The giant mirror of Viganella built to combat the 83 days of darkness in the year
In amongst the steep mountains of the Italian Alps lies the village of Viganella, a remote commune with a dwindling population of 200. Every year from November 11th to February 2nd, the village is cast under a dark shadow as the sun disappears behind the mountain. The mayor of the village Pierfranco Midali decided to combat this by building a giant mirror on the opposite mountain which would reflect sunlight back into the village. The mirror measures 8 meters by 5 meters and cost 100,000 euros to build and install. The project was such a success that people have began moving back to the village, and the mayor is now regarded as a hero.
Rest in Peace and Deep Condoleances to 45 passangers in Sukhoi Superjet 100 which crushed Salak Mountain, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.
If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.
—Henry David Thoreau (via sirmitchell)
American Lion (Panthera leo atrox or P. atrox)
… also known as the North American lion or American cave lion — is an extinct lion, endemic to North America and northwestern South America during the Pleistocene epoch (0.34 mya to 11,000 years ago), existing for approximately 0.33 million years. It has been shown by genetic analysis to be a sister lineage to the Eurasian Cave Lion (Panthera leo spelaea or P. spelaea).
The American lion was one of the largest types of cat ever to have existed, slightly larger than the Early Middle Pleistocene primitive cave lion… The head-body length of the American lion is estimated to have been 1.6–2.5 m (5 ft 3 in–8 ft 2 in) and it would have stood 1.2 m (4 ft) at the shoulder. In some areas of its range, the American lion lived under cold climatic conditions. They probably used caves or fissures for shelter from the cold weather.They may have lined their dens with grass or leaves, as the Siberian tiger does, another great cat that currently lives in the north…
(read more: Wikipedia)
(images: T - Sergiodlarosa, ML- - ReverendLukeWarm, MR - Claire H., B - Dantheman9758)
