Surfer holds ground against ‘curious’ shark

A close encounter with a shark by a surfer at West Beach, Esperance. Photos taken by Frits Debruyn from Tasmania. Courtesy of Dave Riggs. Source: Supplied

AS surfers scrambled ashore after a shark sighting at a beach where a man lost an arm weeks earlier, there were fears for one man who remained in the water.

Surfers and swimmers were on high alert when the creature was sighted at West Beach in Esperance, about 720km south of Perth.

It was the same beach where WA surfer Sean Pollard was lucky to survive after losing an arm and both hands earlier this month.

Yet Andy Johnson made a conscious decision to stay in water, as he tried 'not to freak out and make a commotion' about the 3m great white.

Ice cool or crazy? Andy Johnson eyeballs a 3m great white. Photos taken by Frits De Bruyn from Tasmania. Courtesy of Dave Riggs. Source: Supplied

"I'd rather try to hold my ground against it and not freak out and make a commotion," he told the Esperance Express.

"It seemed just curious and I didn't want to give it a reason to chase me so I tried to behave casually and keep an eye on it.

"But I didn't know it came up quite so close as I was paddling into the wave to come into the beach with the other lads."

These photos, taken by Frits De Bruyn and emailed to PerthNow, showed just how close.

A close encounter with a 3m great white shark by surfer Andy Johnson at West Beach, Esperance. Photos taken by Frits De Bruyn from Tasmania. Courtesy of Dave Riggs. Source: Supplied

Originally published as Surfer holds ground against 'curious' shark

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Mystery Indian activist revamping slums

The campaigner turned a dumping ground into a local meeting point. Source: YouTube

AN INDIAN activist is making his country beautiful, one street at a time.

The anonymous campaigner has been calling on citizens to clean up their act.

And his videos are inspiring people all over the world.

He targets ugly, unhygienic eyesores in the country. Source: Supplied

His team do the structural work of moving tree stumps and adding curbs, and then the community helps spruce them up. Source: Supplied

The "Ugly Indian" finds the filthiest streets and corners of a neighbourhood and shows how locals can turn them into safe and attractive places for the community.

His "Spotfix" videos started in Bangalore and have now gone viral, and he has even given a TED talk on why his campaign is proving so effective.

One of the targets he writes about on his website is open dumping grounds, which he says are a common sight in India.

His team revamp these eyesores by identifying the dumpers, giving them an alternative place to put waste and making the area look attractive.

Some walls have become popular public urination spots. Source: YouTube

But families are keen to try to change their areas. Source: YouTube

"Wonder Loos" have transformed walls and roads. Source: Supplied

Where smokers are dropping cigarette butts, his team install attractive-looking bins.

In other areas, he enlists locals to repaint peeling old walls and add seating.

Another issue is filthy footpaths, where shops have been dumping garbage and rat colonies flourishing for years.

"As nobody else seemed concerned, we made it 'our problem'," the campaigner says.

His team simply cleaned up the rubbish and added some pot plants — and no one dumps there any more.

An unsanitary dump outside a public playground. Source: Supplied

Paving, plants and paint give it a new lease of life. Source: Supplied

Some street corners have been piled with rat-infested rubbish for years. Source: Supplied

A new look changes local behaviour, the campaigner says. Source: Supplied

"The combined value of real estate rentals on this street is over $US1 million per month, it hosts over 200 businesses and restaurants, over 10,000 people walk here everyday," he writes of Bangalore's busy Church Street.

"Isn't that a good enough reason to fix it? Fix five such streets and the area gets transformed."

In most cases, the Ugly Indian says people respond to an area being cleaned up and stop dumping and littering, especially if they have somewhere else to dispose of waste.

Where public urination is particularly persistent, he has installed "Wonder Loos" — public urinals that can be attached to an outside wall.

The transformations are breathtaking.

Cigarette smokers get new bins so they won't drop butts. Source: Supplied

A foul spot on Church Street becomes a concealed public toilet. Source: Supplied

Perhaps his biggest achievement is saving lives.

