Archive for July 7th, 2009

Vatican Radio Airs Commercials

For the first time in it’s 80 year history, Vatican Radio – the voice of the Roman Catholic Church is starting to air advertisements.

It seems now that the Vatican is also suffering from the economic downturns, however it’s radio advertisements could raise more than $300,000 over the next six months for the Church, with Enel, an Italian gas and electricity company, being to first company to run it’s commercials.

Vatican radio. transmits its programmes in 45 languages on FM and the internet with the aim of spreading the message of the Pope and the Church’s Christian teachings. Until now, it had been funded entirely by the Catholic Church at a cost of $40 million a year.

North Korea Beer Advert

North Korea has launched its first television advertisement for beer. It is meant to represent the “new look of Pyongyang,” and promises that the Taedonggang beer will help ease stress.

What did you think of the advert? Have you tried the Taedonggang beer? Let us know what you thought.

Personally, it reminds me of the Mr Sparkle advert from the Simpsons…Just sayin’.

Ice From The Sky

The last thing you’d expect to see on a sunny day is a large icicle falling from the sky onto your lap. Well, that’s what happened to a man from Bristol, UK earlier this week.

David Gammon, 76, was having dinner on his patio, when he heard a whistling sound, swiftly followed by a grapefruit-sized block of ice falling onto his leg. Gammon had a lucky escape and was only left with a minor bruise on his leg, however others have had less luck. A woman from Loughborough, UK had her car crushed last week, as it sat in the parking lot, by a block of ice that fell from the sky, leaving a 2ft dent.

It is believed that the much of the ice that is reported as “falling from the sky” actually falls from the the toilets of airplanes flying above. Falling from over 2,000 ft, at such a speed, it is clear that the ice has potential to do hefty damage on impact.

Heads up for ice everyone!

When The iPhone Met The PlayStation

Who’d have thought it…two of the most popular gadgets in history come together…an iPhone case in the shape on an original Playstation. Perhaps the coolest case for an iPhone in the world.

The case is available for $20, from megastore Esty, with the controller being an extra $7. Clearly, this is quite a price for an iPhone case, but have ever you seen a cooler one?

“No Naked Hiking” Signs For Swiss

Swiss officials have ordered new “no naked hiking” signs to remind hikers to keep their clothes on.

The tiny Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden has voted to prohibit the phenomenon of naked hiking. Appenzell had been considered one of the best destinations for such an act, with German nudist groups being the main culprits, however there is now a 200 swiss franc ($180) fine for naked hikers.

The “No Naked Hiking” sign had originally been designed and sent to the Swiss government by a prankster however officials liked the idea and ordered the sign in great numbers.

So these signs and a $200 fine should now bring an end to naked hiking in Appenzell…if walking naked in snowy Switzerland wasn’t punishment enough.

Dinosaurs Were “Couch Potatoes”

For years it has been thought that dinosaurs’ massive size was in some way due to the way they regulated their blood temperature, however Dr McNab, from the University of Florida believes that their surrounding food resources were more important.

Dr McNab argues that easy access to food, along with their lazy lifestyle made dinosaurs the largest creatures to have ever walked the earth. He explained the body size of existing and extinct mammals, including ancient rhinoceros and modern elephants and concluded that some of those mammals with greater resources had a larger mass.

Dr McNab’s findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He said “Like couch potatoes sitting within easy reach of high calorie foods, the gargantuan size of dinosaurs most likely stems from the abundance of resources available, coupled with low energy expenditures.

“The factors most responsible for setting the maximal body size of vertebrates are resource quality and quantity, as modified by the mobility of the consumer, and the vertebrate’s rate of energy expenditure.”

“Thinking Cap” Closer To Reality

We all want to have fast, powerful brains…it would make life a whole lot easier. Well, scientists have moved a step closer to creating a “thinking cap” which can boost brainpower, enhancing the brain’s ability to learn.

New research has shown that stimulating a persons brain with magnets, significantly improved the ability of the brain to learn a task and remember it.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, took 30 volunteers and tested their ability to track a red dot on a computer screen using a joystick. The dots would move randomly, then enter a programmed patter and finally return to moving randomly. The volunteers were unaware of the repeated section.

During the test some of the volunteers had their brains stimulated by magnets, whilst the others did not. The results showed no significant difference in the volunteers ability during the random sections, however those that had their brains stimulated were better at tracking the red dots during the repeated section.

So there we have it. A “thinking cap” could be of benefit to us all, but especially to those with learning difficulties. Maybe we’ll all end up being geniuses in the not too distant future!