Google Earth reveals fish trap made from rocks 1,000 years ago off British coast

For centuries it has lain undisturbed beneath the waves, just a stone's throw from one of Britain's best-loved beaches.

Stretching more than 280 yards along the sea bed, this bizarre V-shaped structure is a giant fish trap, used at the time of the Norman Conquest to catch hundreds of fish without the need for a boat, rod or net.

The ancient structure - discovered by archaeologists studying aerial photographs of the West Wales coast - is so large it can now be seen on Google Earth.

Scientists believe it is one of the biggest structurse of its kind.

The fish trap is submerged at low tide and no longer catches fish. But in its day, it was designed to act as a natural rock pool - trapping fish behind its rock walls as the tide flowed out.

Dr Ziggy Otto, a diver and lecturer in the coastal environment at Pembrokeshire College, believes the trap is around 1,000 years old.

'It is an amazing structure,' he said. 'It looks well defined on the photographs, but when you are in the water it looks just like a natural reef.

'There can be little doubt that this rather impressive, and quite apparently man made, structure is an ancient fish trap. The structure is entirely underwater at all stages of the tide.'

The trap is just 12ft deep close to Poppit Sands on the Teifi Estuary in Dyfed. Dr Otto believes the walls are made of locally quarried rock or boulders brought down to the coast by glaciers during the last ice age.

The trap's walls are covered in algae, worms and sea anemones. The wall is around three feet wide, and only the top foot is exposed. The researchers are unsure how tall the original trap was - and how much is buried under the shifting sands.

The V-shaped structure has a gap at its point where fisherman would have placed nets to catch fish. They could also have blocked up the gap, and then scooped up fish trapped in the shallows.

The trap could have been used to catch migratory salmon and trout as they swam up the Teifi, said Dr Otto.

Fish traps, or fish weirs, were common and controversial in Britain 1,000 years ago. They were so effective at removing fish from rivers, the Magna Carta banned them - allowing them only on the coast.

Louise Austin, of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, said: 'Fish traps were a widely used means of catching fish in the past which made a significant contribution to the economy of many coastal and estuarine communities. Today only a few are known to survive in Wales.'

On an exploratory dive, archaeologists discovered that the trap was acting like a natural reef and was covered in tube dwelling worms, red algae and sea anemones.

They plan to visit the trap again tomorrow.

Although it was recently spotted on aerial photographs, an armchair archaeologists could have discovered the trap for themselves on Google Earth.

Google said the V-shaped structure has been visible on its collection of satellite and aerial photos since at least December 2006.

'It's true that many amazing discoveries have been made in Google Earth - a pristine forest in Mozambique that is home to previously unknown species, a fringing coral reef off the coast of Australia, and the remains of an Ancient Roman villa, to name just a few,' a spokesman said.

'Everyday we're impressed and inspired by what eagle-eyed armchair explorers and scientists alike discover about our world using this technology.'

Last month, a mysterious grid of lines in the Atlantic was spotted on Google Earth 600 miles off the coast of Africa. The discovery set internet bloggers buzzing with excitement and appeared to baffle Atlantis experts.

However, the grids turned out to have been created when the Google map was created - and do not exist in the real world.

Dolphins perfect bubble rings underwater

SeaWorld has revealed amazing footage of dolphins blowing bubble rings out of their blowholes.
They are captured blowing puffs of air and angling their heads so that they rise in a straight line thereby creating the perfect circles.
The underwater mammals from Sea World Orlando's Dolphin Cove are shown playing with the large bubble rings and spinning them around with their noses. They also bite into them to create smaller circles.
'It's a cool behaviour the dolphins seem to learn from one another,' one trainer said.
Another said it was the 'most incredible thing' he had ever seen.

Most of the playful mammals who display the behaviour are females. This may be because males are preoccupied with socialising with eachother.
SeaWorld has kept dolphins for more than 30 years, but one trainer said they were still surprising them.
'Just when you think you've seen it all, something new comes up,' he said.
'These animals have alot more to teach us.'
Watch the incredible video here...

