[ By Steve in Animals & Habitats & History & Trivia & Science & Research. ]
Among the many noteworthy achievements of the Soviet Union’s space program was the first launch of an animal – a dog named Laika – into earth orbit on the world’s second successful satellite. “Muttnik” wasn’t the only dog star: over 50 canine cosmonauts helped set the stage for the USSR‘s side of the great Space Race. This is their story.
Cold War, Hot Dogs
(image via: Telstar Logistics)
World War II had ended and the Cold War had just begun – and both the United States and the Soviet Union worked feverishly to establish viable ballistic missile and manned space programs with the help of captured German rocket scientists. While the Americans used captured V2 rockets to launch fruit flies, a monkey and a mouse into suborbital space between 1947 and the summer of 1950, the USSR decided dogs would be the ideal space-pioneering animals.
(images via: Spacebooks, Wikipedia, All Experts and Want It All)
Dogs could be trained to deal with long periods of inactivity required in preparation for a launch and would also tolerate wearing a cumbersome space suit in a small confined space. As well, stray dogs were chosen for their perceived hardiness and females were preferred due to simpler sanitation solutions.
(images via: Alaxanda Hulme and Russian Wikipedia)
In early 1951, two dogs named Tsygan (above, top) and Dezik rode a Soviet-built copy of the V2 rocket 110 km (68.35 miles) into space. The pressurized capsule containing the dogs parachuted back to Earth and both Dezik and Tsygan were none the worse for wear. At least, for the moment: Dezik did not survive his next mission later that year. Both dogs can be seen today, stuffed and mounted, at the Cosmonaut Memorial Museum in Moscow.
Giant Leaps For Mankind
(images via: Aerospace Medical Association and Cali1Socal)
The officially recognized border between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space is 100 km, or about 62 miles, and between 1951 and 1956 the Soviet Union conducted 15 launches with 9 different dogs to at least that altitude. Another 11 launches to 200 km (124 miles) took place between 1957 and 1960. In 1958, three intrepid dog-monauts soared to 450 km (280 miles). Not all the canine crewmen survived these suborbital flights but the vast majority did, paving the way for the manned missions of the 1960s.
(images via: TIME, JWZ and Soviet Space Dogs)
Not only did Soviet space dogs succeed superbly in pushing the envelope of early space exploration by making suborbital space flights in the 1950s, many of them ascended in pairs such as Lisa and Ryzhik, Smelaya and Malyshka, and Bolik and ZIB. That odd last name is an acronym for “Zamena ischeznuvshemu Boliku” or “Substitute for Missing Bolik.” It seems the real Bolik ran away just days before his scheduled flight and a local stray was drafted as an instant replacement.
(image via: Realmagick)
Nearly 30 missions over a 10-year period may seem a lot for the Soviets, whose reputation for risk-taking and less than thorough testing is perhaps overstated. Consider that the United States launched a chimpanzee named Ham into space on January 31, 1961. Ham’s mission was followed a mere 3 months later by the first launch of an American astronaut, Alan Shepard, and both missions were suborbital.
Laika Rock(et)
(images via: NLM, Novareinna and The Siren Sound)
The October 1957 launch into orbit of Sputnik 1 shocked the world in general and the United States in particular – the Space Race was on! It wouldn’t be until January 31 of 1958 that the USA was able to place their first satellite, Explorer 1, into Earth orbit. The success of Explorer 1 was somewhat overshadowed by the startling success of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 2 which launched on November 3, 1957. Not only did the rather large satellite achieve orbit, it carried a passenger: Laika (Russian for “Barker”), a 6 kg (13 lb) female stray with distinctive floppy ears.
(images via: Niki McCretton Presents, Niqqi’s Blog, First Second Books and Libraridan)
The American press had a field day with Laika’s successful launch, dubbing both the dog and capsule “Muttnik”. The embarrassing first attempt by the USA to launch a satellite – the televised launch pad explosion of Vanguard TV3 in December of 1957 – was ridiculed as Flopnik, Oopsnik and Kaputnik to name a few.
(images via: Aaron George Bailey and The Student Room)
Laika’s mission was intended to last 10 days but unfortunately, the heat shielding on Sputnik 2′s exterior was damaged during the launch phase and temperatures inside the capsule soared to 40 °C (104 °F). Though telemetry received at mission control indicated that Laika had calmed down somewhat from the stress of the launch and was eating food, by 5 to 7 hours into the flight life signs were no longer being received.
(images via: Tedstrong, Manoakua and ICA)
Laika’s fate was not fully disclosed until October of 2002, almost 45 years after the mission and over a decade after the USSR itself ceased to exist. At the time, fledgling animal rights groups protested the concept of sending a dog into space with no thought of retrieval. It seems even the scientists who planned Laika’s mission had qualms over it. In 1998 one of these scientists, Oleg Gazenko, expressed his regret by stating “Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I’m sorry about it. We shouldn’t have done it… We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.” Today, Laika’s heroic yet tragic life has made her both a symbol of courage and a figure of sadness.
Dog Stars
(images via: EnglishRussia and Nuclear_Art)
Belka (“Squirrel”) and Strelka (“Arrow”) have also made the leap to pop culture, though their tail, er, tale lacks the tragic component of Laika’s short but vivid life. Belka and Strelka’s adventure began on August 19, 1960, securely seated inside Sputnik 5) along with 1 rabbit, 2 rats, 42 mice, an unknown number of flies, plus some plants and fungi.
(image via: Blog Serius)
The launch was uneventful and the capsule orbited the Earth for one day before safely parachuting down to the welcoming steppes of Soviet Central Asia. Belka, Strelka, and their fellow biota were the first creatures to orbit the Earth and return alive. Preserved for prosperity in Russia are the taxidermised Belka and Strelka along with their dented but undaunted space capsule.
