Most Loved Phones in the Market

There are a lot of things to look forward to in the New Year. Some phones have generated more interest than others. The phones have been particularly talked about because their features that have set them apart from other possible phones. Here’s a list of some of the phones and their corresponding features that have been generating a lot of interest amongst mobile enthusiasts and experts.
1. Samsung Galaxy S2

Expected Features of Samsung Galaxy S2:

• Operating system: Gingerbread Android 2.3
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 720p and 1080p full HD video recording, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection
• Display : 4.3-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display, Gorilla Glass display, 16M colors
• Dimensions : 9mm thickness
• Processor : 2 GHz
• Internal/External Memory : 32GB flash storage, 16 GB storage, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of ROM
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion
• Colors : Black
• Officially launched believed to be in February at the MWC 2011 in Barcelona

2. Motorola ATRIX


Expected Features of Motorola ATRIX:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo)
• Camera : 5 Megapixels, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, image stabilization
• Display : TFT capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Gorilla Glass display, Multi-touch input method, Biometric fingerprint reader
• Dimensions : 117.8 x 63.5 x 10.1 mm, 135 grams
• Processor : 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H Dual Core processor
• Internal/External Memory : 16 GB storage, 1 GB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB
• Battery : Standard battery, Lithium 1930 mAh
• Standby Time : Up to 264 h (2G) / Up to 250 h (3G)
• Talk Time : Up to 8 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 9 h (3G)
• Colors : Black
• Official launch believed to be in first half of 2011

3. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc



Expected Features of Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread).
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Touch focus, image stabilization, geo-tagging, face and smile detection.
• Display : LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Scratch-resistant surface, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, Multi-touch input method, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Timescape UI.
• Dimensions : 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm, 117 grams.
• Processor : Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon 1 GHz processor; Adreno 205 GPU.
• Internal/External Memory : 512 MB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB, 8 GB included.
• Battery : Standard battery, Lithium 1500 mAh.
• Standby Time : Up to 430 h (2G) / Up to 400 h (3G).
• Talk Time : Up to 7 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G).
• Colors : Midnight Blue, Misty Silver.
• Official launch believed to be in first quarter of 2011.

4. Apple iPhone 5


Expected Features of Apple iPhone 5:

• Camera : 10.2 megapixel.
• Display : OLED screen, Scratch proof and shatter proof screen.
• Dimensions : 9.3 mm thick.
• Processor : may have A8 Processor, Qualcomm Radio Chip.
• Internal/External Memory : 32G and 64G memory.
• Battery : Extended and new age battery life.
• Standby Time : 600 hours.
• Talk Time : 14 hours talk time on 3G and 7 hours on 4G.
• Official launch believed to be in second quarter of 2011.

5. HTC 7 Pro

Expected Features of HTC 7 Pro

• Operating system: Microsoft Windows Phone 7.
• Camera : 5 Megapixels, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection.
• Display : Capacitive touch screen, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Multi-touch input method, QWERTY keyboard.
• Dimensions : 117.5 x 59 x 15.5 mm, 185 grams.
• Processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor.
• Internal/External Memory : 8/16 GB storage, 448 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM.
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh.
• Standby Time : Up to 360 h (2G) / Up to 420 h (3G).
• Talk Time : Up to 5 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G).
• Colors : Black.
• Official launch believed to be in first quarter of 2011.

6. Nokia E7


Expected Features of Nokia E7

• Operating system: Symbian^3 OS.
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 3264×2448 pixels, fixed focus, dual-LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection.
• Display : AMOLED capacitive touchscreen,16M colors, Nokia ClearBlack display, QWERTY keyboard, Multi-touch input method, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Scratch resistant Gorilla glass display.
• Dimensions  : 123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6 mm, 104.9 cc, 176 grams.
• Processor : ARM 11 680 MHz processor, 3D Graphics HW accelerator.
• Internal/External Memory : 16 GB storage, 256 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM.
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D).
• Standby Time : Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 480 h (3G).
• Talk Time : Up to 9 h (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G).
• Colors : Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue, Orange.
• Officially launched believed to be in first quarter of 2011.

7. LG Optimus Black


Expected Features of LG Optimum Black:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.2 Froyo, upgradable to v2.3.
• Camera : 2Megapixels front-facing camera, Geo-tagging.
• Display : Capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, Optimus UI 2.0, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off.
• Dimensions : 121 x 63.5 x 9.2 mm, 109 grams.
• Processor : TI OMAP 3630, 1 GHz.
• Internal/External Memory : 2 GB, microSD, up to 32GB.
• Battery : Standard battery, Lithium 1500 mAh.
• Colors : Black.
• Official launch believed to be in first half of 2011.

