Bringing you interesting and occasionally quirky news from the alternative media
Friday 28 November 2014
Video: Cutest lemurs in Brookfield Zoo chow down on Thanksgiving dinner
A whole bunch of ring-tailed lemurs in Brookfield Zoo got a treat this year with their own special Thanksgiving dinner.
The lemurs were given an early Thanksgiving dinner on November 26 at the Hamill Family Play Zoo. Their "turkey" was formed from browse biscuits and was served along with a sweet potato pie with biscuit crust and popcorn, tasty green beans and a sugar-free grape jelly with dried cranberries, all washed down with sugar-free grape juice. It looks like they had a great time!
World's Youngest Citizen Journalist Protests for Palestine (Video)
Wanting nothing more than a future for herself, her people and Palestine, eight-year-old Jana Tamimi has taken up a mobile phone to become what is possibly the youngest citizen journalist in the world.
Jana films the Israeli occupation forces in her village on the West Bank, joins in with protests against the occupation and wants to deliver a message to the world, using her videos which she uploads to YouTube. She hopes in this way to gain international support for the Palestinian struggle.... watch video below and read more hereThursday 27 November 2014
Monday 24 November 2014
Video: Truck torn apart by two trains in Kazakhstan
A truck driver was unsuccessfully attempting to stop his vehicle on the icy road, just before a rail crossing. The truck slid towards the crossing and was ripped apart by two trains, coming from opposite directions, killing the truck driver.
The horrific accident was caught on a CCTV camera, between the "Kondratovka" and "Petropavlovsk" stations on the South Urals Railway. Initially, the driver was able to avoid a major collision with the first cargo train. However, it hooked on to his truck and dragged it for several meters, turning the truck around and causing a head on collision with a passenger train coming from the other direction.
Both trains were partially derailed, including four empty freight cars on the cargo train, and three cars of the passenger train. The truck driver was the only casualty.
Friday 21 November 2014
Video: Whole load of luxury cars go up in smoke in Moscow
This has really got to hurt. In a scene appropriately dubbed by RT as "carnage," a parking garage, containing a bunch of luxury cars went up in flames early this morning.
The approximate worth of these beauties, which included Rolls Royces, Mercedes Benz and Bentleys, was $3.3 million and apparently they might all belong to the same person.
Thursday 20 November 2014
Wednesday 19 November 2014
Texting does crazy things to your spine
According to a new study, looking down at a cell phone is equivalent to placing a 60 pound weight on your neck. With the prevalence and addiction to texting growing, will we end up reverting in evolution, as shown in the above image?
The Atlantic compares sixty pounds to the weight of four, adult-sized bowling balls or an eight-year-old child. The new calculation that has been published in Surgical Technology International, showed the amount of sheer force exerted on the head of an adult, looking down at his or her phone.
According to Kenneth Hansraq, a back surgeon in New York, an average human head weighs around 10 to 12 pounds. Tilting that head down to send a text, or check your Facebook or Twitter accounts, increases the gravitational pull on the cranium. He writes, "As the head tilts forward the forces seen by the neck surges to 27 pounds at 15 degrees, 40 pounds at 30 degrees, 49 pounds at 45 degrees and 60 pounds at 60 degrees."
Apparently the average American spends around an hour on their smartphone each day, and that is probably the case pretty much all over the more technically advanced world. Sometimes worse in some countries like Spain (see below). According to Hansraq, unless people train themselves to stare ahead at their iPhone screen, they could be continually stressing the spine.
"These stresses," Hansraj writes, "may lead to early wear, tear, degeneration, and possibly surgeries."
This sort of thing is not unheard of in Europe, albeit affecting the wrists, rather than the spine. Back in July, a market research company, Ipsos MORI said that Spain was the leading tech-addicted country in Europe with the average Spaniard spending around eight hours per day on their iPhones.
The excessive use of texting in Spain actually led to the first case of what has been dubbed "WhatsAppitis." According to the report, a pregnant woman in Granada, Spain visited a hospital suffering from painful wrists after overusing the WhatsApp phone messaging service.
Fernandez-Guerrero continued, "The patient ... responded to messages that had been sent to her on her smartphone via WhatsApp instant messaging service. She held her mobile phone, that weighed 130g, for at least 6h. During this time she made continuous movements with both thumbs to send messages," adding, "The diagnosis for the bilateral wrist pain was ‘WhatsAppitis.’ The treatment consisted of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and complete abstinence from using the phone to send messages."
