His lightbulb has been burning almost continuously for 109 years and has never blown. It currently stil hangs from the ceiling in Fire Station 6, Livermore, northern California. Nicknamed the Centennial Light, this traditional 4 watt, traditional filament lightbulb was Adolphe Chailet’s entry in a contest that Thomas Edison’s lightbulb, during the search for a lightbulb.

Edison was a ruthless businessman who out-muscled Chailet’s design and somehow managed to get his lightbulb approved instead of the others. And the world has been using “defective” lightbulbs ever since, without realizing that lightbulbs can in fact be – very long lasting; it is all down to the design.

Not surprisingly, Chailet’s lightbulb is recognized as the World’s Most Durable Lightbulb, by the Guinness Book of Records; but it matters little, since Edison made all the money and got his lightbulb used by millions of people.

I know the lightbulbs I used; they always had to be replaced every few months. Even fluorescent lights do not last for very long either….

The Centennial Light Bulb

Source: Centennial Bulb

Rosemere Fernandes de Andrade and her partner, Joao, are both black Brazilians descended from Africans, and yet, 3 of their children are albinos! Genetic scientists said this is a very rare case in which both parents need to have albino genes and then there wil lbe a 1/4 chance that their children will be albino. Their other children are black.

The children suffer from extreme sensitivity to sunlight and need lots of sunblock and protection from the sun when they go out.

Mrs Fernandes and her family lives in a slum area in Olinda, Brazil, and says she struggles to pay the medical bills for daughters Ruth, 10, Esthefany, 8, and son Kauan, 5.

“‘I’m afraid of skin cancer because I can’t afford the protection they need,” says Mrs Fernandes.

Source: Daily Mail UK

Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou, China has been the scene of numerous suicides. In one month alone, 8 people have committed suicide and many would be suiciders have climbed up before changing their minds. Employing guards didn’t work, and neither did putting up fences, so authorities decided to cover the bars and frames with butter, and now it is so slippery that no one can climb up.

“Each time somebody threatens to commit suicide to get media attention or sym, pathy over personal problems we end up with several hours of tailbacks and there were lots of complaints.

“Since we put up the butter there have been no problems with these attention seekers,” a bridge guard said.

Source: Metro UK

Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer has received 10,000 bids from all kinds of men ranging from “weirdos” to “polite requests from rich businessmen.”

“I know that a lot of people will condemn me for this because it’s so taboo but I really don’t have a problem with that, she said.

“My study is completely authentic in that I truly am auctioning my virginity but I am not being sold into this. I’m not being taken advantage of in any way……I think me and the person I do it with will both profit greatly from the deal,” she adds.

After this, will we see 100,000 other Natalie Dylan wannabes auctioning their virginity on eBay, and turning eBay into virtual brothel….? Whoever bid $4.5 million on her probably has too much money to throw as well…..

Well, they said virginity was overrated. Going once…..going twice….sold.

Source: Annanova

The man, Zhu, aged 50, was already suffering from various health problems like hypertension, coronary heart disease and stomach bleeding.He had already racked up high medical bills.

In November 2007, community officials went to his ward to inform him that they would cover all his medical expenses. Zhu was so excited that he suffered a heart attack and died 10 minutes later.

Now, the family sued the hospital because they did not inform and warn Zhu of his medical problems before telling him the news.

The court ruled the hospital had to pay the family 90,000 yuan ($13,190) for causing Zhu’s death. The court judged that the hospital was responsible, because it should have given Zhu the right drugs to control his anxiety.

Really an “ironic” piece of news….

Source: China Daily

The 23 year old man, Kosuru Rajubabu, was a huge fan of K. Chiranjeevi, an actor-turned-politician who had formed his own party called Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). He stabbed his own father when he learned his father voted instead for the Telugu Desam Party.

The incident occurred in a village in Viskhapatnam in Andra Pradesh, India.

In India, some fans are really so obsessed with their favorite movie stars that such incidents may seem really shocking to other people around the world. I’m not sure if it is the first, and won’t be surprised if it is not the last.

Source: The New Straits Times

The biggest nuke test was the Tsar Bomb at 50 megatons of TNT. The Hiroshima bomb can hardly be seen in comparison.

A nuclear war is called MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction….