Ripped her a new one

New Zealand earthquake tears new fault line

The earth suffers a lasting effect from a powerful quake in the South Pacific.  

'I've lost two meters of land' 

Also: 

• Earthquakes in 2010
• Extensive damage
• N.Z. plane crash probe

Grains of pollen as seen by an electron microscope

Behold, the face of the enemy.
(Why, yes, my nose is rather runny, why do you ask?)
Urge to vengeance aside, my main reaction while flipping through this gallery of pollen images was wonder at the intense variety of sizes, shapes, textures and tricks floating through the microscopic world of plant pollen. This group shot ranges from the (relatively) giant orb of pumpkin pollen in the center, to the teensy blue dot that belongs to the forget-me-not. Some of the grains seem like completely alien things, but others bear a striking resemblance to the plants they help create—for instance, I guessed that Venus fly trap pollen went with the Venus fly trap before I read the caption.
All these shots are the work of Swiss scientist Martin Oeggerli, who makes amazing art using a scanning electron microscope. The images actually start out in black and white, with Oeggerli going back and adding color, pixel by pixel. The colors can, but don't necessarily, reflect reality, but they do help make textures stand out and make the form more easily readable by your eye.
The Telegraph: Full pollen image gallery
Martin Oeggerli explains the technology behind his photos, from microscope, to sample preparation, to coloration.

The history of "Ms."

People always assume that the term was a modern contrivance created several decades ago.  That is a Ms-understanding on their part, as the Oxford University Press blog explains:

The form goes back at least to the 1760s, when it served as an abbreviation for “Mistress”... and for “Miss,” already a shortened form of “Mistress,” which was also sometimes spelled “Mis.” The few early instances of “Ms.” carried no particular information about matrimonial status (it was used for single or for married women) and no political statement about gender equality... While “Miss” was often prefixed to the names of unmarried women or used for young women or girls, it could also refer to married women...

Ms. didn’t really take off until the politically-motivated language reforms of second-wave feminism and the cultural impact of Ms. Magazine in the 1970s. Many of the form’s popularizers at that time thought of Ms. as a blend of Miss and Mrs., but some evidence suggests that it derives more directly from Miss, or possibly from Mistress.

It may have come from all of these, at different times. The 1885 citation from the Vermont Watchman (see illustration left), which has just come to light, provides a new link in the development of Ms. This newspaper ad, masquerading as a news story, contrasts Ms. Parrtington with Mrs. Dull, suggesting that Ms. is meant to abbreviate Miss...

The earliest example of Ms. found so far is on the tombstone of Ms. Sarah Spooner [top], who died in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1767... the Ms. on her tombstone is not a stab at language reform or a slip of the chisel, it’s just a shortening of Mistress by a stonecutter trying to save space on the already crowded slab.

The "S" is superscripted to the right of the "M" at the end of the second line of text.   The rest of the history of the term is discussed at the link, which concludes "This confusion of usage simply continues the long tradition of women’s titles indicating, masking, or ignoring age or marital status, providing proof that while language planners can consciously put a logical, “preferred,” or politically-motivated form into play, language users will either adopt or ignore those recommendations, or adjust them in unforeseen ways. Instead of following prescriptions, we twist them, invent our own expressions, or reshape existing ones, all to fit our ever-changing contexts and needs."

The Mystery Behind the Ancient Stone City of Nan Madol

Check out the story here.

Cup made of terra sigillata

Here's the description from the Victoria and Albert Museum:

This cup was made from a special clay from the island of Lemnos in the Aegean, thought to have health benefits including offering protection against poison. The clay was used to make drinking vessels in prehistoric times, and people even ate the clay itself.

The Ottomans conquered Lemnos in 1453, and the Ottoman governor of the island presided over an annual ceremony to dig up the clay on 6 August each year. This may have been a revival of the tradition from Antiquity, or the clay may have been in continuous use on the island. Because it was only excavated for 6 hours per year, the clay was very rare, and so vessels made from it were marked with a special seal to prove that they were genuine. The seal can be seen at the base of the handle of this cup. The Latin word for a seal - sigillum - gave these vessels the name terra sigillata or 'sealed earth'. Wares made from this clay are also known as Terra Lemnia after the island of Lemnos.

