Earliest human footprints made 1.5million years ago

The earliest human footprints made 1.5million years ago have been discovered in Kenya.

Two sets of prints were left by Homo ergaster, an early ancestor of modern humans, in separate rock layers near Ileret in northern Kenya.

Laser scanning revealed that the creature walked the same way as people do today.


The green prints on the optical laser scan indicate a modern stride


The prints bore all the hallmarks of a modern human stride, including an arched foot, short toes, and a big toe that was parallel to the others.

As in modern humans, weight was transferred from the heel to the ball of the foot and then to the big toe with each step.



The find is the first of its kind since the famous discovery 30 years ago of footprints dating back 3.75million years at Laetoli, Tanzania.


These older prints are thought to have been left by the more primitive and ape-like Australopithecus.

Although this creature also appears to have walked upright, it had a shallow arch and a splayed big toe characteristic of apes.

The Ileret prints, pressed into solidified layers of ancient mud, consisted of an upper and lower set five metres apart, one isolated smaller print may have been left by a child.

The scientists estimated the adults were about 5ft 9" from their stride length.

Scientists led by Dr Matthew Bennett, from the University of Bournemouth in Poole, scanned the prints and compared them with those of modern humans and the Laetoli prints.

They wrote in the journal Science: 'The Ileret prints show that by 1.5 million years, hominins had evolved an essentially modern human foot function and style of bipedal locomotion.'

Our species, Homo sapiens, first appeared 200,000 years ago.

Man with Smallest legs Dance on Stage

Musafar Man with Smallest legs Dance on Stage


Please don’t tell me Musafar isn’t a celebrity in your region of the world! Everybody in the whole wide world should have Musafar on television at prime time!

Buddhist temple built 1.5million recycled beer bottles

Built using more than a million beer bottles, this incredible temple in the north-east of Thailand is a novel way to recycle any empties.

The resident Buddhist monks at the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew complex encourage local authorities to deposit any used bottles at the temple which they then use to build new structures.

Having already built the a temple and even shelters, the monks who live in the town of Khun Han really have got into the spirit of recycling.


Glass houses: There are 20 buildings made of bottles in the complex


Sometimes known as Wat Lan Kuad, or Temple Of A Million Bottles, the temple uses the discarded bottles to construct everything from the crematorium to the toilets.

Altogether there are about 1.5million recycled bottles in the temple, and the monks at there are intending to recycling even more.

'The more bottles we get, the more buildings we make,' says Abbot San Kataboonyo.


A monk stands outside the Temple Of A Million Bottles which was built from used bottles donated by the local community


Recycling doesn't stop at building the temple's buildings - mosaics around the temple, predominantly of Buddha, are made out of bottle caps.

Besides being ego-friendly, the disused bottles don't fade, provide good lighting and are easy to clean.

'The monks at Wat Lan Kuad started collecting the bottles they needed to build their temple complex in 1984,' said one tourist at the site.


Room with an interior view: The visitors' toilets are a unique spectacle


'They kept this up until they had nearly one million recycled bottles ready to construct their pagodas and temple.

'Even though drinking is a sin in Buddhism, this still seems like a positive use of beer and lager bottles.'

Representing the cleansing of the human mind, the beer-bottle-temple is now on an approved list of eco-friendly sightseeing tours in South-East Asia.

World Youngest Father at 13

BOY dad Alfie Patten yesterday admitted he does not know how much nappies cost — but said: “I think it’s a lot.”

Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne.

He told how he and Chantelle, 15, decided against an abortion after discovering she was pregnant.


Alfie Patton is pictured with his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman and their newly born daughter.


13-year-old Alfie became Britain's one of the youngest fathers after his girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl on Monday, the Sun reported.
The shy lad, whose voice has not yet broken, said: “I thought it would be good to have a baby.

“I didn’t think about how we would afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10.”



Alfie bottle feeds his little daughter.


Alfie, who is just 4ft tall, added: “When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react.

“I didn’t know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it.”

Alfie's story, broken exclusively by The Sun today has sparked a huge political storm with Tory leader David Cameron saying: "When I saw these pictures this morning, I just thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.

"I hope that somehow these children grow up into responsible parents but the truth is parenthood is just not something they should be thinking about right now."

PM Gordon Brown refused to comment directly on the story but said it was important that the Government did all it could to prevent teenage pregnancies.

Alfie’s dad Dennis yesterday told how the lad does not really understand the enormity of his situation — but seemed desperate to be a devoted and responsible father.

He wanted to be the first to hold Maisie after the hospital birth. He tenderly kisses the baby and gives her a bottle.

And Dennis, 45, said: “He could have shrugged his shoulders and sat at home on his Playstation. But he has been at the hospital every day.”

Maisie was conceived after Chantelle and Alfie — just 12 at the time — had a single night of unprotected sex.

They found out about the baby when Chantelle was 12 weeks pregnant.

But they kept it a secret until six weeks later when Chantelle’s mum Penny, 38, became suspicious about her weight gain and confronted her.


