Travelling Root Bridges in India

In the depths of northeastern India , in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren't built -- they're grown.

Grown from the roots of a rubber tree, the Khasis people of Cherapunjee use betel-tree trunks, sliced down the middle and hollowed out, to create "root-guidance systems." When they reach the other side of the river, they're allowed to take root in the soil. Given enough time a sturdy, living bridge is produced.

The root bridges, some of which are over a hundred feet long, take ten to fifteen years to become fully functional, but they're extraordinarily strong. Some can support the weight of 50 or more people at once.
One of the most unique root structures of Cherrapunjee is known as the " Umshiang Double-Decker Root Bridge ." It consists of two bridges stacked one over the other!

Because the bridges are alive and still growing, they actually gain strength over time, and some of the ancient root bridges used daily by the people of the villages around Cherrapunjee may be well over 500 years old.

 

But these are not the only bridges built from growing plants. Japan too, has its own form of living bridges.

These are The Vine Bridges of Iya Valley .......

 

One of Japan 's three "hidden" valleys, West Iya is home to the kind of misty gorges, clear rivers, and thatched roofs one imagines in the Japan of centuries ago. To get across the Iya River that runs through the rough valley terrain, bandits, warriors and refugees created a very special - if slightly unsteady - bridge made of vines.

This is a picture from the 1880s of one of the original vine bridges.

First, two Wisteria vines -- one of the strongest vines known -- were grown to extraordinary lengths from either side of the river. Once the vines had reached a sufficient length they were woven together with planking to create a pliable, durable and, most importantly, living piece of botanical engineering.

The bridges had no sides, and a Japanese historical source relates that the original vine bridges were so unstable, those attempting to cross them for the first time would often freeze in place, unable to go any farther.
Three of those vine bridges remain in Iya Valley . While some (though apparently not all) of the bridges have been reinforced with wire and side rails, they are still harrowing to cross. More than 140 feet long, with planks set six to eight inches apart and a drop of four-and-a-half stories down to the water, they are not for acrophobes.

Some people believe the existing vine bridges were first grown in the 12th century, which would make

them some of the oldest known examples of living architecture in the world.

 

collection of the most expensive and most worthless items in the world

A new blog, Publishes pictures of ridiculously expensive products. Describing itself as “a collection of the most expensive and most worthless items in the world” it is proof that some people really do have more money than sense.

Among the items on show is this Ginza Tanaka handbag, covered in platinum and diamond studs, retailing for $1.63 million

The DualTow watch by Christophe Claret retails for $300,000, but it only displays the time to the nearest five minutes. As the people behind the blog say: “So you’re paying for a, seemingly, needlessly complicated watch that doesn’t actually tell you the correct time”

The iCarta+ Stereo Dock and toilet paper holder. Yours for $90

The Brigg umbrella, which comes fitted with a screw-in glass flask, retails for about $725. The people who run the blog say: “The umbrella says, ‘Man of taste’, while the flask says, ‘There’s a good chance I’ll pass out in a ditch somewhere tonight’. Two great looks married together in one convenient package”

DEOS Group’s diamond earbuds retail at between $1,200 and $15,000 for a pair

Here’s the Leman Rose Gold Limited Edition Pen by Caran D’Ache, retailing at $15,800. Well, it is 18-carat gold and covered in up to 34 diamonds or stones

The Diesel DZ9044 Sideview watch is a snip at a mere $365. Your osteopath’s bill will be more than that once you’ve twisted your arm around a few times to check the time

Here’s a chocolate truffle for $240. Yes, for one truffle. That’s $2,600 per pound. But it’s a truffle with a black truffle inside, you see. Lovely.

Here’s the Apple iPhone 3G Kings Button, retailing for about $2.4 million. And now rendered obsolete by the Apple iPhone 3GS

The $2,800 Pizza Royale 007, created by Chef Domenico Crolla, is topped with tomato pizza sauce, smoked salmon, venison medallions, cognac-marinated lobster and champagne-soaked caviar. Oh, and 24-carat gold leaf.

