So which are the nations with the highest per capita income in the world? And where does China stand? read on….

1. Monaco; per capita GDP: $203,900

Monaco, a major tourist resort in the Mediterranean, has the highest per capita income in the world at a breathtaking $203,900.

The Principality of Monaco has booming high value-add industries and a strong services sector. Monaco has no income tax, but it makes most of its money from being a tax haven.

2. Liechtenstein: $113,210

Natives of Liechtenstein, a small country bordering Switzerland and Austria, are the second richest in the world in terms of annual per capita income.

The principality has an industrialised economy, with banking and financial services being the mainstay. Tourism too is a major revenue earner for the nation.

The personal income tax rates in Liechtenstein too are exceedingly low: basic income tax rate is 1.2 per cent on income up to 200,000 Swiss Francs, and maximum is 5 per cent on income over 2 million Swiss Francs a year.

3. Norway: $86,440

Norway’s per capita income stands at $86,440, which is the third highest in the world.

Norway has a mixed economy consisting of state-owned businesses and a robust free market. It’s a highly developed and an industrialised state. Fishing, petroleum, hydel power, minerals contribute heavily to the nation’s GDP.

4. Luxembourg: $74,430

Luxembourg’s per capita income is at $74,430. That makes it the world’s fourth highest PCI.

Luxembourg is located in Europe and is bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany.

The nation has highly developed industrial and financial sectors.

Luxembourg, one of the world’s richest cities, also offers higher salaries. On an average, workers in Western European cities receive more than three times the pay of their colleagues in Eastern Europe.

5. Channel Islands: $68,610

The per capita income in Channel Islands is a whopping $68,610. That makes it the fifth highest per capita income in the world.

Tourism is the major revenue generator for the Channel Islands. The islands of Jersey and Guernsey also provide financial services and are tax havens.

The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. Jersey’s major agricultural products are potatoes and dairy produce.

The source of milk is Jersey cattle, a small breed of cow that has also been acknowledged (though not widely so) for the quality of its meat.

Small-scale organic beef production has been reintroduced in an effort to diversify the industry.

6. Qatar: $66,100

The per capita income of Qataris is $66,100, the sixth highest in the world.

Qatar is an Arab emirate located in the Persian Gulf.

The nation’s economy mainly depends on its huge oil and natural gas reserves. There is no income tax in Qatar.

Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation with world’s third largest gas reserves.

Qatar has experienced rapid economic growth over the last several years on the back of high oil prices.

7. Bermuda: $60,000

Bermuda, a tourist’s delight, is located in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Bermuda’s per capita income is almost 30 per cent more than that of the United States. The tiny island nation’s per capita income stands at just above $60,000. It has the seventh highest per capita income in the world.

Bermuda is a major financial centre and is particularly attractive because of its low taxation rates. Financial services is the nation’s largest industry, followed by tourism.

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Hamilton. It is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory. Bermuda has a very affluent economy with finance as its largest sector followed by tourism.

As the offshore domicile of many foreign companies, Bermuda has a highly-developed international business economy; it is an exporter of financial services, primarily insurance, reinsurance, investment funds and special purpose vehicles.

8. Denmark: $58,930

Denmark’s per capita income is at $58,930. According to World Bank rankings, it is the world’s eighth highest PCI.

Denmark has a highly industrialised economy, with robust agricultural and corporate sectors.

Despite being one of the most competitive nations, it has a very weak financial regulatory system. Also, its labour laws are very lax and tilted heavily in favour of the employers.

9. Switzerland: $56,370

The Swiss enjoy a financially comfortable life, with a per capita income of $56,370. Switzerland ranks ninth in the World Bank’s per capita income rankings.

Switzerland, a truly capitalist economy, has many giant banks and multinational corporations.

It also has highly developed industries in sectors like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machine parts, electronics, precision instruments, banking, tourism, etc. Dairy farming too is an age old industry in Switzerland. It has very low tax rates.

10. Kuwait: $53,930

Kuwaitis have the tenth highest per capita income in the world.

The country has the world’s fifth largest oil reserves. The Kuwait Stock Exchange, which has about 200 firms listed, is the second-largest stock exchange in the Arab world.

Petroleum and petroleum products now account for nearly 95 per cent of Kuwait’s export revenues, and 80 per cent of government income.

Kuwait is regarded as one of the most economically developed countries in the Arab League.

