Devil's Tower

It is a most improbable mountain, sticking up a thousand feet in the air above the surrounding valley like some giant, prehistoric tree-stump. Native Americans from ancient times designated it a sacred place. Yearly, thousands of tourists come to gawk at its unusual shape. The name of this strange geological formation is Devil's Tower.

Devil's Tower rises 1,267 feet above the nearby Belle Fourche River. What makes the mountain so striking is its sharp, near-vertical cliffs with regular, furrows and flattened top.

During the age of the dinosaurs, this area was once under a shallow sea. Over a period of millions of years, sediment was deposited on the floor of this sea and this eventually turned it to sedimentary rock such as sandstone, shale and siltstone. At the end of the dinosaurs age 65 million years ago, pressures from within the earth forced the land upward. These pressures created the nearby Black Hills and Rocky Mountains. The pressure also forced molten rock toward the surface at the location where the tower now stands. What scientists cannot agree on is whether this molten rock ever made its way to the surface. If it did, then Devil's Tower is probably the remains of an ancient volcano. The formation as we see it would be called a "volcanic plug."

A volcanic plug is formed when a volcano becomes extinct and the molten rock in tube that carried the magma from deep in the earth to the crater of the mountain cools and becomes solid igneous rock. Usually the rock in the tube is much tougher than the rest of the mountain and as the wind, rain and snow erode the mountain away, the plug becomes exposed. One well-known example of a volcanic plug is Ship Rock in New Mexico which towers 1,700 feet above the surrounding plain.

Most of the evidence suggests that Devil's Tower isn't the remains of an extinct volcano, however. There is no trace in the surrounding countryside of other geological phenomena that might be associated with a volcano such as ash or lava flows.

A more likely theory is that the strangely-shaped mountain is a laccolith. A laccolith is an intrusion of hot magma from deep within the earth that never reaches the surface. It pushes up a bulge of sedimentary rock above it, but no caldera or crater is formed. As the molten rock cools and the soft sedimentary rock of the bulge is worn away, the harder igneous rock is exposed. If this is the case the top of the tower probably became visible between one and two million years ago.

The tower itself is composed of phonolite porphyry, a gray or greenish igneous rock with crystals of feldspar embedded within it. As the hot rock cooled, eight-sided vertical columns formed. As these columns continued to cool they shrank and pulled away from each other, making the furrow marks that run vertically down the tower from the top.

As the land surrounding the tower continues to erode, more of the bottom part of the tower will be exposed. At the same time, however, the tower is not immune to erosion itself and is slowly wearing away. The boulders strewn around the base are remnants of this singular formation that have fallen from it over time.

The first successful climb of Devil's Tower was in 1893. It was done using a series of ladders held to the mountain by pegs driven into some of the vertical cracks running between the columns. William Rogers, a rancher, ascended the ladder for the first "official" climb on July 4th of that year. Though the ladder has become unusable, portions of it can still be seen by visitors walking the trail that circles the base of the tower.

Climbers still ascend the tower, but use free climbing techniques and safety ropes secured with steel wedges hammered into cracks in the rocks. The installation of permanent pitons are not allowed so that damage to the rock face can be avoided. The mountain is still sacred to several Northern Plains tribes, and The National Park Service, which administers the site, promotes a voluntary ban on climbing the tower in June when Native American ceremonies are most prevalent.

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/devils-tower.html

The Door To Hell, Turkmenistan

This place in Uzbekistan is called by locals “The Door to Hell”. It is situated near the small town of Darvaz. The story of this place lasts already for 35 years.  

 

During the 1970s, when Turkmenistan was part of the USSR, Soviet geologists were sent into the desert to explore for natural gas, which can often be detected seeping through the sand. While drilling in one such spot, the geologists happened upon a large, cavernous space full of poisonous gas which promptly swallowed their equipment. Hoping to burn off the excess gas, perhaps to make it possible to descend into the crater, the geologists set it ablaze and 35 years later, it's still burning.

