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RETHINKING THE DEFINITION OF INTELLIGENCE (Scott)
There’s no doubt octopuses (octopi?) are fascinating creatures – ink-squirting, eight-legged oddities without skeletons, yet with scarily human eyes. Did you realise they also have beaks, deadly venom, can change colour, taste with their suckers and see with their skin? Most intriguing of all is that they have incredible intellect which science is only beginning to fathom – and which poses philosophical questions about what we consider a ‘mind’.
As this elegant and thought-provoking article puts it: “When you gaze into the eye of a giant octopus, don’t underestimate what’s going on inside that big, squishy head.”
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6474/
STARS REBORN (GAYNOR)
I have a slight obsession with ‘old’ Hollywood and love reading about the different film icons of our time. The Daily Mail has done a feature which compares the stars of our day to some of the fabulous and troubled movie stars of 40’s and 50’s. It’s actually quite spooky to see how alike some of them are especially when you look at Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney and his silver screen counterpart Carey Grant. But can it be said that the modern day icons share the talent of the stars of yesteryear? Have a look at the scary likenesses of some of the most famous movie stars. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2057395/A-star-reborn–todays-icons-measure-classic-lookalikes.html
JUST A QUICK FILE AND POLISH PLEASE! (Emma)
Every girl enjoys going to a salon to get their nails done but by the time Chris Walton had had hers filed and polished she would have to take the day off. The 45 year old glamorous grandmother’s nails are a record breaking combined length of 6meters. She is officially in the Guinness world records for having the world’s longest nails. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t imagine how she does anything. Have a look at the twisting and turning nails for yourself. http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/a-las-vegas-woman-has-made-the-guinness-book-of-records-for-her-six-metre-long-fingernails/story-e6frflri-1226137495243
GUINNESS UNVEILS NEWEST WORLD RECORDS (Adrian)
You’ve got to love the Guinness Book of Records. For decades it’s been the source of all knowledge relating to the weirdest, most wonderful feats of humanity – and one of my favourite resources for bizarre facts. The book itself a popular stocking filler even today, while its online database of record breakers keeps growing and growing as more crazy people achieve their goals. With the launch of the 2012 edition, MSNBC has now showcased a selection of the newest record holders in this slideshow – and there are some crackers on display here. My personal favourite has to be “Most steps walked down by a dog facing forwards balancing a glass of water”. A wonderfully pointless achievement. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44531570/ns/today-books/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1
TREEHOUSE CAFÉ (Aimee)
The lands of the Far East never fail to bring us something unusual and this nugget of news is no different! The Japanese have taken the tree house concept one step further and made it an object which can be even more sociable by creating a tree house café! Naha Harbor Diner is perfectly plonked on top of a massive Gajumaru tree overlooking the ocean between branches that reach about 20ft above the ground. If it doesn’t look impressive enough it is accessible from within the trunk via a spiral stairway and an inbuilt elevator! An inbuilt tree trunk elevator!?!? That’s impressive! If it was mine I’d have people leveraging it up with a bucket and rope device! The restaurant specialises in locally grown and organically harvested foods brought straightaway from the farms and has a rep for serving some top notch Asian food which is considered the best in all of Okinawa.Ticket please!!!!!!!http://cubeme.com/blog/2008/10/29/japanese-tree-house-naha-harbor-diner-okinawa/