The moment an awe-inspiring desert storm engulfed the Saudi capital

With terrifying majesty, a giant dust storm swept in from the desert and enveloped large parts of the Saudi capital Riyadh today.

The vast, whirling clouds cast an apocalyptic yellowish hue over the city's sprawling surburbs, choking residents with a blanket of grit and sand.

The awe-inspiring storm engulfed buildings and caused huge traffic jams as it enveloped the city of 4million people in a layer of impenetrable gloom.

Riyadh's airport was forced to halt flights as the swirling eddies of dust blacked out visibility from the control tower and on the main runways.

A civil aviation spokesman said: 'It was a very frightening spectacle as it approached the city.

'Outbound flights from Riyadh were suspended and incoming flights were diverted to other airports in the kingdom.'

Motorists said visibility on motorways was reduced a few metres as the storm blew in.

Commuter Nasser Ahmed: 'Most drivers pulled over and shut their windows, while a few ploughed slowly on with their hazard lights on.'

Riyadh, situated in the middle of the Saudi desert, is used to regular sandstorms but today's was described as a 'monster'.

Government spokesman Major General Abdul Rahman Al-Moqbel told Arab News: 'It was enormous. One of the biggest we have seen.

'Luckily there were no serious incidents because of awareness programmes carried out by the Traffic Department from time to time.'

An official from the Saudi Meteorological Department added: 'Sandstorms are due to high pressure in the northern and central parts of the Kingdom.

'This whips up the sand and then the wind can blow it for a hundred miles or more. Tuesday's storm passed in a few hours and temperatures in the north and centre of the country have now dropped, with the wind blowing the storm away to the north.'

But he said many parts of the city were now covered with tonnes of sand, adding: 'No serious damage has been done but people will find they have quite a lot of sweeping up to do.'

Scariest X-Ray Ever

An x-ray derived from a young Australian teenager who was hanging around a club when one of the people fighting chucks a metal chair into his head. The victim miraculously survived the randomed attack after a complex three hour operation. The images were taken at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. To find out more about the story check out Thought Mechanics.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Poodle and Her Other Undignified Disguises

So you’re thinking something like: “What is that lady doing with an odd-looking oversized Ninja Turtle cuddly toy?” Except that it isn’t a cuddly toy. It’s a real live poodle. Meet Cindy, also known as Leonardoodle, and her owner, Sandy Paws. The picture before you is just one of Ms Paws’ executions of “creative grooming”. We’re really not sure if it’s ethical, but here are some more jaw-dropping examples of Sandy’s canine-sprucing makeovers on Cindy.
People might claim that someone who does this sort of thing to dogs has got some answering to do. One dog-lover even wondered how she would like it if she were forced to have an all over body tattoo made up of stuff in dogs’ imaginations – bones, say, or rubber balls. A hair-brained remark if ever there was one – you see, Cindy has lots of guises, none of them permanent – though you can see what the guy was getting at.
In any case, clearly the judges don’t see things the same way as the critics. Yes, folks, this is creative grooming at it’s finest; award winning creative grooming. It seems Sandy and Cindy have been scooping prizes everywhere from Burbank in the duo’s native California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, and you can’t fault the skill of Sandy’s handiwork – or its, erm, imagination. Who would ever think of transforming a dog into a camel – or a dragon?
Now don’t get us wrong, there are heaps of good reasons for conventional dog grooming, including the fact that it cleans the dog, improves the health of its skin and coat, and lessens the chance of skin problems. “But not when you’re using dyes in every colour of the rainbow!” cried one observer in horror. “And just look at that thing, reduced to the status of a chicken, or a punk rocker – I don’t know which is worse!”
In Sandy Paws’ defence, she claims to use only semi-permanent hair colour, blo-pens, coloured artists’ chalk with a smidgen of hairspray, temporary spray colour – what else? – oh yes, and all the “special touches” – add-ons such as feathers, pompoms and plastic flowers. A veritable arsenal of colourants, props and adhesives, then, though apparently nothing Sandy wouldn’t use on herself. That’s OK then.

