Dussehra Celebration Pics from India

The whole nation celebrated with fanfare and traditional fervour the festival of Dussehra and the culmination of the Durga Puja.

While the effigies of Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran were set ablaze in fiery splendour, devotees bid farewell to Goddess Durga amid beating of drums, and enthusiastic dancing.



As the skies darkened, fire crackers-stuffed effigies went up in flames in villages and towns amid defeaning sound. Dussehra is celebrated as a symbol of triumph of good over evil.



Dussehra, which also marks the end of summer and heralding of winter, is preceded by nine auspicious days of Navaratri during which devotees pray, fast and feast.



Ramlilas were staged in large parts of the country during the nine days preceding the festival.



In the national capital, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among a large number of dignitaries who watched the evil going up in smoke at the Ramlila Maidan.



Hundreds of idols of Goddess Durga, which had adorned the marquees, were immersed in rivers by devotees marking the culmination of the festivities.



A number of fairs were also held on the occasion of Dussehra which also symbolises the triumph of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura.



The President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and a host of leaders greeted the people on the joyous occasion hoping the festival would strengthen the spirit of harmony and oneness and usher in goodwill and tolerance.

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Crazy Inventions

The twentieth century was the century of inventions, and if we looked at the time line of historic developments and inventions, we’ll notice that our civilization achieved greater growth during that period in the field of science, technology, medicine, infrastructure, etc then in the whole course of human history. Technology, science, and inventions have progressed at an accelerated rate during the hundred years of the 20th century, more so than any other century.

We began the 20th century with the infancy of airplanes, automobiles, and radio, when those inventions dazzled us with their novelty and wonder. The expansion was from all points of the compass and besides all those great inventions some good, some bad that all had great impact on the whole human race, there were also a few not so successful ones.

Here is the list of the top ten dumbest and most useless inventions in the twentieth century. Have you ever thought about little umbrella over your cigarette that will make it easier to smoke in the rain? Or, what do you say about motorized surfboard? You name it, they’ve made it! I’m not all that surprised with the ideas, but I’m really surprised anyone actually built those crazy inventions.

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We’ll start with baby cage, built in 1937 and distributed in London. This “adorable” and not at all Nazi-like cage was suspended over the windows over a busy street so the baby could enjoy the fresh air.

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Since we’re already talking about babies, let’s mention another useless invention for babies. It is the beating breasts from 1963 invented by Japanese. Basically it is a pair of artificial breasts with a built-in heartbeats and it was supposed to help and putting babies to sleep.

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This great invention, named Birdman Suit from 1955 is the work of Leo Valentin a true twentieth century double to antique Icarus and Daedalus. And just like his mythological friends, the inventor of this strange suit that was built to help us fly died when his invention failed him after jumping out of an airplane.

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In 1966, someone came up with an idea that human race desperately needs an External Turkey Roaster. I wonder how come this one didn’t sustain? Maybe because of its bulkiness.

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After a good meal, you might wanna relax a little bit and maybe loose some of the extra calories that you’ve gained after eating that delicious turkey, and that is when the Finnish Portable Sauna will shine with its full glow. This creative idea came to a realization in 1962 and for some peculiar reason it is exactly the same year when the production of this portable sauna was stopped. Strange isn’t it?

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Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History
Throughout history, humans have always been prone to accidents. Some, such as the exotic car crashes seen on this page, can be very expensive. But that ' s trivial compared to the truly expensive accidents. An accident is defined as "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usuallyresults in harm, injury, damage, or loss". Our aim is to list the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as measured in dollars.
This includes property damage and expenses incurred related to the accident such as cleanup and industry losses. Many of these accidents involve casualties which obviously cannot be measured in dollar terms. Each life lost is priceless and is not factored into the equation. Deliberate actions such as war or terrorism and natural disasters do not qualify as accidents and therefore are not included in this list.

# 10. Titanic - $150 Million
The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today ' s dollars).
  

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# 9. Tanker Truck vs Bridge - $358 Million
On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

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# 8. MetroLink Crash - $500 Million
On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles .. It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.
# 7. B-2 Bomber Crash - $1.4 Billion
Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we ' re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.

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# 6. Exxon Valdez - $2.5 Billion
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world ' s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship ' s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

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# 5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig - $3.4 Billion
The world ' s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world ' s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world ' s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.
Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

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# 4. Challenger Explosion - $5.5 Billion
The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today ' s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today ' s dollars).

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# 3. Prestige Oil Spill - $12 Billion
On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia , Spain . Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The stormeventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea.
According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

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# 2. Space Shuttle Columbia - $13 Billion
The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA ' s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today ' s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.
In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

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# 1. Chernobyl - $200 Billion
On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

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Top 10 most nasty food dishes around the world

Every culture has its own food specialties that are rather unusual to others. Here we have picked out 10 food dishes that are strange and maybe repulsive.

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10. Ducks tongue. This specialty is available in Hong Kong, and is often served with celery.

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9. Worm-filled lollipops. These lollipops are filled with oatmeal worms and grasshoppers. You simply suck them out and eat them.

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8. Haggis. At a first glance it looks like a vegetable, but in reality it’s a sheep’s heart, lungs and liver mixed with spices, oatmeal and onion.

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7. Deep fried Mars bar. Considered as one of Scotland’s most famous delicacies, these Mars bars are fried in oil and proudly served in fish and chip shops.

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6. Digger wasp rice cracker. In Japan rice crackers are so popular that they are making them with insects like wasps.

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5. Fried spiders. These spiders taste like chicken with a crispy surface, and if you want to try one you should go to Cambodia.

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4. Snake. Most people despite these creatures but in China stuffed snake and snake powder are a common dishes.

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3. Seahorses on skewers. In China they deep fry these seahorses and put them on skewers for sale. They are considered as a delicacy because seahorses are rare to find.

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2. Blood dishes. These bowls of raw blood are pretty common in Southeast Asia. The blood are usually from ducks or pigs and it can be eaten with different cooked entrails.

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1. Guinea pig. During a pig festival in Peru, these guinea pigs are cooked. It is a traditional dish that goes way back to pre-Incas times.

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