La Geria: Lanzarote's Volcanic Vineyards

image credit: Ramón Durán

When volcanic activity caused the emergence of the Spanish island of Lanzarote 15 million years ago it was a desolate, lifeless place. Settled only three thousand years ago, the island's volcano could still erupt again.

Although the last major eruptions started in 1730 over a period of six whole years and the volcano has been dormant since 1824, even today agricultural exploitation of the island is a difficult process. Yet in the La Geria region of the island, farmers have come up with an ingenious way to grow their grapes.

Ear Wax Cleaning

But no more than 2 ears per person.

(via Bad Newspaper)

The 30 Most Influential Colleges And Universities Of The Past Century

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Universities provide fertile ground for world-changing research, ideas and future leaders. Certain universities are known for their contributions to technical fields within science and engineering, some specialize in business or law, and others take a more diverse approach, offering a range of programs and degrees. Here are 30 most influential universities of the past 100 years.

Damned

An over-ambitious beaver goes too far when he gets the chance to realise his ultimate dream. Some dreams are just too big.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

Friday Cartoon By Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson is a professional cartoonist from the Chicago area. His cartoons have been published in Reader's Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Woman's World and the Saturday Evening Post, to mention just a few. Among his clients are GM, General Electric, FedEx, Microsoft, and IBM.

10 Movies In Which The Statue Of Liberty Gets Owned

image credit YouTube

In 1875 France announced an unusual gift for its ally, America: a statue of the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas. The Statue of Liberty has become one of America's most iconic and beloved national landmarks.

Unfortunately, though, Hollywood hasn't always taken the best care of her. Over the years she's been blown up, decapitated, frozen, covered in ectoplasmic slime and even had her face shredded by the propellers of a helicopter. Here's a look at ten of Lady Liberty's most hair-raising silver screen encounters.

How People In Muslim Countries Prefer Women To Dress In Public

An important issue in the Muslim world is how women should dress in public. A recent survey from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research conducted in seven Muslim-majority countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey), finds that most people prefer that a woman completely cover her hair, but not necessarily her face.

Only in Turkey and Lebanon do more than one-in-four think it is appropriate for a woman to not cover her head at all in public.

Happy Hippodrome

A night at the races in the Happy Valley Racecourse at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. A time-lapse film by Joerg Daiber.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Timeline Of The Far Future

A timeline of the far future showing what could happen in one thousand years time to one hundred quintillion years (that's 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 years). As the song says, there may be trouble ahead.

12 Incredible Snapshots Of Chameleons Launching Their Tongues At Prey

image credit: Caroline Granycome

Chameleons are famed for being able to change their color, but another of their amazing characteristics is the way they unleash their long, sticky tongues to grab the insects - and even sometimes small birds - on which they feed.

Behind these remarkable appendages are some extremely intricate and impressive biological features that are of great interest to scientists. Yet chameleons flicking out their tongues also make for some very attractive photos.

Cycle

Cycle is an illustrated one-minute animation made by Amir Porat and Mor Israeli made for the Maratoon 2013 challenge about the subject of bicycles.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

30 Greatest Living Geniuses In Business

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A number of high-flying entrepreneurs and CEOs have business degrees to their name, and their studies may well have given them the leg up to making that first million or even billion.

While knowledge can get some individuals far, a touch of brilliance also pays dividends, as many of today's shining executive stars prove. Some have Mensa-level intelligence, others a winning management style, sharp business sense or just a good idea and the wherewithal to succeed - yet all are super smart in their own way. Here are 30 of the greatest living geniuses in business.

Engravings From A French Ice-Skating Manual (1813)

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Coloured engravings from France's first ice-skating manual Le Vrai Patineur (The True Skater) written by Jean Garcin. The manual details many movements and poses, putting an emphasis on artistry and grace in contrast to the more straightforward technical approach usually practised in England. The book is considered to be one of the earliest works in any language devoted entirely to ice-skating.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Biggest New Animal Discoveries Of 2013

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Thousands of species were scientifically described for the first time in 2013. Many of these were 'cryptic species' that were identified after genetic analysis distinguished them from closely-related species, while others were totally novel.

