Karen Eland, a talented sketch artists and painter from Tulsa, uses only espresso to recreate some of the most famous paintings in history.

Karen’s talent and her love for coffee created a unique art-form that propelled her to celebrity status on the internet and TV shows. As an art student she used to practice her skills in coffee shops, seeping espressos. One day, as she was watching red-brown coffee pouring into her cup, she realized her favorite drink could be a part of her art.

That’s how it all started and over the years she became a master at blending layers upon layers of espresso and creating beautiful coffee-scented masterpieces. Some might find Karen Eland‘s way of blending a cup of coffee in her paintings offensive, but I think it makes for a perfect trademark.

Photos via Gizmodo

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Over 100 height-challenged Chinese people perform in a show called Kingdom Of The Dwarves, close to Kunming, Yunnan Province.

Casting for the Kingdom Of The Dwarves show took place last summer, with only two conditions stipulated: the performers had to be between 18 and 40 years old and be shorter than 130 cm (4’3″). No other special skills were required. Now they take the stage of the Kunming World Butterflies Garden twice a day, singing, dancing and performing comedy sketches to entertain the crowds.

I know it looks like exploitation and discrimination, but the short performers see it only as another form of migrant labor and a haven away from people who mock and tease them on a daily basis. With discrimination and unemployment still high in China, the little people saw the Kingdom Of The Dwarves as an opportunity.

Just to clear things up, this is just a profitable theme park, not a community formed by the dwarves themselves as a shelter, and the mushroom houses only serve as decor and changing rooms, not as living quarters.

Photos by REUTERS

via Telegraph.co.uk

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Not that women need to wear a dress made out of LEDs, but CuteCircuit’s Galaxy Dress is, at least, a very interesting project.

CuteCircuit, a design company that specializes in “wearable technology”, presented their work of art, a dress made from 24,000 LEDs, attached to multiple layers of chiffon and crinoline. Apparently a few iPod batteries, hidden in the crinoline,  will keep the Galaxy Dress shining for about an hour. That’s more than enough time to make an impression.

And to make sure the wearer shines even after the batteries run out, the LED dress is decorated with 4,000 Swarovski crystals. The dress itself is made from silk and the LEDs are 2×2 millimeters each. The Galaxy Dress is now a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry, in Chicago.

Check the video at the bottom to see it in action.

Photos by J.B. Spector

via Ecouterre

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In an attempt to set a new Guinness record and raise money for charity, hundreds of Australia gathered on the steps of the iconic Sydney Opera for the city’s largest ever swimwear parade.

Dressed only in bikinis and “smudgie smugglers” business men teamed up with construction workers and marched into Sydney’s financial district, all for a good cause. Although everyone had a lot of fun participating, their effort wasn’t enough to beat the recently set record for World’s Largest Swimsuit Parade. On November 9, 287 women took to the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa, dressed in swimwear and unfortunately for the Aussies, they couldn’t even match that.

The funds raised during the Sydney Swimwear Parade will go to the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, an organization that encourages the young indigenous population to attend university.

Photos by Getty Images, AFP, EPA, AP, Reuters

via Etoday

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Over 800 children worked played together to create a life-size LEGO replica of the BMW X1 and make life better for socially-disadvantaged kids in Germany.

Over the past weekend, visitors of BMW Welt (BMW World) in Munich were invited to have their kids participate in a project both fun and important. From November 6 to November 9, the children, aged between 5 and 13, had to put together a LEGO model of the BMW X1. Of course, members of BMW staff jumped in and helped the kids every time they struggled.

The 4.5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 1.5 meters high LEGO BMW X1 was made out of around 165,000 mostly yellow LEGO blocks. For each block used, BMW will donate a sum of money to “Die Arche” children’s foundation, in Munich.

The LEGO BMW X1 will be on display at the BMW Welt Plaza until November 25.

via BMW Blog

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China’s singles needn’t look for their soul-mates any longer, they cam just go to the Love-Supermarket and buy it from there.

Actually it’s not that easy, but it is a viable way for singles to find a compatible match. the Love-Supermarket opened last month in Xizhimen and was the scene of a special party in celebration of Singles’ Day, on November 11.

The Love Supermarket has had over 500 visitors and has already established 60 successful love connections. Over 200 photos of single people hang on the walls of the establishment, along with personal information (age, gender, career, income,etc.). All clients have to do is pick someone and pay 100 yuan to sign up for a date.

opinions concerning the Love Supermarket are split. Some believe the tax is to high just to meet someone, others don’t care about the money, but doubt the singles info displayed is genuine and fear some of the “accounts” were set up by the owners so they can cash in on the date tax. But, with over 500,000 single women past the average marriage age, the Love Supermarket is bound to be a success.

via China.org.cn

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The Matchstick Eiffel Tower built by Lebanese Tofic Daher was acknowledged by Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world.

Tofic Daher, a disabled but talented craftsman who spends his days in a wheelchair managed to create the most impressive matchstick replica of France’s most popular landmark. Tofic worked over 2,316 hours on his matchstick masterpiece, over a period of 4 years.

The wooden Eiffel Tower has a base of 190×190, a height of 6.53 meters  and it’s made out of six million matchsticks. To make it even more impressive, Mr. Daher covered his work in 6,240 tiny lamps and 23 flasher lamps. he estimates he spent around $11,000 building the tower.

The world’s largest matchstick Eiffel Tower was unveiled on November 11,  at the City Mall, in Beirut.

