Amazing Eiffel Tower photomontage

Amazing Wow! Milk Bottle Art

7 Innovative Artists Who Create Art from Trash Projected, Recycled and Other Amazing Art

The cliche is that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” but the author of that phrase probably never realized how strangely true it could turn out to be. In today’s world of weird and amazing art some of the most compelling and creative works have been born out of the simplest and most abundant of materials: garbage. These seven trash-obsessed artists may have had a similar starting point but have managed to create an inspiring variety of art from abandoned refuse.




HA Schult’s haunting ‘trash people’ have graced the streets of many of the world’s most major cities … silently open to interpretation as they travel the world and sit everywhere from the parks of New York City to the Great Wall of China. It took Schult 6 months and 30 assistants to create these strange sculptures from crushed cans, computer parts and virtually anything else he could appropriate to assemble them. What is their purpose and meaning? It is difficult to say, but they are certainly trans-cultural and intended to engage, inspire and engender reflection in those who see them and are a foil to see the reactions of different nations and groups of people.



Tim Noble and Sue Webster are an incredible artistic duo based in England who have worked on a variety of related projects experimenting with trash and projected shadows. From looking at the rubbish they collect from the streets of London it is virtually impossible to determine a rhyme or reason to the apparent mess. However, once a projector is set up at just the right angle the art pops to life and animated shades are created with crisp and clear outlines delineating the controlled forms hidden with chaos.


Robbie Rowlands is one of a number of artists who had a rare opportunity to do whatever they wanted to a building that was soon to be demolished. The Depot project questions the nature of the world around us and the everyday stable objects we take for granted - such as the interior structure of our dwelling spaces. He (quite literally) peels back the layers of everyday reality to reveal surfaces not typically meant to be seen. Based in Melbourne, Robbie studied at the Pratt Institute in New York and has been working ever since.




Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron (previously featured as a work of insane architectural genius) has elements of trash dating back to Thomas Edison and the Apollo space missions. These are combined to create one of the most amazing metal sculpture parks in the world - which also features the world’s largest metal sculpture (120 feet by 60 feet and 50 feet tall, weighing 320 tons). It should come as no surprise that, prior to retirement, this eccentric artist was a professional wrecking and salvage expert.



Of course using trash as a basis for art doesn’t have to mean creating works from the objects themselves. An additive approach can also work as in the graffitied pieces of furniture shown above. In fact, the Wooster Collective encourages you to graffiti the urban objects around you and turn your own local trash into art (see the link above for more information).


The above trash sculpture was created from recycled carrier bags as part of the Eden Project near Cornwall. Of course, trash ‘art’ isn’t limited to strange sculptures and architectural deconstructions. There is also a great deal of creative recycled urban furniture to keep an eye on not to mention some amazing works of recycled architecture created from bottles, cans, tires and basically any scrap that one can find in bulk.

15 Fascinating Facts About Salt

My love of salt is no secret (as anyone who has read some of my food lists will know) so it seems a fitting subject for a list of fascinating facts (another thing I love). I have tried to restrict the list to facts that are less likely to be well known - but in some cases the facts are quite common. If you have any other facts to add to this list, be sure to do so in the comments.

Facts 1 - 5

1. Right up to the 20th century, pound bars of salt (called amoleh) were the basic currency in Abyssinia (now called Ethiopia).

2. The amazing Salar de Uyuni (the world’s largest salt flat at 4,000 square miles) in Bolivia becomes mirrorlike when a thin layer of water lies on top. This reflectivity makes it a very useful tool in calibration scientific equipment from outer space. This amazing salt flat also contains half of the world’s supply of lithium. The salt flat is pictured above.

3. Salt is so essential to the body that if you drink too much water it can flush it out of your system and cause fatal Hyponatremia. This is what killed Jennifer Strange who entered a “Hold your wee for a wii” competition.

4. Consumption of too much salt can be deadly - you need to take about 1 gram of salt per kilogram of weight to die and this was used as a method of ritual suicide in China - especially amongst the nobility as salt was so expensive.

5. Good quality sea salt contains many essential minerals for the body. The best type of sea salt should be slightly wet from the sea it was taken from.


Facts 6 - 10



6. In the Middle Ages, salt was so expensive it was sometimes referred to as “white gold”. The medieval pavement of one of the transportation routes for Salt still exists in Germany where it links the inland city of Lüneburg to the German Baltic coast.

7. Black Salt is made in India by mixing salt water with harad seeds. The mixture is left to evaporate leaving behind black lumps of salt. When the salt is ground, the resulting powder is pink (as can be seen in the image above).

8. In Guerande, France, salt is still gathered in the same way as it was by the ancient celts, using baskets through which the sea water is strained. This makes the salt very expensive and highly sought after, especially the finest quality version called Fleur de Sel (flower of salt). This salt is sprinkled on food prior to serving - it is never used in cooking.

