TOMONEWS US

JERVIS BAY, AUSTRALIA — The “gloomy” octopus is widely thought to be an antisocial creature, but new research may change this thinking. A study published in the journal Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology details the discovery of a site in close to Jervis Bay, Australia’s occupied by 15 of the creatures. Scientists observed complex social behavior in the creatures, including, mating, mate defense, as well as eviction from the site and exclusion of octopuses from the group. The study provides scientists with a deeper understanding of one of nature’s most difficult to study creatures.

A CT-scan of an ancient Buddha statue has led to the unique discovery of a mummified Chinese monk, dating back to the 11th century and preserved in the same position as its exterior statue.The Buddha statue, which was on display at the Drents Museum in the Dutch city of Assen, was analyzed at the Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort. A team of scientists and doctors tested the statue using CT-scan imaging and an endoscope. Amsterdam resident Erik Bruijn headed the project, according to the NL Times online. The mummified body has been identified as Master Liuquan, a Buddhist monk who likely practiced Sokushinbutsu, or self-mummification. Radiologist Ben Heggelman took bone samples to confirm the mummy’s identification with DNA testing. The statue, which is currently visiting Hungary, will be on display in Budapest until May 2015.

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA — A vast network of previously undocumented medieval cities has been discovered near Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple. Researchers using LIDAR scanning technology found multiple cities beneath the jungle, the Guardian reported. The cities had complex urban landscapes and were linked by roads and canals. They range from 900 to 1,400 years old and would have been part of the largest empire on earth in the 12th century. LIDAR is a detection system similar to radar, which uses lasers instead of radio waves. It is used with GPS to produce 3D models and maps. Last year, a helicopter mounted with LIDAR technology scanned a 734-square-mile area near Angkor Wat, according to the Guardian. The data revealed the true scale of the lost city of Mahendraparvata, which was previously believed to be much smaller. In fact, Mahendraparvata was about the same size as Cambodia’s present capital Phnom Penh. The scans show the ancient cities had sophisticated water management systems built hundred of years before it was believed the technology existed, the Guardian reported. Geometric shapes thought to be gardens were also discovered. Historians told the Guardian the groundbreaking discovery would help us understand more about Angkorian civilization and the decline of the Khmer empire.

A student in China has confessed to killing his teacher, Sun Wukang, for confiscating his mobile phone. The killer, a student at Linchuan No. 2 Middle School in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, slashed the throat of his teacher while he graded papers.According to Chinese media reports, 32-year-old Sun Wukang taught chemistry at Linchuan No. 2 Middle School and was an award-winning teacher. On September 14, He spotted a student playing with his phone during class time. Sun called the student into the hallway and reprimanded him. The teacher and student argued. Sun reportedly confiscated the phone, but returned it later that day. Later, as Sun was grading papers in his office, the student approached the teacher from behind and slashed his throat with a fruit knife. Other teachers heard Sun’s cries but there was little they could do. Sun bled to death.The student fled to Shanghai but reportedly confessed to police two days later. Students described Sun as a dedicated but strict teacher who previously taught classes at the collegiate level. His nickname was “Monkey King”, but his name is similar to Sun Wukong, the character from the Chinese classic. Of more than 100 teachers, Sun was one of nine selected for special recognition. Linchuan No. 2 Middle School is considered to be one of the most prestigious schools in Jiangxi and its students often gain entry to top-tier schools such as Beijing University and Tsinghua University. But its strong emphasis of academic excellence and performance has led some to question whether students are being pushed too hard. Linchuan No. 2 Middle School teaches using high school materials, a practice common among prestigious schools that push students to excel.

A man has been arrested in China's Hubei Province after a knife attack on a primary school. After a possible dispute with neighbors over property issues, the man, identified as 25-year-old Chen Zuihang, took a butcher's knife to a primary school in Hubei Province's Macheng City. Whereupon he began randomly slashing at kids. Eight students were injured with one reportedly in serious condition. Chinese police arrested the man within two minutes of arrival and are investigating his motives. After a series of knife attacks at schools, the Chinese government has urged schools to hire at least one full-time security guard. The recommendation to hire guards was first issued after 23 kids were injured in an attack in Henan Province in 2012.

