Fluorescent Luminous Green River is Blamed on Pranksters

Canada's Goldstream River failed to live up to its name when its waters bizarrely started flowing a fluorescent Luminous green.

The river, which runs through the city of Langford in British Columbia, looked like the result of a radioactive disaster and an investigation was launched immediately.

What caused the river to change colour was a mystery at first, but investigators swiftly discovered an organic compound used as a dye to test water systems was to blame.

Colourful: The Goldstream River started flowing fluorescent green after hoaxers added an organic dye to the water

But as no tests were being conducted on the day the Goldstream River turned green, officials immediately pointed the finger at pranksters.

Tyson Elder was hiking along the river with friends photographing Bald Eagles when he saw the fluorescent green water on December 29.

Tyson, 24, from Victoria, British Columbia, said: 'In the distance all I could see was bright neon green - it looked like coolant.

'To see something so bright and unexpected was kind of unnerving, especially because it is a popular tourist destination.

'In the winter the Bald Eagles mate and nest there so we were worried about what it would do to the animals. Luckily tests showed it was not toxic.'

News of the neon-green waters spread fast after Tyson posted images on his Twitter site.

'Everyone was shocked by what they saw,' he said. 'It was big news. It was picked up by radio stations and people were flooding to the park.

'No-one seemed to know what was going on. It was quite an interesting day.'

Tyson, a photographer who also works in mediation, said the water ran green over a stretch of 400 metres for about three hours.

His friend had a camcorder and the video on YouTube has been viewed around 550,000 times.

Langford Fire Chief Bob Beckett blamed the greening of the river on unidentified pranksters.

'In all likelihood it's a hoax, but it's unfortunate we had to utilise all sorts of resources to investigate this,' he said.

Fluorescein, which is also used as a tracer in medical procedures, can cause allergic reactions, according to Vancouver Island Health Authority officials.

'It does not have a high toxicity, but it can cause allergic reactions,' said medical health officer Murray Fyfe.

Local resident Bruce Bradley, 27, said: 'It looked like the result of a radioactive disaster. I was half expecting to see two headed fish swimming about.

'It was quite incredible to see, it was really bright. A few guys were spooked by it all at first. It was bizarre.'

The substance is not believed to have affected fish populations, and according to the Montreal Gazette, the river turned back to its regular colour within an hour.

Watch Video

Brick Machine Rolls Out Roads Like Carpet Tiger-Stone

Brick roads are beautiful and durable, but we don’t see them too often due to the effort it takes to produce them. What once was a labor-intensive, back-breaking job has now become a snap with this automatic Dutch paver laying machine, called the Tiger-Stone. The device rolls out a beautiful and sustainable hardscape, creating an instant road anywhere it travels. While the process may look magical, the secret lies in a smartly designed gravity-based system.

The machine consists of an angled plain that workers feed with paving stones or bricks. As the electric crawler inches forward along a sand base layer, the bricks are automatically packed together by gravity. A small telescoping forklift feeds the hopper, allowing the Tiger-Stone to lay out an impressive 400 square meters of road day, and the span can be adjusted up to six meters wide. Here’s a stereophonic video of the machine in action.

Brick roads have been around for centuries and they have been revisited lately by the green building community for a number of reasons. Bricks are easy to procure and reuse, cement pavers last a very long time, and they are easy to repair and replace. They tolerate water and freezing without forming cracks, and some newer systems actually absorb rainwater between the pavers and infuse it back into the ground again, reducing storm water runoff and helping improve the effectiveness of aquifers. Not to mention, the roads look pretty great too.

EN-V - Electric Battery Power Concept Motor Car Engine 2011

An electric car is a plug-in battery powered automobile which is propelled by electric motor Car designers have come up with the perfect solution for all those motorists tired of traffic jams and lack of parking spaces.

The two-seat EN-V (Electric-Networked Vehicle) is designed to alleviate those common driver concerns - as well as address environmental issues, energy consumption and affordability.

And amazingly you don't even need to be in the driving seat to achieve all this.

The EN-V from General Motors can rotate 360 degrees and be driven in manual mode with a driver - or without.

The General Motors concept runs on battery power for about 25 miles on a charge, with top speeds of 25 miles-per-hour.

The only downside to this pint-sized vehicle is its' inability to withstand a collusion with a full-sized vehicle.

Cities could, however, create EN-V-only lanes, or alternatively, create enclosed areas solely used by the vehicle.

There is no timeframe yet for when the EN-V will be on the market.

Flying Fish | Fact | Pictures | Videos

Exocoetidae, is a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes of class Actinopterygii. Fishes of this family are known as flying fish. There are about 64 species grouped in seven to nine genera.

Flying fish live in all of the oceans, particularly in warm tropical and subtropical waters. Their most striking feature is their pectoral fins, which are unusually large, and enable the fish to hide and escape from predators by leaping out of the water, taking short gliding flights through air just above the water's surface. Their glides are typically around 50 metres (160 ft).

In order to glide upward out of the water, a flying fish moves its tail up to 70 times per second. It then spreads its pectoral fins and tilts them slightly upward to provide lift. At the end of a glide, it folds its pectoral fins to reenter the sea or drops its tail into the water to push against the water to lift itself for another glide, possibly changing direction. The curved profile of the "wing" has an aerodynamic shape that is comparable to that of a bird wing. The fish is able to increase its time in the air by flying straight into or at an angle to the direction of updrafts created by a combination of air and ocean currents.

Genus Exocoetus has one pair of fins and a streamlined body to optimize for speed, while Cypselurus has a flattened body and two pairs of fins which maximizes its time in the air. From 1900 to the 1930s, flying fish were studied as possible models used to develop airplanes.

Exocoetidae feed mainly on plankton. Predators include dolphins, tuna, marlin, birds, squids and porpoises.

The Oldest Cat Living In The World | On Record Ever

Is Lucy, 39, the oldest cat in the world? - She may be deaf and a bit stiff in the morning but when you consider Lucy the moggy has just turned 39, it’s understandable.

Lucy of Llanelli, South Wales, with no medical problems except for hearing loss, is 39-years-old, The Daily Mail reported yesterday, which makes her the oldest known cat in the world.

The average feline life span is about 15 years, which puts Lucy at double her life expectancy. Cat experts estimate her age to be the equivalent of 172 human years. The only other cat who comes close to her age was Creme Puff, a Texas cat who died at 38 years and three days.

Lucy's owner, Bill Thomas, a Llanelli town counselor, inherited her when his wife's godmother, Maria Lewis, died in 1999. He didn't realize how old Lucy was until his wife's aunt came to visit. "She could remember Lucy scampering around Maria's fish and chip shop when she was a kitten back in 1972," Thomas said. "We knew she was old - but not that old."

The aunt remembered Lucy from working at the shop in 1973, when Lucy was three years old. Others have confirmed seeing her in the shop in the early seventies as well. That puts Lucy's estimated year of birth in 1971/1972.

And Lucy doesn't look like she's close to quitting. Other than her hearing loss, she's in good health and is extremely independent, which Thomas attributes to her age. "She is great with the grandchildren and still likes to patrol the garden every day looking for mice," he said. "Most of the time she lies in her basket and has a sleep. The kids do wake her up and play with her, but she normally wakes up when she wants to...she's a bit stiff but she gets up for her food."