8. Sony Ericsson Xperia Play


Expected Features of Sony Ericsson Xperia Play:

• Operating system: Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread).
• Camera : 5 Megapixels, 2592х1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash.
• Display : LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touch screen, 16M colors, Touch sensitive gaming controls, PSP like gaming buttons, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate.
• Processor : 1 GHz processor.
• Internal/External Memory : 315 MB, 378 MB RAM, microSD, up to 32GB.
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh (BST-41).
• Colors : Black.
• Official launch believed to be in Feb – March of 2011.

9. Samsung Galaxy Ace


Expected Features of Samsung Galaxy Ace:

• Operating System: Android 2.2.1 Froyo.
• Camera: 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash.
• Display: 3.5-inch HVGA TFT display.
• Processor : 800MHz processor.
• Social Hub, TouchWiz interface, Swype; document viewer/editor.
• Connection : Quad-band GSM, HSDPA, A-GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi.
• Official launch believed to be in first half of 2011.

10. Nokia N9

Image credit: Baidu
Expected Features of Nokia N9:

• Operating system: MeeGo OS
• Camera : 12 Megapixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash, Geo-tagging, face detection
• Display : 4.0 inches super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with 16M colors. Sliding FULL QWERTY Keyboard, multi-touch input method and scratch-resistant surface
• Dimensions  : 160 grams
• Processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz
• Internal/External Memory : 64 GB storage, 512 MB RAM, 1 GB ROM
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion 1320 mAh
• Standby Time : 430 hours
• Talk Time : 540 mins
• Colors : Black, Silver, Blue
• Officially launched believed to be in February at the MWC 2011 in Barcelona

Bridges You Have To Avoid! (Top 7)

For the most part, bridges offer people an easier way to commute from one place to another and are truly a blessing. These incredible and outrageously scary bridges from around the world shown here might be helpful in a sense, but if you have a fear of heights or any sort of the manner, these bridges will haunt you in your sleep. An unbelievable list of sky high vehicular bridges, super high suspension bridges, and creepy rope bridges; there is surely something here to cause you some chills or thrills.


Aiguille du Midi Bridge, France

A very, very small short bridge that connects two mountains might not seem scary at first glance, but take a larger exterior examination and you truly might just have a panic attack seeing how high up this structure really is. Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps is most certainly the most incredible connection in the world sitting at approximately 3842 m high. While delivering breathtaking views of the Mont Blanc Mountain, this observational platform allows you to truly reach the stars.

Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, US

The Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado in the United States holds the record for the tallest suspension bridge in the world with its roadbed towering at 1,053 feet (321 meters) above the ground below. You can walk or drive this bridge, at approximately 1,270 feet long it makes for a breathless journey. Built in 1929 for $350,000 weighing roughly 1500 tons, the cost today would easily exceed $15 million. Taking care of this aged bridge is no small feat either- the walkway alone is made of 1,270 planks of deck; about 250 are replaced annually.

Trift Suspension Bridge, Switzerland

One of the most beautiful places in the world is home to one of the most spectacular and intimidating bridges ever. The Trift Bridge sits directly above the Trift Glacier at 100 meters high, 170 meters long, and is considered to be one of the longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges in the Alps. You can hike or take the cable car to get to this impressive bridge which often times looks out to raging frozen waters and spectacular views.


Millau Bridge, France

One of the world’s tallest vehicular bridges elevated 1,125-ft above the Tarn Valley in southern France is the Millau Bridge. Driving over this bridge has got to be one most thrilling experiences of a lifetime and not a ride for those afraid of heights or bridges! Just somewhat taller than the Eiffel Tower, The Millau Bridge has a total length of 8,071-ft and extends 885.8 feet (270 meters) above the river below. Recently built and opened to the public in 2004 this bridge provides unimaginative views that pictures alone just can’t capture.

Capilano Suspension Bridge, Canada

A true tourist attraction, this long and incredibly high up suspension bridge has me very thankful I don’t have an extreme fear of heights. Noted as Vancouver’s oldest tourist attraction, this bridge stretches 450 feet (137m) across and 230 feet (70m) above the Capilano River. Beautiful views abound here, yet the height is incredibly overwhelming.


