A man stands next to a 490 litre Grande Cuvee TBA NV No.7 2005 of Austrian wine maker Kracher during its presentation in the small Swiss town of Rehetobel, some 40 km (26 miles) from lake Constance, November 28, 2007. The bottle, certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest bottle of wine, holds the equivalent to 640 regular bottles, or 69,000 glasses of wine.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
World's Largest Bottle Of Wine
Monday, November 26, 2007
Disabled Person's Vocational Sport Training in China
Paralympic fencers practise at the Beijing Disabled Person's Vocational and Sport Training Center November 2007. China is pushing forward city construction of accessible facilities to help persons with disability and let disabled persons enjoy the fruits of hosting the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, organizers said. Beijing is also staging Paralympic Games 2008.
Paralympic table tennis players practise
Paralympic basketball players practise
A paralympic swimmer walks with a crutch after a training session
A paralympic swimmer prepares to put her prosthetic leg after a training session
Giant Israeli Flag Breaks World Record
An Aerial view of large Israeli and Philippine flags after they were laid on the ground at the Masada airfield near the Dead Sea, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2007.
The massive blue and white Israeli flag, measuring 18,847 square meters - the size of two soccer fields - and weighing 5.2 metric tons, broke the record for the world's largest. It was measured by representatives for the Guinness Book of Records. Filipino entrepreneur and evangelical Christian Grace Galindez-Gupana decided two years ago to produce a giant Israeli flag as a testament to her love for Israel and the Jewish people, and as a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Philipines and Israel.
The record for the world's largest flag now belongs to an Israeli banner produced by a Filipino evangelical Christian.
The huge blue and white flag, measuring 2,165 feet long and 330 feet wide and weighing 5.7 tons, breaks the record for the world's largest, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
The flag was unfurled Sunday beneath the ancient Jewish desert fortress of Masada. Representatives of the Guinness Book of Records measured the flag and later confirmed the record.
Filipino entrepreneur Grace Galindez-Gupana said she decided two years ago to produce a giant Israeli flag as a testament to her love for Israel and the Jewish people and as a celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Israel.
"God spoke to me in thunder and lightning," Galindez-Gupana said. "The Lord said, 'Make the flag of Israel, the standard of my people.'"
"This is a tall order," she said, breaking down in tears.
The Israeli flag was accompanied by a giant Philippines flag — huge, but not quite as big. It weighed about 4.2 tons.
Large stones anchored both flags as they billowed in the desert winds.
There are about 31,000 Filipinos in Israel, most of whom are foreign workers, said Gilberto Asuque, consul general of the Philippine Embassy in Israel.
"This flag expresses the friendship between the Philippines and the state of Israel, and also the friendship between Jewish and Christian communities," said Shaul Zemach, director of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Fifty Children Wrapped up in Record Breaking Bubble
A few seconds was all it took for this shimmering tube of soap and water to set a world record.
At 11ft across and more than 5ft high before it burst, it enclosed 50 children to pop the previous record of 42 bubble-bound children set in the U.S. earlier this year.
Don't move: 50 children stand still inside the bubble
'Pretty bubbles in the air': Sam Heath gazes at his huge creation
It was created by "bubbleologist" Sam Heath at the Science Museum in London. The children, all of whom had to be over 5ft, squeezed on a stage surrounded by a moat of soapy water.
Mr Heath dipped a wand - a metal hoop with a 36ft circumference - into the solution, before raising it above their heads.
He had briefly held the record in 2006, when he encased 19 schoolkids in a bubble at Chessington World of Adventures theme park in Surrey.
Record breaker: Sam Heath
SamSam Bubbleman: I'm forever blowing bubbles
Representatives from the Guinness Book of Records were on hand to adjudicate and the soapy spectacle was witnessed by hundreds of schoolchildren.
The record breaker coincided with the opening of the museum's flagship interactive gallery of physics phenomena, entitled Launchpad.
Launchpad features 50 new, live, previously-unseen interactives, devices and experiments. Visitors launch rockets, capture multicoloured shadows, turn heads into sound boxes and control magnetic clouds.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Piggy Runing Competition in China
Pig sprinters stop before the finish line of a 50-meter race at a special sports meet for pigs in Ningxiang County in China's central Hunan Province on Saturday.
