First up,some things that won’t surprise you about the Swiss people: they make some of the finest chocolates and watches in the world. They’re mad about Nespresso. Their meals revolve around cheese. And everyone in Switzerland rides trains. Now, some things that will surprise you: James Bond‘s mother is Swiss. Every citizen is required by law to own a bomb shelter or access to one. And the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon was the Swiss Bertrand Piccard.

Well, so much for that! What I really want to share is this interesting news I’ve read on The Telegraph.

In Zurich, a 120-year-old building is being relocated in its entirety using hydraulics and railways tracks in order to save it from demolition.

The operation to translocate the 6,200 tonne former factory began on Tuesday with two hydraulic pressers, 500 rollers and six sections of railway line being utilised to help push the building roughly 60 metres to the west at speeds of around three to five metres per hour.

According to the company paying for the operation, the project to move the 80 metre long and 12 metre wide building is the largest Switzerland and Europe has ever seen.

The Machine Factory Oerlikon (MFO) building was facing demolition in 2010 due to the expansion of nearby railway lines but it was saved when the Swiss real estate company, Swiss Prime Site (SPS), decided to buy it.

The relocation is expected to take two days, and on Wednesday night (May 23) the building will have reached its new site. Here’s a video report from IBTimes TV:

Watch:

Post from: Daily Contributor

Video: Massive Swiss building relocated in its entirety

I’m more of a dog person than a cat person, but this news is just plain awesome.

A cat cafe has recently opened in Vienna, Austria, where customers can have food and drinks while playing with their feline friends.

The Cafe Neko (“Neko” meaning “cat” in Japanese) was the brainchild of Takako Ishimitsu, a 47-year-old woman who originally hails from Nagoya, Japan, where cat cafes are common.

“Showing unknown Japanese concepts is good for Austria,” Ishimitsu said. “I had various ideas, and the cat cafe project was the least difficult to realize. And at the same time, I can do something good for the Vienna animal shelter which I have been supporting for years.”

The establishment, which has 50 seats, has been an instant hit with locals and tourists alike.

Watch:

Post from: Daily Contributor

How do you feel about sharing your dining space with a few feline friends?

A 47-year-old woman is now facing possible charges of sexual assault and illegal restraint after allegedly demanding too much sex from her one-night-stand partner.

German news site The Province reports that a man in Munich allegedly had to flee to the police after a sex-hungry woman (not pictured) refused to let him leave her apartment.

The unnamed man, 43, said he met the woman in a bar and they both agreed to casual sex on Monday night. But when the poor fellow had had enough, she prevented him from escaping and demanded even more sex from him.

“Because the man saw no other alternative, he complied with the woman’s wishes another few times so he could finally leave the apartment,” a police spokesman said in a statement.

But when she continued to refuse, the man fled to the balcony and used his cell phone to call the police who rescued him after.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Man calls police after partner demands too much sex

J&D’s Foods, the Seattle-based company best known for their bacon-themed products, is selling what they call the world’s first bacon coffin.

The unusual casket is made of 18-gauge gasketed steel painted with a bacon and pork motif. The interior has an adjustable bed and mattress, a bacon memorial tube and is completed in ivory crepe coffin linens.

It is for sale now for just under $3,000, and even comes with a bacon-scented air freshener.

Post from: Daily Contributor

For those who love bacon to death…

Every time Aaron Ramsey scores, someone famous dies. Well, that’s the theory of some football fans in England.

One fan wrote on a forum: “I’m worried things will get out of control when he scores more.”

It all began last May when the 21-year-old Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain netted against Manchester United and the next day Osama Bin Laden was killed. In October he scored against Tottenham Hotspur, three days before Steve Jobs succumbed to a publicly fought battle with pancreatic cancer. Later that month, he scored against Olympique de Marseille in the UEFA Champions League. Next day, Muammar Gaddafi was shot dead.

Ramsey’s goal against Sunderland on Saturday was also blamed for Whitney Houston’s death. Whitney’s body was found hours after the Welsh playmaker netted during their game against the Black Cats.

Coincidence? Yes, of course… but it gets creepier. Let’s see what happens when he scores a hat-trick.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Gunners midfielder Aaron Ramsey ‘linked’ to Whitney Houston’s death

Israeli horticulturists have developed a new variety of tomato that is red on the inside, and black on the out.

