Humble Beginnings

Maryanna had high aspirations when she was four years old. Her older sister kept this preschool document because she knew it would be meaningful someday. And when Maryanna recently received her acceptance letter from Berkeley, it was time to bring it out. The top comment: I've heard that Berkeley has one of the top postgraduate dishwashing programs in America. Go for your dream!
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Island in the Sky

Photograph by Shane Kalyn

 

A Peruvian Potato Harvest

With the help of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), Jim Richardson was able to locate farmers around the globe for “The Faces of Farming“, a series of portraits appearing in the May 2014 issue. This story is part of National Geographic‘s special eight-month “Future of Food” series.

 

Tomatoes Build Pesticides From The Smells Of Their Neighbours

A caterpillar bites into a single tomato plant and an entire field becomes a little deadlier.
 It’s easy to underestimate what plants can do. They’re not just passive victims of animal attacks, in need of rescue through barriers and pesticides. They can produce defensive toxins to poison the creatures that try to eat them; the natural pesticides in our food far outnumber the synthetic ones we spray on them. They can also communicate with each other by releasing alarm chemicals into the air. Some of these attract parasites that kill the leaf-eating pests. Others tell neighbouring plants to start upping their own defences. But the tomato does something different.
 It releases an airborne chemical that works not as an alarm, but as an ingredient. Other tomatoes can grab the substance from the air, and convert it into a toxin within their own tissues. They can turn an odour into a chemical weapon.

 

If You Don't Look at it, it's Not There

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And the World’s New Fastest Land Animal Is…

A tiny mite no larger than a sesame seed holds the record as the fastest land animal in the world, according to new research, when measured in proportion to its size.

 While the cheetah is commonly thought of as one of the speediest creatures in the animal kingdom, and moves at 16 body lengths per second, the Paratarsotomus macropalpis trounces the big cat with a whopping 322 body lengths per second, according to a study by Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.

 This is almost twice as quick as what was previously believed to be the fastest animal, the Australian Tiger Beetle, which moves at 171 body lengths per second. Because of the mite’s minuscule proportions and inordinately fast pace, the research team was unable to use traditional means of measuring its velocity.

 “We can’t actually chase after a mite because they move much too quickly for that,” said Jonathan Wright, lead researcher of the study. 

“We’re actually filming them running on a concrete driveway.” After gathering the footage, the researchers then replayed the film to find that the mite’s speed exceeded their expectations and that it was also able to quickly switch its direction. 

 The findings were presented at the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting in San Diego on Sunday. 

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Mite

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For about 30 seconds, it was unbelievable.

Constance Lambert embraces her dog after finding it alive when returning to her destroyed home in Tupelo, Miss., April 28, 2014.

 “For about 30 seconds, it was unbelievable,” said Mississippi state Sen. Giles Ward, whose Louisville home was destroyed in the storm.

 

Banana car

Steve Braithwaite, who is originally from Woodstock, Oxon, but now lives in Kalamazoo, Indiana shows off his unique home-made banana car. The fruity vehicle took the 54-year-old 2 years to build at a cost of £5,000. via

 

Desert Creature

Photography by Jerry Fer Damian

 

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Photograph by Takashi Nakagawa

 

Army dog killed in Afghanistan given posthumous medal

A British Army dog killed alongside her handler in Afghanistan is to be honoured with what is called the highest military award for an animal. 

 

I Am SO Late For My Flight!!!

