Extra Extra !!!

Solar Eclipse - 1st August 2008

2008-08-04T14:41:00.001+03:00

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the total solar eclipse is observed at 7:21 pm (1121 GMT) on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 in north of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The total solar eclipse, the first that can be viewed in China in the new century, occured on Friday.(AP Photo/Xinhua, Ding Haitao)

World's smallest snake

2008-08-04T14:21:00.002+03:00

Scientists have identified the world's smallest snake, about 4 inches long and as thin as spaghetti. The new species is named Leptotyphlops carlae. It is not venomous, eats termites and termite larvae but little is known about its behavior.

The World's First Digital Camera

2008-06-22T09:43:00.001+03:00

Invented in 1975 by Steven J. Sasson. It weighed eight pounds, was the size of a toaster, and produced a 0.01 megapixel image that took 23 seconds to record onto a digital cassette tape.

Missing sheep - Electric fence - What do you find?

2008-05-14T11:05:00.004+03:00

A sheep farmer was puzzled about the disappearance of some sheep on his farm. Few weeks later the farmer decided to put up an electric fence.

And this is what he found !!!

For your information the electric wires are 10 inches apart..

One of the tallest Cow

2008-05-14T10:50:00.003+03:00

Name - Chilli
Place - England, UK
Height - 6ft 7inches
Weight - Over a ton
Diet - Grass

Looks like its been edited in photoshop, but its not.An application has been send to Guinness Book of World Records and is under research. At present, the tallest bovine in the world is 6ft 8ins Fiorino, who lives in Italy.

Top of the Burj, Dubai

2008-04-27T22:09:00.002+03:00

Look at the edge (uppermost right corner) of the picture..
You can almost see the "turn" of the earth…

Baby v/s Cobra

2008-04-25T20:13:00.004+03:00

*This video is disturbing. (PG-16)

The snake is constantly biting the baby and the people around do nothing to stop it. Is it some sort of training? This is happening in India.

Proof that kitty's love music..

2008-04-24T19:59:00.002+03:00

Click on the play button which is on the center of the video to view.

Unknown creature found in Russia.

2008-04-20T18:26:00.004+03:00

Unknown creature found in Sakhalin Shoreline by Russian Soldiers. According to the bones and teeth - it is not a fish. According to its skeleton - it’s not a crocodile or alligator. It has a skin with hair or fur. What is it then? Its looks like Big Bird to me. Source - English Russia

World's oldest tree

2008-04-20T17:53:00.004+03:00

Researchers have uncovered a stand of spruce trees (Spruces are large trees, from 20–60 meters tall) with an 8,000-year-old tree root system in Dalarna(Central Sweden) making it the oldest tree in the world. It was founded while carrying out an environmental research project near the Härjehogna valley.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest living individual tree is a bristlecone pine in California’s White Mountains estimated to be 4,733-years-old. Now its in second place.

World population will hit 6,666,666,666 soon

2008-04-17T10:47:00.004+03:00

You read it right... World population is going to hit 6,666,666,666... That’s a lot of 6's and I wonder who the lucky 6,666,666,666 going to be? It’s assumed that the population would hit the milestone on May 1st.

Let me try writing this in words... 6,666,666,666. If I am wrong, please correct me by writing a comment.

Six billion six hundred sixty six million six hundred sixty six thousand six hundred sixty six...

100th Post

2008-04-12T12:55:00.006+03:00

Wow!!! My post.. This calls for a celebration..
Never thought I would ever be able to post these many... I would like to thank my visitors, subscribers and everyone who supported me all through out..

Two Faced Baby

2008-04-12T12:38:00.004+03:00

Name - Lali
Place - New Delhi, India
DOB - March 11th 2008
About - Is now worshiped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, Durga. She suffers from a condition called craniofacial duplication (single head with 2 faces). she has got an extra nose, pair of lips and eyes. Her ears are not duplicated.

Congratulations Extra Extra !!!

2008-04-11T22:52:00.003+03:00

Extra Extra !!! just won the Blog of the day award.

Blog of the Day Awards for Friday, April 11, 2008

The selection criteria include content, quality, creativity, and the personal opinion of the judges. Judges grant the award in recognition of outstanding nominees who are recommended by visitors to the site and by a panel of judges.

World's smallest girl, Smaller than a baby !!

2008-04-09T11:08:00.003+03:00

Name - Jyoti Amge
Age - 15
Height - 1ft 11 inches
Weight - 11 lbs
Place - Nagpur, India

Fish with Fangs

2008-04-05T21:38:00.003+03:00

Fish with fangs found in Utah, USA

Ancient gold necklace discovered

2008-04-05T21:24:00.003+03:00

The earliest known gold jewelry has been discovered in southern Peru. The gold necklace, made nearly 4,000 years ago, was found in a burial site near Lake Titicaca.

World's Tallest Dog

2008-04-03T11:03:00.004+03:00

Name - Gibson.
Height - On hind legs, more than 7 feet tall.
Breed - Great Dane.
Weight - 170 lbs.
Age - 6 yrs old.
Place - California, USA.
Profession - Licensed therapy and service Dog, visits children and senior centers.

World's Beard and Moustache Champions

2008-03-28T11:42:00.004+03:00

Yep, you get awarded for growing facial hair..

Click on this link provided below to view the World's Beard and Moustache Contestants and Champions.

Click here to view

My personal favorite is Willi Chevalier, Germany, 2001 World Champion, Full Beard Freestyle. (How did he manage to create that style?)

A father's sacrifice - True Story

2008-03-26T17:19:00.003+03:00

This is a true story, dates back to the British rule in India.

The Pamban Bridge is situated in Tamil Nadu, India. At the entrance of the bridge you can see a picture of a weeping man holding some human body parts close to his chest.

This bridge was built during the British rule in India and it was constructed in such a way that the center portion of the bridge could be lifted with the help of huge wheels, so that ships could easily pass under the bridge. On the bridge, roads and rail tracks are laid for trains and other vehicles to pass.

A middle aged man was appointed to roll the wheels up and down when ships arrive. Once he saw a train slowly approaching, while he was pulling back the bridge after a ship quietly passed beneath. He had to pull back quickly or else there would be a fatal accident and thousands would have died.

At that time his 9 year old son came with lunch. When he saw his father struggling with the wheels, he kept the lunch box down and started helping him to roll the wheels to put the bridge back. Suddenly his son's finger got caught inside the wheel and he started crying out. At this time if the father tries to save his son, the bridge could not be put back on time. He had no other option but to ignore his son's cry. With all his strength he kept on rolling the wheels to down the bridge. As the wheels rolled on, his son slowly started slipping away into the huge machine.

Tears rolled down his father's cheeks, but he ignored his son's cry. If he tried to save him, the train will surely fall into the sea and thousands of people will die. Slowly the boy's whole body fell into the machine and his father could hear his bones breaking one by one, until with a loud sound, his head cracked.

The train with thousands of passengers slowly rolled on the rails, without knowing what had happened there.

Though this man performed his duty honestly he lost his only loving son. With extreme lamentation, he pulled out his son's body parts from the machine and held it close to his chest and cried bitterly.

British Government honored him greatly and in memory of this incident they placed the picture at the entrance of the bridge.

Is this a recorded sound from hell??

2008-03-20T17:38:00.003+03:00

Is hell real??

*Warning* - Its quite disturbing.

A research team from Siberia made a shocking discovery.

Watch the entire video.. and tell me what you think of it??

Some interesting Human Body Facts

2008-03-20T12:28:00.005+03:00

All facts listed below are weird and 100 percent true.