(images via: Foxunk, WN.com and The Beet Goes On)
Belka and Strelka star in not one, but TWO animated feature films. One is titled “The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka”, a portion of which can be seen here:
The Real Adventures of Belka and Strelka, part1, via Belkaistrelkacom
The other boasts a higher caliber of animation (think Rango) and the wonders of 3D. Touted as “an epic space adventure across the third dimension”, Space Dogs 3D was released in 2010. You can check out the trailer here:
Space Dogs 3D – Movie Trailer, via Epicpicturesgroup
The Ruff Stuff
(images via: KenhSinh Vien and Visualrian)
Though Laika may be the best known of the nearly 60 Soviet space dogs and Belka & Strelka have been immortalized in film, others have also achieved a measure of fame. Last (literally) but certainly not least, are Veterok and Ugolyok. Launched on February 22, 1966, the pair spent 22 days orbiting the Earth orbit before landing safely on March 16: their endurance record would not be surpassed until June of 1973, by human astronauts aboard Skylab 2. Veterok and Ugolyok would be the last of a long line of Soviet space dogs going back over 16 years.
(image via: SFF Audio)
The USSR may have lost the Space Race but it was the fault of their hardware, not their “software”: loyal, hardworking cosmonauts both canine and human. Through their – dare I say it – dogged determination, the Soviet space dogs helped make the airless void above a safer place for their best friends… us.
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Fall of the Century: Stunning Pics of Dry Niagara Falls
[ By Delana in History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems, Science & Research. ]
With almost 30 million visitors each year, Niagara Falls is a wildly popular tourist destination. People make their way to the Falls – both the American and the Canadian sides – to marvel at the spectacular natural beauty of the waterfalls. But there was a brief time – less than a lifetime ago – when the Falls were completely dry.
In 1965, it was discovered that the American side of Niagara Falls would eventually dry up unless a large amount of fallen rocks were cleared from the base. The job of fixing the massive landmark fell to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; in 1969, they built a 600-foot dam across the Niagara River and diverted the huge amount of water away from Niagara Falls and to the Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
Niagara Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, with 4-6 million cubic feet of water falling over the crest every minute. The Falls had been flowing continuously for around 12,000 years, but on June 12, 1969 the flow came to a complete halt. The falls were entirely dry until November 25th of that year, when the dam was destroyed and the water was turned back on.
During the time that the water was stopped, the Corps of Engineers performed some geological maintenance on the American side of the Falls to delay the erosion of the landmark. In the six months that the water was being diverted, visitors flocked to the site to witness the once-in-a-lifetime view of the “dewatered” falls.
(all images via: R.B. Glasson)
These pictures of the dry American Falls were recently found in a garage in Connecticut. Russ Glasson discovered them in 2009, 40 years after his parents-in-law snapped them at Niagara Falls. Perhaps thanks to other events going on at the time of the de-watering (the Moon landing springs to mind), the even has largely faded from the public memory. Thanks to the photos unearthed by Mr. Glasson, we can all re-live the day the water ran dry.
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(image via: Wikipedia)
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Rock Steady: The World’s 10 Most Amazing Balanced Stones
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Geography & Travel, History & Trivia. ]
Earth may be one of the most geologically active planets in the solar system, but don’t tell that to these 10 brazenly oblivious balanced stones. Poised between inertial stability and the relentless force of gravity, these rock-steady rocks maintain a precarious balance between soil and sky.
Balanced Rock, Colorado, USA
(images via: Suhafuha, World Is Round, Bagel! and Transformations and Whispers)
The huge balanced rock known as, er, Balanced Rock can be found in the Garden of the Gods, a Registered National Natural Landmark located near Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The rock looms over a paved access road that provides an excellent view – hopefully, not the last view an unlucky driver ever sees.
(image via: BamaWester)
The photo above highlights the layers of sandstone that make up Balanced Rock while accentuating the narrow base that has weathered away over the eons, partially freeing the boulder of harder red sandstone from its imprisoning matrix of softer stone.
Balancing Rock, Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada
(images via: Joanpopular, Nova Scotia Blogs and Welcome To Nova Scotia)
Balancing Rock in Digby, Nova Scotia, is a 30-odd foot high spire of columnar basalt that has gradually eroded out from the cliff face over countless years. The town of Digby has lately built an infrastructure of railings and walkways so that access to this striking phenomenon of nature is now much safer – both for tourists and for the rock itself.
(image via: Archer10)
According to Wally Hayes, a first-time visitor to Balancing Rock, “I was even more awestruck when I approached for a closer view and could look under the rock through a narrow horizontal crack and see the ocean beyond. The rock column didn’t appear to have much attachment to base rock on which it stood. Not only that, part of the base protruded out from the supporting rock. It looked like a pencil standing upright, half on and half off the edge of a table top. But this was not pencil, rather many tons of solid rock.”
Idol Rock, Brimham Moor, North Yorkshire, UK
(images via: Armchair Travelogue, Tj.Blackwell and The Pilgrim Club)
A number of oddly shaped and curiously balanced rocks dot a 50-acre expanse of Brimham Moor in North Yorkshire, England. One of the most outstanding – from a balanced rock point of view – is the so-called Idol Rock. Estimated to weight around 200 tons, Idol Rock balances its enormous weight atop a comparatively tiny, pyramidal stone upon which frighteningly high pressures are being expended.
(image via: Deputy Dog)
Idol Rock and its companion Brimham Rocks, which include The Sphinx, The Watchdog, The Camel, The Turtle, and The Dancing Bear, can be viewed at the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The UK’s National Trust oversees the area and admittance is free.
El Torcal de Antequera, Andalucia, Spain
(images via: Pixelhut, Spain Online and Fotonatura.org)
El Torcal Nature Reserve, situated in the mountains south of Antequera, Spain, features a plethora of karst limestone rock formations that typically feature tall, tapering spires of rock combined with horizontal weathering patterns. The result of this combination is often expressed in huge “flapjack stacks” that are actually more stable than they appear.
(image via: Graphix 1)
The karst stone towers of El Torcal de Antequera have evolved terraces of limestone over which tourists can ascend like stairs in order to get up close & personal with the rocks. Climbing further is NOT recommended, however – Darwin has provided enough examples in the reserve without your becoming another one!
