'Invisible key' invented by Taiwan scientists

TAIPEI: A team of Taiwanese researchers have developed an "invisible key" technology which allows users to unlock their doors by means of simple hand gestures, the head of the team said Monday.

"In the future, you won't have to worry about losing or forgetting your keys," said Tsai Yao-pin, who teaches at the Technology and Science Institute of Northern Taiwan.

At the heart of the technology developed by his team is a chip that can detect movement in three dimensions, as used in Nintendo's Wii video game console, he said.

The technology allows users to easily unlock their doors by repeating a gesture preset in the sensor, according to Tsai.

The "invisible key" won him a gold medal at the four-day Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart which ended Sunday.

He estimated that it make take half a year for the invention to go commercial as several interested companies have approached him. (AFP)

Man wins dumpling eating contest, dies

KIEV: A 77-year-old Ukrainian man won a jar full of sour cream for coming first in a dumpling eating contest and then promptly died, local media reported on Wednesday.

Ivan Mendel ate 10 dumplings in half a minute to win first place and a one-liter jar of sour cream in the contest held in the town of Tokmak in the southeastern Zaporizhya region on September 18, Fakty I Kommentarii newspaper said.

Shortly afterwards, Mendel became unwell and died, according to local news websites.

Dumplings, called "vareniki" in the former Soviet republic, are a staple of Ukrainian cuisine and are often stuffed with a range of fillings from mushrooms to cherries. (Reuters)

Four year old driver in China

Forget riding a bike, a 4-year-old girl has jumped straight into the driver's seat with the help of her parents, reports the Sun.BEIJING: A four year old girl has appeared in a video on the internet driving a car on a busy road in China.The video shows the young girl driving the car at high speed on a four lane road during early morning traffic. In the video you can hear her father shouting instructions from the back seat.

Cat With Four Ears

The household pet, named Yoda, was born with an extra set of ears.Valerie and Ted Rock took him in two years ago after visiting a bar near their home in Chicago, where he was being passed round by curious drinkers.He was one of a large litter and the owners were looking for a home for him.The couple immediately fell for the freaky feline and asked the owner if they could adopt him. He agreed and the couple named the cat Yoda, after the pointy-eared Jedi knight in Star Wars.

World's Youngest Yoga Teacher (6yr)

At just six, Shruti Pandey is the youngest yoga trainer in the world. The bendy youngster has been teaching adults at an ashram, in northern India, for the last two years. Her trainer, Hari Chetan, 67, set up the ashram 35 years ago and as soon as little Shruti became one of his students, as a tiny four-year old, he spotted her talents. Now she starts her classes at 5.30 am every morning, at Brahmanand Saraswati Dham, in the Jhunsi town, dressed in white leggings and a red t-shirt surrounded by 30 eager pupils ranging from businessmen, teachers, housewives to pensioners. Shruti said: "It feels good when people follow my instructions, I feel like a real teacher." (Link | Via)

What Are C-Strings?

As narrow as a G-string but without the band around the waist, leaving just a C shaped piece between the legs held in place firmly by a flexible internal frame.Since there is no material around the waist, the c-string completely eliminates the panty lines which thongs and other underwear create. C-strings are also designed for use as beachwear, which reduces the tan lines that would have been left by the side straps of even a G-string

Among the advantages that this item has are: No Panty Lines! No Tan Lines! The C-String is a completely new and exciting innovation in lingerie. Say goodbye to panty line and uncomfortable straps. Say hello to a sexy new freedom.The C-String can be worn under all your favorite clothes: Dresses, skirts and jeans

2.5 ft man marries 5 ft 4 inch girl in Mirpur (Pakistan)

MIRPUR: Sardar Arif, a 2.5 ft tall man who works in a shopping mall in Mirpur city of Azad Kashmir, tied the knot with a girl measuring 5ft 4 inch in height, Geo News reported Sunday.

The wedding ceremony was held with full celebration.

They say that love is blind and this could be seen in the case of Sardar Arif (age:35, height: 2.5 ft) and Shumaila (age: 25, height 5ft 4inch). Both of them worked in the same shopping mall where they fell in love and decided to get hitched.

Hundreds of people attended their wedding ceremony including the Chief Executive of the shopping mall where the couple worked.

Talking to Geo News, the groom said it was a love marriage while the bride said she would spend her entire life happily with her man.

Trolley bus converted into battery-powered vehicles

China's biggest city of Shanghai has converted its gasoline-powered trolley buses on the Nanjing Road into battery-powered vehicles as part of the efforts to reduce emissions.The trolley bus, nicknamed "Clang, Clang", has been installed with 24 batteries that will enable it to run for about 60 kilometers or sustain it for a day's operation.

Now all the six old trolley buses have been converted into battery-powered vehicles, emitting no tail gases. The conversion of the rest two will be completed by October 1, according to the trolley bus management company.All the old gasoline powered trolley buses used to emit tail gases far beyond the prescribed standards, according to the environmental monitoring staff members.The conversion of each trolley bus cost about 150,000 yuan, well worth in terms of social and economic effect, the trolley bus management company said.

All the storage batteries are recharged at night at half o the normal price, according to the operator.

