Bones found on island might be Amelia Earhart's

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — The three bone fragments turned up on a deserted South Pacific island that lay along the course Amelia Earhart was following when she vanished. Nearby were several tantalizing artifacts: some old makeup, some glass bottles and shells that had been cut open.

Now scientists at the University of Oklahoma hope to extract DNA from the tiny bone chips in tests that could prove Earhart died as a castaway after failing in her 1937 quest to become the first woman to fly around the world.

"There's no guarantee," said Ric Gillespie, director of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, a group of aviation enthusiasts in Delaware that found the pieces of bone this year while on an expedition to Nikumaroro Island, about 1,800 miles south of Hawaii.

"You only have to say you have a bone that may be human and may be linked to Earhart and people get excited. But it is true that, if they can get DNA, and if they can match it to Amelia Earhart's DNA, that's pretty good."

It could be months before scientists know for sure — and it could turn out the bones are from a turtle. The fragments were found near a hollowed-out turtle shell that might have been used to collect rain water, but there were no other turtle parts nearby.

Earhart's disappearance on July 2, 1937, remains one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries. Did she run out of fuel and crash at sea? Did her Lockheed Electra develop engine trouble? Did she spot the island from the sky and attempt to land on a nearby reef?

"What were her last moments like? What was she doing? What happened?" asked Robin Jensen, an associate professor of communications at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., who has studied Earhart's writings and speeches.

Since 1989, Gillespie's group has made 10 trips to the island, trying each time to find clues that might help determine the fate of Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan.

Last spring, volunteers working at what seemed to be an abandoned campsite found one piece of bone that appeared to be from a neck and another unknown fragment dissimilar to bird or fish bones. A third fragment might be from a finger. The largest of the pieces is just over an inch long.

Big Battle Over 'Little' Title: World's Shortest Men Square Off Tuesday September 7, 2010

In this corner, measuring in at 27 inches tall, Edward Nino Hernandez -- newly declared "world's shortest man" by Guinness World Records.

And in this corner, coming in at 22 inches tall, we have the challenger: Khagendra Thapa Magar.

It's not much of a challenge -- once he turns 18 next month and the measurements are official, Khagendra is certain to knock his little rival from his high perch and take the title of "world's smallest man."

The 10-pound Nepali dynamo visited New York City to promote the Ripley's newest book of oddities, "Enter If You Dare."

As I wrote at AOL News, Magar eats just 3.5 ounces of food each day, which is roughly equivalent to two chocolate bars. He weighs as much as a cat, and is only a little taller than a newborn -- if a newborn could stand.

Doctors haven't figured out why this karate-loving dance machine is so small, but it's believed to be a pituitary gland disorder.

Moving sale planned at 'Amityville Horror' house

AMITYVILLE, N.Y. – The owner of the New York house made famous in the 1979 film "The Amityville Horror" is holding a moving sale.

The five-bedroom Dutch Colonial on Long Island has been on the market since May for $1.15 million and is under contract. Owner Brian Wilson is holding a moving sale Saturday. Items include furniture and exercise equipment, not loot from the house's infamous past.

The Oscar-nominated film is based on the story of the Lutz family's brief stay in the house in 1975 after six members of the DeFeo family were shot and killed as they slept. Oldest son Ronald DeFeo Jr. was convicted.

The crime spawned a book and a series of movies that chronicled various supernatural horrors, including visions of walls oozing slime and moving furniture.

Women find men in red more appealing?

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Men wanting to catch the eye of women should dress in red, a color which new research shows makes them more alluring to the opposite sex.

Women in the United States, England, Germany and China said they found men pictured wearing red, or framed in red, more sexually attractive than in other colors, the research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed.

Andrew Elliot, an author of the study from the University of Rochester, said red was thought to be sexy color for women only.

"Our findings suggest that the link between red and sex also applies to men," Elliot said. "For women, the color made a big difference."

Despite cultural differences related to the color, the findings of women being attracted to men in red were consistent throughout the countries.

The research consisted of seven experiments, some split into two parts, each with a group of between 20 and 57 people aged 19 to 22 years old. Women participated in all the experiments, while men were included as a control group in one.

Women also associated red with higher status, a trend Elliot said is analogous with other primates.