9. There is a very common misconception that Roman soldiers were paid in salt (hence the word Salary), but in fact they were paid in normal money. The connection with salt is possibly through the fact that the soldiers protected the salt roads leading to Rome (Via Salarium). Roman Soldiers were private employees - rather than state employees.

10. Before Biblical Judaism ceased to exist, salt was mixed with animal sacrifices. This originated from Moses in Leviticus 2:13 which states: “Whatsoever sacrifice thou offerest, thou shalt season it with salt, neither shalt thou take away the salt of the covenant of thy God from thy sacrifice. In all thy oblations thou shalt offer salt.” The salt was a symbol of wisdom and discretion.

Facts 11 - 15



11. After aviation fuel is purified, salt is mixed with it to remove all traces of water before it can be used.

12. Sodium Chloride (salt - pictured above) is formed when the unstable metal sodium reacts with chlorine gas. It is the only family of rocks regularly eaten by humans.

13. In the early 1800s salt was 4 times as expensive as beef on the frontier - it was essential in keeping people and livestock alive.

14. Only 6% of the salt used in the U.S. is used in food; another 17% is used for de-icing streets and highways in the winter months.

15. In the late 17th century, salt was the leading cargo carried from the Caribbean to North America (most tonnage). Salt Cod was the leading cargo carried from North America to the Caribbean. It was used to feed slaves on sugar plantations.

Most Outrageous Outlaw Heroes

Nine fascinating people who lived their lives outside the law to become popular heros.

Phoolan Devi: killed 22 men as a revenge for being gang-raped

Also known as the Bandit Queen, Phoolan Devi was born in 1963 in the north of India into a poor low-caste family. She married at the age 11 to a man three times her age, but was abandoned by her husband and her family after the marriage broke down. At her 20s she was subjected to numerous sexual assaults and turned to a life of crime. 

In 1979 she was imprisoned in Behmai, an obscure Thakur village. Each night for two weeks, a group of Thakur men gang-raped Phoolan, most times until she lost consciousness. After three weeks, she managed to escape and formed a gang.

Almost two years later, she stumbled upon Behmai to rob the villagers. What began as a robbery transformed into an inquisition when Phoolan recognized two of the men as part of the gang that had raped her. When the villagers failed to disclose the whereabouts of the gang leaders, an infuriated Phoolan assembled the men in a line and opened fire. Of the thirty men who crumbled, twenty-two died in what became known as the St. Valentine massacre, the largest massacre by bandits in Indian history. 

Afterwards, police launched a huge manhunt using helicopters and thousands of men, but Phoolan Devi's already high reputation among the poor was enhanced as she frequently outwitted them and evaded capture. She surrendered to the authorities in 1983 in poor health after most of her gang members had died. After serving her time in prison (11 years) she insisted that she was a reformed character and was elected to the Indian parliament. There she tried to establish a reputation as a champion of the oppressed in India. Phoolan Devi's criminal record and subsequent rehabilitation was made into a successful feature film in India and the west. 

On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was fatally shot as she got out of her car at the gate of her New Delhi residence. Sher Singh Rana confessed to the murder, saying he was avenging the deaths of 22 Kshatriyas at Behmai. 

Pancho Villa: the bandit who became a guerrilla leader

Pancho Villa (1878 – 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary leader who advocated for the poor and wanted agrarian reform. Though he was a killer, a bandit, and a revolutionary leader, many remember him as a folk hero. He was prevented from being accepted into the "panteón" of national heroes until some 20 years after his death but today his memory is honored by Mexicans and many people around the world.

Pancho Villa was born Doroteo Arango, the son of a sharecropper at the hacienda in San Juan del Rio, Durango. While growing up, Pancho Villa witnessed and experienced the harshness of peasant life. When he was 15, his father died, so Villa began to work to support his family until one day he came home and find that the owner of the hacienda intended to have sex with his 12-year old sister. Villa, only 16-years old, grabbed a pistol, shot the owner of the hacienda, and then took off to the mountains. From 1894 to 1910, Villa spent most of his time in the mountains running from the law. By 1896, he had joined some other bandits and soon became their leader. Villa and his group of bandits would steal cattle, rob shipments of money, and commit additional crimes against the wealthy. 

By stealing from the rich and often giving to the poor, some saw Pancho Villa as a modern-day Robin Hood. His notoriety as a bandit and his prowess at escaping capture caught the attention of men who were planning a revolution. These men understood that Villa's skills could be used as a guerilla fighter during the revolution. Since Porfirio Diaz, the sitting president of Mexico, had created much of the current problems for the poor and Francisco Madero promised change for the lower classes, Pancho Villa joined Madero's cause and agreed to be a leader in the revolutionary army.

