Did You Know That...

Wales is home to the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. No, this is not the result of my cat helping me. The name has 58 letters and in English means "Saint Mary's Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of Saint Tysilio near the red cave." How descriptive is that?! Local people have decided to call their town simply Llanfair.

A cowlick is the word used used to describe an area of a persons hair that sticks up at an angle. This is caused because the hair is growing in a spiral pattern. The term cowlick comes from the way cows lick their calves that makes the calf's hair curl.

EnviroFunFact

The common yet cunning raccoon. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

The raccoon sometimes spelled as racoon is also known as the common raccoon, North American raccoon, northern raccoon and colloquially as coon. It is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. The raccoon usually grows to a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in) and a body weight of 3.5 to 9 kg (8 to 20 lb). The raccoon is usually nocturnal and is omnivorous, with a diet consisting of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant foods, and 27% vertebrates. It has a grayish coat, of which almost 90% is dense underfur, which insulates against cold weather. Two of its most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws and its facial mask, which are themes in the mythology of several Native American tribes. Raccoons can be very aggressive and extremely dangerous when cornered.

The fun fact about raccoons is that they are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks up to three years later.

One hundred years ago, "Just how smart are raccoons?" was a serious academic question. Key figures in the debate were University of Oklahoma Psychologist Lawrence Cole and Herbert Burnham Davis, a grad student at Clark University in Massachusetts. Both researchers developed experiments based on puzzle boxes from which their test subjects had to escape by undoing a series of latches. Working independently, they came to similar conclusions: raccoons are indeed cunning.

They are smarter than cats and dogs; and, closest to monkeys in their mental abilities.

Heck...all they had to do was ask any gardener who has tried to outwit a raccoon how smart they are.

Goat Contraception and The Great Orme

A Kashmir Goat

The city of Llankudno, Wales, is dwarfed by a huge hill called the Great Orme. Over a century ago, Queen Victoria released a pair of Kashmir goats, a gift from the Shah of Persia onto the Great Orme. They soon started reproducing; and, 100 years later, the goat population was getting out of control. The Great Orme eventually was eventually unable to totally support this number of goats and they started wandering down the hill into the city to graze in peoples' gardens.

The situation is now stabilized thanks to goat contraception. Great Orme warden Sally Pidcock says a vaccine seems to have worked. She says fewer than 10% of the goats that were treated had kids.

The Great Orme goat dilemma had to be handled delicately as the hills and cliffs are host to a variety of rare and endangered plants and wildlife. The resident herd of feral goats is not the only point of interest in the small area.


A view of the Great Orme cliffs taken from the former lighthouse.

The Great Orme is run as a nature reserve by the Conwy County Borough Countryside Service, with a number of protective designations (including Special Area of Conservation, Heritage Coast, Country Park, and Site of Special Scientific Interest), being an area two miles (3.2 km) long by one mile (1.6 km) wide. There are numerous paths for walking on the summit, including a section of the North Wales Path, a long distance route. About half the Great Orme is in use as farmland, mostly for sheep grazing.

The geology of the Great Orme is limestone and the surface is particularly noted for the limestone pavements covering several headland areas. There are also rich seams of Dolomite-hosted copper ore.

The Great Orme has a very rich flora, including most notably, the only known site of the critically endangered Wild Cotoneaster cambricus, of which only six wild plants are known.

Many of the flowers growing in shallow lime-rich earth on the headland have developed from the alpine sub-arctic species that developed following the last ice-age.

Spring and early summer flowers include Bloody Cranesbill, Thrift and Sea Campion, clinging to the sheer rock face, while Pyramidal Orchid, Common Rockrose and Wild Thyme carpet the grassland. The old mines and quarries also provide suitable habitat for species of plants including Spring Squill growing on the old copper workings.

The White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare), which is found growing on the western-most slopes of the Orme is said to have been used, and perhaps cultivated, by fourteenth century monks, no doubt to make herbal remedies including cough mixtures. The rare Horehound Plume Moth (Pterophorus spilodactylus) lays her eggs amongst the silky leaves and its caterpillars rely for food solely upon this one plant.

The headland is the habitat of several endangered species of butterflies and moths, including the Silky Wave, the Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus subsp. caernesis) and the Grayling (Hipparchia semele thyone) These last two have adapted to the Great Orme by appearing earlier in the year to take advantage of the limestone flowers and grasses. Also they are smaller than in other parts of the country and are recognised as a definite subspecies.

The Great Orme is reported as the northernmost known habitat within Britain for several ‘southern’ species of spider notably: Segestria bavarica, Episinus truncatus, Micrargus laudatus, Drassyllus praeficus, Liocranum rupicola and Ozyptila scabricula.