Isaac Asimov's Lecherous Limericks

Isaac Asimov had some of the scariest sideburns in history. Not since the days of Victorian England, the Wild West or Leslie West’s Mountain has a man maintained a successful career as a writer while weighed down with such a virile, hirsute growth. Maybe like Samson whose flowing locks gave him strength, Asimov’s side-whiskers gave the author an indefatigable drive which enabled him to write or edit over 500 books in his lifetime. 500 books, that’s the equivalent of a small-town library. Amongst all the various tomes Mr. Asimov produced were his noted works of science-fiction and science fact, and there were also his decidedly lesser-known volumes of obscene poetry which he collected together in a series of books starting with Lecherous Limericks in 1975.
 The collection begins with:
 There was a sweet girl of Decatur Who went to sea on a freighter.
She was screwed by the master -An utter disaster-
But the crew all made up for it later.
 Which Asimov explains: “This one marked the beginning. I composed it on the Queen Elizabeth II when returning from a visit to Great Britain in June 1974. When I recited it, everyone laughed. Since that time I have been writing down limericks. I wasn’t going to let myself forget them and lose laughs.” This first volume was soon followed by More Lecherous Limericks in 1976, Still More Lecherous Limericks in 1977, A Grossery of Limericks written and compiled with poet John Ciardi in 1981, and finally Limericks, Too Gross again with Ciardi in 1985. On the back dust-jacket of A Grossery of Limericks, Asimov explained his talent for writing rude verse:
 ISAAC ASIMOV: “The question I am most frequently asked is ‘Asimov, how do you manage to make up your deliciously crafted limericks?’ “It’s difficult to find an answer that doesn’t sound immodest since ‘Sheer genius!’ happens to be the truth. It is terrible to have to choose between virtues of honesty and modesty. Generally I choose honesty which is one way (among many) in which I am different from John Ciardi. Not that I mean to impugn John’s character, of course. I am sure he would choose honesty too, if he knew what it was.
 “The last time someone asked him how he managed to compose limericks, John said,
‘What are limericks?’”
 To give you an idea of the quality of Asimov’s naughty verse, here’s a short selection from A Grossery of Limericks , with a couple by John Ciardi.

 

Rats! It’s Monday

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The Science of Tornadoes

At least 17 people are dead after a string of 31 tornadoes hit states in the Southern and Midwestern U.S. on Sunday night.

A tornado, or twister, is a violently rotating column of air that extends between the Earth's surface and a cloud, usually a cumulonimbus cloud. Most tornadoes last for less than ten minutes, says Harold Brooks, a research meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma. Large tornadoes usually last longer—around 30 minutes, Brooks adds. The most powerful twisters have wind speeds of more than 300 miles (483 kilometers) per hour, which can rip buildings off their foundations. They can be more than two miles (3.2 kilometers) wide, and can spin across the ground for dozens of miles. The more common tornadoes have wind speeds of less than 110 miles (177 kilometers) per hour, are about 250 feet (76 meters) across, and travel only a few miles before they dissipate. Tornadoes kill an average of 60 people a year in the U.S., mostly from flying or falling debris, reports NOAA. (See "Interactive: Forces of Nature.") Half of those deaths are caused by the strongest one percent of the most violent storms, says Brooks. continue

 

Family Portrait

Orphaned orangutans huddle together for a 'family' portrait at the Orangutan Foundation International HQ in Borneo. via 

 

Looking for me?

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Hoping for a prince?

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Tomato and Carrot Ice Cream

Hãagen-Dazs is introducing two new ice cream flavors in Japan: tomato and carrot.
 The ice cream will be sold under the name SpoonVege beginning May 12.
A rough Google translation from the product page:
 " Cherry tomato "
 That the leading role the sweetness and flavor of tomatoes , add acidity and fruity aroma of cherry , and I prepared to enjoy the full-bodied taste and a rich tomato , ice cream deep taste . I can enjoy the soft hue of the original material .
 " Carrot Orange "
By starring plump smell sweet and soft carrot , add refreshing fragrance and refreshing acidity of orange , can enjoy the refreshing sweetness of carrot and finished it in taste sophisticated . I can enjoy the shade of bright carrot unique .
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A Gorgeous Wooden Kitchen Scale That Masquerades as a Cutting Board

Successful baking requires strict adherence to a recipe and precise measurements, which is made easier with a scale at your disposal. But if the last thing you want is another ugly appliance cluttering up your kitchen counters, feast your eyes on the lovely GKILO scale (pronounced kilo) which when not in use looks like another wooden cutting board. via

 

Need a hand

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April showers

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This Man Is Trying to Collect Every Single VHS Copy of the Movie Speed

Some people go through their lives without any ambition. They have no plan to accomplish anything great during their lifetimes, but only waste their precious time in idle amusements. Ryan Beitz, who is pictured above, is not such a man. He will accomplish--or strive with all of his might to accomplish--something that no person has ever done before. He will collect every single copy of the 1994 Keanu Reeves movie Speed on VHS cassette. Not DVD or laserdisc. Only VHS cassettes. He has about 550 copies so far. Then he will decorate his 15-person passenger van to look like the bus from that movie. Because that would be cool.

 

Group hug

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A man cycling with a greyhound draped over his shoulders and a puppy tucked inside his jacket, 1931.

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