Hu Juan, a 28-year-old mother of two from Hunan, China, suffers from a rare condition known as Cutis laxa which has caused the skin on her face and neck to age at an accelerated rate, leaving her looking like a woman in her 60s or 70s.

The young woman’s nightmare began 11 years ago, right after she gave birth to her eldest son. She started noticing that her appearance was changing fast and just six months after giving birth, her youthful looks had deteriorated drastically to the point where she could hardly recognize herself in the mirror. Hu Juan was diagnosed with Cutis laxa, an extremely rare connective tissue disorder that causes the skin to become loose, saggy and wrinkled at a very rapid speed due to loss of elasticity. It has only affected her face and neck, and several medical checkups over the years revealed that she is otherwise  in good health. Hu Juan is the only known Cutis laxa sufferer in China and one of ten worldwide. Read More »

Johnnie Walker Whisky and Harris Tweed Hebrides, two of Scotland’s most iconic brands, teamed up with Heriot Watt University to create a new smart fabric that permanently smells like whisky. Because who doesn’t want their clothes smelling like booze all the time, right?

Recently launched in Berlin, the smelly fabric is said to have key notes of malt, vanilla, red fruits and dark chocolate tones, which closely resemble the aroma of Johnnie Walker Black Label.  “The unique scent, inspired by the nose of our liquid, echoes the masterful whisky production process. The key notes of rich malt, golden vanilla, red fruit and the trademark dark chocolate tones have been layered onto the fabric to achieve the unique final nose and finish of the Johnnie Walker Fabric of Flavour”, the famous spirit maker declared in a press release.  The colors of the fabric match the colors of the Johnnie Walker label (that is, black, gold, and off-white).

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The isolated Dutch village of Hogewey, located on the outskirts of the town of Weesp, has only 152 inhabitants who seem to be living a normal life – they eat, sleep, walk around the village and visit shops and restaurants. But in reality, every single one of them is being constantly watched. That’s because Hogewey is actually an elder care facility, and all of its residents suffer from dementia.

‘Dementia Village’ takes care to maintain the illusion that life is normal for the residents. The 152 patients have no idea that their home is a mental institution, nor that their living quarters are constantly monitored. Within the village, residents do not live in wards and there are no long hallways or corridors. Instead, they live in groups of six or seven to a house, with one or two caretakers. The homes are furnished according to the time period when the residents’ short-term memories stopped functioning properly – the 1950s, 1970s, and the 2000s, all accurate down to the tablecloths.

The residents are allowed to freely roam the grounds and admire its landscaped trees and fountains, or rest on the benches. Caretakers are stationed all over the village; 250 full and part time nurses and geriatric specialists wander the town as cashiers, grocery-store attendees, post-office clerks and more. Finances have simply been taken out of the equation, as everything is included in the family’s payment plan.

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A purring feline in the Bulgarian seaside resort town of Varna has been making headlines because of its unusually emerald green fur. Although several theories have tried to explain the radioactive color of the stray animal, the true cause of its coloration remains a mystery.

The ‘green cat of Bulgaria’, as the brightly colored feline has come to be known online, was spotted prowling the streets of Varna a few days ago, and as soon as photos of it appeared on the internet, it became an international news topic. Truth be told, it’s not every day that you get to see a real-life emerald cat, and the inexplicable cause of its bizarre color simply made the topic even more intriguing.

According to some sources, until not too long ago, the stray feline only displayed a hint of green on its fur, but gradually grew greener until attaining the bright emerald color you see below. This makes the original assumption that vandals had dyed its fur green as a cruel joke, unlikely. Before this report from local eye witnesses came to light, Bulgarian animal lovers had even set up a Facebook page entitled “Punishment to the perpetrator of this criminal act!”

Photo: YouTube Read More »

Andy Huot, a mechanical engineer from Louisville, Kentucky, spends his free time looking for recognizable shapes in bags of Cheetos Cheese Curls. Over the past year, he has spent hours opening bag after bag of the high-calorie snack, examining each nugget of puffed corn with the concentration of a museum curator. He takes photographs of all his exciting finds and shares them on Instagram for his 40,000 + followers to see.

It all started last October, when Andy was working on an invention at home. He got hungry, so he simply grabbed a bag of Cheetos and dug right in. Because his ‘creative mind’ was already at work, he began to spot seemingly ‘humanoid’ pieces. Intrigued, he clicked a few photographs with his phone and shared them with his friends and family who found it very funny.

