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news archive: Jan-Feb 2006
Strange news archive: January-February 2006
Explorers discover huge cave and new poison
frogs
(Feb 22, 2006)
A cave so huge helicopters can fly into it has just been discovered
deep in the hills of a South American jungle paradise. Actually, "Cueva
del Fantasma" – Spanish for "Cave of the Ghost" – is so
vast that two helicopters can comfortably fly into it and land next
to a towering waterfall. It was found in the slopes of Aprada tepui
in southern Venezuela, one of the most inaccessible and unexplored
regions of the world. The area, known as the Venezuelan Guayana, is
one of the most biologically rich, geologically ancient and unspoiled
parts of the world.
Read
more. Source: LiveScience.com |
Japan tries to save giant radish
(Feb 9, 2006)
A giant radish is making the Japanese evening news headlines after
it was rushed into intensive care in an agricultural research centre.
The daikon radish, a staple ingredient in Japan, became an unlikely
object of public admiration when it started growing through a pavement
last year. The resilient radish was then attacked last year by a mysterious
assailant. The local town council has since been trying to re-grow
the radish from its severed top.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Herman could be 'biggest bunny'
(Feb 7, 2006)
A man has been showing off his gigantic rabbit named Herman. The mighty
bunny weighs a massive 7.7kg, and his ears are a lengthy 21cm –
almost as long as most pet rabbits are tall. And he is almost 1m tall.
The German Giant is even big for his breed, which usually tip the
scales at around 6kg.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Print 'proof' of big cat presence
(Feb 3, 2006)
Police believe they have the first conclusive proof a big cat, dubbed
the "Beast of Balbirnie", could be on the loose in Fife. There have
been numerous reports of big cats in the Kingdom in recent years.
Now officers have had a plaster cast of a paw print verified by experts
who believe it is of an 18-month-old exotic large cat. Image shows
Balbirnie cast (top), captive puma (right), dog (bottom), leopard
(left).
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Johor to mount hunt for 'bigfoot'
(Jan 27, 2006)
The government of the Malaysian state of Johor says it is to organise
an attempt to track down a legendary ape man reputed to roam its jungles.
After a spate of sightings, Johor's chief minister says he will launch
an official search for the beast, dubbed Malaysia's Big Foot by local
media. Malaysians have a long-standing love affair with anything big.
The obsessions resulted in record-breaking buildings, bridges, even
piles of food. Now they have gone crazy for Big Foot, known in local
legend as Hantu Jarang Gigi - ghosts with widely spaced teeth.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza
(Jan 24, 2006)
An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from
a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall. Leon Wright and his
wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of
Sperm whales and
used in perfumes after it has been vomited up. Sought after because
of its rarity, ambergris can float on the ocean for years before washing
ashore. Worth up to $20 a gram, Mr Wright's find on a South Australian
beach could net his family US$295,000 (£165,300).
Read
more. Source: BBC |
James Bond car sold for over £1m
(Jan 22, 2006)
An Aston Martin car driven by James Bond in Goldfinger and Thunderball
has been sold in auction for more than £1m. The legendary 1965 DB5
model, complete with a host of high-tech gadgets, went under the hammer
in Phoenix, Arizona. Driven by Sean Connery, the car boasts built-in
Browning machine guns, tyre slashers, an oil slick ejector and a retractable
rear bullet-proof screen.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
California home to 27 new species
(Jan 19, 2006)
Twenty-seven previously unknown species of spiders, centipedes, scorpion-like
creatures and other animals have been discovered in the dark, damp
caves beneath two national parks in the Sierra Nevada, biologists
say. "Not only are these animals new to science, but they're adapted
to very specific environments – some of them, to a single room
in one cave," said Joel Despain, a cave specialist who helped explore
30 of the 238 known caves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Source: Associated Press |
How best to fight off a shark?
(Jan 19, 2006)
An Australian diver has narrowly survived a shark attack by fighting
it with his speargun – the latest in a long line of shark-related
incidents. So what is the best way to take on a shark and win? Bernie
Williams, a 46-year-old Australian scuba-diver, fought off repeated
attacks by an 11ft (3.5m) shark by hitting it on the nose with his
speargun.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Actor Shatner sells kidney stone
(Jan 18, 2006)
Star Trek actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000
(£14,000) to an online casino, to raise money for a housing charity.
The 74-year-old actor agreed on Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com.
"This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How
much is a piece of me worth?" said Shatner. The money will go to Habitat
for Humanity. US TV show Boston Legal, in which Shatner stars, raised
$20,000 (£11,317) for the charity last year.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Footprints' debate to run and run
(Jan 18, 2006)
It was a sensational discovery - human footprints said to be 40,000
years old, preserved by volcanic ash in an abandoned quarry in Mexico.
The announcement, in July last year, created a flurry of excitement,
but was then promptly dismissed by a second team of researchers who
re-dated the rocks at 1.3 million years old, impossibly ancient to
bear human traces. The original claim has not gone away, however.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
What can't you send through the post?
(Jan 18, 2006)
Two students who sent a hamster through the post as a drunken prank
have been fined and banned from owning animals. So what else can't
you put in a parcel? The hamster found in a postbox is now named First
Class. And he's lucky to be alive. If he hadn't gnawed through the
envelope and been spotted by the postman, he might have died in the
sorting machine.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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