Canopy Walk in Kakum Nat’l Park, Ghana

The Kakum National Park offers a long sequence of hanging bridges throughout the forests covering known as the Canopy Walk. There are over 7 bridges that expand to a length of over 330 meters or 1,080 ft long and 40 meters or 130 feet high. The Canopy is made out of netting and wires and maintains safety inspection, however with the large number of visitors and incredible heights it just screams out scary to me. It does, however offer an incredible view of the forest if you can handle the heights and daring nature of walking high up in the trees.

Hussaini Hanging Bridge, Pakistan

Perhaps the most dangerous of all the bridges in the world is the Hussaini- Borit Lake Bridge. There is absolutely no way this is safe but is actually used on a regular basis by those attempting to travel to the larger cities in northern Pakistan. The bridge (if you can even call it that) is very old, missing planks, extremely narrow, and high above the lake. If you are searching for extreme thrills then this bridge might be a delight for you, however for the majority of visitors and locals alike the bridge is truly death-defying and fearful. It is not known exactly how many people may have become a casualty while crossing this treacherous structure, but more than enough so take heed.

Via: it THING

Top 10 Most Strange Unusual Animal Friendships

In this world, some people are still fighting among the same races, different races to satisfy their� desire. As we know, the human race is the most intelligent living creature in this world. However, most of the time we are not showing humanness love to each other and causing lots of unnecessary quarrels and the worst scenario is the war between the different countries. It caused the dead of millions of innocent human life and bring a disastrous damages to the environment and civilization.

Today, I would like to showcase the top ten most strange unusual animal friendships. This is to remind everyone of us that even the different species of animals also can get along together without killing each other.
Let us think about the human being who claimed as the most intelligent living creature in the world? Can we love each other with the pure heart to make this world a better world to stay? Let’s pray for the peace of the world.

Tiger and Pig

sheep and two dogs

orang utan and roscoe the blue tick hound

mother dog and lion cubs

lewd lemur and parrot

kitten and dog

giraffe and ostrich

elephant and sheep

baby pelican and dachshund

chimpanzee and white tiger
(Photo Source: CCTV.com)

Unique USB Flash Drivers! ( Video included )

LaCie has rolled out a new designer flash drive in association with with Christofle -- the Galet, designed by Christofle. With its beautiful pebble shape and magnificent silver-plating, the Galet is a conversation piece that proves beauty and functionality can easily co-exist in our daily lives. Like a designer watch or a luxury pen, the Galet is an accessory. Hand-crafted in France, each piece is individually plated with precious silver through Christofle's 150 year-old silvering process. Then it is carefully inspected for a smooth finish and radiant polish, which guarantees its excellence.
The Galet comes in 4GB and includes LaCie's Private-Public software with password protection. It is available for $130 in Christofle boutiques worldwide, as well as the LaCie Online Store.

The World’s 7 Strangest Airports

Engineers tasked with building an airport are faced with countless challenges: The ideal location needs ample space, endless flat ground, favorable winds and great visibility. But spots in the real world are rarely ideal, and engineers are forced to work with what they have, making sure that the end product is the safest possible structure for pilots. A survey of airports around the world turns up a mixed bag, ranging from dangerous and rugged landing strips to mega-size facilities that operate like small cities. Here, 7CL explores the world's most remarkable airports and why they stand out.


7. Courchevel International Airport (Courchevel, France)

Background:
Getting to the iconic ski resort of Courchevel requires navigating the formidable French Alps before making a hair-raising landing at Courchevel International Airport. The runway is about 1700 feet long, but the real surprise is the large hill toward the middle of the strip.

Why It's Unique:
"You take off downhill and you land going uphill," Schreckengast says. He adds that the hill, which has an 18.5 percent grade, is so steep that small planes could probably gain enough momentum rolling down it with no engines to safely glide off the edge. Landing at Courchevel is obviously no easy task, so pilots are required to obtain certification before attempting to conquer the dangerous runway.


6. Congonhas Airport (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Background:
Most major cities have an airport, but rarely are they built just 5 miles from the city center, especially in metropolises like Sao Paulo. Congonhas' close proximity to downtown can be attributed in part to the fact that it was completed in 1936, with the city experiencing rapid development in the following decades.

