9 hottest selling cars this year. Car sales are on a tear. Through the first five months of 2013, U.S. car sales are up by 8.2%, compared to the same period last year. Some of the more popular models have posted even more substantial growth, well into the double digits. Most of the popular models with major increases in sales have undergone some significant changes recently. In most cases, it has been a design overhaul of the entire model. Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst at Kelley Blue Book, explained why redesigns of vehicles have had such an impact on the sales. “These are all the latest and greatest redesigns, so they really feature the best in terms of tech, in terms of features and amenities, in terms of style and design, and really in terms of fuel economy.”
The increasing importance of fuel economy gave some redesigned models a leg up on older models. These are the nine hottest cars this year. 9. 2013 Jan. 8. 2013 Jan. 7. 2013 Jan. 6. 2013 Jan. 5. 2013 Jan. 4. 3. 2013 Jan. 2. 1. 2013 Jan. AutosTransportation. Loch Ness Monster mystery could be explained by a fault line under the lake. Could the Loch Ness Monster actually be the result of a fault line? (AP) The legend of the Loch Ness Monster has persevered for more than 200 years. But could tales of a prehistoric sea creature located in a deep Scottish body of water be explained by science? That’s the source of a new theory, which speculates that the Loch Ness Monster may actually be a fault line lying underneath the Scottish lake.
Even after 200 years of technological advances since the first reported spotting in 1806, rumors of the Loch Ness Monster continue to persist. In fact, technology has played a role in spawning some Nessie theories. For example, in 2011, local boat skipper Marcus Atkinson produced a sonar image of what he described as a large object following his boat for several minutes at a depth of 75 feet.
And in 2012, George Edwards shared a photo of an unexplained image in Loch Ness. And he has some compelling evidence to back up his case. So, what do you think? ScienceLoch Ness Monster. Grandson of Kim Jong Il talks about school, life outside North Korea | The Sideshow. Kim Han Sol, the grandson of longtime North Korean leader the late Kim Jong Il, has two earrings in his left lobe and a Libyan roommate at school. These were among several revelations that Kim Han Sol, who speaks English very well, told former Finnish Defense Minister Elisabeth Rehn in an interview for Finnish television.
"It was quite an interesting experience throughout the year having a Libyan roommate," Kim told Rehn. "And especially the revolution, when it happened he was really enthusiastic about it, and he was telling me many stories ... how he went home and saw different Libya. ... It was really interesting. " Kim is the son of Kim Jong Nam, who was the heir apparent to succeed Kim Jong Il, at one point, before Kim Jong Un. [Related: North Korean First Lady 'missing' from public view] Kim, a freshman at the United World College in Mostar, Bosnia, said he never met his powerful grandfather.
Kim supports a unified Korean peninsula. "I'm very happy. Sikh Woman Balpreet Kaur Turns Cyber Bullying Incident into Inspiration | Women Who Shine. For S. Korean men, makeup a foundation for success. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Cho Won-hyuk stands in front of his bedroom mirror and spreads dollops of yellow-brown makeup over his forehead, nose, chin and cheeks until his skin is flawless. Then he goes to work with a black pencil, highlighting his eyebrows until they're thicker, bolder. "Having a clean, neat face makes you look sophisticated and creates an image that you can handle yourself well," the 24-year-old college student said.
"Your appearance matters, so when I wear makeup on special occasions, it makes me more confident. " Cho's meticulous efforts to paint the perfect face are not unusual in South Korea. This socially conservative, male-dominated country, with a mandatory two-year military conscription for men, has become the male makeup capital of the world. South Korean men spent $495.5 million on skincare last year, accounting for nearly 21 percent of global sales, according to global market research firm Euromonitor International. View gallery It wasn't always this way. EXCLUSIVE: Metal casting from Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old ‘Horse and Rider’ sculpture unveiled | The Sideshow. The first bronze casting of Leonardo da Vinci's original "Horse and Rider" wax sculpture (Jolson PR) A metal casting of a 504-year-old Leonardo da Vinci beeswax sculpture was unveiled to the world in a ceremony on Monday in Los Angeles.
"Horse and Rider" is the only known three-dimensional piece of art created by Leonardo to still exist in the world and one of only about two dozen authenticated Leonardo works in the world today. "It's a momentous occasion," Art Encounter's Rod Maly told Yahoo News before the unveiling at the historic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. "The beeswax sculpture has been in private collections for nearly 500 years, so it has not been promoted.
Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of mankind. " And in a development that is sure to intrigue historians and art fans alike, the sculpture is believed to contain a thumbprint of Leonardo. A thumbprint believed to belong to Leonardo Da Vinci (Eric Pfeiffer/Yahoo! In 1985, American businessman Richard A.
Bulldog survives 500 porcupine spikes in the face | What’s buzzing? How to keep strangers from sitting next to you: a study | The Sideshow. Steve Martin and John Candy in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" A new study offers some helpful hints on navigating our "culture of social isolation in public places," better known as, how to keep people from sitting next to you on the plane, bus or train. Yale University's Esther Kim spent three years traveling thousands of miles across U.S. bus systems to compile her observations.
