Dying is a fact of life, as is the disposal of a body after the fact. You know all about burial and cremation, but here are the other ways people, past and present, have dealt with the departed.

10. Towers of Silence

Zoroastrians believe the body is impure and shouldn't pollute the earth after death through burial or cremation. Instead, the deceased are brought to a ceremonial "tower of silence", usually located on an elevated mountain plateau, and left exposed to the animals and elements. When the bones have been dried and bleached by the sun, they are gathered and dissolved in lime.

9. Tree Burials

Indigenous tribes in many parts of the world discovered that the best way of disposing the dead was to put them up high, rather than down below. Groups in Australia, British Columbia, the American southwest and Siberia were known to practice tree burial, which involved wrapping the body in a shroud or cloth and placing it in a crook to decompose.

8. Viking Ship Burials

Middle Age Vikings lived and literally died by the sea. After death, wealthier Vikings were placed in ships filled with food, jewels, weapons, food and even sometimes servants or animals for their comfort in the afterlife. The boats were interred in the ground, set alight or sent out to sea. The ultimate postmortem destination for Viking warriors was Valhalla, or "Odin's Hall", made famous in the Old Norse sagas.

7. Tibetan Sky Burial

Ever wanted to fly? In Tibet, you get to do just that, only after you're already dead. Instead of trying to bury bodies in the hard, rocky ground, some Tibetans send their loved ones to the top of a mountain and leave them to be eaten by the vultures. The disassembled corpses are even mixed with flour and milk for a tastier treat, to make sure every bit leaves the Earth for good.

6. Bog Bodies

Plenty of travelers perished accidentally crossing the murky bogs of northern Europe, but at least some individuals, especially in the Middle Ages, were buried there carefully and on purpose. Lucky for archaeologists, the chemical make-up of a bog preserves human flesh very well, allowing them to study the unlucky bog bodies closely.

5. Neanderthal Cave Burials

Before they began interring their dead in the ground proper around 100,000 years ago, Neanderthals routinely left the deceased deep inside the caves of Europe and the Middle East. To Neanderthals, the dark, mysterious recesses of a cave may have seemed like a good place to transfer over to the otherworld, some archaeologists have argued.

4. Plastination

Send your corpse on a tour of museums 'round the world with plastination, developed by German scientist Gunther von Hagens. His popular "Body Worlds" exhibits showcase the controversial preservation technique, which involves dissecting the body into bits, embalming it with a hardening fluid and reposing the body into various 'educational' positions.

3. Balinese Cremation

Contrary to the more somber western funerals, cremation ceremonies among the Hindus of Bali have an almost carnival-like atmosphere. Festive floats parade down local streets accompanying the body to a burning ground, where it is transferred into a ceremonial bull receptacle and set alight.

2. Cryonics

Who's never heard of Walt Disney's quest for immortality by having his body frozen? While that was an urban legend, cryonic science is a reality, currently only legal to perform on those who've been pronounced dead. Soon after dying, participants are stored in a liquid nitrogen solution to prevent decay until that time when death becomes a reversible phenomenon. Until then, the bodies remain on ice.

1. Mummification

The mummies of ancient Egypt are probably the world's most famous dead bodies. Reserved for members of the upper classes, mummification involved the removal of all organs including the brain, which was pulled through the nose by a hook. The body was then stuffed with dry materials like sawdust and wrapped in linens. The Egyptians believed that mummification preserved the soul for its journey into the afterlife.

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Boss Lola Gonzalez needed to fire someone to save her company – so decided to sack herself instead of firing any of her employees.

The 51-year-old realised she needed to fire a member of staff to save her firm, which runs background checks for employers, after it suffered the effects of the global recession.

But after deciding she couldn’t face firing any of her hard-working employees, Gonzalez fired herself instead.

She told a US TV show that she was ‘angered’ when she realised she had to fire someone, so after consulting with her lawyer the selfless lady decided to fire herself and leave her employees in charge.

She said staff, who initially thought she was joking, were shocked when they heard her decision.

But the kind-hearted boss does not regret her decision.