Why It's Unique:
While having an airport only 5 miles from the city center may be a convenience for commuters, it places a strain on both pilots and air traffic control crews. "It becomes a challenge in terms of safety to just get the plane in there," Schreckengast says. "Then you throw on noise restrictions and these terribly awkward arrival and departure routes that are needed to minimize your noise-print and it becomes quite challenging for pilots." Fortunately, Sao Paulo's many high-rise buildings are far enough away from the airport that they aren't an immediate obstacle for pilots landing or taking off.


5. Ice Runway (Antarctica)

Background:
The Ice Runway is one of three major airstrips used to haul supplies and researchers to Antarctica's McMurdo Station. As its name implies, there are no paved runways here—just long stretches of ice and snow that are meticulously groomed.

Why It's Unique:
There is no shortage of space on the Ice Runway, so super-size aircraft like the C-130 Hercules and the C-17 Globemaster III can land with relative ease. The real challenge is making sure that the weight of the aircraft and cargo doesn't bust the ice or get the plane stuck in soft snow. As the ice of the runway begins to break up, planes are redirected to Pegasus Field or Williams Field, the two other airstrips servicing the continent.


4. Don Mueang International Airport (Bangkok, Thailand)

Background:
From a distance Don Mueang International looks like any other midsize airport. However, smack-dab in the middle of the two runways is an 18-hole golf course.

Why It's Unique:
Schreckengast, who has worked on consulting projects at this airport, says one of the major problems is that the only taxiways were located at the end of the runways. "We recommended that they build an additional taxiway in the middle, from side to side, and they said ‘absolutely not, that will take out a green and one fairway.'" The airport and the course were originally an all-military operation, but have since opened up to commercial traffic. Security threats, however, have limited the public's access to the greens.


3. Madeira International Airport (Madeira, Portugal)

Background:
Madeira is a small island far off the coast of Portugal, which makes an airport that is capable of landing commercial-size aircraft vital to its development. This airport's original runway was only about 5000 feet long, posing a huge risk to even the most experienced pilots and limiting imports and tourism.

Why It's Unique:
Engineers extended the runway to more than 9000 feet by building a massive girder bridge atop about 200 pillars. The bridge, which itself is over 3000 feet long and 590 feet wide, is strong enough to handle the weight of 747s and similar jets. In 2004, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering selected the expansion project for its Outstanding Structure Award, noting that the design and construction was both "sensitive to environmental and aesthetic considerations."


2. Gibraltar Airport (Gibraltar)

Background:
Between Morocco and Spain sits the tiny British territory of Gibraltar. Construction of the airport dates back to World War II, and it continues to serve as a base for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, though commercial flights land on a daily basis.

Why It's Unique:
Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar's busiest road, cuts directly across the runway. Railroad-style crossing gates hold cars back every time a plane lands or departs. "There's essentially a mountain on one side of the island and a town on the other," Schreckengast says. "The runway goes from side to side on the island because it's the only flat space there, so it's the best they can do. It's a fairly safe operation as far as keeping people away," he says, "It just happens to be the best place to land, so sometimes it's a road and sometimes it's a runway."


1. Kansai International Airport (Osaka, Japan)

Background:
Land is a scarce resource in Japan, so engineers headed roughly 3 miles offshore into Osaka Bay to build this colossal structure. Work on the manmade island started in 1987, and by 1994 jumbo jets were touching down. Travelers can get from the airport to the main island of Honshu via car, railroad or even a high-speed ferry.

Why It's Unique:
Kansai's artificial island is 2.5 miles long and 1.6 miles wide—so large that it's visible from space. Earthquakes, dangerous cyclones, an unstable seabed, and sabotage attempts from protestors are just some of the variables engineers were forced to account for. As impressive as the airport is, Stewart Schreckengast, a professor of aviation technology at Purdue University and a former aviation consultant with MITRE, cautions that climate change and rising sea levels pose a very real threat to the airport's existence. "When this was built, [engineers] probably didn't account for global warming," he says. "In 50 years or so, this might be underwater."

Via: Popular Mechanics

Top 10 Animals With Incredible Eyes!

According to scientists, eyes evolved around 540 million years ago as simple light detecting organs. Today, vision is the most important sense for many animals, humans included, and they have became incredibly varied and complex. Take a look at some of the strangest and most incredible eyes in the animal kingdom.

