And Finally » amazing

Smoking Toddler’s 40-A-Day Habit

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:36:19 +0000

A two-year-old has developed a 40-a-day habit after being given his first cigarette at just 18 months old.

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Toddler Ardi Rizal is so hooked on smoking that he throws a tantrum when he can’t have a fag.

“He treats cigarettes like another meal,” said his mum Diana Rizal, 26. “I try to distract him with toys and games, but nothing works.”

Although he’s only just learn to walk, Ardi is already getting through four packets of cigarettes a day and his mum is at her wits end.

At their home in Sumatra, Indonesia, Ardi screams and shouts if anyone tries to stop him smoking.

His first dose of tobacco came from his father Mohammed, 30, a fishmonger, when he was a year and a half old.

“He looks pretty healthy to me,” he said, “I don’t really see the problem.”

His mother meanwhile has been trying to cut down his addiction for the past six months, with little success.

She blames herself for smoking while pregnant with Ardi.

Ardi is also overweight and his mum worries that his obsession with smoking is stopping him from running around and slimming down his four stone body.

“He smokes like an adult,” said his dad. “He has already learned to blow smoke rings and blows smoke through his nose.”

Words by Isabel Jensen

Gopher Is A Goner As Heron Spurns Fish For Meat Treat

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 10:21:56 +0000

Now there’s a mouthful!

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These extraordinary pictures of a heron devouring a helpless gopher whole are nothing new for the residents of Arrowhead Marsh in southern California.

That is because this particular heron has become known locally for its unusual choice of dinner, adding a diet of squirrels and small rodents to its more traditional fish supper.

Captured in two separate picture incidents three years apart, the same heron is seen indulging its un-fussy approach to food.

The most recent photograph of the carnivorous heron was snapped on May 1st of this year, clearly shows the look of absolute horror on the face of the poor gopher as it realises it is a goner.

“This Great Blue Heron is well known in the Almeida area around Arrowhead Marsh as a ruthless hunter,” said Rick Lewis, 55, the photographer who captured the amazing pictures.

“I usually go down there to photograph the rare California Clapper Rail birds, but every now and then I see this heron in action.

“The first time I saw it happen in 2007 I mentioned it to a local and she shrugged her shoulders as if to say it happens all the time.”

Over the course of the past three years, Rick estimates he has seen the heron eat around 40 squirrels and gophers and its appetite shows no sign of dimming down.

“In these photos the heron stalks it prey like it would a fish, approaching slowly until it is able to strike,” said Rick.

“The speed at which it darts down is incredible and now I don’t necessarily expect it to re-emerged with a fish on its beak, but pretty much anything that lives in the marshes.”

So fast is this particular heron with its lightning speed, that Rick claims that sometimes he has seen the heron literally impale its prey on its beak.

“I have seen it stab its beak straight through a squirrel before,” said Rick.

“It had to open its beak and rip open the squirrel just to get it down its beak.

“But in the two cases I photographed, the heron picked up the gopher, gave it a violent couple of shakes and then either swallowed it in one or flew off to eat its meal elsewhere.”

Talking about the terrified look on the face of the gopher he photographed before it was devoured, Rick is quite plain.

“That gopher was making a hell of a noise before it was flown off to become that heron’s dinner,” said Rick.

“It was a great shot, as was the first time I witnessed it three years ago.

“That is some bird.”

Words by James Nye.

Wing Suit Daredevil Jumps Off Mountain

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:46:33 +0000

A British daredevil BASE jumper who survived a near fatal skydiving accident has returned to the skies just 12 months after his horrific injury.

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Standing 4,000 feet above the ground at the top of Mount Trento in northern Italy, James Boole completed an incredible come back as he soared for one mile over the open plains.

Reaching speeds of up to 100 mph the Staffordshire-born skydiver hurtled through the clear skies before opening his parachute 500 feet above the ground.

“There was a good mixture between nervousness and excitement,” said the 32-year-old.

“That said I still had some Elvis knee knocking going on as I stood on the cliff edge.

“But as I came into land my parachute I felt ecstatic, it was great.”

James has made a miraculous recovery after his parachute failed to open during a wingsiut flight in Kamchatka, Russia on Good Friday last April.

The professional sky diver, camera man and extreme sports nut fell 6,000 feet crashing into the snowy mountains at 100 mph.

Breaking his back, cracking a rib, chipping several teeth and bruised a lung he amazingly lived to tell the tale.

Forced to wear a body brace for three months, the father of one never thought he would be able to jump again.

“Immediately after the accident, I really thought that I might never be able to jump again whether it be that I physically wouldn’t be able or that i might lose interest or too scared to do it,” he said.

