One of the city’s most anticipated events, the Houston Art Car Parade is considered the largest of its kind in the world.

Around 250,000 spectators gathered in Houston, to see over 300 wacky and crazy vehicles drive by, on May 8th. Dan Akroyd, star of “Ghost Busters” movies, as well as other famous comedies, was the one who kickstarted the flamboyant event, in the cheers of the crowd.

The Houston Art Car Parade brings together car enthusiasts and artists alike, featuring a selection of extremely modified cars that, despite all the adornments, still run beautifully. Scroll down for the most interesting cars at the 2010 Houston Art Car Parade:

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Now what can be more embarrassing, for a bunch of dudes, than to lose a bra untying contest to a member of the weaker sex? I’m sure she did have more practice than most of the male contestants, but still, humiliating.

During a promotional event, organized by a Chinese department store, in Gungzhou city, China, contestants were invited to test their bra untying skills. In order to win, participants had to untie the bras of eight models, in the shortest time possible, using only one hand. All the male show-offs, eager to prove their skills, were humiliated by a woman, who managed to untie all eight bras in just 21 seconds.

For her impressive achievement, the lady won 1,000 yuan ($146,5) and infinite satisfaction.

Photos via ImagineChina

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I’m sure you have at least one friend that claims he is a spring of magnetic energy, just because he can balance a spoon on the tip of his nose, but in Vietnam,this kind of phenomenon is taken seriously.

Yesterday, during a ceremony to celebrate 12 years since the inauguration of the Vietnamese department for the research and study of energy, human magnets from all over Vietnam gathered in Hanoi, to show off their skills. Men and women covered with spoons, forks, dinner plates and metal weights walked around proudly, displaying their powers.

The most impressive of them all was Ta Quang Thanh, who managed to keep a 42 kilogram stone slab, stuck to his body, thus breaking all national records.

via Channel 14

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Ted Reader, one of the most famous celebrity chefs in the world, has prepared a giant hamburger, in an attempt to put his name in the Guinness Book of Records.

The cooking process of the world’s biggest hamburger began at 4 am, on Thursday, when a giant beef patty was placed on a custom barbecue, to slow cook. The burger was unveiled at noon, and it caught the eye of dozens of Toronto passers-by. It was topped off with all the fixings you’d find in an average burger, including lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and barbecue sauce.

The 590 lbs-heavy burger was made with 300 pounds of meat, which makes it three times as heavy as the current record holder. Guinness is yet to acknowledge Ted Reader’s record, but it’s only a matter of time.

The making of the world’s biggest hamburger is part of a marketing tour to promote Ted Reader’s latest cook book, Napoleon’s Everyday Gourmet Burgers. It contains 110 different burger recipes.

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A German postal worker, from Possendorf, has unofficially married his beloved cat, Cecilia.

39-year-old Uwe Mitzscherlich has shared precious moments with Cecilia, for the last 10 years. Unfortunately, the purring fur-ball is now obese and asthmatic, and the vets don’t think she has much more to live. Because they’ve had such a unique relationship, for many years, Mr. Mitzscherlich decided to make it official, and asked Cecilia’s…paw, in marriage.

Sadly, human-animal weddings aren’t recognized in Germany, so Uwe Mitzscherlich had to pay a female actor to officiate the ceremony. At first she thought it was a joke, but quickly realized this was a dream come true, for the German postal worker.

The couple dressed for the occasion, with Uwe wearing a wedding suit and top hat, and Cecilia boasting a lovely white dress. It was a beautiful ceremony, and 15-year-old Cecilia even meowed loudly, through the exchanging of the vows.

Check out a video of this unusual wedding, at the bottom.

via Bild

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The city of Lagos, in Nigeria, has hosted the 13th All-Nigerian Ram Fighting Championships. This increasingly popular sport drew an impressive crowd, eager to see the animal compete.

Ram fighting is a popular sport in countries like Algeria, Indonesia and China, but in Nigeria it even has its own Ram Lovers Association, which organizes ram fighting events. believe it or not, this sport isn’t as bloody as you might think. During the history of the championships, only one ram has lost its life, and there has rarely ever been any blood shed. According to Bashir Augusto, founder of the Ram Lovers Association, rams naturally love to fight, the only difference is here they do it for the entertainment of the crowd.