11. Isle of Man: $51,310

Isle of Man natives have the 11th highest annual per capita income in the world at $51,310.

Tourism, banking and manufacturing are the key contributors to the economy of the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man has free access to European Union markets for goods.

The Isle of Man has income tax rates of 10 per cent and 20 per cent. It has no capital gains tax, wealth tax, stamp duty, death duty or inheritance tax.

The island is a British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea.

12. San Marino: $50,670

The economy of San Marino is mostly driven by tourism. Its citizens enjoy the 12th highest per capita income in the world at $50,670 per annum.

However, the nation’s other industries like textiles, agriculture and banking also make a significant contribution to San Marino economy.

13. United Arab Emirates: $50,240

The United Arab Emirates has a per capita income of over $50,240. It is the 13th highest in the world.

The United Arab Emirates has a highly developed economy, and has a rich source of revenue in tourism and its huge oil reserves.

14. Netherlands: $49,350

The Dutch have the world’s 14th highest per capita income at $49,350.

The Netherlands is the world’s 16th largest economy, which is mostly driven by manufacturing, tourism, and services.

The Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union, the OECD and the World Trade Organization.

15. Sweden: $48,930

Sweden’s per capita income is $48,930, making its PCI 15th-highest in the world.

Sweden has a very well developed industry in sectors like engineering, telecom, power, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, etc. The nation’s economy is heavily dependent on foreign trade. It also has highly skilled work force.

16. Cayman Islands: $48,140

The per capita income of Cayman Islands is more than $48,140, as per World Bank figures. It has the 16th highest PCI in the world.

The Cayman Islands are situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is a major financial centre and also one of the world’s best known tax havens. The nation’s economic mainstays are tourism and financial services.

The Cayman Islands is a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica. The territory is a major offshore financial centre in the Caribbean.

With an average income of around $42,000, Caymanians enjoy the highest standard of living in the Caribbean.

The islands print their own currency, the Cayman Islands Dollar (KYD), which is pegged to the US dollar at a fixed rate of 1 KYD = $1.25.

17. United States of America: $47,240

America’s per capita income is $47,240. It’s the 17th-highest in the world.

The United States is mostly a capitalist economy, with huge mineral and oil reserves, apart from fantastic infrastructure, skilled work force, and the highest number of the world’s largest corporations.

The country has highly developed sectors, like banking, financial services, automobile, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, etc.

18. Austria: $46,850

Austria has a strong social market economy and a high standard of living as befits a nation that is amongst the world’s richest. Austrians enjoy the 18th highest per capita income in the world.

Austria is a highly industrialised nation, but has a very strong labour movement.

Tourism, industry and the services sector add to the nation’s economy.

19. Finland: $45,680

Finland has a highly developed industry and a mixed economy. It is one of the richest nations in the world, and has consistently scored very high on most parameters like connectivity, standard of living, quality of life, economic freedom, etc.

Finland, at $45,680 per annum, has the world’s 19th highest per capita income.

The services sector contributes the major bulk to the nation’s economy, followed by manufacturing.

20. Macao SAR, China: $45,360

Macau has the world’s 20th highest per capita income at $35,360.

It is one of the most open economies in the world. Tourism and garment exports are the biggest revenue generators for Macau.

21. Belgium: $45,310

The Belgian open economy has used its well developed transport network, its central location in Europe, its highly industrial and commercial base to grow at a rapid pace.

Belgium has the world’s 21st highest per capita income at $45.310.

22. Ireland: $44,310

The Irish have a per capita income of $44,310, ranking them 22nd in the world.

Ireland too has made rapid strides in the field of information technology. Construction, apart from agriculture, too is an important part of the Irish economy.

Ireland is the third-largest island in Europe and the 20th largest island in the world.

The focus of economy shifted from agriculture to a modern knowledge economy. It now stresses on services and high-tech industries and is dependent on trade, industry and investment.

The 1995 to 2000 period of high economic growth led many to call the country the Celtic Tiger.

23. Australia: $43,770

Australia has a highly developed market economy. Almost 68 per cent of the Australian economy is dominated by its service sector.

Australians enjoy the world’s 23rd highest per capita income at $43,770.

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia.

24. Iceland: $43,220

At $43,220, the per capita income of Iceland is the world’s 24th highest.

Iceland has a very healthy power sector which helps it to be a highly industrialised country.

