The Kiwi is the only bird with nostrils at the tip of its beak. Whereas other birds hunt by sight or by hearing, the national bird of New Zealand uses its beaky nostrils to sniff out food at night. Although the Kiwi is roughly the same size as a chicken, it lays an egg which is 10 times larger than a hen’s. It also has wings but cannot fly.
Jumat, 23 Mei 2008
Only Nostrils on tip of Beak
Longest Bills
The bill of the Australian pelican (Pelicanus conspicillatus) is 13-18.5 inches long.
The longest beak in relation to body length is that of the sword- billed hummingbird ( Ensifera ) of the
Longest Feathers
The phoenix fowl or
Senin, 19 Mei 2008
Heaviest Parrot
Flightless Kakapo around 7lbs in weight; New Zealand [contributed by Harold Armitage, Wild Macaws Wild Macaws]
SinbadA flightless nocturnal bird, which was described by early European settlers as " the most wonderful bird on Earth, " the Kakapo parrot was once endemic throughout New Zealand. Today only 50 birds remain, some of which live on Little Barrier Island (Hauturu) as part of a Department of Conservation endangered species recovery programme.
The name "Kakapo" is Polynesian (Maori) for "parrot of the night." Moss green, like Kakapo "Suzanne’s" foster brood,
Heaviest Birds of Prey
Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) are the heaviest species of bird of prey. Males weigh 20-27 pounds and have a wingspan of at least 10 feet. A male
Largest Carnivorous Bird
(contribution by Christoph Kulmann)
Titanis Walleri. This bird is known from the early Pleistocene (Ice Age) of
Fastest Swimming BirdGentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin found on the
Smallest Parrot
The Pygmy parrots of Papua and nearby islands. Genus Micropsitta. There’s six different sorts - Yellow-capped, Buff-faced, Finsch’s, Geelvink, Meek’s, Red-breasted - all around 3" long (8cm). Thought to eat lichens and mosses but not much is known about their lifestyles.
Smallest Bird of Prey
The black-legged falconet ( Micrphierax fringlius ) of southeast Asia and the white-fronted or Bornean falconet ( M. latifrons ) of northwestern Borneo both have an average length of 5.5-6 inches, including a 2 inch tail, and weigh approximately 1.25 ounces.
The World's Most Expensive Motorcycle
If you're the kinda person that drives a Reventon, won't tap on a laptop unless it's a Luvaglio, and only sails Mangusta, then boy have we got the motorcycle for you! It's called the Ecosse Titanium Series -- so called because it sports the world's first all-titanium frame. And from the 200-horsepower, 2150cc polished billet aluminum v-twin engine, to the MotoGP-spec Ohlins suspension, to the radially-mounted 6-piston billet ISR front brake calipers -- with an individual brake pad for each of the 12 pistons -- every detail screams "you can't afford me!" At USD$275,000 it's not cheap -- but it does come with a free watch.
While the eye-watering power and lush handling of the Ecosse Titanium Series will stir the soul, the multi-adjustable riding position and gel seat ensure it's still an absolute luxury experience for the extremities. The brainchild of
While the overall picture of this muscular American roadster might be a little crowded for some, the individual details are just mouth-watering.
Minggu, 18 Mei 2008
MOST EXPENSIVE KEYBOARD
It used to be that graphics cards and processors defined a PC but I for one think the most defining characteristic of a computer are the parts you actually interact with: the display, mouse and keyboard. Happy Hacking Keyboard HP Japan, PFU Ltd 525,000 yen
PFU Ltd of Ishikawa, Japan, an affiliate of Fujitsu, is producing the Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HP Japan, a made-to-order keyboard handcoated with Urushi lacquer. This made to order keyboard is coated many times using a special brush made from the hairs of virgins, and then powdered with gold dust! The price for this expensive computer keyboard is a grand sum of 525,000 yen or about US $4,440.
MOST EXPENSIVE BEER
Beer is one of the oldest drinks known to man, and one of this writer’s favorites. While many people enjoy drinking light beer and less expensive beer, some beer drinkers are still connoisseurs even if they do not sip wine. It is with these beer drinkers in mind that Samuel Adams has come out with not only the most expensive beer on the planet, but the strongest beer listed by Guinness Records.