Kjeragbolten, Norway
(images via: Armchair Travelogue, TheStar.com and Diamir8000)
Kjeragbolten is a 5 square meter (roughly 15 sq ft) rock that his wedged itself in a crevasse between two gigantic rocks on Kjerag mountain, Norway. It’s not your typical, top-heavy balanced rock by any means but that’s not to say that Kjeragbolten is at perfect rest – just ask Aron Ralston, whose arm was trapped by a similarly wedged boulder in Utah’s Blue John Canyon, requiring him to take desperate measures to free himself.
(image via: Vacation Ideas)
Unlike Ralston’s nemesis in an underground canyon, Kjeragbolten is lodged high up on Kjerag. How high? Those who are brave enough to walk across the boulder (and yes, this is allowed) can easily view the valley floor about 1,000 meters (over 3,000 feet) below. For sheepish hikers especially, the admonition “don’t look down” was never so appropriate.
Peyro Clabado, Sidobre, France
(images via: Notes From A Broad, L’Ardoise Magique de Christineee and Hiramabi)
Peyro Clabado (Nailed Rock) is perhaps the most famous of the many enormous, eroded granite boulders and rock formations that make up the Sidobre in Languedoc, France. The rocks are all that remain of a 300 million year old mountain range that loomed over what was to become western Europe. Today, isolated outcrops loom over intrepid visitors who have hopefully updated their wills before visiting.
(image via: TechniPIERRE)
As hard and dense as granite may be, given enough time even the hardest specimens will be reduced to sand and sediment. Peyro Clabado is on its way to that fate, but for a brief moment in geological time we’re privileged to observe this 780-ton rock perform an exquisitely delicate balancing act.
Mushroom Rocks, Kansas, USA
(images via: All The Pages Are My Days, Space Weather and Sarah/RoadTrip2007)
Mushroom Rock State Park, located in the Smoky Hills region of Kansas, may only be 5 acres in size but it holds some of the oddest balancing rocks on Earth… and yes, a couple of them do indeed resemble mushrooms. Very, very large mushrooms – one might expect to see the hookah-smoking caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland relaxing on top of one.
(image via: Susan Ward Aber)
The Kansas Mushroom Rocks are a work in progress, and unfortunately the end of the job means the end of the rock formation. Although weathering by wind and water is a slow process, it’s remarkably effective over long stretches of time. In the Mushroom Rocks, one can easily see how the harder, darker Dakota Sandstone cap rock protects (to some degree) the softer, lighter colored stone that forms its pedestal. Even more remarkable is the fact that the narrow pedestal was once part of a distinct layer of rock, the vast majority of which has eroded away.
Chiremba Balancing Rocks, Epworth, Zimbabwe
(images via: Gerald Zinnecker and Deeping Blogorama)
The Chiremba Balancing Rocks are little known outside of Zimbabwe but the locals certainly appreciate their majesty: one impressive grouping is featured on the country’s banknotes. Like the balancing rocks of the Sidobre in France, these weathered boulders are made of ancient granite and it’s taken millions of years for them to settle into their outwardly precarious positions.
(image via: TravelJournals/TheGoose)
Epworth is located a few miles southeast of Zimbabwe’s capitol, Harare, and the Chiremba Balancing Rocks are just a short taxi ride away. They were declared a national monument in 1994 and admission to the park is approximately 3 dollars.
Mexican Hat Rock, Utah, USA
Mexican Hat Rock is located just outside Monument Valley in south-central San Juan County, Utah. The 60-foot (18 m) wide by 12-foot (3.7 m) thick red sandstone rock outcropping is the only one of its kind in the area and can be seen for miles around.
(image via: Bridgepix)
There are two designated climbing routes laid out for those who wish to make the strenuous hike to the base of Mexican Hat Rock’s sombrero-shaped cap. Though not a “balanced rock” in the pure sense of the term, the cap rock is attached to its base by a very narrow neck which will inevitably snap sooner or later… keep that in mind, hikers.
The Steady Hand Of Man
(images via: Rock On, Rock ON!, Squarewithin and Cheerful Monk)
The frozen tranquility of natural balanced rocks has inspired artists to try and replicate their beauty – not an easy proposition considering naturally balanced rocks have settled into their positions while creating such a tableau means working backwards, so to speak. Even so, the art of balancing rocks has gained a surprisingly large and talented following.
(image via: Rock On, Rock ON!)
Daliel Leite is one of these artists and his creations approach – and on occasion even match – the suspended splendor of nature’s best balanced rocks. The precisely oriented chunk of petrified wood above is one of Leite’s best known efforts. Is the rock still standing on its minuscule base, or did it tumble seconds after being photographed? Leite isn’t saying – and thanks to the marvel of photography, it really doesn’t matter.
(image via: Life Without Limits)
Those of a certain age will be very familiar with the concept of balanced rocks – and the consequences of their sudden unbalancing – shown time after time in the 48 classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons first broadcast in 1949. The 2D desert landscape in which Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner conducted their many epic encounters was a virtual minefield of balanced rocks which suddenly, catastrophically, became unbalanced when in close proximity to poor Wile E.’s noggin. Luckily, reality is kinder to both coyotes and balanced rocks – there are still plenty of both to go around!
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From Ghost Town to Green Town: Rebirth Of Greensburg, Kansas
[ By Delana in Art & Design, Geography & Travel, News & Politics. ]
On May 4, 2007, the residents of the small Kansas town of Greensburg faced one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history: an EF5 tornado which leveled the town and killed 13 people. With 95 percent of the town completely destroyed and the other five percent severely damaged, it would have been easy for residents to collapse in despair and abandon their stricken home. But the city council decided to turn the tragedy into an opportunity: they decided that they would rebuild the town, and every city structure would be built to LEED Platinum standards.
Greensburg was in a sorry state following the 2007 tornado. It was the largest storm most people had ever seen in their lives, with 205 mile-per-hour winds and an estimated width of 1.7 miles – wider than the entire town of Greensburg. The town was left almost completely destroyed; Greensburg’s 1400 residents were left living, receiving medical care and attending school out of tents and trailers. (Above: Greensburg before the tornado, left, and after, right.)
