I’m sure most people think of container ships as just ships that carry containers and nothing more. Now I don’t know how many of you have actually seen one but these beasts can be quite impressive. And the most impressive is the Emma Maersk, the biggest container transporter in the world.

With a declared capacity of 11,000 TEU, the ‘Emma Maersk‘ is able to handle a significantly greater number of containers than any other ship currently in operation. It has a length of 397 metres, over 31 metres longer than the next longest container ship, the Maersk ‘G’ classes, and a width of 57 metres, 15 metres wider than any other container ship. If the containers on board were lined up end to end, they would stretch approximately 42 miles.

The vessel is longer than the height of some well-known landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, which measures 320 meters, and the Empire State Building, at 381 meters. It is four times the length of a normal football pitch.

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And I’m not talking about the comic-book hero, but about the real cat-man…or Stalking Cat as he likes to be addressed to.

David Avner, a native American, part Huron, part Lakota has spent more than $200.000 on plastic surgery to make himself look as a tiger, his totem animal. He even had all of his teeth removed and replaced them with feline-like ones, he has tattooed his face with stripes, he modified his upper lip and inserted stainless steel implants to insert whiskers in, he had his ears surgically pointed and inserted silicone in different areas of his face.

Catman has become quite famous after appearing on several TV shows, including Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Larry King Live. Read More »

Star Wars isn’t exactly one of my favorite films of all times, so I can’t say I’m really impressed by all these little paper foldings. I am however surprised to see people have enough time on their hands to actually sit down and start folding pieces of paper into Star-Wars memorabilia...Get a job!

I have to be honest and start by saying I’m a huge fan of winter and all that it implies, snow, ice, cold weather, the whole enchilada, so I guess I was a little subjective in picking this piece over others. But even you sun worshipers have to admit that these snow sculptures, especially the castles are simply amazing.

These were all sculpted in blocks of snow and ice, during the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, in China by the most talented sculptures in the world. The festival dates back to 1963 and is one of the four largest ice and snow festivals, along with along with Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada’s Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway’s Ski Festival.

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I guess the Dutch have a thing for colorful infrastructure, because the famous Yellow Brick Road is also found in Holland.

This blue building is set in the Delfshaven district, in Rotterdam and it used to be one of the towns least interesting buildings and one of the most unnoticed by the public. The administration asked an artistic firm to freshen the place up, or it would be demolished. They chose to paint the place blue and the deal with the neighborhood is that it will stay this way until the community comes up with a new plan for the area.

Funniest thing is the blue building has become the most photographed building in Rotterdam. That’s how important 2 layers of paint can be.

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If you haven’t started saving up for a house on the Palm Paradise of Dubai, you’d better start soon the construction will be done soon. Progress is significant according to these pics, with several houses actually finished and ready to welcome their owners. Just imagine walking out of one of those beauties and plunging into the clear blue waters…must be heaven on Earth!

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Now these are some dolls I wouldn’t recommend any parent to buy for his kids, unless they want them to become really twisted human beings. Come to think of it some of these puppets are even spookier than old Chucky, which in my opinion wasn’t really all that scary. These “toys” on the other hand are much more spookier, darker…scarier!

I wouldn’t be surprised if the person behind these abominations is also behind the disturbing art I posted about not long ago. Anyway the guy clearly has issues!

I have to say that after seeing these pics, I’ve decided I’d love to visit this place as much as I’d love to visit Devil’s Pool, at Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe. It’s just one of those sights that simply takes your breath away.

This man-made wonder is 1013 meters long covers 80 acres, its deepest end reaches 115ft and it holds 66 million gallons of water. If you want to take a dip in the world’s largest swimming pool you’ll have to travel to San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo, Chile, where a computer-controlled suction and filtration system continuously pumps water from the ocean, keeping crystal clear.

Although it wasn’t cheap, costing around $2 billion to build and another $4 million/year for maintenance, the pool seems to be worth it as it has been attracting huge crowds of curious tourists, since it opened in December.

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I remember a time when everyone of my friends wanted to get a pitbull as a pet, just so they can look cooler, and brag about how dog their dogs were. Now staring at these pictures I realize Africans are at whole other level, anyone of those pets, be it the hyenas, baboons or the python would make a pitbull beg for mercy.

Still it looks very cruel, taking wild animals, slapping a huge chain on them and using them as pets, it doesn’t look at all natural.

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Actually the Ashera is not only the rarest, but also the largest, most expensive and exotic house cat you can find. This breed was created by blending two exotic feline bloodlines with that of a domestic cat.

The Ashera can reach 14 kilograms in weight and 1 meter in length, it’s famous for taking well to being walked on a leash and getting along with kids and other pets. Now it’s not that I don’t trust the experts but I wouldn’t leave my kid alone with one of these, cats are very independent and sometimes unpredictable and kids can piss them off easily, who knows how they might react.

One thing is for sure, they are magnificent animals, well worth $22.000 ($28.000 if you want the Ashera GD, a rarer, hypoallergenic version).

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Jonathan McCullum was a perfectly healthy 17 years old boy, weighing at 155 pounds. That all changed went he signed for an exchange student program in Egypt. His hosts were Coptic Christians, who fast an unmatched 200 days a year and the boy says he was denied sufficient food, all four months that he spent there.

When he returned to the states, Jonathan was unrecognizable, weighing a mere 97 pounds and struggling to carry his own baggage and climb up stairs. He had to be hospitalized for two weeks because he risked having a heart attack.

Despite the whole ordeal, the boy doesn’t regret his experience and sees it as a mere clash of cultures, he plans on going to Zimbabwe this summer as part of a volunteer program. Take some food with you this time buddy!

For some reason I never thought I’d use the word delicacy in the same sentence with words like cricket, caterpillar, frog, grasshopper, but I guess I was wrong. Apparently in Thailand all these are considered delicious and extremely good for the body. Grasshoppers are boiled alive so they keep their physical detail intact, but you shouldn’t eat the head and intestines…charming.

If you’re into this stuff, you might be thrilled to hear you could also try some roaches, beetles, ants, ant eggs and even cooked scorpions.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Takoradee/Wikimedia Commons

 

There’s no way in hell I’m eating something like this, bring the bat soup and the Thai delicacies on, but Vietnamese blood soup…yuck!

See it’s all about the way it’s cooked because…well, it’s not cooked at all! They just slit the duck’s or goose’s throat, gather all the blood in a boll, add ginger, some vegetables and sometimes sprinkle peanuts on top and there you have it, that’s your soup. It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and it’s regarded as a source of strength by those who cook and eat it.

Strangest thing is, some restaurants in Germany have started serving this and it is a huge success, people can’t get enough of it! If you want to know more about it, or where you can get some, search it online, it’s called Tiet cahn…Good luck!

Photo: Xufanc

 

This is one of the most difficult professions I’ve ever seen, I remember seeing a series of documentaries on it but the sea didn’t look as cold as it does in theses photos. I mean much of the ship is frozen stiff, yet those guys are out there, soaking wet trying to catch as many crabs as possible and ensuring they get a fat paycheck.

I can’t imagine lasting one day doing something like that, I mean I have trouble with getting in the water, during the summertime, during the summer, how could I handle the frozen waves of the Bering sea? Respect!

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Hundreds of Japanese grown-men wrestle each other in the mud water of Mimusubi shrine in Yotsukaido, a settlement near Tokyo. Every year on February 25 these men take part in this strange yet fun looking rite, believed to bring good harvest for the whole year and good health for babies.