 

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/the-door-to-hell-turkmenistan.html

Magnetic Man - Liew Thow Lin

Liew Thow Lin is known as the "Magnetic Man" of Malaysia, because of his incredible ability to stick metal objects to his body.

After a deep medical study, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) lecturer Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood said this ability was probably associated with "suction properties in his skin." Professor Dr. Mohamed Amin Alias, from UTM's electrical engineering faculty in Johor, agreed.

 

 

After seeing Liew perform, the professor did research on the matter, and decided, "His skin has a special suction effect that can help metal stick to it." "These powers are not an illusion," he said, "That is why his two sons and two grandchildren also have the magnetic-like ability.

 

 

They have his genes." Dr. Atsusi Kono, former chief physician at the Djo Si Idai Hospital in Tokyo, was so impressed with a Russian he saw doing this stunt, that he commented: "There is absolutely no doubt that the objects stick as if their bodies were magnetic."

 

 

Dr. Friedbert Karger of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, in January 1997, investigated another "magnetic man" named Miroslaw Magola who was born in Poland in the 1960s, and was able to demonstrate the ability "to pick up a cup from the floor without touching it, and to control its suspension in mid-air."

 

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/magnetic-man-liew-thow-lin.html

World's Tiniest Lizards Has Been Discovered In Madagascar

One of the world's tiniest lizards has been discovered by keen-eyed researchers in Madagascar. The miniature chameleon, Brookesia micra, reaches a maximum length of just 29mm. German scientists also found a further three new species in the north of the island. The lizards were limited to very small ranges and scientists are concerned they could be at risk from habitat disturbance. The discovery is reported in the journal PLoS ONE.

The research team, led by Dr Frank Glaw from the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich, have a specialist knowledge of Madagascar's dwarf chameleons having described other species in the past. They conducted fieldwork at night during the wet season in order to find the easily overlooked animals.

"They mostly live in the leaf litter in the day... But at night they climb up and then you can spot them," said Dr Glaw, explaining that the animals moved up into branches to sleep. The scientists carefully scanned the most likely habitats with torches and headlamps to find roosting sites.

They found the smallest species on a remote limestone islet and believe it may represent an extreme case of island dwarfism.

This phenomenon occurs when a species becomes smaller over evolutionary time in order to adapt to a restricted habitat such as an island.

According to Dr Glaw there could have been a "two-island effect" in the case of B. micra. "It is possible that the big island of Madagascar has produced the general group of dwarf chameleons and the very small island has produced the tiny species," he told BBC Nature.

Varied but vulnerable

Because the chameleons looked similar in appearance, researchers conducted a genetic analysis to confirm that they were indeed four distinct species. The genetic differences between the species were described as "remarkable" by team member Miguel Vences from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. "This indicates that they separated from each other millions of years ago - even earlier than many other chameleon species," he said.

Each of the new species was restricted to a very small territory, just a single square kilometre for the smallest. "In Madagascar many species are restricted to small habitats and that makes it important to conserve them" said Dr Glaw. Scientists believe the small ranges of the species make them especially sensitive to habitat disturbance.

B. tristis, named after the French word "triste" meaning sad, was found in an isolated patch of forest close to an expanding city.

The team chose thought-provoking names as an expression of their concern for the future of the island's micro-endemic species.

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/worlds-tiniest-lizards-has-been-discovered-in-madagascar.html

Incredible Close-up Images of Animal Eyes

Armenian photographer Suren Manvelyan's incredible close-up images of human eyes amazed us with their resemblance to the surface of unknown planets. This time he published close-up images of various animals eyes that reveal the varied alien planets shining in their irises in his website.