Following the devastating destruction, city council members spent a grueling 12 weeks developing a recovery plan. They decided that their emergency recovery funds would best be spend making the town a more sustainable and prosperous place to live. Prior to the storm, young people had been moving away in droves and none were coming to replace them. The town offered little in the way of economic opportunity, and officials feared that Greensburg’s days were numbered.
The tornado, as heartbreaking and tragic as it was, afforded Greensburg an unusual opportunity to rebuild from the ground up. And the residents would not only rebuild their town – they would rebuild it with modern green techniques and materials that simply weren’t available when the town was founded. They would build the world’s first planned eco-town.
Requiring all city buildings to adhere to LEED Platinum standards makes Greensburg the first city in the United States to go completely “green.” Homeowners are encouraged to build their homes to high environmental standards as well, and while LEED certified buildings cost an average of five percent more to build than non-certified structures, they afford average utility savings of 30 to 50 percent, meaning that owners can recoup the increased building costs in as little as one to two years.
Besides rebuilding the lost structures in new, greener ways, the town has also constructed a new wind farm to provide clean energy for the town. Energy-efficient LED streetlights have gone up, and the new eco-friendly school recently opened its doors to students. A business incubator (housed in a beautiful eco-friendly building, of course) helps locals start and sustain businesses that will keep Greensburg alive well into the future.
The residential and commercial areas of the town have been reborn and completely remade. Residents who spent more than two years living in FEMA emergency trailers have moved into their new eco-friendly homes, and the town’s schools and businesses are finally returning to normal. A community garden encourages residents to work together to make each home and each family just a little healthier. Even some residents who decided to leave Greensburg after the tornado have come back to live in the revitalized town.
(all images via Greensburg Green Town)
Greensburg has come a very long way since the 2007 tornado leveled more than a century of history. City officials are confident that, as the town is rebuilt piece by piece, the residents will continue to appreciate and improve their newly-green home. Since the horrific tornado, residents have consistently pitched in to repair and improve every aspect of the town. Although there is still work to be done, the town is looking more and more like home every day to its faithful residents.
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It’s Alive! 13 Examples of Green Growing Furniture
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Home & Garden, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Is living furniture the next frontier in ultra-eco-friendly design? Oxygenating the air, providing a punch of green and acting as a natural accent in both interior and exterior spaces, these 13 unusual furniture designs incorporate actively growing moss, grass, vines, mushrooms and even crystals.
Growing Chair by Michel Bussien
(image via: yanko design)
Raised on a growing platform like an elvish throne, Michel Bussien’s ‘Growing Chair’ helps us get back to our roots with a clear polycarbonate frame that is filled with greenery as the plant inside grows. The artist says “To move further we need to incorporate the living matter that surrounds us. Let us use the complexity of living nature and include it in our creations. These creations will then redefine the way we reconstruct nature.”
Moss Bath Mat
(image via: dornob)
All that water that drips off your body when you emerge from the shower could be feeding live moss, which is just squishy enough to provide a super-comfy surface to stand on. This unusual bath mat features three different types of moss that thrives in the moist environment of a bathroom.
Pooktre Chair by Peter Cook
(images via: inhabitat)
Free of waste and man-made materials, the ‘Pooktre Chair’ by Peter Cook is an entirely natural piece of actively growing furniture that is lovingly shaped over seven to eight years before being replanted in the yard of the purchaser. Each chair is a work of living, functioning sculpture.
Grow Your Own Crystal Chair
(image via: mocoloco)
It may not be the most comfortable chair ever, but it’s certainly unique. Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka starts with a polyester elastomer skeleton, seeds it with living crystals and submerges it in an aquarium to provide the perfect growing environment and a month later, this sparkling piece of artistic ‘furniture’ is what results.
The artist said “…I have pondered on challenging the history of design by creating an epoch-making chair grown from natural crystal structures. Today, a rapid development of technology, particularly the use of computer renderings, has ensured and made various things real. I want to believe, however, there is something in nature that defies all human imagination.”
Mushrooms Ate My Furniture
(image via: inhabitat)
Pretty greenery and crystals aren’t the only natural materials that can be made to grow on furniture. Perhaps one of the last living materials you’d expect turns up on Shinwei Rhoda Yen’s ‘mushrooms ate my furniture’ chair, a simple modern wooden bench that provides a habitat for fungus. The chair naturally biodegrades after a few years exposed to the elements, giving itself over to the life that it sustains.
DIY Grass Armchair
(images via: green upgrader)
The ‘Terra Grass Chair’, pictured above, is a simple cardboard frame that you assemble, cover with dirt and plant with grass seeds. Water it regularly et voila, you end up with your very own DIY grass furniture. You could create your own version with an old, less-than-pretty chair using the same process for an even more eco-friendly option.
Airplant Table
(image via: ecofriend)
While most indoor living furniture requires a bit of maintenance, not to mention the occasional mess of dirt and water, the ‘Oxygen of Green’ low table is worry-free but still green and alive. The table features a bed of tillandsia air plants, which live off the moisture and nutrients in the air while also enriching your home with oxygen.
Kinokoto Planter Table
(image via: mocoloco)
How about furniture that incorporates plants in a subtle way, as accents? Kinokoto’s table includes a narrow planting strip that provides a little bit of greenery while leaving most of the tabletop surface functional.
Vege-Table by Judy Hoysak
(image via: re-nest)
While grow lights are a great way to maintain an indoor garden, it can be hard to make them fit into the décor of a home. Judy Hoysak turns a mini garden into a piece of functioning furniture with the ‘Vege Table’, a coffee table/self-watering planter equipped with lights that can grow lettuce right in your living room with minimal effort.
Mobilier a Jardiner
(image via: mocoloco)
For outdoor areas that are low on both space and greenery, such as balconies or rooftop gardens, perhaps combining furniture and plants is the way to go. That’s the approach taken by 5.5 Designers with ‘Mobilier a jardiner’, an outdoor furniture collection that incorporates planters into the backs of chairs and benches. Just don’t plant anything thorny!
