A ghost town buried in the sand

Kolmanskop is a ghost town in southern Namibia.It became popular in 1908, when people rushed into the desert hoping to make money out of the diamond fever. At the time the diamonds were very easy to find, they would lay fully exposed on top of the sand. This caused a diamond rush from all over the world and the once desolated desert was full of fortune seekers.Within two years a town was established in the desert with some 700 families living in it.But after the drop in diamond sales, everyone left and the place became deserted again. The dunes began to reclaim what was always theirs.A couple of old buildings are still standing, but the rest are just crumbling ruins.

Empire State Building car zap mystery

In the shadow of the Empire State Building lies an “automotive Bermuda Triangle” - a five-block radius where vehicles mysteriously die.

No one is sure what’s causing it, but all roads appear to lead to the looming giant in our midst - specifically, its Art Deco mast and 203-foot-long, antenna-laden spire.

“We get about 10 to 15 cars stuck near there every day,” said Isaac Leviev, manager of Citywide Towing, the AAA’s exclusive roadside assistance provider from 42nd St. to the Battery. “You pull the car four or five blocks to the west or east and the car starts right up.”

Motorists like Russell Valeev, 25, learn about it the hard way.
“The lights work, the horn works, everything. But it won’t start,” Valeev, a driver for Golden Touch Transportation said one recent evening as he sat in his 2005 Ford van with the hood propped open on E. 35th St., between Lexington and Park Aves. “It’s my job. No money.”
The 102-story building, at Fifth Ave. between 33rd and 34th Sts., has been home to broadcast equipment since its opening in 1931, when RCA installed an experimental TV antenna.

Since the 9/11 attacks destroyed the twin towers, the building has regained its status as the leading transmission site for commercial broadcast outfits, with 13 TV and 19 FM stations mounting antennas on its spire.

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Largest Champagne Fountain

A worker adjusts glasses in an attempt to break the world record for the "Largest Champagne Fountain" in the shopping center Wijnegem near Antwerp, January 25, 2008. The 7 metre (22.9 feet) high pyramid will contain more than 43,000 glasses and weigh 8,750 kg (19,290 pounds) to set a new record.

Satellite could plummet to Earth

A "large" US spy satellite has gone out of control and is expected to crash to Earth some time in late February or March, government sources say. Officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the satellite had lost power and propulsion, and could contain hazardous materials.
The White House said it was monitoring the situation.

A spokesman said "numerous" satellites had come out of orbit and fallen back to Earth harmlessly over the years.

"We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause," said Gordon Johndroe, who speaks for the US National Security Council.

Questioned by The Associated Press, he would not be drawn on whether the US would try to destroy the satellite, perhaps with a missile.

An unnamed official quoted by AP said the US government was keeping lawmakers and other countries abreast of the situation.

Fuel hazard

The satellite contains the rocket fuel hydrazine, a government official told AP on condition of anonymity.

A colourless liquid with an ammonia-like odour, the fuel is a toxic chemical and can cause harm to anyone who comes in contact with it.

John Pike, director of the defence research group GlobalSecurity.org, said an uncontrolled re-entry could risk exposure of US secrets.

Spy satellites typically are disposed of through a controlled re-entry into the ocean so that no one else can access the spacecraft, he was quoted by AP as saying.

The military expert believes that shooting the satellite down would create debris that would then re-enter the atmosphere and burn up or hit the ground.

In his estimate, the satellite weighs about 20,000 pounds (9,072kg) and is the size of a small bus.

It is possible, he adds, that this one died as long as a year ago and is just now getting ready to re-enter the atmosphere.

Another expert, Jeffrey Richelson of the National Security Archive, said the satellite is probably a photo reconnaissance satellite.

Into the ocean AP notes that the largest uncontrolled re-entry by a US space agency (Nasa) craft was Skylab.

The 78-tonne abandoned space station fell from orbit in 1979.
Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia, the US news agency says.
In 2002, officials believe debris from a 7,000-pound (3,175-kg) science satellite hit the Earth's atmosphere.
It rained down over the Gulf, a few thousand miles from where they first predicted it would crash.

Virgin Galactic Flashes Its Spacecans For Us

Virgin Galactic recently showed off the spaceships that will take rich passengers into sub-orbit starting as early as next year. The ships will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The picture above just shows the spaceship -- SpaceShip Two, but White Knight Two, which is a plane, is required to get the spaceship high enough to launch itself into space (pictures after the jump). The plane is near completed, and the spaceship is approximately 60% done. A trip will cost you about $200,000 -- which is pretty steep. For that kind of money they better give you more than a bag of peanuts and can of ginger ale for the flight. For $200,000 I'd expect at least a Burger King Value Meal. Upsized -- and with a shake for no extra cost.

Peculiar Calabashes

Ring pistol

Brandy the world's smallest dog

With legs the size of lollipops and standing no bigger than the average Coke can, this tiny canine is the smallest dog in the world.

The dog, named Heaven Sent Brandy, a four-year-old female chihuahua measuring 15.2 cm (6 inches) from tail to nose, was awarded the title of "the smallest dog in terms of length" by the Guinness Book Of Records in January 2005.

And such is Brandy's size that in the three years since he was awarded the title, she hasn't grown - in fact, she is so small that she can't even bark.

Her owner, Paulette Keller from Largo, Florida, USA picked up Brandy when she was just 9 months old.

"She hasn't grown at all and she weighs only 2lb," says the 53-year-old housewife.

Bruce Springteen's Tree of Influences

Here's what Bruce Springsteen has been influenced by, both in music and in literature:

World's Longest Inverted Roller Coaster

Located in China’s Guangdong Province, this is the world’s longest inverted roller coaster. It is set to start running on Feb 7 this year. This one kilometer long roller coaster designed by Switzerland-based Bolliger and Mabillard, has a vertical drop of 80 meters and is as high as a 30-storey building at its highest point. More than $27 million were spent in its making.

Thinnest car in the world

Fantastic Mr Frost: How an icy night turned a car bonnet into a work of art

Sometimes nature's palette is richer than that of any artist, as these beautiful and surreal images show.

These delicate fronds and whorls are not decorative etchings, nor have they anything to do with vegetation, despite their biological appearance.

The car roof in Oxfordshire displays an almost snake-like pattern



while this one is covered in fronds of ferns


The sun begins to rise and soon the jungle of leaf designs will disappear. The frost has formed because metal becomes colder quicker than anything else around it.


Ice crystals form in tiny imperfections in the paintwork


and their shape is governed by the structure of the water molecules they're made of

Re-Designed mobiles for ladies