* After eating too much, your hearing is less sharp.

* We are about 1 cm taller in the morning than in the evening. Layers of cartilage in the joints gets compressed during the day.

* Kidney stones come in any color--from yellow to brown.

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

* The average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime.

* Babies are born without kneecaps. They appear when the child is 2-6 years of age.

* Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

* A human's small intestine is 6 meters long.

* The human body has approximately 37,000 miles of capillaries.

* The adult human body requires about 88 pounds of oxygen daily.

Unblock websites at school and work..

2008-03-16T17:42:00.004+03:00

Yeah, Most of the schools and workplaces block websites so that their students and employees respectively do their job rather than waste/enjoy/spend their time on social networking sites like Orkut, MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, YouTube, Friendster.

There are many proxies available. (What is a proxy? Answer - A computer network service that allows clients to make indirect network connections to other network services)

I found a proxy which would be of some use to you. Click on the link below to visit the site

www.unblockshop.com

Type in the url of the site you want to visit in the space provided and click on Browse and there a new window opens with your favorite site which was blocked all while along.

Unblockshop.com says, "Browse the internet securely using unblockshop.com. You can unblock popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, YouTube, Friendster and many other sites."

Try it out and let me know..

The World's longest domain name

2008-03-16T13:11:00.006+03:00

iamtheproudownerofthelongestlongestlongestdomainnameinthisworld.com claims to be the world's longest domain name..

(Total 67 characters = 63 characters + 4 characters for .com)

This record cannot be broken with a .com domain, because 63 letters is the maximum number of letters that can be registered as a domain name.

Earth and Moon as seen from Mars

2008-03-15T10:49:00.003+03:00

Breathtaking view of our Earth and Moon from Planet Mars. No wonder aliens visit once in a while . Click on the link below to view full resolution. Source - NASA

Click here to view

250 million in cash

2008-03-14T22:34:00.002+03:00

Have you ever seen 250 million in cash?

Money drug apprehended in Mexico

Lunar Eclipse - Feb 20, 2008

2008-03-14T20:11:00.002+03:00

Check out this video.. I know its late but its worth watching

1.5 seconds before tsunami

2008-03-14T19:03:00.003+03:00

The last picture!

This picture was taken on the banks of Sumatra Island (the height of waves was of approx. 32 m = 105 ft). It was found saved in a digital camera, one and a half months after the disaster.We cannot know for sure, but very likely the one who took the picture is not alive any more (it was just a matter of seconds).

Today we can see the last image he/she saw before ending life on Earth!

Venus and Jupiter in the Morning Skies

2008-03-04T12:30:00.003+03:00

These two celestial bodies shining brightly in the east before sunrise are actually children of the Sun, the planets Venus and Jupiter. The second and third brightest objects in the sky at Night after the Moon. Venus and Jupiter appeared separated by about 2 degrees when this picture was taken on January 30th. Source - NASA

Click on the link below to see Venus and Jupiter in the Morning Skies.

Click here to view full resolution

Latest Speed Limiting Device

2008-03-03T08:34:00.003+03:00

Looks real, but its not..

How to handle your teenager?

2008-02-21T13:41:00.001+03:00

Teenage is the most crucial period of a human being’s life. It during this period a person undergoes both biological changes and emotional issues, so its upon the parents to support, love, care their child and to make them a living example to others of their same age. It’s a period of confusion, where the teens think they are adults and the parents treat them as their baby. What the parents have to know is that... your son/daughter is no more a baby and what the kids have to know is that they are not all grown up. Teenage can also be called as a fragile and handle with care stage of a persons’ life.

Parents often say that it’s hard to manage a teenager. Well, it’s not that hard. Read on … I hope this article would be of some help… If you got a thought, do share...

1. Show affection- they still need an encouraging pat.

2. Be an Active listener- Give them a lot of attention. Sit with them everyday, talk to them about their studies, friends, activities. Show them that you genuinely care about what happening with them. Assure them that they can come to you and talk to you whenever they have a problem. Treat them as your friend and respect them

3. No scolding – Don’t scold them especially in front of the friends. That’s the biggest insult, if you want to do so... do it privately not in front of their friends or others. Talk to them about the problems faced by other teens, tell them the consequences of getting into bad habit and or a trouble... tell them how it would change, ruin, control their lives. This would help your child know what is right and what is wrong.

4. Trust them – Give them responsibilities they can handle, Tell them what you expect from them. While making a family decision ask their suggestions, this would give your teenager confidence. Get to know their friends and be friends with them. It’s important for you to know which type of peer group your child is with. As friends influence your child’s behavior to the maximum

5. No lies - Don’t ever lie to them as you would be setting a bad example, most teenagers are likely to act like their parents. If you lie to them, they lie back to you.

6. No quarrels -Don’t quarrel with your spouse in front of them, as the teen would feel ashamed of you and are likely to quarrel with you.

7. No Bossing -Don’t try to boss over them or beat them. If you want them to do something for you, ask them politely. If you have a positive relation with your teenager, you could assign them work and monitor them without been intrusive.

8. No comparison- Don’t compare them with someone else’s kid or your own as they would feel insecure, hurt and would start to dislike you. When you are comparing, it makes the teen feel that you hate your kid… Some teenagers would then try to be like the other teenager or would turn out worse, its better not to take the risk.

9. No Detective work- Don’t be a detective in knowing their inner secrets. They would hate you if you go through their stuff... in order for you teen to open up... be a friend... as it would help establish a better relationship between you both.. I know detective work is required in certain cases; one way you can do is ask your teen to help you while cleaning his or her room. So you won’t be blamed as you were going through their stuff while they were away.

10. No overprotection -Don’t be overprotective as they are independent, some teens don’t mind parents been over protective but it would impact the teen in a bad way, the teen would be dependent, low esteem, low confidence and would not be able to take care of them when they are adults and would always require someone or their parents to do everything for them and would blame you for been overprotective.

If this article is read by a teenager, send your parents a link so they can read and understand. If it’s read by a parent, try to put these tips into use. Have a nice day!! Be a proud child and a parent.

360 Degree View of the Mount Everest

2008-02-21T08:24:00.005+03:00

Ever wanted to stand on top of the Mount Everest and take a look around ?? Click on the link below and enjoy the view..

Click here to see

Spider With a "Big Smile"

2008-02-10T10:53:00.000+03:00

Found only on the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii, the happy face spider, such as this one guarding its eggs on a leaf in Maui, is known for the unique patterns that decorate its pale abdomen. Scientists believe Theridion grallator may have developed its distinctive markings to discourage birds from eating it. Source - National Geographic

100yr old Monster Fish caught

2008-02-08T11:02:00.000+03:00

Two British anglers waded into a river to catch a 100-year-old monster fish weighing over 35 stone, after battling with it for over an hour.

Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

2008-02-06T09:51:00.000+03:00

Leonardo da Vinci is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

Click here to see his drawings

Planet Earth at night

2008-02-05T12:09:00.000+03:00

The Optical Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) camera on board the Rosetta spacecraft observed Earth. A sun-illuminated crescent can be seen around Antarctica in this image that is a colour composite combining images obtained at various wavelengths.

Click here to view full resolution

Hen lays Green Eggs

2008-02-02T20:14:00.000+03:00

Rabanita, the hen looks no different from the other hens. She has become a celebrity in a small village north of Mexico city, because everyday she lays green eggs.

Wo(man) on Mars?

2008-02-02T20:01:00.000+03:00

What is it? A man, a woman or is it just a rock??

