Owner: The Xo Directory URL:http://thexodirectory.com Join Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 09:52:28 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A directory of eXtraOrdinary things... Site statistics:Click here
Castel del Monte in Puglia, Italy, The Octagonal Castle 2008-03-07 09:16:00 The Octagonal Castle
, known as Castel del Monte
in Puglia
, Italy
is famous because of it's shape.It was built in 1240 on the orders of emperor frederick II who used the castle as a hunting lodge. the emperor was fascinated by mathematics and astronomy, a result of which can be seen in the design. Link
Schwarz-Christoffel Formula, 140-year-old Math Problem Solved by Researcher 2008-03-07 09:00:00 Key additions by Professor Darren Crowdy to the Schwarz-Christoffel Formula
helped solved the 140-year-old Math problem.A formula, now known as the Schwarz-Christoffel formula, was developed by two mathematicians in the mid-19th century to enable them to carry out this kind of mapping. However, for 140 years there has been a deficiency in this formula: it only worked for shapes that did not contain any holes or irregularities.Now Professor Crowdy has made additions to the famous Schwarz-Christoffel formula which mean it can be used for these more complicated shapes. He explains the significance of his work, saying:"This formula is an essential piece of mathematical kit which is used the world over. Now, with my additions to it, it can be used in far more complex scenarios than before. In i Read more:Problem
, Researcher
Model Serena Kozakura, Cleared By Court of Charges Based on Breast Size 2008-03-05 16:55:00 Model Serena
Kozakura was cleared by Japanese court of charges of breaking into a man’s apartment based on her breast size.Serena, 38 years old, was charged and found guilty of breaking into a man’s apartment by kicking in a hole in his door and crawling through because he was with another woman. The bikini model was cleared of all charges after the defense council help up a plate showing the size of the hole that Serena was accused of kicking in. It was clear that the hole in the door was not large enough for the 44-inch bust model to squeeze through.Judge Kunio Harad of the Tokyo High Court
threw out the guilty verdict, saying there was reasonable doubt over the man’s story. Link Read more:Breast
AA-12, World's Deadliest Shotgun 2008-03-05 16:39:00 The AA-12 is considered the world's deadliest shotgun. This full-automatic, gas-operated and low-recoil shotgun of the 21-century is designed specifically for the military. It can shot nearly 300 bullet per minute and has a range of 200 yards. Link Read more:World
, Shotgun
Avalanches in Planet Mars Pictured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 2008-03-05 06:17:00 Avalanches on the North Polar Scarps in the Planet Mars was caught by the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter - the first ever image of active avalanches near it's north pole.Ingrid Daubar Spitale of the University of Arizona, Tucson, who works on targeting the camera and has studied hundreds of HiRISE images, was the first person to notice the avalanches. "It really surprised me," she said. "It's great to see something so dynamic on Mars. A lot of what we see there hasn't changed for millions of years.""We don't know what set off these landslides," said Patrick Russell of the University of Berne, Switzerland, a HiRISE team collaborator. "We plan to take more images of the site through the changing Martian seasons to see if this kind of avalanc Read more:Avalanches
The Milky Way is Twice Bigger Than We Thought it Was According to Scientists 2008-03-04 16:40:00 Scientist from University of Sydney discovered that the Milky Way is twice bigger than we thought it was.Astrophysicist Professor Bryan Gaensler led a team that has found that our galaxy - a flattened spiral about 100,000 light years across - is 12,000 light years thick, not the 6,000 light years that had been previously thought.Proving not all science requires big, expensive apparatus, Professor Gaensler and colleagues, Dr Greg Madsen, Dr Shami Chatterjee and PhD student Ann Mao, downloaded data from the internet and analysed it in a spreadsheet."We were tossing around ideas about the size of the Galaxy, and thought we had better check the standard numbers that everyone uses. It took us just a few hours to calculate this for ourselves. We thought we had to be wrong, so we checked and rech Read more:Twice
Finnish Teenagers, World's Smartest According to Study 2008-03-04 07:44:00 Finnish teenagers are the world's smartest according to international test conducted in 57 countries. Finnish teenagers excel in math, science and reading.The Finns won attention with their performances in triennial tests sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group funded by 30 countries that monitors social and economic trends. In the most recent test, which focused on science, Finland's students placed first in science and near the top in math and reading, according to results released late last year. Link Read more:World
