Magnetar And The Devil's Bible

Magnetar is a rare, small, fast-spinning neutron star or celestial body about 15,000 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius. The star is only 9 mile across and periodically shoots out huge cataclysms of X-ray emissions. It contains as much mass as the sun and has one of the most powerful magnetic fields in the universe despite its size. Based on the study conducted with the European Space Agency's XXM-Newton orbiting telescope, its magnetic field is 600 trillion times that of Earth's.

Codex Gigas or the Devil's Bible which was created in the 13th century A.D by a Benedictine monk is now on exhibition at the Klementinum in Prague, the Czech Republic's national library. The tome returning home for the first time after 360 years, for exhibition which will last for four months on loan, since Swedish troops invaded Prague in 1600s and carried the Devil's Bible away as booty. Manuscript contains the Old and New Testaments of the Bible along with several historical texts of 624 pages and weighed 165 pound. Nickname Devil's Bible came from the illustration of Lucifer (in picture above).

Source via: National Geographic News

The Arrival Of New Millennium In Addis Ababa, Ityop'iya!

Tuesday September 11, 2007 was an important day for the Ethiopian as it was the new millennium, i.e the year 2000 according to the traditional Ethiopian Calender. Tens of thousands packed the central square in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to celebrate the arrival of a new era.

The calender is based on the one used in ancient Egypt where there were also 12 months in a year but with extra 5 - 6 days period that serves as a 13th month. It thus caused a lag of 7 years period in the Western Calender we are using now.

More info: Time and weather in Addis Ababa

One In A Thousand Years: Moira Is The FIRST Female Beefeater

Moira Cameron (42) from Argyle, Scotland has became the first female beefeater. In the 1,000 years history of the Tower of London, Moira is the first woman assigned to the job. There are some pros and cons to survive in the all-men-world but she is accepting criticism with open heart. Quoting Chief Yeoman Warder John Keohane, women no longer lives in the 1800s, life moves on. Go girl, you can do it.

Source: Daily Mail

Italian Queen Marie-Jose's Antique Crown Jewel

Italian Queen Marie-Jose's antique diamond tiara, made by Fabergé around 1895 and estimated between 580,000 to 880,000 euros. This tiara and 41 pieces of jewelery will be sold by Marie-Gabrielle of Savoy, the daughter of the Queen, during London Christies' auctions, 13 June 2007.(AFP/Mehdi Fedouach) via

Berlin Biggest Synagogue Reopen on 31 August 2007

The special ceremony in Berlin Friday marked the reopening of the synagogue located in east Berlin's trendy Prenzlauer Berg district. The synagogue was built in 1904 and it took a year work to restore its former glory after set ablaze on Kristallnacht (n 1938 when many Jewish temples, homes and businesses were set on fire by the Nazis and their sympathizers).

Its huge prayer hall seats up to 1,200 people which is important as Berlin has the biggest Jewish community in the country. It was one of the few Jewish institutions that survived the blaze in 1938.

Since the fall of Berlin Wall, it was rebuilt with the help of Berlin city authority, lottery money and international donations.

The interior restoration cost up to $ 3.7 million came from the city-owned lottery. Renovation work was carried out by architect Ruth Golan and her partner Kay Zareh with only few old photographs to work with.

The blue dome, topped the the building, has been described as one of the jewels of Germany Jewish Community. Restoration of the ceiling was not an easy task as architects had to use scalpels to remove the layers from the ceiling before they could restore it.

A few finishing touch and stained glass windows have been installed with excerpts from Genesis, both in Hebrew and German.

Source: Text from CBC news and Pictures from Special Online International

Natural History Museum at Tring Received £87,000 Government Grants For 88 Stuffed Dogs!

The spoke person of the museum at Hertfordshire mentioned that the grant would be spent on improving the display alongside with other stuffed amphibians reptiles, flightless birds and marsupials.

Those stuffed dogs were said to illustrate the impact of selective breeding mainly date from the early 20th century.

The body of Mick the Miller, legendary racing greyhound who won 46/61 races during his career between 1928 - 1931, is also one of the collection.

Now you know why the museum's given so much money? After Helmsley case, I keep having this feeling that sometimes it is better to be a dog than human. First Trouble inherited £12 million that it does know how to spend and now, dead dogs get £ 87,000 grant. I don't know, why not you tell me.

Read the full story and more pictures of the dogs: Daily Mail

World Largest Diamond Discovered In Northwest South Africa

A diamond twice as big as the Cullinan could be worth up to £15million is being rushed to a bank vault in Johannesburg. The story and company of discovery is yet to be revealed. The uncut diamond placed beside a cell phone to illustrate its size.

The Millennium Star in picture above is the world's second largest, flawless gem weighing 203 carats. However, the newly-discovered stone could produce an even larger gem although it might not be one of the best quality diamond. The ultimate value of the stone is depending on the clearness and the flaws it contains; cracks, gas bubbles and carbon mark. .

Read more: Daily Mail

Lorreto Chapel: The 130 Years Old Mystery

In the city of Santa Fé, New Mexico, USA, a 130 years old mystery lies within the Lorreto Chapel, attracting 250 thousand visitors every year.

The Chapel was built somewhere in the 19th century. The nuns found no staircase that will lead them to the top level when the chapel was completed. They spent 9 days praying to St. Joseph, the carpenter.

On the last day, a stranger came knocking on the door, claiming that he's a carpenter who could help them built the staircase. He then constructed the staircase all by himself so know one know how he made the staircase without any central support nor using any glue or a single nail in the construction of the staircase.

The carpenter disappear without even waiting for his payment. Rumor in the city has it that the carpenter was actually St. Joseph himself, sent by Jesus to attend to the nuns' pray.

There are 3 unsolved mystery in this chapel: 1. The identity of the carpenter is unknown till present. 2. No architects, engineers or scientists can understand nor explain how the staircase can balance without any central support. 3. Where did the wood came from as the wood used in building the staircase does not exist in the entire region.

Icing to the cake, the staircase has 33 steps, THE AGE OF JESUS CHRIST!! Could it be a miracle?

Have You Seen This Before?

This three story high wood carving is called "Salong". I wanted to take a picture with this impressive double trunk Salong until I found out what it was.

Salong means Burial Hut, literally. This particular one was originally erected over 100 years ago on the right bank of Long Segaham (Kapit division). It was presented to the Sarawak Museum (Kuching) by the people of Belaga in 1973.

It was made by Avun Dian, the Kayan Chief, to inter the bones of his beloved daughter, Lisan. It took 5 craftmen and many helpers over 5 years to complete the carving on the poles. Many years later, the bones of a Kejaman Chief, Taman Tipong Tului, the grand nephew of Avun Dian, were also interred in this Salong.

Day and Night seen at the SAME Time

This is probably an old picture but it's the only way to keep the history alife.

The photograph attached was taken by the crew on board the Columbia during its last mission, on a cloudless day. The picture is of Europe and Africa when the sun is setting. Half of the picture is in night. The bright dots you see are the cities' lights. The top part of Africa is the Sahara Desert. Note that the lights are already on in Holland, Paris, and Barcelona, and that's it's still daylight in Dublin, London, Lisbon, and Madrid. The sun is still shining on the Strait of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean Sea is already in darkness.

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean you can see the Azores Islands; below them to the right are the Madeira Islands; a bit below are the Canary Islands; and further South, close to the farthest western point of Africa, are the Cape Verde Islands. Note that the Sahara is huge and can be seen clearly both during day time and night time. To the left, on top, is Greenland, totally frozen.