India is rife with "death traps" like unfixed gaps in the footpath. The anonymous activist says there are affordable solutions that anyone can put in place.

Simply adding a paving stone could protect someone on your street from a broken neck.

One of the simplest and most ingenious solutions in his videos is a bright circle painted around a pothole.

Now two-wheelers can see it, avoid it, and escape a crash.

It's a small start, but the team hope to their efforts will help guide India into the future.

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Islamic preacher knew ‘lone wolf’

In an interview on the 7:30 Report, Peter Lloyd investigates Junaid Thorne.

Extreme Islam...Junaid Thorne has been described by some as a dangerous mouthpiece for militant Islam. Picture: Daniel Wilkins. Source: News Corp Australia

CONTROVERSIAL Islamic preacher, Junaid Thorne, said the slain Melbourne man who was shot dead after stabbing two police officers was one of his followers.

Speaking to Peter Lloyd for the ABC's 7.30 program Thorne confirmed that Melbourne teenager, Numan Haider, did attend a number of his lectures.

He denied however, offering any advice to the teen in relation to joining rebel groups fighting in the Middle East.

DETAILS EMERGE: Shocking details of teenage terrorist attack

FEARS FOR SAFETY: Islamic 'Sheik' Junaid Thorne reports death threats

Trouble...Junaid Thorne said he does not offer advice to anyone seeking to travel overseas and fight in the Middle East. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

"Anyone that approaches me asking me advice about going overseas, I automatically would alienate that person because I wouldn't trust anyone that asks me stuff like that," Thorne said.

"We know that can get you into trouble and we know that authorities, whether it be ASIO or others, they tend to entrap people."

After the death of Haider, Thorne took to Facebook criticising the actions of police, saying they had provoked the teenager after visiting his home earlier in the day.

When asked by ABC interviewer Peter Loyd about that post he explained, "it was mostly a message to the government that you know you have to back off from Muslims. The policies that you people are pushing it tends to backfire sooner or later. Muslims do feel targeted".

Controversial...Junaid Thorne has given a number of lectures around Australia speaking at Islamic centres known for their hard line views of Islam. Picture: Daniel Wilkins. Source: News Corp Australia

Described by some as a dangerous mouthpiece for militant Islam, Thorne has given a number of lectures around Australia.

He has toured the country twice this year speaking at Islamic centres known for their hard line views of Islam such as the iQraa Islamic centre in Brisbane, the now-closed Al Risalah in Bankstown, and Al Furqan in Melbourne.

Earlier this year Thorne gave a lecture in which he called Jews and Christians "filthy rapists".

He told Loyd that he was misunderstood and the comments had been taken out of context.

"If you go back to the lecture, I said we have our sisters being raped by filthy Jews and Christians. So I'm talking about the ones that actually do that."

Imprisoned...Junaid Thorne reunited with his brother, who was released from a political prison in Saudi Arabia, where he spent over 3 years for speaking against the corruption of the Saudi Government. Picture: Supplied. Source: Facebook

Previously using the Islamic State flag as his background when speaking Thorne could not say whether he was a supporter or not.

"If I were to vocalise my complete support to [Islamic State], that would get me into trouble. If I were to say I don't support them at all, that would be untrue."

Thorne's older brother, Shayden Thorne, was arrested on terrorism charges and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a Saudi prison.

"In Saudi Arabia being accused of terrorism doesn't mean that you were plotting an attack or something. It is just because they sense you are a threat to the Government," he said.

Deported...Junaid Thorne was deported from Saudi Arabia last year for protesting his brother's imprisonment. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

Thorne moved to Saudi Arabia with his family when he was nine years old and stayed there for 14 years until he was deported last year for protesting his brother's imprisonment.

Counter-terrorism researcher Anne Aly has spoken out against Thorne, and said he was deliberately vocal and provocative.

"He's said some very offensive remarks about Jews and Christians and these are the kinds of ideas that don't bring Muslims together," she said.

She said that while he did not pose a direct threat, but his ideas were similar to the driving force behind groups like Islamic State.

