Astronaut gets chilling surprise when they spot huge skull on Earth
An astronaut had a chilling surprise when they spotted a huge skull on Earth.
An unnamed crew member of the International Space Station (ISS) snapped the eerie sight earlier this year.
NASA have now released the image, which they have entitled "A Ghostly Face in the Rock".
It shows a huge volcanic pit in northern Chad, with the skull illusion caused by shadows and volcanic features.
The space agency explain: "From above, the 1,000-metre (3,300-foot) deep volcanic pit and soda lake Trou au Natron in northern Chad has the look of a ghostly face staring back at you.
"An astronaut on the International Space Station captured this photograph of the distinctive feature on February 12, 2023.
"The edge of the “face” is partly formed by shadows cast by the rim of a caldera—a type of volcanic crater formed after an explosive eruption or the collapse of the surface into a partially-emptied magma chamber.
"The “eyes” and “nose” are cinder cones—steep conical hills built around volcanic vents. The cinder cones are thought to be relatively young in geological terms, likely forming within the past few million years and possibly as recently as the past few thousand years.
"The white area around the “mouth” is a mineral crust made of a salt known as natron—a mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, and sodium sulfate. It forms as hot spring water pools on the surface and evaporates, and mineral-rich steam rises from the surface of the geothermally active area."
Trou au Natron lies just southeast of Tarso Toussidé, a broad volcanic feature with fumaroles and an active stratovolcano. One of several volcanic peaks in the Tibesti Mountains, it is the source of several relatively recent—though poorly documented and studied—eruptions.
The remoteness of Trou au Natron makes it difficult for scientists to access. However, analysis of rock and fossil samples collected in the 1960s indicate that Trou au Natron was filled by a glacial lake hundreds of meters deep about 14,000 years ago.
An expedition led by German researcher Stefan Kröpelin reached Trou au Natron in 2015 and collected samples of fossilised aquatic algae thought to have formed some 120,000 years ago.
NASA say satellite observations of the region have helped fill in some details.
They explain: "One pair of University of Cambridge researchers have pieced together a rough sequence of the region’s volcanic activity based on observations from the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite. They divided the activity into six phases, with the formation of Trou au Natron as one of the most recent events of geologic significance."
The astronaut photograph was acquired on February 12, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 500 millimeters. It was taken by a member of the Expedition 68 crew.
Baker creates life-size replica of King Charles made out of cake
A talented baker has risen to the occasion to create a stunning life-size sculpture of King Charles - made out of CAKE.
Emma Jayne Morris, 53, sculpted His Majesty's head out of Rice Krispies and marshmallows before constructing his face using modelling chocolate.
It even comes complete with the monarch's sparkling crown which is adorned with 2,500 zodiac crystals individually placed on by Emma.
The edible part of the crown are the giant ruby on the front and sapphire on the back which are crafted from tempered sugar isomalt and sugarpaste.
Cake artist Emma, who painstakingly spent 120 hours working on the 5ft 10ins model, completed the King's body using 60kg (9 stone) of sugarpaste.
She is showcasing her incredible creation at the Cake International event at the NEC in Birmingham, which begins today (Fri) and runs until Sunday (5/11).
Emma, a mum-of-three, from Aberdare, South Wales, said: “I decided to pick King Charles with it being his coronation year.
"I know we're a few months down the line but I wanted to mark what was a historic occasion for the country.
"I first hand carved the shapes out of polystyrene, which was extremely time consuming, making sure I had everything down to his exact height.
"Then I covered it in what would probably be the equivalent of about six wedding cakes worth of baking materials.
"If I had done the entire thing out of cake, we would not have been able to transport it, and we like to be careful with food wastage too.
"It took me about four days to do the crown and the head and body took three days each. I worked from 8am to midnight each day to get it ready in time.
"The King has such distinctive features from his nose to his ears and I wanted to make it as lifelike as possible without it becoming a caricature.
"His eyes were definitely the most time-consuming part of the cake.