 

10 Tarsier

The tarsier is a small (about squirrel sized) nocturnal primate, found in the rainforests of South Eastern Asia. It is the only fully predatory primate in the world, feeding on lizards and insects and is even known to catch birds in mid flight. It’s most remarkable feature; however, are its enormous eyes, the largest of any mammal, relative to body size. If your eyes were proportionally as big as those of the tarsier, they would be the size of grapefruits. These enormous eyes are fixed in the skull, and can´t be turn in their sockets. To compensate for this, the tarsier has a very flexible neck, and can rotate its head 180 degrees, just like an owl, to scan for potential prey or predators.
With each eye weighing more than its brain, the tarsier has extremely acute eyesight and superb night vision; it has even been suggested that they may be able to see ultraviolet light. On the other hand, they seem to have very poor color vision, as is the case with many nocturnal animals (including house cats and owls, for example).

 

9 Chameleon

Chameleons are famous for their ability to change color, an ability that helps them communicate and express their intentions, or mood, to other chameleons (only a few species use color-changing as camouflage). These lizards also have very unusual eyes; their eyelids are fused, and cover almost the entire eyeball, except for a small hole to let the pupil see through; each eye can be moved independently from the other, and so the chameleon can scan for prey and potential threats at the same time. This also means that the chameleon has a full 360 degree field of vision.
When the chameleon sees a potential prey (usually an insect, although the largest species are known to devour mice and other small vertebrates), it focuses both eyes in the same direction, gaining stereoscopic vision – very important if we consider that the chameleon captures prey by shooting out its tongue at high speed, a technique that requires a very precise distance and depth perception. Chameleons have very sharp eyesight, being able to see an insect several meters away, and just like the tarsier, they can see ultraviolet light.

 

8  Dragonfly

The dragonfly, possibly the most formidable aerial hunter among insects, also has some of the most amazing eyes in the animal world. They are so big that they cover almost the entire head, giving it a helmeted appearance, and a full 360 degree field of vision. These eyes are made up of 30,000 visual units called ommatidia, each one containing a lens and a series of light sensitive cells. Their eyesight is superb; they can detect colors and polarized light, and are particularly sensitive to movement, allowing them to quickly discover any potential prey or enemy.
Some dragonfly species that hunt at dusk can see perfectly in low light conditions, when we humans can barely see anything. Not only that; dragonflies also have three smaller eyes named ocelli which can detect movement faster than the huge compound eyes can; these ocelli quickly send visual information to the dragonflies’ motor centers, allowing it to react in a fraction of a second and perhaps explaining the insect’s formidable acrobatic skills. Although dragonflies are not the only insects with ocelli (some wasps and flies have them too), they do have the most developed ones.

 

 

7 Leaf tailed gecko

Leaf tailed geckos have pretty surreal-looking eyes; their pupils are vertical and have a series of “pinholes” which widen at night, allowing these lizards to pick up as much light as possible. These eyes also have many more light sensitive cells than human eyes, giving the animal the ability to detect objects and even to see colors at night.
To give you an idea of the gecko’s amazing night vision, let us just say that, while cats and sharks can see six and ten times better than humans, respectively, the Leaf Tailed gecko and other nocturnal gecko species can see up to 350 times better than we can in dim light!
Leaf tailed geckos also have a series of strange, intricate eye patterns, which provide camouflage. These lizards lack eyelids; their eyes are protected by a transparent membrane, and geckos are often seen cleaning this membrane with their tongue.

 

 

6 Colossal squid

Not to be confused with the better known, but smaller Giant Squid, the Colossal Squid is the largest invertebrate known to science; it also has the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. Each one of the Colossal squid’s eyes can be up to 30 cms across, being bigger than a dinner plate and having a lense the size of an orange. These huge eyes allow the squid to see in dim light conditions, very useful for an animal that spends most of its time hunting at 2000 meters below the surface.
It must be mentioned that only sub adult colossal squid have been captured and studied thus far; full grown Colossal squid may grow up to 15 meters long. These giants would have even bigger eyes. Unlike the Giant Squid, the Colossal squid has stereoscopic vision, having a greater ability to judge distances. Even more amazing, each eye has a built-in “headlight”, an organ known as a photophore which can produce light so that whenever the Colossal squid focuses its eyes to the front, the photophores produce enough light for the squid to see its prey in the dark.

