La Tomatina – Biggest Food Fight in Colombia

What started as La Tomatina of Bunol, Spain, is now also a popular celebration in Sutamarchan, Colombia and even Dongguan, China.

On June 14, locals of Sutamarchan and many tourists gathered on an old football field to stage Colombia’s biggest food fight of the year. Around 15 tons of tomatoes were sacrificed in La Tomatina this year. The food fight, inspired by the much more famous Tomatina of Bunol, is part of a three day tomato celebration. A tomato-eating contest and a competition for the largest tomato, are also part of the celebration.

via Telegraph.co.uk

la-tomatina-colombia

la-tomatina-colombia2

la-tomatina-colombia3

la-tomatina-colombia4

la-tomatina-colombia5

la-tomatina-colombia6

la-tomatina-colombia7

la-tomatina-colombia8

la-tomatina-colombia9

Trekkies Party in Vulcan, Alberta

Why journey to Vulcan in a spaceship when you can just drive there?

The Canadian town of Vulcan, Alberta has become a true pilgrimage site for Star-Trek fans because of its coincidental link to the sci-fi series. Vulcan received its name in 1915, from a surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway who named it after the Roman God of Fire. It has no connection to Mister Spock’s home planet, but do trekkies care?

Of course not, anything that relates to the Star-Trek universe, accidentally or not, is worth a visit. So the people of Vulcan decided to capitalize on this great tourism opportunity and built a 5-ton replica of the USS Enterprise. And it paid out. This year trekkies gathered in Vulcan, Alberta for a celebration called Spock Days.

Photos show Klingons, Romulans, Tholians, Vulcans and even good old Captain Kirk had a great time in Vulcan this year.

via Telegraph.co.uk

klingons-vulcan

klingons-vulcan2

klingons-vulcan3

klingons-vulcan4

klingons-vulcan5

klingons-vulcan6

klingons-vulcan7

klingons-vulcan8

klingons-vulcan9

klingons-vulcan10

The Blonde Black Bear

Well, it’s not exactly the blonde we’re used to, but it’s as blonde as a black bear can get.

Known as a Spirit Bear or Kermode Bear, this polar-bear look-alike was thought to exist only in Indian mythology. Brave photographer Steven Kazlowski took some photos of a Spirit Bear, an achievement considered impossible among wildlife photographers. 39-year-old Steven went through a one-one-one encounter with one of these great white beasts, but managed to escape with his life.

It’s important to mention that Spirit Bears are not albino animals, they’re what you can call a blonde black bear. They are extremely rare creatures and because of extensive logging around coastal temperate rainforests, their habitat has shrunk even more.

Photos by Steven Kazlowski, BARCROFT MEDIA

via Daily Mail

albino-black-bear

albino-black-bear2

albino-black-bear3

albino-black-bear4

The Power of Yoga

Everyone keeps telling me about the beneficial effects of practicing Yoga, but this is too much.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen what Yoga can do for older people, but that doesn’t make these photos any less impressive. I was around five or six the last time I was able to bring my foot up to the tip of my nose, and this guy puts his feet behind his back with ease, at over fifty years of age. I really have to start practicing Yoga!

via Moobol

chinese-yoga

chinese-yoga2

chinese-yoga3

chinese-yoga4

chinese-yoga5

chinese-yoga6

chinese-yoga7

Bull Wins the Fight for a Change

It doesn’t happen as often as it would if the fight was actually fair, but it’s nice to see the underdog win for a change.

Israel Lancho had the misfortune of getting impaled by a bull, last Wednesday, in Madrid. The bull’s horn went in 8 inches and doctors said it was a miracle that it didn’t hit the matador’s heart. 30-year-old Israel is now recuperating. I wonder if he’s ever going to go into the bull-ring again.

UPDATE:  One of our visitors left a comment saying the matador died of complications. That is not true, but, while he received medical attention, the bull did in fact die as a result of his wounds. Others said this is tradition and should be accepted as such…Well, the shearing of the beasts, donkey basketball, Grindadrap or Afghan dog-fights are also old traditions, but I refuse to respect them. Read More »

The World’s Hairiest Competition

The World Beard and Mustache Competition was held in Anchorage, Alaska, and crowned its winner from one of the locals.

