When a team of Swedish athletes trekking through the Ecuadorian rainforest last year sat down for a meal of canned meat, they were joined by the most unusual dinner guest – a scruffy old stray dog. They felt sorry for the poor creature and gave him some of their food, but little did they expect that the small gesture of kindness would earn them a friend for life. From that moment on the dog never left their side, following them through the rough terrain for the entire duration of the trek!

The group of four trekkers happened to be navigating the final two stages of the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship, during the time that the dog – whom they later named Arthur – befriended them. “I had just opened a food pack when I saw a scruffy miserable dog in the corner of my eye,” said team member Mikaels Lindord. “I thought he was hungry and gave him a meatball. Then I thought no more of it.”

But the act certainly made an impression on Arthur, who refused to leave his new master’s side. Despite his ill health, he kept up with the team through every gruelling task. He swam alongside them while they kayaked down rivers, dragged himself up treacherous hills as they hiked, and even managed to pull himself through knee-deep mud during treks.

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Colombian-American artist and opera singer Mateo Blanco was in the news late last year for creating three celebrity portraits out of the most unusual material – dog hair! Blanco revealed that he was listening to Lennon when inspiration struck, and he decided to honor the three late singers with dog hair purchased from a local groomer.

The portraits – of musicians John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and Jimi Hendrix – were purchased by Orlando-based Ripley Entertainment and unveiled at Ripley’s Odditorium on December 12. The Michael Jackson portrait is still on display in Orlando, while John Lennon is currently at Ripley’s Mexico City, and Jimi Hendrix at Ripley’s Key West Odditorium.

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Cheap, eco-friendly machines, made from discarded bicycle parts and powered by pedalling, are all the rage in rural Guatemala. They’re called ‘bicimaquinas’, and they are used for various purposes in the community – right from simple food processing to making shampoos and soaps.

The unique device is the brainchild of ‘Maya Pedal’, a locally-run non-profit in the rural town of San Adrés Itzapa. Founded in 1997 as a collaboration between Canadian organisation ‘Pedal’ and local mechanic Carlos Marroquín, the organisation is credited with the invention of several devices that make use of spare parts from bikes and harness the power of human energy.

Each bicimaquina (bike-machine) is handcrafted at the Maya Pedal workshop, using a combination of old bikes, concrete, wood, and metal. Their designs are 100 percent original, and are both functional and economical. Priced at about $40 apiece, the machines come in several variations for different purposes.

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In a bid to deter rivals from stealing the affections of his pretty girlfriend, a Chinese man actually spent two years fattening her up!

You Pan, from southern China’s Guangdong Province, started dating Yan Tai a couple of years ago. She weighed only 98 pounds at the time and was quite attractive, a fact that made You Pan afraid other suitors might steal her away. Worried that he might lose her, the man masterminded a diabolical plan to make her unattractive to other men.

Over the course of two years, You Pan made sure that Yan Tai got plenty to eat – he treated her to big breakfasts and elaborate lunches and dinners. He even woke her up in the middle of the night to feed her snacks. Slowly, but surely, his plan worked – Yan Tai’s weight has almost doubled. She now weighs 196 pounds.

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When Pakistani photographer Atif Saeed set out for a drive through a safari park in Lahore in 2012, little did he know that he would end up risking his life for what is possibly the best photograph of his career – a close-up shot of a charging lion!

It all started during the drive, when Saeed spotted a lion a short distance away. “It as an adult male lion, and what I liked most about him was the beautiful, dark hair on his neck,” the 38-year-old later recalled. He got out of the car, left the door open, and crouched in the grass to take pictures with his 500mm telephoto lens. He did realise at the time that it could be a foolish move, but he told himself that it was the only way to get a natural photograph.

Saeed got his opportunity within seconds – the sound of the shutter apparently irritated the lion, and it turned around to charge at him. The lion’s expression at that moment was ferocious enough to send even the bravest of huntsmen into a state of shock. But Saeed managed to quickly gather his wits. He clicked a picture at lightning before leaping into his car and slamming the door shut, missing the aggressive beast by inches!

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Lots of people love cats, but how many would actually want to smell like one? Well, as it turns out, there’s a small army of cat-lovers out there who love the smell of cat paws. So much so that they’re willing to spend money on this Japanese hand cream that promises to lend them the irresistible whiff of feline paws.

The cream is the brainchild of Japanese online retailer Felissimo. The company claims that the unusual idea came about during a brainstorming session, when an employee suggested a cream that leaves the skin as soft and squeezable as a cat’s paw. Everyone at the meeting loved the idea, and eventually they got to talking about the smell of cats’ paws, which is apparently considered mysteriously soothing. So the company finally decided to market their cream with the same smell.

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When a woman from Nanjing, China, read that chewing gum could help her lose weight, she decided to give the technique a try. Unfortunately, she seems to have taken it a bit too far. After incessantly chewing gum every single day for the past six months, the technique backfired on her – not only did she fail to lose weight, her jaw actually bulked up from all the exercise!

The woman, who is going by the pseudonym Gao, said that it all started when she and her friends read an article about the benefits of chewing gum. The report reasoned that chewing gum burns up to 60 calories per hour, while jumping rope burns only 10. If you do the math, it adds up to losing 5 kg of weight a month just by chewing gum all day long. It also explained that chewing gum could lead to a feeling of satiety, making a person consume less food.

Convinced by the story, Gao started chewing gum morning to night, every single day. She kept it up for about six months, but her extra pounds didn’t seem too affected by the daily ritual. Instead, her colleagues began to point out changes to her face! They started to notice that her previously pointed face had now developed a rather masculine, square shape.

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The ‘Black Pearl’ is a one-of-a-kind steam-powered motorcycle created by Dutch bike builder René van Tuil, of Revatu Customs. Looking like the love child of a chopper and an old steam engine, the unique vehicle can make any diehard steampunk fan simply drool just looking at it.

