Split Apple Rock NZ

Split Apple Rock NZ

 120 million years old granite, Split Apple Rock.. 

The interesting formation of the famous Split Apple Rock on the South Island of New Zealand looks exactly as the name suggests. Split Apple Rock is located at Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand. It is a granite rock shaped like a circle that was split in half. Scientist say that it was split in half when water seeped in a crack and then later froze. When it froze, it expanded causing the rock to split. But local legends say that Zeus and Poseidon split it in half while fighting over Dione.

 Split Apple Rock! This amazing rock formation was made when feldspar, quartz, mica, etc. where melted together and then cooled. Once cooled it formed the most awesome rock formation ever.

Image source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_Apple_Rock

Read More

Salt

Salt

Few inland areas have readily accessible salt; the earliest farming villages tended to grow up around places that did. Cultures often went to great lengths to get salt. Some Chinese drilled deep into mountains and with bamboo pipes brought up brine from salt deposits. Inland farmers in many places relied on river boats and caravans to bring salt. Salt in ancient times was the most valuable single commodity in commerce. At least one writer has pointed out that where salt was plentiful, democratic and independent societies tended to develop, and where it was scarce, those who controlled the salt controlled the people.

So salt has a history as old as mankind, and it is not necessarily an evil substance. The problem now is its high usage in processed foods. Canned vegetables, for example, have hundreds of times more sodium than fresh unsalted vegetables. Salt is added to nearly all processed foods; the taste buds grow used to it, and unsalted food comes to taste plain.

The typical American diet contains six times the salt of a typical hunter-gatherer diet, which is about one-third meat and two-thirds vegetable foods, usually with no added salt. In many hunter-gatherer and fishing cultures, however, some salt was used in drying and smoking game animals and fish, with no associated problems. Individuals eating moderate to substantial amounts of animal-source foods should not add salt to foods and should minimize use of heavily salted items such as pickles, olives, and canned fish. This is particularly important for those with chronic problems. The less animal-source foods that are eaten, the more appropriate the use of tamari or previously salted foods. Salt content in smoked fish and other salted foods varies greatly from product to product. In smoked fish, the subtler, more time-consuming smoking methods use considerably less salt.

Traditionally, soy sauce (also called tamari or shoyu) is made by allowing soybeans, and often wheat, to ferment in water and salt (in wooden barrels, often cedar). Organic brands are free of the additives, pesticide residues, and sugar found in conventionally produced soy sauce. A small amount a teaspoonful or so in vegetable soups or on rice and vegetables adds flavor and is especially appropriate on days when not much animal-source food is eaten. Those choosing to eat little in the way of animal-source foods may use up to a teaspoonful or two daily, depending on the condition and specific diet of the individual.

Read More

Herbs and Seasonings

Herbs and Seasonings

Many organically grown fresh and dried herbs, seasonings, and spices are available; I have seldom observed problems with their use. Dried herbs are best purchased whole and then ground at home. Conventionally grown and produced ground herbs, seasonings, and spices contain some or all of the following: fillers, anticaking agents, artificial coloring, preservatives, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and pesticide residues. Reactions to these various extraneous substances often occur.

Culinary herbs go well with natural foods. Many commonly used herbs also have medicinal properties useful in helping alleviate symptoms of acute or chronic disease.

Black pepper is one seasoning best avoided; overuse may irritate the intestinal tract. Cayenne red pepper, used in moderation, does not seem to have this effect.

Read More

Funny And Cool Gadjets

Funny And Cool Gadjets

Gadgets are invented to make our life easier, or at least a little more interesting. Every year dozens of new tech gadgets are thrown into the market. However, not all of them find their customers because of the uselessness and queerness of a device idea. Here is the roundup of tech gadgets which would hardly ever become a market sensation and be called a must-have in 2013.

Read More

Sanctuary of Truth,Pattaya,Thailand

Sanctuary of Truth,Pattaya,Thailand

(Prasat Satchatham) 

The compound, which covers an area of more than two rais, is situated by the sea at Laem Ratchawet on Na Klua Road, North Pattaya,Thailand . Within the compound is a gigantic temple-like structure entirely made of wood that is 105 meters high at the highest point which was constructed to withstand wind and sunshine on the seashore. With exquisite architectural features, the sanctuary was conceived out of the vision that human civilization has been achieved and nurtured by religious and philosophical truths. Influenced by four major cultures ;Hindu, Khmer, Chinese and Thai, the cravings on the Sanctuary are influenced by the great Indian epics of Mahabarata and the likes. The scenic views from the Sanctuary will completely bedazzle you whilst the architecture will astonish history lovers and patrons of art.

Image Source:http://www.pictures-thailand.com/Pattaya/Sanctuary/SanctuaryofTruth_01.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_of_Truth

Read More

FOUL FACTS! YUCK

FOUL FACTS! YUCK

1. If you try to stop yourself throwing up by closing your mouth, the vomit comes out your nose instead.

2. Horses and rats can't vomit.

3. Each foot releases nearly a cupful of sweat every day. If only you could bottle it.

4. Americans call “bogeys” “boogers”

5. The loudest burp recorded (so far) was 107.1 decibels - that’s louder than the sound of a drill breaking up concrete!

6. When you sneeze, the air coming out of your nose and mouth travels at 100 miles per hour-even faster than cars on a motorway.

7. Did you know that you produce more than a litre of saliva every day?

8. Your nose also makes about a litre of slimy glop each day - called mucus.   And most of it, you swallow. Eeew!

9. On a normal day, you produce about half a litre of sweat. But if it’s hot and you do lots of exercise, you could produce up to seven litres. That’s three and a half big bottles of fizzywizz!

10. The sweatiest part of your body isn’t your armpits or your feet - it’s the palms of your hands.

11. What’s in a bogey ? Dried mucus mixed with dust and dirt-with a few bugs to add extra flavour!

12. Can you believe it? You’ll spend three years of your life on the toilet.

13. You produce about 45,000 litres of urine in a lifetime-enough to fill 450 baths.

14. Romans used to brush their teeth with urine.

15. Ever tried beetroot? If you eat too much of it, your wee will turn pink!

16. When an astronaut spacewalks on the moon, he wears something called a Maximum Absorption Garment. Sounds grand but it’s really a man-sized nappy.

17. Long ago in the Fourteenth Century, it wasn’t cool to wash, so people sprayed on lots of perfume to cover their stinky smell instead.

18. When you die, your skin shrinks and this makes your nails and hair look as though they’re still growing. scary!

19. Ancient Egyptians used to cut open a dead body, remove the insides and place them  in a jar next to the coffin. Then they made a mummy by bandaging the body up in  strips of linen.

20. Whenever you talk or chew, little clumps of earwax fall out of your ears. Luckily, they are too small to see.

Read More