“These amazing pictures, captured by a NASA satellite, show a gigantic tornado moving across the sun. The tornado is larger than it might look – in fact, it is probably bigger than the Earth, and could extend hundreds of thousands of miles out into space. And while its progress over the sun’s surface seems almost stately, it is moving at 300,000 miles per hour. The extraordinary phenomenon – which cannot yet be fully explained by scientists – was filmed by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory over a 30-hour period earlier this month.” w/ photos + video

“He is the first person to have a record of 1-1-0 in their first fight.” — castiel241

“Choc Thornton was today revealed as Britain’s most accident-prone jockey – after suffering 367 falls in his career. Thornton, 33, is currently laid up with a broken arm following a tumble at Hereford last December – his 42nd injury since he began riding professionally in 1995. Over the years he has broken all 24 ribs, shattered his left collar bone three times and his right collar bone six times… But despite all his injuries, the longest stay in hospital he has endured has been five days with his current arm injury. And he has still managed to have a hugely successful career, with 1,037 winners from 8,023 rides. He has won over 20 top jump races, including 16 Festival winners.” w/ photos

“Swimming with dolphins has been a firm favorite with tourists all over the world for years but now some holiday-goers are taking things a step further – by swimming with jellyfish. Plunging into a sea of jellyfish would strike fear into the heart of the bravest swimmers but there is one lake in the world where tourists can do just that. Jellyfish Lake is the only place in the world where you can safely swim amongst millions of jellyfish because the sometimes deadly creatures have lost their sting… With no risk of being eaten by predators the jellyfish population thrived and there is now estimated to be up to eight million jellyfish living in the lake.” w/ photos

“If his mission is successful, the daredevil will break the records for free-falling from the highest altitude with his plan to jump from the dizzying height of 120,000ft, or 36,000m. What’s more, Felix will also become the first person to smash through the sound barrier without the aid – or protection – of a machine, traveling at approximately 690mph. As well as being the highest ever jump, it will also be the longest – and on his way down the stuntman will collect new scientific data about the human body in certain conditions. Unsurprisingly, this superhuman feat needs a bit of preparation, and Baumgartner and his team have spent the past five years creating and testing the suit needed to withstand the tough conditions.” w/ photos

“Not an inch of sand was wasted in Rio De Janeiro yesterday. Thousands of sun-worshippers flocked to Ipanema Beach to make the most of a heatwave that saw temperatures reach as high as 34C (93F). The average maximum temperature for February is 84F. Packed like sardines along the sweeping seafront – made famous by the 1964 song The Girl From Ipanema Beach – you would be forgiven for feeling slightly claustrophobic. Sun umbrellas covered the sands while hundreds of people swarmed around the sea, fighting for enough space to swim.” w/ photos

“An enormous multi-storey marijuana farm, that used enough electricity to power an entire city block, has been discovered on a busy New York street. Cops entering a nondescript building in the Bronx were astonished to discover all five floors packed with nearly 800 pot plants many of which were over seven-foot tall. Three people were arrested and and officers seized plants weighing over 1,500 pounds plus another 75 pounds of the drug already packaged and ready for sale. The mind-bending crop was estimated to have a street value of around $5,000 to $8,000 a pound.” w/ photos

“7-year-old Giuliano Stroe, know as the world’s strongest kid, does push ups while balancing on glass bottles. He already holds a few Guinness World Records!”

“A skinny model with a very tight corset shows her thin wasp waist.”

“An astonishing photograph taken from outer-space illustrates how an iceberg the size of New York is close to breaking off from Antarctica. A 19-mile crack in Pine Island Glacier’s ice is clearly visible, leading some scientists to speculate that the world’s biggest berg could soon be on the move. The picture, taken by NASA’s Terra spacecraft in November 2011 but only released today, shows how the crack is quickly growing. Just a month before it was only 18 miles long.” w/ photos