Kai Linke’s Plant Art Furniture
(images via: dornob)
It’s messy, and not always pretty, but Kai Linke’s plant-centered design is more experiment than functional furniture. Link plants quick-growing grasses, bulbs and bamboo in clear frames that skew and force the plants’ growth patterns, sometimes resulting in overflowing roots, grass growing sideways and other unusual configurations.
Modern Plant Chair by Zhuo Wang
(image via: double takes)
This might just be an ordinary albeit sleek and modern chair if not for the addition of a single pot on one of the back legs, allowing for a touch of greenery or, if one desires, a vine that travels up the leg of the chair and entwines itself around the frame.
Auto-Cannabalistic Table
(image via: inhabitat)
This table isn’t going to last very long – and that’s exactly the point. While most eco-friendly furniture is designed with a long life in mind, the Auto-Cannabalistic Table will inevitably consume itself as the recycled paper egg cartons it’s made from decompose under the weight of soil and water.
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Some Fine Dam Climbing: Goats Scaling Steep Vertical Wall
[ By Delana in Animals & Habitats, History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
And you thought going to the grocery store after work was a hassle. These brave little climbers are Alpine ibex showing off their exceptional wall-scaling skills on the 160-foot-tall Cingino Dam in Italy. They risk life and hoof to get to the dam’s salt-encrusted stones which help supplement the goats’ low-salt grazing diet.
Some of these photos have been circulating in chain emails which claim that the goats pictured are climbing the Buffalo Bill dam in Wyoming. However, while the pictures are genuine, this description is entirely inaccurate.
The ibex in the pictures are wild mountain goats that live in very steep, rocky environments. To them, climbing nearly-vertical walls of rock is an everyday activity. They have wall-scaling skills to rival Spider-man and bravery to match any human rock climber.
(all images via: Inhabitat and National Geographic)
To some people, these pictures are proof that nature will always find a way to thrive regardless of human intervention. To others, these images speak to the utter devastation of worldwide environments by man-made structures and encroaching civilization. No matter which side of the debate you are on, it is clear that these goats are making the best of their situation and using the available resources to get what they need in their diets.
After enjoying their fill of the salt and other minerals clinging to the stones of the dam, the goats are able to make their way safely back down to level land. Good thing they’re not afflicted with the fainting gene like some of their cousins, or the base of that dam would be a truly gruesome sight.
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Hot For A Cause: Activist Art Using Massed Candles
[ By Steve in Art & Design, History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Few things are more fragile than a candle in the wind, but assemble thousands of candles to form complex pictographs and you’ve got something powerful enough to move the hardest hearts. Art For Earth, organized and headed by artist Jorge Pujol, has set up delicately beautiful candle-powered installations around the globe, each one delineating a powerful political or environmental message in gently wavering, softly glowing light. Wax on!
Rwanda Genocide Commemoration
(images via: Aegis Students, Huffington Post and CBS News)
Candles have long been a symbol of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity – consider Amnesty International’s logo, which features a stylized candle wrapped in barbed wire. As such, a massive installation composed of 10,000 candles was designed by Art For Earth to be lit inside the national stadium in Kigali, capital of Rwanda.
(image via: Articlesbase)
The project was activated on the evening of April 7th, 2009, as part of the official commemoration of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Set in place by 400 young volunteers, the 10,000 candles formed the shape of a memorial flame with the word “hope” spelled out in Kinyarwandan, English and French.
Let Them Be
(images via: Art For Earth and Benmay)
Think global, act local? Thanks to worldwide media and the power of the Internet, location is less important than it used to be. Take this September, 2007, project to protest international whaling, conducted at Hervey Bay, Australia. Local interest in the project was high since Hervey Bay is a renowned whale-watching center and there was no shortage of volunteers available to set up the 5,000 candles required.
(image via: Art For Earth)
Hervey Bay’s own Ben May graciously offered the use of an 88-acre field on the outskirts of town for the project, which demanded a flat, cleared surface to best display the artwork. Though rain threatened to put the kibosh on the event, Mother Nature thankfully withheld the waterworks so the fireworks could take center stage.
Here’s a video from Art For Earth showing how the “Let Them Be” project took shape:
Jorge did it!, via Artforearth
Botnia Papermill Statement
(images via: Art For Earth)
For the better part of the last decade, the neighboring nations of Argentina and Uruguay have been at odds concerning the construction of a pulp and paper mill on the Uruguay River separating them. The plant, owned by the Finnish corporation Botnia and located in the Uruguayan city of Fray Bentos, is located just across the river from the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. The statement performed in 2008 was intended to show that large-scale environmental pollution knows no borders, and was designed to show how the actions of one nation can have profound deleterious effects upon the people of another.
(image via: Art For Earth)
The people of Gualeguaychú were neither consulted by Botnia nor compensated for any present or future suffering attributable to the pulp plant. As the project illustrated, a simple change in the prevailing wind will blow pollutants across the river. The Botnia plant opened in 2010 though picketing of access roads and cross-border highways by environmental activists continues.
Remember, Reflect, React: Holocaust Centre, UK
(images via: Art For Earth)
This monumental memorial project was commissioned in 2008 by the Aegis Trust, an organization that monitors and reports on ongoing instances of genocide around the world while also highlighting the abuses of the past. Art For Earth asks, “Will we continue to look away from the genocides of today and be complicit through our inaction as we have always been?”
(images via: Art For Earth)
The project involved recreating in candles the stylized flame that is the focal point of the Holocaust Centre. As night fell and the metal sculpture faded from view, thousands of candles flared up to form a much larger flame along with the theme of 2008′s memorial event, “Remember, Reflect, React.”
Ongoing Memorial to Julio López, Argentina
(images via: Art For Earth)
Julio López was a bricklayer in the Argentine city of La Plata who disappeared on September 18th, 2006 after testifying against a police official who was eventually convicted of genocide. López was a survivor of Argentina’s 1976-83 “Dirty War”, which left over 30,000 people unaccounted for and believed killed. The fact that López vanished during Argentina’s post-1983 democratic era has made him a symbol of the unresolved issues from that very dark time.
