Where's the coldest spot in the universe?

Where's the coldest spot in the universe? By Tom Shachtman
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/12359501.html
Smithsonian magazine, January 2008

This week it felt like Chicago was the COLDEST SPOT in the universe ! But Physicists in Massachusetts come to grips with the lowest possible temperature: absolute zero

Where's the coldest spot in the universe? Not on the moon, where the temperature plunges to a mere minus 378 Fahrenheit. Not even in deepest outer space, which has an estimated background temperature of about minus 455°F. As far as scientists can tell, the lowest temperatures ever attained were recently observed right here on earth.

The record-breaking lows were among the latest feats of ultracold physics, the laboratory study of matter at temperatures so mind-bogglingly frigid that atoms and even light itself behave in highly unusual ways. Electrical resistance in some elements disappears below about minus 440°F, a phenomenon called superconductivity. At even lower temperatures, some liquefied gases become "superfluids" capable of oozing through walls solid enough to hold any other sort of liquid; they even seem to defy gravity as they creep up, over and out of their containers.

.......for more go here

A good read !

$200,000 buys you a Ticket to Ride in SPACE !

The SpaceShipOne Project, the "First Private Manned Space Program" was unveiled today, 24th January, 2008, by noted design wizard Burt Rutan and his company, Scaled Composites, Inc. British billionaire Sir Richard Branson hailed the "year of the spaceship" as he unveiled the designs of two crafts which could help take the first tourists into space. Work on SpaceShipTwo, and its mothership White Knight Two, is nearing completion and flight tests will begin later this year. Sir Richard said this "historic occasion" could help "to answer key questions about Earth's climate and the mysteries of the universe".

Wow, I did not think that this would happen in my lifetime...what else can man do?

News feed and Video from : Reuters

Have you seen the "Upside Down House" to Protest Poland's Communist Era & Today's Troubled Times

This upside-down house was created by Daniel Czapiewski, a Polish businessman and philanthropist, to describe the former communist era and the present times in which we live. It took 114 days to build this structure. It is said that the construction workers took breaks as they felt dizzy and disoriented with all the weird angles of the house.

This attraction is in the village of Szymbark, and in the Kaszuby area (by the Baltic sea, North of Poland) - A ceiling instead of a floor and furniture above your head - a feeling of dizziness, is the feeling visitors have upon entering the house, after just a few seconds of walking around the structure, which is also tilted sideways to add to the effect.

Czapiewski had the idea to build his house when Poland was still under communist rule. It was then that he realized practically all decisions of the ruling communist party were detached from reality. Today the house is a symbol of every wrong doing against humanity. "This house is a warning about the path we are taking," Czapiewski said.

Here is a video clip of the upside-down house in Poland.




Czapiewski's corperation which specializes in wooden houses, would normally
take 21 days to construct a wooden house. He remembers that his workers had to take an hour's break every three hours while working inside the house because they were feeling disorientated and confused from the strange angles of the walls.

The upside down house is not the first unusual structure made or devised by Czapiewski. He is infamous for making the longest single piece of wood in the world - a Guinness World Record.

Source : Reuters

Rodents...Pest or Delicacy ?

Yuck ! When I read this article I almost threw up !

Apparently, in a region of Venezuela, rodents are a true delicacy. In other South American countries, capybara, the world's largest rodent is hunted for its hide.

If you are planning a visit to Venezuela, keep in mind that rodents are prized as a holiday treat.

In Venezuela, the meat of the capybara can get prices that are almost double that of beef. Part of that price is how difficult it is to hunt the capybara, and part of it is the flavor, which is "more like rabbit than chicken, though when dried with sea salt in Venezuela it acquires a fishy flavor."

To catch them, they are often hit with clubs or harpooned. This makes many visitors to the country resist eating the rodent, if not for the other long list of reasons. If you can get past the first wave of fear, you might like it. Many people in the United States claim, “Tastes just like rabbit, or chicken”.

OK HERE IS AN ACTUAL RECIPE - NOT KIDDING !

Creamed Mice

Skin, gut and wash some fat mice without removing their heads. Cover them in a pot with ethyl alcohol and marinate 2 hours. Dice a piece of salt pork or sowbelly and cook it slowly to extract the fat. Drain the mice, dredge them thoroughly in a mixture of flour, pepper, and salt, and fry slowly in the rendered fat for about 5 minutes. Add a cup of alcohol and 6 to 8 cloves, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Prepare a cream sauce, transfer the sautéed mice to it, and warm them in it for about 10 minutes before serving.

Visiting Venezuela ? Anyone ?

Ladies, 2 cups of mint tea a day will help you reduce this

For centuries, mint has been enjoyed for its wonderful aroma, its great taste, and its healing power.and has been a part of both the cuisine and the medicinal cultures of eastern societies. Mint is used in a variety of ways, but the most common is through the brewing of mint tea. According to a new study Mint Tea is a cure for hairy girls !!!!

MINT tea helps women lose unwanted body hair, docs have discovered. Millions suffer from hirsutism — hair on the face, breasts and tummy — caused by high levels of male hormones called androgens. But a study of 21 women in Isparta, Turkey, found drinking two cups of mint tea a day reduced the hormone’s impact and lessened hair growth. Dr Mehmet Tamer said: “It could be a good natural alternative.”

Dial-up Frenzy as 50 BMW M6's sell out in 92 seconds flat !

The BMW M6 convertible may be capable of 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, but luxury retailer Neiman Marcus sold its entire stock of 50 limited edition M6 convertibles in a record-breaking 92 seconds in October 2006.

Source PR NEwswire

The holidays are coming early for 50 Neiman Marcus customers who managed to place their calls intoBMW to order the new 2007 BMW M6 Convertible that was featured in thisyear's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, as it went on sale today at 12 PM,EDT.

As the clock struck noon, the 1-866-303-2696 phone lines werecompletely lit up with buyers who wanted to be sure they were among thefirst in the U.S. to own the just-introduced Limited Edition M6. TheConvertible sold out in a mere one minute, thirty-two seconds.

Billed as the "must-have" automobile for the person who has everything,the luxury convertible made its U.S. debut at the unveiling of the NeimanMarcus Christmas Book in Dallas on October 3rd, 2006

Only 50 of these new U.S.limited-edition models, built especially for Neiman Marcus, are beingproduced in the inaugural year. They feature custom Ruby Black exteriorfinish accented with Piano Black trim elements, and power sports seatswrapped in a custom Gold Brown shade of supple BMW Individual Merinoleather. The car can launch you from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 exhilaratingseconds, and features a powerful 5.0-liter V-10 engine that produces 500horsepower.

The Limited Edition 2007 BMW M6 Convertible is featured on pages 96-97of the 2006 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, and retails for $139,000.

The Neiman Marcus edition M6, the star of NM's 2006 Christmas Book, featured a custom Ruby Black exterior finish accented with Piano Black trim elements, and power sports seats wrapped in a custom Gold Brown shade of supple BMW Individual Merino leather.

At $139,000 each, the ever-so-special BMWs rang the register at a rate of $75,543 per second, if only for a minute and a half.