“Once the brace came off I started with physio therapy and going to the gym

“As I got all of my fitness back and I was as strong as I was before the accident, I made the decision that I definitely wanted to jump again.”

Adopting a stringent training regime physiotherapy and in the gym. cardio vascular fitness, running, skating, swimming, and then weights in the gym, James defied the odds to regain full fitness and return to the sport he loves.

“When I told my family and friends that I wanted to jump again there was mixed reaction,” he said.

“Obviously my family were very concerned that I would want to do something like this again after such a serious accident.

“At the same time they know me and they understand what a big part parachuting plays in my life.

So they were concerned but accepted that it is my decision.”

Spending 12 months mentally and physically preparing for the jump, James admitted he was a little nervous as he stood on the precipice.

“The thing I remember most as I stood at the top of the mountain was don’t make any mistakes,” he said.

“I focussed on doing things safely and I did a relatively straight forward jump and didn’t exaggerate in anyway.

“As I got closer to the exit point we were hiking up the fear and the anxiety – there was a good mixture between nervousness and excitement to jump again.

“As I got closer to the jump point the fear went away and I became more and more excited to jump again. That said I still had some Elvis knee knocking going on as I stood on the cliff edge.

“Once my feet left the rock and I pushed away at first you have no speed at all because you are pushing off a solid object.

“As gravity pulls you downwards there is no sound and force on your body at all.

“After a few seconds you start to speed up and you start to hear the wind and the noise picks up.

“The suit inflates and then the force of the air hits your body. When that happened I realised I was back home.”

Touching down for the first time in over a year, James was filled with emotion.

“I landed feeling awesome,” he said.

“My friends were waiting for me and my wife and my daughter. I was full of energy and joy and i remembered how much I enjoy this.

“I couldn’t wait to go back up and do another one.”

For James, who lives in Trento with his wife Kristina 24 and baby Melissa, 15 months, his return to action has helped draw a line under the last 12 months but he is ready to stop taking so many risks.

“Before making this jump I hadn’t made any plans about what I would do jumping wise in the future,” he said.

“I wanted to do this one jump to really come full circle, to be where I was a year ago to get back on the horse so to speak.

“Now I would like to carry on jumping maybe a little bit less, doing things a little bit less risky than before but its still a major part of my life.”

Words by Jack Fletcher

Is This The Oldest Fish In The World?

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:32:07 +0000

Steve Gruebel with Buttkiss © Erik Freeland / Barcroft USA

Spending each day swimming round his four-foot-long, 75-gallon tank, Buttkiss the 43-year old Black Pacu is thought to be the world’s oldest living common-pet-fish.

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In a remarkable feat of endurance the 15 pound, 22 inch long fish’s is incredibly swimming towards his sixth decade of life.

Turning 44 on April 1, the age-old fish is more likely to draw gasps of admiration from the crowds who flock to see him at New York’s Cameo Pet Shop – rather than laughter on the famous fool’s day.

Buttkiss’s owner and pet shop proprietor Steve Gruebel, 60, said his fish has become a local celebrity in the Queens neighbourhood of Richmond Hill in the Big Apple.

“I have worked in this shop for 46 years and we first got him in to sell as a pet in 1967,” said monster fish keeper Steve.

“I sold him on in 1968, but that owner returned him when Buttkiss outgrew the tank he was living in at the beginning of 1970.

“He has been with me ever since.”

A member of the Black Pacus species of fish, Buttkiss is a larger relative of flesh eating piranha’s found in the South American Amazon river.

“He doesn’t eat your everyday fish food,” explained Steve.

“I actually feed him up to 20 goldfish every other day and he devours them like a vacuum cleaner, sucking them up.

“Amazingly, when I looked up the Black Pacus in the wildlife books, I saw that they are only supposed to live for 20 years max.”

Named after famous American Football player, Dick Butkus, this old age pet is already comparable in age to other ancient tank-bound fishes.

Goldie, the 45-year-old goldfish passed away in Bradnich, Devon in 2005 and held the Guinness World Record for an old aged pet fish.

“Unfortunately Buttkiss is definitely getting on,” said Steve.

“He has become slow and cumbersome. He has a glaucoma in his right eye and he isn’t so bright anymore when I arrive to feed him.

“He has always come straight to the corner of his tank when he sees me, thinking he is going to be feed, but these days he is a bit slow.”

Scared to move him from his tank of 40 years unless the change of scene and stress might push him to the great fish tank in the sky, Steve enjoys Buttkiss’s min-celebrity.

“He has been a fixture here for 40 years.