Samuel Adams/Boston Beer Company’s Utopias is said to be the world’s strongest and most expensive beer and at $100 per bottle it better be one of the best tasting as well.
MOST EXPENSIVE CHESS
by Hunter Davis
Renowned French artist and master of jewelry, Bernard Maquin created the Royal Diamond Chess set in 2005 bringing the game of chess to a whole new level. Noted for its abililty to combine fine art, jewelry, and the classic game of chess, this is one of the most expensive chess sets in the world.
Thirty craftsmen, under the direction of Maquin spent over 4500 hours creating the expensive chess set. The work was done all by hand and when it was completed, the artists used 1168.75 grams of 14 carat white gold, and approximately 9900 black and white diamonds, bringing the total weight to 186.09 carats and the total cost to $500,000.
More pictures at the Charles Hollander website.
This posh chess set is part of the Charles Hollander Collection, one of the most respected names in the diamond industry. And you just know you are looking at a piece from the Hollander collection when you see a game doubling as a diamond studded work of art.
But if you thought the Hollander set would make your chess game bling-bling, then you haven’t seen the most expensive chess set in the world yet. This label goes to the Jewel Royale Chess Set from Britain. Boodles, a British custom jewelry company commissioned its production.
Valued at over £5 million ($9.8m USD), this single chess set is the most expensive and exquisite game set of any kind in the world. Constructed of gold and platinum, it contains diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires. The king piece alone weighs 165.2 grams of 18 carat yellow gold and has a spiraling mid-section graced by 73 rubies and 146 diamonds. 
Interestingly, there will be a limited number of replica sets selling for about £20,000 ($26,700 USD).
Book and film script adaptations featuring The Jewel Royale Chess Set, with the title of “Checkmate”, are being worked on by an un-known, award winning British writer. Whether it’s a comedy or a thriller, promotional and merchandising opportunities are sure to be huge!
The production of the Jewel Royale is nearly complete, and when suitable sponsors are confirmed, a celebrity chess tournament is slated to happen using the most expensive chess set in the world. Find out more about the expensive chess set at the Jewel Royale website.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE JEANS
The popular worker’s denim trousers have become modern day fashion and status symbols. Designer jeans come in and out of popularity but in early 2000’s, expensive jeans started coming back into fashion with brands such as APO Jeans, Chip and Pepper, Paper Denim & Cloth, Seven for All Mankind, True Religion and many other brands costing $200 or more per pair.
The Guinness Book of Records lists a pair of Gucci genius jeans featuring elaborate feathers, beads, rips and buttons as most expensive jeans off-the-rack at a cost of $3,134.
But recently Forbes has showcased Escada’s Swarovski crystal-encrusted expensive jeans which sell for $10,000 US.
Levi Strauss Company bid $46,532 to buy a pair of their own brand jeans back on the popular auction site eBay. The most expensive jeans were an average pair manufacturered in the 1880s and Levi’s must have considered them a historical brand artifact.
The Latest Most Expensive Electric Guitar
“Blackie”, Eric Clapton’s favorite mid-career modified Strat has been surpassed in value and is no longer the most expensive guitar ever, despite that it was bought for $950,000 USD in 2004 by a guitar archaeologist.
The latest most expensive electric guitar in the world dethroned its predecessor at an auction in Doha, Qatar on November 16th, 2005. The Strat was signed by several rock musicians to benefit a tsunami charity, ‘Reach out to Asia’. It was bought one year ago by Qatar’s royal family for a million dollars and donated back to the Asia Program, bringing in $2.7 million USD at the more recent auction, whose attendees included Former President Bill Clinton. Technically, the guitar has generated a total of $3.7 million USD, making it the most expensive guitar yet.
Signees of this expensive electric guitar included Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Ray Davis, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Tony Iommi, Angus & Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore, Def Leppard, and Bryan Adams, the coordinator of the project.
