Saturday, November 16, 2013
WE'RE a nation of animal lovers but none of us has quite as many as retired secretary Marlene who shares her house with her 40 cats.The cat enthusiast is surrounded day and night by the 40 felines who follow her around her home.
They are groomed and bathed every day, a procedure which can see Marlene up until the early hours of the morning as she prepares them for shows.
The unusal pet owner spends around £200 a week on the felines' food and although she received funds following her mother's death to feed the cats, she admis the money is running out.
Marlene's mother died nine years ago leaving her 14 pedigree Persians to add to her own 26 cats.
She said: "The cats never upset me, I like people but sometimes they can be aggravating. I have closed myself down to the only pleasure which is being with the animals I'm surrounded by."
Her best friend Coleen admitted that she had named Marlene 'her eccentric friend.'
Coleen added: "Her life is her cats. I couldn't imagine Marlene without her cats. I couldn't cope with 40 but she does."
Marlene's story is one of many exposed by recent Channel 5 programme Pet Horders.
Another pet horder came in the form of Deb and her family who share their Yorkshire home with a brood of chickens.
Her passion for poultry started when she passed a farm snd was overwhelmed by the shrieking of chickens being kept in terrible conditions.
She crammed 60 birds into her car and headed home.
Since then, Deb has sold the business that she used to run and now nurses and cares for them all on a full-time basis. Deb plans to rescue and care for more abused animals, no matter what species.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Sometimes all the negativity in this world can be a little overbearing, to say the least. We can sometimes use a little pick me for the soul. This 5 minute video does just that.
Watch as these ordinary people perform selfless acts to help others around them in need.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Usually, babies are brought to tears by a full diaper or because they’re hungry, but this baby has been brought to tears by the power of music. This video of 10-month-old Mary Lynne Leroux reacting emotionally when her mother sings Rod Stewart’s My Heart Can’t Tell You No has gone viral with millions of likes. And since we’re inclined to believe that 10-month-old babies can’t fake their emotions, we know that it’s true love!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
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| The skull of Titanoboa was used to reconstruct the fearsome predator |
A terrifying 48-foot, 2,500lb predator that slithered through rainforests 60 million years ago has been brought back to life by the Smithsonian.
In the wake of the dinosaurs, other predators battled for supremacy. Titanoboa was the biggest - a huge snake that would dwarf any anaconda, and which is the undisputed largest in history.
The Smithsonian has recreated the terrifying beast in a new TV show which explores a question that puzzled scientists - why the snake grew so large.
Scroll down for video
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| Scientists at the Smithsonian have recreated Titanoboa in a video aimed at exploring why the snake grew to its huge 48-foot length and 2500lb bulk |
The Smithsonian Channel has created a film that chronicles the discovery of the 48 foot long and 2,500 pound snake that existed more than 60 million years ago - and recreates what the predator might have looked like.
The film has been promoted with a life-size statue which was on show in New York's Grand Central.
Dr. Jonathan Bloch, a paleontologist and curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History was part of the team that unearthed Titanoboa's fossils.
The snake vertebrae were discovered in an area that is believed to have been an ancient rainforest from the Paleocene epoch.
Snake skulls are almost never found as they are extremely fragile and they usually disintegrate.
‘One of the questions we had was why did it get so large and we think that the answer is because it was much warmer in the tropics during that time.
'Titanoboa was the largest predator on land after the extinction of the dinosaurs for at least 10 million years, maybe longer, so this was a major predator on the earth after the extinction of dinosaurs,’ Bloch explained.
The fossilised remains were found in an open cast mine in Cerrejon, Colombia with turtles and crocodiles.
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| Anaconda (1997): Titanoboa would have been bigger than any anaconda that has ever lived |
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| Titanoboa cerrejonensis measured 48 feet, weighed as much as a car, and had a body more than a yard thic. The monster relative of the boa constrictor lived in northern Colombia 60 million years ago |
Before the discovery, there had been no fossil vertebrates - or animals with back bones - between 65million and 55million years ago in tropical South America.
Dr Jason Head, of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, in Washington DC, said: 'Now we have a window into the time just after the dinosaurs went extinct and can actually see what the animals replacing them looked like.'
