The Milgram Experiment

by Joan Seth

The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience.

The experiment consisted of 3 participants, they were designated the Learner, the Experimenter and the Teacher. In reality, the Teacher and Learner were all part of the whole experiment. The Learner is in fact a trained actor.

The Teacher will instruct the Experimenter, who is the subject to be tested, to ask the Learner a series of questions. For each wrong answer, the Teacher will order the Experimenter to press a switch, which will "administer" electric shocks to the Learner. The subject believes that the Learner was receiving actual electric shocks, though in reality there were no such punishments.

Being separated from the subject, a tape recorder integrated with the electro-shock generator, which played pre-recorded sounds for each shock level was set up. This set up, together with the Learner's acting skills, convinces the Experimenter that he is receiving very painful electric shocks.

As the number of questions increased, the intensity of the shocks increased too. After a few questions, the Experimenter will usually ask to stop the experiment or to check on the well-being of the Learner and question the integrity and necessity of the experiments. However, the Teacher will always assure the Experimenter that they will not be held responsible for anything and ask them to continue. The Experimenter will thus continue the experiment.

Soon after, the Experimenters will began to laugh nervously or exhibit other signs of extreme stress once they heard the screams of pain coming from the Learner. At this point, if they desired to end the experiment, the Teacher will give a succession of verbal prods by the experimenter, in this order:

1) Please continue.
2) The experiment requires that you continue.
3) It is absolutely essential that you continue.
4) You have no other choice, you must go on.

If the subject still wished to stop after all four successive verbal prods, the experiment was halted. Otherwise, it was halted after the subject had given the maximum 450-volt shock three times in succession.

In Milgram's first set of experiments, 65 percent (26 of 40) of experiment participants administered the experiment's final massive 450-volt shock, though many were very uncomfortable doing so; at some point, every participant paused and questioned the experiment, some said they would refund the money they were paid for participating in the experiment.

The effect of this experiment was to examine how far people will go to carry out an order, even though the order will result in the torture of another person. This also shows how people will view him or herself as the instrument for carrying out another person's wishes, and therefore no longer sees him or herself as responsible for his or her actions.

[A Personal Account of the Milgram Obedience Experiments]

[Behavioural Study of Obedience]

[When Good People Do Evil]

[People 'still willing to torture']

[Basic Instincts: The Science of Evil]

Read more >>

Tiny Entities in Malaysia

Source: Flying Saucer Review, Jan. 1981

In 1975 or 1976 there was some commotion in Kuantan, Malaysia, when a strange encounter with a 3-inch-tall man-like creature was reported. The incident occurred about 9 miles from the town of Kuantan. The small UFO which ferried the tiny entity is said to have landed at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base.

There were three young witnesses to the encounter. The third witness, not mentioned in the newspaper account below, is known to be still schooling in Kuantan. Attempts have been made to locate this witness. The whereabouts of the other two witnesses is not known and it is conceivable that they have moved to other Air Force installations in the country with their parents.

Below is a short account of the incident as it appeared in the local newspaper:

"Kuantan, Thursday – A 3-inch-tall creature said to resemble a human being, has become the talk of the RMAF base here since its reported sighting, by a schoolboy two days ago. The story has also spread to the town.

"Paul Lazario, 9, a pupil of the RMAF Primary School said he saw the creature two days ago near a drain at the RMAF field. It was stopping to drink water, he added. ‘I caught it but it escaped from my grip and ran into some undergrowth near the drain,’ he said.

"It had two feelers on the head and held a steel-like rod in its hand. A pistol was hanging from its waist. It was brown in colour and looked like a man,’ he added.

"Paul said he related the incident to his friends and in the evening three of them went to the spot near the field. And according to schoolboy, Neo Lee Ann, 12, all three saw the creature moving about on the area. ‘When it saw us, it ran into the undergrowth and disappeared’ he said.

"A teacher of the school, Mr. Yew Kim Guan, said when he heard the story he went to investigate. ‘There was no sign of the creature in the area, but I saw a Red Indian-like wigwam beautifully weaved out of grass. It was partly crushed,’ he said.

"He added he didn’t know whether to believe the story,"

Read more >>

Thais Look to the Supernatural

By THOMAS FULLER
Published: December 28, 2010

Don’t be fooled by the skyscrapers, the roads clogged with the latest luxury cars or the high-tech gadgetry in pockets and purses. This country of 65 million people has embraced modernity, yes, but many Thais will tell you that ghosts and spirits still wander the streets and inhabit buildings. Important business decisions often require consultations with a fortune teller. Cabinet ministers and military officers are sometimes so concerned with numerology and advice from their shamans that politics in Thailand could be called the black art of the possible.

“We still have our ghosts, we still have black magic,” said Todsaporn Jamsuwan, the co-founder of Holy Plus, a company that makes “spirit houses,” the ubiquitous miniature structures that resemble dollhouses and serve as dwellings for protective ghosts.

Far from abandoning traditional beliefs in the paranormal, Thailand is harnessing the forces of technology and modernity to reinforce them.

Mr. Todsaporn’s company has tweaked the idea of the spirit house, replacing wood with modern construction materials like ceramics, glass and granite panels. With electric wiring and indoor lighting, the Holy Plus spirit houses resemble the glass-and-steel office buildings and condominiums they are meant to protect.

Those who might have predicted a few decades ago that the rise of science and technology would eventually blot out Thailand’s longstanding preoccupation with the supernatural can walk into one of the country’s thousands of 7-Eleven convenience stores. Amulets meant to protect and bring good luck sell next to breath mints. Horoscope books are mixed in with instant noodles and junk food.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Alex the Talking Parrot

Alex the Parrot was different, though: he could correctly identify 50 different shapes, recognize numbers up to six, distinguish seven colors, and understand qualities such as bigger, smaller, same, and different.

Alex didn't just associate a word with a specific object: he could generalize, which is usually something only humans can do. For example, when shown various keys, he could recognize that they were the same thing and even point out differences in size and color. If you still don't think that's impressive, take a look at this video of Alex interacting with his trainer, Dr. Irene Pepperberg, and try not to freak out when he asks her for some water:

Read more >>

The Ghost Must Be Crazy ( 鬼也笑)

From Contributor : Chan ShiJie

Picture is (C) copyright to j team productions

Movie Synopsis (鬼也笑 影片简介)

This will be the synopsis
这将是简介
“The Ghost Must Be Crazy” has two different stories entitled “The Day Off” and “The Ghost Bride”. In “The Day Off”, Ah Nan (John Cheng) and Ah Lei (Wang Lei) goes for their annual in-camp training and they meet a very “on” Platoon Commander. As they’re about to play a prank on the Commander as a form of revenge for all the rigorous training they had to put up with, a series of strange things happen.

