Meteorites belong to Humanity,not to the highest bidder

 📝 Title: Meteorites Belong to Humanity, Not to the Highest Bidder

Meteorites are not just rocks. They are messages from space, gifts from the cosmos, and time capsules of our solar system’s distant past. Some come from the Moon, some from asteroids—but the rarest of all are those that come from Mars. These extraordinary rocks fall on Earth after traveling millions of miles across space. And when they do, they don’t land on just one country—they land on our shared planet.

Recently, the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth was sold for millions of dollars to a private collector. While the finder certainly deserves credit and reward, I believe it’s time to ask a serious question:

Should such priceless extraterrestrial objects be owned by individuals, or preserved for the benefit of all humankind?

Meteorites of great scientific and historical value should be internationalised—treated as the common heritage of humanity. Their proper place is in scientific institutions, museums, and educational centers where people from every corner of the world can study, learn from, and be inspired by them. When kept in private hands, these rare stones risk being lost to science and society.

The Best Teacher

 She was the teacher in charge of the fifth grade and in the new year she stood in front of her class and told pupils a lie that every teacher usually tells. That's she loves all the children in the class alike well and they are all the same to her. The closest reason for the statement to be a lie was a very little boy named Teddy was sitting in the front row of the class. 

Everyday the boy came to school wearing dirty clothes that were bigger than his body and he was profusely sweating probably because he didn't take a bath everyday. He had no friends. While the other children were playing during the interval, Teddy was alone looking after him. At first the teacher had only a slight dislike for him but over time it grew and finally it developed into a subtle hatred for Teddy. She took great pleasure in checking his exam answer papers and cutting out his wrong answers with a red pen and putting a big "f" on the top of the answer paper. His report was placed at the bottom of the report pile because of the hatred with him. But when she finally checked Teddy's past records she was amazed to read the note that Teddy's first year teacher had left in the report. That note read like this. " Teddy is a very bright student who is always smiling. He is very good natured child who completes the work assigned to him well and clearly. It is a pleasure to have a student like Teddy in the class." The second year teacher's note read like this. "Teddy is and excellent student. He stands out among other children in the class. He is well liked by others but towards the end of the year it appears that he very traumatised by his mother's sickness.  The teacher of the third yearhad left a note like this. "His mother's death has had a great impact on him and although he is trying hard to get back to normal, it appears that his father is not extending a supporting hand to him. I feel that if this situation is not addressed quickly his education and future would be disrupted. The fourth year  teacher's note also checked and it went like this " He has minimal interest in school work and often sleeps in the classroom. He is often lonely and has no friends. 

The present class teacher who read Teddy's past records understood his situation and felt great shame for her. When the first school term nearing close she regretted being so late in reading his past records between the days. 

According to the tradition of the school on the last day of the first term every student should donate small gift to the class teacher and when Teddy handed his gift her heart felt very sad for him. It was arranged but Teddy's prize was characteristically wrapped in a rough brown paper envelope. In from of the other children she opened the parcel and some of the students saw the old fashioned bead necklace and the half empty perfume bottle and laugh to make fun of Teddy. She didn't forget to appreciate the gift and apply some scent on her saree and said in front of the class that it was the best gift she ever received in her life.

At the end of the school, after the other students left Teddy came to the teacher and said in a soft voice I feel mother's scent from you today. At that moment she realized that he had donated the bottle of perfume that his mother was using. 

From that day the teacher paid special attention to Teddy and little by little his usual talents began to appear. As she encouraged him more and more his abilities become more and more polished and by the end of the year Teddy managed to become one of the most talented students in the class and at the end of the year the teacher was transferred to another school. 

Time went by. But at the end of one of the later years a letter she received from Teddy stated that she was the best teacher he had ever met in his life. In another letter after some times he had said his school time was over and he had not forgotten to mention that she was the best teacher he had ever met in his life. 

In the next letter  he had noted that he was now a student at the university. In another letter received after a few years he had said that he had completed his digree in science and was continuing his education. In that letter too he had not forgotten to repeat that she was the best teacher he had ever met in his life. In the next letters that followed he had mentioned about the  life partner he met and marring her next month. He had also said that his farther  died last year and before his death he asked him to invite the teacher to  attends the wedding instead of his parents.

