Anaconda Snakes Myth - Everything Revealed

Anaconda snakes extract similar responses from most of us, a response smeared by hatred, fear and probably revulsion. The image of this serpent that we carry in our mind is that of a creature that looks vile and is widely known to be monstrous.

Apart from a few of the wealthy and the adventurous ones who want them as pets, most of us prefer to see anaconda snakes in TV and glossy travel magazines rather than in our homes and at the patio.

The natural habitat if these reptiles are the dense tropical forests in lovely South America. Found extensively in the Amazon River basin and also other tropical forests, this serpentine creature is worlds one of the largest snakes.

These snakes are carnivores, and prey a range of aquatic as well as land based creatures. While fish, turtles, frogs, dogs, sheep and deer are its favorite preys, anaconda snakes are also know to have constricted and swallowed considerably bigger animals like fully grown deer and even jaguars.

Most of us city dwellers harbor perceptual pollution and think that anaconda snakes are habituated man-eaters. In reality, it is exactly the opposite. If given a chance, these snakes will retreat when confronted, and will attack only as the last desperate act of defense. Anacondas are known to attach humans only when cornered, attacked, harmed or startled.

All anaconda snakes are perceived to be gigantic having length in excess of fifty feet and weighing more than two hundred kilograms each. Again, reality has been totally distorted by these myths.

The biggest of these snakes grow up to thirty-five feet, and do not generally cross one hundred and fifty kilos when weighed. When bred in captivity, they tend to grow to smaller sizes- think about that for a moment!

Another interesting fact is the physical superiority of females over males. As a matter of fact, female anacondas have known to grow as much as five times longer and heavier than its male counterparts. This is probably one of the extreme cases on physical disparity between two sexes of the same species.

Another interesting aspect of these majestic snakes is the way they swallow their preys. These constrictors have powerful jaws that are loosely hinged to the skulls.

While swallowing their preys, the jaws are unhinged, and as a result they can swallow considerably bigger preys. The preys are always swallowed from their head side to ensure that sharp edges like feathers do not rupture the delicate internal membrane of the snakes digestive system.

Docile creatures they are, such reptiles have been wrongly portrayed as the big, bad guys in novels as well as movies. Despite their projected bad guy image, this reptiles have been one of the most favored pet creatures for the wealthy and the adventurous people.

Be it the vast natural expanses of the Amazon or the glass cage in the zoo, they will inspire the imagination of people. Long live the king of the Amazon, the anaconda snakes.

Anaconda Snakes are scientifically studied predators being monitored today. You can freely learn more about the newest topics, videos and educational in-depth facts by visiting http://www.anacondasnakes.org

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Top Three Mallorca Family Attractions

MarineLand

Garcilaso de la Vega, 9 - Costa d'en Blanes 07184, Calva, Mallorca.

Marine Land is a popular marine zoo that has been running for thirty-five years. Located at Costa d'en Blanes beach, the park features bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, sharks, exotic birds and penguins. There are daily dolphin and sea lion shows, a large aquarium, and an aviary containing exotic birds and reptiles. Kids will also love the mini water park, with its Pirate Galleon and water slides.

Marine Land is only about ten minutes' drive from Mallorca's capital, Palma, so it's easy to get to if you hire a car. You can park your hire car in Marine Land's car park.

Opening hours: 9:30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. 9.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday and Sunday.

WesternPark

07182 Magaluf, Mallorca.

This Wild West themed water park has many thrilling rides to choose from, including the Tornado, Kamikaze, Hurricane and the Big Hole water slides. There is also a jacuzzi, a water rafting ride, a wave pool and two mini water parks for younger children.

There are also daily sea lion shows throughout the year, and you can watch divers perform in Oliver's Water Show. There are a number of food outlets throughout the park, and a gift shop, all of which feature a Wild West theme.

Western Park is about 15 minutes' drive from Palma, and you can park your hire car in the car park at the entrance.

Opening hours: 10am - 5pm, May, June and December. 10am - 6pm, July and August.

Golf Fantasia

Calle Tenis, 3 07181 Palma Nova

Golf for all the family! Golf Fantasia is a crazy golf course situated near the sea-front at Palma Nova. Take your pick from three 18-hole courses, featuring waterfalls, caves and lakes. In keeping with the golfing theme, there is a '19^th hole snack bar' offering a full cafeteria service for hungry children and parents.

Mallorca has an excellent road network, so hiring a car makes getting to these attractions easy. You can also use your hire car to visit some of the island's beaches, golf courses and other attractions. If you consult a Mallorca travel guide before visiting the island, you can plan your holiday to make the most of your time there.