A space dog-essey
One other point made by those who see grooming in general as an important part of dog care is that it helps to build a relationship between the dog and owner. Well, judging from the photos, Sandy is certainly enjoying the bonding sessions. But is it us, or does Cindy look as though she’s not quite so pleased to be there?

Peacock dog

For those who are left a little queasy by the whole concept – if not by the garish colours then by its syrupy beauty queen sheen – the good news is that there’s a whole sub-culture out there. 25 years young and with a readership of 20,000, magazine Groomer to Groomer is a mouthpiece for all things groom-tastic. Scary? Needless to say, Sandy and Cindy have made the front cover.

Making the front pages

The cat's whiskers: Meet Ugly Bat Boy, the follicly-challenged feline who has become a tourist attraction

He goes by the name of Ugly Bat Boy - no prizes for guessing why.This follicly-challenged feline has become a tourist attraction because of his bizarre appearance.Eight-year-old Ugly, whose breed is not known, spends most of his time keeping warm by sitting on a computer at the Exeter Veterinary Hospital in New Hampshire.

Staff at the veterinary hospital have even been forced to put up fliers saying he's perfectly normal - just unattractive.They claim he makes up for his terrible looks by having inner beauty and a nice disposition.He's also turned into something of a tourist attraction in Exeter, New Hampshire, America.'People come in and take pictures of him on their cell phones,' staff member Christie Hartnett said.
'He's just great. The impression from clients that come in is he's not real because he just sits so still.
'When he does move, he scares them, but they still think he's mesmerizing.'
Ugly and his sister, who only survived a few weeks, were both born without fur.

And although he may not look like an ordinary cat, staff at the hospital say he behaves exactly like every other feline they've ever known.
He loves attention and is very friendly.

WATCH VIDEO OF UGLY BAT BOY BELOW

Race to save 200 whales and dolphins after mass stranding on Tasmanian beach

Rescuers used jet skis and human muscle to save dozens of whales and dolphins stranded on a beach in southern Australia on Monday, officials and news reports said.

The 194 pilot whales and half a dozen bottlenose dolphins became stranded on Naracoopa Beach on Tasmania state's King Island on Sunday evening.

Strandings happen periodically in Tasmania as whales go by during their migration to and from Antarctic waters, but scientists do not know why it happens.

It is unusual, however, for whales and dolphins to get stranded together.

Chris Arthur, of Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service, said 54 whales and seven dolphins were still alive when the rescue effort began. By late Monday, 48 animals had been returned to the sea by officials and more than 100 King Island residents who had volunteered to help.

Backhoes dug trenches in the sand that allowed water to get close to the whales, as volunteers doused them with water and draped wet fabric over them to keep them cool.

Groups of volunteers used stretchers to lug dolphins into the shallows, and other officials used small boats and a jet ski to pull whales out to sea.

Rescuers were hopeful they would stay away from the shore.

'It's too early to say yet but it's been a very, very positive day,' Shelley Davison, a Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

It was not clear why the animals had beached on the island, halfway between Tasmania and mainland Australia. The Examiner, a Tasmanian newspaper, reported that the animals were caught by a very low tide.

In January, 45 sperm whales died after becoming stranded on a remote Tasmanian sandbar, even though rescuers worked for days to keep them cool and wet as they tried to move them back to the open water.

Last November, 150 long-finned pilot whales died after beaching on a rocky coastline in Tasmania. A week earlier, rescuers saved 11 pilot whales among a pod of 60 that had beached on the island state.

The psychedelic fish that bounces erratically over the coral

A bizarre, psychedelic fish that bounces on the ocean floor like a rubber ball has been classified as a new species, according to a scientific journal.

The frogfish - which has a swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes that extend from its aqua eyes to its tail - was first discovered by scuba diving instructors off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia.

