German woman fails in Beer Mug World Record attempt

A German woman has attempted to set a new world record by carrying 21 beer mugs at once.

Beer Mug World Record...Anita Schwarz from Eichenau tries to set a new world record carrying 21 beer mugs at once across a distance of 40 metres in a tent near Zeltingen, Germany, 09 November 2008. However, Eichenau fails to transport the mugs in one piec Photo: UPPA/Photoshot

Anita Schwarz, from Eichenau, had to transport the mugs across a distance of 40 metres to be successful.

Wearing traditional dress, Schwarz, 48, began with all 21 mugs balanced in pyramid-fashion.

However, she soon lost control and the tower toppled, sending the contents of every mug spilling out onto the floor of the tent near Zeltingen, in Germany.

Only last month the city of Munich in Bavaria celebrated Oktoberfest, its annual sixteen-day festival, widely known for the beer served at the event.

Beginning in late September and running to early October, the festival attracts some six million people each year.

The original Oktoberfest occurred in Munich on October 12, 1810. To commemorate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, a horse race was organised. Since temperatures can be as high as 30 degrees Celsius in that part of Germany at the end of September, large quantities of beer were served to quench the thirst of all of the visitors. The tradition has continued and it is now a yearly event.

Oktoberfestbiers are the beers that have been served at the event in Munich since 1818 and are supplied by six breweries known as the Big Six: Spaten, Löwenbräu, Augustiner, Hofbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.

The event has now become famous around the world although there are regularly problems with festival-goers who canot handle the copious amount of alochol on offer.

There are problems every year with many young people passing out due to drunkenness. These drunk patrons are often called 'Bierleichen', German for 'beer corpses'.

Pictured: World's first truly blue roses go on display in Japan

They are the stuff of legend - signifying mystery and traditionally believed to be able to grant the owner youth.

For years breeders have crossed different colours of roses in an effort to create the impossible. But rose petals lack the enzyme needed to create a blue pigment and the breeders always failed.

Now for the first time, thanks to genetic engineering, blue roses finally exist.

The very first truly blue roses have gone on display in Japan and will be on sale to the public next year.

After 13 years of research the Japanese Suntory company have finally perfected the mythical flower.

Working with the Australian company Florigene the researchers took the delphinidin gene, which creates the blue colour, from a petunia. They then inserted it into a mauve rose called the Cardinal de Richelieu.

The resultant flower was a dark burgundy colour due to an excess of the blue pigment cyanidin.

After using RNAi technology to reduce this the final blue rose was today unveiled at the annual Flower Expo held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

Top 25 Dirtiest Cities in the world

No. 1: Baku, Azerbaijan

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 27.6

Surrounded by Iran, Georgia, Russia and Armenia on the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan has long been an oil hub. As a consequence, Baku, the capital, suffers from life-threatening levels of air pollution emitted from oil drilling and shipping.
No. 2: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 29.6

Located in southern Asia, between Burma and India, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh battles with the constant threat of water pollution. Surface water is often thick with disease and pollutants from the use of commercial pesticides. With an estimated 150 million people living in a relatively small area, cleaning up the problem won't be easy.

No. 3: Antananarivo, Madagascar

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 30.1

Madagascar, located off of the southeastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, makes this year's list with its capital city, Antananarivo. Well known for its variety of unique flora and fauna, Madagascar has often been referred to as the world's eighth continent, but the effects of the human population are quickly leaving their footprint.

No. 4: Port au Prince, Haiti
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 34

The country's politically inspired violence and corruption are well documented. Equally dangerous: its air and water. Serving as one of the main ports on the island of Hispaniola, Port au Prince is central to Haiti's economic development. A lack of pollution controls, however, contributes to the widespread environmental problems confronting the Haitian city.

No. 5: Mexico City, Mexico

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 37.7

Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, and the capital of North American air pollution, estimates unhealthy ozone emissions nearly 85% of the year। Mexico's geographical location--in the center of a volcanic crater and surrounded by mountains--only serves to lock in the air pollution, causing smog to sit above the city.

No. 6: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 37.9

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, faces one of the worst sanitation problems on both the continent of Africa as well as in the world. The lack of adequate sanitation programs results in infant mortality, low life expectancy and the transmission of water-borne diseases.

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No. 7: Mumbai, India
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 38.2

India's government hopes to transform Mumbai back into a burgeoning metropolis after recent economic decline। A recent private-sector report, Vision Mumbai, proposed changes in infrastructure, pollution control and economic growth strategy, which contributed to the seeking of approximately $1 billion of aid from Indian government.


No. 8: Baghdad, Iraq
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 39

Poor water quality in Baghdad threatens to exacerbate the the transmission of water-borne diseases in the city. Fatal outbreaks of cholera struck several provinces of the country, including Baghdad from August 2007 to December 2007. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) also says air pollution, resulting from burning oil and aggravated by war, is cause for concern.

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No. 9: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 39.1

The marriage of petroleum-based industry and insufficient safeguards against pollution sets the stage for an environmental crisis in this city। Toxic waste dumps require a huge price tag for improvement and an even larger price for neglect.