"I think he is aspiring to be a person who influences people, influences young vulnerable minds. I think he's very misguided and extremely naive."

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The faces of Robert’s ‘murderers’

The two Perth-based sons of murdered man Robert Ellis have spoken of their grief over his death.

Reunion...Police escort Noor Ellis from her cell to Police HQ to meet her son John. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

THESE are the faces of the four people who Bali police allege are among the killers and accomplices in the murder of Australian businessman Robert Ellis in Bali.

The four are - Mr Ellis' wife of 25 years Noor Ellis, the couple's two housemaids and one of the housemaid's boyfriends.

Mr Ellis, 60, was murdered on October 19 this year and his bound body, wrapped in plastic, was found dumped in a rice paddy ditch about 25km from the villa he and Noor shared at Sanur.

EMOTIONAL: Noor Ellis had an emotional meeting with couple's sons

TROUBLED: Noor Ellis asked husband for divorce but he begged her to stay

Behind bars...Mugshot of a housemaid who is one of the suspects in Robert Ellis case. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Behind bars...Mugshot of a housemaid who is one of the suspects in Robert Ellis case. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Behind bars...Mugshot of Noor Ellis, accused of masterminding the murder of her husband. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Behind bars...Mugshot of the suspected executor, a boyfriend of one of the housemaids. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Police allege that Noor Ellis masterminded her husband's death, paying the killers a total of 150 Million Rupiah or about $A14,200, to do the grisly job. Mrs Ellis denies the allegation, saying that instead she asked the five men to talk to her husband but not to injure him after marital discord between the pair and after she twice threatened to file for divorce this year.

So far one of the five killers - who police allege held Mr Ellis and slit his throat in a small room off the kitchen of the villa - has been arrested.

Adrianus Ngongo, 23, a native of Sumba, was arrested shortly after the killing, attempting to catch a boat from Bali to Lombok. His girlfriend is one of the two housemaids of the Ellis', who has also been arrested.

Tragic trip...John Ellis son of Robert and Noori Ellis visits Bali Police HQ to see his mother. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

Police allege that the two housemaids helped by keeping the couple's dog quiet during the murder and helped dispose of the body.

Another four men are still at large and police have called on them to give themselves up.

One of them, alleged to have wielded the knife which ended Mr Ellis' life, is said to have boasted that he had previously killed another foreigner in Bali.

This week Bob and Noor Ellis' two sons, John and Peter, who live in Perth, came to Bali and had an emotional meeting with their mother at the villa where Mr Ellis was murdered. Photographs of the reunion were taken.

Mr Ellis' body has now been taken to NEw Zealand for burial.

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I, robot... you, replaced

The Lowe's OSHbot robot can scan an item and lead you directly to it. Source: AP

US hardware chain Lowe's is testing whether new bots on wheels can improve its customer service, like helping a shopper find a match for something as simple as a nail.

Four robots are being tested an Orchard Supply Hardware store owned by Lowe's Companies Inc. in San Jose, California.

The robots dubbed OSHbots look like white columns with two large black screens on either side of them, and wheels to help them move. They are equipped with 3D cameras so they can scan and identify items. And customers can research items they want to buy on their screen. Then the robot can lead them to the aisle where an item is located.

"They're based on making a science fiction story a reality," said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe's Innovation Lab.

The robots also have a database of what inventory is in stock at the store, so they can let customers know if something is out of stock or not.

"People can come in with a random screw and say Mr. Robot, I need more of these, and if we do have it in the store, they can find it," Nel said. The robots can speak in English and Spanish.

Lowe's started working with Fellow Robots, a technology company in Silicon Valley, in November to develop the robots. The cost of the project is undisclosed.

Lowe's has been working on infusing more technology into its customer service. It has also developed a "holoroom" that can let users see what different pieces of furniture look like in different rooms in a virtual-reality environment.

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Apple and Samsung need to watch out

This could be a contender for Apple and Samsung. Source: Supplied

APPLE and Samsung have officially been put on watch. Chinese company Oppo has unveiled its two latest smartphones, with both being game changers in the mobile industry.

