Watch the Earth Change before Your Eyes

Landscapes/Features of Earth Undergone Dramatic Change

Several of the landscapes and features of the Earth have undergone a dramatic change since 1984. Google has made its prime update to Time-lapse with addition of four years of imagery, big amounts of new data together with a sharper view of the Earth from 1984 to 2016.

Latest images by Google’s Time-lapse application portrays how the features comprising of Alaska’s Columbia glacier and Dubai’s extensive cityscape tend to have drastically progressed in the last 32 years. Its Time-lapse visualisation of Earth, had first been released by Google in 2013, offering the most comprehensive image of our changing planet, made available to the public.

The communicating time-lapse experience permits people in exploring changes to the surface of the Earth like never before from observing the sprouting of Las Vegas strip to the retreat of Alaska’s Columbia glacier. Moreover, it enables user in exploring a variety of compelling locations much further than 1984. For instance, in London, one can make out the progress of the City Airport and the Olympic stadium in Stratford. On zooming in on the Aral Sea it portrays how it has been drying since the 1960s owing to Soviet irrigation programmes.

New Time-lapse Show Sharper View of Planet

If the date is moved to 2007, the volume of the Aral Sea seems to be reduced to about 10% of its original size. For the time being, over the past three decades, Alaska’s Columbia Glacier is observed to have retreated over 12 miles.Another city which has undergone drastic changes since 1984 is New York.

 In comparison to 1984 to 2016, it shows how much progress has been made around the Central Park area and Brooklyn. Programme Manager at Google Earth Engine, Chris Herwig, had commented that `in leveraging the same techniques were used in improving Google Maps and Google Earth back in June, the new Time-lapse showed a sharper view of our planet, with truer colours and less distracting artefacts’.

He further informed that using Google Earth Engine, they had combined over 5,000,000 satellite images, approximately 4 petabytes of data in creating 33 images of the complete planet, one for each year. He added that for the latest update, they had access to more images from the past due to the Landsat Global Archive Consolidation Program together with fresh images from two new satellites, namely Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2.

USGS/NASA - Landsat

The 33 new terapixel global images were then encoded into just over 25,000,000 overlapping multi-resolution video tiles, making interactively explorable by Carnegie Mellon CREATE Lab’s Time Machine library, which is a technology in creating and inspecting zoomable as well as pannable time-lapses over space and time.

In order to explore the feature, one could type in the name of a place in the search bar and move the timeline towards the bottom in opting for the year one would prefer to view. Images had been initially collected as part of constant joint mission between the United States Geological Survey –USGS and NASA known as Landsat.

 The Landsat mission’s satellites since the 1970s had been observing the Earth from space. The images have been sent back to Earth and archived on USGS tape drives which is an achievement that is much stress-free with the present digital technology than with analog tape in the 1970s. In order to make this historic archive of earth imagery available online, Google began working with USGS in 2009.

Asian Highways in India You Probably Do not Know About

Asian Highway – 1 - Asian Highway Network – Longest Route

One of Asian Highway Network longest route is the Asian Highway 1- AH1 which tends to run 20,557 km from Tokyo, Japan through Korea, China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran towards the border between Turkey and Bulgaria, west of Istanbul, joining end on with the European route E80.

Also known as the Great Asian Highway, the Asian Highway is said to be a cooperative project between countries in Asia and Europe together with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific – ESCAP, for improvement of the highway systems in Asia. It is also one of the three pillars of the Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development – ALTID project, endorsed by the ESCAP commission in 1992, of its 48th session, including Asian Highway, Trans-Asian Railway – TAR as well as facilitation of land transport projects.

Thirty-two countries had signed the contracts enabling the highway to cross the continent as well as to reach Europe wherein some of the countries who had been part of the highway project comprised of India, Sri Lanka Pakistan, China, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh. Several of the finance had been from higher, advanced Asian nations such as Japan, India and Chine together with international agencies like Asian Development Bank.

 

Maximum Use of Prevailing Highways

The intentions of the project is to make the maximum use of the prevailing highways of the continent in order to prevent the construction of new ones unless in instances where missing routes would be essential for construction. An Asian infrastructure news website – Project Monitor has remarked that `early beneficiaries of the Asian Highway project are the planners within the national land transport department of the participating countries, since it assists them in planning the most cost-effective and efficient routes in promoting domestic as well as international trade. Non-coastal areas that have often been negligible are the other beneficiaries’.

But towards the mid-2000s, some of the transportation experts had been sceptical regarding the possibility of the project considering the economic and the political climate in South as well as South-East Asia. The Asian Highway Network would be taking over two projects where one would be the AH 45 while the other would be the new AH 45A. The AH 45A will be the new highway all across Asia from Tonghua to Sana’a

Promoting Development of International Road Transport

The AH project had been introduced in 1959 by the United Nations with the intention of promoting the development of the international road transport in the state, During 1960-1970, the first phase of the project extensive progress had taken place though it slowed down in 1975, when the financial support had been suspended.

A number of projects had been conducted by ESCAP in 1992, in collaboration with AH member countries in details after the endorsement of ALTID. Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network- IGA had been implemented on 18 November 2003 by the Intergovernmental Meeting.

The IGA comprises of Annexe I tends to classify 55 AH routes between 32 member countries amounting to around 140,000 km and Annex II - `Classification and Design Standards’. In April 2004, the IGA treaty was contracted by 23 countries during the 60th session of the ESCAP Commission at Shanghai, China and 29 countries had approved the agreement by 2013.

Charfield Railway Disaster

The Charfield Railway Disaster – Disastrous Train Crash

The Charfield railway disaster is said to be a disastrous train crash that had taken place in 1928 on 13 October in the village of Charfield in the English county of Gloucestershire. In the early hours of that fateful day, the night mail train from Leeds to Bristol had crashed beneath the road bridge at Charfield station.

The carriages had been blown up due to the

gas cylinders which were used in lighting the carriages and the fire had been so severe that those who had met their fate had been badly decomposed wherein their relative had to accept the offer of the railway company of a mass grave, which is noticeable in a corner of the village churchyard till date.

It is on the memorial stone that the mystery prevails, that after recording 10 names together with their places of origin, it tends to end with `Two Unknown’. However in spite of various theories of the true identity, they seemed to be yet unknown. The Western Daily Press has launched an appeal to anyone who would be capable of eventually revealing the mystery which had shrouded the crash for decades,as the 80th Anniversary of the tragedy tend to draw near.

Distant Signal – Misunderstood

Over 50 passengers had been on the train on that fateful night when it headed towards Charfield at around 5.30 am in thick fog. Henry Button had accepted the train from the Berkeley Junction and had put the distant signal to danger, according to some sources which should had stopped the express till a freight train had retreated into sidings.

Unfortunately driver Henry Aldington and his fireman, Frank Want had read the distant signal as a clear one rather than of danger and went ahead which ended in a calamity.

The goods driver had nearly cleared the line when he noticed the mail train coming down on him and the express crashed into the goods tender, ploughing off the line, hitting another empty goods train head on. One of the coaches had been thrown over the bridge that had crossed the line though worse seemed to follow.

