The 10 Most Puzzling Ancient Artifacts

From the about.com article:

The Bible tells us that God created Adam and Eve just a few thousand years ago, by some fundamentalist interpretations. Science informs us that this is mere fiction and that man is a few million years old, and that civilization just tens of thousands of years old. Could it be, however, that conventional science is just as mistaken as the Bible stories? There is a great deal of archeological evidence that the history of life on earth might be far different than what current geological and anthropological texts tell us. Consider these astonishing finds:

The Grooved Spheres
The Dropa Stones
The Ica Stones
The Antikythera Mechanism 
The Baghdad Battery
The Coso Artifact
Ancient Model Aircraft
Giant Stone Balls of Costa Rica
Impossible Fossils
Out-of-Place Metal Objects

Read the article here.

Handwraps for Boxing, The Right way

Have you ever wondered how you’re supposed to wrap your hands when working with the heavy bag?Here’s a video that will show you the proper technique. Use the heavy bag to train, not to mutilate your hands.

See the video here. (1:36)

Also at the bottom of the ” Boxing handwraps” page you will find other “Boxing Lessons for Beginners” videos.

Magna Carta Sells for $21.3M

From the nationalgeographic.com article:

A 700-year-old copy of the human rights document will return to the National Archives in Washington D.C., after being auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York.

See the video here.
What is the Magna Carta? See the wikipedia.org article here.

Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007

From the wired.com article:

10.  Transistors Get Way Smaller
9.  Scientists Clone Rhesus Monkey to Produce Stem Cells
8.  Planet Discovered That Could Harbor Life
7.  Engineers Create Transparent Material as Strong as Steel
6.  Soft Tissue from T. Rex Leg Bone Analyzed
5.  Laboratory Mice Cured of Rett Syndrome
4.  Enzymes Convert Any Blood Type to O
3.  Mummified Dinosaur Excavated and Scanned
2.  Chimpanzees Make Spears for Hunting
1.  Researchers Turn Skin Cells to Stem Cells

To see the specifics of each Story go see the article here.

Top Ten Archaeology Stories of 2007

From the nationalgeographic.com article:

10. Ancient “Salt Cured” Man Found in Iranian Mine
9. Photo in the News: “Unusual” Tomb of Egyptian Courtier Found
8. Photo Gallery: Frozen Inca Mummy Goes On Display
7. Photo in the News: Skeleton “Valentines” Won’t Be Parted
6. Japan’s Ancient Underwater “Pyramid” Mystifies Scholars
5. Sacred Cave of Rome’s Founders Found, Scientists Say
4. Jesus’ Tomb Found in Israel, Filmmakers Claim
3. Egypt’s Female Pharaoh Revealed by Chipped Tooth, Experts Say
2. Stonehenge Settlement Found: Builders’ Homes, “Cult Houses”
1. Mass Plague Graves Found on Venice “Quarantine” Island

To see the specifics of each Archaeology Story go see the article here.

Top News Stories of 2007

According to the AP the following are the top news stories of 2007. You could quibble over the order of immportance but all in all the stories seem to best sum up 2007.

1. VIRGINIA TECH KILLINGS
2. MORTGAGE CRISIS
3. IRAQ WAR
4. OIL PRICES
5. CHINESE EXPORTS
6. GLOBAL WARMING
7. BRIDGE COLLAPSE
8. PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
9. IMMIGRATION DEBATE
10. IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

See the article here for more specifics.

2009 Corvette ZR1

Corvette ZR1

From chevrolet.com:

2009 Corvette ZR1

    * A stunning new benchmark in Corvette performance
    * With its 600+ horsepower LS9 supercharged V8, ZR1 is capable of 200+ mph on the test track
    * 6.2 Liter V8 with Eaton TVS Supercharger and intercooler
    * Massive Brembo Carbon Ceramic Brakes
    *  Visible carbon-fiber roof, roof bow, rocker extensions and front air splitter
    * Carbon-fiber domed hood with a window to the supercharger
    * Unique carbon fiber dual cove front fenders
    * 19-inch front/20-inch rear, 20-spoke wheels on Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires.

See the car here and here.

Video: Jesus Language Still Spoken

From nationalgeographic.com:
Villagers in a small, isolated town in Syria still use the same language Jesus spoke—Aramaic.

See the video here.

Ancient Ailment? Early human may have carried tuberculosis

From sciencenews.org:
Check your tile countertop for fossils. A consumptive Homo erectus—or at least a piece of him—might be trapped there.

While cutting coveted travertine into tiles, a saw operator in Turkey sliced through a fossilized skull and gave the pieces to his supervisor. The fragments from the 500,000-year-old rock sat on a shelf behind the supervisor’s desk until a local geologist visiting the fossil-rich site claimed them.

“The workers didn’t know what it was,” says John Kappelman of the University of Texas at Austin, who studied the fossil. “The first saw cut took off a bit of the top of the [skull] and the second saw cut went through the middle of the eye orbit.”

The partial skull is the first H. erectus fossil found in Turkey, Kappelman and colleagues report online and in an upcoming American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 

[...]

Kappelman says the skull’s heavy brow ridge and sharply sloped forehead mark it as H. erectus.

Moreover, he says the inside of the skull displays telltale signs of tuberculosis, which in rare cases infects the lining of the brain. If confirmed, the find would push back the origin of the disease in hominins—the anthropological term describing human and near-human predecessors—back hundreds of thousands of years.

Read the article here.

Medieval diets far more healthy

From bbc.co.uk:
  
MEDIEVAL LIFESTYLE
* Calories: 3,500 – 4,000
* Nearly two loaves of bread
* Three pints of ale
* Up to 12 hours labour each day

MODERN LIFESTYLE
* Calories: 2,700
* Fat intake exceeds recommendations
* Less than 20 minutes exercise each day
* Greater risk of heart disease and diabetes

If they managed to survive plague and pestilence, medieval humans may have enjoyed healthier lifestyles than their descendants today, it has been claimed.

Their low-fat, vegetable-rich diet – washed down by weak ale – was far better for the heart than today’s starchy, processed foods, one GP says.

And while they consumed more they burnt off calories in a workout of 12 hours’ labour, Dr Roger Henderson concludes.

But the Shropshire GP accepts that life for even prosperous peasants was tough.

But after examining the available records, Dr Henderson suggests that medieval meals were perhaps even better than the much touted “Mediterranean” diet enjoyed by the Romans.

Read the article here.