Clipmarks | hitchhiker08's 'africa' clips

Miracle: The Coolest Fruit On Earth

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:25:49 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Miraculous! "a fruit that when eaten, renders sour foods sweet."

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

The Coolest Fruit On Earth

Written by new contributor, Sonia Dong

The wonders of the natural world never cease to amaze. Imagine: a fruit that when eaten, renders sour foods sweet. It’s like the Midas touch of food, and it actually exists.

Dubbed miracle fruit, this small red berry hailing from West Africa is the star performer at “flavour tripping parties” organized by Franz Aliquo in the United States. Bartenders have also been experimenting with the fruit to create new cocktails, and UK art magazine Cabinet has included it on the menu at their events.

At the ‘flavour tripping’ events, partygoers pop a red berry in their mouths, and for the next hour, limes taste like candy and vinegar like apple juice. Other choice eats at these parties include bananas, mustard, cheese, dark beer and cheap tequila.

The flavour-altering berry (or Synsepalum dulcificum, if you want to be technical), contains a protein called miraculin.

comes into contact with acids

result is a

sweet taste

Tags: miracle fruit, west africa, flavor tripping, synsepalum dulcificum, miraculin

South African President Mbeki to quit

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:55:24 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

South African President Mbeki to quit

Mbeki has been South African president since 1999.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- South African President Thabo Mbeki agreed Saturday to resign, clearing the way for his longtime political rival, Jacob Zuma, to run for the office next spring.

Mbeki plans to meet with his Cabinet on Sunday to discuss his decision, and some Cabinet members might leave in a show of solidarity.

The party's request to Mbeki came after a judge on September 12 threw out the corruption, fraud and racketeering case against Zuma, calling it invalid and accusing Mbeki's government of political interference in the case.

Zuma had been facing at least 15 years in jail if convicted of accepting bribes from a company that got a contract in a multibillion-dollar arms deal.

Mbeki, 66, succeeded Nelson Mandela as president in June 1999. Critics of Mbeki alleged he pushed for the corruption charges against Zuma.

Tags: south africa, johannesburg, zimbabwe, mbeki, zuma, nelson mandela

20 Visually Arresting but Threatened Forests

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:38:07 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: What a disaster...save our forests, plant trees

Clip Source: webecoist.com

20 Visually Arresting but Threatened Forests

1. Sherwood Forest

once a thick and dark mass of trees covering 100,000 acres is now a spartan 450 acres

2. Cork Bark Forest

cork bark forest of the Mediterranean is a case where industry actually preserves this unique biome

3. The Christmas Tree

what is left of the Fraser Fir in nature can be found in the majestic Great

4. Appalachian Hemlock Forests

5. The Cloud Forests

6. The California Old-Growth Forests

7. The Tongass: the Only Coastal Temperate Rainforest

8. The Inland Rainforest

9. The Great Bear Rainforest

10. The Daniel Boone National…Tree Farm

11. Oregon Heritage Forests

12. South America: the Murici Reserve

13. Mau Forest Complex

14. The Strangest Forest on Earth

15. Down Under

[Video]

16. Weld River Valley

17. The Sierra Nevada

18. North American Boreal Forest

19. Mauna Kea and Kilauea

20. Papua New Guinea: Gone in 13 Years?

There are dozens of additional threatened forests around the world, from unusual micro-biomes to the taiga to Russia to Africa and beyond.

Tags: forest, ecology, nature, deforestation

Lightning kills football team

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:16:11 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Although it happened a decade ago, does seem bizarre

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Lightning kills football team

All 11 members of a football team were killed by a bolt of lightning which left the other team unhurt, a Congolese newspaper has reported.

Thirty other people received burns at the match in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kinshasa daily newspaper L'Avenir said local opinion - known to believe in charms and spells - was divided over whether someone had cursed the team.

The first strike

In a similar incident at the weekend, a premier league soccer match in Johannesburg was brought to an abrupt end when lightning struck the ground.

Half the players from both teams - the Jomo Cosmos and the Moroka Swallows - dropped to the turf.

Several writhed on the grass holding their ears and their eyes. Spectators and coaching staff ran onto the pitch to help. Fortunately no-one was killed.

Tags: ligtning, phenomenon, strike, electrocution, south africa, africa, bizarre

Okapi: Africa's Unicorn Caught on Film

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:34:47 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Africa's Unicorn Caught on Film

The okapi, a creature so strange and rare it was once thought to be a unicorn, has been photographed for the first time in the wild.

The images were captured by a motion-triggered camera in Virunga National Park, deep in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

How "Africa's Unicorn" Hides Itself

Biologists think the zebra-like stripes of the okapi -- a.k.a. Africa's unicorn, just photographed for the first time in the wild -- provide camouflage in its dense jungle home.

But as I looked at the photographs, I wasn't impressed: the okapi clearly stood out. Then I remembered that other animals don't have human vision. Cats -- including okapi-hunting leopards -- have evolved to see in low light, but at the expense of some color detection.

