Clancy Tucker's Blog, page 81

17 May 2020 - Stunning Photos Of What’s Hiding Under The Tip Of The Iceberg

Stunning Photos Of What’s Hiding Under The Tip Of The IcebergG'day folks,Scientists have long since discovered that 90 percent of all icebergs lie underwater. No wonder there’s a famous saying “just the tip of the iceberg” meaning that something is only a small, usually unrepresentative portion of something much larger that we cannot see yet. 
One photographer decided to prove this saying by diving to undiscovered places where most people don’t have a chance to go and capturing what lies beneath the iceberg. 



39-year-old German photographer Tobias Friedrich started photographing his adventures and making a name for himself as a top underwater photographer in 2007. Traveling from tropical locations to the arctic, he captures the sights of icebergs from below, making the underwater world his home. 



During his trip to Greenland, he had a really good close-up and personal view of icebergs laying there and got the chance to appreciate their incredible size and greatness. His photographs perfectly represent their various shapes, sizes, and textures, proving that each of them is unique and the real beauty of them can only be seen if you look underneath. 



These magnificent underwater photos convey a very strong message about the effects of global warming and how we need to take some urgent actions so these incredible icebergs won’t melt away. As a frequent visitor of Greenland, Friedrich has seen the huge impact that global warming has had on this land and how this country’s ice melts earlier with each passing year.Now, let's have a good look at these giants. 






Clancy's comment: Wow. Good for you, Tobias. Love ya work!

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16 May 2020 - Witness 5 Cheetahs Crossing A Flooded River Infested With Crocodiles

Witness 5 Cheetahs Crossing A Flooded River Infested With Crocodiles
G'day folks,
Today, we capture the survival of five smart cheetahs.

A group of people were exploring the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Suddenly, they spotted a cheetah family gathering on the edge of a river. The river was flooded, its current was strong, but the animals didn’t care. They had just one goal in mind — crossing it — and they decided to go for it.



The biggest cheetahs leaped into the water, and the travellers immediately lost their breath. Soon, the other two followed. As everyone waited in anticipation, guessing whether the swimmers will make it to the other side, photographers Arnfinn Johansen and Buddhilini De Soyza seized the opportunity and took out their cameras. Both of them managed to perfectly capture the drama that unfolded.



Photographer Arnfinn Johansen said he had been following the five cheetahs for a long time. “They hunt on both sides of the Talek River, [so it’s no wonder] they wanted to cross it. Normally, they would cross the river by walking on stones but this year, it had been raining for a long time and because of the flooding, it was very difficult for them to do so,” Johansen explained. “They were walking up and down the river for quite a while, searching for a place to get to the other side. Because of the strong current, it was really dangerous. Also, that river is home to the Nile Crocodile for whom a cheetah can be an easy meal.”



Johansen said the pack were swimming as fast as they could. “You really could see they didn’t like it.” Luckily, all of the cheetahs managed to get to the other side alive, and when the leader cheetah shook his fur and his tail, he even hissed at the river.
Now, let's see how they did it ...









Clancy's comment: Wow. Good for them, eh?
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15 May 2020 - COMPANY TURNS PLASTIC BOTTLES INTO ROADS

COMPANY TURNS PLASTIC BOTTLES INTO ROADS 
G'day folks,
Most people nowadays recognize the problem that is plastic pollution and many are finding ways to fight it. From reducing personal plastic use to banning single-use plastic straws, both civilians and governments are trying to fight the ever-growing amount of waste we produce. Waste that can take thousands of years to break down. One of the people who’s taken a pro-active role in this fight is Toby McCartney, an engineer who seemingly found just the perfect use for plastic waste.



The Scottish man was inspired by two things. First, he said that his daughter’s concerns over large amounts of plastic in the oceans were something that touched him deeply as he realized that his child shouldn’t grow up in a world where the image of the beautiful sea would be tainted by plastic waste. Secondly, while on a trip to India, McCartney noticed local people melt plastic waste to fill potholes on their roads. That gave him an idea to start a company.
“The idea was born when our CEO, Toby McCartney, was working in Southern India with a charity helping people who work on landfill sites as ‘pickers.’ Their job is to gather potentially reusable items and sell them to be turned from rubbish into something useful again.



Some of the waste plastics retrieved by the pickers were put into potholes, diesel poured all over them, and the rubbish set alight until the plastics melted into the craters to form a makeshift plastic pothole filler.”
However, McCartney quickly realized that councils in the UK wouldn’t be too happy about the idea of burning plastic and diesel, so he had to find a better way to execute the idea. Toby got together with his friends, Gordon Reid and Nick Burnett, to launch MacRebur in April 2016—the name being based on part of each of their surnames. From there, they started developing a technique and formula to achieve their goal—use plastic waste for road construction.



