treveskyn: odd news, strange news with attitude

For the first time in astronomical history, a huge, bizarre rock beyond Neptune has been linked to other orbiting bodies out there. Some how the big rock called 2003 EL61, which is almost the size of Pluto, got into orbit out in the Kuiper Belt where most every other object is made of ice. Not only is this huge rocky object there, it is the only object in our solar system shaped like an American football and tumbling long end-over-end every four hours.

www.earthfiles.com

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters Life!) – Men trying to father children should avoid using a hot tub because it could affect their fertility, researchers said on Tuesday.

By Rupam Jain Nair

AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) – Police in India’s Western state of Gujarat are to wear new uniforms impregnated with the fragrance of flowers and citrus to help improve their image.

“Most policemen look hassled, drenched in sweat after coming from any scene of crime,” said Somesh Singh, a designer at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad that drew up the uniforms on request of the state government.

“They are surely not the best person one would like to meet, but if they smell good and fresh one might as well approach them,” said Singh.

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The uniforms, to be introduced in the next few months to the state’s 300,000 police, use cotton with a fragrant finish, reflective prints and fiber optic technology to make sure the uniform not only smells good but glows at night so officials can be located easily .

The uniforms will retain the scent even after washing as the fragrance is embedded in the cotton during processing.

Some police say they are eager to try out the new uniforms.

“We are tired wearing the thick cotton brown color uniform with a broad belt and plastic badges for several decades now,” said R.K. Patel a senior police officer.

“If the new uniforms makes us stand out in the crowd, keeps us active with pleasant aroma and is yet very formal, then we are all for it.”

Topless wife photo ends man’s pole protest

Politician seeks Klingon votes
POSTED: 11:11 a.m. EDT, March 13, 2007
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HELSINKI, Finland (Reuters) — A Finnish member of parliament is aiming for re-election by campaigning with a translation of his Web site into Klingon, used in the TV series “Star Trek.”

“Some have thought it is blasphemy to mix politics and Klingon,” said Jyrki Kasvi, an ardent Trekkie. “Others say it is good if politicians can laugh at themselves.”

He said his politics posed some translation difficulties, since Klingon does not have words for matters such as tolerance, or for many colors, including green — the party under whose banner he is running in the national elections on March 18.

Non-warriors can also access the site in English, Swedish and Finnish.

Starbucks steams at ‘Starstrucks’ coffee chain

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AP) — Paul Bosland recalls taking a bite of a chili pepper and feeling like he was breathing fire.

He gulped down a soda, thinking, “That chili has got to be some kind of record.”

The Guinness World Records agreed, confirming recently that Bosland, a regents professor at New Mexico State University, had discovered the world’s hottest chili pepper, Bhut Jolokia, a naturally occurring hybrid native to the Assam region of northeastern India.

The name translates as ghost chili, Bosland said.

“We’re not sure why they call it that, but I think it’s because the chili is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it,” he said.

Bhut Jolokia comes in at 1,001,304 Scoville heat units, a measure of hotness for a chili. It is nearly twice as hot as Red Savina, the variety it replaces as the hottest.

By comparison, a New Mexico green chili contains about 1,500 Scoville units; an average jalapeno measures at about 10,000.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.