Firemen Combatted for Five Hours

The express’ engine had fallen on its side among the splintered wagons where hot ashes had scattered from the firebox surrounding the line. Gas that has powered the lights in the coaches had escaped from the supply pipes which had been broken due to the impact and as they came in contact with the hot ashes it had turned the worn-out coaches into an inferno.

Surprisingly the driver and fireman seem to survive from the ordeal and together with the villagers woke up by the noise of the crash. Passengers who had climbed clear had made great efforts to save those who had been trapped by the inferno. Within a span of 20 minutes, the flames had leapt by 50 feet high above and rescuers had managed to bring down the fire.

Firemen had come from Bristol, Gloucester and Stroud who combatted with the blaze for five hours before eventually bringing it under control. However, it was many hours thereafter when they could search through the smouldering wreckage and recover the bodies of those killed. In total there were 15 people who had died and 23 who had been severely wounded.

The Murder of Cathy Wayne

Cathy Wayne – Shot – 22-Caliber Bullet

Cathy Wayne an Australian singer had been killed in 1969,by a single .22-caliber bullet when she was onstage in a military base in Vietnam. She was only 19 years old when she died. She had breathed her last in the arms of her boyfriend who played the drums for the band she sang – Sweethearts on Parade.

Catherine Anne Warnes, an entertainer was born on December 7, 1949 at Arncliffe, Sydney and was the second child of three children of George Alfred Warnes, an English-born motor mechanic and his wife Nancy Starnes, from Sydney Cathy had attended Athelstane Public and Arncliffe Girls’ High School and had great interest in performing arts.

 When she was in the primary level she had participated in singing and dancing lessons. Towards the age of 12 she began performing on stage in the local community as well as school concerts. She had been spotted by a talent scout and offered a permanent spot, dancing on television station TCN-9’s programme `Opportunity Knocks’ and at 16, she had won the second prize for singing in the talent quest of Starflight. The competition had been directed by another well-known Channel 9 show `Bandstand’ where she became a steady performer.

F.A.C.E – An Opportunity to Perform

Cathy Wayne started performing in clubs in spite of being under legal age of performing in these premises; she recorded advertising jingles for radio as well as television. Thereafter she joined the `pop’ singer Col Joye on many concert tours across Australia. She used the stage name `Cathy Wayne’. She had travelled with the other entertainers to the Republic of Vietnam – South Vietnam, towards the first half of 1967 on a wartime concert tour that had been sponsored by the Australian Forces Advisory Committee on Entertainment. Since Cathy Wayne was not 18 years it had been essential for the organizer of the tour, Bruce Webber to obtain approval of her parents to take part in the concert. She had leapt at the opportunity to go to South Vietnam. At that time members of F.A.C.E concert parties were not given any payment for their services though were given daily living allowances together with security guarantee.

Lead Singer – Sweethearts on Parade’

Towards mid-1969, Warnes had returned to South Vietnam as the lead singer in `Sweethearts on Parade’ an Australian pop group wherein the tour had been arranged privately by Ingrid Hart, a performer as well as a promoter and was not under the supports of the Australian government That year, on 20 July, at Da Nang, Warnes had been on stage in a club for non-commissioned officers of the United States Marine Corps when she was shot from outside the club which has passed through the insect-screen of an open window.

The bullet had hit her in the chest killing her instantly. Her body had been sent back to Australia and was cremated with Anglican rites. James Wayne Killen, a US Marine had been found guilty of killing her while trying to shoot someone else. He was found innocent after a retrial and released. Don Morrisson, another musician was of the belief that he was aware who had shot her but due to lack of evidence was unable to reveal the name of the person. Wayne’s killer till date remains unknown and anonymous.

The Death of Lord Darnley

Mysterious Death of Henry Stuart – Lord Darnley

The mysterious death of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley has perplexed Scottish history researchers till date. Darnley belonged to a family which gave him claims to the Scottish as well as English thrones through family bonds with James II of Scotland and Henry VII of England.

 When Darnley was young, he enjoyed his childhood which was bestowed to the few privileged during the 16th century. At the age of 20, in February of 1565, he had travelled to Scotland and had the opportunity of meeting QueenMary who was besotted with him. According to one chronicler it is said that `she took well with him and said that he was the lustiest and best proportioned long man that she had seen’. They were married that July and Darnley became King of the Scots.

Very soon it became obvious that he could not handle himself royally and became foes due to his bad temper, drunkenness and arrogant manner. Mary herself got tired of his company and the couple were often separated though they seemed to get along well to have a son, James who later would rule Scotland as well as England. Their unsteady marriage seemed to continue since Mary was a Roman Catholic and divorce was not permitted. She may have resorted to an alternative solution.

Huge Explosion at Kirk o’Field

The couple had been staying at Kirk o’Field a large church house in Edinburgh in February 1567 when in the early hours of the 10th were heard two huge explosions that were heard for miles around the place. The Kirk had been almost destroyed.

Later on it had been determined that two barrels of gunpowder had been placed secretly beneath the bedroom of Darnley, where he had been recovering from smallpox, which according to other sources was syphilis.Many had come over to witness the devastation. However, the body of Darnley was not traceable and after some superficial searching by the people, a soldier had located the remains of Darnley together with a servant on the grounds of the Kirk.

On examination, it had been obvious that the death wounds inflicted on Darnley and his servant had not been from the explosion. It seemed that the two of them had been strangled after the gunpowder had done its task. Suspicion increased and the noble families of Scotland needed answers to their queries.

Death of Lord Darnley Remained a Mystery

Mary who had been living at the Kirk with Darnley was not there or could have been away at a wedding on that critical night. However the facts could not be overlooked. Someone had placed the gunpowder under Darnley’s room which had exploded thereafter.

 Darnley perhaps had learned of the danger and had fled into the night with only his nightshirt on, where his body had been found. It was observed that someone had overpowered and strangled him to death. Those guilty could have been from the Scottish nobles, probably with the Queen being party to the murder who disapproved of the power Darnley exercised or maybe disliked him.

Mary too had her own problems when she escaped to England only to be imprisoned and ultimately executed in 1587 by Elizabeth I and whatever information she had regarding the death of her husband went down with her in the grave.

Weight of the Human Soul is 21 grams

Experiment to Prove Human Soul has Mass – Can be Measured

A rare experiment had been conducted on April 10, 1901 in Dorchester, Massachusetts by Dr Duncan MacDougall to prove that the human soul had mass and hence could be measured. Dr MacDougall a respected physician of Haverhill as well as the head of the Research Society had been performing work in this field for around six years before the experiment.

 Though his experiment presently would be taken as unethical, it tends to be a peculiarity with plenty of disapproval ranging from methodology utilised in different religious implication. Dr MacDougall performed this experiment on six dying patients who had been placed on specially provided Fairbanks weight scales just before their death. His purpose was to weigh each body before and after death in order to determine any differences by the delicate scales.

The patients had been selected depending of their looming death. Two of the patients had been suffering from tuberculosis, one was a woman and 5 were men. Together with a team of four doctors, Dr MacDougall measured the weight of his first patient cautiously before his death. When the patient died he noticed an interesting thing. He observed that suddenly, coincident with death, the beam end dropped with an audible stroke hitting against the lower limiting bar and remaining there with no rebound.