‘I told them that I trusted them – I hired them. As I hired them, I was confident I was doing the right thing.’

‘They’ve taken ownership, and I do not regret what I’ve done, for a minute.’

Gonzalez now earns half her old salary in her new job as a social worker, which she describes as ‘a blessing.’

metro.co.uk

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Alan and Heather Hewitt live with an amazing menagerie of 80 exotic creatures, reports The Sun.

The family runs a sanctuary and a rescue home and there are about 20 snakes, 15 reptiles, 25 mammals - plus assorted birds and invertebrates living in the house.

The couple boasts a 'collection' comprising 35 different species.

They include two monitor lizards, six bearded dragons, four boa constrictors, two pythons, two giant tortoises, a cane toad, four tarantula spiders, various rodents, an African grey parrot, two meerkats, two racoons and a Skunk, according to the daily.

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A video of a heavily pregnant woman with a baby apparently trying to burst out from her stomach Alien-style has become an online hit.

In the one and a half minute clip, the French mom-to-be is seen lying on her back as her unborn child kicks and wriggles inside.

This causes her stomach to contort and wobbly - much to the amusement of the mother, her partner and another child.

And the video has also become an online hit gaining more than 150,000 views of YouTube since it was uploaded earlier this week.

But while many viewers have been amused and drawing comparisons with the chest-busting creature from Alien -- several expectant mothers have been left terrified.

newslite.tv

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Restaurant owner Alberto Valotta is offering very fast food after hiring a £150,000 Lamborghini to launch his new Italian takeaway service.

Valotta is offering the high speed delivery in the 500 horse power luxury limo to customers in Hemel Hempstead, Herts, on Friday night.

The restaurateur, who runs the family business Alberto's, has decided to launch his take away service in style to mark his 12th anniversary in the town.

‘There are lots of Indian and Chinese restaurants who do take away services but not many Italians, so we thought it would be a good idea,’ said Alberto.

‘We wanted to do something special to mark the start and my son Orlando suggested we get hold of a Lamborghini Gallardo.’

Alberto has forked out £700 to hire the gleaming black gas guzzler which only does 12 miles to the gallon and has a top speed of 200mph.

‘This is a great opportunity to have a hassle-free dinner party with true Italian style, or to impress your wife.’

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Throughout modern history, the failure to prepare and cope with Mother Nature has resulted in catastrophic consequences, from wrecked economies to thousands of lives lost. Even as modern technology improves forecasts, Nature still gets the upper hand every now and then. Considering both human and economic costs, we present 10 of the worst all-time disasters to strike the United States.

10. Tri-State Tornado - March 18, 1925

Over the span of three-and-a-half destructive hours, the Tri-State Tornado became the deadliest twister to rip through the heartland. Along its path - which included Illinois, Indiana, Missouri - the tornado demolished more than 15,000 homes. Of the nearly 700 people killed, 613 were from Illinois. In the aftermath, forecasters started to look into developing a tornado warning system that would have spared many lives at the time.

9. Peshtigo Fire - October 8, 1871

A lesser-known fire in Wisconsin that burned on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 turned out to be the nation's deadliest. The drought-stricken city of Peshtigo was set afire when a strong windstorm fueled the spread of a small group of prairie fires by fanning the blaze out over a million acres of forest land. The wildfire even jumped across the Peshtigo River, trapping both sides of the town in flames. By the time the inferno subsided, it had scorched 12 towns and left roughly 1,200 dead.

8. Johnstown Flood - May 31, 1889

During the late 19th Century, the small industrial community of Johnstown in Pennsylvania earned a reputation as a producer of high-quality steel. All that progress was flushed away when the poorly maintained South Fork dam that stood high up in the mountains, 14 miles from the city, failed. Days of torrential downpour caused the dam to burst, unleashing more than 20 million tons of water and debris to crash down on the city with the force of Niagara Falls. The flood leveled 1,600 homes and killed 2,209 people.