"Are you coming madam? Aren't you." He had asked. 

He had not forgotten to say that she was the best teacher he had met ever. By that time he was Dr. Teddy. 

Teacher attended the wedding and she didn't forget to wear the bead necklace and apply some perfume that Teddy had donated her at the fifth grade. Seeing the teacher Teddy felt like his mother has come to his wedding. Embracing her he whispered into her ear

"Thank you so much for changing my life at the fifth grade. Thank you for making me realize that I am an important person by appreciating me in front of the class when I gifted my mother's bede necklace and the half empty perfume bottle used by my mother that was the most important day of my life.

You are the best teacher I have ever met in my life "

Horoscope of a cat

 This is an eight years old story one of my friends once told me pointing to his pet cat. 

"This is our pet cat. As we considered it's our duty to make his horoscope when it was born, we met the well known astrologer at the neighbouring village one day. We handed him the time at which it was born without telling that the New born is a cat. As he was a reputed astrologer in the locality, we thought that he would know the new born is a cat by using his astrological knowledge. 

He examined the time well and express the prediction. He told that the new born is a boy child. Although the new born is not a boy, it was partly correct because the cat was a male. We didn't show him our imotions. So he continued telling that the boys zordiac sign is "' Pisces "(sign of a fish). We believed it because the cat's favourite food was fish. Next the astrologers said that the child would learn letters well and for our unfortune we are still waiting for the cat to spell letters. After that he told us to protect the child well from water because water is going to be a threat to the child. Actually we did not deliberately try to protect the cat from water but the cat was voluntarily reluctant to go near water and always ran away from water when we tried to bathe him. The astrologer told then that the marriage time would reach the child sooner than parents think and we couldn't refuse the idea because the cat's partner already had 8 kittens. He also told that the child would like to have a job  in the technical field. We tend to believe it too because the cat had already used to lie behind the refrigerator or sleep on it. Lastly he told us the would be much religious and  virtuous. True the cat  never catches a mouse.

My questions to you is, Do you believe in astrology ?

World's Most Expensive Biscuit.

 The image in this post shows the world's most expensive biscuit. You will be surprised to know that its value is around 23000 USD. Also you will be surprised to know that this is an ordinary cracker type biscuit that is around 108 years old. This kind of biscuits were manufactured in England around 1912. Although it is 108 years old it is still very safe in the possession of a nobleman in Greece. This is known as a valuable artefact related to the world famous tragedy Titanic. 

This biscuit was found in a life jacket in a small lifeboat on the Titanic. It had been manufactured by Spillers and Bakers , a bakeryou company in London that made biscuit for dogs at that time. They also manufactured very light and cheap biscuits for the people during the war. 

Newly weded James Fenwick and Marble Fenwick left London for their honeymoon on the MRS Carpathiya a cruise ship.

. Enroute to Washington the Carpathiya had the opportunity to rescue passengers who had survived the sinking of the Titanic on April 15 in 1912. The Fenwicks found the biscuit in the life jacket of a Titanic survivor and then safely encased it in Kodak photo envelope. He also did not forget to write " pilot biscuit found in Titanic lifeboat April 1912" on the front. The biscuit was auctioned in 2015 by London's Hendry Aldrige and sons Auction House and was bought by an unnamed Greek tycoon  for 23000 USD.

Success that brought sadness than happiness

Vihangana Ariyasinha a nineteen year old clever school girl at KurunegalaMaliyadewa girls' school in my country Sri Lanka has passed advanced level examination with three distinctions according to the recently released results by the examination department of Sri Lanka.A success that can only be acheived by a few in a compititive exam like that .At first glance, nobody sees a specialty in this news item. But it is not so.

For parents ,relatives,friends and people of Sri Lanka, her success is one that brings more grievances than happiness because the girl is no more among livings to see and be happy over her stunning performances in the exam.
After sittng for the exam Vihangana fell critically ill with a brain problem and was admitted to hospital.And there she was declared brain dead and her organs were successfully transplanted to save the lives of six critically ill patients.
The surgery not only saved the lives of six patients but also saved the life of an anaesthesiologist who had taken ill with a coronary ailment that affected her heart and lungs.
She was under treatment in the Intensive Care Unit of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital when she was declared brain dead, and her parents had consented for her organs to be donated.
We feel sorry for her and wish her supreme bliss of Nibbana according to our religion "Buddhism".

