This is interesting...

1000-year-old Viking sword lying on the ground, and was found by hunters.

A group of Icelandic goose hunters got more than they bargained for during a
recent outing - they didn't catch a single bird, but stumbled upon a Viking
sword thought to be more than 1,000 years old.

[hidden image - please register]

The five men were in Skaftarhreppur in southern Iceland when they found the sword,
which they think may have washed up during a recent flood, the Visir news website
reports. One of the men, Arni Bjorn Valdimarsson, shared a photo of it on his
Facebook page and swiftly received a call from Iceland's Cultural Heritage Agency,
which took possession of the artefact on Monday morning.

[hidden image - please register]

The agency's director, Kristin Huld Sigurdardottir, says only 20 swords of this age have been discovered in
Iceland before, making it a significant find. It didn't take much effort on the hunters' part, though. "It was just
lying there, waiting to be picked up - it was obvious and just lying there on the ground," one of them, Runar
Stanley Sighvatsson, tells Iceland Monitor. It's believed the sword dates back to at least the 10th Century,
and may have been placed in a pagan grave, the website says.
The exact area where the sword was found hasn't been revealed,
as the agency wants to do a little digging of its own to see what else is lying around there.

Beautiful lenticular clouds enveloped mount Etna.

[hidden image - please register]

An unusually beautiful sunset was observed on 5 September in the Italian Catania.
The atmosphere became turbulent with the approach of a storm, which carries
harsh weather conditions. Monday was hot day though and was broken cloistering
high clouds, which are more and more compacted second half of the day.

[hidden image - please register]

Over the Etna volcano at sunset looming lenticular, much more thick and compact clouds,
creating a surreal scene. Usually this kind of clouds (elliptical or lenticular) develop when
strong turbulent winds blow in the middle atmosphere (20 to 30 thousand feet).

[hidden image - please register]

On a lighter note from my previous post everybody knows that most people can easily train a dog and some can even train their dogs to such a high level that they enter them frequently in competitions. Dogs are pack animals and as such will obey the command of their owners as they are evolutionary hard wired to be social creatures hence the reason the relationship between humans and dogs goes back centuries.

Now a cat on the other hand is a very different creature indeed, cats do what they want, they don't bother whether or not their owners are with them or not, just so long as you feed them, give them a warm and safe place in which to co-exist with you and they are happy. I used to have 3 cats, one of them was my favourite, she'd even go as far as going up the stairs to where my bedroom was and scratching on the door until I let her in, not because she had any particular affection for me, it was just that she liked to climb onto my bed and sleep under my duvet for warmth, it was a mutual understanding. The cat always came in handy for added warmth especially in those cold months which we often experience in Scotland

Moving on and I'll go back to the part about how difficult or near impossible it must be to train a cat to do tricks but amazingly some actually manage them and circus cats are fast becoming the latest attraction. I found a few videos on youtube which left me wondering just how the hell did they manage to get them to do that but they did. Perhaps cats are evolving to be more like dogs. I wouldn't even want to begin to guess how long it must have taken these performers to train what I've always considered as nothing more than our selfish furry friends as much as I loved my 3 cats I very much doubt they held me in the same regard

8 Recently Discovered Medieval Vampire Burials.

[hidden image - please register]

The mythology of vampires is well-known throughout the world. Most countries
have some variation on the vampire legend. Remarkably similar, too, are the
ways in which vampires can be dispatched, or at least prevented from
rising from the grave to plague the living. Modern science has usually dismissed
these tales as folklore, however, recent evidence has emerged showing that our
ancestors did indeed take these stories seriously. Over the past few decades,
an increasing number of medieval burials have been excavated showing incredible
brutality performed on the corpses that exactly matches the methods folklore said
must be used to keep a vampire safely in its grave. And these graves are not only
being found in the vampire’s traditional home of Eastern Europe and the Balkans,
but in Western Europe too. Here are 8 of the best-attested cases of medieval vampire burial.

Prostejov, Slovakia

[hidden image - please register]

In 1991, an archaeological investigation of the ancient church of the Holy Trinity
in Prostejov discovered a crypt burial in the presbytery. The body had been buried
in a coffin reinforced with iron bars, held to be one method of keeping a vampire
buried, since vampires allegedly could not tolerate the touch of iron. In addition,
stones had been placed on the victim’s legs, and the torso severed from the legs.
The find has been dated to the 16th century. The burial is considered somewhat
unusual because of its location in a church, but it has been argued that the extra
sanctity of the church may have been thought by those who buried the victim to
have been more likely to have kept the corpse in its grave.