7. Heat Wave of 1988 - Summer of 1988

A year-long drought that had ravaged the agricultural economy was further exacerbated by the heat wave of 1988. Damage to the agricultural economy surpassed $61 billion, as total rainfall along the Great Plains region from April through June was even lower than during the Dust Bowl years. Drought conditions seeded wildfires that raged across Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore that summer. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people succumbed to health complications stemming from the sweltering heat.

6. Heat Wave of 1980 - Summer of 1980

The heat wave of 1980 proved to be one of the nation's most catastrophic prolonged weather events. A high-pressure ridge pushed temperatures across the central and southern United States above 90 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the summer. Agricultural damage tallied an estimated $48 billion due to a massive drought, and 10,000 people died from heat and heat stress-related ailments.

5. Okeechobee Hurricane - September 16, 1928

When the evacuated residents of Lake Okeechobee learned that a hurricane hadn't arrived on schedule, many returned home thinking that they had been spared. The storm, however, slammed ashore later on the evening of September 16th with sustained 140 mph winds. Such intensity broke a small dike at the lake's south end, resulting in weeks of heavy flooding that claimed at least 2,500 lives.

4. Great San Francisco Fire and Earthquake - April 18, 1906

San Francisco residents were abruptly awakened one spring morning by an earthquake that lasted no more than a minute, but set off a chain of events that caused the city to burn for four straight days. The estimated 7.7- to 7.9-magnitude temblor not only broke natural gas mains, which sparked the fires, but also damaged water mains, leaving the fire department with limited resources to battle the blaze. By the time the fires were doused, flames had devoured more than 500 city blocks, and 3,000 lives were lost. Of those who survived, approximately 225,000 people found themselves without a home.

3. Dust Bowl - Early 1930's

Prior to the early 1930's, the Great Plains was a farmer's paradise. Rising demands for wheat spurred settlers to plow much of the southern plains' grassy soil to meet this need. The land was eventually exposed to erosion, since grass and tree roots that had held the moist soil in place during dry times were replaced by cash crops. A decade-long drought transformed the loose topsoil into dust, which windstorms swept up and blew eastward, darkening skies as far away as the Atlantic Coast. With most of the area's crops decimated, a third of the farmers turned to government aid, while around half a million Americans were left homeless.

2. Hurricane Katrina - Aug. 29, 2005

The Atlantic storm that began as a category 1 hurricane as it blew across southern Florida wound up being the country's costliest tragedy. Katrina roared into the Louisiana coast with 125 mph sustained winds, causing a storm surge that broke levees that shielded New Orleans from surrounding, higher coastal waters, and leaving 80 percent of the city under water. Katrina killed at least 1,836 people and inflicted damages estimated at around $125 billion.

1. Hurricane Galveston - Sept. 8, 1900

Galveston was known at the end of the 19th Century as the "Jewel of Texas" until the single deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history wiped away much of what had been a booming future. The bustling island community had been the hub of the cotton trade and Texas' largest city. Progress bred complacency though, which became apparent when city officials and residents decided against building a seawall to protect the city. When the category 4 hurricane with estimated 135 mph winds made landfall in the early morning, buildings crumbled under the force of 15-foot-high waves. By late afternoon, the entire island was submerged. An estimated 8,000 people perished. Although the city was successfully rebuilt, it never regained the prosperity that earned it a reputation as the "New York of the south."

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Hacienda La Capilla has produced a bottle of tequila that it is expected to fetch £2.2 million at auction, making it the most expensive drink of its kind in the world.

The Mexican distiller’s 1.3 litre bottle is coated in a layer of platinum and studded with more than 4,000 diamonds.

Hacienda La Capilla already holds the Guinness world record for most expensive bottle of tequila, but their previous offering fetched a mere £142,000, a fraction of what the latest bottle is expected to go for.

The bottle will now be going on tour in Europe and the Middle East in the hope of attracting potential buyers.

Alcohol connoisseurs should bare in mind that for less money they could probably buy the world’s largest bottle of wine, which holds over 1,850 litres.

metro.co.uk

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Jewel thief already convicted by a Belgian court for another robbery.

A court in Montenegro jailed a member of the "Pink Panther" gang of international jewelry thieves for eight years on Wednesday over a 2003 multi-million dollar heist in Germany.