Apart from manufacturing, the nation is also taking big strides in the fields of software generation, biotechnology, tourism, and financial services.

25. France: $42,680

France has the fifth largest economy in the world, behind United States, China, Japan and Germany. At $42,680, the French have the world’s 25th highest annual per capita income.

France is a highly industrialised country with sectors like energy, telecommunications, aerospace, defence, engineering, and automobile production boosting its robust economy.

After Germany, it is also Europe’s largest economy. Tourism and agriculture too add to its economy.

26. Germany: $42,560

Germany has the largest economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and fifth by GDP in 2008.

Germans enjoy the world’s 26th highest per capita income at $42,560 per year.

The service sector contributes around 70 per cent of the total GDP, industry 29.1 per cent, and agriculture 0.9 per cent to the economy.

124: China: $3,590

China’s per capita income is $3,590. It ranks 124th in the world in terms of per capita income.

China is the world’s second largest economy, with its GDP standing at slightly more than $7 trillion. India, by comparison, touched the $1-trillion mark in 2007.

China, the world’s factory, has a highly developed manufacturing sector. It has a huge market which acts as a magnet for big multinationals who pour in billions of dollars into the economy to grab a chunk of the massive Chinese market.

The country also has a very well developed telecommunications market, apart from robust agricultural and industrial sectors.

171: Pakistan: $1,020

Pakistan’s per capita income is at $870. It ranks 171st in the world.

For the past few years, India’s neighbour has been growing at an impressive rate of about 7 per cent. Its economy mainly comprises agriculture, services, telecommunications, software, automotives, textiles, etc.

1. Tenerife airport disaster (March 27, 1977) was probably one of the worst aviation disasters ever seen which was a culmination of a series of unfortunate reasons including terrorism , bad weather, mechanical failure, air traffic control miscommunication and pilot error. It involved collision of two Boeings (747) on the airport runway, one of which was a Pan Am jet and the other being a KLM flight. The worst accident in aviation history occurred when two Boeing 747 aircraft – Pan Am Flight 1736 and KLM Flight 4805 – collided on the runway of a Tenerife airport. Essentially, the KLM proceeded with a takeoff from the airport’s only runway without permission, colliding straight into the Pam Am aircraft that was taxiing along the same runway. Conditions were foggy, so it was hard to maintain a visual from either of the aircraft and there was also confusion over various radio instructions. This accident resulted in the deaths of 583 people, the highest death toll in any Air craft related mishap excluding the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11.

2. Japan Airlines Flight 123 (August 12, 1985) A Boeing747 domestic flight of Japan Airways flying from Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport to Osaka’s Itami International Airport crashed into the a ridge near Mount Osutaka ,100 kilometers from Tokyo killing 520 people but surprisingly leaving 4 survivors. The mid flight rupture of an aft bulkhead negligently repaired earlier following a tail strike incident the aircraft was involved in, caused destruction of part of the airplane’s tail .This destroyed the crucial hydraulic systems needed to maintain control over the aircraft as well as the rudder controls and the jet flew uncontrollably for over 30 minutes before crashing into a mountain forest. A JAL maintenance supervisor later committed suicide, while the president of the airline resigned, accepting full, formal responsibility for the crash and visiting victims’ families to offer a personal apology. The Japanese government was severely criticized for delaying the rescue operation for potential survivors of the air crash as it was later realized that a few people died awaiting the rescue team after surviving the impact of the crash.

3. The Charkhi Dadri mid air collision (November 12, 1996) Catastrophe strikes over the night sky of a village in Haryana (India) only 100 km away from the national capital New Delhi, as an Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane from Kazakhstan (Flight 1907) collides in midair with a Saudi Arabian passenger Airlines killing all 349 people aboard both planes and making it the deadliest mid-air collision the world has ever seen. A pilot for the U.S Air force was the sole eyewitness to the event as he was making an initial approach in his airplane and he saw a cloud suddenly flashing into bright red. The investigation that followed the disaster revealed that the Kazakh pilot failed to follow ATC instructions due to communication problems and tragically none of the airplanes were equipped with a TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system).Following the mid air collision the TCAS was made mandatory on all flying aircrafts in the world.

4. Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (March 3, 1974) Known as the “Ermenonville air disaster”, from the forest (near Senlis, France) where the aircraft crashed, the accident resulted in the deaths of all 346 on board the DC-10 in operation for the Turkish Airlines .The cause for one of the most notorious and gruesome crashes ever was traced to a poorly designed cargo door that had burst from its latches leading to the depressurization of the aircraft and collapse of the cabin floor above the hatch. This further led to the impairment of cables to the rudders and elevators affording the pilots little to no control over their own aircraft. From the crash site only 40 bodies were visually identifiable. Nine passengers were never identified. In fact the wreckage had been so extensively broken up that immediate investigation suggested that a bomb had been placed on-board

5.    Air India Kanishka Flight 182 (June 23, 1985) The Air India Boeing 747 en route between Toronto and Bombay (now Mumbai) was blown up by a bomb exploding in the cargo section of the aircraft while it was in Irish airspace, at an altitude of 31,000 feet. The airplane fell into the Atlantic Ocean killing all of the 329 people it was carrying .Sikh separatists Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were accused of planting the bomb by investigating bodies in Canada who also cited shortcomings in baggage screening procedures, screening equipment, and employee training as a reason for the security lapse which led to the gruesome terrorist act taking place. A second bomb, intended to blow up another Air India 747 on the same day, detonated prematurely in a luggage facility in Tokyo’s Narita Airport before being loaded aboard.

6. Saudia Flight 163 (August 19, 1980) Barely six minutes into its journey to Karachi a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar plane of the Saudia (now Saudi Arabian Airlines) returns to Riyadh following an in-flight fire that broke out right after departure. Though the crew is successful with the emergency landing of the aircraft, for reasons unknown, the pilot taxies the aircraft down the runaway for 2 minutes 40 seconds after the landing instead of stopping at the earliest and commencing an emergency evacuation of his aircraft .The wide body passenger jet airliner then sits with its engines running for more than three minutes and before the rescue team can reach the aircraft at the far end of the runway and start the rescue evacuation, the aircraft  is consumed by a flash-fire killing everybody aboard.

7. Iran Air Flight 655 (July 3, 1988) An Iranian Airbus A300 was shot down by the US Navy destroyer Vincennes over the Straits of Hormuz toward the end of the Iran – Iraq war. According to the US government the crew of the Vincennes mistakenly identified the Iranian Airbus as an attacking F 14 Tomcat fighter while the Iranian government maintained that the Vincennes knowingly shot down the civilian aircraft with two surface-to-air missiles. All passengers and crew aboard IR655 were killed, totally 290 deaths, 66 of which were children. The United States decided to pay a monetary settlement to the families of the Iranian victims. However, the United States has never admitted responsibility, nor apologized to Iran for the incident.

8. American Airlines Flight 191 (May 25, 1979) This DC-10 crash became infamous as the worst aircraft incident in the US (until September 11, 2001) with 273 fatalities and also lead to the temporary grounding of all DC-10s across America as investigation by the NTSB pointed towards faulty engine pylon design and airline maintenance procedures of the aircraft. Just after the flight’s takeoff from the Chicago’s O’Hare airport one of its wing is damaged severely due to an engine detachment which is followed by the aircraft pitching 90 degrees and crashing nose first very close to the airport within exactly 31 seconds from the aircrafts’ engine separation. As it hit the ground the aircraft explodes in a huge fireball, visible from miles around, disintegrating the craft and everyone on it and also killing two people on the ground.

9. Pan Am Flight 103 (December 21, 1988) A Boeing 747- 121 flying from London Heathrow airport to JFK airport in New York exploded in the night sky over Lockerbie (Scotland) killing all the 259 people in the aircraft as well as 11 people on the ground over which the doomed aircraft’s burning debris fell. Two Libyan agents, one of who was convicted (Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi) while the other went on to be acquitted (Lamin Khalifah Fhimah), were held in connection with charges over planting of the bomb in the flight. In 1992 a U.S. federal court also found Pan Am guilty of willful misconduct due to lax security screening.

10. Korean Air Lines flight KAL007 (September 1, 1983) A Boeing 747 passenger flight of the Korean Airways which deviated from its original intended air route from New York to Seoul was shot down by a Soviet fighter plane as it entered the soviet air space near Sakhalin Island (North Pacific) unaware. It was suspected to be a US military spy plane by the Russians keeping in mind the cold war era between the US and Soviet Union and the tense relations they shared during that time. All the passenger and crew of the flight, a total of 269 lives, were lost in the tragic incident and the investigation carried on by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) attributed the erroneous deviation of the plane to a considerable degree of lack of alertness and attentiveness on the part of the flight crew.