Obviously, the sprinters are not professionals. Before the finish line of a 50-meter race, they stopped as if they were hesitating. A brave athlete finally reached out one leg to cross the line. But unfortunately, one of his competitors crossed it a few second earlier, by stretching his neck to smell something on the ground.
The race was one of the events held at a special sports meet for pigs in Ningxiang County in China's central Hunan Province on Saturday. The county, one of China's largest pig-raising areas, hosted the meet to promote its major industry.
Porcine athletes from 10 breeding companies across the country took part in different competitions, including hurdle-jumping, swimming, short-sprinting and eating.
A 1,040-kilogram porker also was exhibited at the event. Its owner said he intended to donate the giant sow to next summer's Beijing Olympic Games.
Raped and Kept In Refrigerator Shocking Woman Body
Some Shocking Pic we are Going to Show you Today Raped Kept In Refrigerator Woman Body Got From Via Email
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
world's largest piece of salt beancurd
The world's largest piece of salt beancurd appeared at the Hunan International Agriculture Fair in Changsha, capital city of central China's Huanan province, on November 20, 2007.
The world's largest piece of salt beancurd appeared at the Hunan International Agriculture Fair in Changsha, central China's Huanan province on Tuesday.
About 2.6 meters long, 1.3 meters wide and 0.2 meters thick, the salt beancurd used 500 kilograms of quality soybean, which in the end weighs over 620 kilograms and could feed some 1,000 people.
Beancurd is usually made from soybeans and food gypsum, an edible additive. But food gypsum is nowadays often replaced by salt in making beancurd. The new substitute can make the beancurd fresher and softer. Due to the new additive, the product is now also called salt beancurd.
Manager of the beancurd company, Xiao Baohua, said their salt beancurd on display is the largest such piece in the world.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Ugliest man in the world
A wealthy lawyer says he must be the ugliest man in the world after having 5,000 marriage proposals turned down.
Croatian lawyer, Emil Kacic, who has logged all the failures in a little black book, said: "Money can't buy you love, at least if you have a face like mine."
After placing adverts in local papers stressing his wealth with words like "tender and rich lawyer looks for a pretty lady to marry" and then "disgustingly rich lawyer looks for a pretty lady to marry", he was still unable to find a wife.
He said: "I've got to the point where I have even been asking women I am meeting in the streets to marry me, but they always say no."
Kacic, from Zagreb, said he had now accepted that he must be the ugliest man in the world.
In an interview with daily newspaper, Vecernji List, dejected Kacic said: "I've tried placing all kinds of different ads, but not a single woman I've met through my adverts has accepted my offer. What else is there to believe, other than that I must be the ugliest man in the world."
But disappointment has yet to defeat hope: "No success yet, but I will keep trying," he resolved, adding: "I hope all the publicity over my failed search for love might bring me love at last."
French man cooks up world record feast
A French cook has prepared the world's largest mechoui grill -- spit-roasting a 550-kg camel for 15 hours at a seaside Moroccan town south of Rabat.
"It's a tradition that's fallen out of favour," said 63-year-old Christian Falco from the south-western French city of Perpignan, describing a time two centuries ago when a Moroccan king offered a roast camel to his people.
"I brought it back," said Falco, a six-time Guinness world record holder whose other culinary claims to fame include spit-roasting the world's largest slab of beef, 985.5 kg, in 1996.
Falco began barbecuing his latest meal early yesterday, using 2.7 tonnes of wood and 15 litres of oil to cook the camel meat.
About 500 intrepid diners feasted on it last night at the seaside town of Safi, paying 150 dirhams ($A20) for the experience.
Safi was also the settng for the world's largest tajine, a North African stew, made of sardines in 1999.
Falco is already planning his next challenge -- to beat the world record for the biggest spit-roasted bison in Costa Rica.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
An Alien from Thailand
While it is unclear from the photos what is lying on the table but the local residents of this small town in Thailand claim that this “creature” was born by a cow!
