New York’s REX architecture studio has designed a pair of skinny media towers that feature ‘blooming’ Mashrabiya sunscreens that protect against excess solar gain. Mashrabiya is an old Arabian architectural practice to passively cool hot desert buildings.
Retractable Mashrabiya sunscreens for secret Middle East media towers project
Pomegranates and oranges take this cake! A recipe
Coming up on my fourth year of taste-testing my way through Jordan – where the seasonal foods of the Levant pack a triple punch of being delicious, healthy and affordable – I amp up the smart-eating quotient by always avoiding desserts, filling up on marvelous mezzes and entrees because regional sweets leave me flat.
Phenomenal time lapse video makes Doha look like magic
Want to see a city on “speed” grow? This time lapse video captures Doha as it expands rapidly for the 2022 World Cup in soccer.
No male escort? Sheesha extinguished for Saudi Muslimahs!
Restaurants and cafes in Jeddah have posted signs warning women that if they want to be served sheesha, their mahrams (male guardians) must be at their side.
Glowing highways make it look like we’re driving through eco-fairytales
Glow-in-the-dark roads recently debuted on a 500 meter stretch of Netherlands highway! Brought to you by the guy behind glow-in-the-dark trees. He’s been burning the candle at both ends – not so much to increase light levels, more to roll out new applications of his natural luminescence designs.
Israeli designs fashion hats good enough to eat
An Israeli costume designer has created a series of hats that look good enough to eat, serving up 3-course millinery that pretty much covers soups to nuts. File this under “silver linings” – Maor Zabar cooked up his headpieces after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.
3-D technology gives birth to lab-grown vaginas
Dubious developments allow us to print 3-D guns, grow “hamburgers” in a petri dish, and design environmentally responsive haute couture. Now a new application of technology radically transforms the human experience! Four women have had new vaginas surgically implanted; organs fully lab-grown.
Paraplegic sea turtle lived without flippers for 4 years, then he got these
A turtle that washed up on a beach in Israel was found with his two left flippers dangling hopelessly by his side – they had been severed by sharp fishing lines. The Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Michmoret named him Freedom and kept him for four years.
Google Earth reveals 10-year impact of 39 square mile desert mangrove project
The ‘historical imagery’ function on google earth is particularly helpful in tracking changes to landscapes since about the turn of the millennium when satellite imagery became commonly available.
Dubai unveils lamp-shaped ‘Aladdin City’ towers
Three lamp-shaped towers make up the new Aladdin City that is being constructed in Dubai as part of an effort to boost the city’s profile ahead of the 2020 World Expo. I wonder what the genie thinks?
Why oil and gas companies should buy whales hearing aids
Whales, the earth’s largest marine mammals, have had more than their share of ecological problems in all parts of the world’s seas and oceans. One of their biggest risks is noise in marine habitats caused by drilling for oil and gas.
Hyper-absorbent diapers made from jellyfish biodegrade in under 30 days
Until you have babies, the true awfulness of diapers doesn’t really set in. But ask the modern parent, who will buy up to 2,800 mostly non-biodegradable diapers in their baby’s first year. Then they will chuck most of them in the trash. Cine’al has at least one solution: hyper-absorbent diapers made with jellyfish.
Should ancient bones be up for sale? Shoppers in Dubai say yes!
Decorative taxidermy reaches new heights in the United Arab Emirates! Dubai developer Emaar has shelled out big bucks for the remains of a 150-million-year-old dinosaur which will be permanently displayed in the world’s largest shopping venue, Dubai Mall.
The adult Diplodocus specimen (90% original bones!) represents the first time ever that dinosaur fossils were found in a sleeping position. And Dubai buys another world record!
Read Also: Dubai Malls sees more visitors than Mecca, the Vatican and the Old City combined
The remains were discovered at the Dana Quarry in Wyoming (USA), an area containing ancient fossils dating back to the late Jurassic Period. According to Dinosauria International, it’s the most productive dig site in Wyoming, and the “origin of over a dozen, mostly excellent articulated individual skeletons, ranging from the huge and lumbering Apatosaurus to the terrifying Allosaurus and the tiny Coelurosauria.”
Over 75 million shoppers came to Dubai Mall last year (over 100 million in 2023) to shop and peer through the world’s largest acrylic panel (to view creatures in its amazing aquarium) and nosh at “Candylicious” (the world’s largest sweet shop). The dino exhibit is expected to exponentially boost footfall.
But the story inside this story is that anyone with a full wallet can buy a full dinosaur (or downgrade to specific bones, teeth, or fossil imprints).
Google “dinosaurs for sale” and up pops PaleoDirect, the DinosaurStore, and even eBay as used bone sellers.
Truly spectacular specimens can be picked up through bespoke auction houses; last year a pair of “dueling dinosaurs” was on the block for $7 million – the duo, a tyrannosaurid and ceratopsian, was discovered dramatically intertwined in a prehistoric death match. One of the most important discoveries in North American paleontology – destined for a food court in an UAE mall or Emir’s garden.
The upside is that that high roller Emiratis have clearly embraced “recycling” – recently cars, and now bones.
Fossils For Sale
In addition to museums, it’s now relatively easy for people today to find fossils such as teeth and bones with authentic fossil and mineral retailers like Fossil Era. Fossil collectors can find the rarest items from different parts of the world through their online fossil platforms or marketplaces. These dinosaur fossils are sourced and gathered by locals and paleontologists. Moreover, fossil collectors are highly involved in the preservation and sale of fossils.
While many Emiratis are interested in decorative taxidermy, nothing can beat owning the rarest dinosaur fossils. They tell a richer story of the rich biodiversity and history of the world, proving the existence of monstrous animals from millions of years ago. For instance, experts believe that non-bird dinosaurs lived about 245 to 66 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era. They already existed millions of years before the Homo sapiens, or the first humans, existed.
Conclusion
Ancient bones capture the interest of shoppers in Dubai. Fossils serve as house or building ornaments, reflecting the status of their owners in society. It’s no wonder why high roller Emiratis collect dinosaur bones and other animal fossils. This ongoing trend benefits the fossil market and elevates the demand to greater heights.
Image of Dubai dino from 7 Days in Dubai
No plastics safe? Industry hides frightening evidence on BPA-free baby bottles
A new investigation by Mother Jones magazine revealed that chemicals used to replace controversial plastic additive bisphenol-A – commonly called BPA – may be just as dangerous to your health, if not worse.