Blue-Yellow Macaw Parrot

Blue Crayfish

Coral Zebra Fish

Discus Fish

Guinea Pig

Lark

Lemur Katta

Siam Cat

Sterlet

Tiger Python (Albino)

Source : surenmanvelyan.com

Incredible Close-up Images of Human Eyes

We probably think of an eyeball as smooth marble-like sphere. But Armenian physics teacher Suren Manvelyan's close-up images of eye show the complex and intricate textures hidden within the iris that give our eyes our unique and enchanting character. He captured these images using his friends, colleagues and pupils as models. Mr Manvelyan said he was surprised by the results of his efforts to photograph the human eye, describing them like the 'surfaces of unknown planets'

 

 

Source : surenmanvelyan.com

World's Hairiest Girl - Supatra Sasuphan

11-year-old Supatra Sasuphan being named the “World’s Hairiest Girl who lives in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though she was being teased as "Wolf Child" and "Monkey Face" by the other kids she got the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's hairiest girl, and suddenly she's the coolest kid at her school.

 

 

Supatra has a condition called hypertrichosis, also known as Abras syndrome, which causes hair to grow over her entire body, even her face. Congenital hypertrichosis is extremely rare.

 

 

"I'm very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in," she said. "All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me."

"I'm very used to this condition. I can't feel the hair as it has always been like this. I don't feel anything. It does sometimes make it difficult to see when it gets long. I hope I will be cured one day."

 

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/worlds-hairiest-girl-supatra-sasuphan.html

A Girl Who Cries Tears of Blood

Yaritza Oliva, a 20 years old girl who lives in Purranque, Chile, suffers from a rare medical condition that causes her to cry tears of blood. She said that the pain is indescribable when she sheds tears of blood.

 

 

Initially doctors believed that it was common conjunctivitis but later some experts have suggested that she has a condition called haemolacria that causes sufferers cry tears of blood. Her parents, who cannot afford to send her to an appropriate medical expert, have asked friends and neighbours to help them raise funds for her and they made an appeal on a local news programme.

 

 

Oliva is not a only girl have this condition. In 2009, 15 years old Calvino Inman from Tennessee said he cries blood three times a day. He said that he could not  feel them.

 

 

Source : dailymail.co.uk

Boy With 31 Fingers And Toes

A 6-year-old boy from China, who was born with 5 extra fingers and 6 extra toes, has undergone an operation to remove his extra digits. If you do the math – that’s 31 fingers and toes.

The unnamed child suffered from a condition known as polydactyl, in which a person has more than five fingers per hand and five toes per foot. This condition can occur on its own without any other symptoms or underlying disease, according to the National Institutes of Health, or may be inherited.

 

 

One of his hands had seven fingers and the other had eight while each leg has an extra 3 toes. Four fingers on one hand and three on the other were fused. In this case, the boy appeared to have central polydactyl, where an extra digit of a long or ring finger is concealed in a web between the adjoining normal fingers.

The boy’s mother said he has been ridiculed all his life because of the malformation, but thanks to a six hour surgery at a hospital in Shenyang, China, doctors were able to remove the extra toes and fingers.

 

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/boy-with-31-fingers-and-toes.html

Chinese Boy Born With No Eyes

The boy was born with smooth skin in the sockets of where his eyes should have been, but since he was just eight months old, little Marwanijung has loved shining a flashlight at his face because he could still sense light.

"From eight months old, he was addicted to flashing his left eye with a flashlight," said the boy's father, according to Quirky China News. "He is eager to see light, and we pray everyday that he could see the light."

 

 

When his father Madamihan and mother Salamu took him to a hospital in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang in China, they were offered a glimmer of hope: Marwanijung actually had a left eye nestled underneath the skin of his left socket. 

Doctors had told Marwanijung's parents, both 26, that their son loved playing with the flashlight because he actually had a left eye, and that it was blocked by skin.

Tragically, doctors at the Army 474 Hospital are now saying that Marwanijung left eye is too sensitive for exposure and, and even if surgery uncovered his left eyeball, he would still not be able to see because his eye has no lens. 

 

 

Instead, they suggested that Marwanijung go under artificial eye installation surgery once he reaches 16 years old.

