"Worst" Animal Moms?

                    "Worst" Animal Moms?                   

Burying Beetle Mom: Conscientious Cannibal?

Mother's Day honors the bond between mom and child, but many animal mothers are more Mommie Dearest than Mom of the Year--at least at first glance. Take the burying beetle ...

She's a "bad" mom because ... she eats her young in a deadly game of musical chairs.

Burying beetle larvae typically move into a mouse carcass their mother and father have buried. The mother feeds her young by eating the carcass and regurgitating the mouse meat.

"The little larvae wave back and forth, begging to mom," said Scott Forbes, University of Winnipeg biologist and author of A Natural History of Families.

"The first ones get fed, but the very last one sitting there begging [after the portion runs out] gets eaten by the mother."

Give Mom a break, because ... burying beetle mothers are likely culling their brood to match the food supply. The beetles typically produce broods bigger than the carcass can support. A bit of strategic cannibalism boosts overall survival chances for the larvae left "standing" when the music stops.

Giant Panda Mom: Playing Favorites, Fatally?

She's a "bad" mom because ... panda mothers sometimes have two babies--but they rarely raise more than one.

"Pandas have good press, but they [can be] bad moms," Forbes said. Pandas' second offspring, helpless and about the size of a stick of butter, are typically left to their fate in the wild.

Give Mom a break, because ... As the "favored" offspring gets bigger, he or she takes a lot of attention and eats a lot of bamboo. Mothers probably wouldn't be able to provide for two offspring during the eight to nine months until they are fully weaned, Forbes said.

"One robust offspring is probably better than two weak ones later on," he said, "so the quality control occurs early on when it's cheap before you've invested lots of resources."

Hamster Mom: Again With the Cannibalism?

She's a "bad" mom because ... despite their cuddly appearance, hamster moms can be cold-blooded killers—they often eat their own young.

Give Mom a break, because ... she was planning for the best, and now she's just dealing with the rest.

Forbes believes hamster moms practice "parental optimism" by creating broods bigger than they may be able to rear.

"They don't know how much food is going to be out there," he said. "They create a litter with a few spare offspring to ensure high-quality young even if [food is scarce] or there are developmental defects in others."

Black Eagle Mom: Can't Be Bothered

She's a "bad" mom because ... she won't stop sibling squabbles--even though they often turn deadly.

Black eagle nest mates have violent battles, Forbes said, "and the parents just stand by as the oldest sibling murders the youngest.

"It's infanticide by proxy--a cooperative arrangement between the older sibling and the mother, who is perfectly happy to watch."

Give Mom a break, because ... though their indifference seems unconscionable, the eagles are practicing something seen in many bird species. The deadly sibling squabbles likely help to allocate food resources and ensure the survival of the fittest offspring.

As is often the case with apparent neglect among animals, Mom may not be minding the kids, but she does seem to be looking out for the species.

Hooded Grebe Mom: Favoring the Firstborn

She's a "bad" mom because ... she abandons "castaway" chicks. Mother grebes build floating nests of rotting vegetation where both parents incubate two eggs until one hatches.

But "once that first chick hatches, [the parents and baby] swim away from the nest and leave the other chick all by its lonesome," Forbes explained. "They are just interested in getting one successful chick off the nest."

Give Mom a break, because ... grebe mothers are simply producing an "insurance offspring"--at least one baby will survive even if there's a problem with the primary chick. "It's pretty routine in large predatory birds," Forbes noted.

Long-Tailed Skink Mom: Self-Absorbed Pessimist?

She's a "bad" mom because ... even though "Mother of the Year" candidates are scarce among reptiles, this lizard is a standout among callous moms. If the skink mother lays a clutch of eggs when there's lots of predators around, she's likely to eat her brood before they hatch.

Give Mom a break, because ... the skink is probably saving her young from an inevitable fate while making herself stronger to ensure another chance to reproduce, Forbes said.

"She may decide that because of all the predators, there is no chance of her eggs making it, so she's going to eat them to recycle the nutrients."

Rabbit Mom: Absentee Parent

She's a "bad" mom because ... rabbit mothers abandon their young in burrows immediately after birth and return to feed them for only about two minutes daily during their first 25 days. After this brief bout of "drive-by" parenting, young rabbits are left to fend for themselves.

Give Mom a break, because ... rabbits are tasty, and predators especially enjoy feasting on helpless newborns. Mothers likely avoid their young to keep their underground locations secret--and their precious progeny alive.

Though mother-child "quality time" is limited, increased odds of survival may be the greatest gift of all--a little something to remember this Mother's Day 2009.

