The festival-friendly city of Leipzig, in Germany, has hosted the 19th edition Wave Gotik Treffen, considered the world’s largest Goth event.

Around 25,000 Goth fans, from all over Europe, gathered in Leipzig, four a 3 day festival (22 – 24 May), that started back in 1992. Covered in tons of eyeliner and makeup, and sporting shiny jewelry and extreme piercings, attendees paraded their eccentric outfits, on the city streets, and turned Leipzig into a dark fantasy realm, if only for a few days.

During the Wave Gotik Treffen, Goth enthusiasts enjoy Goth rock concerts, theatrical performances, film premieres, exhibitions and discussions on various philosophical topics. Take a look at some of the coolest costumes from the recently ended Wave Gotik Treffen 2010:

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In order to better familiarize the people of Chelyabinsk (the city that brought us the human smiley face) with the tragedies and heroes of World War II, local authorities have created a giant Hero Book.

6 meters long, 3 meters wide and weighing around 600 kilograms, the Hero Book of Chelyabinsk contains photos of the people who were killed here, during World War 2, and stories about how they fought for the freedom of Mother Russia.

Photos by CFP via Cri Online

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Inspired by a Charlie Chaplin comedy, the World Custard Pie Championship is held every year, since 1967, in the village of Coxheath, Britain.

Teams came from as far as Germany and South Africa to compete in one of the wackiest events on the face of the Earth. Working in teams of five, contestants had to throw pies as accurately as possible, and hit opponents in certain parts of their bodies, to gather as many points as possible. Hitting an adversary in the face, earns the maximum of six points. Judges will also grant an extra five points for original and amusing styles of pie throwing.

Twelve teams took part in the World Custard Pie Championship 2010, and the champions were the High Pressure Cleaning team, who disposed of last’s year’s winners, Coxheath, in the final match. The pies used don’t actually contain custard, but they are made using a secret recipe.

The World Custard Pie Championship began as a charity event, in 1967, and as the years went by, it became more and more popular. Now bankers, and other people working in stressful environments welcome the opportunity to just let go and pummel someone with pies.

Photos by DAVID ROSE via Telegraph.co.uk

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I’m glad to present an ice-cream that could go into the record  books as tastiest dessert ever created, the Every Topping under the Sun-dae

The idea for this delicious concoction belongs to the guys at TopCultured, who thought those giant Cold Stone ice-creams could be even better if they contained all the toppings the creamery offers. So they simply mixed all the 40 toppings (!!!) into one delicious piece of heaven, and had one guy go through the “torture” of eating the whole thing. In case your wondering, he did eat the entire Every Topping under the Sun-dae, and he’s still around to tell his tale.

This sweet heart-stopper consists of 1 quart of Sweet Cream ice cream, 1 quart of Oreo Cream Filling ice cream and the 40 toppings listed below:

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The Poutine Eating Championship is a yearly food-eating competition where the contestants have to eat as much poutine as possible, in just 10 minutes.

I bet you’re still stuck on poutine, right? Many people outside Canada have never even heard of this delicacy, but they just eat it up there in the north. Poutine consists of french fries, cheese curds and brown gravy. Some say it sounds disgusting, but I wouldn’t mind trying some.

Anyway, during the World Poutine Eating Championship 2010, contestants had to gobble up as much poutine as possible, in 10 minutes time. The winner, 24-year-old Pat Bertoletti, churned 13 lbs of the stuff, and won himself a $750 prize and a cool trophy. Asked what he was going to do with his prize, Pat said he will spend it in a bar.

REUTERS photos by Mark Blinch via Daylife

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One of the most popular exhibits at Ripley’s Believe It or Not, the famous Redwood Log House is made from the trunk of a single Redwood Tree.

Len Moore, the creator of this unusual house, got the idea to build the Redhouse Log House after he found shelter in the trunk of a burned down Redwood tree, during a storm. He decided to build his dream house out of the trunk of this giant tree, and spent months chiseling out the interior, and over a year to build it.

Building a house inside the trunk of a giant tree is impressive enough, but the mere fact that the tree was 1,900 years old makes it even more unbelievable. It once stood 247 feet high, and was 14 feet in diameter. Four log houses were built from the trunk of this Redwood tree, and the one owned by Ripley’s was the fourth cut from the tree, in 1938. It measures 33 feet in length and the 11,000 feet of lumber it contains, are enough to construct a five bedroom house.