Vladimir Lekic, 33, was found guilty by the high court in Podgorica for having "committed the crime with premeditation, use of force and threats in order to gain profit," Judge Ana Vukovic said as he handed down the verdict.

Seven years ago Lekic and his two accomplices, Predrag Bujosevic and Zoran Kostic, robbed a gem store in Frankfurt, taking off with jewelry worth 2.5 million euros (3.3 million dollars).

Lekic, already convicted by a Belgian court of another robbery, was arrested in June 2009 in Montenegro. Bujosevic and Kostic are being held in France.

The three are part of a group that has been dubbed the "Pink Panther" gang in an echo of the Peter Sellers film in which a stolen diamond was stashed in a but of face cream.

The gang is thought to be composed of around 60 people originating from former Yugoslavia, around half of them from Montenegro.

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North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire Tuesday after the North shelled an island near their disputed sea border, killing at least two South Korean marines, setting dozens of buildings ablaze and sending civilians fleeing for shelter.

The skirmish began when Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills in the area, according to South Korean officials. When Seoul refused, the North bombarded the small South Korean-held island of Yeonpyeong, which houses military installations and a small civilian population.

South Korea returned fire and dispatched fighter jets in response, and said there could be considerable North Korean casualties as troops unleashed intense retaliatory fire. The supreme military command in Pyongyang threatened more strikes if the South crossed their maritime border by "even 0.001 millimeter," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

Government officials in Seoul called the bombardments "inhumane atrocities" that violated the 1953 armistice halting the Korean War. The two sides technically remain at war because a peace treaty was never signed.

The exchange was a sharp escalation of the skirmishes that flare up along the disputed border from time to time, and come amid high tensions over North Korea's claim that it has a new uranium enrichment facility and just six weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unveiled youngest son Kim Jong Un as his heir apparent.

Columns of thick black smoke could be seen rising from homes on the island in footage aired by YTN cable television. Screams and shouts filled the air as shells rained down on the island for about an hour.

"I thought I would die," Lee Chun-ok, 54, told The Associated Press after being evacuated to the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul. "I was really, really terrified, and I'm still terrified."

She said she was watching TV when the shelling began, and a wall and door in her home suddenly collapsed.

The United States, which has more than 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea, condemned the attack. in Washington, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called on North Korea to "halt its belligerent action," and said the U.S. is "firmly committed" to South Korea's defense, and to the "maintenance of regional peace and stability."

China, the North's economic and political benefactor, which also maintains close commercial ties to the South, appealed to both sides to remain calm and "to do more to contribute to peace and stability on the peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

Yeonpyeong, famous for its crabbing industry and home to about 1,200 civilians as well as South Korean military installations, is west of the Korean mainland within sight of North Korean shores. There are about 30 other small islands nearby.

North Korea fired dozens of rounds of artillery in three separate barrages that began in the mid-afternoon, while South Korea returned fire with about 80 rounds, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The entire exchange lasted about an hour.

Two South Korean marines were killed and 16 injured, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Island residents escaped to some 20 shelters on the island and sporadic shelling ended after about an hour, according to the military.

The skirmish occurred a day after the South Korean military began holding drills in the area, exercises that North Korea's military demanded an end to early Tuesday, the JCS said.

South Korean marines participating in the drill had been shooting artillery during those drills, but toward southern waters, away from North Korea, a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to military rules.

President Lee Myung-bak ordered officials to "respond sternly" but to refrain from allowing the situation to escalate, according to a presidential official. He asked not to be identified, citing the issue's sensitivity.

Lee was convening an emergency security meeting, the official said.

The Koreans have remained in a technical state of war for decades because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953.

However, North Korea does not recognize the western maritime border drawn unilaterally by the United Nations at the close of the conflict, and the Koreas have fought three bloody skirmishes there in recent years.

In March, a South Korean warship went down in the waters while on a routine patrolling mission. Forty-six sailors were killed in what South Korea calls the worst military attack on the country since the Korean War.

Seoul blamed a North Korean torpedo, but Pyongyang denied responsibility.

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Indian town has banned the unmarried girls from using mobile phones.