It's new flagship device, the N3 features a 16-megapixel rotating camera which the company claims is the best on any smartphone at the moment.

The rotating camera not only allows for the best selfies possible on any phone, it lets you do things like automatic panoramic photos. The rear fingerprint sensor also allows you to encrypt 'private' photos with your fingerprint so only you can see them when going through your device's images.

Photography is the highlight of the device, on top of its hardware features, new software options allow you to focus on moving objects to help avoid those blurry shots.

Aside from this, the company has focused on battery life, incorporating its 'VOOC' rapid charging with the device, meaning you can charge your phone from 0-75% in half an hour, or enough battery to make a two-hour phone call in five minutes.

A very tidy device. Source: Supplied

The device's screen is a 55-inch full-HD display, but the body of the device makes it unfortunately feel much bigger.

The other device announced, the Oppo R5 is now the world's thinnest smartphone, at 4.85mm thin, which is over 2mm thinner than Apple's iPhone 6. The design is very reminiscent of the iPhone 5, however each one is individually hand polished, which, with our brief hands-on offers a device that truly has a premium feel and touch. The 5.2-inch full-HD screen on the R5 is fantastic to look at and thankfully doesn't let down the rest of the device.

Both devices will be coming to Australia, with a local price to be announced soon. US pricing for the N3 is US $649 and US $499 for the R5 which should be an indication of where it will be priced in Australia.

Thin as, bro. Source: Supplied

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The crazy new Melbourne Cup fashion trends

Jessica Green and Josh Torr modelling Melbourne Cup fashion at Palazzo Versace. Styled by Simone Bennett-Smith. Photo: Kit Wise Source: News Corp Australia

MIXING up the traditional suit is a fresh take on racewear for men this Melbourne Cup Carnival.

The carnival officially launched at Flemington Racecourse on Monday. More than 330,000 racegoers are expected to attend the four days, which begin with Derby Day on Saturday.

Menswear designer Jeff Banks will be the master of ceremonies for the Myer Fashions on the Field competition.

He encourages men to break away from strict suits and try a jacket and trousers that roughly go together, but don't exactly match, perhaps in different checks.

"It doesn't have to be a suit anymore, it can be a mixture of the two," Banks told AAP.

"You don't have to have everything co-ordinated but it's a difficult one to pull off and you've got to get it absolutely right otherwise it can look like a dog's dinner."

Getting the mixing look right is difficult, but can make you stand out. Source: News Corp Australia

Banks says ties are getting wider and more flamboyant, while having shoes in pristine condition is always in style.

"Men that have great shoes — women tend to focus on that," he said. "I don't know why but I think that maybe it's an indication that they're well heeled and they've got some money and maybe that's the guy you should go after."

Banks said men should avoid wearing a hat and visit the hairdresser instead.

"There are very few men these days that can carry off a hat and what tends to happen is they start off looking fine and then gradually, after they have had a few drinks, the hat goes on the back of the head and they kind of look like bookies' runners. So for me I avoid it, I think a great haircut is better than a good hat.

"And gentlemen, please avoid white shoes."

Myer ambassador Kris Smith at Royal Randwick. Picture Cameron Richardson Source: News Corp Australia

Myer Fashions on the Field ambassador Rebeccah Panozza said for women, it's important to select a dress that flatters your figure so you feel comfortable.

She said monochrome would be big, as well as structured headwear and fun pieces like cats ears on headbands and crowns.

"They add a little bit of funk to a really feminine dress," Panozza said.

Milliner Natalie Bikicki said metal ears on headbands were on trend and easy to wear with your hair down.

"It's a little bit of a variation compared to the regular lace pieces that most people are donning right now," she said.

She said the added the advantage with headpieces is even if you wear them the 'wrong' way you can still look chic.

"I've had photographs of my beautiful clients and they send it to me and I'm like 'do I tell them you're wearing it back-to-front?'," she said. "At this point, no. It's too late and they're happy so I'm happy."

