Sri Lankan Resort Unveils World's Most Expensive Dessert

The Fortress Resort in Sri Lanka has recently unveiled what they are calling the world's most expensive dessert, a $14,500 concoction complete with a chocolate sculpture and a 80 carat aquamarine gem. Wow, that's expensive! I love to eat, but even I'm not sure I'd pay that much for a dessert! Here's the story from Yahoo!News:

Resort charges $14,500 for dessert

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - This dessert may be a little too rich for you, but you're probably not rich enough for it. A Sri Lankan resort is charging $14,500 for what it calls the world's most expensive dessert, a fruit infused confection complete with a chocolate sculpture and a gigantic gemstone.

"The Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence" was created to give visitors at The Fortress resort in the coastal city of Galle a one-of-a-kind experience, said the hotel's public relations manager, Shalini Perera.

The dessert is a gold leaf Italian cassata flavored with Irish cream, served with a mango and pomegranate compote and a champagne sabayon enlighten. The dessert is decorated with a chocolate carving of a fisherman clinging to a stilt, an age old local fishing practice, and an 80 carat aquamarine stone.

Link to the full story. Photo copyright HO/ Fortress Hotel.

"Hobbit" Wrists Help Support New Species Theory

Some readers may remember way back in Oct of 2005 I blogged about the discovery of a 'hobbit'-like skeleton found in a cave in Indonesia. (Original story here: Bone of Hobbit-like species uncovered) From early on scientists have debated whether or not this was the skeleton of a new species, or simply a pygmy with a brain defect. Well, it seems that recent study on the wrist bones of the skeleton lend support to the theory that this is a distinct species and not just a diseased early human. Here's the story from BBC News:

'Hobbit' wrists 'were primitive'

Careful study of the "Hobbit" fossil's wrist bones supports the idea that the creature was a distinct species and not a diseased modern human, it is claimed.
Matthew Tocheri and colleagues tell Science magazine that the bones look nothing like those of Homo sapiens; they look ape-like.

The announcement in 2004 detailing the discovery of Homo floresiensis caused a sensation.

Some researchers, though, have doubted the interpretation of the find.

These individuals - including the Indonesian palaeoanthropologist Teuku Jacob - have argued that the remains are probably those of a pygmy with the brain defect known as microcephaly.

But the new analysis by Tocheri, from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, US, and co-authors will add further weight to the original assessment.

Their study shows that the wrist bones of the Hobbit are primitive and shaped differently from the bones of both modern humans and even their near-evolutionary cousins, the now extinct Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis).

Link to the full story.

Venezuela Sets World Record for Soup

Government officials in Venezuela set a world record Saturday for the world's largest pot of soup. The huge pot set up outside in downtown Caracas contained almost "3,960 gallons of "sancocho" stew", which more than doubled the previous record set in Mexico in July. Here's the story from Yahoo!News:

Venezuela claims big soup record

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan officials claimed a world record Saturday for making the largest pot of soup, a giant cauldron of stew prepared by President Hugo Chavez's government.

The hulking stainless steel cooking pot, set up outdoors in downtown Caracas, contained about 3,960 gallons of "sancocho" stew, Food Minister Rafael Oropeza said. That would dwarf the current record-holder listed on the Guinness World Records Web site, a pot of 1,413 gallons of spicy soup prepared in Durango, Mexico, in July.

Oropeza called it "Bolivarian stew" — a play on the name of Chavez's socialist movement, named in honor of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. He said it was enough to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people.

Workers stood on raised platforms stirring the soup with poles, and then dished out servings to a crowd at a state-run market.

It contained 6,600 pounds of chicken, 4,400 pounds of beef and tons of vegetables.

Link to the full story. Photo copyright AP Photo/Howard Yanes.

Talk About Ironic

Ok, now this has to be the height of irony, a fitness center with escalators in front of it! And it's not like it's a long climb, it's 15 stairs! What is this world coming to?

Japanese Spa Has Ramen Bath!

OK, I admit it, I love ramen noodles. I used to eat them long before I became a poor ex-college student living on a limited budget, and I still eat them quite regularly. Well, while perusing the archives over at The Cellar Image of the Day (great site by the way with lots of unique and interesting pictures, go check them out) I came across a picture and a link to a story that was a little hard to swallow (no pun intended): a spa in Japan has opened a ramen bath, complete with peppery water and bath salt "noodles." Yep, you read that right, bathers get to basically become the ingredients in a giant bowl of ramen. According to the story at JapanProbe (found here: Japanese Theme Park Opens Ramen Bath)

"The bath, shaped like a ramen bowl, contains pepper-flavored water colored a light, milky brown, to like tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen soup. The special bath was created jointly by the theme park and a famous ramen shop, Nantsuttei in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture"

And apparently ramen baths aren't the only "food" bath the spa offers. They also have a green tea bath (as seen in the photo), a coffee bath, a red wine bath, and even a sake bath! Makes your normal bubble bath seem tame in comparison, doesn't it!

Cobra Guards Diamond-Encrusted Shoes

And since we're on the topic of Indiana Jones, how about this story from England that could have come right out of an Indiana Jones plot. Harrod's of London rented a poisonous Egyptian cobra to guard a $120,000 pair of gem-encrusted sandals. Now that's extreme. Here's the story from Yahoo!News:

London's Harrods hires cobra to guard $120,000 shoes

LONDON (AFP) - To their high society owners, a pair of haute couture shoes can be a precious thing.

But to guard a 62,000 pound (120,000 dollar) pair of ruby- sapphire- and diamond-encrusted Rene Caovilla sandals at their London launch, retailer Harrods went to extreme lengths: bringing in a live Egyptian cobra to patrol the shoe counter.

Whether hiring a poisonous snake is, strictly speaking, the most effective means of guarding precious footwear might be a moot point with security experts.

Link to the full story. Photo copyright AFP/File/Shaun Curry.

Title Released for Indiana Jones 4

Some of you may remember back in July I blogged about some news of the upcoming Indiana Jones 4 movie (see original post here: Indiana Jones 4 News). Well, the offical title has been released; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Here's the story from Yahoo!Movies:

The latest Indiana Jones movie gets a title

The battle to name the new Indiana Jones film is over, and the winner is "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Forget about "Indiana Jones and the City of Gods" or even "Indiana Jones and the Destroyer of Worlds," two of the potential names registered by producers Lucasfilm Ltd. The next movie featuring the two-fisted adventurer will be called "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Link to the full story.

R.I.P. Luciano Pavarotti

I tend to think of myself as a person with some pretty varied tastes in music, I seem to like a little bit of everything, but I can honestly opera has never made it onto my playlists. Yet, despite all that, Luciano Pavarotti is one of the few whom I enjoy. The world has lost a great talent with the passing of this man. Here's the story from BBC News:

Opera legend Pavarotti dies at 71

World renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home in the northern Italian city of Modena.
The singer, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, was 71.

His charismatic performances - particularly alongside fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - helped bring a new audience to opera.

Pavarotti had cancer surgery in July 2006 in New York, five months after his last performance. He had not made any public appearances since then.

He underwent five bouts of chemotherapy in the past year, and was admitted to hospital with a fever on 8 August. He was released two weeks later following diagnostic tests.

Fellow tenor Domingo said he had "always admired the God-given glory" of Pavarotti's voice, while Carreras called him "one of the most important tenors of all time".

The Vienna State Opera raised a black flag in mourning, while Modena said it would name its theatre after its famous son.

Manager Terri Robson said in a statement that the tenor died at 0500 local time (0400 BST) on Thursday.

Link to the full story.