Traveling Hotel without Staff

The German architectural firm NAU designed a “traveling” hotel that adapts to the place where it is located. The hotel is moved every two years and operates without staff.The hotel with a futuristic is called ‘Living roof’. The accommodation consists of three “rings”: one ring for the exterior of the building, a center ring and a ring for the interior.Inside, the interior can be customized according to the wishes of the guest. Solar panels on the roof provide the necessary energy. Rainwater is collected for reuse.

As the mini-hotel has no staff, passengers are welcomed by a computer which provides information on the location and various dining options.The prototype of the hotel will be ready in 2012. The final version of the hotel is completed in 2014.

Paralysed stuntman completes London marathon

The 51-year-old, paralysed and brain-damaged after a motorbike crash in 1996, completed the 42km (26 mile) route and raised £75,000 for charities Children with Leukaemia and The Eddie Kidd Foundation.

‘I’m lost for words,’ said his wife, Sam, 42. 'It's the best thing he has ever done. I'm so proud of him.'It's amazing. He'd done it, he's done it! The one thing I would say to anyone out there who's disabled, injured or sick: get some perspective. If Eddie can do it, so can you.'As a beaming Eddie walked the last steps of the marathon on a special frame, helped by Sam, actor Ray Winstone and former The Bill star Graham Cole, crowds of supporters erupted in jubilation.


His wife, a former model, cried with joy as her husband was sprayed with the drink by family and friends in celebration.

Crocodile sinks teeth into Aussie dentist

PERTH: An Australian dentist has survived an attack by a large saltwater crocodile after it leapt into his boat and clamped its teeth around his shoulder.

Bruce Rudeforth was fishing at Secure Bay in the north of Western Australia when the croc pounced, the West Australian newspaper reported Tuesday.

"Out of the corner of my eye, this thing came at me," Rudeforth said.

"It bit into my shoulder and I stood up and gave it one in the throat with my free elbow. I presume that's what made it let go."

The crocodile disappeared underwater but returned again, forcing the dentist and his fishing mate to fend it off with an oar.

Rudeforth, who suffered puncture wounds from the reptile's teeth, said he had fished in the area for years and often saw crocodiles, but they never attacked.

"They usually hang out at a comfortable distance, just waiting for you to make a mistake, but on this trip we had lots of episodes where they came right at us and were aggressive," he said. (AFP)

Amazing 3D Street Illusion

To create maximum publicity for their Winter destinations and ski resort flights‚ Easyjet tasked Street Advertising Services to draw something really special for their 3D pavement art. Here is the result... The pictures toured around three cities and malls and people loved to interact with the art.(Link)

Amazing 3D Street Illusion

‘Accident' Building site, Vienna, by Julian Beever.

When viewed from certain angles, Beever's intricately detailed chalk sketches create a convincing impression of depth on the flat surface of paving stones. From other perspectives, however, his drawings appear strangely distorted and bear little resemblance to their intended image. To construct his illusions, Beever, originally from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, uses a camera lens to help him manipulate the image on the flat surface to appear more realistic.(Link)

Hybrid Pheasant = Golden + Amherst Pheasant

The Golden Pheasant has commonly been crossed with the similar Lady Amherst's Pheasant. The result is a hybrid with distinguished colors from its parents.

Savannah = Serval + Domestic Cat

The Savannah Cat is created by breeding an African Wild Cat, called a Serval and a domestic cat, usually an exotic looking domestic cat such as a Bengal, Oriental Shorthair, Egyptian Mau, or a Serengeti's. The offspring created by this combination are large domestic.

Leopon = Leopard + Lion

The Leopon is the result of breeding a male leopard with a female lion. The head of the animal is similar to that of a lion while the rest of the body carries similarities to leopards. The first documented leopon was bred at Kolhapur, India in 1910.

Cama = Camel + Llama

This hybrid animal, the product of breeding a llama and a camel, has been the only creature of this kind since her birth in 1995. Camas are humpless and have the long fluffy coat of a llama. Their ears are half way in length between camels and llamas, but they have the strong, desert-ready legs of a camel.

Beefalo = Buffalo + Cow

What do you get when you cross a cow with a buffalo? The Beefalo, a hybrid animal that produces red meat lower in fat and cholesterol than beef. Most consumers have never heard of beefalo, let alone tasted it, and only a few Seattle grocery stores carry it.

How does a buffalo burger compare to a beef one? "It has a richer flavor and it's milder and sweeter than beef," says Ellensburg beefalo breeder Mark Merril, "and more juicy."

Zebroid = Zebra + Equine

A zebroid (also zebra mule and zebrule) is the offspring of any cross between a zebra and any other equine: essentially, a zebra hybrid. In most cases, the sire is a zebra stallion. Offspring of a donkey sire and zebra mare, called a zebra hinny, do exist but are rare. Zebroids have been bred since the 19th century.The zebroid showed in the picture above, Eclyse, is a very unusual one, because of her coloring. With her über distinct makings, it's really hard not think she's a Photoshop mock-up.

Liger = Lion + Tiger

The liger is a hybrid cross between a male Panthera leo (lion), and a female Panthera tigris (Tiger) and is denoted scientifically as Panthera tigris × Panthera leo. A liger resembles a giant lion with diffused stripes. They are the largest cats in the world, although the Siberian Tiger is the largest pure sub-species. Like tigers, but unlike lions, ligers enjoy swimming. A similar hybrid, the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion is called a tigon.