"I became what's known as an experienced traveler and I jotted down many of the different methods people use to avoid sitting next to someone else," Kim told Science Daily. "We engage in all sorts of behavior to avoid others, pretending to be busy, checking phones, rummaging through bags, looking past people or falling asleep. Sometimes we even don a 'don't bother me face' or what's known as the 'hate stare'. " Some of the tips for avoiding your fellow travelers are dictated by physical postures, such as avoiding eye contact, staring out the window with a blank stare or simply pretending to be asleep. Health. Vertical skydiving world record broken in Illinois. OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) — Falling at speeds of up to 220 mph, a group of nearly 140 skydivers shattered the vertical skydiving world record as they flew heads-down in a massive snowflake formation in northern Illinois. Three judges representing the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the international air sports agency, certified that 138 skydivers created the formation Friday evening over Ottawa, about 80 miles southwest of Chicago.
It took 15 attempts over three days for the team to break the previous record of 108 skydivers, which was set in 2009. "I feel amazing," Rook Nelson, an organizer and the owner of Skydive Chicago where the record was broken, said shortly after he made the jump. "There was a lot of emotion and a lot of days where we should have got it. But we dug down deep and stuck at it. " Four camera operators shooting video and stills jumped with the 138 participants to record their achievement for the FAI judges. View gallery Sports & Recreation. America's coolest new cocktails. Barman Evan Zimmerman prepares to work his magic on the Furious George What do 60,000 bees, a hollow egg of ice, a vacuum sealer and a tray of banana consommé have in common?
They all currently contribute to a night out for cocktail lovers across America. Think being a bartender isn’t a real job? These men and women are giving it their all, pushing the envelope when it comes to your next libation. The Furious GeorgeThe Woodsman, Portland, OR If you are blessed enough to sit down in front of barman Evan Zimmerman and request a Furious George, let him know you appreciate the effort he put in before your arrival. This cocktail is born days before you drink it, when Zimmerman begins a process called “freeze filtering.” That consommé is stirred into Willet 5 Year Rye whiskey with four drops of pungent clove oil and served in a chilled coup.
The Almost Home uses honey collected from bees atop the bar's own rooftop apiary The Almost Home The Columbia Room, Washington D.C. Magic, duh. President Obama related to country’s first enslaved man | The Lookout. President Obama A study from Ancestry.com has determined that President Obama is related to John Punch, the first black African enslaved for life in America--which would make Punch the 11th great-grandfather of Obama. The connection is made through Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunhan.
The website's records say she had ancestors who were white landowners in Colonial Virginia who descended from an African man, Punch. According to the site's press release, Punch tried to escape indentured servitude in colonial Virginia in 1640 and was punished by becoming enslaved for life. The records show that Punch had children with a white woman, and her status as free was passed on to her offspring. Punch's descendents became successful landowners in the slave-owning state of Virginia. This would mean that the first documented slave and the first African American president have a shared lineage, claim researchers.
Politics & GovernmentHistoryPresident ObamaJohn Punch. Olympic Fever: British Man Rescued After Trying To Swim To U.S. The Best and Worst French Fries in America. For years, experts have been trying to figure out the so-called French paradox. Why, if the French eat such rich food, do they tend to stay lean, while the waistlines of us diet-conscious Americans are growing faster than Justin Beiber's savings account? Well, in France, they eat a wide variety of foods—fats and carbs, yes, but also plenty of fruits and vegetables, and lots of lean meat. But when French food makes its way to America, things tend to go haywire. Le French bread? Pure carbs. And the worst offender of all: Les French fries. We've become so addicted to the crispy, salty, tender treats that nearly half of all potatoes harvested in the country wind up in the deep fryer. Five Guys Fries (Large)1,474 calories71 g fat (14 g saturated)213 mg sodium Five Guys lands on this list for no other reason than its egregious portion size.
Cheesecake Factory Sweet Potato Fries960 calories3 g saturated fat1,521 mg sodium FLAB? Beware, Arachnophobes: Half of Spiders Are Undiscovered. Spiders live on every continent, except Antarctica, and in many environments, from rain forests and deserts to studio apartments. As familiar a sight as these eight-legged creatures might be, there is plenty we don't know about them. Scientists have described about 43,000 species of spiders, and Norman Platnick, the American Museum of Natural History's "spiderman," estimates that just as many remain to be discovered.
"Because these are only estimates, people disagree," Platnick, the museum's curator emeritus of invertebrate zoology, said of estimates of the unknown species. "I have argued that we are basically halfway through [identifying the world's spiders]. To figure out how many species remain to be discovered, scientists often look to museum collections. [Related: Man uses blowtorch on spiders, sets house on fire] The spiders and other arachnids known to science so far are amazingly diverse.