They contacted Ted Pietsch from the University of Washington, who submitted DNA work on the fish to the journal Copeia this month.

The fish - which the University of Washington professor has named 'psychedelica' - is a frogfish of the genus, Histiophryne. The fish's stripes were probably intended to mimic coral.

It has fins on both sides of its body that have evolved to be leg-like. But it has several behavioral traits not previously known to other frogfish, Professor Pietsch said.

Each time the fish strike the seabed, for instance, they push off with their fins and expel water from tiny gill openings to jet themselves forward. Coupled with an off-centered tail, it causes them to bounce around in a bizarre, chaotic manner.

Mark Erdman, a senior adviser to the Conservation International's marine program, said it was an exciting discovery.

'I think people thought frogfishes were relatively well known and to get a new one like this is really quiet spectacular. It's a stunning animal,' he said.

'It also speaks to the tremendous diversity in this region and to fact that there are still a lot of unknowns here - in Indonesia and in the Coral Triangle in general.'

The fish, which has a gelatinous fist-sized body covered with thick folds of skin that protect it from sharp-edged corals, also has a flat face with eyes directed forward, like humans, and a huge, yawning mouth.

The leaning tower of egg and flour: Chefs claim world record with pancake skyscraper

Two hotel chefs today claimed to have toppled the record for the world's tallest pancake stack.

Sean McGinlay and Natalie King of Glasgow's Hilton Grosvenor hotel measured their pancake tower at 29.5 inches (75cm) - beating the current title by 0.4in.

The chefs mixed about 100 eggs, more than 17 pints of milk, 11lbs of flour and 6.6lbs of butter for the challenge, a hotel spokeswoman said.

The hotel's general manager Stuart Nelson said: 'It was a bit shaky towards the end but somehow we managed to pull it off.

'Special thanks must go to Sean McGinlay and the kitchen team, who have spent a great deal of time this week perfecting their pancake recipes and stacking techniques.'

According to Guinness World Records, the current official record stands at 29.1in (74cm), achieved in Slovenia in August 2008.

That 672-pancake stack took 22 hours to build.

Parkour: Poetry in Motion

It seems like only yesterday every film to hit the big screen contained a compulsory parkour sequence. Maybe now, though, the French-born art of movement (l’art du déplacement) is going back where it belongs – to its roots, to the streets. But there’s a reason why parkour became such a craze so quickly. With stripped-down simplicity, and no props necessary, it’s the ultimate activity for rewarding a heightened awareness of the spaces and environments we inhabit. Or not, as the case may be.

When it’s executed well, parkour is like the archetypal poetry in motion, its practitioners exercising sublime balance and athleticism as they overcome obstacles with efficient ease. On the other hand, when it goes wrong it shows us up for the supremely bungling apes we are. Now, we sincerely hope for the sake of the guy performing a face plant here that this video is a stunt – and parkour traceurs may contest that it’s very bad example of their art – but sometimes you’ve just got to marvel at the folly of urban life.

What a slice! Stray golf ball discovered buried inside felled tree

Of all the flukes seen on a golf course, greenkeeper Richard Mitchell can claim one of the strangest.

As he took his chainsaw to a leylandii tree, he hit the exact spot where a ball was embedded in the wood and sliced through it.

The ball apparently lodged in a fork of the tree many years ago when a golfer hooked a drive on the first tee. The conifer grew around the ball and it remained hidden in the screen of 15 trees.

Trimmed, sanded and varnished, it is to become a rather unusual trophy board at Eaton Golf Club in Norwich.

Mr Mitchell discovered the ball last month after he felled the 40ft trees, planted 37 years ago, and began cutting the timber into 4ft lengths for firewood.

The piece of wood with the half ball visible is being preserved and varnished by former club captain Jim Cook who is a skilled woodworker.

It will then be kept behind the bar and used to record the names of everyone who gets a hole-in-one on the 198-yard ninth hole.

Peter Johns, the manager of the £675-a-year club, said: 'It is just an incredible find.

