Old Man of the Lake

 The Old Man of the Lake is a 30-foot (9 m) tall tree stump, most likely a hemlock, that has been bobbing vertically in Oregon's Crater Lake since at least 1896. At the waterline, the stump is about 2 feet (60 cm) in diameter and stands approximately 4 feet (120 cm) above the water. Its surface has been bleached white by the elements. The exposed end of the floating tree is splintered and worn but wide and buoyant enough to support a person's weight. Fontinalis, a moss present in the waters of Crater Lake at a depth of 394 feet (120 m), also grows on the Old Man of the Lake, the only place the moss is found near the surface.

History

Joseph S. Diller published the first geology of Crater Lake in 1902, the same year the area became a national park. In his work, Diller briefly describes a great stump he had found in the lake six years earlier. Thus, in 1896, The Old Man floated just as it does now, giving it a documented age of over 100 years.

The Old Man's movements have long been observed. In 1896, Diller established that it could travel by tying baling wire around it and pulling it a short distance. Five years later, Diller observed the Old Man to be 0.25 miles (400 m) from the location he had previously noted. The earliest known photograph of the trunk dates to this period.

As the result of an inquiry from Washington, D.C., the project of recording The Old Man's location was undertaken between July 1 and September 30, 1938. Those observations indicated that it travels quite extensively, and sometimes with surprising rapidity. During the period of observation in 1938, the Old Man traveled at least 62.1 miles (99.9 km). The greatest movements occurred on days of high wind and waves.

Since it can be virtually anywhere on the lake, boat pilots commonly communicate its position to each other as a general matter of safety.

In 1988, submarine explorations were conducted in the lake, and the scientists decided to tie The Old Man off the eastern side of Wizard Island to neutralize the navigational hazard until their research work was complete.

As of January 2012, tour boats regularly pass The Old Man on their journeys to view the sights around Crater Lake. Around thirty feet of the tree's trunk can be seen below the waterline.

Seven Tips for Men to Understand Women Better

A new survey has helped compile seven tips on how men can rise above others in their dealings with women.

1.      Firstly, communication should not be a problem, as for the women there is nothing as appealing as a man, who listens to them. If a man wants to tell them something they wouldn't mind knowing it but face-to-face is always preferable and if that is not possible men can contact them via texts, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. 

2.       Secondly, complimenting women is nice, as sometimes they do need a bit of verbal assurance. Phrases that might help men in a crisis: "Your hair looks awesome tonight!" "Is that a new dress?" "You blitzed it in that tennis match/speech/insert other awesomeness here!" 

3.       Thirdly, a man should not be a penny pincher instead he should pay on his first date if they want to see the lady again. 

4.       Fourthly, they should organise their social life and there are two obvious problem areas there: First, the man who never does anything off his own bat, women may find it nice if they went and did something interesting occasionally. Second, a male who simply does too much, women would like that person to take out some time for them.

5.       Fifthly, some thought should be put by men in the presents that they give to women. 

6.       Sixthly, men should try to get a bit stylish and should invest in a fool-proof man outfit: nice jeans, a T-shirt and unscuffed trainers and for more smart-casual occasions, substitute in a good quality shirt and some leather shoes. 

7.       Lastly, when men don't know the direction of a place they should admit it and not pretend about knowing it.

Snakes

1. The black-necked cobra, which lives mostly in Africa, spits its venom into the eyes of its victim, to cause it blindness.
2. There are no snakes in New Zealand.
3. The venom of the king cobra is so deadly that one bite can kill twenty people or one elephant.
4. The fastest moving land snake is the Black Mamba, which can move up to 7 miles per hour.
5. The King Cobra has enough venom in its bite that it can kill up to 13 adults.
6. The Australian Brown Snake's venom is so powerful that only 1/14,000th of on ounce is needed to kill a human being.
7. Taipan snakes have 50 times more toxic than a cobra snake.
8. Snake venom is ninety percent protein.
9. Snake is a delicacy in China.
10. Most snakes have six rows of teeth.
11. A snake charmer in Bangladesh once found 3,500 poisonous cobras and their eggs hidden underneath the floors of two suburban homes.
12. Sea snakes are the most poisonous snakes in the world.