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Their shape may not be as complex as the Buddha-shaped pears, but these heart-shaped oranges spotted in a market, in the capital of South Korea are just as impressive. I’d like to get my hands on one of those for Valentine’s Day, but I doubt they’d ship those babies half way around the world. Oh well, I guess a heart-shaped box of chocolates will have to do.

via People.com.cn

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SAPE stands for “Societe des Ambianceurs et Personnes Elegantes” which translates as the society of atmosphere setters and elegant people. Its members put fashion above all the other issues a developing country like Congo is facing right now.

The origins of La SAPE can be traced back to when the first French colonists arrived in the area. They brought with them their famous fashion sense and inspired the locals who regarded the white man as far more elegant and educated than they were. In 1922 Andre Bernard Matsoua was the first local who traveled to Paris and came back dressed as a true French gentleman.

Since that time, members of “La Societe des Ambianceurs et Personnes Elegantes” have been trying to get their hands on the newest, most expensive pieces of designer clothes that appear in Europe. There are some luxury shops in Brazzaville and Kinshasa, but most “sapeurs” prefer to get them directly from the Old Continent. This is actually every member’s dream, to travel to Paris and get their hands on killer wardrobes at the source.

Sapeurs spend thousands of dollars on suits, shirts, shoes and accessories, but this doesn’t mean they’re rich. In a country where the average salary is somewhere around $300/month, most of these guys don’t even have a job. Most of them lend their clothes for a living (renting a designer suit costs about $25/day), while those who travel to Europe bring the latest designer labels and sell them for a small profit.

All members of La SAPE have unique styles and crazy names like Parfait le Bodeur, Serge le Temoin de Playboy, Baleine Sarkozy or Christian Dior. They live for fashion and feed off the attention they get when parading on the dusty streets of Brazzaville. But while most look up to them and dream of being in their shoes, there are those that accuse them of betraying their heritage and encouraging others to do the same.

The photos below are part of Francesco Giusti‘s La SAPE Collection, which recently won him an award for photography. They really do capture the charm of these special entertainers.

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The technological masterpiece on display inside the ASUS headquarters in Peitou, Taiwan, is a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci’s work and represents the company’s pledge to support “any kind of crazy ideas”

The Techno Mona Lisa may not look as detailed as the classic painting, but there’s a good reason for that. As you probably know, ASUS is the world’s biggest motherboard manufacturer in the world and they decided to celebrate that by recreating a famous work of art using motherboard components and computer chips. I’m not sure exactly sure how many motherboards were used in the process, but it’s definitely a fine piece of geek art.

via Wired

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Say what you will about Russian mobsters, but you can’t say they lack artistic sense. Too bad it only shows on their tombstones.

These photos were taken in the cemetery of Dnepropetrovsk, in the Ukraine, a place much like the mafia-infested Yekaterinburg, in Mother Russia. Although the two cities are 2,000 km apart, mafia fashion is very much the same.

During the Russian Mafia Wars of the ’90s bosses started commissioning these lavish tombstones for them and their loyal subjects. A macabre masterpiece like this costs betwee $8,000 and $250,000, but I can bet that was never a problem.

via Trinixy.ru

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It certainly looks like a dragon biting on this dude’s shoulder, but he doesn’t seem at all alarmed, does he?

That’s probably because the thing on his back is just a backpack. But it’s by far the most awesome backpack I’ve ever seen! Called the Dragon Backpack, this masterpiece was designed by a young artist by the name of Bob Basset, from Kharkov, Ukraine. Be sure to check his website for more cool stuff.

I keep staring at these photos, but I can’t get over how cool this thing looks…

via bookofjoe

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Hundreds of girls dressed only in their bikini take to the streets. I know, it’s every guy’s fantasy, but for once it came true, in South Africa.

That’s right boys, 287 girls walked 1,690 meters on Melrose Arch Boulevard, in Johannesburg,  and set a new Guinness record for the World’s Largest Bikini Parade. The girls used their sexuality to draw attention to the issue of breast cancer, a condition that affects one in every thirty South-African women.

The event took place on November 9th, 2009

Photos © Alexander Joe / AFP / Getty Images

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Featuring a series of gilded components, Lux Gold Fossball is the ultimate toy for ultra-rich foosball fans.

All the metal parts of Lux Gold are gilded, the rods are made of stainless steel and the figurines can be painted in 12 different colors. This is pretty much how the company explains the $29,724 price-tag on this baby. The world’s largest foosball table is one of a kind and doesn’t even come close to that amount.

via Pooltableportfolio

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Whenever he wants to experience the luxury of the old Pan Am first class cabins, all Anthony Toth has to do is spend a little time in his garage.

The 42-year-old Redondo Beach resident has spent the last five years turning his old garage into a perfect replica of a 1970s Pan Am World Airways 747 first class cabin. The airplane enthusiast spent the last 20 years of his life looking for original parts for his project and he reckons he invested around $50,000 in it, so far.

At the entrance of Anthony Toth’s Airplane Garage visitors can consult an old departures board and as soon as they enter the cabin, they are welcomed with original in-flight audio recordings from the ’60s and ’70s.

Everything in the Airplane garage has Pan Am written on it, even the on-board peanuts come in Pan Am packaging. Congratulations for keeping the spirit of Pan Am alive, but I like Tony Alleyne’s Star Trek Apartment a lot more.

via WSJ

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