Drawsko, Poland

[hidden image - please register]

In 2009, at Drawsko in Poland, an archaeological investigation of a medieval
cemetery turned up something quite unexpected. Three graves were discovered
in which the bodies had been subjected to very unusual treatment post-mortem.
Two bodies of middle-aged adults had iron sickles placed on their throats.
The body of a younger adult had been tied up and had a heavy stone placed
upon his throat. This is in keeping with folklore, traditionally sharp iron implements
being held to be anathema to vampires, hence the placement of the sickles as a
measure to ensure that the alleged vampire would not rise again. Another method
of keeping a suspected vampire in their grave was believed to be the placement of
heavy weights upon the body, and the positioning of heavy stones upon bodies has
been found in a number of vampire burials. The cemetery has not been fully
excavated and archaeologists expect to find similar burials in future years.

Lesbos, Greece

[hidden image - please register]

In 1994, on the Greek island of Lesbos, near the city of Mytilene, archaeologists
investigating an old Turkish cemetery found a medieval skeleton buried in a crypt
hollowed out of an ancient city wall. This was not an unusual discovery, however,
the post-mortem treatment of this body was very much unexpected. The corpse
had been literally nailed down in its grave, with heavy iron spikes driven through
the neck, pelvis and ankle. The use of iron and the practice of staking down a corpse
are both well-attested in vampire folklore. The body was almost certainly that of a Muslim,
believed to be the first time a corpse of a person other than a
Christian had been found treated in this fashion.

Celakovice, Czech Republic

[hidden image - please register]

In the early 1990s, archaeologists found what is believed to be the first vampires’
graveyard—an entire cemetery of vampire burials. In Celakovice, about 30
kilometers north of Prague, 14 graves have been excavated so far with metal
spikes driven through their bodies or heavy stones placed upon them. The graves
are believed to date from the 11th or 12th century. Most of the victims were young
adults, of both sexes. It appears that the victims all died at around the same time,
possibly in a epidemic, but it is unclear why the villagers thought these individuals
were at risk of becoming vampires.

Sozopol, Bulgaria

[hidden image - please register]

One of the most well publicized cases of recent years, as a Google search will
quickly show. Bulgaria is no stranger to vampire burials. More than 100 have
been discovered in the past century, but the bulk of those were in remote rural
areas. Sozopol is one of Bulgaria’s most popular Black Sea tourist resorts, so
the discovery of two skeletons with iron spikes jammed through their bodies
caused a sensation. The bodies are believed to about 700 years old, and were
located buried near a former monastery. Archaeologists have confirmed that this
practice was common in Bulgaria up until the 20th century, and Bulgaria subsequently
has become the center of interest for those studying vampire burials.

Venice, Italy

[hidden image - please register]

As has already been noted, the discovery of vampire burials has been common in
the Balkans and Eastern Europe, the heartland of vampire mythology. However,
until recently, they were unknown in Western Europe. This is now changing, as
archaeological examination of medieval cemeteries in the West is starting to reveal
that people here were just as afraid of the dead returning to plague the living. A well
publicized discovery in 2006 on the island of Lazaretto Nuovo near Venice confirmed
that Italy had its own vampire burials. The skeleton of a woman dating from the 16th
century was discovered in a cemetery of plague victims. She had had an a large
brick rammed into her mouth prior to burial. This is in keeping with medieval folklore,
which held that vampires literally chewed their way out of their burial shrouds,
so preventing them from doing this was seen as an effective way of stopping them
rising from the grave.

Kilteasheen, Ireland

[hidden image - please register]

The vampire burial phenomenon struck even deeper into the West with the
discovery of two skeletons at Kilteasheen in Ireland between 2005 and 2009.
Officially described as “deviant” burials, the skeletons of a middle-aged man
and a man in his twenties were discovered lying side by side with rocks rammed
into their mouths. The discovery caused a sensation in Ireland and the UK and
became the subject of a TV documentary released in 2011. It has been argued
that the victims may have been considered plague-carriers rather than true
vampires, because their early burial in the 8th century predates vampire legends
in Europe, however, the vampire burial tag has since well and truly stuck
in the public consciousness.

Southwell, UK

[hidden image - please register]

If Britons had thought what their ancestors were far too sophisticated to
be taken in by vampire legends as primitive peasants in Eastern Europe had been,
they were in for a shock. It was revealed in 2010 that a deviant burial had been
found in the Nottinghamshire town of Southwell in 1959, attracting much publicity
in the British media. A long-lost archaeological report compiled during construction
of a new school detailed the discovery of a skeleton dating from between A.D.
550 and 700 with metal spikes jammed through heart, shoulders and ankles.
The placement of a spike through the heart in particular attracted public interest
because of its long association with vampires in myth and legend. Archaeologists
have in fact thrown cold water over the idea the man was considered a vampire
because the burial predates vampire legend in Europe, but the idea has seized
the public imagination and inspired new research into vampirism in Britain.

