Latvia’s Karosta Prison was used as a Nazi and Soviet military prison for most of the 20th century. Hundreds of prisoners are said to have died here, many of them shot in the head. Nowadays the nightmarish facility has been transformed in a prison-themed hotel where guests can sign an agreement to be treated like actual inmates.

Located in the city of Liepaja, Karosta Prison is one of Latvia’s most unique tourist attractions. Visitors can take tours of the old prison facility and learn the gruesome history of this place, visit the prison museum and even book a stay in one of the old cells. Karosta is certainly not the only prison converted to a hotel in the world, but it sets itself apart by allowing visitors to experience authentic prison life in Communist Era conditions. It might sound like a gimmick to attract tourists, but a stay at Karosta Prison is actually no walk in the park. To make sure there are no complaints, the hotel requires guests to sign an agreement acknowledging they are to be treated like prisoners by the trained staff. That includes sleeping in a cell on an old mattress laid over wooden boards, eating prison food served through the barred doors, getting verbally abused by the guards and following orders to the letter. Failure to comply to the strict code of conduct is punished through physical exercise and cleaning work around the prison.

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The municipality of Banaue, in the Philippines, is widely known for its spectacular rice terraces, but few people know it’s also the setting of a traditional race that has daredevils riding wooden scooters downhill at speeds of up to 50 kph, without any kind of protection.

The wooden scooter has long been the preferred means of transportation for Ifugao (Philippine for “people of the hill) in Banaue, and is still used today, as a cheaper alternative to gas-powered motorcycles and scooters. They were created centuries ago to help people travel downhill faster. The men-folk had to walk up the surrounding hills almost every day to gather firewood and tend to their rice crops, and carrying the load back down was an exhausting task that took them hours to complete. People started making light scooters almost entirely out of wood, and pushed them uphill whenever they had something to transport back to their village. At the top, they would simply strap the load on both sides of the vehicle and let gravity take them back down in a matter of minutes. In time, making wooden scooters became an art form, and masters of the craft began decorating them with all kinds of designs, from local animals and birds to human heads. Today, the Ifugao still celebrate this useful invention by participating in a seven-kilometer wooden scooter race down a steep road along the famous Banaue Rice Terraces.

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“It is as MAD as it looks,” British garage inventor Colin Furze says about his crazy jet-powered bicycle, Norah. Strapping a home-made jet engine to an old bike, the nutty Brit has created what may very well be the most dangerous bicycle ever.

Looking at all the outrageous things he has created over the years, one might be tempted to think he’s an engineer with a passion for insane inventions. But he’s only a plumber who likes to create wacky-yet-fascinating things in his home workshop. He is known for building the world’s longest motorbike, the fastest mobility scooter, and a gas-powered stroller, using only “tools that proper engineers would laugh at”. But he is proof that “you don’t need an expensive lathe and huge welder to create something amazing.” His latest achievement is Norah, a jet-powered bicycle able to reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. As you can probably imagine it’s terribly unsafe, yet incredibly fun to ride. Norah is literally one hot vehicle, as the DIY engine’s exhausts get so hot they actually turn bright red at full throttle. Instead of using a heat shield and ruining the bike’s look, he oped to make it longer and put some distance between the rider’s bum and the engine. But extreme heat isn’t the only thing you should be worried about when riding Norah.

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The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, in the Philippines, has become internationally famous for using choreographed dancing to rehabilitate dangerous inmates. Videos of their dance routines have registered tens of millions of views on sites like YouTube, and the prison itself is now a tourist attraction of sorts.

Prison life is tough everywhere – well, maybe except Norway – and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center is no exception. Inmates sleep on hard pallets, share their cells with around a dozen other roommates and have a very strict schedule of work. But at least they get to dance. The truth is they don’t have a choice, because apart from the elderly and the sick, every one of the almost 2,000 prisoners is required to take part in the jail’s now-famous dance routines. Most of them enjoy doing it, because it takes their minds off their problems, keeps them away from drugs and violence, and teaches them discipline. In fact, two former inmates went on to become professional dancers when they got out. Introducing dancing as a rehabilitation technique was the idea of security consultant Byron Garcia. He was brought in to Cebu Prison in 2004, to deal with the constant riots. He moved the prisoners from an ancient stockade to a larger, more modern facility, fired dozens of corrupt guards, broke up gangs, banned the use of cash and introduced dancing. That last measure made the biggest difference. Violence subsided and the inmates health and behavior improved dramatically. Yet no one took notice…

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Masahito Yoshida, 32, recently returned to Shanghai, the city where he started his epic walk around the world, four and a half years ago. He walked a total of 40,000 kilometers across four continents carrying with him a two-wheeled cart full of baggage.

On New Year’s Eve, in 2009, Masahito Yoshida, an average Joe from the city of Tottori, Japan, set out from Shanghai to explore the world on foot. He had always wanted to travel and see all the wonders of the globe, but knew that doing it by plane or train, he would miss the small, sometimes isolated towns of the world, and the people that live in them. So he decided to walk instead. His first destination was Cape Roca, on the Portuguese coast, where he arrived in August of 2010, after covering 16,000 kilometers through central Asia and Europe. He then hopped on a plane to America, where he spent another year walking 6,000 km from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Vancouver, Canada. By the end of 2011 he exhausted most of his travel funds, so he started taking part-time jobs to finance the rest of his trip. From Canada, he flew to Melbourne, Southern Australia, and made his way north, to Darwin, then Singapore and back to Shanghai, China. During his memorable journey, Masahito worn off seven pairs of walking shoes.