           Last 20 Miss World Titleholders

Kaiane Aldorino – Miss World for 2009, Gibraltar

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Here is list of women who won Miss World title in last twenty years.

Ksenia Sukhinova – Miss World for 2008, Russia

Zhang Zilin – Miss World for 2007, China

Taťána Kuchařová – Miss World for 2006, Czech Republic

Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir – Miss World for 2005, Iceland

María Julia Mantilla – Miss World for 2004, Peru

Rosanna Diane Davison – Miss World for 2003, Ireland

Azra Akin – Miss World for 2002, Turkey

Agbani Darego – Miss World for 2001, Nigeria

Priyanka Chopra – Miss World for 2000, India

Yukta Mookhey – Miss World for 1999, India

Linor Abargil – Miss World for 1998, Israel

Diana Hayden – Miss World for 1997, India

Irene Skliva – Miss World for 1996, Greece

Jacqueline Aguilera – Miss World for 1995, Venezuela

Aishwarya Rai – Miss World for 1994, India

Lisa Hanna – Miss World for 1993, Jamaica

Julia Alexandrovna Kourotchkina – Miss World for 1992, Russia

Ninibeth Beatriz Leal Jiménez – Miss World for 1991, Venezuela

Gina Marie Tolleson – Miss World for 1990, United States

Ten Most Mysterious Ancient Discoveries

    Ten Most Mysterious Ancient Discoveries      
Many strange archeological discoveries have been made in modern history. Hundreds of artifacts have been unearthed that have baffled scientists and challenged modern man’s view of history. Many of these objects have been labeled out of place artifacts or anachronisms. These archeological discoveries are always controversial and the scientific community is extremely selective in what they accept as fact. Every object on this list has been accused of being an elaborate hoax. In many cases, a conspiracy is the only explanation, without an extensive rewriting of the world’s history books. These artifacts tell a story of ancient civilizations, Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contracts, and mysterious technological advancements. Many of these archeological discoveries challenge the scientific theory of evolution, as well as many religious beliefs.

10. Acámbaro Figures

The Acámbaro Figures are a collection of small ceramic figurines allegedly found in Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico. They were discovered by Waldemar Julsrud in July of 1944. According to accounts, Julsrud stumbled upon the artifacts while riding his horse in the Acámbaro area. He hired a local farmer to dig up the remaining figures, paying him for each object he found. Eventually, the farmer and his assistants discovered over 32,000 figures, which included representations of everything from dinosaurs to people from all over the world, including Egyptians, Sumerians, and bearded Caucasians. The Acámbaro Figures have been cited as out of place artifacts, as they are clearly human made and portray a large variety of dinosaur species. According to all history books, humans did not live in the time of the dinosaurs. Upon the discovery of the figures, many creationists from all over the world proclaimed the artifacts legitimate. If these figures are genuine, it could stand as credible evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans, which would severely damage the theory of evolution and offer support for the literal interpretation of the Bible.

Attempts have been made to date these figures using Thermoluminescence, or TL dating, and the results suggested a date around 2500 BCE. A man named Don Patton claims he found radiocarbon dates for the figures ranging from 6500 years to 1500 years ago; however, the objects are in very good shape and show no characteristic evidence of having been in the ground for at least 1500 years. If they were authentic artifacts, they should be scratched and marred from the rocky soil, which is characteristic of other objects found in that area of Mexico. Other supporters of the figures claim that the incredible detail of the dinosaurs suggest a firsthand experience with the creatures. The sheer number of the figures discovered is often cited as evidence for a hoax. To date, no credible scholars of archaeology or paleontology accept the discovery as valid.

9. The Dropa Stones

In 1938, an archeological expedition was sent to investigate a secluded area of the Baian-Kara-Ula Mountains on the border that divides China and Tibet. The group discovered a series of caves at the summit of the mountains. The caves contained a large collection of graves and the walls were decorated with drawings of people with elongated heads together with images of the sun, moon, and stars. The archeologists uncovered the graves and discovered the remains of ancient beings. The skeletons were a little more than three feet tall, with abnormally large skulls. Inside of the tombs a collection of stone disks were recovered. The disks were almost twelve inches in diameter, with a hole in the center. The objects had a groove on the surface of the disk and spiraled outwards from the center hole forming a double spiral. Closer inspection showed that the grooves were actually a line of small carvings or signs.