, Finnish
, Teenagers
, Study
The Database of Electric People 2008-03-04 07:23:00 Seems like there are real X-men in this world. This website collects stories from so called electric people, and even offers a cure.The following stories seem to describe two kinds of "electric human" phenomena. One involves conventional static electricity, and the other is something more mysterious. If you *DON'T* get constant shocks when touching either people or metal objects, yet electronic devices often fail in your presence, then your problem is not strictly electrical. Instead it seems to involve something which resembles 'hands-on healing' or 'psychic powers.'Here's one story of an electric person from the website.I was so glad to see a website on electrified people because I have recently become one, unfortunately. I was on a business trip in D.C. Something told me not to bring my Read more:Database
, Electric
Top Ten Most Expensive TV Shows for Advertisers 2008-03-04 04:36:00 Grey's Anatomy tops the list of ten most expensive TV shows for advertisers in the US for the first half of the 2007-2008 broadcast-network TV season.1. Grey's Anatomy - $419,0002. Sunday Night Football - $358,0003. The Simpsons - $315,0004. Heroes - $296,0005. Desperate Housewives - $270,0006. CSI - $248,0007. Two and a Half Men - $231,0008. Survivor - $208,0009. Private Practice - $208,000 10. Prison Break - $200,000 Link Read more:Top Ten
Amazing Close Encounter with a Humpback Whale 2008-03-03 16:48:00 While kayaking in the calm Pacific waters of Hawaii waiting for passing sea turtles, this couple got what they ask for when a humpback whale appear in front of them instead.These extraordinary images show one couple calmly watching one of these giants of the sea as it raises its fin. But when it suddenly slaps it down - sending a wall of spray towards them - they realise how vulnerable they are and think better of their proximity. Digging in their paddles, they turn away. But the whale becomes increasingly boisterous, this time "breaching" the surface. Clearly alarmed, the holidaymakers paddle desperately towards the shore. Link Read more:Amazing
, Close
, Encounter
, Whale
Laura Weaver, The Girl Who is Allergic to Almost Everything 2008-03-02 16:48:00 13-year-old LauraWeaver
has a rare skin condition which makes her allergic to almost everything. Doctors believe that her hyper-sensitivity is due to a breakdown of her immune system.Laura's skin flares up after being triggered by any one of a dozen allergies. A whiff of perfume, the smell of an air freshener or just brushing past someone's clothes can leave her doubled over in pain. She is allergic to all dairy products, some fruit and wheat, all soaps, sprays and perfumes and even reacts to non-cotton clothing and some plastic furniture. A peanut would send her into lethal anaphylactic shock, and even central heating gives her a high temperature, breathing problems and causes her skin to come up in vivid red rashes. Link Read more:Allergic
, Almost
, Everything
Mowgli syndrome, "Bird Boy" Found in Volgograd, Russia 2008-02-29 16:30:00 A boy with Mowgli syndrome was found in Volgograd, Russia
. He spend his childhood in a room full of birds. He doesn't know how to speak but rather chirps as a bird does.A boy lived with his mother in a 2-room apartment full of cages with feed and droppings. She had her own domestic birds and fed wild ones. A woman neither beat him nor left him without food. She just never talked to him. It was all the birds that communicated with the boy and taught him birds’ language."When you start talking to him, he chirps", - says Galina Volskaya, a social worker of Kirovskiy region, Volgograd. A boy doesn’t understand human language at all. He just chirps and when realizing that he is not understood, starts to wave hands in the way birds winnow wings.The boy’s mother signed an abdication from a
Billy the boxer, Adopts Lilly the Goat 2008-02-29 08:08:00 Billy, a boxer dog breed, adopts an abandoned baby goat named Lilly
. This two inseparable animals live in Pennywell Farm wildlife centre at Buckfastleigh, near Totnes, Devon. The kid was abandoned by her mother when she was only a few hours old and adopted by paternal Billy when his owner Elizabeth Tozer began hand rearing the goat. The unusual bond has developed over the last month and the pair are now inseparable. Elizabeth said: "Lilly follows Billy around which is really quite amusing to watch and Billy sleeps with the goat and cleans her mouth after she feeds." Link Read more:Billy
