African Adventure Trip

If you missed the first series and entry of my trip to Africa please click here : African Adventure Blog Post #1


I woke up today and I’m pleased to say I feel human again. I’m not sure what it is, but traveling east is much easier for me than the jet lag traveling west. Needless to say I feel partially refreshed right now, and when you have three young children that’s about as good as it ever gets.

I have been doing my best to catch up on my work, respond to e-mails and phone calls and of course enjoy walking back through my trip and the images I captured. It’s been really fun going through these images and I’m hoping people will continue to follow the updates as I’m holding a few images close and will display them later as I had waaaay to many favourites to show all at once.

The fuji x100 is quite easily the single best camera I have ever purchased! This is my personal opinion of course but I used this camera for 50 percent of the trip and love it so much. It’s so light, fun, practical and the best part of all, unassuming! The image quality is very good but I value it’s use as a travel camera more than anything else and when you walk into a village or a market with it you get a far better reaction than if you are carrying the paparazzi barrel lenses on a dslr. For the price, you can’t beat it!

A few people have asked me how I made some of the trip possible, sleeping with the Mursi tribe, camping near the Hamer tribe and I could not have done it without the help of Steven Olson and Ethioguzo. Colleen and I were solo traveling in Africa years ago and when we had our crappy tent set up in the Simien mountains one cold night I noticed a guide and his group setting up his trusty canadian MEC tents not too far from us. I immediately liked this guy! We chatted just a little and over the last 7 years kept just enough contact that when I was making the leap to go back to Africa and had these plans in mind I knew exactly who to call. Steven is extremely socially conscious and his team made this possible and better than I could have imagined.

One other question people have been asking me was about my gear and packing. I intend on doing a full blog post on how to pack for a trip like this but until then I’ll let you know that I carried two cameras, a d800 with three lenses, nikon 24 1.4, sigma 35 1.4 (my go to lens) and the nikon 70-200 2.8 and my fuji x100. I have owned the d800 for about two years now and practically never shot with it until this trip. It was incredible, small, durable in very severe conditions and looking now at my files I could not be more pleased with the image quality and size. I’ll never ever complain about large file sizes again. I’m cropping images that are still large enough to print at large sizes, that is so wonderful. I would personally never bring the 70-200 again. I love to pack very light and this monster is not and never will be a lens that I use often enough to lug around with me. I did use it but not enough to justify it taking up more room than most of my clothes combined. For me there is nothing more freeing than one small bag with everything you need in, including clothes and gear.

Please enjoy another set of images from the adventure and the captions provided. It was an incredible personal journey for me and I’m proud to share it with you. As well, I have begun selling prints and pieces from this series and although they are not on a public gallery as of yet (they will be) please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to see this art in your own home.

Paradise Bird in Cambodia

The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is a large non-migratory crane found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft), they are conspicuous and iconic species of open wetlands. The Sarus Crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey color and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements. In India they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death. The main breeding season is during the rainy season, when the pair builds an enormous nest "island", a circular platform of reeds and grasses nearly two metres in diameter and high enough to stay above the shallow water surrounding it. Sarus Crane numbers have declined greatly in the last century and it has been estimated that the current population is a tenth or less (perhaps 2.5%) of the numbers that existed in the 1850s. The stronghold of the species is India, where it is traditionally revered and lives in agricultural lands in close proximity to humans. Elsewhere, the species has been extirpated in many parts of its former range.

How to see Grus antigone or kril in Cambdia 

The main focus on birds have 2 places right now for doing boat trip overnight sightseeing with local lives and less tourists doing this tour, one is on Tonle sap lake , and the site is critical for the survival of several species of endangered water birds. The projects of Osmoses aims to link the preservation of the water bird colonies and the environment to the sustainable development of the local communities. In addition to saving seven bird species from extinction, over 130 families from the project.

The Prek Toal is one of three biospheres on Tonle Sap Lake and the establishment of its bird sanctuary makes Prek Toal the most worthwhile and straightforward to visit. It is an ornithologist’s fantasy, with a significant number of rare breeds gathered in one small area , Including the lesser and greater adjutant storks, the milky stork and the spot-billed Pelican.

