Mysterious East

A unique and expensive type of coffee is made from beans that have been digested by elephants.At $1,100 per kilogram Black Ivory Coffee might seem fit only for the rich, but even those with plenty of money to spare are likely to think twice before sipping a mug of this particular brand. Produced in Thailand, the coffee is brewed from beans which have been fed to elephants and collected at the other end from their dung. The process is said to be the key ingredient inproviding the coffee"s unique flavor.Workers who gather the beans are required to follow the elephants and collect their droppings in order to retrieve the precious ingredient.

Many of the beans are crushed or destroyed during their trip through the elephant"s digestive system which increases the difficulty and costs of producing them. "When an elephant eats coffee, its stomach acid breaks down the protein found in coffee, which is a key factor in bitterness," said Blake Dinkin who invented the brew. Forgetrobusta and arabica - this is the world"s most expensive coffee, given its unique flavour by. . . an elephant"s digestive tract.  

View: Full article |  Source: Daily Mail  

Construction work and heavy rainfall have been blamed for causing a large piece of the wall to collapse.Originally constructed in the 7th century BC the Great Wall was originally intended to keep invaders out of the Chinese Empire. Due to the vast size of the wall and the scale of its construction it is generally regarded to be one of the wonders of the ancient world, one ofonly a few to have survived in to modern times.

Fortunately officials assessing the damage believe that it should be possible to restore the collapsed section."There is an investigation into the causes of the collapse," said a city official. "A number of things may have contributed, including the building work." Workmen digging up a square in Zhangjiakou city, Heibei province, near the wall have been blamed for triggeringthe collapse of 100 ft of Great Wall.  

View: Full article |  Source: Telegraph  

Over 100 terracotta warriors have been unearthed near the Qin Emperor"s mausoleum in northern China.Archaeologists have been painstakingly excavating the figures which were created centuries ago to guard the tomb of China"s first emperor. 12 pottery horses along with the remains of chariots, weapons and tools were also found atthe site.

"The excavation on the 200sq m site has found a total of 110 terracotta figurines," said Shen Maosheng. "The most significant discovery this time around is that the relics that were found were well-preserved and colourfully painted." China archaeologists have unearthed 110 new terracotta warriors that laid buried for centuries, an official says.  

View: Full article |  Source: Herald Sun  

Eagle-eyed Google Earth users have spotted strange constructions in the middle of the Chinese desert.Satellite images seem to show vast sets of metallic stripes 3,000ft wide criss-crossing the ground in the middle of nowhere. Theories have been pouring in to try and explain what they could be for, including the idea that the pattern is used as a callibration system for spysatellites or that it is some other form of communication system intended to be viewed from orbit.You can view the location on Google Maps - here.

It"s located in Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Gansu, north of the Shule River, which crosses the Tibetan Plateau to the west into the Kumtag Desert. It covers an area approximately one mile long bymore than 3,000 feet wide.  

View: Full article |  Source: Gizmodo