Websites That Changed the Internet World

 There are millions of websites out there. Many of them are unique, either in small ways or in large ones. But the individual impact of any particular site on the overall Internet is generally negligible, if there's any impact at all.

 Not so with the fifteen sites here. These sites changed the Internet, mostly for good, in substantial ways. Included here is everything from Geocities (which could probably be blamed entirely, either directly or indirectly, for every ugly web design 'trend' that's ever been) to Wikipedia (which has made information almost universally accessible) to Google (which has changed or influenced virtually everything online).

Wikipedia

 Changed the way we find information. Before Wikipedia, most online encyclopedias were either sorely lacking in information, or required you to have a paid subscription to access their content. Wikipedia changed all that by not only allowing anyone to view the content for free, but also by allowing individual users to review and update content, making it more complete and accurate overall. Wikipedia also brought crowdsourcing and user-generated content to the mainstream online, making both much more viable and valuable.

Amazon.com

 Changed the way we shop. Prior to Amazon.com, online shopping wasn't much different than shopping out of a mail-order catalog, except it wasn't nearly as popular. While Amazon started out selling just books and related items, it has expanded to sell virtually anything you can think of, either directly or through partner sites large and small. Amazon also made free shipping a standard on orders over a certain dollar value, which has impacted the shipping rates and policies of many other online retailers.

Hotmail

 Changed the way we use email. Before Hotmail came along, email was basically tethered to a single computer. When you checked your email, it was pulled and deleted from the remote server, meaning the only place you could view it was at your computer. Need an email at home that you received at work' Too bad. There was no way to access it unless you went back to the office. Hotmail changed all that by providing webmail that could be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Now, web-based email is widely used and provided by a huge variety of providers. Even though Hotmail is no longer the primary provider of webmail (and is now owned by Microsoft), they were still pioneers in the technology.

Facebook

 Changed the way friends connected. While Facebook wasn't the first social network, it has definitely become the most popular and has really changed the way friends interact with one another. Sure, people use FB to talk online, but they're also increasingly using it as a way to plan get-togethers offline. They're using it to follow and interact with their favorite bands, actors, and other personalities. People use it to keep in touch with business contacts, friends, family, and acquaintances. Facebook has made social networking mainstream, across a variety of demographics and virtually worldwide.

Project Gutenberg

 Changed the way we read. Project Gutenberg has a much longer history than most people realize. They created the first ebooks, and gave them away for free. You can now read virtually every major book in the public domain, sometimes in multiple languages on their site. Without the pioneering steps the founders of Project Gutenberg took, ebooks would not be where they are today.

Twitter

 Changed the way we communicate. Twitter has made one of the biggest impacts on the Internet in recent memory. The idea that 140-character messages, broadcast publicly (for the most part), would change the way people communicate with one another would have been hard to believe ten years ago. But Twitter has become not just a powerhouse in the way individual communicate with one another, but also in the way businesses communicate with their customers. Complaining about poor customer service on Twitter can often result in almost instant messages from the company in question, and often results in a satisfactory resolution. Twitter has also made celebrities more accessible, with hundreds of celebs now using the service to interact with their fans.

Pandora

 Changed the way we find new music. Before Pandora, if you wanted to listen to music online, you usually turned to a streaming radio station with pre-programmed content. Sure, you might get lucky and find a station that had mostly music you liked, but maybe it wasn't diverse enough, or it still kept playing that one song you HATED. Pandora changed all that. Now, you can program your own radio station by just entering the name or a song or artist and then giving the thumbs up or down to music played. With a minimal amount of user input, Pandora has gotten surprisingly good at creating playlists that reflect one's musical taste. The bonus is that songs or artists you might not have heard of are often thrown into the mix, based on what you already like.

Apple

 Made minimalist web design cool. Apple had one of the first corporate websites designed with a minimalist aesthetic. As far back as the late 90s, Apple was starting to show a more minimalist take on web design than many other corporate sites, and by early 2000, they'd adopted the white and gray color scheme and top navigation they still employ today.

YouTube

 Changed entertainment. Before YouTube, there weren't many options if you wanted to watch a video online. You could sometimes find a video here or there, but with bandwidth costs, they were few and far between. Website owners just didn't want to pay the extra costs associated with video content. Then YouTube came along and made it free to post any video you wanted (as long as it wasn't copyrighted or over ten minutes long). Web users now had a centralized place to go to watch video online. And because of YouTube's pioneering effort, online video is now enjoyed by millions every day.

Craigslist

 Changed classifieds. Online classified sites used to be nearly unusable. Between the huge number of spam postings and the fact there were few if any local listings in most areas, there wasn't much point in using them. But then Craigslist caught on and suddenly there was an online classifieds site that rivaled most local newspaper classifieds. Now you can use Craigslist to find almost anything, no matter where you live.

