Sunday, August 31, 2008
Michael Phelps Jokes + Photos (15393 views)
Michael Phelps can walk on water but doesn’t want to show off, so he swims instead.
When Aquaman needs help he calls Michael Phelps.
Michael Phelps cashed his plane ticket in and swam Butterfly to the Olympics.
Michael Phelps arrived in China riding a chariot pulled by two electric eels.
Michael Phelps craps out Energizer batteries.
Michael Phelps is the only person in the world that can race a speed boat…. and win!
Michael Phelps doesn’t swim through the water… the water swims around him.
The only thing that can defeat Michael Phelps is another Michael Phelps.
Michael Phelps qualified with a top speed of 378 mph at the Daytona 500, swimming!
Michael Phelps doesn’t have a condo in Ann Arbor, he has a cave in the Atlantic.
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Saturday, August 30, 2008
Imaginary Faces (987 views)
Imaginary Faces is a photo collection of faces found in everyday places.
The Great Serpent Mound (6804 views)
The Great Serpent Mound of southwest Ohio averages about 1330 feet in length and 3 feet in height. Representing an unwinding serpent, the mound is sheathed in mystery and controversy. The serpent is thought by most to be about to swallow an egg. However many theories abound suggesting various interpretations. For instance some think it may represent an eclipse.
The mysteries don’t stop there. The very ground where the mound rests is also of interest to archeology. Seemingly full of cave-like or hollow structures, it is thought that perhaps there may be more to this serpent resting underground.
Conical mounds found nearby contained burials and implements that are characteristic of the prehistoric Adena people (800 BC-AD 100). Due to very acidic soil and predominant rainfall, many cave like structures reside underground. It is presumed that the Adena people may have resided in the caves. If true, there could be a treasure trove of artifacts waiting to be discovered.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The World’s 10 Highest Mountains (8667 views)
1. Mount Everest/SagarMatha/Chomolungma
Mount Everest, also called Sagarmatha (Nepali: सगरमाथा meaning Head of the Sky) or Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma (in Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ, in Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰 Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng) is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8,848 metres (29,029 feet). The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China. In 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the first published height of Everest at 29,002 ft (8,840 m), although at the time Everest was known as Peak XV. In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time. Waugh was unable to propose an established local name due to Nepal and Tibet being closed to foreigners at the time, although Chomolungma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries. The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels, from well experienced mountaineers to novice climbers willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain, while not posing substantial technical climbing difficulty on the standard route (other eight-thousanders such as K2 or Nanga Parbat are much more difficult), still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. By the end of the 2007 climbing season, there had been 3,679 ascents to the summit by 2,436 individuals. This means climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US$25,000 per person. Everest has claimed 210 lives, including 15 who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Conditions are so difficult in the death zone that most corpses have been left where they fell, some of which are visible from standard climbing routes.
Cheetah - The Fastest Land Animal (2454 views)
There’s nothing faster than a cheetah on the hunt. The maximum speed is of 112 km (70 mi) per hour, but the average hunting speed is still of 72-90 km (46-56 mi) per hour.
No living or extinct animal runs or used to run at such speeds. How can this be possible? The cheetah is a very special cat, with specific adaptations.
First, the claws of the cheetah are semiretractile (they do not retract completely into their pads, like in the other cats), functioning like crampons during the race. The paw’s cushions have transversal folds that increase adherence to the ground. The fact that the long tail acts like a rudder during the run helps cheetah overcome preys running in zig zag by making quick turns at amazing speeds.
The cheetah’s spine is extremely elastic, working like a spring. Also, compared with the limbs of other cats, those of the cheetah are extremely long and thin, adapted to running, possessing very lax articulations to the body (at the hip and shoulder), fact that allows them to make large steps. The skeleton of a cheetah is also very light. The elastic spine and the long legs allow the cheetah to make successive jumps 7 m (23 ft) in length each and in 2 seconds a cheetah has already reached 75 km per hour and in 3 even 110 km (that’s faster than most cars can do!). Its most rapid preys, the gazelles, do not overcome 80 km (50 mi) per hour.
During the race, the number of breathing movements booms from 16 per minute to 156. But the cheetah cannot stand a run more than about 800 m (0.5 mi). The weak point of the cheetah is that the cat cannot expel rapidly enough the accumulated heat and it gets overheated. Cheetah’s heart is one third of a human one, related to body’s proportions, fact that also explains cheetah’s lower stamina.