So there we go. Be warned. Try to either cut down on your texting or maybe try to hold the phone up in front of your eyes while doing so. You might look a bit funny, but it could be worth it in the end.
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Top image compilation, apologies the Smithsonian and to Surgical Technology
Photo of bored dog with texting man, copyright Anne Sewell, The Media Waves
Small cargo plane crashes into home in Chicago suburb (Video)
The pilot was killed early on Tuesday morning, as the small cargo plane he was flying crashed into a home in the residential neighborhood near Midway Airport in Chicago. He was the only person on the plane when it crashed.
Photo: Screen grab from video below
According to WGN, just before 3 a.m. CT, the plane crashed into the roof of the house, entering the living room and heading into the basement. The house is located on S. Knox Avenue. The two elderly residents of the house were uninjured and a neighbor assisted them to escape from the home. Reportedly there was no fire or explosion after the crash.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Fire Chief Michael Fox said, "They were in a bedroom next to the living room and the living room is gone," adding they were eight inches from the plane and, "They were very lucky."
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the Aero Commander 500 plane was scheduled to go to Chicago Executive Airport, 18 miles northwest of Chicago. However, the pilot apparently changed his destination to Ohio State University’s airport shortly prior to take-off.
Shortly after departure, the pilot called in that he was experiencing engine problems and asked if he could return the plane to Midway Airport, where he crashed approximately one-quarter mile from the runway.
Video: Toilet Day celebrated in India with massive cake
In an event that gives a whole new meaning to the term "urinal cake," this huge tasty treat was served up, shaped like an Indian toilet, in New Delhi Wednesday to celebrate "World Toilet Day."
Weighing in at 700 kg (1,543 lb), the cake was served at an event hosted by the non-profit organization, Sulabh International, a group that works towards clean sanitation and has built many toilets across India. There were also many student volunteers and sanitation workers at the event.
Tuesday 18 November 2014
Huge flash hits early evening sky in Russia (Video)
UFO, meteor, Superman? Whatever it was that suddenly lit up the sky close to the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia was captured on a dashcam by someone driving down the road.
Apparently emergency services refused to comment on what caused that incredible flash in the sky. Whatever it was the MSM will probably blame it on Putin....
Latest news
Latest news: December 4, 2014
Loyal Lab: Man's best friend saves his owner in Salzburg, Austria
A whole bunch of ring-tailed lemurs in Brookfield Zoo got a treat this year with their own special Thanksgiving dinner...
read more
28 November 2014: World's Youngest Citizen Journalist Protests for Palestine (Video)
21 November 2014: Video: Whole load of luxury cars go up in smoke in Moscow
This has really got to hurt. In a scene appropriately dubbed by RT as "carnage," a parking garage, containing a bunch of luxury cars went up in flames early this morning.. read more
Texting does crazy things to your spine
According to a new study, looking down at a cell phone is equivalent to placing a 60 pound weight on your neck. With the prevalence and addiction to texting growing, will we end up reverting in evolution, as shown in the above image? read more
Huge flash hits early evening sky in Russia (Video)
UFO, meteor, Superman? Whatever it was that suddenly lit up the sky close to the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia was captured on a dashcam by someone driving down the road ... read more
Father and son die in blast making firecrackers at home
Just after the eldest son, 33, left and returned to the house, an explosion destroyed the warehouse, killing his brother and their father.... read more
Cold front hits South African summer
For any of us heading into winter, thoughts of hot summer beaches in
South Africa normally make us pretty darn jealous. However, it seems
the Western Cape has been hit by a cold (and wet) front, and the rest of
the country is likely to feel it over the weekend too .. read more
Most people think of Danish pork, ham and bacon as being the best of its kind in the world. This title has slipped a little in recent times, as the MRSA virus is found to be present in a large percentage of Danish pork products .. read more
French man fights noisy Spanish restaurant with coffin and tombstones
Michel Kessous, 69, has had enough of the noise emanating from a neighboring restaurant in Denia, Spain... read more
World's Tallest & Shortest Men meet in UK for Guinness Anniversary (Video)
It was a true case of the long and the short of it when the World Tallest man met up with the World's Shortest on Thursday as part of a special event to mark the 60th anniversary of the Guinness World Records... read more
Featured Photo:
Cat burglar: Caught breaking INTO prison with mobile phones (Video)
Somebody had a brainwave, and tried to sneak two mobile phones into a prison, taped to the body of a cute black and white cat ... read more
Father and son die in blast making firecrackers at home
A father and his two sons were making firecrackers in a warehouse at their home in southern Styria on Monday evening.