Here are some of the most interesting new species discoveries that took place or were formally announced in 2013.

Day In The Life Of A Crab Net

Video by Scott Murray from Perth, Australia, showing the marine wildlife and food chain off the coast of Western Australia. Murray attached a GoPro camera to a crab net to see what would happen.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Norwegian Brides And Their Stunning Headgear 1870-1920

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A collection from 1870 to 1920 showing some photos of Norwegian brides. The pictures are to be found in the Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo. Subtlety was neither aimed for nor achieved with these bonny bonnets.

The Rock Of Guatapé

image credit: Boris G

La Piedra Del Peñol, or the Rock of Guatapé, is a massive rock located in the town and municipality of Guatapé, in Antioquia, Colombia. The 10 million-ton rock rises 200 meters from the surrounding plain, visible from miles around the countryside.

The top of the Rock of Guatapé consists of a small fenced in area with stalls for buying souvenirs, and a viewing platform. Food vendors have laid out outdoor tables where you can enjoy snacks with a bottle of beer taking in the outstanding vista that stretch to the horizon in every direction.

Just To Remind You, There Are A Lot Of Good People In This World

image credit YouTube

Meet 19-year old Joey Prusak. He works at a Dairy Queen fast food restaurant in Minnesota. He saw a 20$ bill drop from a blind man's wallet. A woman quickly picked it up and put it in her purse. Prusak asked the woman to return the money to the blind man. She refused.

Prusak then went over to the blind man, took $20 out of his own pocket and gave it to him, telling him it was the money the man had dropped. Prusak didn't tell people what he did and it was a week or so before the owner of the Dairy Queen location found out about his good deed when she received a letter from another customer who had witnessed the whole event.

Geyser In Subzero Temperature In Iceland

A geyser in Iceland during record cold looks like liquid nitrogen.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

10 Snapshots Of Life Aboard Hospital Trains In WWI

image credit: Nationaal Archief

Hospital trains during World War I enabled medical personnel to tend to ill and injured servicemen on their way to hospital. Though conditions were more crowded and sometimes less hygienic on the trains than in brick-and-mortar hospitals, nurses and doctors could provide vital treatment to soldiers, no doubt saving countless lives.

Here are ten snapshots of life aboard hospital trains in WWI.

5 Tech Products That Will Be Dead in 5 Years

image credit: William Hook

With the speed of innovation in the tech industry, we can't know every piece of technology that will fill our everyday lives in five years, but we can predict what won't last. As smartphones begin to render low-end cameras obsolete and Netflix continues to upend the DVD and Blu-ray market, it's clear the technology landscape will look dramatically different in the near future.

Here are five tech products that will go the way of the dodo in the next half-decade.

Dubai New Year Fireworks 2014

Witness the spectacular fireworks display that earned Dubai a new Guinness World Record. Dubai exploded over 500,000 fireworks in just 6 minutes centered mostly around the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Unreal Balancing Act On Two Wheels

Watch this stunt driver in his car doing an unreal balancing act on two wheels.



YouTube link

(via Neatorama)

There Are More Stars Than Grains Of Sand

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There are 10 times more stars in the night sky than grains of sand in the world's deserts and beaches, scientists say. Astronomers have worked out that there are 70 thousand million million million - or seven followed by 22 zeros - stars visible from the Earth through telescopes. The total is said to be the most accurate estimate yet of the number of stars.

Fox Dives Headfirst Into Snow

A red fox pinpoints field mice buried deep beneath the snow, using his sensitive hearing and the magnetic field of the North Pole to plot his trajectory.



YouTube link

(via PetsLady)

15 Adorable Snapshots Of Animals Getting Amorous

image credit: - Matso -

You and your date might have got on like a house on fire, and a second meeting may happily seem to be on the cards. However, there's still a difficult and nervous part to come: yes, that goodnight kiss at the door can still provoke butterflies in anyone's stomach.