Source:-Digg
The World's Most Expensive Cat
The Ashera, billed as the world's 'largest, rarest and most exotic' domestic cat, is the size of a small dog and sports eye-catching leopard-like spots and tiger stripes. It is the most expensive pet cat on the World market – priced at ￡12,000($24.000),according to media reports
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Donkey wedding staged to bring rain
Residents of India's southern city of Bangalore have married off two donkeys, in the hope that the ancient ritual will usher in good monsoon rains.
Though monsoons have hit southern India, Bangalore is still waiting for its first showers and residents decided to invoke the ritual - detailed in Hindu scriptures - after their prayers failed to deliver.
Two donkeys - the bride Ganga and the groom Varuna - tied the knot at a temple on the city outskirts to loud cheers of about 100 guests, who attended the ceremony.
Rains are crucial in India, as the majority of the country's population of over 1 billion depends on agriculture and farming.
The happy couple - who wagged their tails, oblivious to the commotion - were married off in a traditional Hindu ceremony, with the bride clad in a green silk sari with gold zari.
'Praying for rain'
Great attention was also paid to ritualistic details such as the perfect invitation card, the right wedding attire and the freshest flowers.
A traditional band entertained the guests, who sprinkled the newlyweds with flowers.
"We are praying for rains. We need rains, hope gods are pleased and it rains in Bangalore today," Manjual, one of the guests, told Reuters news agency.
Only at one point did the groom get restless: when his attendant tied the holy threads around his hind and fore legs.
The guests, each of whom contributed to the marriage expenses, were later treated to a traditional meal at the temple.
Before leaving the ceremony, everybody was hopeful it would start raining soon.
Meanwhile, the BBC's weather forecast suggested unbroken sunshine in Bangalore until Sunday at the earliest.
The World's Smallest Teapot
Master Wu Rui deep ceramic art displayed in the fingertip weighs only 1.4 grams of the world's smallest teapot
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wine Bathwater Additives for Free
Visitors soak inside a "Beaujolais Nouveau bath" at a hot springs spa resort in Hakone, west of Tokyo Nov. 15, 2007, to celebrate its launch. Visitors will be able to enjoy the bath which incorporates real Beaujolais Nouveau along with bathwater additives until Nov. 25, the resort said.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tree Man Who Grew Roots May be Cured
An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body has been given hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A.
Dede, now 35, baffled medical experts when warty "roots" began growing out of his arms and feet after he cut his knee in a teenage accident.
The welts spread across his body unchecked and soon he was left unable to carry out everyday household tasks.
Sacked from his job and deserted by his wife, Dede has been raising his two children - now in their late teens - in poverty, resigned to the fact that local doctors had no cure for his condition.
To make ends meet he even joined a local "freak show", parading in front of a paying audience alongside victims of other peculiar diseases.
Although supported by his extended family, he was often a target of abuse and ridicule in his rural fishing village.
But now an American dermatology expert who flew out to Dede's home village south of the capital Jakarta claims to have identified his condition, and proposed a treatment that could transform his life.
After testing samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland concluded that his affliction is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts to develop on sufferers.
Dede's problem is that he has a rare genetic fault that impedes his immune system, meaning his body is unable to contain the warts.
The virus was therefore able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", ordering them to produce massive amounts of the substance that caused the tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns" on his hands and feet.
Dede's counts of a key type of white blood cell are so low that Dr Gaspari initially suspected he may have the Aids virus.
But tests showed he did not, and it became clear that Dede's immune condition was something far rarer and more mysterious.
Warts aside, he had enjoyed remarkable good health throughout his life - which would not be expected of someone with a suppressed immune system - and neither his parents nor his siblings have shown signs of developing lesions.
"The likelihood of having his deficiency is less than one in a million," Dr Gaspari told the Telegraph.
Dr Gaspari, who became involved in the case through a Discovery Channel documentary, believes that Dede's condition can be largely cleared up by a daily doses of a synthetic form of Vitamin A, which has been shown to arrest the growth of warts in severe cases of HPV.
"He won't have a perfectly normal body but the warts should reduce in size to the point where he could use his hands," Dr Gaspari said.
