17 Facts About China That Raise An Eyebrow Or Two (culture, countries, strange, weird, Auckland)

For all the crazy stories you've heard about China, the world's biggest country is going to keep raising an eyebrow or two.  The speed and size of economic development going in China right now has never happened before. In just ten years, a small emerging market has transformed into a geopolitical bruiser that can go toe-to-toe with Ben Bernanke.

Like it or not, China plays a critical role in the global economy from here out. Let's hope it hope doesn't crash.

17. China's economy grew 7 times as fast as America's over the past decade (316% growth vs. 43%)

16. China's GDP per capita is the 91st-lowest in the world, below Bosnia & Herzegovina

15. 85 percent of artificial Christmas trees are made in China. So are 80 percent of toys

14. If he spent his ENTIRE YEARLY INCOME on housing, the average Beijing resident could buy 10 square feet of residential property Obviously he can't spend his entire income on housing...A square meter of residential property in Beijing costs an average of 26,000 yuan (US$3,800), but the average per capita monthly income is only 2,000 yuan, according to Asia Times.

13. China has more pigs than the next 43 pork producing countries combined

12. Chinese consume 50,000 cigarettes every second

11.America's fastest "high speed" train goes less than half as fast as the new train between Shanghai and Beijing (150 mph vs 302 mph)

10. China's enormous Gobi Desert is the size of Peru and expanding 1,400 square miles per year due to water source depletion, over-foresting, and over-grazing

9. China has 64 million vacant homes, including entire cities that are empty

8. The world's biggest mall is in China... but it has been 99% empty since 2005

7. Nearly 10,000 Chinese citizens each year are sucked into unsanctioned 'black jails'

6. By 2025, China will build enough skyscrapers to fill TEN New York-sized cities. "[By 2025,] 40 billion square meters of floor space will be built -- in five million buildings. 50,000 of these buildings could be skyscrapers -- the equivalent of ten New York Cities." Source: Mckinsey, "Preparing for China's urban billion"

5. By 2030, China will add more new city-dwellers than the entire U.S. population.

4. There are already more Christians in China than Italy. Due to the extremely rapid expansion of Christianity in China, there are now an estimated 54 million Christians in the country, comprised of about 40 million Protestants and 14 million Catholics. Italy has just 60 million people in total, of which only 79% are Christian these days. Which means Italy has 47.4 million Christians, a full 12% less than China.

3. Chinese are almost twice as likely to believe in evolution as Americans An impressive 74 percent of Chinese believe in evolution, better than Mexico (69%), Argentina (68%) and Great Britain (68%.Only Russia (48%), USA (42%), South Africa (41%) and Egypt (25%) remain skeptical about Darwin's theory.

2. China executes three times as many people as the rest of the world COMBINED... and uses mobile execution vans for efficiency. China carried out at least 1,718 executions in 2008, three times as many as the rest of the world, according to Amnesty International. Some analysts put the yearly figure closer to 6,000. Many executions are done on the road using vehicles such as those designed by Jinguan Motors:

"Makers of the death vans say the vehicles and injections are a civilized alternative to the firing squad, ending the life of the condemned more quickly, clinically and safely. The switch from gunshots to injections is a sign that China "promotes human rights now," says Kang Zhongwen, who designed the Jinguan Automobile death van in which "Devil" Zhang took his final ride."

1. When you buy Chinese stocks, you are basically financing the Chinese government. Eight of Shanghai's top ten stocks are government owned

Eight of the ten largest stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange are nothing but state-controlled companies:

PetroChina

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

Sinopec

Bank of China

China Shenhua Energy Company

China Life Insurance Company

Bank of Communications

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Professional iPhone 4 Repair and Unlocking, Auckland, New Zealand. Mob: +64212640000

10 Bizarre Predictions That Just Might Come True (Weird, fact, epic, science, Auckland)

Predicating the future used to belong to the world of psychics and mystics, but now you don't need to be Nostradamus to see what the future holds. In fact, scientists are increasingly making bold predications about the future. If some of their forecasts are right then we could be living in a "brave new world". We take a look at 10 bizarre predictions that might just come true.

