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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Shoppers accidentally buy nuclear waste

Three residents of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's Aksu city mistakenly purchased and brought home nuclear waste.

In August 2006, the three men - one of whom is surnamed Liu, while the other two are surnamed Wang - purchased a glittering "treasure" for $2,000 in Kyrgyzstan. They brought it back to Xinjiang, hoping to make a fortune by selling it.

Because they knew nothing about the 274-kg stone, they sliced off a piece to bring to Beijing for expert analysis last January.

Last September, geologists at Tsinghua University concluded it was depleted uranium and called police.

Prosecutors in Aksu decided against arresting the men, because they obviously had no idea what they had purchased. The men have undergone medical examinations and appear to be in good health.

Original here

TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY: The Bike that Rides on Water

by Jorge Chapa

We love it when people take a familiar idea and turn it into something completely new. Take the good old pedal boat — a simple vehicle powered by human motion, not unlike the trusty bicycle. What if one could create an amphibious human-powered vehicle that could move from land to water with the ease of a salamander? That was the inspiration behind the radically innovative Di-Cycle Concept by GBO design, a half bicycle / half pedal boat hybrid that looks as fun as it sounds.

The Di-Cycle Concept is particularly well suited for the Netherlands, where there is an ardent biking culture and plenty of water. Therefore it comes as no surprise that this is where the Di-Cycle was developed. GBO design wanted to create a fun and active vehicle that could explore the city using both roads and the multiple canals in the city of Helmond. The Di-Cycle looks like an enjoyable way to get around any aquatic city, and for this creative design, GBO won the Brabantse Spelen design competition in 2005. Truly a spectacular and eye popping concept.

+ Dicycle @ GBO

Via Automoto


Older versions of the DiCycle - apparently not that new of a concept?
Original here

Oh *****...!