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No. 10: Brazzaville, Congo

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 39.1

Air pollution from emissions, lack of potable water and the contamination of the city's water from raw sewage contribute to the laundry list of health and sanitation concerns for Brazzaville, the capital of Congo। Each of these press upon the life expectancy of the local population.

No. 11: Ndjamena, Chad

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 39.7

Ndjamena, the capital city of Chad, faces multi-faceted water management challenges. A main site for concern here is the Conventional Basin of Lake Chad, upon which the country's main fisheries greatly depend. Also noteworthy--the continual influx of population growth, accelerated by the migration of neighboring Sudanese refugees from Darfur, which places an unexpected strain on water management.

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No. 12: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 40.4

The capital of this east African country continues to grow populationwise, putting a stress on the city's sanitation programs। Solid waste, entering the Msimbazi River, contributes to widely spread infectious diseases among the population.

No. 13: Bangui, Central African Republic

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 42.1

Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, faces water and sanitation challenges similar to its neighboring countries' capitals. A rapidly increasing population, coupled with a lack of adequate waste and water management, places stresses on the capital city.

No. 14: Moscow, Russia

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 43.2

In a city where you can pay $3,000 a month for an apartment that doesn't even have clean running water, Moscow also has troubling levels of air pollution, which present a daily strain on lung health।

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No. 15: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 43.4

A recent World Bank study shows that cancer and respiratory disease rates are up due to increased air pollution in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso। Increased levels of benzene, from motorbike petrol, and increased dust particles, amounting on average to nearly three times the WHO-stated healthy limit, contribute to these rising numbers. In a city characterized by a rainy season, waste management and sanitation also face challenges.

No. 16: Bamako, Mali

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 43.7

Bamako, the capital of Mali, and the country's largest city is situated on the Niger River. Rapid population growth, coupled with unbridled urban pollution, are among the many health and sanitation challenges facing the capital. Several droughts have caused migration from rural areas to the urban environment of the capital, which has only led to more water management issues.

No. 17: Pointe Noire, Congo

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 43.8

The second Congolese city on the list suffers from many of the same pollutants as its neighboring city, Brazzaville--air pollution from vehicle emissions and unbridled water contamination from the mass unloading of raw sewage in the city's water supply. According to the CIA WorldFactBook, about 70% of the Congolese population live either in Brazzaville or Pointe Noire or along the railroad track, which connects the two.

No. 18: Lome, Togo

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 44.1

Lomé, the capital city of Togo, sits in the southwest near the country's border with Ghana. Water and waste management has become one of the country's main problems as a large percentage of the population continues to live without access to improved water or sanitation. Extensive flooding in Togo only magnifies the problem.

No. 19: Conakry, Guinea Republic

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 44.2

Life expectancy, infant morbidity, and the percentage of the population that has access to safe water are shockingly low for Conakry, the capital city of Guinea Republic. Previous World Bank initiatives in Conakry focused on water supply and sanitation have not proved very successful.

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No. 20: Nouakchott, Mauritania

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 44.7

Located in northern Africa, Mauritania sits on the North Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and the western Sahara। Nouakchott, the country's capital, is located on the western coast. Due to the desert-like climate, droughts and water management are critical issues for the country. Oil deposits off the coast and iron ore serve as the country's main industrial opportunities, but the majority of the population depends on farming.



No. 21: Niamey, Niger
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 45

The Niger River Basin, home to Niger's capital city, Niamey, is a cesspool of pollution and waste. In a country with a total population just under 14 million, the healthy life expectancy at birth is 35 for males and 36 for females, thanks in part to poor sanitation and drinkable water. About one in four children raised here will die before age 5, the World Health Organization says.



No. 22: Luanda, Angola
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 45.2

Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean to its west, Luanda is the city's largest port. Studies from several agencies, including UNICEF and Oxfam, suggest that a large portion of the population in Luanda drink water of poor and in some cases dangerous quality. Much of this portion of the population lives in settlements called musseques built on hardened waste. Water arrives to these settlements in private tanks, which consistently show concerning levels of chlorine. Water conditions such as this only served to intensify a cholera epidemic in 2006.




No. 23: Maputo, Mozambique
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 46.3

Located on the Indian Ocean, the Eastern African country of Mozambique suffers from lack of sanitation processes--specifically the lack of a solid waste removal system as well as sewage treatment. The capital city of Maputo feels the worst of these consequences. Piles of garbage line the streets, and the sewage in the river is visibly thick.




No. 24: New Delhi, India
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 46.6

You'll find just about everything except marine life in New Delhi's Yamuna River. Garbage and sewage flow freely, creating a rich environment for the growth of water-borne diseases contributing to extremely high rates of infant morbidity.

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No. 25: Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 46.8

Problems with waste disposal continue to contaminate the rivers of Nigeria, especially affecting residents in Port Harcourt. The area lacks strategies for preventing oil spills and contamination, and the clean-up methods after disasters require significant improvement.