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For the past 30 years, real-life vampire Julia Caples has been regularly consuming human blood. Her donors are fellow vampire enthusiasts she meets at her local oddities store, who allow her to suck the blood right from their bodies.

Julia Caples fascination with drinking blood started when she was just 15 years old. During her first kiss, she got the urge to bite her boyfriend. “It was my natural instinct and I liked the taste. I just got an urge and can’t really explain it. It’s never gone away,” she said in an interview with Barcroft Media. “Needless to say though, he never kissed me again.” The experience definitely sparked her interest in human blood, but she only went crazy for it after meeting her now ex-husband Donald, who shared her passion for vampires and goth lifestyle. They got married in a graveyard, and after saying their vows, they consecrated their love for each other by sharing blood. But when their son Alexi was born, Julia and Donald decided one of them had to stop playing vampire to ensure he had a balanced upbringing. It was Donald who quit drinking blood, so Julia wouldn’t have to. Although they are no longer together, Donald told the press Julia is an amazing mother who would never let her bizarre habits come between her and the kids. Read More »

Ram Singh Chauhan started growing his mustache in 1970, and hasn’t cut it since. Today it measures over 4.30 meters, and the proud Indian man from Rajasthan holds the Guinness record for World’s Longest Mustache.

The 58-year old says one of the secrets to impressive facial hair growth is starting early. “As you grow old your hormones grow weak, so the speed slows down,” Ram says, but even now he still adds a few centimeters to his mustache every year. He stopped shaving his mustache back in 1970, after being inspired by a fellow mustache enthusiast from Rajasthan, resuming to trimming the split ends every once in a while. In the early years Chauhan and his wife Asha used to fight over his abnormally long facial hair, because he used to take a long time to wash and groom it, and people stared at them every time they went out. But as soon as her husband started getting recognition for his efforts, she began to respect his commitment, and says she now considers the mustache part of the family and shares his pride in it. Thanks to his long mustache, Ram Singh Chauhan appeared in big movies like 1983’s “Octopussy”, starring Roger Moore, as well as numerous Bollywood productions. He has also traveled around the world, to show off his amazing whiskers.

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24-year-old Michele Koebke wants to set a new record for the World’s Tiniest Waist. To reach her goal, she has worn corsets every day and night for the last three years, taking them off only when she showers. Unfortunately this unusual fascination with corsets is taking a toll on her health.

Michele Koebke is a big fan of the 19th century wasp waist fashion silhouette, which had women wearing tight corsets to shrink their waists and attain a look similar to the wasp’s segmented body. Only she has taken her passion to the extreme by wearing a corset every day and night since the end of 2009, in the hopes that she might someday set a new record for the world’s smallest waist. During the last 3 years, Michele has managed to shrink her waist from 64cm to 54 cm, which gives her hope that she may one day surpass her idol, Cathie Jung, whose 34cm waist is currently considered the tiniest. Although she admits gradually squeezing her body into smaller and smaller corsets is like an extreme sport, which leaves her breathless and unable to consume a normal size meal, the young Berlin native says she loves her pretty deformed waist.

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Who needs an expensive home security system when you have a police car parked right outside your home? That’s what Swiss entrepreneur Andras Birrer thought when he decided to rent out fake police cars to people who travel a lot or go away on long holidays.

It all started out as a gimmick ad for a local newspaper in Andras Birrer’s home town of Sursee, near Lucerne. The owner of a local car rental firm, Birrer had the brilliant idea to paint a Hyundai i40 in the colors of the Swiss police, fit it with warning lights and advertise it as an effective way to discourage burglars. The newspaper ad read: “Don’t want your home broken into? Are you leaving on vacation soon? Rent our police car, we leave it parked outside your home the entire time”. It was meant to be a publicity stunt, but the ad got people so interested that the Swiss mechanic decided to actually provide the unusual service. Now he has a whole fleet of police car replicas available for 250 francs ($270) a week. Birrer is raking in a small fortune as his idea seems to have become a hit with frequent travelers and summer vacationers who truly believe the fake police cars can keep burglars away.

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After their company decided to ban shorts during work hours, thirteen Swedish train conductors decided to wear skirts during the hot summer months. They’ve become the talk of the internet after photos of them dressed in female attire went viral.

“Of course people stare at you a little when you are on the platform, but you just have to put up with it,” Martin Åkersten, one of the bold conductors, told Swedish newspaper, Mitti. It can get pretty hot in a train cabin during the summer, with temperatures reaching 35 to 40 degrees Celsius, but the Arriva company’s uniform regulations state skirt or long trousers. Faced with a choice, some of its male employees have opted for the skirts as a way to cool off. Åkersten and some of his colleagues got the green light from their manager a couple of weeks ago, and since then others have joined in the protest, while others have gone back to their usual uniforms. Mainly it’s the train conductors who don skirts, but a few members from the passenger car staff have also oped for them.

