A California appeals court ruling has just made parents who home schooled their kids criminals (if they don't have teaching credentials). Here's the story that sent a shockwave through the homeschooling movement:
The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home.
Some homeschoolers are affiliated with private or charter schools, like the Longs, but others fly under the radar completely. Many homeschooling families avoid truancy laws by registering with the state as a private school and then enroll only their own children.
Yet the appeals court said state law has been clear since at least 1953, when another appellate court rejected a challenge by homeschooling parents to California's compulsory education statutes. Those statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child's grade level.
"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. "Parents have a legal duty to see to their children's schooling under the provisions of these laws."
Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.
As a young boy, Dustin Carter contracted a rare blood disease that ultimately claimed his limbs - all four of them. He grew into a straight "F" student, until one day, he discovered wrestling:
Until eighth grade, when he found, of all things, wrestling. "I felt like at least he'd be out there practicing, participating with the kids, he'll probably never wrestle," his dad said.
But he did wrestle. And what happened? "I got beat pretty bad," he said. "Well, they just get out there and just throw him around on the mat," his dad said. Dustin lost about ever time he set his torso in the ring.
But the competition brought out a side of Dustin no one had ever seen before. "He's got heart. He's got the heart the size of a lion," said Dustin's coach, Nate Horne. "He can persevere through anything." "That's me. I'm a pretty determined person," Dustin said. "I'll sit at something and sit at it for hours until I get it."
Over the years, Dustin trained hard. "I worked out a lot." By all accounts he became a model of self-discipline. His grades went up and he actually started winning. Winning more than anyone, other than Dustin, could have ever imagined.
A fascinating story, as reported by CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman: Link - via metafilter
Look closely at this Tokyo office above: it's designed with partitions that you have to step over like in a submarine! I can only think of one reason they made it that way: to weed out the klutzy employees! http://www.nendo.jp/en/works/detail.php?y=2007 - via Core77
According to scientists, Wim Hof should be dead for doing the following: running a half-marathon in the Arctic Circle in his bare feet, climbing the Everest in his shorts, and diving under the ice at the North Pole.
Here's a fascinating story about a 48-year-old Dutchman nicknamed "The Ice Man" for his uncanny ability of withstanding fatally freezing temperatures:
Normally, when a person is exposed to freezing temperatures for a prolonged period of time, the body goes into survival mode, as its liquids begin to freeze.
Frostbite sets in, and in order to save the major organs, the body sacrifices blood flow to the extremities, cutting circulation from the fingers, toes, ears and nose to keep the blood flowing to the organs necessary for survival.
If not treated immediately, the damage to these extremities is irreversible. The other danger is hypothermia, an abnormally low body temperature. At about 90 degrees, body functions start shutting down, and once that starts, you could be dead within minutes.
But Hof stayed in his tomb of ice for one hour and 12 minutes. Then, the ice was poured out of the tank, and Hof emerged, his skin still pink.
"He's not moving, he's not generating heat, he's not dressed for it, and he's immersed in ice water. And water will transmit heat 30 times faster than air. It literally sucks the life right out of you. And yet, despite all those negative factors, Wim Hof was very calm, very comfortable the entire time that he was immersed in that water," Kamler said.
The bibliophile in me love this simple yet inviting "Bookseat" by design firm fishbol (but I certainly don't love the auto-play music on their website's homepage) - via MoCo Loco
The Famous One Log House is a one-bedroom house hollowed out from a single log that came from a 2,100-year old redwood tree:
After felling this 13 foot diameter forest giant, Art Schmock and a helper needed 8 months of hard labor to hollow out the log into a room 7 ft. high and 32 ft. long, weighing about 42 tons.
Wow - this is such a blast from the past! You can play the top 100 greatest classic 8-bit Nintendo games straight from your browser (game runs as Java app)
I had (too much) fun re-living Tetris again: http://nintendo8.com/toplist/more/ - via Look at This
We've all thought of going on a quest - you know a real adventure - one day. Well, this is one guy's quest to be an arcade champion. He's going to play all 4,000 arcade games listed in the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game and Pinball Book of World Records.
