forget Marilyn and dying to see her. Shiro also love his master, that's why he's swimming back and forth everyday in order to be with both his master and his love.

People were amazed when they heard about Shiro. The distance from Aka to Zamami is two and a half miles (4km), and the ocean between the islands is very rough. "Nobody can swim from Aka to Zamami!" the people said. Shiro became famous. After that, the locals frequently sighted Shiro dog-paddling across the 3.6km strait.

This feat was so amazing that it gained a national reputation. Many people went to Zamami because they wanted to see Shiro. During one Japanese holiday, 3.000 people visited Zamami. They waited on the beach for Shiro. Marilyn died in August 1987, bringing an end to Shiro's seafaring days.

In 1988 a movie titled Marilyn ni Aitai (I want to see Marilyn), was made, featuring Shiro. The dog Shiro was acted by himself, but by time the movie was filmed, Marilyn has passed away, so Marilyn was acted by a Shetland Sheepdog in the movie. Finally in 2000, at the age of 17 Shiro was rested in peace and joined Marilyn.

The people of Aka Island have been raising money in order to construct a monument honoring the two. on Nishihama beach (Shiro's point of departure), they will build a statue of Shiro at the edge of the coast, facing Zamami Island. Meanwhile, the people of Zamami are constructing a monument of Marilyn on their bank, facing Shiro.

Back to top

Car got stolen again and again

York Heiden of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, U.S is one unlucky crime victim. His car got stolen, found it, and got stolen again! His pearl-colored 1990 V8 Audi Quattro was stolen from a grocery store parking lot while his wife was running errands. The keys had been left inside the car. Heiden called some friends, and the car was found about a block from the grocery store but the keys were gone. After removing a bag of pet food, mail, and other personal items, Heiden asked a mechanic friend to disable the car's ignition. The mechanic removed a coil wire. Heiden, assured that his car is safe now, went back to pick up a spare key.

When he got back with the spare key, he got a shock of his life when his car was no longer there! "I was speechless, All I could do was hold the key up in my hand and look at it" Heiden said. What happen was the mechanic forgot that a V8 engine has two coil wires, one each for four cylinders. With only four of the car's eight cylinders disabled, the car still was mobile enough to be stolen a second time, apparently by the same thief.

Heiden got a call Wednesday, saying police found the car with a broken headlight and a piece of interior trim. A parts supplier spotted it in the same neighborhood. It's amazing that the car could be found since it's a rare version worth at least $4,000 because it had a V-8 engine. So, What lesson did Heiden learn from his ordeal? "Don't leave your keys in the ignition," he said. "And if you find it, do not leave it."

Think this story is bizarre? Hold your breath, here's more. In June '07 in Malaysia, a man said to be smartly dressed man walked into a Porsche showroom, flashed a cheque book, coolly asked for the key of the 911 Targa 4, started it and sped off after crashing it through the showroom’s glass pane. However, the thief abandoned the car just two km away because it ran out of petrol.

The local police then towed it back to their compound. Just nine hours later, the thief returned with a canister of petrol to the local police station where the car had been towed and drove off the Porsche right inside the police compound!

Embarrassed, they frantically setup roadblocks and search for the vehicle and fortune enough for them to recover the car 15km away after the thief ditched the car realising that roadblocks has been setup.

Source : www.msnbc.msn.com
Source : thestar.com.my

Back to top

Autopsy went horribly wrong

In Caracas, Venezuela A 33-year-old man who had been declared clinically dead woke up in the morgue after feeling excruciating pain when medical examiners started to autopsy his body.

The confusion started after ambulance workers responded to a crash between a lorry and a car near the town of La Victoria. Rescuers attending the scene filled in the wrong form and instead of requesting treatment for injuries, they requested an autopsy instead. Venezuela's highways police confirmed that the two hospital forms look almost identical and can be easily confused. This mistake almost cost Carlos Camejo's life.

When examiners begin to autopsy Carlos Camejo's body, they realized something went wrong as he started to bleed. Examiners quickly stitched up the cut on his face. According to Camejo, "I woke up because the pain was unbearable." His wife, who had been told he had died, later found him lying on a hospital trolley in a corridor. She discovered the autopsy form stuffed into his trouser pocket. Later, Camejo showed the newspaper his facial scar and a document ordering the autopsy.


