Machine Madness

Machine Madness

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fun facts of the day

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•  Dogs and cats consume over $11 billion worth of pet food a year
• Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married
• Jim Morrison, of the 60′s rock group The Doors, was the first rock star to be arrested on stage
• In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.
• In the last 4000 years no new animals have been domesticated.
• An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
• The human heart creates enough pressure in the bloodstream to squirt blood 30 feet.
• In Italy, 17 is considered an unlucky number. In Japan, 4 is considered an unlucky number.
• Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.
• The average garden variety caterpillar has 248 muscles in its head.
• Anise is the scent on the artificial rabbit that is used in greyhound races.
• The cruise liner Queen Elizabeth II moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
• Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
• Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
• There are more donut shops in Canada per capita than any other country.
• Termites outweigh humans by almost ten to one.
• Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.
• It can take as long as 4 hours to hard-boil an ostrich egg.
• The volume of the earth’s moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.
• A rat can last longer without water than a camel.
  
  
  

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MAN CARRIES HOME ON HIS BACK FOR 5 YEARS

HUMAN SNAIL

About 20 years ago, Liu Lingchao left his small hometown of Guangxi for big city dreams in Guangzhou and Shenzhenof. 

Liu Lingchao

About 5 years ago Liu decided to go back home.  Instead of taking modern transportation, he opted to trek the entire 450 miles on foot.  Oh, and did I mention he has carried his home on his back the entire time!

MOVING AT A SNAIL’S PACE

To put that in perspective, walking from Shenzhen to Guangxi is 450 miles, equivalent to walking from New York to North Carolina.  Sure a long distance, butI’ve heard of people walking 3,000 miles coast-to-coast across the USA in a year, so why has it taken Liu 5 years to go about 1/6th the distance?  Perhaps it’s the 132 lbs, 5-ft x 7-ft home strapped to his back?

NO HANDOUTS HERE

Liu inside his travel home

Liu is 100% self-sufficient.  He literally carries his home on his back, and he recycles discarded bottles he finds on the road for cash.

Everything he needs he has packed in his carry hut.   He travels with his bedding, food, and other necessities.

So far he has worn out three of these travel homes.  However, Liu is only 20 miles away from ending his journey and returning home to Guangxi.

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GRAD STUDENT CONVERTS OLD SCHOOL BUS INTO RAD MOBILE HOME

So, you just spent a bajillion dollars on grad school. What’s next?

For most, the next obvious course of action would be to get a job and start paying off that debt.

That plan did not sit well with Hank Butitta. Instead of taking the traditional life route, Hank decided to buy an old school bus and go road tripping, Jack Kerouac style.

HI! I’M HANK, AND I BOUGHT A BUS

Hank was in his final semester of architecture school, and instead of drawing imaginary plans that would never be realized, Hank decided to create something real for his Masters Final Project.

He bought an old school bus off Craigslist for $3000 and started to convert it into a workable living space.

Factor in an additional $6000 and sprinkle a bit of encouragement from his instructor, Adam Marcus, and you have the coolest mobile home ever!

ON THE ROAD

Hank is keeping a travel log of his journey. To follow his cross-country road trip, check out his websitewww.hankboughtabus.com.

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RentTheChicken.com lets you practice raising backyard chickens

© RentTheChicken.com

Well, this is pretty clever. If you're enticed by the idea of having fresh eggs straight from the backyard, but are not sure if you're ready to commit,RentTheChicken.com lets you rent some chickens!

Here's how they pitch their service:

Thought of Raising Backyard Chickens? Every Spring, thousands of chickens are sold at local farm supply stores. Often these chickens die before they are ready to start laying eggs (16-30 weeks). Children quickly realize that chickens are not as fun as the Xbox and parents find out that chickens can not be house broken! The costs quickly start becoming more and more, then chickens are "sent to the farm". Other people think about chickens but think they don't have the space, worry about regulations, or just don't know what they need. Do you build or buy a coop? Do you buy peeps? How do you raise an egg laying hen if you buy a peep? Did someone tell you about a heat lamp? It can all be overwhelming and we take the guess work out of all of the questions by offering a portable coop, the food & supplies, and the egg laying hens!

RentTheChicken.com is based in Pennsylvania and only rents during warmer months, May until November. But it says on their site you can start in September, if you're interested in giving it a try.

What I love about this idea is that it lowers the threshold to entry for people that are intrigued by the idea of having chickens, but maybe aren't as comfortable just starting from scratch and making mistakes. You're raising living animals, after all, so it is understandable that a lot of people would be hesitant to jump right in.

Also, I've noted the promising trend of the sharing economy, which favorsaccess over ownership. Like tool libraries or car sharing services, you don't necessarily need to own something if what you're really after is simply access to that thing.

So if you want fresh eggs, does it matter if they are your chickens or if you're renting them? Either way, the eggs are yours to enjoy. By renting, you aren't going to need to care for the chickens over the winter or worry about what to do if one is sick. There's certainly value in knowing those skills and being ready for any situation, but this model of renting allows the provides an option for people that would prefer an easier way to get started.

What do you think of this idea? Do you raise your own chickens? Let us know!
I have no doubt we'll be seeing similar services popping up across the country soon, if they haven't already.

thanks to.....................................................................

TREEHUGGER

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