"鬼也笑" 拥有两部故是分为 "休假" 和 "鬼新娘" 这两个不同的故事。
在"休假" 的这部，阿南（程约翰）和阿磊（王磊）去为他们的年度兵营训练，他们遇到一个很“ON" 的指挥官。他们想要玩指挥官作为一切严格的训练的报复，有一系列奇怪的事情发生。

Picture is (C) copyright to j team productions

In “Ghost Bride”, Ah Hui (Henry Thia) who is unlucky in love meets a stranger, Ah Hai (Mark Lee), who promises him fortune and blessings if he seeks help from ‘brothers and sisters’ in the netherworld. Ah Hui does so and ends up finding a beautiful jade bangle inside a red packet. Soon after, Ah Hui strikes the lottery, but spends it all lavishly. Just when he is down in the dumps again, Ah Hai offers him another solution and something strange happens.

在“鬼新娘“，程旭辉（程亨利 ）是一个在感情方面向当不幸的一个人遇到陌生人，阿海（李国煌)。 这个人所给他的承诺是财富和幸福，如果他肯试从地下的兄弟姐妹们的帮助。阿晖照他的话去做儿最终n拿到一个漂亮的红封包内的玉手镯。不久后，阿晖中了彩票所以罢工，但是他却乱乱的花。正当他再次的沮丧了，啊海向他提供了另一个解决方案和一些奇怪的事情发生。

Picture is (C) copyright to j team productions

Trailer and Teaser

You can watch the trailer here on this movie if you would like to

The first video is one that advertises and promoting this movie. It is shown in the cinema as one of the advertisements before the movie that you are watching starts.



The next video below is basically the MTV ! The theme song of this movie



Trailer



My Personal Comments
Mark Lee ( 李国煌)

Personally this movie is like a trail for mark Lee and for his first try, I would personally say it is a good attempt from him.
我个人认为这部电影就像是马克李( 李国煌) 他的第一次的尝试，我本身会认为这是一个好尝试。


Story 1
Where the 1st story is on concern, there is a lot of joke element added into and it is very much based on how our Singapore Army is like of course with certain portions amended. Some of the amended portions may not make any sense at all but hey ! It is just a movie after all

I did have a very good laugh on it.

From what I can see it just trying to stress that don’t think there are no such thing as ghosts especially when you are out in the field training.

Many people like to say “ where got such thing as ghost ! ?” “if you believe got ghost then got ghost and if you don’t they don’t !” “ If you see the ghost tell the ghost to report to me and I will bla bla etc etc etc whatsoever …..” so in this movie it really happened ! What are you going to do when the ghost really reports to you?

Many things that you don’t believe or cannot see does not mean that it does not exists and it is not real ! At many times it does no harm to show respect to certain things and many more times it is better to believe it exists than to believe it does not, as like what the Chinese saying would states.


Story 2
As to the 2nd story, it speaks of a very typical story of people who would go to all length of praying to the dead to ask for fortune from lottery etc… which is a rather common thing in Singapore.

However, there is a difference between dead spirits of the underworld and deities of the heavens ! The biggest difference is that at the most if you fail to deliver your promises to the deities/gods of the heaven they will bless you again the next time. But however this will not be the case for the dead ! When you ask something from the dead and you fail to deliver your promises, the consequences is fatal !


MTV
The most important thing is what you promise be it to the heavenly deities or to the spirits of the underworld, you must be able to deliver your promises to them! Do not give empty promises to them. The best thing would be to depend on yourself instead of them.

If you were to closely listen to MTV, you will find that there is a message !

It is trying to emphasis to you that ghosts exists in this world but however this word ghost is not the real ghost that we imagine of. This “Ghost” can also be a living human around you who is as good as a “ghost” due to the things this person does, says, the character, personality etc…

This “Ghost” can be just around you in your daily life even. Perhaps your colleague, your so called friends etc… it can be anyone basically!

So beware !!!!!


Movie
This message is rather meaningful. Jack Neo’s movie all usually speaks of much moral values.

This is a good movie to watch and I would encourage you to watch if you have not yet!

Asiaparanormal's Comment

This Movie speaks of typical things in Singapore and it will be good for you to watch to learn more about things in Singapore if you are a non-Singaporean.

It is very true that ghosts and hauntings are often encountered and in most cases these are being brought in by yourself.

Many people wanted to become rich so much to the point of extend that they pray to almost anything and everything. There are some who gives alot of promises but in the end failed to deliver them. Hence severe consequences has to be faced in such cases.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

The Horned-Man of China

93-year-old Ma Zhong Nan of China never imagined that a small scalp injury five years ago would blossom into 4 inch horn. About two weeks ago the horn began to itch and Ma decided to seek medical attention. Those attempts proved rather fruitless and his children are now seeking help and treatment through the media.

Horned humans are nothing new, the earliest medically documented case dates back to the 1500’s, the London Museum has several human horns in their collection and Robert Ripley made Wang the Human Unicorn famous in the 1930’s.

Human horn are not actual horns as they are not made of the same material animal horns are. Most often human horns are attributed to benign calvarial tumours, such as osteomas, and an aggressive variant of a condition known as cornu cutaneum. It is also important to note that ‘horns’ can grow anywhere on the human body but that the condition manifesting on the head only is a rarity.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Mammoth 'could be reborn in four years'

Previous efforts in the 1990s to recover nuclei in cells from the skin and muscle tissue from mammoths found in the Siberian permafrost failed because they had been too badly damaged by the extreme cold.

But a technique pioneered in 2008 by Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama, of the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology, was successful in cloning a mouse from the cells of another mouse that had been frozen for 16 years.

Now that hurdle has been overcome, Akira Iritani, a professor at Kyoto University, is reactivating his campaign to resurrect the species that died out 5,000 years ago.
"Now the technical problems have been overcome, all we need is a good sample of soft tissue from a frozen mammoth," he told The Daily Telegraph.

He intends to use Dr Wakayama's technique to identify the nuclei of viable mammoth cells before extracting the healthy ones.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Crop circles found in Yogya rice field

Picture is (C) copyright to Jakarta Post

YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA - A large circle and geometric pattern local residents say were created by a UFO have been found in a rice field in Krasakan hamlet in Sleman, Yogyakarta.

The pattern includes a triangle and two smaller circles in the middle of the large circle, which has a diameter of between 25 and 30 meters, tempointeraktif.com reported Monday.