Just after the eldest son, 33, left and returned to the house, an explosion destroyed the warehouse, killing his brother and their father.
According to the Austrian news website, Kleine Zeitung (in German), the warehouse, located next to the family home in Kapfenstein, was completely destroyed. The father, 57-year-old Josef F. and 28-year-old Bernhard were most likely killed instantly.
Wiener Zeitung reports (in German) that according to police the explosion could be heard a kilometer away and the warehouse reduced to "just dust and ashes." Police are still endeavoring to recover the remains.
The man's 55-year-old wife and her surviving son are in shock and were uninjured by the blast. A neighboring house was apparently also badly damaged by the explosion and according to the local fire service, other neighbors phoned in to say their windows had been broken by the blast.
According to neighbors, the father and his sons often experimented with explosives, and they were used to hearing loud bangs coming from the property.
Photo: Firecrackers CC by-SA G36
Friday 14 November 2014
Cold front hits South African summer
For any of us heading into winter, thoughts of hot summer beaches in South Africa normally make us pretty darn jealous. However, it seems the Western Cape has been hit by a cold (and wet) front, and the rest of the country is likely to feel it over the weekend too.
According to the South African Weather Service the cold front is hitting the Cape Peninsula today, and will be sending torrential rains and thunderstorms all the way up to Johannesburg.
According to their forecaster, Jan Vermulen, minimum temperatures of 12 degrees Celsius can be expected in some areas of the Western Cape sending cooler weather up to Johannesburg. The cold front is also expected to head over to the Eastern Cape by Saturday. Apparently the interior of the country can look forward to thunderstorms throughout this weekend.
Looks like the Twittersphere is alive with comments by locals, amazed by the unexpected turn in the weather:
Wian Esterhuizen @wianesterhuizen
South Africa's weather is officially drunk. Snow reports and a cold front for the WC? It's like November! Like it's almost autumn again!!
Cold front, mid summer :0 At this rate South Africa will have it's first white #christmas one of these days
Meanwhile in relatively sunny Spain, the writer is also experiencing wet, rainy autumn days, but with temperatures ranging up to 20 degrees Celsius over the weekend. Go figure.
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Umbrella image Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Kok Leng
Sweden finds MRSA 398 in imported Danish pork
Most people think of Danish pork, ham and bacon as being the best of its kind in the world. This title has slipped a little in recent times, as the MRSA virus is found to be present in a large percentage of Danish pork products.
Sweden's National Veterinary Institute has found that four in every twenty packs of Danish pork, bought in various parts of the Stockholm area, carry the resistant MRSA 398 bacteria. MRSA 398 is a variant of the bacteria that can be transmitted from animal to human.
At first the MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) incidents were only affecting Denmark, but now its spreading. However, while the bacteria is found in four out of every pack of the pork in Sweden, reportedly a random sampling carried out in Germany came up with the MRSA bacteria in only one of 20 packages of Danish pork.In Denmark itself, the incidences are around the same as in Sweden. The Technical University of Denmark ran an analysis on 100 packages of the Danish pork and encountered the MRSA 398 bacteria in 21 of the packs. This shows a steep increase from only five years ago, when analyses found the presence of the bacteria in only five percent of the pork products.
The latest sampling in Sweden was organized by the Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, working together with the National Veterinary Institute (Statens veterinärmedicinska).
Two leading experts in the field found in August that there are currently up to 12,000 people infected with MRSA 398 in Denmark. Now, together with the Swedish findings, officials are becoming concerned.
Olov Aspevall, who is chief physician of the Swedish Public Health
Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) told Dagens Nyheter that it is unlikely that anyone would become infected through the meat. However, he said it is "unpleasant to know that there are resistant bacteria in the food that
you buy."
Swedish sources:
Roast Danish pork image Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic John Krogh
Thursday 13 November 2014
French man fights noisy Spanish restaurant with coffin and tombstones
Michel Kessous, 69, has had enough of the noise emanating from a neighboring restaurant in Denia, Spain.
He decided to try some novel ideas to scare away the customers, including hanging a coffin on a scaffold outside the window of his home.
