Thursday, May 22, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Morocco's Climbing Goats
Goats on trees are found mostly only in Morocco. The goats climb them because they like to eat the fruit of the argan tree, which is similar to an olive. Farmers actually follow the herds of goats as they move from tree to tree. Not because it is so strange to see goats in trees and the farmers like to point and stare, but because the fruit of the tree has a nut inside, which the goats can't digest, so they spit it up or excrete it which the farmers collect. The nut contains 1-3 kernels, which can be ground to make argan oil used in cooking and cosmetics. This oil has been collected by the people of the region for hundreds of years, but like many wild and useful things these days, the argan tree is slowly disappearing due to over-harvesting for the tree's wood and overgrazing by goats.
As a result a group of people and organizations have banded together to try to save the tree. To do so one of the primary locations where the trees grow has been declared a biosphere preserve. It was also decided that by making the world aware of the oil, it's great taste and supposed anti-aging properties, would create a demand for it. However, the people who planned to market the oil could not envision people wanting to put an oil on their food or their face that was collected from goat excrement. As a result, a campaign is being led to ban grazing on the trees by goats during certain parts of the year to allow the fruit to ripen and fall off on its own. The fruit is then collected and turned into oil by oil cooperatives. So far, this arrangement seems to be working.
As a result a group of people and organizations have banded together to try to save the tree. To do so one of the primary locations where the trees grow has been declared a biosphere preserve. It was also decided that by making the world aware of the oil, it's great taste and supposed anti-aging properties, would create a demand for it. However, the people who planned to market the oil could not envision people wanting to put an oil on their food or their face that was collected from goat excrement. As a result, a campaign is being led to ban grazing on the trees by goats during certain parts of the year to allow the fruit to ripen and fall off on its own. The fruit is then collected and turned into oil by oil cooperatives. So far, this arrangement seems to be working.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
8 Coolest Aquariums
AquaDom: world's largest cylindrical aquarium-Placed at the lobby of the Radisson SAS Hotel in Berlin, the 25 meters high AquaDom is the largest cylindrical aquarium ever built. Filled with about 900,000 liters of seawater, it contains some 2600 fish of 56 species. Combined with a vast amount of sandblasted glass, the giant AquaDom gives a transparent-like feeling to the lobby. Guests and visitors are able to travel through the aquarium in a glass-enclosed elevator to reach a sightseeing point and restaurant under the glass roof. Two full-time divers are responsible for the care and feeding of the fish and maintenance of the aquarium. The AquaDom was opened in December 2003. It cost about 12.8 million euros. 
iPod+Fish=iPond-The iPond is an iPod accessory the combines a speaker with a tiny aquarium. A single fish lives in about 650 millilitres of water. It's all the rage in Australia, but some consider it animal cruelty. RSPCA spokesman Hugh Wirth said despite the fighting fish's ability to breathe air from the surface, the tank was far too small for it to receive adequate oxygen. The small volume of water would lead to rapid temperature change and this meant the tropical fish would not live long, he said. "The iPond should be banned", Dr Wirth said.
Toilet Aquarium-Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime. Put some fish in a man's toilet, and he will never have a boring trip to the pot again. This is the clever thinking behind the Fish 'n Flush. Fish 'n Flush is a patented, two-piece aquarium toilet tank, designed by AquaOne Technologies, Inc., an innovator of water-management systems. The aquarium has a 2.2-gallon capacity. When you flush, it looks like all the water is draining out of the tank and the fish are going down, but it's an optical illusion: the fish are actually safe in an outer aquarium made of high-polished plastic. What you see draining is the toilet water in a separate tank behind the aquarium. Car Aquarium-At the Siam Ocean World in the Siam Paragon shopping center in Bangkok, there is a fabulous car there that cannot be driven. Why? Because it is filled to the top with water! Dozens of fish call this extremely modified vehicle their home. And just so you know, the doors to this car are welded shut just in case any mischievous person thinks it funny to release that much water and fish onto the mall floor.
Phone Booth Aquarium-Benoit Deseille and Benedetto Bufalino turned a phone booth into an aquarium as part of Fête des lumieres 2007 (Light Festival) in Lyon, France.
TV Aquarium-Ever wondered what to do with that ancient 26" wooden TV set laying around in yours or your grandparent's garage? Here's a perfect destination for it! Even if you don't have the old TV, it shouldn't be too hard to buy one for almost nothing, and in no time you can have your favorite program broadcasting all day long, with no commercials.
Artistic Aquarium-Takashi Amano is a designer, photographer and Aquarist(a person who maintains or owns an aquarium). He has opened a company called Aqua Design Amano where he introduced Japanese gardening concepts (similar to bonzai) into the aquascaping hobby. A form of art that changes your normal aquarium into an art of nature.
Jellyfish Aquarium-A huge hit in Japan, the Aquapict Jellyfish aquarium shows beautiful color-changing jellyfish swimming as they do in the deep sea, but none of them are real.
Made with highly-realistic silicone, the Aquapict jellyfish swim and change color subtly with the five-color LED lighting system (red, yellow, green, blue, and purple). They move by a slow current created in the tank that does not have an obvious flow or bubbles that make it look fake. It looks unbelievably real and beautiful.
Made with highly-realistic silicone, the Aquapict jellyfish swim and change color subtly with the five-color LED lighting system (red, yellow, green, blue, and purple). They move by a slow current created in the tank that does not have an obvious flow or bubbles that make it look fake. It looks unbelievably real and beautiful.
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