PETA all-wood Human Coffins

A company in New Mexico is building special human coffins in partnership with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). So, what's the catch? As PETA name is involved here, there must be something related to animal rights and in this case the coffins are all-wood and bear painted slogans, such as "Lifetime PETA Member", "Told You I Wouldn't Be Caught Dead in Fur!" or "I saved 500 animals."

The PETA coffins are assembled by Dienna Genther, 44, a former construction worker from Bellingham, Washington, who operates a company called The Old Pine Box in rural Edgewood. The coffins went on sale last week and are priced from $620 to $670, which includes a $75 contribution towards PETA. Made of wood, the coffins are designed to be Earth-friendly, with no screws, nails, hinges or animal-based glues.


So, this kind of coffins are perfect for those who wants to support animal rights even after death! This is a genuine idea and I'm sure that there will be plenty of customers for the PETA coffins. What you say?

Source: http://www.theoldpinebox.com/peta_coffins.html

World's Largest Ceviche served in Peru

On Sunday, chefs in Peru prepared the World's Largets Ceviche, a form of citrus-marinated seafood appetizer, popular in mainly Latin American countries like Mexico, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. . The 6.8 tonne dish was prepared in an open-air sports stadium in Callao, a district near Peru's capital. About 450 students and chefs worked together for the preparation, which was an attempt to bring back their world record title.

After the ceviche was ready, it's weight was measured by putting the traditional dish into smaller boxes and taking the measurement with a movable scale. A representative of the Guinness Books of World Records was also present there, who later confirmed the new record. The previous record for the world's largest ceviche, weighing in at 4.5 tons, was set in Mexico in 2005.

Britain's "Worst Christmas Tree"

A Christmas tree in Peterlee, a town in County Durham, England, is being termed as the "Worst Christmas Tree"! Because it is too small and looks more like a twig than a tree. And even some people thinks the tree is an insult to the town! Take a look at the picture.

The tree was meant to be the focal point of festive celebrations at Castle Dene Shopping Centre in Peterlee. When the tree arrived it turned out to be smaller than expected. But, it was too late to order another one. So, it was put up and decorated with coloured lights. Even pop star Natasha Hamilton was invited to officially switched on it's lights.

Despite all those decoration the Christmas tree failed to attract local people. One shopper termed it as "the worst Christmas tree in the country". Even complaints were lodged before Councillor Joan Maslin.

After all those complaints and media coverage, the Shopping Centre was flooded with offers of replacement. Now it is reported that the Christmas tree will be replaced with a new 20ft tall Norway spruce, provided by Forestry Commission. At last the people of Peterlee will be able to enjoy a beautiful Christmas!

via: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7760771.stm

The Karaoke Cab! Wanna Ride?

Imagine about a taxi cab packed with flat screen displays, karaoke and disco lights! I'm sure that music lovers and singers would love to get a ride on such a cab. That's why a Chinese taxi driver installed a karaoke machine in his cab. Take a look at the picture.

Fan Xiaoming, the cab driver, spent £600 on three flat screens, 16 speakers, amplifiers and disco lights, that he installed in his "Changchun's only karaoke cab" last month. Eversince his takings have shot up.

"Many people ask for my number for their next trip," he said. "And sometimes they even ask me to take a longer route so they can spend more time singing."

A cool and entertaining idea to attract customers. What you think?

Reconstruction of Mammoth's Genome

A US-Russian team of scientists claims that they have reconstructed about two-thirds of the genome of the woolly mammoth using DNA extracted from balls of hair. Now, they hopes that it could provide better insights into the extinction of the mammoth and could also lead to resurrection of long-dead species.

"One can imagine a new field of ‘museomics’ using the collected samples that are now stored in natural-history museums," said Stephan Schuster, a biologist at Pennsylvania State University who led the 21-person research team with a colleague, Webb Miller.

The researchers, used two samples of woolly mammoth hair. One sample was collected from a 20,000-year-old mammoth from Siberia, while the other was from a specimen from an animal that died 65,000 years ago. Then they sequenced 4.17 billion bases and determined that 3.3 billion belonged to the mammoths. The rest were from viruses, bacteria, fungi and other microbes. The researchers identified the mammoth DNA by comparing the sequences with the genome of the modern African elephant. The results of the study was published in the latest edition of journal Nature.

Mammoths disappeared about 10,000 years ago when they were hunted to extinction by prehistoric humans. Well, it is too early to say whether the study will help scientist to resurrect mammoth or not. But it is true that for the first time scientists have reconstructed the genome of an extinct species and it could open many doors for researchers. The study also helped scientists in understanding the evolution pattern of elephants.