"The circles were there since yesterday morning. I think they were left by an alien space ship, like one I saw in TV," Krasakan resident Cahyo Utomo said Monday.

"It is impossible that this was were made by the wind or any animal," he added.

The circles and triangle in the rice paddy next to a residential area look resemble a geometric artwork, while the other parts of the field remain intact.

The crop circles were first reported by a farmer, Tukiman, on Sunday at 6 a.m.

Sleman Police chief Adj.Sr.Com. Iwan Ramaini said he was not sure if the circles were created by a UFO or if it was a natural phenomenon. A police investigation is underway.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Chinese National TV Reports President Obama to Disclose Extraterrestrial Contact!

Chinese National Television Xinhua news is now reporting an impending extraterrestrial disclosure by the Obama administration.

The unprecedented national China TV news bulletin that U.S. President Barack Obama may be preparing to disclose U.S. relations with specific extraterrestrial races was broadcast on the official channel Xinhua on January 4, 2011 on the eve of China President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States.

President Hu is presently visiting a Chinese language facility in Chicago, IL as of this writing on January 21, 2011.

View China National TV reporting impending ET disclosure by Obama administration

Examiner.com readers can view the China TV news broadcast above in this article on by clicking in the URL below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMP_qcVo4zw&feature=player_embedded#!

ET Disclosure Race?

The Xinhua China TV broadcast on the official news channel stating that President Barack Obama may be preparing an official U.S. disclosure of the extraterrestrial presence by one perspective may be fueled by an “Extraterrestrial disclosure race” now developing between China, the U.S., and other major space powers as to which nation will be the first nation will use the authority of its Head of State and secret ET files to authoritatively declare there is an extraterrestrial presence on Earth.

The first nation to authoritatively announce the Extraterrestrial presence stands to gain world prestige and trust in the eyes of the increasingly extraterrestrially-sophisticated more than 6.89 billion persons populating the Earth at this time.

One journalist, Michael Cohen, notes that “Prime time TV news broadcasts announcing the upcoming US UFO admission…. have been beamed to the living rooms of hundreds of millions of intrigued Chinese citizens.

“Commentators and analysts now believe a new cold war over alien and UFO secrets is underway between the two superpowers.

“The historic decision [by Xinhua by Chinese national Television agency] to broadcast this news is seen as stemming from fears that the US might steal China's glory and admit an alien presence on Earth before Beijing does.

“In fact, neither side particularly wants to admit to the public that they are in contact with aliens, however at the same time, they do not want the other side to do so first. In other words, if there is UFO admission both nations want it to be their moment of glory.

“The recent news broadcasts are probably a way for progressive elements within the Communist party to nudge the notoriously cautious President Hu Jintao by bringing to his attention the possibility that America might steal his moment and come clean.

“In an era where both superpowers possess enormous nuclear arsenals it is essential that the race to UFO disclosure does not heat up into fully blown conflict, or else alien observers themselves might be forced to intervene.”

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Biggest animals in the world

Master Oregon Note: Dear Readers, out of all these pictures, only 1 of them is faked and photoshopped. Can you guess which one is it?

1. Biggest Horse



2. Biggest Cow



3. Biggest Catfish



4. Biggest Pig



5. Biggest Rabbit



6. Biggest Dog



7. Biggest Worm



8. Biggest Cat



9. Biggest Alligator



10. Biggest Crocodile



11. Biggest Grizzly Bear



12. Biggest Human



13. Biggest Stingray



Some pictures and text in this article are granted permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; and as such are reproduced in this article.

Read more >>

Giant hole opens up behind house

Picture is (C) copyright to quirky news

A Chinese family had to leave their home after a giant sinkhole suddenly opened up in their backyard overnight.

The hole is nearly 70ft wide and nobody has so far even been able to measure how deep it is.

Zhang Fengrong, 58, of Leshan, Sichuan province, said he suddenly heard a roaring sound at 2am.

He stepped outside and was amazed to see the giant hole opening up, and getting closer and closer to his house.

At first, it was only 10ft wide, but witjhin 24 hours it had reached it's current size - and the family say they will lose their home if it gets any bigger.

Zhang said he had tried to measure the depth of the pit by letting down first a 130ft rope, then a 200ft rope, but they still hadn't reached the bottom.

"We can hear the sound of water when we stand on the edge of the hole, but when we throw down stones we don't hear them land or splash," he added.

The family are temporarily living in two rooms offered by the village office, and neighbours have helped them move most of their belongings from the house.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

World's largest cave is big enough to fit a skyscraper and even has its own jungle

Vietnam's Hang Son Doong cave is the largest in the world, with caverns big enough to fit an entire city street inside them. These awe-inspiring photos take you inside the beautiful, alien world of the Hang Son Doong cave.

The cave was, amazingly enough, only discovered twenty years ago, and is just now being properly surveyed. National Geographic has a fascinating longer piece on the recent explorations of the cave, but the real highlight has to be the nearly two dozen amazing photographs from inside the cave.

Be sure to check out their gallery for the complete collection of amazing photos by Carsten Peter. In the meantime, here's a little sample to get you in the spelunking mood. Up top is quite possibly the biggest subterranean passage on the planet, capable of fitting inside a half-mile block of 40-story buildings. To get some idea of the scale of this chamber, look for the lone explorer at the center of the image. And then there's the jungle of Hang Son Doong:

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Islamic priests help exorcise "little ghosts"

KOTA BHARU, Kelantan: Supernatural incidents of "spiritual fires" have happened in a residential house at Jalan Pantai Cahaya Bulan, Kampung Barembang, Kota Bharu, and 14 Islamic priests who claimed to have the experiences of performing exorcisms volunteered to chant the Koran verses for hours to remove the evil spirit.

These Islamic priests started to perform the exorcism at about 8pm last Tuesday in the house. They were seated in a circle inside the living room. A bucket of plain water, a sack of white rice and a mixture of rice and turmeric were laid in the middle of the circle. The mixture was later scattered around the house after the practice ended.

They hoped to help the owner of the house expel the spirit that had caused the "spiritual fires" inside the house.

Chajiya, the chief priest who chanted the Koran verses, said they had to remove some the old weapons such as a parang, a samurai sword and some bronze objects in order to apply the spell on them. He said according to the legend, "makhluk halus" (little ghosts) liked to "wind" around these things.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

UFOs spotted over Islamabad, Pakistan

Read more >>

Residents Plagued By Mysterious Midges

Credit: Hardwarezone Forums


Credit: Hardwarezone Forums

SINGAPORE : Bedok Reservoir residents have been plagued by a swarm of green flies for the past week.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said they are midges, which look like mosquitoes, but they do not bite or carry diseases.

