Cosmic Muffin, that’s the name of this boat. At first, it’s a real plane. It.s Howard Hughes prized Boeing B-307. Because of storm, some parts of this plane broken and cannot fly-able in 1969. Then Fort Launderdale Realtor and pilot Kenneth W London, buy it at $62, and about four years they transformed the plane and named it Cosmic Muffin. Because of it’s exotic, the boat featured in CNN, Ripley’s Belit It or Not!, and Jimmy Buffet’s 1996 song “Desdemona’s building A Rocketship.
Aesthetically the Cosmic Muffin can’t claim to be the prettiest boat in the harbor, but the underlying principle guiding the design is sound – we are surrounded by objects manufactured under obsolete guidelines established during the Industrial Revolution. These objects were designed to be thrown away but they must now be revisited with an eye toward reuse, recycling or recombination. The benefits of this are two-fold: less consumption of natural resources during the manufacturing of something new, and less garbage in our landfills.
Dieter Dengler was a German-American, American Navy pilot known for his successful escape from a prison camp during the Vietnam War in a prison in the forest. In early 1966, Dengler plane was shot down by anti aircraft fire in Laos, and he was arrested and sent to prison camps run by the Pathet Lao, a group of North Vietnamese sympathizers. Dengler has earned a reputation for an uncanny ability to escape from POW camps, ostensibly for military training, and he directly contributed to planning the prisoners to make them escape. On June 29, 1966, he and six other prisoners escaped. After a spur down three guards, Dengler fled into dense forest.
Finally, he spent 23 days in the forest and resistant to heat, insects, leeches, parasites, and starvation before rescued by American helicopters. Only one of the other prisoners, a Thailand contractor , survivors of this breakout. The others were killed or disappeared in the forest. Dengler will continue to be a successful test pilot in the following years, and until today he is credited as the only American soldier who managed to escape from a prison camp during the Vietnam War.
4. Escape From Alcatraz
In 1962, Frank Morris, Clarence and John Anglin use months to carefully planning to escape from Alcatraz prison. This trio held in the famous prison at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, which is reserved for the toughest criminals and is considered one of the most difficult prison to escape. This people using a series of tools including a drill assembly of vacuum cleaner motors chip to dig at aging concrete and make them into a ventilation hole.
Alcatraz Prison Location in a remote island
Clarence Anglin - Alcatraz Inmate #1485
John William Anglin - Alcatraz Inmate # 1476
Frank Lee Morris - Alcatraz Inmate # 1441
The plan was extremely complex and involved the design and fabrication of ingenious lifelike dummies, water rafts, and life preservers, fashioned from over fifty rain coats that had been acquired from other inmates - some donated and some stolen. They would also require a variety of crudely made tools to dig with, and to construct the accessories necessary for the escape. By May of 1962, Morris and the Anglins and had already dug through the cell's six-by-nine-inch vent holes, and had started work on the vent on top of the cellblock.
The Anglins inhabited adjacent cells, as did West and Morris, who also resided nearby. The inmates alternated shifts, with one working and one on lookout. They would start work at 5:30 p.m. and continue till about 9:00 p.m., just prior to the lights-out count. Meanwhile John and Clarence started fabricating the dummy heads, and even gave them the pet names of "Oink" and "Oscar." The heads were crude but lifelike, and were constructed from a homemade cement-powder mixture that included such innocuous materials as soap and toilet paper. They were decorated with flesh-tone paint from prison art kits, and human hair from the barbershop.
People were never heard from again, and most evidence suggests that they drowned in the bay, but no body has ever been found.
3. The Maze Prison Escape
One of the most violent prison, the Maze Prison break occurred in 1983, when 35 prisoners escaped after taking control of prison with violence. The Maze is intended for the paramilitary Irish Republican Army combatants and terrorists, and is regarded as one of the most inescapable prison across Europe. But after several months of planning, a group of prisoners led by IRA member Gerry Kelly and Bobby Storey master the entire cellblock by using weapons that have been smuggled into the prison.
After wounding several guards and steal their uniforms, the prisoners hijacked a car and took over a nearby guard post, but when they do not get past the main gate, the men jumped a fence and fled on foot. All told, 35 people escaped from prison, sixteen of whom were arrested again soon after twenty guards were wounded.