Although named after Jack Sparrow’s notoriously fast ship, van Tuil’s amazing creation is anything but fast. Powered by a functioning steam engine, with a rear wheel driven by a large crankshaft, the unique motorcycle can reach an unimpressive top speed of just eight kilometers per hour. That might not be nearly enough for speed junkies, but those who enjoy a leisurely ride will definitely appreciate the chance to take in the scenery at a very slow pace.

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Oratilwe Hlongwane, a.k.a. DJ AJ, has become a viral phenomenon in South Africa with a dedicated fan following of thousands. But here’s the twist – he’s actually a two-year-old kid! While he can barely speak, the incredibly talented toddler can work a DJ console like a pro.

AJ is so good at DJing that he has fans hankering after his heavy-bass house music. The record spinning toddler has made a few special appearances and also bagged sponsorship deals with various brands. His most recent performance was at a shopping mall in his hometown of Johannesburg, where a large crowd gathered to groove to his music.

AJ’s mother, Refiloe Marumo, attributes the boy’s astounding skills to his father Glen Hlongwane’s decision to buy him an iPad even before he was born. Glen, a gymnastics coach, wanted to use the iPad to download educational apps to speed up the kid’s education. Incidentally, he happens to be an aspiring DJ, so he also downloaded a DJ app for his own use.

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When a man from China’s Hunan province got into a car accident last month, little did he know that his misfortune would actually affect his love life. He was rushed to the hospital following the accident, where staff began contacting his loved ones. To everyone’s great surprise, no less than seventeen women turned up at the hospital, claiming to be his girlfriends. And it didn’t take them long to figure out that they were all there to see the same guy. It turns out that the man, whose last name is Yuan, had actually been seeing all those women simultaneously and swindling them for large sums of money.

Most of the women are from Hunan province – the oldest is 40, while the youngest, a student, is only 19 years old. He was apparently married to one of them, and had a child with another. When they came to know the truth, all 17 of them were understandably shocked, and later, furious. “I was really worried when I heard that he was in the hospital,” said Xiao Li, Yuan’s girlfriend of 18 months. “But when I started seeing more and more beautiful girls show up, I couldn’t cry anymore.”

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Moldovan businessman and multi-millionaire Dmitry Kaminskiy is passionate about longevity – so much so that he’s offering a prize of $1 million to the first person to reach the age of 123 years. He himself dreams of living forever and hopes that his generous gift will trigger a new generation of ‘supercentenarians’ (people over 110 years of age).

“We live in the most exciting era of human development when technologies become exponential and transformative,” said Kaminskiy, a senior partner of Hong Kong-based firm Deep Knowledge Ventures. “They may not realise it, but some of the supercentenarians alive today may see the dawn of the next century if they live long enough for these transformative technologies to develop.”

“I hope that my prize will help some of them desire longer lifespans and make their approaches to living longer a little more competitive,” he added.

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Canadian couple Wayne Adams and Catherine King are the proud owners of ‘Freedom Cove’, a colorful floating home off the coast of Tofino in British Columbia. The unique structure consists of 12 platforms, supporting wooden buildings, greenhouses, a lighthouse, and living spaces that are all interconnected through wooden pathways. Freedom Cove is special because it is a ‘getaway’ in the true sense – completely off the grid and self-sustaining in every possible way.

Adams and King, along with their two children, have lived at Freedom Cove ever since it was built in 1992. And they’ve managed to live a full life without the help of mainstream civilisation. They grow fruits and vegetables all year round in several greenhouses, and generate electricity through solar panels and photovoltaic energy generators.

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25-year-old Jia Binhui, from Yunlong County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, was diagnosed with blood cancer two years ago. Sadly, he is unable to afford medical treatment, but that hasn’t stopped the resilient young man from trying to get better. In a desperate attempt to rid himself of the cancerous cells plaguing his body, he’s devised an alternate treatment that involves roasting himself in his backyard!

Binhui went through an unsuccessful bone-marrow transplant procedure that cost over $80,000 and was paid for by well-wishers. But, coming from a family of poor farmers, he was unable to afford further hospital treatments.That’s when he heard about the concept of using heat to fight cancer. Read More »

Jackson Gordon, a student of industrial design at Philadelphia University, has pooled everything he’s learned at school so far to build an awesome version of Batman’s batsuit! And we’re not talking about just another replica. This one is designed to withstand punches, kicks, stabs or baseball bat blows!

“I’ve always been a Batman fan,” the 21-year-old from Wayne, Philadelphia told Buzzfeed news. He started making prototypes for the suit last September, using over $1,000 raised on Kickstarter. “Before making the real suit, I did at least 10 prototypes of different parts for the suit to test out materials and sewing patterns,” he revealed. “Once I was happy with those, I started making the real suit using the patterns I had decided on from the prototypes. I cut out the internal lining fabric, then added the foam padding, then a layer of kevlar, then the top grey fabric.”

When the individual pieces were completed, Gordon sewed them together to form the suit. He made the external armored plates from quarter-inch-thick ABS sheets, cut using a scroll saw. “These plates were then power sanded, and heated up with a heat gun to make them pliable,” he explained. “The chest and ab plating was then mounted to the suit, while the other armor remains removable.”

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A gut-wrenching video, showing a leech grow fat as it sucks blood from a man’s hand, has recently surfaced on the internet. Shockingly, the man claims that the bloodsucker is actually his pet, and that he willingly feeds it his own blood!

The identity of the man is unknown, but the video is believed to have been filmed in Japan. The leech in the footage is so bloated, it’s as big as the man’s forearm. And judging by the bite marks on his arm, the devoted owner has been feeding the creature his blood for quite some time now. Read More »