"Over the course of three to six months the warts should be come smaller and fewer in number. He will be living a more normal life."
The most resilient warts could then be frozen off and the growths on his hands and feet surgically removed.
Dr Gaspari hopes to get the necessary drugs free of charge from pharmaceutical firms. They would then be administered by Indonesian doctors under his supervision.
Still intrigued by the origins of Dede's peculiar immune condition, the doctor would like to fly him to the United States for further examination, but fears the financial and bureaucratic barriers would prove too difficult to overcome.
"I would like to bring him to the US to run tests on where his immune condition has come from, but I would need funding and to get him a visa as well as someone to cover the costs of the tests," he said.
"I've never seen anything like this in my entire career."
# "Half Man Half Tree", part of the "My Shocking Story" series, will be shown on the Discovery Channel at 9pm on Nov 15.
Man in India Marries Dog
A man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death — an act he believes cursed him — a newspaper reported Tuesday.
P. Selvakumar married the sari-draped former stray named Selvi, chosen by family members and then bathed and clothed for the ceremony Sunday at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.
Selvakumar, 33, told the paper he had been suffering since he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree 15 years ago.
"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," he said in the report.
The paper said an astrologer had told Selvakumar the wedding was the only way he could cure the maladies. It did not say whether his situation had improved.
Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.
The paper showed a picture of Selvakumar sitting next to the dog, which was wearing an orange sari and a flower garland.
The paper said the groom and his family then had a feast, while the dog got a bun.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Young Gymnasts in Sports School
Children practice doing handstands at the Li Xiaoshuang Gymnastics School in Xiantao, central China's Hubei province, October 2007. More than 60 children aged between three and 10 from all over China train at the boarding school.
A young student wipes her eye as she rest during a training session at the Gymnastics Hall of the Shanghai University of Sports October 10, 2007. Students of the gymnastics class of Yangpu District Youth Sports School are all aged between 5 and 9. China's future Olympic hopefuls train at one of the thousands of provincial sports schools around the country.
A coach stretches a young gymnastic student during a training session at the Gymnastics Hall of the Shanghai University of Sports October 2007. Students of the gymnastics class of Yangpu District Youth Sports School are all aged between 5 and 9. China's future Olympic hopefuls train at one of the thousands of provincial sports schools around the country.
A young gymnastic student balances on the beam during a training session at the Gymnastics Hall of the Shanghai University of Sports October 2007. Students of the gymnastics class of Yangpu District Youth Sports School are all aged between 5 and 9. China's future Olympic hopefuls train at one of the thousands of provincial sports schools around the country.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
the world's largest chicken rice bowl
Chiayi City yesterday organized challenge the world's largest chicken rice bowl of fire activity, mining relay manner, Vice Mayor Li Kui (right) busy-hot chicken rice to the residents to share.
According to Taiwan media reports, Chiayi City government yesterday held "Lan Tan Daya Broadwood trilogy activities", which challenges the world "most Haiwan" Fire chicken rice most striking, organizers night cooking 10 turkeys with 300 jin rice, the residents symbolic relay cooperation completed, the public yesterday queuing competing snatch hot fire authentic chicken rice, claimed satisfied.
The venues chosen Chiayi City with AGB bamboo junction, the building from the city and led his unit to the Secretary Xuyongcan will diameter of 180 公分 180 centimeters 、高 High 120 公分 120 centimeters "Haiwan"扛上stage, followed by Dongchuan, short bamboo, bamboo and long Lu Clan 4, more than 200, together will make the biggest fire chicken rice bowl of ingredients needed to send admitted successor way .
Chiayi City Food union chairman Huang Chao said, these ingredients including 300 jin white rice, 10 fire chicken, and other Haiwan spent a total of 150,000 yuan, yesterday morning 5:00 start cooking, spent four hours cooked, provide 750 human consumption, this Haiwan cask alone spent one and a half months time.
Top 7 Weirdest Houses in the World
1)Hundertwasser's House
Hundertwasser, master of unconventional architecture, constructed this complex of 50 apartments in 1982-1985. It is an unusual house that does not correspond to the usual clichés and norms of academic architecture. This house is considered one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. It has no straight lines or surfaces, completely asymetrical, with tortuous corridors, rounded-off corners, plants and trees.