They take plastic from commercial and household use (the split is about 60 percent commercial and 40 percent household) and use a granulator to turn it into small pieces of no more than 5mm.  “Next, the plastic granules are mixed with our activator—it’s this that makes the plastic bind properly into our roads. Our activator is patented and what’s in it is a secret! This blend of plastic granules and the activator—let’s call it the MacRebur mix—then goes to an asphalt producer.”



In an interview with CNN, McCartney claims that because of their special formula, the roads they produce are 60% stronger than traditional roads. He also noted that the lab tests they ran project that the roads made from their product may last up to three times longer than regular ones.
“We went through about five to six hundred different designs of different polymers that we were mixing in before we found one that actually worked,” he said. “At the end of the day, plastic is a great product,” he says. “It lasts for long, which is a problem if it’s a waste product, but not a problem if we want it to last,” McCartney concluded.


Clancy's comment: Excellent. There should be more of this around the globe.

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14 May 2020 - ABANDONED RAILWAY STATION IN PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A

ABANDONED RAILWAY STATION IN PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A 
G'day folks,Welcome to a train station that was abandoned by the coal industry and was later converted into a cocktail bar.  The City of Wilkes-Barre, like many mining settlements, fell into a deep depression when the nearby anthracite coal breakers closed. However the last existing train station hung on as a cocktail bar until it too was abandoned.    Wilkes-Barre was once a thriving coal mining town turned city in the Wyoming Valley of North Eastern Pennsylvania. Once the mines started to all close or fold  in the 1970s due to low demand, the city was been left to gather dust. The Central Railroad of New Jersey’s (CNJ) passenger train station, which stands in the shadow of the once mighty and still ornate defunct Stegmier Brewery is still a very recognizable landmark along Wilkes-Barre Blvd.. Left unused for some time plans for it’s reuse and restoration have been made and broken time after time.  Once dwarfed by the noisy breakers, buildings and railroad infrastructure of both the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley Railroad’s servicing facilities it is now left to be only one of the few reminders in the downtown of what had been the bustling Railroad and Anthracite coal industry.     Once on the list of historic landmarks, the station was built in 1868, passenger service halted in 1961 and was shuttered  in 1972 by the CNJ after the last of the operating breakers, the Huber breaker in Ashley, Pennsylvania closed leaving the railroad yard it was attached to mostly empty and ready for closure .     It lived for a time as a cocktail bars called “The Station” and a club joint called  “Banana Joe’s”. Two old pullman cars were converted into hotel rooms, bars, and even a dance floor, but now even the station and bar lie in ruins and left to vandals and the elements. The elaborate Rococco flourishes and grand staircases still remain however.

As of 2016, a developer bought the property and is slowly restoring the station to its former glory.

 Clancy's comment: Sad, eh? Some of the old stations in Australia have been totally refurbished and they look sensational. I'm ... 

13 May 2020 - THE AFRICAN JACANA HIDES HIS CHICKS FROM DANGER

THE AFRICAN JACANA HIDES HIS CHICKS FROM DANGER
G'day folks,
The animal kingdom is full of the most peculiar beings that not every person knows about. If you’ve never heard anything of an adorable and sometimes creepy bird called African Jacana, you’re just about to learn something new! 
The Jacanidae family has 8 known species of Jacanas, and one of them is the African Jacana. It is a tropical bird that mostly resides in wetlands and is usually found in sub-Saharan Africa.



 Commonly referred to as “Jesus birds”, these vertebrates have an ability to walk on water or at least give a good impression of this ability.
Their slender, long legs paired with large feet and toes up to 7cm (2.75 inches) allows them to walk on floating vegetation with ease.








 INTERESTING FACTS:
 These vertebrates fare well not only above water but also under it. They are very good divers and use this skill as great protection from predators.
Jacanas engage in quite an unusual mating system called polyandry. It means that females mate with multiple males, leaving the duty of taking care of the chicks to them.
While males are the protectors of the chicks, females protect the territory due to the fact that they are much bigger in size.


Clancy's comment: Amazing bird, eh? Creatures in our world continue to surprise me. 
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12 May 2020 - ABANDONED COAL DISTRIBUTION CENTRE IN PENNSYLVANIA

ABANDONED COAL DISTRIBUTION CENTRE IN PENNSYLVANIA
G'day folks,Once again, I've found another place that has been abandoned, and the graffitied ruins stand hidden within the Pennsylvania woods.  Hidden away and engulfed by nature is an abandoned coal distribution facility that endured multiple fires and years of weathering. Its surviving buildings hold the clues that suggest what this place was used for. 
 Back in its heyday, this site was used for storing and transferring coal. The Knox Coal Mine company built as a hub for transporting coal by road, railroad, and boat back when Pittston was essential for mining and coal transportation.