HONG KONG — A man has found a creative way to propose to his love using Rubik's cubes. Unfortunately, his proposal was denied. Tong Aonan, a mechanic from the northern Chinese city of Shenyang, solved 840 Rubik's cubes to create a portrait of his dream girl, a next door neighbor. Aonan spent two months planning the 2.1-meter high by 1.4-meter wide mosaic, which he drafted on Photoshop. He had $460 worth of Rubik's cubes sent to his apartment, solved them all, then spent 20 hours over three nights to complete the portrait, which he stacked in a wooden frame. After proposing and being rejected, Aonan shared his tale on social media. While many questioned why someone would turn down such a geeky yet adorable proposal, Aonan has no hard feelings. He still keeps the mosaic in his apartment … but has said he's figuring out how to move it.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND — A group of Chinese tourists were caught on camera shoveling large amounts of prawns onto their plates. The video showed the tourists climbing over each other at a hotel buffet in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in order to fill their plates with seafood. Most were employing multiple plates, using one plate to scoop food onto another, while other used their hands. Some walked away with three or four plates at a time. Afterwards, photos were taken of the leftover food. Most of what was taken was left uneaten, prompting netizens to criticize the behaviour of the greedy tourists. Most people said the behavior was shameful and lacked proper etiquette. Some were embarrassed by the behavior while others simply stated, "That is Chinese."

JIHLAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC — A flock of flamingos at a zoo came under attack by a group of kids, armed with sticks and stones. On March 10 at the Jihlava Zoo, three young boys, ages 5, 6, and 8, climbed over the zoo fence and made their way to the indoor American flamingo exhibit. Once in, they gathered wooden sticks and baseball-sized rocks and began hurling them at the colony of 60 flamingos. One of the birds, a 16-year-old male, was pelted with rocks and then kicked by one of the boys, eventually breaking its leg. The boys ran off, while the flamingo lay there with severed arteries and its snapped leg, bleeding to death. A worker on the grounds heard an “unusual noise” and failed to chase them down, but surveillance cameras caught them trying to get away. Two of the boys were apprehended shortly after the attack, while the third escaped. Local media reports the boys showed no remorse, and are unlikely to face charges given that they are minors. Several other birds were left bruised, and one sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries. Being mating season, the trauma suffered by the birds at this time is particularly problematic. The male bird who died had been a successful breeding piece for the zoo, fathering eight offspring. The zoo has valued his life at roughly $2150, a cost the children’s parents will likely be responsible for paying.

OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND — Digging holes in the sand is just part of a day at the beach, but for a newlywed woman on vacation, a deep hole in the dark quickly became her grave. Texas woman Ashley O’Connor, 30, was last spotted walking around on the beach sometime after 2 a.m. on July 31. The next morning around 6:30 a.m., beachgoers spotted a limp arm sticking out of the sand and reported it to authorities. After rescue crews cordoned off the area and dug up the body, it was later identified as O’Connor’s. In Ocean City, posted beach regulations stipulate holes must not be dug more than knee-deep of the smallest person in the group. An Ocean City beach patrol officer told CBS News affiliate WJZ that holes dug in the sand can quickly cave in and collapse, burying unsuspecting victims because “the pressure of it is very, very difficult to get out.” Currently, investigators do not suspect any foul play. It is not known who dug the hole and carelessly left it behind. WJZ reports that globally, 31 people have died from similar sand traps over the past decade.

A man in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood has taken trolling the local McDonalds to a new level. He showed up around noon on Thursday, with his “service cat” in tow. You heard me. The man, we’ll call him Trouble Maker, had been banned from that particular franchise. After approaching the counter, he was confronted by an irate Micky D’s employee. But Trouble Maker had one more trick up his sleeve, an industrial sized can of pepper spray. At this point he decided to use his service cat like an attack dog and a fight broke out, during which Trouble Maker used pepper spray. In the end the police came and treated two people for eye irritation. But in an apparent case of “I can’t deal with this today,” they didn’t arrest anybody, and Trouble Maker was free to go home with his “service cat.”

SPRING LAKE, MICHIGAN — Puppies are known for chewing on things and putting on weight fast. For one six-month-old golden retriever named Wesley, the opposite was the case, and an unorthodox solution was the answer. Wesley’s owner Molly Moore noticed he wasn’t playing with his toys as much, and was losing weight when he should’ve been growing. Luckily for the dog, Molly’s dad, Dr. Jim Moore, is a veterinarian specializing in dentistry. Doctor Moore diagnosed Wesley with a condition called malocclusion, a misalignment of the upper and lower teeth. The solution called for Wesley to be fitted for braces, and after photos were published to Facebook on Feb. 26, the post has since been shared nearly 300,000 times. Dr. Moore says the braces are only applied for practical reasons, and not aesthetics. Wesley will only have to wear the braces for a few more weeks to correct the issue. The photos were posted in honor of National Pet Dental Health month.