Pliosaur, The Fiercest Sea Monster that Terrorized Prehistoric Oceans 2008-02-29 06:41:00 Named by its discoverers as the "The Monster
", Pliosaur is the fiercest sea monster that terrorized the prehistoric oceans 150 million years ago.The 50-foot animal was one of the biggest marine predators to have ever swum and would have been able to take on "anything that moved" in the water. It was built for speed and power, and with its armory of fangs would have been rivaled in ferocity only by an extinct shark, the megalodon, which lived about 16 million years ago. Fossilized remains of the pliosaur, which had 10-foot-long jaws, were located on the island of Spitsbergen in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, inside the Arctic Circle. Link Read more:Prehistoric
, Oceans
Moisey Feigin, a Painter, World's Oldest Artist from Russia 2008-02-28 16:33:00 Painter Moisei Feigin, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest artist. He turned 103 in 2007 and is the last of living members of the artistic group "Jack Diamonds" founded in 1912. He was born in Russia
in October 23, 1904.Russian artist Moisey Feigin received a certificate that verifies his record and also gives him the right to use Guinness Book logo for commercial purposes. "Our database, containing 40 thousand records, has one record about Moisey Feigin. "The oldest working professional artist Moisey Feigin was born in October 23, 1904 in Russia. Feigin’s last exhibition took place in Central House of an Artist
from April 27 to May 10, 2007. At that time the artist was 102 years 199 days old", - said Guinness Book representative Beatrice Fernandez. Link Read more:World
, Painter
Ashleigh Morris, The Teenage Girl Who is Allergic to Water 2008-02-28 16:20:00 Ashleigh Morris
, a teenage girl from Melbourne, Australia is allergic to water of any temperature that even her own sweat gives her painful rashes. Now 19-year-old, her condition, a skin disorder known as Aquagenic Urticaria, began when she was 14 after taking high dose of penicillin to treat her tonsillitis.She suffers from an extremely rare skin disorder called Aquagenic Urticaria - so unusual that only a handful of cases are documented worldwide. When Ashleigh gets wet her body explodes in sore, itchy red lumps that take about two hours to ease. She has to wash. But showering is a painful experience and she can only do it for a minute at a time. Link Read more:Allergic
Charlie Bit my Finger Video 2008-02-27 17:01:00 Charlie bit my finger again - this is a funny video of two small brothers , Harry and Charlie. It has reached 8.5 million views as of this writing (and counting) in YouTube and there has been several versions copied from this original one. Link Read more:Charlie
Snakehead Fish, The World’s Most Evil Fish Invades Britain 2008-02-27 16:49:00 Snakehead fish, a carnivorous fish tagged as the world’s most evil fish because it eats almost everything in it's path, is now is Britain
. It was originally can be found only in Southeast Asia.News that a 2ft specimen had been hooked in an English river caused widespread panic among anglers and conservationists. An Environment Agency source said last night: "The reaction was, ‘Oh s***’. This is the ultimate invasive species — if it starts breeding here it’s a disaster." Angler Andy Alder caught the snakehead while using a sprat as bait for pike on the River Witham near North Hykeham, Lincs. Andy, of Lincoln, said: "It had a gob full of razor-sharp teeth. To be honest it looked terrifying." Link via environmentalgraffiti Read more:World
Karni Mata, India's Temple of Rats 2008-02-27 16:29:00 Located in Deshnoke, Rajasthan, India
, Karni Mata temple is a 600-year-old Hindu temple.Karni Mata is believed to be the incarnation of Hindu goddess Durga. The peculiarity of this temple is that thousands of rats are worshipped here. The temple in its present form was completed in the early 20th century in late Mughal style by Maharaja Ganga Singh.This temple is dedicated to Karni Mata. There is a legend that she prophesied the victory of Rao Bika. The rats are seen as holy, owing to the belief that the souls of the followers of Karni Mata are in these rats and thus they must be looked after. The huge silver gates to the temple, and the marble carvings were a donation of Maharaja Ganga Singh. Temple
of Rats videoLink. See also the official website
'Doomsday' Seed Vault - The Svalbard International Seed Vault 2008-02-27 05:42:00 The Svalbard International
Seed Vault
, a.k.a. The "Doomsday
" Vault, is an underground tunnel that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops around the world. The vault is built to protect millions of food crops from climate change, wars and natural disasters.The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole. The vault aims to safeguard the world's agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes and climate change. Construction begins in March, and the seed bank is scheduled to open in 2008.Link
