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Underwater Temple of Lake Titicaca

Underwater Temple of Lake Titicaca

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Many mysteries and legends shroud the shores of this high alpine lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Not only is Lake Titicaca the highest navigable lake in South America, it is the world’s largest mountain lake at 3,200 square miles (8,288 sq. km), and the second deepest alpine lake with a depth of 1,000 feet (305 m). Lake Titicaca has been a sacred body of water to South America’s indig­enous people since pre-Inca times. According to Indian lore, the legendary god Viracocha arose from Lake Titicaca and went to Tiahuanaco to create the first Andean human being. It was long rumored that sunken temple existed at the bottom of the lake, and these rumors were substantiated when modern scien­tists explored its depths. 

Scholars have long been intrigued by tales of ancient palaces seen by fisher­men during dry spells when the lake level dropped, or of local Indians diving down and touching the roofs of stone buildings. Even early Spanish chroniclers recorded Inca stories of a great flood long ago and ruins on the lake bottom. Stories of the lost treasure were enough to draw the famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to explore the lake. However, he discovered only ancient pottery.

In 1967, a scientific expedition authorized by the Bolivian government began exploring the depths of Lake Titicaca. National Geographic also launched an expedition in 1988. The ruins of an ancient temple have been found by international archaeologists under Lake Titicaca, the world's highest lake. More than 200 dives were made into the lake, to depths of as much as 30m (100ft), to record the ruins on film. The divers found high walls covered in mud and slime and eaten away by the brackish water. Not far from the shore, a number of paved paths led into the lake and connected to a large, crescent-shaped base. The finely cut stone paths, numbering 30 in all, were set with great precision into the ground in a parallel formation.

Divers went as deep as 30m explore the ruins

Another expedition in the year 2000 located and documented a 660-foot (200-m) by 160-foot (50-m) temple after following a submerged road, almost twice the size of an average football pitch in an area of the lake near Copacabana town. To date, no conclusive answers have been given as to who may have built the monuments before they sank. A terrace for crops, a long road and an 800-metre (2,600 feet) long wall was also found under the waters of the lake, sited in the Andes mountains between Bolivia and Peru. Dating back 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, the ruins are pre-Incan. The Incas also regarded the lake as the birthplace of their civilization, and in their myth, the Children of The Sun emerged out of the waters.

"They have been attributed to the indigenous Tiwanaku or Tiahuanaco people", said Lorenzo Epis, the Italian scientist leading the Atahuallpa 2000 scientific expedition. The complete findings of the 30-member team, backed by the scientific group Akakor Geographical Exploring. The lake has long drawn fascination with various legends around it, including one of an underwater city called Wanaku and another of Inca gold lost by the Spanish. The research involved 10 scientists from Italy, 10 from Brazil, five Bolivians, two Germans and a Romanian.

On May 28 2002 National Geographic News reported on the many recent discoveries underwater on the coastal shelves around the world :
"Ancient stories of massive floods pass from generation to generation and in many places in the world are integral to a people's spoken history. The tales differ by locale, but commonly feature either torrential rains or a hugely destructive wall of water bursting into a valley, destroying everything in its path. In many cases, the flooding is an act of retribution by displeased gods. Scientists, historians, and archaeologists view many of these enduring tales as myth, legend, or allegoric tales meant to illustrate moral principles. Recent findings indicate that at least a few of them could be based on real floods that caused destruction on an enormous scale."

The lower altitude terraces where corn could still grow are still at a level above Lake Titicaca. This means that the "pre-historic" peoples cultivating corn "lived" in the area "before" and "after" the numerous necessarily cataclysmic crustal deformations and uplifts that raised the Andes. The cataclysmic uplifts caused the terraces where the corn "was" successfully cultivated to be raised to an altitude where the corn would not grow. As the mountains rose cataclysmically the peoples terraced their cornfields successively lower down the mountainsides. There is a stone causeway leading "out" of Lake Titicaca. It has been speculated by some of your archaeologists that the area used to be at sea level and the causeway led out to the Pacific ocean. The causeway now leads out of the lake to nowhere at 9000 feet altitude.

There are stone "ruins" more "ancient" than the stone causeway leading out of Lake Titicaca. These "ruins" are buried under six feet of "sediment" on the shallow "bottom" of Lake Titicaca. The sediment contains "pre-historic" (more ancient than 12,000 B.C.) sea shell fossils. There was not enough topsoil on the peaks surrounding Lake Titicaca to have "eroded" down and "covered" these "ancient" ruins with six feet of sediment.