 

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/chinese-boy-born-with-no-eyes.html

McMurdo Dry Valley, Place That Looks Similar To Pluto Surface

McMurdo Dry Valley, the largest snow-free region in Antarctica located on the shore of McMurdo Sound, 2,200 miles (3,500 km) due south of New Zealand. The region is a windswept, frozen desert whose rugged terrain looks as if it belongs on Pluto rather than our planet. Covering 9,300 square miles (15,000 square kilometers), its valleys were carved by glaciers that long ago retreated, leaving in their wake a broken layer of boulders, gravel and pebbles, all of which have been worn down by the harsh weather and sorted by the strong winds. 

Image : Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

The surface contains deposits of marine sediments, in addition to sand dunes and ash, and covers a layer of soil that's millions of years old. Scientists like the Dry Valleys because the lack of ice makes it easier for them to get a look at the current geological processes affecting Antarctica. McMurdo Dry Valley also known for Blood Falls, an outflow of an iron oxide-tainted plume of saltwater.

 

Source : howstuffworks.com

The Giant's Causeway, The Polygonal Rock Formations In Ireland

The Giant's Causeway in northeast coast of Northern Ireland, is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption.  The majority of the columns are hexagonal, but some have four, five, eight or even ten sides, measuring approximately 12 inches wide. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea.  The Giant’s Causeway has often been described as the Eighth Wonder of the World and was declared as Ireland’s first World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1986.

 

 

 

Sixty-one million years ago, geological activity caused a series of volcanic eruptions, and molten lava flowed from cracks in the ground, causing valleys to burn and killing all vegetation. Then the basalt lava rapidly cooled, which caused it to shrink and crack into even polygonal shaped rocks (blocks). This in turn caused column-type joints to form beneath the earth. Fifty-eight million years ago, another series of volcanic eruptions produced a lava flow with a different chemical composition. When this lava cooled, it did not form columns as definite and staunch; it cloaked the well-defined, durable column structures beneath the surface. At the end of the Ice Age, 15,000 years ago, the frozen ocean chiseled its way past the high basalt elevations, eroding the shoreline and unveiling the cliff of columns, which resulted in the Giant’s Causeway.

 

 

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/11/the-giants-causeway.html

Largest Earthquakes (Top 10)

1.Chile, 1960 - Magnitude 9.5 

Approximately 1,655 people were killed during the largest earthquake ever recorded. Thousands more were injured, and millions were left homeless. Southern Chile suffered $550 million USD in damage.

The quake triggered a tsunami that killed 61 people in Hawaii, 138 in Japan and 32 in the Philippines.

The earthquake ruptured where the Nazca Plate dives underneath the South American Plate, on the Peru-Chile Trench.

2.Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1964 - Magnitude 9.2

This great earthquake and ensuing tsunami took 128 lives and caused about $311 million USD in property loss. The earthquake damage was heavy in many towns, including Anchorage, which was about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of the epicenter. The quake ruptured along a seismically active fault between the North American and Pacific plates. The shaking lasted about 3 minutes.

Landslides in Anchorage caused heavy damage. Huge slides occurred in the downtown business section and water mains and gas, sewer, telephone and electrical systems were disrupted throughout the area.

3.Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra, 2004 - Magnitude 9.1 

This quake was the third largest earthquake in the world, and the largest since the 1964 earthquake in Prince William Sound, Alaska. In total, 227,898 people were killed or missing and presumed dead and about 1.7 million people were displaced by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 14 countries in Southeast Asia and East Africa.

The tsunami caused more casualties than any other in recorded history, although some estimates say the death toll from the 2010 Haiti earthquake was larger. The tsunami was recorded nearly world-wide on tide gauges in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

This quake struck one day after Christmas along the interface of the India and Burma tectonic plates (huge, moving slabs of the Earth's crust) and was caused by the release of stresses that develop as the India plate dives beneath the Burma plate.

