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1619 replies. 1 2 3 4 5 81
1619 replies. 1 2 3 4 5 81
Legal / Conditions of Use
Subject: News from around the World
Posted by: romeomikegolf
Date: Sep 17 08
In order to try and prevent the boards getting clogged by threads that are read by many, but are rarely replied to, please post the interesting little news snippets in here.
This is not meant for major topics that will promote a discussion, but for the little oddities that you find in your local areas.
The first one below is an example. This was originally posted in Animals, but never had a single reply posted.
Posted by: romeomikegolf
Date: Sep 17 08
In order to try and prevent the boards getting clogged by threads that are read by many, but are rarely replied to, please post the interesting little news snippets in here.
This is not meant for major topics that will promote a discussion, but for the little oddities that you find in your local areas.
The first one below is an example. This was originally posted in Animals, but never had a single reply posted.
1619 replies. 1 2 3 4 5 81
romeomikegolf
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Posted by: Professer Subject: Tortoise saved from rubbish dump Date: Aug 26 08 A 30-year-old tortoise unwittingly sent to a landfill site with its owner's rubbish has been found alive. Fred, owned by Jane Deslandies from Margate in Kent, climbed into a bin bag and was taken to the Canterbury site by refuse collectors on Wednesday morning. When Mrs Deslandies realised what had happened at midday, she phoned Thanet Council and the landfill site and was allowed to look through the rubbish. She did not find Fred, but he was rescued later that day by site workers. Mrs Deslandies said she could not have lived with herself if Fred had not been found. 'Totally amazed' "When we got to the site it was absolutely awful there, I thought we haven't got a hope and I cried my eyes out," she said. "The manager said they would look through all the bags but if they didn't find Fred by five o'clock they'd have to bury all that rubbish. "So we left and I cried all the way home, but I was almost back in Margate when I got a call from my husband and he said they'd found Fred alive. "I was totally amazed, I just could not believe our luck," she added. Fred was taken to the vet's for an injection and is now back in Mrs Deslandies' garden. Reply #1. Sep 17 08, 12:18 AM |
lesley153 
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What an odd story - how could a tortoise "climb" into a bin bag without anyone noticing? Or, if nobody noticed, how could she be so sure that that's where Fred was - elimination, presumably? It's also an amazing story. Looks like miracles might exist after all. Reply #2. Sep 17 08, 5:20 AM |
BxBarracuda
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Nice idea RMG, people can put interesting local stories in here, which might not make national or global news. Reply #3. Sep 17 08, 6:37 AM |
skumma
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A group of suspected smugglers are to go on trial for pumping thousands of litres of cheap Russian vodka into the European Union through an underwater pipeline according to a Telegraph article today. I wish they'd come past my house:) Reply #4. Sep 17 08, 8:15 AM |
| romeomikegolf
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Thanks Bx. There are a few more that I may move over just to clear a space on some of the boards. Reply #5. Sep 17 08, 8:40 AM |
| romeomikegolf
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Posted by: Professer Subject: Wild dolphins tail-walk on water Date: Aug 20 08 A wild dolphin is apparently teaching other members of her group to walk on their tails, a behaviour usually seen only after training in captivity. The tail-walking group lives along the south Australian coast near Adelaide. One of them spent a short time after illness in a dolphinarium 20 years ago and may have picked up the trick there. Scientists studying the group say tail-walk tuition has not been seen before, and suggest the habit may emerge as a form of "culture" among this group. "We can't for the life of us work out why they do it," said Mike Bossley from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), one of the scientists who have been monitoring the group on the Port River estuary. "We're doing systematic observations now to determine if there's something that may trigger it, but so far we haven't found anything," he told BBC News. Reply #6. Sep 17 08, 8:51 AM |
TheRambler
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Dolphins are amazing creatures, so intelligent. I'm pretty sure they do a lot of things for fun and tail walking is probably one of them. Reply #7. Sep 17 08, 1:55 PM |
JuniorTheJaws