Myer Fashions on the Field Ambassador Rebeccah Panozza with 2000 cup winner Brew. Picture: Nathan Dyer Source: News Corp Australia

Australian Hollywood star Margot Robbie, models Jennifer Hawkins and Megan Gale, and Italian designer Margherita Maccapani Missoni, are among celebrities expected to attend.

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The secret army cleaning the web

There is a secret army of content moderators keeping graphic scenes out of your feed. Pictured, a young woman browses on a tablet in Bangalore. Source: AFP

DESPITE ongoing problem of online harassment, most of us go online these days with the reasonable expectation that we can look at baby pictures on Facebook without being surprised by a gruesome photo of a beheading, or search for music videos on YouTube without running into a videotaped rape or animal abuse.

It would be nice if this was because everyone online was behaving themselves, but as Adrian Chen found in a recent piece for Wired, there is an army of labourers who spend their days cleaning up the internet so the rest of us can use it in relative peace.

"As social media connects more people more intimately than ever before, companies have been confronted with the Grandma Problem," Chen writes.

"Now that grandparents routinely use services like Facebook to connect with their kids and grandkids, they are potentially exposed to the internet's panoply of jerks, racists, creeps, criminals, and bullies."

The workers are often based in places like the Philippines. Source: Supplied

The solution is to hire workers to spend all day combing over sites that depend on user-generated content to take that stuff down.

The army of comment moderators is huge, "well over 100,000," Hemanshu Nigam, the head of online security firm SSP Blue, told Chen.

Most of them work overseas, though many American companies do have squads in the United States to handle stuff that needs a little more cultural context. Chen visited offices in the Philippines, where people are paid a few hundred bucks a month to sift through the garbage people post online.

Sitting at a computer all day seems, at least, to be a better deal than working in a factory for similar pay, but as Chen discovered, the psychological toll of this work is immense.

A lot of the job involves taking down pornography, of course, but a lot of it is taking down hateful, sadistic, and terrifying stuff. (There's also a lot of overlap.)

The pictures moderated include animal abuse and torture scenes. Pictured, shark fins are dried at a factory in Hong Kong. Pic: AP/Kin Cheung. Source: News Limited

"The worst was the gore: brutal street fights, animal torture, suicide bombings, decapitations, and horrific traffic accidents," Chen writes, regarding one American who took the job thinking it would be easy but had to quit because it began to get to him. Most people just aren't capable of looking at torture, rape, and animal abuse all day and shrugging it off.

A psychologist who works in the Philippines likened the problems the moderators had to PTSD. One woman in particular is "especially haunted" by a video she took down, about half an hour long, that appeared to be of a man raping a teenage girl who she described as "blindfolded, handcuffed, screaming and crying."

Seeing that just once would be hard to get over, but having to deal with that stuff daily seems impossible to fathom.

Workers often suffer from PTSD as a result of their job. Source: Supplied

Back in the 1990s, the rise of the internet created a porn panic, as parents and politicians worried that the new technology would make it all too easy for kids to see naked people having sex.

Since then, the worst fears about porn have come to pass, and anyone can see hardcore porn any time of day from anywhere. But it turns out that ubiquitous porn was the least of our problems. Far more upsetting is the way that the internet allows people to share "the infinite variety of human depravity," as Chen puts it.

The gore, the sexual abuse, the animal torture, the hate speech, the harassment? It all makes watching a video of a consensual sex encounter seem downright wholesome.

Of course, even the consensual porn gets to the moderators after awhile, because workers "feel desensitised" watching porn all day and some suffer sexual dysfunction. But, for good and bad, they still aren't desensitised to the rest of it.

"They begin to suspect the worst of people they meet in real life, wondering what secrets their hard drives might hold," Chen writes of the moderators. Some women are so afraid that they refuse to hire babysitters anymore.

The largely unknown job takes a major toll on workers personal lives. Source: AP

Chen brings us inside a world, and introduces us to a job, that most of us didn't know existed. He does not, however, offer any solutions, probably because the problem is massive and defies easy fixes.