4.Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan, 2011 - Magnitude 9.0

On March 11, a magnitude 9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that killed an estimated 29,000 people and damaged some nuclear reactors. This earthquake is the largest ever recorded in Japan.

Aftershocks continue to rock the island of Honshu. The aftershocks include more than 50 of magnitude 6.0 or greater, and three above magnitude 7.0.

The quake was caused by thrust faulting near the Japan Trench, the boundary between the Pacific and North America tectonic plates. Thrust faulting happens when one tectonic plate dives under another. In this case, the Pacific plate is diving under the North America plate.

5.Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, 1952 - Magnitude 9.0

The world's first recorded magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the east coast of Kamchatka in 1952. The quake generated a 43-foot tsunami (13 m) locally. The tsunami rocked Crescent City, Calif., which was also hit hard by the recent Japan earthquake.

No lives were lost, but in Hawaii, property damage was estimated at up to $1 million USD. The waves tossed boats onto the beach, caused houses to collide, destroyed piers, scoured beaches and moved road pavement.

Kamchatka has a rumbling past and many active volcanoes. It was also hit by an 8.5 magnitude quake in 1923.

6.Offshore Maule, Chile, 2010 - Magnitude 8.8

Just last year, at least 500 people were killed and 800,000 were displaced by the earthquake and tsunami that hit central Chile. More than 1.8 million people were affected and the total economic loss was estimated at $30 billion USD. Central Chile is still feeling aftershocks to this day.

The earthquake took place along the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates.

The quake hit just over a month after the disastrous magnitude 7.0 quake in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, which killed more than 200,000 people.

7.Off the Coast of Ecuador, 1906 - Magnitude 8.8

A catastrophic magnitude 8.8 earthquake ruptured off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia and generated a strong tsunami that killed 500 to 1,500 people. The tsunami spread along the coast of Central America, and even stretched to San Francisco and Japan.

The earthquake occurred along the boundary between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate. It hit more than 100 years ago, so reports are spotty, but according the USGS, witnesses reported a huge rush of water in Honolulu Bay. All the steam and sailboats in the bay were turned around, and then a sudden flood tide roared inland.

8.Rat Islands, Alaska, 1965 - Magnitude 8.7

Alaska had been a state for only 7 years when this huge earthquake triggered a tsunami of over 30 feet (10 meters). Despite its size, the quake caused little damage due to its remote location at the tip of the Aleutian Islands.

The tsunami was reported in Hawaii and spread as far away as Japan. The temblor was the result of the Pacific Plate diving beneath the North American Plate at the Alaska-Aleutian megathrust, which has been the location of many megathrust earthquakes.

The quake cracked wood buildings and split an asphalt runway. Hairline cracks also formed in the runways at the U.S. Coast Guard Loran Station.

9.Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, 2005 - Magnitude 8.6

More than 1,000 people were killed, with hundreds more injured, mostly in Nias, in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake hit just months after an even bigger earthquake destroyed the region.

The quake ruptured below the surface of the Indian Ocean, where the Indo-Australian Plate is pushing under the Eurasian plate at the Sunda trench, similar to the 2004 quake.

10.Assam-Tibet, 1950 - Magnitude 8.6

At least 1,500 people were killed across eastern Tibet and Assam, India, when this temblor shook the region. Ground cracks, large landslides and sand volcanoes hit in the area. The quake was felt in the Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China, and as far away as Calcutta, India.

The quake caused large landslides that blocked rivers. When the rivers finally burst through the walls of debris, waves inundated several villages and killed hundreds of people.

This quake is commonly called the Assam-Tibet earthquake or the Assam earthquake, even though the epicenter was in Tibet. The quake struck at the intersection of the most vigorous collision of continental plates on the planet, where the Indian continental plate smashes into the Eurasian plate and dives beneath it. The slow-motion crash helped create the massive Himalayas.

Source :- http://www.unbelievableinfo.com/2013/12/largest-earthquakes-top-10.html