2)The Upside-Down House
The Upside-Down House was created by Daniel Czapiewski in the village of Szymbark, northern Poland, on July 31, 2007. It represents not merely a bizarre tourist attraction, but is also meant to be a profound statement about the Communist era. It took 114 days to build the house, because the workers were disorientated by the strange angles of the walls.
3)Toilet-Shaped House
This Toilet-Shaped House south was built by the founding member of the World Toilet Association. The house features four deluxe toilets and is dedicated to providing clean sanitation to the more than 2 billion people who live without toilets. The home has a showcase bathroom placed in its centre. Other toilets have features that range from elegant fittings to the latest in water conservation devices. The house bears the named Haewoojae, which stands for Korean "a place of sanctuary where one can solve one's worries".
4)The House on the Stick
The design of the House on the Stick was inspired by highway billboards . The house is rather small. It is only 27 square meters (290 square feet) and as such it is not intended to be a family residence. It is designed as an object suitable for almost every place on earth, for instance, forests, seas, lakes, mountains, meadows as well as on the main city street.
5)Bubble House
Bubble House was constructed on Pierre Cardin's demand. The project was being built by an architect named Antti Lovag for an industrialist with whom Lovag had become friends while building a previous house. The house was intended to demonstrate the possibility of short-circuiting traditional architecture in the name of original, contemporary design.
6)The Broken Column House
The Broken Column House is so named because it takes the form of a ruined classical column. The house was created by the aristocrat François Nicolas Henri Racine de Monville who made it his main residence during the years immediately before the French Revolution.
7)The Glass House by Philip Johnson
The Glass House is one of the world's most beautiful and yet least functional homes. The house is symmetrical and sits solidly on the ground. The quarter-inch thick glass walls are supported by black steel pillars. The interior space is divided by low walnut cabinets and a brick cylinder that contains the bathroom. The cylinder and the brick floors are a polished purple hue. Philip Johnson says that when people come into his house they just shut up and look around. The Glass House is now open to the public, with tours booked many months in advance.
Source:-mywiki
Saturday, November 10, 2007
The World's Smallest Newspapers
On November 8, 2007, the children's newspaper "First News" was printed in the world's smallest newspapers Guinness Book of World Records.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Strong Man Pulls Bus with his Ears
One of Britain's strongest men has failed in a bid to break a world record by pulling a double-decker bus using his ears in London's Hyde Park.
Manjit Singh is defeated by the Routemaster's coldly implacable inertia
Manjit Singh hoped to pull the 7.5-tonne Routemaster at least 10 metres (33ft) to kick off the third annual Guinness World Records Day, but only succeeded in moving the vehicle part of the way.
'Unfortunately Manjit was not able to move the bus far enough on this occasion,' Guinness World Records spokeswoman Amarilla Espinoza said.
Manjit Singh, before failure struck
'He only managed to pull it around five metres (16ft). He's very disappointed, but that's the nature of record-breaking.'
Earlier this year, Mr Singh, from Leicester, succeeded in pulling a passenger aircraft weighing 7.4 tonnes a distance of 3.4 metres (11ft) using his ears.
He already holds several other records, including one for pulling a double-decker bus with his hair, and another for lifting 85kg (187lb) with his ears.
Tallest U.S. Man is 7-foot-8 Va. Deputy
To all those people who blurt out "Wow, you're tall!" as they stare up at George Bell, He knows. And now, the world will know, too. The lanky, 7-foot-8 Norfolk sheriff's deputy is being recognized Thursday by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States.
George Bell, a 7' 8' sheriffs deputy in the City of Norfolk, Va, works on his day off providing security at a park in Norfolk, Va on Saturday, Nov 3, 2007. The 50-year-old is being recognized Thursday, Nov. 7, 2007 by the Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States.
That makes him 2 inches taller than the NBA's current tallest player, Yao Ming, but too short to be the world's tallest living man. He stands below, according to Guinness, Ukraine's 8-foot-5.5 Leonid Stadnyk and China's Bao Xishun, who is 7 feet 8.95 inches.