A village council (or gram panchayat) in Indian town of Muzaffarnagar has banned the unmarried girls from using mobile phones. The council feels the move will prevent the girls from running away with their boyfriends.

The council met to discuss the 'bad effects' of mobile phones on youngsters and passed the order.

"The panchayat has imposed a ban on the usage of mobile phones by unmarried girls to prevent them from eloping with young boys against the wishes of their parents," panchayat spokesman Rajender Malick told the Indian media.

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An earthquake in New Zealand has left railway tracks twisted like spaghetti.

Photographers insist this image of a two mile stretch of track, near Christchurch, has not been digitally manipulated.

American Geophysical Union blogger, Dave Petley explained the damage to the line, which links Canterbury with the west coast of the South Island, following the 7.1 magnitude quake.

He said: "The compression on the very strong railway line was accommodated when a weak point was found, leading to a comparatively rapid deformation to form the main buckle on the left.

"This then concentrated stress on both sides of the buckle, allowing the other bends to form."

Repairs involved removing the crippled rails and replacing them with new rails about two metres shorter than the originals.

orange.co.uk

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Air passengers in Russia were left stunned recently when a fellow flyer burst naked out of a toilet and ran around the plane.

Ruslan Nevcic, 23, was eventually overpowered by crew and detained by police after an emergency landing in Vladivostok in Russia.

It’s not the first time a flight has been disrupted by naked passengers.

Last year Keith Wright from New York was arrested after he stripped naked during a flight.

Wright was taken into custody after deciding to take off all his clothes during a US Airways flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles.

He later told the FBI he was suffering from a bipolar disorder and had not taken his prescribed medication before leaving New York that morning.

He also allegedly told the FBI he recalled nothing about the flight or his behaviour.

Fellow passenger Ginny Keegan described afterwards how, as the plane took off again, the usual announcement to please fasten your seat belts came with an additional request: 'a reminder to everybody to please keep your clothing on.'

metro.co.uk

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A Spanish video that shows a woman simulating an orgasm as she casts a vote has been criticised by some of the country’s leading politicians.

The advert, by the Young Socialists in Catalonia, shows a woman getting altogether hot under the collar as she prepares to cast her vote in the regional Catalonia elections, which take place on November 28.

She enters the polling station looking rather excited, then becomes strangely aroused as she approaches the ballot box.

Finally, in true When Harry Met Sally-style, she groans loudly as she places her voting card in the box, much to the shock of the watching officials.

As she beats a hasty, red-faced retreat, the message ‘Voting is a pleasure’ appears on the screen.

The Socialist equality minister, Bibiana Aido, was not impressed with the commercial, which aims to encourage voting.

He had a good moan, too, saying: 'If it was true, electoral participation would go up greatly, but I think we are dealing with a misleading advert.’

However, the Socialist Party of Catalonia 's leader, Jose Montilla, stood by the broadcast.

He claimed: ‘If it encourages people to vote, it's a good thing.’

See the saucy video for yourself below:

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It seems like every few weeks there's another missed opportunity to score an oh-so-easy goal that is quickly touted as "THE WORST MISS EVER!!!" Well, this one makes a pretty good case for that title.

In extra time of the Asian Games' quarterfinal match between Qatar and Uzbekistan, Qatar's 18-year-old striker Fahad Khalfan seemed to have a bountiful amount of luck on his side when the opposing goalkeeper somehow let the ball trickle through his legs, leaving Khalfan all alone with an empty net. So, Khalfan charged toward that wide-open goal but instead of tapping it into the center of the net, he chose to knock it toward the far post. This was a mistake. The ball hit the post and rolled back toward the penalty spot. He missed. Qatar went on to lose 1-0.

As impossible as it may seem to not score in that situation, you kind of have to feel bad for the kid. Again, he's only 18 and just received his first call-up to the national team in September. That's really no excuse, but it's also not the way you want to start your international career. Or even your Sunday league career for that matter.

sports.yahoo.com

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The world's highest ever definition photograph has been taken of London - so detailed that a naked woman accidentally caught in a window had to edited out.

