The first species of lungless frog was confirmed in 2008. Previously known only from two specimens, Barbourula kalimantanensis, an aquatic species from Borneo, obtains all of its oxygen by direct absorption through its skin and hence has no need of lungs. This was verified by studies following the recent discovery of two new populations of this species in Kalimantan.
The magnifying glass was invented by the Franciscan friar and scholar Roger Bacon (UK) (c. 1214-1292) in Oxford, UK. The first mention of its use was in 1268. He adapted its use as primitive spectacles, allowing scholars with failing eyesight to continue their work.
The Royal Mail issued a series of five interactive stamps on 15 March 2005, commemorating the centenary of the Magic Circle (UK), one of the oldest and most prestigious society of magicians in the world and the first to be recognized on a national stamp. The issue features another first – a “scratch and reveal” 1st Class stamp. Rubbing it with a coin it could reveal either a ‘heads´ or ‘tails´ image.
Created in 2001 by H.J. Tsai, a professor of fisheries science at National Taiwan University, subsequently sold by the Taipei-based Taikong Corporation, and dubbed Frankenfish, the world’s first man-made bioluminescent fish are green-glowing specimens of the zebra fish, a popular aquarium species, whose bioluminescence is due to the introduction of jellyfish DNA. Officially known as night pearls or TK-1, they were followed in 2003 by a second artificial strain of bioluminescent zebra fish, the TK-2, this time glowing red rather than green, having received a
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Phil and Susan Ershler (USA) were the first married couple to successfully climb Everest, reaching the summit on Thursday 16 May 2002 – the same day that a record 54 people (including the Ershlers) reached the top. The couple have also scaled the highest peaks on every one of the world’s continents.
A controversial figure, Thomas Beatie (USA) was born female but legally became a man in his home state of Oregon, USA. He underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2002 but did not have his female reproductive organs removed. As a man, Beatie was legally able to marry Nancy, his female partner, in 2003. Nancy had previously had a hysterectomy, so when the couple wanted to start a family it was Thomas who, with the help of an anonymous sperm donor, conceived and carried the child. The
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NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission landed in Ares Vallis on 4 July 1997. The lander deployed a small mobile laboratory, or rover, called Sojourner, capable of travelling a few hundred metres from the lander. Sojourner weighed just over 10.6 kg (23 lb 5 oz) and was able to conduct basic experiments such as measuring the chemical compositions of Martian rocks. Pathfinder (pictured below) and the Sojourner rover operated until contact was lost on 27 September 1997.
The earliest factory which made motorcycles in large numbers was opened in 1894 by Heinrich and Wilhelm Hildebrand and Alois Wolfmüller at Munich, Germany. In its first two years this factory produced over 1000 machines, each having a water-cooled 1488 cc (90.8 cu in) twin-cylinder four-stroke engine developing about 1.9 kW (2.5 hp) at 600 rpm. Although an Englishman, Edward Butler, produced a motor tricycle in 1884, the invention of the first true gasoline-engine motorcycle is generally attributed to German Gottlieb Daimler in 1885. Daimler’s
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Spider-Man creator Stan Lee appeared as a voice artist in Spider-Man, released in 2000 for PlayStation. The game featured enthusiastic narration from Lee, welcoming players with the line “Greetings, true believers and newcomers alike!”. Stan Lee created Spider-Man in 1962. The character first appeared in the comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 before going on to become a huge international hit in his own comic-book series. Television, film, videogames and mass-merchandising soon followed for the web-spinning wonder. Guinness World Records Gamers’ Edition 2009.
The earliest Mobile MMORPG was Tibia Micro Edition. Released in May 2003, the game allows players on mobile phones to play together online as warriors or wizards. It was first available only to users of Nokia 3650 and 7650 phones, subscribing to T-Mobile, but is now much more widely available.