Doctor Gunther von Hagen , the anatomist who invented plastination, presents his newest exhibition – a collection of the most revered animals in the world.

At the “Body Worlds of Animals” exhibition, held at Neunkirchen Zoo, Germany, people can discover the intricate anatomy of some of the most remarkable creatures in the animal kingdom. Samba and Chiana, two elephants donated by the zoo to the Institute of Plastination, four years ago, return home in plastinated form. The whole process of plastinating an elephant took 64,000 hours, 4 tons of silicone and 40,000 liters of acetone. By comparison, platinating a human body takes only 3,000 hours of work.

But the difficult and time-consuming process is well worth it, if it can reveal amazing mechanisms, like an elephant’s trunk, manipulated by 40,000 muscles, or the incredible cardiovascular system of the giraffe, which prevents it from being in permanent cardiac arrest.

The Body Worlds of Animals features other popular animals, like the bear, gorilla, or ostrich, stripped of their skin and ready for inspection. Dr. Gunther von Hagen, a self-declared animal lover, hopes his exhibition ” will increase appreciation for animals, especially endangered species, and remind us all of our obligation to animal welfare.”

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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Alligator wrestling has been a big part of Seminole culture, and a popular sport, until the 1990s. Now, Seminole entrepreneurs hope to bring it back to its former glory, and make a fortune, in the process.

The Seminole Indians have come a long way, from living and hunting in swamp areas, to owning the Hard Rock chain of restaurants and hotels. Now they’re getting involved in a business venture closely tied to their native culture: alligator wrestling.

Richard Bowers, president of the Seminole Indian tribe of south Florida, says alligator wrestling has immense growth potential as long as there’s always going to be a part of the population who will want to see blood sports. And it doesn’t get much bloodier than going toe to toe with a reptile that could turn a human limb from limb.

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I know there’s nothing weird about babes stripping for husbands, but the title can be a bit misleading.

On a drizzling morning, a group of eight young girls, from Guangzhou, China, showed up near a local metro station, and started handing out fliers to male passers-by. There was nothing overly odd about them, apart from the masks covering their faces.

All of a sudden, music began playing, and the girls started dancing while holding signs that read stuff like “Marry me, please!” or “My mum’s been pestering me to get married. Marry me, please!” Their dance quickly turned into a striptease act, with the girls tossing off their clothes, all the way to their underwear.

The unusual even attracted over 100 curious onlookers, as well as several vehicles stopping by to check out what was going on. People were cheering, clapping or taken pictures, but their joy was short-lived, as the metro station staff quickly crashed the party.

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Young Zhang Mengqian, a university student from China, got more than she bargained for when her “boyfriend-wanted” card caused a stir among her male colleagues.

On March 8, to celebrate Women’s Day, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, in Chengdu, gave every girl student a bland piece of paper, and asked each of them to put down their wish and post it on a wishing wall.

Here’s what freshman Zhang Mengqian wrote on her card: “My name is Zhang Mengqian, a grade one student, and I think I am attractive, but strangely I can’t find a boyfriend. However I believe in destiny. If you have the same wish, please come under my dormitory building and shout for my name in between 12:30 to 12:50 on March 11th, and I will observe you secretly up on the building. If you’re my type, I’ll come down to meet you.”Combine that with a ratio of male and female students of 25:1, and yo have a real horn-fest on your hands.

Zhang Mengqian message became so popular that on noon of March 11, over 2,000 male students gathered in front of her dorm building. Not all of them were brave enough to shout out her name, though, but that’s maybe because none of those who did had any luck.

So i hope you learned your lesson Zhang Mengqian, NEVER ask for a boyfrind in a country with over one billion inhabitants. That’s a big “no-no”!

via Quirky China

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Over 900 people took part in the World’s Longest Lunch event, during the 2010 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

On March 12, Melbourne weather was almost perfect for the longest lunch in the world. nearly 1,000 hungry strangers gathered at a 400-meter-long table, and enjoyed several scrumptious dishes and various types of wine. The oriental theme of this unusual event included entertainment like dragon dances, martial arts and parasol dancers.

But the true unsung heroes of the 2010 World’s Longest Lunch were the servers. This disciplined fleet of swift-footed soldiers made sure everyone was served almost at the same time. And that’s no small feet.

Photos by Agencies via CCTV

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The small town of Cape West May, New Jersey is currently being “terrorized” by a group of “despicable” people who wrap trees, stop signs and even lamp posts in knitted covers.

You can clearly understand why the local authorities want them brought to justice, right? Of course you can’t, but they do offer a useful explanation: “It’s bright, it’s pretty … but in a community and in law your rules have to be consistent.” In other words, they want the people behind the Mystery Knitter project to come clean. But without the mystery, would something like this even be worth mentioning?

Signs of the Midnight Knitter first appeared in Cape West May, a few months ago, and since then more and more knitted covers keep showing up, over the cover of darkness. No one know who’s responsible for all this, but pretty much everyone loves their work (except authorities, of course).

One of the Midnight Knitter members told the Daily News a trio of knitters is knitting donated yarn and placing their work around the city, at night. He described their work as a form of graffiti, without the destructive effect. And everyone agrees it’s a lot better than someone spray-painting their walls.

via PressOfAtlanticCity

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The Pig Contest of Guanshan Village, Guangdong Province, China, is a centuries old tradition dating back to the Qing Dinasty.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists, from all over China, travel to Guanshan, every year, to take a look at the hundreds of pigs on display at the Pig Contest. This year, around 500 oinkers were sacrificed, cleaned up and set on display to be admired by passers-by.