One thing is certain: Setting aside a group of people to absorb all the psychological impact for the rest of us is not good enough. The internet has been mainstream for a couple of decades now. It's time to stop treating it like it's a fantasy landscape, accept that it's an extension of real life, and start imposing some of the controls on the web we use in real life, such as tying a person's online behaviour to his or her real identity and having law enforcement intercede when things get out of hand.

If we can't bear to do that just yet, then at least let's pay the people who are tasked with cleaning the place up for the rest of us a lot more money.

This article was written by Amanda Marcotte from Slate and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

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Where’s Clive? Pup needs a leash

Palmer United Party Leader Clive Palmer has missed 17 days of parliament. Source: News Corp Australia

CLIVE Palmer has missed nearly a third of parliamentary sittings since he became a "full-time politician", with an official headcount revealing his abysmal attendance record.

The colourful businessman-turned-MP, who declared himself a "100 per cent politician" when he first arrived at Parliament House last November, has missed 17 days at work since then.

Mr Palmer rolled up to just nine of 15 sittings last year and has made 32 of 43 days in the first half of this year, according to the latest official figures from the Department of the House of Representatives.

It's the worst attendance behind Trade Minister Andrew Robb, who is required to travel overseas to represent Australia in trade missions, and a South Australian backbencher given special leave due to illness.

Mr Palmer has also not turned up to parliamentary committees he is a member of.

Can someone help Clive find his way back to Parliament House? Source: HeraldSun

The Economics Standing Committee into real estate, the Reserve Bank and banking ­issues has held 10 meetings, but he has been to none.

Last week he went missing in action while campaigning for the Newcastle by-election in NSW and yesterday he was tardy, turning up late to Parliament after spending the morning at his Sunshine Coast resort to campaign for the Queensland election.

The Palmer United Party leader was asked about his apparent dislike for Canberra travel on Monday — despite his access to a private jet.

Mr Palmer said his best work was in leveraging his powerful PUP votes in the Senate rather than working as a backbencher.

"I've been dealing with government ministers and the Prime Minister ... and representatives to work out what will be the actual laws," he said.

"I believe I can do more for this region by having that power and influence than I can in Parliament by having my vote sitting down."

jessica.marszalek@news.com.au

Originally published as Where's Clive? Pup needs a leash

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11 things you don’t know about Michael Jordan

Retro Michael Jordan and Spike Lee Commercial for Nike's Air Jordans. Courtesy: Nike.

It's 30 years since Michael Jordan played his first NBA game. Source: AP

Although he was chosen third overall in the 1984 NBA Draft and initially didn't make his varsity basketball team in high school, Michael Jordan would go on to have arguably the greatest basketball career of all time.

Six NBA championships. Five NBA Most Valuable Player awards. Fourteen NBA All-Star appearances.

Jordan was even so influential during his reign that he's credited with starting the baggy shorts fad when he required bigger shorts so he could continue wearing his University of North Carolina shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls gear during every game.

In honour of the 30th anniversary of Michael Jordan's NBA debut on October 26, here is a round-up of a few facts you didn't know about the eternal King of Chicago.

These are 11 things that will make your head spin about MJ:

1. "THE FLU GAME" MIGHT HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY SOMEONE POISONING JORDAN'S PIZZA

Someone messed with MJ's margherita Source: Getty Images

IN THE famous "Flu Game" in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, despite almost passing out in Scottie Pippen's arms, Michael Jordan scored 38 points and led the Bulls to victory. The game is certainly one of Jordan's most memorable performances, but the flu might not have been to blame for Jordan's sickness.

Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's former personal trainer, recounted what happened the night before:

"Yes, 100 per cent poisoned for ('The Flu Game'). Everyone called it a 'Flu Game,' but we sat there and we were in the room, we were in Park City, Utah, up in a hotel. Room service stopped at like nine o'clock. And he got hungry, and we really couldn't find any other place to eat so we ordered ... I said, 'Hey, the only thing I could find is a pizza place.' He said, 'All right, order pizza.' We had been there for a while, so everybody knows what hotel ... Everybody kind of knew where we were staying. So we order a pizza, they come to deliver it, five guys come to deliver this pizza ... I said, 'I got a bad feeling about this.' ... Out of everybody in the room, he was the only one that ate. Nobody else ... then two o'clock in the morning, I get a call to my room. I come to the room, he's curled up in the foetal position ... Immediately I said, 'It's food poisoning.' Guaranteed. Not the flu."