Still, if you need an extra shot of confidence before going in for a smooch, then take your cue from these animals who aren't shy about getting amorous - whether the situation calls for a peck on the cheek or a full-on kiss on the lips.

A Giant Twisting Serpent Skeleton Emerges From The Loire River In France

image credit: _Tindy_

Completed in 2012, Serpent d’océan is a giant aluminum sea serpent skeleton by artist Huang Yong Ping, situated off the shore of the Loire River where it empties into the Bay of Biscay just outside of Nantes, France.

Measuring nearly 425 feet (130 meters) in length the curving skeleton mirrors the curves of the nearby Saint-Nazaire bridge and was created as a permanent work for the final Estuaire contemporary art exhibition in 2012.

15 Funniest Real Computer Error Messages

Since the dawn of home computing, human beings have had a love-hate relationship with computers and all related technologies. We've loved what they can do for us from entertainment and productivity standpoints, but the minute something goes wrong, we’re ready to break out the Sledge-O-Matic and go all Gallagher on them. Still, sometimes a computer error can transcend aggravation and tickle our funny bones.

Here are 15 Funny Real Computer Error Messages.

(thanks Casey)

The 'First' Giant Panda And How It Ended Up In Paris

image credit: J. Patrick Fischer

The discovery of the giant panda took place less than 150 years ago, when a French Catholic priest got his hands on 'a most excellent black and white bear.'

The first westerner to clap eyes on a giant panda is thought to have been a French priest and naturalist known as Armand David. He'd been posted to China in 1862 to spread the Christian word, but was a keen naturalist too and went on several collecting trips over the course of his stay, sending specimens back to the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

Who Would Play You In The Movie of Your Life?

Answer 9 questions and this almost spookily accurate test will match you with a Hollywood A-lister. I took the test and it said Brad Pitt will play me in the movie of my life. It'll be a light romantic movie.

Who Would Play You In The Movie of Your Life?

(via b3ta)

Porta Potties Reduced To Steaming Piles

(via Bad Newspaper)

Dogs Have A Butt Compass

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Ever wondered why your dog spins in a circle before depositing his/her daily double. Scientists at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague have found that, like other animals, dogs are sensitive to Earth's magnetism.

Dogs prefer to do their duty with their bodies aligned along the north-south axis, particularly under calm magnetic field conditions. If the magnetic field is unstable - like when Earth is hit by a solar flare - they get confused.

(thanks Martin)

Water And Mills

The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country, with about 20% of its area and 21% of its population located below sea level, and 50% of its land lying less than one metre above sea level.

Much of the Netherlands is formed by the estuary of three important European rivers, which together with their distributaries form the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. Most of the country is very flat, with the exception of foothills in the far south-east and several low hill ranges in the central parts.



Vimeo link

(thanks Cora)

Monday Puzzle

The Presurfer, in cooperation with pzzlr.com, brings you a puzzle every Monday. Just to tickle your brain.

image credit: Jose Norte

A teacher places three coins in front of her student: 1 copper, 1 silver, and 1 gold. She tells her student, 'If you tell me a true statement, you will be given one of the coins. But if your statement proves to be false, you will be given nothing.' What should the pupil say to guarantee being given the gold coin?

You can find the answer here.

The Shield of Superman: The Evolution Of An Icon

image credit: Gilad Rom

An infographic about the evolution of the Superman costume logo. The 1st section is about how the emblem has evolved in comics and starts in 1938 and goes through to 2011. The 2nd part is about how the emblem has evolved in popular culture and starts in 1941 and goes through to 2013 in the latest movie: Man of Steel.

21 Terrifyingly Beautiful Photos of Incoming Storm Clouds

image credit: are you my rik?

The sight of an incoming storm can be both beautiful and ominous. Here's a stunning collection of landscape and cityscape photos that demonstrate the awesome power of nature. Now get your umbrellas out!

(via Reality Carnival)

Mom is A Knife Thrower

Texas 1956. Knife-thrower Louella Gallagher throws knives at her daughters Connie Ann, 5, and Colleena Sue, 2-1/2, missing them skillfully as the knives enter a board.