"In chimpanzees, the highest-ranking male turns more red quite dramatically during a competition for primacy," he explained. "It's a clear status indicator. Females view that, and they go out of their way to mate with the highest ranking male available."

The researchers suggested that for men wearing the color may trigger a change in behavior and that something as simple as wearing a red tie could give a more confident business presentation.

Porky Pig Gets Beat Up!

Porky Pig allegedly beaten up at theme park
Off-duty Six Flag employees accused of attacking dressed-up co-worker:

GURNEE, Ill. — Police said authorities at Six Flags Great America ejected two off-duty employees from the theme park after they allegedly attacked a female colleague dressed as "Porky Pig."

Gurnee Police Sgt. Jon Ward says two young men took a photo with Porky on Monday afternoon, and then punched the mascot in the head 10 to 15 times.

Ward said park security detained the men until police arrived. He said the men were issued local ordinance citations for battery.

He said the suspects denied the attack, but witnesses confirmed the story.

The 24-year-old woman inside the mascot costume suffered headaches and a stiff neck.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Not Found in the Bible (Anywhere!)

"God helps those who help themselves"

• The saying is not biblical, although it is an ancient proverb that shows up in the literature of many cultures, including a 1736 edition of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. "There is a Rabbinic saying: "One who comes to be purified is helped." which is quite similar.
• This is more or less identical to the message in one of the Aesops-fables, about a man praying to Hercules.
• The saying is also faound in Xenophon's masterpiece about Cyrus, Cyropaedia.

Standing Room Only Flights?

Budget Airline Proposes 'Standing Room Only' on Flights
Updated: 5 hours 7 minutes ago

Hugh Collins Contributor
AOL News
(July 1) -- The Irish budget airline Ryanair wants to introduce "standing-room only" areas on its flights, with passengers strapped into so-called vertical seats.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the company hopes to bring in 10 rows of standing room on its flights and sell the "seats" for as little as 4 pounds ($6.07) apiece, The Daily Telegraph reported.
A Ryanair plane flies over Nantes, in western France in 2005.
Frank Perry, AFP / Getty Images
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said Thursday the Irish budget airline plans to add a "standing-room only" section to its planes in an effort to offer fares as low as $6.07.

The vertical seats would have a belt that goes over the shoulder to secure the passenger, a Ryanair spokesman told the Daily Mail. The spokesman said Boeing is looking at manufacturing the seats.

The standing passengers would be accommodated on shorter flights first, such the Dublin to London route. Later, the company would introduce them on longer journeys as well.

However, Ryanair's proposal is far from winning official clearance, with both U.K. and European regulators sounding skeptical.

"This is unprecedented and unlikely to be certified in the near future," a spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency told The Guardian. The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority also warned that rules require that every passenger have a seat.

Ryanair is also considering removing some of the toilets on its flights and charging for the use of the remaining ones.
Filed under: World, Money, Weird News

Bionic Cat Makes History With Prosthetic Paws

Updated: 6 hours 52 minutes ago
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Hugh Collins Contributor
AOL News
(June 25) -- When Oscar the cat was hit by a combine harvester while basking in the sunshine, he lost his two hind feet. That should have been the end of his mobility and maybe even his life.

Instead, this black cat has taken a leap into scientific history with the help of two prosthetic paws.

Noel Fitzpatrick, a high-tech vet in Eashing, near London, fitted metal implants to the bottom of Oscar's legs and attached two flexible pegs to act as feet. Now Oscar is walking, jumping and chasing like a normal cat.

"Oscar was trying to stand within a day of the operation," according to a statement on Fitzpatrick's website. He "can claim to be a truly bionic cat."
Oscar the cat climbs stairs with his prosthetic paws.
Jim Incledon, PA / AP
Oscar the cat lost his two hind feet when he was hit by a combine harvester, but thanks to two prosthetic paws he is now living a full life. Here, he is seen scaling some stairs.

The breakthrough was being able to bond the metal implants into Oscar's leg. Fitzpatrick drilled into the bones in the cat's rear legs and inserted the metal implants to act as ankles. Then he added a substance to encourage the bone and skin to grow over the metal. This skin grew around the metal and formed a natural seal.

"It's just a miracle," Fitzpatrick told the BBC. "If you had metal sticking out of your leg, you would just get an infection."

The miracle did not come cheap. Oscar's paws alone cost a cool 2,000 pounds (almost $3,000), and that doesn't count the expense of the operation itself, according to The Associated Press.