So far, he's up to Astro Blaster and has a loooong way to go!
We've featured master LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya many times on Neatorama before, but we've never seen his building process.
Until now, in this clip, Sawaya built a bust of Master Chief from the popular video game series Halo. He said that it was his most-requested object these days.
Gizmodo has the video clip: Link [embedded YouTube, the fun starts about 1:20 into it] - Thanks Justin!
We've come a long way in bridge building since crossing a river on a fallen log. The first bridges were built with wooden planks, ropes and stones. Soon, stronger material were required. Wood and stone bridges gave way to iron, then to steel ones. Bridge building techniques also evolved: beam, cantilevered, cable-stayed, and suspension bridges - each with advantages that made it the right choice for a particular location.
Political fortunes and wars have been made or lost by bridges. Throughout history, bridges had been built by engineers and burned by warriors, and crossed by kings and commoners alike. Millions of people owe their livelihood to bridges, as most require them to commute; and yet thousands of people choose to end their lives by jumping off them every year.
Bridges are stylish: from classical to modern, they are as much a work of art as they are marvels of engineering. To celebrate the wonders of "classic" bridges, here are Neatorama's picks for the Top 10 Most Beautiful Bridges in the World:
The Khaju Bridge (Pol-e-Khajoo) in Isfahan, Iran, was built in the 17th century by Shah Abbas II. The bridge also serves as a dam, with sluice gates under the archways. When the gates are closed, the water level behind the bridge is raised to irrigate gardens alongside the Zayandeh River.
The Khoju Bridge has two stories of arcades, marked by the distinctive intersecting arches decorated with richly colored tiles. At the center of the bridge, there are two large pavilions, called the Prince Parlors, that were originally reserved for the Shah.
Pont du Gard, an aqueduct spanning the Gard River in southern France, is a masterpiece of Roman engineering. It wasn't built to transport people (though there is a pedestrian footbridge on it) - instead, it was part of a complex aqueduct system that carried water over 30 miles (about 50 km) to the ancient Roman city of Nemausus (now Nîmes).
The Pont du Gard was built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63 - 12 BC), the son-in-law of Caesar Augustus. The bridge's stones, some of which weigh up to 6 tons, were cut perfectly to fit together without any mortar.
The wedge-shaped stones, known as voussoirs, were arranged in three levels, the top-most being the water conduit. So precise was the engineering that the entire system descends only 56 ft. (17 m) vertically - over 30 miles! - to deliver 5 million gallons (20,00 m3) of water to the city.
In the 19th century, Lord Byron named a Venetian limestone bridge across the Rio di Palazzo connecting the Doge's prison to the interrogation room in the main palace, the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri). Supposedly, the prisoners would sigh when they look out the window - with stone bars no less - to see their last view of beautiful Venice before their imprisonment, torture or execution.
In reality, Doge's prison held mostly small-time criminals. Also, the bridge was built in 1600 by Antonio Contino, after the days of the inquisitions and summary executions. Legend has it that if lovers kissed on a gondola underneath the Bridge of Sighs at sunset, their love would last for eternity.
Iron bridge at night. Notice how the bridge and its reflection make a perfect circle. Photo: Mark Haythorne [Flickr]
The Iron Bridge, spanning the Severn river in Shropshire, England, isn't a particularly large or ornate bridge, but it does have something that made it unique: it's the first bridge made completely out of cast iron.