YouTube link

Cosmovitral: Mexico's Amazing Stained Glass Botanical Garden

image credit: Lucy Nieto

Stained glass is invariably associated with place of worship. Yet the lucky residents of the Mexican city of Toluca have a wonderful botanical garden replete with a host of incredibly stained glass windows.

As well as being a superb display of plants and art together, it is a tour de force in what to do with a building once it outlives its original purpose.

HIchop! - Klingon Kiss Me

HIchop! A Klingon Karaoke Classic performed by Jen Usellis.



YouTube link

(via Nag on the Lake)

This Japanese Pickled Turnip Might Be A Cure For The Flu

image credit: teaoka

Japanese scientists have discovered that a strain of bacteria found in 'suguki,' a horrifying-looking pickled turnip being lauded by people as a 'superfood,' could actually stop you from getting the flu. It's sort of a toss-up here between whether you'd rather get influenza or drink the guts of a pickled turnip.

The scientists found that, when fed to mice, the Lactobacillus brevis bacteria in the suguki actually prevent the mice from contracting influenza. Although the bacteria hasn't been tested on humans yet, researchers are currently working on a probiotic drink made from suguki, which will hopefully yield similar results.

Can Physicists Find Time Travelers On Facebook?

image credit: Jo Christian Oterhals

Can social media find time travelers? The short answer is: No. Robert Nemiroff and Teresa Wilson, two researchers at Michigan Technological University, thought they might.

In a study released online last week, the two scoured Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and a few other websites to find 'prescient information' - that is, tweets and statuses about current events posted before the events became current. The only way someone could write such a post, they reasoned, is if they were visiting from the future.

Richard Pryor Sings The Blues

Richard Pryor is sort of the archetype of the comic with the dark side. Moving to New York City in 1963, Pryor immediately began performing both in comedy but also in singing, where he opened for Bob Dylan and Nina Simone.

In this video you see a rare singing performance by the young Richard Pryor - pre mustache. He does the Jimmy Cox 1923 standard 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out,' and it's graceful, nuanced and all around superb.



YouTube link

(via deathandtaxes)

The Evolution Of Fast Food Logos

A gallery showing the evolution of fast food logos, featuring the top ten largest chains in America (measured by number of locations in 2010). Dates on some of these logos are estimated, as exact years are difficult to come by for some.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Being The Beatles: Untold Stories From The Fab Four's Legendary North American Tours

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With the golden anniversary of the Fab Four's first visit to North America upon us, many are thinking about their half-century relationship with The Beatles, whether its the first time they heard '' Tomorrow Never Knows,' that late night in their dorm room when they realized that Paul McCartney was singing the words 'the doctor came in, stinking of gin' in 'Rocky Raccoon.

This month, a two-volume chronicle of The Beatles' official tours in 1964, '65, and '66 called 'Some Fun Tonight: The Backstage Story of How The Beatles Rocked America: The Historic Tours of 1964-1966' takes a behind-the-scenes look at Beatlemania back in the U.S. of A.

(thanks Ben)

Boeing Dual-Driver Truck/Trailer Combination

A dual-driver truck/trailer combination vehicle used by Boeing to transport aircraft wing spars to the Boeing assembly facility in Everett, Washington. The first driver, as with any other truck, is in the 'front' cab. You can see the second driver in his cab underneath the trailer, just in front of the rear wheels.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Animal Loses Head But Remembers Everything

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This is a worm. It's called a planarian. It's about an inch long, and you'll find it gliding along the bottoms of rivers and ponds all over the world. It has a hidden talent that has made it famous. It can regrow its body parts better than almost any other animal on Earth.

So if by some chance something bites its head off or removes its tail, or zaps its head and its tail simultaneously, the dangling middle piece will, within a couple of weeks, grow both its front and its back to full size. Meanwhile, the severed head, if left alone, will also generate a full-sized new worm. The lonesome tail will do that, too, so where you started with one worm, you'll now have three.