The Best season going to visit bird sanctuary only from (November to March) because these months water is coming and flooded over and for the water birds will come to this place for making nest breeding also the best to time to see early in the morning or late of evening so have to stay one night in the floating guesthouse or in conservation guesthouse and dry season in (April to the of October) is fine to see also on the edge of the lake but not all birds close to take photos

One part of good sightseeing overnight with floating village and Bird nest with sunrise or sunset and the other bird place are at

Trapang Thmor in Banteay mean Chey province in Phnom Srok district around 2 hours by taxi cab or 4wd from siem reap so the kind of this birds call Grell birds the last of their lives in the world have only in Cambodia that birds conservation said.

For tour going to bird sanctuary and Prek Toal just mail to ask our information and I will give you the best quotation of the tour going there.

The Ang Trapeang Thmor trips

This is actually not in Sisophon in chom district and see one pavement small road on the right to north and you would get there in nice road and villagers and one direct road more is pumpy and difficult but you can go after one kralanh bridge called spean trapoun bridge and turn right you can reach there too and quite nice passing through green villages as well, our taxi driver know the direction and location very well. It's a two hour

drive from Siem Reap, but closer to Sisophon then Siem Reap.

we used to go there many times with family or many customers stay at Jasmine lodge guesthouse which I can really recommend when you want to do something organised, but not something mainstream in Northern Cambodia. Two things though: you have to love nature, and in particular: birds. I'm more of a general nature-lover, and the bird-watching was fun for most part, but I'm not really into it.

I did not went on their regular daytrips, but on one of the guide training trips, so I was basically in a car with seven of Cambodia's top birdwatchers. I quess even seven of Cambodia's only birdwatchers. Cambodians are generally not very interested in nature, they polute it, so these were some unique people.

And very nice people too. The trip was organised by an American professional birdwatcher/dentist that lived in Cambodia for a few years now.

The trip was real fun, only started really early at 5am. Then we drove two hours to the reservate, which is actually from the Angkorean times, but was abandoned and discarded. Pol Pot successfully opened up the reservoir again, causing a lot of people to die in forced labour. The reservoir has a lot of birds (ofcourse) and a lot of rare species sometimes show up there.

It was so funny to be in a car with so many birdwatchers. They see something flying miles from you and they can tell you exactly what bird it is, if it's a female or male, and where it comes from. At that point I still hadn't spotted the bird! And that while bouncing on Cambodia's famous unpaved roads.

Amazing people. Most Khmer just want to live in Phnom Penh, drive a shiney moto and watch television. These guys only want to watch birds!!

The Sam Veasna Center is a really good organisation if you want to participate in eco-tourism. They organise trips to remote villages in the dry season, and give them a chance to make some profit out of it. In the rainy season they often go to these villages and offer them training and workshops. they are also the only eco-tour operator that Wildlife Conservation International allows in their parcs. Sorry for the advertising here, but this is not only a commercial organisation and I hope it's allowed in this contexto .

The Ang Trapaing Thmor Crane Sanctuary:

is a protected area of Cambodia on the site of a large Khmer Rouge irrigation project built during the 1970's. The sanctuary was gazetted on the 1st of January, 1999 and covers an area of 10,250 hectares. The reserve was set aside to protect the rare Eastern Sarus Crane (Grus antigone sharpii). Prior to the discovery of the crane at Trapaing Thmor, there were thought to be fewer than 1,000 of the birds left alive in the world

The Crane sanctuary is located in north western Cambodia, not far from the border with Thailand. The entire 10,000 hectares of the protected area is contained within Phnom Srok District of Banteay Meanchey Province. Phnom Srok district shares a border with Siem Reap and Oddar Meanchey Provinces. Reading from the north clockwise, Phnom Srok borders with Banteay Ampil and Chong Kal districts of Oddar Meanchey province to the north. The eastern border of the district is shared with Srei Snam and Kralanh districts of Siem Reap province. To the south the district shares a border with Preah Net Preah District of Banteay Meanchey. The western border of the district joins with Svay Chek and Thmor Pouk districts also of Banteay Meanchey. The sanctuary can be accessed by road from Sisophon (70 km) or Siem Reap (city) (90 km) via National Highway 6 initially then via smaller unsealed district roads to Ang Trapaing Thmor.

