Video Of The Week - Are Lions Losing Their Edge?Lions have been called the 'King of Beasts' for centuries and for good reason too - Not only are they majestic looking, but also, at the top of the food chain. Granted, it is the males that are awarded this designation, but the females are no slouches either. After all, they are the ones that do all the hunting....
Read news articleWorld's Most Complicated Watch Auctions For Record $24 MillionThe world's most complicated watch, a 1933 timepiece made by luxury watchmaker Patek Phillipe was sold for an astounding $24.4 million USD at a Sotheby's auction in Switzerland on November 11th. The historic price for the aptly named 'Supercomplication' masterpiece smashed the world record set by same watch in 1999, when it was bought by Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani, a member of Qatar's royal family, for $11 million USD....
Read news articleEuropean Spacecraft Makes Historic Landing On Speedy CometOn Wednesday, November 12th, an unmanned spacecraft made history by landing perfectly on its target - a speeding comet that lies at a distance of 310 million miles from earth. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the brainchild behind this audacious project, the Rosetta space probe that housed the 220-pound washing machine-sized Philae lander, released its passenger to its destination perfectly - not an easy feat given that the Comet 67P was hurtling through space at a speed of 41,000 mph....
Read news article'Vampire Fanged' Deer Sighted In Afghanistan After Sixty-Six YearsThe recent report of the sighting of a few Kashmir musk deer has given conservationists hope that the species may be alive and well amongst the forests in Afghanistan. The study published by the World Wildlife Foundation in the November edition of the journal Oryx, states that a team of researchers scouring the country's Nuristan Province in 2008 and 2009, encountered the animals on five separate occasions....
Read news articleMeet Elise Stefanik, The Youngest Woman Ever To Be Elected To The United States CongressFor all you middle-school presidents, secretaries and treasurers that aspire to lead the country some day, here is some encouraging news - Elise Stefanik, the youngest woman ever to be elected to the US Congress started the same way. The 30-year-old who defeated Democratic incumbent Aaron Woolf in New York's 21st Congressional District in the November 4th midterm elections, began her political career in sixth grade, as student council secretary....
Read news articleNasal Cell Transplant Enables Paralyzed Man To Walk AgainAfter a senseless attack left former fireman Darek Fidyka paralyzed from the waist down in 2010, he never thought he would be able to stand up again. But thanks to a revolutionary technique, the 38-year-old Polish man has become the first person in the world to regain use of his legs, following a traumatic spinal cord injury....
Read news articleCommemorating The 25th Anniversary of the Fall of The Berlin WallSunday, November 9th, marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a barrier that had divided the city of Berlin and the country in two - democratic West Germany and communist-controlled East Germany. When the barrier was finally removed on November 9th, 1989, the decision was met with much joy and enthusiasm with more than two million East Berliners crossing over to the West, that weekend....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Brave Porcupine Fends Off Seventeen Lions!It was the classic David vs. Goliath scenario, except in this case, the boy was represented by a seemingly helpless porcupine and Goliath, by a pride of 17 hungry lions that would have loved to add the quill-bearing rodent to their dinner menu. Fortunately, the struggle ended just like the story, with the lions scurrying away in defeat!...
Read news articleFuzzy Baby Robots Help Researchers Get Close To Shy Emperor PenguinsMost animals are skittish around people which makes observing them in the wild, a challenging endeavor for researchers. The issue is exacerbated with naturally shy creatures like emperor penguins, who show signs of physical distress in the presence of humans....
Read news articleWorld's Largest Corn Labyrinth Elicits Distress Calls From Disoriented "Maze Runners"For those that love labyrinths, there is nothing like the Cool Patch Pumpkins corn maze in Dixon, California. The intricate collection of winding paths, twists, turns and loops that is hand-cut by farm owners and brothers, Matt and Mark Cooley, can disorient even the most experienced "maze runner". This year's creation was particularly bewildering given that the brothers had expanded their already large puzzle into a 60-acre behemoth, a feat that earned them a second Guinness World Record!...
Read news articleBangladesh's Ultra-Cool Floating SchoolsWith a population of 156 million, Bangladesh ranks amongst the world's most populous nations. What makes the situation worse is that most of the country is situated on the low-lying Ganges delta, formed by the confluence of three major rivers - Ganges, Brahamputra and Meghna. As a result, it is highly susceptible to flooding especially during the rainy season from July to October, when the rivers rise as much as 12-feet, making many areas accessible only by boat....
Read news articleCentral London Hotel Draws Harry Potter Fans With "Wizard Chambers"Though the last book of the spectacular Harry Potter series was released seven years ago in 2007, the young wizard continues to be extremely popular with both kids and adults. Over the years, Potter fans have been able to experience numerous aspects of the young wizard's life, right down to his favorite drink - Butterbeer. Now thanks to a British hotel, they can also spend a night in the wizard's Hogwarts Castle dormitory room....
