Before I post another entry of Hong Kong, like to share this funny clip found on the net. Especially dedicated to cat-loving friends Melody, Germaine and Dawn.
Watch till the end, it’s worth the wait. Heh heh heh…
Here’s another one. Poor kittehhhhss
And here’s a link to Mean Kitty. Enjoy!
Need to go north? Look which way the cows are pointing because they ‘align with Earth’s magnetic field’
By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 9:45 AM on 26th August 2008
If you’re lost in the countryside without a compass, don’t panic.
Just look for a herd of cows and see which way they are pointing.
After monitoring the behaviour of thousands of cattle, scientists have found that they tend to face north after aligning themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Nature’s compass: Scientists claim cows tend to face north to align themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field
The astonishing ability appears to be a relic of the days when the wild ancestors of today’s domesticated cattle used inbuilt compasses to find their way across the plains of Africa, Asia and Europe on long migrations.
The finding – based on satellite images of cattle all over the world – has astonished farmers and animal behaviourists.
Although cows are famed for their ability to forecast rain hours in advance, their talent for navigating has so far gone overlooked.
Dozens of species of animals use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate – including birds, turtles, termites and salmon.
Udderly amazing: Animals are thought to use internal magnets – made of crystals of magnetite – to find their way around
The ability is also found in some mammals including rats and bats.
Animals are thought to use internal magnets – made of crystals of magnetite – to find their way around.
Homing pigeons, for instance, have a tiny blob of these crystals in their beaks.
Dr Sabine Begall and colleagues from the University of Duisburg-Essen used Google Earth to find images of cattle in worldwide locations including Britain, Ireland, India and the U.S.
They also directly observed almost 3,000 deer in the Czech Republic.
The deer tended to face north when either resting or grazing, and while the satellite images of the cattle were not detailed enough to show which way they were facing, their bodies were clearly aligned in a north-south direction.
This suggested that they were behaving in the same way as their close relatives, the deer.
Because the direction of the wind and sunlight varied hugely in the different locations, the scientists were able to rule out weather and the position of the sun as an explanation.
‘We conclude that the magnetic field is the only common and most likely factor responsible for the observed alignment,’ the researchers wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Gywn Jones, who has kept dairy cattle for 25 years in West Sussex, confirmed: ‘They know what weather to expect in advance.
‘Beef cattle will head up to higher altitudes if the weather is going to good.
‘My dairy cattle have their favourite fields where they go if it is going to be sunny.
‘I let mine go in and out, and if it’s going to be wet they head inside.
‘In rough weather they like to have their backs to the wind. But I’ve not noticed a preference for facing north.’
15. Wake the dead!
If your hand falls asleep while you’re driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It’ll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don’t let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.
16. Impress your friends!
Next time you’re at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He’ll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that’s a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will fold like a house of cards. By misaligning his hips, you’ve offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body’s ability to resist.
17. Breathe underwater!
If you’re dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first—essentially, hyperventilate. When you’re underwater, it’s not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it’s the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin’ ain’t right. “When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity,” says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. “This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen.” It’ll buy you up to 10 seconds.
18. Read minds!
Your own! “If you’re giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep,” says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.
10. Unstitch your side!
If you’re like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.
11. Stanch blood with a single finger!
Pinching your nose and leaning back is a great way to stop a nosebleed—if you don’t mind choking on your own O positive. A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums—just behind that small dent below your nose—and press against it, hard. “Most bleeds come from the front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose,” says Peter Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in Durban, South Africa. “Pressing here helps stop them.”
12. Make your heart stand still!
Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. It’ll get your heart rate back to normal.
13. Thaw your brain!
Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. “Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too,” says Abo. “In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache.” The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.
14. Prevent near-sightedness!
Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma, Washington. “It’s usually caused by near-point stress.” In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles—like the eyes—into relaxing as well.
