Personally, I don’t consider anything without a bathroom or a kitchen to be a house, but apparently that’s not stopping Dai Haifei, a 24-year-old architect in Beijing, China. Dai has built himself a mobile, solar powered, egg shaped structure that is small enough to fit on a sidewalk and is made of bamboo strips, wood chippings, sack bags, and grass seed that’s expected to grow in the spring. It cost about $1,0000 to build and features a lamp that is powered by the solar panel.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
ARCHITECT LIVES IN EGG SHAPED “HOUSE”:
Personally, I don’t consider anything without a bathroom or a kitchen to be a house, but apparently that’s not stopping Dai Haifei, a 24-year-old architect in Beijing, China. Dai has built himself a mobile, solar powered, egg shaped structure that is small enough to fit on a sidewalk and is made of bamboo strips, wood chippings, sack bags, and grass seed that’s expected to grow in the spring. It cost about $1,0000 to build and features a lamp that is powered by the solar panel.
You can get married to someone who is dead:
French woman marries boyfriend one year after he died. Magali Jaskiewicz and Jonathan George had planned to wed at their local town hall in November 2008, but he was killed just two days before the ceremony in a motorcycle accident.
Ms Jaskiewitz, 32, used a little-known section of the French civil code that allows posthumous marriages if all the formalities for the wedding were completed before one of the partners died, including the setting of a date.
She proved to officials that she and Mr George had been living together since 2004 and that they shared a bank account.
She also provided a photo of the wedding dress she had bought to wear to their wedding.
Standing alone in the aisle at the town hall, she was “married” to Mr George at a ceremony attended by 30 family members and friends in the village of Dommary-Baroncourt, in eastern France, on Saturday.
Around ten posthumous marriages are carried out each year in France, French interior ministry officials said.
The Youngest Confirmed Mother:
Lina Medina (born September 27, 1933, in Ticrapo, Huancavelica Region, Peru) is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of five years, seven months and 21 days.
Born in Ticrapo, Peru, Medina was brought to a hospital by her parents at the age of five years due to increasing abdominal size. She was originally thought to have had a tumor, but her doctors determined she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Dr. Gerardo Lozada took her to Lima, Peru, prior to the surgery to have other specialists confirm that Medina was pregnant. A month and a half later, on May 14, 1939, she gave birth to a boy by a caesarean section. The surgery was performed by Dr. Lozada. Her son, weighing 2,700 grams or 5.92 pounds, was well formed and in good health. Child and mother were able to leave the clinic after only a few days.
Is there such a thing as Bald Bears?
You’d have thought a fur coat would have been the ultimate bear necessity.But not for the unfortunate Dolores who has lost all her body hair and has just been left with a few tufts around her head.Vets have been left baffled by the condition of the bespectacled bear, who lives at a zoo in Leipzig.
And Dolores isn’t the only one. The sudden hair loss has affected all female bears at the zoo.Some experts believe it could be due to a genetic defect though the animals do not seem to be suffering from any other affliction.The bears, which originate from South America, normally have fluffy dark brown fur and would now be growing a thicker fur coat to keep warm during the winter.
Square Watermelons:
In Japan, farmers of the Zentsuji region found a way to grow cubic watermelons, by growing the fruits in glass boxes and letting them naturally assume the shape of the receptacle. The square shape is designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but the square watermelons are often more than double the price of normal ones. Pyramid shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polygonal shape may potentially also be used.
The Banana is a Berry:
Yes, the banana is a berry. Berries are identified as being many seeded with a fleshy inner layer. So, technically a banana is a berry. And, believe it or not, bananas don’t grow on trees! Originally from Asia, the “banana tree” is really not a tree in the true sense. In fact, banana plants have no wood fiber. The banana plant is the world’s largest herb and a member of the lily family. Bananas grow in tropical areas all around the world where the weather is sunny and hot, and there’s plenty of rain.
ROTATING HOUSE:
Have you seen the Everingham Rotating House™ yet? It is pretty similar to one of those skyscraper restaurants that rotate like a record player (for those of us who still remember what that is!) to give you a 360° view…it is pretty cool!
Here are a few FAQ’s from their official website:
1. Does it really rotate?
The Rotating House™ rotates a full 360° around a central core of plumbing and electricals. Computer- controlled rotation gives you complete control over your view...
2. Does the house move all the time?
The house can move if and when desired. A touch panel on the wall in the lounge room lets you change the position of the house with a couple of simple presses. You just select which side of the house you want to go to which direction, then press go. Programs have been set up for different times of the year for different functions eg. Follow the sun.
3. How fast does it spin?
The speed can be varied. It takes 2 hours to do a rotation at the slower speed, which is 40 metres per hour. At top speed it takes approximately 30 minutes to do a full rotation, which is 160 metres per hour.
4. Why have a house that can rotate?
Well, why not? It was an idea that grew and grew and finally became a reality. The shape of the house and the rooms are large, interesting and really user friendly. The cost was also comparable to a house of similar size and level of appointment. The ability to move the house to suit whatever the circumstance has proved to be extremely handy! Naturally the weather aspect for heating and cooling, but also for entertaining. Having the living room facing the sun in the mornings for heating and having a leisurely breakfast is great, but come night time, turn the room around to the fixed deck overlooking the river for a fantastic entertaining area!
Some people can sneeze with their eyes open:
Q: Why do we sneeze?
A: Sneezing is a way that your body gets rid of bad things that are in your nose. These things might be bacteria, germs, and other things.
