We've heard it before. Government paying farmers not to farm or provide local residents with natural and untreated products. Local grocery stores are buying from these huge processing plants, which in turn provide consumers with unnatural and unhealthy foods. There's hardly any room for organic farmers within the government and it's a shame, as many of us have turned to a 100% organic diet. What can we do about it?

The documentary Farmageddon aims to educate the public about the foods we're are purchasing and what affects they will ultimately have on our health.

Just when the idea that all of the species of dinosaur had been discovered, a graduate student from Stony Brook University in New York, Kristina Curry Rogers, made a discovery that would unearth more than a fossil in Madagascar.

While discovering the bones was excitement in itself, the final revelation after they were sorted was definitely a bonus. The skeleton was that of a young dinosaur that had lived approximately 70 million years ago which was about the time of the height of the last giant dinosaurs’ development.

Read more: Dinosaurs in Madagascar @ Ancient Digger

One would think throwing an egg would be as east at shot-put or baseball, but the World Egg Throwing Contest in a whole new ball egg game. Imagine taking an egg and catapulting it into the air from a contraption that looks positively medieval.

The most fascinating event used a variety of counterweight trebuchet. The weapons at today's show were build specifically to throw an egg from the sling. The accuracy needed a little work though - several eggs flew backwards into the crowd and the craft marquee!

[Thanks Photocurios]

Image Credit Fc2 Blog

Museums are normally full of dusty old bones and the belongings of rich people that somehow managed to not get stolen. But before you plunk down twenty bucks to see the Pope’s bathrobe or Julius Caesar’s toilet brush, try some of the more strange and bizarre museums that exist. Much like the History Channel, the amount of actual history is pretty low, but its much more entertaining.

[Thanks Business Pundit]

Also check out:

• America's First Museum: Potter's Wax 
• Xcaret Theme Park in The Riviera Maya
• Ham the Chimp: National Air Force Museum
• The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Scotland
• World's Most Popular Archaeology Museums
• Xcaret Theme Park in The Riviera Maya

A few weeks ago I overheard the curious sound of two 4 weeks old kittens at the UCF campus. They couldn't have a picked a better building mind you, as they were front and center of a glass window, watching an advanced calculus class. 

For all of you cat lovers, enjoy!

 Image Credit Flickr User adrielsocrates

I LOVE CAKE!!! Who doesn't! Put a few of these Popsicle inspired confections in front of me and watch me tear it up.

Just when you thought the cupcake boom was over and you had finally resolved not to buy any more muffins the size of your head along comes a new temptation. Yet you might, just might, find this one a little less calorific than those other coffee shop enticements if you have a measure of self control at least. This is the cake-pop or (to put it bluntly) it’s a cake on a stick. And if it hasn’t already, it’s coming to a bakery or coffee shop near you soon.

[Thanks Kuriositas]

I love hot dogs as much as the next person, but this gives a tube of mystery meat a new meaning. lol

If a Chihuahua dancing Flamenco doesn't bring a smile to your face and a trip to the bathroom after laughing so hard, I don't know what will!

I believe I still have an old CPU sitting in the outside storage. Why I have no idea. I suppose I thought it would come back into style or I could make it into a fishbowl. Imagine taking thousands of these prehistoric machines, and yes they're are all pretty ancient if people are willing to junk them, and turning them into a livable space. Polish sculptor Marek Tomasik has done just that.

After three years collecting thousands of discarded computer parts, Tomasik has turned his antique archaeology hobby into a walk-in sculpture called "Sometimes You Have To Be Open."

This bizarre yet incredibly green cabin is located  inside a historical castle in Swiecie, Poland, and measures roughly 16 feet wide, 13 feet long and 15 feet tall. Marek has designed a lovely chair to sit in while he appreciates his sculpture, albeit the chair is the only furniture inside the cabin so one could hardly be completely comfortable calling it home.

Head over to Marek's website to see an interactive 3D panorama of the installation, complete with droning industrial sounds.

Experiencing the early years of aviation at the USAF National Museum can be inspiring and quite overwhelming.

This week Ancient Digger is featuring some of the world’s earliest airplanes and aircraft. Instead of bombarding your brain with hundreds of fighters, flyers, monoplanes and biplanes, The Digger, that's me, decided to break it up a bit and let you enjoy all of the early years of flight throughout the week.

Check back in for a training glider used by the Luftwaffe; the WWI plane that dropped the bomb of Hiroshima; not to mention two atomic bombs in the flight hanger.