Red clay from Lemnos was particularly prized, and was used at the Ottoman court and even shaved into the Sultan's food. Whiter clay was used to make vessels like this for sale in the Istanbul bazaar.

The use of clay to counteract possible poison actually has a very sound scientific basis (although prior to the 20th century the mechanism was not known).  Many clays throughout the world are able to act as a de facto cation exchange resin, absorbing metallic ions.  Having the clay in one's stomach prior to ingesting poisoned food would in fact offer a measure of protection - at least against arsenic and other heavy metal poisons.    I should think it would be less effective when fashioned into a vessel.

The modern relevance is that persons whose cultural background results in their developing the habit of eating clay can put themselves at substantial risk of zinc deficiency.  If I remember correctly, the first clinical reports of zinc deficiency came from Turkey, not far from the region where this vessel was fashioned, but clay-eating is a form of pica which also used to be common in the rural southern United States.

Shoe

Teen sues after playground accident 'left her unable to make friends'

A teenager is suing a council for £100,000 after claiming an accident in her school playground 11 years ago left her with a personality disorder which means she is unable to make friends. Natasha Caley-Winborne was just six years-old when she hit her head after tripping on an allegedly uneven grass bank at St Peters Primary School in the village of Ardingly, East Sussex. Now a 17 year-old college student, she claimed the incident had left her with a catalog of health problems including violent mood swings, severe headaches, post traumatic amnesia and difficulty forming friendships.

Natasha, who had to regularly attend clinics at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, has issued a writ against West Sussex County Council, who run the school. The writ, signed by her mother Jane, alleges that since the accident in September 1999 Natasha has developed a personality disorder requiring specialist treatment. It states: "Natasha has continued to suffer from frequent severe headaches and dizziness. Her headaches have resulted in her missing days at school and have affected her education. She has also suffered from mood swings and behavioral problems, including sudden loss of temper and violence.

“She is irritable and intolerant and over-sensitive in her reactions to her peer group. She suffered from low self confidence and has difficulty forming friendships.” Natasha was playing with friends when one of her feet allegedly got caught in a hole causing her to fall and bang her head on the adjacent concrete playground. She was taken to hospital two days later where doctors diagnosed her with whiplash and concussion and has since undergone acupuncture, cranial osteopathy and attended special headache clinics and mental health groups.

The writ, seeking damages of £50,000 to £100,000 for pain and injury, loss and damage, states that up to the end of the 1999 summer term there were three or four holes in the surface of the grass bank. Neurological lawyers Osborne Morris and Morgan, who have taken up Caleys case, claim the accident was caused by the negligence and/or breach of statutory duty the council. A spokesman for the council said: "Proceedings have been issued seeking damages for alleged personal injury and loss. The claim is being defended and will follow the due court process."

Angry grandma knifed 12-year-old over jigsaw puzzle

A grandmother has been charged after allegedly taking a knife to her granddaughter's ear when a fight broke out over a jigsaw puzzle. According to a criminal complaint filed in Dakota County District Court (Minnesota), Parbati Kalicharan, 64, was chopping peppers when she became angry with her 12-year-old granddaughter for saying "shut up."

Police say Kalicharan tore up the box from the puzzle on which the girl was working and threw it in the garbage. The girl pleaded with her grandmother, saying she could not finish the puzzle without seeing the picture on the box.

The complaint alleged Kalicharan wouldn't surrender, and began tearing the box into even smaller pieces. When the 12-year-old announced that she didn't like her grandmother, Kalicharan is accused of chasing her with a knife.

The granddaughter ended up with cut about three-quarters of an inch long inside one of her ears. The grandmother has been charged with felony assault. Kalicharan posted $1,500 cash for bail that had been set at $15,000 and was released.

Wizard of Id

About That Carburetor

A man's car stalled on a country road. When he got out to see what was wrong, a cow came along and stopped beside him.

"Your trouble is probably in the carburetor," said the cow.

Startled, the man jumped back and ran down the road until he met the farmer. He told the farmer his story about a talking cow.

"Was it a large red cow with a brown spot over the right eye?" asked the farmer.

"Yes!"

"Oh, then, I wouldn't listen to her," said the farmer. "Bessie doesn't know anything about cars."