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Subject: Upside-down Rainbow Spotted in UK... Date: Sep 18 08 It appeared in the sky for the briefest of moments. A dazzling arc of psychedelic colour reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat's grin in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. But this is no fantasy or trick of the light, it is known as a circumzenithal arc. Seen here shimmering in the sky over Cambridge in the afternoon sunshine, it is often mistaken for a rainbow hanging upside down. But unlike a rainbow, the sky has to be clear of rain and low level clouds for it to be seen. Relatively rare in Britain, the arc only appears when sunlight shines at a specific angle through a thin veil of wispy clouds at a height of around 20,000 to 25,000 feet. At this altitude the cirrus clouds are made of ice crystals, the size of grains of salt. Meteorologists say the clouds must be convex to the sun with the ice particles lined up together in the right direction to refract the light. This results in the sunlight bouncing off the ice crystals high in the atmosphere, sending the light rays back up and bending the sunlight like a glass prism into a spectrum of colour. Renowned astronomer and writer Dr Jacqueline Mitton was lucky enough to capture the optical phenomenon on camera near her home in Cambridge last Sunday. The 60-year-old who has a doctorate in astrophysics from Cambridge University said: 'I've never seen anything like it before - and I'm 60. 'The conditions have to be just right: you need the right sort of ice crystals and the sky has to be clear. 'It's quite surprising for this to occur somewhere like Cambridge, usually it is in places that are colder. 'We're not sure how big an area it was visible over, but it was certainly very impressive.' According to Dr Mitton, the colours in the rainbow were intensified by the position of the sun, which was at the optimum spot in the sky of 22 degrees. The vision was made even more dazzling by the presence of "sun dogs" - gleaming spots on a halo around the sun. Dr Mitton added: 'It was just an amazing combination of factors that happened at the right time.' Her husband Simon, 62, an astronomy writer, said: 'The circumzenithal arc is a quarter circle, pointing toward the setting sun. 'The "rainbow'" is much brighter and more concentrated than a rainfall rainbow.' Rainbows are formed when sunlight is refracted in a raindrop. But in a circumzenithal arc, the colours are in reverse order from a rainbow, with violet on the top and red at the bottom. The arc usually vanishes quickly because the cirrus clouds containing the ice crystals shift their position. Ice particles in high cirrus clouds occur all year round, but circumzenithal arcs are usually obscured by lower level clouds. Circumzenithal arcs are so named as they go around the zenith - the point in the sky directly above the observer- rather than the sun. A spokesman for the Met Office said: "Circumzenithal arcs are seen relatively rarely in Britain because they can only be seen at the right combination of atmospheric conditions. 'The height, depth and position of the ice clouds must be right as the cloud needs to be at a specific angle convex to the sun. 'Circumzenithal arcs actually occur quite commonly as these types of clouds occur throughout the year. 'But the vision is usually obscured by clouds underneath which means circumzenithal arcs are much rarer than rainbows and halos 'It is quite rare to see one as vivid as this. It depends on the position of the observer because its visibility can vary greatly, someone ten miles away would probably not be able to see it.' http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1056500/Pictured-Rare-upside-rainbow-spotted-UK.html Reply #8. Sep 18 08, 6:29 PM |
| skumma
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A black fox has been photographed in England." Black foxes are not uncommon in America but are the stuff of legend here. Tales include being able to live in a man's shadow without being seen." quoted The Daily Mirror. It was seen in a graveyard near Preston! Reply #9. Sep 19 08, 4:06 AM |
| sherry75
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Hopefuls hurl for glory at the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships Competitors from all over the world descended on a pub in the Great Manchester town of Ramsbottom for their shot at glory in the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships. Thousands of spectators gathered at the Royal Oak pub to watch the contestants from as far afield as Africa and Hong Kong do battle. Competitors attempted to knock Yorkshire puddings off of a 20-foot-high ledge by throwing traditional Lancashire black puddings at them. The pudding-chucker who dislodges the most Yorkshire puddings is crowned world champion. Reply #10. Sep 19 08, 6:16 AM |
| sherry75
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Tributes paid to 'charismatic' cat A ginger street cat said to have dined at every house on a road during his 14-year life sparked a "Diana-like" flood of tributes in the wake of his death. The charismatic cat with many names - Ginger, Atkinson, Dave, and Fonzworthy III - ate regularly at 10 homes in Holloway, Bath, and the area is in collective mourning. Now at the favourite spot where Ginger stretched out to cat-nap on the corner of 12-74 Holloway a "Diana-like shrine" has been built in his honour. Reply #11. Sep 19 08, 6:20 AM |
| BxBarracuda
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Nice stories. Some place for the fox to show up in with the lore attached to it. Reply #12. Sep 19 08, 6:25 AM |
| BxBarracuda