[hidden link - please register]

Man arrested for driving car with frying pan instead of steering wheel .

Out of the frying pan, into the fire ...

[hidden image - please register]

A man has been caught driving his car with a frying pan .
The 32-year-old had swapped the cookery instrument in place of the steering wheel.
No bacon was found in the pan.
Police in Adelaide, Australia, were called to reports of a man "loitering" around
Norman Street just after 8am on Sunday.
When they arrived, the man sped off in his Mazda Sedan. The car was also
found to be uninsured and unregistered.
Police say the car would fail to pass an MOT.

[hidden image - please register]

[hidden link - please register] reports that the man had also changed his number plates and
had breached a previous bail.
Appearing at Adelaide Magistrates' Court, the man in question was charged and
was refused bail. His car was impounded for 28 days.
So yes, he really has jumped out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Many thanks Scottishbloke for your review ! I'm glad that someone joined this topic ...
It would be nice to see the messages, and other members of the forum ...
I think that they also is know a lot of good and interesting things for us ...

Pineapple slice grows into entire fruit after being left on a window sill in Huddersfield for EIGHT years.

Edward Simpson and his wife Maureen are delighted with their green-fingered endeavours.

[hidden image - please register]

Edward Simpson left a single slice of pineapple on a window sill was stunned when it turned into a
pineapple...eight years later.
And the tropical fruit has confounded the British weather by growing in Huddersfield, west Yorkshire.

[hidden image - please register]

Retired engineer Edward, 84, set about growing the plant eight years ago by putting the leafy top slice
of a pineapple in a saucer of water.
Later, it was put into a plant pot and fed compost and tomato feed – and left on the window sill on the
south-facing side of the house.

[hidden image - please register]

But even he was surprised at his success in growing the pineapple plant.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever grown one,” he said. “You have to have patience and look after it.
"There are two shoots on it now so we could get some more fruit from it.”
Meanwhile, once it’s ripened, their first crop is destined for the table – served sliced on a piece of gammon.

[hidden link - please register]

I'm guessing now after reading through the posts from shnaps7 that basically this Thread can be used as a platform for all sorts of topics. Most of the posts here are of the optimistic key well until now that is.........I'm never one who usually likes to keep quiet for too long on the worlds burning and sometimes most controversial issues. I thank shnaps7 for giving birth to this Thread but here's the moment now where the whole concept is just away to take on a much darker tone.

As always I like to invite responses and strong reactions. On my signature one of them as most of you would have noticed is a link to Amnesty International. I've been a long time opponent of the use of the death penalty and I came across a reconstruction which I happened to come across when looking at the various videos posted on youtube with regards to subject matter in hand.

This forum has got a pretty bad reputation as for being one where most members will post only in Threads where they are comfortable to do and many will even avoid posting their opinions on well pretty much anything. I wish to change this mentality and would welcome comments on what you jave just seen. In America the 8th Amendment is as follows:

The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights (ratified December 15, 1791) prohibiting the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishment.

This is what is written in the constitution so bear this in mind when you view the following video.

Football fan learns very important lesson on tour - never take your eye off your beer ...

Mediterranean nations produce fantastic olive oil, but this Scotland fan probably
didn't want to gulp down a mouthful of the stuff before his side's clash with Malta.

[hidden image - please register]

This football fan has been taught a very important lesson when travelling
to international games - never take your eye off your beer.
That was the unfortunate mistake that this footsoldier made when enjoying
a refreshing drink in the Maltese sun ahead of Scotland’s World Cup qualifier.

[hidden image - please register]

Mediterranean nations produce fantastic olive oil - but you still wouldn’t want to
gulp down a mouthful of the stuff.
Especially when you think it’s a nice cool swig of lager, reports the Daily Record.
The supporter’s slippery pals caught him out earlier today and the video was posted
on Facebook by Scottish Football Away Fans with the message "Scotland fan thinks he's drinking Carlsberg..."

Italy earthquake: Barking dog found alive in rubble after nine days ...

Rome – Firefighters have rescued a Golden Retriever from a pile of quake rubble
after they heard the dog barking, nine days after the temblor struck central Italy.

[hidden image - please register]

The dog, called Romeo, appeared to be bewildered at first as it scampered down
the mound of broken concrete and other debris, but quickly took a few steps,
wagged its tail and sniffed its surroundings.

