I have to say these Chinese have a rich imagination, the needle technique to force soldiers keep their chin up is taken out of some kind of fairytale and the cross stuck to their backs…must be really uncomfortable at first but I bet it pays of in the end. Sure some may comment on the morality of these methods but they only think about the goal, not the means. Plus they have the Olympics to think about, it seams they cannot afford any imperfections.
Still I’m glad I’m glad to be living in democracy!
By Spooky onMay 13th, 2008 Category: Animals, Pics
This guy makes a horse feel like a dwarf.
Chilli is a black and white Fresian bull, weighing a whopping 1.25 tons and standing at 6 feet and 6 inches in height. Abandoned by its owner on the doorstep of the sanctuary he lives in today, when he was just 6 days old, back in 1999, Chilli grew up to become the biggest bovine in the world, according to Guinness Book of Records. according to Naomi Clarke, manager of the Ferne animal Sanctuary in Ferne, Somerset, the bull doesn’t eat as much as the other cows and yet he outgrows them by far. He’s also abnormally friendly and gentle.
You could say Chilli had a stroke of luck when he ended up in the shelter, because normally he would have ended up chopped into pieces and on the shelves of a meat market somewhere. Now he’s 9 years old and the proud owner of the title “Largest Bovine in the World“, nice going Chilli.
If you’ve ever smelled sulfur you understand why I call it hell.
This is Kawah Ijen on Java island, Indonesia, a unique location that sulfur calls home. Ijen crater is a yellow-greenish pit where locals that people go down in every day and come out with over 80 kilos of sulfur on their backs. personally I don’t know how they can handle the stinky fumes, but i guess hunger can drive a man to do anything. Near the crater there’s a beautiful acid lake, but as you might imagine, it has no inhabitants, the sulfur made sure of that.
You probably need a bike to make your way through the streets of this city.
This is Shibam, one of the must-see cities of Yemen, situated in the middle of the desert it stands out like a skyscraper oasis surrounded by a thick, stone wall. It is indeed a sight to behold, but its beauty is not the topic of this story, its tightness, on the other hand, is. All the buildings are very slim yet, at the same time, seem to be glued to one-another, it looks like someone had a limited amount of space to build on and tried to get as many buildings in. The streets are extremely narrow and dark because of the tall buildings but they are extremely full of life, full of tourists and merchants that fit into the picture perfectly.
By Spooky onMay 12th, 2008 Category: Animals, Pics
Not even polar bears can resist watermelons.
If the rest of the polar bears in the world would learn that one of their brothers ate something other than meat, they’d probably lynch him or at least treat him like a pariah. But come on now, I understand him, after all watermelons are so delicious that no one could resist a taste, he just gave in to temptation.
Kind of like the statues on Easter Island aren’t they?
Manpupuner is a mysterious site in the northern Ural mountains, made out of seven rock towers bursting out of the flat plateau, also known as the “7 strong men“. Manpupuner is a very popular attraction in Russia, but not on an international level and information regarding its origin is scarce. We now however that their height and abnormal shapes make the top of these rock giants inaccessible even to experienced rock-climbers. Manpupuner is very hard to reach, it lies in a very harsh environment, but once there you’ll be able to enjoy a view unique in the whole world.
People who have visited this incredible site, say they have no cravings for water, food or rest, they just want to contemplate the 30-80 meter rock towers, where natives say spirits used to gather in ancient times.
Now that’s a hell of an idea to attract customers.
This Okinawa Tree-House restaurant, on Highway 58 at the entrance in Onoyama Park in the south of Japan. What may look like a genuine tree is actually a man-made concrete structure, just like the French used to build in the lathe 19th century. Customers actually have to get in an elevator inside the “trunk” to reach the restaurant. I have to say it’s a pretty original idea and the work on the tree is amazing, I couldn’t tell it was fake the first time I saw it.
For all you gamers out there I’m not talking about Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series.
This is Manoharan, a 27 year-old guy that performs one of the most growse-yet-cool stunts I’ve ever seen. He gets thin snakes through his nostrils and pulls them out through his mouth. Snake Manu, as he likes to be called, has already claimed a place in the Guinness Book of Records for another “most worms eaten in 30 seconds”, managing to gobble down 200 live earthworms, each measuring more than 10 cm.
Snake Manu says he started by entertaining his colleagues in school by inserting pieces of chalk through his nose and pulling them out through the nose and when he was 18 he started experimenting with snakes, his first try was with a half-dead water snake.
