Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Did you know that we are all made of star stuff?
Oh yes! We are all made of star stuff. The iron in our blood, the Nitrogen in our DNA ….
Monday, 21 May 2012
A bizarre kaleidoscopic escalator in Tokyo
Hiroshi Nakamura is the architecture of this interesting structure. In the picture shoppers take the escalators under multifaceted mirrors to the designer stores at the castle-like Tokyo Plaza Omotesando Harajuku.
(Credit: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert)
Sunday, 20 May 2012
7 Strange Robots the Pentagon is Developing
With a budget in excess of $600 billion, the pentagon is hard at work researching technology that is sometimes bizarre and out of this world. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA is busy bringing in robotic creations to the pentagon that are craziest at the least. Here is a list of some of the strange robots the pentagon has in mind.
No 7. BigDog
BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. It was made in 2005 and can haul, climb, and carry its way over rough terrain. Capable of traversing difficult terrains, running at 4 miles per hour, carrying 340 pounds, and climbing a 35 degree incline, BigDog is intended to one day be able to serve as a robotic pack mule to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for conventional vehicles.
This strange-looking robot is powered by a two-stroke, one-cylinder and 15-HP go-kart engine operating at over 9,000 RPM.
No 6. Nano Hummingbird Drone
Developed by AeroVironmen, the Nano hummingbird drone is built to look like a bird for potential use in spy missions. It is capable of flying at speeds of up to 11 miles per hour, hovering and flying sideways, backward and forward, as well as going clockwise and counterclockwise, by remote control for about eight minutes of sustained flight.
Evidently, the technology needs a lot of polishing before being put to some actual use.
No 5. LittleDog
A quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion, the LittleDog’s four legs are each powered by three electric motors and are strong enough for climbing and “dynamic locomotion gaits.”
No 4. RiSE Climbing Robot
RiSE is a robot capable of climbing vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. It has “feet with micro-claws” to climb on textured surfaces. It weighs at 4.4 punds and is able to travel at 0.68 miles per hour.
It has six legs, an on-board computer that manages the coordination of these legs and a variety of sensors.
No 3. PetMan
This is a bipedal device constructed for testing chemical protection suits. The technology is basically derived from BigDog with advanced features such as sweating; simulating both human movement mechanics and human physiology to a much realistic extent.
PetMan is capable of walking on a treadmill i.e. walking, doing squats and pumping out push-ups. It also has a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.
And as Boston Dynamics President Marc Raibert said:
“Places like the Fukushima reactors could be accessed by Petman-like robots (or AlphaDogs), without requiring any human exposure to hazardous materials. Perhaps firefighting inside of buildings or facilities designed for human access, like on board ships designed for human crews.”
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Kissing History
Pucking Up Through The Ages
Kissing: the intimate act used to express feelings o f love, passion, affection, respect, friendship, greetings and many more. A kiss can vary widely in different cultures, for example, a kiss can be used in formal greetings, or ritual and traditional formalities, or for religious reasons, as well as being used as an intimate expression of love. But where did kissing come from? How has the act evolved over time?
Kissing doesn’t really surface in the Western world until the days of the Roman Empire, where Romans would use kisses to greet family and friends, as well as express feelings of love, and to pay their respects to ruler’s by kissing their hand. The Romans had three differentcategories for kissing, ‘Osculum’ was a kiss on the cheek, ‘Basium’ was a kiss on the lips, and ‘Savolium’ was a deep kiss. The Romans are responsible for beginning out modern day traditions when it comes to kissing. In ancient Rome, a couple became betrothed by kissing passionately on the lips in front of a group of people. The term ‘sealed with a kiss’ also comes from ancient Rome, where were used like handshakes to seal legal and business agreements and even during political campaigns.
During the Industrial Revolution, the kiss became replaced by the handshake as a form of agreement between to people when it came to legal and business matters. By 1872, Charles Darwin had theorized that due to the global diversity and popularity of kissing, humans must possess an innate desire to want to connect with others in this way. Darwin surmised that kissing is rooted deep within our evolutionary past, but is influenced by our social-cultural traditions, rules and customs.
