MFS - Strange But True - People 16

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - People 16

The Tarahumara a.k.a. The super Athletes of the Sierra Madre.


The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are an indigenous people of northern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability.In their language, the term rarámuri refers specifically to the males, females are referred as muki (individually) or igomele (collectively).Originally inhabitants of much of the state of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century. The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence.Current estimates put the population of the Rarámuri in 2006 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practice a traditional lifestyle, inhabiting natural shelters such as caves or cliff overhangs, as well as small cabins of wood or stone. Staple crops are corn and beans; however, many of the Rarámuri still practice transhumance, raising cattle, sheep, and goats. Almost all Rarámuri migrate in some form or another in the course of the year.The Tarahumara language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. Although it is in decline under pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken.The word for themselves, Rarámuri means "foot-runner" or "he who walks well,"in their native tongue.And they've been known to irritate American ultramarathoners by beating them while wearing huarache sandals and stopping now and then for a smoke.Read and see more about these amazing people on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Places 18

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Places 18

The Sigiriya fortress Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos), which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. The Sigiriya was built during the reign of King Kassapa I (AD 477 – 495), and it is one of the seven World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.

Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the Buddhist Sangha. The garden and palace were built by King Kasyapa. Following King Kasyapa's death, it was again a monastery complex up to about the 14th century, after which it was abandoned. . The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in his renowned two-volume work, published by Oxford, Sigiri Graffiti. He also wrote the popular book "Story of Sigiriya".Read and see more about this amazing place on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Places 18

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Places 18

The Train Graveyard at Uyuni - Bolivia.


Uyuni is a town in the Potosí Department in the south of Bolivia. The town's primary function is as a gateway for tourists visiting the world's largest salt flats - the Salar de Uyuni.One of the major tourist attractions of the area is an antique train cemetery. It is located 3 km outside Uyuni and is connected to it by the old train tracks. The town served in the past as a distribution hub for the trains carrying minerals on their way to the Pacific Ocean ports. The train lines were built by British engineers who arrived near the end of the 19th century and formed a sizable community in Uyuni. The engineers were invited by British-sponsored Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway Companies, which is now Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia. The rail construction started in 1888 and ended in 1892. It was encouraged by the then Bolivian President Aniceto Arce, who believed Bolivia would flourish with a good transport system, but it was also constantly sabotaged by the local Aymara indigenous Indians who saw it as an intrusion into their lives. The trains were mostly used by the mining companies. In the 1940s, the mining industry collapsed, partly due to the mineral depletion. Many trains were abandoned thereby producing the train cemetery. There are talks to build a museum out of the cemetery.Read and see the full story at MFS,with 1 videoclip.

MFS - Strange But True Creatures/Animals 16

Updated on MFS - Strange But True Creatures/Animals 16


    The Ocean sunfish a.k.a. Mola mola.


The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.Sunfish live on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish, but because this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate.Sunfish fry resemble miniature pufferfish, with large pectoral fins, a tail fin and body spines uncharacteristic of adult sunfish.
Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, orcas and sharks will consume them. Among humans, sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan, the Korean peninsula and Taiwan, but sale of their flesh is banned in the European Union.Sunfish are frequently, though accidentally, caught in gillnets, and are also vulnerable to harm or death from encounters with floating trash, such as plastic bags.
A member of the order Tetraodontiformes, which also includes pufferfish, porcupinefish and filefish, the sunfish shares many traits common to members of this order. It was originally classified as Tetraodon mola under the pufferfish genus, but it has since been given its own genus, Mola, with two species under it. The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is the type species of the genus.Read more about this giant fish on MFS,with 3 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Creatures/Animals 16

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Creatures/Animals 16


      The Chinese Giant Salamander.


The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest salamander in the world, reaching a length of 180 cm (6 ft), although it rarely - if ever - reaches that size today. Endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in China, it is considered critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and over-collecting, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. Records from Taiwan may be the results of introductions.It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project.Read more about this rare animal on MFS,with 2 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - Things/Other 21

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Things/Others 21 .

          The Voynich Manuscript.

The Voynich manuscript is a handwritten book thought to have been written in the 15th or 16th century and comprising about 240 vellum pages, most with illustrations. The author, script, and language remain unknown: for these reasons it has been described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript".Generally presumed to be some kind of ciphertext, the Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both World War I and World War II. Yet it has defied all decipherment attempts, becoming a historical cryptology cause célèbre. The mystery surrounding it has excited the popular imagination, making the manuscript a subject of both fanciful theories and novels: numerous possible authors have been suggested for it.In 2009, University of Arizona researchers performed C14 dating on the manuscript's vellum, which they assert (with 95% confidence) was made between 1404 and 1438. In addition, the McCrone Research Institute in Chicago found that much of the ink was added not long afterwards, confirming that the manuscript is indeed an authentic medieval document.However, these results have yet to be published properly, leaving room for continued speculation.
The book is named after the Polish-Lithuanian-American book dealer Wilfrid M. Voynich, who acquired it in 1912. Currently the Voynich manuscript is owned by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, and is formally referred to as "Beinecke MS 408". The first facsimile edition was published in 2005.Read more about this amazing book on MFS,with 6 videoclips.

MFS - Strange But True - People

Edward Nino Hernandez .
The Shortest Living Man man .


A 70cm (27-inch) tall Colombian has been named the world's shortest living man by Guinness World Records.

Edward Nino Hernandez, 24, weighs only 10kg (22lbs). His mother said he had not grown since he was two years old.

Mr Hernandez, who works part-time as a dancer, told the Associated Press: "I feel happy because I'm unique."

The previous record holder was He Pingping of China, who was 4cm (1.5 inches) taller and died in March - before Mr Hernandez was discovered.

Mr Hernandez is not expected to keep the title for long, however, as Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal is expected to take the title when he turns 18 in October.
Khagendra, currently recognised as the world's shortest living teenager, is only 56cm (22in) tall. The shortest man on record was Gul Mohammed of India, who measured just 57cm - 1cm taller than Khagendra.
More about past shortest people in the world here on MFS.,.But there is another candidate that nobody mentions a Chinese man."Remember the story of two dogs fighting over a bone?",read about the third contestant here.

MFS - Strange But True - Creatures / Animals 15

Updated on MFS - Strange But True - Creatures / Animals 15.


The Komondor Dog.

The Komondor (Hungarian plural komondorok) is a large white-colored Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog with a long, corded coat. The Komondor is an old-established powerful dog breed which has a natural guardian instinct to guard livestock and other property. The Komondor was mentioned for the first time in 1544 in a Hungarian codex.The Komondor breed has been declared one of Hungary’s national treasures, to be preserved and protected from modification. They are quite rare in the United States, as most owners are unfamiliar with their coarse hair.Read more about this amazing dog breed on MFS,with 2 videoclips.