The Daily Drift

Then there's other kinds of neighbors ...!

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 203 countries around the world daily.   

    
Good Neighbors  ... !

Today is - Neighbor Day

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The Bottom, Sint Eustatius-Saba
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Today in History

1540   Afgan chief Sher Khan defeats Mongul Emperor Humayun at Kanauj.  
1630   Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi sees the belts on Jupiter's surface.  
1681   Louis XIV sends and expedition to aid James II in Ireland. As a result, England declares war on France.  
1756   Britain declares war on France.  
1792   Merchants form the New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street.
1814   Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden.  
1863   Union General Ulysses Grant continues his push towards Vicksburg at the Battle of the Big Black River Bridge.  
1875   The first Kentucky Derby is run in Louisville.
1881   Frederick Douglass is appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C.  
1940   Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium and begins the invasion of France.
1954   The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules for school integration in Brown v. Board of Education.  
1973   The Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings.

This painting just sold for $179,300,000

There are a lot of things a person could do with 179 million dollars.

Swedish peace society deploys Singing Sailor defense system to scare off Russian submarines

A Swedish peace society has come up with a new way of fighting off Russian submarines in the Stockholm archipelago: a subsurface sonar system called 'The Singing Sailor', which sends out Morse code and features the message "Welcome to Sweden. Gay since 1944". Sweden hit international headlines in October last year when it launched the biggest military underwater operation in recent years after it spotted a foreign submarine in Swedish waters. The vessel was widely thought to be Russian, although the Swedish military was unable to confirm where it came from – or indeed locate it.

The country's ability to defend itself should Russia increase military activity in the Baltic remains a hot topic, after the center-left government announced a new 10.2 billion kronor defense deal designed to increase the country's capabilities. Just last week a British defense expert said that a Russian attack on the Nordic nation "could come soon". But the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society (SPAS) believes there are more efficient ways to fend off Russians than military force. Their new 'Singing Sailor Underwater Defense System', was lowered into the sea east of Stockholm on April 27th.

Any submarines lurking in the capital's waters will now come across an animated neon sign of a dancing sailor wearing underpants along with the message "Sweden – gay since 1944" (referring to when Sweden legalized homosexuality). The sign also sends out the Morse code: "This way if you are gay". The tongue-in-cheek move is designed to scare off military vessels from Russia, which does not share Sweden's tolerant attitude to homosexuality. Russia recently sparked an outcry in the Nordic nation when it approved controversial legislation outlawing 'propaganda' directed at minors about 'non-traditional sexual relations'. "If there is a submarine down there beneath the Baltic waves and the crew should happen to see or hear the Singing Sailor they are welcome to join us in the Stockholm Pride Parade on August 1st," Daniel Holking, SPAS communications and fundraising manager, said in a statement.

YouTube link.

"In times of unrest, love and peace across boundaries is more important than ever. We want to break up with the violence. Our invitation is also extended to Swedish subs and military personnel and all others that want to join us," he added. On a more serious note, the organization, which believes that military rearmament is a contributing cause of conflict, added that 'The Singing Sailor' is also a call for Sweden to shift its military resources into 'development and rethinking security'. If military actions and weapons had functioned as conflict resolution methods there would be peace in the world a long time ago," Anna Ek, SPAS president said. In March, Sweden's Security Service Säpo said that the biggest intelligence threat against Sweden came from Russia in 2014. Its annual report described Russian espionage against Sweden as "extensive".

Lower caste groom wore crash helmet to guard against stone-throwing upper caste villagers

A groom in Madhya Pradesh, India, traded his orange safaa or turban for a sturdy helmet as upper caste men in his village attacked him with stones - all because he dared to ride a horse to his wedding. Late on Sunday night, Pawan Malviya's baraat or wedding procession slowly made its way through his village in Ratlam district.
Pawan wore a dark suit, a long necklace and carried a sword as he sat on the horse. Along with a helmet, he cut an unusual figure. A short while before that, around half a dozen members of Pawan's family were injured as stones were hurled at them. Pawan belongs to the Dalit or unprivileged caste and was told by upper caste villagers that members of his caste are not allowed to sit on a horse or take out grand processions.
The family, worried that it would be attacked, asked for police protection. As part of what district officials described as a compromise between the two sides, the upper caste families agreed to keep their doors shut so they would not have to watch a Dalit groom on a horse. Despite this, Pawan's procession was attacked with stones when it reached the village square, and blocked. "They are not letting us go. They keep threatening us and trying to drive us away.

YouTube link.

"We will carry on with help from the police," Pawan, still wearing the safaa, said. When the group resumed its journey, the groom was wearing a helmet and policemen in riot gear had joined his procession. Around 30 villagers have been arrested and scores more have been booked under a law that bans caste-based atrocities. "It is a dispute between two groups in the Nirun village. The procession was finally allowed to move peacefully and without incident. We have registered a case against around 70 people," said a senior police officer.

