Saturday, August 30, 2008

Meet Aditya, World's Smallest Bodybuilder!


At just 2ft 9in, Indian muscleman Adiya "Romeo" Dev is the world's smallest bodybuilder.

Pint-sized Romeo is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India - for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9kg body weight. Every day, crowds flock to the local gym to the see the mini-muscleman in training.






Unlike many dwarfs, Romeo is well proportioned, with a head circumference of 15in and a chest measurement of 20in.

Romeo said: "I've been training as a bodybuilder for the last two years and by now I think I must be the strongest dwarf in the world.

MEET TINY JYOTI, THE SMALLEST GIRL IN THE WORLD


She stands just 1ft 11in tall and the average two-year-old would tower over her. But Jyoti Amge is no toddler - she is 14 years old.

This remarkable teenager, who weighs just 11 lb, is the smallest girl in the world.Her tiny size - she's just nine inches taller than this page - means that Jyoti has to have her fashionable clothes and jewellery made for her.

The youngster - who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia and will never grow any taller - is too small to use a normal-sized knife and fork so she eats off special plates... and sleeps in a tiny, custombuilt bed.

Even bathing is done on a miniature scale.

She uses specially-made steps to help her get in the bath and a small bucket and jug to wash herself.

But, astonishingly, she goes to a regular school, where her fellow pupils treat their tiny classmate as one of themselves as she she sits at her mini-desk and chair.

And Jyoti, who like any teenager loves listening to pop music and watching DVDs, is far from unhappy about her size.

She says: "I am proud of being small. I love all the attention I get. I'm not scared of being small and I don't regret it. I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different." And her size has its benefits. She's a mini-celebrity in her home city of Nagpur, in central India. People flock to see her. Some even treat her as a goddess. And she has even recorded a soon-to-be-released album with her favourite Indian pop star, the bhangra/rap singer Mika Singh.

Her businessman father Kishanji, 52, says: "I can't separate myself from her even for a single day. I love her very much. She makes me proud. Lots of gurus come to see and bless her. They pray for her happiness and long life."

Her mother Ranjana, 45, adds: "When Jyoti was born, she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five. We consulted a specialist and he said she will be this size all of her life. Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much."

For one so small, Jyoti has big ambitions.

She hopes to one day break into Bollywood as an actress.

She says: "I would love to work in a big city like Mumbai, act in films and travel to London and America."

I'm proud of being small. I love all the attention I get because of it

All her things at home are in miniature.. but she's very happy. Some people even think she's a goddess

She loves DVDs and wearing fashionable dresses.. and has made an album with her favourite rap star.

Greatest rail journey: London to Dhaka via Delhi in 23 days

In what would be the world's greatest rail journey, a new rail link, to be opened later this year, will enable one to undertake a 23-day journey by train from London to Dhaka via New Delhi.
The 7000-mile Trans-Asia railway network will follow one of the old Silk Roads through Istanbul, Tehran, Lahore and Delhi. The world's "greatest railway journey" will be longer than the Trans-Siberian railway, which spans 5772 miles, world's greatest rail journeyreported the Times Online.

India has already earmarked 90 million pounds to extend its vast rail network towards its border with Burma. From there just 218 miles of missing track stands in the way of an overland rail journey from London to Singapore.

Under a UN-sponsored scheme, Pakistan and Iran will link up their lines in the coming months to join the sub-continent's track to that of Europe for the first time. The UN said the link would open up new trade routes within Asia and give the former Soviet republics of central Asia rail access to Iran's strategic seaport at Bandar Abbas on the Gulf.

The route was extended when the Calcutta to Dhaka line reopened earlier this month, more than 40 years after it was blocked during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965.

Last week, senior Indian officials met their Iranian counterparts in Tehran to discuss the progress so far made in the rail network.

The prospect has caused excitement among Britain's rail enthusiasts. Mark Smith, whose website Seat61.com promotes rail adventures around the world, was planning his first London to Dhaka itinerary. His trip incorporates the Eurostar to Brussels, breakfast in Vienna and onward trains to Istanbul, where travelers must take the ferry across the Bosporus linking Europe with Asia.

The ferry will eventually be replaced by an underground tunnel, but for now passengers will be able to enjoy views of the Aya Sofya and Topkapi Palace.

China, a big supporter of the project, is spending billions on extending rail lines to its Burmese border. Trans-Asia railway sources said the only barrier to eventually connecting London to Yunnan province and Singapore was Burma's military regime, whose poor human rights record means that no foreign funding is available to rebuild its railways.

Platypus mystery solved

The world's first platypus twin puggles born in captivity are shown at Taronga Zoo in Sydney in 2003. The task of laying bare the platypus genome of 2.2 billion base pairs spread across 18,500 genes has taken several years, but will do far more than satisfy the curiosity of just biologists, say the researchers.

