Day: January 4, 2005

An Indian helicopter dropping food and water over the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been attacked by tribesmen using bows and arrows.

There were fears that the endangered tribal groups had been wiped out when massive waves struck their islands.

But the authorities say the attack is a sign that they have survived.

On June 30th, 1908, something exploded 8 km above the Stony Tunguska river. About 2150 square kilometres of Siberian taiga were devastated and 80 millions trees were overthrown. Up to now, it is not clear whether the great explosion was due to a comet or an asteroid or something else. We are searching for an answer.

The Tropical Islands dome has a ground surface of 66,000 square meters. With a length of 360 meters, a width of 210 meters and a height of 107 meters, it is large enough to host 8 entire soccer fields.

Even the New York Statue of Liberty (93 meters) could stand upright in it, and the Paris Eiffel Tower (322 meters) could lie in it. The Dome offers enough space for the skyline of Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz including the Sony Centre, the gatehouse and the Daimler Chrysler skyscraper.

The impressive system of indirect lighting of the former CargoLifter dome was originally designed for industrial needs. Together with the new UV penetrable membrane on the south side, it simulates tropical sunlight perfectly, everyday between 6am to 6pm. The light and warmth let the plants grow well and also allow the visitors to gain a healthy suntan.

Sponsored by Cornell University’s Institute for Digital Collections (CIDC) this image-bank provides a visual resource for the study of the Fantastic or of the supernatural in fiction and in art. While the site emerges from a comparative literature course on the topic at Skidmore College, it is also intended to open the door to consideration of some of the constant structures and patterns of fantastic literature, and the problems they raise. In this sense, the materials presented here may find a use among students in a variety of disciplines.

University of Bath researchers have found people approach jigsaws in a number of different ways – and if two strategies clash, there can be trouble.

This can lead to subversive acts such as hiding the last piece – to enable that person to be the “winner”.

The study into collaboration said people ranged from ‘border obsessives’ to ‘opportunistic’ jigsaw puzzlers.