Contestants from as far as Turkey or Switzerland traveled to Alaska to compete for the title of hairiest man…sorry, for having the most beautiful facial hair. That doesn’t sound very nice either, but you know what I mean. There were 300 facial-hair enthusiasts, from eleven countries, fighting for this coveted title.

David Traver, a local boy, won the competition with his 20-inch beard, grown for a period of two and a half years, before being braided into the shape of a snowshoe.

Photos by AP and

via Daily Mail

beard-contest

beard-contest2

beard-contest3

beard-contest4

beard-contest5

beard-contest6

beard-contest7

Dirndl Dresses for Horses

Pet fashion really took off in recent years, so I wasn’t that surpised to see these horses dressed in traditional Bavarian dresses.

Dirndl dresses are famous all around the world for being Bavaria’s traditional outfits, thousands of Bavarian women wear them, and now, apparently even horses. German designer Hildegard Bergbauer used to create drindl dresses only for women, but has recenlty began taking orders for house pets and even horses.

The horses do look elegant in their brand-new drindl dresses, but I do believe the young Bavarian beauties holding them look even better.

Photos by Alexandra Beier/REUTERS

via Sina

dirndl-dresses

dirndl-dresses2

dirndl-dresses3

Charlie the Spider-Cat

Cats are great climbers, that’s not a big secret, but a cat climbing up a 13-foot dry wall? Now that’s something you don’t see every day.

Charlie is a very special seven-year-old cat from Falkirk, Britain, who has the very special skill of climbing buildings. As you’ve probably guessed, this is the talent that got him the very cool nick-name Spider-cat.

Charlie began climbing up to his owner’s flat, on the first floor of an apartment-building, after he got bored of waiting for someone to open the front door of the building, after his daily walk around the bloc. One day he just went to the back of his owner’s home, took a long look at the obstacle in front of him and just jumped up the wall. Using his front paws for grip and his behind paws for leverage, he made it up to the first floor and started miaowing until someone opened the door for him. Since that faithful day, Charlie the Spider-cat has been climbing up the dry-wall on a regular basis.

Check out the incredible video of Charlie doing what he does best, after the photos.

Photos by PA

via Daily Mail

charle-spider-cat

charle-spider-cat2

charle-spider-cat3

charle-spider-cat4

charle-spider-cat5

An Unlikely Duo

Primates and dogs don’t normally get along too well, but Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe, a Blue Tick hound have become best friends.

Their beautiful friendship began when Roscoe followed some of the caretakers at a South Caroline animal shelter through the gates. As soon as she saw him, Suryia ran to him and started playing. Since that day, there’s nothing the two love more than swimming and rolling around together. The friendly orangutan even takes her buddy on his daily walks and occasionally feeds him some of her monkey biscuits. When bored, the two take a ride on Bubbles, a 27-years-old African elephant.

Word of their bizarre but beautiful relationship reached the media and now Suryia and Roscoe will be featured on one of Oprah‘s special shows, called Amazing Animal Friendship. National Geographic also paid them a visit.

Their bond might seem incredible, but if tigers and pigs can be friends, then anything is possible.

Photos by Barry Bland/Barcroft Media

via Daily Mail

unlikely-duo

unlikely-duo2

unlikely-duo3

unlikely-duo4

The Knitted Village

These lovely old ladies have spent a long time knitting their classic British village of Mersham.

It all started 23 years ago when the 12 women were reading an article in Women’s Weekly about another group of women who had accomplished a similar feat. They said to themselves ‘we should give it a whirl’, but had no idea it would become such an important part of their lives.

These knitted masterpieces might not look like much to the untrained eye, but all the buildings are knitted to scale and took thousand of hours to complete. When it was finished, the knitted village was presented at craft fairs and raised 10,000 pounds for the Mersham village hall fund. This Saturday, it will be up for sale in the Mersham Hall. With the media coverage this fabric work of art has received so far, I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of buyers present in the Kent village.