According to the 20 minutos newspaper, the L'Escoleta restaurant just behind Kessous' house recently opened an outdoor terrace. While before it was apparently only the loud extractor fan that irritated Kessous, now he also had to contend with patrons chatting out on the terrace until 2 a.m. and sometimes staff staying late and chatting until 4 a.m. The noise bothers him despite the fact that his windows have double-glazing and it all just got to be too much.
First of all he placed some tombstones on his patio to give the customers a fright, but apparently this didn't work, so now he has erected the scaffolding, with a coffin hanging ominously in the air.
Juan Carlos Villar, owner of the restaurant said Monday, "We don't know what he's going to do next. Maybe he'll put skulls out," adding that he doesn't want to launch an official complaint as that would start a "war between neighbors."
He said that it is the responsibility of the town hall and that he doesn't want to get involved and just tells customers that he has an "odd neighbor." However, he did say that all Kessous wants to do is to close his business down, meaning that nine families would be without jobs.
Meanwhile, another local resident said, "We don't understand why the town hall went over plans for minor renovations with a fine-toothed comb but now won't move a finger when a tomb is put out for everyone to see."
It seems the local town hall is working on the problem, however, and is still trying to establish whether the scaffolding used for hanging the coffin is actually a legal structure.
As for Kessous, all he wants is for the restaurant owner to meet with him to make some sort of plan to lessen the noise.
World's Tallest & Shortest Men meet in UK for Guinness Anniversary (Video)
It was a true case of the long and the short of it when the World Tallest man met up with the World's Shortest on Thursday as part of a special event to mark the 60th anniversary of the Guinness World Records.
According to the Daily Mail, Dangi is the same size as six cans of baked beans, stacked on top of each other.
It seems smallness is in the family as three of his five brothers were under four feet tall. However his two sisters and the other two brothers are of an average height.
Cat burglar: Caught breaking INTO prison with mobile phones (Video)
Somebody had a brainwave, and tried to sneak two mobile phones into a prison, taped to the body of a cute black and white cat.
This happened in the Komi Republic on Tuesday this week. Apparently kitty belonged to a former prisoner, who was trying to get the phones into the jail to his friend, a current inmate. See the raw video below:
Wednesday 12 November 2014
Italian artist looking for needle in a haystack ... literally
We've probably all heard the term "like looking for a needle in a haystack," particularly in the case of something that is impossible to find. Well, an artist in Italy has decided that he is going to do just that, find a needle in haystack as part of a performance art installation.
27-year-old Sven Sachsalber will be doing this during a performance at Palais de Tokyo, a contemporary art gallery in Paris, France, on Thursday and Friday this week. Whether he will find the needle in those two days remains to be seen.
The museum head, Jean de Loisy, will be placing the needle in the haystack, and then Sachsalber will do his best to find it.
Sachsalber is apparently an adept of extreme performances. In the past he has spent 24 hours in his room in the company of a cow. On another occasion, he ate a poisonous mushroom, and yet another he cut all the branches from a tree on which he was perched at the time.
Photo: Courtesy Palais de Tokyo
One, two, three, its time to waltz in the streets of Vienna, Austria (Video)
The historic and cultural city of Vienna does things a little differently when it comes to celebrating carnival, or "Fasching," as it is called in the city.
As Vienna's Ball Season begins, with its more than 450 balls to enjoy, Vienna's 1st district opened with a traditional quadrille in the streets and everyone joined in.
Thousands of people were out in the streets, whether local or visitors, learning to dance and having a wonderful time.
Karin Lemberger-Dorner, president of the dance schools in Vienna, told The Local, “It’s sensational that we have so many people here
today."
The quadrille started at 11.11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month, and included some professional dancers, with everyone in the streets laughing, smiling and joining in. This was followed by a gallop and a real Viennese waltz.
One dancer mentioned that it was great that you don't have to pay to join in, and that people from all over the world were there to participate and learn more about the Austrian culture and Vienna's waltz tradition.
Apparently some of the best moves to master are the Viennese waltz (of course), as well as the boogie, the foxtrot and at least one of the popular Latin American dances.
The season officially kicks off on November 21st with the Vienna Red Cross Ball in the Rathaus (City Hall).
Anyone in town on New Year's Eve can see their way into 2015 dancing in the magnificent Hofburg Palace. It all sounds like a wonderful way to pass a cold winter!