A NASA photo taken on mars by spirit rover. The shape resembles a man kneeling down with his right arm outstretched.

The Biggest ..... Part I

2008-02-02T19:35:00.000+03:00

Check out some of the world's ....

WORLD'S BIGGEST INDOOR SWIMMING POOL

World Water Park… Edmonton, Albert, Canada, SIZE - 5 Acres.

WORLD'S BIGGEST OFFICE COMPLEX

Chicago Merchandise Mart… Illinois,USA.

WORLD'S BIGGEST SHOPPING MALL

South China Mall, Dongguan, China Size -892,000 meter-square, Shops on 6 floors.

WORLD'S WIDEST BRIDGE

Sydney harbor bridge, Australia..16 lanes of car traffic…..8 lanes in the upper floor, 8 in the lower floor.

WORLD'S LONGEST BRIDGE

Donghai Bridge , China Length - 32.5 km

Guard against Burglary

2008-01-23T11:10:00.000+03:00

How does a burglar know that the members of a house have gone out?

I have listed few things you should keep in mind while you are going out for a short while or a vacation.

1 .While going out for an evening, leave some lights on... It shows the house is occupied... Leaving just one room with lights doesn’t help... If you could also leave the radio or the television on, it would surely doubt the burglar...

2. If you are leaving for a vacation, have the mail or other deliveries like magazine, milk held or suspended for a while.

3. Get your phone disconnected so that on the spot telephone check to find out if you are at home, can’t be made. Never give information to anonymous people who say that they are calling from insurance companies, banks for a meeting or you won a lottery and when you will be able to collect the prize, give only if you are sure or you might be giving your “when-you-will-be-at-home” information to the wrong person.

4. Inform the neighbors when you are going out so that they can keep an eye on your property. In case, you got an emergency and you had to leave your kids alone, ask the neighbor to keep an eye and do instruct your kids not to answer the doors when strangers knock (As burglars are like shape shifters – may act as a carpenter, electrician, plumper).

5. Don’t leave the house keys under the door/welcome mat or flower pot as they are the common areas of search.

6. If the members of the house are returning at different times, don’t leave the keys (Refer 5), its better to make extra keys or give your house key to your neighbor.

7. Ask your servant to clean up your courtyard daily and pick up the flyers as untidy courtyard shows that the members are out.

8. Draw the drapes/curtains of the house, if the inside of the house is visible to the outsiders and do not place any of your valuable items near the window.

9. Ask your neighbor or servant to turn off the lighted entrance in the morning and turn it on during the evening, if the lights are left on in the morning and off at night, it shows there is no one in the house or you could set a timer that would turn on or off the lights (Use low voltage lights as you can save electricity).

10. If your area is free from shoe thieves, you could leave some of your cheap slippers outside, it shows the people are in the house.

11. Never leave a note on door explaining why you are not at home.

12. Never leave any tools or ladder outside the house as it would help the burglar to break in.

Start a neighborhood watch, get a security or install a burglary alarm if the burglary rate is high. The points above are some of the things you should keep in mind. If you got a tip, do share. Have a nice day!

Falling Meteor - Caught on Tape

2008-01-21T09:02:00.000+03:00

The meteor was moving north over the Rocky Mountains from the U.S. Southwest to Canada on August 10,1972 and was filmed by a tourist at the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming with an 8-millimeter color movie camera.

This meteor was supposed to have ended its life in a Hiroshima-atomic bomb like blast, but it never hit the ground. It continued to fly 58km above the ground and grazed Earth's atmosphere for about 100 seconds, before skipping out and going back into its orbit around the sun.

Click here if you can't view the video.

Human like Dog?

2008-01-20T08:35:00.000+03:00

I know its a disturbing picture.. But, what is it? Half Human, half dog? I know it would stir up some conversation... let me know what you think of it..

Click here to get the answer..

Photos taken inside a plane, before it crashed.

2008-01-19T09:16:00.000+03:00

A B737 had a mid air collision with a Embraer Legacy while cruising at 35,000 feet over South America . The Embraer Legacy, though seriously damaged, with the winglet ripped off, managed to make a landing at a nearby airstrip in the midst of the Amazon jungle. The crew and passengers of the Embraer Legacy had no idea what they had hit. The B737, however, crashed killing all crew and passengers on board.

The two photos attached above were apparently taken by one of the passengers in the B737, after the collision and before the aircraft crashed. The photos were retrieved from the camera's memory stick. You will never get to see photos like this. In the first photo there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and vertical fin of the aircraft. In the second photo one of the passengers is being sucked out of the gaping hole.

*Author's Note* - Is it true or just a hoax? What do you say?

Mobile Tips .. Part II

2008-01-18T10:40:00.000+03:00

Would you like to know if your Mobile/Cell/Cell phone is original or not??

Press the following on your mobile*#06# and the-international mobile equipment identity number appears. Then check the 7th and 8th numbers:

|----------- --+--+--+ --+--+--+ --+----+- ---+--+-- -+---+--- +---+---+ ---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |?? 7 ?? | ?? 8 ?? | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

|----------- --+--+--+ --+--+--+ --+----+- ---+--+-- -+---+--- +---+---+ ---|

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 0 , 2 or 2 , 0 this means your cell phone was assembled in Emirates which is very Bad quality.

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 0 , 8 or 8 , 0 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Germany which is fair quality.

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 0, 1 or 1, 0 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Finland which is very Good.

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 0 , 0 this means your cell phone was manufactured in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality.

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits are 1 , 3 this means your cell phone was assembled in Azerbaijan which is very Bad quality and also dangerous for your health.

Unusual Animal Racing Event

2008-01-17T10:47:00.000+03:00

The Hamura zoo in Tokyo conducted an unusual animal race to celebrate the start of the year of the Rat. Hundreds of people gathered to watch this unusual rat race, most of them were kids. The title of the race was “Speediest rodent in Japan”

The box had 12 lanes with hurdles, where selected group of 12 house rats competed. The race began once the zoo keeper raised the partition. The fun part was that the rats never stopped racing it turned around in front of the goal line and ran back to the starting point.

Tremendous weather change in the Middle East

2008-01-16T11:54:00.000+03:00

It’s been snowing and raining heavily in uncommon areas... Middle East is known for its high temperature in summers and mild temperatures in the winters and rain.. its something that people crave of..

The people of Baghdad thought they have seen it all… What was unexpected is a snowfall… For the first time in memory, snow fell across Baghdad. It created a wonderful delight in the hearts of the people. A snowfall is something new to their place and they have only seen in movies. Snow is common in the mountainous Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, but residents of the capital and surrounding areas could remember just hail. And that, only very occasionally. They say it’s the first time in 100 years

Snowfall in Saudi Arabia... Unlike the snow flakes which quickly melted in Baghdad, the northern parts of Saudi are covered in snow. Some regions have been experiencing problems with water supplies as pipes have frozen, and livestock has died from the cold. They say it’s the coldest in 20yrs.

Heavy rain floods in UAE... Constant heavy rain has resulted in flood in many areas. Schools have closed.

Strong Chilling winds in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Any more weather surprises? lets wait and see ..

Phobias

2008-01-15T19:39:00.000+03:00

Phobia is an intense fear of something or anything which creates anxiety or panic.. I hate spiders... To be honest, I am scared of spiders.. and it is called Arachnophobia.. Heard of it?

I am listing down some uncommon, interesting, strange phobias you might have not heard of... and there are lot, many who suffer...

1. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – Fear of long words.