"Made from modelling paste, hand painted and filled with piping gel the fully edible eyes were put in the air fryer in dehydration mode for a whole day to dry out the gel and create a lifelike, glazed look.
"His eyelashes are made from individual strands of wheat painted with edible colouring and individually placed on his eyelids with precision and care.
"This lifelike detail is so important for me, especially when we are talking about the King."
Other amazing cakes at the show include 54-year-old Jane Lashbrook's life-sized replica of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne.
Visitors were also wowed by a creation of Max from Stranger Things floating in the air from the scene where she is possessed by the villain Vecna.
“I grew up in an Amish community with 18 siblings"
A woman who grew up in an Amish community with 18 siblings revealed how she didn't cut her hair or take a shower for 19 years.
Lizzie Ens, 38, grew up in a strict Amish community surrounded by her brothers and sisters but always felt she “didn’t belong”.
She didn’t have any electricity, running water and had to sew all her own clothes and wasn’t allowed to cut her hair.
Lizzie left aged 19 when her boyfriend at the time, from another Amish community, escaped himself and helped her do the same.
She left with just $20 and got a job as a dishwasher so she could integrate into modern society.
Her life is now "completely different" and she finds looking back on her lifestyle growing up "crazy".
Lizzie, a functional nutrition practitioner, from Phoenix, Arizona, said: “We had no electricity and no running water.
“We didn’t have showers.
“I had never cut my hair before I left – that was surreal.
“I knew from a young ages that I wasn’t going to be there by entire life.
“I knew I didn’t belong.”
Lizzie is one of three sets of twins in her family of 19 children – the eldest now 47 and the youngest aged 25.
She said: “We had sibling rivalry – in general we were close.
“Every morning for breakfast you cooked enough for 20 people.
“You are cooking for an army three times a day.”
From aged five Lizzie would do house chores, cleaning and milk the cows.
She said: “We are taught how to work hard from a young age.
“We grew all our own fruit and vegetables and had animals for meat.”
Lizzie said her community was very strict – and controlled what she wore.
She said: “We had to sew our own dresses and they had to go down to our ankles.
“All our hair had to be covered and couldn’t be cut.”
They didn’t have bathrooms and instead had to go to outbuildings to use the toilet and used newspaper or magazines instead of toilet paper.
Lizzie said: "We didn't have indoor plumbing so we didn't have showers.
"I didn't have a shower until after I left."
As a teenager, Lizzie started to question the rules of her community.
She said: “From my young teenage years I put my attention on things going on in the outside world.
“I questioned a lot.
“The men came up with the rules and the women had to follow them.
“I could not get on board with the hierarchy.”
Lizzie had been dating a boy from another Amish community when she received a letter from him saying he had escaped.
He told her he could pick her up that night along the road if she wanted to leave too.
She went to bed and left a note before climbing onto the roof and jumping off to her freedom.
Lizzie said: “I sat on the roof contemplating how I’m going to jump off.
“I was jumping off to my freedom and destiny.
“I landed and ran.”
Lizzie managed to connect with an ex-Amish couple who let her stay with them and helped her get a social security number so she could get a job.
Lizzie had $20 which she used to get her first set of clothes and a haircut.
She said: “I cut my hair out of rebellion.
“It was a massive culture shock.
“You have to unlearn things.
“That deconstructing of what you did all your life doesn’t just go away.”
Lizzie decided to “embrace” her journey and got a job as a dishwasher before becoming a personal trainer and then transitioning into holistic health and starting a coaching business.
Three of Lizzie’s siblings have also left but she hasn't spoken to most of her family in years, she says.
She said she doesn’t “hang onto” her past.
Lizzie said: “I embrace my life.
“My life is so vastly different.
“I look back and go that’s crazy.”
“I’m a Marilyn Monroe impersonator – I'm fed up of sexy pic requests"
A Marilyn Monroe impersonator sick of potential dates making lewd comments and asking for sexy pictures says she doesn't dress up to 'fulfil a fantasy'.