Epic Shark Feeding Frenzy Caught on Film

 

Sharks are normally considered solitary hunters, but one incredible video shows that sometimes they do get together -- and in a big way. Off the coast of Australia recently, a rescue helicopter spotted hundreds of sharks in an epic feeding frenzy, capturing the feast on film. The sight of so many big sharks attacking a school of fish prompted authorities to issue a warning to lifeguards in the area, lest their appetite turn to swimmers.

Article continues: Epic Shark Feeding Frenzy Caught on Film

Counting Fireflies

Why world's fireflies are being counted

A painstakingly tedious project may tell scientists whether the firefly population is dropping.  

Backyard volunteers 

Also: 

• World insect population
• Octopus mystery solved
• Wolf hunt to expand

Indian Giant Squirrel

Have you ever seen a squirrel like this? You might, in the forests of India. This is Ratufa indica, or the Malabar Giant Squirrel. They grow up to 16 inches long, and that doesn’t count the tail! Learn more about the Malabar Giant Squirrel at The Ark in Space.

Full Story

B.C.

High Levels of Arsenic Found in Children's Urine

photo: Sara Novak

A story reported in Grist and first published in the Salt Lake Tribune said that alarming amounts of arsenic were found in two Utah children's urine. The girl's urine tested 50 percent above what's considered safe and the boy's tested 75 percent above acceptable levels. The culprit turned out to be the chicken feed. Find out how the kids were exposed to such high levels of arsenic.

Article continues: High Levels of Arsenic Found in Children's Urine, You'll Never Guess Where it Came From

A glut of acorns, or a bad case of The Plague?

What would you make of medieval historical records that prominently note the occurrence of large crops of acorns? It's a bit of a weird departure from the kinds of things these records normally care about, i.e. battles and the deaths of famous people. In fact, the people keeping these records didn't even eat acorns, and other, more useful, crops aren't mentioned at all.
But, sometimes, an acorn might be more than just an acorn, according to a 2003 paper by classicist David Woods. That's because the Latin word for "little nut" and the word sometimes used to describe the swollen lymph nodes caused by the Capital-P Plague are one and the same.

The Latin term glandularius is the root of our word for gland; etymologically, glandula means 'little nuts' because this is what they felt like when palpated. There is at least one other example of a plague record using glandulara as a descriptor. In c. 660 the Burgundian 'Chronicle of Fredegar' describes the 599 plague of Marseilles as a cladis glanduaria.

So "a spark of leprosy and an unheard of abundance of nuts", becomes the far more logical, "we've had some issues with leprosy and The Plague this year".

Contagions: Plague among the nuts

Whiskey from diabetics' urine

Gilpin Family whisky is a new single malt whisky made from the urine of diabetics. Creator James Gilpin doesn't sell the stuff, but rather gives away bottles as a public health statement. From the product page:

Sugar heavy urine excreted by diabetic patients is now being utilized for the fermentation of high-end single malt whisky for export. The Whisky market is growing faster then any other alcoholic beverage worldwide. With a prevalent genetic weakness being exposed in the northern hemisphere leading to a sharp rise in type two diabetes, economists have found a new exportable commodity to exploit and are keen to capitalize on this resource quickly. Large amounts of sugar are excreted on a daily basis by type-two diabetic patients especially amongst the upper end of our aging population. As a result of this diabetic patients toilets often have unusual scale build up in the basin due and rapid mould growths as the sugar put into the system acts as nutrients for mould and bacteria growth. Is it plausible to suggest that we start utilizing our water purification systems in order to harvest the biological resources that our elderly already process in abundance?

Gilpin Family Whiskey from urine

The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
Sometimes people speak without thinking.
It happens to everyone, and even the people we're closest to can commit errors of carelessness.
So if someone who's dear to you says something that makes you fret and worry, don't assume anything.
Especially avoid any tendency to read into the statement and reinterpret it.
If it's really bothering you, ask them what they meant directly.
You'll find that they probably just weren't thinking.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Perth, Western, Australia, Australia

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

Katowice, Salaskie, Poland

as well as Singapore and in cities across the United States such as Gilman, Doylestown, Sandy, Walnut and more.

