Longest name for a place

From the beautiful mountain slopes of the inland Ruahine Ranges to vast sandy beaches and trout-laden rivers, Central Hawke's Bay has it all. It's a holiday haven for the whole family. No matter what time of year you visit, there is plenty to see and do, with a long list of events to ensure you see everything Central Hawke’s Bay has to offer. And when it’s time to relax, local restaurants and cafes tempt you with the freshest locally-grown produce and the region's famous wines.

Even more amazing is that in Porangahau, 55km southeast of Waipukurau is the home of the longest place name in the world. The name is Taumata-whaka-tangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-turi-pukaka-pikimaunga-pokai-whenua-kitana-tahu. Consist of 85 letters, it has been listed in Guinness Book of Records as the longest officially recognised place name in the world. However, the locals usually just call it Taumata for ease of conversation.

It is given by the local Maori people, Ngati Kere to a hill to celebrate the eponymous ancestor Tamatea Pokai Whenua. Tamatea was a famous chief and warrior of his time. His son Kahungunu was the founder of the Ngati Kahungunu tribe which extends from Gisborne to Cape Palliser. Tamatea acquired his long name through different happenings in his life. Turipukaka-pikimaunga-tahu was given through his many raids and wanderings and he was such a huge muscular man that his name suited him.

It appears that while travelling through the back of Porangahau, Tamatea encountered the Ngati-Hine tribe and had to fight them to get past. The battle is known as the Matanui battle and during that fight his brother was killed. Tamatea was so grieved over the loss of his brother that he stayed for quite along time at that place and each morning he would sit on the knoll and play his lament on what is called the Koauau or Maori flute. Hence the name Taumata-whaka-tangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-turi-pukaka-pikimaunga-pokai-whenua-kitana-tahu, which means "The hilltop, where Tamatea with big knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, traveller over land and sea, played his koauau to his beloved". Only one word to describe this place, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Source : www.centralhawkesbay.co.nz

Strange log in method

In 2003, Computer scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, came up with a program called SoundHunters, a software that automatically logs you onto the nearest computer. And you don't have to remember any passwords. There's a catch, the software will only log you in when you laugh!

Microphones on each computer pick up a person's voice. The software recognises them and calculates where they are, using flocks of intelligent agents - pieces of discrete computer code that are programmed to move around a network from computer to computer. The agents close in on those computers where the person's voice is loudest, until they pinpoint the nearest one.

Imagine coming out from the bosses room after a fierce arguement, and you still have to laugh through it.

Source : www.newscientist.com

Vodka saves life

A 24 year old Italian tourist attempted suicide while having his holiday in Australia. He was rushed to the Mackay Base Hospital while in a coma. The doctors found that he swallowed a large amount of the poisonous substance ethylene glycol, found in antifreeze, which can cause death. He was then treated immediately with pharmaceutical-grade pure alcohol, which works as an antidote to the poison. Unfortunately the antidote supply in the hospital is not enough to cure the man.

Pure alcohol is often given in treating such cases because it can inhibit the toxic effects of ethylene glycol. While new supplies won't be coming anytime soon, doctors have to think of a way to find replacement. Luckily for the Italian man, supplies is not too far away. The doctors starts feeding him with Vodka through a drip for 3 days!

"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," Dr Todd Fraser said in a statement. "The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka." Medical staff said the patient had made a full recovery, and the hangover had worn off by the time he woke up. He spent 20 days in hospital before being discharged.

Source : BBC News

Toast bread art

Instead of using paint and brushes, Maurice Bennett from New Zealand uses flames as paintbrush and toast bread to create art. One morning over breakfast, New Zealander Maurice Bennett eyed the lightly browned rectangle of grilled bread just before he took a chomp out of it. He was reminded of a work by New York artist Chuck Close. "Ha, that picture could have been done in toast," the former grocery store owner said. The next thing he knew, he'd created a giant toasted portrait of Close.

Since that grilled phenomenon in 1998, Bennett has cooked up other portraits in toast, including the Mona Lisa (2001), which is made of 2,124 slices of toast; and Elvis Presley (2002), made of 3,525 slices of cocktail toast. One of the enduring monuments Bennett has produced is the 1999 giant billboard of former Wellington Mayor Mark Blumsky, made from 2,724 slices of toast.

Bennett's earlier works were done on a two-slice toaster. Several thousand slices later, Bennett moved his studio into a nearby Wellington bread factory, where he uses commercial ovens to toast up to 90 slices of toast at a time. "The portraits require many thousands of slices of bread, toasted to different tones to create skin highlights and shadow," he explains. To keep his works from disintegrating or being pecked apart by birds, each piece of toast is soaked in polyurethane.

Bennett worked in canvas many years ago, but gave up traditional media for something with more bite in 1988 at the Wellington Fringe Festival, with an installation of charred found objects, including a stack of burnt toast, and a roasted woolen jacket entitled "Burning Desire."

Source : www.mauricebennett.co.nz

Mick the white Koala Bear

A rare white Koala was found in a remote part of eastern Australia. Nicknamed Mick, the koala might look like a baby polar bear with pink eyes and noses but he's one of only a handful of white koalas left in the country.

When police officers found him, he was really ill and couldn't see properly. They took him to a koala hospital in Port Macquarie for treatment. Mick needs to go through a special operation. The good news is that Mick was a great patient and made a full recovery. Now he's been released at a top secret spot to keep him safe from poachers.

Source : BBC News