Talented Isabella Bliss, 36, is a burlesque dancer, comic, singer and writer alongside her role as the iconic sex symbol.
But she says most suitors can't look past her blonde bombshell looks - which has made it hard to find a partner.
Isabella says some men make crude jokes while others think she'll likely be self-obsessed and a narcissist due to the perception of Monroe's personality.
Unmarried and without children, Isabella, from Basildon, Essex, blames her love life struggles on her job.
But she says she loves what she does - and she has never wanted to have to give it up for anyone.
Isabella said: "I clearly state on dating apps that I know I look a bit like Marilyn Monroe - it’s my job. But nine out of 10 times they get inappropriate.
"Some people are confused and don’t understand how I get paid for it. Sometimes they want to go on date to see if I do look like Marilyn.
“But I still haven't given up on idea of meeting the love of my life and having my happy ever after.”
Isabella first started performing as a burlesque dancer at 20.
People quickly started commenting on her resemblance to Monroe, who is still widely held as one of the great sex symbols.
An actress, model and singer, Monroe died in 1962.
Isabella first performed as Monroe in 2013 at her friend's birthday as a joke.
But her performances escalated from there - and she made a name for herself as the 'Marilyn Monroe of burlesque'.
In 2017 she wrote a one-woman show dedicated to the icon, and next year will be touring the show as a full theatre production.
But Isabella says she feels like she has to make a choice between the career she loves and finding the man of her dreams.
And she says she worries the opportunity to meet the right man and start a family is beginning to fade away.
Isabella said: “Marilyn herself just wanted to find her person and be loved and feel loved but who she was made it so difficult for her.
“I’m another year older and another year closer to making a choice – do I choose to pursue my dream, tour my show and enjoy the career I love so much?
“When in the background I’m watching that opportunity to meet right person, have kids and get married start to disappear."
Isabella says she's had all manner of crude comments - with one man bizarrely asking if she'd slept with the late US president John F Kennedy.
The real Monroe is alleged to have had an affair with Kennedy.
Isabella said: "Someone messaged on my Instagram and asked what John F Kennedy was like in bed. They see me as a thing and not a person."
“Men think I’ll be really smutty or sleazy or that it’s ok to talk to me about my body - they ask for selfies all dressed up or in lingerie. It’s like I’m there to fulfil their fantasy.
“They think because I just look like her, they don’t realise I sing her songs, write comedy and scripts, have my one-woman show, they think I just look like her and take pictures like her.
“Dating apps are a minefield as it is, men are wildly inappropriate, now imaging compounding that with looking like a Hollywood sex icon.
“I’m lucky to work a job I love and I’ve never wanted to have to give it up for somebody.
“If I was to give it all up to get married and have children I’d want it to be my fairytale.”
Clever bear waves its paw to zoo visitors to get extra snacks
This is the moment a clever bear used its paw to wave at zoo visitors - to get some extra snacks.
A video shows the cheeky bear sitting back and waving to guests as they throw food into its enclosure.
The grizzly's tricks were captured at a zoo in Kaliningrad Zoopark in Russia.
Baby says “I love you” – at just eight weeks old
The 'world's youngest talking baby' - who said "hello" after six weeks - has now said "I love you" after just eight weeks.
Mum Somer Galal, 30, is thrilled with the progress of little Berlenti Eid.
The tot said "hello" on October 5 - 45 days after she was born.
She then said what sounds like "I love you" two weeks later, on October 19 - 59 days after birth.
Babies tend to use three-word sentences around the age of three, according to information online.
Somer, an architect from San Francisco, California, said of the 'I love you': “It was such an exciting moment - so incredible and heartwarming to hear.
"She often says 'hello' and sometimes 'good', but it was enchanting to hear those precious three words: 'I love you'.
"I was chattering away while changing her nappy when she blessed me with a little half-smile.
"I said 'I love you' and I hoped for a response.
"The sheer elation I felt is truly indescribable. We're totally in awe of her.
“It was so heartwarming when she said ‘hello’.