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Natural Pheromones

Researchers believe that human beings produce pheromones in the same way as animals when it comes to attracting a mate. We just are not aware of it. According to the research it is thought that the sweat glands produce an odorless chemical that is detected by the opposite sex and processed through an area of the brain that determines sexual suitability.

You can enhance your body's ability to produce these chemicals through the use of some natural products. Zinc supplements which can be used as an immunity boosting supplement can help produce testosterone. Be careful when dosing with zinc and follow the guidelines for a correct amount carefully. 100 mg of zinc is toxic so watch your intake carefully.

Some herbal supplements are Tribulus and Yohombe. Again read up on the effects of these supplements and be very cautious when using them. Certain supplements have been known to be dangerous in large doses. But if you want to go the natural path to pheromone production these can be a viable solution.

Good health and exercise. I know, it's been said time and again that the secret to everything is good health. But really it's true. If you are healthy and strong you will exude self-confidence that is very appealing to the opposite sex. Good health may help your body to naturally produce the pheromones you want to attract a partner.

Some people have also experimented with bathing techniques to help unmask their body's pheromones. You don't want to smell bad, however, so make sure that you are staying clean. Perhaps you can try some of the natural deodorant products that you will find in a natural food store.

All in all, an awareness that your body is producing pheromones and how best to take care of your health is probably all that is required to take care of your attraction chemicals. If you still feel that you need an extra boost in the pheromone department, check out some of the products you can buy and add to your cologne or spray on alone. They may be just what you're looking for to attract Ms. Right.

Peter took tried and tested pheromone products on himself to answer the nagging question, do pheromones work?

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M.C. Escher - Maurice Cornelius Escher

"I play a tiresome game" - MC ESCHER

1. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
2. No Apt Pupil
3. The Creature In The Forest
4. Head In The Clouds
5. The Puzzler
6. Impossible Architect
7. On His Mind
8. Virtual Relativity
9. A Rolling Stone
10. Wandering Enigma

1. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Maurice Cornelius Escher, known to his friends and family as Mauk, was initially set to be an architect. He was to attend the Higher Technical School in Delft. But, his plans went asunder when he failed his final exams in nearly all of his classes including history, constitutional organization, political economy and bookkeeping. His father later noted that Mauk drew and created a linocut of a sunflower to comfort himself after the blunder.

2. No Apt Pupil

He was later able to retake the exams and entered the school in Delft. It was here that Professor R.N. Roland Holst encouraged him to try his hand at woodcuts and engraving versus architecture. The legendary art of MC Escher had achieved its planting.

3. The Creature In The Forest

Not wanting to disappoint his parents, Mauk continued with architectural studies. However with poor grades Mauk had to find another school in order to do so. He made a last ditch attempt at it at the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts. Then a chance meeting occurred with Samuel Jesserum de Mesquita, a graphic arts teacher. It was a red-letter day for MC Escher aka Mauk. De Mesquita convinced him that he would be much better suited for a career in graphic arts than architecture.

4. Head In The Clouds

Where and when did Escher begin his methodical approach to his life and art? Well, as a child Mauk had an intensely acute sense of wonder. And like many children he would lie on his back and gaze to the sky, seeing shapes in the clouds. With the strong influence from his parents engineering background, it is no wonder then that young Mauk began to see how these free floating shapes could evolve and dissolve in the white pillowy vapor. Tactile applications began to form in his mind making logic out of random chaos.

5. The Puzzler

He was often frustrated with his lack of drawing ability and regarded his mathematical prowess as insecure at best. However he developed his own categorization system that covered all the possible combinations of shape, color and symmetrical properties. By doing so, he had unknowingly studied areas of crystallography for many years. This was the groundwork for his patterns, known as tessellations.Tessellate: to construct, pave, or decorate something with small pieces such as stone or glass in order to give a mosaic effect.

6. Impossible Architect

His most famous works of art often depict enigmatic turns and twists that fold back onto themselves. Ascending and Descending, Relativity and the Transformation Prints, such as, Metamorphosis I, II and III, Sky & Water and Reptiles which are among the most recognized of his work.

7. On His Mind

What would Escher think?

How would he feel about computer programs that can now automatically create the intricate tessellations he slaved over for hours on end?