So he set up ‘Cheese Curls of Instagram’, an account where he only posts ‘pictures of Cheetos that resemble things’. Within hours, he began to get hundreds of likes and comments. “I didn’t expect this response,” he admitted. “It motivated me to keep going to try harder.” So he did just that. By the end of last year, he had amassed a huge following with comments like: “this is the most unique and epic page on Instagram”.

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In order to raise money for the treatment of his leukemia-stricken son, a man in China turned himself into a human punching bag, offering passers-by in Beijing the chance to hit him in exchange for 10 yuan ($1.6).

The young father was first spotted on the streets of Beijing on November 27, wearing a t-shirt that read ” human punching bag, 10 yuan per punch”. In front of him there was a donation box covered with hospital diagnosis certificates that proved his son was suffering from leukemia, so that people could that this crazy way of raising money was for a good cause, and not just a stupid prank.

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Whale watching in Australia has never been the same since 28 June 1991, when an all-white humpback was photographed passing Byron Bay, the country’s most easterly point. It was the first time the world witnessed the existence of a real-life Moby Dick; never before had anyone heard of or seen a completely spotless white humpback whale anywhere else on Earth.

The incredibly rare creature was soon christened ‘Migaloo’, which is an indigenous Australian word meaning ‘white fella’. Since then, he has been spotted traveling up and down the east coast of Australia at least 50 times. As he migrates up from Antarctica to the warmer waters of Tropical North Queensland every year, his arrival is eagerly awaited by locals and tourists alike.

During this year’s migration in June, Australian photographer Ray Alley managed to capture a few stunning pictures of Migaloo off the coast of Nelson Bay in NSW. Alley had been trying to get images of the humpback for the past nine years and his hard work finally paid off. Migaloo stopped for a rare display of showmanship on his way through Nelson Bay, a moment that Alley describes as the ‘holy grail’ in his 27-year career.

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If you look carefully at Armenian artist Davit Yukhanyan’s meticulously intricate illustrations, you’ll realize that they actually consist of hundreds of smaller illustrations that make up the form, background and shading of the main drawing.

The incredibly talented 26-year-old has been drawing and creating for as long as he can remember. Although he works as an architect now, he tries to draw whenever he finds the time. “Drawing is my passion and music is my inspiration,” he said.

For his ‘drawings within a drawing’, he uses a technical pen and paper, and makes them entirely by hand with no digital manipulation. “Just as everything in our world consists of different pieces, my drawing also consists of different pieces in the form of small illustrations that come together into one overall creation,” he said. “I draw the artwork with this concept in mind.”

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A vegan butcher shop sounds like an oxymoron, but believe it or not, such a venue is soon going to be operating in the US. Having surpassed their Kickstarter goal of $60,000, ‘The Herbivorous Butcher’ will be setting up shop in Minneapolis – bringing meat-free meat to vegans and vegetarians in the area. They’re going to be serving a host of meatless options, including ribs, bacon, chicken, sausage and more.

Siblings Aubry and Kale Walch are the brains behind Herbivorous Butcher. They have combined their vegetarian lifestyle with their Guamanian roots, and added touches from culinary cultures from around the world to create fake meats that have the texture and flavor of real red meats.

“We have carefully crafted 100% vegan, cruelty-free meat alternatives that capture the best flavors, textures, and nutrients that meats have to offer without their negative impacts on health, animals, and the environment,” they revealed. Some of the benefits of their products include – ‘small batch from scratch’, ‘hand-crafted’, ‘cholesterol free’, and ‘protein rich’.

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50-year-old George Prior wanted to show the world just how harmful Coca-Cola can be to the human body. So he embarked on a special ‘Coke diet’ challenge during which he consumed 10 cans of Coke a day for three months. That’s 35 g of sugar per can, and a total of 350 g of sugar every day, which is the equivalent of 70 sugar cubes. Needless to say, the results were not good.

George’s formerly healthy and muscular physique has now changed drastically. His Coke guzzling habits gave him a pot belly, he lost muscle mass, and his weight shot up from 168 lb to 192 lb. His blood pressure also soared from 129/77 to 145/96 – way above the ideal 120/80. All these alterations to his body have greatly increased the risk of heart disease or stroke.