The Drudge Report

 Changed the stature of online news. When the Monica Lewinsky/President Clinton story broke in 1998, it wasn't a mainstream news source that first reported it. Instead, The Drudge Report held those honors, forever changing the standing of online news sources. Now, online news sources break stories on a regular basis, and are considered by most to be just as reliable as television or print news sources.

GeoCities

 Made the web more accessible. In the early days of the Internet, the only people online (for the most part) were scientists, academics, and those involved in technology. It wasn't a very exciting place. Then came GeoCities, and suddenly anyone could set up their own webpage for free. Sure, GeoCities spawned a legion of horrifically ugly websites, but it also got a lot of regular people involved in the Internet for the first time and was likely the first design experience of many early web designers.

Digg

 Changed the way we find and share news. Digg was originally set up as an experiment, but it has completely changed the way many people find news online. The idea of users determining which news was important, relevant, and interesting rather than editors or executives at big news organizations was revolutionary. Now, user-generated news sites are all over the place, both for mainstream news and for individual industries and niches.

 LiveJournal

 Hooked millions on blogging. Blogging wasn't invented by LiveJournal, but they were the first site to offer free blogs to their members. Millions now use LiveJournal, and tens of millions more blog elsewhere, either through other blog hosts or on their own websites. If it weren't for LiveJournal and similar free blogs hosts that came later, blogging might not have caught on as the global phenomenon it has become.

Google 

Changed everything. This one might seem a bit dramatic, but it really is true. Google has invaded virtually every aspect of the Internet. No matter what you do online, you probably interact with one Google service or another multiple times every day. And most people use at least one Google product or service one a regular basis personally. Whether it's a Blogger blog, a Picasa photo album, a Google search, or even a YouTube video (or any of the dozens of other services Google owns), Google-controlled sites are everywhere.

Ruby Dickinson May Be Youngest Tattoo Artist

 Ruby Dickinson is only three years old but she is already marking her mark in the world – with tattoos. The ink-credible Welsh toddler could become the world's youngest tattoo artist, according to published reports.

At an age when most kids only think about playground swings, Ruby takes tattoo lessons after nursery school. She also practices with a toy kit in her father's tattoo shop.

 Ruby "really loves" learning tattoo art, according to proud papa Blane Dickinson.

Mr. Dickinson has ordered an American-made ink gun specifically designed for small hands. The kit will be a present for Ruby's fourth birthday in October. That's when Dickinson hopes to break Canadian Emilie Darrigade's record of tattooing part of a butterfly on her father's arm at the tender age of five.

Dickinson told the North Wales Pioneer newspaper : "Ruby is well aware she is getting the kit, she cannot wait. She wants to be a tattoo artist when she grows up."

Right now, Ruby is weeks away from being able to draw a complete spider on his right leg, The Sun reported.

"The aim is to get her to tattoo my leg with a birthday message for my 40th birthday," Dickinson told the North Wales Pioneer.

However, Dickinson, who has tattoos over 70 percent of his body, doesn't expect a very elaborate design. Blane, 36, said, "I'm under no illusions that she'll do a Van Gogh, after all she's only three-and-a-half."

Although he hopes Ruby will make tattoo art her career, he told the North Wales Pioneer he will allow the little girl to make her own choices.

World’s Top Friendliest Countries

 Fiji

Fijians have got plenty to smile about lush islands, kaleidoscopic reefs, cobalt sea, a wealth of marine life, world-class diving, romantic coastlines, awesome cuisine and they love to spread the love around. Fijians have a rep for helping all travellers feel welcome, thereby allowing you to uncover the best from this sprawling group of islands.

 Indonesia 

It’s hard to make generalisations about a country that contains so many different cultures still, a cliché you’ll hear often is that Indonesian people greet foreigners with open arms. Fact is they do, but the media limelight is stolen by the knack of their law-enforcement officers for welcoming drug dealers and bomb makers in an altogether different ritual.

 Ireland

Centuries of turmoil, conquest, famine and subsequent immigration  have certainly taken their toll on the Irish: it’s left them with a deliciously dark sense of humour and a welcoming attitude towards strangers. That famous ability of the Irish to find craic (fun times) in boom or bust times means you’re always in for a treat.

 Malawi 

Whereas other African nations are beset by tribal war and fighting, Malawians describe themselves as ‘the friendliest people in Africa. Anyone who’s visited will know that the rare (for Africa) cohesion of the country’s ethnic groups is solid evidence for this, as is the people’s propensity to welcome you into their homes as well as their nation.

 Samoa

What’s this? Samoa reckons they have ‘the world’s friendliest people’? Hmmm, trouble is there’s no ratifying body for such a claim, meaning the Samoans have to contend with the challenge of Fiji, which also self-applies the title. Though readers can rest assured that Samoa harbours lovely and warm people.