In the 18th century, Shropshire was rich in iron and coal - indeed, there were more iron factories within two-mile radius of the town than any other city in the world. It was also there that iron was first smelt with coke. So it was only natural that the bridge would be made out of iron, a stronger alternative to wood. (Photo of the railing: zorro [Flickr])
Architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard proposed a single arch bridge that would let boats pass underneath, but he died before the bridge was built. The construction of the Iron Bridge was carried out by a local master ironworker named Abraham Darby III. About 400 tons (363 tonnes) of cast iron was used, with about 800 separate castings. The Iron Bridge has 5 arch ribs, each cast in two halves. It only took three months to put the parts together (which they did using screws instead of bolts!).
The ease and speed of the Iron Bridge's construction helped convince engineers of the versatility and strength of iron, and helped usher in the Industrial Revolution era. Darby, however, didn't fare so well: he severely underestimated the cost to build the bridge, and remained in debt for the rest of his life. (Source)
6. Covered Bridges
The West Montrose Covered Bridge on the Grand River, Ontario, Canada. It's known locally as the Kissing Bridge. Photo: gojumeister [Flickr]
Pisgah Covered Bridge in southern Randolph County, North Carolina. It was washed away by a flood in 2003, but rebuilt with 90% of the original wood. It's now one of two historic covered bridges left in the state. Photo: jimmywayne22 [Flickr]
Thomas Malone Covered Bridge in Beaver Creek State Park, Ohio. Photo: c0reyann [Flickr]
Covered bridges are simply that: bridges that have enclosed sides and roof. Though technically the Bridge of Sigh, Ponte Vecchio, and the Wind and Rain Bridges in this list are covered bridges, this term usually means simple, single-lane bridges in rural settings.
Before they are made famous by the 1995 Clint Eastwood film The Bridges of Madison County, "kissing bridges" or "tunnels of love" have been the pride and joy of many small towns across Europe and especially Northern America where more than ten thousands of such bridges were built.
In the 19th century, timber was plentiful and cheap (or, in many cases, free). So it's natural that these bridges were made of wood. But why were they covered? Well, lovers aside, the real reason was much more practical: the wooden beams of the bridge lasted longer when protected from the elements.
Unfortunately, due to neglect, theft of lumber, vandalism, and fire, most covered bridges in the United States and Canada have disappeared.
The Ponte Vecchio is a medieval bridge over the Arno River. Actually, it's much more than a bridge - it's a street, a marketplace, and a landmark of Florence, Italy.
The Ponte Vecchio that we know today was built in 1345 by Taddeo Gaddi after an older span was destroyed in a flood. To finance the bridge, lots along the roadway were rented out to merchants, especially butchers and tanners, to hawk their wares.
In 1565, Duke Cosimo I de Medici ordered an architect named Giorgio Vasari to construct a roofed passageway. Soon after, jewelers, goldsmiths, and merchants of luxury goods pushed out the butchers out of Ponte Vecchio. Centuries of haphazard additions gave the bridge's distinctive, irregular appearance today.
During World War II, after having survived many floods, the bridge faced its gravest threat: German bombers were blowing up bridges in Florence. It was a direct order from Hitler that spared Ponte Vecchio from certain destruction.
It is said that the word "bankruptcy" came from Ponte Vecchio. When a merchant failed to pay his debt, the table ("banco") he used to sell his wares was broken ("rotto") by soldiers. Not having a table anymore ("bancorotto"), meant the seller was bankrupt.
The wind and rain bridges were a type of bridge built by the Dong people (a minority ethnic group) in China. Because they live in the lowlands and the valleys with many rivers, the Dong people are excellent bridge builders. They are called "wind and rain" bridges because the covered bridges not only let people cross the river, but also protect them from the elements.
The Dong people don't use nails or rivets to build these bridges - instead, they dovetail all of the wood. The largest and most magnificent is the Chenyang Bridge, spanning the Linxi River near the Dong village of Maan. The bridge is about 100 years old, and like all wind and rain bridges, it was built without a single nail.
Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise. Photo: LemonSunrise [Flickr]
In 1855, engineer John Roebling started to design a bridge that at the time would be the longest suspension bridge in the world, with towers being the tallest structures in the Western Hemisphere: the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the main crossings of the East River and one of the most heavily trafficked bridges in the world. But in the late 19th century, it took Roebling more than 14 years to convince the city to build the bridge.