And finally, there’s the Anita Bling-kini by Pistol Panties, which cost £2,000 (about $3,000). But then they are covered in more than 5,000 Swarovski crystals.

EMBRIO - One-Wheeled Motorcycle!

The EMBRIO Advanced Concept is a one-wheeled recreational and commuting vehicle for the year 2025, designed by the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products. Although the riding position is similar to that of a motorcycle, the vehicle uses sensors and gyroscopes to balance up to two passengers on a large single wheel whilst driving. Specifications and pictures of this weird motorcycle are showed below:

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

MODEL NAME: EMBRIO Advanced Concept
DEVELOPED BY:Bombardier Recreational Products
STATUS: Concept
YEAR: 2003
DRIVE SYSTEM: Fuel cell electric
FUEL: Hydrogen
LENGTH: 1,240 mm (48.8 in)
WIDTH: 700 mm (27.5 in)
HEIGHT: 1,200 mm (47.5 in)
WEIGHT: 164 kg (360 lbs)
SEATING CAPACITY: 2

Although the vehicle will also remain stable when motionless, with two small front wheels deployed at speeds below 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph). To move forward, the rider activates a trigger on the left handlebar. At a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12.5 mph) the front wheels or “landing gear” retracts so the rider is balancing on the large single wheel. To turn the rider leans to the left or right. The brake is activated by a trigger on the right handlebar. Fuel cells running on hydrogen provide electricity for the electric motor which drives the single wheel.

11-digit mobile numbers from January 2010.

Come January'10 and all mobile phone users will have 11-digit mobile numbers instead of their 10-digit numbers currently.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has amended the National Numbering Plan 2003 for migration to an 11-digit numbering plan in mobile services by prefixing the number ‘9’ to the existing two-digit PLMN Access Code.

A PLMN is identified by the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC). Every service provider has its own PLMN, which interconnects with other PLMNs and public switched telephone networks (PSTNs) for telephone communications, or with internet service providers for data and internet access.

The proposed migration from the existing 10-digit number to an 11-digit numbering plan is likely to be implemented from January 1, 2010, according to an internal DoT note.

A new numbering plan was required because India’s mobile subscriber base has grown at a faster pace than expected. The numbering plan that is applicable now was formulated in 2003 on a forecast of 50 per cent teledensity by 2030.

This allowed for 750 million telephone connections, comprising an anticipated 300 million basic and 450 million cellular mobile connections.

With India adding over 10-14 million mobile subscribers each month, the wireless subscriber base has already crossed 500 million, a year ahead of the target. Therefore, DoT has to re-examine plans to accommodate more subscribers.

This is not the first time phone numbers will be modified. A few years ago, the government had prefixed the number ‘2’ to all BSNL and MTNL fixed-line phones across the country to accommodate more connections.

Worlds tallest vehicular bridge

Millau Viaduct

Worlds tallest vehicular bridge

The Millau Viaduct (French: le Viaduc de Millau) is a cable stayed road bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. It was formally opened on 14 December 2004 and opened to traffic on 16 December 2004. Designed by British master-architect Lord Foster in collaboration with French bridge engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with one piers summit at 1,118 ft (341 metres), slightly higher than the Eiffel Tower and only 132 ft (40 m) shorter than the Empire State Building.

Design

The Millau Viaduct consists of an eight-span steel roadway supported by seven concrete piers. The roadway weighs 36,000 metric tons and is 2,460 m (8,071 ft) long, measuring 32 m (105 ft) wide by 4.2 m (13.8 ft) deep. The six central spans each measure 342 m (1,122 ft) with the two outer spans measuring 204 m (670 ft). The roadway has a slight slope of 3% descending from south to north, and curves in plan section on a 20 km (12.4 mile) radius to give drivers better visibility. It carries two lanes of traffic in each direction.