Dubbed the ‘Black Galaxy‘, the strange fruit was bred to contain higher than normal levels of antioxidants and Vitamin C, which means it may be more nutritious than a regular tomato.

Technological Seeds, the company behind the achievement, says the color is the produce of a special pigment, which was derived from blueberries and introduced into the new species.

The ‘Black Galaxy’ is intended for luxury hotel market due to its unique color. The new crossbreed will make its worldwide debut next week at the Arava Agricultural R&D Exhibition, which is also open to the public. The show will also feature seedless lemons, a new species of strawberries, red lemons and rainbow carrots – which are yellow, purple and pink.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Israeli scientists breed antioxidant-rich black tomatoes

Some new sandals have been created by an Australian footwear company so wearers can feel the same sensation as walking barefoot on a freshly cut lawn.

KUSA’s grass flip flops are made with a thick layer of artificial turf that looks and feels pretty similar to the real deal. The material occasionally needs to be fluffed but doesn’t require weeding, mowing or fertilizing.

“KUSA flip flops give you an extra layer of comfort. Comfort you can’t feel anywhere else (short of walking on real grass). Our unique Syn-Turf material conforms to and is naturally shaped by the individual contours of your feet,” proclaims the company website.

The sandals are currently available online from around $30.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Love the feeling of bare feet on freshly mowed grass? Then these flops are for you.

What type of job do you dream about? I know someone who dreams of becoming a fashion model, and another one who wants to be a famous musician. Then, there’s this particular guy who hopes of becoming a politician, and those who seek fame as a reality star.

But imagine being paid $70,000 annually to “partake of sexual services” at brothels in New South Wales. I like to call this “Every Man’s Dream Job“.

From this website:

“Applicants [for Brothel Buster Investigator] were required to be unmarried and preferably single, to be willing to have protected sexual intercourse with prostitutes and to provide sworn evidence in court.”

According to Lachlan Jarvis, operations manager of Lyonswood Investigations and Forensic Group in Sydney, it was a completely legal service the firm had provided for local councils in New South Wales for a long time. Councils hire the private eye to go to suspected illegal brothels and gather evidence to prove they are offering sexual services, he added.

Applicants were also required to have a private investigator license, awareness of occupational health and safety, and good command of written and spoken English.

Unfortunately, Jarvis said the position had since been filled.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Brothel Buster Investigator: Every Man’s Dream Job

The idea of elephants wearing contact lenses may seem absurd at first. But when their vision has clouded to the point of total impairment, people find strange ways to help them get better.

Take for example the case of Win Thida, a 45-year-old Asian elephant living in Amsterdam’s Artis Zoo. Her cornea was badly injured during a scuffle with her jumbo pals so a veterinarian decided to put a contact lens over the patient’s eye.

The operation is delicate and requires special training for veterinarians. Vet Anne-Marie Verbruggen, who had only ever put contact lenses into horses, had to use a ladder to reach the elephant’s left eye and perform the procedure– which lasted just under an hour.

“The main difficulty was her height,” Verbruggen said. “Elephants can’t lie down for long before their immense weight impairs their breathing, so I used a ladder to get close enough. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked. She seemed happier straight away.”

Win Thida, the oldest elephant in the zoo’s herd, is expected to make a full recovery.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Elephant gets contact lens

I know nothing about wine, but a Cabernet Sauvignon aged with a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite from the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter sounds interesting.

The wine, called Meteorito, was created by Ian Hutcheon, an Englishman who owns a vineyard and an observatory in Chile. Hutcheon claims the meteorite is roughly three inches in diameter, and is believed to have hit the country’s Atacama Desert around 6,000 years ago.

The astronomer/winemaker thinks that the infusion of a bit of meteorite gives his Cabernet a “livelier taste.”

“The idea behind submerging it in wine was to give everybody the opportunity to touch something from space; the very history of the solar system, and feel it via a grand wine,” Hutcheon said.

The extra-terrestrial blend is currently only sold at Hutcheon’s Centro Astronomico Tagua Tagua, but Hutcheon hopes to export the product around the world soon.