Kissing Rocks

 The world famous kissing rocks in Vietnam are in danger of collapsing a report says. The reason for this is the rising sea level and the fishing boats passing near the rocks. Therefore the rocks are at risk of erosion. 

Kissing Rocks are a lovely place that many people remember when they say Vietnam. In 2019 more than 4 million people came to visit. These rocks are located near Har long bay. 

At first glance the two rock are located in such a way that they kiss each other, so they have got that name.

Nature conservationists have asked the government to take steps to protect the rocks from collapsing. 

A regulation has been issued to reduce the speed of boats traveling near the rocks and the boat speed has been limited 5 to 10 kilo meters per hour. 

It is deported that a number of tourist attractions on the coast have been damaged in this way recently. 

International Dogs Day.

August 26 is the international dogs day. Is it worthwhile declaring a day for dogs. The story of faithful dog Hachiko would throw some light to discide.

achiko was an Akita Inu dog born in a farm in 1923 and later adopted by Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor of the University of Tokyo. The two fell into a daily routine: Ueno and Hachiko would walk together to the Shibuya train station, where Ueno would pet Hachiko goodbye before getting on the train to work. Hachiko, who also became known as Hachi, would then spend the day waiting for Ueno to come back. In the meantime, local shopkeepers and station workers would keep an eye on him and often give him treats while he held his vigil for Ueno.

This routine continued for several years until one day, tragedy struck Ueno never came home from work, as he suffered a brain hemorrhage and died there. Of course, Hachi had no idea about this, so the loyal dog continued to wait for his owner’s return. Every day like clockwork, when the train would appear, so would Hachi, searching for Ueno. Hachi’s fidelity earned him the nickname “the faithful dog.”
Hachi never gave up hope and continued to wait for more than nine years for his owner to return. Finally, one morning, on March 8, 1935, Hachiko was found dead. It is believed that he died due to natural causes. His body was taken to the train station’s baggage , a place that had been one of his favorite hangouts. He was then photographed, surrounded by Ueno’s wife, Yaeko, as well as staff members at the station. Yoshizo Osawa, one of the staff members, gifted the photo to one of his daughters, who recalled that her dad loved dogs and would often tell her about how Hachi would come daily to the station, where staff would happily share their lunches with him.
Although Hachiko’s life ended decades ago, his story continues to live on. After Hachiko’s death, his body was preserved and placed at the National Science Museum of Japan in Tokyo. Additionally, a monument of Hachiko has been placed next to his owner’s tomb in Tokyo’s Aoyama cemetery.

Hachi’s remains are groomed by professionals. The story of this dog was made into a movie titled Hachi:
Because Hachi remained loyal to his owner up until Hachi’s death, a bronze statue of Hachiko was erected outside the Shibuya Station as a tribute to the dog. Unfortunately, this statue was destroyed during World War II. Although the original Hachiko dog statue could not be restored, a new one replaced it in the same exact spot at the end of the war in 1948. The spot has become a popular and beloved neighborhood park where tourists can honor and admire the unconditional love of this loyal dog.

This Hachiko statue isn’t the only memorial that honors this incredible dog. The station entrance closest to the statue was renamed “Hachikō-guchi,” or “The Hachikō Entrance/Exit” in Japanese. Furthermore, one of the train lines was also called the Hachiko Line.
In honor of the 80th year of Hachiko’s passing and the 90th anniversary of Hachiko’s owner Ueno’s death, a bronze statue of Hachiko reuniting with Ueno was unveiled on March 8, 2015. The statue was placed outside the University of Tokyo’s agriculture department, where Ueno was a professor.