Today is:

Today is Saturday, September 4, the 247th day of 2010.

There are 118 days left in the year.

Today In History September 4

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

International Drive Your Studebaker Day

Don't forget to visit our sister blog!

President Obama's Weekly Address

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Weekly Address
Washington DC

On Monday, we celebrate Labor Day. It’s a chance to get together with family and friends, to throw some food on the grill, and have a good time.  But it’s also a day to honor the American worker – to reaffirm our commitment to the great American middle class that has, for generations, made our economy the envy of the world.
That is especially important now.  I don’t have to tell you that this is a very tough time for our country.  Millions of our neighbors have been swept up in the worst recession in our lifetimes.  And long before this recession hit, the middle class had been taking some hard shots.  Long before this recession, the values of hard work and responsibility that built this country had been given short shrift.
For a decade, middle class families felt the sting of stagnant incomes and declining economic security.  Companies were rewarded with tax breaks for creating jobs overseas.  Wall Street firms turned huge profits by taking, in some cases, reckless risks and cutting corners.  All of this came at the expense of working Americans, who were fighting harder and harder just to stay afloat – often borrowing against inflated home values to pay their bills.  Ultimately, the house of cards collapsed.
So this Labor Day, we should recommit ourselves to our time-honored values and to this fundamental truth: to heal our economy, we need more than a healthy stock market; we need bustling main streets and a growing, thriving middle class.  That’s why I will keep working day-by-day to restore opportunity, economic security, and that basic American Dream for our families and future generations.
First, that means doing everything we can to accelerate job creation. The steps we have taken to date have stopped the bleeding: investments in roads and bridges and high-speed railroads that will lead to hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private sector; emergency steps to prevent the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and firefighters and police officers; and tax cuts and loans for small business owners who create most of the jobs in America. We also ended a tax loophole that encouraged companies to create jobs overseas. Instead, I’m fighting to pass a law to provide tax breaks to the folks who create jobs right here in America.
But strengthening our economy means more than that.  We’re fighting to build an economy in which middle class families can afford to send their kids to college, buy a home, save for retirement, and achieve some measure of economic security when their working days are done.  And over the last two years, that has meant taking on some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for far too long.
That’s why we’ve put an end to the wasteful subsidies to big banks that provide student loans.  We’re going to use that money to make college more affordable for students instead.
That’s why we’re making it easier for workers to save for retirement, with new ways of saving their tax refunds and a simpler system for enrolling in retirement plans like 401(k)s.  And we’re going to keep up the fight to protect Social Security for generations to come.
That’s why we stopped insurance companies from refusing to cover people with pre-existing conditions and dropping folks who become seriously ill.
And that’s why we cut taxes for 95 percent of working families, and passed a law to help make sure women earn equal pay for equal work in the United States of America.
This Labor Day, we are reminded that we didn’t become the most prosperous country in the world by rewarding greed and recklessness.  We did it by rewarding hard work and responsibility.  We did it by recognizing that we rise or we fall together as one nation – one people – all of us vested in one another.  That is how we have succeeded in the past. And that is how we will not only rebuild this economy, but rebuild it stronger than ever before.
Thank you. And I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend.

Our Readers

We came upon a few neat facts about our readers here at Carolina Naturally recently. (actually we just started looking at our tracking stats on a different service)
While we have readers in 9/10ths of the world's nations most of or readers are from the following countries.
The Top 20

(in descending order)

The United States
The United Kingdom
Germany
France
Australia
Spain
Italy
Canada
Mexico
Malaysia
Netherlands
Saudi Arabia
India
China
South Africa
Slovakia
Indonesia
Korea
Poland
Brazil

Remember when ...

Remember when ... This pair were the hottest thing on the dance floor?

Butts arrested in Boob murder case

Sorry, with a Title like that you can't pass on it ...

Police have arrested a third person in connection with the murder of Samuel Boob. Boob was shot and killed at his home in Potter Township, Center County, on the morning of August 23rd, 2009.

Kermit Butts, 26, of Madisonburg, is accused of driving the suspected killer to and from the crime scene on the morning of the killing. He was charged with aggravated assault and assisting a murder suspect and placed in the Center County Prison.