[Hat tip to Discovery News]

Post from: Daily Contributor

Wine aged with 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite now on sale

The Artist has already won three Golden Globes (including one for best musical/comedy), but the perky comedy is also causing quite a stir in the United Kingdom.

According to reports, moviegoers are walking out of cinemas and demanding their money back after discovering the French film has no sound and the screen is smaller. A spokesperson for Odeon Liverpool One confirmed “it has issued a small number of refunds to guests who were unaware that The Artist was a silent film”.

Written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist has no dialogue, just subtitles. The film was purposely reduced to a smaller screen size to give it a more authentic, silent movie feel.

The Artist tells the story of silent star George Valentin (played by Jean Dujardin) whose career is destroyed by the “talkies”. The film is nominated for 12 BAFTAs and is tipped to dominate next month’s Academy Awards.

Check out the trailer after the jump.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Brits walk out over lack of dialogue in ‘The Artist’

A teenager from Leeds has become the first sex-change person in Great Britain to participate in the Miss England beauty contest.

Eighteen-year-old Jackie Green became the UK’s youngest transsexual after an operation in Thailand two years ago. British tabloid The Sun said Green, who was born Jack, adopted a female lifestyle at age 10 and is now an aspiring model.

Green, who has already participated in Britain’s Next Top Model, said: “Miss England is a prestigious competition. I’d love to win and I have as good a chance as anyone.”

The contest is a major step forward for Jackie, who was bullied and had attempted to commit suicide five times.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Transsexual Jackie Green enters Miss England pageant

Here’s a supermodel acting out something that looks like “take my clothes off and make love to me!”. At first glance, this is a seemingly an ordinary ad campaign for a push-up bra… until you realize that the gorgeous blonde is actually a guy!

Andrej Pejic, a 20-year old Melbourne-raised Bosnian with no breasts at all, was hired by Dutch department store HEMA to star in its line of bras that supposedly promise to double the average cup size. Pejic is famous for his androgynous good looks. He has previously modeled for the likes of Marc Jacobs and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and was even voted the 98th sexiest woman in the world by the readers of FHM earlier this year.

The new campaign has caused controversy in the Netherlands, and it was trending on Twitter just hours after the advertisements were released.

One user wrote: “That HEMA campaign is brilliant: Andrej Pejic sporting a push-up bra?! If a man looks good in that bra, it must be good stuff.”

The campaign was shot in Amsterdam in late September.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Male model stars in new lingerie campaign for Dutch fashion chain HEMA

A Pakistani woman has been arrested for allegedly killing her husband, chopping off his body parts and attempting to cook them.

Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi announced on Friday that they arrested 32-year-old Zainab Bibi. Bibi allegedly received help from her nephew, Zaheer Ahmed, in killing her husband, Ahmad Abbas, on Tuesday. According to authorities, Bibi tried to hide the crime by cooking the chopped body parts of her deceased husband, but neighbors alerted police after foul odor started engulfing the neighborhood.

Bibi, who is detained at the police station, reportedly did not deny killing her husband, saying that she did it to protect her daughter, with whom the victim allegedly tried to have physical relationship with. CNN said the suspect did not show any remorse in killing her husband. “I killed my husband before he dared touch my daughter,” Bibi reportedly told local TV channel ARY news.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Woman Held for Trying to Cook Chopped Body of Husband

It’s one thing to accidentally ingest bleach, as one of my friends recently claimed to have done, but surely no one would do so on purpose, right? However, some teenagers in Alabama have been ingesting it to pass drug tests.

The idea behind this is that bleach will wash away any drugs in your system. But officials are warning people that swallowing the household chemical could cause abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

“We have had cases where they have ingested straight bleach, and it caused significant damage to their body,” said Sergeant Joe Mahoney with the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

Drug tests also have gotten sophisticated and can determine the presence of foreign chemicals.

“Specific gravity tests will let us know the urine is not just pure urine coming from the body or if these other compounds are present or if there is a tremendous amount of water in the system where they’ve tried to flush the system,” Mahoney added.

Mahoney said there is one way to pass a drug test: Do away with illegal substances.

—

If you suspect that your teenage child is addicted to drugs, do not waste time in bringing him or her to a drug addiction center for testing and subsequent treatment.

Post from: Daily Contributor

Teens resort to drinking bleach to pass drug tests