HARI KARI? HARI KUYO!

In Japan, every village has a shrine dedicated to broken sewing needles. Yes, that's right, broken sewing needles! The name for this shrine is Hari Kuyo.

This is done in the belief that a sewing needle which has performed its task well over its entire life and in the service of others, has 'died' whilst in active service. Broken needles are therefore laid to rest on a soft bed of tofu.

Smallest Miniature Painting By Norris Castillo

This unique painting was created by miniaturist Norris Castillo and carries the name of “The Harvest”. It is an oil on canvas painting and is only 3/8 inches long and a 1/4 inch wide. This unique tiny painting is on display at the National Museum in the Philippines. Castillo himself has created over 10,000 miniature paintings.

The Coldest Desert On Earth

Although its barren desert-like conditions may have been traversed by the ill-fated Scott expedition in 1912, the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica were not formally discovered and recorded until the mid 1950s.

Given the endless miles of snow and ice, where temperatures have gone as low as -89C, the stretch of barren territory came as quite a surprise to explorers. Like any other desert, it has long stretches of plains, sometimes 100km or more, that create optical illusions by making the horizon appear closer than it is. And while it does have rocky outcroppings, and mountains around the perimeter, there is virtually nothing else within the valleys except frozen dirt. Even the mountain ranges have prevented ice from moving down into the valleys. It does snow in the Antarctic however, a whopping two inches of precipitation per year. But at the average temperatures, it doesn't rain. So why are the valleys bare of any kind of moisture? Because of the Katabatic winds that whip down the mountains and over the bare ground at 100mph. With the sole exception of one valley which experiences a flow of water along its riverbed in summer, the region is totally dry, and scientists estimate it has not seen rain in over two million years. The conditions are so unique as to resemble the surface of Mars, which made the Dry Valleys a perfect testing ground for NASA to prepare their exploratory equipment for the red planet.

Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai is part of a 2 kmp development named ‘Downtown Dubai‘ and it is placed at “First Interchange”, along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. Burj Dubai, whose budget is estimated at 4,1 billion dollars, is now considered the highest building of the World, having 1680 feet (512 meters) more than Taiwan’s Taipei 101, although it has not been finished yet.

It is expected to be about 2605 feet (808 meters) high by September when it is ready for being occupied. The tower, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill the ones who designed the Sears Tower in Chicago, which it is expected to be 150% overcome, and the Freedom Tower in New York City, will have more than 56 elevators, boutiques, 160 floors, swimming pools, corporate suites, a Giorgio Armani hotel and a 124th floor observation platform.

Oldest Living Tree

The world's oldest known living tree, a conifer that first took root at the end of the last Ice Age, has been discovered in Sweden.

The visible portion of the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) "Christmas tree" isn't ancient, but its root system has been growing for 9,550 years, according to a team led by Leif Kullman, professor at Umeå University's department of ecology and environmental science in Sweden.

The researchers found the shrubby mountain survivor at an altitude of 2,985 feet (910 meters) in Dalarna Province. The tree's incredible longevity is largely due to its ability to clone itself, Kullman said.

The spruce's stems or trunks have a lifespan of around 600 years, "but as soon as a stem dies, a new one emerges from the same root stock," Kullman explained. "So the tree has a very long life expectancy."

Worlds Smallest Dog

The pint-sized pooch — a mere 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) in length from tail to nose — was awarded the record for world’s smallest dog in length by Guinness World Records on January 31 2005. Weighing only 2 pounds, Heaven Sent Brandy still holds on to her crown, as she hasn’t grown a fraction since she won her title nearly 3 years ago.

With legs the size of lollipops, the 4 year old canine’s lungs are so small she can’t even bark.

Pandora's Box

Pandora's box is the large jar carried by Pandora that unleashed many evils on mankind – ills, toils and sickness – and hope.

After Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the woman Pandora as part of the punishment for mankind. Pandora was given many seductive gifts from Aphrodite, Hermes, Hera, Charites, and Horae (according to Works and Days). For fear of additional reprisals, Prometheus warned his brother Epimetheus not to accept any gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus did not listen, and married Pandora. Pandora had been given a large jar and instruction by Zeus to keep it closed, but she had also been given the gift of curiosity, and ultimately opened it. When she opened it, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, but it is said, that at the very bottom of her box, there lay hope.

World's Longest Hair

Xie Qiuping (China). Ms. Qiuping's hair measures 5.627 m (18 ft 5.54 in).

Name:
Xie Qiuping
Length:
18 ft. 5.54 inches (5.627 cm)
Measured:
Guangxi Province, China
Date of Record:
May 8, 2004

Oldest Portrait

This 27,000-year-old cave drawing may be the oldest human portrait on record. It was found on the wall of a cave near Angoulême, France.

Drawn with Calcium carbonate, and using the bumps in the wall to give form to the face, it features two horizontal lines for the eyes, another for the mouth and a vertical line for the nose.

Worlds Smallest Fish

Paedocyprisis (only 7.9mm long) -- Scientists claims to be the smallest known fish in the world. The tiny, see-through Paedocypris fish have the appearance of larvae and have a reduced head skeleton, which leaves the brain unprotected by bone. They live in dark tea-coloured waters with an acidity of pH3, which is at least 100 times more acidic than rainwater.

