So what you see in these photos is practically what you get if you decide to marry in some Ethiopian tribes, a woman with a huge round circle through her lower lip and no lower front teeth…That’s right, in order for her to be able to wear that thing, 2 or sometimes all four lower front teeth are yanked out.

Now I’ve always supported cultural diversity, but this and what they do at Phuket Vegetarian Festival, just make me sick. I wouldn’t go out there and try to impose my culture on them but still…I can’t agree with I’m seeing either. I wonder how they kiss in Ethiopia? Even with that thing off, it’s got to be something nasty! Read More »

Set in Yellowstone National Park in the US, Morning Glory Pool is one of our planet’s many natural wonders. It is one of the park’s many hot springs and it was named in 1880, due to its resemblance to the well-known flower. The pool used to be completely blue, but human kind had to screw things up, as it always does, and because of the debris that’s been thrown in along the years, part of the vent has been clogged. That caused the temperature of the water to decrease, allowing bacteria to settle in, and that’s how the yellow fringe was formed. I’m not saying it’s less beautiful now but, in recent years the bacteria has started moving more and more towards the center of the pool and if the vandalism doesn’t stop, we might soon admire Morning Glory Pool only in photos…

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Miguel Hermoso Cuesta/Wikimedia Commons

 

Before you go laying the “this is photoshoped” line on me, do a little search on the web and convince yourself it is real. It’s actually one of the most well-known diving places in the world, set in Palau. Actually if any of you watched Survivor Palau, you might remember this as one of the sights.

Jellyfish Lake was once connected to the waters of the Pacific ocean, but is now completely isolated. The large population of jellyfish living here was believed to be missing those stinging cells, also known as nemastocysts, but it turns out they do have them, only they’re really tiny. That’s why it’s perfectly ok for people to swim so close to the jellyfish, our tissue doesn’t feel the sting.

This is definitely one of the “must-go before I die” places, right up there with Devil’s Pool and Morning Glory Pool!

Photo: tata_aka_T/Flickr

Photo: Shinji/Flickr

 

How would you feel if you were hanging on a metal arm atop of the eighth-tallest building in the world, the Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas? I know I’d be terrified, but if you’re one of those thrill seekers that will gladly swim in Devil’s Pool, you might like this.

The X-Scream is, according to many, the ultimate fun ride in the world. Those willing to risk a heart attack are loaded in a cart and hoisted high into the air before the track plunges into a 30 degree angle. Just when it reaches 30mph, the carts comes to a full stop at the end of the track, leaving nothing but 300meters of air between passengers and the ground…now that I don’t want to try! I don’t care about their fancy security measures, that include titanium restraint bars and a manual return mechanism in case of power failure, I ‘m just not getting on that thing!

 

Photos: Stratosphere Hotel and Casino/Facebook

The geoduck or gooyduck is the largest species of clams on the face of the earth. The clam itself is 15 to 20 cm long, which is pretty big but the really impressive part is its long siphon that often reaches one meter in length. it weighs between 0.5 and 1.5 kilograms, but there have been stories about 7.5 kg heavy gooyducks.

The incredible aspect of the gooeyduck isn’t only limited to its size, but also to its lifespan. It has a life expectancy of 146 years, which makes it one of the longest-living organisms in the animal reign.

As repulsive as they look (personal opinion) geoducks are a delicacy in China and Japan, where they are often eaten raw, sashimi style.

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But before you think about getting one for your special someone, there are a few things you should know. First of all the Titan Arum‘s flowering stalk reaches a height of 3 meters and has a diameter of over a meter, so it’s going to be pretty hard to carry. And second of all and, most importantly, it reeks like a decomposing dead body…that’s why it’s sometimes known as “the corpse flower”

It’s native to the rainforests of central Sumatra, Indonesia and it rarely blooms in captivity, so when that actually happens it’s a pretty big deal. Haven’t seen one up close yet, but considering the smell, I consider myself lucky.

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The Karni Mata Hindu temple was built by Maharajah Ganga Singh in the early 1900s as a tribute to the rat goddess, Karni Mata and the most intriguing aspect of it, is that it’s home for over 20.000 worshiped rats.

The legend behind this temple is that Karni Mata, a matriarch from the 14th century was a reincarnation of Durga, the goddess of power and victory. at one point one of her clansmen’s child died and she tried to bring it back to life only to be told by Yama, the god of death that he had already reincarnated as a rat. Karni Mata struck a deal with Tama, that all her dead clansmen would reincarnate as rats, until they were ready to be born again into the tribe.

It’s a nice story but I can’t stop thinking about how that place must smell…

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Ivrea is a small town, about 40 minutes north of Turin, Italy. It isn’t a very animated settlement, but once a year, during the Orange Battle Carnival, Ivrea comes to life. the battle is an allegoric representation of the medieval insurrection of 1194, against the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick of Swabia. Masked, armored men throw oranges at the crowd who in turn throw them back at them, until the streets are covered by a carpet of squashed oranges that is sometimes even 30 cm thick…

As much fun as I’m sure this carnival is I have to wonder if those oranges, like the bananas in the banana wall, would have been more appreciated by some starving children in a third world country. But hey, that’s just me…

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Situated in the village of Jukkasjärvi, 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, in Sweeden, the Icehotel is one of the most fantastic tourist locations on the face of the Earth. Using pure, clear ice from the frozen Torne River, artists from all around the world come to Jukkasjärvi every year, to sculpt beautiful ice and snow structures. We are not aware of how spicy the prices are ( you can check here) but we’re sure it’s a unique experience that’s gotta be worth every penny!

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The Stipa-Caproni prototype aircraft was basically a venturi tube fitted with 120hp de Havilland Gypsy III engine and a propeller at the front end of the tube. It was built by Caproni in 1932 but it never went into mass production because…well, it didn’t really fly; the original test report says the strange plane only flew for a distance of 500m at a height of 5/6 meters. A unique replica of the odd looking flying machine is owned by Lynette Zuccoli, from Brisbane, Australia.

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Tough Guy is a traditional English challenge, in which the participants have to use every ounce of their energy just to get to the finish line. to give you an idea of how tough this event is, the promoters say that the US S.E.A.L.S. “Grinder” Assault Course is the only thing that barely comes close in terms of difficulty.

Photo: A-punkt/Wikimedia Commons

 

If you’re ever in New Zealand, don’t miss out the chance to visit Waitomo cave, the only place on Earth where the stars shine underground. Well ok, they’re not really stars, but thousands of glow-worms radiating their unmistakable luminescent light.

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Albino moose are very rare but they do exist, scientists say that 1 in 100.000 moose inherit this genetic trait. This moose has been spotted last week near the town of Whitefish, Montana, searching for food, with two other normal moose:

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Look at these pictures and tell me if this looks like a normal 6 month old baby…He’s from Iran, and at the tender age of six months he already weighs over 20 kilograms. He weighed a normal 3 kilograms at birth, but the mother says since then he started gaining very fast, because he was asking for food every hour. They look happy in the pictures, but they should do something about the child’s eating disorder until it’s too late…

Arowana is a tropical fish, living in the quiet waters of lakes and rivers. It varies from 60 to 120cm in length, and still manages to leap up to 3 meters above the water. The most fascinating thing about the Arowana is that it is a mouth brooder, it is capable of carrying hundreds of eggs in its mouth and, even after they hatch, the little fish live in the mother’s mouth for a considerable time before they venture out on their own.

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