Read news articleNik Wallenda's Back-To-Back Tightrope Walks Across Chicago Skyscrapers Are Scarily Exciting!Mention Nik Wallenda and the first thing that comes to mind is that of the daredevil tightrope walking across long distances at insanely high altitudes. Over the years, the 35-year-old Florida resident has conducted numerous record-breaking feats, including one across the spectacular Niagara Falls. However, it is his most recent one that has people gasping in awe. That's because this time around, the aerialist decide to step it up a notch, by blindfolding himself!...
Read news articleVeterans Day - Honoring All Who ServedTuesday, November 11th, is Veterans Day - a special day set aside to pay tribute to the brave men and women of the armed forces who put their lives at risk to ensure that the rest of us can enjoy the freedom we often take for granted. These include members of the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and the Coast Guard....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Philips Creates Mesmerizing LED-Lit Night Skiing MovieTelevision advertisements have come a long way since luxury watch manufacturer Bulova aired the first 9-second clip in 1941. Today, companies like to publicize their wares in clever ways that subtly draw attention to their products or technology. The most recent example of this is "Afterglow", a branded content film created by Sweetwater Productions in collaboration with Swedish agency Ahlstrand & Wallgren to showcase the technology behind the new Philips Ambilight Television....
Read news articleContemporary Artist Concetta Antico's Vividly Colorful WorldArtists generally have a better perception of colors than the average person. However, very few can discern colors quite like Concetta Antico, a San Diego-based contemporary artist. That's because this talented painter happens to be a tetrachromat - a select group of people that have the ability to distinguish 100 million nuances of color, an astounding hundred times what a normal person can observe! This means that their world is full of vivid colors that most of us will never experience....
Read news articleGalapagos Island Giant Tortoises Saved From Near ExtinctionIn 2012, the world mourned the loss of Lonesome George, a 100-year-old giant tortoise that resided on the Galapagos Island of Pinta. While losing any member of these ancient species that outlive most humans is sad, what made it worse was that George was believed to be the last known living member of the Pinta Island giant tortoise subspecies. Fortunately, the same fate does not await the Hood Island giant tortoises of EspaƱola Island....
Read news articleThe Crunch Of An Apple And Fizz Of A Soda? Yum!First there were the delicious cotton candy grapes and now an effervescent apple that will have your mouth tingling with joy! Called "Paradis Sparkling", the unusual fruit is the result of eight years of research by Swiss fruit nursery Lubera....
Read news articleLava From Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Inching Scarily Close To HomesIn early September, officials warned residents of the rural communities of the Ka'ohe Homestead and Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island, that they might have to evacuate their homes because they were in the course of the hot lava that has been spewing from the Kilauea volcano since June....
Read news articlePumpkin Carving Maestro Ray Villafane Creates Yet Another MasterpieceNo Halloween celebration would be complete without a peek at pumpkin carver extraordinaire Ray Villafane's incredible masterpieces. As has been the case for the past three years, the artist and his team of equally talented carvers, spent the weekend of October 18th and 19th at the New York Botanical Garden, transforming some of the world's largest pumpkins into scary zombies....
Read news article"Fall Back" Means An Extra Hour To Snooze This WeekendThis weekend, marks the end of Daylight Saving Time. This means that on Sunday, November 2nd, most Americans will move their clocks back by an hour, adding an extra sixty minutes to do whatever they please....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - OK Go's Latest Music Video Will Have You Twirling UmbrellasLos Angeles-based alternative rock band OK Go first rose to fame in 2006 with the release of the music video of their song "Here it Goes Again". While the song was good, what made it special was the fact that the four musicians performed the song, whilst dancing atop fast-moving treadmills. Viewed more than 50 million times on YouTube, the video became one of the year's biggest hits and even won a Grammy....
Read news articleNew York's Annual Halloween Dog Show Does Not DisappointThough there are numerous Halloween dog parades across the country, very few are as famous as the one held at New York City's Tompkins Square Park. Now in its 24th year, the annual pageant that doubles up as a fundraiser is one of the most competitive dog events in the world, with owners going through incredible efforts and expense to don their best friends in the most unique Halloween costumes....
Read news articleGoogle Vice President Alan Eustace Beats Felix Baumgartner's Skydiving RecordOn October 14th, 2012, 43-year-old Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner mesmerized the world when he skydived from an altitude of 128,000 feet. Along the way, he became the first man to break through the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent and also broke skydiving records for exit altitude, vertical free-fall distance without drogue and vertical speed without drogue. Now just about two years later, Google Vice President Alan Eustace has completed a similar feat by skydiving from an even higher altitude - 135,908 feet!...
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