Vegetarian man offended by the smell of meat threatened fellow train passengers with knife

A vegetarian man on a train traveling from Traunstein to Munich in Germany went berserk on Sunday, threatening fellow passengers with a knife when he smelt meat wafting from their table.

Eight young revelers between 18 and 20 years old were traveling back from the Traunsteiner Spring festival at around midnight. Two of them had decided to soak up the days frivolities with a kebab bought for the journey home.
But a vegetarian who was also traveling on the train took personal offense at the smell of the meat and immediately started an argument with the young group. The 29-year-old vegetarian at first insulted the young men and women, then threatened them with a knife.
He then slapped the two men who were eating the meat around the head. This was when it became too much for the young group, who then got off the train at Bad Endorf and reported the incident to the police. The indignant vegetarian was arrested by the police in Rosenheim. He will now face charges of bodily harm and threatening behavior.

Trail of macaroni salad led police investigators to three suspected burglars

A trail of macaroni salad led police investigators in Livingston County, New York, to three suspected burglars on Sunday. Deputies of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office responded to a burglary at Build-A-Burger Restaurant in Mt. Morris at 6:30am, after the owners reported their surveillance system and cash register were missing.

The investigation led police to the Greenway Trail, a hiking and biking path, where they found cash register parts, surveillance system parts, rubber gloves, loose change and "a steady trail of macaroni salad," according to a news release issued by the office. "It was later discovered that the suspects stole a large bowl of macaroni salad, which they took turns eating, along their escape route," the statement read.
The suspects were in custody by early afternoon. Matthew P. Sapetko, 34, of Mt. Morris; James P. Marullo, 35, of Mt. Morris, and Timothy S. Walker Jr., 23, from Idaho, were charged with third-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree grand larceny.
Walker also faces charges for criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument. They were arraigned and committed to Livingston County Jail. Walker's and Sapetko's bail were set at $7,500 cash and $15,000 bond, respectively. Marullo is being held on no bail, due to prior felony convictions.
There's a news video here.

Woman accused of committing three bank robberies within 25 minutes

Police in Florida are investigating three bank robberies that happened in Brandon on Monday afternoon, just minutes apart. Hillsborough County detectives say one woman is behind all of them. Cindy Carabeo, 50, is accused of robbing the BB&T Bank on Brandon Boulevard, the nearby Wells Fargo on S. Kings Avenue and the Florida Central Credit Union on Oakfield Drive.

The World's Oldest Full Deck Of Playing Cards Was Almost Lost To History

In 1983, The Metropolitan Museum of Art bought a 52-card deck of South Netherlandish playing cards. The cards dated from the 15th century and were in incredible condition - but they were almost lost to history.
They were said to be a unique pack of tarot cards from the 16th century. But an Amsterdam antique dealer was skeptical. He thought they might be even older. After five years of research, he was able to successfully date the playing cards to between 1465 and 1480 thanks to the style of the paintings, watermarks on the pasteboard, as well as the costumes and hairdos worn by the Burgundian court figures on the cards.

Real astrology

Birth month really does affect personality

People’s personalities tend to vary somewhat depending on the season in which they are born, and astrological signs may have developed as a useful system for remembering these patterns, according […]

Scientists unravel the mystery of the tubulin code

Scientists unravel the mystery of the tubulin code

Driving down the highway, you encounter ever-changing signs — speed limits, exits, food and gas options. Seeing these roadside markers may cause you to slow down, change lanes or start […]

Liquid mercury under a Mexican pyramid

As reported in The Guardian:

An archaeologist has discovered liquid mercury at the end of a tunnel beneath a Mexican pyramid, a finding that could suggest the existence of a king’s tomb or a ritual chamber far below one of the most ancient cities of the Americas...
Rosemary Joyce, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, said that archaeologists have found mercury at three other sites around Central America... Joyce said the ancient Mesoamericans could produce liquid mercury by heating mercury ore, known as cinnabar, which they also used for its blood-red pigment. The Maya used cinnabar to decorate jade objects.

I was fascinated by this report because it reminded me of the reports that the first Chinese emporer's tomb contains lakes and rivers of liquid mercury.    There is an extended discussion of this at ChemistryWorld.

Most enticing of all is a detail relayed by Qian: ‘Mercury was used to fashion the hundred rivers, the Yellow river and the Yangtze river, and the seas in such a way that they flowed’. This idea that the main chamber contains a kind of microcosm of all of China (as it was then recognised) with rivers, lakes and seas of shimmering mercury had long seemed too fantastic for modern historians to grant it credence...

In the 1980s Chinese researchers found that the soil in the burial mound above the tomb contains mercury concentrations way above those elsewhere in the vicinity. Now some archaeologists working on the site believe that the body of the First Emperor may indeed lie amidst vast puddles of the liquid metal.