10. Invisibility cloak

What would you do if you could be invisible for a day?  Well, according to The Telegraph , an invisibility cloak is only a few years away from being created. Robbing banks will get a whole lot easier.

9. Download brain onto a computer

Ray Kurzweil , a leading expert in the field of technology claims that by 2050 computers could be so powerful that we can actually download our brains into a computer – giving us eternal life. There are unconfirmed reports that Paris Hilton has downloaded her brain onto an old floppy disk in preperation.

8. Rise of global machine dictator

British Telecoms futurology department predict that we could be under the global robot dictator as early as 2021. A machine dictator will probably still be better than some of the people in power at the moment…

7. Brain chips

The ministry of defence released a report last year in which they claim that an implantable brain chip will embedded in the brain and allow the state, terrorist organisations and criminals to use people to mobilise flash mobs

By 2035, an implantable "information chip" could be wired directly to the brain. A growing pervasiveness of information communications technology will enable states, terrorists or criminals, to mobilise "flashmobs", challenging security forces to match this potential agility coupled with an ability to concentrate forces quickly in a small area

6. Genetically engineered teddy bear

Back to the crazy world of the BT Futurology department and they predict that by 2038 the first genetically engineered Teddy Bear could be developed. Not sure if you'll want to give these teddy bears to your children – unless they've been very bad!

5. Sweet robot loving

A.I expert, David Levy , predicts that by 2050 robots will be so lifelike that we'll all want to get intimate with robots. Now nerds will have to listen to robot girlfriends telling them to do the dishes.

4. Binary "Deathstar"

Astronomers at the University of Sydney think that the Earth is inline with an unstable star and that it "will emit an "intense gamma ray" which will ultimately lead to mass extinction on Earth. Neat.

3. Aliens Save The World From Disaster

Steven Spielberg was right, not all aliens are bad. Buddist monks in Tibet think that alien superpowers will avert the apocalypse in 2012.

2. Human Race to split into 2 species

Hands up who has read The Time Machine recently? Well, a bunch of scientists must have overdosed on the H.G Wells classic because they think the human race is going to split into two separate species . One class will be the attractive and intelligent ruling elite, while the other will be an underclass of dim-witted goblin-like creatures.

1. Time Travellers

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Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB damaged by repair at home (iOS, water damage, Auckland, Abby Technology Limited)

This Apple iPhone 3GS, 16GB was submitted to us with SIM tray missing, two bottom screws missing, crack back casing and metal bazel detached (sign of serious impact damage) and water damage signs inside the iPhone.
The motherboard was burnt due to wrong assembly of components by home style repair.
We are able to rebuilt the entire phone with a new motherboard replacement, new back housing plus all the damage component/flex inside the this Apple iPhone 3GS.  The bill came out to be a bit on the high side (e.g. who sell used iPhone 3GS original motherboard in the market?)  This post is sponsored by Abby Technology Limited. Visit our blog or follow us on twitter now!

Ambulance That Carried Body of John F. Kennedy Sold for $120,000 !!!

Despite claims that the 1963 Pontiac Bonneville ambulance is not the actual vehicle that was involved in the historical event in 1963, it was sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., for $120,000.

That price is much less than the estimated $1 million the car was expected to fetch. The value dropped after a car conservator society raised questions about its authenticity.

A car collector from Paradise Valley, Ariz., named Addison Brown, who bought the ambulance says she trusts that the car is as advertised and feels fortunate to own it.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind," Brown told reporters following the weekend sale. "If they couldn't find a flaw, nobody will."

Although Brown is not sure what she plans to do with the ambulance, she says she may ask the Smithsonian if it is interested in displaying it.  "It belongs somewhere people can see it and experience it," Brown said.
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