Do Fat People Stay Warmer Than Thin People?

At the yearly Rottnest Channel Swim in Western Australia, participants often smear their bodies with animal fat for insulation against the 70-degree water. But their own body fat also helps to keep them warm, like an extra layer of clothing beneath the skin.

When scientists studied aspects of the event in 2006, they found that swimmers with a greater body mass index (BMI) appear to be at much lower risk of getting hypothermia.

Peacock Spider Dances To YMCA

The Peacock spider is a species of jumping spider. The animal is confined to specific parts of Australia (Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia). The red, blue and black colored males have flap-like extensions of the abdomen with white hairs that can be folded down.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

Whoo Hoo!

(via Bad Newspaper)

Pictures Of The Lost British High Street

At Dick's Depot, pairs of shoes and boots dangle outside the shop. If this was a high street today, such wares may well have been discounted as festive bargain hunters elbowed each other to grab them.

But this is the scene from a bygone and, some might say, more civilised era: the historic market town of Shrewsbury... 125 years ago. The treasure trove of Victorian photos shows every shop front imaginable selling everything from cheeses and chocolates to shovels and shoes.

The 124 States Of America

Secessionist movements in the United States are all the rage these days. A handful of counties in Colorado tried to secede from the rest of the state earlier this year. There's an attempt to create the State of Jefferson (northern California/southern Oregon) via ballot initiative in 2014.

What would the U.S. look like if all of the secession movements in history had succeeded? Mansfield University geography professor Andrew Shears built a map to answer that question.
The 124 states of America.

The Sound Of The Earth

A seismograph and the recording of the sound of deep earth. For this project Dutch artist Lotte Geeven travelled to the deepest open hole in the world to find out about it's mysteries and to record the sound of the deep earth.



Vimeo link

Friday Cartoon By Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson is a professional cartoonist from the Chicago area. His cartoons have been published in Reader's Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Woman's World and the Saturday Evening Post, to mention just a few. Among his clients are GM, General Electric, FedEx, Microsoft, and IBM.

Canadian Tire Ice Truck

Canadian Tire built a truck out of more than 11,000 lbs of ice. On December 12, 2013 the Canadian Tire Ice Truck attempted to set a World Record for being the first, self propelled ice creation to drive. Not only did the Ice Truck drive but it travelled 1.6 kilometers in its record setting attempt.

(thanks Cora)

Top 25 Best New Horror Movies Of 2014

Let's take a look at the biggest and best horror movies of 2014. The scary list features the usual mix of remakes, sequels, adaptations and original fare. Here are the good and bad, focusing on theatrical rather than direct to DVD. So based on anticipation, and the facts as they stand, these are the top 25 best horror movies of 2014 right now.

(thanks Sheridan)

Beans

Beans. Not for astronauts.



YouTube link

(via Everlasting Blort)

The Kermode Bear: Spirit Bear Of British Columbia

image credit: Valard LP

This is a remarkable sub-species of the North American Black Bear. It is the Kermode Bearr - also known as the spirit bear. Living along the shorelines and central interior of British Columbia on the west coast of Canada, around 10% of Kermode bears have white or creamy coats.

Pronounced kerr-MOH-dee, the lighter Kermode bears are not albinos. They appear much brighter than most of the population because of recessive alleles.

The World's 19 Weirdest Hangover Remedies

image credit: steve mcnicholas

When you travel the world, having a few drinks with your hosts is a great way to get a sense of the local culture. But excessive alcohol consumption can cause physiological consequences. Don't worry - a hangover is universal, and your new friends probably already know a way to cope with it.

Whether you find the preferred ritual to be shocking, disgusting, or delightful, here are 19 of the strangest remedies you'll encounter.

Medieval Cone Shaped Princess Hats Were Inspired by Mongol Warrior Women

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Nothing says 'princess' like a pointy, cone-shaped hat. From kids' costumes to medieval paintings, the cone hat - more formally known as a hennin (or henin) - is a sure sign of royalty.

