To make sure they squeeze some money out of them, young Chinese beggars have begun clinging to the legs of their victims.

Picture this: you’re walking down the street, minding your own business when this helpless little beggar girl comes up to you and asks you to buy a flower. You say something like “no thanks” and move on. But wait, one of your legs seems to be immobilized. You look down at the leg and see that same girl wrapped around it saying she isn’t going to let go until you buy a flower. This sort of harassment takes place more and more often on the streets of China’s major cities.

Now, considering there’s rarely any police around to help you with the issue, there are two things you can do. One way to resolve this would be to kick her with your other leg, but what kind of animal hits a child, right? So your only other option is to actually buy the flower and see to your business. Maybe you think there are other ways to escape the grip of these persistent beggars, but those already trapped by one say they don’t let go no matter how hard you try to reason with them or even hit them.

So the obvious question is: are these clinging beggars to blame? I would be inclined to say no, because they’re just doing what they must to survive. There are criminals that send them to “work” every day and if they don’t earn their keep, they’re in serious trouble.

via bbs.163.com

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Held at the Tokyo Big Site, on Odaiba Island, the Tokyo Nail Expo featured some of the most amazing fingernail artworks.

Apparently, the nail industry is really big in Japan right now, so it’s no wonder they’ve actually organized an exposition where nail artists could showcase their latest masterpieces. The Japanese nail industry has grown to 200 million yen, so it’s no wonder this year’s event drew in a crowd of approximately 50,000.

I’m not a big fan of painted, long nails, but I have to admit the nail artworks presented at the Tokyo Nail Expo 2009 were pretty impressive.

Photos by Junko Kimura/GETTY IMAGES

via 923NOW

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Damn, I’m so thirsty, I’d kill for a bottle of Buffalo Wings right now. Whew, thank God for Meat Water, right?

The best way to describe Meat Water drink is “dinner in a bottle”. This high efficiency survival beverage brings you all your favorite foods in liquid form. that’s right why bother cooking Italian meatballs, pizza, fried oysters or whatever else you like, when you can just drink them out of the bottle?

Apparently, Meat Water is perfect for athletes because it allows them to cut down on exercing and eating time and allows them to enjoy themselves. Of course that doesn’t apply to me because, one: I’m not an athlete, and two: I actually enjoy myself when eating.

Read more about Meat Water on their official site

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A tarantula clinging on your back isn’t something you’d pay for, but that’s exactly what this dude Kevin did.

Ok, so it’s not a real tarantula, but still, it’s very creepy. the Tarantula Backpack was designed by Tamera, a talented Australian artist who creates a variety of 2D and 3D creepy toys and artworks. This particularly scary masterpiece was commissioned by Kevin,  who uses it to get his sick father’s blood pumping. After undergoing cancer surgery he needed to get his blood flowing, so his son thought placing his newly acquired Tarantula Backpack on the end of his bed would do the trick.

The fluffy tarantula unzips beneath its mandibles and you can store all your stuff inside. I thought the Black Dragon Backpack was creepy, but this is even scarier.

via Trendhunter

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Cody, a Chocolate Labrador is one of the most valued employees of a conveniance store from Clearwater, Florida.

Karim Manour started bringing Cody to work with him about five months ago, during the early shifts. At first it was just so he could have some company, but customers that spotted the fury rascal fell in love with him instantly. Seeing his beloved pet was so popular, he decided to throw the dog a bone, as it were, and gave him a job.

Now Cody has his very own t-shirt and name tag and is up for the employee of the year award, because of his growing customer approval rating. The mutt doesn’t really work as a clerk, but he does manage to calm-down angry people and make sad people feel better simply by being his adorable self. Now if that doesn’t deserve a raise, I don’t know what does.

Photos by Jim Damaske

via Tampa Bay

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It may look like an ordinary old stagecoach, but, in truth, there’s nothing ordinary about this colorful masterpiece.

After seeing a smaller model of a stagecoach made from toothpicks in the window of a store, Terry Woodling  decided he was going to build his own life-size replica. This was back in 1981, but he didn’t really get started until Thanksgiving of 1994. Also known as “Me. Toothpick”, 72-year-old Terry spent 15 years of his life working on his one of a kind toothpick stagecoach, in Warsaw, Indiana.