To answer the inevitable questions:
Bell wears size-19 shoes, pants with a 43-inch inseam and shirts with 45-inch sleeves.
He did play basketball, in college and with the Harlem Wizards and Harlem Globetrotters show teams.
And as for how he feels about being so tall?
"I have no choice but to like it," Bell, 50, said in an interview as he paced the sidelines of a Pee Wee football game at a city park, where he was providing security.
"I'm used to a small man's world," he added in a deep voice that suits his stature. "I've been dealing with a small man's world since I was a kid."
Bell was to be revealed as America's tallest man on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, when 200,000 people worldwide were expected to celebrate Guinness World Records Day by attempting to set records of their own.
Guinness began searching for America's tallest man in August. Bell's ex-wife registered him online, and Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton said Bell's doctor documented his height.
The Guinness record book now lists only the tallest man in the world, but Bell will be noted -- along with the tallest men in several other countries - in the edition to be published next year.
Bell hit 5-foot-4 at age 9. In middle school, he topped 6 feet. By the end of high school, he was 7-foot-6. He played basketball until, at 30, he lost interest in the sport and switched to law enforcement.
His height doesn't intimidate jail inmates - it helps him develop a rapport.
"They've never seen anyone this tall before, so they're amazed," Bell said. "They want to talk."
Bell focuses on the perks of being tall. For example, he usually gets free upgrades to first class on flights when the ticket-counter attendants realize he's going to need a lot of leg room.
He credits his late great-aunt, Etonia Johnson, with his positive attitude: "She always told me, 'Don't feel ashamed of yourself. Stand tall. God made you. Be happy and show your pride.' "
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Texan Sets Record With 87 Snakes in Tub
Another day, another bizarre world record for Jackie Bibby, the "Texas Snake Man." Bibby spent about 45 minutes in a see-through bathtub with 87 rattlesnakes Monday, fully clothed, shattering his own record by 12 snakes just in time for Guinness World Records Day, which is Thursday. A Guinness official certified the record.
The snakes crawled under his arms, between his legs and anywhere else they could slither, Bibby said. None bit him.
"They can go wherever they want as long as they don't start biting," Bibby said. "The key to not biting is for me to stay still. Rapid movement scares a rattlesnake. If you move real slow and gentle, that doesn't seem to bother them."
Bibby sat in the dry tub with a pillow behind him, wearing regular clothing. The snakes were not defanged and still contained their venom, he said.
The clear bathtub was specially made several years ago for Bibby by the Guinness folks for a televised segment. He has used it for subsequent attempts at the record for sitting in a tub with snakes.
"I have set several world records in that bathtub," Bibby said.
The record was Bibby's latest grab at glory. Last year he set a Guinness-certified record by holding 10 rattlesnakes by their tails in his mouth at once. He said he hopes to break that record Tuesday by squeezing in an 11th.
The Texas Snake Man also claims to hold non-sanctioned records for climbing into a sleeping bag head first with 20 rattlesnakes and going in feet first with 112.
Dublin is about 120 miles southwest of Dallas.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Most Beautiful Bottom in the World
Contestants compete during the final of the "most beautiful bottom in the world" competition in Munich Oct. 31, 2007. 42 finalists from 26 different countries and regions took part in the competition to win a modelling contract and 10,000 euros prize money.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Twin Girl with Eight Limbs in India
A toddler born with eight limbs and believed by some to be the reincarnation of the multi-limbed Hindu goddess Vishnu, is set to undergo a 40-hour operation to remove half of her limbs.
Lakshmi Tatma was born joined to a 'parasitic twin' and will go under the knife at the hands of 30 surgeons to remove two of her useless arms and legs.
Torment: Lakshmi can not walk or crawl and is unlikely to survive her teens without surgery
The headless 'twin' is joined to Lakshmi at the pelvis and has its own spinal column and kidney.
Without the operation the little girl would never be able to walk or crawl and would be unlikely to live past her early teens, doctors said.
The extraordinary eight-limbed baby was born in a poverty-stricken region of Bihar, India - on the day devoted to the celebration of the four-armed Hindu deity Vishnu.