(images via: Art For Earth)
Art For Earth, in cooperation with local and national human rights groups, has staged a number of candle-lit exhibitions in the memory of Julio López. Shown here are images from the 3-month, 18-month and 2-year anniversaries of Julio López’s disappearance.
Candles for Peace: Dili, East Timor
(images via: People’s Daily Online and LIFE)
On April 11th, 2007, East Timor celebrated the nation’s first presidential election following independence from Indonesia with a joyous celebration in the new nation’s capital city, Dili. The centerpiece of the show was Candles For Peace, a mega-candle installation surrounding the central square’s focal point: the statue of the patron saint of East Timor.
(images via: Art For Earth and Daylife)
Art For Earth arranged for 13 lines of candles enclosed in tinted plastic bags to converge at the statue. Each line represented a different region of East Timor and their association with the statue was meant to symbolize peace, harmony and common purpose.
Save Gaza Now Candles: ACT, Australia
(images via: Art For Earth)
The Save Gaza Now project was a joint effort between Art For Earth and ACT, and was one of the more politically sensitive efforts contributed to by the former.
(image via: Art For Earth)
When Keyser Trad, President of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, decided to rally public attention to the situation in Gaza, he asked Jorge Pujol if Art For Earth would design an appropriate pictograph in candles. Pujol agreed, though stating at Art For Earth’s website that the group “does not involve itself with politics and believes that people with conscience should be concerned with unabashed bombing of civilian areas by whoever for whatever ideological reason or nationalistic rationale.” Make of that what you will.
Dok’ku: Tandora Homestead, Queensland, Australia
(images via: Art For Earth)
Local causes might not get mass media publicity but that doesn’t mean a large-scale candle array doesn’t get serious respect. Take tiny Tandora Homestead, for instance. Nestled in the mouth of the Mary River, Tandora Homestead is famous for its environmental diversity and several endangered species such as the Dok’ku (Mary River Cod).
(images via: Art For Earth)
In 2008, Art For Earth organized an “environmental artwork” with the goal of raising awareness of the plight of the Dok’ku Cod Fish. Several local associations dedicated to the preservation of the area’s land and marine wildlife took part and the finished project evoked comparisons to Australian aboriginal art.
Energy [R]Evolution: Cairns, Australia
(image via: Art For Earth)
Alternative energy depicted by mankind’s oldest form of tamed energy? Indeed, “candle in the wind” was never so true as on August 7th, 2008 when Greenpeace celebrated the finale of the 6 week long Energy [R]evolution ship tour of Australia’s eastern coastline. The climax of the tour was the twilight lighting of a 3,000 candle art installation depicting a wind turbine, complete with comic book style wind streamers.
(images via: Conservation Value and Greenpeace International)
How does one urge their government to give priority to alternative energy sources? Light a fire under their butts, of course… well, figuratively at least. The collaboration between Greenpeace and Art For Earth’s Jorge Pujol succeeded thanks to the assistance of the citizens of Cairns, Australia, who worked tirelessly to get each and every candle properly positioned and then lit.
Amnesty International
(images via: Art For Earth)
The world record for so-called “flaming images” was unveiled in 2006 at Brisbane, Australia. A whopping 11,809 candles depicted the iconic Amnesty International logo – AI commissioned the piece – with “Stop Torture” formed just beneath.
(image via: Art For Earth)
Amnesty International has commissioned a number of candle installations from Art For Earth, including those constructed at anti-death-penalty rallies in Brisbane and Canberra, Australia. The use of tinted plastic bags to enclose the candles adds more yellow, orange and red to the the trademark flame, especially in the flame portion.
(image via: Art For Earth)
It can’t be denied that Art For Earth is more likely to lend their expertise to enlightening left-of-center causes: it’s doubtful they’ll be illuminating a Tea Party rally anytime soon. With that said, however, there’s definitely a case to be made when it comes to equating so-called “causes” with universal human values. Can you see the light?
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Brush Your Beak: 10 Amazing Birds With Teeth
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Animals & Habitats, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Do birds have teeth? Ask any biologist and the answer will be “absolutely not!”, but “absolute” is a relative term and when one stretches the definitions of what makes a bird or a tooth, birds with teeth aren’t absolutely impossible anymore.
Greylag Goose Grazes Grasses
(images via: Digital Nature Photography and Mike Milo’s Journal)
The Greylag Goose is very common in Europe and western Asia though most people haven’t seen one up close. If they did, they might back away, and quickly. This is no “silly goose”, at least not if those rows of teeth along its upper and lower jaws mean anything. It’s close relative, the Canada Goose, shares the Greylag’s disconcertingly un-birdlike choppers. If you thought a goose’s bark was worse than its bite, maybe it’s time to reconsider.
(images via: Darrell Gallant and Mark David)
Tooth-like serrations called Tomia run along the outside edges of the Greylag’s beak, top and bottom, and help it neatly clip the shoots and grasses that make up the major portion of its meals.
Domestic Goose’s Devilish Grin
(images via: The Nature of Framingham and GooseGoddessS)
Domestic Geese may be white but they’ve sure got a bite; being closely related to the Greylag Goose they share their progenitor’s toothless – but tooth-like – dentition. Just imagine the glint off these pearly… yellows?… when a gaggle of domestic geese swagger into the barnyard. You talkin’ to me??
(image via: Indiana Public Media)
Making like a snake isn’t going to improve the above goose’s popularity much… guess he’ll have to just grin and bear it. Looks like he’s doing exactly that.
Not Your Average Baby Teeth
(images via: Conservation Report and Kintired)
Awww, cute cuddly baby birds! Hear them go “cheep cheep cheep”. Gently touch their warm, soft, downy feathers. Watch them open their tiny mouths wide and… Oh. My. Gawd!! No need to adjust your screen, there’s nothing wrong with this picture… well, not visually but certainly viscerally. Many species of birds have, to a greater or lesser degree, spiky tooth-like rearward-facing spines in their mouths that ensure what goes in won’t get out. Take another look at the above images – I ensure they’ll be in your dreams tonight.
