Designed and built by Jili David, voted the most influential Czech artist of the last 20 years, this impressive work of art was unveiled on March 9, in the Franz Kafka Square of Prague.

Made using 85,741 metal keys, the sculpture symbolizes the 20 years that have passed since the Velvet Revolution. Keys were picked as the main theme because jangling keys were the symbol of pro-democratic rallies, organized by Vaclav Havel, in 1989.

The 6-meter-tall artistic construction spells the  word “Revoluce” (Revolution) with the lower letters considerably distorted. There has been some controversy regarding Jili David’s key sculpture, because the work was commissioned by international telecommunications company, Vodafone, who also collected the keys. Money from an international company, for a national symbol raised some questions in the Czech Republic.

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Made by the guys at RoboSteel, an Irish company specialized in creating artistic sculptures out of scrap metal, this Optimus Prime replica is the best I’ve ever seen.

Characterized as “the most amazing steel sculpture ever created by RoboSteel” this Optimus Prime sculpture is made of over 5,000 recycled steel parts, collected from a car, a boat, a motorbike, a dishwasher, a television and others. It’s 2.5 meters tall and weighs an impressive 550 kilograms.

Recycled Optimus Prime has been coated with several layers of strong, protective lacquer, and all the sharp edges were removed. Now it’s ready to guard your home against Decepticons, provided you’re willing to fork out 5,500 euro for it. It may not be as big as the Transformer drying laundry in Taiwan, but it definitely looks better.

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Sujet Salee is a 29-year-old Thai boxer who fought his way to becoming a champion, despite being blind, since birth.

Sujet began his boxing career in October of 2008 and since ten has won 5 fights and drew once. He fights against other boxers, who are blindfolded to even the scales. According to his trainers, Sujet Salee has an edge over his opponents, because of his heightened remaining senses. As soon as he makes contact with his opponent he begins attacking, often knocking him down with an elbow hit.

The blind champion’s father was a Muay Thai fighter, and, in spite of his handicap, Sujet wanted to walk in his footsteps. At first, he admits he didn’t think he could handle it, but after years of training, he has become a season fighter, able to fight anyone in a match of blind Thai boxing.

Cherdchai Sangketkij, owner of the boxing camp where Sujet Salee trains, has been blind for 20 years, and understands Sujet’s desire to succeed. He hopes, one day blind, Thai boxing will become a national sport for the blind, and not be perceived as a violation of the rights of the handicapped.

Photos by REUTERS via Reuters

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69-year-old Ruth Flowers is a living example that age shouldn’t get in the way of things you’re passionate about. Like Bette Calman, the Yoga super-granny, Ruth does extraordinary things, for her age.

Known as “Mammy Rock“, around the European club scene, Ruth Flowers is probably the oldest professional DJ in the world. The British granny wears bling-bling headphones, trendy clothes and sports an electrifying hear-do as she works the turntables in popular clubs, in France.

Mammy Rock’s career began when she was 65. Her grandson was celebrating his birthday in a London nightclub, and asked Ruth to join him and his friends. There were a few problems with the bouncers, who didn’t feel right letting a senior citizen inside such an establishment, but as soon as she stepped in, Mammy Rock was bewitched by the lively atmosphere that made her feel so much younger.

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A Russian ship enthusiast spent two and a half years working on a 1:200 scale model of the RMS Titanic, made mainly out of paper.

A Ukrainian forum user that goes by the name of Henschel has posted some interesting photos of a Titanic model, on which he has been working for over 2 and a half years. Apparently he studied blueprints of the iconic ship from books and online, before he began his work.

Apparently, the main material used to build this model was paper punch cards. He also made good use of drawing paper, yarn, fishing line and wire. The paper components were covered with waterproof varnish, and the RMS survived the bathtub test, as you can see in one of the photos, below.

Henschel also fitted his paper Titanic with some electrical equipment, powered by a 6-volt battery, located below deck. The rudder is operated via remote-control and the entire ship is illuminated by small light bulbs and LEDs.