Cattle, Argentina

Coal mine in South Africa

Sha Kibbutz, Israel

Military cemetery in Verdun, France

Suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark

Favelas in Rio de Janeiro

Ruins of the medieval city of Shali, Egypt

Switzerland

Gullholmen, Sweden

Denver, USA

Fraser Island dune, Australia

Pena, Portugal

Amazon River, Brazil

Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa

Machu Picchu, Peru

Walled City of Dubrovnik, Croatia

The Changping District in Beijing, China

Cattle near the Masai Mara National Park, Kenya

Tasmania, Australia

Bazaar of Istanbul, Turkey

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Hashima Island, Japan

Stockholm, Sweden

Boats stranded on the dry Aral Sea, Kazakhstan

Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Pigeon Houses Mit Gahmr Delta, Egypt

Varanasi, India

Solar plant in Andalusia, Spain

Easter Island, Chile

Epicenter of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

Mountains near Jengish, Kyrgyzstan

Freeways in Los Angeles, USA

Sculptures of Bruno Catalano reveal the artist’s desire to make sculpture of his own style and aiming to capture the viewer’s attention.

Admiring art since his youth, Bruno Catalano began his career as a sculptor with a remarkable talent in 1990.

His works have an international reputation, they are part of collections of large corporations and private.

At first glance, Bruno Catalano’s sculptures look like amazing illusions. Look closely, though, and you’ll see that Catalano created these disappearing travelers with incomplete sections by carefully sculpting each piece. Awaiting an unknown destination, these travelers, with their dashed bodies and their determined lack of volume, invite the viewer to mentally fill in what’s missing.

1. Lose a Hammer, Find a Horde

In November 1992, a farmer living near the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England, lost a hammer in one of his fields, so he asked Eric Lawes to use his metal detector to search for it. While looking for the hammer, Lawes happened upon something else of interest – 24 bronze coins, 565 gold coins, 14,191 silver coins, plus hundreds of gold and silver spoons, jewelry, and statues, all dating back to the Roman Empire.

As required by British law, the so-called “Hoxne Hoard” was reported to the local authorities, who declared it a “Treasure Trove,” meaning it was now legally the property of Britain. However, the government is required to pay fair market value for a treasure trove, meaning the farmer and Lawes split a cool £1.75 million. The Hoxne Hoard is now on permanent display at the British Museum, drawing thousands of people every year.

Sadly, there is no word on whether or not the hammer was ever found.

2. Arkansas is a Girl’s Best Friend

W.O. Bassum found a giant of a gemstone in 1924 – a 40.23 carat diamond. It might surprise you to hear that he wasn’t digging in one of the famous South African diamond mines at the time, but was near Murfreesboro, Arkansas, at a site that is now the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Sitting on top of a volcanic pipe (a geologic tube formed by an ancient underground volcanic explosion), the park is the only diamond site in the world that is open to the public. Best of all, the park’s policy is: “You find it. You keep it. No matter how valuable it is.”

Bassum’s big find – nicknamed “The Uncle Sam Diamond,” the largest diamond ever discovered in North America – was later cut down to 12.42 carat and sold for $150,000 in 1971 (About $800,000 today). But his wasn’t the last valuable rock dug out of that Arkansas soil.

In 1964, “The Star of Murfreesboro” was discovered at the same site, weighing in at 34.25 carat. Then, in 1975, came the 16.37 carat “Amarillo Starlight Diamond.” The 6.35 carat “Roden Diamond” was found in 2006. And the crown jewel of the park has been the “Strawn-Wagner Diamond” (pictured), a comparatively small 3.09 carat diamond, that was dug up in 1990, and expertly cut down to 1.90 carat. Despite its smaller size, the Strawn-Wagner stands out because it was given a “Perfect” rating by the American Gem Society – the first diamond to ever receive such a high grade.

But don’t think this list of big gems means the site has been tapped out. On average, two diamonds are found every day at Crater of Diamonds. They’re not all as big as The Uncle Sam Diamond, but maybe you’ll get lucky. There’s only one way to find out…

3. The Declaration of (Financial) Independence

We’ve all heard of the man who bought a $4 painting at a garage sale, found an original copy of the Declaration of Independence inside, and sold it for $2.4 million. A once-in-a-lifetime story, right? Not so much, actually.