Tuesday 11 November 2014
South African police station burgled, 80 packets of cigarettes stolen
North West police confirmed Tuesday that the police station in Ventersdorp, South Africa got hit by a bunch of burglars, who made off with 80 packets of cigarettes on Sunday.
While some might have laughed at the story, Colonel Henry Vermeulen of the Ventersdorp police confirmed that it is true. "There was a burglary at the station, at one of the offices at the back," he said. adding that "some items" were stolen and that they are busy with the investigation. He did confirm that 80 packets of cigarettes were taken and that the burglars gained access through the roof.
According to Vermeulen, no arrests have yet been made but police do have three suspects in mind. "We believe today or tomorrow we will have arrests. We know who they are."
However, according to the Sowetan, the cigarettes weren't the only items stolen. There was also, apparently, a laptop, belonging to a municipal worker and an exhibit in a case, stolen too.
Beached whale in southern France 'could explode' (Video)
In early November, the whale washed up on the beach at Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer, near Montpellier on
the Mediterranean coast. It now seems experts have left it there a tad to long, and it is now urgent that they move the carcass before the gases build up so much that it explodes.
Anaïs Cheiron, project manager of the national reserve of Camargue, told the French media, “Because of the heat, gases form inside the cadaver – hence, the bulging appearance of the whale – and accumulate until they explode.”
According to a local whale expert, Jean-Baptiste Sénégas, beached whales normally die after a collision with a ship. Sénégas took samples of the whale's skin, muscles and fat for analysis, but stresses the carcass must be moved soon. The dead whale can be seen in all its glory on this video from FranceTV.
Experts have been thinking of different ways to remove the carcass, either by sea or land, but they tend to favor whichever approach is the “more practical and less risky.” Cheiron did say the whale could be dragged out into the water and detonated with dynamite, but he says because of the presence of sand banks, boats are unable to get close enough to the shore to drag the whale out.
Apparently another option would be to cut the 15 tonne whale into pieces, loading the remains on to a van using a crane, for later disposal. However, viewing the video below, that seems like it could be a pretty bad idea. The incident in the video happened in the Faroe Islands back in 2013 and shows just how dangerous it is to cut into a dead whale carcass.
Warning: the video has scenes which might be upsetting to those with a sensitive stomach.
Photo: Screengrab from this video
French sources:
The Local
FranceTV
Anaïs Cheiron, project manager of the national reserve of Camargue, told the French media, “Because of the heat, gases form inside the cadaver – hence, the bulging appearance of the whale – and accumulate until they explode.”
According to a local whale expert, Jean-Baptiste Sénégas, beached whales normally die after a collision with a ship. Sénégas took samples of the whale's skin, muscles and fat for analysis, but stresses the carcass must be moved soon. The dead whale can be seen in all its glory on this video from FranceTV.
Experts have been thinking of different ways to remove the carcass, either by sea or land, but they tend to favor whichever approach is the “more practical and less risky.” Cheiron did say the whale could be dragged out into the water and detonated with dynamite, but he says because of the presence of sand banks, boats are unable to get close enough to the shore to drag the whale out.
Apparently another option would be to cut the 15 tonne whale into pieces, loading the remains on to a van using a crane, for later disposal. However, viewing the video below, that seems like it could be a pretty bad idea. The incident in the video happened in the Faroe Islands back in 2013 and shows just how dangerous it is to cut into a dead whale carcass.
Warning: the video has scenes which might be upsetting to those with a sensitive stomach.
Photo: Screengrab from this video
French sources:
The Local
FranceTV
Norway finds flu vaccination has very limited effect
A study run in Norway with the latest flu vaccine has shown that it has only a very limited effect in preventing or curing flu symptoms in healthy adults. Experts are saying, if you are a healthy, wholesome adult you do not need a flu vaccination, so, before you rush out to get that flu jab, consider the following.
The study was carried out by Cochrane Collaboration and examined the flu vaccination studies carried out on 90 people. Of 71 people who received the vaccine, only one case of the flu was actually prevented. There was apparently no effect of the number of sick days among those patients, or their hospital admissions.
According to Allan Randrup Thomsen, professor of virology at the Department of International Health at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, “This is a well-known observation.”
Chief physician Tyra Krause from the State Serum Institute in Denmark is also not surprised by the results saying, “It is not surprising, because young and healthy people don't have a high risk of a serious flu. That is why we recommend the vaccine only to the risk groups.”