The caves and abandoned mine workings are home to large colonies of the rare Horseshoe bat. This small flying mammal navigates the caves and tunnels by using echo location to obtain a mental picture of its surroundings. During the daytime, Horseshoe bats are found suspended from the roof of tunnels and caves, with their wings tightly wrapped around their bodies. Only at dusk do the bats leave the caves and mine shafts to feed on beetles and moths.

The cliffs are host to colonies of seabirds (such as Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Razorbills and even Fulmars as well as Gulls). The Great Orme is also home to many resident and migrant land birds including Ravens, Little Owls and Peregrine Falcons.

Below the cliffs, the rock-pools around the headland are a rich and varied habitat for aquatic plants and animals including barnacles, red beadlet anemones and hermit crabs.

A habitat worth saving.

Quotable Quotes

"It is our collective and individual responsibility to protect and nurture the global family, to support its weaker members and to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live."

- Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader.

Quotable Quotes

"The Buddha teaches this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity."

- Buddha.

Vampire Frogs!?

The frog uses its webbed toes to glide between treetops. [Australian Museum: Jodi Rowley]. Photo courtesy: Asia Pacific News.

I have always loved frogs. I find them immensely fascinating - not to mention cute - so I am always interested when a new species is found. The above adorable fellow is a new species, discovered by an Australian scientist, in Vietnam named the Vampire Frog.

The vampire flying frog uses its webbed toes to glide between treetops; but, it earned its nickname because the frogs' tadpoles have strange black fangs.

Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley, who found the frog, says it is the first time fangs have been discovered in a tadpole.

"We don't know of anything quite like this that's for sure, so we're taking a lot of time to work out why on Earth they have these fangs," Dr Rowley said.

"Maybe it's got something to do with what they eat.

"They breed in very small pools of water that are found in the holes in the trunks of trees, so maybe they eat something particularly strange up there."

I, for one, will be waiting for scientists to discover the meaning of these strange fangs.

Via Asia Pacific News

Ancient Citadel, Metal Artifacts Unearthed in Peru

Metal artifact found in Cordillera de Colan. Photo courtesy: ANDINA / Alberto Pintado.

Rangers at the Cordillera de Colan Reserved Zone in Amazonas, northern Peru, have found what is believed to be an Inca citadel as well as some stone and metal artifacts during a routine patrolling in the Cajaruro district.

Biologist Leyda Gueiler said the metal artifact (pictured) seems to be a war shield while the stone ornaments were carved into the shape of leaves.

"This well preserved artifact is strong evidence that the ancient cultures in Amazonas did develop metalsmithing," said Gueiler.

As for the likely discovery of a citadel that dates back to Inca times, she said a team of archaeologists is to arrive in the area to examine the ruins which are still covered with vegetation.

The head of Cordillera de Colan Reserved Zone, Cesar Bartra, announced that the Regional Directorate of Culture in Chachapoyas has already been informed about these discoveries.

Stone leaf-shaped ornaments found in Cordillera de Colán in Amazonas. ANDINA / Alberto Pintado. Photo courtesy: andina

Did You Know That...

The beverage that is most often consumed by people the world over is water. The second most commonly sipped liquid is tea.

In many countries, wedding rings are exchanged between a bride and groom as a symbol of their union. Another interesting custom regarding wedding rings is this: in some areas of India, women wear a toe ring known a bichiya. In other parts of India, iron bangles are worn by women (an arm ring?).

We all know that saying "Gesundheit!" or "Bless You" doesn't really help the common cold; but, it's every bit as effective as anything the medical profession has to offer.

Mistletoe Cures Cancer

Magical: Mistletoe's healing properties are being harnessed at a cancer unit in England. Photo courtesy: dailymail

According to folklore, mistletoe 'magic' may seal romance, bestow fertility and bring peace to warring spouses.

The plant has also been credited with the power of healing - an attribute currently being harnessed by a new outpatient unit at the independent Raphael Medical Centre in Kent, which offers integrated cancer care.

The centre uses mistletoe (known by its Latin plant name, viscum album) to combat undesirable effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, such as fatigue, nausea, weight loss, low mood and infections.

Advocates believe the herb boosts the immune system and may even help kill tumour cells - particularly breast, gynaecological, colo-rectal, pancreatic and lung cancer, along with lymphomas and leukaemia.

Results have been so promising that Professor Gene Feder, a GP and Professor of Primary Care at Bristol University, is initiating the UK's first pilot study.

From his GP experience he says: 'Patients receiving mistletoe during and after radiotherapy or chemotherapy appear to tolerate those treatments better. The university is planning a pilot double-blind randomised controlled trial, and hope to start recruiting in Bristol in April.'

Treatment is usually by injections - two a week for two years. Patients inject at home after initial treatment by medical staff to monitor effects.