TOKYO — A Japanese engineer has designed a new type of wind turbine that he believes would be able to harness power from typhoons. Atsushi Shimizu founded a tech company called Challenergy in 2013 and invented a wind turbine that not only can draw power from the force of wind, but can stay functional during typhoons. The typhoon turbine consists of three vertical blades and a central rod. It has an omnidirectional axis so that it can respond to wind coming from every direction. Instead of driven by a propeller, the turbine makes use of the principle of the Magnus effect: air curves when passing by a rotating object, and the downward deflection of the air-flow produces a lifting force that counteracts the force of gravity, enabling the object to remain airborne. The blades are controlled by the central rod, which can be tightened to slow down, or stop the blades regardless of the external forces. Under normal circumstances, the typhoon turbine can achieve about 30 percent efficiency while conventional wind turbine can achieve 40 percent, ScienceAlert reported. However, conventional wind turbines could be damaged by typhoons while the typhoon turbine would be able to function normally. "Japan actually has a lot more wind power than it does solar power, it's just not utilized," Shimizu told CNN. "Japan has the potential to be a super power of wind.”According to the Japan Guide, about seven or eight typhoons pass over Okinawa prefecture each year, with about three hitting its main islands. Shimizu believes a single typhoon could generate enough energy to power Japan for 50 years.

WASHINGTON — An autonomous robot given the task of guarding a mall and office complex apparently chose to end it all by drowning itself in a water fountain. The Knightscope K5 robot drove into a water fountain at the Georgetown Waterfront in Washington on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported. The K5 costs about $7 an hour to rent out, which is a big saving on the average $11 an hour cost of a human security guard. The K5 is equipped with microphones, cameras and other sensors, and makes a whistling noise when it catches wrongdoers up to no good. Last summer, a K5 knocked over a toddler, injuring the child’s leg, according to the Verge. In April this year, a man was arrested in Mountain View, California for knocking over a K5 while drunk.

LA PAZ, MEXICO — An environmental group in Mexico has released footage of probably the biggest great white shark anyone has ever seen. Pelagio Kankujá Marine Conservation in Mexico named the shark "Deep Blue". She measures 20 feet long and is estimated to be around 50 years old. The footage was captured in 2013 during a dive near Isla Guadalupe, a volcanic island west of Mexico. Deep Blue was also believed to be pregnant at the time. Mauricio Padilla, director Pelagio Kankujá, told Live Science that the shark was swimming too close to the diving cage so the divemaster tried to gently push the shark away so it didn't get hurt by the pointed ends of the cage. Great whites are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, due to their being hunted for their fins and jaws.

GUADALUPE ISLAND, MEXICO — A shark expert posted a video to his Facebook page that shows him exiting his shark cage to give an enormous great white shark a high five. Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, who works at environmental conservation organization Pelagios Kakunja, shared the video on Tuesday. The video has since been removed from his page, but it has received more than 3 million views. The Discovery Channel featured the great white shark during its 2014 Shark Week program. In the Discovery Channel’s video, the team refers to the female shark as Deep Blue. The shark is at least 20 feet long, which is about the limit for a full-grown female, according to National Geographic. Deep Blue was pregnant at the time of filming, the Discovery team said, and “likely to be hungry.” Deep Blue has scars on her left side, which may have come from fights with other sharks or mating, according to Discovery. Discovery found Deep Blue off the coast of Guadalupe Island in Mexico. Padilla, who hails from Mexico City and lives in La Paz, said it was the first time he had seen the shark. The team estimated the shark to be about 50 years old.