2. Pentheraphobia – The fear of mother in law.

3. Ablutophobia – The fear of bathing.

4. Eisoptrophobia – The fear of seeing oneself in mirror.

5. Cacophobia – Fear of ugliness.

6. Domatophobia – Fear of being stuck in a house.

7. Politicophobia – Fear of politicians.

8. Arrhenphobia – Fear of men.

9. Gynophobia – Fear of women.

10. Peladophobia – The fear of turning bald or a fear aroused when around bald people.

Analyse your handwriting…

2008-01-14T10:42:00.000+03:00

Many say that one could learn how a person would think, behave or react by analyzing their handwriting… And you can do this too… How? The answer is simple... I found this site where a small test reveals your personality... You can then analyse your friend’s or anyone’s handwriting…The site also advise the type of pen which suits your style... Visit the link below... the answer awaits you

Result of my test...
Extrovert, Trustworthy, Great inner strength, Work well with others and use a ball point pen... It’s true... I feel comfortable writing with a ball point pen.

Enjoy analysing !!!

Click here to analyse your handwriting..

Lion roars "Allah"

2008-01-13T08:51:00.000+03:00

Can animals talk? This lion can roar "Allah".. Turn up your speakers and listen closely.. You could actually hear the lion roar Allah..

18 Stunning Bridges From Around The World

2008-01-11T11:32:00.000+03:00

Check out these amazing feats of engineering..

The image below is just a screen shot, Click on the link below and enjoy the architecture..

Click here to view..

Picture of an astronaut walking in space.

2008-01-10T10:59:00.000+03:00

Have you seen an astronaut walking in space? Well, its not something you see everyday down the street. Take a look at it. At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II was further out than anyone had ever been before.

Just in case you are still wondering what you are looking at.. The Blue color is our Earth and the white little spot is the astronaut.

Click here to see a full resolution image

Cheapest car on Earth made by Tata motors - The Nano

2008-01-10T08:32:00.000+03:00

The $2,500 car or call it TATA Nano-Rs 1 Lac car is scheduled for introduction by the Indian company Tata, swims against the current, with a rear-mounted engine, a trunk that fits little more than a briefcase, and plastics and adhesives replacing metal and bolts in certain nooks. The handful of people who have seen the car describe a tiny, charming, four-door, five-seat hatchback shaped like a jellybean, tiny in the front and broad in the back, the better to reduce wind resistance and permit a cheaper engine. The model appearing for introductioon has no radio, no power steering, no power windows, no air conditioning, and one windshield wiper instead of two. The car lacks a tachometer and uses an analog rather than digital speedometer. The car is light weight and is made environmentally friendly.

Forehead lines - What do they tell us??

2008-01-08T11:15:00.000+03:00

It is said that people with high, even forehead is said to have a good life and black shades or creases on forehead represents obstacles at work.

Now lets get on with our forehead line theory.

If you have...

--- 1(One)horizontal line on your forehead it means that you like to live alone and mostly are very educated people.

--- 2(Two)horizontal lines on your forehead it means that you are a very lucky person.

--- 3(Three)horizontal lines on your forehead means that one will be following his father's footsteps

--- 1(One)short vertical line one your forehead means that you are a person with a strong willpower and once a decision is made you will see that it is fulfilled. They will also face tough times but will get through it.

--- 1(One)long vertical line one your forehead means that you are a very lucky person and would have a good life.

--- 2(Two)vertical lines on your forehead means you are a very honest person and will be liked by everyone in the society.

--- 3(Three)vertical lines on your forehead means longevity.

--- Lots of criss-crosses, asterix on your forehead means that you are unlucky and will have to face a lot of accidents and bad times in life.

*Author's Note* - To Believe or not to believe is upto you. My advice - Don't get tensed by wondering what the line(s) of your forehead say.

World's Highest Fountain

2008-01-08T09:48:00.000+03:00

The highest fountain of the world is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Jeddah Fountain, also known as King Fahd's Fountain is one of the most striking landmarks of the city of Jeddah. It measures a staggering 312 meters. It is powered by two 3.5MW multistage centrifugal pumps, which deliver 1,250 litres per second. The water leaves the 126 mm nozzles at 42 bar (609.16 PSI) and at the incredible speed of 375 km/h.

Click here for an aerial view of the fountain

The Tree of Life

2008-01-08T09:31:00.000+03:00

Tree of life is nothing new to the people of Bahrain. This tree is considered as a natural wonder. Its a 400-year old mesquite tree which stands alone in the desert about 1.2 miles (two kilometers) from the Jebel Dukhan. The source of water for this tree still remains a mystery, because it stands in a place completely free of water whatsoever .

For those of who doesn't know where Bahrain is.. Here is some information about the Kingdom of Bahrain . Bahrain is an island country in the Persian Gulf and is the smallest Arab state. Its so small that its hard to spot on maps. Bahrain has been inhabited since ancient times and has even been proposed as the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden (Garden of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis {Bible} as being the place where the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, lived after they were created by God).

Centre of the Bible

2008-01-04T13:39:00.000+03:00

Got few questions for you

What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 117

What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 119

Which chapter is in the centre of the Bible?
Psalm 118

There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after Psalm 118 and when you add up you get 1188

What is the centre verse of the Bible?
Psalm 118:8

Does this verse say something significant about god's perfect will for our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find god's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the centre of his will, just send them to the centre of this word.

What does 118:8 say?
"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."

However there are many who say this is not true and Psalm 117 is the shortest Psalm. It has only two verses, and therefore no "center" verse. You can read their explanation by clicking this link

Mobile Tips..

2008-01-04T12:35:00.000+03:00

*Author's Note*: Maybe you have already heard about this.. Don't know if this is of some use or not.. Why dont you try it out and let me know Don't know what sort of mobile model would do this trick..Be careful

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it: -

TIP No.1---

* The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112.* If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. **Try it out.**

TIP No.2---

* Subject: Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote
keys?*

This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:

If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone.

Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away,and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

TIP No.3---

Subject: Hidden Battery power

Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger. Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

TIP No.4---

How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone:

* # 0 6 #

A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. when your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code.They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.

You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

World's smallest toilet

2008-01-01T10:56:00.001+03:00

This photo seems to be like a toilet won the Most Bizarre award at The 49th International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photo Beam Technology and Nanofabrication Bizarre/Beautiful Micrograph competition. Takahashi Kaito took this SEM, a Scanning Electron Micrograph, of integrated circuit fabrication at 15,000X magnification using an electron microscope, while on the job at SII Nanotechnology Inc, Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan.

Huge Asteroid Headed for Earth

2008-01-01T10:52:00.001+03:00

SCIENTISTS have identified an asteroid that has a faint chance of ploughing into the Earth, leaving a two-kilometre-wide crater and wiping out life for 6000 square kilometres.The asteroid measures 130 metres across and is travelling at 70,000 km/h. It would cause huge devastation if it hit the planet.Called 2007 VK184, the space rock is 90 million kilometres from Earth and could hit in 2048. It has earned a rare hazard rating of "one" on the Torino scale, the international barometer of space object impact risk.But while asteroid experts last week warned of the tremendous damage such a collision would cause, they were hopeful the risk of impact would diminish as more was discovered about VK184's path."The chances are that the probability (of an impact) will come back down to close to zero," said astronomer Gordon Garradd, who has identified numerous asteroids and works at the Siding Springs telescope in Coonabarabran, 450 kilometres north-west of Sydney.He said VK184 had been observed for only 35 days and, given its distance from Earth and the long time until a possible impact, more readings were necessary to determine if a collision was a possibility.NASA's Near Earth Object Program website says VK184 is travelling at 19 kilometres a second. It has a 1-in-3030 chance of hitting the planet in 2048.The object's Torino scale rating of one (out of a possible 10) signifies it has a tiny chance of collision with Earth and that there is no cause for public concern. Every other known object that will approach Earth this century has a zero rating.If the object struck Earth it would be up to three times worse than the asteroid that hit Russia in 1908.

