Offbeat: Eek ... It’s a giant leek!

Sunny side up

US astronomers say they have discovered the first planet that is orbiting two Suns, much like the fictional home of Luke Skywalker featured in Star Wars.

Skywalker’s native planet of Tatooine was hot and desert-like, but this planet, called Kepler-16b, is a freezing cold place about the size of Saturn, orbiting two parent Suns in a near perfect circle about 200 light years away.

The planet was glimpsed with the US space agency’s Kepler space telescope, which monitors the brightness of 155,000 stars.

“This discovery is stunning,” said co-author Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.

“Once again, what used to be science fiction has turned into reality.”

While astronomers have previously glimpsed planets they believed were orbiting two stars, they had never before seen one actually passing in front of its two Suns so this discovery offers the first proof.

“Kepler-16b is the first confirmed, unambiguous example of a circumbinary planet — a planet orbiting not one, but two stars,” said co-author Josh Carter of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

“Once again, we’re finding that our solar system is only one example of the variety of planetary systems nature can create.”

If there were people on Kepler-16b, they could relax to the view of a double sunset, but such a scenario is highly unlikely due to the planet’s extreme frigid surface temperature of -73 to -101 Celsius.

The chill is likely due to the fact that even though the planet has two Suns, which it orbits every 229 days at a distance of 105 million kilometres, they are smaller and cooler than our single Sun.

One of Kepler-16b’s Suns is 20 per cent as massive as ours, and the other is 69 per cent as massive.

While the planet orbits them, the two Suns dance with each other in an “eccentric 41-day orbit,” the study said.

The study was led by Kepler scientist Laurance Doyle of the California-based SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute.

SOURCE: news.ninemsn.com.au

Nailed!

A Las Vegas woman has won the Guinness World Record for having the longest finger nails in the world.

Chris Walton, 45, hasn’t clipped her finger nails in 18 years.

Her nails measure a total of 19 feet 9 inches — 10ft 2 inches on her left hand and 9ft 7 inches on her right. She does her own makeup and household chores despite the challenges posed by her extremely long nails.

“I hate all the cleaning, but I do it. And the makeup, I only wear so much,” said Ms Walton, who is a professional singer.

One daily activity that does prove difficult is getting change out of her pocket, she said.

But she uses her knuckles to text on a mobile phone. Now that she has won the record she plans to get rid of the nails, but will have to do it slowly because: “I’m so used to having nails I’d be running into walls and doors.”

Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton said Ms Walton was a “unique beauty”.

The previous recordholder was Lee Redmond, of Salt Lake City, whose nails measured a total of 28 feet until she lost them in a 2009 car crash.

SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk

Eek... It’s a giant leek!

Gardener John Pearson, has claimed a world record by growing a leek weighing 9.2kg (20lb 5oz) at a horticultural show in Stanley, Co Durham.

Mr Pearson proudly showed off the giant vegetable at the event.

‘I’m very pleased to have set a new record at what is a beautiful show,’ the Sunderland man said.

The retired groundsman is a record veteran having already registered the biggest pair and trio of leeks back in 2002.

The 63-year-old remained humble and said he owed his success to previous winner John Soulsby, who had given him good seeds to use.

‘I’m proud to have the world record, but anyone could grow a leek like this — if they had the right pips,’ he said.

Mr Pearson checks the weight of his leeks by using a specially adapted machine that is normally used to weigh suitcases.

SOURCE: metro.co.uk

Is that a snake in your pants?

A Brazilian man who was caught at Miami airport trying to smuggle seven baby pythons and three baby tortoises concealed in his underwear and pockets was fined $400 (Rs35 084) by a US judge.

Simon Turola Borges, 30, pled guilty to smuggling and was sentenced by US District Judge Patricia A Seitz to time served, two years of supervised release, and a $400 (Rs35 084) fine. He was ordered to be deported.

Prosecutors said Borges initially denied having anything hidden in his pants when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the airport pulled him aside for a further search after he went through a body scanner while preparing to board a flight to Brazil last month.

“Subsequently, he was asked to empty his cargo pants pockets, and he removed two hatchling pythons tightly wrapped in nylon pantyhose,” prosecutors said in a statement.

When he was asked to remove any foreign objects from his groin area “Borges pulled his underwear away from his body and removed two nylon pantyhose containing numerous snakes and tortoises,” the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida added in the statement.

