First doughnut launched into space from Norway
London: Two Swede brothers in Norway have launched the first doughnut into the edge of space, sending the confectionery 32 km above the surface of the Earth in a weather balloon. Alexander and Benjamin Jonsson, from Lysekil in Sweden, launched the doughnut from Askim in Norway last week. The doughnut, which had pink icing and sprinkles, reached the edge of space at 32 km above ground level, while every moment of its journey was filmed with an onboard camera, ‘The Local’ reported. The entire flight lasted around 84 minutes from takeoff to splashdown. “We like to do odd things and this felt very different,” Alexander told Swedish public radio P4 Vast. “It was really fun to watch the video for the first time. We could see the doughnut hovering above the Earth,” he said. The two brothers launched their craft from Askim, as it was much cheaper to get the necessary flying permits. A few hours after the launch, the vessel crash-landed in Lake Vattern, Sweden, where volunteers from a search-and-rescue groups salvaged the wreckage of the air balloon and the soggy remains of the doughnut. (PTI)
Man tears thumb tendon after playing Candy Crush non-stop
Los Angeles: In a bizarre case, a 29-year- old man in the US ruptured a tendon in his thumb after playing puzzle game ‘Candy Crush’ on his smartphone non-stop for over a month. The medical condition of the man from California came to light after a report on his case was published in the medical journal ‘Live Science’. The case is interesting because such injuries are usually quite painful, but the man appeared to not notice any pain while he played, according to the doctors who treated him. The case shows that, in a sense, video games may numb people’s pain and contribute to video game addiction, they said. “We need to be aware that certain video games can act like digital painkillers,” Dr Andrew Doan, a co-author of the case report and head of addictions research at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, was quoted as saying.
“We have to be very cognizant that can be abused,” Doan said. The man went to the doctor because his left thumb hurt and he was having trouble moving it. He told doctors that he had played the puzzle game “Candy Crush Saga” on his smartphone all day for six to eight weeks. The man had played the game with his left hand while he used his right hand for other things, the case report said. “Playing was a kind of secondary thing, but it was constantly on,” the man was quoted as saying in the case report. After examining the man and performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on his hand, doctors determined that the man had ruptured a tendon involved in moving the thumb, and they said he needed surgery to repair the tendon. Typically, when people rupture this tendon, the tear occurs at the point where the tendon is thinnest, or where it attaches to the bone, Doan said. But in this man’s case, the rupture occurred at the point where the tendon was thickest, which would usually cause pain prior to the rupture, he said.
The man said he did not feel the pain while he played the smartphone game. This may be because, when people play video games, they can feel pleasure and excitement that are tied to the release of natural painkillers in the body — the same thing that happens when a person feels a “runner’s high,” Doan said. (PTI)
Apple bans selfie sticks
New York: No selfie sticks would be allowed at the Worldwide Developers Conference, 2015, Apple announced in the new rules for the event. The attendees wouldn’t be allowed to use selfie sticks or any other kind of photo monopod within the bounds of either Moscone West or Yerba Buena Gardens. Though photography using phones or compact cameras is permitted, developers have already been barred from making audio or video recordings of WWDC events, or using professional photo equipment. During events like the opening keynote, selfie sticks could potentially give attendees un-obstructed shots of the stage, but might also block the views of other audience members and Apple’s own camera crews. “You are not permitted to make audio or audiovisual recordings of WWDC or take professional photographic or video equipment, or wearable recording devices into Moscone West or Yerba Buena Gardens,” Apple’s information page announced. “In addition, you may not use selfie sticks or similar monopods within Moscone West or Yerba Buena Gardens,” it read. A number of other major events have already banned selfie sticks over concerns about them obstructing the views of other people. WWDC 2015 is scheduled for June 8-12 in San Francisco. Apple is expected to showcase iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 at the event. (IANS)
Ancient Egyptian shrine unearthed beneath modern Cairo
Cairo: Egyptian and German archaeologists have discovered a 2,400-year-old basalt shrine and bust beneath Cairo’s modern Ain Shams and Mataria districts, the antiquities minstry announced.
“The shrine belonged to the 30th Dynasty Pharoah Nectanebo I,” said Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El Damaty.
He was referring to Egypt’s pharoah from 379 BC to 360 BC, a member of the last native Egyptian royal family to rule before Alexander the Great conquered the country.
The excavated part of the shrine consists of carved basalt blocks and the dig also unearthed a royal bust belonging to the pharaoh Merenptah from the New Kingdom (1,580 BC to 1,080 BC), Damaty said. The statue represents Merenptah standing and making offerings to ancient Egyptian deities, Damaty said. The finds were unearthed at the site of a sprawling and extremely important temple from Heliopolis, Egypt’s most ancient capital city, known in ancient Egyptian as Lunu. Ground water was being reduced in order to complete excavation works at the temple, said Damaty. (IANS)
Home slashes burglars with sword
London: It is not always that the hunter turns to be the prey. But that is what precisely happened when a group of robbers in Argentina barely managed to escape with their lives after being slashed by a homeowner. Dias Costa, 49, defended his home from four armed burglars by slashing the faces, arms, and necks of the attackers with a Samurai sword, the Daily Mail reported on Monday. The profusely bleeding robbers fled the property in a getaway car. The burglary took place late at night in the Cerro Norte neighbourhood of Cordoba, in central Argentina, when Costa and his wife Christina were asleep. The robbers, armed with two pistols, broke in at around 3.30 a.m., but were not prepared for the savage counter-attack. All of them are reportedly under intensive care. “In a moment, when the attackers were not paying attention, the house owner took a samurai sword and defended himself, injuring the attackers and making them run away” said police official Mariano Zarate. In the panic, the thieves only managed to steal the equivalent of a little over $400 and fled in a Peugeot 206 car, which was parked outside. (IANS)