Millions of midges are landing everywhere in the area. They are attracted to lights from the HDB flats and are a nuisance.

The NEA said the sudden boom in the midge population may be caused by a change in weather and an imbalance of the ecosystem.

Many of the higher floor units were not spared as the insects are carried by the wind into residents' homes.

Foreign Minister and MP for the area, George Yeo, who inspected the area on Tuesday afternoon, said the Aljunied Town Council are spraying safe pesticides along the mud banks where they breed.

Residents have been advised to keep their windows closed as pest control personnel attempt to reduce the midge population.

Mr George Yeo, Foreign Minister and Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, said: "So they've got a biological agent which is completely safe - it's actually a good bacteria called BTI which they put into the water, on the reservoir fringe.

"They are going to spray it on the void decks and various floors of the HDB flats to try to contain the problem."

Tia Siew Hian, a resident at Block 710 Bedok Reservoir, said: "One bundle came like that and are attracted to the lights so mostly we cannot open the windows. Once we open the windows, all (the insects) will come in. It's very irritating because it goes to your nose and ears and eyes."

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Israelis deny vulture captured by Saudis is a spy

An Israeli avian specialist has called for the release of a vulture that was reportedly detained in Saudi Arabia for being an Israeli spy.

Ohad Hatzofe, an Avian Ecologist from the Division of Science and Conservation at Israel's Nature and Parks Authority, said that the bird was probably "part of a movement in migration of birds" and not an Israeli-born vulture.

Saudi Arabian officials "detained" the vulture after reportedly alleging it was spying for Israel.

The bird was reported to have been found in a rural area of the country wearing a GPS logger and a leg bracelet bearing the words "Tel Aviv University", according to the reports, which surfaced first in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Is the Taliban really training monkeys to shoot at US troops?

By Jeremy Hsu, LiveScience Senior Writer / July 27, 2010

A bizarre report of Taliban insurgents training monkeys and baboons to shoot at U.S. and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan seems unrealistic at best, according to an expert.

The story that appeared this month in the Chinese People's Daily suggested that insurgents used a reward-and-punishment system to train macaques and baboons to target soldiers wearing U.S. military uniforms. The Taliban supposedly "taught monkeys how to use the Kalashnikov, Bren light machine gun and trench mortars," the People's Daily wrote. [Top 10 Animal Recruits of War]

But a researcher who has spent his career studying the social life of nonhuman primates cast a highly critical eye on the story.

"They can be trained to do things like turn off lights and open faucets and so on, but eventually that breaks down," said William Mason, a psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis. "If we're talking about animals going out into the field or a fortress with an AK-47 or whatever, it seems very, very implausible."

It didn't seem like something anyone would try seriously to do, Mason said. He added that humans might demonstrate aiming and pulling a trigger to nonhuman primates, but that doesn’t amount to the same cognitive skill required to actively aim and fire at intended targets on a battlefield.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Deformed baby scares mother

Picture is (C) copyright to The Morningstarr

by Earl Morningstarr

A woman in India has rejected her newborn son, because she says he looks like an alien.

Sonal Waghela from Gujarat, India fainted when she first laid eyes on her new son. The unnamed child was born with a rare condition which has caused his head to swell to enormous proportions. Mrs Waghela has refused to nurse the child, or even look at it, saying it looks like a creature from another planet. The baby is currently being spoon fed with another woman’s breast milk.

The baby was born with water accumulated in the brainball, the condition can be fatal if left untreated.

“The head swells like a balloon because of water accumulation inside the brain and hence the baby looks abnormal.” Dr Hiren Thumer who delivered the baby explained.

“Generally, these types of births occur in one in a hundred thousand deliveries.”

“Such babies can be saved if brain surgery is conducted, else it dies within four to six months.”

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Taiwan man sues neighbours over rude bird

A man from Taiwan is suing his neighbours over their rude pet bird, complaining the pet's cursing inflicted emotional stress and injuries.

Electrician Wang Han-chin claims that five neighbours taught their pet bird to insult him after he complained to the police that they were too loud.

Wang, from central Taiwan, claims the mynah bird would call him a ‘clueless big-mouthed idiot’ whenever he left the house.

While most would brush off the insults of a small feathery creature, it would appear Wang took the comments to heart.

He alleges the bird’s harsh words caused him serious distress, and claims he suffered burn injuries after the bird made him lose concentration at work.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Japanese scientists are engaged in training smart bacteria

In the framework of laying puzzles similar to Sudoku style grids, now, bacteria are able to solve logical problems, suggesting the possibility of their training. Japanese scientists are engaged in training smart bacteria

According to the head of the research team, Ryo Taniuchi, the puzzles are simple rules, so it was suggested that the bacteria cope with the conundrum. They were able to set up a special traffic scheme.

The Panel conducted an experiment with 16 kinds of bacteria. For each colony was secured certain genetic characteristics, depending on what type of cell in the puzzle box it held. Also, bacteria are aligned with colors, identical numbers in a cage.

Scientists have pushed bacteria in the cells differentiate, taking one of four colors. Then the bacteria by using RNA-recombinase (class of enzymes capable of recombination of DNA) sends information about its location and color value undifferentiated bacteria in the remaining cells.

The genetic information stored in these “messages” does not allow bacteria to differentiate and become the same color as the bacteria-transmitters. Thus, undifferentiated bacteria determine what color to take to solve the problem.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Indian shaman 'poisons women in witchcraft test'

By Salman Ravi
BBC Hindi, Raipur

An Indian shaman who allegedly forced women to drink a potion to prove they were not witches has been arrested.

Nearly 30 women fell ill after they were rounded up in Shivni village in central Chhattisgarh state on Sunday and made to drink the herbal brew.

A senior police officer told the BBC that six villagers had also been arrested.

Witch hunts targeting women are common in east and central India, and a number of accused are killed every year.

Most of the cases take place in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.

Police spokesman Rajesh Joshi told the BBC that an 18-year-old villager was accused of witchcraft because she had been unwell.

"Her father Sitaram Rathod and other villagers suspected that it [her illness] could be due to an evil spell cast by a witch," Mr Joshi said.

"They [the villagers] called for an ojha [witch doctor] to ward off the spell."

Authorities said the shaman, named as Bhagwan Deen, had been helped by a few other residents as he rounded up nearly all the adult women in the centre of the village.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

'Kung fu' spritualist in exorcism bid

Widow Zainab Sulaiman, whose house in Kampung Penambang Bunga Emas, near Kota Baru, Kelantan has been plagued by hundreds of small fires which seemed to ignite out of the blue, is getting help from paranormal experts from as far away as Penang.