The disks were labeled the Dropa Stones. Subsequent investigations have found a total of 716 Dropa Stones in the Baian-Kara-Ula Mountain caves. The Dropa Stones were sent to a variety of scholars for investigation. One of them, Professor Tsum Um Nui of the Beijing Academy for Ancient Studies, found that the spiral grooves were actually a line of characters written in an unknown language. In 1962, he announced that he had managed to translate the language. For a long time, the Peking Academy of Prehistory forbade the professor from publishing anything about the Dropa Stones. However, after many years of debate he published his hypothesis.

Tsum Um Nui claims that an alien spacecraft crashed in the Bayan Har Shan region 12,000 years ago. The occupants were aliens called Dropa or Dzopa. The Dropa could not repair their craft, so they tried to adapt to the conditions on Earth. Meanwhile, the local Ham tribesmen hunted down and killed most of the aliens. Supposedly, the aliens had intermarried with the locals, making identification of the origins of the skeletons more difficult. Many people have challenged these claims and Tsum Um Nui was forced to resign from the Beijing Academy. The Dropa Stones have been disappearing all over the world and are not available for public viewing at any museum. However, pictures of the artifacts do exist.

8. Horned Human Skull

Sayre is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, 59 miles northwest of Scranton. The exact year is not clear, but during the 1880s a large burial mound was discovered in Sayre. It was reported that a group of Americans uncovered several strange human skulls and bones. The skeletons belonged to anatomically normal men with the exception of bony projections located about two inches above the eyebrows. It appeared that the skulls had horns. The bones were characterized as giant, as they were representative of people over seven feet tall. Scientists estimated that the bodies had been buried around A.D. 1200. The archeological discovery was made by a reputable group of antiquarians, including Dr. G.P. Donehoo, the Pennsylvania state dignitary of the Presbyterian Church; A.B. Skinner, of the American Investigating Museum; and W.K.Morehead, of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts.

It was not the first time that gigantic horned skulls have been unearthed in North America. During the 19th century, similar skulls were discovered near Wellsville, New York and in a mining village close to El Paso, Texas. At one time in history, human horns were used as signs of kingship. Alexander the Great was depicted with horns on some of his coins. In Moses’ time, horns were a symbol of authority and power. Many gods, including Yahweh, have been depicted with horns. According to historical accounts, the Sayre bones were allegedly sent to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia. However, the artifacts were stolen and never seen again. Apparent pictures of the skulls do exist, but many people claim the discovery to be a hoax. Many websites suggest that the objects are of extraterrestrial origin.

7. Map of the Creator

In 1999, a professor at Bashkir State University in Russia named Alexander Chuvyrov made a remarkable archeological discovery. He was called to the house of Vladimir Krainov, who reported a strange slab buried in his backyard. Chuvyrov was instantly intrigued, as he had been searching for similar slabs that have been cited in various historical manuscripts. The slab was so heavy that it took over a week to unearth. The discovery was named the Dashka stone and later titled the Map of the Creator. The artifact is approximately 5 feet high, 3.5 feet wide, .5 feet thick, and weighs at least one ton. The stone was investigated and determined to be some sort of three-dimensional relief map of the Ural Region. Today’s military uses similar maps to measure elevation and terrain. The Dashka stone reportedly contains representations of civil engineering work, weirs, an irrigation system, and powerful dams. To date, the ancient technology used to make the map is unknown and extremely advanced.

The map also contains numerous inscriptions. At first, the scientists thought that it was an Old Chinese language, although it was later reported that the inscriptions were done in a hieroglyphic-syllabic language of unknown origin. A group of Russian and Chinese specialists in the fields of cartography, physics, mathematics, geology, chemistry, and Old Chinese language researched the artifact and were the ones that identified it as a map of Ural region, with rivers Belya, Ufimka, and Sutolka listed. Dating of the slab was reported to be over 100 million years old, but I couldn’t find any reliable resources citing evidence of what type of test was used or the exact results. If the Map of the Creator is genuine then it would suggest the existence of an ancient highly developed civilization. Researchers have claimed that a three-dimensional map of this order could have only been used for navigational purposes. Many websites claim that the slab is proof of ancient flight. Recent discoveries indicate that the slab is a piece of a larger artifact. The Dashka stone continues to undergo scientific testing and is not available for public viewing.

6. Aluminium Wedge of Aiud

The Aluminum Wedge of Aiud is a wedge-shaped object found two kilometers east of Aiud, Romania, on the banks of the Mures River in 1974. The object was reported to be unearthed 35 feet under sand and alongside two mastodon bones. A mastodon is an extinct large tusked mammal species. Physically, the artifact looked similar to the head of a hammer. The wedge was allegedly taken to the Archeological Institute of Cluj-Napoca to be examined, where it was found to be made of an alloy of aluminum encased in a thin layer of oxide. The alloy of the wedge is composed of 12 different elements. This artifact is considered strange because aluminum was not discovered until 1808 and not produced in quantity until 1885. Aluminium requires 1,000 degrees of heat to be made. The fact that the wedge was found in the same layer of earth as mastodon bones would make it at least 11,000 years old.