The animals, of the same weight class, are placed together in a dirt ring, with a judge and several referees closely watching them. Usually they naturally run towards each other and but heads. The fight ends when one of the rams runs away from the fight. One match normally lasts for less than 10 blows, but the longest match, this year, lasted for 98.

Just like human boxers, fighting rams go through rigorous physical training (especially running), have special diets, rich in beans and bananas, and even have their very own music, as they step into the ring. This year, in the main event, Gobe, last year’s champion, retained his title and won his master a brand new refrigerator. In Africa, I bet that’s a prize worth fighting for.

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What looks like a bike rider waiting for the green light, in a motorcycle race, is actually a dead man at a wake, in Puerto Rico.

22-year-old David Morales Colon was shot to death, last Thursday, and his family wanted people to remember him doing what he liked most. As the young man had received a brand new Honda CBR600 F4 motorcycle, which he loved, his family asked the funeral home to embalm David and set him in riding position.

The guys at the funeral home did a great job, and David looks like he’s about to drive away any second, but this gesture caused a media stir, at an international level. Apparently this paves the way for other funeral firms to come up with original ideas for this kind of events.

As a guy living in a country where dead people are kept on the living room table, for three days, before being buried, I see this as just a cool way of honoring a person.

Photos by Vanessa Cerra via PrimaHora Read More »

Although London’t Hyde Park is famous for hosting a variety of tree species, Vitraya ramunong (better known as the Tree of Souls) was definitely not one of them. Until now, anyway.

Unlike the alien tree, indigenous to Pandora, this Earthly version is considerably smaller (only 5 meters tall), features a plastic-like bark, and its glowing tendrils look a lot like fiber-optic cables. Plus, it’s planted in gravel and asphalt, and it’s root is made up of just one cable that seemed to power the trunk withe electricity.

As you might have (hopefully) realized, we’re not talking about a real Tree of Souls, but about a man made avatar, if you will. It appeared in Hyde Park, last Saturday, for the launch of Avatar on DVD, and as a way of celebrating the 40th Earth Day. Unfortunately, this weird version of Vitraya ramunong was removed from the park, the next day. If you didn’t get the chance to see it live, these photos should compensate:

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Miguelin, is a 6.5 meters tall animated baby that Spain has created for its pavilion, at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.

And if you thing this toddler’s just a big old doll, you’re sadly mistaken. Miguelin breaths, blinks and dreams of the cities we leave to our future generations, while smiling to visitors that walk by. The baby’s “mother” is Spanish film director, Isabel Coixet, who picked this theme both because of “the passion China and Spain share for children”, and as a way of showing that our actions have consequences on our children.

Miguelin, who was constructed in the US, dreams of the future,and his dreams will be animated, for all visitors to see. I’m sure this big baby will become a star when the Shanghai Expo opens, on May 1st.

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Li Dasheng, one of China’s greatest performers, attempted to pull a 1.5 ton car,using only his lower eyelids.

Known as the “Prince of Stunts” , 22-year-old Li Dasheng is famous for being able to perform over 30 kinds of Qigong, an ancient Chinese meditation art, as well as several other stunts. On April 16, he shocked the audience, outside the Boying Art Museum, in Xuzhou, China, when he pulled a vehicle, with his eyelids.

The Chinese performer put 2 curved hooks, onto his lower eyelids, and attached them to the frame of the 1.5-ton-heavy car. He managed to pull the vehicle nearly three meters.

Some of Li Dasheng’s previous include having a drilling machine drill into his temple and ripping apart a metal basin, with his bare hands.

Photos by QUIRKY CHINA via Telegraph.co.uk

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Hemophilia is a serious condition,and over 2,000 Romanians suffer from it. To draw some attention to the hardships the 2,000 Romanians suffering from this disease, have to go through every day, the Romanian Association for the Problems of Hemophilia colored the water fountains, in the center of Bucharest, bloody red.