2. Billy Hayes' Escape From Turkish Prison
Billy Hayes was an American student who was arrested in 1970 when he tried to smuggle two pounds of hash into the aircraft in Turkey. Once caught, he was sentenced to thirty years in Turkish prisons who have hard systems. Sagmilicar Hayes worked hard in prison for five years, but he eventually transferred to a prison island in the Sea of Marmara, and here he began to seriously plan for escape. The island had no boats, but near the port and there are small fishing boats every time there is a strong storm.
Hayes spent days hiding in the bin of concrete, and when the time is right, he swam to the harbor and steal a small boat. From here, he was able to make its way to Greece, and finally half way round the world before he arrived safely back in the United States.
Hayes later wrote a book about his escape called the Midnight Express, which was adapted into a fiction film of the same name.
1. The Great Escape
For a mere planning, risk, and scale, escaped from prison will not be much more complex than the 1944 escape of 76 Allied troops from Stalag Luft III, a German prison during World War II in operation. Running away is the culmination of more than one year of work by about 600 inmates.
The men dug three tunnels (nicknamed "Tom," "Dick," and "Harry") 30 feet below the surface with plans tunneling through the main fence and came to the surface near the forest. This requires a sophisticated construction process that includes the use of wood blocks for support, a series of lights, and even an air pump to ensure the soldiers that have to dig to be able to breathe. After gathering a collection of civilian clothes and passport, on March 24, 1944, they made their escape.
Teams are organized to tunnel, make civilian clothing, forge documents, procure contraband materials, and prevent guards from discovering their work. Flight Lieutenant Hendley, an American in the RAF, is "the scrounger" who finds what the others need, from a camera to clothes and identity cards. Australian Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick, "the manufacturer," makes tools such as picks for digging and bellows for pumping air into the tunnels. Flight Lieutenant Danny Velinski and William "Willie" Dickes are "the tunnel kings" in charge of making the tunnels. Eric Ashley-Pitt of the Royal Navy devises a method of hiding bags in the prisoners' trousers and spread dirt from the tunnels over the camp, under the guards' noses. Forgery is handled by Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe, who becomes nearly blind from intricate work by candlelight. Hendley takes it upon himself to be Blythe's guide in the escape.
The prisoners work on three tunnels simultaneously, "Tom," "Dick" and "Harry." Work on Harry and Dick is stopped so that more work can be performed on Tom. The work noise is covered by the prisoner choir led by Flt Lt Cavendish.
USAAF Captain Virgil Hilts, "The Cooler King," irritates guards with frequent escape attempts and irreverent behavior. His first attempt, conceived in the cooler, is a short tunnel with RAF Flying Officer Archibald Ives; they are caught and returned to the cooler.
While the British POWs enjoy a 4th of July celebration organized by the three Americans, the guards discover tunnel Tom. The mood drops to disappointment and hits Ives hardest. He is drawn to the barbed wire that surrounds the camp and climbs it in view of guards. Hilts runs to stop him but is too late, and Ives is machine-gunned dead near the top of the fence. The prisoners switch their efforts to Harry.
Hilts agrees to change his plan and reconnoiter outside the camp and allow himself to be recaptured. The information he brings back is used to create maps showing the nearest town and railway station.
The last part of the tunnel is completed on the night of the escape, but is 20 feet short of woods which are to provide cover. Danny nearly snaps from claustrophobia and delays those behind him, but is helped by Willie. Seventy-six escape.
After attempts to reach neutral Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain, almost all the POWs are recaptured or killed. Hendley and Blythe steal an airplane to fly over the Swiss border, but the engine fails and they crash-land. Soldiers arrive. Blythe, his eyesight damaged, stands and is shot. Hendley waves and shouts "don't shoot", and is captured as Blythe dies. Cavendish, having hitched a ride in a truck, is captured at a checkpoint, discovering another POW, Haynes, captured in his German soldier disguise.
