Holi

Have you ever heard about the Hindu Festival of Holi? This is how Larry Ferlazzo, an English teacher in California, describes it: “Holi, also called the Festival of Colors, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India, and many other countries around the world. Holi is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other.”

It usually takes place in late February or early March. In 2009, it took place on March 11th. In 2010, it took place on February 27th. It started on March 19th in 2011. It starts on March 8th in 2012.

This is a video of the Holi Festival in 2011:

And now you can look at some images of the event :

Images from Photo Pin

Are you still curious about this festival? Check Time Magazine, The Atlantic or The Sacramento Bee.

Oceans

Oceans are one of the most beautiful parts of Nature. If you like to watch them, check this interactive infographic  from the BBC. It not only shows you information about what is happening at that depth of the ocean, but also provides videos and images.

Did you know that ocean waves perform six amazing functions for the Earth? Here are they:

1.Stabilizing climate temperatures: As they are wind generated, obviously oceans waves can't exist without wind. First it causes ripples in the sea surface and then waves. Waves help to minimize the extremes in the planet's temperature, moving cold water away from the poles while at the same time moving warm waters from the equator towards them. 

2.At the surface, exchange of climate gases occur: At the surface, the wind driven ripples and waves gases are exchanged, while oxygen is moved out and carbon dioxide in.

3.Increasing biodiversity: Ocean currents caused by wind and waves allow sea denizens to have their larvae transported far greater distances than would happen otherwise. Some only spawn during storms to take advantage of this.

4.Increase adaptability and strength of creatures: Darwin's theories of the survival of the fittest and evolution apply here. Because of the waves breaking onto the coast, sea creatures there take the hardest hits and need to be stronger and more adaptable. Along with number 3, waves "maintain a gradient of biodiversity all the way from the surface, down to depths of 30m or more. Without waves, there would not be as many species living in the sea".

5.Waves pound rocks and erode them: While waves do erode rocks by continuously crashing on them, sea organisms have adapted to this and clinging to the rocks actually delay this process, in a true symbiotic relationship.

 6.Create beaches:Beaches are created by sand being brought up from the ocean floor by waves, which also wash the sand and clean it. The sand is stirred and suspended in the water which allows it to be transported to the coast by the waves.

Not only awe inspiring, waves do huge amounts of good for the environment as well as the rest of us who live on this planet. It is up to we humans to stop the erosion of the climate due to our mismanagement and allow waves and Mother Nature to continue their good work.

And now you can observe some beautiful pictures:

                                                            Images from Pininterest

If you wish to know more about this subject, you can go to The Ocean Portal; How Stuff Works; Ocean Explorer or even to a talking dictionary: Sea Animals.

Top 5 Scientific Experiments gone Wrong

Do you know that we are surrounded with scientific experiments that have gone right? Yes, most of the technologies and innovations that we see and use today were once an idea that evolved as a need but gradually scientists and researchers started working on it until the experiments went right and the final product was safe and successful. However, converting one idea into reality is not a joke and it might take years for scientist to achieve something that is unimaginable. Many scientists and researchers continuously work hard in labs to get the desired results out of the experiment and the sad part is that sometimes scientific experiments go wrong and have disastrous effects on environment and human beings as well.

Vanguard Rocket Explosion

Rocket explosions are nothing new to top scientific companies because there are thousands of such cases when rockets have been blown into pieces soon after they are launched. However, Vanguard rocket expedition in 1957 was a huge project that was supported by the United States of America and rocket exploded the very next second it was launched which means the rocket did not launched itself in air but simple burst into pieces shattering the dreams and expectations of various top scientists in USA.

Biosphere 2

Settling on moon is on top list for most NASA scientist because they want to find out if people can live on moon or any other planet where people really don’t have the luxury of air, water and food. So, an experiment was performed on few volunteers where they need to live under a huge dome and sustain themselves with air and water produced by certain plants. Many volunteers died due to hunger and the experiment was called off immediately. After the event, no scientist ever thought of attempting such an experiment that would risk the life of volunteers. In order to find out what went wrong check this information.

Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear fusion experiments are common to people who are in scientific world but these failed experiments can be very deadly if they go wrong beyond our imagination. One such failed fusion experiment happened in 2002 when strong sound waves were forced to pass through acetone. Immediately, the acetone reacted and bubbles were created that expanded and blew up at very high temperature. Hopefully, no one was hurt but they found out that they were almost right with their experiment but failed to achieve the desired temperature.

AIDS Vaccine

AIDS is quickly covering most part of the planet as more and more people are getting affected with the disease. Top pharmaceutical and medicine companies are constantly working with their research teams to come out with vaccines that would attack the AIDS virus and resolve the situation. University of Oxford and University of Nairobi together came up with a new AIDS vaccine that they tried on various random patients. As per the vaccine it would boost the immune system of an individual so that they can fight the AIDS virus but the response was very dull and it was found that the vaccine dies off immediately after given which disappointed researchers of both teams.

