Spencer West 'Redefines Possible' By Scaling Mt. Kilimanjaro With His HandsWhen Spencer West was just five years old, he was diagnosed with a rare spinal defect that resulted in the amputation of both his legs. However, the young Canadian has never let this minor disability get in his way. He has proved that he can do anything a person with two legs can do including, climb the world's highest free-standing snow covered equatorial mountain - Mt. Kilimanjaro!...
Read news article2,000 Years Later, China's Revered Dragon Boat Festival Remains As PopularOn June 23rd 2012, thousands of tourists and locals lined up along Hong Kong's various harbors to celebrate Tueg Ng or Dragon Boat Festival. Though host to some of the country's biggest celebrations, has been organizing the events only since 1976, it is a significant Chinese holiday, one with a long history that dates back 2,000 years....
Read news articleLonesome George, The Last Giant Tortoise Of Its Species Is No More!On Sunday June 25th, 2012, Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, best known for its giant tortoises had some sad news to report - its most famous bachelor, a tortoise nicknamed 'Lonesome George' was found dead by its keeper of 40 years. What makes the death even more poignant is the fact that he was the last known living member of the Pinta Island giant tortoise subspecies....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Wingsuit Jumper Sets Four Records With One Death-Defying Flight!Earlier this week, the folks at Guinness World Records confirmed that Colombian stuntman Jhonathan Florex had shattered multiple records on April 20th, 2012, when he flew off an airplane in his wingsuit from an altitude so high, that he had to strap along an oxygen tank....
Read news articleEurope's Oldest Known Cave Art May Be The Work Of NeanderthalsResearchers had always believed that Neanderthals, the predecessors to modern humans, had not been very smart. However, recent evidence has led them to think otherwise - Not only did the stocky hunters build complex tools, but also, spoke a language and even, buried their dead. Now it turns out, they may also be responsible for some of Europe's oldest cave art....
Read news articleLorne Residents Frolic In Nature's Foamy Bubble BathNo matter how old one is, frolicking around in a bubble bath is always exciting. Now imagine if the bubbles were a couple of feet thick and extended out three miles into the open ocean - That, is exactly what the locals and tourists visiting Lorne in Victoria, Australia were able to experience on June 5th, 2012....
Read news articleCrafty Pitcher Plant Species Uses Rain To Snags Its PreyThe carnivorous pitcher plants are known for enticing their prey by secreting sweet nectar from their rims. Once the unsuspecting insect is trapped inside the plant's unique pitcher-shaped leaves, the slippery inner surfaces ensure that it slides straight down into the digestive juices that lie at the bottom. Now, scientists have discovered that one crafty species has conjured up an additional trick up its lid....
Read news articleFuturistic Super-Trees To Soon Light Up Singapore's Marina BayBeginning June 29th, visitors to Singapore will be able to add one more attraction to their already long list of things to see - The 133-acre Bay South Garden. Located in the city's swanky Marina Bay, the eco-park is the first of three attractions under the Garden by the Bay project, a 250-acre (the size of 190 football fields) green initiative embarked on by Singapore's government in 2006....
Read news articleJapan's Tsunami Debris Drags 'Alien' Creatures To OregonWhen the powerful tsunami that devastated portions of Japan on March 11th, 2011 receded, it carried along with it all kinds of debris - Ranging from over 200,000 buildings complete with belongings, to countless cars. Among the biggest, were four dock floats - the size of freight train boxcars, that were ripped off intact from the fishing port of Misawa....
Read news articleSolar Powered Plane Completes History-Making Intercontinental FlightWhile the idea of harnessing the sun's energy for fuel has been around since the 1830's the impetus to use this free and clean source of power for commercial transportation seems to have accelerated lately. Just a month ago, the MS Turanor Planet Solar, became the first solar-powered boat to circumvent the globe and now, a single-passenger airplane has taken the green energy to the skies with a successful Intercontinental flight....
Read news articleThe Secret Behind Senegal's Pink LakeThe water in Senegal's Lake Retba always seems to have a pinkish hue to it. However, catch it in the dry summer months when saline levels are high and you will see it turn strawberry pink and sometimes, even red. The good news is that color is not the result of chemicals being dumped in the lake but nature, working its magical tricks!...