When one of Madero's military commanders, Pascual Orozco, started a counterr ebellion against Madero, Villa gathered his mounted cavalry troops and fought alongside General Victoriano Huerta to support Madero. However, Huerta viewed Villa as an ambitious competitor, and later accused Villa of stealing a horse and insubordination. He sentenced to execution. 

Villa was standing in front of a firing squad waiting to be shot when a telegram from President Madero was received commuting his sentence to imprisonment, from which Villa later escaped. During Villa's imprisonment, Gildardo Magaña Cerda, a Zapatista who was in prison at the time, provided the chance meeting which would help to improve his poor reading and writing skills, which would serve him well in the future during his service as provisional governor of the state of Chihuahua.

Villa retired from revolutionary life in 1920 but had only a short retirement for he was gunned down in his car on July 20, 1923. 


Lampião: Brazil's greatest bandit, who would dig his enemies eyeballs out

Lampião ("Oil Lamp" in Portuguese) was the nickname of "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, the most famous leader of a Cangaço band (marauders and outlaws who terrorized the Brazilian Northeast in the 1920s and 1930s).

Virgulino was born in 1897 in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco, one of the most backward areas of Brazil. During a raid with police at his home, Virgulino's father was killed. It was an event that the police would regret. At age 25, Virgulino became Lampião, the scourge of the backlands and killer of police and soldiers. For the next 15 years he would never be far from the headlines of newspapers throughout Brazil.

Lampião was a complex and brutal man. He was also vain, appearing in dozens of photos and giving interviews whenever possible. His band rarely totaled more than 40 men, but he would fight battles against up to 200 militia or special police. 

The cancageiros also had women in their band. The most famous was Maria Bonita (Pretty Mary), Lampião's companion until death. 
Not only did Lampião wipe out whole households of enemies at times, he would assault small towns and cities alike, killing police, asking local merchants for "contributions", seizing any good he could carry off and often distributing those which he could not to the local population. Often women were raped. Mostly, these were women associated with the police and/or any opposing faction. Early in his career, Lampião and over 20 of his band gang raped a young wife of a soldier, while the poor man was forced to watch. Incidents of Lampião digging out a man's eyeballs with a knife and cutting off a woman's tongue have also been substantiated.

In 1938, Lampião's long career ended. He was betrayed by one of the local supporters who told where he was. One morning 50 soldiers armed with machine guns crept up and surprised the cangaceiros. Lampião and Maria Bonita killed. To insure that the news of Lampião's death would be believed, the soldiers took the heads of the captives to Salvador, were they remained on display for over 30 years.

For some people, Lampiao is said to be the Robin Hood of Brazil. The difference is that Robin Hood didn't start his career robbing sick bed-ridden 90 year old ladies. 


Billy the Kid: believed to have killed one man for each year of his life

Henry McCarty (1859 - 1881), better known as Billy the Kid, but also known by the aliases Henry Antrim and William H. Bonney, was a 19th-century American frontier outlaw and gunman who participated in the so-called Lincoln County War. According to legend, he killed 21 men, one for each year of his life, but he most likely participated in the killing of fewer than half that number. 

While fact and myth are often difficult to separate, it seems Billy the Kid earned his reputation as one of the the Desert Southwest's most prolific killers. History records that in a period of just 4 years, he fought in at least 16 shootouts, killed at least 4 men himself, and assisted in the murder of at least 5 others.

When he was young, in Silver City, Kid Antrim, as he was then called, was arrested for theft but escaped jail and began wandering the Desert Southwest and northern Mexico. In Arizona, he took up horse rustling, and on August 17, 1877, shot and killed his first man -- blacksmith, F.P. Cahill -- in a Camp Grant Saloon.

Billy fled Arizona and an indictment for murder, eventually arriving in Lincoln County, New Mexico where he became known as Billy Bonney, a young horse rustler fluent in Spanish and popular with Mexican women.

McCarty (or Bonney) was 5 ft 8 in-5 ft 9 in tall with blue eyes, a smooth complexion and prominent front teeth. He was said to be friendly and personable at times, and many recalled that he was as "lithe as a cat". Contemporaries described him as a "neat" dresser who favored an "unadorned Mexican sombrero". These qualities, along with his cunning and celebrated skill with firearms, contributed to his paradoxical image, as both a notorious outlaw and beloved folk hero.

A relative unknown during his own lifetime, he was catapulted into legend the year after his death when his killer, Sheriff Patrick Garrett, along with co-author M.A. "Ash" Upson, published a sensationalistic biography titled The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid. Beginning with Garrett's account, Billy the Kid grew into a symbolic figure of the American Old West. 

Historians speculate that his image was created deliberately to distract the public's attention from the nefarious activities of the Dolan faction and their influential supporters in Santa Fe, notably regional political leader Thomas Benton Catron.


