In north-central China, roadwork near the city of Taiyuan uncovered a tomb dating to the Tang Dynasty that is turning heads for its remarkably preserved collection of murals depicting daily life. One might imagine such a tomb decorated with images of dragons among heavenly palaces resting on clouds—depicting a glorious afterlife, but this tomb shows […] The post Stunning Tang Dynasty Mural Unearthed in China Portrays a ‘Westerner’ with Blonde Hair appeared first on Good News Network.

To me, Cree Summer is voice acting royalty. Originally appearing as Penny in Inspector Gadget, she has lent her voice talents to hundreds of cartoons and video games. While I grew up hearing her voice CONTINUE READING... The post The Iconic Voices of Cree Summer appeared first on The Retro Network.

Sharwood the dog makes his 40th and final blood donation like a champ. And if that isn't amazing enough, you should know that he did it while sleeping through the entire session!

European Leaders Laugh Behind Kamala's Back

Picture it: you’re 10 years old, you’ve just absolutely smashed the hotel breakfast buffet, and now you’re ready for a day of larking about in the pool. But wait – your parents say you have to wait before you can go swimming (boooo). Why? None of their answers seem very believable and it turns out there’s a good reason for that.It’s because the idea simply isn’t backed up by science. There might be the odd anecdotal tale involving the mysterious death of a child who just so happens to be the same age as you, but scientific literature on the matter is pretty lacking and that which does exist doesn’t support the idea that swimming directly after eating poses any big danger.So where on Earth did the myth come from?"The old feeling was that, after you eat, some of the blood may be diverted to your gut so that you can digest, diverting the bloodstream away from your arms and legs," emergency medicine physician Dr Michael Boniface told Mayo Clinic Minute. "And you may get tired or fatigued, and be more likely to drown."Although how old this “old feeling” is isn’t exactly clear, some of the earliest evidence of it can be found in the 1908 handbook Scouting for Boys.“First, there is the danger of cramp. If you bathe within an hour and a half after taking a meal, that is, before your food is digested, you are very likely to get cramp. Cramp doubles you up in extreme pain so that you cannot move your arms or legs – and down you go,” it reads. “You may drown – and it will be your own fault.”Savage words for a book aimed at children, but also incorrect.In 2011, the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council investigated the existing scientific literature on swimming after eating and found, in both recreational and competitive swimming, “no incidence of fatal or non-fatal drowning.”“There is currently no evidence to support any link between eating before swimming and drowning. The persistence of this myth is not actively harmful, but it is nonetheless a myth,” the council concluded.That doesn’t mean you might not get tummy troubles if you chow down on a heavy meal before hitting the pool – a wave machine plus a full stomach doesn’t strike us as a pleasant combination – but it’s extremely unlikely to result in your death by drowning.Now go forth and make up for all that time lost waiting.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current. 

A hydrothermal explosion in the Biscuit Basin thermal area of Yellowstone National Park that sent visitors running has been captured on video. The area has been temporarily closed, and damaged boardwalks need repair, but no injuries have been reported. More importantly, the explosion is unlikely to be a forerunner of anything bigger, with other activity at normal levels. Those hankering for the entire Yellowstone supervolcano to erupt in an event that would block the Sun around the planet will have to wait a little longer.Yellowstone is one of America’s most popular tourist attractions in large part for the geyser eruptions. Along with these spurts of water up to 90 meters (300 feet into the air), it contains a supervolcano 70 by 45 kilometers wide (43 by 28 miles) that has blown up roughly every 700,000 years, covering half of North America in ash. The geysers are harmless for anyone who stays on the boardwalk, but in between these two extremes of risk assessments are hydrothermal explosions.“On Tuesday, July 23, at about 10:19 a.m., a localized hydrothermal explosion occurred near Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, located just north of Old Faithful,” the National Park Service confirmed in a statement. “Biscuit Basin, including the parking lot and boardwalks, are temporarily closed for safety reasons.”         The dramatic footage was shot by Steve and Vlada March and shows the eruption, steam, and subsequent damage to the boardwalk by rocks caught in the blast. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been keeping its Facebook page updated on the event. “The Biscuit Basin area is closed temporarily as the Yellowstone National Park staff assess conditions,” the page notes, adding “In Yellowstone, hydrothermal explosions are violent and dramatic events that can occur with little to no warning. They occur in shallow reservoirs of fluids are at or near the boiling point. The fluids can flash to steam if the pressure suddenly drops, hurling boiling water, steam, mud, and rock fragments into the air.”Lisa Morgan, a research geologist with the USGS described these explosions as “One of the most important and least understood geologic hazards in Yellowstone,” in an article for the Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles, a USGS publication. They’re not to be confused with the more familiar magmatic eruptions that have laid waste to cities and caused global famines. The USGS notes “The deeper magmatic system appears to be unaffected by these spectacular explosions within the hydrothermal system.”“Hydrothermal explosions require a sudden drop in pressure, which causes rapid expansion of high-temperature fluids, fragmentation, ejection of debris, and crater formation,” Morgan wrote. “The northern Yellowstone Lake area is a locus of numerous past hydrothermal explosions and is an ideal natural laboratory for detailed research into the timing and triggering mechanisms of these poorly understood hazards.”Being less dangerous than magmatic eruptions does not mean hydrothermal explosions are risk-free, as the video demonstrates. The park's Mary Bay explosion crater is 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) across, the largest crater attributed to a hydrothermal explosion anywhere on the planet. The consequences of being anywhere in the vicinity 13,000 years ago when it was formed can be guessed.  Yellowstone has three other large craters from hydrothermal events in the same area, the most recent of which was produced by an eruption 2,900 years ago.The largest hydrothermal explosion of which we have recorded witnesses came from the late 19th century, leaving rocks the size of houses high in the air.Clearly, yesterday's event was not on the same scale. Nevertheless, the steam from the eruption could easily kill anyone too close by. Had some of those seen fleeing the event paused, or simply been unable to run, debris falling from the heights shown could also be lethal.Smaller hydrothermal explosions happen almost every year somewhere in Yellowstone, but usually not somewhere that attracts as many tourists as the Sapphire Pool, where this occurred, nor at such a peak time.Consequently, there is a known risk with getting this close to the geysers, even if it is not on the scale of driving into one of Yellowstone’s hot acidic lakes. Even if staying in designated areas does not keep you completely safe, stepping outside them is more dangerous still, which sadly has not stopped some people, including those who seem to think their fame protects them.Morgan’s research has revealed a variety of triggers for hydrothermal explosions. One of the largest eruptions occurred when an earthquake ruptured a hydrothermal dome. The other followed a sudden dramatic drop in the level of a lake at the surface, although that too could have had seismic activity as its ultimate cause. The change in pressure increased steam production, with disastrous results.Given that variation, identifying the cause of today’s event may take some time.