Michael Sparks was visiting a Nashville thrift store, where he bought a candleholder, a set of salt and pepper shakers, and a yellowed print of the Declaration of Independence. Sparks figured the document was a worthless, modern reprint, so he paid the asking price – $2.48 – and headed home.

After looking over the document for a few days, he wondered if it might be older than he initially thought. So he hopped on the internet to do some research and soon realized he had purchased one of only 200 official copies of the Declaration of Independence commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820. Of those 200, 35 had been found intact; he had number 36.

It took a year for Sparks to have the print authenticated and preserved, and then he put it up for auction, netting a final sale price of $477,650.

The salt and pepper shakers, on the other hand, were still worthless.

4. A Good Heade for Bargains

One day, an employee at a tool-and-die company in Indiana spent $30 for a few pieces of used furniture and an old painting of some flowers. When he got his new stuff home, he decided to strategically hang the picture to cover up a hole in the wall that had been bugging him.

Some years later he was playing a board game called Masterpiece in which players attempt to outbid one another for artwork at an auction. Much to his surprise, one of the cards in the game featured a painting of flowers that looked a lot like the one he had on his wall. So he went online and found that his painting was similar in style to the work of Martin Johnson Heade, an American still-life artist best known for landscapes and flower arrangements.

Through his research he found the Kennedy Galleries in Manhattan, which handles many of Heade’s works, and asked them to take a look at his painting. They agreed and were able to verify that the piece of artwork covering the hole in his wall was a previously unknown Heade painting, since named Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth. In 1999, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston purchased the painting for $1.2 million dollars.

I emailed the Museum to ask if the painting was covering a hole in the wall, but I didn’t get a reply.

5. It’s nice, but it’s no Middleham Jewel…

Every Sunday afternoon for the last seven years, Mary Hannaby had gone for a walk with her metal detector. She’d never really found anything of value, but she liked getting the exercise, so she kept at it. On one Sunday in June 2009, her detector beeped, and she bent down to dig up what she thought was going to be another common coin or old nail. Instead, she uncovered a postage stamp-sized gold pendant featuring an intricate carving of the crucifixion of Jesus. Maybe she had finally hit the jackpot.

Upon inspection by the British Museum, the pendant was described as “an important find,” and they estimated the market value to be around £4,000. Still, they decided not to purchase it for their collection, so Mary took the pendant to Sotheby’s. The experts at the auction house felt the piece was much more valuable, because it was believed to be one of only three similar items known to exist. Their initial estimate was £250,000, but said it could easily sell for as much as £2.5 million thanks to its resemblance to another English treasure also found with a metal detector, the Middleham Jewel.

But as the saying goes, “Never count your millions until the auctioneer bangs his gavel.” Sotheby’s put the pendant up for auction on July 9, 2009, making it the highlight of a large lot of antique sculptures. Clearly the expectations were high. The bidding started at £30,000, but as the final call was made, the best offer was only £38,000 – far below the reserve price to make a sale.

6. A Possible Pollock

In 1992, Teri Horton, a retired truck driver, went to her local thrift store to buy a depressed friend a gag gift. She found a rather large painting – 66” x 47” – that she thought was pretty amusing because it was, in her opinion, so ugly. When she asked the thrift store employee the price, they said $8. She haggled and only paid $5. In the end, her friend didn’t want it (she, too, thought it was ugly, plus it wouldn’t fit through the door of her trailer), so Teri took it home and tried to unload it at her garage sale. A local art teacher saw the painting and suggested it could very well be a Jackson Pollock. In response, Teri famously asked the teacher, “Who the f*** is Jackson Pollock?”

Since that day, Teri Horton has been struggling to prove that her thrift store treasure is a lost piece of artwork potentially worth well over $100 million. However, due to the painting’s lack of verifiable history of ownership (called “provenance”), the piece is disputed by many fine arts experts as simply another artist’s work inspired by Pollock. To find proof of Pollock, Teri had the work examined by a forensic specialist who claims to have found a fingerprint that matches one in Pollock’s studio. But even the fingerprint evidence has been disputed by the art world, leaving the painting, as yet, unsold.

Teri, her painting, and her battle with the art world elite became the subject of a 2006 documentary called, appropriately, Who the *$&% is Jackson Pollock?

Photographs by Peter Menzel from the book “Hungry Planet”

Come see What The World Eats. A few years ago photographer Peter Menzel and his wife Faith D’Aluisio started to photograph what family’s around the globe eat and wrote down what their weekly expenditure is. In 2005 they published an award winning book called Hungry Planet: What The World Eats.

