Scientists in Argentina are aware of the large quantity of gas ,especially methane, which cows emit each day. It is estimated that when a cow passes gas, the methane expelled into the air each day is enough to power a car for 24 hours! So...the National Institute of Agricultural Technology has come up with a most unusual idea. They have developed plastic backpacks for cows. The backpacks are attached to the back of the cow with a tube placed into the digestive tract of the cow. Each time, a cow releases gas, it is collected into the backpack. A cow burps or passes gas adding to about 80 gallons(AMAZING!) of methane a day. When the backpack is filled, a bike pump is used to compress the gas and then it is placed into containers. Cattle are the primary source of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. This idea will not only help the environment but might be an energy producer,too!

Photograph from: http://www.isciencetimes.com

Like many people, Richard Platz,placed a message he wrote on a postcard into bottle and toss it into the ocean. What makes his message in a bottle of interest,it was found...100 years after it splashed into the water! Platz dropped his bottle into the water on May 17th, 1913, into the Baltic Sea while out hiking the areas of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The bottle, found by a fisherman,was given to Platz's granddaughter, Angela Erdmann, who still lives in Berlin, Germany, home of Richard Platz. Guinness Book of World Records say it is the oldest "message in a bottle" ever found. Erdmann was very happy to receive the bottle, which was given to the International Maritime Museum for display.However,the granddaughter of Platz says that people really shouldn't pollute the oceans.Good advice, Angela...just imagine if we all threw bottles into the ocean!Photograph by npr.org