Happy Easter!

Despite the mistaken belief of Somerfield (a UK supermarket) that Easter was when Jesus was born (news article) "Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33".

For most people though, Easter means time off work, seeing friends and family, and chocolate - lots of chocolate! So, before i go to see my family, here are two of my favourite chocolate articles from this week:

Edible Chocolate Billboard!
A Thornton's chocolate shop in London constructed a billboard on the street outside their premises, using 390kg of chocolate. The public were invited to eat it if they wanted, and they did - after nearly 10 days construction, the billboard was eaten in less than 5 hours. Brilliant!



Viral Confections
Something not quite so appealing are chocolate models of the Hepatitis C virus. Part of an art exhibition, the little chocolates were cast from an authentic model of the virus. The hope is that visitors, and tasters will be able to reflect on what is an extremely prevelant and often forgotten disease.



Read more about Hep C on Wikipedia and at The Hepatits C trust - a UK based charity that provides information, support and representation for people affected by the disease.

Deep Blue

NASA's image of the day gallery has again impressed me. Below is a satellite image of Eta Carinae, a Hypergiant star, the second brightest in the night sky. The clouds surrounding the star form an evolving nebula. Eta Carinae itself may explode as a supernova soon (in the next million years). It could in fact become a hypernova explosion, which can result in a black hole and causes Gamma-ray bursts - the most luminous events known in the universe.



Click for the bigger picture...

Milk meets Coffee

Ever watched milk meeting coffee, or tea and been transfixed by the cloud of milk dispersing through the dark liquid in the mug....? Just me then! well, anyway, much better than that is a series of photos posted by 'busted' on You Say Too, a community website. They show the first moments when milk is dropped into coffee, in amazing detail. The shutter speed must have been incredibly fast. Click the link above, or the photos for more.

Shocking!

Travel adapters? A bit boring aren't they, hardly a thrill-a-minute... so, when you next visit Russia how about you take the adapter pictured below instead. Plug it into the mains and stick your fingers in for an instant boost of energy!


I'm pretty sure it was an April Fool's joke.. but in Russia, i really wouldn't be surprised if you can actually buy it! Featured on the always excellent blog English Russia.

Terkezi Oasis

One of the best sources for amazing photos is the NASA image of the day gallery. A few have caught my eye recently. The one below is a section of the Sahara Desert in Chad, showing a rocky expanse near an Oasis. I love how it looks really abstract - with no prior information it would be hard to tell what it is...



View the full image here, or by clicking above.

Rail Rage?

A city in the Czech Republic began an amitious plan to move railways out of the city centre, presumably to free it up for road traffic. They did quite well... but then ran out of money. They seem to have removed stations, embankments, cuttings... but left the rails. This has resulted in the insane situation where steam trains travel in the middle of the road alongside cars - no divider, no fences, no protection.






via Say no to crack - full set of photos on the original Russian site, Ziza.

Giant Agave Flower

My friends Andrew and Catherine are currently in Madagascar, on a 2 year charity work assignment helping to improve water supply and sanitation in remote villages. They're keeping a photojournal of their travels and their work there. I love photos of exotic places and weird and wonderful plants and animals, so i had to share some of the photos. The one below is the most impressive...



Looking like a tree in it's own right, It is in fact a 36 foot high Agave flower, photographed by Andrew in Antsirabe. For plenty more, check out their Flora and Fauna gallery.

Lazy Eye

I have been very lazy - neglecting my poor blog for over 2 months. It's not for lack of material to post, but other priorities overtook my internet time.

However, i'm determined to make another go of it. I really got into posting and looking back, i'm really pleased with what i posted...

Anyway, enough massaging my ego - on with the posting!

Water flows uphill

The 'Physikshow' is a regular exhibition held by students at the University of Bonn to demostrate the fun side of physics to members of the public. Videos from the most recent event have been put on YouTube and have been a big hit. My favourite is of a boat floating in the air:



The tank it floats over is filled with Sulphur Hexafluoride gas which is significantly denser than air and will therefore support light objects. You can see the effect when the students try to fill the boat with the gas and it sinks down. Brilliant!

The best of the rest include a cigarette burning through metal, a nuclear reaction shown with ping pong balls and water flowing uphill!

Scratch and Sniff Stamps

China has issued stamps to celebrate their New Year on 18th of February that when scratched smell of sweet and sour pork! When the back is licked, the stamps also taste of the dish... in case you hadn't guessed, this year is the Year of the Pig.