After the most handsome pig is allected, the festivities end in a gargantuan feast, when the tasty participants are sliced up and served to the public. Read More »

If you’re a fan of Discovery Channel, you know about Bear Grylls’ crazy adventures from “Man vs. Wild”, and particularly about the famous camel carcass he used to protect himself in the Sahara Desert.

In an original advertising move to promote the new season of “Man vs. Wild”, Discovery Channel placed a replica of the camel carcass in Sydney’s Wynyard Park and put it up for rent, on a popular website.

Passers-by had the chance to crawl inside the carcass, dubbed Camelot,  to see how Bear felt during his survival test in Sahara, and also fill in a form telling Discovery why they would be the best tenant for this unusual property, for the chance to win a holiday voucher worth $2,500. Read More »

Braunlage isn’t one of Germany’s busiest towns, but last Saturday, authorities had to cope with serious logistics problems, caused by the annual Naked Sled Race held on the local slope.

Over 14,000 people traveled to Braunlage to see 30 participants take off their clothes before venturing down the snowy slopes, on red and black sleds. A national radio station sponsored the offbeat competition, won by 26-year-old Christian Schimdt.

As you can see in the photos, some of Germany’s hottest girls took part in the nude race, most of them tanned and ready to hit the beach. But the crowd was more impressed with a 70-year-old man who stripped down and raced down the 100-meter course, along with his younger competitors.

Photos via CCTV

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Each year, the French town of Menton hosts an event unique in the world, La Fete de Citron, or the Lemon Festival.

This year’s 77th edition of the Menton Lemon Festival takes place between February 12 and March 3 and has the theme “Menton does cinema”. The second most important festival on the French Riviera, after the Carnival of Nice and just before the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco, The Lemon Festival draws in a crowd of over 230,000 people.

The lemons grown in the Menton area are favored by the world’s star chefs, for their distinct flavor and superior sugar content. The French town enjoys a sub-tropical climate,sheltered by a nearby mountain chain.

Back in the 1930s, locals used to celebrate by parading a few carts loaded wit orange and lemon trees, but throughout the years, the festivities turned into an international carnival. Over 300 professionals work on arranging around 145 tons of citrus fruits as giant sculptures.

Photos via CCTV

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Minnesota farmer Bruce Andersland thought to himself “Nothing says I love you like a big heart made of manure”.

That’s right, the (overly) original Bruce decided to surprise his wife of 37 years with a stinky Valentine. He used his animals’ manure to draw a half a mile wide heart , on their farmland. Y’all might think it’s gross, but his wife Beth says she thinks it’s cute and by far the most original Valentine she has ever received.

The stinky Valentine’s Day gift isn’t visible from the ground, so Darren Schone, from the Minnesota Aviation took some photos, as proof.

Photos by Darren Schone/AP

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In order to draw attention to their protest against the Israeli barrier near the village of Bilin, a group of activists dressed themselves as Na’vi from James Cameron’s Avatar.

A barrier that Israel says is needed for its protection has been rerouted to swallow the Palestinian village of Bilin. Palestinian as well as foreign protesters dressed in blue suits, wearing loincloths, wigs and tails sought to show the similarities between their situation and that of the Na’vi aliens from the blockbuster Avatar.

Really colorful protest, I must say, but sadly it won’t make a hell of a difference…

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Scantily clad models showed up at malls, bus stations and on the streets of Brazil, as part of the celebrations for Brazilian Underwear Day.

The event took place on Tuesday, and was organized by Brazilian fashion website Finissimo. The models, both male and female, showed off their underwear in the most crowded places, to attract as many views as possible.

I know it sounds meaningless, but there’s more to Underwear Day, than beautiful models and plain fun. Style consultant Maria Thereza Laudares explains the aim of this national event: “The aim of the National Underwear Day is to make people recognize the importance of these garments left unseen, but which are the first to be put on and the last to be taken off.”

She’s got a point there, and since this is the fourth edition of Brazilian Underwear Day, people seem to be responding positively.

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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Cobra Gold is the largest multi-nation military exercise in the world, where soldiers from six nations learn how to deal with critical situations.

In 2010 the Cobra Gold military exercises are being held in Thailand, and this was apparently a chance for US soldiers to get acquainted with Thai delicacies. During a survival exercise at an army camp in Chon Buri Province, soldiers had to eat cooked scorpions and lizards, as well as drink that legendary wonder cure, cobra blood.

In some Asian cultures, snake blood is believed to enhance male potency and can be found in panacea stores. Now, why would Thai masters want to feed cobra blood to soldiers? After all, that’s not the gun they should be using, if you know what I mean…

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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Wearing nothing but swimsuits and summer apparel, contestants conquered the snowy slopes, during a fun carnival held in the Shanyang Forest Park, China.

Skiing is fun (Or so I’m told) but sliding down the slope and climbing back up again, can only be exciting for so long. So to spice things up a little, the people at Forest Park organized a fun winter carnival where participants would wear swimsuits and summer clothes.

As you can see in the photos, it was a pretty big hit that attracted a hefty number of skiing (and probably swimming) enthusiasts.

Photos by Zhao Jingdong/Xinhua

via Sina

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