Ilham Anas is a 34-year-old photographer who has become famous for looking like Barack Obama, the new president of the United States of America.

Ilham Anas has become quite a celebrity in his home country of Indonesia and he now makes most of his money from appearing on various TV shows and posing as Barack Obama. His success story began when the original Obama won the elections last year, and his colleagues started making jokes about their striking resemblence.

His co-workers even dressed him up in a suit and tie, and took pictures that quickly found their ay on the internet. Since then his popularity has grown constantly and Indonesian can’t get enough of Obama’s look-alike. As you may know, Barack Obama lived in Indonesia fo 4 years, so his popularity is pretty high there.

via Prikola

After the disaster caused by the huge earthquake in May 2008, China is looking for safer schools for its children.

And a possible solution is the temporary schools proposed by Japanese architect, Shigeru Ban. After the terrible earthquake that hit China and caused over 69,000 casualties, Ban brought his ingenious idea to the attention of the authorities, who approved the project. He and a team of Chinese students started building safe schools out of cardboard pillars, plywood roofs and polycarbonate as insulation.

The cardboard and plywood schools are temporary, but in case of an earthquake, should the structures collapse, the materials are nowhere near heavy enough to cause serious injury. The materials used are fireproof and waterproof. Shigeru Ban hopes soon he will be able to build multi-storied buildings out of cardboard.

via TreeHugger

Jetliner crashes into the Hudson River after impact with a flock of seagulls.

Just 2-3 minutes after taking-off from the La Guardia Airport, in New York City, flight 1549 flew directly into a flock of geese that knocked-out both its engines. The pilot alerted the passengers to hold on, as he attempted to force-land the plane into the frozen waters of the Hudson River. He nailed the difficult landing and because of that there were no deaths and the most serious injury was a woman with two broken legs.

The passengers got out of the plane after the landing and climbed on its wings, waiting for the ferry-boats to come and take them to shore.  78 of the 155 passengers were treated by paramedics for hypothermia, bruises and other small injuries.

For his skillful landing under the given circumstances, the plane’s pilot has already become a local hero.

Starting this January, the Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm, Sweden, has become home to the world’s first plane-hotel.

The idea of creating a hotel in an old 747 jumbo-jet belongs to Oscar Dios, a 36-years-old businessman that hopes the outrageous location will draw in lots of clients. The plane had been abandoned for six years, after flying for Singapore Airlines, PanAm and the Swedish leasing company Transjet, ever since 1976.

Since it was taking up a lot of space, something had to be done about it, so Dios’ idea was accepted immediately. The Jumbo Hostel can accomodate 74 people, at the moment, in 25 simple, 70’s style rooms. The jet’s upper deck has been transformed into a conference hall, while the cockpit has been converted into a wedding chappel.

The Jumbo Hostel already has 200 reservations.

Who knew Street Fighter energy drinks even existed?
I’m a big fan of Street Fighter games and I can’t wait for the fourth installment to be launched this year. I even liked that van Damme movie everyone hated but a Street Fighter energy drink? It’s called Street Fighter Dragon Punch and it’s probably really popular with kids. If Red Bull gives you wings, Dragon Punch knocks you out?

BMW presents the new Z4 in an original painting event.

It’s not exactly a Picasso but the Z4 did a pretty good job considering it only had 4 wheels to work with. The wheel-painting may not have come out as good as the BMW people hoped, but the new Z4 is smoking hot and like just about everything the German manufacturer ever launched, it’s likely to be a hit.

“Love Us, Don’t Wear Us!”

This was the message of the two bunny-rabbits  that caught the attention of many people in Moscow’s Theater Square, on Monday. They were members of PETA and by dressing up as sexy bunnies, they tried to convince people to stop wearing natural fur and start dressing up in artificial fur, that is just as beautiful and comfortable.

Lauren and Lisa smiled and faced the cold weather bravely, proving they don’t need fur to keep warm.They only covered their bodies with bunny ears, undies and fur-free signs, both in English and Russian.

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Developed by Kyoto University Venture Business Laboratory, Bambgoo is a fully functional vehicle that runs for 50 kilometers on a single charge. This ecological concept car is 270 cm long, 130 cm wide, 165 cm high and only 60 kg heavy. That’s what’s so special about Bambgoo, its body is made out of bamboo. If you happen to pass through Japan these days, you might want to check it out and maybe even take it for a short drive-test.