It sounds like a made up story but the technlogy to make scratch and sniff stamps has been around for decades. The Royal Mail issued Eucalyptus scented stamps in 2001. Last year, Australian Valentine's Day stamps were issued smelling of roses. Several other scented stamps have been issued, including Magnolia, Green tea and Chocolate. The evolution of Postage Stamps is given in this comprehensive Fortune City site.

Storms sweep across the UK

Yesterday's storms in the UK caused traffic chaos, killed 10 people and left hundred of thousands without power. It was a crazy day!

I was working, and we knew it was windy but the realisation suddenly dawned on us that they were storm conditions. People were talking about 90mph winds and a ship sunk in the Channel overnight. Then in the afternoon emails started flying - one of the CCTV cameras has been blown down into the street, the car park barriers have been broken by the wind... then traffic. The Runcorn bridge closed, the Knowsley expressway closed, then the Thelwall viaduct on the M6, then gradually the region's motorways began to shut down. Closures on the M56, the M60, M62, restrictions on the M53. Lorries jacknived, trees fell, flights and trains were cancelled. Everyone was wondering how and if they could get home, and hoping their houses were undamaged.

Today, the morning light revealed broken walls and fences, roofs that had come crashing down. One friend took 3 and a half hours to get to the airport, normally a journey of an hour. People reported being stationary in queues for an hour or more. The BBC News and Travel pages were invaluable to keep us up to date and today they've published the best photos received from visitors to the site.

Coastal photos:


Transport photos:


Nature photos:


and Building photos:

Antarctica - land of fire and ice

You're in Antarctica. The ambient temperature is in the region of -50°C, but you're dodging balls of lava falling out of the sky... What the hell's going on?

They're coming from Mount Erebus, a volcano and one of the weirdest geological features of the frozen continent. Right in the midst of the snow and ice a massive pool of magma (molten rock) bubbles away, hurling lava out onto its slopes. The heat melts ice caves, some of which sustain life and in other areas, gas escapes to the surface and forms giant fumaroles which can reach 60 feet high. Intrepid photographer George Steinmetz had the oppourtunity to visit and capture the savage beauty of this landscape. The Smithsonian's website has a report, photos and a video of the volcano erupting.

It's all about the fish

Tropical, Coldwater, Marine, Freshwater... whichever your preference, aquariums are popular things. I have one myself - a 2 foot tropical freshwater tank. They're fascinating, addictive and also immensely frustrating, but i'm definitely hooked! For some people the hobby becomes an obsession. Nothing is too big (or small) a challenge, hence the brilliant palmtop aquarium:



When the smallest fish in the world was discovered, the challenge went out to find a suitable aquarium to house it. The result is this tiny tank, made from a bird feeder less than 100ml in volume, with sand, mini rocks and java moss. Beautiful!

The website (Age of Aquariums) also features an aquarium made from a cracker box, and one from a lightbulb.

Winter Festivals (and you thought it was all over)

January Blues? Christmas and New Year over too quickly? Well, the party's carried on around the world these past few weeks...


In India, the Ardh Kumbh Mela is well underway. Shortly after new year, the festival began in earnest. It's along similar lines to the huge Maha Kumbh Mela which takes place every 10 years and was reckoned to be the biggest gathering on earth, with up to 30 million people gathering back in 2001. The Ardh Kumbh will attract up to 40 million on the busiest day. The festival lasts a month and a half, at the confluence of three holy rivers in Northern India. Hindus believe that bathing in this sacred place can wash away their sins. The timing is based on astrological calendars and an ancient mythology, which is explained on the closest thing to an official website.


Prefer something a bit colder? The Harbin Ice Festival has begun in Northeast China. Running for a month and covering 400,000 sq. metres, the festival features huge ice sculptures replicating cathedrals, pyramids, palaces and the Great Wall - all built by stacking blocks of ice. Smaller sculptures are formed with chainsaws and chisels. The festival looks at its most impressive at night, when lights frozen into the ice illuminate the site. Flickr photos are here.



In Colombia, the Carnival of Blacks and Whites is held at the beginning of January every year. The carnival has several stages but the main days are the Day of Blacks and the Day of Whites. The Day of Blacks commemorates the free day slaves were given in colonial times. The Day of Whites is seemingly a counterpoint to that, with the white population joining in the fun. People paint each other in black, then the day after paint each other white and throw white powder at each other with parades, music and dancing in between!


Alternatively, you could have celebrated Christmas a second time with the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Christian Christmas Day, which fell on the 7th of January this year (on account of the differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars).

Coming soon... another chance at New Year's Eve - you've got to love competing calendars!