[hidden image - please register]

Firefighters told The Associated Press that rescuers heard the dog bark as they were
accompanying the pet's owners to retrieve essential belongings from their quake-damaged home.

[hidden link - please register]

The August 24 temblor claimed nearly 300 lives, injured hundreds and left
thousands of people either without homes or with homes unsafe to immediately inhabit.

Massive Independence Day UFO mothership stalks the skies in astonishing footage.

The mysterious craft was caught on camera above Malaysia.

[hidden image - please register]

Terrified villagers watched in horror as the glowing "alien" warcraft swooped down on the village near Kuala Krai.

[hidden image - please register]

And one horrified woman can be heard screaming in the footage as the monster UFO even doubles
back for a second glimpse at human life before zipping off into out of space.
The craft appears similar to that from the hit Hollywood movie Independence Day,
which saw its sequel Resurgence released in June.



"Everybody who saw the ship is convinced by what it is."
Confused onlookers can be heard questioning what is happening as the humming ship
descends on the village.
"Some people say the clip has been edited and faked but it looks real. It's clearly not
a military aircraft or a commercial airliner.
"You cannot ever be 100% sure but if it is genuine, it is the best video of a real UFO ever seen."
This comes just days after a NASA scientist sensationally admitted aliens "exist"
and we are going to find them in the next 10 years.

[hidden link - please register]

Dog Kitted Out in Soccer Team's Colors Adorably Celebrates Goal.

[hidden image - please register]

This little dog is the world’s cutest soccer fan.

[hidden image - please register]

Check out his dedication to Turkish team Fenerbahçe as he dons a scarf in their
colors and watches their match against Kayserispor on August 28.

Letter with hand-drawn map instead of an address makes it to its destination...

A letter which had no address and simple a hand-drawn map and
a mysterious message somehow managed to make it to its destination.

[hidden image - please register]

The postal worker was told to find "a horse farm with an
Icelandic/Danish couple and three kids and a lot of sheep!"

[hidden image - please register]

When Rebecca Cathrine Kaadu Ostenfeld received a letter
at her home in Búðardalur, Iceland, she couldn't believe it.
The sender had given no name and no address.
Instead, there was a hand-drawn map and a note:
"Country: Iceland. City: Búðardalur.

[hidden image - please register]

"Name: A horse farm with an Icelandic/Danish couple and three kids and a lot of sheep!"
Postal workers were also told: "The Danish woman works in a supermarket in Búðardalur."

[hidden image - please register]

It has emerged that the letter was sent by a tourist who was in Reykjavík at the time.
They had stayed as a guest at the farm, but could not remember the address.

Family enjoying riverside lunch scream as hawk drops live SNAKE onto their barbecue ...

Australians are famous for putting "another shrimp on the barbie" - but
this bird of prey had other ideas when it invaded a family get together.

[hidden image - please register]

A family barbecue was rudely interrupted by an uninvited
guest with a very unwanted gift - a HAWK carrying a SNAKE.

[hidden image - please register]

Terrifying footage shows the giant bird of prey winging its way towards the party from across a lake.
As it gets closer, it becomes clear its carrying a huge reptile in its talons.
As it swoops just over the heads of the startled family, it drops the live snake right into their midst.



The panicking picnickers can be heard shouting at each other in Chinese,
as the green-coloured reptile slithers towards them.
The video was filmed on Friday by Douglas Wong as he
enjoyed a family lunch on the River Yarra, in Melbourne.

He posted the clip on YouTube two days ago, where it has
since been seen by more than 3,000 startled viewers.

Firefighters free man's head from washing machine in China.

[hidden image - please register]

A Chinese fire department freed a man whose head became stuck inside
a washing machine while he was attempting to repair the appliance.

[hidden image - please register]

The Fujian Fire Department said in a post on microblogging site Weibo that the man,
a Fuqing resident, became trapped Sunday when he put his head inside the
washing machine for a better look while attempting repairs.



Part of the rescue, which took about 40 minutes, was captured on video.
Firefighters said the man was not injured.

Apparent beer burglary attempt foiled by fallen fridge...

[hidden image - please register]

An apparent burglary attempt on a beer cooler ended in disaster when
a suspect ended up underneath the fallen beverage refrigerator.

[hidden image - please register]

The CCTV video shows a man with a drink in his hand calling for help after
trying and failing to get into one of several beer fridges arranged in a line.



Another man arrives and holds a jacket over his head in an apparent attempt to hide his face.
The man pulls on the apparently locked door of the cooler before giving one hard yank,
which causes the fridge to fall face-first onto the man.
The other man helps his cohort escape from beneath the fridge and they make a hasty getaway.