Fused: Lakshmi's body is joined with the parasitical twin which is attached to her body at her pelvis
Her mother Poonam Tatma said she believed her daughter was "a miracle, a reincarnation" of Vishnu.
Dr Sharan Patil, who will be leading the surgery at the country's Narayana Health City, in Bangalore, said: "Fortunately, Lakshmi has one complete body with a near perfect set of organs.
"Her skeletal system involves two bodies which are fused together at the level of the pelvis.
"The operation itself, although presents several challenges, is not the most complex in the world. What is highly unusual in Lakshmi's case is precisely how her bodies are fused, almost mirroring each other."
Parents Poonam Devi and Shambu Das, who earn about 50p a day as casual labourers, were turned away from several hospitals before her plight was taken up by Dr Patil.
The operation is expected to cost about £100,000.
Hope: Lakshmi and mother Poonam prepare for the op which could save the toddler's life
Poonam, who gave birth to Lakshmi on the celebration day of the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity after whom the new born was named, said: "She is a miracle, a special blessing from God. But she is my daughter and she cannot live like this."
Laskhmi is the subject of a Channel 4 documentary as part of the Bodyshocks series.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Most Beautiful Camels In The Desert
Prince Mushal (C) brother of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia attends the Mazayen al-Ibl competition, to find the "most beautiful camels", in the desert region of Shaqra 300 km far from Riyadh November 1, 2007. While tremendous oil wealth has brought rapid modernisation to the desert state of Saudi Arabia, the camel remains celebrated as a symbol of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Bedouin Arabs.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Eight of the World’s Most Unusual Plants
Weird is relative. What seems weird to me might not seem weird to you. In the plant kingdom, however, there are definitely some species that most people would acknowledge are highly unusual. In the wack spirit of Halloween, some of my findings follow.
1. Rafflesia arnoldii: this parasitic plant develops the world's largest bloom that can grow over three feet across. The flower is a fleshy color, with spots that make it look like a teenager's acne-ridden skin. It smells bad and has a hole in the center that holds six or seven quarts of water. The plant has no leaves, stems, or roots.
2. Hydnora africana, an unusual flesh-colored, parasitic flower that attacks the nearby roots of shrubby in arid deserts of South Africa. The putrid-smelling blossom attracts herds of carrion beetles.
Image Credit: Martin Heigan (via creative commons)
3. Dracunculus vulgaris: smells like rotting flesh, and has a burgundy-colored, leaf-like flower that projects a slender, black appendage.
4. Amorphophallus: means, literally, "shapeless penis." The name comes from the shape of the erect black spadix.
5. Wollemia nobilis: This bizarre-looking tree was known only from 120 million-year-old fossil leaves before 1994; fewer than one hundred exist in the wild. They have strange bark that looks like bubbles of chocolate, multiple trunks, and ferny-looking leaves growing in spirals. They can grow up to 125 feet tall.
6. Welwitschia mirabilis consists of only two leaves and a stem with roots. Its two leaves continue to grow until they resemble an alien life form. The stem gets thicker rather than higher, although this plant can grow to be almost six feet high and twenty-four feet wide. Its estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years. Mirabilis grows in Namibia, and is thought to be a relic of the Jurassic period.
7. Drakaea glyptodon: an orchid. It is the color of, and smells like, raw meat. Pollinated by male wasps.
8. Wolffia angusta: the world's smallest flower. A dozen plants would easily fit on the head of a pin and two plants in full bloom will fit inside a small printed letter "o."
Source:-divinecaroline
Thursday, November 01, 2007
First Bikini Hairdresser's Opens In Virginia
The first bikini hairdresser's "Heaven" opens in Virginia, Oct. 2007 All the hairdressers in the shop are young women in bikini.
100 Year Old Woman Glides into Record
One-hundred-year old Peggy McAlpine paraglides off a 2,500-foot (762-meter) mountain peak in Kyrenia, northern Cyprus Oct. 31, 2007. The self confessed "daredevil" leaped into record books on Wednesday by paragliding off the mountain peak. The jump was to mark McAlpine's 100th birthday, which she had celebrated the day before when she received a congratulatory telegram from the Queen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