Kissing: the intimate act used to express feelings o f love, passion, affection, respect, friendship, greetings and many more. A kiss can vary widely in different cultures, for example, a kiss can be used in formal greetings, or ritual and traditional formalities, or for religious reasons, as well as being used as an intimate expression of love. But where did kissing come from? How has the act evolved over time?Kissing Through History
Ancient Indian Kissing
The earliest evidence of kissing came from Indian Vedic Sanskrit texts that date back to around 1500 BC. In these texts there are descriptions of people kissing. However, while the texts don’t mention the word ‘kiss’, there are references to ‘licking’ and ‘drinking moisture of the lips’, which historians believe refers to the act of intimate kissing. There is also an epic Indian poem called ‘Mahabharata’ that describes the act of kissing on the lips as a sign of affection. The ‘Mahabharata’ was originally passed down orally for several hundred years, before being written down and recorded properly around 350 AD. It was also around this point in time when the Vatsyayana Kamasutra (better known as the Kama Sutra) was established. Considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviors, the Karma Sutra included an entire section on the different ways of lavishing kisses on a lover.
Roman Empire Kissing
Kissing doesn’t really surface in the Western world until the days of the Roman Empire, where Romans would use kisses to greet family and friends, as well as express feelings of love, and to pay their respects to ruler’s by kissing their hand. The Romans had three differentcategories for kissing, ‘Osculum’ was a kiss on the cheek, ‘Basium’ was a kiss on the lips, and ‘Savolium’ was a deep kiss. The Romans are responsible for beginning out modern day traditions when it comes to kissing. In ancient Rome, a couple became betrothed by kissing passionately on the lips in front of a group of people. The term ‘sealed with a kiss’ also comes from ancient Rome, where were used like handshakes to seal legal and business agreements and even during political campaigns.Religious Kissing History
In the early Christian Church, Christians would use kissing as a way to greet one another. This greeting, known as an ‘Osculum Pacis’, or holy kiss, was believed to transfer the spirit between the two people. It was also used to establish family bond between the members of the church and to strengthen the community, as well as separating Christians and non-Christians.
Kissing in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, kissing was a demonstration of a person’s social standing. Subjects of a King would kiss his ring, robe, hands or even the ground beneath his feet to show respect. This kind of respect was also shown toward the Pope. A kiss was also used as a greeting between feudal lords and vassals as a show of trust. It was also during this time that many men did not know how to read and write, so a kiss was used as a legal way to seal contracts, as it had been done in ancient Rome. An ‘X’ would be drawn on the line and kissed, making it legal. This symbol of a kiss has been carried over into modern day, with ‘X’ being written to represent a kiss.
Kissing Today
During the Industrial Revolution, the kiss became replaced by the handshake as a form of agreement between to people when it came to legal and business matters. By 1872, Charles Darwin had theorized that due to the global diversity and popularity of kissing, humans must possess an innate desire to want to connect with others in this way. Darwin surmised that kissing is rooted deep within our evolutionary past, but is influenced by our social-cultural traditions, rules and customs.The term “French kiss” came into the English language around 1923 as an insult towards the French culture which was thought to be overly concerned with sex. In France, it’s called a tongue kiss or soul kiss because if done right, it feels as if two souls are merging.
Kissing occurs in most cultures around the world today, but there are many different views on what is appropriate when it comes to displays of affection. In Middle Eastern countries public displays of affection, including holding hands, cuddling and kissing can be punishable by law. In some Asian countries, while not illegal, kissing is considered a private activity, and PDA is frowned upon.
Kissing Conclusion
Scientists, scholars and anthropologists are divided over whether kissing is a learned or instinctual behaviour. There are also many theories behind where kissing evolved from, including when mothers orally passed chewed food to their infants during the weaning period, or that kissing evolved from prospective mates sniffing each other’s pheromones to check for biological compatibility. Another theory suggests it was used to judge a person as a potential mate. Whatever the reason for the development of kissing, it has come through history as a symbol and expression of human feelings.
source:infobarrel
source:infobarrel
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