Many people have claimed that the artifact is proof that aliens visited Earth. Engineers have reported that the object resembles the foot of landing gear, not unlike the technology used on spaceships. The scientific community believes the wedge was made on earth and its purpose is not yet identified. Due to the limited amount of information that exists on the subject, the antiquity and origin of the artifact is unclear. The Aluminium Wedge of Aiud is not on display to the public and remains in an undisclosed location. However, pictures of the wedge do exist.

5. Los Lunas Decalogue Stone

The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a large boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 35 miles south of Albuquerque. The stone bears a regular inscription carved into a flat panel. The inscription is interpreted by some to be an abridged version of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments in a form of Paleo-Hebrew. A letter group resembling the tetragrammaton YHWH, or “Yahweh,” makes four appearances on the stone. The first recorded mention of the artifact is from 1933 when Professor Frank Hibben, an archaeologist from the University of New Mexico, reportedly saw it. Hibben was led to the stone by an unnamed guide who claimed to have found it as a boy in the 1880s. If this information is accurate, a forgery would be unlikely because the Paleo-Hebrew script was unknown to scholars in the 1880s.

One argument against the stone’s authenticity is the apparent use of Modern Hebrew punctuation, although epigrapher Barry Fell argued that the punctuation is consistent with antiquity. Other researchers dismiss the artifact based on the numerous stylistic and grammatical errors that appear in the inscription. The stone is controversial because many feel the artifact is Pre-Columbian and proof of early Semitic contact with the Americas, providing evidence that people from Israel settled in America. Because of the stone’s weight of over 80 tons, it was never moved to a museum or laboratory for study and safekeeping. The stone is accessible to visitors by purchasing a $25 Recreational Access Permit from the New Mexico State Land Office.

4. Piri Reis Map
 

The Topkap? Palace is a historical structure that is located in Istanbul, Turkey. The palace was the official and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years of their 600-year reign, from 1465 to 1856. In 1929, the Topkap? Palace was converted into a museum. Many ancient artifacts were found during the building’s reorganization and the Piri Reis map was discovered. The map drew immediate attention as it was one of the earliest maps of America, and the only 16th century map that shows South America in its proper longitudinal position in relation to Africa. The map is drawn on gazelle skin and was compiled in 1513 by Ottoman-Turkish military admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. The half of the map which survives shows the western coasts of Europe, North Africa, and the coast of Brazil. Various Atlantic islands, including the Azores and Canary Islands are shown, as is the mythical island of Antillia and possibly Japan.

The most puzzling aspect of the map is its depiction of Antarctica. According to the history books, the first confirmed sighting of Antarctica occurred in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Mikhail Lazarev and Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. The Piri Reis map not only shows a land mass near present day Antarctica, but it depicts Antarctica’s topography as not being masked by ice and in great detail. It has been estimated that Antarctica has been covered with ice for around 6000 years. Many people have raised the question, how could a Turksih admiral from half a millennium ago map a continent’s topography that has been covered with ice for thousands of years? Reports have been published claiming that the Ottoman Empire had knowledge of some form of ancient Ice Age civilization. However, these claims are generally considered to be pseudo-scholarship, and the scholarly opinion is that the region sometimes thought of as Antarctica is more likely Patagonia or the Terra Australis Incognita (Unknown Southern Land) widely believed to exist before the Southern Hemisphere was fully explored.

On the map, Piri Reis gives resource credit to a map drawn by Christopher Columbus, which has never been discovered. Geographers have spent several centuries unsuccessfully searching for a “lost map of Columbus” that was supposedly drawn while he was in the West Indies. After the discovery of the Piri Reis map, an unsuccessful investigation was launched to find the lost Columbus source map. The historical importance of the Piri Reis map lies in its demonstration of the extent of Portuguese knowledge of the New World in 1510. The Piri Reis map is currently located in the Library of the Topkap? Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, but is not currently on display to the public.

