World Mysteries

World-Mysteries.com invites you to "explore lost civilizations, ancient ruins, sacred writings, unexplained artifacts, and science mysteries. Meet subject experts, find related books and resources". Lots of info and photos on numerous sacred sites on the planet. The satellite image gallery is particularly interesting.

Good News From Chernobyl

According to a BBC article, the area surrounding the worst nuclear accident in history is teeming with wildlife. Tests continue to be done on the animal population, and many of the results are surprising.

"Animals don't seem to sense radiation and will occupy an area regardless of the radiation condition," says radioecologist Sergey Gaschak.

"A lot of birds are nesting inside the sarcophagus," he adds, referring to the steel and concrete shield erected over the reactor that exploded in 1986.

"Starlings, pigeons, swallows, redstart - I saw nests, and I found eggs."

There may be plutonium in the zone, but there is no herbicide or pesticide, no industry, no traffic, and marshlands are no longer being drained.

There is nothing to disturb the wild boar - said to have multiplied eightfold between 1986 and 1988 - except its similarly resurgent predator, the wolf.

While mutations in DNA have been found, some scientists argue that the benefits to wildlife of removing humans from the area have far exceeded the harm from exposure to radiation. One scientist has even said, "I have wondered if the small volumes of nuclear waste from power production should be stored in tropical forests and other habitats in need of a reliable guardian against their destruction by greedy developers".

Rainbows

I didn't know there were so many different kinds. 18 months ago, I saw a spectacular double rainbow; two perfect rainbows, one larger than the other. It was over the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, so the shot would have been spectacular. Oh well. At least it's stored in my memory bank.

Alocacias

This is a little dark, but I don't have a better shot at the moment. Alocasia cuprea has an odd juvenile leaf that looks heavily shellacked. I've never read about any speculation on what the purpose of that would be. I can't imagine one, unless it's to help prevent fungus. It's a small plant, growing only about 50 cm tall, with leaf blades about 30 cm long.

Alocasias belong to the family Araceae, one of the largest plant families, which includes philodendrons, anthuriums, colocasias, amorphophallus, xanthosomas, and many other genera.



Contrasting with species like A. cuprea, which grow close to the rainforest floor, are alocasias with the largest leaves of any herbaceous plants in Nature, such as Alocasia robusta, whose leaves can reach 10 meters in height. Click here for a truly awesome photo of Alocasia robusta, growing in the wild in Sarawak.

Watch Old Faithful Blow

Yellowstone National Park has a Web cam set up for the Old Faithful geyser.

Shark Attacks

Recent shark attacks in Florida have resulted in the death of a 14 year-old girl, the loss of the leg of a teenaged boy and the injured ankle of a young tourist from Austria. In the wake of these attacks, the state of Florida has issued a few useful tips. The "embellishing remarks" are by Frank Cerabino, of the Palm Beach Post.

Shark tip: "Do not enter the water if bleeding from an open wound."

Embellishing remark: This is generally good advice, even if you happen to be in the community swimming pool.

Shark tip: "Avoid waters with known effluents or sewage."

Embellishing remark: There's only one thing worse than getting attacked by a shark, and that's getting attacked by a shark while swimming in a sewage spill.

Shark tip: "Wearing shiny jewelry is discouraged because the reflected light resembles the sheen of fish scales."

Embellishing remark: You're there to swim, not make a rap music video. You wouldn't show up at a 50 Cent concert in a snorkel. If you insist on wearing bling-bling into the ocean, at least make sure it isn't the shape and size of a mullet.

John O'Groats

In the past week I've seen two separate references to a place called John O'Groats, which was unknown to me, and since the name has a ring to it, I had to look it up. Turns out it's argueably the northernmost point of Britain's four corners. Anyone looking to make the long trek to prove a point goes from Land's End, the southernmost part of England, to John O'Groats, in Scotland.

I was hoping to find out who this John fella was and if he really did eat a lot of oatmeal, but reality didn't quite live up to my imagination. John O'Groats was named after a Dutchman, Jan de Groot, who came to the area in 1476 and operated a ferry to the Orkney islands.

The nearby Stacks of Duncansby look cool.

You can see puffins there. I would go just for that!

More info here, here and here.

Snakes Everywhere!

What's happening in England? They're finding snakes in cut flowers, in a cereal box, in a jukebox, in trash bags, in a field in Kent and stuck in a wedding ring. Happily, Clarice, a 6' boa constrictor, has been found, but another boa was sadly abandoned on a bus.

A Bit of Heaven

A beautiful shot taken by Colin, a photographer living in the Scottish Highlands, who has taught me a lot about his fellow countryman, George Galloway.

You can see more of Colin's world on his blog.

The Neverending Wonder of Nature

An unfurling Amorphophallus atroviridis. The single leaf emerging each spring from a dormant corm will have blue and pink tones. My all-time favorite amorphophallus.

I'm not a photographer, but I wish I could have captured this without the ugly pot. Maybe it can be Photoshopped. There's only one day in the entire year that this could be shot. Fortunately it wasn't raining. By the next day the leaf had already opened out a lot, so the shot wouldn't be nearly as dramatic and graceful. The tubers of this species tend to rot easily, too, so I may never get another chance to shoot it. Not that many people grow it, or even know it exists.