George also said that he was experiencing intense cravings and feared he was becoming addicted to Coca-Cola. He did try his best to stick to his normal Paleo diet with low carbohydrates, lean meats, vegetables and berries, but he couldn’t shake off the sugar cravings that hit him from time to time. In fact, he found it difficult to eat as much food because all that Coke made him feel full at lunch and dinner times. And the actual drinking was an ‘irritating chore’ because of the constant visits to the restroom and a clutter of cans everywhere.

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At age nine, Russian-born supermodel Kristina Pimenova has achieved what many women in their 20s and 30s long for – she has been named the most beautiful in the world by a reputed fashion magazine. She is undoubtedly a pretty child, but her popularity among adults is stirring up controversies. People are taking offence over her sexualization by ‘fans’ and the idea of referring to her as a ‘woman’.

Born to former footballer Rusian Pimenov and supermodel Gilkeriya Shirokova, Kristina has been modelling since the age of three. The little girl has an impressive portfolio of clients like Vogue, Armani and Dolce & Gabbana. According to her Facebook page, Kristina got into modelling while accompanying her mom on shoots. “Anywhere her mom would go, people would tell her how adorable Kristina was and tell her to try modelling. Her mom decided to try it out and Kristie soon realised how much fun it was, especially catwalk and fashion shows. She’s been having a blast ever since and is loving every minute of it!”

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In a bid to deliver the tales of the Bible to all the cultures and religions of the world, French author Philippe Lechermeier has given the ancient text a makeover – he’s rewritten it as a fictional novel! He describes the book as a ‘spirit of cultural transmission without a religious message of faith or prayer’.

“For me this text stands for the common good,” the 46-year-old said. “Its sphere of influence could go well beyond religious boundaries. Its impact on our language, our psychology, our aesthetic, our morality is still very powerful.” He revealed that he grew up listening to his grandmother’s personalised versions of Biblical narratives, and this inspired him to transform stories in his own way.

Philippe, who happens to be an atheist, described the Old Testament as a ‘poorly written text from a literary point of view’. “When my children were small, I was trying to read them passages from the Bible. But it bothered them, especially because there are redundancies and inconsistencies.” So he wanted to make the Holy Book more accessible through good writing and elegant style that emphasize the depth of the characters.

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If you thought Skywriting was a romantic way to propose, wait till you hear about GPS writing. The ingenious idea belongs to Yasushi Takahashi – a.k.a Yassan – who spent six whole months trekking through Japan as a way of proposing to his girlfriend. At the end of his journey, the GPS records of his travels spelled the phrase ‘Marry Me’ with a heart sign to boot.

It all started in 2008, when Yassan, then 31, quit his job and planned a journey through Japan, taking with him a GPS device and a map. His purpose was two-fold: to experience a Japan that he only knew in books, and also to draw a special message for his girlfriend using GPS tracking technology. Yassan managed to cover over 7,000 kilometers in six months, mostly by foot and sometimes by car, ferry or bicycle. Every place that he walked through was carefully planned beforehand to get the gigantic magic phrase just right.

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Chinese student Zu Bingqun is living the dream of almost every comic book lover in the world. No, he hasn’t become a superhero himself, but he does have an amazing collection of Avengers suits that he built himself, from scratch. Zu said that by building the suits, he is trying to fulfill his own childhood dream of becoming a superhero.

A senior student at the Changchun University of Technology, Zu has been working on the outfits since 2012. He starts by downloading a blueprint of each superhero’s suits and buying the necessary materials for the build online. He then begins the painstaking process of molding each part of the suit and putting it all together.

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When Australian lawyer David Richards started decorating his family home for Christmas four years ago, little did he know that the simple pastime would snowball into a huge passion. The father-of-three is now a self-proclaimed ‘crazy Christmas lights guy’.

Impressed with the display of lights at his home last year, Richards was invited to transform Petrie Plaza in Canberra’s Central Business District into an epic Christmas spectacle this year. And Richards has not disappointed – this year’s display consists of a whopping 120 kilometers of lights and over one million light bulbs. Petrie Plaza now features a 3-D image constructed of lights, covering more than 41,000 square feet, in the shape of three large Christmas presents.

The spectacular display has won Richards a place in the Guinness Book for the third time. He won the record last year when he decorated his home with 502,165 lights, and once before in 2011. “Christmas lights really get people into the festive spirit,” Richards told Guinness. “We decorated our home for years, and people came from everywhere to see our lights. This year, who knows how many people will come along?”

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