3. Giants of North America

In the last few centuries, many strange archeological discoveries have been made in the Americas. It seems that people are unearthing extremely unusual and giant human remains. Many documented accounts of these findings exist. Giant human remains are classified as any bones representative of a person between seven and twelve feet in stature. A human skeleton measuring 12 feet tall was unearthed at Lompock Rancho, California, in 1833 by soldiers digging a pit for a powder magazine. The specimen had a double row of teeth and was surrounded by numerous stone axes, carved shells, and porphyry blocks with abstruse symbols associated with it. In 1856, a decaying human skeleton measuring 10 feet 9 inches tall was unearthed by laborers plowing a vineyard in what is now West Virginia. A mound discovered near Toledo, Ohio in 1895 held 20 skeletons; they were seated and facing east with jaws and teeth “twice as large as those of present day people.” In 1928, a farmer digging a pit to bury trash near Waterproof, Louisiana unearthed a 9 foot 11 inch tall skeleton.

The list of these discoveries is quite extensive and many claims have been made about the origin of these giant bones, usually starting and ending with Sasquatch. Others have suggested an ancient race of giant humans. In 1947, a strange article was posted in a Nevada state newspaper, titled ‘Atlantis in the Colorado River Desert’. The article discussed an incredible archeological discovery of 32 underground caves within a 180 square mile radius. The report indicated that the caves were discovered close to the Nevada and California border. The remains of ancient, strangely costumed 8 -9 foot giants were inside. They had been laid to rest wearing the skins of unknown animals similar to sheepskins fashioned into jackets with pants described as “prehistoric suits.” The same burial place had been cited 10-15 years earlier by another man who supposedly made a deal with the Smithsonian. Claims have been made that the evidence of his find was stolen and covered up by Darwinian scientists to protect the theory of evolution.

The caves were reported to have been discovered by Dr. F Bruce Russell. He initially described the finding as the burial place of a tribal hierarchy. He felt that some unknown catastrophe had driven these beings into the caves. All of the implements of their civilization were there, including household utensils and stoves. Well-preserved remains of dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, imperial elephants, and other extinct beasts were found. No physical archeological evidence of these claims has ever been displayed. Photo: worth1ooo.com.

2. Kensington Runestone

 
In 1898, a Swedish American farmer named Olof Öhman claims to have discovered a large stone while clearing his land of trees and stumps. The object was attached to the roots of a small tree. Öhman didn’t realize what he had discovered, so he took the 200 pound stone to the prominent citizens of Kensington. Kensington was a settlement in Douglas County, Minnesota. The Kensington Runestone is full of ancient writing and carved text. It is thirty-one inches high, sixteen inches wide, and six inches thick. Nine years after the discovery of the artifact, Hjalmer R. Holand from Wisconsin University announced that he had deciphered the writings. He claims the text to read “8 Goths and 22 Norwegians on exploration journey from Vinland over the west. We camp by 2 skerries one day-journey from this stone. We were and fished one day. After we came home, 10 men red with blood and tortured. Hail Virgin Mary, save from evil. Have 10 men by the sea to look after our ship, 14 day -journeys from this island year 1362.”

After Holand published his findings, a massive investigation was conducted. If the translation is correct, the Kensington Runestone would provide evidence that Scandinavian explorers reached the middle of North America in the 14th century, nearly 130 years before Christopher Columbus. Basically, it raised eyebrows over the possibility that North European explorers predated Columbus in America. The runestone has been analyzed and dismissed repeatedly. Almost all runologists and linguists consider the artifact to be a hoax. However, many people believe it is authentic. If the legend on the stone is true, it means that Vikings were in central Minnesota in 1362. That would require a major rewriting of world history and geography. The Kensington inscription consists of thirty different runic characters.

In July 2000, just over a hundred years after the Kensington Runestone was found, a detailed physical analysis of the artifact was conducted. In November 2000, geologist Scott F. Wolter presented preliminary findings suggesting the stone had undergone an in-the-ground weathering process of a minimum of 50–200 years in natural conditions. Scott F. Wolter has written a number of books on the Kensington Runestone. He has suggested that the stone was made by the Vikings Knight Templar in 1362, fifty years after the dissolution of the Knight Templar and several hundred years after the end of the Viking age. He also claims that the North American expedition helped Columbus find his way around the West Indies in 1492. The artifact remains a mystery. You can view it at the Runestone Museum in downtown Alexandria, Minnesota.

1. The Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The linen is a full body portrait and measures 14 feet, 3 inches long by 3 feet, 7 inches wide. The shroud is wrapped in red silk and has been kept in a silver chest in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy since 1578. The origins of the artifact and its image have been the subject of intense debate among scientists, historians, and researchers. Believers contend that the shroud is the cloth that was placed on the body of Jesus Christ at the time of his burial, and that the face image is the Holy Face of Jesus. Detractors contend that the shroud cloth material postdates the crucifixion of Jesus by more than a millennium. In 1988, radiocarbon dating was done on the shroud in an attempt to determine the relic’s authenticity. The test indicated that the cloth was woven between 1260 and 1390 A.D, much later than the time of Jesus.

