One hundred and two years ago on this date the San Francisco Earthquake struck. It was remarkable for a number of reasons: the damage done, , the constitutionally questionable but undoubtedly effective intervention of the US Army in recovery operations, and the immediate decision by several of the Powers That Be to publicly cover up… Continue reading The last Big One
Tag: Nature
Eight glasses of water a day – not?
Hmm. For years we’ve been bombarded by claims that for healthy living, it’s essential to drink eight glasses of water a day. However, a new study begs to differ. . . . according to a report published today, there is no evidence of any benefits from drinking so much. Dr Dan Negoianu and Dr Stanley… Continue reading Eight glasses of water a day – not?
And you thought house termites were bad . . .
Forget ’em. Termites in a bank offer whole new realms of horror! From the BBC we learn the sorry tale of Dwarika Prasad from the state of Bihar in India. A trader in the Indian state of Bihar has lost his life savings after termites infesting his bank’s safe deposit boxes ate them up. Dwarika… Continue reading And you thought house termites were bad . . .
“Was Blind, But Now I See . . . “
Here’s a pretty amazing story from Scotland. In 1941 John Gray was standing duty as a firewatcher in Glasgow during a major Luftwaffe air raid on the Clydeside industrial area. The last thing he remembers of that night was some glass shattering. ” . . . that was the last thing I heard until I… Continue reading “Was Blind, But Now I See . . . “
Language . . . it’s for the birds!
From the Daily Mail we learn of Barney the potty-mouthed parrot. It seems that Barney grew up in a household where the Queen’s English was . . . well, perhaps more fundamentally Anglo-Saxon and rather less Royal than might be desired. He somehow landed up in a wildlife sanctuary, where he lives in a cage… Continue reading Language . . . it’s for the birds!
Amazing photographs of Mars
The European Space Agency launched its Mars Express mission in 2003, with the spacecraft entering orbit around Mars on Christmas Day that year. Its landing component, Beagle, unfortunately malfunctioned, but the Express orbiter completed a Martian year in orbit (its planned life cycle) in 2005. The ESA subsequently decided to keep it in operation for… Continue reading Amazing photographs of Mars
Casting frogs upon the waters?
Another interesting news report tells us of Nicolas the frog, found in a garden pond in England (and named, inevitably, for the current Prime Minister of France!). It seems Nicolas tried to get through some netting covering his pond, and broke his leg. A diligent veterinary surgeon put it all back together and placed a… Continue reading Casting frogs upon the waters?
An unlikely rape (or two, or three, or four)
I was hugely amused to read about Arthur Ross Cradock, a New Zealand man who was sentenced to community service after claiming he’d “been left speaking Australian after being raped by a wombat“. In case you’ve never heard of the animal, a wombat is an Australian creature as large as a medium-sized dog (40-80 pounds),… Continue reading An unlikely rape (or two, or three, or four)
One happy creature
To round out tonight’s animal-oriented postings, I had to include a few pictures from my favorite Lolcats site, I Can Has Cheezburger? Now that’s one happy baby elephant! He may be happy, but I’d hate to be in the water with him . . . And finally, readers may remember the photographs of Great White… Continue reading One happy creature
Geckos get more and more interesting
Seems there’s an animal trend to tonight’s posts. I may as well keep it going. The humble gecko has already given rise to two scientific breakthroughs: a super-strong, super-sticky tape to bond to anything, and a dissolving bandage. The bandage can be applied internally during surgery, and will stick regardless of blood or other fluids… Continue reading Geckos get more and more interesting