March 2011 Archives

BANANAS and pineapples could be the secret ingredient for a greener car.

Fibres from their leaves and stems are being used to create a new generation of tough automotive plastics.

Scientists say they could be used in car bodies and engines in just two years.

Dr Alcides Leao, of Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, said: "Their properties are incredible. They are 30% lighter and up to four times stronger than regular plastic."

Manufacturers are already testing the material.

A SONG by a girl of 13 has become a web sensation after it was branded the worst tune ever recorded.

Rebecca Black's pop song, Friday, has racked up more than 29 million views on YouTube.

But critics have slammed the lyrics and the video.

Part of the chorus goes: "Yesterday was Thursday Thursday, today it is Friday Friday, gotta get down to the bus stop, gotta get my bus, I see my friends."

The song was produced by Los Angeles-based Ark Music Factory, which says its goal is to discover future No1 stars.

But Rebecca, from California, may have the last laugh as her song is now on iTunes and is climbing the charts.

Scandanavian techies have developed a way of buying stamps for letters through text messaging.

Whatever next??!?

Full story at www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12703744

Television producers for National Geographic show How Hard Can It Be? have managed to recreate a magical scene from animated film Up! by getting a house to lift into the air with the aid of hundreds of helium balloons.

So remember, DO believe everything you see at the movies...

Here's a great little video from National Geographic worth sharing...

Graham Evans, the Conservative MP for Weaver Vale, which includes part of Runcorn and Northwich, has been caught on camera playing air guitar while his colleague Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, was speaking in Parliament.

Two dolphins have been credited with coming to the aid of a Doberman dog that got stranded on a sandbank.

A SMOKER must pay £1,200 every time he puffs on a cigar in his flat if his neighbours can smell it.

Russell and Amanda Poses said the "foul odours" waft through the window from an apartment below.

Harry Lysons, in his 70s, agreed to Manhattan supreme court's ruling.

His lawyer said: "He'll have them on the street."