Loss – Ascertained to Three-Fourths of an Ounce

The loss had been ascertained to be three-fourths of an ounce. The experiment was also conducted on the next patient with the same results. Dr MacDougall sensed that had struck something strange. The following is a quote from the New York Times articles of 11 March 1907 capturing the historical moment : `The instant life ceased the opposite scale pan fell with a suddenness that was astonishing – as if something had been suddenly lifted from the body.

Immediately all the usual deductions were made for physical loss of weight and it was discovered that there was still a full ounce of weight unaccounted for’.Each of the five doctors had taken their own measurements, comparing their results. Though all the patients had not lost the same weight, they did lose something which could be accounted. The results of only four of the six patients could be accounted for owing to mechanical failures or the patients dying before the test equipment were in place.

Consistent Weight Loss - Query

However the consistent weight loss posed a query. Everything from the air in the lungs to bodily fluids had been taken in consideration but there did not seem to be any explanation to this query. However on the third patient, an interesting variation took place, who had maintained the same weight immediately after his death though one minute thereafter he had lost around an ounce of weight.

Dr MacDougall had clarified this discrepancy as - `I believe that in this case, that a phlegmatic man slow of though and action, that the soul remained suspended in the body after death, during the minute that elapsed before its freedom. There is no other way of accounting for it and it is what might be expected to happen in a man of the subject’s temperament’.

After the experiment and in consultation with the other members of the team, it had been certain that the average weight loss of a person was three-fourth of an ounce and the conclusion drawn by Dr MacDougall was that a human soul weighed 21 grams.

French Female Astronaut Screamed Warning about Aliens before Attempting Suicide

Disturbing Video – Earth Must Be Warned’

A disturbing video has portrayed the first French female astronaut who seemed to have screamed stating `Earth must be warned’ before she attempted suicide. Claudie Haignere – 59 is said to have been restrained after she had been screaming the eerie caution before going into a coma. Towards December 2008, it was reported that Claudie had been hospitalised due to overdose of sleeping pills.

It was revealed that she had been found conscious though had to be restrained while screaming before going into a coma.Claudie had held responsible the incident on `burnout syndrome and is presently the director of the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industries which is the largest science museum in Europe.

But alien fanatics were of the belief that was making attempts in warning the Earth regarding life in the outer space and the video on YouTube that is narrated by a voice of a robot is said to be a conspiracy which is a mixture of fact and fiction.

Duration of six minute YouTube conspiracy film by UFOmania had come emerged recently investigating her story which had been watched almost a million times. Scientist Claudie had been a backup crew member for the 1993 Mir Altair mission that had included Jean-Pierre Haignere, her future husband.

Asteriod 135267 Named after Claudie & Husband

In 1996 she managed to make it to the Mir space station as a part of the Russian French Cassiopee mission and became the first European woman to visit the International Space Station in 2001. Asteroid 135268 Haignere has been named after Claudie and her husband. Claudie had entered French politics after retiring from space work and had worked as minister delegate for research as well as new technologies between 2002 and 2004 and from 2004 to 2005, ministered delegate for European affairs.

However in spite of her great efforts, the budgets for scientific research were censored.She worked in a biology lab at the Pasteur Institute on leaving politics. It is said that Claudie attempted suicide in 2008 and the rest is said to be made up and constantly seems to reappear on conspiracy forums as on David Icke’s website.

 Besides this, her laboratory where she had been working at the forefront of human/alien DNA research had been destroyed by fire. The video tends to utilise quotes from real reports by news agency AFP though they have been taken out of context with more information.

Mysterious Death of Conspiracy Theorist

There has not been anything like human/alien DNA research since they had not encountered any aliens. Whenever anything tends to occur to a prominent UFO expert, Claudie story frequently pops up and the mysterious death of Max Spiers, a conspiracy theorist in October could have generated the latest interest. Spiers had been found dead at his friend’s house in Poland on a sofa after several days of warning his mother to `investigate’ if anything tends to happen to him.

 Friends state that he had vomited a black liquid just before his death. In another alien news, a supermoon stargazer in Surprise Arizona is said to have caught UFOs on camera wherein the cameraman claims to have seen two objects that moved by the supermoon, seem to be of alien origin. The cameraman of the video which had been uploaded by the Rondomon YouTube channel stated that `after zooming in on the moon, he walked away and sure enough, UFOs began flying by. The UFO seemed to have distortion all around them probably bending light’.

Geologists Find Evidence of China’s Great Flood

Chines Civilization – Great Flood

Chinese civilization as per legend had started with Great Flood which had covered the plains of northern and the central area of China for around 22 years, till the rule of Yu who had led a great dredging project that had brought the river to its original channel. The gods had rewarded Yu with a divine decree to rule China and had found the Xia, its first imperial dynasty.

 The story of the Great Flood and the founding of Chinese civilization by Yu, for 1000 years had been handed down as oral history before eventually coming into written record in the first millennium BCE. However, with no solid proof of Xia or the flood, scholars have been debating whether these events really took place or were it the substance of legend.

 It seems that the Great Flood could have been a real natural disaster which struck the Yellow River valley in around 1920 BCE. A group of geologists headed by Wu Qinglong of Nanjing Normal University had located the remains of a landslide which had dammed up the Yellow River, 1000 of years ago where it had flowed through Jishi Gorge in northern China’s Qinghai Province.

Sediments – Upstream of Dam

The dimension of the natural dam could be between the size of the Three Gorges Dam in China and the Hoover Dam in the U.S. which had blocked the river totally and the water which had built up behind it finally formed a lake 650 feet deep. The researchers found sediments, upstream of the dam, which seemed to match with what would gather on the bottom of a dammed lake.

These were mostly fragments of purple-brown mud-rock and green schist that were washed in the lower Jishi Gorge and downstream into the Guanting Basin.They had mentioned in the paper published in Science that at the mouth of the gorge, where the Yellow River enters Guanting Basin, the sediments had reached 20m thickness, including boulders up to 2m in diameter.

The sediments assisted in outlining the size of the dammed lake as well as the area covered by the flood. Centred on those areas, the researchers calculated that when the landslide dam eventually gave way, it had unleashed a torrent of 300,000 to 500,000 cubic meters of water per second.

The Flood – Breaking Point

The flood has been the breaking point in a rough year for the Oija villages towards this stretch of the Yellow River which had begun with an earthquake that had devastated a settlement on a bend in the river on the Guanting Basin, a few miles south of the Jishi Gorge.

 The locals had abandoned the site after the earthquake, which is presently Lajia and had left behind the bodies of almost five victims trapped in their shrunken homes. Those who survived in the area downstream of the gorge, the flood could have come as an awful shock.

This was not a mere local calamity. Wu Qinglong together with his team had estimated that the floodwaters could have travelled more than 1,000 mils down the Yellow River and probably even more ahead. The flood could have breached through the river’s natural level and could have also crossed the banks carving a new course through the plains of northern China.