Police believe that Butts drove Ronald Heichel to the Boob home and picked him up later in the day on August 23rd, 2009. Police believe Heichel shot Sam Boob twice with a shotgun and killed him. Heichel was charged with 1st degree murder.

The victim's wife, Mirinda Boob, is accused of working with Heichel to have her husband killed. Police say they have text messages that were sent between her and Heichel, proving that the two were working together to kill Samuel. She has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Nine Websites We Can't Believe Actually Exist

For the most part, we've come to terms with the fact that pretty much anything goes on the Internet. But there are still some websites that we can't believe anyone actually had the audacity to create.

From a site that enables married people to cheat on their spouses to a database of made-up companies that allows job applicants to falsify their resumes, check out these outlandish websites that we can't believe actually exist.

Not asking directions costs you

Men waste $3K/year for not asking directions

A new study shows that men who don't ask for directions are paying a price for their stubborn habit.

Nevada candidate touts 90 mph fix to budget crisis

One Nevada gubernatorial hopeful sees a speedy fix to Nevada's budget crisis. Nonpartisan candidate "Gino" DiSimone believes people would pay for the privilege to drive up to 90 mph on designated highways - and fill the state's depleted coffers.

Full story

New Zealand Digs Out

New Zealand digs out from strong quake

Many buildings were reduced to rubble on the South Island, but no fatalities have been reported.  

See damage 

Also: 

• Latest earthquake details
• More on the South Island
• Fatal N.Z. plane crash

And here I thought Canada was a sovereign nation

A bill introduced in Canada's House of Commons would give US Department of Homeland Security officials "final say over who may board aircraft in Canada if they are to fly over the United States en route to a third country."

Shoe

On The Job

On The Job

Fewer workers wanted this Labor Day

For every available job, there are 3.4 unemployed people looking for one.  

Cities & careers with most openings 

Also: 

• Jobless rate seems frozen
• Cut unemployment in half?
• How to avoid a layoff

Executive at troubled hedge fund busted for operating "complex" weed farm in her home

Teri Buhl at Forbes reports on a sign of the times:
"An executive at a billion-dollar Connecticut hedge fund was arrested on felony charges of allegedly running a huge year-round pot farm inside her home. But her boyfriend says the cops have it wrong, that they're goat farmers, not dope farmers."

Doomsday for the economy

5 doomsday scenarios for the economy

It's been a brutal summer for the U.S. economy, but things could get even worse.  

What else could go wrong

Also:

• The jobless recovery
• How to read jobs report
• 5 major money mistakes

Private islands you can buy

Private islands you can buy

One comes with a mansion and another offers a turquoise lagoon with amazing snorkeling.

Surprisingly cheap 

Also: 

• Private islands for rent
• See $35 mil glass house
• Most stressful cities

Crocodile Skin Umbrella and Other Ridiculously Expensive Every Day Items

When it rains cats and dogs, do bazillionaires reach for regular boring ol’ umbrella?
No, my friends.
They use this: the $5,000 crocodile skin umbrella.
Why?
Because they can.
Here’s a list of 24 ridiculously expensive every day items over at Cool Material.

Reunion

Unlikely Dad, Child Reunion At Hospital

It was a bittersweet and unlikely reunion. A nurse at a Bronx hospice went to greet her new patient last week and was stunned to find that it was her estranged father, who she hadn't seen in 41 years.

Jeanne D'Arc

image credit

Also known as The Maid of Orléans, Joan of Arc (in French, Jeanne D'Arc), a hero of the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc remains a French national hero six centuries later. As a teenager she heard voices from on high urging her to save France from English domination.

Despite being a young woman, she was placed at the head of an army; she attacked the English and forced them to retreat from Orléans. Later she was captured by the English, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake.

Ziggy

Hair provides proof of the link between chronic stress and heart attack

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario have provided the first direct evidence using a biological marker, to show chronic stress plays an important role in heart attacks. Stressors such as job, marital and financial problems have been linked …

Full story

Top nighttime sights to see before autumn

Top nighttime sights to see before autumn

Draco the Dragon sits close to the Big Dipper, whereas the Dumbbell nebula is visible with binoculars.