He added: 'This colossal, boa constrictor-like creature stretched longer than a city bus and weighed more than a car. It's the biggest snake the world has ever known.
Friday, November 8, 2013
"DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS PRANK!!! VERY DANGEROUS!! WE ARE TRAINED IDIOTS" - Says author of video.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
When a train can travel at the same speed as a commercial jet, you know want to change your idea of travel. Floating by at 311mph: Japanese ‘Maglev’ bullet train undergoes its first successful test run.
The trains uses magnetic levitation technology instead of wheels.
The Tokyo to Nagoya travel time will be cut from 90 minutes to 40 minutes thanks to this bullet train. Now that’s what you call high-speed rail!
Tooth decay happens when bacteria in your mouth consume the sugars we eat. Now, add cola soda, both regular and diet, which contains different types of acid and sugars, and you have yourself a mixture that can break down tooth enamel and affect other organs in your body. If you think about it, every time you take a sip of a cola you get around twenty seconds or so of an acid attack on your teeth…yikes.
In the video, a boiled egg is placed in a cup and over it cola soda is poured, enough to cover it. A year goes by and the eggshell is completely dissolved. Teeth, bones, and eggshells both contain calcium carbonate and the same proteins. Now, no one will probably hold cola in their mouth for a year, but the point is to look at how the acids in the cola affected the eggshell; the more your teeth and organs are exposed to cola you can imagine the effect it has on them with time.
In a perfect world everyone’s choice of beverage would be simply, H2O, good ole water, but since that is not the case there are some things you can do to help your teeth not be as affected by the acids in a cola. Keep your mouth moist; no one likes a dry mouth. Saliva contains components that help maintain and repair enamel. After drinking a soda, go ahead and swish some water in your mouth and chew on a piece of sugar-free gum; chewing gum fuels saliva production. Now, go ahead and watch as a Coca Cola liquid soda dissolves an eggshell.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
A growth spurt at 101-years-old? Could it be true?
Zhang Ruifang, of Linlou village, in central Chinas Henan province, noticed a small lump on her forehead last year.
But it is now six centimetres long and a small lump has now appeared on the other side of her forehead.
Her youngest son, Zhang Guozheng, 60, said the horn started as a patch of thick, rough skin on the left side of her forehead.
We didnt pay too much attention to it at first, he said. But as time went on it just grew and grew.
And now there is something growing on the right side of her forehead and it seems quite possible that its another horn.
Zhang has seven children six boys and a girl and many grandchildren. Her eldest son is 82-years-old.
The family live in a rural area and dont have the money to send her to hospital but they say she is in no pain and enjoys a peaceful life.
The condition is known as a cutaneous horn, which is an uncommon deformity. Composed of keratin, these horns usually develop in elderly adults, particularly those who have had a history of sun exposure. Still, a growth of this size is rare. In more than half of the cases, they are benign but they can be cancerous. The horns can be surgically removed but without treating their cause, they may return.
"I struggle with my temper."
"I wish I was better at taking time to sit down with my child."
"I wish I was more confident."
Sound familiar? Motherhood comes with doubts. From the moment you hold your first baby at the hospital, and wonder if you've got her cradled the right way to the day your child calls from college with all the questions. There is no map. We're raising little humans here, and it is scary. And some days, the only voice in your head is the one screaming, You don't know what you're doing.
Except you do.
The women in this video were asked a simple question -- to describe themselves as mothers. They expressed those concerns listed above. Then, their kids answered.
Press play. Send it to all the mamas you know. Most importantly, believe it.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
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These cows don’t belong to any particular breed. They are show calves, a cross between two different high-quality breeds, bred for bovine show-business. That means that apart from their genetic characteristics, owners go out of their way to make sure the cows look their best.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
While on tour a few nights ago at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA, singer Selena Gomez starts jumping during one of her songs and jumped right off the stage and into the audience. Thank goodness the stage was not high.
The dance mishap happens at about 3 1/2 minutes into the video. This lucky fan not only caught the singer having a bit of a problem on stage, but something else that no one has brought up…she wasn’t really singing!
Selena Gomez Falls Off The Stage
Monday, October 14, 2013
While some ran out of the shop, others proceeded to film her on their mobile phones.
