Sep 24 2007

Bird Flies Non-Stop 7,145 Miles: No Food, No Water

Category: — bimwah @ 9:02 am

The bar-tailed godwit 
Photo from National Geographic

According the National Geographic Website, a bar-tailed godwit flew non-stop from Alaska to New Zeland in 9 days. This was the longest recorded flight for any bird.

Scientists, using a satellite tracking device were able to document this incredible flight of endurance. Scientists had known about this migration from Alaska to New Zealand for some time, however, they were certain the birds took an overland route in order to rest.

According to  Phil Battley, who took part in the study,  from Massey University, the thought of a godwit, flying non-stop over the Pacific Ocean was “ludicrous”. “The prospect of a bird flying all that way across the Pacific was so much farther than we ever thought possible,” he added.

About 70,000 godwit make the epic journey from Alaska to New Zealand each September. They return to Alaska in March to breed. Battley and other scientists fitted 16 godwits, with tracking devices last year.

They were amazed at one godwits journey from New Zealand to a Northern China wetland, a total of 6,340 miles. The bird dubbed E7, then, headed to Alaska to finish her final trek of 3,000 miles.

On the return trip, E7, amazed all of the scientists by flying non-stop, 7,145 miles, to New Zealand.

Rob Schuckyard, team leader, explained this was the equivalent of a human being running at 70 kilometers  (43 miles an hour) for more than 7 days.

Scientisits explained the godwits “sleep” by shutting down half of their brain during the journey.  Godwits burn more than 50% of their body weight during their migration.

You can read the entire story at the National Geographic website here.

Now that is an incredible bird…

Albert Grande, Bimwah-in-Training
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grandepublishing.com
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The Unusual, The Unexplained…

Sep 23 2007

Life Inside A Ping Pong Ball

Category: — bimwah @ 11:31 am

When I was in high school, we had an English teacher who gave us creative topics to write about. One of her favorites was: Life Inside A Ping Pong Ball.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but she was really on to something. She must have been thinking about Free Spirit Spheres. These are some strange houses. Now I have visited friends who lived in barns, teepees, domes and even a sod house. But, I never met anyone who lived in a Sphere.

I first discovered the Sphere from blogger kiwipulse. You can read her post here. She includes commentary as well as video and more amazing pictures.

Fre Spirit Spheres

Free Spirit Spheres are suspended from trees as high as the tree will permit or placed close to the ground. They do sway a bit, depending on the trees. They are made to be placed between 3 trees, so the movement is minimized. The most movement will occur whenever someone moves around inside.

On their FAQ page, they answer the most obvious question: where is the rest room. The answer is that you will probably have to leave the comforts of the Sphere to find relief.  They are, however,  working on a portable Sphere that could be attached to the main Sphere. This will definitely allow some form of relief. 

Albert’s side bar: I spent more than a year living in a house, that had no rest room only an outhouse. Believe me, they need to get the Porta-Potty-Sphere developed ASAP!

The concept of the Sphere came from the spiritual side of the creator. He states:

“The way I see it I am a spirit with a body.  The world is a dream and my real existence is in spirit.  The Creator is everywhere and in everything, including me…The idea for the spheres came from that. The spheres are all about unity and oneness. Architecture is a way of shaping and creating habitat to reflect a feeling and to harmonize with the environment.  The sphere is a form of architecture that reflects that thought and feeling of oneness. ”

The Sphereis one complete room with windows. There are no dividers, only one large space. They also come equipped with a sink and are equipped for power. You will need a power source, however. They are insulated and you can even have a heater installed to keep you warm and toasty.

You truly can experience Life Inside a Ping Pong Ball.
Here is the website:
Free Spirit Spheres.

Albert Grande
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grandepublishing.com
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The Unusual, The Unexplained…

Sep 14 2007

The Snake Village of Choto Pashla, India

Category: — bimwah @ 12:01 am

If you are terrified of snakes, the last place in the world you want to visit is Choto Pashla, India. For every two people in this sleepy village of 6,000 there is one poisonous snake.  These are not your garden variety of snakes, these are deadly poisonous  monocled cobra, which can grow over seven feet  in length.

 The cobra are worshiped in the village and thought to represent a goddess. The snakes are fed milk daily by the residents. This happens, despite the fact that nearly a dozen of the townsfolk succumb every year from snake bites.

Evidently a flood six centuries ago caused the snakes to appear and they never left. The townspeople feel the snakes are responsible for all of their prosperity. The snakes continue to be worshipped.

25-year-old Dipu Majhi  explains: “Our customs forbid us from touching the snakes.”  He himself was bitten several years ago while fishing.

Although, anti-venom drugs are available, the residents refuse to use them. They rely on traditional cures which are mostly a “wait and see what happens” attitude.

Dipak Mitra, a  herpetologist reports: “It’s a unique village where poisonous cobras are co-existing with human beings.” He has visited the village, and is still shocked at his observations.

“It’s simply incredible,” he said.

You can read the entire story here

Albert Grande

grandepublishing.com
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P.S. Go to:

http://grandepublishing.com/untoldsecrets.htm

The Unusual, The Unexplained…

Sep 08 2007

The Mythical “Chupacabra”, The Vampire Goat Suckers

Category: — bimwah @ 10:20 am

Phylis Canion is convinced the “road kill” she discovered is unusual. Very unusual. This was an unusual creature, indeed.

Now Canion has been a hunter her entire life. As a matter of fact she has heads of exotic beasts hanging on her wall. She knows her animals. But she never saw anything like that “road kill”.

She’s convinced she has found the legendary “cupacabra”, which means “goat sucker” in Spanish. She is so convinced that she hacked off the head and put it in her freezer.

Here is a picture from the Associated Press:

the chupacabra

Canion claims the chupcabra has an appetite for blood and may have killed as many as 26 of here chickens in the past year. She reports that all of her chickens were not eaten but rather all the blood was removed.

She expalined to reporters. ”I think it could have wolf in it. It has to be a cross between two or three different things. ” 

Questions remain: what was that thing lying on the road. DNA test will be completed and maybe Canion will finally be able to get some sleep.

What do you think? Beast or as one vet put it, “just a stange breed of dog”. 

Be well. Stay well, and laugh often…and stay away from strange dogs…

Read the rest of the story here.

Albert Grande
http://lawofreciprocity.info
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The Unusual, The Unexplained…