Rongorongo

Considered the other “Easter Island mystery,” Rongorongo is the hieroglyphic script used by early inhabitants of the island. While no none of the neighboring peoples had a written language (of course Easter Island was a long long way away from anything else), Rongorongo appeared from no where in the 1700s. Early colonists banned the language, its meaning lost forever. Just looking at the tablet below you will see what appears to be body parts and people. This strengthens our hypothesis that this was a menu of some sort.

The Bog-men

There have been many theories surrounding the bog-men (should be people) and how they came to be. Hundreds of these ancient- and remarkably preserved corpses have been discovered buried around the northern wetlands of Europe. Theories include ritualistic sacrifice and banishment to “hell” as a punishment that would reach beyond death.

Tarim Mummies- Out of Place

During an excavation beneath the Tarim Basin of western China, archaeologists were surprised to discover more than 100 mummified corpses that dated back 2000 years. But Victor Mair, a college professor, was downright stupefied when he came skull-to-skull with some of the blond-haired and long nosed Tarim mummies. So in 1993, Mair returned to collect DNA samples and test results to validate his hunch that the bodies were of European genetic stock. While Ancient Chinese texts from as early as the first millennium BC do describe groups of far-east dwelling Caucasian people, there is no mention of how or why these people ended up there.

The Oak Island Money Pit

And money pit is right. In 1795 at age 16, Daniel McGinnis discovered a depression in a clearing on Oak Island. It was reported that he returned with some friends and the three began to dig into what they thought was a pirate treasure hide away. The problem was after much digging (and a lot of money) the hole filled with seawater- not unlike the native sink holes in the area. Coincidence? Nope, not likely.. there has to be treasure there because for something like 215 years people are still trying to get the water out. Perhaps the biggest mystery is why people keep spending all their money on this pointless venture.

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters was a term used by allied pilots to describe what they believed to be UFO’s during WW2. What these balls of light were, no one knows. One theory is that it was all part of an elaborate German anti-aircraft experiment as these balls had the property of interfering with electronics. Further theories involve Germany’s massive mercury production towards the end of the war. That this phenomenon existed, there is no doubt- what it was exactly is however still a mystery.

The Cliff Dwellings of the Anasazi

Little is known about why the Anasazi Indians began building these cliff dwellings. One thought is that they were being cannibalized by native Mexican tribes and subjugated. Another is that they were eating each other. Regardless of their peaceful existence (on the outside at least), as a predominantly agricultural culture established around 1200 BC, it is obvious that strife came to these peoples. The Mystery has been what kind of strife and to what extent. Nearly 700 years ago, they completely disappeared, and not in the usual way of a steady decline. There is evidence that their possessions were left behind, bodies were simply left in their dwelling to mummify and the entire culture simply vanished. Theories ranging from war, famine, drought and alien abduction have plagued this mystery for decades.

The Amber Room

What do we love more than pirate treasure? How about Nazi gold? In 1716, the king of Prussia presented the Amber Room to Russian Czar Peter the Great. Later Catherine the Great commissioned craftsmen to embellish the room and moved it from the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to her summer home in Tsarskoye Selo. It was finished in 1770 and was illuminated by 565 candles whose light was reflected in the warm gold surface of the amber and sparkled in the mirrors, gilt, and mosaics. Then the Nazis stole during WW2. Pieces keep turning up here and there, but there is little hope of ever recovering the entire room.

Mystery of the Sphinx

The iconic symbol of the Pharaohs might actually out date them by a good few thousand years. What? How is this possible you say? Evidence related to the positioning of the Sphinx and the type of erosion on the tail versus the head (water erosion from rain versus wind erosion from a dessert climate) are strong indicators. If someone build the Sphinx prior to the Egyptians, who? I’m no archeologist, but I’m going to go with my Aunt Mona.

The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica

Hundreds of stone balls have turned up in the delta of the Térraba River, also known as the Sierpe, Diquís, and General River as well as near the towns of Palmar Sur and Palmar Norte. Balls are known from as far north as the Estrella Valley and as far south as the mouth of the Coto Colorado River. That’s a lot of territory to cover. What they were used for no one knows, but they range in size from roughly the size of a softball to as large as a Volkswagen. Who made them exactly is a mystery. How they were made has been open to much speculation since their discovery in the 1940s.

Bagdad Batteries

One of the most interesting arguments for ancient technology comes from the discovery of the Bagdad batteries. These small pots which were found in the proximity of today’s Baghdad are the best candidates for electro-chemical devices found so far.

Some of the pots were also found in the Parthi settlements, which was inhabited around the time of Christ’s birth. Other pots even might have to be settled into the period to 1200 CE. What these pots were used for is still being figured out. One thing is for sure they were capable of producing an electric current- and most likely did. All of this way before Edison.

10. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport

How about this? You’re rumbling down the runway and there’s a good possibility that you are going to roll right off a cliff into a deep chasm. Large planes don’t land here. The landing strip is only slightly longer than that of an aircraft carrier without the benefits of a landing trap or catapult. I’m also betting there is no Cinn-a-bon in the concourse. In fact I’m betting there’s no concourse.

9. Hong Kong International Airport

While not the only man-made island airport on the list this one is unique due to the golf course within walking distance of the landing strip. For a mere $65 one can shoot a quick round. I’m wondering if golf balls ever hit planes taking off and landing though. I should take Gieger- with his slice it’s a certainty.

8. Don Mueang International Airport

I love golf. Maybe that’s why this is the second airport with a golf course in the middle of it. Still, that is an odd place for 18 holes…. I also love Thai food. If you’re going for Thai and golf and love to fly- going to Bangkok is a great idea!

7. Ice Runway- Antarctica

This is an interesting runway because let’s face it- it’s made out of ice. So what happens when you run out of runway? Probably not a lot because you’re still on ice. This is probably the ONLY airport in the world where I wouldn’t grumble about spending a ton of money of a hot chocolate.

6. Congonhas Airport

The airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil is damned near in the middle of town. Okay, five miles outside of downtown- but still. Why so close? I haven’t a clue, bad planning? Or is it good planning. The drive from downtown to the airport would have to be a lot shorter than average.

5. Courchevel International Airport

Let’s build an airport in the French Alps. Now what’s missing? Oh I know! A 18% grade ‘bump” right in the middle. How big is this bump? You could snowboard down it, but not safely and you need a special certificate to take off and land here.

4. Lukla Airport

This airport in Nepal is on the side of a mountain surrounded by (you guessed it) mountains. Just visually verifying where it is would be a nightmare. Taking off and landing requires a special kind of lazy or a severe case of busted give-a-damn. For the pilots who ferry people and supplies in and out, I’m going to go with a rich mixture of both.

3. Madeira International Airport

So what do you do when you run out of land? How about build a bridge-like structure to increase the runway length from 5,000 ft to 9,000? Well it’s smarter than building an island!

2. Gibraltar Airport

So you have to squeeze and airport onto a rock. But you also have to build a highway. What do you do if there’s not enough room for both? If you’re a Brit and it’s Gibraltar you just build one on top of another. There’s no way I’d want to be a traffic cop on this beat!

1. Kansai International Airport

A feat of modern technology and logistical genius the airport just outside of Osaka, Japan sits on a man-made island that is 1.6 x 2.5 miles in dimension. This is a fantastic accomplishment! However given the geological conditions in that area of the world, there’s no way I’d fly there.

10. Mt. Huashan

Roads don’t have to be just for cars. This Hiking trail in China is listed among the most dangerous. The wooden trail, with no safeguards in site other than a few chains to hang onto for dear life, brings the daring hikers to the top of one of Mt. Huashan, one of five sacred mountains in China. Once there hikers can sit quietly, meditate and pray, probably for a safe trip back down the mountain.

9. Troll Ladder

Winding roads are big when it comes to mountains probably because a straight up ascent would be a little trickier. The Trollstigen or Troll Ladder in Norway has a total of eleven hair pin turns. At the top brave tourists have a view of the Stigfossen Falls.

8. Tibetan Road

High elevation Highways tend to be dangerous due to all the sudden turns and long drops back to earth but the Sichuan-Tibet Highway has a little more to offer. You might want to keep your eyes on the road and have a passenger to keep their eyes peeled for landslides and rock avalanches. Seems this road might not only claim your life, but bury you as well.

7.Taihang Mountain Road

Several Local villagers lost their lives in the construction of this tunnel road through the Taihang Mountains. The 1,200 meter long tunnel through the mountain might be fun in the Bat Mobile!

6. James Dalton Highway

You might choose to take the dog sled if you are heading up the James Dalton Highway in Alaska. The 414 miles gravel road takes you through the frozen tundra straight to the farthest reaches of Alaska. It’s recommended if you hit this road you take along extra fuel, food and perhaps a pair of mukluks. MUSH!

5. Nepal, Tibet

If you think climbing Mt. Everest is dangerous just try getting there on this Nepal, Tibet road. If you make it on this hardly maintained road, Everest should be a piece of cake.

4. Halsema Highway

The Halsema Highway starts off just fine, but if you dare to continue, look out! On second thought just watch the road, the views may be wonderful from this road on the Island of Luzon in the Philippines but besides some significant drops of up to 1000 feet, mud and rock slides as well as a noticeable lack of guard rails makes this a 150 mile stretch of doom.