“People come in to the store just to see Buttkiss, although I wish they would buy something.”

Words by James Nye

Get Your Car Cleaned At The Elephant Car Wash

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:39:33 +0000

At the Wildlife Animal Park in southern Oregon, a couple of African Elephants, Alice and Tiki, will wash your car for a $20 donation.

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Although its guaranteed not to get your car clean, it does provide an amazing experience for the the awe struck tourists who drive through the park and watch as the huge pachyderms, with the help of their trainers, suck up water with their trunks and spray it on command over the cars, then pick up sponges to finish the job.

It’s all in a day’s work for the 39 year old elephants, who seem to enjoy their new occupation.

For the animal trainers, its an attempt to promote conservation through education and to provide new activities to occupy the enormous beasts.

Sam The Painting Dog AKA The Doggy Da Vinci

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:49:56 +0000

Holding his brush like an old master, Sam the painting dog is the Leonardo Da Vinci of the canine art world.

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Using the lush surroundings of his home town of Eastern Shore, Maryland as his muse, Sam’s paintings are attracting a loyal art world following.

Selling for up to $1700 for an individual work, Sam has put his brush to 22 different canvases.

Using his tailor made paintbrush, which he holds in his mouth, Sam approaches the blank 16inch by 20-inch canvas with his mind made up to make some modern art.

Fred Grzybowski, The World’s Best Extreme Pogo Artist

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:28:37 +0000

Fred Grzybowski is the world’s premier extreme pogo artist.

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Able to clear eight foot of air on his stick, Fred holds the world record for the number of consecutive back-flips, which stands at nine.

Believed to be the first to combine height, back and front flips, Fred is acknowledged to be the Tony Hawks of the pogo-world.

Using heavy duty rubber bands to provide extra lift, Fred uses a “Flybar’ pogo stick, which was created by SBI Enterprises.

Capable of launching a 250-pound man five feet in the air, 5 feet 8 inch, 140 pound Fred obviously gets far more out of it.

The Real Life Edward Scissorhands

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:00:30 +0000

Valentino LoSauro is the real-life Edward Scissorhands as he displays his revolutionary ‘Clawz’ which he claims cut hair twice as fast as normal shears.

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Standing in his Fort Myers, Florida, salon, Valentino proudly brandishes the “Clawz’ which he spent two years and £150,000 developing from scratch.

Made from responsive elastic and razor sharp stainless steel, the ‘Clawz’ represent ‘the biggest advance in hair-styling since the advent of the scissor’, according to Valentino.

Attached to his fingertips, Valentino has been using his innovative invention for the past eight years and feels that one day they will replace the trusty scissor.

Chito, The Costa Rican Crocodile Wrestler

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:57:35 +0000

Rolling around like two playmates Costa Rican fisherman Chito and giant male crocodile Pocho are the unlikeliest of friends.

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Known as the Crocodile Man, 52-year-old Chito swims, plays and even feeds the five metre long crocodile in the 100 metre squared lake close to his home.

Chito rescued the 980 pound crocodile 20 years ago after finding him close to death in a nearby lake.

Shot in the head by farmers after eating cows, Chito nursed the reptile back to health.

After 10 years of bonding, Chito began to play with Pocho.

Today tourists travel from all over the world to see the unusual spectacle.

181 Women Set New Skydiving World Record

admin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:25:49 +0000

Spanning across the Californian skyline in pretty pink, 181 female skydivers from 31 different countries set a new women’s formation record.

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Jumping from 17,000ft from nine separate planes, the skydive brought some of the worlds best know divers together.

Making eight practice jumps up until last Friday (25/09/09), the team of 181 free-falling ladies took six attempts to nail it on Saturday.

Finally holding formation for 3.8 seconds, at 1.30pm the group set the world record for women’s formation skydiving.

Raising money for breast cancer at the same time, they managed to net over £562,000.

“I butchered the word ‘thank you’ in 20 different languages after the jump,” says Mallory Lewis, co-founder of charity, Jump for the Cause.

“It was one hundred and four degrees in the Californian sun that day and we were happy to get this record done and approved.”

The record has been recognised by the Federal Aviation Authority in the US and the participants hailed from as far and wide as Russia to Venezuela.

Some of the jumpers were breast cancer survivors themselves or have known people who have suffered from the illness.

Previous skydiving events in 1999, 2002 and 2005 raised a combined total of over £620,000 and broke the previous world records with 119 women in 1999, 131 women in 2002 and 151 in 2005.

“The dedication and passion these women bring to this event is inspiring,” said Lewis. “All national and religious differences have been put aside to fight the common enemy, breast cancer!”