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[ Filed under History & Trivia or in the Animals & Habitats category ]

For so-called “living fossils”, the maxim “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” would seem to apply. Surviving relatively unchanged for tens, even hundreds of millions of years, these very special plants and animals have each managed to find a successful ecological niche and have stuck with it.

Horsetails

(images via: English Country Garden, CS-Music and Balmoral Drive)

Horsetails are an unusual group of plants that reproduce via spores instead of seeds. Now limited to a single genus, Horsetails were once the dominant plant of the prehistoric world, first appearing in the Devonian period approximately 375 million years ago. Today’s Horsetails, oddly enough, are poisonous to horses.

(image via: Arcadia Street)

Kings of the Carboniferous period when giant dragonflies and six-foot long millipedes thrived in the planet’s supersaturated oxygen atmosphere, ancient relatives of Horsetails called Calamites soared up to 90 feet high as they competed for sunlight with the world’s earliest trees.

Monkey Puzzle Tree

(images via: Travel Blog, Travel Pod and Jackson’s Nurseries)

Monkey Puzzle or Araucaria trees are an ancient species of evergreen conifer that is today only found in some parts of Argentina and Chile. The trees have oddly scaled branches – the scales are actually leaves – and have distinctive bark likened by some to reptilian skin. The trees are tough and hardy, and can grow to heights of 130 feet and diameters of up to 6 feet.

(image via: M. Alan Kazlev)

Samples of Monkey Puzzle trees were first brought to Great Britain in the early 19th century and by the 1850s the trees were being grown at botanical gardens. As for the unusual name, it’s said that a visitor to Pencarrow Garden in Cornwall, upon observing the odd tree, suggested that “It would puzzle a monkey to climb that”. Monkey Puzzle trees are often used by artists to ‘flesh out” prehistoric scenes, like the one above from the BBC TV series “Walking With Dinosaurs” that features an Allosaurus on the prowl.

Crinoids (Sea Lillies)

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Google seems to have its hand in virtually everything, from ocean mapping to home energy monitors. Now the search engine giant can add reducing deforestation to its lengthy resume. The company’s philanthropic arm, Google.org,recently unveiled new software that can actually track and monitor global deforestation. If the software becomes more widely implemented, it could serve as a useful tool in helping to cut carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Read the rest of Google Unveils Software That Battles Deforestation

PermalinkAdd to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Carnegie Institution for Science, COP 15, copenhagen climate conference, deforestation, deforestation in developing countries, Google, Imazon, REDD, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Nations, software tracks deforestation, un climate conference

This “hanger” looks like leaves on a tree and works as a body under a cloth in order to take care of it. Each stem is independent. The user can so rew..

a clock burnt into the walnut wood

Maine-based solid wood furniture craftsmen Thos. Moser have recently introduced the Meridian collection of tables, seating and storage pieces.

The collection is a more contemporary style than what Thos. Moser is commonly known for, a direction driven by the companys lead designer, David Moser. It is the companys first collection to be launched using ash, which allows the grain and texture of the wood to come to the fore and adds a clean, modern feel.Meridian is also available in cherry.

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Placed opposite one another, two high-backed sofas form a calm, protective space in the chaos of day-to-day life. From the outside, coarse, compact, c..

The brainchild of Jarrod Beglinger, Lighting Appliance No. 9 is a nice looking table lamp that haughtily sits on the table top to glow inimitably. Made up of thin, high-grade birch plywood and heat-shrink polyester fabric this unique lamp has

Christmas has finally arrived and right along with it, this cool Random Roundup that includes a crochet Piranha Plant, cool PS3 Ads, a tasty Ghostbusters cake and more cool stuff.

Check out the Random posts we gathered for this roundup and keep sending us more ideas and tips to contact@walyou.com.

Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy New Year!

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Stylish, unique, functional, and artistic are definitely the words that fits the Lathe V Chair by Sebastian Brajkovic. As the fifth edition of the Lathe series, the Lathe V chair is made of bronze and embroidered upholstery. It has a unique appearance that made the chair an eye-catching décor at home while functions as a seating solution. The Lathe V has curved seat design that is extended towards the other side to function as one of the chairs legs. The back rest is extended to the other side of the chair as well. With the unique and functional embroidery design, the chair can be placed sideways. -via

From: Sebastian Brajkovic

Body modification is a broad category that covers anything from socially acceptable ear piercings to culturally mandated circumcisions, but there’s a small niche in this category that involves the most extreme manipulation of the human body. Some trendsetters treat their bodies like a work of art and some cultures are simply handing down tradition, but all of the following examples are shocking in their own way, so brace yourself. Here are 10 shockingly extreme body modifications that aren’t for the faint of heart (or stomach).

(Images via arkangel666, qeana, renzo_dinali)

Society has become used to seeing angsty teens with bad tattoos, but as society’s boundaries broaden, those who push against the limits continue to pave the way for the rest of us. Technological innovations now allow for the insertion of silicone based implants that won’t affect the body’s normal processes, but stand out in a way that would be hard to match with any tattoo. From horns to clovers, just about any shape can be slipped under the skin.

(Images via janicesaucier and kevinspraggett)

Tongue splitting is incredibly painful and the resulting wound is in turns hideous and prone to infection. Once the tongue has healed, however, you’re left with something surreal: a tongue that works as two. Some find it hideous and disgusting, but nobody can deny it’s interesting to see such a mundane part of the human body transformed into something spectacular.

(Images via michellekfamilysafe, tattooedfolk, madeofchalk)

When one thinks of piercing, the first object that comes to mind is not typically a stainless steel hook, but to some, it is. Suspension requires that several heavy duty hooks attached to wires are pierced through the skin. The biggest danger here is that not enough hooks will be used… resulting in a tear. Suspension looks grisly, but is apparently much less painful than you’d expect. It’s a staple for any dark underground show.

(Images via jcvigi and catpeters)

Corset piercings are a unique twist on a typically benign adornment. A series of piercings are placed in two parallel rows down the back, side, or legs (or anywhere else you can think of), and a ribbon is woven back and forth to create a beautiful design. One can change the ribbon to suit the occasion, turning one’s body into an unusual and creative accessory.

(Images via Lemmy_Caution and haabet)

Scarification is still frequently used in Africa for decoration and to mark the passage into adulthood. Children have tribal designs cut into their faces, chests, and backs, in order to show they are man enough to withstand the pain without uttering a single noise. These marks help tribes identify friend or foe, and are considered aesthetically pleasing. The technique is slowly making its way across the globe, though scarification in the United States and Europe typically takes on a different aesthetic that involves more flat red scars, and less raised bumps.

(Images via mimik and chilombiano)

Kavadi is a structure held into place on a devotee’s body to venerate the Tamil god of war. There are several ways for believers to show their devoutness, from the mundane (carrying jugs of milk) to the more exotic (fire walking). Some choose a more extreme path and prepare for 48 days before their rites. These believers have over 100 metal spikes placed through their skin in a formation that allows the Kavadi structure to remain in place on their body.

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