Read more: Monday Ground Up: Early Years of Flight Week

Guest post written by Carolyn Prince

I love to DIY all kinds of things around my home not only because most of the time they save me money, but also because I just have a lot of fun doing big projects like that. Then I can brag and show these things off to my friends and visitors. Right now I'm working on putting together my very own DIY fire pit for my home.

I know that it sounds extremely ambitious to try and make my own fire pit, but I've done all kinds of projects that even involved electrical wiring. I'm just taking it as a challenge. I was online a few nights ago looking up some more info for this project and while I was doing that I saw some http://www.wildbluedeals.com/. I got a little more information about them and decided to sign up for one of them for my home internet service.

Now, the DIY indoor fire pit that I'm putting together isn't huge or anything. It probably won't even compare to outdoor fire pits, but this will be really neat to use for years to come.

The space hanger at the National Museum of the US Air Force is one of my favorites, featuring some of histories forgotten missions and strategic missiles. If you've never learned about HAM, the chimp that road first class into outer space or close to it, the Wright Patterson National Air Force Museum has a small exhibit about his adventure.

 

According to NASA, Ham was brought from the French Camaroons, West Africa, where he was born July 1957, to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico in 1959. The original flight plan called for an altitude of 115 miles and speeds ranging up to 4400 mph. However, due to technical problems, the spacecraft carrying Ham reached an altitude of 157 miles and a speed of 5857 mph and landed 422 miles downrange rather than the anticipated 290 miles. 

 

Ham the Chimp

January 31, 1961, HAM (short for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center) wore the specially designed undergarment on the left aboard the suborbital Mercury-Redstone 2. Biomedical sensors recorded his pulse, breath depth, respiration, and temperature during the 16.5 minute flight. In total, HAM spent 7 minutes of his time weightless in the Mercury-Redstone 2 and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 60 miles from the recovery ship. 

Ham the Chimp’s Jacket

A post-flight medical examination found Ham to be slightly fatigued and dehydrated, but in good shape otherwise. Ham's mission paved the way for the successful launch of America's first human astronaut, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., on May 5, 1961. HAM wore his stylish space jacket, after his flight aboard on the Mercury-Redstone 2, to meet President John F. Kennedy in 1961.

Upon the completion of a thorough medical examination, Ham was placed on display at the Washington Zoo in 1963 where he lived alone until September 25, 1980. He then was moved to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro. Upon his death on January 17, 1983, Ham's skeleton would be retained for ongoing examination by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. His other remains were respectfully laid to rest in front of the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Resource

• Pictures © Friends Revolution
• Nasa Ham info

Any animation which starts with an excerpt from an Edgar Allan Poe poem is fine by us. Is all that we see or seem starts Duality – a great piece of animation from Mike Lomas.

Lomas, who is currently studying for his masters in multimedia design at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, was given a brief to represent 'time' in three different ways. The result is something wonderful.

I played ball for over ten years and I love to see a girl snag a ball just as good as a major league or college player. This is awesome!

[Thanks Funfluster]

Gary Pifer paid 50 cents for these brown high top canvas basketball sneakers made by the Colchester Rubber Company at an estate sale recently. Later that night, Mr. Pifer was shocked to discover, during an internet search, that the brand went out of business in 1893. I'm as bewildered as Gary, as these shoes look to be in tip top shape. The owner was either a lousy player or they're really not as old as we think. Hmmmm!


[Thanks Cafeterra]

Chetan Kapur Explains Types Of Genealogy Vacations

If you've ever been curious about your ancestry, where they lived, or what kind of lifestyle they may have had, Chetan Kapur wants you to know about genealogy vacations. These unique holidays allow you to learn more about your family history while enjoying a new and exciting place. Visit gravesites, see ancestral homes, eat food of your family's culture, and meet people who share in the rich history of your family tree.,

Chetan Kapur Offers Several Ideas For Trips

"A genealogy vacation can take many forms," says Chetan Kapur. "You may want to go someplace to do your ancestry research and learn more about your history. Alternatively, you can do your homework before leaving, and visit a town that meant something significant within your family tree. Lastly, you can choose to integrate yourself into the area from which your family originated, to get a true sense of their culture and history."

Chetan Kapur offers custom genealogy vacation packages, tailored to you and your family tree. It's helpful to have a family member or branch of the family tree to focus on, as genealogy research often becomes quite detailed. "Don't forget to include some fun, non-research time into your holiday, however!" concludes Chetan Kapur.