Source : BBC News

Back to top

BMW Smartcar

Mercedes-Benz Smartcar, the idea behind the very short smart car is that the vehicle is easy to park. It is short enough to allow it to be parked front-in where a conventionally sized car would have to parallel park. City drivers may find a benefit of the Smartcar's size. Fuel efficiency in the city is lower than the 5-seat. The concept is good, having a small car in cities is just the perfect solution where big cars roamed, solving the difficulties in maneuvering through tight roads, and the problem of parking's too.

Believe it or not, BMW already has a smartcar over 50 years ago! This is the BMW Isetta 250. Although not originally designed by them, they obtained the licensing to manufacture the car. They redesigned the powerplant around a more reliable BMW one-cylinder, four-stroke, 247 cc motorcycle engine making 13 hp. Although the major elements of the Italian design remained intact, BMW re-engineered much of the car.

The top speed is 53 mph, and it gets 63 miles per gallon. Small (only 7.5 feet long by 4.5 feet wide, or something like 228 by 168 centimetres) and egg-shaped, with bubble type windows, the entire front end of the car hinged outwards to allow entry and in the event of a crash, the driver and passenger were expected to exit through the canvas sunroof. The steering wheel and instrument panel swung out with the single door, as this made access to the single bench seat simpler. The seat provided reasonable comfort for two occupants, and perhaps a small child. Behind the seat was a large parcel shelf with a spare wheel located below. A heater was optional, and ventilation was provided by opening the fabric sunroof.

The first BMW Isetta rolled off the line in April of 1955 and in the next eight months, some 10,000 of the "bubblecars" were produced. BMW built over 136,000 Isettas. Of the cars made by BMW, about 8,500 were exported to the U.S. of which it is estimated 1,000 still survive. A very well-kept example can be seen at the entrance to the Malta Classic car museum in Qawra. Elvis Presley bought a red Isetta as a Christmas gift for his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. In 1962, they stopped production of the little cars but continued to produce Isetta engines until 1964.

Source : www.bmwworld.com
Source : www.microcarmuseum.com

Back to top

The Lizardman

Erik Sprague (born June 12, 1972), better known as The Lizardman, is a freak and sideshow performer. His has sharpened teeth, full-body tattoo of green scales and split tongue.

Married and lived in Austin, Texas, so far he has over 650 hours of tattooing, teeth filing and extensive subcutaneous implants. He was also, in 1997, one of the first people to undergo voluntary tongue splitting.

There are now estimated to be around 500 selectively split tongues in the world. He is, however, unwilling to rely on just his looks to make a living. "Today's audience demands more, I only survive by offering it."

The Lizardman makes his living as a freak, performing before audiences all over the world. He also makes numerous paid television and public appearances. His sideshow skills include weightlifting with his pierced body parts, escapology, sword swallowing, and a traditional 'blockhead' act where concrete blocks are smashed on his groin and six inch nails hammered into his nose with a powerdrill. He also participates in many public and private flesh hook suspension groups and events, and is highly involved in the body modification community.

The Lizardman was a Ph.D. candidate at the University at Albany before beginning his transformation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York.

Source : www.thelizardman.com

Back to top

Fingerprintless

There's a rare disease in our world of anomalies that can actually erased the fingerprints of a person! Sufferers of a rare congenital diseases, Dermatopathia Pigmentosa Reticularis (DPR) have absolutely no fingerprints. DPR is so rare that the Maynards were the only family in the world known to carry the genetic defect. The condition is passed down through the female side of the family. People that suffer from DPR can also have extremely thin hair, brittle, ridged nails and mottled skin.

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology found that the same genetic mutation causes both Naegeli syndrome and DPR. The mutation produces a defect in the protein keratin 14 (KRT14) and prevent KRT14 from playing its normal role in preventing cell death.

In a world that is increasingly conscious of security and of proof of identity, not having fingerprints can be a big problem. So far, there's no treatment yet.

Source : www.physorg.com

Back to top

Mick the white Koala Bear

A rare white Koala was found in a remote part of eastern Australia. Nicknamed Mick, the koala might look like a baby polar bear with pink eyes and noses but he's one of only a handful of white koalas left in the country.

