Category Archives: Of Interest

Longest Burning Light Bulb

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Calif. Light Bulb Has Been Burning 110 Years Straight

Life’s Little Mysteries Staff
Date: 21 June 2011 Time: 01:03 PM ET
The 110-year-old Centennial Lightbulb.
The 110-year-old Centennial Lightbulb.
CREDIT: Dick Jones

An incandescent light bulb recognized by Guinness World Records as being the longest burning is still glowing strong days after celebrations that marked its 110th anniversary.

The Centennial Light Bulb, at Fire Station No. 6 in Livermore, Calif., has been burning bright since it was first installed in 1901. (The exact date appears unknown, though the bulb’s “birthday” is typically held in June, most recently June 18th.) Since then, the 60-watt bulb has been alight 24 hours a day, operating at about 4 watts, to provide night illumination of the fire engines.

Other than a few power outages, there has only been one break in its operation, when it was removed from one fire station and fitted in another in 1976. The cord was severed out of fear that unscrewing the bulb would break it, and it was moved with a full police and fire truck escort, under the watch of Capt. Kirby Slate. It got but 22 minutes of rest during the ordeal.

to read more, go to:   http://www.livescience.com/14700-longest-burning-lightbulb-110-years-livermore-california.html

 

19th Century Flat Earth Map

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Ingenious ‘Flat Earth’ Theory Revealed In Old Map

Map of the Earth made in 1893 by Orlando Ferguson of Hot Springs, South Dakota. Credit: Don Homuth
Map of the Earth made in 1893 by Orlando Ferguson of Hot Springs, South Dakota.
CREDIT: Don Homuth

In 1893, Orlando Ferguson, a real estate developer based in South Dakota, drew a map of the Earth that combined biblical and scientific knowledge in a unique way. The map accompanied a 92-page lecture that Ferguson — referring to himself as a “professor” — delivered in town after town, traveling far and wide to share his theory of geography, highlighted by his belief that the Earth was flat.

Ferguson’s map represents the Earth as a giant, rectangular slab with a dimpled upper surface. Don Homuth of Salem, Ore., just donated one of two intact copies of the map to the Library of Congress. [See the map]

“It’s very fragile. It’s printed on tissue paper and hand-colored with watercolors,” Homuth said. He got the map from his eighth grade history teacher in Fargo, N.D., who got it from his grandfather, who lived in Hot Springs, S.D. — Ferguson’s hometown.

 

Uncontacted Tribe Found in Brazil

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Existence of Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Confirmed

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 24 June 2011 Time: 05:34 PM ET
Home belonging to an uncontacted Indian tribe are surrounded by crops in a clearing in the Javari Valley of the western Amazon.
CREDIT: Uncontacted Amazon Indians, Javari Valley, Brazil © Peetsa/Arquivo CGIIRC-Funai

Brazilian officials have confirmed the existence of approximately 200 Indians who live in the western Amazon with no contact with the outside world.

This uncontacted tribe is not “lost” or unknown, according to tribal advocacy group Survival International. In fact, about 2,000 uncontacted Indians are suspected to live in the Javari Valley where the tribe’s homes were seen from the air. But confirming the tribe’s existence enables government authorities to monitor the area and protect the tribe’s way of life.

Uncontacted Tribe

to read more, go to:    http://www.livescience.com/14772-uncontacted-tribe-brazil.html

Stonehenge Theories

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF

Stonehenge Theories

By DAN FLETCHER Friday, Mar. 20, 2009

Stonehenge.

Roger Ressmeyer / Corbis
For a set of craggy rocks in an English field, Stonehenge’s ability to capture the imagination is impressive. The ancient monument — composed of massive stones arranged into concentric circles by unknown builders — is referenced almost as far back the Norman Conquest, when an English historian remarked in 1130 A.D. that “no one can conceive how such great stones have been so raised aloft, or why they were built here.” That certainly hasn’t kept many from trying. It seems like everyone has a theory for why the ruins were constructed. Some are more plausible than others.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1886661,00.html#ixzz1QFS1j7Pb

 

July 1 Solar Eclipse Data

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Partial Solar Eclipse of July 01

 

Just one lunation after the previous one, the third solar eclipse of the year takes place at the Moon’s descending node in western Gemini. This Southern Hemisphere event is visible from a D-shaped region in the Antarctic Ocean south of Africa (Figure 4). Such a remote and isolated path means that it may very well turn out to be the solar eclipse that nobody sees. At greatest eclipse (08:38:23 UT), the magnitude is just 0.097.

for more, go to:    http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig04.pdf

 

Solar Storm Warning

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STORM WARNING: A fast-moving stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth’s magnetic field. The combined effect of this stream plus a CME expected to arrive on June 24th has prompted NOAA forecasters to declare a 30% to 35% chance of geomagnetic storms during the next 24 hours. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

fr/spaceweather.com

Visiting Asteroid

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Small asteroid to pass within 7,500 miles of the Earth on Monday, orbit to be altered

Published on June 24, 2011 4:30 am PT
– By Jim Duran – Writer
– Article Editor and Approved – Warren Miller

(TheWeatherSpace.com) — NASA says that a space rock will pass just 7,500 miles above Earth’s surface on Monday, June 27, 2011.

to read more, go to:  http://www.theweatherspace.com/news/TWS-06_24_2011_asteroid.html

 

Active Volcanoes 6/15-6/21

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Active volcanoes in the world from 15/06/2011 to 21/06/2011

Last update: June 23, 2011 at 11:07 pm by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell Leave a Comment

 

The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.
Updated by 2300 UTC every Wednesday, notices of volcanic activity posted on these pages  are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. This is not a comprehensive list of all of Earth’s  volcanoes erupting during the week, but rather a summary of activity at volcanoes that meet criteria discussed in detail in the “Criteria and Disclaimers” section. Carefully reviewed, detailed reports on various volcanoes are published monthly in the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network.

New Activity or Unrest

to read more, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/06/23/active-volcanoes-in-the-world-from-15062011-to-21062011/