Bartlett is recognized in a crowded railroad station by Gestapo agent Kuhn. Another escapee, Ashley-Pitt, sacrifices himself when he kills Kuhn with Kuhn's own gun, and soldiers then shoot and kill him. In the commotion, Bartlett and MacDonald slip away but they are caught while boarding a bus after MacDonald blunders by replying in English to a suspicious Gestapo agent who wishes them "Good luck". Hilts steals a motorcycle, is pursued by German soldiers, jumps a barbed wire fence but becomes entangled in another and is captured, he escapes execution as a spy by showing them the airforce label on his shirt.
Three truckloads of captured POWs go down a country road and split off in three directions. One truck, containing Bartlett, MacDonald, Cavendish, Haynes and others, stops in a field and the POWs are told to get out and "stretch their legs." They are shot dead. Fifty escapees are murdered. Hendley and nine others are returned to the camp. Von Luger is relieved of command of the prison camp and is driven away by the SS for failing to prevent the breakout.
Only three make it to safety. Danny and Willie steal a rowboat and proceed downriver to the Baltic coast, where they board a Swedish merchant ship. Sedgwick steals a bicycle, then rides hidden in a freight train boxcar to France, where he is guided by the Resistance to Spain. Hilts is brought back alone to the camp and taken to the cooler. Lieutenant Goff, one of the Americans, gets Hilts's baseball and glove and throws it to him when Hilts and his guards pass by. The guard locks him in his cell and walks away, but momentarily pauses when he hears the familiar sound of Hilts bouncing his baseball against a cell wall. The film ends with this scene, under the caption, "This picture is dedicated to the fifty."
Kelley Blue Book is the automotive site based in the United States which is a reference for prospective buyers of used cars, recently released a list of environmentally friendly cars. This list not only consist of hybrid cars, but also diesel and conventional gasoline engine cars.
To get listed in the top ten, every car must show the best fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions in its class, and also in terms of comfort.
Here’s the order:
10. Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
This is one of the American SUV that gets in this list. These giant vehicles are usually identical to the greedy fuel consumption and emit black material. Capable of carrying eight passengers, this SUV has the EPA rating 21 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. Efficiency in the town is similar with the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord four-cylinder that has been synonymous as economical car. And the plus value is, this SUV has the 'rhinoceros' power which can carry almost three tons of load.
9. Toyota Highlander Hybrid
This SUV midsize crossover able to carry 7 person with the efficiency 27 mpg in town and 25 mpg on the road. This SUV has four-wheel drive system too which reliable in snowy, icy, rainy or rocky road.
8. BMW 335d
The first luxury Sedan in Kelley list. This sedan use 6 cylinder diesel machine and has EPA rating 23 in town and 36 on the road. Because this is BMW, efficiency in road is a plus value.
7. Honda Fit / Honda Jazz
Gasoline machine with 4 cylinders, Jazz offer efficiency 28 mpg in town and 35 on the road for automatic version, and 27 mpg in town and 33 mpg on the road for manual version.
6. Ford Escape Hybrid
Highest SUV in this list. Escape Hybrid using same system used by Ford Fusion. Together with it’s twin, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, their EPA rating is 34 mpg in town and 31 mpg on the road.
5. MINI Cooper
The greenest gasoline machine in Kelley Blue List. EPA rating 28mpg and 37 mpg on the road. Beside of efficiency, wide interior and enjoy to drive is the plus factor for this model.
4. Volkswagen Golf TDI
These cars use four-cylinder turbo diesel engine. This machine is highly efficient and low emissions. EPA rating of 30mpg city and 42mpg on the highway.
3. Ford Fusion Hybrid
This car has EPA ratings of 41mpg city and 36mpg highway. This model has a twin with the Mercury Milan.
2. Hybrid Honda Insight [2nd Generation]
This car was launched almost simultaneously with the third-generation of Prius. Insight is the cheapest hybrid in the United States today. Based on EPA ratings, the efficiency of the Honda Insight is 40mpg in the city and 43 on the highway. The technology used is the Integrated Motor Assist, four-cylinder gasoline engine combined with electric motors. Unlike the Prius, Insight can not operate only with electric motors.
1. Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius has a fuel efficiency of 51mpg city and 48mpg on the highway. One of the benefits of the Prius is a full hybrid system that allows the car to operate only with electric motors only, gasoline engine only gasoline or a combination thereof.