Dr Maurice Orange MSc, who heads the integrated cancer care clinic at Raphael, explains: 'We look for inflammation at the injection site.

This may be itchy, tender or painful for a day or two. Like after-effects of a bee sting, redness indicates the body's immune response. For this treatment that's desirable. After weeks or months of treatment it settles down.

'Similarly, within 24 hours of an injection we expect patients to feel off-colour, fatigued, headachy with bodily aches and pains, and possibly raised body temperature - like mild flu, but lasting about 12 hours. Again it's a positive sign. The immune system is firing into action. Depending on reactions we adjust doses, increasing as patients get used to it.'

Dr Orange stresses that mistletoe is an adjunct to conventional cancer treatment. While patients sometimes want to avoid orthodox treatment, he sees his job as discussing best treatments, often referring patients to sympathetic oncologists.

One patient who believes mistletoe has been the kiss of life is Anne Marshall-Lee. Diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2009, the 51-year-old teacher from Manchester was advised to have a mastectomy.

She studied the debate about whether mastectomy is appropriate for her particular cancer - DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in situ - cancer in the breast ducts) which later progressed to invasive cancer. She declined a mastectomy.

Specialists ruled out lumpectomy, in which only the tumour is removed.

'When the surgeon at my local hospital returned from leave, he saw my records and asked if I'd like to be referred for mistletoe therapy. I hadn't heard of this, but after discussion felt very comfortable with the idea,' recalls Anne.

She started injections in March 2009 and her NHS consultant kept watch with biopsies and scans.

Two weeks ago an ultrasound scan left Anne jubilant.

'In the last six months the diseased area reduced by almost two inches,' reports Anne. 'I'm looking forward to further successes as treatment continues.'

The average cost of mistletoe therapy is £50 ($77 USD) a month.

Via dailymail

Man-Eating Giants Found in Nevada Cave

All photos courtesy: Salem-News

Depiction of Paiute braves fighting with the "red-headed giants".

There have been many stories about giants - Jack and the Beanstalk; Gulliver's Travel; the nephilim of biblical note; Goliath; and, so many more. Tales of giants are found all over the world; but, were usually dismissed as fairy stories.

This discovery in a Nevada cave may prove that giants did exist at one time.

The Paiutes, a Native-American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona, told early white settlers about their ancestors' battles with a ferocious race of white, red-haired giants. According to the Paiutes, the giants were already living in the area.

The Paiutes named the giants Si-Te-Cah that literally means “tule-eaters.” The tule is a fibrous water plant the giants wove into rafts to escape the Paiutes continuous attacks.

They used the rafts to navigate across what remained of Lake Lahontan. According to the Paiutes, the red-haired giants stood as tall as 12-feet and were a vicious, unapproachable people that killed and ate captured Paiutes as food.

Did giants roam the earth?

The Paiutes told the early settlers that after many years of warfare, all the tribes in the area finally joined together to rid themselves of the giants.

One day as they chased down the few remaining red-haired enemy, the fleeing giants took refuge in a cave. The tribal warriors demanded their enemy come out and fight, but the giants steadfastly refused to leave their sanctuary.

Frustrated at not defeating their enemy with honor, the tribal chiefs had warriors fill the entrance to the cavern with brush and then set it on fire in a bid to force the giants out of the cave.

The few that did emerge were instantly slain with volleys of arrows. The giants that remained inside the cavern were asphyxiated.

Later, an earthquake rocked the region and the cave entrance collapsed leaving only enough room for bats to enter it and make it their home.

Actual cave where remains of white, red-headed giants were found.

Hundreds of years later archaeologists explored the cavern near Lovelock, Nevada--the cave the Indians had described.

What the scientific researchers found was staggering: over 10,000 artifacts were unearthed including the mummified remains of two red-haired giants—one, a female 6.5-feet tall, the other male, over 8-feet tall.

Many of the artifacts (but not the giants) can be viewed at the small natural history museum located in Winnemucca, Nevada.

One of the mummified remains.

As the excavation of the cave progressed, the archaeologists came to the inescapable conclusion that the Paiutes myth was no myth; it was true.

What led them to this realization was the discovery of many broken arrows that had been shot into the cave and a dark layer of burned material under sections of the overlaying guano.

Among the thousands of artifacts recovered from this site of an unknown people is what some scientists are convinced is a calendar: a donut-shaped stone with exactly 365 notches carved along its outside rim and 52 corresponding notches along the inside.

But that was not to be the final chapter of red-haired giants in Nevada.

In February and June of 1931, two very large skeletons were found in the Humboldt dry lake bed near Lovelock, Nevada.

More giants have been unearthed in other states...

Via Salem-News