Key risk groups for the flu are older people from 65 years and above, the chronically ill, pregnant women and overweight persons. These groups have the greatest chance of suffering serious complications from the flu, some of which could, reportedly, be fatal.
On the other hand, many patients, otherwise young and healthy, have suffered severe side-effects just after receiving a flu jab.
Norwegian sources:
Forskning.no
The Local
Photo: In the Public Domain
Police investigate horrific screams in Oslo, find frustrated chess player
Police in Oslo were swift in responding to an emergency call, after horrific screams were heard coming from an apartment in the city. Neighbors were sure someone was being murdered.
On arrival, police found one lone chess player, frustrated by his performance at the game and howling his head off.Apparently the chess player doesn't have much luck playing against his computer.
The Oslo police tweeted about the situation after the incident saying, “We’re at the place. Just a chess-player frustrated by constantly losing against his own PC.”
Norwegian source: Osloby
Animated gif: CC-by-SA Haabet
Dutch tourist injured in Knysna Forest in South Africa after rock pool jump
A 31-year-old Dutch orthopedic surgeon and his partner, a general surgeon, are currently visiting Knysna from Amsterdam. The man was seriously injured Tuesday after jumping into a rock pool in the Knysna National Parks forest.
Once the incident occurred, Simonis said, “They remained where they were not wanting to move the injured man fearing complicating the injury.” The tour guide then hiked up a cliff trail to find a higher spot with a cellphone signal, then called for help.
“The swim upstream involved going over numerous waterfalls. A kilometer upstream the two hikers were found, with the injured man in a serious condition,” Simonis said.
Rather ironically, with his profession as an orthopedic surgeon, the man had sustained a suspected fracture to the lumbar spine and was placed on a floating basket stretcher and gently taken downstream. Extra care had to be taken as there were numerous waterfalls along the way.
Around a kilometer downstream, police and paramedics were on hand. Paramedics immediately gave the man treatment on the scene to stabilize him and then used a rope and pulley system to haul the stretcher up the steep cliff.
“A Medlife ambulance transported the man to hospital in a serious but stable condition, accompanied by his partner,” said Simonis.
The tourist's name cannot be released until his family in Amsterdam have been advised of the situation.
According to Nandi Mgwadlambam, spokeswoman for the South Africa National Parks (SANParks), the tour operator who was guiding the two Dutch men did not have a kloofing permit. Kloofing is a term used for following a mountain stream or river, floating, jumping in or swimming along its course.
“They had the right permit for access to the Drupkelders hiking trail but we never issue permits for kloofing,” she said, adding that, due to the nature of the terrain, they don't allow kloofing there at all. However, she said the local tour operators do this when the rangers are not watching. Mgwadlamba said that she could not release the name of the tour operator.
With the very craggy nature of the Knysna Forests and National Park, it is essential that tourists follow the correct and legal guidelines to avoid a situation like this happening.
Knysna Heads on the Garden Route in South Africa - Photo: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Vaiz Ha
Monday 10 November 2014
Two meter Cape cobra found on Hout Bay Beach, South Africa
People enjoying the sun, sea and sand in Hout Bay, Cape Town today had a bit of a surprise when an almost two meter long Cape Cobra decided to enjoy the beach too.
According to Shaun McLeod, a local snake and reptile education expert, Cape cobras don't normally grow quite that big, and this was an unusual sighting. McLeod said, however, it is not unusual for these snakes to head into the water, saying, “They soak themselves in the water when they are about to shed their skin, so their skin gets irritated.”
A couple of people on the beach in Hout Bay took photos of the two meter (almost 7 foot) long snake and immediately posted them to the Twittersphere and apparently some people in the area were alarmed.
One Tweet read:
Jozi_Prime @Lepidipidi
Cape cobra? Yhoo! "@_thabang_m: It's not a snake, it's a Cape Cobra. Calling it a snake is like calling a Lion a cat."
However McLeod said that this kind of snake it not that dangerous. “The only time it would be dangerous is if you physically tamper with it, 98% of people who are bitten by snakes are bitten because of self-infliction. In most times, the snakes won’t attack you but will move away from you,” he said.
However McLeod said that this kind of snake it not that dangerous. “The only time it would be dangerous is if you physically tamper with it, 98% of people who are bitten by snakes are bitten because of self-infliction. In most times, the snakes won’t attack you but will move away from you,” he said.