The six feet of sediment covering the "ancient ruins" around and under the present "water level" of Lake Titicaca was probably deposited by the "Biblical Flood" before the existence of Lake Titicaca. The huge Flood happened "pre-historically" when the land around Lake Titicaca was closer to sea level.

(Sources : Sacred Places Around The World : “108 Destinations” by Brad Olsen; http://www.thule.org/titicaca.html;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/892616.stm;
http://www.morien-institute.org/uwnewsarchive.html)

(Pics sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Titicaca_map.png;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/892616.stm)

Burt Munro

Herbert James 'Burt' Munro, (Bert in his youth) (25 March 1899 – 6 January 1978) was a New Zealand 

motorcycle racer, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record, at Bonneville, 26 August 1967. This record still stands today. Munro was 68 and was riding a 47-year old machine when he set his last record.

Working from his home in Invercargill, he worked for 20 years to highly modify the 1920 Indian motorcycle which he had bought in 1920. Munro set his first New Zealand speed record in 1938 and later set seven more. He travelled to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats, attempting to set world speed records. During his ten visits to the salt flats, he set three speed records, one of which still stands today. His efforts, and success, are the basis of the motion picture The World's Fastest Indian (2005), starring Anthony Hopkins, and an earlier 1971 short documentary film Burt Munro: Offerings to the God of Speed,both directed by Roger Donaldson.

Challenges

A replica of the 1920 Indian (with half the exterior removed to show detail) that Burt Munro used to set his record in 1967

Munro's Indian Scout was very early off the production line, being only the 627th Scout to leave the American factory. The bike had an original top speed of 55 mph (89 km/h). But this did not satisfy Munro so in 1926 he decided to start modifying his beloved Indian.

The biggest two challenges for Munro to overcome while modifying his bike were his lack of money and the fact that he worked full time as a motorcycle salesman. He would often work overnight on his bikes (he had a 1936 Velocette MSS as well), then in the morning, he would go to work, having had no sleep the night before.

Because Munro was a man of modest means, he would often make parts and tools himself instead of having them professionally built. For example, he would cast parts in old tins, make his own barrels, pistons, flywheels, etc. His micrometer (a precision measuring instrument) was an old spoke.

In its final stages, the Indian's displacement was 950 cc (as built it was 600 cc) and was driven by a triple chain drive system.

The "Munro Special," as Munro called his bike, is now owned by a motorcycle enthusiast in New Zealand's South Island, and is on display at E Hayes & Sons, Invercargill. There is also a second motorcycle purported to be the original "Munro Special" in America.

Bonneville Salt Flats and Speed Week

The Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah, are known worldwide for their many miles of flat, compacted salt, perfect for testing speed machines. DuringSpeed Week, usually in mid-late August, vehicle enthusiasts from around the world gather at Bonneville.

Munro travelled to Bonneville ten times, the first time for "sightseeing" purposes. In the nine times he raced at Bonneville, Munro set three world records, in 1962, 1966 and 1967. He also once qualified at over 200 mph (320 km/h), but that was an unofficial run, and was not counted.

Following the mis-spelling of his name in an American motorcycling magazine in 1957, Bert Munro changed his name to Burt.

Records

• In 1962, he set a world record of 288 km/h (178.95 mph) with his engine bored out to 850 cc (52 cubic inches)
• In 1966, he set a world record of 270.476 km/h (168.066 mph)
• In 1967, his engine was bored out to 950 cc (58 cubic inches) and he set a class record of 295.44 km/h (183.58 mph). To qualify he made a one-way run of 305.89 km/h (190.07 mph), the fastest-ever officially-recorded speed on an Indian.The unofficial speed record (officially timed) is 331 km/h (205.67 mph) for a flying mile.
• In 2006, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year. Any month's 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.

Hot Dogs - History and Legends of Hot Dogs

Also called frankfurters, frank, weenie, wienie, wiener, dog, and red hot. A cooked sausage that consists of a combination of beef and pork or all beef, which is cured, smoked, and cooked. Seasonings may include coriander, garlic, ground mustard, nutmeg, salt, sugar, and white pepper. They are fully cooked but are usually served hot. Sizes range from big dinner frankfurters to tiny cocktail size.