New Theory: How Earth Got Its Moon

Origin of Moon – Impact Theory

The moon is extremely important to the Earth that provides the source for several calendars which tends to affect the tides of ocean. Many have been questioning on how it got there. A team of scientists have now utilised complex modelling in order to propose a new theory which involves violent collision that tends to vaporize much of the planet. Lead researcher, Matija Cuk had mentioned in a news release that in spite of smart people working on this issue for 50 years; they have still been discovering the basic things regarding the earliest history of the world.

The results published in the journal Nature had been co-authorised by scientist at the University of California, Davis, Harvard University, the University of Maryland and the SETI Institute, an organization which is recognized better for its attempt in locating alien life and where Cuk is said to be a researcher.

The origin of moon, had been the `impact theory’ for decades as one of the leading explanations, It is said that billions of years ago, Earth and Mars sized protoplanet known as Theia had collided. The wreckage had formed a ring round the equator of the Earth and had been ultimately drawn together by gravity thus forming the moon.

Debris of Theia

The moon could have been developed much nearer to Earth and ultimately moved farther away. According to Davis, senior author Sarah Stewart, professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, had informed CBC News that this idea had come around before computers could do detailed simulations of planet formation. Computer simulations now portray that the impact could have developed the moon mainly out of the debris of Theia though scientists are of the opinion that the Earth and moon tend to have unusually identical chemical makeups. Stewart states that it really puts a brake on the giant impact hypotheses.

Moreover, if the moon had been formed from the debris surrounding the equator, presently we would expect it to circle alongside the equator and the fact is, its orbit is tilted five degrees. Astronomer and co-author Douglas Hamilton of the University of Maryland had mentioned in a statement that this large tilt seems to be very unusual and till now there has not been a good explanation for the same. However it can be understood if the Earth had a more dramatic early history than suspected earlier.

Higher Energy Effect

The collision, under the new, tweaked theory could have taken place at a much sharper angle and could have been more powerful. Stewart commented that it takes a lot of energy to change an orbit. The latest model recommends a much higher energy effect which could have been much more violent that it vaporised not only Theia but the Earth also.Molten and vapour material may have shaped a huge cloud, about 500 times the extent of the present Earth.

Some of the material may have cooled and could have fallen back to Earth and the remaining may have designed the moon. The bigger collision could have been much more powerful and at that angle that it could have hit the rotational axis of the Earth between 60 and 80 degrees causing the planet to spin speedily that days could last only two hours.

Jacuzzi of Despair That Kills Almost Anything That Swims Into It

Jacuzzi of Death – Massive Brine Pool – Gulf of Mexico

One of the oldest places on the planet is said to be the `Jacuzzi of death’ which had first been found in 2014, as a massive brine pool beneath the Gulf of Mexico by utilising a robosub. They have now returned to develop the first resolutions map of the location stating that it could hold the key in locating life on the other planets.

According to Discovery News after an earlier visit to the location, the researchers had mentioned in Oceanography that they had focused on a larger brine pool on the last leg of the seafloor hydrocarbon community studies with regards to its warm temperature together with high salt content which could be deadly to several macro fauna unfortunate to fall in.

They had come across large dead isopods as well as crab which had been preserved along the edge of the brine pool. They informed that the crater-like circular, brine-filled pool rose about 3 m above the surrounding seafloor, and brine had been spilling out on one side in a spectacular waterfall. Erik Cordes, associate professor of biology at Temple University who had located the site together with many other colleagues stated that it had been one of the most amazing things in the deep sea.

Technology Development in Deep Sea – Applied to Worlds Beyond

They stated that one goes down to the bottom of the ocean and seems to be looking at a lake or a river flowing and feels like you are not on this world. Cordes who has been studying deep sea coral together with the others had first discovered the formations in 2014 by utilising remotely operated underwater robot known as Hercules.

The following year, they had returned with the three-person research sub Alvin in order to get a closer look. Their latest research has now been published and the team retrieved some of the samples of microbial life which are improved in handling the high salinity together with the low oxygen intensities of the brine pool.

Cordes is also of the belief that these creatures may be similar to life on planets in the solar system or even beyond. In May, he informed Seeker that there are many people looking at these dangerous habitats on Earth as replicas for what could be discovered when they go to other planets. The technology development in the deep sea will certainly be applied to the worlds beyond our own.

Brine Pool Saturated with Methane

The main reason of revisiting the brine pool was intended to conduct a high resolution mapping survey of the location. The team mentioned that the top layer of the brine pool seemed to have very high salinity with a temperature of 7.8 degree Cent. Beneath the layer they discovered dense, hydrocarbon charged fluidized mud with a temperature of 19 degree Cent.

They further informed that the sampling line as well as the CTD had been lowered to ~19 m in the pool though it did not reach a hard bottom, providing new insight on the nature of these bottomless brine pools. The initial analyses confirmed that the brine pool had been saturated with methane. The team are now hoping to return with the expectation of creating 3D maps.

Instinct a Complex Behavior

Instinct – Inclination of Creatures, Complex Behavior

Innate behavior or instinct is the inclination of a living creature towards a complex behavior and stimulus. It is behavior which is inherited rather than learned and the simplest example of an instinct in behavior is FAP or fixed action pattern wherein a small to medium length sequence of action minus variation can be carried out in response to a clear define stimulus.

We could say that when a person tends to fight often, he seems to be having an aggressive instinct while the person may not be born with the inclination to fight. An instinct is inherited when an inborn pattern of behavior which is characteristic of species tends to response to specific environmental stimuli. Instinct could also be defined from a reflex that could be a response of an organism to a certain stimulus like the contraction of the pupil when faced with bright light or spasmodic movement of the lower leg when tapped at the knee.

They are the inborn complex reactions to behavior which may exist in members of the species though the absence of volitional capacity should not be mixed with an incapability to modify fixed action pattern. Some examples could be used wherein people may be capable of modifying a stimulated fixed action pattern by recognizing consciously the point of its activation and tend to stop doing it while animals with the absence of strong volitional capacity would not refrain from their fixed action patterns once they are activated.

Behavior Instinctive – Expression of Innate Biological Factors

Behavior could be instinctive if the same is performed without being connected with prior experience and can be an expression of innate biological factors.Instinct is innate which means that instinctive behaviors together with responses are present and complete in individuals at birth. The individual need not go through a series of experience in order to learn such behaviors.

A simple example could be taken from fish that has the innate ability to swim while most of the mammals need to learn how to walk. It is easy to identify innate behavior when animals portray it at birth though in some cases this behavior may show up later on in life. In these circumstances, improvement in the creatures’ ability to carry out an innate behavior may show that the creature is learning though another process is being done. When someone acts instinctively, we say his act is done without deliberation or thought but on an impulse.

Knowing/Believing/Feeling – Instinct

Knowing, believing or feeling something instinctively is something that we do not recall of having learned or even been instructed but it is the knowledge, belief or just feeling that came up within us. When someone that has an instinct for stage direction or mathematics means that they are by nature good in performing in that sphere of action. A maternal or creative instinct is referred to behavior which seems to be the expression of a deep characteristically human urge.

