Ant With Eye-patch!

Scientists have discovered a strangely patterned new insect in the Philippines, dubbing it the “pirate ant” because of a dark stripe over its eyes that makes it look like it’s wearing an eye patch.

The unique stripe over the pirate ant’s eye gives the impression of an eye-patch. / BERNHARD SEIFERT/LIVESCIENCE.COM

The formal name of the newfound creature is Cardiocondyla pirata, and belongs to a group of species that are found from Thailand across the whole Indonesian-Malaysian region.

“On a collection trip to the Philippines we looked for different species of the genus Cardiocondyla that is known for its astonishing morphological and behavioral diversity of male ants,” Sabine Frohschammer, a doctoral student at Germany‘s Universitat Regensburg, said in a statement.

Frohschammer and colleagues picked up some already known species, but then found an unidentifiable one lurking between big stones in a shady streambed.

“Due to the darkness of the rain forest and the translucent body parts of the tiny ants they were nearly invisible,” the researchers said. “Under bright light and a magnifier we detected the nice stripe across the eyes and therefore always referred to these species as ‘the pirates.’”

The purpose of this ribbon of pigment on the mostly pigment-free pirate ants remains a mystery, the researchers say, especially since it has not been seen on any other creature of its kind. Pirate ants mate in the dark, and they have poor sight, relying mostly on chemical and tactile recognition cues, not visual ones, for communicating with other individuals in their species. That characteristic eliminates the possibility that the “eye patch” could serve as some sort of sexual signpost, the researchers say.

Source:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57585747/weird-pirate-ant-comes-with-an-eye-patch/

 

Children Raised By Animals Photo Essay

It is believed that Romulus and Remus, the twin founders of Rome,were raised by a Wolf.

Here are the ten children who were raised by Animals.

1.Ukrainian Dog Girl:

Ukrainian Dog Girl.

Left to live in a kennel by her abusive and neglectful parents from the ages of 3 to 8,Oxana Malaya grew up with no other company than the dogs she shared the kennel with. When she was found in 1991, she was unable to speak, choosing only to bark, and ran around on all fours. Now in her 20s, Malaya has been taught to speak but remains cognitively impaired. She has found some peace caring for cows that reside on a farm near the mental institution where she lives.

2.Jungle Girl,Cambodia.

Cambodian Jungle Girl

While herding buffalo along the jungle’s edge in Cambodia at the age of 8, Rochom P’ngieng became lost and mysteriously disappeared. Eighteen years later, in 2007, a villager caught sight of a naked woman sneaking around his property attempting to steal rice. Identified as the long lost Rochom P’ngieng due to a distinctive scar on her back, the girl had grown into a 30-year-old woman who had somehow survived on her own in the dense jungle. Unable to learn the local language or to adapt to the local culture, she fled back to the wild in May 2010. There have been mixed reports about her whereabouts since that time, including one about her reappearance in June 2010 in a deep, dugout toilet near her home.

3.Ugandan Monkey Boy.

Monkey Boy,Uganda

After seeing his mother murdered by his father, a traumatized 4-year-old John Ssebunya fled into the jungle, where he reportedly was raisedby a troop of vervet monkeys until his discovery in 1991. As is often the case when feral children are discovered, he resisted capture from the villagers who sought to take him, and he got assistance from his adoptive monkey family (which supposedly threw sticks at his captors). Since his capture, John has been taught how to speak, and can now sing, too. In fact, he even tours with the Pearl of Africa children’s choir. (Note: This is not a photo of John Ssebunya.)

4.Victor of Aveyron.

Victor of Aveyron

Perhaps the most famous feral child of them all, Victor’s story was made widely known in the film “L’Enfant Sauvage.” Although his origins are a mystery, it is generally believed that Victor lived his entire childhood naked and alone in the woods before being spotted in 1797. After a few more sightings, he eventually emerged on his own near Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, France, in 1800. Victor became the subject for many philosophers and scientists who were curious about the origins of language and human behavior, though little progress was made in his development due to his cognitive impairments.

5 .Madina, raised by Dogs.

Madina, raised by Dogs.

Madina’s tragic story is much like Oxana Malaya’s. Abandoned until her discovery just last year at the age of 3, she lived with dogs. When found, she knew only two words, yes and no, though she preferred to growl like a dog. Luckily, Madina was declared mentally and physically healthy by medics shortly after her discovery, despite her ordeal. Though her development has been hampered, she is young enough that caretakers believe she can lead a relatively normal lifestyle when she grows up.

6.Lobo,Wolf Girl.

Lobo,Girl raised By Wolf.

The story was corroborated a year later when the girl was seen again, this time devouring a freshly killed goat. As the story goes, alarmed local villagers mounted a search for the girl days later, eventually capturing her.

7.Amala and Kamala found in Wolverine’s Den.Midnapore, India.

Amala and Kamal,Midnapore,India,Found in Wolverine’s Den

These two girls, 8 years old and 18 months respectively when discovered, were found in a wolves’ den in 1920 in Midnapore, India. Their story is wrapped in controversy. Because they were so far apart in age, experts did not think they were sisters. It’s more likely that they were both taken by wolves on different occasions..

Source:

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/9-children-who-were-raised-by-animals/amala-and-kamala

Coffin With Music System!

RIP, with Stereo Music.

This is what is new in Gadgets.

