Austrian Skydiver Gets Ready For The Ultimate PlungeIn August 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt a feat that has never been done before - freefall off a specially made capsule from the edge of space - 120,000 feet (23 miles) above earth or about three times the altitude that normal airplanes fly at....
Read news articleDo Tree Trunks Make Music? You Betcha!Thought the rings on tree trunks are good for just figuring out the age of the tree? Think again! A German artist has come up with an ingenious turntable that 'reads' music off tree trunk slices....
Read news articleFishermen In Pakistan Reel In Colossal Whale SharkSome lucky fishermen in Karachi, Pakistan were fortunate enough to be part of what is probably considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in their profession - Reeling in a 40 foot long whale shark....
Read news articleDutch Elephant Gets Fitted With A Giant Contact LensAn Asian elephant has become the first pachyderm in Europe to be fitted with a stylish new eye lens. 44-year old Win-Thida who resides in Amsterdam's Artis Zoo, injured her right eye when she was poked by a fellow elephant during a scuffle, on December 26th....
Read news articleOMG! Are These Pink Sheep For Real?A flock of mammals that reside at Auckland's SheepWorld are making waves or should we say Baaaaas? That's because instead of the usual muddy white, they are all sporting shocking pink hues....
Read news articleNew Zealand's Struggle To Save Beached Whales Ends With Mixed ResultsOn Monday, January 23rd, a pilot flying over New Zealand saw what is unfortunately starting to become a common sight - A large pod of stranded whales struggling to survive, at the base of Farewell Spit in Golden Bay, located in the country's South Island. Since then, over two hundred volunteers have been working day and night, to keep the mammals warm, and help them refloat. The saga finally ended on Wednesday morning, with mixed results....
Read news articleEstonia's Checkers Championship Requires Superior Diving SkillsWhat has diving got to do with a board game like Checkers? A lot, if you are thinking of competing in the national Checkers championship in Janeda, Estonia. That's because, the entire tournament takes place underwater!...
Read news articleCopenhagen's Unusual Solution For Graffiti-Covered BuildingCopenhagen, Denmark's capital and largest city not only consistently makes the list for its amazing quality of life, but also, for being one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities, dotted with lots of open spaces and parks. However, just as in any urban area, the city has its shares of vandals - In this case, graffiti artists. One particular eyesore, was the children's playground pavilion located in the city's Central park....
Read news articleChina Celebrates 'Year Of The Dragon'Today, millions of Chinese people all over the world will celebrate the first day of the Chinese or Lunar New Year - the longest and most significant of all traditional Chinese Festivals. Also known as the Spring Festival, it is a four thousand year-old tradition that began as a way to mark the end of the dreary winter season and beginning of spring....
Read news articleGiant Escalator Become Mode Of Transport For Colombia's Shanty DwellersImagine if after a long day at school, instead of jumping into a car, you were faced with 530 hard stairs? That is exactly what some of the poorest residents of the town of Medellin, Colombia had to face each and every day....
Read news article'WakaWaka' Lamps Bring Light To AfricaIt is quite ironic that while we are able to send a man to the moon, we are unable to provide something as basic as electricity to everybody in the world. Sadly though, that is the case. An astounding 1.6 billion people or over 20% of the world's population have no power but instead, rely on rudimentary forms of light, like kerosene lamps that are not only inefficient, but also, dangerous and toxic....
Read news articleIs This The World's Most Expensive (Non-Existent) Sword?Paying $16,000 USD for any kind of sword sounds a little high - But for one that doesn't even exist? That has to be a first. Apparently, that is exactly what an avid Chinese gamer recently forked out. Even more amazing? The virtual sword is part of a brand new video game that has not even been released yet....
Read news articleScientists Discover First Ever 'Soldier' BeeHoneybee hive hierarchy is well documented - The queen bee gives birth to every bee in the hive, drones mate with the queen and immediately die or get kicked out, while worker bees ensure that the hive functions like clockwork. Now it seems, that South American honeybees have added an additional role - that of a soldier bee....
Read news articleNepal's Elephants Take Time Off From 'Work' To Frolic!Nepal's majestic elephants rarely get a break - That's because these hard-working mammals are constantly transporting tourists across the protected jungles of Chitwan. However, during the last week of December, the Pachyderms got a three-day break to have some fun and show off their athletic talents and physical attributes....
Read news articleShijiao -The Town Where Your Discarded Christmas Lights R.I.P.Around this time every year, millions of American households not only toss out their Christmas trees, but also, millions of strands of burnt-out Christmas lights. While they are purportedly placed for recycling, most would end up in trash if it were not for a tiny town called Shijiao located all the way in Southern China....
Read news articleHarbin's Spectacular Snow And Ice Festival Celebrates 28th Year'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade' - This certainly seems to be the motto of the people of Harbin, one of China's coldest cities, where temperatures can dip as low as -4° Fahrenheit (-20° Celsius). That's because instead of hibernating during the coldest months of the year, they host one of the world's largest and most spectacular Ice and Snow Festivals....
Read news articleHappy 2012!A Happy Happy 2012 to all of you! We hope that you and your loved ones welcomed the New Year in style. Here is a glimpse of how the year was ushered in, at some of the world's major cities. So grab a cup of hot cocoa, sit back and enjoy the show!...
Read news articleAddis Family Simply Cannot 'Lego' This Christmas Tradition!Many families have fun traditions during this time of the year. Some decorate the tree together, while others bake cookies. For the Addis family it involves building giant Lego structures, a ritual that began 18 years ago, when their first son Tom was born....
Read news articleShanghai Creates Chocolate WonderlandOn Friday December 16th, China opened the doors of a theme park that would have made Willy Wonka jealous! That's because inside Shanghai's World Chocolate Wonderland, everything ranging from the BMW to the sushi, is made out of chocolate!...
Read news articleThe Smurf Village Where Everything Is Blue - Except The Mood!Juzcar, a tiny village that lies along Spain's picturesque Costa Del Sol (Sunny Coast) used to be just like all the neighboring towns - A pristine white. Then in June of 2011, folks from Sony Pictures picked this little Malaga town from a pool of 200 candidates as the venue for the world premier of their upcoming movie, Smurfs 3D, and asked to paint entire town, a Smurf Blue!...
Read news articleWorld's Smallest Teen Crowned World's Smallest WomanSince 2009, Nagpur resident Jyoti Amge has enjoyed the fame that comes with being the World's Smallest Teen. On Friday December 16th, she happily relinquished that title for another one - The World's Smallest Woman....
Read news articleAnd You Thought Your School Concert Was Long!Let's face it, concerts can get a little boring especially, if one has to sit through an hour-long chorus or orchestra performance that they are not part of. So, you can only imagine how much patience it would take to listen to a concert that will go on for 639 years!...
Read news articleNew Zealand's Oiled Penguins Released Back Into The OceanOn Wednesday, December 7th, some lucky Tauranga students got to participate in the release of 49 Little Blue Penguins back to the ocean. These tiny flightless birds were the fourth batch of penguins to be released from the group 343 oiled birds, rescued and nursed back to health, following what was one of New Zealand's worst pollution disasters....
Read news articleSweden's Ice Hotel Is Open For BusinessLooking for something offbeat to do this Christmas vacation? How about the Ice Hotel? Located in the village of Jukkasjarvi, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, it is as the name indicates, built entirely from ice blocks lugged in from the nearby Torne River....
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