The awesome paper Titanic model apparently cost around $125 to complete. Pretty cheap for such a thing of beauty. Te photos aren’t exactly HD, but you can get an idea of how much work went into this project.

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A 200-year old willow processing company has recently targeted the coffin business, and apparently had great success.

P H Coate & Son’s English Willow Coffins, from Somerset, England,  has started offering dead people an alternative to traditional wooden coffins. Some individuals are just bored by the same old wooden coffins, as if they died and have been buried in them too many times. Anyway, John Parfitt and company say willow is the more popular pick these days, because of it alluring aesthetics (cough!) and environmental reasons.

Willow coffins are hand-crafted by skilled willow basket masters (that explains why they look more like coffin-shaped baskets), using a traditional method, and clients have a selection to pick from. Environmentalist are going to go mad for these babies, but what about those artistic wooden coffins from Ghana, what happens to them?

Photos by Matt Cardy/Getty Images Europe via Zimbio

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A team of wacky scientists from BBC1’s “Bang Goes the Theory” TV show, have converted a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco into a coffee-powered car, nicknamed Car-puccino.

As revolutionary as this concept sounds, it’s more of a fun project than a cost-efficient one. The idea behind Car-puccino is relatively simple: coffee, like wood or coal, has traces of carbon in it, so it burns. Use a bucket load of coffee, heat it enough to break it down into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, direct the gases towards the engine, and you’ve got yourself a running vehicle.

That sounds easy enough, but there is a down-side to using coffee as fuel. First of all, it’s between 25 and 50 times more expensive than petrol. Car-puccino is schedule to journey 210 miles, from Manchester to London, and the team estimates it will burn through 70 kilos of coffee. Multiply that by 13-26 British pounds per kilo (depending on the quality and brand) and you get some pretty big numbers. Plus, Car-puccino will have to pull over every 60 miles or so, so the crew can clean up the filters of tar.

Pretty original idea, but I doubt we’ll ever see Car-puccino go into production. I wonder what the exhaust fumes smell like, though…Espresso?

Daily Mail via AutoRoyalty

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Zhang Ruifang, a 100-year old woman, from China’s Henan Province, has a strange horn coming out of the left side of her forehead.

This reminds me so much of the horned lady, but Zhang’s horn is much more…horn-like. The 1-century-old woman says her bizarre horn started growing last year, and now measures between 5 and 6 cm in length. Although the horn causes her no pain, I can only imagine how unhappy this poor woman is with her situation. Read More »

For Dr. Val Kolpakov, a dentist from Saginaw, Michigan, dentistry is more than just a profession, it’s a hobby. He managed to put together the largest collection of toothpastes in the world, just for fun.

Doctor Kolpakov began collecting toothpastes after reading about Carsten Gutzeit, a German who had collected 500 tubes of toothpaste. He thought that was a great hobby for a man of his profession, so he started contacting all his dentist friends, from foreign countries, and asked them to send him whatever toothpastes they used there. He also started a website, toothpasteworld.com, and began searching for toothpastes on eBay.

His impressive toothpaste collection now stands at 1,800, and includes various flavors, from chocolate, to bamboo and several alcoholic drinks. The most valuable item in Dr. Val’s collection, is an antique Georgian tooth powder box, from 1801, that he paid $1,500 for. Back then toothpaste wasn’t even invented.

Another interesting item is the radioactive Doramund toothpaste, dating back to World War 2, when people believed radioactive materials would help rebuild gum tissue.

A new Guinness Book category has been approved, specifically for Doctor Kolpakov, and now all he need do is submit proof that he has the world’s largest collection of toothpastes.

Photos by Ashley L. Conti/ The Saginaw News via mlive

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Spanish industrial designer Enock Amengol has designed a set edible of chairs and a side table that seem stolen from the gingerbread house of Hansel and Gretel.

Sure they’re shaped like chairs, but judging bu their frail look, it doesn’t seem like they can handle some real weight. But, on the other hand, they do what no ordinary chair can: they feed you. That’s right, just pour some olive oil on these babies and you got yourselves some delicious over-sized bruschette.