I dare say the knitted village looks even better than the very original knitted bike

via Daily Mail

kent-village

kent-village2

kent-village3

kent-village4

kent-village5

kent-village6

kent-village7

kent-village8

kent-village9

kent-village10

kent-village111

kent-village12

kent-village13

Kodinhi – The Village of Twins

With 250 registered pairs of twins, the Indian village of Kodinhi, in Kerala, has six times more twins born than the world average.

Dr. Krishnan Sribiju has been studying the odd twin phenomenon in Kodhini, for the last six years and says that although 250 pairs have been registered, there may be up to 300-350 sets of twins. Villagers say an unusually high number of twins started being born three generations ago, and it’s been rising ever since.

Because the twins don’t present any deformities, Dr. Sribiju says the twin phenomenon isn’t caused by some pollutant, but by something the villagers of Kodinhi eat and drink. If that proves to be true, this magic element could turn into the next treatment for infertile couples.

via Telegraph.co.uk

Photos by Niklas Halle’n/BARCROFT MEDIA

twin-village

twin-village2

twin-village3

twin-village4

twin-village5

twin-village6

twin-village7

twin-village8

twin-village9

The Talented Showjumping Bunnies.

Sure, rabbits hop all the time, but not many do it over miniature fences, like showjumping horses.

15-year-old Matthew and Thomas Haslam are the proud owners and trainers of some of the smartest pets in Britain. Bubbles and Lilac are two of the twenty rabbits that like to jump over small fences, in the boys’ backyard. These two have shown particular skill and have participated in the Ultimate Pet Show, between the 2nd-4th May.

The two boys suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, a sort of Autism and spending up to seven hours a day, for the last nine years, playing with rabbits has really helped them a greatr deal.

jumping-rabbit

jumping-rabbit2

jumping-rabbit3

jumping-rabbit4

jumping-rabbit5

via Daily Mail

Shrek and Fiona in Real Life

Everybody knows the popular animation movie Shrek has a large fan-base, but some of those fans go as far as to get married dressed as their favorite characters.

British nurse Christine England and her fiance Keith got married last month, wearing the costumes of Fiona and Shrek. They spent over three hours putting on the costumes and green make-up, but it was worth it, since it was a wedding neither of them will forget.

Christine tried to get her 18 years old son to dress-up like Donkey, but “he wasn’t having any of it”. The 100 guests attending the wedding were also dressed in funky, fairytale costumes.

shrek-and-fiona

shrek-and-fiona2

shrek-and-fiona3

shrek-and-fiona4

shrek-and-fiona5

via Daily Mail

Bette Calman – The Yoga Super-Granny

83-years-old Bette Calman is living proof that the ancient art of yoga can do wonders on the human body.

Bette Calman has been practicing and teaching yoga for the last 40 years and, although other people her age can hardly move anymore, she can pool of difficult yoga moves that put teenagers to shame. She can execute the “peacock” a difficult position in which the body is held horizontally, using only the power of the arms,  the “bridge”, “lotus” and can stand on her head with unnatural ease.

Asked when she is going to retire, Calman said

‘You’re never too old. The body is a remarkable instrument.

‘It can stretch and stretch, and get better all the time. Forget age’

Ms Bette Calman teaches up to 11 classes every week, in Williamstown, Australia, teaching others the remarkable effects of yoga.

yoga-grandma

yoga-grandma2

yoga-grandma3

yoga-grandma4

via Daily Mail

photos by Barcroft Media

Extreme Balancing Acts

29-year-old extreme balancing artist, Eskil Ronningsbakken has to be one of the world’s most amazing performers.

Ronningsbakken has performed the most dangerous balancing acts I’ve ever seen, riding a bike upside down, balancing under a balloon in plain flight and on cliffs thousands of meters high. He says ‘That’s the balance between life and death, and that is where life is.’

His balancing career began when he was only five years old and he saw a yogin serenely balancing. Now he is one of the most famous extreme balancing artists in the world. His next dream is to perform his breathtaking stunts on top of the Burj al Arab Hotel, in Dubai.

Read more on the amazing Eskil Ronningsbakken here.

Photos by Sindre Lundvold/Barcroft Media via guardian.co.uk

balancing-act.jpg

balancing-act2.jpg

balancing-act3.jpg

balancing-act4.jpg

balancing-act5.jpg

balancing-act6.jpg

balancing-act7.jpg