3. Russian Federal Highway

This Russian Federal Highway is tricky in the winter, but It is the summer months that make this road a problem. The Siberian Road to Yakutsk becomes a mud path. It’s not unusual for travelers to get stuck in near thousand traffic jams. Imagine the mud fights that must take place.

2. Machu Picchu

Walking in the Inca Path to Machu Picchu might feel safer than climbing the twisting mountain road to the ancient site. Bus drivers who take you up the mountain rarely slow down on the narrow stretch of road as the pass, within inches of tourist buses coming back down.

1. North Yungas Road

It’s called “the road of death” for a good reason. Fatal accidents occur on North Yungas Road in Bolivia every couple of weeks. Whipping through the Bolivian Andes on this stretch of read might also means an experience in falling; into a car graveyard some 3,600 meters below.

10. Marriage

The romance between Rob and Kristen. Is it real? Is it just hype? Apparently Rob Pattinson really did propose marriage to Kristen Stewart. She said no. The world was shocked and dismayed. The stock market somehow managed to open on the following business day- but even that was half-hearted and somehow sad.

9. Lookin’ For Trouble

Robert Pattinson is currently the #6 most searched for star on STARmeter Top 10. What does this mean? Obviously there are many MANY takers on the offer he gave to Kristen Stewart. Many of us would pay money to see what he gets in his fan mail every day.

8. People Will Buy Anything

When Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the series was released it sold 1.3 million copies in the first 24 hours. Sarah Palin’s book Going Rogue sold 700,000 copies in the first week. This has nothing to do with anything, I just think chicks in helicopters with guns are hot. Though it is interesting how one piece of fiction can so easily outsell another….

7. Dreams

Author Stephenie Meyer was a stay-at-home mother of three when the idea for Twilight came to her. She says the idea for the book came to her in a dream. She dreamed the scene with Bella and Edward in the woods, and sat down the next day and wrote it. The rest followed. Why couldn’t she fuel her boredom with Xanex and vodka like the rest of the bored housewives I know?

6. Special Effect Genuis

In the ballet-studio fight scene, honey and chicken were used to simulate “parts and peices.” I submit cooking it and serving it on a buffet would have been more productive. “Children are starving in Japan,” my mother would say. Now we know why. Another piece of FX trivia for you; before CGI, red food coloring and oatmeal was the preferred method of making lava.

5. Not First

Stephanie Meyer’s top pick to play Edward Cullen was little known actor Henry Cavill, and not Robert Pattinson. Honestly? Did it matter THAT MUCH? Any underwear model would have done just as well. Apparently in the beginning Meyer’s view of Edward differed radically from Pattinson’s. In the end Pattison played it his way. Said Meyer of the performance “..in the performance, he did what he wanted, and it turned out how I wanted it.”

4. Another shocker

The script for the movie only took six weeks to finish. Yup, a month and a half. I was surprised it took that long. Perhaps it had something to do with how well written the books were….

3. Identifying

The character Bella grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. Coincidentally enough so did the author of the series, Stephenie Meyer. This leads one to wonder if being porked by a vampire is some sort of compulsion the author might have. BERRY interestink.

2. More Evidence

Meyer named a few of the characters from the series after ex-boyfriends. Hmmm, this is starting to take on a pattern….. In the article 10 Ways to Survive a Break Up it does not mention becoming an author and turning your former love interests into a bloodsucking creatures in print. They have lawyers for that sort of thing.

1. Fan Fiction

A Google search for Twilight fanfiction sites yields about 962,000 results (in 0.23 seconds- who cares?). A web search for Trek Trek fanfiction yields but 518,000 results (in 0.30 seconds- guess they’re older). This proves conclusively that there are more 12-16 year-olds than Trekkies (or Trekkers) on the internet… Having said that, let’s launch some prep-school tweeners into space.

10. Diddy

Before Diddy there was P-Diddy there was Puffy. Before that there was Puff Daddy. Before that even there was Sean Combs. What was little Sean running from that he had to change his name so many times? I’m guessing it was this picture.

9. Pharell Williams

Looking like a Samurai with an erasure head haircut, Pharell Williams proved to everyone in the business that stylists are indeed an important part of being famous. It’s just too bad he went from looking like the offspring of Godzilla and Papermate to dressing a little like the Joker.

8. Jay-Z

If anyone ever looked like they didn’t want to be somewhere it was young master Carter here in his (??) graduation picture. Jay-Z never finished high school, so this was as close as we could get to a graduation picture. Maybe he graduated from elementary school and grandma sprang for some pics? Maybe the face is because Jay-Z himself was a little confused by the cap and gown.