 

5 Four eyed fish

Found in Mexico and Central America, as well as Northern South America, these are small fish measuring up to 32 cm and usually found in fresh or brackish water (although they have also been seen in marine coasts). They feed mostly on insects, so they spend most of their time swimming at the surface. Despite their name, four eyed fish have only two eyes. However, these eyes are divided by a band of tissue and each half of the eye has a pupil of its own. This bizarre adaptation allows the four eyed fish to see perfectly (and at the same time) both above and below the waterline, scanning for both prey and predators.
The upper half of the eyeball is adapted to vision in air, while the lower half is adapted to underwater vision. Although both halves of the eye use the same lens, the thickness and curve of the lens is different in the upper and lower eye halves, thus correcting for the different behavior of light in air and water. This means that when the four eyed fish is completely submerged, the upper halves of the eyes are out of focus. Fortunately, the fish spends almost its entire life in the surface, and it only has to dive completely once in a while to prevent the upper halves of the eyes from dehydrating.

 

 

4 Stalk eyed fly

These small but spectacular creatures are mostly found in the jungles of South East Asia and Africa, with a few species also found in Europe and North America. They get their name from the long projections from the sides of the head with the eyes and antennae at the end. Male flies usually have much longer stalks than females and it has been confirmed that females prefer males with long eyestalks. Males during mating season often stand face to face and measure their eyestalk’s length; the one with the greatest “eye span” is recognized as the winner.
Male stalk eyed flies also have the extraordinary ability to enlarge their eyestalks by ingesting air through their mouth and pumping it through ducts in the head to the eyestalks. They do this mostly during mating season. Here’s an amazing video of the male stalk eyed fly, newly emerged from its cocoon, actively enlarging his eyestalks:

 

3 Spookfish

The spookfish is a deep water, ghostly-looking fish that has some of the most bizarre eye structures known to science; each eye has a lateral swelling called a diverticulum, separated from the main eye by a septum. While the main part of the eye has a lens and functions in a similar way to other animal eyes, the diverticulum has a curved, composite mirror composed of many layers of what seem to be guanine crystals. This “mirror” is superior at gathering light than the normal eye; the diverticulum reflects light and focuses it onto the retina allowing the fish to see both up at down at the same time.
The spookfish is the only vertebrate known to use a mirror eye structure to see, as well as the usual lens. Spookfish are found worldwide but are rare to see, since they spend most of their lives at a depth of 1000-2000 meters. They feed on small crustaceans and plankton, and measure about 18 cm in length.

 

 

2 Ogre faced spider

Spiders are popularly known for having many eyes (although this varies greatly among the different species, with some having two, four, six or eight eyes). The Ogre-faced spider has six eyes, but it looks as if it only had two because the middle pair is greatly enlarged. This is an adaptation for a nocturnal lifestyle; ogre faced spiders have superb night vision not only because of their huge eyes, but because of an extremely light sensitive layer of cells covering them.
This membrane is so sensitive in fact, that it is destroyed at dawn and a new one is produced every night. Ogre faced spiders are unusual because they can see perfectly at night even though they lack tapetum lucidum, a reflective membrane that helps others spiders (and other predators such as cats) to see in low light conditions. As a matter of facts, scientists believe that ogre faced spiders have better night vision than cats, sharks, or even owls (which can see up to 100 times better than humans at night!).

 

 

1 Mantis shrimp

And finally, we get to the animal with the weirdest and most amazing eyes in the world. The mantis shrimp is not actually a shrimp, but a different kind of crustacean from the Stomatopoda order. Known for its aggressiveness and formidable weaponry (they have an extremely sharp and powerful claw and can split a human finger in two or even break a glass aquarium with one single strike), mantis shrimp are voracious predators found mostly in tropical waters.
Their eyes are compound, like those of the dragonfly, although they have a far smaller number of ommatidia (about 10.000 per eye); however, in the mantis shrimp each ommatidia row has a particular function. For example, some of them are used to detect light, others to detect color, etc.
Mantis shrimp have much better color vision than humans (their eyes having 12 types of color receptors, whereas humans have only three), as well as ultraviolet, infrared and polarized light vision, thus having the most complex eyesight of any animal known. The eyes are located at the end of stalks, and can be moved independently from each other, rotating up to 70 degrees. Interestingly, the visual information is processed by the eyes themselves, not the brain.
Even more bizarre; each of the mantis shrimp’s eyes is divided in three sections allowing the creature to see objects with three different parts of the same eye. In other words, each eye has “trinocular vision” and complete depth perception, meaning that if a mantis shrimp lost an eye, its remaining eye would still be able to judge depth and distance as well as a human with his two eyes. Scientists are only starting to understand the mysteries of Stomatopod vision; for the moment, we can only imagine what the world really looks like to a mantis shrimp.