SOURCE: reuters.com

Diamond thief caught — by x-ray

A thief in Spain who stole a diamond from a British woman — and then swallowed it — was caught when police forced him to undergo an X-ray. The theft happened when two British women entered a restaurant in Marbella and one of them left her handbag on the floor.

“Two well-dressed men came in, one sitting at the bar and the other next to the woman,” a police spokesman said.

When the men left, the woman discovered her handbag, containing valuables including a pendant with a £10,000 (Rs1.4 million) diamond and nearly £2,000 (Rs274 414) in cash, had disappeared.

Hours later, police stopped a car at a routine checkpoint and found the four occupants had criminal records.

Inside the vehicle they also discovered a handbag as well as valuables and cash, which they later identified as belonging to the British woman. All that was missing was the diamond.

“During the operation, officers noticed one of the men putting his hand to his mouth,” police said.

“This gesture and the fact that they had found the pendant without the diamond made the police think he may have swallowed it.”

“To find the stone, those arrested were taken to a medical centre where they underwent X-rays, and the diamond was located inside the stomach of one of them, who admitted swallowing it.”

SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk

Parents film 4-year-old daughter driving

Chinese police say they are powerless to act against the parents of a four-year-old girl, who filmed her driving their car.

The little girl appeared to be driving at speed, even overtaking several vehicles, during her two minutes behind the wheel.

In the clip, which has been uploaded online, the parents, from Jinan, Shandong Province, kept reminding their daughter to concentrate. The mother was sitting in the passenger seat, while the father sat behind the girl, who didn’t even wear a safety belt.

At one stage, the girl queued for traffic lights in the wrong lane but managed to manoeuvre the vehicle into the neighbouring lane.

Eventually the father says: “Jia Zheng, stop the car. Let Daddy drive.” He then jumps out of the back and into the driver’s seat, while the girl crawls over to sit on her mother’s knee.

The video shows the parents had fit extensions to the brake and accelerator pedals to allow their daughter to control the car.

Local police spokesman Li Xiaobin revealed that there was very little they could do, under Chinese law.

“Kids absolutely are not allowed to drive,” he said. “However, as for drivers under 14 years old, we can’t give them tickets.”

“If we caught them, we could only educate the parents. In the worst scenario, if an accident happened, we could only ask the parents as guardians to compensate the other parties.”

SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk

World’s longest tongue

Everyone needs a challenge to sink their teeth into — but for Chanel Tapper that would be rather unwise, as she has the longest tongue in the world which will feature in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records.

The student from California has a serpent-like tongue that is double the normal size.

The huge organ measures 3.8 inches (9.75 cm) from tip to top lip.

Ms Tapper’s tongue is around the same size as an average chocolate bar and could stretch across the palm of your hand.

The world record holder said she received a positive reaction when she showed her tongue to the public.

“They’ll ask me to do it again,” she said.

“Some girls/women have screamed and jumped back and if there are other people around the person who saw my tongue will tell the nearest next to them.”

‘I’ll often get asked questions like, ‘can you touch your nose or elbow?’ and “Do you choke people when you kiss them?”’

“But always one way or the other they’re entertained by seeing it.”

SOURCE: metro.co.uk

Robot to attempt Hawaii triathlon

After scaling the cliff walls of the Grand Canyon and driving the Le Mans racetrack for 24 hours, a tiny Japanese robot is set for a new challenge — Hawaii’s grueling Ironman Triathlon course.

Fitted with three different bodies and three rechargeable batteries, the hand-sized “Evolta” from electronics firm Panasonic will swim, bicycle and run its way through one of the world’s toughest triathlon routes, the company said.

source: thenews.com.pk

Attack of the snails

Giant African snails have invaded Miami which are 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. The snails are not only damaging plants but are also the reason behind several residents of the city experiencing high fever.

The city administration is concerned over the invasion and so far 1,000 giant snails have been found within a one-square mile radius. Authorities are trying to determine the cause of the outbreak of the snails.

SOURCE: geo.tv

All you can’t eat

A Saudi restaurant has started fining diners if they order more than they can eat.

Fahad Al Anezi, owner of the Marmar Restaurant in the city of Dammam, said he wanted to avoid wasting food.

He also wanted to encourage customers to be less extravagant with their orders.

“There are many clients who make large orders in order to impress the people around them and boost their social prestige,” he said. Diners were made to pay an extra charge which was decided depending on how much food they left, he added.

SOURCE: web.orange.co.uk



Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2011.