Baked to symbolize the short-time life of furniture, nowadays, the bread furniture of Enoc Amengol, also known as Panpaati, are 100% degradable and 100% cool.

via Core77

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No time to travel? That’s no reason to kill the globetrotting mood for everybody. At least. give your favorite plush toy the chance to see one of the world’s greatest cities.

Toy Traveling, a new travel agency in the Czech Republic, has come up with an original plan to keep afloat in times of economical crisis. The owners of this unique company were inspired by the 2001 French hit movie, Amelie. Basically they offer people the chance to send their favorite toys on a memorable journey through Prague.

Your stuffed animal will get to see memorable sights like Prague Casle or Charles Bridge, and get his picture taken at all the major landmarks in the city. This is just the basic package, if you want your toy to really have a good time, you can pay extra for a massage, aromatherapy and even a picnic.

Prices start at 90 euro and go all the way to 150 euro, with all the extra services. It’s not cheap, but your plush toy will love you for it.

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Tito Ingenieri, from Quilmes, Argentina, claims he has spent the last 19 years collecting bottles and using them to build an environment-friendly house.

Now, we’ve seen impressive bottle-made structures before, like the Bottle Temple of Thailand, or the house of plastic bottles, near Iguazu Falls, but none as impressive as Tito Ingenieri’s bottle house. I know it doesn’t look very stylish, but the man did spend almost two decades of his life working on it. During this time he collected 6 million non-returnable glass bottles, and asked his neighbors to save their bottles for him.

Mr. Ingenieri says his unusual home also acts as an alarm, when the waters of a nearby river are rising. The southern winds blowing into the necks of the glass bottles, makes a whistling sound. He also adds that he can teach anyone who’s interested in building a bottle house like his. If that’s you, check out his website for contact information.

via Treehugger

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Huang Cheng-nan, a ceramic master from China, has created a series of beautiful ceramic bowls, thinner than China’s Jingdae bowl, the thinnest ceramic in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Huang Cheng-nan’s ceramic bowls range from 12 cm to 20 cm in diameter, weigh between 4 and 8 grams, and are between 0.15 and 0.18 mm thick. His works are so light they can easily be supported by a cobweb. These fragile works of art are on display in Taipei, and will soon be acknowledged as the thinnest ceramic bowls on Earth.

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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Although the names of those who get treated here are never revealed, Thamkrabok Monastery has had many famous patients, from movie stars to high ranking politicians.

Hidden away in a forest, 140 km north of Bankok, Thailand, the Buddhist Monastery of Thamkrabok takes in alcoholics and drug users from all over the world. Unlinke famous detox clinics like Betty Ford (California), or Priory (London), this Thai monastery doesn’t have paparazzi lurking around, and it’s a lot cheaper. One month at Betty Ford Clinic costs $23,000, while just one week at Priory amounts to 5,000 pounds. At Thamkrabok Monastery, all you need is $3 for food, because treatment and accomodations are supported by donations.

Photos by GETTY IMAGES

The rehab treatment at Thamkrabok lasts 10 days, and only those who come of their own free will, are willing to follow all instructions, and are committed to kicking their habit for good, are welcome. When they decide to go to Thamkrabok Monastery, patients must realize they are in for a rude awakening. No matter their social status or wealth, patients will have to sleep in a mass dormitory, wake up very early and take every medicine given by the monks.

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Mable, a one-year-old hen, from Shrewsbury, Britain, has the impression she is a dog and takes the role of mother for a group of puppies.

Owners Edward and Ros Tate saved Mable from endig up in someone’s cooking pot, when she was hatched, a year ago. They’ve taken her in as a pet, but never noticed her strong maternal instinct, until Nettle, their dog, gave birth to puppies. The chicken observed the dog’s behaviour, and one day, as soon as Nettle left her nest, she hopped into her basket, snuggling up to the puppies, to keep them warm.

To the surprise of the owners and the actual mother, Mable keeps taking over the basket whenever she gets the chance.

via Daily Mail

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