Hot dogs are among America's favorite foods. Every year, Americans consume on average 60 hot dogs! Hot dogs are primarily regarded as a fun, summertime food, and most are eaten between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

9th Century B.C.

850 - Sausage is one of the oldest forms of processed food, having been mentioned in Homer's Odyssey (an ancient Greek tale of adventure and heroism). Following is the line from the book.........

Tribal mark

There is no gain saying that Africa is distinct among the other continents in the world, being culturally blessed. One of the cultural practices in some African countries today is the act of putting tribal mark on the face of their children to identify their races, ethnic groups and cultural background. Today, African citizens can recognise themselves anywhere in the world by the kind of mark(s) on their faces. In Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria, various kinds of marks abound. Some are in straight line, some in diagonal form while some are in group, among others.

As much as tribal mark has cultural and beautification advantages, there is more to it than the beauty it adds to the face of a child. Many are arguing that such marks often disgrace them and make them to be shy in the public. Those that are crime inclined often abhor tribal marks because it can easily help in identify them among others in the public.

Given the numerous ethnic groups that exist on the populous continent, one of the best-documented reasons for scarification in Africa was for the purpose of identifying people. In a comprehensive account of the Yoruba people of Nigeria,Samuel Johnson includes twenty-four face sketches with different types of Yoruba marks and then describes each of these patterns as marks that were used to distinguish members of Yoruba royal families.

Scarification can cause different types of marks, depending on factors including but not limited to the tools and techniques used, factors related to skin healing, and the types of substances introduced to the wound. There is speculation and different theories about how the different types of marks were produced.

 Scars can be raised or indented, globular or linear, through the use of different tools. To make a raised, globular scar, a hook…is used to hook into the skin and pull it upwards so that it can be cut across with a blade. As the skin heals a round, raised scar is produced. Indented scars are often made using nails or blades to cut into the skin and something cut a thin strip out of the skin. These are usually linear scars.

To produce a raised scar as opposed to a flat or sunken scar, a special technique was used by the people living in the East and middle regions of Nigeria; raised cuts were made by “making the lines of cuts on the body or face, then stretching them open and inserting pads of palm leaf or other padding beneath the skin. Soot or oil is rubbed in and the treatment is repeated until the keloids or ‘beauty berries’ have attained the desired size and protrusion.

In terms of tools used, the Igbo of Nigeria use a triangular-shaped razor called ugelle or uche . In Northern Nigeria, such as among the Dakari, some markers have adopted nails turned into knives by forging their sharp ends to form blades. The Tiv people of Nigeria call their knives 'kusa' a razor which comes from the word for nail. In Benin, sharp glass is used and in other areas, people use pen knives or butcher's knives. The Yoruba use a knife or abe with thin handles or tails, usually 2-3 inches long, with a semi-circular blade. They were also known to use a “special Y-shaped, double-bladed knife to make intricate tattoo cicatrice designs. Another tool used by the Yoruba was a “cutting edge [which] was indented in the middle, thus giving the blade two sharp angles with which the incisions were made.

The tools and materials used, then, apparently have an effect on the type of scar that forms. Another perspective on the characteristics of the scars that result states that,

scarification involves cutting or incising the skin and then manipulating the cicatrisation process by introducing ink, ashes, or other substances into the still open wound. Once these wounds heal, they leave more or less pronounced scars.

A study was conducted in Oyo and Akinyele local governments in western Nigeria. Three communities were randomly selected from each of the local governments.The areas were chosen because of the prevalence of the culture of having facial marks and ease of access.

G e n e r a l l y, people want to be associated with accepted norms and practices of in their society, be it for the purposes of identification, enhancement of beauty, or other reasons. It is therefore understandable that some of the respondents had facial marks because they wanted to be identified with the tradition of the people (including those that were naturalised) or their

royal lineage. However, investigation revealed some of the respondents were indifferent because they believed that the marks were permanent and nothing could be done to remove them and were therefore resigned to fate. It is therefore likely that more respondents would have opted to remove their facial marks if they were aware that marks could be removed.This is an indication of ignorance among some members of the communities.

All Fool's Day

All Fool's Day, also known as April Fool's Day, is celebrated annually on the first day of April. It is a time for the traditional playing of pranks upon unsuspecting people...the victim of such a prank being called an April Fool.....