Archive for July 12th, 2009

Virgin Mary Appears In Tree Stump

Thousands of Irish Catholics have flocked to a church in County Limerick, Ireland, to see a tree stump which they believe is an image of the Virgin Mary.

The vision appeared when workmen felled a willow tree near the churchyard entrance and noticed that it resembled the mother of Jesus.

However, whilst people are praying at the image and are inspired by the sight, the church is more sceptical.

A spokesman for the Limerick diocesan office said the ‘Church’s response to phenomena of this type is one of great scepticism.’
‘While we do not wish in any way to detract from devotion to Our Lady, we would also wish to avoid anything which might lead to superstition,’ said Fr Paul Finnerty.

This isn’t the first time the Virgin Mary has appeared in an unusual place. Sightings have included in a cornflake, within a cloth and on a slice of toast, which later sold for $28,000 on eBay.

Rice Paddy Crop Art In Japan

With the summer in full flow, crop art is booming in Japan. Japanese crop farmers arrange and grow different colored rice plants to create a picture in a field.

The largest and most distinct work is grown in the village of Inakadate, which has a reputation for it’s agricultural art. For 2009, pictures of Napoleon and a Sengoku-period warrior on horseback have been created near the town hall.

[Link]

Man Changes Identity And Flees Prison

A man charged with assault escaped from an English prison on Friday after switching his identity with his brother’s.

Simon Maclellan who was on remand at Winchester Prison, walked out when he pretended to be his twin brother who was being held at the same prison for a less serious offense.

Officers only discovered a few hours later that they were holding the wrong man.

Police have arrested a 27 year old man, charged with aiding Maclellan’s escape. Although the man was not named, he is presumably the brother.

An act of genius or a future ‘World’s Dumbest Criminals’ segment? You decide.

[Via Scotsman]

Japanese Introduce Smile Test At Work

Motivational theory tells us that happy workers are productive and efficient workers, but one Japanese company has taken the theory one step further.

Keihin Electric Express Railway Company has introduced a system to check that staff are smiling enough. The “Smile Scan” is able to analyze the facial characteristics of a person and gives their smile a score from 0 to 100 percent.

A camera is linked to a computer with the smile-scanning software installed on it. An employee must stand in front of the camera and have their eye, lip and wrinkle characteristics measured to give them an overall smile rating.

Those whose smiles are sub-standard will be given a message advising them to cheer up. “You still look too serious,” or “Lift up your mouth corners,” are just some of the statements that will be displayed on the screen.

Employees are required to scan their smiles before work and will receive a print out of their daily smile which they are then expected to keep throughout the day.

Maybe in the future we could see this practice going global. Would the smile scanning machine motivate you? Let us know.

Let’s Get Ready To…Pea Shoot?!

Wimbledon, make way, it’s time for the pea shooting world championships!

Yesterday, the world pea shooting championships took place at Witcham, Cambridgeshire, UK. The crowd gathered as reigning champion, George Hollis, 58, took to the green.

Each contestant must shoot 5 peas, by blowing with the mouth, at a putty target 12 yards away.

Spectators looked on in awe as George aimed his laser-guided shooter and took fire. Those peas flew like bullets out of an AK47…George was on fire!

His home-made shooter featured a laser sight, a gyroscopic balancing mechanism and “other bits” borrowed from his son’s Nintendo. This state of the art technology has helped George to three world championships, however yesterday, he was unable to complete the quadruple.

The title was one by Jim Collins of Camridgeshire, UK, using a more traditional-style peashooter.

Better luck next year George!