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Metro St. James, a French-themed cafe in Sydney, Australia, has been open for only three months but it’s gaining popularity fast thanks to an ingenious promotional offer that allows customers to pay for their coffee with kisses.

It’s no joke. During the month of June, people who choose to drink their coffee at Metro St. James between 9 and 11 am get the chance to pay for their order in kisses. “We’re bringing romance back! Take your partner to the café from 9-11am in June and surprise them with a kiss when you order your coffee. We’re not accepting your money, just your kisses,” the cafe’s Facebook page reads. But while the staff isn’t available for kissing, you don’t necessarily have to be a couple to take advantage of this original promotion. If you’re brave enough, you can just pick a random stranger from the streets, or an office buddy you’ve always had a crush on, all that matters is the kiss look genuine. In Metro’s cute promotional video, one of the waiters says: “We’ll watch you. It has to be a real kiss … a true kiss. I can see if it is a fake kiss. I am kind of a specialist.” So no cheating!

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Sometimes described as an English martial art, shin kicking is a centuries-old combat sport in which two participants kick each other in the shins until one of them falls down. Needless to say there is a lot of pain involved.

The origins of shin kicking are lost in the mists of time, but some experts say it started as a variation of wrestling, at least five or six hundred years ago. The brutal sport has been a part of the famous Cotsworld Olympik Games since the 17th centuries and it’s still practiced today. The rules of shin kicking are very straightforward: the two combatants grab each other’s collars and start kicking until one of them falls down. Although pushing or pulling is permitted, contestants have to kick their opponent in the shins at least once before they hit the ground for their win to count. Matches are won by the person who wins two out of three rounds. As you probably know, shin kicks really hurt, so participants are allowed to stuff their pants with straw in order to cushion the painful blows. Still, the organizers of the annual Shin Kicking Championship say the pain is so bad that the vast majority of participants never return. This year, Zak Warren, the previous champion actually defended his title, but it’s a very rare occurrence.

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Petrified pasta, juicy braised pork, rocky dried fruits and many other delicious-looking dishes are all part of China’s rare stone food banquets. The spread is nice to look at, but trying to sneak a bite will cost you a few teeth.

People in the mountainous regions of China know how to appreciate beautiful rocks, and some spend their whole lives gathering different kinds of rocks, scouring specialized stone shops and trekking through rugged mountain passes and desserts in search of unique additions to their collections. Strangely shaped or colored rocks are considered a feast for the eyes, and stones that resemble food are considered even more wonderful. It takes a lot of time and luck to find naturally shaped pieces of carnelian or jade that look good enough to eat, but dedicated stone collectors have proven it’s possible, on a number of occasions. Organizing stone food banquets is a long-standing Chinese tradition, and even in modern times it manages to draw media attention and keep stone collecting popular.

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How far would you go to lose weight? In Venezuela, beauty-conscious women who don’t have the willpower to go on a diet have plastic patches the size of a postage stamp sewn onto their tongues, which makes the consumption of solid foods extremely painful.

The so-called “Miracle Patch” weight loss method was invented in 2009, by Nikolas Chugay, a plastic surgeon from Beverly Hills who wanted to offer his patients an effective way to shed extra pounds without the risks of invasive surgical procedures. But while it can help people shed up to 30lbs a month, having the patch sewn on the top of the tongue does come with a series of side-effects. Some patients experience speech difficulties, while others have trouble sleeping, not to mention the excruciating pain felt when trying to move the tongue after it’s been patched up. The abrasive patch is made of marlex, a material  commonly used to repair hernias, and contains pores that make it adhere to the tongue if left on for too long. “The material has pores which allow for in-growth of tissue. If you leave it in for more than a month it starts to become incorporated into the tongue,” says Paul Chugay, who works with his father Nikolas at their Los Angeles practice. After that period, patients consult with nutritionists to keep their weight under control.

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If you’re tired of setting up notifications on your gadget in the hope that you’ll finally be reminded about your wedding anniversary on time, rejoice, because things are about to get a lot easier. The Remember Ring is a concept wedding ring that heats up 24 hours before the big day, letting you know it’s time to prepare a nice surprise for the wife.

Are you mad at yourself for never being able to remember your wedding anniversary? Do you wish that just once you could do something nice for your partner on your important day? You’re in luck, because you’d have to be suffering from Alzheimer’s not to remember it with the aptly named Remember Ring from Alaska Jewelry. The useful accessory looks like an ordinary wedding ring but is fitted with Hot Spot technology that makes it heat up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit on the day before the anniversary, making it impossible to ignore by the wearer. Every hour, the gadget gets hotter and hotter for 10 seconds, until it reaches peak temperature, reminding you the big days is just around the corner. The Rember Ring is fitted with a battery-charged micro-chip clock that converts the heat from your hand into electricity, which means it will never run out of power. “Using a micro thermopile, The Remember Ring converts the heat from your hand into electricity, keeping the battery charged and microchip clock running perpetually,” its makers say.

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