Formula Rossa - World's Fastest Roller Coaster

The new roller coaster to open at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi is currently the world's fastest. You can get a first glimpse of the ride in this video.



Is it just me, or is the ride is a little bit boring? One can't tell how thrilling something is on a video, and one certainly do not get a sense of speed through something like this. The launch is supposed to top of at 150 mph, but I think because of the expanse of the surrounding area, you don't get a sense of speed. I guess they designed it without thinking of "theming", or using some sort of psychology or optical perspective to make the ride FEELS fast. I think they need to learn from Disney who knows how to squeeze every last drop (and penny) out of ride.

Zz.

The March of the Peabody Ducks

Ah, to be pampered as these ducks.



I wonder if they get eaten when they get old? :)

Zz.

Early Photographic Images of Human Beings?

Interesting find of what could be the first photographic images of people.

So the recent discovery of what appears to be two men near the river's edge in a photo of Cincinnati taken in 1848 is kind of a big deal among photography historians.

As reported by NPR's Robert Krulwich last month, the photo was taken by Charles Fontayne and William Porter -- who were standing on the other side of the Ohio River -- on Sunday, September 24th, 1848, 162 years prior to Krulwich's post about it. The photo is what's known as a daguerreotype -- an image developed via an early photographic process developed in France. When zooming in on the photo, Krulwich noticed what appeared to be two human figures.

Alas, this is not the first photograph of a human being.

In case you're wondering if this is the earliest photograph taken of a human -- as Krulwich himself did in a recent headline -- well, it's not. The credit for photographing a human for the first time is generally given to Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype process. In an 1838 photo he took of Paris, Daguerre caught an image of a man who appears to be getting his shoes or boots shined at a street corner. You can see the figure -- together with that of the shoeshiner -- in the bottom left of the image

The article gives links to all the relevant pictures.

Zz.

Paul The Octopus Died

Paul the octopus, who gained fame and notoriety during the last World Cup tournament, died at the age of 2 1/2.

Paul enthralled millions of people around the world by correctly predicting the outcome of several World Cup matches this year.

His caretakers set him up to make predictions for a particular match by draping boxes in his tank with the national flags of teams that were set to play each other. The boxes contained food for Paul. The caretakers divined his pick by watching to see which box he opened first.

I wonder if he could have predicted his demise....

Zz.

Atheists and Agnostics Top Religion Poll

The result of a new poll on religion (i.e. basically Christian religion) shows a very amusing conclusion. Atheists and agnostics tend to know more about religion than Christians!

On average, people who took the survey answered half the questions incorrectly, and many flubbed even questions about their own faith.

Those who scored the highest were atheists and agnostics, as well as two religious minorities: Jews and Mormons. The results were the same even after the researchers controlled for factors like age and racial differences.

“Even after all these other factors, including education, are taken into account, atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons still outperform all the other religious groups in our survey,” said Greg Smith, a senior researcher at Pew.

This poll was also reported in the LA Times, which had a similar take on it and also offered a possible reason.

So why would an atheist know more about religion than a Christian?

American atheists and agnostics tend to be people who grew up in a religious tradition and consciously gave it up, often after a great deal of reflection and study, said Alan Cooperman, associate director for research at the Pew Forum.

"These are people who thought a lot about religion," he said. "They're not indifferent. They care about it."

Atheists and agnostics also tend to be relatively well educated, and the survey found, not surprisingly, that the most knowledgeable people were also the best educated. However, it said that atheists and agnostics also outperformed believers who had a similar level of education.

Now, if this is not amusing to you, I don't know what is....

Zz.

Children of Gay and Straight Couple

Children of gay and straight couples do equally well in school.



This is consistent with many other studies that have concluded that children who grow up with gay parents do not have more disadvantages than straight parents. Those who continue to deny gays from adopting have no scientific data to support such denial other than their own personal prejudices.

Zz.

Not Something You Want To See Near A School

An embarrassing typo right near a school. Not as bad as having drug dealers outside the fence, etc., but still....

Zz.