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To
deter people from "train surfing," where they sit on the roofs
of carriages, Indonesian authorities resorted to knocking 'em off with
concrete balls!
Previous attempts to deter roof riders included spraying roofs with paint, spreading oil on carriages and hiring musicians to perform safety songs.
Correspondents say those initiatives have failed. Officials hope that the latest move will prove to be the ultimate deterrent.
Previously on Neatorama: Indonesians to Spray Train Roof Riders, Lying on Train Tracks is a Folk Remedy
These frogs aren’t going to give up their legs lightly. Species of frog are rapidly evolving adaptations, such as the small fangs they’ve grown, on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, and scientists are amazed by how far they’ve come in such a short period of time. One reason is their lack of competition on the island, another reason being the frogs that live on the island all dwell within their own individual pocket, so as to avoid further rivalry over food. Nine species of frogs on Sulawesi have never been documented by scientist before, and thirteen species have developed the cute little choppers, making them look like something out of a Twilight-Muppets crossover. There’s lots more to read on the subject at PhysOrg.com.
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While this little guy might not be in a mask like the others, I love this little guy’s fashion statement. Be sure to check out the rest of the cuties at the link.
Photographer David Slater had his picture taken by a crested black macaque in an Indonesian national park when the curious little critter figured out how to trigger the shutter release button on his tripod mounted camera. Soon, it seemed as if the monkeys actually knew that they were on to something, and they continued to snap shot after shot, showing an intelligence and problem solving ability macaques had been assumed not to possess. What’s next for the shutterbug macaque, a job directing in Hollywood?
Russian photographer Dmitry Ivanov visited the Ijen volcano complex in Indonesia took pictures of people mining fresh sulfur deposits there. He writes (as rendered by Google Translate) of the hazards experienced by the workers:
The best remedy for the treatment of depression of office – to organize tours to the crater Idzhena: and a secretary and bookkeeper, and even the janitor miner immediately fell in love with my profession!
Part 1 (Google Translate) and Part 2 (Google Translate) via Geekosystem
The largest volcanic event in recorded history was the Mount Tambora eruption in 1815, which spewed so much rock and ash that the following year was known as “the Year Without a Summer.” But that was small compared the the Toba Event, in which a volcano in Northern Sumatra erupted 73,000 years ago and spewed out 28 times as much debris -and may have wiped out most of the human population of the earth.
As the volcano erupted it deposited 6 meters of ash on parts of Malaysia and a 15 centimetres thick ash layer over the entire Indian subcontinent, and acid rain fell for years. The temperature of the planet fell abruptly 3–5°C and according to some (based on ice cores for Greenland) it jump -started the next global ice age.
It just so happens that this massive environmental catastrophe coincides with evidence for a massive human population decline resulting in a genetic bottleneck. According to the Toba catastrophe theory the resulting 6 to 10 year volcanic winter destroyed most of the vegetation in the area where humans would have been living and may have reduced the population to as few a 1000 breeding pairs.
There is some good evidence for this genetic bottleneck, and many geneticists feel that evidence suggests that all living humans, despite apparent variety, descend from a very small population, perhaps between 1,000 to 10,000 breeding pairs dating to about 70,000 years ago. It is also known that Eastern African chimpanzee, Bornean orangutan, central Indian macaque, and tigers, all recovered from population bottelnecks dating to around the same time. All of which would seem to fit neatly with the Toba super volcano event and the Toba catastrophe theory.
But as it always is in science nothing is neat or easy, and contradictory evidence is just as strong.
Today, what’s left of the volcano is a huge, beautiful, water-filled crater called Lake Toba. But it’s still a volcano, and may yet erupt again. Read more about it at Atlas Obscura. Link
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People in the Indonesian village of Tuban like to eat “ampo” — a snack literally made from dirt:
Although there is no medical evidence, villagers believe the soil snacks are an effective pain-killer and pregnant women are encouraged to eat them as it is believed to refine the skin of the unborn baby.
There is no real recipe: makers of the snack use a wooden stick to pound the soil into a hard, solid mass.
Rolls of dirt are then scraped off the with a bamboo dagger, baked and smoked in large clay pot for half and hour and then they’re ready to serve.
The food is said to have a “cool, creamy texture.”
Link and Gallery via The Presurfer | Photo: Reuters
31-year-old Andi Susanto of Jakarta, Indonesia, received compensation from a tobacco company after a cigarette exploded in his face and knocked out six of his teeth while he was riding his motorcycle.
A spokesman for Clas Mild cigarettes, the brand Mr Susanto had been smoking, said there were no plans for a recall.
“We are communicating with the police and still waiting on the forensic laboratory tests,” Iwan Sulistyo told the Jakarta Globe.
Susanto accepted the settlement, and said he was planning to give up smoking anyway. Link -Thanks actor212!
Refuse collector, Kota, Batavia, Jakarta, Indonesia. in Indonesia
Martin Broomfield of 360 Cities took this panorama of a garbage collector/recycler in Jakarta, Indonesia, sitting down surveying his kingdom of recyclables.
It was typical to see garbage men pushing carts (like one behind the guy) filled with mounds of bags of aluminum cans and recyclable plastics when was living there more than 15 years ago. I wasn’t surprised that nothing much has changed.
If the embeddable player above doesn’t work for you, go here: Link – Thanks Jeffrey Martin!