The latest "exorcist" is spiritualist Ong Q Leng, who came to the aid of the 73-year-old on Saturday to chase away "evil djinns" and "lock" the house to prevent it from coming back and causing trouble again.

Ong, 36, also known as Master Ong in Penang, said the house was infested with spirits sent by someone with ill-intentions.


She performed several 'kung fu' motions to get rid of them,

"I could sense an evil presence the moment I stepped into the house. There are little djinns under the house while the big ones are outside the house.

"I was able to chase away the small djinns but there is a 50-50 chance that they will return to cause mischief again."

"I have also provided 'shields' for Zainab and her family members, and advised her not to allow visitors as they could be possessed by the djinns," she said.

The mysterious fires have destroyed more than 250 pieces of clothing as well as prayer mats and two mattresses over the past two weeks.

Last Wednesday, a local group of Muslim ghostbusters called Darus Shifaq had conducted prayers and chanted Quranic verses, including cleansing with blessed water her ancient collection of keris, swords, and brassware believed to be possessed by the djinn.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Papua New Guinea Living Dinosaur Bird Video

Read more >>

Predictions of World End in the 2010s

Christians have predicted several events that many believe are related: the second coming of Jesus, the war of Armageddon, the arrival on earth of the Antichrist, the Tribulation, the Rapture, some horrendous natural disaster, etc. Jewish, Islamic, psychic, occult and other predictions have been offered as well.

We have listed over 7 dozen predictions that the end of the world would happen before now. They all have one factor in common: none ever came true. There is every likelihood that most (perhaps all) of these future predictions will not materialize either.

We have been criticized by some of our readers for whipping up hysteria about the end of the world. Our intent is the exact opposite: we want to dampen the level of panic. We hope that by listing many dozens of past predictions -- all of which have failed -- that people will realize that some very important individuals have been totally wrong when they predicted the end of the world. End of the world predictions have been common throughout Christianity and other religions for almost 2000 years. It is probable that none of the following predictions of the date of the end of the world will come true. We will be very surprised if one of them did.
[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Pig Born Without Back Legs

The 10-month-old porker is known by villagers as "Zhu Jianqiang" (Strong-willed Pig) after it was born with only two front legs and learned to balance on them well enough to walk.

According to its owner, Wang Xihai, it was one of nine piglets born in a litter this January. He said: "My wife asked me to dump it but I refused as it's a life. I thought I should give it a chance to survive and unexpectedly it survived healthy."

Several days after its birth Wang decided to train the two-legged piglet to walk by lifting it up by its tail.

He said: "I trained her for a while each day. After 30 days she can now walk upside down quite well."

Wang said since the birth of the pig, which currently weighs 50kg (110lbs), his home has been besieged by visitors.

A circus even offered to buy for the pig for a large sum but Wang refused to sell.

He said "She proved to us that no matter what form life is it should continue to live on. I won't sell it no matter how much the offer is."

Read more >>

Extrasensory perception paper published in respected journal

An academic paper arguing that people may be able to see into the future is to be published by a respected journal, prompting anger among some American scientists.

The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology plans to print "Feeling The Future", by Professor Daryl Bem later this year, which presents what he claims is strong evidence for extrasensory perception (ESP).

Prof Bem, of Cornell University, New York, said the results of nine experiments he had carried out on students over the past decade suggested humans could accurately predict random events.

His peer-reviewed work was described as "pure craziness" and "an embarrassment for the entire field" by scientists who allege it has serious flaws and that ESP is a myth.

In one test, 100 students were presented with a computer screen showing two curtains. They were told an image, which could be erotic, lay behind one curtain and they should guess which.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

'Zombie ants' controlled by parasitic fungus for 48m years

The oldest evidence of a fungus that turns ants into zombies and makes them stagger to their death has been uncovered by scientists.

The gruesome hallmark of the fungus's handiwork was found on the leaves of plants that grew in Messel, near Darmstadt in Germany, 48m years ago.

The finding shows that parasitic fungi evolved the ability to control the creatures they infect in the distant past, even before the rise of the Himalayas.

The fungus, which is alive and well in forests today, latches on to carpenter ants as they cross the forest floor before returning to their nests high in the canopy.

The fungus grows inside the ants and releases chemicals that affect their behaviour. Some ants leave the colony and wander off to find fresh leaves on their own, while others fall from their tree-top havens on to leaves nearer the ground.

The final stage of the parasitic death sentence is the most macabre. In their last hours, infected ants move towards the underside of the leaf they are on and lock their mandibles in a "death grip" around the central vein, immobilising themselves and locking the fungus in position.


Picture is (C) copyright to Guardian

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Odd Syndrome Causes 'Fear of One's Own Glance'

By Deborah Huso

While we've all had the experience of offending someone by making an inappropriate remark or perhaps snickering when we shouldn't have, imagine feeling that your expression was offensive to others all the time.

That's exactly what some Japanese people experience, according to new research published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers, led by Dr. Katsuaki Suzuki with the Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, have found that some Asians suffer from what they call jiko-shisen-kyofu or "fear of one's own glance."

That means they assume their own glance, or the way they look at people, is offensive. They think it causes others to be uncomfortable, and, as a result, their shame often leads them to avoid social situations.

Many Americans may find this Asian syndrome difficult to understand, and there is, in fact, no correlation to "fear of one's own glance" in western psychiatry.

That doesn't mean it's an invalid diagnosis, however, as Suzuki's new research paper points out.

She says "fear of one's own glance" is "both unique to East Asia and a culture-bound syndrome." Westerners do not suffer from it.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

'Dead' woman comes alive during funeral

A woman who was pronounced dead by doctors came alive during her funeral procession - two days later.

She reportedly stirred and stood up while family members were burning firecrackers in accordance with local custom in the small Inidan village of Vepachettu in Allipuram, about 50km from Hyderabad, Tamil Nesan reported.

On Wednesday, Pinnitla Varalakshmi had been admitted to the King George's Hospital after she collapsed at her house while attending to her daily chores.

octors pronounced her dead on arrival and issued a death certificate.

While her "body" was being carried in a funeral procession on Friday, mourners saw her waking up, sending shivers down their spine. A relative, Nageswara Rao, said ambulance staff noticed her pulse and took her to a private hospital.

She was later pronounced dead again.

-- The Star/Asia News Network

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Wobbly Earth Means Your Horoscope Is Wrong

If you look to your horoscope for a preview of your day, look again: You're probably following somebody else's supposed fate.