More than 1.5 million flat toothpicks went into the project, bound together by a whole lot of glue. The fact that it’s glued was  actually why his stagecoach didn’t get acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records. But Mr. Toothpicks isn’t too disappointed and decided to donate it to the local Warsaw Museum. But his extraordinary creation caught the eye of Ripley’s Believe It or Not and got a place in their famous museum.

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With a price tag of $3.14 million, the iPhone 3GS Supreme, designed by Stuart Hughes, is the most expensive cell phone on Earth.

The exclusive gadget has a solid 22 carat gold casing that weighs 271 grams as well as considerable number of flawless diamonds. The iPhone 3GS Supreme was designed by British artist Stuart Hughes for Goldstriker International, a company that specializes in creating extravagant mobile phones.

It took ten months to complete, but the final result is more opulent than you could have ever imagined. The front side of the iPhone 3GS Supreme features 136 flawless diamonds, while the Apple logo on the back is made from 36 diamonds. The directional key of the phone is  a rare 7.1 carat diamond. It also comes in an over the top 7 kg case, made from a single block of granite.

Unfortunately you’ll never get to hold this technological treasure in your hands, as it has already been acquired by an anonymous Australian business from the gold mining industry.

via gizmag

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On November 25, a yam and taro contest crowned the largest yam of 2009, in South-West China.

As one of the biggest yam and taro supplier in China, Anhe Township held the seventh annual Yam King Contest. Farmers from all around the area brought their biggest harvested yams hoping they’ll snatch the title of yam King 2009.

The winner of the contest was a 1.66 meters-long yam that weighed 38 kilograms. I bet that’s big enough to feed the farmer’s whole family for a long time.

via Xinhua

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Brixels is an Austrian company that specializes in creating portraits using LEGO bricks. Just send them a photo and they’ll send you back the perfect Christmas gift.

The amazing LEGO mosaics you see below were created with thousands of  1×1 bricks in four different colors (black, white, dark gray and light gray). Although the guys at Brixels have made LEGO portraits of celebrities like Barack Obama, Marylin Monroe or Bruce Lee, it doesn’t mean you can’t have your face recreated with LEGO.

In fact, the company presents its clients with two options. Other send them the photo and receive a LEGO kit that you can put together yourself, or have them piece it together. Sure the last option is more expensive, but considering these things are made of up to 4,600 pieces, you migt one to consider it.

Brixels (cool name, don’t you think?) was founded by Stefan Sacherer, a 29-year-old graphic designer from Salzburg. A big LEGO fan, Stefan built his first mosaic as a present for his girlfriend. The positive reactions of their friends inspired him to open Brixels, in order to allow people to create their own LEGO portraits.

Damn good idea, if I do say so myself!

Check out the high-speed of a LEGO mosaic being assembled, at the bottom.

Photos by REX FEATURES

via Telegraph.co.uk

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We all know sleeping in a bear-inhabited forest can be pretty hazardous to your health. That’s what artists Eiko Ishizawa was thinking when she designed her Bear Sleeping-Bag.

Unless you take all the necessary precautions, like wrap the food and hang it in a tree as far away as you can, chances are you’re going to be mauled by a bear, while camping. Ok, so it doesn’t happen that often, but the point is now you have an extra safety measure. The bear-shaped sleeping bag makes you look just like a bear and if you’re lucky enough, hungry bears will probably mistake you for the real thing and leave you in one piece.

But there are some risks once you strap on this comfortable outfit. You might run into a horny bear who wants to have his way with you or maybe some rednecks with guns could spot you and see nothing more than another hunting trophy. The point is you should think twice before sleeping in the Bear Sleeping Bag.

Just in case you feel you want one, check out Eiko Ishizawa’s official site and see if you find one for sale.

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One of Britain’s most bizarre racing events, the annual Pantomime Horse Grand National Race is also one of the most fun.

Designed as a parody of the Grand National horse race held in Antree, the Pantomime Horse Grand National draws in thousands of people to the city center of Birmingham, all eager to watch the competitors and bet on the winner.

