The Jumbo Jet Hostel

Starting this January, the Arlanda Airport, in Stockholm, Sweden, has become home to the world’s first plane-hotel.

The idea of creating a hotel in an old 747 jumbo-jet belongs to Oscar Dios, a 36-years-old businessman that hopes the outrageous location will draw in lots of clients. The plane had been abandoned for six years, after flying for Singapore Airlines, PanAm and the Swedish leasing company Transjet, ever since 1976.

Since it was taking up a lot of space, something had to be done about it, so Dios’ idea was accepted immediately. The Jumbo Hostel can accomodate 74 people, at the moment, in 25 simple, 70’s style rooms. The jet’s upper deck has been transformed into a conference hall, while the cockpit has been converted into a wedding chappel.

The Jumbo Hostel already has 200 reservations.

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Where Electronics Go to Die

No, electronics are not recycled the same way as ordinary trash. Electronics have their own graveyard, and it’s called Guiyu.

Guiyu is a town in China that is known as the largest electronic waste site on the planet. One million tons of electronics waste are shipped here every year, mostly from North America, Japan and South Korea. Since 1995, Guiyu has been attracting peasants from the area to work as electronics processors. They only receive about $1,50 for a sixteen hours work-day collecting valuable metals and usable parts from broken devices.

Guiyu is a very dangerous work environment, with some of the highest levels of dioxin ever recorded. The soil is saturated with led and other heavy metals while the water from the area is undrinkable. People that visit Guiyu experience strange headaches and metallic taste in their mouths.

Despite this, Guiyu’s electronic waste business is very profitable,  each year producing more than$75 million.

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The Amazing Creature That Is the Silkworm

Silkworms are extraordinary creatures that play a huge economic role in the world of man.

If you didn’t know the silkworm is the only completely domesticated insect in the world, which means it can not survive naturally in the wild.They are bread for their precious cocoon, that is processed into the precious material we know as silk.

Silkworms are only fed mulberry tree leaves, on which they nibble non-stop, day and night. This causes them to grow incredibly fast and start creating their precious cocoon. That is made out of a continuous silk thread between 300m and 900 m long.

Koreans appreciate the silkworm as a delicacy as they are a great source of protein and after they die they become infected with Beauveria bassiana fungus, which is used in Chinese traditional medicine.

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Too Cute to Eat

Impressive food-art that makes you want to play with your food.

Fruit and vegetables can become real works o art in the hands of a person with imagination and the pics below are proof of that.

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The Salt Hotel of Bolivia

Built on the vast salt desert of Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia, the Salt Hotel has become a popular tourist attraction.

The Salt Hotel of Salar de Uyuni is sort of similar to the Ice Hotel of Sweden, only it’s never in any danger of melting. The Salt Hotel is built out of salt blocks carved from the white, salty lake surrounding it. The only things that aren’t made of salt are the tin roof covered by straw, the pool table, the lighting devices and, of course, the toilets.

The Salt Hotel was first inhabited by the salt-miners of Salar de Uyuni, but now it has been reconditioned as a tourist attraction and a salt pool has been built.

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Creepy Carnival in Macedonia

Macedonians love their Vevchanski Carnival but most would find it a bit sickening

More than 1,400 years old, the Vevchanski Carnival held in the Macedonian village of Vevchani, blends pagan and contemporary traditions, drawing huge crowds every year. The entire village becomes a giant theater and every street and household is a different scene where people dress-up and become actors.

The three traditional masks of the Vevchanski Carnival are the bride, the groom and August the fool, all the others are worn by groups of people openly mocking the events and personalities of every-day life. Judging by the photos, the people of the Vevchanski Carnival have a thing for blood and the grotesque.

The Vevchanski Carnival takes place every year on the 13 and 14 of January, leading up to the first day of the new year, judging by the old calendar.

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GAZ-13 Chaika – An Old School Limousine

The GAZ-13 Chaika is an old, rare Soviet limousine with a sinister history.

GAZ -13 Chaika is clear proof the soviets had class when it came to building luxury vehicles and its design is appreciated by collectors in modern days. Only 3,719 Chaika limousines were ever built so they are prized treasures for auto enthusiasts, but for the Russians who remember the days of the comunist regime, they are just a dark memory.