When a person acts out of an instinct of revenge, it is his revenge which becomes his motive. When some person acted blindly without any explanation of why they could have acted in a certain way or what was the purpose of the action, that type of a behavior is said to be done by instinct.

Christ's Burial Place Exposed for First Time in Centuries

Burial Place of Jesus Christ – Revealed

Restoring work in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Israel has revealed stone slab venerated as the place of rest of Jesus Christ. For the first time in centuries, it has been disclosed by scientists regarding the original surface considered traditionally as the tomb of Jesus Christ.

Situated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb is said to be covered by cladding of marble since around 1555 A.D and probably centuries earlier. Fredrik Hiebert, archaeologist-in-residence at the National Geographic Society and a partner in the restoration project commented that the marble covering of the tomb had been pulled back and they were surprised by the amount of fill material below it.

 It would be a long scientific analysis though they will eventually be capable of seeing the original rock surface on which as per tradition, the body of Christ had been laid. The body of Jesus Christ, as per Christian tradition, had been laid on a shelf or burial bed carved from the side of a limestone cave after he had been crucified by the Romans in A.D. 30 or 33.

 Christian believe that Christ resurrected after death and Mary Magdalene who had anointed his body three days before his death had reported that his grave was empty when she had visited his tomb.

Inner Tomb Under Restoration

The burial shelf is said to be enclosed now by a small structure which is known as the Edicule-from the Latin aedicule or little house, which had been reconstructed last in 1808 -1810 after it had been damaged in a fire. The Edicule and the inner tomb presently are under restoration by a team of scientists from the National Technical University of Athens under the guidance of the Chief Scientific supervisor Professor Antonia Moropoulou.

The discovery of the burial bed has been providing researchers with an unprecedented opportunity of studying the original surface of the most sacred site in Christianity. An examination of the original rock may permit them to comprehend much better not only the earlier form of the tomb chamber but also on how it progressed as the focal point of veneration from the time it had initially been identified by Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, in A.D. 326.

Under Charge of Six Christian Sects

Moropoulou had stated that they are at the critical moment of rehabilitating the Edicule and the techniques which were being utilised to document this unique monument would enable the world to study their findings as if they themselves had been in the tomb of Christ.

The interior of the tomb which normally glows with faint constellation of wax candles, together with bright construction lighting, illuminated the small cell, exposing minute details which seemed to be usually overlooked. The marble slab which tends to cover the holy bench by around 3 by 5 feet, carved from creamy marble had been pulled away from the wall.

Below it, was a grey beige stone which a conservator has enquired and had received an unclear reply. The Church of the Holy Sepulchres is presently under the charge of six Christian sects. Three major groups, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church tend to maintain main control over it while the Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syriac communities also tend to have a presence there.

Clues to Mystery of Mesopotamian Clay Balls

Clues on Secrets of Mesopotamian Clay Balls

Interesting clues in deciphering the secrets of the Mesopotamian clay balls has surfaced after research was conducted in late 2013 that dates back 5,500 years ago. The study had utilised CT scanning to view within the clay balls and it was revealed that the balls could represent the very first data storage system in the world. The extent of details which the scientist had gathered from the CT scans as well as 3D modelling seemed to be extraordinary.

Woods had mentioned during his lecture that they could learn more about these artefacts by non-destructive testing instead of physically opening the envelopes. Woods would be publishing the full research results in the future and intends to put the images and 3D models online. The clay balls were located at the Choga Mish archaeological site towards western Iran during late 1960s which has baffled experts after its discovery.

Their dimensions tend to differ from the size of golf ball to baseball and till date, around 150 intact samples have been located in the region. Researchers were of the belief that they had been utilised to record economic transactions wherein this conclusion was based on an analysis of a 3,300 year old clay ball discovered at a site in Mesopotamia. These had 49 pebbles together with a cuneiform text comprising of a contract commanding a shepherd to care for 49 sheep and goats.

High Tech Equipment

But without any additional facts, this assumption seemed to remain as a possible explanation for the use and purpose. Moreover, should the assumption seem to be accurate, it seems unknown how the devices could have worked to record the exchange of commodities during the period of prehistoric times, before the development of writing. Researchers had utilised high-tech equipment together with 3D modelling in order to view the interior of the balls and discovered that they comprised of tokens in various geometric shapes. There is a possibility that the shaped bore numbers which were used in counting various kinds of products that were bartered. In such cases there could be a possibility to crack the code by uncovering how token kinds tend to gather and differ.

The CT scan strangely showed that one ball comprised of token that could have been wrapped in cloth before it had been placed in the ball and then bitumen kind of liquid could have been poured over it, which still seems to be a mystery. It is said that some of the balls had tiny criss-crossing channels that a professor at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, Christopher Woods was of the belief that it could have contained fine threads which got connected together on the outside.

Details from CT Scans/3D Modelling – Extraordinary

The threads could have had labels probably made of wax that revealed the tokens in the clay balls. The section that once had the flourishing civilization of Mesopotamia does not seem to be the only location where the clay or stone balls could have been found. Over 400 carved stone balls had been discovered in Scotland which dates back to the Neolithic period between 3000 and 2000 BC.

Thousands of baseball-sized clay balls were discovered in the ancient Neolithic city of Catalhovuk in Turkey and it could be accidental that these artefacts may have been found in several countries across the globe which belonged to the same period. The latest study could bring us close in comprehending these mysterious relics though there seems to be much to learn from it.

 The extent of details which the scientist had gathered from the CT scans as well as 3D modelling seemed to be extraordinary. Woods had mentioned during his lecture that they could learn more about these artefacts by non-destructive testing instead of physically opening the envelopes. Woods would be publishing the full research results in the future and intends to put the images and 3D models online.

The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie – English Crime Novelist/Short Story Writer/Playwright

Agatha Christie is also recognized as Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christies, Lady Mallowan, was an English crime novelist, a short story writer and playwright. She is well-known for her collections of 66 detective novels and 14 short stories which orbited around investigative work of her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple.

She had also written the longest running play in the world which was a murder mystery. Agatha Christie had mysteriously disappeared from her home on December 3, 1926. Her car was located abandoned some miles away with a few of her clothes together with her identification around in the car.

Though no foul play was suspected, the newspapers had reported that the car had been deliberately run down Newlands corner with the brakes off. Before her disappearance, Agatha had written several baffling letters. One had been written to her brother-in-law stating that she was just going for a vacation in Yorkshire, while another to the local chief constable stating that she feared for her life.

 A lake known as Silent Pool which was a quarter-mile from where her car was found abandoned had been utilised for motivation for one of the deaths of her character. Fifteen thousand volunteers had been organised by the police to search for her in the surrounding countryside.

Mysterious Affair at Styles – First Book

Colonel Archie Christie, her husband had informed reporters that she had been suffering from nervous breakdown. Suspicions were raised that probably he had been responsible for her disappearance, like a plot in one of his wife’s mystery novels.

 This was reinforced with the rumours regarding his infidelity which instigated the police to tap his phone. For eleven days, she had disappeared with no trace regarding her whereabouts. When she was ultimately discovered at a spa in Harrogate, her husband claimed that she had been suffering from temporary amnesia.