When police officers found him, he was really ill and couldn't see properly. They took him to a koala hospital in Port Macquarie for treatment. Mick needs to go through a special operation. The good news is that Mick was a great patient and made a full recovery. Now he's been released at a top secret spot to keep him safe from poachers.

Source : BBC News

Back to top

Two legged dog wonder

Faith, a bipedal female dog, was born to a mother dog, believed to be nearly full blooded chow in December of 2002 with only three legs; two fully-developed hind legs and a deformed front leg, which was amputated soon after birth. Her mum literally terminating Faith's life because she knew instinctively that Faith was unable to battle the other puppies for a place to feed. Faith was weak, small, and mostly she was nearly dead. Jude Stringfellow's son, Reuben rescued Faith out from under Faith's mum and smuggled her under his jersey. He wore #63 for the Putnam City Pirates football team.

Using a spoon with peanut butter as an incentive, Jude from Oklahoma City, U.S taught Faith to hop and later walk on her two hind legs, and the family's corgi would bark at Faith from another room, or nip her heels to urge her to walk. Part of her therapy included being put on a skateboard to experience movement. Over six months the family taught her to stand, hop and eventually walk and run on her two back legs.

Faith is not the only two-legged dog, there is a chihuahua named Nubby in Texas, with a similar condition who also walks upright, but Faith is probably the most famous. Check out below for the amazing video of Faith and also another two-legged dog, but instead of missing two front legs, he's missing two right legs!





Source : www.faiththedog.net

Back to top

Jailed because of over salt burger

Fast food employees out there, don't day dream while preparing food, because one slight error might land you in jail. A cook at a fast food restaurant in Union City, Georgia, U.S, spent a night in jail and freed on $1000 bail during the weekend for putting too much salt on a police officer's hamburger.

Kendra Bull, 20, was arrested Friday on a charge of reckless conduct for allegedly putting so much salt on a McDonald's burger that it made a customer sick, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday. The mother-of-one said the entire situation was the result of an accident in the kitchen. She said an excess amount of salt accidentally spilled on the burger.

Union City police spokesman Sgt. George Louth said Adams took only a couple of bites of the burger and returned to the drive-thru window to alert the manager about the extremely salty hamburger. Adams then began gagging and vomiting and soon called another on-duty officer, Lt. Eugene Tate. Once at the scene, Tate checked Adams and called for paramedics and a back-up officer to complete an incident report, Louth said. At one point while checking Adams, paramedics said his blood pressure registered at 180/120. Adams has no history of high blood pressure, Louth said. Adams was treated and released from Southern Regional Medical Center.

Source : www.upi.com

Back to top

Giraffe-neck women

Although they are a small minority hill tribe in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, no description of Thai hill tribes would be complete without mentioning the Paduang or Paduang hill tribe, better known to the world as the tribe of the long neck women.

The women of the Padaung hill tribe wear heavy brass ornaments around their neck and limbs. These ornaments look like separate rings but are really a continuous coil of brass that can weigh anywhere from five to twenty-two kilograms and measure up to 30 meter in length. The quantity of visual rings (in reality, the length of the brass coil) is increased every year, according to the age of the woman.

Young Paduang girls start wearing rings from the age of six, adding one or two more coil-turns (or visual rings) yearly, until the age of about 16. Once fastened, the rings are for life, to remove the full coil of brass would cause the collapse or even fracture of the woman's neck. In the past, removal of the brass rings was a punishment for adultery. The punishment was, that since the neck muscles had severely weakened, by years of not supporting the neck, the woman must spend the rest of her life, holding her head with both hands or lying down.

It is a myth, that the brass rings have elongate the neck of the wearer. Any orthopedic surgeon will tell you that lengthening the neck would lead to paralysis or even death. The reality is, that the appearance of a longer neck is a visual illusion. The weight of the brass rings has over the years pushed down and deformed the collar bone plus the upper ribs, to such an effect that the collar bone appears to be part of the neck.

Despite the obvious discomfort and the daily task of cleaning the brass ring coil, plus other handicaps, like having to use a straw to drink, the Paduang hill tribes women say that they are used to their custom and are happy in continuing the tribe's tradition.