The London gigapixel project took six weeks to complete using high tech computer software and a powerful Fujitsu Celsius workstation with dual 6-core CPUs, 192GB of RAM, and a 4GB graphics card.

The resulting image is made from 7,886 high-resolution individual photos, adding up to an incredible 80 billion pixels, and can now be seen online at http://www.360cities.net/london.

Spokesman Bruce Pales from 360cities.net said: "Our picture of London was shot by photographer Jeffrey Martin over a period of three days from the top of the Centre Point building.

"The image reveals the highest-resolution view of any city that has ever been captured, sometimes with a bit too much detail. We discovered that there was a woman standing by a window and we had to Photoshop her out.

"But that was the only change we made - otherwise it is a 100% faithful reproduction. We were 36 stories up in the air for the shoot - and an astonishing number of landmarks, houses, skyscrapers, shops, offices, and streets are visible.

"Countless people at street level are observable, as well as thousands of windows, many of which reveal glimpses of life inside. In short, it is a portrait of London, the likes of which has never been made before."

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Some are under museum lock and key and others in private collections. The only common tie among these Top 10 Rare Coins is that you'll need a lot more than spare change to get your hands on them.

10. 1943 Copper Penny

The Second World War meant big rationing on copper, and the US Mint was no exception. Most wartime pennies were instead made of a brass-steel alloy, except for a few struck from the outlawed bronze (a copper alloy). If you find one of these anomalies - the common brass version will stick to a magnet, while the bronze won't - it could be worth big bucks.

9. 1776 Silver Continental Dollar

Not long after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the new United States Congress decided to assert its freedom by striking the first true American currency. The design, usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is a whimsical motif including the words "fugio" (time flies) and "mind your business," along with thirteen interlocking rings representing the colonies. Many were struck in pewter and a few dozen remain, but the silver version is very rare.

8. 1866

This famous silver coin, owned by the DuPont family, was the target of a heist in 1967 and only recovered just a few years ago. Just a few denominations, and probably only the one duPont dollar, were produced without the classic "In God We Trust" motto in 1866. According to some sources, it was upon special request from a collector and friend of mint executives, a pharmacist who provided opium to the workers in return.

7. Almost anything from 1870

...or more specifically, from 1870 and created in San Francisco. Three of the most coveted collector coins - the 1870-S Half-Dime, 1870-S Silver Dollar and 1870-S Gold $3 coin (the S stands for the mint city) - come from the year when construction began on a new mint in San Fran. Just a few coins in those denominations were produced that year, most of which were destined to be embedded in the foundation's cornerstone.

6. 1913 Liberty Head Nickel

This five-cent piece is a numismatic legend. Despite being retired in 1912, five nickels with the "Liberty Head" design were struck in 1913 and came into the possession of one man. The collector started a rumor about their existence, driving up the value of the nickel if one was ever found but neglecting to mention he had all five. They were sold a few years later and, in a recent change of hands, one was valued at 3 million dollars.

5. 1974 Aluminum Penny

With the rising price of copper, in the early 1970s it almost cost as much to make a cent as the penny was worth. The US Mint tested alternatives, like this aluminum penny that was sent out to VIPs as a sample, and then never recouped.

4. 1861 Confederate States Half-Dollar

The New Orleans Mint came under the control of the Confederate States in 1861, but without a reserve of precious metals, the South chose paper money instead of coinage to support their war efforts. The few Confederate cents and half-dollars that were struck were virtually unknown until they began popping up in private collections after the Civil War.

3. The Brasher Doubloon

Before New York adopted the new constitution in 1789 it, like other states, had the right to issue its own state coinage. Goldsmith Ephraim Brasher got one of those contracts, to mint copper coins, but it appears he largely ignored that material and went on to produce several very artistic gold specimens for reasons unknown. Just seven of these unique coins are known to exist.

2. 1804 Draped Bust Dollar

When the Jackson administration, in 1834, wanted to dole out coin sets to foreign dignitaries, there was a problem - silver dollars hadn't been pressed for thirty years, to combat a rash of counterfeit schemes. The mint was ordered to press eight silver dollars for the occasion and they were dated 1804, the only dollar coins that would ever bear that year. Today, each has a value of over one million dollars.