Thanks to Earth's wobble, astrological signs are, well, bunk. (Or even more bunk than you might expect.) Astrological signs are determined by the position of the sun relative to certain constellations on a person's day of birth. The problem is, the positions were determined more than 2,000 years ago. Nowadays, the stars have shifted in the night sky so much that horoscope signs are nearly a month off. [Read: Why Your Horoscope for 2011 Is All Wrong]

"Astrology tells us that the sun is in one position, whereas astronomy tells us it's in another position," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist and a lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium.

[Click here to read full article]

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.

Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.

Pisces: March 11-April 18.

Aries: April 18-May 13.

Taurus: May 13-June 21.

Gemini: June 21-July 20.

Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.

Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.

Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.

Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.

Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.

Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Read more >>

Paranormal experts fail to get rid of 'ghosts' at grandma's house

By Syed Azhar

KOTA BARU - There seems to be no end to Zainab Sulaiman's woes despite several attempts by paranormal experts to rid her of spirits believed to be behind over 200 mysterious fires which have broken out in her home.

On Wednesday night, a group of local Muslim ghostbusters called Darul Shifaq spent half the night in her house at Kampung Penam­bang Bunga Emas here chanting Quranic verses.

They also used blessed water to cleanse her ancient collection of keris, swords, and brasswares where the spirits are believed to be staying.

Darul Shifaq leader Zakaria Ya said djinn or spirits rarely possess human beings.

"We have come across this sort of paranormal activity before, and her an­cient belongings may be the cause of the fires.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Christian Competing theories of eschatology, end times, and millennialism

Terminology:

Eschatology is a Christian term that means the study of the end of history from a religious perspective. Probably more obscure theological text has been written on this topic than on any other belief in Christendom.

The Bible contains many prophecies about the future. The Christian Scriptures (New Testament) in particular talks extensively about the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. 1 This is usually called his "second coming," or "parousia." The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 24, is devoted to this topic, as is much of the book of Revelation, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. A literal interpretation of the Bible shows that four important events are predicted:

The Millennium: Revelation describes an important interval lasting for 1000 years when Christ rules. 1 This is a golden era; a time of universal peace. The concept was first proposed by the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism.

The Tribulation: This is a 7 year interval when a world religious-political leader called the Antichrist takes power.

Armageddon is a terrible war provoked by the Antichrist. Most people on earth will die. God's anger, hatred, and wrath are poured out over mankind and the earth at this time. A series of violent events as prophesied in Daniel 9, Matthew 24, and Revelation 4-19 will occur.

The Rapture: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 describes a miraculous event when Christ will descend from the heavens towards the Earth. Many conservative Protestants believe that faithful "born again" Christians who have previously died will be resurrected, rise from their graves, and ascend to meet Jesus in the sky. Immediately afterwards, "born again" Christians who had not died will also ascend into the air. They will abandon cars, airplanes, factory jobs, homes, families, friends etc. Since the vast majority of humans are not "born again," most people will remain behind on earth. More details on the rapture.

Unfortunately, this and various other Biblical passages predicting the future are ambiguous. The events themselves are open to many interpretations. There is no clear indication of either their timing or sequence. Some Christians believe that "millennium" does not mean a time interval of exactly 1,000 years. Rather it refers to a long interval of time. Some Christians interpret events mentioned in the Christian Scriptures as descriptions of real happenings in our future; others interpret them symbolically and/or as events that have already occurred.

This leaves the passages open to many conflicting beliefs about the end times. A lot of intra-denominational and inter-denominational strife has resulted from disagreements about end time prophecy. For example, the Roman Catholic Church and most mainline and liberal denominations do not have expectation that a Rapture will occur in the way anticipated by many fundamentalist and other evangelical faith groups.
[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

The sun's journey through the year makes an infinity shape

Picture is (C) copyright to Tamas Ladanyi

Hungarian photographer Tamas Ladanyi photographed the sun's position at 9 AM GMT every ten days in 2010, and the result is this striking infinity symbol in the sky, known as an analemma.

Read more >>

Islamic Predictions of World End

Brothers & Sisters;

Since I have not seen any posts that deal with the issue of the end of the world from the point of view of what ISLAM says I have decided to bring you this summary:

Note the following when reading this:
1- The sequence of events noted come from the Q'uran and the Hadith (the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
2- Under Islam Jesus is considered a Prophet and not God.
3- Islam includes both Judaism and Christianity. All of the Prophets from Adam, Noah, Abraham, John, Christ, and Muhammad (pbua)are considered Prophets of Islam.
4- I am writing this with knowledge of both religions as I was Christian Catholic and have embraced Islam a few years ago.
5- The information that appears in the Bible and the Islamic texts corroborate each other. Anyone can buy all these books and read for themselves. There are significant amount of good quality books that address this issue from the point of view of Christianity and Islam. It is just a matter of taking what matches in both religious texts to asess predictions that span more than 2000 years.
6- As you read this you will clearly see that these events are unfolding in front of our eyes, and GOD KNOWS BEST.


THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS:

1- Increasing turmoil and natural disasters, war, death and conflict. See bellow the list of signs given by the Quaran and Prophet Muhammad.

2- Major catastrophe that will kill 2/3 of the world's population. The continents will move and due to the massive changes plants, animals and human life will die off in large numbers. There will be not much food. It is possible that this will happen in the year 2012 but nothing in the Islamic texts confirms this. The only possible sign is that there are no predictions made in Islam beyond the year 2000. Either a meteorite or some sort of energy pull that will cause a shift in the earth axis. This will cause the "sun to come our from the west" (see bellow predictions). Take a globe and flip is upside sown - you will see that the sun will come out form the west. At this time also there will be constant daylight as the earth tilts and moves into the new axis position. As you know Muslims pray 5 times a day. Prophet Muhammad indicate to people that at this time they should break up the day in equal portions and maintain their scheduled prayers.

