Archive - 2009

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*Update* 2019
Ranking/Country/GDP-capita
1 Luxembourg 114,234
2 Switzerland 82,950
— Macau 82,388
3 Norway 81,695
4 Ireland 76,099
5 Iceland 74,278
6 Qatar 70,780
7 Singapore 64,041
8 US 62,606
9 Denmark 60,692
10 Australia 56,352
11 Sweden 53,873
12 Netherlands 53,106
13 Austria 51,509
14 Finland 49,845
15 San Marino 48,946
— Hong Kong 48,517
16 Germany 48,264
17 Belgium 46,724
18 Canada 46,261
19 France 42,878
20 UK 42,558
21 Israel 41,644
22 New Zealand 41,267
23 United Arab Emirates 40,711
24 Japan 39,306  read more »

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A Burmese python measuring 17 feet in length was caught on the grounds of the Okeechobee Veterinary Hospital - the male snake weighed 207 pounds and measured 26 inches in diameter. The snakes are often abandoned by disgruntled pet owners when they become too large to handle and too expensive to feed. 150,000 snakes "out of control" & spreading - they can reproduce rapidly with female pythons laying up to 80 eggs at a time, and have no natural predators in Florida.

Fla. trapper captures 14-foot python near day care center  read more »

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"My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea." - Tommy Douglas 1961

Tommy Douglas - for introducing free healthcare to Canada - was voted "The Greatest Canadian" of all time. He was hospitalized at the age of 10. Due to a bone infection suffered four years earlier, Douglas's knee required several operations. Without the money to pay for a specialist, Tommy Douglas’ parents were told that the only option was to amputate their son's leg before the infection spread to the rest of his body. But before that could happen, a visiting surgeon offered to operate on Douglas for free, as long as his students were allowed to attend. The surgery saved Douglas's leg - quite possibly his life - and would serve as his inspiration for his dream of universally accessible medical care.

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A day in the life of Abbey Road, an ordinary-looking street in north London.

"A policeman held up the traffic, the band walked back and forth a few times and that was that" - Brian Southall

On the 8 August 1969 that the Fab Four walked out of No 3 Abbey Road, having finished basic work on what would be their penultimate album. The photographer who took the famous cover shot was the late Iain Macmillan, a close friend of Brian Southall's, who knew the Beatles through working with Yoko Ono. "He was given about 15 minutes," says Mr Southall. "He stood up a stepladder while a policeman held up the traffic, the band walked back and forth a few times and that was that."

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Photos courtesy of Sang Tan/ Associated Press and BBC News

Original Source: BBC

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Eight endangered Rothschild giraffes, the rarest (only a few hundred left in the wild) on earth second only to the Niger Giraffe, are free to roam their 140-acre estate and are regular visitors at their English-style manor built in the colonial era. Back in 1794, the grandson of a Scottish earl, Jock Leslie Melville, and his American wife Betty bought the stately home. Later that year they moved two highly endangered Rothschild giraffe into the estate. The ones at the site grow up to more than 16ft tall, weigh two tons & have a life expectancy of up to 30 years. Every day shortly before 9am, the mammoth beasts stroll up to the house and poke their heads through the windows and doors in search of morning treats. Now, married owners Tanya & Mikey Carr-Hartley literally share their dining table with them.

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