Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Devoted Chinese wife spends 11 years knitting husband a coat and hat using her own HAIR|中國好妻子 耗費11年將髮織成衣獻給丈夫


A Chinese woman has knitted a cardigan and matching hat out of her own hair.

Xiang Renxian, 60, pulled 116,058 strands of hair from her head - she counted every single one - and weaved it into the coat and cap. The 60-year-old from China's Chongqing province spent 11 years collecting hair and working on the clothing.

重慶一名60歲的項仁憲女士,她花了11年,用自己11萬多根頭髮,編織成一件大衣和一頂帽子。

Friday, January 24, 2014

What does YOUR train station taste like?|倫敦地鐵 = 美味饗宴?


Does your tube stop taste of apple pie, HP sauce or putrid meat? For James Wannerton these are just some of the strange tastes he experiences as he travels on the London Underground.

A journey on the Central Line for the 54-year-old will start off tasting of burnt bacon, and gradually change to taste of cheese, sausage, sprouts and cabbage water. And the tastes are very real. ‘They are all involuntary and cannot be "turned off" or "toned down",’ Mr Wannerton said.

That’s because Mr Wannerton, from Dollis Hill in North London, is one of an estimated two-and-a-half million people who suffer from gustatory auditory synaesthesia. This a cross-sensory neurological condition which means he can literally taste words.

The bad news for people in Mile End is their area tastes of fingernails. London Bridge tastes of lumpy mashed potato, West Hampstead of spam and chocolate and Covent Garden of digestives. ‘As a young child I used to travel to school on the London Underground and because of my synaesthesia, on each trip I experienced a taste and texture sensation of each station name,’ said Mr Wannerton. ‘I used to recognise where I was along the journey by taste just as much as by the actual location. ‘I did this every time I travelled on the Underground and it very soon became an involuntary and very automatic additional response to my general perception.’

While he can get tastes and textures from simply reading a station name, the ‘ambiance’ and appearance can also alter that experience. ‘The tastes are 100 per cent consistent in that they never change,’ said Mr Wannerton.

倫敦地鐵圖給人們帶來不少靈感,從音樂標識到人氣餐廳很多都借鑒了地鐵圖的交叉線。但你曾嚐過或想像過地鐵站的味道嗎?是香甜無比的蘋果派?還是瀰漫著腐肉的酸臭味?英國一名年屆五旬的James  Wannerton搭乘倫敦地鐵時,無需舔嚐便可知道月臺的滋味。每次地鐵呼嘯而過時,他便會不由自主地享受起這頓『地鐵盛宴』。月臺的名字一響起,他的腦中隨即浮現出多汁的烤培根、香濃的起士、香腸等食物的形象。這就是「聯覺synesthesia」,憑著這種神奇的能力, Wannerton勾勒出他嚐到的每個地鐵站的味道。


Friday, January 17, 2014

New year, new partner! January revealed as prime time for couples to break up|一月是適合分手的季節?


With a New Year comes resolutions: a more strenuous gym routine, no more doughnuts and... waving goodbye to your partner.

The latest research has revealed that January is the prime break-up period for relationships, with a fifth of those polled citing it as the most common month to end a relationship.

每到新的一年,人人都許下新希望:做更多的運動、少吃點甜甜圈,以及…揮別舊愛。

最近一項調查發現,一月是『黃金分手潮』。受訪的人當中,有一半以上一致認為一月是「最容易分手的月份」。


Developing countries want to FORCE rich countries to bail them out if they're hit by natural disasters|2013 華沙氣候大會「減碳目標談不攏,窮國富國誰承擔?」

Developing countries have called for legally-binding rules that force rich countries to provide money when they are affected by extreme weather events such as Typhoon Haiyan.

Currently, wealthy nations such as Britain offer donations following a natural disaster. But a group of nations came together to argue extreme events, such as droughts or typhoons, are becoming more frequent because of man-made global warming.

Brazil's representative called for countries which industrialised earlier - such as Britain - to bear the brunt of the financial burden because they have had higher greenhouse gas emissions for longer.

The issue has threatened to derail a fragile consensus at the two-week UN summit in Warsaw. The 191 nations addressed the idea of some members paying ‘compensation’ to poor countries for natural disasters. A group of 130 nations led by China even called for scientists to examine historical emissions dating back to the time of the industrial revolution in 1850.

全球氣候變遷造成自然災害頻發,誰該為氣候變化買單?過去30年,自然災害已經造成相當于2.96萬億歐元的損失,超過250萬人死亡,想必阻止全球暖化已是勢在必行。但聯合國的華沙氣候大會 (Cop),由於政治和經濟的種種考量,各國難以達成共識…。


Friday, January 3, 2014

Want to beat the winter chill? Drink decaf and point your toes in bed|冬天對抗嚴寒,專家提供12個小撇步報你知!



With the cold snap expected to last another week and energy prices soaring, it's harder than ever to keep warm and healthy. Medical experts for their quirky tips - with unexpected results.

隨著寒流一波波的來襲、能源價格又如此飛漲,現今比如果想隨時保持溫暖與健康比以往難上加難啊~ 快來看看醫學專家們意想不到的保暖小妙方吧!