But as with many mines, the Knox Mine disaster saw an end to its operations. The disaster spurred new safety laws, and the mine was unable to keep pace with the changing economic environment.









Today, the buildings remain abandoned, nearly swallowed by the woods. The first structure you’ll see from the path by the road has a huge iron frame roof that has long since collapsed due to fires and weathering. There is an iron beam in this main building that has an embossed business logo. This large open building is connected to three other buildings, along with two small storage structures that have been reclaimed by nature. Before these two is a loading dock covered with graffiti.






The structures behind the main building are a storage closet, a path to a large pile of bricks, and another opened-up room that allows you to climb up the wall (at your own risk), and a large area with garage-type doors. The space has some coal car tracks that may have been used to slide these cars for loading onto trucks.



Clancy's comment: The graffiti experts have had a field day here, but what a shame that so many bricks and metal pieces have not been used elsewhere. You could build a fabulous house out of them.

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11 May 2020 - Man Spends 4 Years Growing A Living Church From Trees

Man Spends 4 Years Growing A Living Church From TreesG'day folks, When you think of a spiritual gathering place or a church, what comes to mind? I typically think of some ancient and ornate cathedral, decorated with gargoyles, stained glass and incredible murals on the ceilings and walls. I think of a place lined with pews and surrounded by stone or concrete. I think of a grand marble altar and intricate decoration and design elements surrounding the structure.  Well after traveling the world and visiting churches, a man by the name of Barry Cox decided to create his own unique church and it is unbelievably beautiful. I may have been a little more distracted in a church like this as a kid but I would have looked forward to Sunday morning that’s for sure.Now, check out his amazing work ... 




  Clancy's comment: Wow. Amazing work, eh? I bet many people will want to be married in this church.
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10 May 2020 - ARCHBALD POTHOLE in PENNSYLVANIA

ARCHBALD POTHOLE in PENNSYLVANIA
G'day folks,
It would take 35 firetrucks to fill this enormous glacial pothole.  All too often potholes can result in your car getting a busted tire or a lost hubcap. However, there is a pothole along Route 6 in Pennsylvania that could swallow your whole car and still have room for dessert.  Back in 1884, a coal miner by the name Patrick Mahon was setting off explosives to extend a mine shaft when suddenly stones and water began to flood the area. Mahon and the other workers fled the mine so as not to get killed. Once almost 1,000 tons of debris was cleared from the hole, the miners realized they discovered an enormous pothole.


The pothole is believed to have been formed around 15,000 to 20,000 years ago by whirling glacial waters combined with sand and stones. In 1884, geologist John C. Branner determined that the pothole formed as a plunge pool at the base of an incline waterfall that fell through a crack in a glacier. In 1886, another geologist by the name of Charles Ashburner hypothesized that there was no waterfall and that the pothole had been carved mainly by subglacial meltwater. 





Regardless of its formation, this glacial pothole is a geological wonder: At 38 feet deep and 42 feet by 24 feet wide at its largest diameter, it could hold up to 140,000 gallons of liquid and would take 35 firetruck tankers to fill. 





The pothole was used briefly as a ventilation shaft for the mine, acting as a chimney for a large mine fire burning under the ground. In 1887 Colonel Hackley, the landowner, constructed a retaining wall and fence around the pothole, allowing tours to be given to tourists and geologists. The land was obtained by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1961, and the state formally opened Archbald Pothole State Park in 1964.

Although the Archbald Pothole is often referred to as the world’s largest glacier-formed pothole, a second pothole was discovered roughly 1,000 feet northeast of the first. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds it was never cleared out, but it is believed that the second pothole may be even larger.


Clancy's comment: Amazing, eh? Formed 15,000 to 20,000 years ago!
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9 May 2020 - A COLLECTION OF RARE PHOTOGRAPHS

A COLLECTION OF RARE PHOTOGRAPHS 
G'day folks,
Welcome to some rare photographs from our past.






















Clancy's comment: Very interesting, eh? Loved the ladies at the market.
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8 May 2020 - SAMPLES OF AUSTRALIAN GRAFFITI

SAMPLES OF AUSTRALIAN GRAFFITI
G'day folks,
The first time I saw real graffiti was a long time ago whilst waiting for a train in New York. What I saw blew me away. So, here are some examples of what we have here in Australia.


























Clancy's comment: Pretty sharp stuff, eh?
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