The women are able to carry out a somewhat ordinary life: they can marry and have children, and they are able to weave, sew and do light work. Although these days, they spend most of their time, making money, by posing as circus freaks for the tourists visiting the hill tribes in Northern Thailand.

Source : www.thaipro.com

Back to top

Shark or men more scary?

Sharks has been part of the Chinese delicacy since thousand of years ago. And it's not shark's meat they're after. They are craving for Shark's fin only. Shark fin soup originated in Asia and recipes date back over 2000 years. The soup was once a rarity available only to the aristocracy, primarily because it was so difficult to create. However, times have changed, fishing boats have improved, fishing nets are exponentially longer, and China's growing middle class has created an increased demand for this "delicacy."

Shark-fin soup was just a regional delicacy in Canton, south China, until the late 1980s. The Beijing government had derided shark-fin soup as a symbol of elitism, but it ended this stance in 1987. Increased East Asian affluence quickly made shark-fin soup popular at wedding banquets, birthdays, feasts and business dinners, as a way of honoring guests. The demand has escalated astronomically in the last 15 years, and now it's a standard dish.

Hong Kong has roughly 50 percent possibly up to 80 percent of the world trade in shark fin, with the major suppliers being Europe, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States, Yemen, India, Japan, and Mexico. I've seen entire streets there lined with shark-fin shops; huge burlap bags brimming with shark fins are stacked into warehouses. Its safe to assume that most of the shark fins in Chinatown are from Hong Kong.

It's cooked for a very long time until the shark fin separates into needles of cartilage that look like clear noodles. The fin itself has no taste, but it's served with a broth of chicken, ham and shiitake that it absorbs. The final texture is supposed to be interesting.

Shark-fin soup is traditionally regarded in Chinese medicine as a tonic. They claimed it's good at strengthening the waist, supplementing vital energy, nourishing blood, invigorating kidney and lung and improving digestion, according to the Compendium of Materia Medica. Modern nutritionists find it rich in protein, and the large amount of gelatin contained can help the growth of cartilage.

But scientifically speaking, shark fin has little nutritional value and, in fact, it may even be harmful to health over the long term. The methods used to prepare shark fin soup reduce the water content of the fin, which concentrates numerous chemical impurities. Shark fins studied at the University of Hong Kong contained 5.84 parts per million (ppm) of mercury, compared to a maximum permitted level of 0.5 ppm. The high presence of mercury was confirmed in independent tests conducted by two state-related labs in Thailand, and the findings are also reflected in US, Australian, and New Zealand governmental reports. In plain English, this means that eating shark fins could render men sterile due to the high mercury content.

Sharks' fins is derived from fins cut from living sharks. This process is called finning. Shark fins can fetch a price up to $700 per Kg. That is 70 times the value of a kilo of tuna. Because shark meat is worth very little, the finless and often still-living sharks are thrown back into the sea to make room on board the ship for more of the valuable fins. When they're thrown back into the ocean the sharks either bleed to death, or they drown, because sharks can't swim without fins, and they need to go forward to get oxygen. Divers have discovered hundreds of dead finned sharks at the bottom of the ocean in huge shark graveyards. It is estimated that 100 million sharks are slaughtered annually for their fins, at a rate of over 270,000 per day.

Yearly, they are more people died from getting hit by lightning or died from bee stings than of being eaten by a shark. Sharks are victims of misperception and media hype. There are only 5 to 15 shark-attack fatalities around the world. So, who is more scary? You decide.

Back to top

Scan shows baby gives thumbs up

A mum-to-be was rushed to the John Radcliffe Hospital with stomach cramps and was sent for a scan. She was concerned due to past experience of having a miscarriage a year ago. Donna Rider, from Oxford,UK had her fears eased when one of her triplets gave her the thumbs-up during a scan!

Donna, who before the scan didn't know she was expecting triplets said "I got such a shock. I could clearly see one of the triplets giving me a thumbs-up from the womb. It was so clear and just unbelievable. From that moment, I knew it was going to be all right.”

Donna, who lives with chef husband Lee, 32, gave birth to healthy Henry, Joshua and George in May '06. The mum said: “I am so proud of them.”


Source : www.thesun.co.uk

Back to top

Watermelon re-invented

A fat, round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerator, and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves. And then there was the problem of trying to cut the fruit when it kept rolling around.