The site of Ang Trapaing Thmor reservoir is also the site of an ancient Angkorian caus

The Sarus Crane, Grus antigone is an all-year resident breeding bird in northern Pakistan and India (especially Central India and the Gangetic plains), Nepal, Southeast Asia and Queensland, Australia. It is a very large crane, averaging 156 cm (5 ft) in length, which is found in freshwater marshes and plains.Ang Trapaing Thmor sanctuary is also an important conservation area for a number of other threatened species. One globally threatened primate species, the Long Tailed Macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) is found within the sanctuary. One globally threatened ungulate species, the Eld's Deer (Cervus Eldii} and three globally threatened turtle species, the Asian Box Turtle (Cuora )

On the way to visit the Ang Trapeang Thmor commune in Phnom Srouk district.i was really happy to recommend you to visit my grand father house projects(pteah ta kyoum school as wel in kralanh district in sompov lourn villagel.it is the school just started to open in January in one rural and further from Siem reap town and are needing some books and pencils donations.

Wild Cattle in Cambodia

Wild Cattle in the Seima Protection Forest

Wildlife surveys in the newly e

xtended core area of Seima Protection Forest started earlier this year and they have been yielding exciting results. One of the most interesting of these has been an unusual encounter with a large herd of one of SPF's most endangered species, Banteng.

In his accounts of expeditions to Northern Cambodia during the 1950's, biologist Charles Wharton likens the landscape to the game lands of Africa as he describes huge herds of wild cattle, including Banteng, roaming the savannah forest. This is sometimes difficult to imagine today as Cambodia's wild cattle have been subjected to many of the same pressures affecting the species elsewhere in the region. Despite this there are parts of the country, in particular the open forests in the northern and eastern provinces, which still retain populations of wild cattle.

Banteng, one of Cambodia's three species of wild cattle, once occurred from southern China across mainland Southeast Asia, Peninsular Malaysia and parts of Indonesia. However, the species now persists only in greatly reduced and isolated populations, many of which are in decline. Banteng have been heavily hunted over the last few decades, for meat, trophies and medicinal use, and these threats are exacerbated by rapid habitat loss. The species is listed by IUCN as Endangered and, although the exact number is not known, it is probable that there are less than 8 000 individuals remaining in the wild.

Wild cattle such as Banteng play a crucial role in many ecological processes, such as large seed dispersal and the maintenance of habitat structures. In addition to playing the part of "ecological architects" Banteng constitute a critical food source for many carnivore species, such as Tiger, Leopard and Dhole. The probable extinction of the Kouprey, another of Cambodia's wild cattle species which has not been seen since the 80's, further highlights the urgency of conservation actions focusing on Banteng populations.

The similarity in appearance of Banteng to many breeds of domestic cattle belies its shy nature and these animals are rarely seen, even by field staff who spend much of their time in the forest. In the last round of surveys Banteng were observed on just 11 occasions, despite the fact that the biological monitoring team walked just under 1500km on transects. Such encounters that do occur often only afford the briefest glimpse of an animal before it disappears into the dense cover that herds like to keep close to. However, earlier this season one of the team leaders, Sot Vandouen, managed to capture video footage of the elusive Banteng during a transect survey. This was an area which had not previously been surveyed and the observation was all the more exciting as he counted a total of 21 animals, which is the highest number of individuals recorded in any Banteng encounter in SPF.

Not only does this record provide further confirmation of the presence of healthy breeding herds but it also makes it a little easier to imagine these forests being restored to their former glory, as described by Wharton half a century ago.

Mondulkiri province in Eastern Cambodia has become one of the last strongholds of Banteng in Indochina, and the Seima Protection Forest is recognised as a globally important site for the conservation of this species. Banteng is one of a number priority species in SPF which are monitored annually using line transect surveys. Line transects are essentially fixed survey routes which are walked repeatedly by skilled field staff who record observations of target species. These data are used to estimate the total number of animals present in the core area. Over time managers can assess whether populations are increasing, decreasing or remaining stable, and use this information to guide and evaluate management actions.

The biological monitoring work in SPF is made possible through support from Eleanor Briggs, Ellyssa Kellerman and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
 

Fact or Fiction: Crowds stormed the Bastille in order to free political prisoners being held there.

This one’s also a myth. Beginning in the 17th century, the French monarchy put writers and other people they considered troublemakers behind bars at the former medieval fortress turned prison, and the practice continued throughout the 18th century as well. Perhaps the most famous writer imprisoned in the Bastille for sedition was the Voltaire, whose satirical attacks on French politics and religion earned him nearly a year behind bars in 1717. But by the time of the French Revolution, this wasn’t really happening anymore, and there were only seven prisoners in the Bastille on July 14, 1789: four counterfeiters, two mentally ill men and a count who had been delivered to the prison by his family for engaging in perverse sexual practices. (Incidentally, the Marquis de Sade was imprisoned in the Bastille from 1784 to just days before the crowds stormed the prison, when he was transferred to an insane asylum after shouting through his window “They are massacring the prisoners—you must come and free them!”)

The revolutionary crowds knew there was a cache of arms and gunpowder stored in the Bastille, and they wanted it. After firing on the mob and killing some 100 people, the men guarding the prison were forced to surrender after the rescue team called to secure the fortress joined the revolutionaries and aimed their cannons at the Bastille instead. Its military governor, Bernard-Jordan de Launay, flew the white flag of surrender; as a reward, the revolutionary mob killed him and paraded his head through the streets on a pike. After capturing the weapons and gunpowder, the crowd began dismantling the Bastille that same night.

Drinking Coffee to have a better nap

In a Japanese study that examined how to make the most of a nap, people who took a "coffee nap"—consuming about 200 milligrams of caffeine (the amount in one to two cups of coffee) and then immediately taking a 20-minute rest—felt more alert and performed better on computer tests than those who only took a nap.

Why does this work? A 20-minute nap ends just as the caffeine kicks in and clears the brain of a molecule called adenosine, maximizing alertness. "Adenosine is a byproduct of wakefulness and activity," says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine. "As adenosine levels increase, we become more fatigued. Napping clears out the adenosine and, when combined with caffeine, an adenosine-blocker, further reduces its effects and amplifies the effects of the nap."

The Terracotta Army and Horses

Chinese name: 秦陵兵马俑 (Qinling Bingmayong)
Location: Yanzhai County, Lintong District, around 1.5km east of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum, Xi'an city, Shaanxi Province.
Opening time: 8:30-18:00
How to get there:
- Bus: 306 (No.5), 307, 914, 915 or Special Line 101.
- From Xian Xianyang International Airport: Airport Shuttle Line 2 to Xian Railway Station (25 RMB)
- From Xian Railway Station: Tourism Bus no.5 (306), 914 or 915.
- Taxi: about 120 to 200 RMB (depending on where you catch a cab, but make the fare clear with the driver before leaving to the site)
Best time for visit: all year long
Recommended time for a visit: 3 hours at least

One of China's greatest attractions and a UNESCO protected human masterpiece

Standing as one of the 10 top attractions of China, the Terracotta Army and Horses is definitely a "must-see" scenic spot of the age-old city of Xi'an, the "Eastern Peace". This large-scale underground military museum is recognized today as one of the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century, a unique historical site never seen anywhere else in the world. The Terracotta Army is the buried army replica of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the First Emperor of China, guarding the tomb of the Emperor in his after life and accompanying him in his immortality. Representing the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC) military power, these thousands of life-size figures arranged in a large-scale battle formation are impressive by there size, number and detailed looking. Today, over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses can be seen in the site. As one of the most famous attractions of China together with the Great Wall or the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and Horses scenic spot is attracting thousands of visitors coming from every parts of the world. Now part of any tour packages or visits to Xi'an and China, the Terracotta Army site is the place where meeting with China ancient Imperial Power and great culture that flourished since the beginning of the Qin Dynasty. Discovered in 1974, the site has been ranked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its marvel and need for preservation to future generations. Today, visitors can still notice archeologists' ongoing work on the site and in the three different pits, a sight giving an even deeper meaning to such a visit in China.

 When visiting such a marvelous place, one should be aware of the great history that is lying behind all the spots and tourist information signs. Indeed, the Terracotta Army and Horses is connected with the early ancient history of China. Everything started in 246 BC when at the age of 13, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China ascended to the throne. Most famous Emperor in China's history for he was the one who unified China 2,200 years ago and gave to the country its actual name, Qin Shihuang was responsible for the creation of many of China's outstanding buildings such as the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and here the Terracotta Army and Horses site. Built with the purpose of protecting the tomb of the Emperor and show loyalty to him after his death, the Terracotta Army and Horses site was under construction during 38 years, and around 700 000 workers were needed to complete it. Apart from the terracotta figures, many buried treasures and sacrificial objects, animals and people had accompanied the Emperor in his after life, a real discovery for today's archeologists.