Devoted ... Alfie holds and cuddles Maisie


After that Alfie’s family told only those closest to them for fear he would be “demonised” at school.

Chantelle gave birth to Maisie on Monday night after a five-hour labour at Eastbourne Hospital, East Sussex.

Last night she told The Sun: “I’m tired after the birth. I was nervous after going into labour but otherwise I was quite excited.”

Chantelle told how she discovered she was expecting after going to her GP with “really bad” stomach pains. She said: “Me and Alfie went. The doctor asked me whether we had sex. I said yes and he said I should do a pregnancy test. He did the test and said I was pregnant. I started crying and didn’t know what to do.

“He said I should tell my mum but I was too scared.

“We didn’t think we would need help from our parents. You don’t really think about that when you find out you are pregnant. You just think your parents will kill you.”

But Penny figured out what was going on after buying Chantelle a T-shirt which revealed her swelling tum.

Chantelle admitted she and Alfie — who are both being supported by their parents — would be accused of being grossly irresponsible. She said: “We know we made a mistake but I wouldn’t change it now. We will be good loving parents.

“I have started a church course and I am going to do work experience helping other young mums.

“I’ll be a great mum and Alfie will be a great dad.”


Chantelle and Maisie were released from hospital yesterday.


They are living with Penny, Chantelle’s jobless dad Steve, 43, and her five brothers in a rented council house in Eastbourne. The family live on benefits. Alfie, who lives on an estate across town with mum Nicola, 43, spends most of his time at the Steadmans’ house.

He is allowed to stay overnight and even has a school uniform there so he can go straight to his classes in the morning.

Alfie’s dad, who is separated from Nicola, believes the lad is scared deep down.

He said: “Everyone is telling him things and it’s going round in his head. It hasn’t really dawned on him. He hasn’t got a clue of what the baby means and can’t explain how he feels. All he knows is mum and dad will help.

“When you mention money his eyes look away. And she is reliant on her mum and dad. It’s crazy. They have no idea what lies ahead.”

Dennis, who works for a vehicle recovery firm, described Alfie as “a typical 13-year-old boy”.

He said: “He loves computer games, boxing and Manchester United.” Dennis, who has fathered nine kids, told how he was “gobsmacked” when he discovered Alfie was to be a dad, too.

He said: “When I spoke to him he started crying. He said it was the first time he’d had sex, that he didn’t know what he was doing and of the complications that could come.

“I will talk to him again and it will be the birds and the bees talk. Some may say it’s too late but he needs to understand so there is not another baby.”


Chantelle’s mum said: “I told her it was lovely to have the baby but I wish it was in different circumstances. We have five children already so it’s a big financial responsibility. But we are a family and will pull together and get through.

“She’s my daughter. I love her and she will want for nothing.”

Last night Michaela Aston, of the anti-abortion Christian charity LIFE, said: “We commend these teenagers for their courage in bringing their child into the world.


“At the same time this is symptomatic of the over-sexualisation of our youngsters and shows the policy of value-free sex education just isn’t working.”

Today Sussex Police and the local council's children services said they have investigated the case and pledged continued support for the young parents.

Britain’s youngest known father is Sean Stewart. He became a dad at 12 when the girl next door, 15-year-old Emma Webster, gave birth in Sharnbrook, Bedford, in 1998. They split six months later.

Watch Online Video :World Youngest Father at 13

First Sex Education film from 1917

Teaching about the birds and the bees is as contentious a subject now as it was nearly 100 years ago when the world's oldest sex education film was screened.

This can clearly be seen on the sex lectures put out on a two-DVD set by the British Film Institute documenting the warnings given to the young from 1917 to the 1970s.

Whatever A Man Soweth, released in 1917, warns soldiers about the dangers of cavorting with loose women in London's West End while 1932's The Mystery of Marriage compares insect and bird mating with that of humans.


1932's The Mystery Of Marriage compares insect and bird mating with that of humans. It warns it offers 'frank' explanations


In the 1917 Canadian film, a soldier named Dick is about to be tempted when an officer warns him of the risks he runs. He is then seen touring a hospital ward where men disfigured by venereal disease are shown.

In The Mystery Of Marriage, which bills itself as a 'frank' explanation, animals, insects and plants are used to explain human attraction. There is only the vaguest hint that what humans do leads to the creation of children.

In one scene a stickleback is shown to prove he's 'a real he-man' chasing the females until they accept his attentions.

Next up is a pheasant which attracts the opposite sex with its white ruff of feathers. The film advises 'shy suitors' to make themselves feel more courageous with a new set of spring clothes.




A scene from the 1917 film Whatever A Man Soweth, which here shows a soldier being approached by a prostitute





The behaviour of plants and birds in The Mystery Of Marriage is interspersed with coy references of what happens when couples kiss by haystacks


The bird's new feathers 'make him bold enough to press his suit upon a not-at-all forthcoming lady'.

Although the film accepts that a handsome appearance 'does very much influence the feminine sex,' it concedes that there will always be female perversity in every species.

