Kingfishers in the Netherlands are doing exceptionally well due to the recent mild winters. In the Dutch language they are called ijsvogels, which means ice birds. Despite that name, the birds do not fare well in cold winters. More »
For the first time in 39 years there will be no New Year’s dive in Scheveningen on New Year’s Day, here in the Netherlands. A combination of hard wind from the south west and high tide will cause strong currents and high waves that are too dangerous according to the fire department, police, lifeguards, health services and the local government. The event started in 1965 and draws between 7,000 and 10,000 cold-seeking participants every year. More »
A new bird species has been discovered in a remote forest in northeastern India, conservationists announced today. The strikingly multi-colored bird has been named Bugun Liocichla and it is the first new bird species discovered in India in more than half a century. More »
The Dutch national weather agency (KNMI) has already announced that July 2006 will go down in the record books as the hottest month ever. It has been so hot that the announcement was made more than a week before the end of the month. More »
Nine days … seven astronauts … ONE space station. For ten days millions across the globe have followed the adventures of Stephanie, Mike, Steve, Piers, Mark, Thomas and Lisa … as NASA TV brought us 24/7 live images from cameras inside and outside the International Space Station. More »
Just five years after its first known public reference as a verb in a New York Post article, the word “google” earned an entry among the 165,000 terms in the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. The definition: to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web More »
The Almere-Buiten branch of the Dutch supermarket “Plus” has introduced special shopping baskets for single customers. Shoppers who use a purple shopping basket are indicating to other shoppers that they are available. More »
One of the headlines in today’s paper read “Exodus na WK-Verlies” (Exodus after World Cup Loss). Since Holland’s loss to Portugal Sunday night, Dutch soccer fans (almost everyone) can forget about following the World Cup and finally move on to more important things: VACATION! More »
For the Soccer World Cup in Germany this month, Dutch grocer Albert Heijn has started an immensely popular ‘wuppie’ campaign; for every €15 spent at the grocery store you get a small red, white, blue or orange wuppie, a small woolly ball with two eyes, feet and antennas. Each wuppie comes with a saving stamp, and with three stamps and an additional €2.49 you can buy a large wuppie. Albert Heijn had 700,000 so-called ‘mega wuppies’ made in China, but most of those have already sold. Now customers are fighting for the last remaining mega wuppies. One wuppie has already sold online for €100 and there have been reports of wuppies being stolen from cars! More »
On June 30th the Dutch government will decide on a new road connection between Amsterdam, Schiphol airport and Almere. It is Transport Minister Peijs’ preferred option for beating the congestion in the area. Many are against this plan, as the new tunnel and highway will go very close near the oldest nature reserve of the Netherlands, the Naardermeer. More »