He often wrote to his son Arthur about the conundrums he faced with his work, "God, I wish I could learn to draw better! It takes so much effort and perseverance to do it well. Sometimes I am close to delirium with pure nerves. It is really only a question of battling on relentlessly with constant and, if possible, merciless self-criticism. I think that making prints the way I do it is almost only a matter of very much wanting to do it well. For the most part, things like talent are mere poppycock. Any schoolboy with a bit of aptitude might draw better than I; but what is usually lacking is the unwavering desire for expression, obstinacy gnashing its teeth and saying, 'Even though I know I cannot do it, I still want to do it.'"

Maybe he himself wouldn't have minded the aid of a computer in concocting his elaborate creations. Most likely he would have seen it as just another tool for bringing his visions to light.

8. Virtual Relativity

However, he most likely would have felt out of touch with his art. Like so many artists today, their art is no longer tactile. It lacks mass and weight because it only exists virtually on a computer screen. Escher adorned many of his prints with the phrase, "eigen druk". The literal translation means, "This print is drawn with my own hands".

9. A Rolling Stone

The lead singer of the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, started a series of letters to Escher on New Year's Day in 1969. Jagger wanted to use one of Escher's works on the jacket of their newest LP, "Through the Past Darkly". Mick was a huge fan of Escher, but Escher did not return the sentiment. Escher was not a tame person, but he preferred classical music to rock and roll. Due to his many obligations at the time, Escher declined to provide Jagger with any designs for their cover art. Much to Jagger's disappointment, the album was released with a hexagonally designed cover-sleeve that was influenced by Escher's "Verbum" image.

10. Wandering Enigma

He was constantly amazed at what other people would read into his creations and would often debunk any kind of elaborate explanations.

"I have never attempted to depict anything mystic; what some people claim to be mysterious is nothing more than a conscious or unconscious deceit! I have played a lot of tricks, and I have had a fine old time expressing concepts in visual terms, with no other aim than to find out ways of putting them on to paper."

To read more articles by Chad, visit the American Pop Culture Encyclopedia at: American Pop Culture Encyclopedia.

If you would like to read this article, or others like it, on American Pop Culture Encyclopedia, please visit: MC Escher

The Paternity of Sperm Donors - A Step Too Far?

Sperm donation is a topical issue, and one which has undoubtedly split national and international opinion down on both sides of the fence. In relation to artificial insemination, the act of a man donating sperm creates a situation whereby couples with fertility problems raise the products of the donated sperm. Whilst this kind of solution can be a godsend to childless families, it nevertheless sparks an emotional and moral debate over the role of the sperm donor to his eventual biological child, dredging up the old issues of nature and nurture and the importance of biological as opposed to artificial family relationships. Furthermore with the potential confusion this can cause for the child in later life, and the advancing relationship between DNA testing and paternity, sperm donation continues to be a hotly contested subject.

Arguments on both sides

On one side of the fence is the argument that a child, regardless of any other factors, has an inherent right to see both of his biological parents. Certain opinions suggest that the natural connection is far stronger than anything that can be artificially created, and that as such both the parent and the child have an in-built right to maintain contact with one another. However this view point has fallen to a number of robust criticisms. Firstly, in the context of sperm donation this produces all kinds of policy problems. Few would argue it desirable to have the ability to trace a sperm donor - sperm donation is not a commitment to fatherhood. Likewise the sperm donor should have no direct link to the child for fear that this may disrupt the family unit and hinder the child's upbringing.

Secondly, rights correlate directly with responsibilities according to the influential theory, albeit in a judicial context, known as the Hohfeld schema. Where then, do the rights of the sperm donor correlate with responsibilities? Whilst there is a genetic link, there is no paternal link - that job's already taken, thus the sperm donor has nothing to contribute to the bargain aside from his common genetic materials.

On the flip side, the suggestion stands that children should be allowed to grow up with their family units, and that biological relationships through sperm donation should be kept anonymous for policy reasons and to prevent eventual issues with tracking in later life. However to counter this, why shouldn't a child's biological father have the right to contact and access, if not at a distance, with his child? Sharing the same genes, the characteristics of the father could be adapted through DNA testing (genetic) to work out whether the child will be subject to the same medical problems or temperament issues, which could be beneficial to treating illnesses.

Sperm donator anonymity and DNA Paternity Testing

Paternity testing and DNA testing in general have become far more widespread in recent years, which could eventually lead to the issues of sperm donator anonymity being further jeopardised since a DNA paternity test will confirm with certainty who the biological father is of the child. Until then, however, the debate over the rights and responsibilities of the sperm donator in relation to his biological child looks set to rage on.

Kevin Camilleri writes articles for dna paternity test. Other articles written by the author related to paternity testing, home paternity test and paternity test kit can be found on the net.