Arguably the oddest beast in Nature's menagerie, the platypus looks as if were assembled from spare parts left over after the animal kingdom was otherwise complete.

PlatypusNow scientists know why. According to a study released Wednesday, the egg-laying critter is a genetic potpourri -- part bird, part reptile and part lactating mammal.

The task of laying bare the platypus genome of 2.2 billion base pairs spread across 18,500 genes has taken several years, but will do far more than satisfy the curiosity of just biologists, say the researchers.

"The platypus genome is extremely important, because it is the missing link in our understanding of how we and other mammals first evolved," explained Oxford University's Chris Ponting, one of the study's architects.

"This is our ticket back in time to when all mammals laid eggs while suckling their young on milk."

Native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, the semi-aquatic platypus is thought to have split off from a common ancestor shared with humans approximately 170 million years ago.

The creature is so strange that when the first stuffed specimens arrived in Europe at the end of the 18th century, biologists believed they were looking at a taxidermist's hoax, a composite stitched together from the body of a beaver and the snout of a giant duck.

But the peculiar mix of body features are clearly reflected in the animal's DNA, the study found.

The platypus is classified as a mammal because it produces milk and is covered in coat of thick fur, once prized by hunters.

Lacking teats, the female nurses pups through the skin covering its abdomen.

But there are reptile-like attributes too: females lay eggs, and males can stab aggressors with a snake-like venom that flows from a spur tucked under its hind feet.

The bird-like qualities implied by its Latin name, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, include webbed feet, a flat bill similar to a duck's, and the gene sequences that determine sex. Whereas humans have two sex chromosomes, platypuses have 10, the study showed.

"It is much more of a melange than anyone expected," commented Ewan Birney, who led the genome analysis at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge.

The animal also possesses a feature unique to monotremes -- an order including a handful of egg-laying mammals -- called electroreception.

With their eyes, ears and nostrils closed, platypuses rely on sensitive electrosensory receptors tucked inside their bills to track prey underwater, detecting electrical fields generated by muscular contraction.

"By comparing the platypus genome to other mammalian genomes, we'll be able to study genes that have been conserved throughout evolution," said senior author Richard Wilson, a researcher at Washington University.

In captivity, platypuses have lived up to 17 years of age.

In the wild, they feed on worms, insect larvae, shrimps and crayfish, eating up to 20 percent of their body weight every day.

Males grow to a length of 50 centimetres (20 inches) and weigh about two kilos (4.5 pounds), with females about 20 percent shorter and lighter.

The genome sequenced for the study belongs to a female specimen from New South Wales nicknamed Glennie and can be accessed at www.ncbi.nih.gov/Genbank.

WORLD'S FIRST PREGNANT MAN - Amazing










9 Most Amazing Overlooked Mysteries in History

9. Lost City of Heike

Lost City of HeikeIn the late 2nd century AD, the Greek writer Pausanias wrote an account of how (4-500 years earlier?) in one night a powerful earthquake destroyed the great city of Helike, with a Tsunami washing away what remained of the once-flourishing metropolis. The city, capital of the Achaean League, was a worship centre devoted to the ancient god Poseidon, god of the sea. There was no trace of the legendary society mentioned outside of the ancient Greek writings until 1861, when an archeologist found some loot thought to have come from Helike - a bronze coin with the unmistakable head of Poseidon. In 2001, a pair of archeologists managed to locate the ruins of Helike beneath the mud and gravel of the coast, and are currently trying to peice together the rise and sudden fall of what has been called the “real” Atlantis.

8. The Bog Bodies

The Bog BodiesThis mystery may even be a problem for those legendary investigators from CSI and the like! The bog bodies are hundreds of ancient corpses found buried around the northern bogs and wetlands of Northern Europe. These bodies are remarkably well preserved, some dating back 2,000 years. Many of these bodies have tell-tale signs of torture and other medieval “fun”, which have made some researchers postulating that these unfortunate victims were the result of ritual sacrifices.

7. Fall of the Minoans

Fall of the MinoansThe Minoans are best known for the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, but it is in fact the demise of this once-great civilisation that is more interesting. While many historians concentrate on the fall of the Roman Empire, the fall of the Minoans, who resided on the island of Crete, is an equal, if not greater mystery. Three and a half thousand years ago the island was shaken by a huge volcanic eruption on the neighbouring Thera Island. Archeologists unearthed tablets which have shown that the Minoans carried on for another 50 years after the eruption, before finally folding. Theories of what finally ended them have ranged from volcanic ash covering the island and devastating harvests to the weakened society eventually getting taken over by invading Greeks

6. The Carnac Stones

The Carnac StonesEveryone has heard of Stonehenge, but few know the Carnac Stones. These are 3,000 megalithic stones arranged in perfect lines over a distance of 12 kilometers on the coast of Brittany in the North-West of France. Mythology surrounding the stones says that each stone is a soldier in a Roman legion that Merlin the Wizard turned in to stone. Scientific attempts at an explanation suggests that the stones are most likely an elaborate earthquake detector. The identity of the Neolithic people who built them is unknown.