1. 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle

In 1933, with the Depression in full swing, President Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard and recalled all gold coins for melting. About a dozen never made it back to the mint or were smuggled out again by enterprising employees, including this one, which resurfaced in 1992 and was confiscated by the Secret Service. In 1933 it had a face value of $20; in 2002, it was sold at auction for over 7 million dollars.

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A Florida car dealership is giving away an AK-47 assault rifle with every purchase in an effort to drum up business.

According to Nations Trucks manager Nick Ginetta, business has more than doubled since the promotion was announced.

Throwing in extras is a common tactic of the car salesman, but the offer is usually GPS or heated seats rather than a semi-automatic Kalashnikov rifle.

The dealership has come under metaphorical fire over the promotion. Ginetta acknowledged that the deal is controversial but defended the decision, saying: ‘My buyer is absolutely a gun owner, no question.’

Customers who don't want the rifle have the option of choosing a different firearm of similar value, or can request a cheque up to $400.

Trigger-happy truckers will need to get in fast though, the promotion closes at the end of November.

metro.co.uk

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Call of Duty: Black Ops isn't just a hit with critics: it's a huge success with consumers too, according to preliminary sales figures from publisher Activision.

And when they say huge, they mean huuuuuuge. The Cold War-themed shooter sold 5.6 million copies during its first 24 hours across North America and the UK, generating an estimated $360 million in sales.

If Activision's projections prove accurate, it'll make Black Ops the biggest entertainment launch of all time, beating the record set by the previous Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 2, this same time last year.

"There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year's five-day global sales record of $550 million," said Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. "The game's success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand."

Thanks to that popular appeal (and, of course, their comparatively hefty $60 face price), video games are increasingly squeezing out books, DVDs, and movies in the big-launch stakes. Even massive movie theater hits like The Dark Knight or Toy Story 3 only manage around $100 million in box office sales across their domestic opening weekend -- and although the finale in the Harry Potter series of novels, Deathly Hallows, sold 11 million copies in the U.S. and UK on its launch day, it still can't match Black Ops dollar-for-dollar.

Good news for Activision and its shareholders, then -- but appropriately for Veterans Day, it's good news for U.S. soldiers, too. Kotick also announced today that $1 million of Black Ops' record-breaking take will be destined for the Call of Duty Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Activision which aims to help veterans transition into civilian jobs.

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A Chinese vase believed to have been discovered during a routine clear-out at a bungalow in Pinner, northwest London, has sold at auction for a record £43m.

The 18th Century work of art, described as "a piece of exquisite beauty", is understood to have been snapped up by an anonymous, private buyer from China.

Bainbridges Auctioneers in Ruislip, northwest London, had estimated the Qianlong-dynasty porcelain vase to fetch between £800,000 and £1.2m.

But the auction attracted many Chinese buyers keen to get their hands on a piece of their imperial past, and the bids went sky high.

The staggering price it fetched surpassed the expectations of the auctioneer and the owners - a brother and sister who had inherited it.

Helen Porter, of Bainbridges, said: "They had no idea what they had. They were hopeful but they didn't dare believe until the hammer went down.

"When it did, the sister had to go out of the room and have a breath of fresh air."

The 16-inch high masterpiece is believed to have fetched the highest price for any Chinese artwork sold at auction.

Bainbridges described it as one of the most important Chinese vases to go on sale this century.

A posting on the auctioneer's blog said: "It is a piece of exquisite beauty and a supreme example of the skill of the ceramicist and decorator.

"How it reached Ruislip is something we shall never know, and that it is in such fine condition is amazing."

The blog added: "It is a masterpiece. If only it could talk!"

The vase is decorated with a fish motif and has a yellow painted trumpet neck.

It has a double-walled construction, meaning an inner vase can be seen through the perforations of the main body.

Qianlong was the fourth emperor in the Qing dynasty and served from 1735 to 1796.

During that era the ceramics industry in China was known for the perfection of its porcelain and development of decorative techniques.