When you suddenly you see a bright light like the sun or a light bulb then you feel like you are going to sneeze. Most people feel like you do when you see the light. Actually 1 out of 3 people sneeze when they see the bright light. Those people are “Photic Sneezers.” Photic really is another word for light. Photic sneezing is something that you get from one of your parents because it is something that runs in one side of your family.
Q: Can you sneeze with your eyes open?
A: Some people can sneeze with their eyes open and some people can’t. Sneezing is a reflex and so is closing our eyes. We have no control over whether or not we close our eyes when we sneeze. Some people don’t have reflex, so when they sneeze then their eyes won’t close.
CORPSE FLOWER – THE LARGEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD:
This giant claims the title of the plant with the largest unbranched flower in the world. Believe It or Not! Its huge flowering structure (inflorescence) rises over 8.2 feet above the ground!
Due to its odor, which is similar to the smell of a decomposing animal, this behemoth of the plant world is also known as the “corpse flower”.
It is not completely certain why they release the foul smells, but it could have something to do with attracting possible pollinators.
These rare plants, while in the wild, only bloom every 30 to 40 years! Every time there is a “scheduled” flowering, huge crowds of people gather to witness the amazing event.
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
This Umbrella Will Charge Your Phone and Boost Its Signal:
Vodafone’s Booster Brolly is an umbrella that uses on-board solar cells and a micro antenna to charge your phone and boost its 3G signal.
The umbrella, which is sadly just a prototype at the time of writing, is the result of a collaboration between Vodafone and University College London. There are 12 silicon solar cells integrated into the canopy; together they provide enough juice to run the signal booster, a LED flashlight and a USB phone charger which is able to charge a phone in around three hours. That is a lot of technology for the world’s most commonly misplaced item. Whether or not it has a future from there is anyone’s guess – but as long as they get the pricing right, I could see it taking off in countries that get a lot of rain.
The umbrella, which is sadly just a prototype at the time of writing, is the result of a collaboration between Vodafone and University College London. There are 12 silicon solar cells integrated into the canopy; together they provide enough juice to run the signal booster, a LED flashlight and a USB phone charger which is able to charge a phone in around three hours. That is a lot of technology for the world’s most commonly misplaced item. Whether or not it has a future from there is anyone’s guess – but as long as they get the pricing right, I could see it taking off in countries that get a lot of rain.
The World’s Smallest Mother:
Doctors warned Stacey, who is just 2ft 4ins, it would be too dangerous for her to ever have children. But the determined 35-year-old defied medics to have a family and has given birth to three babies in the last past three years.
Tentacle Shower Head !
It looks slightly disturbing. It reminds us of something out of The Matrix or some kind of squid, but even so, you got to admit that this was a great idea. Sure, not everyone has the money or the space to set up extra nozzles for their showers. This is the next best thing. The tentacles can be arranged to shower a wider area, which is pretty neat. In the morning, nothing wakes you up like a nice hot shower with strong jets. In fact, some people don't even feel awake until they've had a shower.It's part of a ritual and this shower head promises to improve this.
Excalibur - The World's Tallest Climbing Wall:
Towering over 121 feet (37 meters) in the air, the Excalibur at the Klimcentrum Bjoeks (Bjoeks Climb Center) in the town of Groningen, The Netherlands, is considered to be the tallest climbing wall in the world. What makes climbing the Excalibur a challenge, aside from the monumental height, is a sleek curve 36 feet (11 meters) out from the base that creates an artificial overhang as one encounters when climbing a real peak. Because of the curve it is possible to climb the tower in many different ways, each posing a different challenge.
At Bjoeks Climb Center, there is an array of indoor climbing walls, including one designed for first-timers and another that’s at a 45 degree angle. There’s also a large indoor-outdoor bordering area with 117 boulders to scamper over.
The Bjoeks Climb Center was started in 1996 by Gert van deer Veen and his friend and climbing partner, Alco Pols.
The Honey Hunters of Nepal !
I always thought collecting honey was such a dangerous work. Poking your way through their stingers to get to their precious sweet gold must not be so easy. Yet it’s been a common practice of many ancient cultures for thousands of years. Today, honey hunting is still a traditional practice for Nepali culture. Home to the biggest honey bee on the planet, the Apis Laboriosa, Nepal depends on honey hunting as a way of life. Bees build their hives on the cliffs of the country’s foothills which makes honey hunting a seemingly daunting task. They have to use rope ladders and baskets to get to the combs once the bees have been flushed out with smoke after lighting a fire underneath their hives. They then cut off the honey treasure from the comb while fighting off territorial bees. The harvesting takes place once a year and starts off with a harvest ritual which varies from town to town usually beginning with a prayer and then a sacrifice of flowers, rice and fruits. The process takes two to three hours depending on the hives location and size. This Nepali part of culture is definitely a sight to see. Tourists can come to witness the bravery of the honey hunters, the fascination of the Nepali landscape and the beautiful homes of the honey bees.
Privacy Pop !
The innovative bed tent that lets you let it all hang out, no matter where you are. A Privacy Pop tent gives you the coverage and privacy that you want, so that you can enjoy a place all your own, even in a dorm room or room shared with other.
A Privacy Pop tent is a revolutionary tent that fits around your bed and gives you privacy in a shared bedroom or dorm room. College students and siblings who have shared their bedrooms for years are buzzing about this new product that carves out a closed off space just for you.
A Privacy Pop tent is perfect for:- Keeping bright sun out of your eyes so you can sleep- Listening to your iPod or reading without bothering anyone else in the room- The perfect place for studying without being bothered or bothering anyone else- Ensuring you have privacy from prying eyes