Hachikos Story 

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In 2009, a movie was released called Hachi: A Dog’s Tale. This is a film based on the true story of Hachiko’s unconditional love for his owner. Although the Hachiko dog movie may be thought of as heartbreaking, those who have watched it agree that it perfectly captures the extraordinary devotion of a dog for his owner.
The story of the loyal Hachiko continues to be remembered and beloved by people from around the world. It truly displays the love and affection a dog shares with his human.
The bond between Hachiko and his master convince us that dogs should be given proper respect in honour of the locality they show towards their masters. Therefore declaring a day for them in the human calendar is not unworthy.

Fire Culprits

 The dry season has started in my country. People are long waiting for water for their crops.The irrigation tanks have begun to dry up, that supplied water for the farmers to cultivate their crops and the hydro power plants are severely affected by the drought without water to generate electricity. 

As the undergrowth of the jungles too have dried up, they are very easy to catch fire. Lot of people know this. But don't care about it. Recently a young couple who were on hike to a mountain had stricken a match on top oh the hill and had thrown it away to the open jungle, and it had burned down many acres of forest area when the fire fighters had extinguished it. Police had arrested the couple .Though legal action against the accused is necessary the damage to environment cannot be compensated for. 

In another incident elsewhere some people had set fire and had damaged hundreds of acres of forest area and the much pathetic situation is that hundreds and thousands of innocent  and helpless animals and creatures had seen burned to death. Iguvanas porcupines frogs tortoise lizards and many more kinds of creatures lost their lives for a misdeed that had not been done by them. The images in my post show some ill fated creatures.

Because of this, I,as a caring poor man never set fire to garbage dumps accumulated in my garden but leave them to decompose naturally. By doing so I keep peace in my mind without guilty conscious of killing animals creatures. 

Garbage Elephant

 The image featuring my post today is "The Plastic Garbage Elephant" a creation by the well known sculptor and artist Lalith Senanayaka in my country Sri Lanka. This creation had been selected by the  national geographic magazine for a children's almanac along with other top artistic creations. This garbage elephant had been mounted on the beach of Uswetakaiyawa in the down south of our country and much admired by visitors both local and foreign. Still there are people who have the vandalistic behaviours and drug addicts and they have demolished the creation and robbed the iron frame or the structure much to the dismay of the admirers , the national news paper "maubima" has reported today.

Ours is a country where there are a lot of elephants roaming in the jungles. With the deforestation for agriculture and housing schemes , when the habitats of wild elephants are fast decreasing , the elephants break into the villages and demolish crop fields of the farmers and sometimes kill innocent people. Due to scarcity of food, elephants even have used to feed on garbage dumps. Therefore there's a big need to manage this issue that every government so far has failed to give a lasting solution. 

https://youtu.be/ gmOkCqCtKR0m

https://youtu.be/gmOkCqCtKR0

Neighbour's Dirty Cloth.

 A young couple moved to a home in a new area. The next morning, while they were having breakfast, the young women saw through the window of the dining room her neighbour washing clothes outside. Later she saw the neighbour hanging washed clothes on the cloth line to dry. Seeing this the young wife said to the husband " see dear, still how dirty the clothes are after washing, either she doesn't know how to wash properly or she buys cheap soap. The husband looked at it but kept silent. Every time the neighbour women washed clothes and hung them out to dry the young wife repeated the same story. 

One day about a month later, the young wife was amazed to see the beautiful clean clothes on the cloth line of the next door woman and said to her husband, wonderful she has learned to wash properly, someone would have taught her how to wash clothes well " then the husband said, " no darling I got up early today and cleaned our window panes"

 translated into English 

Jak fruit

 This is Jake fruit. Very delicious. Grown specially in tropical countries like mine Sri Lanka". People, both local and foreign,  love to eat it. It can even take as a staple food when eaten raw before it is ripe. This fruit is so special to my country is that there was a person dearly called " uncle Jak " or "kos mama".He was the one who dedicated to propergate this fruit throughout our country when there was a food scarcity long time ago.

Our country is rich in flora and funa. Rich in bio diversity. It has its own sea area ten or fifteen time bigger than the land area. But still we import fish and dried fish. It's said that there's fuel under see bed. But not even a tiny drop is dug out. What an unluck. 

Leaders are extending the begin bowl to other countries. We are beggars living on a treasure trove blindly. All these are political. 