Penguins Use Tongue Fu
(images via: Allan Hansen and ChrisRay64)
Penguins are chock full of amazing evolutionary adaptations that enable them to perform as efficient fish-catching, meal-processing machines that turn speed-eating into a lifestyle. You’d think that snatching fish in mid-swim would be a challenge without a mouthful of teeth to do the snatching with, but penguins have a trick up their natty sleeves… or in their mouths, to be exact.
(images via: PenguinScience and New Zealand Penguins)
The Adelie penguin above is showing off its spine-covered tongue (left) and similarly bristly upper palate (right). The spines function much as teeth would, holding captured fish securely as the penguin prepares to swallow it. The spines are raked backwards just in case any red herrings decide they want to make a break for it. Oh, and if you’re wondering how penguins kiss, the answer is… very carefully.
Toucan Chew
(image via: Liography)
“It’s hard to soar with eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys…” Or Toucans, for that matter. It’s hard to take toucans seriously – between their ridiculously enlarged beaks and an unfortunate association with Froot Loops breakfast cereal its a wonder they haven’t been laughed out of the rainforest by now. Then there’s this guy, who stands his ground with a hint of a grin… a sinister smile that appears to reveal a brace of bodacious bird bicuspids! We’re unsure whether flashing faux dentition works to intimidate predators but one thing’s for certain: when Toucan Sam channels Yosemite Sam, any fur-bearin’ varmints in the area had best take notice!
Take A Seat, Tooth-billed Catbird
(image via: Oiseaux.net)
The Tooth-billed Catbird is a type of Bowerbird found in the forests of Queensland in northeastern Australia. There are several different species of catbirds but only the Tooth-billed Catbird has a tooth-like bill… and a seriously badass name to go with it.
(images via: Brooklyn Arts Council, Amazon.com and BB the Renegade)
The tooth-like appearance of the Tooth-billed Catbird’s bill really puts it in the catbird seat… wait a minute, what the heck is a “catbird seat”?? Derived from a folk expression originating in the American South, to be in the catbird seat means being in an enviable or advantageous position. Depending upon who you want to believe, the expression was popularized either by humorist James Thurber in his 1942 short story “The Catbird Seat”, or by the legendary late baseball broadcaster Red Barber who often used it when describing situations in which the batter had run the count to 3 balls and no strikes. The more you know!
Breakout The Egg Teeth
(images via: Backyard Chickens, Della Micah and Honolulu Zoo)
When the going gets tough, the tough get… an egg tooth? Yes indeed, birds have evolved egg teeth (an Egg Tooth, actually) on the end of the beak to assist about-to-be-born baby birds in breaking through their eggshells from the inside. Once they’re out, however, the egg tooth either quickly falls off or is reabsorbed. Though known as an egg “tooth”, the actual structure is more like that of a horn or a bone spur.
(images via: Gravityx9 and Ugly Overload)
All birds (except Kiwis) are born with egg teeth and the protuberance is also common to other egg-laying animals including snakes, crocodiles, turtles, certain types of frogs and -wait for it – spiders!
Prehistoric Toothed Birds
(images via: Life In The Fast Lane, Dalje and EMC/Maricopa)
Birds had teeth through much of their history, from the very ancient Archaeopteryx up to the relatively recent Pelagornithidae. These pseudotooth birds, looked a lot like modern seabirds with two major differences: most species were much larger and all had jagged, bony protrusions of their upper and lower jawbones that gave them a decidedly sinister appearance. It’s thought that these tooth-like projections helped the birds grasp slippery fish and squid, but that begs the question: if today’s seabirds also eat these foods, why lose these useful pseudoteeth?
(images via: IO9 and Coolislandsong24)
The last toothed birds died out early in the Pleistocene Epoch around 2.5 million years ago, possibly their specialized lifestyles rendered them vulnerable to severe environmental changes resulting from changing ocean currents and the advent of recurring ice ages. Their huge size may have also contributed to their demise, as some of these toothed birds really pushed the envelope when it came to practical limitations of the size vs flight equation. The extinct toothed bird Pelagornis Chilensis above, for example, had an estimated wingspan of 5.2 meters (17 feet) while the wingspans of other toothed seabirds approached 9 meters (30 feet)!
Fighting, Biting Warbirds
(images via: Spitcrazy, Tomahawks.us and Amazon.com)
Though the term “warbird” can denote most any retired military aircraft, what comes to mind to most folks are the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters flown with great distinction by the Flying Tigers in World War II. Now these birds had teeth… and were more than happy to use them.
(images via: Wikipedia and WW2Total)
As iconic as the sharkmouth P-40 may be, the actual history of the motif isn’t what most would expect. The first fighter pilots to paint their P-40s in this fashion were not Americans, but British – from RAF 112 Squadron, flying Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks against Rommel’s Afrika Corps out of Egyptian bases in the summer of 1941. That isn’t the end of the story, either. The pilots from 112 Squadron got their inspiration from seeing Messerschmitt Bf-110 fighter-bombers from the Luftwaffe’s Zerstorergeschwader 76 “Haifisch” (shark) Group, formed in the spring of 1940.
Cartoon Birds & Mouthy Mascots
(image via: Sodahead)
Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, Heckle & Jeckle and more… these classic cartoon character birds were embodied by their creators with a wide variety of exaggerated expressions including some very expressive, toothy grins.
(images via: Upcoming Discs, Dinosaur.org, Railbirds and JohnKStuff)
No one (until now, at least) really questioned why these animated avians had teeth, let alone now you see ‘em, now you don’t choppers – and there’s a very good reason: pointing it out to someone like Duckman might just get you a “What the HELL you starin’ at?!!” in return.
(images via: Seahawks Central, Tom McMahon and HD Wallpapers)
From pro sports to beer leagues to school teams, birds have always been popular mascots but the recent trend is to make them look as fierce as possible. Even historic mascots and logos have gotten buff: check out the helmet logos of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, for example.
