The craziest news I've heard in awhile

Quake Shifted Earth's Axis, Shortened Day

Not too crazy, but think about it, the Chile earthquake has shifted the Earth's axis, creating shorter days, NASA says. The day change is permanent. 1.26 microseconds shorter!

Apart from claiming the lives of hundreds of people and wreaking enormous property damage, Chile's massive earthquake has likely altered the distribution of the Earth's overall mass, scientists from NASA say.

As a result, the length of a day is now a little shorter than it was before Saturday's magnitude 8.8 earthquake.

The speed that the Earth rotates also increased slightly in 2004 following the earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. That 9.1 earthquake shortened the length of an Earth day by 6.8 microseconds, scientists say. The reason is that sudden changes in the dimensions of the Earth's tectonic plates, like those experienced in the earthquakes in Chile and Indonesia, can alter the velocity.

If you are interested in reading more about this, please visit one of these sites:

Chilean Quake Likely Shifted Earth’s Axis, NASA Scientist Says
BusinessWeek

Chile Quake Shifted Earth’s Axis, Shortened the Length of a Day
Discover Magazine

Chile Earthquake May Have Shortened Days on Earth
Yahoo! News

NASA - NASA News and Features
NASA.gov

Not big news, but somewhat disappointing to me...

10 Most Downloaded iTunes Songs of All Time

iTunes' hit the 10 Billion download marker on my birthday ;)
But I'm not very fond of many of the songs when Apple revealed the 10 Most Downloaded iTunes Songs of All Time. What do you think?

10) Kesha: 'TiK ToK' (2009)

Featured off her debut album 'Animal,' this iTunes single -- with auto-synth back beats -- muses about the singer's crazy night out partying. The chorus is a definite party rocker: "Don't stop, make it pop / DJ, blow my speakers up / Tonight, I'mma fight / 'Til we see the sunlight..."

9) Leona Lewis: 'Bleeding Love' (2007)

The 2006 'X-Factor' winner released this R&B/pop track as her lead single off her debut 'Spirit.' Although it is considered a love song, the song's structure is more R&B danced-based (with wood block percussion and synthesized strings) than a slow-tempo ballad. This song not only made iTunes top 10 most downloaded list, but was the best-selling single in the U.K., as well as the top selling track of 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

8) Taylor Swift: 'Love Story' (2008)

She may not have perfect pitch, but she sure can write, sharing the perfect love story that every girl would want, lyrically tying in the story between Romeo & Juliet (sans the tragic ending, obviously): "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone / I'll be waiting, all that's left to do is run / You be the prince, and I'll be the princess / It's a love story, baby, just say, 'yes'." This tune was one of the first songs to successfully crossover from country to pop, and become not only the most-downloaded country track in history, but the best-selling country song in the U.S. -- surpassing LeAnn Rimes' 'How Do I Live?' by 1 million copies.

7) Flo Rida: 'Low' (2007)

The first single off his debut album 'Mail on Sunday' the song features T-Pain, who also co-wrote the song. According to the RIAA, this top downloaded iTunes song received the highest Gold & Platinum certification of any artist in March of 2008, earning Flo Rida Gold, Platinum, and 3x multi-Platinum prestige for his chart-topping song, which was also ranked No. 3 song on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.

6) Lady GaGa: 'Just Dance' (2008)

The playful tune with prominent dance beats has the glittery, swaggering-bombshell singing about being wasted in a club: "What's going on on the floor? / I love this record baby but I can't see straight anymore / Keep it cool, what's the name of this club? / I can't remember but it's alright, a-alright / Just dance." Praised by critics, the song stayed on the Billboard 100 for almost five months before it finally topped the charts in January of 2009.

5) Coldplay: 'Viva la Vida' (2008)

A band known for stadium-scale melodies, this track's melody is no different, recognized for it's repeated, punchy string section -- so much in fact that musician Joe Satriani accused Coldplay of copyright infringement, saying that the melody was copied from his 2004 'If I Could Fly.' Luckily for Coldplay, the case was settled last September, as both parties reached a financial settlement. The lyrics to the song mention Roman cavalry, Saint Peter and Jerusalem bells, adding religious references to a pop-y song, which won both Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or a Group at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

4) Jason Mraz: 'I'm Yours' (2008)

Even though the song was released as Mraz's first single off 2008's 'I Sing. I Dance. I Steal Things,' the track was originally included as a demo on his 2006 limited Edition 'Extra Credit,' an EP to help promote his album 'Mr. A-Z.' 'I'm Yours' was nominated for two Grammys in 2009: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year, but lost to John Mayer's 'Say' and, yep, Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida,' respectively.

3) Black Eyed Peas: 'Boom Boom Pow' (2009)

This top iTunes song -- with furturistic lyrics "I'm so 3008 / you're so 2000 and late" and heavy auto-tune -- gives the band a digital rebirth, not only in their sound but their image as well. So much, that in fact, the group won a 2010 Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.

2) Lady GaGa: 'Poker Face' (2008)

Despite its upbeat electropop vibe, the song denotes a darker meaning sex and bisexuality, metaphorically linking to gambling: "Luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start / And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart." GaGa says she wrote this top downloaded iTunes song as a tribute to her rock 'n' roll boyfriends. The song won a 2010 Grammy for Best Dance Recording.

1) Black Eyed Peas: 'I Gotta Feeling' (2009)

You've blasted this top 2009 song once or twice while getting ready to go out, danced along to it at a club, and even rocked out to it at a house party -- yep, just like the music video, which features cameo appearances by co-producer and French house DJ David Guetta (other producer is Will.i.am) along with Katy Perry, American rapper Kid Cudi, and model/actress Chantal Jones. This No.1 downloadable iTunes song won a 2010 Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Peanut Allergy Cure May Be Within Sight

Researchers in Cambridge, England, believe that they have uncovered a successful, long-term cure for the peanut allergy. As they embark on the largest clinical trial of its kind in the world, they predict a treatment for this and other potentially life-threatening food allergies in as little as three years.

For lots of us, this is important news.

New Treatment Brings Hope to Children with Peanut Allergy - Allergy & Asthma - FOXNews.com

Parents, Rejoice: Peanut Allergy Cure Within Sight, British Study Finds -- Politics Daily

While I personally do not have an allergy to peanuts, I have a few friends and family members that do. I know how it is suffering with allergies so I do hope this study helps!

The headline caught my eye because I'm so easily amused
Zombies' have free speech rights too, US court rules

WASHINGTON (AFP) – They're said to utter little more than an occasional groan, but zombies -- the blood-drenched monsters of Hollywood "B" movies -- still have a right to free speech, a US court ruled this week.

An appeals court in the northern US city of Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday allowed a group of zombies -- or rather, several protesters costumed as such -- to press ahead with their lawsuit against police who arrested them for disorderly conduct.

Read the story here - Yahoo! News