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British love their minced meat pies so much, they actually invented a contest to see who can eat the most pies in ten minutes time. Kind of like the American hot-dog eating contest, only these minced meat-filled delicacies are a lot harder to gobble-down.

This year The Big Eat took place on November 18, at Wookey Hole and it featured only British contestants. This after in 2007 American Sonya Thomas crossed the ocean to rob the Brits of their pie-eating title. She managed to eat 48 pies with the runner-up managing to swallow 15. This year the organizers wanted to have an English winner so only natives could register.

Denzil Gunner claimed the top prize this year with 41 pies. He got $1000 and a trip to the USA to participate in their various eating contests and, hopefully, humiliate them on their own soil.

An unusual restaurant recently opened in Riga, the capital city of Latvia. It’s themed as a hospital, with waiters and bartenders dressed as nurses and doctors. The tables look just like hospital operating tables, made out of stainless steel with wheel chairs or dentist chairs to sit in. The usual forks and knives have been replaced with scalpels, syringes and other medical tools, while the drinks are served in vials and medical bottles. Even the bathrooms have that crepy hospital feel.

Red crosses are everywhere and that’s the last place I’d want to grab a bite, but apparently the Hospital Restaurant is becoming really popular.

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Although getting up-close and personal with a crocodile isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, the recently opened Crocosaurus Cove theme park, in Darwin, Australia has introduced this situation as a breathtaking attraction.

For about $80 anyone can be lowered in Choppa‘s underwater lair, in a reinforced acrylic cage for a 15 minute heart-thumping experience. Choppa is an aggressive saltwater crocodile rescued from a crocodile farm where he got into conflicts with other crocodiles. If Crocosaurus Cove hadn’t taken him in he would have been shot.

Animal activists criticized the new attraction saying it was taunting the crocodile and intruding in his environment but the staff says the animal has been given a home and is treated like a king, a much better alternative than death.

So if you’re ever in Darwin and looking for a unique thrill, head over to Crocosaurus Cove and meet Choppa. You can get the same adrenalin rush at the Crocodile Wildlife Ranch, in South Africa

Known as Dia de los Muertos in Mexico and the Mexican-populated areas of the US, this holiday dates back to the times of the Aztecs, when they celebrated Mictecacihuatl (The Lady of the Dead).  The celebration of Day of the Dead focuses on remembering and honoring friends and relatives that have died.

Dia de los Muertos is celebrated every year on November 1st and 2nd, during which time it is believed the spirits of the dead return to visit the living. People buy toys and traditional sweets for the dead children and different alcoholic drinks for the deceased adults. They build shrines on the tombs and plce the trets there so the dead can consume the spirit of the foods. Even though they are eventually consumed by the living, the foods are believed to have no nutritional value.

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China hosted the annual Acrobatic Art Festival in Wuhan, this year. The location changes every year but the exhibition is just as breathtaking every time, no matter where it’s held. The event took place in a stationary circus in Wuhan and attracted more than 2,000 spectators that were simply mesmerized by the 30 acrobatic numbers performed by artists from all around the world.

The Acrobatic Art Festival included acrobatics, animal tricks and clownery.

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Inspired by La Tomatina Festival in Bunol, Spain, about 10,000 people of Dongguan, southern Guangdong province, China, organized their own tomato fight on October 19. Over 15 tons of tomatoes were used in this over-sized food fight and this led to a huge controversy both online and in the national media. People were baffled when they saw so much good food go to waste for a few hours of entertainent, in a country where some people are still starving.

That’s a good point if you ask me, why wate food when you can’t afford to eat?

Manuel Uribe, the World’s Heaviest man Record holder, according to Guinness Book of Records, tied the not with his beloved Claudia Solis. despite losing 550lbs out of the 1,230 he weighed back in 2006 when he got his title, Uribe was not able to leave the bed he has been confined to for the past years. The bed was decorated in white and loaded on the back of a truck and carried to the place where the ceremony took place.

More than 400 people and multiple camera crews enjoyed the wedding party, but Uribe stuck to his diet and resisted tasting the five-tier cake prepared for the event. Manuel Uribe announced earlier this year that his goal is to stand up at the altar for his wedding on October 26, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to. During the couple’s first dance Claudia held Manuel’s hand while she swayed to the music.

Manuel Uribe plans to reach the weight of 220 pounds in the next few years. Good luck!

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