But here's something you might not know about the hat that adorn the heads of pale-skinned ladies: they were actually modeled after the hats of Mongol warrior queens.

Jimmy Stewart's Touching Poem About His Dog Beau

In 1981, American film and stage actor Jimmy Stewart decided to read a poem on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Initially, it seemed like a funny poem because the audience were laughing. But after a few moments it was clear that Stewart was talking about his beloved dog Beau.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Quinoa

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Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots, spinach and tumbleweeds.

Quinoa is widely considered as one of the healthiest foods of all time. If you've only recently jumped on the bandwagon, there's probably a few things about this ancient grain you don’t happen to know yet.

Hawaiian Woman With Long Name Finally Gets Her Driving Licence

A Hawaiian woman whose last name is 36 characters long has finally gotten the whole thing to fit on her driver's license and state identification card. Janice Lokelani Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele has a surname that consists of 35 letters plus an okina, a mark used in the Hawaiian alphabet.

She received her new license and ID after her campaign to get her full name on the cards prompted the state Department of Transportation to change its policy to expand the number of characters that can appear.

Ancient Origin Of The Word 'Diarrhea' And Other Common Medical Terms

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Human beings have suffered from many of the same chronic illnesses and conditions since the dawn of recorded history. In fact, many of the words we use to describe medical maladies today date back to the birth of classical civilization, when Greek and Roman physicians first began studying medicine.

For example, Hippocrates is credited for coining the term diarrhea. Derived from the Greek word diarrhoia, which means 'flowing through,' the term is found in numerous places in the Hippocratic corpus, as it is a symptom of a variety of diseases.

Happy New Year

I want to thank all Presurfer readers for making it another amazing year. I also like to thank those of you who help me out every now and then by sending links. You know who you are. May the New Year bring you love, happiness, serenity, success, and good health. May 2014 be your best year ever.

The Festive Funk Machine

Feeling musical? Create your own funky festive tune. Just click on the robots to make a song!

(via Nag on the Lake)

Procatinator

Procatinator is a new website where you can waste your time by looking at animated GIFs of a cat doing something accompanied by a song.

(thanks Cora)

Woody Guthrie Really Knew How To Do New Year's Resolutions

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Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works.

Seventy years ago, Woody Guthrie scribbled in his journal a list of 33 tasks he would dedicate himself to in the coming year. He called them 'Rulin's.' As a result, it's a pretty unbeatable list.

(thanks Michael)

World's Largest K'nex Ball Machine

K'Nex is a construction toy system. The toy's building system consists of interlocking plastic rods and connectors, which can be pieced together to form a wide variety of models, machines, and architectural structures.

This is the world's largest K'nex ball machine, at The Works Museum in Bloomington, Minnesota, USA. The machine stands 23.5 feet tall and 40 feet long, and contains over 100,000 pieces. It takes 3 and a half minutes for a ball to climb to the top of the tallest tower.



YouTube link

(thanks Cora)

The Chinese Village With The Secret To Long Life

Famed for centuries for its residents' unusual longevity, the Chinese village of Bama now has 81 centenarians. Proportional to population, that is roughly five times China's average. A decade ago the best-known settlement in the county rebranded itself as Longevity Village.

Yang Ze, deputy director of the Institute of Geriatrics at Beijing hospital, began researching Bama's secret in the mid-90s. One key, he said, is natural selection. The area is remote and mountainous. In the old days, it took three days to leave the hills, so there was relatively little mixing with the outside world. In tough conditions, without medical treatment, the strong genes remained; the weak were eliminated.

Victorian And Edwardian Street Furniture

image credit: Gavin Harper

The British Heritage Group decided in 2006 to carry out research to discover whether any examples of the cast iron street urinals and public conveniences favoured and used by the Victorians and Edwardians still existed in the 21st century.

The ongoing and progressive increase in the demand requirements for health and safety and environmental health must have speeded the demise of this type of external toilet facility. Nevertheless, it was found that urinals still exist around the country with several still in use.

(via Everlasting Blort)