'We think it came off the first tee. It must have lodged in a fork or embedded itself in the trunk and the tree grew round it.

'If Richard had cut the trunk an inch or two either way we'd never have known it was there.'

The moment a hangari hippo took a bite at a stricken wildebeest

Jaws outstretched, this hungry hippopotamus seems to have found an easy target.

But with extraordinary skill, the wildebeest appears to outmanoeuvre his 3,300lb attacker at the very last moment.

However the stricken animal is frozen by fear in the next picture as the hippo catches it and bites it on the rear.


Although the wildebeest looks doomed it apparently escaped the attack which took place on the banks of the Mara river in the Masai Mara game reserve, Kenya.

The hippo would not have been attempting to satisfy its hunger as they are in fact vegetarians.

It is much more likely the grumpy-looking beast was angry that its territory had been encroached.

The wildebeest is one of 1.5 million on the final stretch of their migration south from Tanzania in search of fresh grazing.

The Irony of Hope

What is this? Get a graffiti artist week? In the space of seven days, one of the world’s most famous street artists has been in various brushes with the law. Late last week, Shepard Fairey, creator of the ‘Hope’ portrait of Barack Obama that showed up everywhere in the election campaign, was arrested in Boston. The charges of vandalism relate to Fairey’s earlier, equally iconic work, the ubiquitous ‘Obey’ street art campaign. The arrest came just days after Fairey was in the headlines for allegedly illegally using a photo of Obama owned by the Associated Press.

Not keeping the peace: ‘Obey’-based Fairey piece in Boston
Fairey was arrested on the graffiti charges while on his way to Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art
for the opening night of his first major museum exhibition in the US last Friday. He is suspected of damaging property with graffiti derived from the ‘Obey’ street art imagery, and one of the warrants dates back to 2000.

From street art campaigns…
Stickers and stencils of the ‘Obey’ design, which show an image of famed professional wrestler Andre the Giant, began to appear in major cities in the US and beyond in the 80s and 90s. With no clear political message, ‘Obey’ was nevertheless, as Robert L. Pincus pointed out, “suggestively antiauthoritarian”. The propaganda-like sloganeering and wink towards corporate commercialism resonated with a generation of young people.

…To election campaigns

Obey’ seems a far cry from the more mainstream and explicitly political ‘Hope’, which some say was a powerful enough symbol to be instrumental in Obama’s election success. The stylised portrait, which appeared on thousands of posters and t-shirts and now hangs in the US National Portrait Gallery, drew a personal note of thanks to Fairey from the now President.

Spot the difference: the AP original and the new ‘Hope’
But this was no help to Fairey as earlier last week the Associated Press demanded compensation for alleged copyright infringement. The AP claims that because the original photo of Obama was theirs, Fairey needed permission to use it. Fairey’s lawyers have countersued, saying that the use of the image falls under ‘fair use’, whereby the public can copy work without permission for purposes such as parody or education.

Institutionalised? Fairey in the Institute of Contemporary Art
Whatever the outcome of this legal wrangling, it doesn’t seem to have been Fairey’s week – and people could be forgiven for seeing this as more than mere coincidence. The arrest in particular has led to speculation that there are those in Boston’s establishment who aren’t best pleased that a known purveyor of graffiti should be getting the cultural acclaim of his own exhibition in their city. But Fairey – who has had countless run-ins with the police, and also has a track record as a guerrilla marketer – must by now be used to getting it in the neck for his activities.

No Protection? Orr’s take on the giant image

Fairey is not without his less conventional opponents either. Other artists have criticised him for being something of a magpie who simply appropriates the work of others without adding enough to make his pieces original. Ironic, then, that last year Fairey threatened his own legal action against designer Baxter Orr for using ‘Obey’ in a parody called ‘Protect’, in which the graphic of the giant is covered with a respiratory mask.
It’s difficult to tell who’s right and who’s wrong while people appear to rip images off like so many layers of wheatpasted posters. One thing seems sure, though: when street art goes mainstream, the knives come out from one place or another.