Panoramic view of the Millau Viaduct, as seen from the south.

5 heaviest people in the history

Carol Yager (peak weight 727 kg/ 1,600 lbs)

Her peak weight reached up to 727 kg (16, 00 lbs).  She was also famous for losing most weight by natural means. Carol Yager lost 521 lbs weight in just three months. Her skin was breaking down due to a bacterial infection that’s why she was admitted in Hurley Medical Center. She spent terrible time till her death. Carol Yager was unable to stand or walk because of her muscles were not strong enough. She died in a young of 34. Main causes of her death were kidney failure, multiple organ failure and morbid obesity.

Jon Brower Minnoch (peak weight 635 kg / 1400 lbs)

Likewise Carol Yager, Job Brower was also fat in his childhood. In the age of 12 his weight was 132 kg (292 lbs). He married to Jeannette, a woman of normal weight and had two sons. Minnoch was admitted to hospital for 16 months where he lost 419 kg but after being discharged, his weight double. He couldn’t improve any better and died on September 10, 1983, at age 42.

Manuel Uribe (597 kg / 1,316 lb)

Like other heavy people, Manuel Uribe is also living a hard life. He spends 9 years in bed from 2001 to 2009. Even he got married in bed with Claudia on October 26, 2008. On his wedding, he spoke loud and clear to all dishearten people saying “I am proof you can find love in any circumstances. It’s all a question of faith. I have a wife and will form a new family and live a happy life”.

Walter Hudson (544 kg / 1,200 lb)

World’s fourth heaviest power house was born in Brooklyn, New York.  Walter came into lime light when he was trapped inside of his room’s door. Recue team had to break the wall to take him out. He loved to eat as once he said and I quote “”I just ate and enjoyed it”. Although he announced his wedding plans but that remains a dream for his. He died few weeks later.

Rosalie Bradford (544 kg / 1,200 lb)

Rosalie Bradford was Foodaholic since her childhood. Like all other weight giants, she gained weight in young age. At the age of 14 her weight was 92 kg and 140 kg at the age of 15. Rosalie married and had one son. After her marriage, she mostly spent her time at home and gain more weight. All that depressed her much and she tried to kill her using painkillers. Her weight eventually reduced to 136 kg (300 lb). She died on November 29, 2006 in the age of 63.

!~!~! Large Hadron Collider ready to restart !~!~!

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) says it expects to restart the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by this weekend after more than a year of repairs. The 27 km (17 mi) particle accelerator was launched last year, but suffered a failure from a faulty electrical connection, damaging 53 of the smasher's 9,300 superconducting magnets. Repairs are now completed, and the plan is to begin injecting protons into the LHC this weekend, on the path to search for particles such as predicted-yet- unobserved Higgs Boson. Collected below are some photographs of the repairs, and of the LHC and some of its experiments in various stages of construction.

Combining two major ATLAS inner detector components. The semiconductor tracker is inserted into the transition radiation tracker for the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. These make up two of the three major components of the inner detector. They will work together to measure the trajectories produced in the proton-proton collisions at the centre of the detector when the LHC is switched on. Photo taken on February 22nd, 2006. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)

2

Views of two step of an ultrasound and induction welding to interconnection between two LHC magnet at sector 3-4 during repair operation on March 26th, 2009. 

3

Visible damage to the LHC magnets in sector 3-4 of the LHC on November 12th, 2008. On September 19th, 2008, as the LHC was being switched on, a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets caused a large helium leak, which violently vented 6 tons of helium into the tunnel. The resulting temperature rise damaged some 53 magnets. 

4

Detail of some of the damage done to the LHC magnets in sector 3-4 on September 19th, 2008. 

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Moving and placement of a quadrupole at sector 3-4 in the LHC tunnel on April 30th, 2009. 

6

A replacement magnet for LHC sector 3-4 being lowered in the tunnel on January 19th, 2009. 