The 10 best 

Also: 

• Map of the night sky
• Mars mission simulation
• Full moon stirs monkeys

The problem with time travel

Why geese fly in a 'V' formation

Why geese fly in a 'V' formation

The birds' regimented behavior during their migration serves two important purposes.

People provide answers 

Also: 

• Goose's happy dance
• 'Crazy as a loon' origin
• Most fragile bird eggs

First-Ever Baby Seahorse Spotted in British Waters

A tiny baby seahorse was measured off the coast of Dorset, England.

Image via the Seahorse Trust.

It must have been like finding a needle in a haystack, but somehow, in murky water conditions, diver Neil Garrick-Maidment, the executive director of the Seahorse Trust, spotted a single 1.5-inch-long female baby seahorse "clinging onto a piece of seagrass" off the coast of Studland, Dorset -- a finding so rare he said it was "akin to seeing a yeti in the wild."

Article continues: First-Ever Baby Seahorse Spotted in British Waters

Asian Elephants Get a New Home at the Smithsonian National Zoo

Image Credit: Mehgan Murphy, National Zoo

If you've been to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. lately, you may have noticed that they've been working on the first stage of their "Elephant Trails" project- a bold initiative to build a complex of indoor and outdoor habitats for the zoo's Asian elephants that will allow the endangered animals to thrive. Phase I, which opened to the public yesterday, includes two new outdoor yards and an elephant barn, which is LEED certified and includes 5,700 square feet of livable space, and will be the elephants' future home.

Article continues: Asian Elephants Get a New Home at the Smithsonian National Zoo

Unicorn cow becomes tourist attraction

Farmer Jia Kebing noticed a small bump on this cow's forehead when it was born two years ago but didn't expect it to grow into a 20cm (8in) horn.

Dolphin hunting continues

Dolphin hunting under way despite protests

A remote village in Japan continues a controversial tradition that has sparked public outrage. 

Attempts to stop it 

Also: 

• More on dolphin hunting
• Python surprises kayakers
• Tiger found in suitcase

Man planned to eat washed-up whale tail

A man was taken into custody for cutting the tail off a dead, beached whale in Florida. Chris Hogan was reportedly fishing for blue crab when a passerby told him about the whale.

He found it and used his fishing knife to cut off the tail. A state wildlife official says it appears to be a young pygmy sperm whale - which is a protected species.

It is illegal to possess even parts of an endangered animal... and Hogan says he didn't know that. He said he planned to broil or fry it - considering it safe since the carcass was still warm and had only one fly on it.

The wildlife spokesman says Hogan and another man who allegedly helped him cut up the whale were taken into police custody.

Full story with photos and news video here.

Ancient Nubians Drank Antibiotic-Laced Beer

People who lived nearly 2,000 years ago in Sudanese Nubia took doses of tetracycline -- through their beer. Full Story

Russians urged to drink and smoke more

Russia's finance minister has urged his countrymen and women to support the country - by drinking and smoking more. Alexei Kudrin called for increased consumption of tobacco and alcohol in a bid to boost the state's revenues.

"If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems," commented Kudrin. "People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state."

Russia, noted for its high consumptions of both cigarettes and alcohol, has among the lowest duties on cigarettes in Europe. In June, plans to double the excise duty on cigarettes from 250 roubles, roughly £5 per 1,000 cigarettes, to 590 roubles (£12.49) by 2013 were outlined.

The comments by the minister seem to contradict recent government moves to control Russia's excessive nature and improve its life expectancy rates.

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

No-sweat Labor Day side dishes & desserts

Start the party with Mediterranean Pita appetizers and end it with Berry Tiramisu.  

Just assemble and serve 

Also: 

• A guide to grilling
• Memorable menus
• Ideas for foods kids love

Non Sequitur

Happy International Bacon Day!

International Bacon Day or Bacon Day is an unofficial observance, often celebrated on the Saturday before US Labor Day  (the first Monday of September). Some cultures, however, celebrate on December 30th, while others celebrate the day on the first Saturday in January after the new year.
Bacon day celebrations typically include social gatherings during which participants create and consume dishes containing bacon, including bacon-themed breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks. Bacon Day gatherings may also include the consumption of soy bacon or turkey bacon.