Contestants pay a 50 pounds fee to enter the competition and slip into their plush horse costumes for a chance to win the grand prize, a bottle of champagne. I know it’s not much, but it really isn’t about the winnings at all. All the money raised from entrance fees, sponsorships and betting on the sidelines go to the Lord Mayor’s charity funds.

This year, the 7th edition of the Thomas Vale Pantomime Horse Grand National had contestants competing in a grueling 12-jump course. In the men’s race James Bamber and his “horse” Hoof Hearted claimed the no. 1 spot, while in the girl’s challenge Nicki Mills and her Spank The Donkey came first. The funny event raised around 4,000 pounds.

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48-year-old Peter Longstaff is living proof that ambition and hope can overcome pretty much anything. Although he is armless, he manages to create artworks most of us couldn’t paint with three hands.

Ever since he can remember has had get around using only his feet. He had the misfortune of being born in a time when mothers were given thalidomide, a drug that alleviated morning sickness. But it also caused serious deformities in newborns and Peter was seriously affected by it.

Fortunately, this serious handicap didn’t affect the artist’s ambition and, starting from an early age, he figured out how to get things done with his feet. Now he says his right foot is like a normal person’s right hand. He can operate switches, open doors, all while gracefully balancing on just one leg.

Before embracing art, Peter Longstaff worked on a pig farm where he had to drive tractors, stack hay and handle the animals. He didn’t leave because work got too much for him, but because the market was getting to crowded. He retired and turned to art. He quickly enlisted in a movement called “Mouth and Foot Painting Artists”, as a student, and now his works are displayed all over the world.

Peter specializes in landscape paintings and also makes Christmas cards. His works are on display at the Picturecraft Gallery in Holt, Britain, from Friday till Christmas Eve.

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A dealership from The Netherlands has come up with an original idea to attract customers and boost sales by covering a Porsche 911 Carrera with chocolate.

With the Dutch feast of Sinterklaas just around the corner, the owner of a car dealership thought of an appropriate way to celebrate Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, and draw attention at the same time. He ended up covering up a new Porsche 911 in 175 kilograms of Swiss chocolate.

Don’t worry, the chocolate didn’t ruin the paintjob of this $250,000 jewel. The guys at the dealership made sure it was fully covered in cling wrap before poring the molten chocolate. The headlights and foglights were created with a few pounds of white chocolate.

Sure you can’t really eat this chocolate Porsche, but you can sure lick you’re way through the chocolate.

Photos via Autoinfection

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The PL Peace Tower in Tondabayashi, a town close to Osaka, Japan is by far one of the most “bizarre yet cool” buildings I have ever seen.

One of the many structures located in the PL Holy Land, the PL Peace Tower was built back in 1970, using the newest construction technique at the time. It belongs to the Perfect Liberty Church, a religious movement founded in 1924 that teaches its followers that “Life is Art” and they should express themselves in everuthing they do.

The shape of the PL Peace Tower, resembling a single finger pointing at the sky, symbolizes one of the church founder’s revelation that ” the truth is one”. It’s also an international symbol of world peace. Inside the Peace Tower you’ll find an unlimited list of people who lost their lives because of human wars.

The PL Peace Tower is 180 meters high and thanks to a low center of gravity (only 12 meters above ground), it can tilt up to 45 degrees and swing back to its original position. This makes it extremely resistant to earthquakes. Its strange but fascinating shape was achieved through the use of shotcrete, spaying concrete onto wire netting.

Photos via Juergen Specht

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19-year-old Annie Drew has developed a new painting technique by applying paint with a piece of hardwood a little bigger than a matchstick.

The talented painter from Torquay, Devon thinks she might be the only artist in the world who uses this technique, which she calls the “pixellation technique“. It’s a really meticulous job, but it was the only way to “create a piece of wildlife art in mosaic” without turning to pointillism, which is completely accidental.

For example,to create the silverback gorilla painting bellow, Annie Drew applied 75,000 paint dots in 40 different colors. The whole thing took over 100 hours to complete.

Photos by APEX

via Telegraph.co.uk

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