Read On:

Sound System with Coffin

A coffin and grave may be  one’s final resting place for eternity, but that doesn’t mean it has to be one of deadly silence.

This week we  dug up a story about a coffin that included a built-in sound system. While it costs about $30,000, it’s probably the last music system that the dearly departed would ever need.

The CataCoffin features a three-speaker Catacombo sound system that might not be loud enough to wake the dead, but it’s still worth trying.

This high-tech solution for those who (let’s be honest) won’t really appreciate it involves putting a 2.5Ghz Intel core processor within the so-called CataTomb tombstone. It includes an upgradable music server with a 4G connection that wirelessly delivers the tunes to the CataCoffin six feet under, while a 7-inch display on the tombstone notes what song is currently being played down below.

The sound system includes a couple of two-way front speakers with 4-inch midbass drivers and even an 8-inch sub bass element for bass so low, its subterranean. Might as well crank it up; we don’t think there will be any complaints from the neighbors.

The CataPlay application provides a link from Spotify to allows users – living users that is – to keep the play list up to date. We’re thinking that this could include covers of the deceased’s favorite songs, or those musical guilty pleasures 0ne wouldn’t want to be caught dead listening to.

Source:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/catacoffin-provides-music-for-the-afterlife/

 

 

Woman Steals 42″TV,Hides Under Skirt

I recall a story we used to narrate when we were in college.

A man and his daughter were travelling abroad.

Before they boarded the flight, father told his daughter to leave her Diamond wrist watch at Home as it might be confiscated  or taxed heavily on landing.

After landing , they came out of the terminal.

The girl took out the watch.

The father asked’ I did not see you wearing the watch, nor packing, nor were you caught.

How did you bring it in?

42 ‘ TV stolenu under a Skirt

The girl replied.

Father exclaimed,’had I known, I would have brought your mother and a Wall Clock!”

I was reminded of this story when I read the following news.

Story:

A woman tried to walk out of a store with a 42-in television “hidden” between her legs. Not to anybody’s surprised, she was caught and subsequently arrested.

Police apprehended the woman, who was accompanied by her boyfriend, after walked unsteadily towards the exit of the shop in Oslo, the Norwegian capital.

The woman made it all the way to a nearby bus stop, but she was arrested on the bus after a suspicious store employee informed the police.

When confronted about the irregular shape under her skirt by the police, the Romanian woman told them she had “very strong thigh muscles.”

 

‘It is not unusual that thieves put bits and bobs under their skirts of large sweaters,’ said Tor Grøttom at Oslo police HQ.

‘We wondered at first if this was impossible but then we tried it at the station with female officers. It is hard – but not impossible.’

The woman, through the incident, has been nicknamed ‘Thunder Thighs’ by one Norwegian radio station, and the 31-year-old is still in custody being questioned about other thefts in Norway.’

Source:

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/woman-arrested-shoplifting-hide-42in-tv-skirt/

Related;

Some shop ‘Lifting’ by Women.

 

Skeptic Speaks After Death

There is a story about Robert Ingersoll, the Atheist.

When Ingersoll was in his death-bed, he asked for a Priest.

A Priest was brought in.

Ingersoll asked him,

‘Father, I have been denying God in my Life,

Will God punish me?’

The priest replied ,

‘Son, God is not Ingersoll’

I was reminded of this when I read a news item that the skeptic, Forrest J Ackerman, who is dead is reported communicating with people after he was dead!

‘The Life After Death Project’ Cover Artwork for the documentary “The Life After Death Project” about the search for evidence that the spirit of Sci-Fi legend Forrest J Ackerman is still “alive and well.”

Skeptics, Agnostics, Atheists are all pious and Devout in private.

here the man seems to go one step higher, after he is dead!

Story:

Ackerman, who passed away in 2008, is a legend in the sci-fi community, for, among other things, coining the phrase “sci-fi.” Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson were among the avid readers of his influential Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine. He was also co-creator of the popular comic book superheroine Vampirella.

Ackerman was a skeptic in the supernatural. But now, some of his followers believe this dead man is trying to make contact with them.

It all started shortly after his death, when an odd ink blot mysteriously appeared on a sheet of paper at the home of his friend, filmmaker Paul Davids.

Scientists and forensic experts cannot determine how the unusual ink blot appeared over these words, leading some to consider the spirit of Forrest J Ackerman was responsible for it.

Davids had printed out the paper that included a list of business meetings. The ink on the paper was completely dry as he left the room. When he returned, he discovered a black ink blot had somehow covered a group of words, “Spoke to Joe Amodei.”

“I had no idea why these particular words were blacked out,” Davids told The Huffington Post. “It made no sense to me until later, when I was researching Forry’s editorial style and I found lots of examples of where he blacked out words so completely. I have found 15 examples of where Forry found a name within a name or a word within a word as being a hidden word to make a pun or a point out of it.”

Davids believes this was the first in a series of unexplained instances where Ackerman was trying to communicate with him. He eventually involved several university scientists to try to explain these phenomena explored in “The Life After Death Project,” a documentary that premiered this week on the Syfy channel.

Some might claim Davids’ work is more akin to the Syfy channel’s fantasy-based programming, perhaps during hour 72 of a “Twilight Zone” marathon. But Davids is dead serious.

“I first met Forry in 1964 and we were friends for more than 40 years,” said Davids, producer-director of “The Life After Death Project.”

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/life-after-death-project-forest-j-ackerman_n_3280368.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news