(images via: Chris Creamer, Fiveprime, Sportslogos.net and Sportslogos.net)
Sometimes though, a frown just ain’t enough; baring teeth bestows a much greater degree of ferocity on even the most timid of songbirds. The logos above all feature toothy birds who add some bite to their beaks… just beak cause, that’s why.
(image via: Morriscourse)
Can’t handle the tooth? Saying fangs with faint praise? Think canines belong on canines and ONLY canines? Fair enough, but just remember: birds with teeth really aren’t impossible, just implausible. Or, just maybe… inci-dental.
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Animal Gigantism: 13 Real-Life Godzillas
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats, History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
While they might not be terrorizing, fire-breathing monsters the size of skyscrapers, gigantic animals in the vein of Godzilla really do exist. So why are some creatures so huge compared to similar species? It’s a phenomenon known as “insular gigantism”, and usually occurs on islands or deep under the sea. These 13 examples have evolved to unusually, sometimes frighteningly large proportions – especially compared to their equally mis-sized dwarf counterparts (more on that next week.)
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
(image via: scragz)
Most of us scream at the sight of a single normal-sized cockroach, but imagine if you woke up to find one of these babies crawling across your body. The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is only found in its namesake nation, an island that is an ideal place for gigantism, dwarfism and other ecological anomalies to occur. They can reach up to 3 inches long, and the males have scary-looking horns.
Giant Isopod
(images via: Driftline, Marki’s Block and ScienceBlogs)
Thought the hissing cockroach was impressive? It would take a teeming pile of them to make up one nightmarish giant isopod, a bug-like crustacean from the dark depths of the sea that can reach over a foot in length. Far larger than almost any other shellfish, the giant isopod has creepy claws, huge eyes and a pair of antennae.
Haast’s Eagle
(image via: eku.edu)
With a wingspan measuring as large as 8.5 feet, if Haast’s Eagle were any larger, it wouldn’t have been able to fly. A fierce predator from New Zealand, Haast’s Eagle fed on 300-pound (now-extinct, also gigantic) flightless birds called moa and scientists now believe that the legends of it killing and eating men could very well be true. It died out about 500 years ago, probably due to human hunting and habitat encroachment.
Japanese Spider Crab
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Imagine scuba diving in the beautiful waters off Japan, marveling over some pretty fish, when suddenly you feel a presence behind you and turn around to face a movie monster from hell. The Japanese Spider Crab is is the biggest arthropod in the world with an impressive leg span that reaches up to 12.5 feet. While adults can be found as deep as 2,000 feet below the surface, it’s not unusual for them to come into much more shallow waters.
Elephant Bird
(image via: wikipedia, bone clones)
The Elephant Bird truly lived up to its name, standing an astonishing 10 feet tall and weighing up to 880 pounds. Formerly found on the island of Madagascar, this species has been extinct since at least the 17th century. It’s not known exactly what killed them, but archaeologists have found pieces of their egg shells in the remnants of human fires. At three feet long, one egg could have fed an entire family.
Saint Helena Earwig
(image via: rogue taxidermy)
As if earwigs weren’t disgusting enough, with their wiggly bodies and those threatening-looking pinchers on their rear ends, the Saint Helena Earwig takes them well past “ick” into “Oh-God-why” territory. They’re only found on the isolated island of Saint Helena, located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America.
Seven-Arm Octopus
(image via: wikipedia)
What make the Seven-Arm Octopus unusual is not just the fact that, with its specially modified “arm” used in egg fertilization kept coiled under its eye, it looks more like a septopus. Rather, this sea creature is the largest known octopus in the world at up to 12 feet in total length – or at least, some scientists say it is. Others believe there may be even larger octopi in the sea.
Minorcan Giant Lagomorph
(image via: spiegel.de)
No, this photo above is not a Minorcan Giant Lagomorph (but it is a real 3-foot, 22-lb rabbit bred to feed poor North Koreans – no kidding). However, we don’t have any images of the extinct Minorcan rabbit, because it died out way back in dino days. Fossils discovered on the island indicate that these plus-size critters were no cute fuzzy bunnies, outweighing the rabbit above by up to 28 pounds.
Galapagos Giant Tortoise
(image via: sly 06 & michael r. perry)
The ultimate symbol for the Galapagos Islands, these tortoises aren’t just incredibly large at up to 660 pounds and 4 feet long – they also live far longer than the average human with a lifespan of 100-150 years. They were just recently removed from the endangered species list after many years of conservation efforts, and are among the most famous gigantic species in the world.
Giant Squid
(images via: wikipedia)
The star of many a myth since ancient times, the Giant Squid was technically a cryptid until the late 19th century when a 35-foot specimen washed ashore in Newfoundland. In 2004, a specimen called “Archie” was captured and sent to the Natural History Museum in London to be studied and preserved. A video of a live adult in the wild was finally filmed in 2004, with the 26-foot male stuck on a lure for five hours until it finally broke free, leaving an 18-foot tentacle behind.
East Timor Giant Rat
(image via: post chronicle)
The largest rat known to have existed on earth was discovered just days ago in cave excavations on the island of East Timor in Southeast Asia. Extinct for at least 1,000 to 2,000 years, the biggest specimen weighed 13.2 pounds, making it larger than many domesticated cats. Other giant rats still exist today, but top out around 4.4 pounds.
Giant Weta
(image via: kiwi mikex)
In prehistoric times, humans had it rough indeed, especially when so many bugs were as large as the Giant Weta, which is still found creeping people out in New Zealand. Despite what their size may seem to indicate, these 4-inch-long insects are passive, gentle creatures. One captive female reached 2.5 ounces in weight, giving Giant Weta the reputation as some of the heaviest insects on the planet.
Komodo Dragon
(image via: national geographic)
Like Giant Squid, Komodo Dragons were long thought to be mythological. It just didn’t seem possible that insanely oversized lizards still roamed at least one small island, long after the extinction of dinosaurs. But this 9.8-foot, 150-pound monitor is real indeed and is known to be quite dangerous and have attacked humans on quite a few occasions.
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