In this vein, the peacock pheasant, which is not a particularly striking bird, manages to win the attention of not one, but two females at once. We then see a woman happily stepping out with a much shorter man.

Once in the 1970s the emphasis has changed to taking contraceptives so as to avoid pregnancy.

Long-haired characters are warned that unprotected sex can lead to pregnancy and abortions.

However a chauvanistic thread is maintained and in 1973's Don't Be Like Brenda! blame falls entirely on the woman for her pregnancy.

She finds herself shunned by those around while waiting for a call from her former lover.

Katy McGahan, who producted the BFI collection, told the Independent newspaper: 'Today, with teenage pregnancy rates and reported cases of sexually-transmitted disease soaring, sex education remains high on the political agenda.

'While most people accept that formal sex education is necessary, the question over who should teach it, how it should be taught, what infomation it should impart and what moral and social values it should inform remains ever contentious.'

The Joy of Sex Education is available from the BFI.

The Mystery Of Marriage, 1932

Mosienko penis strength competetion

penis strength competetion


The Ukrainian weightlifting team today proved that gambling does pay. The duo took a huge risk in this year's games by letting Bubka increase her weight over the summer to an impressive 65kg. However, lifter Mosienko showed little visible strain as he held her new weighty frame with a hands-free hold that won maximum points from the judges for both length and style

























































The video opens with what appears to be two athletes walking through a crowd. The voice over tells us, in an Olympic Commentator style, that the two, Mosienko and Bubka, are from the Ukraine and hope to win the event. As they walk up to the stage you notice that they don't appear to be wearing pants. The girl, Bubka, "mounts" her partner Mosienko and then lets go appearing to be held in place by Mosienko's ... "member". They hold the pose for 3 sec to victory and the crowd goes wild waving Ukranian flags as Mosienko and Bubka take gold for sport of "Pelvic Power Lifting".

World’s Deepest Fish Filmed For the First Time

The "deepest ever" living fish have been discovered, scientists believe.


A UK-Japan team found the 17-strong shoal at depths of 7.7km (4.8 miles) in the Japan Trench in the Pacific - and captured the deep sea animals on film.

The scientists have been using remote-operated landers designed to withstand immense pressures to comb the world's deepest depths for marine life.

Monty Priede from the University of Aberdeen said the 30cm-long (12in), deep-sea fish were surprisingly "cute".


The fish, known as Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis, can be seen darting about in the darkness of the depths, scooping up shrimps.

Alan Jamieson, from the University of Aberdeen, said: "It was an honour to see these fish.

No-one has ever seen fish alive at these depths before - you just never know what you are going to see when you get down there."

The deepest record for any fish is Abyssobrotula galatheae, which was dredged from the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of more than 8km (5 miles) in 1970. However, it was dead by the time it reached the surface.

The previous record for any fish to have been spotted alive was thought to have stood at about 7km (4 miles).

Pressure points

The Hadeep project, which began in 2007, is a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab and the University of Tokyo's Ocean Research Institute (led by Professor Mutsumi Nishida with research manager Dr Asako Matsumoto) and aims to expand our knowledge of biology in the deepest depths of the ocean.

It is funded by the Nippon Foundation and the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc).

The researchers have been looking at the Hadal zone - the area of ocean that sits between 6,000 and 11,000m (20,000-36,000ft). It consists of very narrow trench systems, most of which are found around the Pacific Rim.

The researchers are able to explore them using specially designed remote operated vehicles that are fitted out with cameras.

Professor Priede, director of Oceanlab, said: "There is the question of how do animals live at all at these kinds of depths.

"There are three problems: the first is food supply, which is very remote and has to come from 8km (5 miles) above.

"There is very high pressure - they have to have all sorts of physiological modifications, mainly at the molecular level.

"And the third problem is that these deep trenches are in effect small islands in the wide abyss and there is a question of whether these trenches are big enough to support thriving endemic populations."

But this species appears to have overcome these issues, added Professor Priede.

"We have spotted these creatures at depths of 7,703m (25,272ft) - and we have actually found a massive group of them.

"And this video is pretty tantalising - the fact that there are 17 of them implies that they could well be a family group, begging the question of whether some form of parental care exists for these fish."

Vibration sensors

The researchers said they were surprised by the fishes' behaviour.

"We certainly thought, deep down, fish would be relatively inactive, saving energy as much as possible, and so on," Professor Priede told BBC News.

"But when you see the video, the fish are rushing around, feeding accurately, snapping at prey coming past."

Because the fish live in complete darkness, they use vibration receptors on their snouts to navigate the ocean depths and to locate food.

Professor Priede added: "Nobody has seen fish alive before at these depths - only pickled in museums - and by the time they come up from the depths they look in a pretty sorry state.

"But these fish are actually very cute."

Alan Jamieson added that he believed the team would find more fish during their next expedition in March 2009, which would probe the ocean between depths of 6,000m and 9,000m.

He told BBC News: "Nobody has really been able to look at these depths before - I think we will see some fish living much deeper."