The okapi at right definitely seems to blend with its background -- but maybe I'm biased. What do you think,

Tags: okapi, unicorn, africa, camouflage, reclusive, extinct

Top 10 endangered languages

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:08:26 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: So much to learn...

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peter K Austin's top 10 endangered languages

The linguistics professor and author shares a personal selection from the thousands of languages on the brink of disappearing

So how to choose a top 10 from more than 3,000 endangered languages?

take into account four factors: (1) geographical coverage

(2) scientific interest

3) cultural interest

(4) social impact

1. Jeru

Jeru (or Great Andamanese) is spoken by fewer than 20 people on the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

2. N|u (also called Khomani)

a Khoisan language spoken by fewer than 10 elderly people

in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa

3. Ainu

spoken by a small number of old people on the island of Hokkaido

4. Thao

central Taiwan is the home of the Thao language, now spoken by a handful of old people

5. Yuchi

spoken in Oklahoma, USA, by just five people all aged over 75

6. Oro Win

in western Rondonia State, Brazil

7. Kusunda

hunter-gatherers from western Nepal

8. Ter Sami

9. Guugu Yimidhirr

10. Ket

spoken along

eastern Siberia

Tags: languages, linguistics, tribes, extinct, geographical, scientific, cultural, social

'Blood oil' dripping from Nigeria

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:51:48 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: An interesting story...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

'Blood oil' dripping from Nigeria

Oil company employees are suspected of selling their skills to oil bunkerers

Under cover of night dozens of barges queue up to dock at a jetty in a creek somewhere in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta.

Full, they chug downstream to meet around 10 larger ships near the oil export terminal in Bonny, Rivers State, where they disgorge their cargo.

This is an industry that makes £30m ($60m) a day, they'd kill you, me, anyone, in order to protect it

Analyst close to former government of Olusegun Obasanjo

According to Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua this is "blood oil", akin to the trade in "blood diamonds" that fuelled bloody civil wars in West African neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Gordon Brown promised to help Nigeria tackle the unrest in the Delta

ILLEGAL BUNKERING

Oil theft costs Nigeria an estimated $5bn (£2.5bn) every year

Estimates of how many barrels of oil are stolen range from 70,000 to 500,000

Nigeria has proven reserves of over 31bn barrels

Tags: oil, nigeria, illegal, bunkering, theft, abuja, africa

The Starving Billionaires

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:03:48 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Hard to believe, Zimbabwe was once among the richest countries in Africa.

Clip Source: www.wackyarchives.com

The Starving Billionaires

perhaps the only country where being a billionaire doesn’t mean hot chicks, cool wheels and a big house. The $100 billion banknote recently introduced in Zimbabwe is equal to just one U.S. dollar.

Here’s how a lot of money and little value looks like!

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Zimbabwe introduces Z$100bn note

In January, the bank introduced a Z$10m note

Some Zimbabweans are already calling for higher denominations in a country where the official annual inflation rate has exceeded 2,200,000%.

Daily bread

But Zimbabwe residents say the latest note is already worthless, and does not even cover their daily lunch.

"Nowadays, for my expenses a day, I need about Z$500 billion," one resident said.

"So Z$100 billion can't do anything because for me to go home I need Z$250 billion, so this [note] is worthless."

Zimbabwe was once one of the richest countries in Africa.

Clip Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Zimbabweans wonder if a deal between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition can end post-election violence.

Tags: zimbabwe, robert mugabe, inflation, violence

Leopard savaging a crocodile caught on camera

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:05:21 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: The ways of wildlife are difficult to comprehend - even if the cats always lose out it never prevents them from estimating their strength against adversaries....

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Leopard savaging a crocodile caught on camera

The astonishing spectacle of a leopard savaging a crocodile has been captured for the first time on camera.

pictures taken at a South African game reserve

first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles.

The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby.

the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat.

Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it.

Mr Brindley said: 'I asked many rangers in South Africa if they had ever heard of anything like this and they all said no.

"It just doesn't make sense. The meat you get out of a crocodile is just not worth the risk it takes a predator to acquire. The whole scene happened in the course of about 5 minutes. Then the leopard was gone.

Tags: wildlife, crocodile, leopards, big cats, reptiles, alligators, predators, hunting, reserve, south africa

Boycotting and Banning: The Real Olympic Sports

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:37:33 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Damn ban thank you man?!
Well, this is just not cricket!

My apologies:
These did not get clipped:
Below the 1st image:
1920 – Antwerp, Belgium

Above the 2nd image:
1936 – Berlin, Germany

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

Boycotting and Banning: The Real Olympic Sports
by David Holzel - July 17, 2008 - 5:02 AM

defeated powers—Germany (where the 1916 Games were to have been held), Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey—did not receive an invitation to play.

Soviet Union

chose not to attend

Hitler promised not to exclude German Jews from the national team

the Reich Sports Field was draped in swastikas.

1948 – London, UK

Germany and Japan—were not invited

Soviet Union chose not to attend

Israel also was not invited

1956 – Melbourne, Australia

Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq boycotted to protest the Israeli invasion

Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland boycotted to protest the Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungary

1964 – Tokyo, Japan

Indonesia and North Korea boycotted

IOC also banned South Africa

1972 – Munich, West Germany

No boycotts, just hostage-taking and murder.