What had led Agatha Christie to leave her home on that cold December night seems to be a mystery. Till date, her biographers tend to vary on what precisely could have occurred during those two weeks in December 1926.

Agatha Christie had published over ten novels and short stores, by the date of her disappearance, each more being much more successful than the other. The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first book was eventually accepted in 1919 for publication and along with it, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot had been introduced to the world.

1926 – Agatha Disappeared

The year 1926 had been the year where Agatha had lost her mother Clara. Thereafter she had to put up with another bit of bad news regarding her husband Archie who had informed her that their marriage of twelve year would come to an end since he had fallen in love with another woman, Nancy Neele, needed a divorce. Agatha had implored with Archie to give their marriage another chance to which he had agreed unwillingly.

On that significant day, she had been informed by Archie that he would be spending the weekend with some friends and would not be returning home. On that Friday night at 9.45, Agatha had informed her secretary that she was going out and had left in her car to Newland Downs where she had abandoned the car.

Thereafter she had walked back to town and got into a train to London where she did some shopping for winter coat. It was here that she had posted a letter to Campbell her brother-in-law, informing him that would be going to a spa in Yorkshire after which she had taken a train to Harrogate and had checked in Hydro spa under the name of Theresa Neele.

The Spinning Relic

Spinning Egyptian Statuette

The mystery has been solved of a 4,000 year old Egyptian statuette which had perplexed experts whenit creepily started rotating in a museum. Neb-Senu, the so-called 10 inch tall relic dates back to 1800 BC seemed to spin 180 degrees, mysteriously with no one going near it. Supervisors were amazed after they found it facing the wrong way and equipped up a time-lapse camera to capture its movement.

However, the camera portrayed the figure moving on its own in front of the visitors who seemed to pass by without a second glance. The relic had made headlines across the globe when footage had appeared about it spinning in a display glass case at the Manchester Museum. Clarification regarding its movement varied from mystical as well as magical ancient myths, with the influence of curses and spirits to the object.

According to the museum chiefs the statue which had been discovered in one of the mummy’s tomb could have carried the spirit of one who had died thousands of years back.There were some sensational stories on how the statue could have related to the curse of the pharaoh, which were released by Howard Carter, a hired team of experts who presumed that the outside traffic of cars together with foot traffic from visitors could have made the statute to move often.

Vibration Combination of Multiple Sources

The statute is said to be in the museum for more than 80 years. However several observers seemed to be perplexed that vibrations only could cause an ancient stone relic to spin around almost completely. The ITV’s Mystery Map which tends to examine myths together with mysterious stories had set out to locate the truth and recruited investigators who had position sensors in the display cabinet.

They observed that the statutes had stopped moving overnight when few vibrations existed. However it started spinning the next day when the vibrations seemed to increase. Steve Gosling, vibration expert commented that the vibration was a combination of multiple sources, with buses outside on the busy road, there’s footfall activity which is the combination of those things. When interrogated as to why the other displays had not rotated, he had added that this statute had a convex base.

Statuette – Alternative Vessel for Spirit

There was a lump towards the bottom which made it more susceptible to vibrations than the others which seemed to have a flat base and this was certain. A curator at the museum on Oxford Road, Campbell Price had commented that everyone wants a mystery and there is this link between Ancient Egypt and mystery with the secret which has made this story circulate all across the globe.

But in reality we may have suspected there was just a very logical explanation. Campbell Price was of the belief that there could be a spiritual explanation to the rotating statue. Egyptologist Mr Price had informed that the statuette was something that went in the tomb together with the mummy.

He was of the belief that in ancient Egypt if the mummy was destroyed, then the statuette would act as an alternative vessel for the spirit and this could have been the cause of the movement.

The Zealots of Thessalonica

Conflict Between New Regency & Kantakouzenos

Towards the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Byzantine Empire had undergone an intense weakening with major civil war in the 1320s followed by invasions from practically every side.

With the weakening of the Empire, it became poorer and the misery of the great multitudes in the countryside as well as the cities seemed to become intolerable. The wealth was in the hands of a small aristocratic class, in the country as well as in the town and in contradiction of them was the bitterness of the deprived multitudes.

John Kantakouzenos had been the head of the powerful aristocratic class after the death of Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos and was the effective regent for the latter’s infant son, John V. A group in Constantinople had been formed around the powerful megas doux Alexios Apolaukos which plotted against him and achieved to procure the assistance of dowager empress Anna of Savoy together with the Patriarch John Kalekas.

This conflict broke out openly in October 1341 between the new regency and Kantakouzenos. The political and dynastic quarrel rapidly changed into a class-based, social conflict when the aristocratic land-holders of Macedonia and Thrace together with the propertied classes supporting the Regency.

Zealots – An Anti-Aristocratic Governmental Group

Besides this, the existing Byzantine society had also been divided on religious disputes among the mysticist Hesychasts or Palamites together with the intellectuals or Barlaamites. They were the ones who had favoured to trail the study of philosophy and cherish the inheritance of Ancient Greece.

The Zealots had been an anti-aristocratic governmental group having social demands which had controlled the political developments in Thessalonica from 1342 till 1350.The existing sources particularly anti-Zealot in consideration had provided little details regarding the government of Zealots of Thessalonica.

 The Zealots had accomplished in forming operative civic self-government for eight years and had seized property of the aristocracy, redistributing their wealth. But it is difficult to know if the Zealots really had a program for social reform. One likely justification could be that since the city had been in a continuous state of siege, to some extent, a democratic society could have taken shape.

Reactionary Movement

The Zealot council had controlled Thessalonica during the period of the civil war and for some time, they insisted allegiance to Megaduke Apokaukos. However, they were hostile to the aristocracy and ultimately declared their independence after slaying his son.

The revolt had only been put down after John Kantakouzenos had become the emperor. The Serbian king Stefan Dusan had been invited by some of the Zealots to take the city though there were others who found this unpatriotic and a combat took place.

The city was overtaken with ease by Kantakouzenous and had executed the leading Zealots. The Zealots mainly clashed with the concentration of wealth in the hands of the landed oligarchs and more usually that landed wealth had been the same with power.

The new westernized state was rejected by them and hence they had demanded decentralized, medieval style of rule which became a `reactionary’ movement similar to the all peasant movement. But further than these general principles, the usual routine of the Republic of Thessalonian is not known to historians.

Mysterious Dark Shape Appeared Over Peru

Footage of Dark Object among Clouds – Resemblance to Star Wars Space Craft

A spaceship image has been capturedby a cameraman while he filmed a time-lapse video of the sky in Peru and the footage of the dark object seems to be among the clouds which had been uploaded to YouTube by the Mexican group Misterio Canal, which was translated to Mysterious Channel.Misterio Canal has described themselves as a group from Mexico who seem to love mystery and collect videos.

The groups’ description mentions `that we must elucidate that not all that we publish what we take for granted and not take so much for false, only publish what we find interesting and that you have the last word and that we love the debates, let us open our minds together’.