The site of the Army had been discovered accidently in 1974 by a farmer who was digging a well near to its village. Discovering a terracotta head looking like a human face painted in very bright colors, the farmer brought it back home to show his discovery to his family. Curious about what this head was about, they preferred alerting officials about the discovery and finished to bring them to the very place where the farmer had found the head. Soon after did the archeologists and officials realized that the farmer was at the origin of the discovery of one of the world's most important historical site: Emperor Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army and Horses. Extending the digs, scientists first discovered Pit No.1, the biggest vault out of the three that can be seen today. Since then, the farmer has seen his life completely changed as he is now a celebrity signing autographs and that travelers can meet at the entrance of the Terracotta Army tourist site. Soon after the discovery, the State Council authorized to build a museum on the site and in 1976, two other pits were uncovered at just 20 to 25 meters away from the first pit. Precious site for China's history and humanity as well, the Terracotta Army and Horses has been listed to UNESCO in 1987, one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century.

The Secret of Phone in the Bottle trick

Dynamo performs different versions of this trick, but the core is always the same. He borrows a bottle from one of the spectators, and a phone from another one. And then, in one swift movement, he somehow manages to get the phone inside the bottle. Someone then calls the number, to verify it is indeed the same phone.
Explanation:

First thing you have to pay attention to is the bottle. What exactly happens to the bottle after Dynamo gets ahold of it? For how long can you still see it? If you look at the video again, you will see that Dynamo puts it after his back immediately, while misdirecting the viewers with the cell phone. Also notice the guy standing behind Dynamo. He is clearly an accomplice who’s job is to take the bottle from Dynamo’s left hand while everyone is distracted by the phone and hand Dynamo another bottle, which already has an identical phone in it.

Dynamo then quickly brings the bottle from behind his back in a way that makes it impossible for the viewers to see if there is anything in it. He brings both hands together with great speed, and it seems as though he really pushed the phone through the glass and into the bottle. However, he merely had to push the phone in his right hand into the sleeve of his jacket (probably using a gimmick called Gecko, which pulls the phone into his sleeve using elastic bands). An identical phone is already in the bottle, and all he has to do now is reveal it to the audience.

This explanation presumes that the owner of the phone and the friend who afterwards calls his phone to confirm its identity are stooges. As far as we know, Dynamo never denied using stooges and this seems to be the most likely explanation. However, there is an alternative explanation that doesn’t involve stooges, but presumes that the bottle Dynamo is handed from the assistant behind him is just gimmicked in a way that enables him to actually push the phone in. However, this is much less likely than the first explanation.

Greenland

ANCIENT HISTORY, HISTORY AND MODERN TIMES
The first people to set foot in Greenland arrived around 4-5000 years ago from the North American continent via Canada when the sea froze in the narrow strait at Thule in northern Greenland.
No less than six different Inuit cultures have immigrated in several waves. Greenland's population today is descended from the last immigration, the Thule culture, which arrived here in around the 9th century AD.

THE NORSE SETTLERS AND THE VIKING PERIOD IN GREENLAND

This final Inuit immigration took place at around the same time as the arrival in Greenland of the Norse settlers and Erik the Red, which was in 982 AD. This is described in detail in the Icelandic sagas.

The Norse population disappeared from Greenland in around 1500 AD for reasons that have never been fully explained - although countless well-founded theories about their disappearance still flourish today. Many of the Norse settlers' ruins are still visible on plains and mountainsides in South Greenland and at Nuuk.

They are therefore popular destinations that attract tourists wishing to gain an insight into an exciting culture from the Viking period.

THE ENCOUNTER WITH DANES, NORWEGIANS AND WHALERS

Following the disappearance of the Norse population, expeditions from England and Norway came to Greenland throughout the 16th and 17th centuries and from the 17th and 18th centuries it was primarily the European whalers who came into contact with the Inuits.

This resulted in extensive trade, and the Inuits were particularly taken with the Europeans' small glass beads, which today are used in the national costume.

The missionary Hans Egede from the joint kingdom of Denmark-Norway arrived in what is today known as Nuuk in 1721 in his search for the Norse settlers. He never found them, but instead converted the Inuits to the Christian faith. The Inuits today are Lutheran evangelists.

The largest state (in area) of the United States, Alaska was admitted to the union as the 49th state in 1959, and lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent. Acquired by the United States in 1867, the territory was dubbed “Seward’s Folly” after U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, who arranged to purchase the land from Russia. Critics of the purchase believed that the land had nothing to offer, but the discovery of gold in the 1890s created a stampede of prospectors and settlers. Alaska is bounded by the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north; Canada’s Yukon Territory and British Columbia province to the east; the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south; the Bering Strait and the Bering Sea to the west; and the Chukchi Sea to the northwest. The capital is Juneau.