FunMiniGames

2008-01-01T10:48:00.001+03:00

This is a great site if you are interested Flash Games, Videos and Game Downloads. This site its new and be sure to bookmark it because it will bloom more in the future.

Click here to go to the site

The Evolution of Mario

2008-01-01T10:44:00.001+03:00

Its not just people change as years pass by.. even the animated characters too .. Take a look at how Mario has changed over the years.

Portrait of World's Most Influential People

2008-01-01T10:39:00.001+03:00

Wow!! Portrait showing world's most influential people together. This is beautiful. I recommend everyone to see this.

Click here to see the portait

World's Oldest Orangutan Dies at Age 55

2008-01-01T10:36:00.001+03:00

A 55-year-old Sumatran orangutan, believed to be the world's oldest, has died, a Miami zoo spokesman said.

Nonja, who was born on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and lived in Miami since 1983, was found dead Saturday morning, said Ron Magill, spokesman for the Miami Metro Zoo.

"Everybody's very sad, especially with an animal like an orangutan," Magill said. "You see a lot of yourself in these animals. The great apes are our closest relatives."

A necropsy is to be performed in the next few days. A typical life span for Sumatran orangutans is 40 to 50 years, Magill said.

Nonja had slowed down in recent years because of her age, Mcgill said. "She was really a grand old dame," Magill said.

Can You Recognize a Terrorist?

2008-01-01T10:31:00.001+03:00

hmmm... Its hard.. Can you??

Ghost caught Crying

2008-01-01T10:17:00.001+03:00

This is a video of a ghost caught crying or so we thought.

120,000 penguins

2008-01-01T10:11:00.001+03:00

Have you seen 120,000 penguins together..?? Well this is the place.. Click on the link to see it

Click here to see it

Baby Gives The Evil Eye

2008-01-01T10:09:00.001+03:00

A cute little baby enjoying an ice cream cone can give the evil eye on command, which is hilarious!

Bhima's son Gadotkach like skeleton found - Real or Not?

2007-12-30T13:59:00.001+03:00

Recent exploration activity 1n the northern region of India uncovered a skeletal remains of a human of phenomenal size. This region of the indian desert is called the Empty Quarter.

See the photo and note the size of the two men standing in the picture in comparison to the size of the skeleton!!

A very small article on this was published in Times Of India- Mumbai edition on 22-Apr-2004.

The discovey was made by National Geographic Team (India Division) the support from the indian Army since the area comes under the jurisdiction of the Army.

The exploration team also found tablets vdth inscriptions that stated that our Gods of Indian mythologicalyore, Brahma", had created people of phenomenal size the like of which He has not created since. They were very tall, big, and very powedul, such that they could put their arms around a tree trunk and uproot it.
They were created to bring order among us since we were always fighting with each other. One of he sons of Bhima of the Pandava brothers is also thought of to have been carrying these genes. Later these people, who were given all the power turned against all our Gods and transgressed beyond all boundaries set. As a result they were destroyed by God Shiva.

The Geo Exploration team believes these to be the remains of those people.

Govt of India has secured the whole area and no one is, allowed to enter except the NatGeo personnel.

On September 16, 2000, Steve Westin of our staff was a guest at the site outside Hyde Park, New York, where the Paleontological Research Institution and the Cornell Department of Geological Sciences are excavating the skeleton of a mastodon.

The image first surfaced in October 2002 as an entry in a Photoshop contest run by Worth1000.com. It was created by altering an actual photo of a Cornell University excavation of a mastodon skeleton.

Science vs. Faith flowchart

2007-12-29T20:41:00.001+03:00

This is so very true.

Click to see the flowchart

Scientists: Time Itself May Be Slowing Down

2007-12-29T16:10:00.001+03:00

For a decade, scientists have puzzled over a surprising phenomenon: Supernovae stars viewed at extreme distances seem to be moving away from us faster than those nearby.

Most researchers have assumed that the stars have somehow accelerated – or that, more precisely, the rate of the expansion of the post-Big Bang universe itself has accelerated over time.

This was particularly odd given that the universe was thought to be dominated by matter, which should, through the aggregate gravitational effect of each bit pulling on the others, have led to a deaccelerating expansion, rather than the opposite. Thus, scientists have postulated an unknown kind of energy, now known as "dark energy," which would be responsible for the acceleration.

But hold on just a minute.

A group of scientists from the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, and Spain's University of Salamanca have offered a different idea. Maybe it's the passage of time itself that's slowing down, they say. The distant galaxies only look like they're accelerating because our deep-space telescopes are essentially looking back in time to see them, to when time was going faster.

The theory, outlined in the New Scientist and the UK Telegraph, and in a paper published in Physical Review D, is based on a complex bit of string theory that remains entirely speculative today. Under this theory, our entire universe is embedded in a multidimensional "brane," which itself is floating through a higher dimensional space that we can't detect.

Naturally, the theory has a few chilling conclusions. If time is slowing, it could – in billions of years – actually come to a complete halt, University of the Basque Country professor José Senovilla told New Scientist.

Would that mean everything freezes in place forever? Apparently. Does forever mean anything if time itself has literally stopped? Pass...

In short, a brain twister. Of course, there's a catch, which Senovilla says his group hasn't yet considered. Another group of physicists has postulated that there may actually be two dimensions of time, rather than just one we all know and fear. Which would explain where all that lost time goes, I suppose.

The Mind-Warping Artwork of French Designer Christophe Huet

2007-12-29T15:45:00.003+03:00

I’ve been clicking around Christophe Huet’s mesmerizing and inspirational webpages full of Photoshop creations and ads, including a great “Making of” section that goes through the many layers and process of each creation. Check out his webpage, turn up the sound for the soothing piano music and click through his “making of” section!

Check out his works

Scientist of the Year: David Charbonneau

2007-12-29T15:45:00.001+03:00

His research heats up the search for alien life—and finds some amazing planets along the way.

Read more about him and his research

Earth-Asteroid Collision Formed Moon Later Than Thought

2007-12-29T15:44:00.003+03:00

The moon was formed from fragments of Earth after a collision with a giant asteroid relatively late in our planet's formation, new tests of moon rocks show.

The finding upends many of the prior theories for how the moon came to be, researchers say.

Scientists have long believed that the moon was formed by a collision between our planet and a Mars-size object.

Computer models have shown that in this scenario 80 percent of the moon's material should have come from the asteroid, with only 20 percent from Earth.

But the new study of moon rocks collected three decades ago by Apollo astronauts, however, found that Earth and the rocks were too similar for that to be the case.

Earthly Material

The most likely explanation is that the moon was formed primarily of Earthly material, the authors say.

Lead author Mathieu Touboul of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich said there is another theory that may explain its formation.

"Alternatively, the material from which the moon eventually formed was a magma disk, connected to the Earth by a common atmosphere," he said in a statement.

Material from Earth and the nascent moon could then be exchanged via a shared metal-vapor atmosphere.

By the time the two worlds had settled back down and begun drifting apart, their compositions would have been virtually identical.

"New simulations of such a process have recently shown that such exchange is possible," Touboul said.