"No one would believe me - even her dad, and I wondered if I was being a crazy mum.
"We think she's the world's youngest talking baby.
“Even if she doesn’t know what the words mean she repeats them because it makes us smile.
“She’s definitely communicating because she says ‘hello’ if I’m busy and my focus isn’t on her so she’s using words to get my attention.
“It’s amazing!”
Berlenti, who was born to Somer and dad Omar Eid, 31, weighing 8lbs 9oz on August 21, has most of her chats with mum and gran, Beverly Galal, 70, while having her nappy changed.
Somer thinks her youngster coughs before speaking because she’s preparing her young vocal chords.
The mum has begun teaching her to count and play piano too.
She said: “I put my fingers up and she mimics me, and I put her hands on the piano keys and press them to show she can make the sounds.
"It’s very cute and she enjoys it.
"Maybe all babies are capable of this but we don't look for it, or maybe she's a genius - I'm open to all possibilities.
"At my first pregnancy scan the doctor commented that her brain development was really advanced.
"I thought they were being encouraging but maybe she's a little prodigy.
"Berlenti's talking is an incredible feat for eight weeks old - we’ve consulted a paediatrician to find out how best to support her development.
"Even the consultant was amazed."
Chicken spotted walking the streets in a pair of JEANS
This is the bizarre moment a chicken was spotted wearing a pair of JEANS.
The chicken was seen strutting its stuff on a street corner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
It's unclear if the man in the video is the chicken's owner.
Couple spend £24k to turn their house into a spooky Halloween lightshow
A couple has spent £24,000k ($30,000k) to turn their house into a spooky Halloween light show.
The show includes spotlights that can be seen from miles and attracts thousands of visitors at the weekends.
Kyle Bostick, 35, and his wife Christina Bostick, 36, even synced the light show to the tune of Taylor Swift's hit songs in light of her celebrated Eras Tour.
The couple also used an extract from "Beetlejuice", horror-themed songs by Rob Zombie and tune by heavy metal band System of a Down.
Kyle began the annual tradition in 2020 after his wife Christina saw a house with "perfect" Halloween decorations online.
By Halloween 2022, the pair had spent £44,500 ($50,000) on decorations for their home and this year they have added £24,000k ($30,000) of new decorations.
They new additions include a skeleton band, a stage, light beams, a screen that plays custom animations and vertical fog cannons.
Kyle explained: "The beams we've added in - called moving-head lights - can be seen from miles away.
"There's an extremely busy road about a mile away from here with lots of cars and street lights and you can see the house.
"The screen, which has projection mapping, turns a whole part of the front of the house into a big screen for animations."
He added: "The moving-head lights cost $20,000. The projection mapping cost $2,000 or so and the skeletons cost $2,500.
"The fog machines cost about $1,000 a piece too. All in all the new additions cost about $30,000."
Kyle, an IT technician, spent over a month setting up display.
He built the stage, reprogrammed the skeletons and added motors.
Kyle, who is Garden City, Michigan, USA, said: "The skeletons were pre-programmed so they did their own thing.
"I took them apart, reprogrammed them and built them a stage so I could turn it into a concert."
Kyle also mounted the rest of the decorations and programmed all the animation and movement himself.
The popularity of the show means that the couple sometimes need to go outside to manage traffic in their neighborhood.
The Bosticks use their lights for good and take charity donations from onlookers.
They generate about $2,000 per show.
This year they are donating to a breast cancer charity.
Kyle said: "This year the show is pulling in the biggest crowd we've ever seen.
"When we go outside to manage traffic we see kids screaming to the songs.
"We get hundreds of cars and thousands of people on weekends. Our neighbours are still supportive so it's no problem."
DINKS take a holiday each month and have ‘to do’ bucket list before they have kids
Meet the DINKS ticking off a "bucket list" before having kids - by going on holiday every month, having spontaneous date nights and weekend lie-ins.
Hillary Bowles, 31, and her husband, Logan, 30, are currently child-free and in their “DINK era” – which stands for ‘dual income no kids’.
