Son Doong - the world’s largest cave

Son Doong - the world’s largest cave

The world’s largest cave , called Son Doong, is in a remote jungle area of  Vietnam. Son Doong means “mountain river cave”. 

The huge cave is in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, which includes one of the largest karst regions in the world. Karst regions are mostly made up of limestone, a type of rock that can dissolve in water. Caves in limestone are formed over millions of years by underground rivers, streams and dripping water.

There are many caves and grottoes in the national park. Grottoes are smaller caves or chambers leading from larger caves and passageways. So far, 20 cave systems have been fully explored in the park, a total length of 70 kilometers. One, called Phong Nha, has unusual rock formations that have been given names such as the “Buddha” or the “Lion”.

A local man discovered the entrance to the Son Doong cave in 1991. However, no one dared go inside because of the strong wind and loud noise coming out of it.

A team of explorers from Britain traveled to Vietnam to investigate the cave in 2009. They found out that a large underground river, which flows through part of the cave, was the cause of both the wind and noise.   

Using special laser measuring devices, they found that in some places the Son Doong cave is around 150 meters wide and 200 meters high. A 40-story building could fit inside it.

Son Doong is nearly nine kilometers long. In one part there is a lake over 200 meters deep. In several places the roof has collapsed, letting sunlight in. 

Before the discovery of Son Doong, the Deer Cave in Malaysia was thought to be the largest in the world. It’s two kilometers long, 100 meters high and 90 meters wide. 

Do make a visit.
Image source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Doong_cave

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WORLDS LARGEST CHOCOLATE TRAIN IN HISTORY

WORLDS LARGEST CHOCOLATE TRAIN IN HISTORY 

The Chocolate Express

A train made entirely of chocolate has set a new Guinness World Record as the longest chocolate structure in the world.

The sculpture, on display at the busy Brussels South station, is 112-feet (34.05 meters) long and weighs over 2,755 pounds (1250 kilos).

Maltese chocolate artist Andrew Farrugia spent over 700 hours constructing the masterpiece.

Belgian Chocolate Festival in Bruge: "I had this idea for a while, and I said what do you think if we do this realization of a long chocolate train, you know, because a train you can make it as long as you like."Actually it was going to be much smaller than it was, but I kept on adding another wagon, and another wagon, and it's the size it is today."

Farrugia had previously built a smaller train of 12 feet for an event in Malta , which he said gave him insight about how to build this much larger version.

There are two parts to the train. The first seven wagons are modelled after the new Belgian trains, and the rest of the train is modeled after the old train wagons, including a wagon with a bar and restaurant on board.

Three days before the event, Farrugia transported the chocolate train by truck in 25 wooden boxes from Malta to Belgium.

Farrugia said the train incurred considerable damage during the drive and several of the train's walls had completely collapsed. Luckily, with hard work and little sleep, the chocolate artist was able to fix all the damages before presenting the train to the public on Monday.

After measuring the length of the train and confirming no material other than chocolate was used, officials from the Guinness Book of World Records added a new category to the collection of world records and declared the train to be the longest chocolate structure in the world.

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The Largest Library In The World-The Library of Congress

The Largest Library In The World-The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest repository of knowledge and creativity, with a growing collection of more than 150 million items, including books, print materials, sound recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, motion pictures, and manuscripts. Although books are the heart of the Library, from the volumes of American statesman Thomas Jefferson to the most current material that reflects contemporary culture, there is much more.  The Library supports research in its Main Reading Room and in twenty-one specialty reading rooms; archives millions of priceless objects, including the papers of key figures from around the world; gives a stage to performances of all kinds; creates exhibitions that explore historic and cultural themes; produces a wide range of books and teaching materials; and is a global leader in the science of preservation and information management.

The Library of Congress was established in 1800, when President John Adams signed a bill transferring the seat of the U.S. government to Washington. The legislation described a library of “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.”  The initial collection of 740 books and 3 maps was housed in the new Capitol Building until August 1814, when invading British troops burned the building, destroying the small library.

President Thomas Jefferson, then retired and living at Monticello, offered his personal library as a replacement.  In January 1815, Congress appropriated $23,950 to purchase Jefferson’s collection of 6,487 books, and thereby laid the foundation for a great national library. The Jeffersonian belief that all subjects are important to the American legislature is the philosophy that inspires the comprehensive collecting policies of today’s Library of Congress.  The Thomas Jefferson Library exhibition is on view on the second floor.

Facing a shortage of space in the Capitol and concerned about the safety of the collection after two disastrous fires, Congress approved the construction of a separate building for its Library. Opened on November 1, 1897, the new “Congressional Library” was hailed as a glorious national monument.  In 1980, the building was named for Thomas Jefferson in honor of his role in the Library’s history.  Between 1984 and 1997, the building was restored to its original nineteenth-century splendor.

Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, The Library of Congress stands out in many regards, but none as noticeable as its immense size. It is the single largest library in the world, “with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts.”

“It was hailed as a glorious national monument and ‘the largest, the costliest, and the safest’ library building in the world.”

The Library of Congress functions as a branch of the United States government. It is the principal library for the legislative body, though it does duty as a public library as well. Though books may only be used on site, unless by a member of the United States Congress, it is open to anyone above high school age without payment or special permission and it bills itself as “the world's largest library and a great resource to scholars and researchers.” The library is comprised of several divisions including, the Office of the Librarian, Congressional Research Service, U. S.Copyright Office, Law Library of Congress, Office of Strategic Initiatives and Library Services.

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Lil Bub, World's Largest Kitten

Lil Bub, World's Largest Kitten

With more than 70,000 Facebook fans, 2.5 million YouTube views, and an appearance on Good Morning America, Bloomington’s Lil Bub is taking the world by storm. This “perma-kitten,” who will maintain kitten-like features for the rest of her life, was born with several abnormalities: She has extra toes, unusually small limbs, and no teeth. While some would see these oddities as a hardship, Lil Bub uses her uniqueness to charm her many fans. 

"She's the best living thing on the planet," says Bub's owner, Bub (yes, the same name) Bridavsky of Bloomington, Ind.,of his truly one-of-a-kind cat. Bub's dwarfism keeps her limbs are disproportionately small relative to the rest of her body, thus her short, stubby legs and a weird, long, serpent-like body ...

Her lower jaw is very short compared to her upper jaw, and her teeth never grew in, which is why hertongue is usually hanging out. Poor Lil' Bub.

Not that anyone loves her any less for it. In fact, the cute cuddly ball of fur already has many clicking on videos of her and following her on Twitter.
Bub's Facebook page is blowing up too. Gotta love the web.
Bridavsky says Bub was not bred to be small, it just happened, and that she "squonks, squeaks, gurgles, snorts, hiccups, purrs and sometimes even growls."
"She also occasionally meows, but even those sound kinda funny."

Source:   http://lilbub.com/

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