A large outline with a striking resemblance to a Star Wars space craft had been seen moving in the sky though users rapidly shot down the video stating that it had been a cloud. But the majority of the people are doubtful of it being Star Wars brought to life recommending it was either a bogus video or just a dark cloud. Misterio Canal had inscribed that `Shocking if true would confirm that we are guarded by extra-terrestrial intelligence or existing experiments related to this type of technology on our planet.

Alien Activity Caught on Tape

A cameraman had left his video equipment recording the sky to generate a power time-lapse effect. According to the UFO fans, the footage which seems to show a cloudy sky was in fact portraying an enormous airborne machine. Marked above the town of Frayser, Tennesse, USA, was the clip actually portraying a jaw dropping large craft which looks out fleetingly from behind the cover of the cloud.

An expert from Secure Team 10, on showing the clip for the first time had questioned his audience saying `so did you see it?’ Mr Schneider had recorded the footage near his house and had sent it to the American based group of experts. They have commented that `they are your cause for the best in new UFO detection videos, data on the government cover-up and alien activity caught on tape’.

Talking regarding the footage of Mr Schneider, he had commented that the source had stated that for days straight he had been hearing some very peculiar sounds, loud growing sounds in the sky that had no description. He had been looking around in the sky and searching on the internet on several occasions and was unable to see or find anything.

Spectators Influenced – Proof of Extra-terrestrial Activity

He further added that when he had first looked at it, he did not see a thing. He could only see clouds, trees blowing and was looking really hard but could not see a thing. However after viewing the still images and getting it pointed out, he was amazed as he spotted the craft.

He commented that on closer view, he saw momentarily what seemed to be a huge machine like structure moving in the sky, which only for a moment broke through the clouds. In spite of scientific explanation of the weather phenomenon, several of the spectators seem to be influenced that it was proof of extra-terrestrial activity.

Barbarians and Romans

Barbarians – Protection at Roman Frontiers - Julius Caesar

Barbarians had been organized for protection at the Roman frontiers right from the time of Julius Caesar. The river Rhine and Danube demarcated the Roman Empire in the European continental segregating the citizens of Rome from the various people who had inhabited Germania, which is the Roman term for the location extending as far north as Scandinavia and far east as the Vistula River.

The empire had at no point of time isolated itself from the Germanic people known as barbarian who were recruited as soldiers for the Roman army and developed commercial as well as political bonds with their leaders who had occupied lands beyond the borders.Several of these barbarians would return to the homeland though others would stay with their families in the Roman territories and would rise to the highest rank in military.

The kingdom had established diplomatic ties with the Germanic monarchs who had inhabited the lands further than the borders in order to safeguard them from hostile barbarians much beyond the field. Possibilities of Roman citizenship together with military as well as economic support had encouraged barbarian leaders to support their well to do neighbours mainly with the provision of troops.

Barbarian Neighbours – Hierarchical/Wealthy Elites

The barbarian neighbours of the empire were hierarchical as well as wealthy elites. Refereed by the buried artifacts and some observation in the literature of Rome, ‘Gaul almost everywhere had been governed by elite families who had been merged together by marriage as well as service in the community and region’.

These provisions enabled the barbarians of high position to amass wealth like direct gifts of jewellery from the empire together with payment in gold coin which in turn could be utilised in the commissioning of luxury objects of personal beautification from the local artists.

In the later centuries of the empire the increasing strength and the extent of the military needed the assimilation of improved quantities of barbarians units called the foedarati, in the army. Towards the fourth century, around 75,000 soldiers had been posted in the Roman province of Gaul where most of them were Germanic.

Roman Belief – Superior to Barbarian Neighbours

Burns had described the relations between the Roman Empire and the barbarians towards the frontier in Western Europe through a span of 500 years. The Romans were of the belief that they were superior to their barbarian neighbours and looked on their own civil wars as serious affairs though made light of the endemic warfare among the barbarians.

 Rome had been interested in stability and peace on its borders and the barbarians were aggressive and invading each other inclusive of the societies with whom the Romans had agreements. Besides protecting the barbarian allies, Rome also pressured these allies in limiting the warfare.

The trade between the Romans and the barbarians had been universal which comprises of Celtic people whom the archaeologists had found signs of having large amount of Roman goods. This indicated that they had on-going trade.Towards the second century BCE, in southern and central Gaul, the Celts had created `highly refined iron products and the Roman trader had acquired Celtic iron wear for resale.

The Copper Scroll treasure

Copper Scroll – Mystery Treasure

A Copper Scroll had been discovered by archaeologist in a cave on March 14, 1952 while most of the other Dead Sea Scrolls were found by Bedouins, at the back of Cave 3 at the Qumran site. They are said to be on display at the Jordan Museum in Amman. As per its name, the writing had been etched onto a copper scroll which records a huge amount of hidden silver and gold treasures.

The scroll seems to date back to over 1,900 years to a time when the Roman Empire had taken charge of the Qumran area. It had been the last of 15 scrolls found in the cave and hence has been referred as 3Q15. While the other had been written on parchment or papyrus, this particular scroll had been written on copper mixed with around 1% tin.

The rusted metal could not be unfurled in any conservative way and hence the scroll had been cut into 23 strips and then patched back together in 1955. The language appeared different from the others, wherein Hebrew seems closer to the language of the Mishnah than the literary Hebrew of the rest of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Opening of Copper Scroll – John Marco Allegro

The opening of the Copper Scroll had been supervised by John Marco Allegro, who transcribed its content instantly and it then became clear that there had been something very unique regarding the content. Contrasting from the other scrolls, that were literary works, the copper scroll seemed to comprise of a list which did not seem like an ordinary list.

It contained directions to 64 locations where amazing quantities of treasures could be discovered. There had been various revolts against the Roman rule during the time the scroll had been written and the scientists have assumed that the treasure had been concealed in order to avoid being captured by the Roman forces. The Copper Scroll is said to be a part of the extraordinary cache of the First century documents.

It seems to differ from the other documents in the library of Qumran and tends to be quite unusual among the Dead Sea Scrolls wherein its author, style, script, language, content, genre together with the medium seem to differ to the other scrolls.

Unique/Important/Least Understood

Professor Richard Freund had commented that the copper scroll could possibly be the most unique, the most important, and the least understood.The treasure of the scroll was presumed to be the treasure of the Jewish Temple and some of the scholars claimed that it belonged to the First Temple and was destroyed in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon.

Others have suggested that the treasure could have been that of the Second Temple but according to historical records, the main treasure of the Temple tend to be in the building when it fell to the Romans. The copper scroll has led several to the biggest treasure hunt in history with various expeditions taken up in locating the valuable treasure.

It has not been revealed in the scroll by whom or when, the treasure were buried or why. However it has been presumed that it had been hidden within Judaea or near the Mount Gerizim in Samaria, parts of modern Israel.

Rainbow Creek Australian Micronation

State of Rainbow Creek – Australian Micronation

The self-governing country of Rainbow Creek was an Australian micronation which was active during the 1970s and 80s and was founded due to the result of a long running compensation dispute between the Victorian farmers in the town of Cowwarr and an agency of the Victorian state government, the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission – SRWSC. It was intended to publicize their cause to the wider community.