Listen to an interview with McLeod below:
Brit's lost wallet found in Switzerland 18 years later
An Englishman was traveling from Zurich to Geneva in Switzerland by train when he lost his wallet, containing his passport, ID documents, money and various credit cards. Police in Switzerland have finally managed to find the wallet and return it to its happy owner, 18 years down the line.
Photo: Chur city police
Whether the wallet still contained cash is unknown, but it looks like all his cards were there, no doubt expired, together with his long-expired passport. No one knows how the wallet ended up in the Chur shopping center.
SDA news agency says the unidentified owner is surprised and happy that his wallet has been found, even if it is so many years later.
Travel Vibes: Quinta da Regaleira & the Initiation Well (Video & Photos)
Sintra in Portugal is a fascinating city in itself, but it is also home to the most amazing place, Quinta da Regaleira. A place of wonder, incredulity and sheer amazement. The site has been classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as part of the “Cultural Landscape of Sintra,” and it is easy to see why.
Photo: From the bottom of the "Initiation Well" CC-by-SA Stijndon
Palace at Quinta da Regaleira CC-by-SA Lusitana
Quinta da Regaleira got its nickname from the rather splendid former owner of the property, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. The four-hectare estate was previously owned by the Barons of Regaleira, a rich family from Porto. In 1892, Monteiro bought the property from them for 25,000 réis. He then got an Italian architect involved, Luigi Manini, and together they went to work on creating an absolute wonderland of buildings, gardens, tunnels and wells, reflecting his own interests and ideologies, with enigmatic smaller constructions dotted around the property.
The style of the architecture lends itself to symbols of the Knights Templar, Masonry and Rosicrucians, with a touch of alchemy to boot. There is a mixture of styles, incorporating the Gothic, Renaissance, a touch of the Romans with a little Manueline.
The gardens vary from well-kept areas, right through to lush and messy forests, as Monteiro believed in primitivism, and everywhere within the park-like area there can be found decorative and symbolic structures.
Garden at Quinta da Regaleira CC-by-SA Lacobrigo
The Labyrinthic Grotto seen from the lake CC-by-SA Lusitana
Possibly one of the most fascinating aspects of the whole property is, however, the two wells on the property. While having nothing to do with water, as such, both wells are fascinating to visit. A better description of the wells is probably that they are "reversed towers" or "underground towers."
Initiation Well CC-by-SA Stijndon
The largest, known as the "Initiation Well" (pictured above) is connected to the network of tunnels on the property and has a 27-meter spiral staircase going around and down inside the well, connecting to several landings along the way. The spacing of the landings and number of steps involved is apparently calculated and related to Tarot mysticism. The “Initiation Well” was said to be used for many and various ceremonial purposes.
The smaller well has straight stairs which connect to a series of ring-shaped floors and is more commonly known as the "Unfinished Well."
The video below takes you on a tour in the tunnels, through to the "Initiation Well," and further on to various grottos and the Waterfall Lake, giving a feel of some of the mystery of this fascinating destination, and ending with some shots of the palace itself and its surroundings. Quinta da Regaleira is definitely a must-see on your visit to Sintra in Portugal.
Sunday 9 November 2014
Spoof video: 'Who wants to be a Volunteer?' ... in Africa
The Norwegian student organization, SAIH, has
released a funny parody video about young people, volunteering to help
in Africa.
This is a spoof take on the stereotypical associations people make with Africa, up to and even including charity and aid organizations.
Pedersen said: “The goal of the award is to promote more creativity and innovation within aid assistance communication.”
The Student volunteer organization SAIH was set up in 1961 and has member groups across Norway. The organization is funded by voluntary donations from approximately 130,000 students each year. Seventy percent of the funds raised are used overseas with partners
in Africa and South America.
Thursday 6 November 2014
Speed of light? Solar-powered vehicles showcased in Chile (Video)
Ahead of the Atacama Solar Race, hopeful teams from all over the world displayed their self-built solar-powered vehicles in the streets of Santiago in Chile on Wednesday.
This is to encourage people all over the world to innovate and research photovoltaic technologies and to become more aware of the need for renewable energy.Tuesday 4 November 2014
Man confesses to murdering his sister in Fuengirola, Spain
A 22-year-old man is now in custody after he confessed to killing his sister following an argument.
Photo by and copyright © Spanish News in English
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