1976 – Montreal, Quebec

New Zealand

banned from the Montreal Games

26 nations, most in Africa, staged a boycott.

China

sat out the Montreal Games.

60 nations joined the boycott

Tags: olympics, apartheid, war, occupation, refugees, games, athletics, terrorism

Fishing In Nigeria

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:26:44 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Captions are unnecessary here...but I do think this is some sort of festival looking at the turnout anybody who can add some light?! I do believe in this case the fish caught a lot of people!!

Clip Source: thecontaminated.com

Fishing In Nigeria

Tags: nigeria, fishing, population, africa, poverty

The Goat Tower

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:25:34 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: 'A select group of these goats have the privilege of living in the tower.' Let's baa(ow) to that!

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Goat Tower

at Fairview Wine and Cheese estate is a landmark in the Paarl winelands of South Africa.

built in 1981 by Fairview owner Charles Back and has become the farm's most identifiable symbol and aspect of their brand

A select group of these goats have the privilege of living in the tower.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Other goat towers

Norway - In 2006 a farmer from Ekeby in Norway approached Fairview owner Charles Back requesting permission to build a replica of Fairview's tower on his farm in Scandinavia. The Paarl tower was measured and photographed and the replica tower was completed in 2007, with Charles Back travelling to Norway to officially open the tower.^[2]
United States - Illinois farmer Dave Johnson built his 31 foot tall goat tower in Shelbyville county after seeing an article on Fairview in the magazine Wine Spectator. ^[3]

Clip Source: www.farmsteadcheesesandwines.com

see the Goat Tower, a fanciful medieval styled tower with an outdoor spiral staircase, loaded with goats!!

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

fairview winery in stellenbosch, south africa

Tags: goats, animals, sheep, cheese, south africa, watch tower, wines, vineyards, bizarre

12 Monuments Dedicated to Amazing Women

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:55:02 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08

Clip Source: weburbanist.com

12 Monuments Dedicated to Amazing Women: From Joan of Arc to the Working Women of Amsterdam

In Zalongo, northwestern part of Greece, lies a grandiose monument dedicated to the Women of Kassope

on the Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, The Famous Five or The Valiant Five statues

n the memory of

the women’s rights movement in Canada in 1920s, because at that time women weren’t allowed to vote.

Queen Victoria

monument was sculpted 40 years later by Louis-Philippe Hébert, from Quebec

Unknown Woman Worker monument is located in Belfast, UK,

emblematic figure in French history

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc)

National Women’s Monument or the Vrouemonument from Bloemfontein, South Africa

dedicated to

27,000 martyr women who died during the Boer War

Rosenstrasse monument

old Jewish quarter of Berlin

Dulcinea,

Located in Madrid, Spain

Sybil Ludington,

in Carmel, New York,

Molly Pitcher

in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

New York State Women Veterans Memorial

Madison Avenue

Red Light District Statue in Amsterdam

Tags: monuments, women, memorials, joan of arc, heroines, womens lib, womanhood

10 Funniest Typos

Sat, 31 May 2008 17:17:32 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Yikes!

Clip Source: www.oddee.com

10 Funniest Typos ever

"... in the office may be assfisting me on behalf of..."

Yes, "assfisting" instead of "assisting". On a legal pap

How in the world could a man end up with a typographical error tattooed on his chest?

Michael Duplessis, an auto mechanic, filed a lawsuit saying that in April 2005, tattoo artist Sam Hacker inked "Chi-tonw" on his chest where he had asked for "Chi-town"

"...in the middle of the road ejaculating..."

"I have a Draem"

Screen shot taken from a news report aired on Martin Luther King Day in January 2007 by Corpus Christi, Texas, station KIII-TV.

"SOTP"

In Africa

"Not a Through Toad"

Toads, unite!

Tags: typographical errors, english, spelling, humor

Find The Chameleon in 20 Seconds!

Fri, 30 May 2008 18:26:48 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Hope you find it unlike me?! After you give up, please look at my comment below...err... finders keepers!

Clip Source: www.eyje.com

Find The Chameleon in 20 Seconds!

Amazing Chamelon Camouflage on a tree

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are squamates that belong to one of the best-known lizard families.

Distribution and habitat

More than 160 species of Chameleons are known, arranged in nine genera. The main distribution of Chameleons is in Africa and Madagascar, and other tropical regions, although some species are also found in parts of southern Europe and Asia. There are introduced, feral populations of veiled and Jackson's chameleons in Hawaii and isolated pockets of feral Jackson's chameleons have been reported in California and Florida.

A male chameleon at Madagascar

[edit] Reproduction

Chameleons are mostly oviparous, some being ovoviviparous.

The oviparous species lay eggs after a 3-6 week gestation period.

West Usambara Two-Horned Chameleon (Kinyongia multituberculata) in the Usambara mountains, Tanzania.

All chameleon species are able to change their skin color

Tags: chameleon, chamaeleonidae, lizard, squamates