Friday Snippets and Soundbites

• Cave explorers are working to map Snowy River, which is actually a massive formation of tiny calcite crystals on the floor of a cave in southeastern New Mexico. It's thought to be the longest continuous cave formation in the world. The cave's floor is covered with a white formation that oddly resembles a river, hence the name. The Fort Stanton Cave Study Project began a surveying expedition in early July. They hope to add several more miles to the cave's known measurement and continue discovering previously unknown microbes.

• In Russia this week, the government announced that they had found the remains of the last Tsar's 13-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter near the home in Yekaterinburg where Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and three of his daughters were killed in July 1918 as part of the Bolshevik Revolution. Before the identification of the missing daughter, several women had claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia, most notably Anna Anderson in the U.S. Her claims were proven false.

• Are you an amateur videographer? Well, Carma Laboratories, Inc., the makers of Carmex lip balm, have just the contest for you. They're looking for participants in the "Share the Tingle" video contest. You just have to make an original video that features the products and answers the question, how do you share the Carmex tingle? Videos can be no longer than 3 minutes and must be uploaded to www.youtube.com/group/carmex. You could win $5,000, a Canon high-def camcorder, and a five-year supply of Carmex lip balm. Go here for more info.

• New artist Francesca Battistelli released her first major album on Tuesday. The album, released by the Fervent Records artist, is called My Paper Heart. “This young singer/songwriter reaches out with her smooth piano-pop style, which is much more adult contemporary oriented than sugar-coated bubble gum teenage pop. Keep your eyes and ears on this young lady, because she is definitely here to stay!”said writers at Jesusfreakhideout. For more info on Francesca, go here.