 Scotland

Scotland’s becoming the destination for visitors to the British Isles, winning out over London. The Scots have survived English invasion, brutal weather and the pain of having the world’s worst goalkeepers. This fighting spirit against insurmountable odds has left them with an extroverted, buoyant demeanour and a blackly humorous nationalism.

 Thailand

Southeast Asia’s most-visited country is bound to offer up a welter of stereotypes and clichès. Here are some of them: dazzling islands and beaches; lush and balmy weather; great shopping and great food; the ‘France of Asia’. The Thai people’s gracious hospitality does indeed take some beating.

 Turkey

It’s a shame that for such a long time the Western world’s image of Turkey revolved around the drug-smuggling film Midnight Express. Thankfully, we can report the Turkish people actually have an unsurpassed reputation for hospitality. With their heavenly cuisine, dreamy coastline and historical sites, the Turks know there’s no reason to be secretive.

Pakistan

Instead of terrorism from Afghanistan, in Pakistan's western borders, the other places of Pakistan are too much friendly.Pakistani people love the tourist in their country and help them in any hour of need.Recently a French couple visits all over the Pakistan with free of cost.They now said that Pakistan must be in the list of loving nations.

United States

Blamed for the coming of World War III, the Anti-Christ, Bon Jovi, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, rampant street crime and noise pollution through overloud talking, Americans just take it all in their stride. Americans may be patriotic and love their country but they’ll invariably welcome you and help you get the best out of the United States.

 Vietnam

Vietnam’s another country inextricably caught up in Western images and stereotypes: napalm death; tormented American soldiers; assassins hiding in the rice fields. But Vietnam put all that behind it a long time ago and is now on a drive to become the new ‘Asian’ tiger economy.

At 94, Indian Ramjit Raghav Is World’s Oldest Father

 94-year-old Ramajit Raghav proudly claims the title of world’s oldest father, after his 54-year-old wife Shakuntala Devi gave birth to their first baby.

Both Ramajit and Shakuntala are equally happy and excited, considering baby Vikaramjeet as “God’s gift” and planning a second child for next year, although their ages are past the normal fertility period.

 Former wrestler, Ramajit strongly believes that he’s health will keep him around for many years, to see his soon grow up: “I will die only if a black snake bites me and that is very unlikely. Visit me after ten years and you will find me in the same appearance. My daily diet comprises three litres of milk, half a kilo of almonds and half a kilo of ghee [clarified butter].”

 Mr. Raghav actually claims he is over 100 years old, but pension records state he is “only” 94. Still, doctors say that, although it can’t be ruled out, having a baby at this age is a very remote possibility.

The former record holder was also an Indian man, Nanu Ram Jogi, who became a father for his 21st soon at the age of 90 in 2007.

A Lion Can Not Eat A Pangolin

When you're a hungry lion, most animals probably seem like a good bet at snack time.

But this lion certainly bit off more than it could chew when it pounced on a pangolin.

British wildlife guide Mark Sheridan-Johnson captured on film this inquisitive big cat which spent a long time trying to devour the odd looking creature in the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania.

The rare, armour plated pangolin had the perfect defence tactic:roll up into a ball and stay there - whatever happens.

 This looks like a tasty morsel...hmm, it's a bit crunchy...the lion begins its attempt to feast on the pangolin

Maybe if I use my claws I can get the shell off...wow this thing is tough...nope, maybe it's time to try a different tactic

The images show how the hapless lion appeared confused by its spherical prey, as it batted the creature about with its paws and even tried to carry it around in its mouth.

Mr Sheridan-Johnson, 31, from Newcastle, was showing a group of tourists around the game reserve when he spotted the little pangolin battling for its life.

'The pangolin is an extremely difficult animal to see and is considered by many guides in Africa to be the holy grail of sightings,' he said.

'You can spend your whole life driving round the bush and never see one.

'So when we came across one being attacked by a lion, we could not believe our eyes.

'The pangolin was obviously having a really bad day.'

 Hello, is there anyone in there? OK, this is your last chance..come out with your hands up or, or...I'll just have to leave you alone and find something else to gnaw on

Oh I give up! That's never happened to me before...I'm off to find something soft to eat

Pangolins are nocturnal animals and according to Mark, this one was peacefully sheltering in bushes before being smelt out by the two-year-old lion.

'We were all on the side of the pangolin, hoping he would make it out alive,' he said.

'The lion really didn't know what to do with it. She was getting more and more frustrated by the situation.The scales are so sharp that carrying the pangolin around can't have been very pleasant.'

The pangolin's shell is made of an organic bony structure called keratin and makes up to around twenty percent of the animal's body weight.