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Space Tourism: Ready for a Skyrocketing Holiday
Do you wish for an “unearthly " vacation? American astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, famous for being the second man to land on the moon, is one of the few people working to promote tourism in space. But if the thought of a holiday in space is mind-boggling, the cost of that thought is even more so – almost $200 million for an out-of-the-world experience! Realising the need to make space travel as normal as buses or trains, an American company called the X Prize Foundation is trying to cut down the cost of space travel....
The dabbawalas of Mumbai
Late every morning at Mumbai, in India, rows and rows of neatly stacked dabbas (boxes) with weird markings on the top are trundled across busy office buildings. At fifteen to one, a cloth capped man delivers one of these cylindrical boxes on my table in the Fort area. At once I open the case and find the lunch my mother had packed. Hot lunch delivered at the doorstep. Is this the same food my mother packed for me?...
Chimp Traits
Do you think chimps are chumps? If the answer is yes, then you are in for a surprise – because chimps or chimpanzees are actually very, very intelligent. Chimpanzees are the most intelligent of the ape family. It was known that chimpanzees use tools intelligently to obtain food. They use rocks to crack open nuts or use sticks to dig the earth for choice insects and termites. Once a chimpanzee learns a certain method he/she teaches it on to all the other chimps in the area....
Ramadan: The Month of 30 Fasts
Ramadan (or Ramzan) is a very special month for Muslims, people of the Islamic faith. Muslims are people who follow the Islamic religion propagated by the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. Muslims believe that it was in this month that Allah revealed the holy book of the Muslims, the Koran (or Quran) to the prophet Mohammed. The Quran says that the fast of Ramdan is important as it tests devotion and faith. So believers fast from sunrise to sunset every day during the entire month of Ramdan....
Asia's First Floating Museum
October 16: Wouldn’t it be exciting to visit a war museum of vintage aircraft on a huge ship floating in the ocean ? And when the ship in question happens to be INS Vikrant, the experience promises to be truly memorable. INS Vikrant is India’s first aircraft carrier and came into service in 1961. Once the hallmark of the Indian Navy, it has been decommissioned for some time now. This means that it is no longer in use....
High-tech Turtle
A few months ago, a turtle in Thailand was grievously injured when it was run over by a truck. The animal hardly seemed to have any chance of survival. However, with the immediate help of the Thai Animal Guardians Association, it did survive. The Association admitted the turtle to Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University for medical treatment. High-tech Turtle [Illustration by Anup Singh] The plucky little survivor was named Jikko and the Bangkok Post (a local newspaper) kept readers updated on the animal’s progress....
Can You Speak Dolphin Language?
Mastering a language is not an easy task. Different countries have different languages, and each language in turn has different dialects. For instance, the Hindi usage, in Uttar Pradesh, is drastically different from the Hindi spoken by the Koli fisherfolk of Maharashtra. In fact, in smaller towns, there is a subtle shift in the spoken language, every few kilometers! Can You Speak Dolphin Language? [Illustration by Shiju George] Recent studies show that dolphins are no different from us....
An Octopus as Jar-opener
Try opening a bottle of jam. See how skilfully your fingers wrap around the lid and unscrew it? Now researchers at the Brighton University, United Kingdom, are carrying out an interesting study to see if the octopus, too, has the same skill. Makes sense considering it has so many ‘hands’ or tentacles! The scientists have even made a gigantic glass aquarium, specially designed for the resident pet octopus, in the university laboratory. They have named it Roger, after the British actor Roger Moore who acted as James Bond in the Hollywood film...
Rhinoceros: On the Comeback Trail
Next to the tusk-bearing elephants, rhinos are the other large animals heavily targeted by poachers. Rhinos are poached for their horns and these are sold in the black market at astonishing prices. Since 1977, trade in rhino horn has been banned but poachers and smugglers still hunt and kill these gentle creatures to meet the demands of the rhino horn in markets in Central Asia and the Far East. For some years now, rhinos have been high on the endangered list....
A Smelly New World on the Web
Every time you blink, someone is forming an Internet company somewhere in the world. That is the pace at which the Internet fever has caught on with people. They could be young college students with dreams of making a fortune or middle-aged individuals trying to lure the goddess of wealth. Each one is searching for the one great idea that could make his web company click in a big way. And they are trying all sorts of gimmicks to attract people towards their websites....