’Noah’s Ark’: Great balls of China’s Liu Qiyuan to defend against ’apocalypse’ - 14Dec2012

QIANTUN, China: As people across the globe tremble in anticipation of next week’s supposed Mayan-predicted apocalypse, one Chinese villager says he may have just what humanity needs: tsunami-proof survival pods. Camouflage-clad former farmer and furniture maker Liu Qiyuan, 45, inspected his latest creation, a sphere several metres tall he calls “Noah’s Ark“, designed to withstand towering tsunamis and devastating earthquakes. “The pod won’t have any problems even if there are 1,000-metre-high waves... it’