After he got approval, Roebling was surveying a site when his foot was crushed by a ferry. Three weeks before the scheduled groundbreaking, he died of tetanus. His son, an engineer named Washington Roebling took over the project.
In 1872, while working on caissons to set the foundation for the towers, Washington fell ill with caisson disease (a decompression sickness commonly known as "the bends") that left him barely able to see, talk, or write. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, rose to the occasion - she learned engineering on the fly and for nine years went to the job site to deliver her husband's directions. Washington himself was said to watch the construction from his room through a binocular.
When the Brooklyn Bridge was opened, Emily was honored with the first ride over the bridge. She held a rooster, a symbol of victory, in her lap. Washington himself rarely visited the bridge till his death in 1926.
One interesting note about the Brooklyn Bridge: it stood fast while other bridges built around the same time had crumbled. Engineers credit Roebling for designing a bridge and truss system six times as strong as he thought it needed to be!
2. Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge at twilight. Photo: Diliff [wikipedia]
It's funny to think about ancient traffic jams, but that was why the Tower Bridge in London, England was built. By the end of the 19th century, the development of the eastern part of London caused such a load on the London Bridge that the city decided to build a new bridge.
Construction of the Tower Bridge started in 1886, led by architect Sir Horace Jones and engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry. The design was a bascule (draw) bridge with two towers built on piers, so the bridge wouldn't interefere with the port facilities nearby.
A year after construction was started, Jones died and his replacement, George D. Stevenson along with Barry decided to modify the design a little bit. Instead of the original brick facade design, the Tower Bridge had a more ornate Victorian Gothic style meant to harmonize it with the nearby Tower of London.
When the bridge opened in 1894, the public was aghast. H. Heathcote Statham, Fellow of the Royal Insitute of British Architect, wrote the familiar sentiment as thus: "The Tower Bridge ... represents the vice of tawdriness and pretentiousness, and of falsification of the actual facts of the structure." (Source: Waddell, J., Bridge Engineering, Google Books)
But over time, people warmed up to the bridge. Indeed, the Tower Bridge grew to be one of London's most recognizable landmarks. Even one of its loudest critics, architectural critic Eric de Maré conceded: the British people "have grown fond of the old fraud ... and we must admit that it has carried on its task with admirable regularity and efficiency." (Source: Dupré, J., Bridges; 1997 Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers)
1. Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge in HDR as the first big storm of the season hits San Francisco. Photo: vgm8383 [Flickr]
Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. Photo: mischiru [Flickr]
Golden Gate Bridge at night. Photo: justinwyne [Flickr]
The Golden Gate Bridge is such an iconic symbol of San Francisco (and of suspension bridge in general) that it's hard to imagine a time when it didn't exist. But before it was built, most people thought it was an impossible task.
In 1916, the idea of a bridge to cross the Golden Gate, a narrow strait that separated San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Headlands, was conceived. Though it was almost immediately dismissed as the cost was estimated to be $100 million (astronomical for the time), a veteran bridge builder named Joseph Strauss lobbied for more than two decades to have it built.
The Golden Gate Bridge faced tough opposition: the Department of War thought it would interfere with ship traffic and the Southern Pacific Railroad opposed it as competition to its ferry service. At first, even the public didn't like the bridge ... because Strauss' original design was deemed too ugly! But Strauss finally won, and after 22-years of drumming up support, the bridge was built. (Photo: SF Museum)
Strauss insisted that the project take worker's safety seriously. It was the first major bridge project that used hard hats and a safety net. During the course of construction, 19 people were saved by the net to become members of the Halfway to Hell Club. (Source)
The color of the Golden Gate Bridge is actually not red - it's an orange vermillion called International Orange. The color was chosen specifically because it complements the bridge's natural surrounding yet enhances its visibility in the fog.
