Australian Beach Invaded By Thousands of Alien Green Balls

Fluffy green aliens? Not really, but that doesn't make the settlement of living balls that took up residence on an Australian beach last weekend any less unusual.  

Alien Eggs On Sydney's Dee Why Beach

There have been some fairly odd beachgoers at Dee Why Beach outside of Sydney, Australia lately: huge numbers of small, green fluffy balls that are actually living. These soft orbs, about six centimeters in diameter, are actually a form of algae (Aegagropila linnaei) called marimo. Previously, marimo balls have been found in Japan, Iceland, and Scotland, so their appearance in Australia is quite strange.

"They're actually a really odd growth form of seaweed, because seaweeds mostly grow on the rocks but seldom they get knocked off and rolled around in the ocean forming these stunning little balls,” Alistair Poore from the University of New South Wales explained to 7News."It's quite an unusual event, it's only been seen a handful of times around the world.”. Watch the video below:

First discovered in the 1820s by Austrian botanist Anton Eleutherius Sauter, and named by Japanese botanist Tatsuhiko Kawakami in 1898 ("marimo" roughly means "bouncy play ball” in Japanese), colonies of these little balls have only been seen off the coast of Iceland, Scotland, Japan, Estonia and now Australia. According to Rachel Nuwer at Smithsonian Magazine, in Iceland, the balls have been given a less adorable nickname, referred to as kúluskítur or “ball muck”.

I suppose no one will be surprised when I say that in Japan, as well as being a natural phenomenon, marimo are a beloved ‘pet’.

Sources: 7News, Smithsonian Magazine

Read more...

Read More

Can Video Games Make You Smarter?

If you always knew (or at least figured) video games made you sharper, you've been validated—there’s research now to prove it. A new study conducted at the University of Toronto found that non-gamers who played a first-person shooter game demonstrated improved visual attention, a crucial skill that comes into play when you’re say, driving a car, or shooting hoops. One group of people were assigned to play the action shooter game (the kind where you try to hit some kind of target) while the rest were asked to work on a puzzle. Those who played the action game had changes in brain activity consistent with processes that enhance visual attention and suppress distracting information, says Sijing Wu, a PhD student and lead author of the study. Those who played the puzzle game only didn't experience the same mind-honing benefits (this might explain why no one ever really beats Super Tetris). Watch the video below:

Improved selective visual attention (such as the ability to quickly detect and identify a target in a cluttered background) is important for daily activities like tripping or monitoring changes on a computer display, says Ian Spence, the psychology professor who led the team. Ultimately, what you decide to do with your enhanced focus and vision is up to you. But the next time your brain’s feeling fuzzy, we say put down the laptop and hop on.


Read more...

Read More

What Is So Naked About Bench's The Naked Truth?

Brain freeze. Want to hear a story about Humpty Dumpty wearing Prada instead?

Read More

Couple Found After 700 Years Still Holding Each Others Hand

“Til death do us part” is just a love quote, but for some, an eternal vow. Archeologists from the University of Leicester have been excavating the "lost" chapel of St. Morrell in east Leicestershire and have recently announced the discovery of 11 human skeletons so far, all of which date back about 700 years. Two of these skeletons include a man and a woman who were buried together and have been holding hands since the 14th century. 

Holding hands for 700 years

“We have seen related skeletons before from Leicester where a couple has been buried together in a single grave,” Vicki Score of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) said in a press release. “The main question we find ourselves asking is why were they buried up there? There is a perfectly good church in Hallaton. This leads us to wonder if the chapel could have served as some sort of special place of burial at the time.”

St. Michael was the main church in the town of Hallaton, though the the Chapel of St. Morrell wasn’t too far away. Hallaton was a very busy and bustling town during the Middle Ages, with frequent fairs and attractions that would have drawn in tourists and tradesmen. It is possible that the recovered skeletons were people who were ill, foreign, or possibly criminals, who would not have been allowed inside St. Michael’s church.

Whatever the reason for them to be buried away from the main church, the bodies were still positioned east-west, as was the Christian tradition of the day. This was done to prepare the dead for the Resurrection. Clergy members were buried facing the opposite direction, as to be facing the congregation. 

In addition to the lovers holding hands, the archeologists discovered an older man who appears to have died as a result from a blow to the head, likely from a pole axe during battle. A younger man was found with damaged teeth and his knees drawn up to his chest.

The teams also found materials from the chapel itself and have determined the chapel’s floor plan. Stone masonry, plaster from walls, tile, and silver coins dating from the 12th-16th centuries have been found at the site. The crew plans to continue excavating the chapel and will also continue on with cemetery. Unfortunately, most records and any images regarding the church have been lost over time, so the full context of this site may be open to interpretation. 

An excavation of the "lost" chapel of St. Morrell in east Leicestershire led by Archeologists from the University of Leicester have recently announced the discovery of 11 human skeletons, all of which date back about 700 years. Two of these skeletons include a man and a woman who were buried together and have been holding hands since the 14th century. 

Read more...

Read More

Viral Tips: How To Fight Diabetes The Natural Way

Type 2 diabetes may be treated by a radical change of lifestyle: avoidance of processed sweets, high carbohydrates, exercises and avoidance of stress.

Bitter Gourd

Food Guide for Treatment of Diabetes

• Remove all food items that contain refined sugar like cake, biscuits, cookies, candy, juice, softdrinks etc.
• Avoid "junk food" (doughnut, French fries, chips, cheese curls, etc.)
• Remove or minimize intake of wine, tobacco, and coffee. 
• Snack on food that is high in protein like peanuts.
• Eat fresh fruits, sweet potatoes, other root crops and vegetables

Natural Medicine

• Eat from 3-5 leaves daily of Sabuñgai (Gynuraprocumbeans)
• Drink tea made out of leaves of Cat's whisker daily or boiled leaves of bitter gourd (five tablespoon of fresh leaves with two glasses of water, boil for 15-20 minutes; divide into 3 parts and taken 3 times per day).

Read more...

Read More