10,000 year old house uncovered near Jerusalem
Melbourne: An archaeological excavation near Jerusalem has uncovered a 10,000 year old house showing “evidence of man’s transition to permanent dwellings.”
According to the Times of Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority, together with the Netivei Israel Company found the house and a 6000 year old cultic temple ahead of a planned road expansion, News.com.au reported.
The archaeologist’s have labeled the site as “a fascinating glimpse into thousands of years of human development.”
The authority said in a statement that settlement remains were unearthed at the site, the earliest of which dates to the beginning of the eighth millennium BCE (Before Common Era) and latest to the end of the fourth millennium BCE.
Amir Golani, one of the excavators for the Antiquities Authority, said that the excavation has revealed that in the Early Bronze Age, 5000 years ago, a rural society made the transition to an urban society.
The researchers distinctly saw a settlement that gradually became planned, which included streets and buildings that were extremely impressive from the standpoint of their size and the manner of their construction.
Golani said that they can clearly trace the urban planning and see the guiding hand of the settlement’s leadership that chose to regulate the construction in the crowded regions in the center of the settlement and allowed less planning along its periphery. (ANI)
Man who was woman to marry woman who was man!
New York: A US man who was a woman and a woman who was a man are planning to tie the knot.
Mark, who was born Maritza Perdomo and Jessica Lynn Cummings who was once a tow-headed boy named Shawn O’Donnell, met in 2011 and are getting hitched next year after they both underwent a sex change operation, the New York Post reported.
The 49-year-old was a dedicated weightlifter and occupational therapist and underwent the transition in 2003 to be legally recognized as a man, while Jessica removed her testicles in early 2013 to officially become a woman. (ANI)
Wild deer causes damages worth USD 5,000 at yogurt shop in US
New York: A wild deer that broke through a window and stormed into a frozen yogurt shop in US has caused damages worth USD 5,000 in the store.
The family of Alan Prachar – owner of Peachwave Yogurt Store in New Jersey – released the video of the deer, slipping and swinging wildly on the floor, crashing into chairs and tables.
Prachar said they had just closed the store at 10 pm last month when they heard a “tremendous crash,” New York Daily News’ reported. “We came out of the kitchen and see a deer in our dining room,” he said.
The deer caused about USD 5,000 worth of damage by stepping on a leather sectional outside the shop and then damaging the counter and the window. The deer apparently saw his reflection in the window and so he charged into the store, Prachar said.
Police had been called in to look for the deer but they couldn’t locate the animal. The presence of a deer in the area remains a mystery, said Prachar. (PTI)
Now, underwater robot turtle to inspect shipwrecks
London: Researchers have developed a highly manoeuvrable underwater robot turtle to penetrate shipwrecks. Shipwrecks are currently explored by divers, but this is an expensive and time consuming procedure and often dangerous.
The robot, called U-CAT, is designed with the purpose of offering an affordable alternative to human divers. The robot’s locomotion principle is similar to sea turtles.
Independently driven four flippers make the robot highly manoeuvrable; it can swim forward and backward, up and down and turn on spot in all directions. Manoeuvrability is a desirable feature when inspecting confined spaces such as shipwrecks.
The robot carries an onboard camera and the video footage can be later used to reconstruct the underwater site.
“U-CAT is specifically designed to meet the end-user requirements. Conventional underwater robots use propellers for locomotion,” said Taavi Salumae, the designer of the U-CAT concept and researcher in Centre for Biorobotics, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.
“Fin propulsors of U-CAT can drive the robot in all directions without disturbing water and beating up silt from the bottom, which would decrease visibility inside the shipwreck,” Salumae said.
“The so called biomimetic robots, robots based on animals and plants, is an increasing trend in robotics where we try to overcome the technological bottlenecks by looking at alternative technical solutions provided by nature,” said Maarja Kruusmaa, a Head of Centre for Biorobotics.
Researchers will now show the U-CAT robot in London Science Museum, operating in an aquarium. (PTI)
US fisherman catches 800-pound ‘dinosaur fish’!
Washington: A Florida fisherman has caught an 800-pound mysterious deep sea fish, which he has dubbed ‘dinosaur’, off the coast of Miami Beach.
Captain Mark Quartiano told ABC News that he has caught one like the sea monster before, but never that size. Quartiano asserted that the monster, also referred to as “hookskate” or “fingerskate”, is a very rare fish and looks like a big gigantic whipping stingray.
The charter boat operator said that the monster measures in at around 14 feet, including the tail, and was caught in waters of about 500 feet deep. Quartiano added that shortly after tagging the fish, he freed it back into the ocean, as he had no other use for it. (ANI)
Oldest 1640s psalms book sells for record 14.2M dollars at NYC auction
London: The Bay Psalm Book, which is supposedly the first published book of the 1640s in the US, has set an auction record by fetching 14.2 million dollars at Sotheby’s. The book was bought by American businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein, Sky News reported.
The book is one of the eleven copies of the Bay Psalm Book and one of the two copies held by Boston’s Old South Church. Now that Rubenstein has acquired the book, he plans to lend it to libraries around the country. (ANI)
Movember moustache is back in fashion!
London: High proportion of Movember men have admitted that they really enjoyed growing their moustache. According to a survey conducted by a website, several men cited current trends for beards and moustaches as the reason for sporting the look, while others believed a bit of upper lip plumage is attractive to women. The trend of growing facial hair, which was initially started to raise awareness for male cancer, has made a come back in fashion with many participants opting to keep their moustaches into December and beyond. (ANI)
Money does buy happiness but only up to $36K
Washington: While it is widely believed that money can not buy love, a new study has suggested that it can buy you happiness but only up to a ‘sweet spot’ of 36,000 dollars GDP per person.
A new analysis led by economists Eugenio Proto in the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy at the University of Warwick and Aldo Rustichini, from University of MInnesota found that as expected, for the poorest countries life satisfaction rises as a country’s wealth increases as people are able to meet their basic needs. (ANI)