3- The appearance of the ANTICRHIST. In Islamic terminology it is called the DJALL or LIAR or DECEIVER. This individual will be a Jew whose father will be a Rabbi, he will be blind from one eye and the remaining eye will stick out like a grape. He will have extraordinary powers that will make people believe he is god. He can only be killed by Jesus (a.s.) He will be born in or around the Arabian Penninsula. The fact that he will be Jewish is pointed out in the Torah (Old Testament in the Bible) - Prince of The Israelites and the Islamic texts point out that his main followers will be Jews.
Due to his miraculous powers he will be taken by most of the Jewish and Christian people as the Messiah. As you know Evangelical Christians are waiting for the Messiah once Israel is established. Any one will be able to identify him because he will only support evil actions. Significant amount of Muslims will leave their Faith to also join him a believe in him. It is predicted that a Muslim will believe in the morning and disbelieve in the evening and a non believer will not believe in the morning and believe in the evening. The only people who will oppose him will be a small number of believing Muslims. The Muslims will be persecuted by the ANTICHRIST who will present them as an evil force (sounds familiar?). He will claim he is himself god. The reason for people following him is that due to the amount of turmoil, war, and killings many people will stop believing in God and be angry at Him (as opposed to blaming ourselves for our own corrupt ways). They will look at this individual as their saviour who will have power to produce some food or water for them. Anyone who follows or worships the ANTICHRIST will be cursed to Hell by God.

4- In the Arabian Peninsula an individual will appear. In the Islamic predictions his name is MEHDI (IMAM MEHDI r.a.). He will gather the Muslims who oppose the ANTICHRIST and fight him. For MEHDI and the opposing forces it will be an ongoing loosing battle. Muslims will be defeated in the East and then the West. The ANTICHRIST will come to the walls of Mecca and Medina but he will not be able to enter them.

5- Jesus (a.s.) will descend in Jerusalem. In the Islamic belief Jesus is not crucified, but God replaced him in the cross with another individual and took up to Heaven Jesus (a.s.). One of the main predictions in relation to Jesus (a.s.) is that his descend will be witnessed by EVERYBODY. He will declare his condition as a Prophet and not God. People will turn away from the ANTICHRIST. Jesus (a.s.) will kill the ANTICHRIST at one of the gates of Jerusalem.

6- Once this happens the people of Gog and Magog will come out. They will be all killed. Peace and prosperity will then descend upon the whole world where Jesus (a.s.) will be the leader of all people. At this point Jesus (a.s.) will marry and have a family.

7- Jesus (a.s.) will die. Then, all good people will be taken up by God through a wind that will descend and kill them. Only corrupt, unbelieving people will remain. Then end of the wold will then come and Judgment Day.


These are SIGNS related to the end of times according to Islamic sources:

Wild animals will be gathered into captivity and kept in collections in pens and cages.

Murder will be considered a minor act.

Men will get payment for their reproductive organs (artificial fertilization).

Reducing weights and measures of goods will be a means of increasing profits.

The person earning a proper and lawful livelihood will be scorned and the person earning his living from unfair means will be admired.

The main purpose in life will be earning and enjoying.

Aphrodisiacs will be used to strengthen the body for sodomy.

Usury will gain solid ground.

Adultery will be commonplace.

The murder victim will not know why he is murdered and the killer will not know why he killed.

Mansions like palaces will be constructed.

Bribery will become like a custom.

There will be no regard for the ties of relationship.

Murder will increase.

Fools will be made rulers.

Forbearance will be called cowardice and weakness.

Ministers of government will be liars.

The practice of divorce will increase.

A liar will be considered an acceptable witness.

Homosexuality will be openly practiced.

Good people will keep silent fearing others' foul speech.

Goodness and evil will be viewed from the same perspective.

Young boys will be used like women on payment.

Unworthy persons will meddle in affairs of state.

Men will keep their hair in a ladylike manner.

The governors will consider the wealth of the people as their own and they will attack the morality of women.

Governments will stockpile grains to maintain prices.

Government will be entrusted to those unworthy of it.

The earth will vomit oblong pieces of its liver like columns of gold and silver. The murderer will come and say "I killed for this," and the deserter will come and say "I deserted my family for this," and the thief will come and say "My hand has been cut off for this."

The Euphrates will disclose a mountain of gold over which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of each hundred will be killed and every one of them will say "Maybe I will be the one who will escape."

The Last Hour shall not occur until wealth will increase among you and become enormous, until a man takes out the charity due from his wealth but will find none to accept it, until the land of the Arabs becomes meadows and rivers.

The Last Hour shall not occur until wealth will increase among you and become enormous, and the owner of wealth will search for one entitled to the charity due on it; and he will present it and the person to whom it will be presented will say "I have no need of it;" and barefooted shepherds will compete with each other in the building of tall buildings.

The slave girl will give birth to her owner .


ABOUT THE MUSLIMS IT HAS BEEN PREDICTED:

You will follow the practices of those who were before you, step by step, foot by foot, so much so that if one of them goes into the hole of a lizard you will follow.

God will take up the knowledge, not by removing it from the minds of people, but by taking possession of the knowledgeable. Then the people will call on the ignorant to inform them, and they will go astray and lead astray.

The people will get up in the morning to carry on trade and there will be hardly anyone who will fulfill their bargain. It will be said "There is a trustworthy man in so and so;" and it will be said of a man "How wise is he! How skillful is be! How resolute is he," while in his heart there will be no faith even to the grain of a mustard seed.

It is near that the nations will call one another against you just as diners call one another to their dishes. You will be numerous, but you will be so much rubbish like the rubbish of a flood. God will take away the fear of you from the minds of your enemies and will put weakness in your hearts, from love for this world and dislike of death.

Wait for the last Hour when allegiance will be destroyed. Wait for the Hour when rule will be entrusted to those who will be unworthy of it.


The Hour shall not occur until time contracts. A year will go by like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day, a day like an hour and an hour like the kindling of a fire.

Time will become short, learning will come to an end, troubles will appear, miserliness will be cast in the hearts, and murder will increase.

The first of the signs to appear will be the rising of the sun in its place of setting and the coming forth of the beast in the morning. Whichever of them comes first will soon be followed by the other.

Let him who hears of the dajjal go far from him, for I swear by God that a man will go to him thinking he is a believer and follow him because of confused ideas which he rouses in him.

The Smoke; the Dajjal; the Beast; the rising of the sun in its place of setting; the descent of Jesus son of Mary; Gog and Magog; three earthquakes -- one in the East, one in the West, and one in Arabia; and a fire which will drive mankind to their place of assembly.

The least of the signs of the last hour will be a fire which will gather mankind from the east to the west.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Hubby dumps wife and kids – on medium’s advice

KUALA LUMPUR: A superstitious husband stopped having sex with his wife after a temple medium convinced him she was a danger to his life.

The wife, who only wanted to be known as Loh, said her husband has now abandoned her and their two teenage children and is refusing to meet them as he fears for his life.

Self-employed Loh, 44, said her husband first started consulting the medium to solve personal problems.

She claimed her husband’s personality changed after daily meetings with him.

“The medium told my husband I had been casting spells on him for the past 15 years and that I was a demon trying to kill him.