 

When I was a child growing up in Ohio, my class would take yearly field trips to the Caesar’s Creek Spill off to go fossil hunting. As a child, it was hard to stay focused on the task at hand. We would never read the signs stating we had to leave behind the fossils bigger than our palms, and now that I’m older, I can appreciate why the signs were posted.

I was lucky enough to find a sample of every fossil that ever lived in this area. Rather the fossils that archaeologists are aware of. Some of them are quite small and some are broken in pieces, nonetheless, I was lucky to find the samples that I did.

Read more: Fossils 101: Caesar’s Creek Ordovician Fossil Hunting @Ancient Digger Archaeology 

Guest Post brought to you by Chensun Mills

Chensun Mills Journeys To Costa Rica As Part Of School Building Mission

As a devoted volunteer for needy children, Chensun Mills has long recognized the significance of giving back to the global community. Recently Chensun Mills joined an organized church mission and journeyed to Costa Rico looking to do just that; give back. Chensun Mills and the group of seven other missionaries came with a benevolent attitude and giving spirit as they focused on erecting a school building, or "escuela" to serve the underprivileged youth in this area of the world.

Heredia Benefits from Chensun Mills's Mission Group Efforts

Chensun Mills and her fellow missionaries were welcomed as they arrived in Heredia armed to finish the escuela's construction. Servicing appointed children from under 1 all the way through 12 years of age, this completed educational facility will be especially critical for the scores of single moms that reside in the Heredia vicinity. Previously forced to accept subpar childcare standards out of a desperate need to work, these mothers can now leave their children in a warm, caring, learning environment while they work in hopes to provide for their families. As Chensun Mills is a mom herself, the plight of the Heredia mothers particularly resonated with her. Chensun Mills feels truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to donate her time and efforts to a less fortunate community.

Instead of hitting more WW1 planes on my tour of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, I ran right into the code breaking area, where the Enigma and Sigaba code breaking machines have been set up behind glass casing. I could just imagine the messages being sent to Hitler, warning him of the next assassination attempt.

 

For those of you puzzle and code aficionados, do you actually know the difference between a code and a cipher? A code can be an entire word or idea for example ABC might stand for meet us at dawn. On the other hand, ciphers take a phrase like Take off at midnight and change it to keaTffatmid0ngthi.

 

Enigma: German Code Breaking

 

 

On loan from the National Cryptologic Museum (NSA)

It may look like your common typewriter, but this three rotor coding machine named the "Enigma", was used by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force).

 

Sigaba: United States Air Force Code Breaking

 

 

 

A bit more perplexing is this Sigaba machine, used my the United States Air Force. Looks quite similar to the Nazi code machine and there's a reason for that. Both of these machines have the capability to scramble messages by sending electrical current through the wheels. Hardly a super computer, but able to manipulates its parts to substitute letters in the alphabet by the complexity of the wiring.

 

These machines are not able to send or receive message like a radio or computer, they can only decipher text that's been entered. Both the Sigaba and the Enigma relied on a "keylist" to prevent cryptologists from decoding messages.

Differences

Most Enigmas used three or four rotors and Sigaba machines used fifteen. Therefore, the ability to decipher Sigaba’s codes was practically impossible. This may have been the result of the age of the technology. The Enigma machine came out in 1918 and was used for banking purposes. Sigaba was invented twenty years later strictly for military usage.

Enigma relied on two operators. While one person entered the message the other copied down the letters. The Sigaba was quick and efficient requiring only one person to operate, collecting the small piece of tape with the message.

 

While both Allied and Axis forces believed their machines were unbreakable, only one proved to be, that being Sigaba.

By 1943, 10,000 Sigaba machines were in use and by 1959, the speed of technology demanded more advanced equipment. Most of the Sigabas were destroyed to protect their design from enemies. However, in 1996 the secret patent became declassified.

Also check out:

Strategic missiles at The National Museum of the United States Air Force

Tourists fly in from all around the world to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force and who could blame them. The museum is completely free, only taking donations if you’re willing to spare a cent, and all this for a weeks worth of military history. It took me several days to walk the museum, spending most of my time with the Planes from WWI and aircraft from WW2. One of my favorite hangers in the museum is the space gallery, and the focal point is a round room featuring massive strategic missiles.