This project turned out to be so educational that he’s currently still giving lectures at universities about this very subject. A current exhibition is held until May 9, 2010 is hosted by the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota.

As you look at the photographs and see what they spend per week, you can draw a lot of different conclusions about their dietm their surroundings, their personal/economic circumstance and how globalization has influenced what people eat.

A quote from his website about his book:

Today we are witnessing the greatest change in global diets since the invention of agriculture. Globalization, mass tourism, and giant agribusiness have filled American supermarket shelves with extraordinary new foods and McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Kraft Cheese Singles are being exported to every corner of the planet.

Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City

Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily

Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat

Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City

Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45

Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina

Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca

Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken

China: The Dong family of Beijing

Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna

Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Family recipe: Pig’s knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo

Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton (goat meat)

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo

Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage

United States: The Caven family of California

Food expenditure for one week: $159.18
Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream

Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar

Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis

Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village

Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide

Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favorite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding

Courtesy:  TIME magazine photo galleries of “Hungry Planet” part I

During the months of September and December, people can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls without falling over.

“I think it will probably be overblown. Obviously, China is going to protest. I don’t think it will have a long-term effect, but in the short term it will become a point of friction between China and India,” Professor Fravel, who is widely considered to be the leading authority on China’s border issues.

Asked if he felt the Dalai Lama would be advised to tone down political rhetoric, Professor Fravel replied: “I suspect he doesn’t even need to be told by the Indian government.”

“I think he will characterise his trip as being one of a religious nature,” Professor Fravel said. “The Chinese government will not see it that way, but that’s how he will characterise it.”

He says the Indian government has not allowed foreign journalists to cover the visit to reduce any fallout.

“I think the Indian government is doing it to de-politicise the visit as much as possible,” Professor Fravel said. “The Indian government has a long track record of trying to limit the political nature of Tibet-related activities in India — allow large gatherings or demonstrations on Tibetan issues.”

“I think the Chinese government will see it as follows:

“As an Indian effort to symbolically affirm control over Arunachal Pradesh (India).”

“Second, they will see the Dalai Lama’s visit as a way for him to internationalise the dispute with India. Wherever he goes, he will have an international audience.”

“A third perspective (is that the visit is) perhaps legitimating India’s claim to the area and questioning China’s claim.”

But China has more a serious cause for worry, Professor Fravel believes.

He points out that there is an important Tibetan monastery in Tawang.

“It is possible that a future Dalai Lama could be reincarnated there. That could create a huge problem for China,” Professor Fravel says, citing precedent for a Dalai Lama, the sixth, Tsangyang Gyatso, who was born in the Tawang area.

“In the long run, what worries China is that the reincarnation will occur in an area that China does not control — which, most likely, will be in this one very small part of Arunachal Pradesh, which does have a historical link with Tibet.

Source: Rediff India

STRESS vs TIME

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called d’ Wiesn for short.

Visitors also eat huge amounts of food, most of it traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstel (sausages) along with Brez’n (Pretzel), Knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Rotkraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a fatty, spiced cheese-butter concoction) and Weisswurst (a white sausage)

To keep the Oktoberfest, and especially the beer tents, friendly for older people and families, the concept of the “quiet Oktoberfest” was developed in 2005. Until 6:00 PM, the tents only play quiet music, for example traditional wind music. Only after that will Schlager and pop music be played, which has led to more violence in earlier years. The music played in the afternoon is limited to 85 decibels. With these measures, the organizers of the Oktoberfest hope to curb the over-the-top party mentality and preserve the traditional beer tent atmosphere.

Size

The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People’s Fair) in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria. 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non-European countries including the United States, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

Besides the Oktoberfest, there are other public festivals that take place at the same location, in April/May: The Munich Frühlingsfest (Spring Festival) and Winter Tollwood in December with 650,000 visitors.

Starting in 2008, a new Bavarian law banning smoking in all enclosed spaces that are open to the public will be in place at the Oktoberfest. This will mean a complete smoking ban inside the tents. However, after heavy losses in the 2008 local elections, the state’s ruling party wants to grant special exemptions to beer tents and small pubs. In 2008, the organisers used a special exemption in 2008 for temporary structures so smoking was permitted in the tents although the sale of tobacco was not. This policy was extended to the 2009 event.