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The village of Ganvie, in Benin, is the only human settlement in the world, built on stilts, in the middle of a lake, several kilometers from the nearest shore.

But people don’t just go ahead and build themselves a home, in the middle of a lake, they must have a serious reason. And the reason for the existence of Ganvie can be traced back to the 18th century, when a peaceful African tribe, the Tofinu, tired of running from the slaver tribe of Dom Homey, decided to build themselves a home, on Lake Nokoue.

The Dom Homey believed a terrible demon lived in the lake, and their ruthless warriors dared not set foot in its waters. The Tofinu had finally found their peace. But fast forward to present day,and the people of Ganvie are still reluctant to go on solid ground, although the threat of slavery is only a distant memory. They’ve ground accustomed to living on the water, and wouldn’t abandon their unique lifestyle, for anything.

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All you Batman fanboys out there, better get your tissues, so you don’t drool on your keyboards, because this Batpod replica is a treat.

We’ve seen cool Tumbler replicas before, but this is the first functional Batpod I’ve seen, so far. And the best thing about this thing is that it’s for sale. Sure, we can’t all just whip out $100,000 to buy it, but at least we can dream.

The 1:1 replica Batpod took several months to complete, including 2 months of research and over 1,000 hours of intense labor. Its frame and tubing are made of hardened steel, the covers and arm guards are high tensile strength fiberglass. The engine is a whopping 650cc, which features nitrous injection boost and water cooling.

In case you’re wondering this custom made Batpod can be ridden, and although it’s not street legal, it has been tested in a controlled environment. According to the seller, it can be made street legal, at the buyer’s request. Still I wouldn’t recommend taking this thing for a ride on the highway, if you value your life.

The auction for the Batpod replica is ongoing on eBay, so you still have a chance of snatching it, for $100,000.

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If you’re looking for a unique type of art, that’s dynamic and alive, you can’t go wrong with  the new FRAMEicariums, by Hugh Hayden and Katie Vitale.

Ant-farms are an interesting concept, but the two artistic duo have taken it one step further, and turned it into an original form of wall art. Using salvaged picture frames, artistic backgrounds and ant farms, they’ve come up with the FRAMEicariums, living paintings that change to the work moods of the ants that inhabit them.

FRAMEicariums come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from luxurious to minimalist, and have a price range of $80 – $900.

via Inhabitat

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Wat Phai Rong Wua has to be one of the most bizarre tourist attractions on the face of the Earth. Featuring scenes of torture, performed by devilish creatures, this Buddhist temple complex is what Thais expect hell to be like.

Mostly unkown to the Western world, Wat Phai Rong Wua is a popular destination for Buddhists, who flock here every year. Known as the location of the largest metal-cast Buddha figure in the world, and of the Palace of a Hundred Spires, Wat Phai Rong Wua also houses dozens of sculptures of people being tortured by demons and various monsters. Some are poked in the face with a tridents, while others suffer, with their insides hanging out, in the jaws of giant monsters. There’s blood everywhere and loudspeakers around the complex describe the tortures these sinners have to undergo.

Wat Phai Rong Wua doesn’t strike you as the kind of place you’d want to take your children, on a family vacation, but Thais from all over the country travel here, with their kids, to show them what can happen if they don’t say their prayers, or do bad deeds. Seems pretty weird, doesn’t it? I guess that’s why you hardly see any westerners around this place. Read More »

I’m sure you’ve seen Iron Man and War-Machine cosplay before, but I’m pretty sure you’ve never seen anything like this before.

We’ve seen some work of Iron Man fan, Anthony Le, in the past, I’ve even posted another War-Machine costume he made a while ago, but his latest masterpiece is simply too awesome for words. This talented costume creator built his first version of the War-Machine costume, before any footage from the first Iron Man movie came out, and he only used comics for inspiration.