He says his favorite snakes are the baby cobras, because they are lightning fast and extremely poisonous. he has also used common kraits, sand boas and rat snakes.
He has also started to eat the snakes he inserts through his nose since an incident when a snake go stuck in his trachea and he had to choose between being bit by it or biting it. He chose the latter ( smart choice).
If you’re lucky enough to be living near Legoland Windsor, in England, than you’ll be able to examine this toy wonder in person. It may look pointless but this baby climbed its way into the Guinness Book of Records as the World’s Tallest LEGO tower. The former record was of 96 feet but the Legoland Windsor tower measures a whopping 100 feet. It was built to resemble a Viking longboat mast, to mark the inauguration of the land of Vikings attraction in the theme park, but also to celebrate 50 years of LEGO.
The tower was built by children, one 20 cm portion at a time, portions that were then lifted by a crane and it took almost half a million LEGO pieces to build. The tower is held in place by wires.
I know, I know, these are hardly oddities, but these furry critters caught my eye while I was surfing the web and I couldn’t resist not posting something about them. Although being too fat is as bad for animals as it is for us humans, unlike us they look cute enough to hug to death. But all cuteness aside, if you have an overweight pet, do something about them, start getting them to exercise, they may not understand but you’re doing them a big favor, probably even saving their lives. Overweight pets die prematurely, do to hart complications and in the best cases they lose the use of their limbs.
By Spooky onMay 7th, 2008 Category: Auto, Pics, Tech
Now that’s as real horse power as you’ll ever get!
When you first look at the Naturmobil it resembles a normal, modern stagecoach, but as soon as you see the horse in the back, standing on some kind of treadmill, you start to sense something is fishy. The Naturmobil is the ultimate horse-powered vehicle, because unlike other modern cars it’s powered by an actual horse. Naturmobil is a symbol of helping to save the environment and proves how easy it is to build a vehicle that doesn’t need fossil fuel, all you need is a strong horse and a bit of imagination. That brings us to how the Naturmobil functions: you get the horse in the back on the conveyor belt, a pneumatic system lifts the front a little so the horse starts walking naturally. The power of its walking goes into a 36-gear gearbox and makes the car reach a speed of 25-30km/h, but on a long straight road it can even reach 70-80km/h. And don’t worry about the horse, the vehicle’s official site says, sensors in the suspension sense when the temperature of the horse gets to high, or it gets to tired, a DC motor steps in and runs Naturmobil at a constant speed. The horse also has several food and water recipients and even a doo-doo disposal system, so he’s quite comfortable.
I’m really a fan of environment-friendly vehicles, so any prototypes, no matter how wacky they are, have my deepest appreciation!
This driver must be crazy to attempt such a dangerous car stunt. Sure simply walking on a string while holding a pole as balance is no easy feat either, but driving a car is on a whole other level, ant the height would certainly kill the guy. I haven’t been able to find out where this took place but it must be some kind of new record.
As you’ve probably seen in many of my posts, I always like to congratulate Mother Nature whenever I find some of her masterpieces that exceed even the powers of the mighty god Photoshop. This time I’d like to introduce you to the amazing terraced thermal pools of Pamukkale, Turkey. One of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, Pamukkale, which means Cotton Castle in Turkish, is unique in the world, the hot turquoise waters bathing the pearl white calcium pools can’t be found anywhere else. The water from the hot springs runs off the plateau and the calcium that it contains deposits in the pool, giving the whole landscape that cotton look. That’s how Pamukkale was formed over millions of years, but as we’ve grown used to do, we humans have started to ruin everything in just a few years. Due to excessive tourism, the pools have started deteriorating and they’re currently closed to the public to preserve what’s left.
Even so, Pumakkale is a site worth visiting even if just to take some photos of the breathtaking scenery and to use the springs’ thermal waters, that are said to cure the eyes, asthma, rheumatism and more.
Man would I like to have that baby in my living-room…
Unfortunately that is simply impossible, considering it is one of a kind and designed especially for UEFA Champion’s League Finals ad for Dutch beer, Amstel. Still only seeing it and imagining how playing foosball on a 22 player table would be like, is worth it. The table can be dismantled and packed into 6 cases for transportation. Who knows, maybe after they’ll have filmed the ad, they’ll auction it or something, so keep your ears open and your savings close by.
