This year's Winter Olympics is the longest in the 90-year history of the games. That's because the International Olympics Committee decided to add a record, twelve new events across eight disciplines - ranging from ski half-pipe to snowboard parallel slalom and even a Luge - team rally competition. Does that mean that future Winter Olympics will be as long? Not necessarily. Here are a few sports that made a grand debut and even lasted a few games, before being scrapped in favor of more exciting and popular sports!...
Read news articleThe most exciting storms are ones accompanied by flashes of lightning. Unfortunately those are rare, unless you are in the vicinity of the Catatumbo River in Northwestern Venezuela, home to the spectacular everlasting 'rib a-ba’, or ‘river of fire' lighting storms....
Read news articleAt a symposium held by the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities in Toronto, Ontario, on January 11th, archeologists revealed the uncovering of yet another provincial pyramid near the ancient settlement of Edfu in Southern Egypt. The 4,600-year-old structure, built decades before the Great Pyramid of Giza, is the seventh of its kind discovered scattered near major ancient settlements, throughout central and southern Egypt....
Read news articleLet's face it - Vehicles made for kids are kind of lame. After all, where is the thrill in driving a car whose top speed is 5 mph! Now, there is hope - A car that not only looks like the real deal, but also, drives like it! And it's not just any car but a replica of the DB Aston Martin convertible, the kind even James Bond would be proud to be in....
Read news articleWhile smog is a problem in many of the world's urban cities, few have it as bad as China. Most of last year, the air around Beijing was so polluted that on certain days it went beyond what was once considered the worst possible level. The residents of Harbin, in northeast China, have not had it easy either. On days when the haze is really bad, residents are unable to even see across streets and airplanes have a hard time landing....
Read news articleOn Friday, January 31st, 2014, more than a billion people of Chinese origin will usher in the first day of the year 4712. Known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, it marks the beginning of the longest and most significant of all Chinese festivals. As the name indicates, the four-thousand-year-old tradition whose date is determined by the lunar calendar, began as a way to mark the end of the dreary winter season and the beginning of spring....
Read news articleThe industrious honey bee not only provides us with delicious honey, but also, helps pollinate about a third of the world's fruits and vegetables. It is therefore no wonder that the ongoing deaths of millions of the tiny insects throughout the world, a phenomenon scientists call Colony-Collapse Disorder, has researchers extremely worried. What's even worse is that despite extensive investigation, the cause still remains a total mystery....
Read news articleEarly on the morning of January 10th, 2014, thousands of people gathered patiently outside the gates of the Nishinomiya shrine in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture waiting to participate in a 230-meter (754 feet) sprint across the shrine grounds, to win the coveted title of 'Lucky Man /(Woman)'....
Read news articleThis February, there's more reason to tune in to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia than just the sporting events - The chance to see thousands of lucky visitors make their own mark by having their faces displayed on the side of the Olympic Village's 2,000 square-meter (21,527 square-feet) MegaFon Pavilion....
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