When on a stroll or a drive, you may have wondered why some trees are painted with strange markings, and some are painted white at the bottom. These are painted for different reasons, with the markings largely for loggers, and the white paint for the protection of the trees themselves.What do the markings you sometimes see on trees mean?Markings can be anything from orange lines on top of each other to ominous red crosses and enigmatic Roman numerals. These aren't the work of woodland creatures, but are used for a number of reasons in forestry management, as well as logging. So what do they mean?While there is no standardized meaning for the symbols used across the world, different organizations of course use and understand them when they do so. In the USA, the most common markings you'll see are orange stripes. These marks are placed on trees that are due to be harvested, and have been marked for use in timber, while blue markings indicate the edge of a boundary. As well as a visual aid for loggers and tree surgeons to identify trees to be used for timber, they help forest managers keep an eye on logging activity."Stump paint is used to help foresters confirm that trees were properly harvested. Stumps without paint raise a red flag, especially if there are too many," Michigan State University Extension Forestry explains. "Sometimes, an adjacent unmarked tree needs to be cut in order to get at a marked tree. Foresters take this into account when marking a stand, but sometimes leave access a bit tough for a logger."        Alternatively, when a large area of forest is to be cut down, trees that are to be left alone may be marked, sometimes in a blue-green color, or a boundary may be marked in yellow.Roman numerals are used in the UK on trees that have been measured for their height."These are called volume sample trees," Forestry England explains. "These trees are important for estimating the total volume, and are marked using Roman numerals to identify them."Other trees may be marked with letters like "PL" to indicate that they are near a power line, which will need to be shut off before the tree is felled, while red crosses are another way of indicating that a tree is to be cut down. Trees that are not for timber but are diseased may be marked in the same way.Why some trees are painted white at the bottomWhen trees are painted white at the bottom, this is not a sign for loggers, but to prevent damage to the tree during variable winter temperatures."Sunscald is a winter occurrence, more common on young fruit trees such as apple, pear, cherryplum, cherry, apricot and plum," the University of Saskatchewan explains in a post. "The south sides of the tree are usually affected, because of sun reflected by the snow, which warms the frozen bark and cause it to thaw too quickly. This will cause the bark to crack which, in severe cases, can lead to structural damage to the tree."As the trees mature, they become more resistant to sunscald, the result of thickening bark. But in the interim, people protect trees by painting them white at the base. This reflects away more light, preventing the tree from overheating.

Vincent Tolman from the UK made an incredible journey into the afterlife after doctors declared him dead. It all started when Tolman took an excessively high dose of a bodybuilding supplement, which led to a critical condition. Within 45 minutes, he showed no signs of life, and paramedics were preparing to take him to the morgue. Vincent claims doctors tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him, then placed him in a body bag and took him to the hospital. Vincent said he watched everything happen as if it were a movie. All the while, he could hear the thoughts of the people who witnessed his death, focusing particularly on one paramedic who had just started working and did not want anyone to die in his arms during his first week on the job. This paramedic suddenly opened Vincent’s body bag again and proceeded to perform life-saving measures, at which point Vincent began to respond, and other paramedics immediately joined in the attempt to bring him back to life. According to the Daily Star, despite the extremely unfavorable prognosis of doctors, Tolman returned to life thanks to the decisive actions of the medical staff. He began breathing again and fell into a medically induced coma for three days. After that, he woke up. Vincent says he was led on his journey by a friendly presence named Drake: “I see this gentleman and I had this thought ‘You must be God,’ and without him moving his mouth he said ‘No son, I’m not God I’m your guide’.” In heaven, he said, he was able to see his life through the eyes of other people and realize its true value. Vincent says his spirit guide took him to heaven and showed him all the bad things he had done in his life, as well as all the good things. Fortunately, Vincent says that he “actually did far more good than bad,” which allowed him to enter the spiritual realm where he learned the fundamental meaning of life. “Earth is just a school, it’s always been just a classroom and it’s never been a courtroom,” he noted, emphasizing that the main lesson he learned was the meaning of love. Vincent’s spirit guide telepathically explained to him how the universe worked, but he said, “it’s so hard to explain because everything was non-verbal – it was just a direct understanding.” Tolman shared his amazing experience on his YouTube channel, Coming Home, where he talked about meeting Drake, the new knowledge he gained about the universe, and the choice between returning to his family or staying in heaven. Vincent’s story leaves many questions about the nature of death and the afterlife, which medicine and philosophy have been trying to unravel for centuries. The post Man was declared dead and claims he was shown the afterlife appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Peter and Paul Wentworth called on Elizabeth I to name an heir to the throne, wielding Parliament's free speech privileges to urge the queen to take action

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