Date of Statehood: January 3, 1959

Capital: Juneau

Population: 710,231 (2010)

Size: 664,988 square miles

Nickname(s): The Last Frontier; Land of the Midnight Sun

Motto: North to the Future

Tree: Sitka Spruce

Flower: Forget-me-not

Bird: Willow Ptarmigan

INTERESTING FACTS
Russia controlled most of the area that is now Alaska from the late 1700s until 1867, when it was purchased by U.S. Secretary of State William Seward for $7.2 million, or about two cents an acre.
During World War II, the Japanese occupied two Alaskan islands, Attu and Kiska, for 15 months.
Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the United States. At 20,320 feet, Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America.
Alaska has roughly 5,000 earthquakes every year. In March of 1964, the strongest earthquake recorded in North America occurred in Prince William Sound with a magnitude of 9.2.
The most powerful volcanic explosion of the 20th century occurred in 1912 when Novarupta Volcano erupted, creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes in Katmai National Park.
The temperature dropped to a record -80 degrees Fahrenheit at Prospect Creek Camp in 1971.
The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska more than 420 times.
People have inhabited Alaska since 10,000 BCE. At that time a land bridge extended from Siberia to eastern Alaska, and migrants followed herds of animals across it. Of these migrant groups, the Athabaskans, Aleuts, Inuit, Yupik, Tlingit and Haida remain in Alaska.

the world's great wonders Machu Picchu, Peru

Clinging to a remote ridge high in the Andes, the ancient city of Machu Picchu was built, lived in and deserted in fewer than 100 years – then lost to civilization for centuries. During construction, the Inca didn't use wheels to transport the blocks. Instead it's thought they hauled them up the slopes by hand, as protrusions have been found on a few stones (suggesting grips for workers' hands). Ingenious engineering solutions were used to counteract earthquakes: L-shaped blocks anchored corners together, doors and windows tilted inward, and no mortar was used between stones so that, if shaken, they could move and resettle without collapsing.

Make the trip: there are only two options to get to Machu Picchu: trek it or catch the train to Aguas Calientes, where you take a bus from the ticket office on the main road.



Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-tips-and-articles/top-secrets-the-truths-behind-10-of-the-worlds-great-wonders#ixzz3eESOS9JD

The Formula for Coca-Cola

It's no surprise that one of most profitable companies ever would want to keep their formula a secret. Even with hundreds of imitators, Coke still dominates world-wide sales of caramel colored drinks. But doesn't that stuff only have, like, four ingredients? Fizzy water, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine and Brown Dye #4? There isn't exactly a vibrant symphony of flavors in each can.

Yet, the formula is so fiercely protected that the company even pulled out of India in the 1970s because they would have been legally required to divulge their ingredient list to their government.

It even managed to stall a divorce case. When one of the Coke heirs ended his marriage to his wife, she demanded some of his great-grandfather's (the founder of Coca-Cola) original notes as part of her settlement. The company had to get involved and put a stop to it out of fear the notes could contain information on the formula.

Who Knows:

Only two Coke executives know it. Urban legend says they each only know half, but that's false--that part was invented for an old ad campaign.

The original copy of the formula is kept in an undisclosed SunTrust Bank in Atlanta. To keep SunTrust on the side, Coke gave them some 48.3 million shares of stock as well as having executives from each company sit on the other's board of directors.

The company has policies surrounding the secret that range from the paranoid (the two executives who knew the formula could not fly on the same plane) to the bizarre (no one could view the formula without God, Jesus and Elvis present or something to that extent).

All of this is pointless in the end. Coca-Cola still derives some of its flavor from the coca plant; the same place that cocaine comes from. Due to the obvious drug related issues that would arise from importing lots of coca plant into America legally, only one company has government permission to do it. That company is Coca-Cola. So even if someone broke into the bank and managed to take the formula, they would never be able to produce an exact Coke rip-off.
And if another company did somehow get permission to import coca, hell, there is at least one better way to make money with it.

Incredible fishing boat in the storm

KFC's 11 Herbs and Spices

The secret KFC recipe dates back to the 1930s when Harland Sanders served chicken to people who stopped at his gas station in North Corbin, Kentucky. It was an amazing success. And while he never joined the military, in 1936, he was given the title of honorary Kentucky Colonel by the governor in recognition of his contribution to the state's cuisine.

Eventually, Sanders expanded his restaurant into a chain. While KFC has diversified its menu over the years, the main thing that sets the restaurant apart is still its special blend of 11 herbs and spices. And boy do they know it.