Coach Phil Jackson has also said that the Bulls guard Ron Harper also claimed it was "bad pizza" to blame.

2. JORDAN PLAYED A CARTOON SUPERHERO IN A SHORT-LIVED SERIES WITH WAYNE GRETZKY AND BO JACKSON

"PROSTARS" lasted for two seasons in the early '90s and featured the three sports stars living together in a gym and saving the world from villains.

Michael Jordan was the leader and brainy one of the group, often explaining long scientific reasonings for plans.

Jordan and the other stars would do real-life Q&As alongside the cartoon, but none of the actors provided their actual voices for their characters. A few of the episodes have survived on YouTube.

3. THE INSPIRATION FOR JORDAN STICKING HIS TONGUE OUT CAME FROM WATCHING HIS FATHER DO THE SAME WHILE HE WORKED

James and Michael Jordan. Source: Getty Images

WHEN Michael Jordan's father was fixing things around the house, he'd stick out his tongue. His father actually clarified and said it stretched even farther back in the lineage.

"As far as I can remember it originated from my grandad. My grandad stuck his tongue out and if I'm working on my car or something around the house I find myself going (sticks tongue out) really concentrating."

In 1989, the Chicago Tribune did an in-depth report on what Jordan's "tongue-wagging" actually means and decided the move fit in with anthropologist Desmond Morris' categorisation of the "Concentration Tongue."

Quoting Morris about this classification:

"The gesture gradually revealed itself, not so much as a pure 'concentration' gesture, but as a 'please leave me in peace' gesture ... Once the action was understood as a social rejection gesture, it began to fit in with the infantile breast rejection movement."

Well that's one theory!

4. JORDAN DONATED HIS FIRST YEAR SALARY WITH THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS TO THE RECOVERY EFFORT AND VICTIMS' FAMILIES OF 9/11

The day Michael Jordan joined the Wizards Source: AP

FOR his first year out of retirement with the Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan was paid $1 million, a sum he gave away entirely.

With the tragic events of 9/11 happening just a short time before the NBA season was set to start, Jordan decided to help the recovery effort.

"It's my way of giving back and hopefully aiding those in need during a terrible time," he said.

Jordan went on to lead the Washington Wizards in points, assists and steals that season.

5. JORDAN'S JERSEY WAS ONCE STOLEN IN ORLANDO, FORCING HIM TO WEAR THE NUMBER 12 WITH NO LAST NAME

ON Valentine's Day, 1990, a still unknown thief stole Michael Jordan's jersey right out of the locker room just a bit over an hour before tip-off.

Unable to recover the jersey and unsure what to do, the Chicago Bulls had Jordan try on a fan's replica jersey, but unfortunately the fit was too small.

The equipment manager then came up with an extra jersey kept for emergencies that simply had the number 12. It would have to do.

"That has never happened to me before. It's pretty irritating because you're accustomed to certain things and you don't like to have things misplaced," Jordan said to the Orlando Sentinel. He ended up scoring 49 points, although the Orlando Magic won this game in overtime.

6. GROWING UP, JORDAN'S NICKNAME WAS 'MAGIC JORDAN' — AFTER MAGIC JOHNSON

TALKING to Playboy in 1992, Michael Jordan revealed that Magic Johnson was an idol of his despite having career strife when he first came into the league:

"I liked him when I was in high school. They used to call me Magic Jordan. My first car had a license plate with Magic Jordan on it. It was a 1976 Grand Prix ... There was a little bit of envy because of the way I came into the league. Magic came in with even more flair and even more success. And he should have been even bigger than I was in terms of endorsements and business opportunities. But he wasn't marketed that way. And I was fortunate to have good people. So there was some envy ... During my third year, he invited me out to play in his summer charity game. We ironed out our differences in private in the locker room and we began a relationship."

