10/10/2005

SPIEGEL Surfs the Web

Life and Death in Smurf Village

A new television spot created by UNICEF seeks to shed light on how the horrors of war impact children? But it uses an unconventional method to do so: It bombs Smurf Village and, in doing so, creates a blow to Belgian pride.

Life was peaceful, self-sufficient and content in the Smurf village. Indeed, the Smurfs always seemed to have a leg-up on their perpetual tormenter, Gargamel. No one thought that Gargamel would go so far, though, as to acquire high-grade weaponry. No Smurf imagined -- not even Brainy Smurf, or the chronically pessimistic Grouchy Smurf-- that their community would meet such a violent end. Anyone tempted to witness the extermination of the Smurfs can satisfy their curiosity with Monday's link. A new 25-second television spot depicts the demise of the Smurf village by a round of bombs dropped from the sky. One lone Baby Smurf survives the carnage. The film was made by UNICEF as part of their anti-war campaign. A sneak preview in Belgium shocked parents and sent more than one child into tears. Authorities subsequently promised only to air the spot after 9 pm.

First Robot Fish on Display in London

The world's first ever autonomously controlled fish made a splash at the this week. The three robotic fish, which are about the size of carp, use sensors to navigate round the place and can therefore avoid the other (real) fish they share a tank with.

The scientists at Essex University, who spent three years developing the droids, say that because the robots' undulating movements are so realistic, visitors assume the fish are real. Of course, as the fish have shiny metallic scales and a battery power of five hours, visitors would have to be pretty slow to not realize they are looking at robots. To see if you can tell the difference take a look at this of the robo-fish swimming in their London tank.

Python Explodes after Gator Dinner

Talk about having eyes too big for one's stomach. Park rangers at Florida's Everglades National Park were startled to discover the remains of dead alligator -- sticking out of the mouth of a dead Burmese python. Apparently, the snake had attempted to swallow the gator whole in a fit of gluttony. And then exploded. "They were probably matched evenly in size," Frank Mazzotti, a wildlife professor from the University of Florida, told the Associated Press. "If the python got a good grip on the alligator before the alligator got a good grip on him, he could win."

But greed is dangerous, and in the end, the ranger found the snake with its dinner's tail sticking out of its burst belly. Its head was nowhere to be found. Burmese pythons have been living in the Everglades for the past two decades -- many of them have been dumped there by their owners.

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