Cowwarr is situated on the Thomson River in the Victorian Alp and is sited downstream of the heavily forested country. During winter, flood season infrastructure in the area was prone to damage by the large volume of bush land debris that got washed downstream.

A road bridge which was built in the late 1930s over the Thomson River at Cowwarr was too near the annual flood high water mark and when the structure proved to be an impediment to the flow of debris during a particular violent flood in the year 1952, the river carved a new course for itself around the edge of the bridge and this breakaway which was later named Rainbow Creek was passed through a number of privately owned farming properties.

SRWSC Constructed a Weir Across the River

Remedies for this seems ineffective and the creek got enlarged by subsequent flooding which reached the size of several football field at the cost of the farmers’’ affected lands. Making the best of a bad situation, the farmer started using the water from the creek to irrigate their properties with the local and state authorities responding by serving levies for the use of water.

Those who were affected had to pay a set of levies to the local council for land which was presently underwater since their title deeds did not indicate the existence of the creek, while the second levy to the SRWSC was paid for using creek waters for irrigation purpose and the third levy was to the Thomson River Improvement Trust which was supposed to prevent further erosion by the creek which continued to grow inexorably with every new flood.Then in 1954, SRWSC constructed a weir across the river downstream of the bridge that had an effect of funnelling higher volumes of floodwater directly into the Rainbow Creek.

Yammacoona – Worst Affected Properties

Towards the late 1970s, the the micronation was 8 meters deep and more than 50 meters wide and the farmers had to privately provide finance for the constructions of bridges to cross over from one side of their properties to the other which were all washed including their crops, stock as well as their equipment by a particular severe flood in 1978.

 The farmers of Cowwarr blamed the government for its incompetence for over three decades for their plight, but they were denied the right to claim compensation for the loss of their land, productivity as well as private infrastructure, they decided to take further action in 1978. Yammacoona was one of the worst affected properties which was located directly below the weir and was owned since 1970, by Thomas Barnes who was a retired UK and Victorian police officer and had settled in the town. He was known to be of feisty temperament with less patience for the slow turning wheels of the government bureaucracy and hada flair for publicity.

The Secret Codex of a Lost Civilisation Being Hidden Beneath a 16th Century Manuscript for 500 Years

Codex Selden – Lost Civilisation in Mexico

Research scrutinized a manuscript known as the Codex Selden dating around 1560 and is said to be one of the less than 20 Mexican codices which has survived from the pre-Columbian period. For almost 500 years, the contents had been unsatisfyingly concealed by a layer of plaster covering the details of a lost civilization which had existed in Mexico before the arrival of the Spanish.

However due to a new imaging technique, for the first time, historians can go through the material on top to disclose a series of pictograms on the deer underneath. This has provided them with a glimpse at the culture and history of the early Mexican civilisation which was known as the Mixtec.

However experts suspect that the codex could have been formed from a much older document which had been covered up to arrange for a new surface for writing. The document which is 16 feet long is composed of deer hide which is covered with gesso, said to be a white plaster made from gypsum and chalk before it is folded into a 20 page manuscript. The plaster had been scraped away in the 1950s to expose a vague image on the deer hide below though no further work has been revealed as to what lies below for fear of damaging the same.

Hyperspectral Imaging

However, researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who have been working with the historians at Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University, housing the Codex Selden, have located a way of seeing through the plaster. Their discovery had been published in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences.

The technique utilised was known as hyperspectral imaging to reveal the outline of vivid pictogram which were on the original document.David Howell, head of heritage science at the Bodleian Libraries also involved in the research stated that `hyperspectal imaging has portrayed great promise in helping to begin to reconstruct the story of the hidden codex and finally to recover new information regarding Mixtex history and archaeology.

It is a new technique and they have learned valuable lessons on how to utilise hyperspectral imaging in the future for very fragile manuscript as well as for countless others like it. An archaeologist at Leiden University, Ludo Snijders, leading the work had informed MailOnline that they are now for the first time capable of revealing at least in part, the images of the palimpsest without the fear of damaging the object.

Genealogy Appear Unique

He further added that `what’s interesting is that the text found does not match that of the other early Mixtec manuscripts. The genealogy seen appears to be unique which means it may prove invaluable for the interpretation of archaeological remains from southern Mexico’.

Seven of the pages of the codex had been analysed by the researchers and some of the pages featured over 20 characters sitting or standing though all seemed to be looking in the same direction. Similar scenes were also located on other Mixtex manuscripts that typically represent a King with his council. Scrutiny of the characters concealed under the Codex Selden exposed though that they portrayed a mixture of male as well as female characters and the same has perplexed scientists on what the text could be illustrating.

 Besides this, there were other imaged comprising of people walking with sticks and spears, women with red hair or headdresses and glyphs illustrating a river which seems to be names of place.The imaging also disclosed a prominent individual who is seen recurrently on the document and is represented by a big glyph comprising of a twisted cord and a flint knife.

Four of the Worst Missing Person Cases in History

Missing person cases fascinate people of all ages. While some people simply wandered off and started a new life without a second thought, others disappeared under mysterious circumstances and left behind concerned and worried loved ones. Television reports and newspapers love talking about those who came home safely, but those reports often forget about those who never came home. You might find some of the worst missing person cases in history a little creepy and even baffling.

Laura Bible and Ashley Freeman

The story of Laura Bible and Ashley Freeman is so interesting that people still talk about it more than a decade after it happened. Laura decided to spend her birthday at her best friend's house. The two teenagers spent the night chatting and having fun before going to bed. A car randomly driving down the road saw a fire at the house and called the authorities. Once the smoke cleared, police found the bodies of Ashley's parents but no evidence of either girl. Though police believe Ashley's brother was a drug dealer and had something to do with their disappearances, police never found any trace of the two teens.

Maura Murray

Maura Murray was just 21 when she went missing back in 2004. Murray made a few odd movements in her last days, including trying to rent a timeshare in New Hampshire, looking at hotels in Vermont and getting directions to Burlington. She then took time off from her nursing studies, took money out of the ATM and purchased a large quantity of alcohol. A New Hampshire resident later came across her car on the side of the road and offered to call a trucking company for help. By the time police arrived, there was no trace of Murray. Though some claimed they saw her in the days after, she is still a missing person.

Jodi Huisentruit 

Jodi Huisentruit was 27 and a television broadcaster in Iowa when she went missing on a warm day in June of 1995. A producer working for the station called Huisentruit when she was late to work, and the woman told the producer that she was on her way and would be there shortly. When she didn't show up for several hours later, the producer called the police. The police found her purse on the scene and its contents spread across the ground. Though neighbors reported hearing some screams that morning, no one ever saw Huisentruit again.

Jacob Wetterling 

Jacob Wetterling disappeared after visiting a convenience store with his brother and friend in 1989. A man came out of the nearby woods, forced the three boys to lay face down and then kidnapped Jacob, who at 11, was the youngest. His parents later created a foundation to assist the loved ones of other missing persons. Police announced in 2015 that they had a person of interest in the case but did not bring charges against him in Jacob's disappearance. These missing person cases are some of the most heartbreaking ones and prove that no one is ever truly safe.