MOST EXPENSIVE MP3 PLAYER
The mp3 player, or digital audio player, is a small portable device which plays digital music files, the most common of which are mp3s. Flash-based players, like the Apple iPod Shuffle, and digital jukeboxes, like the larger Apple iPod, are becoming increasingly gadgets used by millions around the world.
After receiving an order from Russian-Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider, owner of the Midland Formula 1 team, TrekStor a German manufacturer of MP3 players has developed the most expensive MP3 player ever built. This unique custom-made portable music device was created based on TrekStor’s i.Beat organix mp3 player.
The mp3 player has one gigabyte of memory, a battery life of 25 hours, and supports MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG audio files. But what really makes this an expensive mp3 player is the exterior.
The TrekStor MP3 player i.Beat organix Gold is cast in 18 carat gold and adorned with 63 diamonds (one carat). The gadget also has a modest chain ornamented with aquamarine gems. The exclusive, unique player was presented to the public for the first time at CeBIT, the world’s largest IT trade fair in
Jewelers Wenthe in Mannheim/Germany put over 100 hours of meticulous handcraft into the most expensive mp3 player making it an exquisite piece of jewelry.
This mp3 player may never become the most popular, but TrekStor has recently decided to produce a limited series of this magnificent gadget for those who would buy the most expensive mp3 player in the world.
The most expensive coffee
The most expensive coffee in the world does not hail from
Kopi Luwak the most expensive coffee in the world does exist, and those who drink the expensive coffee insist that it is made from coffee beans eaten, partly digested and then excreted by the Common palm civet, a weasel-like animal.
“Kopi” the Indonesian word for coffee along with “luwak” is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee beans. The civet digests the soft outer part of the coffee cherry, but does not digest the inner beans and excretes them.
Apparently the internal digestion ends up adds a unique flavor to the beans, removing the bitter flavor, and then beans are then picked up by locals and sold. The most expensive coffee beans can cost up to $600 a pound, and up to $50 per cup, if you can get over the fact that you are drinking such a strange brew.
You would know if you drank the most expensive coffee in the world, because the quantities of it are tiny amounts.
Most Expensive Car
If your passion for performance and luxury autos cannot be stopped, and your McLaren F1 is becoming a bore with the rest of your exotic cars, it might be time to check out the long awaited Veyron from Bugatti. At 1.25 million, it is the most expensive car ever made. So what car value do you get for all that money?
This is not your typical luxury car. How about a W-16 (essentially two narrow-angle V-8s sharing a crankshaft) with four turbochargers generating 1001 hp, throw in all-wheel drive and you’ve got a seriously fast car.
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 hits 60 mph in 2.5 secs., does the quarter-mile in 10.5 secs. and reaches its top speed of 252 mph in just 55 secs. After a long absence from the market Bugatti (with a little help from parent company Volkswagen) has reclaimed its title as the ultimate performance car and reigns supreme as the world’s most expensive car in production.
Most Expensive cell phone
Most people enjoy having a quality cell phone, but they also recognize that cellular phones are a consumable good and will have to be replaced within in a few years. For this reason, people often do not purchase the most expensive cell phone when they purchase their mobile. Some though must have an expensive mobile phone, and because others can see cell phones as a status symbol, one has to ask what is the most expensive cell phone in the world?
A Moscow-based company has begun production to supply people who desire an expensive mobile with what has been reported as the world’s most expensive cell phone. Along with the luxury look, this expensive phone manufactured by the Moscow-based JSC Ancort Company uses powerful encryption technology to for enhanced security.
Luxury accessory producer Peter Aloisson has created the The Diamond Crypto Smartphone. This expensive cell phone is priced at $1,300,000 USD, and what makes this most expensive cell phone in the world cost so much? Apart from the platinum body this expensive mobile phone features a cover adorned with 50 diamonds including ten which are a rare blue diamond. The Ancort logo and the navigation key are made of 18 carat rose gold.
Built on the Windows CE, the most expensive cell also features a high-resolution color TFT display and a 256 bit cryptographic algorithm. This expensive mobile phone is capable of SMS, MMS, E-mail, Internet, WAP, JAVA support and also has a media player.
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