But Anthony has come a long way, since his first costume, and is now sporting a kick-ass replica of the War-Machine costume worn by Jim Rhodes, in Iron Man 2. For the armor he used thin, high-impact urethane plates, joined together by around 1,500 rivets and washers, the helmet was sculpted from clay and enforced with a special resin mix, and the mounted shoulder gun was made from pipes and an old engine.

LEDs in the eyes and armor, and a small servo-motor that lifts the faceplate make this War-Machine costume even more real. As you can imagine, Anthony Le is a big hit at conventions, and he’s now working on other awesome costumes, for himself and clients. Chapeau!

Check out more awesome photos and a video, below.

Photos via Anthony Le

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The newly opened Inntel Hotel, in the Dutch town of Zaandam is now the main eye-catcher of the town center, due to its bizarre design, resembling a number of stacked houses.

Inntel Hotel is the brainchild of Dutch designer, Wilfried van Winden. Many of us see hotels as temporary homes, so he tried to emphasize this idea by designing it to look like a bunch of traditional Zaan houses, stacked over each other. The result of his vision is both unique and familar, and definitely stunning.

One can identify almost 70 houses in the design of Inntel Hotel, most of them green and one blue, right at the top.

via Dezeen

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Probably the only one of its kind, in the world, the Snake Temple, in Penang, Malaysia, is home to bothe people and some of the most dangerous snakes on Earth.

Located at Sungai Kluang, on Penang Island, the Snake Temple is also known as Temple of the Azure Cloud or Pure cloud Temple, in honor of Penang’s beautiful skies. It’s a safe haven for pit vipers, said to be servants of Chor Soo Kong, the resident deity of the temple. According to legend, Chor Soo Kong, who was a Chinese monk and healer, once offered shelter to the snakes of the jungle, who then started coming in of their own free will.

Thousands of devotees travel to the Snake Temple of Penang, every year, and they aren’t bothered by the dozens of venomous snakes coiled around the temple. Some say it’s the work of Chor Soo Kong, while others believe pit vipers, known as one of the most aggressive snake species, are made drowsy by the smoke of the incense burning in the temple.

Unfortunately, the snake population of the Penang Snake Temple has decreased constantly, due to the urbanization of the area. If you’re brave enough to enter, you should know there’s no admission fee.

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Many said she would never make it, but teenager Jessica Watson shut them all up when she completed her months long journey, and sailed into Sydney Harbor, on May 15, 2010.

The Australian sailor took off on her daring trip around the world, on October 18, 2009, all by herself. For over 200 days and 23,000 nautical miles, Jessica was all alone on her 30-foot-long pink yacht, “Ella’s Pink Boat”. She had to overcome strong winds, waves as high as mountains, and loneliness, in order to prove young people can accomplish their dreams, whatever they might be.

Ms. Watson said the toughest times were when bad weather was forecast, and she had to fight against monster storms. But she managed to keep her cool, kept her boat afloat, and against all odds, complete her journey around the world.

Having become the world’s youngest person to sail around the world, non-stop and unassisted, Jessica Watson captured the attention and admiration of the whole world, and become rich and famous, in consequence. While she was away at sea, her team managed to secure deals estimated at around $1 million, with several companies, including one of Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers. She also has a nationwide book tour coming up, for her “True Spirit: The Aussie Girl Who Took on the World” book, due to come out in July, as well as other souvenir sales.

But saying Jessica Watson did it all for media attention and profit just wouldn’t be fair. She is clearly in love with the ocean, and she said that even after seven lonely months at sea, she was reluctant to leave the pink yacht that had become “more than a home”.

Photos via CourrierMail

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Looking at the photo, below, you’re probably thinking something like “that’s a nice looking villa”, only it’s really just a Chinese public toilet.

This luxurious public facility was built on Nanshan Road, Xiamen, near the city’s residential area. It covers 100 square meters, offering clean, spacious toilets, for both men and women. Realizing people would probably mistake it for a private villa, city authorities placed a big “Nanshan public toilets” sign, on the balcony.

Even so, passers by were reluctant to use the fancy toilet, so another sign was added, on the sidewalk. This one says “free, open, civilized service”. Both men’s and women’s toilets feature artistically designed signs, and the second floor of this public toilet villa houses the administrator’s office. Although hundreds of people use this fancy restroom, every day, he says he never sensed any foul smells.

via CRI Online

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