People of our country eat Jak and satisfy their hunger. 

Wild diving

 Diving is a sport everybody knows. Well-to-do pay and send their kids to swimming pools in sport stadiums. It's nice to watch the stylish way the girls and boys dive into the pool. Some trained teams of girl divers even perform drill display on the pool clever than dolphins. But see how  poor village boys do the diving. They don't have diving pools and springboards. Their pool is the river and the spring board is the coconut tree. This is their bathing time fun activity. Though this is dangerous a game the boys know the way. There may be future diving champions among them. It's even more nicer to watch this natural diving than the diving in the pool in the stadum. 

Photo is not mine.

Photo credit should go to the original publisher. 

Those who read my blog posts please help me. You know how. Look around my blog.

Narilatha Flower

 Do you believe that there are flowers that resemble the figure of a lady. Believe or not, when you search the internet you may find such flowers. One such flower is Narilatha flower. The publishers of the posts depicting the Narilatha flowers say that these flowers bloom once in twenty years in the dense forests of Himalayan mountain range where hermits meditate in tranquil to attain self enlightenment to get rid of the suffering in the samsara. Even the meditation of those hermits would break by seeing this flower. 

But in reality such flower doesn't exist. It's a myth. 

Dingiri Amma

 There's a saying "old is gold". But does it have meaning for Dingiri Amma. The stages of life like Infancy ,childhood , youth, marriage might have spent happily. She would have brought up children , she might have been employed and earned money and spent for kids, might have had a good reputation in the village. Now today nobody strong is there to look after her. Tears of helplessness are pouring down from the invalid structure. How long will this little boy do his caring for his granny. This is the fate of most of the poor women in developing countries. Poverty is not a condition created by Dyingiri Amma herself. It's political. Not Old is gold for everybody. 

Photo is not mine 

Photo credit should go to the original publisher 

Resplendent Quetzal
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Resplendent Quetzal is a bird.It belongs to Trogan or Trogondae family. The zoological name of this bird is Pharomachrus Mcinno.As it is a very beautiful bird,it is very famous. It's body is green colour and the breast  is red.The green colour body shows iridescence,that is when angle of view and angle of illumination change,the colour of the body changes from green gold to blue violet. It has a tail longer than its entire body.The male bird has a helmet like crest.The bill of this bird is yellow in mature males and black in females.  it has large eyes that adapt easily to the dim light of its forest home. Resplendent quetzals are considered specialized fruit-eaters, although they mix their diet with insects (notably wasps, ants, and larvae), frogs and lizards.Particularly important are wild avocados and other fruit of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits, which helps to disperse these trees. Quetzals feed more frequently in the midday hours.The adults eat a more fruit-based diet than the chicks, who eat primarily insects and some fruits.Over fifty percent of the fruit they eat come from the family Lauraceae.Quetzals use the methods of "hovering" and "stalling" in order to selectively pick the fruit near the tips of the branches.
     It is the national bird of Guatemala, and its image is found on the country's flag and coat of arms.That is the garment worn over medieval armor, often embroidered with heraldic arms. Also this bird lends its name to the country's currency, the Guatemalan quetzal (abbreviation GTQ).

Banaue Rice Terraces

Banaue Rice Terraces
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The picture in this post shows a cascading terraces of cleverly irrigated rice fields in the mountains of  north central Luzon,Philippines.People know this by the name "Banaue Rice Terraces. These rice terraces were created more than 2000 years ago by indigenous aborigines called Ifugao people. Some of these terraces were designated "UNESCO world heritage sites.Because of the marvellous craftsmanship people don't hesitate to call it the Eighth wander of the world.
These terraces are situated in the cordilleras of Luzon island. That is about 220 miles off the capital Manila. The indigenous people of the area began building the terraces in the 1st century CE when there was no machinery or technology. These terraces are totally handmade by these people.
By the early 21st century, however, the number of Ifugao in the area had greatly diminished as many migrated to more urban centres. As a result, a significant portion of the terraces began to deteriorate. Six years after sections were designated a World Heritage site in 1995, the terraces were added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in Danger. In addition to neglect, officials raised concerns about unregulated development in the area and the lack of strong management. Major restoration and conservation efforts were subsequently undertaken, and in 2012 the terraces were removed from the list. During this time officials also began promoting sustainable tourism, as the terraces became an increasingly popular attraction, especially those in the village of Batad.