 

+Trilobite

Trilobites were one of the most successful animal groups of all times, thriving for almost 300 million years long before dinosaurs appeared on Earth. Although some species were eyeless, most of them had compound eyes similar to those of insects. The weird thing about trilobite eyes is that their lenses were made of inorganic calcite crystal, a mineral that is also the main component of limestone and chalk. In its purest form, calcite is clear, thus being an adequate if unorthodox material for an eye lens.
These crystal eyes are unique to trilobites, with the compound eyes of modern invertebrates being made of chitin, an organic substance. Due to their unusual composition, trilobite eyes were completely rigid and could not be adjusted to focus; instead, the trilobite corrected its focus with an internal eye mechanism which not only solved any potential problems caused by the mineral lens, but also gave the trilobite such good vision, that it could keep both close and distant objects in focus at the same time.
As if that wasn´t bizarre enough, some trilobites had really weird looking eyes; a few had their eyes at the end of long projections, just like the Stalk Eyed Fly, while others had overhanging “eyeshades” on top of the eye, protecting it from bright sunlight. Being made of calcite, trilobite eyes fossilized easily, and therefore we probably know more about trilobite eyes and vision than about those of any other prehistoric creature.

 

++ Goats

We all imagine pupils to be round – as they are the type we see most often (on humans) – but goats (and most other animals with hooves) have horizontal slits which are nearly rectangular when dilated. This gives goats vision covering 320 – 340 degrees; this means they can see virtually all around them without having to move (humans have vision covering 160 – 210 degrees). Consequently, animals with rectangular eyes can see better at night due to having larger pupils that can be closed more tightly during the day to restrict light. Interestingly, octopuses also have rectangular pupils.

The Truth Behind the Peace Sign!

 

50 years had passed. Another 100 will pass and there is always going to be someone who is wondering what is that mark standing for. It started life as the emblem of the British anti-nuclear movement but it has become an international sign for peace, and arguably the most widely used protest symbol in the world. It has also been adapted, attacked and commercialised.Many people have speculated on just what the symbol represents; some religious zealots even claim it signifies Christ on the cross with arms broken, or a Teutonic rune representing death and despair. But the truth is not so mysterious.

What does it mean?

One of the most widely known symbols in the world, in Britain it is recognised as standing for nuclear disarmament —and in particular as the logo of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). It was designed from the naval code of semaphore, and the symbol represents the code letters for ND which means Nuclear Disarmament.The circle, representing the concept of total or complete, surrounds the N and D signifying total or complete nuclear disarmament.
In the United States and much of the rest of the world it is known more broadly as the peace symbol. It was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Arts. He showed his preliminary sketches to a small group of people in the Peace News office in North London and to the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War, one of several smaller organisations that came together to set up CND.
The Direct Action Committee had already planned what was to be the first major anti-nuclear march, from London to Aldermaston, where British nuclear weapons were and still are manufactured. It was on that march, over the 1958 Easter weekend that the symbol first appeared in public. Five hundred cardboard lollipops on sticks were produced. Half were black on white and half white on green. Just as the church’s liturgical colours change over Easter, so the colours were to change, “from Winter to Spring, from Death to Life.” Black and white would be displayed on Good Friday and Saturday, green and white on Easter Sunday and Monday.
The first badges were made by Eric Austin of Kensington CND using white clay with the symbol painted black. Again there was a conscious symbolism. They were distributed with a note explaining that in the event of a nuclear war, these fired pottery badges would be among the few human artifacts to survive the nuclear inferno. These early ceramic badges can still be found and one, lent by CND, was included in the Imperial War Museum’s 1999/2000 exhibition ”From the Bomb to the Beatles”.

Later, in a letter, Holtom also admitted that the symbol reflected his mood at the time. “I was in despair,” he wrote. “Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalized the drawing into a line and put a circle around it.”
American journalist and playwright Herb Greer adds support for the Holtom explanation. He reported, “I was actually there on and before the first Aldermaston march for which it was created. I visited Holtom, I saw the original sketches and discussed it with him.”
Ken Kolsbun, author of the book Peace: The Biography of a Symbol, reported that Holtom expressed regret in not designing the peace symbol with the joyful lifting of arms towards the sky. For most of Holtom’s life he would draw only the upright peace symbol. Holtom requested that the upright peace symbol be placed on his tombstone in Kent, England. If we take a look on  the picture of his tombstone, we’ll see that  his wish was unfortunately ignored.