These results have been challenged by peer-reviewed journals and many critics have raised questions about the original nature of the sample used in the test. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud, but in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved the image in association with the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. On May 28, 1898, amateur Italian photographer Secondo Pia took the first photograph of the shroud and was startled by what he discovered. The negatives gave the appearance of a positive image, which implies that the shroud itself is a negative of some kind. Image analysis by scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory found that rather than being like a photographic negative, the image unexpectedly has the property of decoding into a 3-D image. This property could not be replicated by researchers. One theory is that the image on the shroud is simply painted on. Both skeptics and proponents tend to have very strong positions on the formation and discovery of the Shroud of Turin. At times the controversy is pitting science versus divine formation, which makes dialogue very difficult. The Shroud of Turin remains one of the most mysterious artifacts in the world.

10 Things Women Do Better Than Men

I am amazed at the number of studies that have found women better than men in various skills. Here is a list of 10 skills where women seem to be doing better than men.

Women drive better than men.

Well this reverses a social myth – that women are bad drivers. Carnegie Mellon University researchers found after analyzing a lot of traffic data in 2007 that men are 77% more likely to die in a car accident than women, keeping the miles driven constant. So next time when your husband asks you to hand over the car keys, just give him this article.

Women remember appearances better than men.

Some would say, “Why not? Don’t women pay all their attention to appearances?” Well, say what you may, but only a loser complains about somebody for being better than him! Terrence Horgan, research fellow in psychology at Ohio State University, and her co-researchers found in a study that women are more accurate in describing appearances after seeing people once. The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Women cooperate better than men.

We can see this everywhere, but still if you want a citation, here it is. A study by Rolf Kuemmerli and other researchers at Edinburgh and Lausanne universities indicated that women cooperate better than men. In the research, based on games played by 100 Swiss students, women cooperated with others almost twice as much as men did.

Women eat better than men.

This is probably not so obvious, for rarely do we notice gender differences in eating habits. A survey involving 14000 Americans, conducted by University of Minnesota, revealed that men are more likely to eat frozen pizza and meat, whereas women are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables.

Women perform better than men in timed tests.

So if time is precious, women are better at preserving it than men. A study by Vanderbilt University researchers in 2006 found that women score better in timed intelligence tests than men. The study, published in the May-June issue of the journal Intelligence, didn’t find much difference in un-timed tests, which meant women had a quicker mind.

Women perceive their relationships better than men.

Talk about relationships and most men will frown. Now you know why – they know so little about their relationships! A Hebrew University of Jerusalem study, after surveying 97 couples in the United States, found that women are more perceptive than men in describing their relationships. The study, published in ScienceDaily, reported that women were much more accurate in describing the perception of their partners than men.

Women communicate better than men.

This is now scientifically proven and acknowledged. Louann Brizendine, neuro-psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco, found in a study that women can process 20000 words a day compared to men’s 7000 words (Louann Brizendine,The Female Brain, Morgan Road Books). This difference, as per Brizendine’s study, is more biological than social, which starts as early as the fetal stage.

Women learn better than men.

That is why girls get better grades in school on an average than boys in many parts of the world. Dr Simone Kruger of Edge Hill University, UK, found in her research based on remote learners that women learners were more successful in sharing ideas and experiences with each other, and hence learn t more efficiently than men.

Women invest better than men.

You don’t believe it, do you? We all know fewer women invest in stocks than men do, but the few women who invest in shares do better than their male counterparts. A study by the National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) for the University of California found that women earn on an average 1.4% more than men in their share portfolios.

Women cope with stress better than men.

A study at the University of California, Los Angeles, published in the July 2000 issue of Psychological Review, found some biological and behavioral differences in the ways men and women cope with stress. It found that women tend to seek contact with others and social support when they are under stress, which is a psychologically much better way of coping with stress than the “fight-or-flight” approach of men.

Of course, there are other studies which indicate men are better than women in various skills. The point I want to make is not that women are better than men in everything, but that men should stop underestimating women after being proven wrong time and again.

