The End Is Nigh For ".com"

2009, and almost any word will be able to replace ".com" in a Web page address - thanks to a decision made by the organization that manages the technical underpinnings of the Web, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, (ICANN).

ICANN unanimously approved the new guidelines as weeklong meetings in Paris concluded.

Top-level domain names, or TLDs, refer to Internet name suffixes, such as the ubiquitous .com, .net and .org, among others. Currently, there are more than 200 TLDs, which also include the two-character country codes used by websites, such as Britain's .uk.

Under the new plans, a domain name, the suffix at the end of a website address, can now be based on any string of letters.

This will allow individuals to register a domain based on their own name, for example, as long as they can show a "business plan and technical capacity".

The result could be the creation of thousands or even millions of new addresses.

ICANN also voted collectively to open public comment on a separate proposal to permit addresses entirely in non-English languages for the first time.

"We are opening up a new world and I think this cannot be underestimated," BBC quoted Roberto Gaetano, a member of ICANN, as saying.

Dr Paul Twomey, chief executive of ICANN, described passing the resolution as a "historic moment".

ICANN officials said some technical issues for the new system must still be worked out, but it could be reviewing the first applications for new TLDs as early as 2009.

The tallest And Smallest Horses In The World

Radar, a Belgian draft horse and reigning Guinness World Record holder as the 'Tallest Living Horse,' at 19 hands 3.5 inches (6ft 6in), and Thumbelina, a miniature sorrel brown mare and the world's 'Smallest Living Horse,' 17.5 inches, are united for the first time for a photo shoot that will appear in the Guinness World Records Book.

How cute is that little one, I want one.

Bizarre Traffic Lights

You Wouldn't Believe This Unless You Saw It With Your Own Eyes

Some Interesting Facts

1. The Statue of Liberty's index finger is eight feet long

2. Rain has never been recorded in some parts of the Atacama Desert in Chile

3. A 75 year old person will have slept about 23 years.

4. A Boeing 747's wing span is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.(the Wright brother's invented the airplane)

5. There are as many chickens on earth as there are humans.

6. One type of hummingbird weighs less than a penny

7. The word "set " has the most number of definitions in the English language - 192

8. Slugs have four noses

9. Sharks can live up to 100 years

10. Mosquitos are more attracted to the color blue than any other color.

11. Kangaroos can't walk backwards

12. About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in in the U.S. everyday

13. The largest recorded snowflake was 15in wide and 8in thick. It fell in Montana in 1887

14. The tip of a bullwhip moves so fast that the sound it makes is actually a tiny sonic boom.

15. Former president Bill Clinton only sent 2 emails in his entire 8 year presidency

16. Koalas and humans are the only animals that have finger prints

17. There are 200,000,000 insects for every one human

18. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery had in it to begin with.

19. The world's largest Montessori school is in India, with 26,312 students in 2002

20. Octopus have three hearts

21. If you ate too many carrots, you'd turn orange

22. The average person spends two weeks waiting for a traffic light to change.

23. 1 in 2,000,000,000 people will live to be 116 or old

24. The body has 2-3 million sweat glands

25. Sperm whales have the biggest brains; 20 lbs

26. Tiger shark embroyos fight each other in their mother's womb. The survivor is born.

27. Most cats are left pawed

28. 250 people have fallen off the Leaning Tower of Pisa

29. A Blue whale's tongue weighs more than an elephant

30. You use 14 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. Keep Smiling!

31. Bamboo can grow up to 3 ft in 24 hours

32. An eyeball weighs about 1 ounce

33. Bone is five times stronger than steel.

And The Winner Of The Best Smile 2009 Is........

VW Autostadt

The pictures above are of the VW Autostadt Delivery Towers. Here they stack cars in little 'pods' by means of a crane as they await delivery to customers.

The Autostadt is a visitor attraction in the area around the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, with a prime focus on cars.

It features a museum, feature pavilions for each manufacturer in the Volkswagen Group, a customer centre where German customers can pick up new cars, and take a tour through the enormous factory, a guide to the evolution of roads, and cinema in a large sphere.

It is also home to the largest glass doors in the world and the longest printed line. The line starts from outside Wolfsburg and travels through Autostadt to a point on a farm. It is about 4 miles (6.4 km) long.

Situations When The Phrase "Oh Shit" Seems Appropriate