RIVERDALE PARK / MARYLAND — Police had the one heck of a time trying to arrest a shirtless hell raiser at a McDonald’s in Riverdale Park, Maryland, on Friday afternoon. But that didn’t stop other patrons from enjoying their happy meal. The barechested man shown in the video is Marcus Moycherielli — he later told police he was high on PCP at the time of the incident. That probably explains why he’s impervious to the officer’s taser. This also explains why the man was unfazed by a couple whacks of the baton. Later in the video, Moycherielli makes his way outside where police offer up another dose of 50,000 volts. They then gave their angel a little dusting of pepper spray to boot. Ricky Martinez recorded the action on his cell phone and later uploaded it to YouTube. He said that prior to the police arriving, Moycherielli was talking to himself and punching his table before he hulked out, ripped off his shirt and started throwing chairs. It took police seven minutes of tasering, beating and macing the suspect before they’re finally able to strap the cuffs on. Well done officers.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — A British man who paid more than £1,200 to fly to South Africa with British Airways says he was very unhappy after he was given a “damp seat” to sit on. Andrew Wilkinson, a 39-year-old IT consultant, boarded a flight from Heathrow to South Africa at the end of July to see his parents. When Wilkinson arrived at his economy class seat, he noticed it was damp, and the staff admitted to him that the wetness was, in fact, urine that was left by a passenger from a previous flight, British news outlet Metro reported. Instead of helping Wilkinson to clean it up, a British Airways flight attendant gave him wet wipes from the lavatory instead, expecting him to take care of it himself. Wilkinson then said he could not sit on a wet seat like the one he was given, the attendant laughed and said, “I can see you are going to work me really hard on this flight, aren’t you?” Wilkinson ended up putting a plastic bag over the seat then covering it with a blanket. After complaining about his experience on Twitter, British Airways contacted Wilkinson and offered him 5,000 of their rewards points and a flight voucher worth £435, or a free upgrade on his next flight to South Africa. However, Wilkinson said that he was not concerned about the compensation, and he simply wants a proper apology. British Airways told the Metro that they were very concerned and have apologized to Wilkinson, they also added that the cabin’s cleanliness is of utmost importance, and they perform frequent spots checks to make sure high standards are met.

OTAY MESA, CALIFORNIA — Construction began on prototype designs for a border wall in a fenced-off area in Otay Mesa on Tuesday. Eight different designs will be constructed over the next 30-days, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Four of the prototypes will be concrete, while the other four will be made of various materials. All of the walls will be between 18 to 30 feet high and 30 feet long, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Six contractors from across the country have been chosen to build the prototypes. Bids for the prototypes ranged from $300,000 to $500,000. The construction site is about 1.5 miles east of Erico Fermi Drive. It is several miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, reported the San Diego Union-Tribune. The border wall project is underway despite lack of congressional funding. Estimates for the cost of the border wall have ranged up to $38 billion. The Department of Homeland Security is planning to pay for the prototypes with internal funds taken from other programs.

TAOYUAN, TAIWAN - This video has gone viral in Taiwan after a prominent plastic surgeon’s wife lost her cool with staff at Taoyuan International Airport. Duxing Wang, age 62, is a prominent and well-renowned plastic surgeon in Taiwan. His wife generally stays out of the limelight but this past week it was her turn to catch the nation’s gaze. Dr. and Mrs. Wang were meant to fly out on an international flight, but Dr. Wang began feeling ill a few hours before the flight. Unable to cancel their tickets at the last minute the couple decided to still try to make the flight. After checking and passing through security, Dr. Wang began throwing up while he and his wife waited in the VIP lounge. The two decided to forego the flight and contacted airport staff about cancelling their tickets and reclaiming their luggage. Airport staff then provided a wheelchair for Dr. Wang and helped the couple exit the secure area of the airport. Unfortunately, after 30 minutes of walking Mrs. Wang lost her patience and began yelling at security staff. She even whipped out her US passport and waved it around, telling staff they better be careful or else she was going to have them all fired. Mrs. Wang demanded to know what the holdup was and why her and her husband were still being kept waiting. Staff attempted to explain that they were still removing the couple’s luggage from the plane, but Mrs. Wang wasn’t having any of it and started demanding if they knew who she was. Yeah, we know. You’re the internet’s newest darling. Enjoy!

VERSAILLES, KENTUCKY — A Kentucky high school’s strict dress code has made headlines for the second time in a year after student, Stephanie Hughes, was sent home for exposing her female anatomy. Specifically, her ... gasp ... collar bone! No sooner had the school year started, than Stephanie Hughes was sent home, on the second day of class. Her shirt violated Woodford High School’s Victorian dress code, which requires students to wear crewnecks at all times. Stephanie wasn’t alone. Six girls got stitched up in the principal’s office for showing too much bone. Girls think the school is hiding their bodies out of fear a stray clavicle might give the boys an excuse to cut loose. Stephanie’s mom, Stacy Dunn, tried keep Steph in school school and brought a scarf to cover up the teen’s “shame zone.” But that was still too revealing for Principal Rob Akers, and when Stephanie protested, she got sent home for her Kentucky blue “sass.” Stacy Dunn was determined to liberate her daughter’s collars and set about perfecting a new dress code for the school. She proposed skirts be allowed 2 inches above the knee, and shirts are OK if they don’t show cleavage. A compromise everyone can get excited about. Now the proposal is before the school board, and if they don’t want Woodford High to be the subject of anymore satirical animations, we suggest they bring the dress code at least into the 20th century.