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The human body is a great, sweaty, fluid-filled machine, moving and mixing chemicals with precision and coordination, making everything from memories to mucus. Here we explore some of the complex, beautiful or just plain gross mysteries of how you function.

10. Your Stomach Secretes Corrosive Acid

There's one dangerous liquid no airport security can confiscate from you: It's in your gut. Your stomach cells secrete hydrochloric acid, a corrosive compound used to treat metals in the industrial world. It can pickle steel, but mucous lining the stomach wall keeps this poisonous liquid safely in the digestive system, breaking down lunch.

9. Body Position Affects Your Memory

Can't remember your anniversary, hubby? Try getting down on one knee. Memories are highly embodied in our senses. A scent or sound may evoke a distant episode from one's childhood. The connections can be obvious (a bicycle bell makes you remember your old paper route) or inscrutable. A recent study helps decipher some of this embodiment. An article in the January 2007 issue of Cognition reports that episodes from your past are remembered faster and better while in a body position similar to the pose struck during the event.

8. Bones Break (Down) to Balance Minerals

In addition to supporting the bag of organs and muscles that is our body, bones help regulate our calcium levels. Bones contain both phosphorus and calcium, the latter of which is needed by muscles and nerves. If the element is in short supply, certain hormones will cause bones to break downeupping calcium levels in the bodyeuntil the appropriate extracellular concentration is reached.

7. Much of a Meal is Food For Thought

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories. To keep our noggin well-stocked with resources, three major cerebral arteries are constantly pumping in oxygen. A blockage or break in one of them starves brain cells of the energy they require to function, impairing the functions controlled by that region. This is a stroke.

6. Thousands of Eggs Unused by Ovaries

When a woman reaches her late 40s or early 50s, the monthly menstrual cycle that controls her hormone levels and readies ova for insemination ceases. Her ovaries have been producing less and less estrogen, inciting physical and emotional changes across her body. Her underdeveloped egg follicles begin to fail to release ova as regularly as before. The average adolescent girl has 34,000 underdeveloped egg follicles, although only 350 or so mature during her life (at the rate of about one per month). The unused egg follicles then deteriorate. With no potential pregnancy on the horizon, the brain can stop managing the release of ova.

5. Puberty Reshapes Brain Structure, Makes for Missed Curfews

We know that hormone-fueled changes in the body are necessary to encourage growth and ready the body for reproduction. But why is adolescence so emotionally unpleasant? Hormones like testosterone actually influence the development of neurons in the brain, and the changes made to brain structure have many behavioral consequences. Expect emotional awkwardness, apathy and poor decision-making skills as regions in the frontal cortex mature.

4. Cell Hairs Move Mucus

Most cells in our bodies sport hair-like organelles called cilia that help out with a variety of functions, from digestion to hearing. In the nose, cilia help to drain mucus from the nasal cavity down to the throat. Cold weather slows down the draining process, causing a mucus backup that can leave you with snotty sleeves. Swollen nasal membranes or condensation can also cause a stuffed schnozzle.

3. Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouths

Evolution isn't perfect. If it were, we might have wings instead of wisdom teeth. Sometimes useless features stick around in a species simply because they're not doing much harm. But wisdom teeth weren't always a cash crop for oral surgeons. Long ago, they served as a useful third set of meat-mashing molars. But as our brains grew our jawbone structure changed, leaving us with expensively overcrowded mouths.

2. The World Laughs with You

Just as watching someone yawn can induce the behavior in yourself, recent evidence suggests that laughter is a social cue for mimicry. Hearing a laugh actually stimulates the brain region associated with facial movements. Mimicry plays an important role in social interaction. Cues like sneezing, laughing, crying and yawning may be ways of creating strong social bonds within a group.

1. Your Skin Has Four Colors

All skin, without coloring, would appear creamy white. Near-surface blood vessels add a blush of red. A yellow pigment also tints the canvas. Lastly, sepia-toned melanin, created in response to ultraviolet rays, appears black in large amounts. These four hues mix in different proportions to create the skin colors of all the peoples of Earth.

livescience.com

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