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Longest Tennis Match (941 views)
Fabrice Santoro rolled in the red clay at Roland Garros, then wept after defeating fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 on Tuesday (5/25/2004) at the French Open. The 6-hour, 33-minute match — played over two days — is the longest in tennis’ Open era, which began in 1968.
Moments later, Santoro sat on his chair and threw a towel over his head, crying from the strain of 6 hours, 33 minutes on court.
“I only took 1 liter of water out with me today,” Santoro said. “I told myself we’d play maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I didn’t think I had another two hours in my legs.”
The match beat the previous mark held by John McEnroe and Mats Wilander. They battled for 6:22 in a Davis Cup quarterfinal between the United States and Sweden in 1982. McEnroe won the 79-game slugfest 9-7, 6-2, 15-17, 3-6, 8-6.
“I don’t care (about the record). What do I get? A medal?” Clement said after his fourth first-round exit at Roland Garros in eight attempts.
“There may be an even longer match tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t play tennis to spend as much time possible on court.”
Santoro saved two match points — one on each day. The first came when serving at 4-5 in the fifth set late Monday evening.
Then, facing a break point while trailing 14-13 Tuesday, Santoro frustrated Clement into a mistake — his opponent hurrying a winner into the net after a long rally marked by looping shots that bounced on the red dust like beach balls.
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Monday, August 18, 2008
White Tigers (1057 views)
White tigers are very rarely found in the wild. In about 100 yeas only 12 white tigers have been seen in the wild in India. They are almost extinct and most of the ones living are in captivity, mostly in zoos. This specific tiger is neither an albino nor a seperate subspecies of the tiger. They are beautifully white colored and have black stripes. It has blue eyes and a pink nose. It also has white colored fur. The white tiger is born to a bengal tiger that has the gene needed for white coloring. A pure white tiger has no stripes and are totally white.
Pristine wildness!
The striking white coat is caused by a double recessive allele in the genetic code, and only turns up naturally about once in every 10,000 births. Amazingly, the Bengal tiger is the only subspecies in which it seems to happen. As beautiful as it may look, life as a white tiger can’t be easy when your life depends on being able to hide from and/or sneak up on things.
Habitat & Range
Tigers usually stay in an area from about 10 to 30 square miles where there is enough prey, cover/shelter and water to support them. Territory actually depends on the amount of prey that is available. The more concentrated the prey the smaller an area a tiger needs to survive.
Life span
White tigers in the wild live to be about 10 to 15 years while tigers in zoos usually live between 16 and 20 years.
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Sunday, August 17, 2008
Fluffy Angora Rabbits (2640 views)
The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara, Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s. They are bred largely for their long angora wool, which may be removed by shearing, Combing, or plucking (gently pulling loose wool).
There are many individual breeds of Angora rabbits, four of which are ARBA recognized. Such breeds include French, German, Giant, English, Satin, Chinese, Swiss and Finnish, to name a few.
English Angora
This breed is probably the cutest and most distinctive because of it’s long heavy fur that covers it’s ears and face. In full coat, their bunny features are covered and sometimes they are mistaken to be small dogs (or a relative of “Cousin It”). The wool is silky and fine which makes it very soft. The English Angora comes in white and a variety of beautiful colors. The coat is characterized by having little guard hair in proportion to its wool, and wraps rather tightly when spun, with relatively minimal fluffing. It is smallest breed of the four, weighing 5 to 7 1/2 pounds at maturity.
French Angora
French Angoras look more like regular rabbits. They have no wool on their head, face, ears, or the front feet. The wool has a higher percentage of guard hair to underwool, which makes it the easiest to care for. It is valued for its fiber qualities, which are excellent for handspinning. Its wool spins easily, and fluffs out nicely in the yarn. Its mature weight is 8-10 lbs.
Blonde Cop (663 views)
A blonde cop pulls over another blonde and says, “I don’t know why I pulled you over, but can I see some ID?” The blonde replies, “What is an ID?” The cop says, “It’s a small square with your picture on it.” The driver pulls out a mirror and says, “Here you go!” The cop then says, “Why didn’t you tell me you were a cop? Then I never would of pulled you over!”
