Thursday, April 21, 2011

Quick Post





I have been crazy busy, and only able to blog sporadically the last few days. I hope you all will forgive me.


Things should calm down soon though, hopefully by the weekend, so here's a quick fact until then. In ancient Egypt killing a cat (even accidently) was a crime punishable by death. Cats found this to be fair judgement.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Asian Giant Salamander

Asian giant salamanders are aquatic amphibians found in brooks and ponds in China and Japan. They are the largest living amphibians known today. 

The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), reaches up to 1.44 metres (4.7 ft). The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) can reach a length of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft).

I think it would be cool to own one, if only for the fact you could say "Summon the giant salamander!" if someone displeases you.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Mary Toft

Mary Toft was a young woman in the town of Godalming, located in the south of England. In 1726 she attracted the attention of medical doctors when she insisted she gave birth to rabbits.

A skeptic man-midwife, John Howard, went to investigate. To his amazement, he delivered three rabbits in as many days. The King sent his own physicians, who witnessed the phenomenon. 

Mary was then transported to London.  She went into labour several times, but under constant supervision did not birth any more rabbits. When she was to be surgically examined to determine where the rabbits were coming from, she confessed that she had been putting them there herself when no one was looking. 

Which is disgusting. wtf was wrong with that lady, seriously?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hase

Hase (German for "hare"), often called Pink Rabbit, is a massive, pink, stuffed rabbit on the side of Colletto Fava (a 5,000 feet high hill in the northern Piedmont region of Italy.) It was made by members of the Viennese art group Gelitin in 2005. The final piece is 200 feet (about 60 meters) in length and 20 feet (6 meters) high on its sides. The group not only expect people to observe the art work, but also for hikers to climb it and relax on the top. The work is expected to last until 2025.

Is it just me, or does it look like it's screaming? 

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Bloop

The Bloop is the name given to an ultra-low frequency and extremely powerful underwater sound detected several times by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1997. The source of the sound remains unknown.

According to the NOAA description, it "rises rapidly in frequency over about one minute and was of sufficient amplitude to be heard on multiple sensors, at a range of over 5,000 km." The NOAA's Dr. Christopher Fox does not believe its origin is man-made, such as a submarine or bomb, or familiar geological events such as volcanoes or earthquakes. While the audio profile of the Bloop does resemble that of a living creature, the source is a mystery both because it is different from known sounds and because it was several times louder than the loudest known animal, the blue whale.

Strangely, the Bloop originated from the southern Pacific Ocean, which is the claimed location of R’lyeh, linking the sound to the sleeping Cthulhu, from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. But that's probably completely unrelated.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

And Another Quick Post

Exhausted and lazy today, so just another weird fact.   
 
The embryos of sand tiger sharks are cannibalistic. They fight and eat their siblings while in the mother's womb. Only the strongest is born.

Like Highlander. But with sharks.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Collyer brothers

Homer and Langley Collyer were compulsive hoarders during the 1940s. For decades, neighborhood rumors swirled around the rarely seen, unemployed men and their home at 2078 Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, where they obsessively collected newspapers, books, furniture, musical instruments, and many other items They even set up booby-traps in corridors and doorways to protect against intruders. 


After an anonymous tip called that there was a dead body in the Collyer house, and much initial difficulty getting in, the police found Homer Collyer dead and Langley no where to be found. About two weeks later, after removing nearly 100 tons of garbage from the house, workers found Langley Collyer’s partialy decomposed body just 10 feet away from where they had found his brother. Langley had been crawling through their newspaper tunnel to bring food to his paralyzed brother when one of his own booby traps fell down and crushed him. Homer, blind and paralyzed, starved to death several days later.


brb, I have to obsessively clean my house now. 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Another Quick Post

Sorry for no new posts recently, I was out of town on vacation. I meant to put up a short post explaining my absence before I left, but I'm a serial procrastinator...

I'll get an actual post up in a day or two, after I've caught up on the blogs I am following, and my real life stuff. For now here's a quick fact. According to almost every 'Weird Facts' list on the internet, roughly 100 people die from choking on ballpoint pens every year.