According to the BBC, Dubai will soon feature a revolutionary new type of building with a constantly shifting shape. The Dynamic Tower will have revolving floors and 80 stories, with each apartment in the building capable of spinning an entire 360 degrees through a voice command. Not only will the building be a shape-shifter, but wind turbines will make it energy self-sufficient and even produce extra power to put back into the grid. The building is slated to be finished by 2010 for an estimated cost of $700 million, and if you plan on buying one of the apartments you’ll have to spend at $3.7 million to $36 million. Who said the constantly changing and revolving future would be cheap?

[BBC]

The Carnegie Science Center’s Titanic exhibit was closed today due to flooding caused the bursting of an eight-inch water pipe. The burst occurred outside the center beneath a sidewalk, sending water into the exhibit space. Luckily, the exhibits higher level caused water to gather at the lobby and gift shop, protecting the Titanic’s artifacts from ending up underwater once again. Although officials do not know what caused the break, it’s possible the pipe was damaged from cold weather and ice buildup, meaning this flood, like the Titanic’s, was the result of ice. In addition to flooding the building, the water caused a 20-by-20-foot hole to open in the sidewalk. Fortunately, curators believe the water will cause no damage to the artifacts. That’s good to hear. Last thing they need is for the artifacts to be lost because of water after being retrieved from the ocean.

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Earlier we wrote about journalist Vlado Taneski who was being held in prison while police collected evidence against him regarding the murders of several women. Police believed Taneski murdered the women for the stories as he promptly gave detailed accounts of the events in his stories. Anyway, officials have now reported the death of Taneski while in prison. Apparently Taneski could not stand being put on trial for the murders and decided to end his life by drowning himself. Officials state he grabbed a bucket from the prison’s bathroom, filled it with water, and decided to drown himself. That is pretty hardcore considering how easy it would be to change his mind. This makes us think maybe foul play was involved but at least this serial killer is no longer a threat.

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Remind us to never go swimming with some friends at Nubbin Slough, a canal near Lake Okeechobee in Florida please. Ever. Because that’s Kasey Edwards, an 18-year-old, was attacked by a wild alligator. Edwards was face to face with the ferocious animal at first, staring for what must have been some of the scariest 10 seconds of his life. The other scariest moments in his life surely encompassed wrestling with the gator, in what Edwards called a “humbling experience.” Why did his “humbling experience” have to rob him of an arm? That just seems egregiously cruel.
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Don’t drink and drive/roll/sit in an exit lane in one of these

Just because you are in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life to its fullest, things like sporting events, and drunk driving arrests. An Australian man was recently charged with drunk driving after being found completely smashed in a wheelchair near the exit lane of a road. Cars were swerving to avoid hitting the man, who’s blood alcohol level was six times the legal driving limit. Technically the wheelchair, when it has a motor, is subject to drunk driving laws (same with horses sans the motor stipulation). Apparently the very drunk man was trying to complete a nine mile trek to his friend’s place, and just got carried away… or rolled away, and then wheeled away. The details are sketchy.

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Image from the BBC’s “in-depth investigation” into the facts of the story

Abraham Gniwosch of north London should have known better, being a teacher and all… he was recently found guilty of dangerous driving after driving with 12 other people in his five-seat Volvo car. He was banned for a year and ordered to pay 900 pounds ($1800) in costs. He was pulled over by police who noticed the “serious dramatic overloading” (is there any other kind?). All in all two adult males, two adult women, two infants, and seven children were in the car, none wearing seat belts. Gniwosch argued that he was driving sensibly at 20mph, but is driving with seven unsecured children in a car really sensible at all? Plus, we can’t imagine it was difficult for police to notice the overloaded car inching along. The BBC coverage of this story includes a “reconstruction” of the event, which is hilarious because of how seriously they want to “investigate” this story. Who wants to bet someone from the station just thought it would be fun?

[<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/7471102.stm" target="_blank">BBC News</a>]

Here’s a series of pictures taken during a partial hysterectomy on a 45-year-old woman in Belgium where the woman actually ovulated during the procedure. Previous attempts at catching the moment in action were met with failure but in this case, surgeons were performing the hysterectomy when they noticed the woman’s ovaries were preparing to release an egg. One of the surgeons quickly grabbed his camera and began filming the 15 minute action. Many medical professionals are excited about the images since it gives us a glimpse of a process never before captured on camera but we are more interested in why the doctor had a camcorder handy. Seems a bit creepy to us.

Anyway, in case you were wondering what’s going on in the pictures, here’s a quick explanation:

Shortly before the egg is released, enzymes break down the tissue in the mature follicle, a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the ovary that contains the egg. This prompts the formation of a reddish protrusion, and after a while a hole appears, from which the egg emerges, surrounded by support cells. It then enters a Fallopian tube, which carries it to the uterus.

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John and his father

Some fathers and sons build cars, some play sports, and some do woodworking, but John Lowndes and his father, Ian, enjoyed having a good cup of tea together. After being deceased for 10 years, John decided to honor his father by eternally incorporating him into his daily ritual by turning him into a teapot. Yep, that’s right, a teapot.

John, 54, said: “Those cups of tea with dad were special and when he died I really missed them.”

John went to a local potter and asked him to mix his father’s ashes into the clay for a teapot. The potter complied and created two pots for him, just in case one of them broke. Now the two get to have tea together once again. That’s sweet and pretty creepy at the same time.

[Source]