First Photo Of A Human Being Ever?

"QUOTE" Back in September, we posted a set of old photos of Cincinnati daguerreotypes from 1848 where I caught a glimpse of two people at the Ohio River's edge. That would make them among the very first people ever to appear in a candid photograph. 1848 is a long time ago. They looked like a pair of men, one tall, the other short. They were standing with what looked like a bucket between them. I figured they were there to fetch some water. I then went on in my way to talk about cholera.

Well, an eagle-eyed reader who calls himself Hokumburg (and has a spectacular blog of his own, The Hokumburg Goombah) did his own investigation, enlarged our photo, and peered more closely:


And he wrote:

I have lightened it up a bit and messed with the contrast a little, and I think the man on the left is standing behind the wooden beam wall (wharf? dock?) with his left leg up on the wall and his left hand resting on his knee, while the man on the right is standing on top of that wall. LINK

Happy Birthday Walter Breuning

On August 31, 2010, Walter Breuning reminisced about his life in three centuries. As the oldest man in the world and in celebration of his 114th birthday on September 21, Mr. Breuning agreed to this exclusive interview. Questions were gleaned via the internet from individuals around the world. LINK: Youtube

Buildings Of St John's Newfoundland August 2010

All of the Old and New Buildings of St John's NFLD. LINK: Youtube

The Oldest Trees on the Planet

Wired has a gallery of twelve trees from all over the world that have outlived everything around them. The oldest started life at least 80,000 years ago, but may be much older! The tree shown is the Llangernyw Yew in Wales, which is only three to four thousand years old, but is one of the prettiest trees in the collection. Link, Via: Neatorama

Previously at Neatorama: 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World

World's Oldest Whiskey Unveiled In Scotland

Scottish whisky firm Gordon and MacPhail has unveiled bottles of what it claims is the oldest single malt whisky in the world. The whiskey has matured for 70 years. It was filled into its cask on October 15, 1938, by the grandfather of the company's managing directors David and Michael Urquhart. LINK: The Presurfer

Its A Stoners Life

The world's oldest living potheads tell all in the shortest documentary on earth! These are the people Reefer Madness warned you about. LINK: Youtube

Met a few of them. LOL

The Oldest Naval Vessel in Active Service

The US Navy has the frigate Constitution, launched in 1797. The British Royal Navy has the Victory, which dates even further back — to 1765. But both of these vessels are museum ships, rather than truly active vessels.

The oldest naval vessel in active service is the VMF Kommuna, a Russian Navy salvage ship built in 1915. James Dunnigan writes for Strategy Page:

This 2,500 ton catamaran was built in the Netherlands and entered service in 1915. Kommuna began service in the Czar’s navy, spent most of its career in the Soviet (communist) Navy, and now serves in the fleet of a democratic Russia. Originally designed to recover submarines that had sunk in shallow coastal waters, Kommuna remains in service to handle smaller submersibles, does it well and has been maintained over the decades to the point where it cheaper to keep the old girl operational, than to try and design and build a replacement.

Link, Via: Hell in a Handbasket | More Pictures | Image: Warfare.ru, Via: Neatorama

Female athlete sets new shot put record at age 100

The oldest female athlete at the World Masters Games in Sydney has broken a world record in the shot put -- at the age of 100.

All eyes were on Ruth Frith, from Brisbane, as she arrived for day two of the World Masters Games, hoping to win gold in the shot put and feeling pretty confident as she was the only competitor in the over-100s category.

But her 4.07 metre (13 ft 4.2 in) throw on Sunday didn't just win her gold, but also broke a world record.

"As long as I didn't foul I was going to win it," Frith told Reuters Television.

The great-grandmother is also a keen hammer and javelin thrower and believes other pensioners should follow her example.

Frith trains five days a week, regularly lifting 35 kg (77 lb) weights. She doesn't drink or smoke and she doesn't eat vegetables either, claiming she hasn't liked them since she was young. LINK

The 5 Oldest Banks In The World

With so much focus on the demise of banks of all sizes, its easy to imagine the worst doomsday scenarios and wonder if your own bank is next. However, some banks have continued operations throughout civil wars, world wars and economic depressions without going under.

These are not the first banks in the world, which trace back to early lending from priests to merchants in 18th century B.C. Babylon and up through the Roman empire, but rather these are five of the oldest surviving banks in the world, and they each tell a story. LINK