Live goblin spiders, which Platnick is currently studying, are not on display. Century-Old Whiskey Bottles Found in Missouri Man's Attic. To save money on the installation of central air-conditioning in his St. Joseph, Mo., home, Bryan Fite began replacing the wires in his attic, prying up the floor boards on the rafters. Along with possible savings, he found a treasure beneath the floorboards: 13 bottles of century-old whiskey. Fite, 40, grew up in St. Joseph, and after working in Kansas City for several years, he returned to settle in his hometown in September 2011.
The house he and his wife Emily Fite chose was built in the 1850s and needed work, Fite said. The cost of installing central A/C and heat was prohibitive, he said, so he got to work in his attic. When they purchased the house, the Fites received a paper abstract detailing the history of its ownership. "Unfortunately, he never got the chance," Fite said. Very Aged Whiskey Found Under Attic Floorboards All the whiskey in Fite's attic was bottled in 1917 and distilled between 1912 and 1913.
"Unfortunately, the good stuff leaves first," he said. Don McLean’s “American Pie”: 20 Things You Might Not Know About The Ultimate Boomer Anthem | Stop The Presses! McLean's iconic Come the 4th of July, you can always expect to hear Neil Diamond's "Coming To America" or Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The USA" accompanying your local fireworks display. But for many, the ultimate contemporary "American" song is Don McLean's epic exploration of American culture in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, "American Pie.
" It's been covered by Madonna, embraced by Glenn Beck, parodied by Weird Al, and endlessly analyzed by millions of intrigued listeners trying to figure out just what McLean meant with his barrage of societal and spiritual allusions. Here are 20 facts (or, in a few cases, informed speculations) you might not know about the classic: [ How country stars are celebrating the 4th of July ] 1. 2. 3. . [ PHOTOS: Music stars who served their country ] 4. Madonna in the "American Pie" video 5. 6. 7. 8.
. [ PHOTOS: The best fireworks in America ] 9 . 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. . [ VIDEO: Lana Del Rey dresses as Jackie Kennedy ] 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. MLB's Most Extreme Eats. Diamond Bonus Bling: Woman Gets More Than Just Jeans at Goodwill. The old saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure. " But after Deb Thompson's Monday trip to a Coon Rapids, Minn., Goodwill store, she's proving that's not always the case. Thompson, 53, went to the store to pick up a pair of $3.99 jean capris her daughter suggested she might like because of all the "bling" on them. But when she returned home to try them on, she discovered way more "bling" than she had bargained for.
There was a diamond ring in the right pocket. "I took the ring out of my pocket and I sat on the floor with my daughter and her fiancé. I put my arm out in the center, and I opened it in my palm and we all just went, 'Wow. Oh my God," Thompson told ABC News. All Thompson could think to herself was, "Oh geez, somebody lost their ring.
Now Thompson, of Ham Lake, Minn., is working with Goodwill to try to find the ring's original owner. As of 3 p.m. Thompson is leaving the background-checking up to Goodwill. Not only was the diamond ring real, it was worth $6,500. 7 must-try roller coasters. Bringing new meaning to the phrase "off the rails," Six Flags Great America's new roller coaster, X Flight, opened to the public on May 16 with one very unusual feature: There is no track above or below you. Thrill seekers sit in pairs, suspended on either side of the track with feet dangling, soaring at speeds of 55 mph through 3,000 feet of drops and various inversions, including a barrel roll and 360-degree twists. Intrigued, we asked Dave Altman, the president of American Coaster Enthusiasts, to compile the ultimate roller-coaster bucket list, which loops and rolls all the way from Sweden to Brooklyn.
Don't forget to pack your Dramamine. Lakemont Park (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) 1. Leap-the-Dips: Lakemont Park, Altoona, Pennsylvania Built in 1902, this is the oldest roller coaster in the world. Tivoli Gardens (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) 2. Located in the world-famous Rutschebanen amusement park, this scenic railway, built in the mid-1910s, meanders in and out of a man-made mountain. 3. Tiny remnants of war found in Omaha Beach sand. Homes in the most unusual places. Draw a Stickman. This man is a real hero. College Majors With Low Unemployment. The Portal Two (Portal 2 Cocktails) Ingredients:... Epic dogs | MyEpicShit.com. VERY INTERESTING UNKNOWN FACTS.
Two Suns? Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012. Ten Most Extreme Substances Known to Man | Ten Most. Lots of Jokes - Did You Know? - StumbleUpon. Some Useful Condescending Phrases. 11 cheap gifts guaranteed to impress science geeks.
Coolest underwater attractions. Oregon school lands new professional track in exchange for famous waffle iron | Prep Rally. Prom teens drenched as pier collapses as they crowd together for group pic... but they still made it to the ball. I Went on a Wizard Quest. Rosscott, Inc. & Archive & The System 472: Road Sage. Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School. - StumbleUpon. - StumbleUpon.