The Japanese Earthquake On March 11th, 2011 Moved the Earth On Its Axis

the earthquake in Japan on March, 11, moved the Earth on its axis by about 4 to 6 inches, which resulted in shortening of a day by around 1.8 microseconds.

Massive earthquakes typically affect the Earth’s rotation with the impact of every individual earthquake depending on its magnitude, location, and the details of how the fault slipped.  The 8.9/9.0 magnitude earthquake which hit the Pacific Ocean near Northeastern Japan at around 2:46 pm on March, 11 caused extreme damage and unleashed a devastating tsunami a day after, when waves crashed 10 kilometers inland.

This was the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan and the subsequent tsunami traveled across the Pacific Ocean, reaching as far as the western coasts of Canada, the U.S. and Chile.  In addition to this, during the first 24 hours, the initial earthquake triggered more than 160 aftershocks.

Top 20 Drug-Induced Celebrity Deaths

Drug abuse and addiction are both very devastating problems. In serious cases, help offered by a drug rehab facility is strongly recommended. Complications with physical health, relationship problems, poor work and school performance, as well as a number of other problems can occur as a result of drug use. Drug treatment offered at a drug treatment center can provide recovery for those who cannot overcome drug use on their own. In rare cases of drug addiction, death occurs.

The drug abuse is not an exception with famous people as well. Recently it's found that some of the famous celebs are getting addicted to drugs and drug induced activities. The following examples tell the stories of some of the famous celebrities who have died as a result of drug abuse.

Wonderland of Kirsty Mitchell

This amazing storybook without words named ‘Wonderland’ of Kirsty Mitchel, is an unexplained collection of strange and magical characters, set in the woodlands and landscapes that surrounded her home. Born in 1976 and raised in the English county of Kent, known to many as the ‘Garden of England’, Kirsty Mitchell began the project in the summer of 2009 and has been running for over 2.5 years. “The project began 7 months after my mother died, and was a turning point in my approach tophotography. It was the first time I had tried to incorporate all aspects of my creative training into one form. Mixing together my backgrounds in fashion design, costume making, my love of art history and film, as well as my passion for the natural beauty of English landscapes. In short, a melting pot of all my everyday interests, channeled into a very personal tribute to thememory of my mother, and the stories she read to me as a child… life has become a different place, ‘a second chance’ is maybe the only way to describe it, and for that I am so grateful. I have had my eyes opened, and no matter how sad the origin of it all was….. I will always cherish the fact this small and precious awakening has happened.”

Animals In News

The Lonely Tree of Tenere

L'Arbre du Ténéré, known in English as the Tree of Ténéré, was a solitary acacia that was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth — the only one for over 400 kilometers. Standing there in the Sahara Desert, it had once been part of a lush and populated forest, but as fortunes changed and other trees disappeared, it stood alone in a barren desert, 120 miles from any other tree, an isolated landmark for caravan routes through the Ténéré region of the Sahara in northeast Niger for hundreds of years. The tree was so well known that it and the Arbre Perdu or 'Lost Tree' to the north are the only trees to be shown on a map at a scale of 1:4,000,000.

The tree survived hundreds of years of desertification, until one day in 1973, a drunk truck driver struck it down.

The Tenere region was not always a desert. During the prehistoric Carboniferous period it was a sea floor and later a tropical forest. Dinosaur roamed the region and it was once the hunting ground of a crocodile-like reptile nicknamed the SuperCroc. Tenere was inhabited by modern humans as long ago as the Paleolithic period some 60,000 years ago. They hunted wild animals and left evidence of their presence in the form of stone tools. During the Neolithic period about 10,000 years ago, ancient hunters created rock engravings and paintings that can still be found across the region.

Top 10 Hitmen of the Sicilian Mafia

The Mafia emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily. The American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia, fueled by waves of Italian immigration during the late nineteenth century. For made members and associates of the Mafia, murder is needed to frighten and dissuade imprisoned members from “ratting” to reduce their prison time. Sometimes murders are committed for revenge or due to simple disagreements. Murder became a profession in the mafia; career hitmen passed the skill on to other made members throughout history. The planning, execution and disposal of the remains are all part of the trade to a skilled contract killer. Despite the expertise involved, most career killers eventually met their own violent end, or spent a large portion of their lives in prison. I have included mafia associates in the list, as well as made members.

10

Joseph “The Animal” Barboza

Barboza is renowned for being one of the most feared hitmen during the 1960s; he is believed to have killed over 26 people. He earned his nickname during an incident at a nightclub when he bit out part of a man’s cheek after a disagreement. For a while he pursued a career as a boxer, winning 8 out of his 12 fights under the moniker of “The Baron.” Despite several attempts to make a legitimate living he would always return to crime. In 1950 he served a 5 years sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute, during which he assaulted guards and other inmates on numerous occasions. Three years into his sentence he escaped with fellow inmates, though was soon recaptured.

After his release, he became involved with big time gangsters and started his own burglary ring. Around this time he also began his first work as a hitman for the Patriarca Crime Family. Over the years the number of his victims grew, as did his reputation as a contract killer. His preferred murder weapon was a silenced pistol, though it is thought he also experimented with car bombs. Barboza soon became a powerful and respected figure in the criminal underworld; however his rash personality and violent reputation soon made him dangerous enemies. After being imprisoned on murder charges, he learned that his old criminal friends were plotting to assassinate him. He agreed to testify against mob boss Raymond Patriarca, in return for protection by the FBI. After living in the witness protection program for some time, his enemies finally caught up with him. In 1976, he was ambushed outside his home and killed instantly by a shotgun blast.

Incredible Bioluminescent Fungi

Bioluminescence, the emission of visible light by living organisms, is known to occur in many distantly related phyla, including the fungi. Although written observations of this phenomenon in fungal species are reported to date as far back as Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), and detailed studies have been conducted with many other organisms (i.e., insects, fish, dinoflagellates, bacteria), we know surprisingly little about the nature of the chemical reactions responsible for fungal bioluminescence, or even why this phenomenon occurs in fungal species.