Oddity Central |
- Californians Are Painting Their Lawns Green to Save Water During Record Drought
- Man Invents Toilet Seats That Glow to Help You Go in the Dark
- In This Brazilian Town Dolphins Have Been Helping Locals Fish for Over a Century
| Californians Are Painting Their Lawns Green to Save Water During Record Drought Posted: 18 May 2015 04:37 AM PDT California residents have come up with an innovative solution to brighten up their dry lawns, in the midst of their fourth year of drought: they're painting their lawns green! The extreme measure became popular after statewide water restrictions were announced for the first time in history, in order to combat one of the region's most devastating droughts. The restriction leave average Californians with virtually no water for their lawns, but that hasn't stopped them from wanting to keep their front and back yards looking green. Lots of them are now turning to lawn painting, which is a whole lot cheaper than artificial turf, at 25 cents per square foot. The service was once limited to athletic fields and golf courses, but is now being sought out homeowners, hoteliers, and wedding planners, among others. The green dye is apparently plant based and completely harmless to humans and animals. It’s also water resistant, although no one would mind if a little rain were to wash it away. The effect lasts for about three months, after which the lawn has to be spray painted again.
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| Man Invents Toilet Seats That Glow to Help You Go in the Dark Posted: 18 May 2015 03:00 AM PDT When American man Dave Reynolds hurt himself in the bathroom one night, he decided that no one should ever have to go through the same ordeal. So he invented the world's first glow-in-the-dark toilet seat that can be spotted and used safely in the dark. Thanks to his creation, you don't need to worry about fumbling with the light switch or tripping in the dark anymore. "It eliminates the problem of not knowing where you are or where you're going," said Reynolds, a former employee of Virgin Records. "This could help anyone from a grandparent to children." He first got the idea for the unique product when he suffered a bathroom mishap shortly after moving to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 2012. "I went to the bathroom one night and literally fell off the toilet in the dark," he recalled. "On my way down, I felt something was wrong. I bounced off the toilet, fell to the ground and halfway into the bathtub. The next morning I was all banged and bruised and I told my family what had happened and, of course, they all laughed at me."
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| In This Brazilian Town Dolphins Have Been Helping Locals Fish for Over a Century Posted: 18 May 2015 12:29 AM PDT Fishermen from the Brazilian town of Laguna have developed a unique symbiotic relationship with dolphins: they rely on the intelligent creatures to help them catch fish! Studies have revealed that there's a particular group of about 20 bottlenose dolphins that work alongside the fishermen, while the rest of the local dolphins prefer to look for food on their own. The dolphins work together to herd groups of mullet towards the fishermen. They then use head- or fin-signals to alert the fishermen as to when and where the nets should be thrown. The system works well for both parties: neither could survive without the other. The fishermen get to catch all the fish they need, while most of the stray fish that manage to escape the nets swim right into the dolphins' mouths. The water is so murky near Laguna that the fishermen could never catch fish as efficiently without the dolphins’ help. That’s why they only fish when the marine mammals show up.
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