"We had to do a lot of soul-searching, and our main concern has always been whether this operation would be in Oscar's best interests and would give him a better quality of life," Kate Nolan, the cat's owner, said on Fitzpatrick's website. Mike Nolan, her husband, expressed hope that the operation would help spur innovation in human medicine.

It's not unusual for pets to pursue an active lifestyle after the loss of a limb. Dogs can even survive losing both their hind legs, provided they can get used to having a pair of wheels where the limbs used to be.

Cats are not so fortunate. Their freer lifestyle, with lots of jumping, twisting and landing, makes it very hard for them to get used to life with only two limbs.

"If a cat has two legs that are damaged beyond repair, it's very hard to keep him going," Mark Johnston, a spokesman for the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, told the AP. "We would generally euthanize a cat in that situation."

This feline can count himself lucky to be at the forefront of veterinary technology. Still, not everything about his operation was space age. The pegs that now serve as his feet are a beige color, while Oscar himself is jet black. Fitzpatrick's solution: heavy-duty black tape.

"The key to all great technology is tape," Fitzpatrick told the BBC.
Filed under: World, Weird News, Science, Tech

Happy Father's Day Dad

Thanks for being there when I needed you and even when I thought I didn't need you. I am glad that we were able to "grow up" together. Happy Father's Day and I hope you have many, many more!

Your Son,
Lynn Luffman

Famous Mis-Quotes

"Elementary, my dear Watson" - Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)

This quote is not actually found in any of his books, but rather found in a film review in the New York Times, 19 October 1929.

Star Wars Misquote

In Star Wars (1977), Obi Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) NEVER said verbatim: "May the Force be with you", but he did say at least two other variants: "The Force will be with you...always" (clip 1) and "Remember, the Force will be with you...always" (clip 2) [However, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) said "May the Force be with you" to Luke Skywalker just before the big Death Star trench battle.]

Snow White Movie Misquotes

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" - is actually an incorrect quote. In Disney's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the wicked Queen asked: "Magic Mirror on the Wall, who is the Fairest one of all?" [The misquote was heard in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988), 101 Dalmatians (1996), 54 (1998), and other films.]

Misquotes in the Movies

"Beam me up, Scotty" - Gene Roddenberry

Captain Kirk never actually used these words on the Starship Enterprise, the closest in fact being the occasional "Beam us up, Mr Scott".

SAY IT RIGHT!

Commonly Misquoted Bible Verses

"Money is the root of all evil."

Actually, the Bible verse 1 Timothy 6: 7-10 states, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil".

What is the difference, you ask? Well, actually there is a huge difference. Money itself is not inherently evil. Money in the hands of the right person could be used to do all sorts of good. It is the 'love of money' that is the problem. A love of money causes a person to be greedy, power seeking, and negligent of other areas of his or her life.

Worth Every Scent

NC billboard attracts with charcoal, pepper scent

Thursday, June 03, 2010

June 3, 2010 (MOORESVILLE, N.C.) -- It's not just the picture of beef on a new billboard in North Carolina that tries to catch drivers' attention, it's the aroma coming from the sign.

The billboard on N.C. 150 in central North Carolina emits the smell of black pepper and charcoal to promote a new line of beef available at the Bloom grocery chain. Bloom is part of the Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion chain.

The billboard shows a fork piercing a piece of meat.

A Bloom spokeswoman says the billboard will emit scents from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day until June 18.

A high-powered fan at the bottom of the billboard spreads the aroma by blowing air over cartridges loaded with fragrance oil.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Burning Bunnies?

Sweden Burns Bunnies for Fuel

By Claire Suddath

The Swedes may be warm, but they are not warm and fuzzy. This fall, authorities rounded up 3,000 wild rabbits and then burned them for fuel at a heating plant in central Sweden. Bunny-killing is an annual practice in Stockholm — it's used to combat overpopulation in the city's extensive network of parks — but the animals had never been used to heat buildings before this year. "The bodies contain a lot of fat, and fat has exactly the same energy content as normal heating oil," explained Leo Virta, chief executive of Konvex, the company handling the bunny-burning. Supporters said that since the bunnies were going to be culled anyway, using them for fuel was both economical and environmentally friendly. Unsurprisingly, Swedish animal-rights activists were not convinced.