            Top 10 Colorful Animals

Life is the stories of all its heroes. The tiny ones, the unexpected ones, the scary ones and the big and ugly ones.
Life is made of many stories. There’s the one that makes you giggle and the one that makes you well up.
There’s also the red one, the blue one, the wow one, the people one and the animal one.
Life is colorful at TopTenz today, thanks to the BBC.
The BBC is celebrating 50 years of the BBC’s Natural History Unit at their Life Is website, which pulls together the best videos, images and stories from BBC animal and nature programs from over the years.
Dive in at BBC Earth’s Life Is for more amazing stories, videos and photos and visit them on Facebook for exclusive content!
This list is not copied from any other site. It was submitted to Toptenz by the BBC directly through email. We published this list as did other sites, without knowing it had been submitted elsewhere.

10. Monarch Butterfly

Everyone loves butterflies, especially these pretty ones. But their beautiful colors actually serve as a warning to predators not to eat them because they’re poisonous.

9. Sailfish

The Sailfish’s blue stripes certainly make a statement but it has nothing to do with fashion. They light up when the Sailfish hunts, confusing their prey and letting their fellow hunters know what they’re doing. Now that’s a useful use of color!

8. Lesser Flamingo

Did you know the famous pink Flamingo’s lovely color comes from pigment in the algae it eats? They do say you are what you eat…

7. Clownfish

The Clownfish may look pretty with its bright orange and white stripes, but it’s covered in slime. It is essential to the fish forming one of nature’s great teams with the sea anemone – they are dependent on each other to survive and the slime protects the Clownfish from the anemone’s sting.

6. Blue-Footed Booby

Females are attracted to the male Booby’s brilliant blue boots, so it’s lucky for them that they get even brighter if they miss a mating season.

5. Weedy Sea Dragon

The Weedy Sea Dragon is a weird, wonderful and colorful underwater creature. The female produce 250 eggs at a time and the male looks after them. And he shouldn’t lose them either – they’re bright pink!

4. Temminick’s Tragopan

With an orange and brown quiff and a chest that looks like a whale shark lying on top of a heart, the Temminick’s Tragopan is certainly striking. It’s no surprise it’s considered to be the world’s most handsome pheasant.

3. Bird of Paradise

Not only does the male Bird of Paradise have fantastic colorful plumage, he dances, poses and completely changes his shape to woo the less exotic-looking females. Still, lucky girls!

2. Sockeye Salmon

We might tan in the heat, or go red if we get embarrassed, but imagine if the color of your skin completely changed with your environment? That’s exactly what the Sockeye Salmon does – normally blue and silver they turn red and green before spawning.

1. Panther Chameleon

Red, white, green and blue – and that’s just some of the time. The Panther Chameleon has an amazing ability to change color to hide itself. But unlike us, it can’t pick what color coat it wears – that’s affected by temperature, light and even its mood!

10 Renewable Energy Sources

            10 Renewable Energy Sources

Energy is an inevitable requirement where we want development to take place. Many naturally occurring phenomenons contribute to producing this energy without damaging the environment. They are called renewable energy sources and they help to avoid pollution; both in urban and inaccessible locations on large and small scales. They form a sort of cycle without the deduction of any resource to generate the energy.

10. Tidal Power

The tidal power is not a very popular energy source, but has immense potential of becoming one in the near future. Tidal stream generators and barrage generation make use of tidal power. It is Eco-friendly and does not harm the environment at all. It follows the same principle as wind turbines, but instead of air, the generators rotate in water. Unlike wind and solar energy, tides can be predicted. Since time immemorial, tide mills have been driven directly from the relative motions of the Earth–Moon system and to a lesser extent from the Earth–Sun system. Lunar Energy, a British company was the first to establish a tidal farm in the coast of Pembrokshire in Wales, providing electricity to thousands of houses.

9. Wave Power

Predicting the direction of ocean and wave is a very difficult job, but is not impossible. Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy for pumping or desalinating water and generating electricity. In Europe, wave farms have been introduced, using floating Pelamis Wave Energy converters. They use a floating buoyed device and generate energy through a snaking motion, or by mechanical movement from the wave’s peaks and troughs. Wave power is not the same as the diurnal flux of tidal power and the steady gyre of ocean currents, although it is confused to be so often. We have been pursuing this technology since 1890 and the world’s first commercial wave farm is based in Portugal, at the Aguçadora Wave Park, which consists of three 750 kilowatt Pelamis devices.

8. Solar Power

Producing electricity by making use of the sun’s energy and the photovoltaic (PV) cells is called the Solar Technology. Solar cells are becoming more efficient, transportable and even flexible, allowing for easy installation. Let it be a calculator powered by a single solar cell or off-grid homes powered by photovoltaic disarray; PV can power applications of all sizes.  The 1973 oil crisis stimulated a rapid rise in the production of PV during the 1970s and early 1980s. Steadily falling oil prices during the early 1980s, however, led to a reduction in funding for photovoltaic R&D and a discontinuation of the tax credits associated with the Energy Tax Act of 1978. These factors moderated growth to approximately 15% per year from 1984 through 1996. Since the mid-1990s, leadership in the PV sector has shifted from the US to Japan and Germany.