The study will appear tomorrow in the journal Nature.

Young Moon

The study also found that the moon is younger than previously believed.

Prior studies had found that it formed when Earth was about 30 million years old. But now it appears that the impact occurred 30 million years after that.

"And it could have [been] as late as 140 million years after the solar system began to condense," said Alan Brandon of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Brandon's commentary on the new study also appears in tomorrow's Nature.

Elemental "Clock"

The key to the new study was a new method for looking at trace isotopes in moon rocks, particularly of the element tungsten-182.

Tungsten-182 is formed by the radioactive decay of halfnium-182, which has a half-life of nine million years.

By comparing the abundance of tungsten-182 to that of another isotope, tungsten-184—which is not formed from halfnium—it's possible to determine how old rocks were when the magma that formed them solidified.

"This nice thing is that, [geologically speaking], this radio-isotopic clock is very short-lived," Brandon said. That makes it extremely useful for dating events early in the life of the solar system.

This "clock," though well-known, had been difficult to use for the moon. That's because the rocks collected by Apollo astronauts had been sitting on the lunar surface for billions of years.

"During that whole time, they've been bombarded with cosmic rays," Brandon said. "Cosmic rays will hit an atom and change it.

"If you don't correct for that you get the wrong radiometric [date] on your clock," Brandon said.

The new study gets around the problem by using tiny fragments of metal contained in the rocks.

Long-lived Magma

Yet another surprise was that the moon's early ocean doesn't appear to have solidified until about 120 million years after the beginning of the solar system. (Explore an interactive solar system.)

That's 60 million years after the most likely date for the creation of the moon.

"That means that the moon stayed molten for quite a while," Brandon said.

He noted that computer models had suggested the magma should solidify much more quickly.

Brandon was involved in another study published in Nature earlier this year on Martian meteorites that suggested the red planet had magma oceans that were also slow to solidify.

Scientists aren't sure if the same thing happened on Earth, Brandon said.

However, "We're seeing magma oceans that last a lot longer [than previously believed] on all planets, and it bodes interesting things for Earth." This content is written by Richard A. Lovett

The 15 Richest Fictional Characters

2007-12-29T15:44:00.001+03:00

#1 Scrooge McDuck
Net Worth: $28.8 billion

#2 Ming The Merciless
Net Worth: $20.9 billion

#3 Richie Rich
Net Worth: $16.1 billion

#4 Mom
Net Worth: $15.7 billion

#5 Jed Clampett
Net Worth: $11.0 billion

#6 C. Montgomery Burns
Net Worth: $8.4 billion

#7 Carter Pewterschmidt
Net Worth: $7.2 billion

#8 Bruce Wayne
Net Worth: $7.0 billion

#9 Thurston Howell III
Net Worth: $6.3 billion

#10 Tony Stark
Net Worth: $6.0 billion

#11 Fake Steve Jobs
Net Worth: $5.7 billion

#12 Gomez Addams
Net Worth: $2.0 billion

#13 Willy Wonka
Net Worth: $1.9 billion

#14 Lucius Malfoy
Net Worth: $1.6 billion

#15 Princess Peach
Net Worth: $1.3 billion

Egypt's Impressive Pyramids -- From the Ground, Air, & Space

2007-12-29T15:43:00.001+03:00

This is cool..

Click here to view the images

5,000-Pound Devil Fish Is Caught

2007-12-28T10:17:00.003+03:00

5000 pound Manta devil fish killed with high powered rifle by coast guardafter fish became entangled in anchor of fishing boat.

World’s Biggest Building Coming to Moscow: Crystal Island

2007-12-28T10:17:00.001+03:00

Moscow’s rapidly growing skyline will soon feature an eye-popping new addition: Crystal Island, which will be the world’s biggest building when completed. Sir Norman Foster’s mountainous 27 million square feet spiraling “city within a building” will cost $4 billion and it is scheduled to be built within next 5 years.

The Crystal Island will be Lord Foster’s second large scale project in the Russian capital, and his third new building design that resembles a volcano (we’re talking about his two mountainous buildings in Astana, Kazakstan). Although many people are calling this design the ‘Christmas Tree’ of Moscow - we can’t help but be reminded of the utopian and also rather volcanic X-Seed 4000 design for Tokyo. Unlike that pipe-dream project, however, Foster has a track record of getting buildings built, so the likelihood is high that we will see this striking structure towering over the Kremlin within 5 years time.

The statistics for the project are absolutely staggering; floor area alone will be four times the size of Pentagon in Washington DC. The incredible 1500 ft. tall multi use structure will feature 900 apartments, 3000 hotel rooms, an international school for 500 students, cinemas, a theater, sports complex and much more. There will also be a 16,500 space underground parking lot for all the visitors. The Crystal Island visitors will be able to enjoy panoramic views of Moscow on the viewing platforms located 980 ft. above ground.

And as we’d expect from Foster + Partners, this soon-to-be world’s biggest building will also incorporate a number of sustainable design features into the overall scheme. The exterior facade will be solar responsive and will include solar panels which, along with wind turbines, will generate electricity for the huge tower. Natural ventilation will be provided thanks to numerous strategically placed large atriums. The internal environment will also have dynamic enclosure panels slotted into the structural framing that will allow daylight to penetrate deep into the heart of the structure; the panels will also be controlled to modify temperature inside the building – closed in winter for extra warmth and opened in summer to allow natural ventilation. Energy management is at the heart of this structure, several on-site renewable and low-carbon energy generation projects are planned.This content is written by Norman Foster

Ancient pyramid found in central Mexico City

2007-12-28T10:16:00.005+03:00

Archeologists have discovered the ruins of an 800-year-old Aztec pyramid in the heart of the Mexican capital that could show the ancient city is at least a century older than previously thought.

Click here to view images and video

Time Magazine: An Asteroid Hurtles Toward Mars

2007-12-28T10:16:00.003+03:00

Astronomers have good news, better news and some bad news about an asteroid known as 2007 WD5. The good news is that this 164-ft.-wide chunk of speeding space rock, discovered in November in an ongoing search for potential threats to Earth, won't hit our planet any time in the foreseeable future. The better news — for eager space-watchers — is that the asteroid, currently about halfway between Earth and Mars, has a plausible chance of hitting the Red Planet at the end of January. If it does, astronomers will be treated to an unprecedented sight.

The event itself, however, will have plenty of precedent. The craters that pock the surface of Mars, the Moon, Mercury and other Solar System bodies come from about four billion years' worth of this sort of thing. Earth has had plenty of collisions too; it's just that erosion, continental drift and vegetation have erased or hidden most of them. Not all, though: Meteor Crater, in Arizona, was blasted out some 50,000 years ago by an asteroid about the same size as 2007 WD5. A much bigger object, a few miles across, is thought by many scientists to be the reason the dinosaurs died out some 65 million years ago.

If 2007 WD5 does smack into Mars, every telescope on Earth will be pointed in that direction — just as they were in 1994 when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter. In that case, the comet broke up while it was still in orbit, so astronomers watched nearly two dozen individual impacts. But Jupiter is made mostly of thick clouds, so there was no lasting scar, and because it lies so far from Earth, the event wasn't quite as spectacular as this one promises to be. Asteroid 2007 WD5 should release some 3 megatons of energy if it slams into solid ground near Mars' equator, and orbiting satellites will show the aftermath with crystal clarity.

