Mysterious Martian Cave Discovered By 7th Graders?
HP - A class of 16 seventh-graders has found a mysterious cave on Mars--a kind of "Martian skylight"--during the course of their research project analyzing images snapped by NASA's Mars orbiter.
The Evergreen Middle School class pinpointed a "hole in the roof of a cave on Mars" that may have been formed by volcanic activity on Mars. The pit is believed to measure some 620 by 520 feet wide and 380 feet deep.
Space.com's Clara Moskowitz explains the Mars Student Imaging Program in which the students were participating:
The intrepid students were participating in the Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. The program allows students to frame a research question and then commission a Mars-orbiting camera to take an image to answer their question.
The students have submitted their site to be further imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which could reveal enough detail to see inside the hole in the ground.
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'Horse Boy' Becomes Internet Sensation!
bbc - Mystery surrounds a man wearing a horse's head who has been captured on Google's Street View in Aberdeen.
The man - who has become known as 'horse-boy' - can be seen in the Hardgate area of the city.
The sighting has become a popular attraction on Google's service, which offers a photographic map of streets.
The man is wearing dark trousers, a purple shirt - and a brown and white horse's head.
Dozens of BBC news website users have e-mailed from across Europe to say they know who horse boy is.
Others have sent in images of the mystery horse-head wearer and some have claimed to be him.
Stefan Kleen from Germany said he and a friend met horse-boy at a German festival last weekend.
He added: "He only spoke English so we didn't really talk a lot to him."
Anders Hauge reckons he has been shopping in Haugesund in Norway; John Hammond was convinced he was playing the fairways and relaxing in the bars of Marbella and Julian Sykes said he had been sighted in Cardiff.
John Ainsworth insisted he saw horse-boy in Norwich earlier in the year walking through Wensum Park.
He said: "I thought I was hallucinating at first but then realised it was real."
Other readers have not been impressed with the story and some have told the website that it is not newsworthy and is a prank to generate further publicity.
A number of contributors have said that horse-boy features in other parts of Google's street view service.
Mark Coates said: "If you go down the road and turn back you can see him putting on the horse head and on the shot back up the road again he has white hair."
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Saudi Women Threaten to Breastfeed Drivers if They Aren't Allowed to Drive
latimes - Many were stunned when Saudi cleric Sheik Abdel Mohsen Obeikan recently issued a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, calling on women to give breast milk to their male colleagues or men they come into regular contact with so as to avoid illicit mixing between the sexes.
But a group of Saudi women has taken the controversial decree a step further in a new campaign to gain the right to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, media reports say.
If they're not granted the right to drive, the women are threatening to breastfeed their drivers to establish a symbolic maternal bond.
"Is this is all that is left to us to do: to give our breasts to the foreign drivers?" a Saudi woman named Fatima Shammary was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
Obeikan argued in his decree that if the women give their drivers their breast milk, the chauffeurs would be able to mingle with all members of the family without having to worry about violating Islamic law. Some Islamic scholars frown on the mixing of unmarried men and women. Islamic tradition, or hadith, stipulates that breastfeeding establishes a maternal bond, even if a woman breastfeeds a child who is not her own.
Drawing from the cleric's advocacy, the women have reportedly chosen a slogan for their campaign that translates to, "We either be allowed to drive or breastfeed foreigners."
The current driving ban applies to all women in Saudi Arabia, regardless of their nationality, and it's been a topic of heated public debate in recent years.
The ban on driving was unofficial at first but was introduced as official legislation after 47 Saudi women drove cars through the streets of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in 1990 in an attempt to challenge authorities.
The incident brought harsh consequences for the women, who were jailed for a day and had their passports confiscated. Many of them were said to have been forced to leave their jobs after the driving protest.
Still, every now and then, reports of Saudi women driving in defiance of the ban emerge in the media.
Two years ago, 125 women in Saudi Arabia signed a petition that called on the Saudi interior minister to lift the ban.
One of the Saudi female signatories, Wajeha Huwaider, posted a video of herself driving on YouTube in a direct appeal to the Saudi authorities to allow women to drive.
"For women to drive is not a political issue," Wajeha said as she sat behind the wheel. "It is not a religious issue. It is a social issue, and we know that many women of our society are capable of driving cars. We also know that many families will allow their women to drive."
NOTE: like I've stated on several occasions, Saudi Arabians are a nutty bunch...though, I'm sure this threat will get a response. Lon
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Arizona Restaurant's Lion Burgers Draw Protests
azcentral - A Mesa restaurant owner is providing customers a South African experience to honor the World Cup on Wednesday and Thursday, serving burgers made with African lion meat.
But the novelty meal is creating a backlash.
Il Vinaio restaurant in downtown Mesa has received more than 150 emails from protestors as well as a bomb threat, owner Cameron Selogie said Tuesday.
According to Selogie, African lions are on the protected list, but not endangered.
"Because it is from a farm, it in no way affects the scarcity of lions in Africa," Selogie said.
The restaurant ordered five pounds of the African lion meat from a USDA regulated free-range farm in Illinois, which Selogie said he researched to make sure they were humane. After some positive feedback and more reservations were made, however, they ordered five more pounds.
Selogie estimates that only 15 of the burgers will be served each night.
During one of the restaurant's Wine-Pairing dinners, where they serve wine with other uncommon meats such as wild boar, customers heard about the availability of lion meat and seemed interested in trying it. Selogie was inspired by the FIFA World Cup's location and decided to serve the meat to coincide with the games.
The restaurant advertised their decision through their e-mail newsletter club to keep the attention to a minimum, but one member and animal activist, Susan Cooper, spread the word.
Cooper said she called the restaurant to clarify their newsletter, thinking the "lion meat" was a joke or a name, but when she discovered it was not she informed other animal advocates about what she calls a "snob appeal" dish.
"I'm thoroughly disgusted to say the least," Cooper said. "I've gotten information around to the animal community and everyone is thoroughly disgusted too."
USDA spokesman Jim Brownlee said lion meat is an uncommon dish, but he knew of no prohibitions against it. Selogie said Il Vinaio will be the first restaurant in Arizona to serve it.
The lion burgers, which will be mixed with ground beef, will be served with corn and spiced kettle chips. The restaurant will offer a South African wine to complement the $21 dish.
Selogie has interacted with the protesters and replied to their emails.
While he does not expect much will happen over the two days, he has informed Mesa Police and bought bottled water for any pickets that may show up at the door each night and according to Cooper, they intend to.
"We have been interacting with several of the animal activists and we committed to making a donation to the ASPCA after this, because we are animal lovers," Selogie said.
Selogie did not want to draw too much attention to the dish, which he said will not be put on the regular menu. He said he was reluctant at first about serving the meat and wanted to order as little as possible.
Selogie himself has not tried the lion meat yet.
"A beautiful, exotic creature that should be out in the wild is being killed for someone to eat as a burger," Cooper said. "What's next? Dogs? Cats? What's the difference?"
Fortean / Oddball News - 6/24/2010
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