Passers-by did in fact notice the red water flowing in the fountains, but it’s going to take a lot more than this to inspire them to help hemophilia victims.

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In an attempt to raise public awareness to the dangers of smoking, an Australian pharmaceutical company has set up an installation, featuring 219,000 cigarette imitations, in the middle of Sydney.

This unusual display, located in central Sydney, is supposed to convince smokers to seek professional help, and give up smoking. The cigarettes are covered by transparent panels, and in case you’re wondering why there are 219,000 of them, that’s how many a smoker goes through, in a period of 30 years, at a rate of 20 cigarettes per day.

Photos via ChinaDaily

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Held every six years, in the Nagano area of Japan, Onbashira Festival is believed to have continued uninterruptedly, for the last 1200 years.

Onbashira, literally translated as “the sacred pillars”, is a Japanese tradition that symbolizes the renewal of Suwa Grand Shrine. It consists of two phases: Yamadashi and Satobiki, the first held in April, and the second in May. Before Onbashira begins, 16 tree trunks, cut form 200-year-old Japanese fir trees are cut down. Each tree can be up to 1 meter across, 16 meters tall and weigh up to 12 tons.

Yamadashi is translated as “coming out of the mountains” and is the most popular part of the festival. Teams of men have to drag the logs down the mountain, to Suwa Shrine. At some points they encounter steep slopes where they must slide the tree trunks. In a ceremony called Ki-otoshi, brave young men risk their lives by climbing on the trunks and riding the all the way down the muddy slopes. It takes 3 days to move the sacred tree trunks, over 10 kilometers, to the shrine.

Satobiki involves placing the logs at the four corners of the four buildings that make up Suwa Grand Shrine. Using ropes, teams have to pull up the giant tree trunks in a vertical position, with young men sitting on them. Those still on the logs after they are positioned, perform all sort of feats.

On Sunday, during the 2010 edition of Onbashira Festival, a man was crushed to death by a tree trunk, during Satobiki. One of the ropes came loose and hit the 38-year-old man in the head. Several others were injured in the accident.

Photos via Daylife

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Dia de los Natitas (Day of the Skulls) is an ancient Bolivian ritual where skulls are decorated with flowers and pampered with cigarettes, coca leaves and other treats.

Every November 9, the central cemetery, in La Paz, Bolivia, becomes the scene of a bizarre pre-Columbian tradition, known as Dia de los Natitas.  Women carrying skulls, in decorated wooden or cardboard boxes, fancy glass cases and even in plastic bags, gather outside the cemetery to show off their skulls. They are usually decorated with flower petals (hydrangeas and roses) and covered with knitted colorful caps.

Some Bolivians believe a person has seven souls, and one of them remains in the skeleton, after they’ve been buried. Once the other souls have left for heaven, the remains are dug up and the skull taken home and cared for. If they’re not respected, skulls can bring bad luck to a household, ruin the harvest and even break up a family. But if they’re properly taken care of, you can ask the skull for favors.

A big part of caring for the skull is represented by the Dia de Las Natitas celebration. Skulls are offered cigarettes, coca leaves, alcohol and are even serenaded by street musicians. Read More »

A Thai theme-park, outside Bangkok has become a popular tourist attraction by organizing orangutan boxing matches.

Huge crowds of tourists and “sport” enthusiasts gather at Safari World to watch orangutans duke it out in 30 minute-boxing matches. Forced to wear boxing gloves and shorts, the two primates have been trained to hit each other for the entertainment of man. Although organizers claim the orangutans have been trained to simulate being knocked-down, animal activists say it’s a clear case of animal cruelty.

It’s sad to see thousands of tourists cheer as two 250-pound primates pummel each other, or hear them whistling when a female orangutan, wearing a bikini, displays the round number, but it’s the world we’re living in. These peaceful creatures don’t fight because they like to, but because they’ve been trained to do so, an because they would be beaten if they didn’t.

The Thai government shut down the monkey boxing matches, in 2004, and it’s yet unclear how this bizarre and cruel show is still allowed.

Photos by Barcroft India

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