Finally, the bad news: 2007 WD5 has only a 1-in-75 chance of actually hitting Mars, which means astronomers would be wise to be pessimistic. But the possibility of impact calls to mind a loosely related incident that occurred almost exactly 100 years ago, when something exploded above the Tunguska region of Siberia, flattening trees in a 25-mile radius, their trunks pointing outward from the epicenter of the blast. Scientists are pretty sure it was a comet or asteroid — about the same size as 2007 WD5, as it happens — that disintegrated from its own shock wave as it plowed through the atmosphere. (UFO enthusiasts have long been convinced it was a flying saucer that somehow made it across trillions of miles of interstellar space safely, only to blow up above Russia.) The scientific explanation would account for the aerial explosion, and also the fact that no crater has been found.

Except that now maybe it has. An Italian team has measured seismic waves reflecting off a high-density spot in the bottom of the suspiciously crater-shaped Lake Cheko, which lies close to the event's ground zero. It could be a piece of the original object — and finding it could help investigators understand exactly what happened a century ago.

If they find a burned-out flying-saucer engine, all bets are off.This content is written by MICHAEL D. LEMONICK

In Orkut nothing is hidden !!

2007-12-28T10:16:00.001+03:00

In Orkut (2nd most popular Social Network website) locked album and locked scrapbook can be accessible by any people by using free script. Every time Orkut team correct the code, new updated java script code is available on internet to hack it again.

Professor tries to solve mystery behind Star of Bethlehem

2007-12-28T10:15:00.005+03:00

For nearly 2,000 years, it's been the one puzzle astronomers haven't been able to fully solve. But now, one Notre Dame professor thinks he may have discovered the origin of the star of Bethlehem.

Look at an artist's rendering of Jesus' birth and you can always find it.

Listen to songs like "We Three Kings" and it's clear.

The star of Bethlehem plays a pivotal role in the Christmas story.

Still, it's role in the Bible is fairly small. In fact, there's only one reference — in the Gospel of Matthew. "Where is he born the King of the Jews?" it reads. "For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."

But did that star really exist? If so, where was it? What was it? Why was it so bright?

They are questions Notre Dame Astrophysicist Dr. Grant Mathews began to ask about three years ago. And what he found took him by surprise.

"The standard viewpoint over the years is that it's a massing of planets, or what we call planetary conjunction, when planets move past each other," he said.

But here's the curious thing:

Mathews says this conjunction wasn't just a few planets.

"Basically every known planet at the time was amassed all at once," he said.

And it wasn't anything astronomers had recorded before.

"To have all of them line up like that at once was a very rare event," Mathews said.

On April 17, 6 B.C., Jupiter, Saturn, the sun, and the moon all aligned in the constellation Aries. Venus and Mars lined up in neighboring constellations.

Dr. Mathews says, for the so called "wise men" this would have had great significance.

"That would have signaled to the Magi that there was newborn leader with a special destiny — a very powerful leader that was going to appear in Jerusalem," he said.

But Mathews wasn't convinced the planets fully explained that bright light in the East referenced in the Gospel of Matthew. So he went "back in time" to see if something else might have been there too.

He found two likely candidates. The first, is a nova — a combination of two stars that shines thousands of times brighter than a normal star.

The second is a supernova — a single star 10-20 times the size of our sun that collapses in a massive nuclear explosion. Supernovas can create light up to 100 million times as bright as a normal star.

"It is as bright as this entire galaxy of stars," Mathews said, pointing to a picture from NASA's Hubble Telescope.

Using other Hubble images, pictures from the Chandra X-Ray Observer Satellite, and ancient Chinese astronomy charts, Mathews scanned the skies and was astonished.

"Sure enough, in the archives, there is a supernova in Aquilla — the constellation they saw. And it's about 2,000 years old," he said.

It's called Kestovan 75, and it appeared about the same time as the planetary alignment 4 to 6 B.C.

But is that close enough to Jesus' birth?

Some Biblical scholars say it's possible. Records of the birth aren't completely accurate. And for that matter, neither is the determined age of the star.

And that's not enough to prove the star's existence to everyone.

"It's a really neat coincidence, but I don't know if it adds any weight to the Christmas story," said one South Bend resident.

"It neither proves nor disproves, because a faith story needs no proof," said another.

Still, for some it's a reinforcing message of the reason for the season.

"I think that's pretty much a miracle," said a man from South Bend.

"I'll still believe what I've always believed," said a woman from Niles.

For Mathews, there may never be a certain answer. But he's convinced this may be the brightest light shined yet on a Christmas mystery now centuries in the making.

The ages of those potential stars can only be accurately placed within about 100 years. But Dr. Mathews hopes new technology will be able to narrow the mystery down even further.

He's working on a book about his research and hopes to have it published by next year.This content is written by Troy Kehoe.

Earth-Sized Star Triggers Lots and Lots of Hot Colorful Gas!

2007-12-28T10:15:00.003+03:00

Two NASA Great Observatories -- Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope -- teamed up for this spectacular, whoppingly huge photo of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293). And it's a beauty! The Earth-sized star (white dot in the center of the image) resides in the constellation Aquarius, a mere 650 light-years from Earth.

Super-size snow sculpture

2007-12-28T10:15:00.001+03:00

Artists in China carve a giant sculpture out of snow.

Using 30,000 cubic metres of snow, artists chiselled and carved it into a 35 metre tall and 162 metre wide sculpture, making it the largest of its kind.

The giant creation called Romantic Feelings shows a lady holding a glass of champagne in one hand and roses in the other.

The sculpture is part of an annual exhibition that showcases snow sculptures in Harbin, China.

Watch the video

God's smile

2007-12-28T09:41:00.001+03:00

Its a beautiful picture

Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007

2007-12-28T09:40:00.001+03:00

Unlike 2006, there were no high-profile cases of scientific fraud -- none that went uncovered, anyway. Journal publishers took extra care, requiring scientists to duplicate results in an effort to avoid scientific, not to mention public relations, fiascoes..

10. Transistors Get Way Smaller
9. Scientists Clone Rhesus Monkey to Produce Stem Cells
8. Planet Discovered That Could Harbor Life
7. Engineers Create Transparent Material as Strong as Steel
6. Soft Tissue from T. Rex Leg Bone Analyzed
5. Laboratory Mice Cured of Rett Syndrome
4. Enzymes Convert Any Blood Type to O
3. Mummified Dinosaur Excavated and Scanned
2. Chimpanzees Make Spears for Hunting
1. Researchers Turn Skin Cells to Stem Cells

The Image That You See Here Is Not a Photograph

2007-12-28T09:39:00.001+03:00

This is not a photograph. Its a Painting of Tica by Dru Blair. Isn't it unbelievable??? Click on the picture to see the larger view.

The coolest animated .GIF tiled background perhaps ever

2007-12-27T21:28:00.001+03:00

Check it out

Watch it

Huge Man and Tiny woman

2007-12-27T21:11:00.001+03:00

Al Tomaini’s height was 2 meters and 55cm. He born on 1912 and he died on 1962 and he had 162 kg weight. He has spent all his life in a circus.
When he was at a show in Chicago in year 1936, he met with a girl named Jeanie, and she was only 76 cm. He fell in love with her and they got married. Til the end of their lives they lived in happiness.

Pakistan' Benazir Bhutto killed by suicide bomber

2007-12-27T18:15:00.001+03:00

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack.

Ms Bhutto - the first woman PM in an Islamic state - was leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi when a gunman shot her in the neck and set off a bomb.

At least 20 other people died in the attack and several more were injured.

President Pervez Musharraf has urged people to remain calm but angry protests have gripped some cities, with at least 11 deaths reported.