While it appears reasonable that the modern day peace symbol comes from Gerald Holtom, this logic fails to address the fact that the symbol has been used for evil both in modern times and for thousands of years.
This same symbol was used by Hitler’s 3rd Panzer Division from 1941 to 1945.  The image on the left is the regimental 3rd Panzer Division symbol. Soviet, Polish, and Hungarian citizens, having suffered from the Nazi massacres, undoubtedly struggled with Holtom’s use of the symbol as a thoughtful way to communicate peace. The symbol can also be found on some of Hitler’s SS soldiers’ tombstones.
Another flaw in the Holtom creation story is the use of the symbol as an anti-Christian symbol by the Saracens as early as 711 A.D.For the Saracens, the image placed on their shields symbolized the breaking of the Christian cross. For some the broken cross was equated to a satanic symbol known as the raven’s craw or witch’s foot. While Holtom may not have known the historical meaning of the peace symbol, Bertrand Russell was a historian and member of the Fabian Society. A 1970 article in the American Opinion magazine claimed Russell knew the historical occult meaning and intentionally selected an “anti-Christian design long associated with Satanism.”
The fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero (born Lucius Domitius Ahenabarbus 37 – 68 AD), is remembered in history for persecuting Christians. Nero’s rule was so wicked he even had his mother executed. The First Roman-Jewish War (66 – 70 AD) started during his reign and today the term “Nero Cross” is the symbol of the “broken Jew” or “broken cross.” The most famous person believed to be crucified by Nero was the Apostle Peter. To symbolize humility and unworthiness in comparison to Christ, Peter requested that he be crucified with his head toward the ground. As a result of Peter’s death the upside down cross was used by early Christians as a positive symbol for peace.

The symbol of the upside down cross changes its meaning when the person on the upside down cross is no longer Peter but Jesus. Anti-religious and satanic groups use the “Nero Cross” or inverted “Latin Cross” to symbolize everything opposite of Christianity. Today this is clearly illustrated by “black metal” or heavy metal music lyrics and imagery that communicate anti-Christian sentiments.  In addition to musicians, film makers have reinforced the notion that the upside down cross is an anti-Christian symbol as illustrated by The Omen in 1976 and The Exorcism of Emily Rose in 2005.
The symbol has also been used to communicate support for communism. Bertrand Russell once said: “There is no hope in anything but the Soviet way.” Governments–both those who supported communism and those opposed to it–have perceived benefits in aligning the peace symbol with communist ideology. For people like Bertrand Russell, the author of the 1927 essay Why I Am Not Christian, the symbol represented not only a pro-communism meaning but peace without God.

CND has never registered the sign as a trademark, arguing that “a symbol of freedom, it is free for all”. It has now appeared on millions of mugs, T-shirts, rings and nose-studs. Bizarrely, it has also made an appearance on packets of Lucky Strike cigarettes.A decade ago, the sign was chosen during a public vote to appear on a US commemorative postage stamp saluting the 1960s.The symbol that helped define a generation of baby boomers may not be as widely used today as in the past. It is in danger of becoming to many people a retro fashion item, although the Iraq war has seen it re-emerge with something like its original purpose.
“It is still the dominant peace sign,” argues Lawrence Wittner, an expert on peace movements at the University at Albany in New York.”Part of that is down to its simplicity. It can be used as a shorthand for many causes because it can be reproduced really quickly – on walls on floors, which is important, in say, repressive societies.”
And can its success be measured? Fifty years on, wars have continued to be waged and the list of nuclear-armed states has steadily lengthened.But the cup is half-full as well as half empty.
“There are many ways in which nuclear war has been prevented,” says Mr Wittner. “The hawks say that the reason nuclear weapons have not been used is because of the deterrent. But I believe popular pressure has restrained powers from using them and helped curbed the arms race.And the symbol of and inspiration for that popular pressure, says Mr Wittner, is Mr Holtom’s graphic.

“Today because many people carry the symbol without understanding the history, we miss an opportunity to address historical uses and move forward to reclaim the symbol for good.When you see the peace symbol, I encourage you to see the person displaying it as communicating a message of love.If you display the peace symbol, my recommendation is point the arms of the peace symbol toward the sky to honor Holtom’s wish, address historical objections, and communicate love of all people.”Dave Dionisi, Teach Peace Foundation