The Aether Wind

The nature of light has always attracted top scientists from all over the world and somewhere towards the end of 19^th century people studied that light was behaving like a wave rather than going in a straight direction. They tried to studied the fact and found that such nature of light could be because of the motion of the Earth in space. Polish American scientist Albert Michelson designed an interferometer that could measure the speed of light and detect the wind effect as well but light again reacted in the normal way and they didn’t find any wave motion after that.

 

Africa

Have you ever travelled to Africa? The photographer George Steinmetz travelled through this continent for twenty six years. This is his preview video for the upcoming book African Air:

And here you have some illustrative pictures of this wonderful continent:

Find out more about Africa in: http://www.africam.com/wildlife/index.php or http://goafrica.about.com/od/africatraveltips/ss/africaplanner_6.htm.

Portugal

Would you like to visit Portugal? This is how David Schlichter, an Erasmus student, sees it:

And here you have some pictures of Portuguese places...

                                                     Santarém

                                          Cascais

                                                       Porto

                                                         Foz do Arelho

                                           Alentejo

                                          Sintra

If you wish to discover more about Portugal, you can go to http://www.nationalgeographic.pt/ or http://cafe-portugal.blogspot.com/

Noma Bar

Israeli illustrator who uses negative space to create thought provoking illustrations. His art works are so simple, yet so clever you can't fail to be impressed. Born in 1973, Noma graduated from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in 2000. Since 2001 he has been working in London with a lot of big names and media outlets including: Vodafone, Coca Cola, BBC, The Observer, The Economist, Wallpaper and many more.

He has illustrated over sixty magazine covers, published over 550 illustrations and released two books: Guess Who - The Many faces of Noma Bar, in 2008 and Negative Space, in 2009.

In this video he talks about his latest creation for the London Design festival, "the dog", an image-making machine that produces die cuts from various materials - from paper to wood.

To find out more information about his work, go to http://quigleyscabinet.blogspot.com/2012/01/nomas-negative-space.html or http://www.artica.com.

Animal Life

No Dummies Here: 9 of the smartest animals on Earth

 Squirrels
Anyone who has ever seen a squirrel dart across a crowded street has wondered if they are aware of the danger. It turns out they may be - but if there is food on the opposite end of the street they may not care. Squirrels are fast learners, according to a recent study from Science Daily.

Bonobos
The bonobo is a close cousin to the chimpanzee, another famously intelligent animal. Extremely endangered, the bonobo is found only in central Africa. Like other great apes, bonobos have been taught to use sign language and symbols.

Elephants
Elephants have a reputation for smarts. Elephants have been observed using tools such as sticks to pick at ticks or using palm fronds to swat at flies. As the Nature Institute points out, “many young elephants [in the wild] develop the naughty habit of plugging up the wooden bell they wear around their necks with good stodgy mud or clay so that the clappers cannot ring, in order to steal silently into a grove of cultivated bananas at night.” The elephants will then gorge on the banana while the nearby farmer is none the wiser.

Cows

Cows seem like placid animals merely concerned with chewing their cud. As it turns out, they possess a rich and complex emotional life. The Times reports that scientists have found that cows have friends and enemies. Further, “Cows are also capable of feeling strong emotions such as pain, fear and even anxiety - they worry about the future.”

Bees

Bees exhibit what experts call classic swarm intelligence. A single bee may not be smart in the classical sense, but a hive of bees is. As National Geographic reports, swarm intelligence works when no single creature sees “the big picture.” Rather, each works on simple rules in one location. But what happens when bees disagree? It turns out that they can hold a democratic “dance-off” to make a hive decision.

Pigs

Pigs may be the smartest domestic animals in the world. The New York Times reports on researchers who have found that domestic pigs can use mirrors to find their food, and will try to deceive other pigs so they can "hog" more food. They also learn quickly and can do tricks ranging from jumping through hoops to playing video games with joysticks. (The pig in this photo is winding its way through an obstacle course.)

Dolphins

Dolphins are well-documented as intelligent animals. As Discovery News reports, the dolphin’s large brain is structured for awareness and emotion. In fact, dolphin brains are more structurally complex than humans. As Emory University dolphin expert Lori Marino told Discovery News, “If human standards for intelligence are applied to non-human animals, however, dolphins come very close to our own

Ravens

Ravens are more than the subject of dark themes by writer Edgar Allen Poe. They are also extremely resourceful animals that have been known to multi-task. Researchers from Canada and Scotland have shown that ravens use logic to understand their surroundings in a way that may surpass the ability of the great apes. The crow, a close cousin to the raven, is also an extremely smart bird.

Rats

Rats get a bad rap. Perceived as purveyors of disease, Rattus norvegicus have earned a bad reputation, but they are highly intelligent creatures. As researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario point out, “Although rats may not approach cognitive tasks using strategies observed in human subjects, they are frequently successful on their own terms. Indeed, rats are adept at exploiting procedural loopholes and confounded variables overlooked by human test designers.”

Text: Katherine Butler