NREM SLEEP

A BIT OF SCIENCE ABOUT SLEEP

There are two types of sleep called Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM) and Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep ( NREM ).When you sleep you go through both of these two types.You start with NREM
and then step up to the second phase,REM. Sometimes you wake up before going to the second phase or somebody  may wake you up before stepping up to  the second.However both have interesting things to know.

NREM SLEEP

You start with this.Scientists divide it into three phases. In the first phase your eyes are closed.you seem to be in between waking and sleep.One can wake you up easily you are not worried much about waking up in this phase.This phase lasts about five to ten minutes.
Then comes the second phase where you go to a light sleep.  It is said that in this phase your heart rate slows down and your body temperature decreases a bit.And at the end of this stage you are  ready to go to a deep sleep.The third phase is the deep sleep stage where one can't wake you up easily.And when somebody however wakes you up ,you will get a few minutes to become normal and you may meanwhile utter some blurred words and behave oddly.In this third stage or deep sleep stage very important anabolic activities take place within the body.Worn out body repairs,tissues regrow,bones build,immune system strengthens.

MADU RIVER AND MADU RIVER SAFARI

The king coconut boutique
What you see in the picture is a king coconut boutique. This has been built  in the middle of a river called Madu river in Balapitiya in down south in my country Sri Lanka. At first glance, one may wonder to whom this old man seated on the stall would sell king coconut. But he is confident that he could earn a living for his family before the sun sets down the western seas.Though you don't see any boats in the picture,many a boats are rowed up and down this river passing this king coconut boutique. The boat riders stop for a while to quench their thirst while on their river safari to see a lot of wonders up the river. just read the following description about Madu River and the river safari.
 The beautiful Madu River, a wetland estuary spreading over 900 hectares of which 770 hectares is covered with water and inhabited with 64 islands. The boat ride is a wonderful way to take a closer look at this complex wetland ecosystem; a world heritage site protected by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands being one of the last wetlands in Sri Lanka to contain a pristine mangrove forest.
Journey past massive mangrove forests, glide under the canopy of the forest tunnels as they curve playfully towards the watercourse. Take in the unique biodiversity of the Madu River and its surrounding islands that boasts of hundreds of birds, plants, fish and animals.
There’s plenty more to do; quench your thirst with a refreshing drink of King Coconut Water and then proceed towards the Buddhist Monastery, see how Kraal fishing is carried out, how Ceylon Cinnamon is peeled and enjoy some ‘fish therapy’ as they playfully nibble your feet at the ‘fish spa’. If it’s later in the evening watch the fishermen in their canoes lighting lanterns on traps that catch prawn and other shellfish. It’s certainly going to be a memorable day-out on the serene waters of the unforgettable Madu River!

Aragvi River in Georgia

There is a river called Aragvi river in Georgia. It has a speciality that attracts the visitors. That is,in one point its water gets two colors. The area from which the river gets its water is in the southern slopes of the Caucasus mountains. Much of Georgia's hydro-electric power is generated from its water. It has many tributaries. Two of them are called white Aragvi and Black Aragvi.The two names are because of the color of the water.These two tributaries meet at one point and the water of two tributaries doesn't mix together until it flows down further a many kilometres. It's a spectacular scenery as depicted in the picture.

ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST PARK

Have you ever visited a forest park.To be exact a rock forest park. Such a rock forest park is there in China. This is an ideal destination for those who are interested in visiting natural forests for excitement of unseen natural beauty. It is located in Zhangjiajie city in Hunan province in China.
This is a forest with a uniqueness. Because there are more rock like formations than trees which are similar to the structures of trees. This is a UNESCO world heritage site. What fascinates the visitor there are the pillar like rock formations throughout the park. It gives one the impression as if he is visiting a site in the stone era.
The pillar like formations are the result of physical erosion due to expanding of ice and snow in the winter and the plants that grow on them.
The transparent glass bridge and the open air elevator are another two attractions made by the government to draw the visitors.