The couple - who have been married for six years - spend their free time travelling, going on spontaneous dinner dates and doing workouts together.
Hillary and Logan, who works in private equity, can book time off at short notice to jet off on a break – and they go on holiday once a month.
They believe enjoying their current lifestyle will make them “better parents” in the future and they’ll have “no regrets” when they decide to start a family.
Hillary, a content creator, living in Charlotte, North Carolina, US, said: “We’re care free and young and don’t have the responsibilities.
“We are in our DINK era.
“I think it is going to make us better parents - as we’ll have no regrets.”
Hillary and Logan met while at college, aged 20, and tied the knot in July 2017.
Despite feeling a pressure to have children straight away, they decided they want to wait and continue to enjoy a “care free” lifestyle.
Hillary said: “Eventually we know we want children but we want to enjoy our marriage together first.
“We don’t give in to the pressure of having kids.
“Since the second we got married we get the question every day – ‘When are you having kids?’ Are you done travelling yet?’
“I have friends who have struggled with infertility – I don’t like that question.”
The pair have always loved travelling together and have a bucket list of destinations they want to cross off before they have kids – including Australia.
They have already ticked off 20 countries - such as a safari in South Africa, Costa Rica and the Amalfi coast in Italy.
Hillary said: “It’s very spontaneous.
“Typically we go away once a month.
“In summer it is back to back.
“We have a bucket list before we have kids - we’re getting to the end.”
Hillary and Logan are lucky their jobs allow them to be flexible with time off.
Hillary said: “We have no priorities – we do whatever we want.
“We have lots of date nights.
“We like to workout.”
On a typical weekend, if they are not travelling, the couple love to spend time together at home and will enjoy lie-ins.
Hillary said: “Typically we’ll go on the boat, go for dinner, have a drink and chill with the dogs.
“As we get older we’re getting closer [to kids] but we don’t want to put a timetable on it.
“We met so young – we got to grow up and experience all this together.
“It’s special.
“I think we have more time for each other – we focus on each other.
“We just love our life.”
The pair do see children in their future when they feel ready but don’t want to give up their travelling lifestyle just yet.
Hillary said: “The biggest thing is the travel - the spontaneity of it all.
“I know that it is going to come to an end.
“We want to keep our marriage a priority.
“We have really built the foundation.
“I know he’ll be the best dad.
“Some people want kids right away.
“Not everybody feels the same way.”
Logan said: "I love that we can get up and go whenever we want without thinking twice.
"I think a lot of people rush into having kids as soon as they’re married but for us, we got married very young so we made the decision early on to not force kids right away and do the things we wanted to do together first.
"We’ve been so blessed to see so many beautiful places around the world and, while we plan to continue to do this when we do have kids, it won’t be as simple as it is now to get up and go.
"It will definitely make us better parents because we will have no regrets or 'what ifs' because we got to experience all of this together first."
Fox rescued from driftwood floating down Thames
A fox floating down the Thames on a plank of wood was rescued before she found herself all at sea.
The adrift vixen appeared to have leapt onto the makeshift raft escaping from an attacker, according to the RSPCA.
An officer from the animal charity managed to catch up with the fox and bring her to shore, with the help of the London Fire Brigade.
The RSPCA's Mark Hanley, who came to her aid on Tuesday [Oct 24], said: “Someone on a houseboat called us after spotting the fox stranded on a plank of wood used by workmen to work on the boats.
“When I arrived the tide was in and I wasn’t sure how deep the water was.
"But once the tide went out it was shallow enough for me to go down a ladder and catch her with my grasper.
“It looked like she had an injury to her back end - we think something nipped at her and she jumped into the water to escape - and this was the first thing she found to stop herself from drowning."
He added: “She wouldn’t have survived much longer down there, she was very cold.
"I took her to the Wildlife Aid Foundation and vets there confirmed she had hypothermia.”
Pictures show the recovering red fox sleeping in a box beneath a heated lamp.