Useless Trivia

-The oldest known vegetable is the pea.
-The avocado has the most calories of any fruit.
-The first zoo in the USA was in Philadelphia.
-The letter "n" ends all Japanese words not ending in a vowel.
-France has the highest per capita consumption of cheese.
-The hardest bone in the human body is the jawbone.
-4,000 people are injured by teapots each year.
-The typical American consumes 27 pounds of cheese each year.
-The shortest English word that contains the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F is "feedback."
-The state of California raises the most turkeys out of all of the states.
-George Washington Carver invented peanut butter.
-A scallop has 35 blue eyes.
-The left leg of a chicken in more tender than the right one.
-The only dog that doesn't have a pink tongue is the chow.
-The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal.
-The dumbest domesticated animal is the turkey.
-Russia has the most movie theaters in the world.
-The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.
-The most fatal car accidents occur on Saturday.
-Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer.
-The mongoose was barred live entry into the U.S. in 1902.
-Goldfish swallowing started at Harvard in 1939.
-Dry fish food can make goldfish constipated.
-Your urine will turn bright yellow if you eat too much asparagus.
-Before Prohibition, Shlitz Brewery owned more property in Chicago than anyone else, except the Catholic church.

The Rafflesia Arnoldii

The flower with the world's largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.

The World’s Most Expensive Shoes

These Cinderella Slippers by Stuart Weizman are the world’s most expensive and cost $2,000,000 dollars. They have a four and a half inch stiletto heel and are set with 595 carats of platinum set diamonds.

Presidential "grave" Facts

1. Most-visited presidential grave: John F. Kennedy's in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

2. The only other president buried in Arlington: William Howard Taft.

3. The only president buried in Washington, D.C. proper: Woodrow Wilson, who was laid to rest in the National Cathedral.

4. The only president buried on the grounds of a state capitol: James Polk in Nashville, Tenn.

5. The only presidents buried together: John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams are in a basement crypt in Quincy, Mass.

6. The two presidents who died on the same day: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died July 4, 1826.

7. The states with the most presidential burial sites: Ohio and Virginia (tie).

The Hungarian Suicide Song

Gloomy Sunday is a song written in 1933 by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and due to stories about its inspiring hundreds of suicides it was dubbed the Hungarian Suicide Song.

The composer wrote the song for a former girlfriend, who committed suicide shortly after the songs release. Legends have been told about Gloomy Sunday over the years and how it was allegedly connected with various numbers of suicides. Many American and European radio services found it too depressing for broadcast, and banned the song.

It is autumn and the leaves are falling

All love has died on earth

The wind is weeping with sorrowful tears

My heart will never hope for a new spring again

My tears and my sorrows are all in vain

People are heartless, greedy and wicked...

Love has died!

The world has come to its end, hope has ceased to have a meaning

Cities are being wiped out, shrapnel is making music

Meadows are coloured red with human blood

There are dead people on the streets everywhere

I will say another quiet prayer:

People are sinners, Lord, they make mistakes...

The world has ended!

Most Tattaoed Woman

Isobel Varley is the most senior tattooed woman in the world according to The Guinness Book of World Records. Isobel proves that you can be beautiful, sexy, and very tattooed even as a retiree.

The Golden Porsche

IT SUCKS.......................... Looks like a walking gold...fufufufu

Khagendra Thapa Magar

He is probably the shortest person in the world. Khagendra Thapa Magarfrom Baglung is 14 years old but only 20 inches tall! He is now being shown to public in the city of Pokhara. You will have to buy tickets to see him; and the amount collected will be used for his treatment.

His medical condition and the cause are still unknown. Nobody in his family has had this or similar type of condition before. Khagendra doesn't go to school; he stopped going to school after his classmates started pulling and pushing him around.

If he's really 20 inches; he's certainly the shortest person in the world because according to Guinness Book of World Records, Gull Mohammad was 22.5 inches.

Apple’s Newest OS, Snow Leopard

Could your Mac use a kick in the pants? Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest operating system, might do the trick. Available today, the $30 upgrade is more of a performance booster than a feature-packed OS, which might explain why it’s the cheapest upgrade Apple has sold in eight years. Snow Leopard frees up 7 GB of space for people installing from Leopard, and it generally helps the system run faster. Other features include an improved Exposé that works for individual applications, context-sensitive menus, the VoiceOver suite of functions for the visually impaired and Chinese character input. Analysts expect Apple to sell 2.5 to 3 million copies this quarter — less than Leopard, but not bad for an upgrade that’s mostly incremental.

World's largest diamond

The Golden Jubilee, with the weight of 545.67 carats, is the largest faceted diamond in the world. Rough stone weighed 755 carats and was discovered in Premier mine, South Africa in 1985. The Golden Jubilee was presented to the King of Thailand in 1997 for his Golden Jubilee - the 50th anniversary of his coronation. Prior to this event, the stone was simply known as the Unnamed Brown. Estimated value of the Golden Jubilee is $4-$12 million.