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This weekend, hopefully tomorrow. I am off to the Queens County Fair, at the Queens County Farm. The only workable farm still in the New York City limits, even though it is on the border with Nassau County. I get to try my skills at the Amazing Maize Maze they have at the farm each time this year. Where the key isn't only to get out but, find 18 different markers hidden all around the maze. There are other Amazing Maize Mazes in the northeast U.S. and in England. Reply #13. Sep 19 08, 7:42 AM |
bassman68
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A group of suspected smugglers are to go on trial for pumping thousands of litres of cheap Russian vodka into the European Union through an underwater pipeline according to a Telegraph article today. I wish they'd come past my house:) LOL---funny, skumma. Reply #14. Sep 19 08, 11:28 AM |
cydonia325
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Riviera Beach, Florida "A judge has decided a law banning sagging pants in this town is unconstitutional after a teenager spent a night in jail on accusations he exposed too much underwear. Julius Hart, 17, was charged last week after an officer said he spotted the teenager riding his bicycle with 4 to 5 inches of blue-and-black boxer shorts revealed. Hart's public defender, Carol Bickerstaff, urged a judge Monday to strike down the sagging pants law, telling him: "Your honor, we now have the fashion police." Circuit Judge Paul Moyle ruled that the law was unconstitutional based on "the limited facts" of the case. Technically, however, the charge hasn't been dropped yet: a new arraignment awaits Hart on Oct. 5. Voters in Riviera Beach approved the law in March. A first offense for sagging pants carries a $150 fine or community service, and habitual offenders face the possibility of jail time. Bickerstaff said she wants the city to drop the law — regardless of whether anyone dislikes low-riding pants. "The first time I saw this particular fashion, I disliked it," she told the judge. "And then I realized I'm getting old."" And I thought a "low riders" were cars... Reply #15. Sep 19 08, 11:45 AM |
| skumma
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"The Dickensian delights of the Victorian workhouse, immortalised in the moment when a starving Oliver Twist dares to ask for some more watery gruel, are being brought to Britons hit by the credit crunch. "For the first time in more than 100 years, the Manual of Workhouse Cookery is being republished next month. The cookbook, part of a wider book looking at the food "enjoyed" by the poorest people in Victorian Britain, extols the virtues of frugality – making every single ingredient count. It includes a recipe for gruel – a watery porridge consisting of oatmeal, treacle, water and salt." Oh joy! I'm so sick of brandy and foie gras:) Reply #16. Sep 22 08, 2:01 AM |
| sherry75
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Miners in Lesotho have discovered a huge gem stone which may become the largest ever polished round diamond. The stone weighs 478 carats and is the 20th largest rough diamond ever found, said Gem Diamonds. The company said the uncut rock was recovered recently from the Letseng mine, owned by the company in Lesotho. The diamond, which is as yet unnamed, has the potential to yield a 150 carat cut stone, and could sell for tens of millions of dollars, the company said. Reply #17. Sep 22 08, 8:41 AM |
| sherry75
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It might sound like an idea from a 1960s hippy gathering, but there really is such a thing as a musical highway. A section of Avenue K in a Californian desert town uses grooves cut into the road surface to play the Lone Ranger theme to cars driving along it. But some Lancaster residents are not amused. They say the noise from the road sounds more like a discordant screech than the Rossini overture. Officials have bowed to their views and have agreed to pave over the grooves. 'High-pitch drone' The response to the new grooves in Avenue K was immediate. While several Lancaster residents were entertained enough to post footage on video-sharing websites such as YouTube, others were less pleased. "I think it's terrible because it keeps me awake at night," Lancaster resident Donna Martin told Reply #18. Sep 22 08, 8:42 AM |
| sherry75
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A £1m clock called the "time eater" has been unveiled at Cambridge University by Professor Stephen Hawking. The author of A Brief History of Time was guest of honour when the unique clock, which has no hands or numbers, was revealed at Corpus Christi College. Dubbed the strangest clock in the world, it features a giant grasshopper and has 60 slits cut into its face which light up to show the time. Its creator John Taylor said he "wanted to make timekeeping interesting". The Corpus Clock will stand outside the college's library and will be on view to the public. Reply #19. Sep 22 08, 8:42 AM |
| cydonia325
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Sherry, That is a most attractive addition to the college. I'm sure the Corpus Christi faculty is thrilled. I took a look at the clock, and to each his own, but to me, it looks like something out of "Stargate Atlantis", with a bug from a really bad sci-fi movie just plopped on top. Reply #20. Sep 22 08, 9:42 AM |
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