However, the girl - and a number of the punters sitting in the shop - were in fact actors, and were involved in a hidden camera prank to promote the forthcoming Carrie remake.
The movie is about a young girl from a troubled background who discovers she has the power to move objects.
The new film stars Chloe Moretz as Carrie and Julianne Moore as her mother, it will be released later this year.
Friday, October 11, 2013
A 33 stone man who was so depressed about being overweight that he tried to end his own life has lost a staggering 18 stone - and so dramatic is his transformation that he is now nicknamed Mr Muscles.
Mike Waudby weighed 22 stone by the age of 21 and by the time he was 29 he tipped the scales at 33 stone.
Morbidly obese Mike became so down about his weight that he took an overdose to end his suffering.
Scroll down for video
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| Lost control: Mike weighed so much that he lived his life slumped in a chair drinking alcohol he ordered off the internet |
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| Toned: The personal trainer from Hull, Yorks lost 18 stone over 18 months and is now nicknamed Mr Muscles |
Now a personal trainer and nicknamed Mr Muscles, Mike, 31, is urging others not to get into the same situation he found himself in.
He said: 'By the age of 21, I weighed 22 stone. I used to go out but, one night, a girl came up to me and asked me to leave the bar I was in. I asked why and she told me I was making her and her friends feel sick.
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| Before and after: Left, Mike was once asked to leave a bar by a group of girls who told him cruelly he was making them 'feel sick'. Right, Mike is now fighting fit and says he's been given a 'new lease of life' |
Hiding from the world in his bedroom, Mike would order alcohol online and have it delivered to his home, wasting his days watching television and browsing the internet.
He said: 'One night, while listening to Guns N’ Roses, I thought to myself, "What kind of a life is this?"
'I had terrible pains and I was too scared to go to the gym and do anything about my weight, as people pointed and laughed at me in the street.
'I thought, "stuff it", and drank two bottles of whisky, eight cans of Stella and as many tablets as I could find.
'I remember waking up, no headache, no pains, just a sickening feeling that I was still here and not dead.'
Then, one night, reality set in for Mike and he decided it was time to take control of his life.
'I had wasted everything and lost everything and the only person who could do something was me,' he said.
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| Mike, now 13 stone with a muscular physique, initially lost weight using just a cross-trainer in his room |
Mike ordered a cross-trainer on the internet, set it up in his room and set to work.He gradually built up his stamina to three one-hour sessions a day and stopped drinking altogether.
Mike said: 'Every session on the cross-trainer ended up with me taking my XXXXL dripping wet T-shirt off and just looking down at my belly crying. But, each time, I picked myself up and carried on.'
It took 18 months for Mike, now 31, to lose 18 stone. But he was still left with a major problem – his loose skin.
'I felt just as disgusting as I did when I was 33 stone. I needed to do something, and I ended up paying for skin on my stomach and upper arms to be removed.'
The operation removed some of the excess skin but Mike was not satisfied with the end result.
Mike decided to join a gym to tone up properly - and enjoyed working out so much he strove to make it his career.
Now, Mike, who says he is still getting used to his new body shape, has qualified as a personal trainer and is looking for his first clients.
He has also found a girlfriend, Morgan, and says: 'Losing weight has not only given me a new lease of life, it has actually given me a life,' he said.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
In Dove's latest move in its campaign to promote "Real Beauty," the activist personal care company got creative, distributing a downloadable photoshop action called "Beautify." But there's a twist - instead of changing the image, the action actually reverts photoshopped images back to their original, natural state. We love the outside-the-box thinking to spread such a positive message.
Can't sleep? You need a father like this!
When his adorable four-year-old girl couldn't sleep because she thought she could hear fireworks, this dad created a musical diversion. Super cute.
When his adorable four-year-old girl couldn't sleep because she thought she could hear fireworks, this dad created a musical diversion. Super cute.
Do you dream of flying? This viral video - captured on a GoPro camera strapped to an eagle's back - will make you feel like you can, and it's just beautiful.
Ready for take-off?
The trick for self empowerment? Take it from Jessica, an amazingly adorable young girl who tells herself in the morning how lucky she is and how well she's doing. Try this - it may work for you, too.
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