Craig O'Connor Found Jesus Christ in an American Pine Tree Trunk? 2008-02-26 16:32:00 Craig O'Connor
, an American
furniture maker claims to have discovered an image of JesusChrist
inside a pine tree trunk he had cut down for a friend."People have said that it is art made by God and I have to agree with them," the Roman Catholic churchgoer said. Growth rings around the figure's head create a halo-like effect, he adds. He initially offered it for sale on the eBay auction website, where it attracted a top bid of $500, but he has now decided to keep the log and make it the centre piece of a new item of furniture he is building. Link Read more:Craig
, Trunk
, Jesus Christ
Tsingtao, Beer in a Bag from China 2008-02-25 16:52:00 Want a beer? Try China
's Tsingtao beer in a bag.Tsingtao is the most popular beer in China. And on the streets Qingdao, the city where it's brewed, you can also buy it in bags. They pour the amount of beer you ask for from a keg and you get a small straw to drink it. Link
Brazilian Wandering Spider, World's Deadliest Spider 2008-03-12 17:56:00 The BrazilianWanderingSpider
is considered the world's deadliest spider. This spider kills around five people a year. Symptoms include immediate pain, heavy perspiration and drooling. They often hides in bunches of bananas.The Brazilian wandering spiders (Phoneutria spp.), Armed spiders ("aranhas armadeiras", as they are known in Portuguese) or banana spiders (not to be confused with the relatively harmless species of the genus Nephila) are a genus of aggressive and highly venomous spiders found in tropical South and Central America. These spiders are members of the Ctenidae family of wandering spiders. The Brazilian wandering spiders appear in the Guinness Book of World
Records 2007 for the most venomous animal. Link
Oliver Sherwood, Two-year-old Boy Kept Alive by Daily Doses of Viagra 2008-03-12 07:36:00 Two-year-old OliverSherwood
is kept alive by daily doses of viagra. He has a rare condition known as pulmonary hypertension that causes chronic high blood pressure and can be controlled with four doses of Viagra a day.The drug improves blood flow, which in adults can boost erectile function but in rare cases such as Oliver's can open the veins and capillaries to aid circulation. His mother Sarah, a part-time nurse, said: "We joke when we pick up his drugs that it would be Christmas come early for most people. Obviously the dose isn't high enough to have the effect it would on adults. "Viagra is an expensive drug but it's actually one of the cheapest to treat pulmonary hypertension. Link Read more:Alive
, Daily
Vatican Released List of Seven New Sins 2008-03-12 07:28:00 Vatican released a list of seven new sins. It listed drugs, pollution and genetic manipulations as well as social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior.In an effort to appeal to the modern Catholic, the Vatican has announced a list of seven new mortal sins. Some of the new don'ts: thou shalt not pollute and thou shalt not have too much money.The New Mortal Sins1.) Genetic modification2.) Carrying out experiments on humans3.) Polluting the environment4.) Causing social injustice5.) Causing poverty6.) Becoming obscenely wealthy7.) Taking drugs Link Read more:Vatican
, Seven
Citarum River, World's Most Polluted River 2008-03-10 10:08:00 Citarum River
located in West Java, Indonesia is maybe the world's most polluted river. The river is heavily polluted by human activity. The picture below show the river like a sea of garbage.On what was United Nations World
Environment Day, the Citarum, near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, displayed the shocking abuse that mankind has subjected it to. More than 500 factories, many of them producing textiles which require chemical treatment, line the banks of the 200-mile river, the largest waterway in West Java, spewing waste into the water. Link
Pauly Unstoppable Got The World's First Eyeball Tattoo 2008-03-10 10:01:00 Nothing can stop Pauly Unstoppable
of Canada from being the recipient of the world's first eyeball tattoo. His blue colored eyeball tattoo took forty needle insertions.Volunteer Pauly Unstoppable, from Canada, has perfect vision but jumped at the chance to be the first punter.See the toe-curling shots in the gallery below. But be warned - the pictures are very graphic.Brave Pauly said he had full confidence in the team working on him - but urged people not to try it at home.He added: "The procedure was extensively researched and done by people who were aware of the risks and possible complications and that it should not be casually attempted. Link Read more:World
, First
Recommend Site To A Friend