Soviet leaders loved the GAZ-13 Chaika and so did the senior KGB officers of the 60s and 70s, but for average Russians the Chaika was just a symbol of the power the Comunist Party had over them. The large rear seat of the GAZ-13 Chaika made it easy for KGB operatives to simply drive by “suspicious” citizens and pull them inside.

Very few GAZ-13 Chaika are around today, since Russian policy had them destrtoyed after they completed their duty cycle.

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Eating the Bull’s Eye

Instead of hitting the bull’s eye some people choose to eat it.

I can’t believe they sell something as disgusting as a bull’s eye as food in a supermarket. Even more surprising is the fact that there are people who would buy, boil and eat something like that. Sure, it’s a matter of cultural diversity, but damn that bull’s eye looks anything but edible.

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Commando Bentley

Army-camouflage has to be the worst pain choice for a Bentley.

I think I’d rather drive Paris Hilton’s pink Bentley than get behind the wheel of this odd looking thing. I think army-camouflage should be banned as a luxury vehicle paint, it just makes no sense.

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The Traffic Light Tree of London

The Sculpture imitates the natural landscape of the adjacent London Plane Trees, while the changing pattern of the lights reveals and reflect the never ending rhythm of the surrounding domestic, financial and commercial activitiesThis  is how artist Pierre Vivant described his work of art, when he completed it in 1998.

The Traffic Light Tree can be found on the traffic control roundabout, at the junctions of Heron Quay Bank, Marsh Wall and Wesferry Road.

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Barbie Got Old

Barbie dolls may be forever young, but the real-life Barbie ages just like every one of us.

The woman you see in the photos is Angelyne, a local pseudo-celebrity in Los Angeles and Hollywood, who compares herself to the famous Barbie. She started gaining notoriety when a series of billboards featuring her started popping up around Los Angeles, in the early 80s. She made an appearence on television, during that time, on an Alan Thicke show, but since then her bilboards got more coverage than she has.

Angelyne drives a pink Corvette with the shortened “ANGLYNE” license plates and has a pink maltese named Buddha. Though it was believed a wealthy husband pays for all the Angelyne billboards around LA, Angelyne, who is single, credits “investors: for financing her advertising.

Angelyne once had a billboard that said “Barbie wishes she were me”. I bet it’s the other way around now.

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Disney Makes Food Now?

Times are hard and the economic crisis is leaving its mark on all of us, but it seems Disney is feeling it the most. As you can see in the photos there are all sorts of Disney foods available for purchase, from pate to a cheap kind of salami, called “parizer”.

These are clearly not original Disney products, just like the Street Fighter energy drink is also clearly a fake, but it’s interesting to see how far some companies can go to sell their merchandise.

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Eliica – World’s Fastest Electric Car

The Eliica prototype created quite a lot of hype when it was unveilled in 2003, both because of its incredible specifications and ugly looks. Eliica is a fully electric super-car created by a team of engineers from Keio University, Japan. The eight-wheeled vehicle is powered by a pack of large lithium-ion batteries that help it go from 0 to 100 km. per hour in just 4 seconds and reach a top speed of 402 km/h.

Each of Eliica‘s eight wheels produce 80 horsepower and its batteries provide power for a 321 km ride. Hiroshi Shimizu, head of the Eliica project, is considering producing a limited series. The exclusive super-car costs &320,000.

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Source

Biggest Boar Ever?

I searched for some info about whether this really is the biggest boar ever seen, but I couldn’t find anything conclusive. In any case this is one big animal and I bet boars don’t get much larger than this. But like anything else that lives and breathes, it had to be hunted down and killed by “brave” hunters. After all why let it leave peacefully in its environment when we can cut of his head and place it on our trophy wall? Makes perfect sense to me.

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Street Fighter Energy Drink

Who knew Street Fighter energy drinks even existed?
I’m a big fan of Street Fighter games and I can’t wait for the fourth installment to be launched this year. I even liked that van Damme movie everyone hated but a Street Fighter energy drink? It’s called Street Fighter Dragon Punch and it’s probably really popular with kids. If Red Bull gives you wings, Dragon Punch knocks you out?

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