THE FRIENDLY SKIES — Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the United crew please direct your attention to the monitors as we review the emergency procedures. There are eight emergency holding cells on this aircraft. In some cases, the nearest holding cell may be behind you. Should the cabin experience a sudden overbooking, stay calm. Handcuffs will drop from above your seat. Place the handcuffs on your hands like this. If you are traveling with small children, make sure your cuffs are on first before cuffing your children. In the likely event we call the cops to drag you off because of our own incompetence, please assume the position. A taser is located in a pouch under your seat. To use the taser, aim it at the unruly passenger and pull the trigger — electricity will do the rest. We remind you that this is a no-holds-barred flight. Refusing to be reaccommodated, disagreeing or expecting any actual service is prohibited by law. If you have any questions, keep them to yourselves. And thank YOU for flying the friendly skies.

The expansion of the Panama Canal will not be ready for its 100th anniversary on August 15 as initially hoped by canal authorities. Aimed now to be completed by June 2015, the project was proposed in 2006, began in 2007 and has cost so far US$ 6.5 billion, Newsweek reported. Connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, the canal currently uses locks in which water flows by gravity and raises ships 26 metres (85 feet) above sea level. Ships can then travel through artificial lakes and channels until they reach another set of locks leading to the sea on the other side. The expansion of the canal will feature new sets of locks that will allow the 81-km-long channel to accommodate even bigger vessels. The new locks will be larger but use less water than the existing ones. Basins next to them will recycle water from the locks as they are emptied, and use this water to partially refill the locks when another ship passes through. Water from the canal’s lakes will also be used to fill the new locks. The new locks will be able to handle ships that are longer, taller and wider. Per-ship cargo capacity will nearly triple, from the current roughly 4,500 standard-container limit to roughly 12,000 standard containers. These changes will make the Panama Canal more competitive with the alternative Suez Canal route, which can currently accommodate much larger ships The Panama began operating in in 1914. It cost about US$420 million and took 40 years to complete.

FUKUOKA, JAPAN — A Japanese theme park thought it was a good idea to put thousands of dead fish under the ice at their skating rink — and is now badly regretting that decision. Asahi Shimbun reports that the operators of Space World in Fukuoka believed the idea of gliding over a wide variety of sea creatures would be a unique draw for customers. The park bought 5,000 dead fish and arranged them around the rink, along with blown up photos of larger marine animals. When images of the theme park’s centerpiece got around, they were met with outrage after netizens thought the fish were frozen to death. Despite the clarification that live fish weren’t used, and only fish that weren’t fit for human consumption, most didn’t see the appeal, calling the concept weird, cruel and disgusting. The park was met with a barrage of criticism and calls to boycott the attraction, so much so that they decided to finally close it on Nov. 27. Space World is now melting the rink and will reportedly hold a memorial service for the fish sometime next year.

BILBAO, SPAIN / VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA — Microsoft, Facebook and Spanish telecommunications giant Telxius have just completed work on a massive continent-to-continent underwater cable. According to a Microsoft news release, the Marea undersea cable is comprised of eight pairs of fiber optic cables, encircled by copper, a layer of hard-plastic and a waterproof coating. The subsea cable stretches over 4,000 miles from the U.S. east coast at Virginia Beach, to Spain’s north coast at Bilbao. When laying the cable, engineers had to account for an average depth of 11,000 feet and hazards including coral reefs, earthquake zones and active volcanoes.The cable can transmit a maximum of 160 terabits per second. That’s the equivalent of 71 million streaming high definition videos.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — A Texas contractor found himself held captive by a cash machine and had to go old school to get out. KRIS-TV reports that the worker was changing the locks for the ATM vestibule when he was locked in because he left his swipe card in the truck. Poor fella also left his phone, so he couldn’t call for help. But, the ATM was working just fine, and what he did have was a pen and paper. He resorted to slipping notes through the receipt slot, begging people to ‘Please help. I’m stuck in here, and I don’t have my phone. Please call my boss.’ Unfortunately, everyone who got the note thought it was a bizarre joke, and the worker was stuck for two hours until someone took it seriously enough to call the cops. Even the cops didn’t think it was for real, despite hearing a little voice coming from the machine. Still, they eventually came to the man’s rescue, kicking down the door to finally get him out. Now there’s a man who’s never been so happy to get away from a cash machine. Crazy!