The farmer, from Zentsuji in Kagawa,Japan, came up with a brilliant solution by making a cube-shaped watermelon which could easily be packed and stored. The square watermelon are the exact dimensions of Japanese refrigerators, allowing full-grown watermelons to fit conveniently and precisely onto refrigerator shelves. Now, don't think that this is a newest invention, it's been around since 2001. To make it happen, farmers grew the melons in glass boxes and the fruit then naturally assumed the same shape. There are other shapes available too, but the cubic is the most popular picked. Today the cuboid watermelons are hand-picked and shipped all over Japan.

But the fruit, on sale in a selection of department stores and upmarket supermarkets, appeals mainly to the wealthy and fashion-conscious of Tokyo and Osaka, Japan's two major cities. Each melon sells for 10,000 yen, equivalent to about $83. It is almost double, or even triple, that of a normal watermelon. "I can't buy it, it is too expensive,"
said a woman browsing at a department store in the southern city of Takamatsu.

Source : BBC News

Back to top

Competition for the funniest faces

Do your friends always commented that you have funny faces? Do your expression makes people laugh even when you don't speak a word? If you have what it takes, you might want to consider to join the World Gurning Championship. Gurning is the art of pulling of grotesque faces. There's nothing technical about it, all you need is a extremely flexible face. Gurning sees contestants put their heads through a horse collar and pull the most ugly and funny expressions. The winner is the person receiving the most applause from the audience.

Every year Egremont, Cumbria in UK holds annual World Gurning Championship as part of the Egremont Crab Fair. Egremont Crab Fair and Sports was established in 1267, which makes it one of the oldest fairs in the world. It combines ancient and traditional events with modern attractions in a unique way, attracting visitors from all over the world.

It was first held when King Henry III granted a Royal Charter to the Lord of the Barony of Egremont, Thomas de Multon. Originally, Egremont held a weekly market and an annual fair at the beginning of September, but over the years that’s now transformed into the Egremont Crab Fair and Sports day.

Traditionally, the Crab Fair combined the local cattle market with public displays of strength and various what we today might call brutal sports by the likes of cock fighting and bull baiting. The modern Crab Fair still keeps some of the traditional features of the fair mixed in with some more up-to-date past-times like fancy dress wheel barrow races and discos. Gurning, of course, is the major event and at the end of the day, everyone will get a good laugh.

Source : egremontcrabfair.org.uk
Source : BBC News

Back to top

Flags - Did you know?

Switzerland is the only country with a square flag.

Nepal is the only country that doesn't have a rectangular flag.

Cyprus is the only country to display its map on its national flag.

Libya is the only country its national flag contain just one color and no design or any other details.

Philippines is the only country in the world that its flag flown in wartime, is different from how it is flown at other times. The flag is displayed with the blue field on top in times of peace, and with the red field on top in times of war.

Paraguay is the only country its national flags have different emblems on its obverse and reverse sides. Upper picture is obverse, lower picture is reverse.

Back to top

Coffin comes in anything-you-like shape

For the Ga tribe in coastal Ghana, Africa, funerals are a time of mourning, but also of celebration. The Ga people believe that when their loved ones die, they move on to another life. Therefore, their final journey will be leaving in style. They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived. The coffins can be anything wanted by relatives of the deceased such as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens, leopards, coca-cola, cocoa beans and even a Ferrari.

Coffins are usually crafted to reflect an essence of the deceased, in forms such as a character trait, an occupation, or a symbol of one's standing in the community. Such as a car if they were a driver, a fish if their livelihood was the sea, or a sewing machine for a seamstress. They might also symbolize a vice like a bottle of beer or a cigarette. These coffins are usually very expensive, as their nature means that skilled carpenters take longer to produce them compared to conventional coffins.

Prices of coffins can vary depending on the design requested. These types of coffins can fetch a price of $600. This is expensive for local families considering that certain families having an average income of only $50 a month, meaning that such a coffin would be approximately a year's wages. This often means that funerals are often paid for by wealthier members of the family, if such a member exists in the family, paying relatively substantial amounts and smaller contributions from other working members of the family. This is needed as the coffin is only a portion of the total funeral cost that will be incurred.





Source : www.ghanaweb.com

Back to top