“He refused to eat or drink at home because he thought I poisoned the food,” Loh told a press conference held at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department yesterday.

Loh also said there were no prior family problems and that her husband was very loving although he was superstitious.

“I know he misses the children and although my son calls him almost every day urging him to come back, he still refuses to see the children as he is afraid I will kill him through them,” she added.

She said her husband, a factory manager, moved out of the house on the medium’s advice in August and had been paying very little for living expenses and their children’s school fees.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Two neighbours' bodies found at Bishan block

Source: The Straits Times

THE body of a woman suffering from depression was found barely a metre away from that of her 15th floor neighbour at the foot of their Bishan St 13 block on Monday.

Administrative assistant Ng Sock Luan, 48, and retiree Lau Fong Kien, 55, who lived on the 11th and 15th floor respectively, were long-time residents of the block but did not know each other.

A member of the public had alerted police at about 11.20am about the two bodies.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived shortly later. Some medication and food items were discovered next to Ms Lau's body.

It is believed that they died around the same time.

The two women had very different personalities, relatives told The Straits Times, adding that Madam Ng could have fallen on Ms Lau.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Bears caught guarding marijuana farm

Friday, August 20 2010, 08:44 BST
By Mayer Nissim, Senior Entertainment Reporter

Police in Canada reportedly discovered 14 wild black bears guarding an illegal marijuana farm in the western part of the country last month.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police sergeant Fred Mansveld said that drug growers had used dog food to lure the bears to the British Columbia property to scare off thieves, AFP reports.

Mansveld said: "They were tame, they just sat around watching... at one point one of the bears climbed onto the hood of a police car, sat there for a bit and then jumped off."

Governmental conservation officer Dave Webster explained that the bears might have to be put down as a result of being tamed by the marijuana farmers.

"If a bear is deemed to be a safety risk and is habituated to human food and not able to feed itself in the wild, it will be destroyed," he said.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

A UFO in Singapore night skies

A reader sent us these photos of what is supposedly an UFO. Reader johntan77 claims to have taken these photographs in his house a couple of nights ago.



"I saw these UFO from my house in the (North Western Part of Singapore) last night. At first I was just looking out at the night skies, then I spotted the UFO. It seem to be flying in a circular shape. I quickly took my camera and took some pics but after that it disappeared. After about 1 minute."







We at Asia Paranormal have examined the photos and it does seem to be either an aeroplane or an electronic kite. When we replied to johntan77, he responded:

"It was almost 12 am at night, who will still be flying kites at this time? And I live on the 18th floor, I dun believed that kites can fly so high!"

So, the jury is still out. Dear readers, what do you think is the object in these photographs? Form your own conclusions.

Read more >>

Africa may not be the birthplace of humans

JERUSALEM (AFP) - – Israeli archaeologists have discovered human remains dating from 400,000 years ago, challenging conventional wisdom that Homo sapiens originated in Africa, the leader of excavations in Israel said.

Avi Gopher, of Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, said testing of stalagmites, stalactites and other material found in a cave east of Tel Aviv indicates that eight teeth uncovered there could be the earliest traces so far of our species.

"Our cave was used for a period of about 250,000 years -- from about 400,000 years ago to about 200,000 years ago," he told AFP.

"The teeth are scattered through the layers of the cave, some in the deeper part, that is to say from 400,000 years and through all kinds of other layers that can be up to 200,000 years. The oldest are 400,000 years old", he added."

That calls into question the widely held view that Africa was the birthplace of modern man, said Gopher, who headed the dig at Qesem Cave.
[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Haunted Places In India You Don't Want To Visit

Think of ghosts and your blood runs cold. There are certain haunted places in India where you wouldn't put your step on. These places are haunted with ghosts from a very long time and if you pay them a visit they get hysterical leaving you unconscionably struck with fear.

The list will make your hair stand as it could be one of those places you paid a visit to recently.

The most haunted places in India will really leave you with goose bumps.

1.The Shaniwarwada Fort – This famous fort is in Pune, the land of many ruins. The Shaniwarwada Fort is now a tourist place where millions flock to see this beautiful palace. The haunting story of this palace is that some of the locals who stay close by hear the cries of Narayan, the heir of the kingdom who was chased by his assassins on a full moon night.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

Mysterious white liquid which flows into Bishan Park canal

Source: STOMP

According to STOMPer chickenlittle, a whitish substance would flow out of a nearby drain opening and contaminate the fresh water in Bishan Park canal every day.

"The whitish fluid is such an eyesore," the STOMPer said.

"Almost everyday, a whitish substance would flow out from the nearby drain opening and contaminate the fresh water in the Bishan Park canal.

"Don't you think that something should be done about it if the park is going to be open to the public soon?

"Furthermore, it is an eyesore to the residents who live near the canal.

"Can someone please do something about it?"

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>

The Underground Army of terracotta warriors

Image copyright to www.pbase.com

An old Chinese saying says, “treat death as life.” In China, rulers took this saying very seriously. After death they were buried with lavish supplies of dishes, food, silk and musical instruments. In earlier times living things such as wives, servants, or pets were also buried with the Emperor, often still alive. The afterlife was so important to people because it was believed to be a prolongation of life. Everything that was buried in the tomb was thought to be a necessity for one who wanted to be prepared for a grand afterlife. In Lintong County, thirty-five kilometers east of the Chinese city Xi’an, a tomb was found that contained a whole army, armed and ready for battle. This army was created for burial complex of the first Emperor of China, Emperor Qin Shihuang .

Qin Shihuang was the first emperor of the Qin dynasty. He was known as a great leader and a conqueror of many lands. He was a destroyer, a builder, and an unforgiving tyrant. Qin Shihuang's accomplishments turned China into a great empire. He formed a centralized government, standardized the Chinese currency and script, and set up a code of laws. He also uniformed the system of measures and built many roads. One of his greatest accomplishments is considered to be constructing and building one half of what today is the Great Wall of China. While the pits with Qin Shihuangs imperial army has been dug up, the actual tomb has not. The supposed contents of the mausoleum are by the tellings of the grand historian, Sima Qian.

In his historical records dated 1 B.C Sima Qian described how the tomb was made and what was put inside it. A project to uncover the tomb though, was started a few years ago but because of a lack of funds, it came to a screeching halt. Yuan Zhongyi is the head of a small group of archaeologists working on the site of the tomb. So far, only a fifth of the fifty-one square mile tomb has been uncovered. Scientific know-how and reliable technology are scarce making it even harder to fund the excavation of the mausoleum.

[Click here to read full article]

Read more >>