Read news articleCommonwealth Nations Celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Sixty Year ReignThis week, the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realm, a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations comprising of 16 countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica are celebrating an important milestone - Sixty years of the continuous reign of their beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II....
Read news article'Never Seconds' - Scottish Student's School Lunch Blog Goes ViralAnybody that has ever been subjected to a school cafeteria lunch can attest that they range from totally awesome and nutritious, to completely gross and unhealthy. When they tend to be more the latter, some of us grin and eat it because we are starving, while others just put it in the trash and move on. One young girl however decided that she needed to take action. And in this Internet era, what better way to do it, than starting a blog?...
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Spectacular Light Show 'Crumbles' Sydney's Opera HouseEvery year, the Vivid Light, Music and Ideas Festival held at Sydney's Opera House transforms the already beautiful city into an even more spectacular canvas of light and music. The event, which this year takes place from May 25th - June 11th, is known for attracting the world's best performers, as well as, leading global intellectuals....
Read news articleAustralian Man Runs Half Marathon Aboard A Hot Air BalloonOn Wednesday May 16th, Canberra resident Ron Ginnivan became the world's first person to complete a half marathon, whilst floating around in a hot air balloon. The impossible sounding stunt was achieved with the help of a generator-powered treadmill that was placed inside the passenger basket....
Read news articleWill The 'Dolphin Speaker' Be The Key To Communicating With The Marine Mammals?The quest to communicate with dolphins began the moment scientists realized how intelligent these marine mammals are. Over the years, researchers have experimented with various strategies, ranging from giving them iPads to even developing a two way Rosetta Stone like language translation system. Now, they have come up with yet another strategy - A Dolphin Speaker....
Read news articleA Shark That Eats Only Celery, Broccoli And Cucumbers? That's Got To Be A First!Just thinking of sharks evokes images of those razor-like, serrated teeth that decimate fish and crustaceans in seconds. It is therefore not surprising that one shark's refusal to eat its normal diet and instead opt to nosh on healthier fare like cucumber and celery is making headlines, all over the world....
Read news articleIs This Parakeet Really Smart Or Was It Simply Mimicking Its Owner?Piko-chan, a two year old parakeet that resides in Sagamihara city in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture was looking for an adventure. So, a few weeks ago, when his 64-year-old owner Furnie Takahashi accidently left its cage door open, the beautiful bird took off, to explore the big wide world....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Garrett McNamara's Record Breaking Wave RideThe morning began as one of those rare days when Hawaiian-born Garrett McNamara did not really want to go surf. It ended, being the day when the 44-year old rode a wave that would get immortalize him forever in the Guinness World Records!...
Read news articleYves 'Jetman' Rossy Soars Over Rio De Janeiro Like A Bird!A year after Yves 'Jetman' Rossy stunned the world by flying over the Grand Canyon using just his wings, he has done it again - This time, with a flight over the Brazil's second largest city, Rio de Janeiro....
Read news article'Hello Kitty' Gets WingsThanks to Taiwanese based Eva Air, Japan's Tourism Ambassador, the adorable and wildly popular Hello Kitty is now taking to the skies. The company recently announced Magic Jet, their third airplane catering to fans of the cartoon character....
Read news articleMONSTRUM's Monstrously Fun PlaygroundsThough toys and video games have undergone numerous exciting innovations, the same cannot be said about outdoor playgrounds. Sure there is the occasional fun slide or web, but they are all more or less homogeneous - a few swings, a sand box, a monkey bar or two etc. etc. Where is, the imagination and innovation? Now, two Scandinavian designers finally seem to have seen the light....
Read news articleFurniture For Breakfast Anyone?Waffles have been around since the Middle Ages, when bakeries trying to compete with the monasteries in the wafer market, came up with this scrumptious treat. However, while the recipe may have changed over the years, their look has not altered much. Sure you can get waffle makers that spew out different shapes, but the end result is the same - two dimensional crispy treats crisscrossed with horizontal and vertical lines....
Read news articleQuadruple Amputee Prepares For Another Ambitious SwimOn September 19th, 2010, Philippe Croizon, made history by becoming the first quadruple amputee to swim across the 21-mile long English Channel. Now, the French resident is taking on an even bigger challenge - link the world's five continents by swimming across the series of narrow straits that separates them....
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