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Moving and placement of a quadrupole at sector 3-4 in the LHC tunnel on April 30th, 2009

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Transporting a quadrupole through sector 3-4 in the LHC tunnel on April 30th, 2009.

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Installation of a new dipole in the LHC tunnel at sector 3-4 on April 6th, 2009. 

10

Detail of one of the LHC's 18-kW 4.5-K refrigerator units, part of the larger cryogenic system used to maintain superfluid helium temperatures of about 1.9k (-271.25° Celsius or -456.25° Fahrenheit). Photograph taken on April 28th, 2008.

11

The silicon strip tracker of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) nears completion. Shown here are three concentric cylinders, each comprised of many silicon strip detetectors (the bronze-coloured rectangular devices, similar to the CCDs used in digital cameras). These surround the region where the protons collide. 

12

An automated magnetic tape vault at CERN computer center, seen on September 15th, 2008. The tapes are used to store the complete LHC data set, from which a fraction of the data is copied to overlying disk caches for fast and widespread access. The handling of the magnetic tape cartridges is now fully automated, as they are racked in vaults where they are moved between the storage shelves and the tape drives by robotic arms.

13

Final work is done on the detectors inside the L3 magnet of the ALICE experiment on July 10th, 2008. 

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View of the CMS Detector before closure on August 17th, 2008. 

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Portrait of Lyn Evans, LHC project Leader, on December 3rd, 2008. 

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Shielding of the L3 magnet, ALICE experiment on July 10th, 2008 

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Final preparations on a replacement magnet ready to be lowered into sector 3-4 on November 27th, 2008. 

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A tunnel with part of one of the beam dumps of the LHC at point 6. Beam dumps are absorption mechanisms where the powerful beams can be extracted completely from the LHC, consisting of a 7m segmented carbon cylinder, 700mm in diameter, contained in a water-cooled steel cylinder, surrounded by about 750 tons of concrete and iron shielding. The sign at top warns of the presence of helium, argon and/or nitrogen in nearby pipes - gases that (if they leaked out) could displace oxygen and cause unconsciousness.

19

Insertion of a Time Of Flight (TOF) module in the upper part of the spaceframe for the ALICE experiment. Charged particles in the intermediate momentum range are identified in ALICE by the TOF detector. The time measurement, in conjunction with the momentum and track length measured by the tracking detectors is used to calculate the particle mass.

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Detail of the LHCb Magnet, seen on September 5th, 2008. 

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A collimater for the LHC. The powerful LHC collimation system protects the accelerator against damage due to unavoidable regular and irregular beam loss. 

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View of the LHC machine in the tunnel at the junction part with the beam dump at point 6 on July 25th, 2008.

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View of the CMS Detector before closure, on August 17th, 2008.

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Last views of the L3 magnet before its closure on June 28th, 2008.

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Closing of the 30-inch-thick, 430 ton L3 door on the I side, ALICE experiment, on June 11th, 2008.

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A radiofrequency chamber of the LHC. Radiofrequency chambers give a kick to the protons once per circuit to increase their speed. Original here.

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A fireman examines emergency exit signage in the LHC tunnel on February 21st, 2008, during an exercise with French, Swiss and CERN firemen.

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Work on the ATLAS semiconductor tracker barrel. Precision work is performed on the semiconductor tracker barrel of the ATLAS experiment. The semiconductor tracker will be mounted in the barrel close to the heart of the ATLAS experiment to detect the path of particles produced in proton-proton collisions.

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Integration of the three shells into the ATLAS pixel barrel, the innermost tracking device of the experiment.

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Installing the ATLAS calorimeter in November of 2005. The eight torodial magnets can be seen on the huge ATLAS detector with the calorimeter before it is moved into the middle of the detector. This calorimeter will measure the energies of particles produced when protons collide in the centre of the detector.

®Trust God, he knows ur future. He may not reveal it to you but he will walk with you as the future unfolds. Don't trust the stars, trust the one who made them. Gud Day!.