Security forces have been placed on a state of "red alert" nationwide.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack. Analysts believe Islamist militants to be the most likely group behind it.

Egypt seeks to copyright The Pyramids

2007-12-27T17:27:00.007+03:00

Cairo - In a potential blow to themed resorts from Vegas to Tokyo, Egypt is to pass a law requiring payment of royalties whenever its ancient monuments, from the pyramids to the sphinx, are reproduced.

Zahi Hawass, the charismatic and controversial head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told AFP on Tuesday that the move was necessary to pay for the upkeep of the country's thousands of pharaonic sites.

"The new law will completely prohibit the duplication of historic Egyptian monuments which the Supreme Council of Antiquities considers 100-percent copies," he said.

"If the law is passed then it will be applied in all countries of the world so that we can protect our interests," Hawass said.

He said that a ministerial committee had already agreed on the law which should be passed in the next parliamentary session, while insisting the move would not hurt Egyptian artisans.

"It is Egypt's right to be the only copyright owner for these monuments in order to benefit financially so we can restore, preserve and protect Egyptian monuments."

However, the law "does not forbid local or international artists from profiting from drawings and other reproductions of pharaonic and Egyptian monuments from all eras - as long as they don't make exact copies."

"Artists have the right to be inspired by everything that surrounds them, including monuments," he said.

Asked about the potential impact on the monumental Luxor Hotel in the US gambling capital of Las Vegas, Hawass insisted that particular resort was "not an exact copy of pharaonic monuments despite the fact it's in the shape of a pyramid."

On its website, the luxury hotel describes itself as "the only pyramid shaped building in the world," but Hawass said its interior was entirely different from an ancient Egyptian setting.

Hawass's declarations came after the opposition daily Al-Wafd published an article on Sunday called for the Las Vegas hotel to pay a slice of its lodging and gambling profits to the city of Luxor.

"Thirty-five million tourists visit Las Vegas to see the reproduction of Luxor city while only six million visit the real Egyptian city of Luxor," the paper lamented.

Samir Farag, head of Luxor town council in southern Egypt, home to the legendary Valley of the Kings, said that it would be difficult to prohibit use of pyramid shapes.

"We can't forbid people from using the name of Luxor and copying monuments from (Luxor) city, which is the world's richest city for monuments," he said, adding that "tourists going to Las Vegas doesn't affect our city's business".

Christmas, then and now (comic)

2007-12-27T17:27:00.005+03:00

This is funny..

Chat with Encarta robot

2007-12-27T17:27:00.003+03:00

I’m convinced that you know Encarta encyclopedia. But do you know its robot? It can talk to you if you are feeling alone; it will tell you anything you need to know about almost anything. The only software you need to talk with Encarta Bot is Windows Live Messenger (former MSN Messenger).

Check link

Website Traffic Estimater

2007-12-27T17:27:00.001+03:00

How much traffic do those websites get? Use the Traffic Estimate tool to find out approximately how much traffic a website gets by entering the URL of the web site below.

Check traffic

Largest Diamond Found in Space

2007-12-27T17:26:00.007+03:00

10 Billion Trillion Trillion Carats!
Astronomers discovered the largest diamond of all times in space. The weight of the precious stone reportedly makes up ten billion trillion trillion carats or five million trillion trillion pounds).

The space diamond is virtually an enormous chunk of crystallized carbon, 4,000 kilometers in diameter. The stone is located at a distance of 50 light years from Earth, in the Constellation Centaurus.

Scientists believe that the diamond is the heart of an extinct star that used to shine like the Sun. Astronomers have already dubbed the space diamond as Lucy in a tribute to the Beatles song ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.’

"You would need a jeweler's loupe the size of the Sun to grade this diamond!" says astronomer Travis Metcalfe (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), who leads a team of researchers that discovered the giant gem.

The cosmic stone completely outclasses all diamonds that have ever been found on Earth. The largest diamond weighing 546 carats was found in South African Republic. The diamond, The Star of Africa, resides in the Crown Jewels of England. The Star of Africa was cut from the largest diamond ever found on Earth, a 3,100-carat gem.

Lucy, also known as BPM 37093, is actually a crystallized white dwarf. A white dwarf is the hot core of a star, left over after the star uses up its nuclear fuel and dies. It is made mostly of carbon and is coated by a thin layer of hydrogen and helium gases.

The white dwarf is not only radiant but also harmonious. It rings like a gigantic gong, undergoing constant pulsations. "By measuring those pulsations, we were able to study the hidden interior of the white dwarf, just like seismograph measurements of earthquakes allow geologists to study the interior of the Earth. We figured out that the carbon interior of this white dwarf has solidified to form the galaxy's largest diamond," says Metcalfe.

Astronomers say that our Sun will die in five billion years and become a white dwarf too. About two billion years after it will turn into a similar diamond that will continue to sparkle in the center of the solar system forever. Source: Pravda.Ru

Gazelle Outsmarts a Cheetah and Hyena

2007-12-27T17:26:00.005+03:00

Well, If you didn't know a gazelle is way smarter than a cheetah and hyena

Watch the video

Find out what happened the day/month/year you were born

2007-12-27T17:26:00.003+03:00

Just enter any date and see what events took place.....

Click here to find out

How much is a Million,Billion,Trillion?

2007-12-27T17:26:00.001+03:00

What's the difference between a million, a billion, a trillion?

A million seconds is 13 days.
A billion seconds is 31 years.
A trillion seconds is 31,688 years.

A million minutes ago was – 1 year, 329 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes ago.
A billion minutes ago was just after the time of Christ.

A million hours ago was in 1885.
A billion hours ago man had not yet walked on earth.

A million dollars ago was five (5) seconds ago at the U.S. Treasury.
A billion dollars ago was late yesterday afternoon at the U.S. Treasury.

A trillion dollars is so large a number that only politicians
can use the term in conversation... probably because they
seldom think about what they are really saying. I've read that
mathematicians do not even use the term trillion!
Here is some perspective on TRILLION:

Trillion = 1,000,000,000,000.
The country has not existed for a trillion seconds.
Western civilization has not been around a trillion seconds.
One trillion seconds ago – 31,688 years – Neanderthals stalked the plains of Europe.

Million: 1,000,000
Billion: 1,000,000,000
Trillion: 1,000,000,000,000
Quintillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
Sextillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Nonillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Centillion: 1 followed by 303 zeros

Pepsi VS Cola Commercial

2007-12-27T17:25:00.005+03:00

First commercial by Coca-Cola was made in 1980 with Mean Joe Green. Second one is the parody made by Pepsi with David Beckham.

Watch Video

Do you think like an, Artist or a Scientist ?

2007-12-27T17:25:00.003+03:00

We will tell you in 5 clicks......

Click here

Ghost Haunts Kids' Playground

2007-12-27T17:25:00.001+03:00

A ‘HAUNTED’ playground swing that rocks backwards and forwards on its own for days has scientists baffled. Parents and children are convinced a ghost is to blame.

They were so spooked they reported the swing to cops after it began moving four months ago. The phenomenon flummoxed police, who called physics professors into Firmat, Argentina.

But so far the boffins have failed to find a logical explanation.

Locals claim the seat moves nonstop for TEN DAYS before stopping dead, while other swings remain still.

Teacher Maria de Silva Agustina said yesterday: “One child called it the Blair Witch Playground. We believe it is haunted.”

Click here to find out more!

Academics have now ruled out magnetic and electrical fields, and winds – and called in ghosthunters.

Watch video