Human security at risk as depletion of soil accelerates, scientists warn

Human security at risk as depletion of soil accelerates, scientists warn

Steadily and alarmingly, humans have been depleting Earth’s soil resources faster than the nutrients can be replenished. If this trajectory does not change, soil erosion, combined with the effects of […]

The Earthquake House Of Comrie

The United Kingdom is not generally associated with earthquakes, however, these islands are still rocked by a few hundred jolts a year, although only 20 or 30 of them could be felt by the population.
Yet, the world's first seismometer was built and installed in Scotland at a place called Comrie. A functional replica of it is still housed in the 'Earthquake House,' built on the grassy slopes of The Ross.

The 5 Coolest NASA Missions That Never Happened

NASA is full of ambitious dreamers. But those dreams cost money. Ever since the end of the Apollo program, this tension has meant that many of NASA's ideas are killed before they ever progress much beyond concept drawings.
These ideas have ranged from far-fetched fantasies to financially prudent missions. Some were just sketches and equations on paper, while others materialized into models and test materials. Here are some of the most fascinating ideas that never happened.

Four drunk goats taken to hospital after falling unconscious from drinking illicit liquor

Ramesh Patni, a cattle breeder from Kheralu in the Mehsana district of Gujarat, western India, was a desperate man on Thursday morning. Four of his herd of 40 goats who had become tipsy after drinking seized liquor bottles that had been destroyed by the police, were still unconscious nearly 40 hours of their drinking binge. However, when he took the drunk goats to the local veterinary clinic, they slowly came back to their senses.

Patni's woes began on Tuesday evening when he found that many of his goats, who had been grazing on gauchar land in Kheralu, had become unconscious or were behaving strangely. Frantic inquiries revealed that just hours ago, Kheralu police had destroyed 11,500 bottles of liquor that were seized in the morning in the presence of police personnel. While police presence at the spot was removed three hours after the bottles were flattened by a roller, nearly 60% of the liquor was absorbed in the earth.
The goats had apparently drunk the liquor that had collected in puddles on the uneven land or seeped into the crevices of the earth. "I called for a handcart and took the unconscious goats home. Later, most regained consciousness but they were unusually boisterous. I rarely pack them in a cattle pen but that night I had no option. I lock them up for the night and kept them locked for the whole of Wednesday," said Patni.
On Thursday morning, four goats had still not recovered from the hangover and had to be taken to hospital. Kheralu police inspector S H Bawa said they had come to know that goats had become tipsy after drinking liquor that had collected on the gauchar land. "We had left the place only after most of the liquor was absorbed in the ground but some of it must have seeped into the land," said a bemused Bawa. In the past, cows had got drunk after drinking from liquor destroyed by the police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Police Ask That You Not Chase Bears through the Woods with a Hatchet

In rather blunt terms, the police of North Adams, Massachusetts ask that you not get drunk, then chase bears through the woods while waving a dull hatchet:

**Chasing bears through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet is strongly not advised**
The North Adams Police Department is urging everyone to NOT chase bears through the woods with a dull hatchet, drunk. Yes that really did happen tonight. We understand there are bears in the area. If you see a bear, LEAVE IT ALONE and call us. We certainly don’t need anyone going all Davy Crockett chasing it through the woods drunk with a dull hatchet. It is just a bad idea and not going to end well. It will however, certainly end you up in jail…which it did. The hatchet man was taken into protective custody due to his incapacitation from the consumption of alcoholic beverage. We are still trying to figure out what his end game was. Any thoughts on what he was going to do if he did locate it? We would certainly like to hear because we have no idea.

In recent weeks, residents have spotted bears in the vicinity of town. Most people heeded police warnings to leave them alone. One chemically enhanced gentleman decided on another course of action. He apparently survived the encounter.

German Names For Animals Literally Translated Into English

German seems like a difficult language to learn, but when you discover how easy it is to create names for things in German by simply stringing words together it doesn't seem so hard to learn after all.For instance, which two words would you put together to describe a sloth?

If your answer was "lazy animal" you nailed it!
Now a hippopotamus may seem harder to describe in two words, but if you combine their favorite river with a similar animal type you've got a rather apt description of a hippo (although I would have added "pig" in there somewhere)

And then there's the virtually inexplicable platypus- a strange hybrid creature that could be described as an otter duck or a duck billed beaver or simply a plate full of platy, but the German language streamlines the description quite a bit

See more of these amazingly accurate English translations of German names for animals here

Sid The Beagle Enjoys Posing With Food In His Mouth Without Ever Eating It

You know your dog is well trained when you can get them to sit still with a treat on their nose awaiting permission to gobble it up, but is a dog that holds food in his mouth without ever eating it well trained or just crazy?

Sid the beagle is extremely fond of people food, but he doesn’t enjoy eating people food, he’d rather just hold it in his mouth and pose for the most deliciously adorable pictures ever taken.
Crazy or not, Sid is one precious pooch, and his owner Alex Hopes loves sharing Sid's food modeling moments with the world via his Instagram account @myregalbeagle. Check it out and see all the different foods Sid has refused to eat!

(YouTube Link)

Animal Pictures