5. Who Was Robin Hood ?

The historical search for the legendary thief Robin Hood has turned up masses of possible names. One candidate includes the Yorkshire fugitive Robert Hod, also known as Hobbehod or Robert Hood of Wakefield..

The large number of suspects is complicated further as the name Robin Hood became a common term for an outlaw. As literature began to add new characters to the tale such as Prince John and Richard the Lionheart the trail became more obscure. To this day no one knows who this criminal really was.

4. The Lost Roman Legion

The Lost Roman LegionAfter the Parthians defeated underachieving Roman General Crassus’ army, legend has it that a small band of the POWs wandered through the desert and were eventually rounded up by the Han military 17 years later.

First century Chinese historian Ban Gu wrote an account of a confrontation with a strange army of about a hundred men fighting in a “fish-scale formation” unique to Roman forces.

An Oxford historian who compared ancient records claims that the lost roman legion founded a small town near the Gobi desert named Liqian, which in Chinese translates to Rome. DNA tests are being conducted to answer that claim and hopefully explain some of the residents’ green eyes, blonde hair, and fondness of bullfighting.

3. The Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich ManuscriptThe Voynich Manuscript is a medieval document written in an unknown script and in an unknown language. For over one hundred years people have tried to break the code to no avail. The overall impression given by the surviving leaves of the manuscript suggests that it was meant to serve as a pharmacopoeia or to address topics in medieval or early modern medicine. However, the puzzling details of illustrations have fueled many theories about the book’s origins, the contents of its text, and the purpose for which it was intended. The document contains illustrations that suggest the book is in six parts: Herbal, Astronomical, Biological, Cosmological, Pharmaceutical, and recipes.

2. The Tarim Mummies

The Tarim MummiesAn amazing discovery of 2,000 year old mummies in the Tarim basin of Western China occurred in the early 90s. But more amazing than the discovery itself was the astonishing fact that the mummies were blond haired and long nosed.

In 1993, Victor Mayer a college professor collected DNA from the mummies and his tests verified that the bodies were all of European genetic stock.

Ancient Chinese texts from as early as the first millennium BC do mention groups of far-east dwelling caucasian people referred to as the Bai, Yeuzhi, and Tocharians. None, though, fully reveal how or why these people ended up there.

1. Disappearance of the Indus Valley Civilization

Disappearance of the Indus Valley CivilizationThe ancient Indus Valley people, India’s oldest known civilization had a culture that stretched from Western India to Afghanistan and a populace of over 5 million. le—India’s oldest known civilization— were an impressive and apparently sanitary bronze-age bunch.

The scale of their baffling and abrupt collapse rivals that of the great Mayan decline. They were a hygienically advanced culture with a highly sophisticated sewage drainage system, and immaculately constructed baths.

There is to date no archaeological evidence of armies, slaves, conflicts, or other aspects of ancient societies. No one knows where this civilization went.

The Worlds Longest Bike - Amazing

The Worlds Longest Bike

Worlds Longest BikeIt has been to our attention that the longest bike in the world, officialy registered by Guiness record book is from Russia.It’s creator Oleg “Leshij” Rogov was from Tver city, a small town near Moscow city. He was a big biker fan since his childhood. One day he has got an idea to build the longest bike in the world, according to his own story “probably after he got too much  beer inside”.

Worlds Longest BikeSo after two years of planning and delaying he did it. He built the bike that was 31 feet 4 inches long (9 metres 57 cm). After the thing was ready he sent his claim to the Guiness book and got registered as longest bike in the world.

The saddest part of the story is that he got into accident and died this summer, still we have the photos of his creation, it would be some kind of tribute to him.

Worlds Longest Bike

The Longest Truck in the World - Amazing

The longest truck in the world

longest truck in the worldSo, have you ever this truck? May you ever seen the truck below

Longest truck in the world - Hart hitches a ride in a 182ft Road Train

longest truck in the world
“Some drivers just won’t pass us, they are too scared”

longest truck in the world

Largest TV sculpture in the world


"LNK Infotree" (LNK Infomedis) is currently the largest TV sculpture in the world (Guinness World Record). It's using 2,903 individual television sets, spanning 3,135 sq metres (33,744.85 sq ft) at the Open Air Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania. I've been there a couple of years ago and it looked really amazing. It's currently closed for reconstruction but we can look at some older images.






A statue of Lenin lies in the middle of the labyrinth. The sculpture symbolizes the absurdity of Soviet propaganda that for over half a century had been implanted in people¢s minds with the help of senseless TV.

All Lithuania has taken part in the creation of a labyrinth of television sets. People from various Lithuanian towns donated old TV sets after an appeal from Europos Parkas was broadcast on LNK television.