Who Knows:

As with Coke, only two executives have access to the recipe for KFC's 11 herbs and spices. Man, wouldn't it be weird if it was the same two guys?

How it is Kept Secret:

The recipe is at KFC's headquarters. But unless you are Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, you have no chance of getting it.

"We fortified the ceiling and the floor around here with concrete bricks two feet thick," Dietl said. "We put in motion sensors also CCTV that's hooked up to security downstairs. They have 24/7 armed guys downstairs, so in the amount of 30 seconds you'll have somebody up here. Once in here, you have to have two people with two keys and two different PIN numbers, and that's what you have to have. This safe is bolted down and there is no way anybody can get in here unauthorized without us knowing about it."

Holy. Fuck.

But will this be enough to thwart the hordes of people who are trying to steal the secret recipe? Just in case it's not, half of the ingredients are mixed at one location, half at another, and they are combined at a third.

This is chicken we're talking about. CHICKEN! Fast food chicken. See, we're going to share a little secret with you guys who're risking your lives to protect that recipe: no one eats at KFC because they have the best chicken in the world. People eat it because it's a pain in the ass to make at home and the line was too long at Popeye's.

Tuna Sold for $37,500 in Tokyo

A sushi restaurant chain owner paid ¥4.51 million ($37,500) for a 180 kilogram Bluefin tuna at the first auction of the year in Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market.

Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., has won the year’s first bid for four consecutive years since 2012. He told reporters Monday after his purchase that it was cheaper than he had expected thanks to a successful haul of tuna near the Tsugaru strait this year.

While $37,500 may seem too much to pay for a fish, it is a bargain compared to what Mr. Kimura had to spend in 2013.

In January 2012, Mr. Kimura won the bid at the first tuna auction of the year for $736,700. He then paid $1.76 million for a 222 kilogram tuna in January 2013, which remains an all-time record.

Prices for tuna tend to get inflated at the year’s first auction. Mr. Kimura had been in a fierce bidding war with a restaurant chain owner in Hong Kong prior to his success in recent years.

Tsukiji market is commemorating its 80th anniversary this year since opening in February 1935. It is scheduled to relocate to the Toyosu area in Tokyo in November 2016.

Tuna Fishing Towns

Marlin fishermen like to think that blue, or black marlin, depending on which ocean you fish in, is the baddest, hardest-fighting fish in the sea. Well, it’s time to wake up, buttercup — they’re not. A marlin loses its fighting advantage by its instinct to come up and jump when trying to rid itself of whatever is causing its distress. Tuna, on the other hand, go down. That’s why everyone gets so pissy in the cockpit when a bit marlin starts heading for the bottom. You know it might be a long time before you see that fish again.

With a tuna, you know from the get-go what it’s going to do — it’s going to punish you. The deeper the water you hook a tuna in, the more line you’re going to need, because tuna fish head for the bottom and never give an inch on the way back up. Frankly, if you’re fighting any tuna over 100 pounds while standing up, then I hope it was an accidental hookup — either that or you must be some sort of masochist, but to each his own.

Bluefin tuna represent the true heavyweights and routinely break the 1,000-pound mark, but bigeye and yellow fin routinely top 300 pounds, presenting a challenge on any tackle. Here, then, are five great places to tangle with tuna that reach truly gigantic size — I know that there are plenty of fellows out there itching for the ultimate pull.

Tuna Bidding in Japan  http://weknow2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/tuna-sold-for-37500-in-tokyo.html

Coral Breeding May Help Cooler Reefs

The study, by scientists in the United States and Australia, raises the possibility of deliberate breeding to pass on heat-tolerant genes to combat climate change, linked by almost all scientists to a build-up of man-made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

"Coral larvae with parents from the north, where waters were about 2 degrees Celsius [3.6 Fahrenheit] warmer, were up to 10 times as likely to survive heat stress, compared with those with parents from the south," the scientists found. And cross-breeding of the corals, of the Acropora millepora species common in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, brought offspring that were "significantly" better at coping with rising temperatures than the cooler southern corals, they wrote.

Corals, which are tiny stony-bodied animals, form reefs that are vital nurseries for many fish and are big draws for scuba-diving tourists.

"What I think is the most viable strategy is simply to transplant adult corals - we make a reef and let then cross with the natural corals," Mikhail Matz, a co-author at the University of Texas at Austin, told Reuters.