Construction took more than four years, at a cost of $27 million. The Golden Gate Bridge actually came in $1.3 million under budget (though 5 months late). For his work, Strauss got $1 million ... and a lifetime bridge pass!
We'll be the first to acknowledge that this list is far from complete. Modern beauties like the Millau Viaduct, the Erasmusbrug, or the Tsing Ma Bridge aren't on it. (Well, we did say "classic" bridges ...)
Nor is this the only "top 10 bridges" list on the Web. Though many of our picks are the same, there are enough differences between this list and others (like Frikoo's 18 Stunning Bridges From Around the World, and Dark Roasted Blend's World's Most Interesting Bridges Part 1 and Part 2) that you should also check them out.
Finally, there are thousands of bridges in the world and hundreds of major bridges that are sources for local prides. If your town's favorite span isn't included here, please don't get mad. Instead, let us know in the comment so interested readers can find them.
The day started like any other for Wang Jianxin, but it certainly ended extraordinarily. The 52-year-old construction worker was digging a ditch when without warning the wall caved in and burying him alive.
He would have certainly died if not for his hat, the power of positive thinking, and Buddhist meditation techniques:
The rim of his helmet had, by chance, trapped a tiny pocket of air around his face. Mr Wang knew that if he panicked and his breathing accelerated he might use up that little amount of oxygen before rescuers could reach him. He forced himself to be calm.
“I had my back to the wall and didn’t know it was falling until it was on top of me. It was suddenly dark and I realised what had happened and found that there was a small air pocket in front of me,” Mr Wang said. That was when the Buddhist turned to meditation to control his intake of oxygen. “I knew it would not last, so I made myself relax and concentrated on slowing down my breathing by meditation.” Above ground, workers were scrabbling through the earth to try to bring Mr Wang to the surface alive. Construction workers and a uniformed rescue team clawed away the earth with their hands until they found Mr Wang’s helmet.
It took two hours but finally they pulled out Mr Wang alive from the earth that could have been his muddy grave.
Doctors were astounded, saying that a person could normally not live longer than five minutes in a similar sealed space. One local doctor said: “It’s a miracle that he’s alive after being buried for two hours.”
Until 1973, the American Psychiatric Association defined homosexuality as a mental illness.
The APA listed homosexuality as a mental illness in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II), a guide book that list different categories of mental disorders and criteria for diagnosing them. In 1973, they removed homosexuality and replaced it with "sexual orientation disturbance."
The present DSM-IV also does not list homosexuality as a mental disorder, but still has "Sexual Disorder Not Otherwise Specified" as a diagnosis for someone with "...persistent and marked distress about sexual orientation." (Source: Healthieryou.com, Photo: Bonkersinstitute.org)
Yay for Florida! The annual Daytona's Bike Week in the Sunshine State came complete with ... coleslaw wrestling!
The First-Ever Sopotnik's Cabbage Patch Slaw Wrestling Tournament, held in Samsula on Wednesday before a crowd of 1,000 people displaying more than 5,000 tattoos, was not without its surprises.
Like when three contestants - all large, mean-looking women covered with equal parts coleslaw and sweat and a dab of blood here and there for effect - grabbed one of the judges, dragged him into the wrestling pit, ripped off his britches and waved his underwear in the air.
Here's a neat report by the Orlando Sentinel: Link | Photo Gallery (Photo: Jacob Langston)
It's like the one-legged chicken story we saw before on Neatorama, but this time it's with a duck:
Lemon the duck was hatched two years ago in Laura Backman's kindergarten class in Portsmough, Rhode Island. Sadly, it couldn't walk because of a neurological disorder. But the kids have an idea:
Backman and her students brainstormed and came up with the idea for a little duck scooter.
You could say Lemon is one lucky duck. Not only did Backman adopt her, but the diapered duck lives in Backman's home and comes to school with her every day.