7. STARTING IN NOVEMBER 1990, MICHAEL JORDAN AND THE CHICAGO BULLS NEVER LOST THREE GAMES IN A ROW

MICHAEL Jordan went eight years without a three-game losing streak.

Although this math has been called into question, Ben Blatt of the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective figured out the insane odds for accomplishing this feat and determined it was ".2114 per cent, or about one out of 500."

A more updated math led to Blatt determining the number might be closer to one out of 140, which is still ridiculously improbable.

This span included 500 regular season games and 126 playoff games for a total of 626.

8. JORDAN'S BEST FRIEND IS THE LIMO DRIVER WHO PICKED HIM UP WHEN HE ARRIVED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN CHICAGO

FIRST landing at the Chicago O'Hare airport in 1984, the Chicago Bulls had neglected to send anybody to pick up Michael Jordan.

A limo driver named George Koehler took pity on him and offered to help.

Koehler was a young man as well and the two hit it off, despite an initial confusion.

Koehler recounted, "I was excited because I knew who he was and I thought, 'Holy smokes, it's Larry Jordan.' I played four years in high school with a guy named Larry Jordan so that name was stuck in my memory bank ... When I saw Michael, I said, 'Larry Jordan.'"

Larry was Michael's brother and so they bonded over Koehler attending the same school as his sibling.

Koehler only charged Jordan 25 dollars and offered him to show him around the city to help him find a beer.

A couple of weeks later, Jordan called him to hang out. Koehler explained the development of their friendship:

"And 25 years later I don't drive the limo for him, but we're still really close friends. I've met just about everyone under the sun through Michael. If you picked up a book about Michael's life, it would be my life, just Michael's name on the cover. I don't know if you believe in fate, but I obviously do. My whole life could've been different if my customer had showed up that day. Michael likes to tell the story and say, 'George was the first person I ever met in Chicago. He gave me a ride and has taken me for a ride ever since'."

9. THE MIAMI HEAT ALSO RETIRED HIS NUMBER 23 JERSEY OUT OF RESPECT

You can wear No. 6 in Miami, LeBron. Source: Getty Images

THE first jersey that the Miami Heat ever retired was Michael Jordan's 23.

The ceremony took place on April 11, 2003, before a game between the Washington Wizards and the Heat.

"No one will ever wear number 23 for the Miami Heat. You're the best," Heat president Pat Riley said to Jordan.

Riley had coached against Jordan many times when he still played with the Chicago Bulls.

The Wizards won this game.

10. THERE'S A LEGEND THAT A UNC GEOGRAPHY PROFESSOR TOLD HIS STUDENTS THE AVERAGE STARTING SALARY FOR THEIR MAJOR WAS $250,000, BUT THEN ADMITTED THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE OF MICHAEL JORDAN

THE story is now often used as a peril for always trusting the "mean average" in statistics. Michael Jordan's salary for his first year on the Chicago Bulls for the 1984-1985 season was $550,000.

Presumably, Jordan's graduating class would have had to be very small for this salary to skew the average so much, but perhaps this is just a legend anyway.

The Huffington Post reached out to the current chair of the University of North Carolina's Geography department, but did not hear back.

11. MICHAEL JORDAN'S FAVOURITE DUNK EVER WAS ON PATRICK EWING

No one dunked like Jordan Source: News Limited

IN A promotional video for the NBA 2k14 video game, Michael Jordan revealed that his most memorable dunk of all time was against his longtime friend Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks.

The dunk happened in Game 3 of the 1991 NBA playoffs and happened in Ewing's home court of Madison Square Garden.

Jordan explained: "My most memorable dunk that I think about very, very often is the Patrick Ewing dunk. That's only because Patrick and I are such great friends. (Charles) Oakley was a part of that whole process because he thought he could defend. We got into a screen-and-roll and I spun back and Patrick, I told him Georgetown guys don't block shots they just take charges. And I dunked it so hard on him it was unbelievable."

Jordan claimed he won't let Ewing forget the moment and said, "Every time I see him that's the first thing I remind him of."

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