7. Snoop

Ranked in one of the Top 10 Most Likable Stoners of All-Time it’s hard to imagine  Snoop looking clean cut- but here is it. This is photo graphic evidence that Snoop Dogg actually did not spring forth from a sensimilla bud and onto MP3 players around the world. He looks a little like he just won a science fair somewhere.

6. Eminem

I’ve had debates about things in the past that had no bearing on anything. One of these is why little Marshal Mathers was so pissed off. Looking a little like the illegitimate son of Sylvester Stallone might have something to do with it. Yo Adrian!

5. Kanye West

Voted most likely to be someone- everyone shakes their head at. Kanye West spent most of his high school career snatching the chalk from teacher’s hands and giving sermons in class. “I don mean no disrespect or nuthin… but Columbus was whack. E’rybody knows that Magellian was the dopest explorer of all time!!!”

4. T.I

T.I. looks like the cover of a cereal box. Seriously. “It’s good for you and tastes good too.” His recent prison stint was neither kid tested nor mother approved however. Look for him to break out big(ger) in the future. I predict bigger things from this guy than we’ve seen from him so far even…. huge.

3. Ice Cube

“I’ll tumble for ya… I’ll tumble for ya… I’ll tumble for ya I’ll tumble for you”. Or wait wait… “Feel the beat of the rythm of the night…”

2. 50 Cent

50 Cent (pronounced Fiddy-Cen) looked like the kind of kid that you just couldn’t trust. IN FACT he looks like the kid that stole my bike.

1. Lil Jon

“How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?” You can ask Mr. Owl or Lil John. Late bloomers with latent smooth potential… bet NO ONE saw it coming.

]]> http://totallytop10.com/current-affairs/odd-news/top-10-famous-yearbook-pictures/feed 1 http://totallytop10.com/current-affairs/odd-news/top-10-science-fair-projects http://totallytop10.com/current-affairs/odd-news/top-10-science-fair-projects#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 09:27:45 +0000 wmmattler http://totallytop10.com/?p=5388 When I got this assignment all I could think was “They want me to make fun of kids!” Something I’ve been doing since like 5th grade. Easiest assignment all year.

10. Poopie Science

A sphincter says “what”? Tell me the kid is giving away brownie samples, and please please PLEASE let that be a brownie in his hand.

9. New From Hasbro

It’s the GQ Snoop Dog doll! Yup they built a robot to look like Snoop. With cool “roach action grip” and “thumbs up technology” this 7/10 scale action figure is sure to be a hit in 2010. No we get it, it’s really a stoned Carlton….”Drop it like it’s haaaawt”

8. Who’s The Looser?

Looking at these two it’s kinda hard to tell who lost out on this partnership. Still, the producers of Pancreas teamed up again to bring us Pancreas 2: Back to the Gland.… and this time it’s hormonal!

7. Dirty Joke

“That’s right Stella… get it going nice and fast and…” ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz. The poor girl with the wheel went from being called “four eyes” in fifth grade to starting Jr High as “Tread Face”. NOT NICE!

6. Dot Com Magnate

There’s no way in hell I’d trust this kid with my credit card information.

5. Big Business

The kid on the left is the son of a plastics manufacturer and the one on the right looks like the son of Donald Trump… yeah Son of Trump… Has a ring to it. I have to ask the same questions as Clarkson; Is Global Warming real? Why is Global Warming so cold? And why do I keep capitalizing it?

4. WHAT?!?!

Okay there was NO WAY I was buying this. There has been no report of HIV being transmitted during horse/man activities. Sexually transmitted diseases between barnyard animals and men might just be why Whales and portions of Scotland stay rural however… nah, still not buying it. AIDS isn’t funny kids… we’re not making fun of AIDS- just the retards who aren’t informed.

3. Animal WHAT?!

Trust me on this one kid- people who research animal magnetism never actually achieve it. Trying too hard yields zero results. HEY! LeTune, I should do a TOP 10 on this. Is the pick-up a science? You betcha! Ask Professor Getalot… he knows. The mustache is a nice touch though. I had one just like it when I was 8.

2. Coke-WHAT?!?!

I know… you’re wondering how I’m gonna rank on this one right? I’d love to be next to this project just so I could yell “COKE-LORE!?! Yeah buddy? Well, your Project’s a COKE-LORE! And your mom is too… beotch!” I went to a competitive school….. ***(If you didn’t get this joke say “coke-lore” five times fast.)

1. Finally… An Explanation

In an attempt to save his 4.0 grade point average C.A. Johnson explains why at times he cannot go to the chalkboard to do math problems. Following this lecture was a presentation on how to walk with your books strategically placed and the movie Pockets: Keeping it Loose.