 Full Story

A Huge Spatula And Bacon Skates

image credit

A photo of a young woman with bacon tied to her feet standing in a giant skillet holding a huge spatula. This photo was taken in November 1931 in Chehalis, Washington, USA, at the town's Egg Festival.

The occasion was a try to break the world record for largest omelette. Two women tied bacon to their feet and skated around the warming skillet to grease it. Then a team of chefs cracked and beat 7,200 eggs and made a breakfast delight.

They're back

And just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, too!

Two of the Most Mysterious Sites in the U.S.

There are ancient mysteries all over the world that have perplexed scientists, historians and archaeologists for ages: Stonehenge, the Pyramids and the Nazca Lines among them. They might not be as well known, but we have at least a couple of pretty intriguing mysteries of our own here in the U.S.

Cahokia

It’s hard to believe there was a city in the U.S. that outnumbered any other in population, that was larger than even London at one point, that served as the biggest urban center north of Mexico – and that lots of us have never even heard of.
It’s Cahokia, Illinois, about 15 minutes away from St. Louis, Missouri. It was inhabited for about 700 years and was home to up to 20,000 people when it peaked from 1050-1200. More than 120 “mounds” were built for ceremonial purposes and to provide a prestigious spot for temples and the homes of chiefs.
Lots of interesting things have been discovered in excavations at Cahokia over the years. It even had its own Stonehenge – in fact, maybe up to five of them. Dubbed “Woodhenge,” archaeologists think the early residents of Cahokia used red cedar posts stuck in deep pits to mark days and events. One of them has been reconstructed for tourists to the Cahokia area.
Other advancements found include a copper workshop and watchtowers.
A slightly more disturbing discovery was hundreds of skeletons, including a mass grave of more than 50 women who were about the same age. Another mass grave was found containing both men and women, some of whom where apparently buried alive. It’s believed that they were sacrificial victims.
All of these signs of thriving civilization have to make you wonder: what the heck happened? How does a city go from being one of the largest in the world to being practically nonexistent in less than 200 years? Well… we don’t really know. There are plenty of theories, from widespread disease to political collapse. But since the people who lived there left absolutely no written record, we have no idea what actually happened. We also don’t know who these early people were – although we know all about the French missionaries who settled in the area in 1699 and the monks who made the mounds their home in 1809, it’s still not known what Native American tribes might be descendants of those early people.

Roanoke

If you think it’s a little eerie that an entire city could slowly dwindle to nothingness like Cahokia did, consider that the Roanoke Colony of present-day North Carolina dwindled to nothingness seemingly overnight. More than 20 years before Jamestown was founded, the English Colony of Roanoke was set up with about 100 households. But the colony wasn’t thriving and leader Sir Richard Grenville shipped back to England with the promise of returning with more supplies to sustain the colony. When he came back, he discovered that the majority of the town had abandoned it, heading back to England with Sir Francis Drake when he offered to take them back with him after a brief visit.
In 1587, a second attempt was made to settle at Roanoke. Nearly 120 colonists settled in at the island and tried to establish friendly relations with the nearby tribe, but to no avail. The tribe had bad experiences with the original group of colonists and refused to meet with the new batch. After one of the settlers was killed while out hunting for crabs alone, the settlers began to fear for their lives and sent their governor back to England to ask for supplies and assistance. Due to various circumstances, Governor White didn’t make it back to Roanoke until three years later. When he finally did make it back, he discovered that the entire town was essentially gone – people, houses and all. Knowing that relations with the Native Americans in the area were pretty hostile, White told the colonists that they should leave him a sign if they had to relocate against their will or were under distress. The sign was supposed to be a Maltese cross carved on a certain tree. There was no Maltese cross on the tree, but there was something: the word “Croatoan” carved into what was left of the fort and “Cro” carved into a tree.
Governor White never found his Lost Colony, nor did any trace of them ever show up anywhere. But there’s no shortage of theories as to what may have happened to the settlers, but here are the five most popular:

• The colonists simply left and settled elsewhere. And took all of their houses with them. And left no word on where they had moved to. And were never found by anyone ever again. Hmm.
• Disease swept the island and killed everyone off. It also ravaged the buildings and apparently left no bodies.
• A hurricane did away with the whole colony. The trouble with this theory is that the fence surrounding the settlement was perfectly intact even though the houses were gone, and if a hurricane was powerful enough to wipe out the whole village without a trace, it surely would have claimed the fence as well.
• The colonists became friendly with a Native American tribe called the Croatans and moved to Croatoan Island to live with them, theorizing that they had a better chance of survival that way. Some historians think this is probable since there is some evidence of a friendly relationship between the Croatans and the colonists. It does, however, seem odd that the colonists were so cryptic with their “Croatoan” message instead of leaving a more detailed explanation.
• Another tribe of Native Americans (not the Croatans) annihilated the entire colony to serve as a warning to others. This is a pretty strong contender in the list of plausible explanations, but this theory has its problems too. If the entire colony was being mass murdered by a vengeful group of Native Americans, why wasn’t the distress signal carved into a tree? And who would have taken the time to carve “Croatoan” into a tree during this melee?

Obscure Monsters

You’ve heard of Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Abominable Snowman. Here are a few of their more obscure (but just as fascinating) cousins.

Monster: Sciopod
Where it lived: Ethiopia
Legend: Latin for “shade foot”, these relatively peaceful creatures were first recorded in around A.D. 77 by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder. They were said to live in the wilds of what is now Ethiopia and were described as small, pale, humanlike creatures-but with only one leg and a giant foot. They hopped around on that giant foot, but they also used it as sun shade: Sciopods supposedly spent several hours a day lying on their backs with their giant feet in the air to block the harsh North African sun. Sciopods were extremely powerful, too. They could kill a large game animal (or a human) with a single jumping kick. But never fear-the strange creatures didn’t eat meat. Or plants. Or anything. They existed solely on the aroma of living fruit, with they always carried with them. Sciopods are mentioned in numerous writings over several centuries, ending sometime in the Middle Ages.

(Image credit: Flickr user Miss Cellania)

Monster: Gowrow
Where it lived: Arkansas
Legend: This monster was first heard of in the 1880s, when Arkansas farmers reported being terrorized by a huge lizard. In 1897 Fred Allsopp, a reporter for the Arkansas Gazette, wrote about an encounter with the beast. The monster, which Allsopp named a “gowrow” after the sound it made, had been eating livestock in the Ozark Mountains in the northwest of the state. A local business man named William Miller formed a posse to hunt and kill it. They found its lair, which was littered with animal (and human) bones, and waited for it. It surprised them by emerging from a nearby lake and attacking them-but they were able to kill it with several gunshots. Miller described the gowrow as being 20 feet long, with huge tusks, webbed and clawed feet, a row of horns along its spine, and a knifelike end to a long tail. He said he sent the body to the Smithsonian Institute-but it mysteriously never made it. Allsopp finished the article by saying he believed it was a “great fake”, but sightings of a similar lizardlike creature were reported in the Ozarks for many years.

(Image credit: Flickr user Luciana Christante)

Monster: Encantado
Where it lives: The Amazon River
Legend: Encantado means “enchanted one” in Portuguese and refers to a special kind of boto, or long-beaked river dolphin native to the Amazon-that can take human form. Encantados are curious about humans and are especially attracted to big, noisy festivals, which they often attend as musicians, staying in human form for years. How can you recognize one? Look under its hat: They always have bald spots that are actually disguised blowholes. Encantados are usually friendly, but they occasionally hypnotize and kidnap young women and take them back to the Encante, their underground city. Sometimes the women escape and return…pregnant with an Encantado baby.

Monster: Kappa
Where it lives: Japan
Legend: Kappas are said to inhabit lakes and rivers throughout the Japanese islands. They look like frogs, but with tortoiselike shells on their backs. They can leave the water-carrying their shells with them-because they have shallow depressions in their heads in which they keep a bit of water that not only allows them to walk around on land but also makes them incredibly strong. If you encounter one, bow to it. They’re very polite, so they’ll have to bow back to you…and the water will spill out of their head-bowls, weakening them. Their favorite food: the blood of small children. Their second-favorite: cucumbers. That’s why you can still see people in Japan throwing fresh cucumbers into lakes and rivers-with the names of their children carved into them. This, the legend says, will protect their little ones from the kappa’s clutches.