7. Wind Power

Wind farms installed on agricultural land or grazing areas, have one of the lowest environmental impacts of all energy sources. Wind turbines are used to convert wind energy into electrical or mechanical energy. Wind energy has historically been used directly to propel sailing ships or converted into mechanical energy for pumping water or grinding grain, but the principal application of wind power today is the generation of electricity. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Ireland; Europe is leading the world in the production of offshore wind power. United States and China’s priority was on land wind resources where construction costs are lower but transmission costs are less where population centers along coastlines are near offshore wind sources.

6. Hydroelectricity

This is the most widely used form of renewable energy. The gravitation force of falling water is the key point in hydroelectricity generation. In remote areas, small scale hydro plants are installed in rivers and streams with little effect to the fish or environment. Instead of dams to diverge the water, water wheels generate energy for specific industrial purposes. Dedicated hydroelectric projects are often built to provide the substantial amounts of electricity needed for aluminium electrolytic plants, for example. In Suriname, the Brokopondo Reservoir was constructed to provide electricity for the Alcoa aluminium industry. New Zealand’s Manapouri Power Station was constructed to supply electricity to the aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point.

5. Radiant Energy

99% of the cost of normal electricity can be saved by the use of radiant energy. It performs the same functions, but does not possess behavior identical to electricity. The Methernitha Community in Switzerland currently has 5 or 6 working models of fuel less, self-running devices that tap this energy. Nikola Tesla’s magnifying transmitter, T. Henry Moray’s radiant energy device, Edwin Gray’s EMA motor, and Paul Baumann’s Testatika machine all run on radiant energy. Fractionation is a method of collecting natural energy from surroundings or extracting it from electricity. Nikola Tesla built one of the earliest wireless telephones to be based on radiant energy. The resonances of the transmitters and receivers of the device were tuned to the same frequency, allowing them to communicate.

4. Geothermal Power

Geothermal power extracts earthly energy through natural processes providing heat to either a single residential unit or producing energy through a geothermal power plant. Its cost effectiveness, reliability, and environmental friendliness has no longer limited it to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Home heating has encouraged the range and size of viable resources to expand considerably. The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located at The Geysers, a geothermal field in California, United States. Most of the cost of electrical plants goes to drilling since it does not require any fuel. At present 24 countries are making use of this technology and potential sites are into consideration.

3. Biomass

Living and recently dead biological material that can be used as fuel or for industrial production can be classified as biomass. Dead trees, branches, yard clippings, woodchips bio-fuel, biodegradable wastes, many types of plants including miscanthus, switch grass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum, sugarcane, and a variety of tree species, ranging from eucalyptus to oil palm (palm oil), all come under the flag of biomass. The type of plant affects the process, although the end products are pretty much the same. This industry is growing, reducing the reliance on oil by more than one million barrels per year, and by recycling sugar cane and wood waste, preserves landfill space in urban communities. 0.5 percent of the U.S. electricity supply comes from biomass power generating establishments.

2. Compressed Natural Gas

If you need fossil fuel replacement for gasoline, diesel, or propane, Compressed Natural Gas is the solution for you. It is cleaner and safer to use as it diffuses easily into the surroundings if leaked. However, burning it does release a few greenhouse gases in the air. CNG is used in traditional gasoline internal combustion engine cars that have been converted into bi-fuel vehicles (gasoline/CNG).  These are becoming widely known in Europe and South America due to increasing gasoline costs. Light-duty passenger vehicles and pickup trucks, medium-duty delivery trucks, transit and school buses, and trains are also making use of CNG as a result of high fuel prices and environmental concerns.

1. Nuclear Power

Nuclear fission is used to extract usable energy from atomic nuclei via controlled nuclear reactions. Utility scale reactors are use to produce steam which is then converted into mechanical work for the purpose of generating electricity or propulsion. Some say that Nuclear power reduces carbon emissions and increases energy security by decreasing dependence on foreign oil while others argue that nuclear power is a potentially dangerous energy source. Much debate is going on about its usage although in 2007 14% of the world’s electricity came from nuclear power; US, France and Japan playing a major role in this. France reprocesses its nuclear waste to reduce its mass and make more energy. Reprocessing can potentially recover up to 95% of the remaining uranium and plutonium in spent nuclear fuel, putting it into new mixed oxide fuel.