Other dangers

A United Nations report last year said that there were early warning signs that warm water corals and the Arctic, where ice is melting fast, were among the most vulnerable parts of nature and already suffering irreversible changes because of warming.

The experts cautioned that warmer waters were only one of many problems facing corals — others including pollution and an acidification of the oceans.

The fact that corals can inherit heat tolerance "is not a magic bullet that will safeguard corals from the multitude of stressors they are currently facing," Line Bay, a co-author at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, told Reuters.

The study adds to wider debate about deliberately relocating animals and plants because of climate change, despite risks for instance that they unwittingly bring diseases to their new homes.

Make Morphine farm

The latest finding follows recent success in engineering brewer's yeast to synthesise opiates such as morphine and codeine from a common sugar, boosting the prospect of "home brew" drug supply.

But whether making morphine in bubbling vats of yeast will be commercially viable — either for drug companies or criminal gangs — is far from certain, since poppies are very efficient natural factories.

"Poppies are not going to be displaced overnight, by any stretch of the imagination," said Ian Graham, a professor at the University of York, who worked on the latest gene discovery.

While extracting opiates from genetically engineered yeast is now a real possibility, he sees more immediate benefits from applying the latest knowledge to developing better poppy plants.

Having the gene allows scientists to develop molecular breeding approaches to creating made-to-order poppy varieties that make different compounds, he told Reuters. And that could lead to agricultural production of drugs such as noscapine, a cough-suppressant that may also fight cancer, as well as improved plant strains with higher yields of morphine.

The University of York team worked on the project with scientists from GlaxoSmithKline. The drugmaker has long been a major supplier of opiates but agreed in March to sell its Australian-based business to India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.

$12B in Annual Sales

For centuries, opiates have been the go-to drugs for pain relief, and they remain the most potent treatments for severe pain, generating global prescription sales of around $12 billion annually.

Morphine and codeine are used directly as painkillers, while a third compound, thebaine, is a starting point for semisynthetic opiates, including oxycodone and hydrocodone.

The molecular structure of these drugs is so complex that chemists have never been able to produce them from off-the-shelf components. But understanding the genetics means it is now possible to engineer a microbe like yeast to do the job.

The discovery of the so-called STORR gene by Graham and colleagues, reported in the journal Science on Thursday, provides the missing piece in the biosynthesis puzzle.

The gene plays a vital role in the back-to-back steps in the plants' morphine-producing pathway by converting a compound known as (S)-reticuline into a variation called (R)-reticuline.

Why do We Like to Share Things Online?

The world is social media, and we’re just living in it. Gone are the days of Talkomatic in the 1970s where only five people at a time could chat and AOL that had an upwards of 17 million subscribers in its heyday. As of 2015, Alexa and U.S. Traffic Rank report that Facebook has over 900 million unique monthly visitors. Other social media platforms, such as Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram, also have nine-digit unique monthly visitors. After cable and DSL modems debuted along with platforms like MySpace and Friendster in the 2000s, people had more larger and faster options for interacting with others on the Web, making the chat rooms that defined the 1990s Internet experience obsolete. Although the core concept of AOL and Yahoo chat rooms still lives on through applications like the group chat option in Facebook Messenger, today’s social media is a different experience altogether.

So what makes social media the titan it is today? What appeal does social media have that compels people to post pictures of their family?, a 13-year-old to post a funny video on Vine, or businesses to reach out to customers via Twitter? Sharing information with others is not a new phenomenon. However, the vastness of the Internet and hyper-speed of technology allows people to share more information with a greater amount of people faster than ever before. The New York Times Customer Insight Group has pinpointed five reasons people share things online. Although each reason is different, every reason revolves around a person’s relationship with others. These reasons, ordered biggest to smallest, are to:

– Support/not support brands and causes.

– Cultivate relationships.

– Feel self-validation.

– Define who they are.

– Give enriching information.

– Support/Not Support Brands and Causes

In the study conducted by the Customer Insight Group, 84 percent of people said one of the reasons they share information is to tell others that they like/support or dislike/do not support a certain brand or cause. Everyone has causes they support and brands they either like or do not like – the company that makes the most amazing pints of ice cream or that politician that they do not want elected to office. Before the Internet, people would share information about brands and causes via word of mouth, flyers, community boards in stores, and the telephone. While those methods are still used, social media and other Web avenues allow people to reach a wider, more diverse audience. Spreading the word invokes feelings of empowerment. When people share their opinion on brands and let others know about causes they want to see succeed, or not succeed, it makes people feel like their voice matters.