Read More: Ballistic Missiles at Wright Patterson Air Force Base

Caesar’s Creek Ordovician Fossil Hunting

When I was a child growing up in Ohio, my class would take yearly fieldtrips to the Caesar’s Creek Spill off to go fossil hunting. As a child, it was hard to stay focused on the task at hand. We would never read the signs stating we had to leave behind the fossils bigger than our palms, and now that I’m older and studying archaeology, I can appreciate why the signs were posted.

Read more: Caesar’s Creek Ordovician Fossil Hunting

Shoo Shoo Baby: B17G At Wright Patterson Air Force Base

So before I start sharing, I wanted to start off the Wright Patterson Air Force Base Series with the Shoo Shoo Baby B-17G. For those of you plane and aircraft enthusiasts, you already know the B17G Flying Fortress was one of the most famous airplanes ever built. The B17G prototype first flew on June 28, 1935, yet few of the B-17 flying fortresses were flying prior to the United States’ entrance into World War II.

Read more:Shoo Shoo Baby: B17G At Wright Patterson Air Force Base

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nutrish for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.


This is my Siberian Husky Pele. Pele is a picky eater and he's tried almost every dog food out there, however he prefers ingredients that are natural and healthy. "Leave out the corn", he says. After shopping at almost every market trying to find the food that's best for him, I finally found Rachael Ray Nutrish just 6 dry dog food, which Rachel created for her dog Isaboo.

Pele's a huge fan of the beef recipe which contains six healthy ingredients including Rice Flour, Barley, Beef, Oat Fiber, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Malted Barley Flour.

I'm personally impressed with the addition of Olive Oil, as Pele lives in a climate that many dog owners might find difficult for this breed. From time to time his skin gets dry and I have to rub oil on him. I no longer have to do this now that I found Nutrish. I have also stocked up on the Just 6 Crunchies which are treats containing the same healthy ingredients as your dog enjoys in his regular food.



If you're still having doubts why not try a free sample . When you receive your free sample, you'll notice that the first ingredient is meat. No cheap fillers and no junk! Plus, all the proceeds of Rachel Ray Nutrish goes to charities to take care of our furry best friends. Makes me feel a whole lot better when Pele gobbles up his Nutrish and the money I spent goes to another pooch, so they can enjoy it as well.

When it comes to the safety of our pet, we always have concerns about quality. This is where Nutrish surpasses all other dog foods. There's rigorous testing to ensure ingredient and product safety, participation in a Pet Food Industry (PFI) work group, created to establish and implement “Best Practices” in today’s Pet Food Industry. Did I mention that Rachel Ray's company which produces Nutrish is the first  in the USA to be awarded with the excellence award from SQ? That's awesome!
If you haven't tried to Nutrish and you know for certain your dog's food is filled with junk, I would throw it out and head to the store right now. Nutrish is the food your dog needs!

The XB-19 landing gear wheel and tire was the world’s largest in the early 1940’s. The tire was donated to the National Museum of the Us Air Force in Dayton, Ohio by Ben W. Colbourn Co, Inc, Tulare, California.



The Douglas XB-19 was originally designated XBLR-2 (Experimental Bomber - Long Range) and was the largest bomber built for the Army up to that time (1938). Only three aircraft were given XBLR designations: the Boeing XBLR-1 (later renamed XB-15), the XB-19 and the Sikorsky XBLR-3 (a design study that was never built).

Like the Area 51 Declassified Secret Plane Crash pictures published on National Geographic, the Avrocar is just another reason for the public to get excited about these mysterious aircrafts.

The Avrocar is a mock up flying saucer built in the likeness of the 1950's Science Fiction movies. Kept in the presidential hanger at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, very few visitors get to see this prototype up close, as admittance is limited everyday.

The Avrocar was a Canadian effort to create a supersonic, vertical takeoff fighter bomber. The design evolved from the exhaust from turbojet engines which drove a circular "turborator", producing thrust. The thrust was directed towards the ground creating a cushion of air, also known as a "ground effect", allowing the aircraft to hover above ground.

Unfortunately, the cushion of air below the Avrocar became unstable and the aircraft was never able to reach supersonic speeds. Nevertheless, the Avrocar on display at Wright Patterson Air Force Base was shipped to NASA Research Center and tested in wind tunnels. Once again the Avrocar was proven to be aerodynamically unstable.

Copyright

All pictures and video property of Friends Revolution. No copying permitted!