Salvatore Giuliano: the Sicilian Robin Hood

Commonly compared to the legend of Robin Hood, Salvatore Giuliano (1922 – 1950) was a Sicilian peasant famous due to stories pertaining to him helping the poor villagers in his area by taking from the rich. The millennial subjugated social status of his class led him to become a bandit and separatist who has been mythologized during his life and after his death. 

As a member of the Sicilian Independentist Movement, Giuliano actively pursued efforts into gaining independence for the island from the Italian government. His story gained attention in the media worldwide, in part due to his handsome looks, including features in Time magazine.

He was born on November 16th 1922 in the western Sicilian mountain village of Montelepre which means "The Mountain of the hare". He was the last of a long line of Sicilian mountain bandits and the last of the "honorable" men. The mountain bandits of Sicily have nothing to do with the city mafiosos. They were a breed unto themselves with a special code of honor and morals. They were truly the friends of the poor and they gave freely of their plunder of the rich to the poor. Turridu (the diminutive of Salvatore) was no different and even today you will find older people in the mountain villages around Palermo who still sing his praises. 

Salvatore went to school until the end of primary school at which time he had to go to work but he didn't stop studying and went to the local priest and the local school teacher to continue his studies on his own. He was a very well read man with a great amount of culture for a Sicilian "campagnolo" and he used his knowledge to help people. Giuliano's life in banditry, like many, came out of necessity.

After his father death, his eldest brother provided wheat for Giuliano's family, but he was called to war. So it was up to Salvatore, just twenty years old, at the time, to provide the necessities for his family. 

He was inexperienced of the modus operandi used in moving the wheat and so on the 2nd of September 1943, he ran into a patrol of two country wardens and two carabinieri (rural police). His prayers and explanations were of no use. He was accused of smuggling two sacks of wheat of about forty kilos each. They seized his mule and wheat. They wanted to arrest and take him to the "American garrison". 

The young Giuliano to flee but the soldiers fired six times at him. He was hit twice in his hip. The carabiniero Giuseppe Mancino was ordered to finish him off, if he was still alive. Giuliano, who heard this, leaped forward and wounded him seriously with a pistol which he had kept in his boot. The soldier died of his wounds the following day, while Giuliano regained his full health after a month struggling for his life. He then sought refuge in the hills around Montelepre.

And this is how Turrido became the last mountain bandit of Sicily. In his politics he was anti-communist, anti-Mafioso and one of the leaders of the separatist movement in Sicily. He was vilely murdered in his sleep on the 5th of July 1950 by his own cousin under orders from the Palermo mafia dons. 


Ishikawa Goemon: the Japanese bandit who was boiled alive

Goemon, whose full name is Ishikawa Goemon (1558-1594) was a legendary bandit hero who stole gold and valuables and gave them to the poor. There is little historical information on Goemon's life, and thus he has become a folk hero, whose background and origins have been widely speculated upon. He is notable for being boiled alive after a failed assassination attempt on Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A large iron kettle-shaped bathtub is now called a Goemon-buro (Goemon-bath).

In one version of the story, Goemon tried to assassinate Hideyoshi to avenge the death of his wife and capture of his son, Gobei. He entered Hideyoshi's room but knocked a bell off a table. The noise awoke the samurai guards and he was captured. He was sentenced to death by being boiled alive in an iron cauldron. He was executed in front of the main gate of the Nanzenji Temple in Kyôto. His young son was also put in the cauldron but it was said that Goemon held his kid above the boiling water up to his death. 


Dick Turpin: the English highwayman who gave a 30 min speech before his execution

An infamous English rogue, Richard Turpin (1705 – 1739) was maybe the Britain's greatest highwayman. Turpin engaged in poaching, burglary, cattle rustling, horse theft, highway robbery and murder before being executed in York. After his death, as "Dick" Turpin, he became the subject of legend, romanticized as dashing and heroic in English ballads and popular theatre of the 18th and 19th century and in film and television of the 20th century. There is divergence between history and legend.

He was born in the county of Essex in 1706 to a country farmer. As a young man, he became apprenticed to a butcher and soon set up his own shop on the outskirts of London.

But rather than rely on legitimate suppliers, Turpin stole sheep, lambs, and cattle, an offence punishable by death. He was soon caught stealing two oxen and fled the area and left his wife and business. 

Turpin moved to Essex and fell in with the Gregory Gang. Far from dashing post-road stickups, this troupe specialized in invading domiciles where they would torture women into revealing the household stashes of valuables. 

Upon the breakup of the Gregory Gang, the gang members left still indulging in criminal behavior were Turpin himself and the raucous Thomas Rowden. The duo changed from robbing isolated farmhouses to robbing stagecoaches passing through Epping Forest, which they found easier for two men instead of a gang. Turpin had become the highwayman that later tales would tell of. 

By late 1737, Turpin had achieved such notoriety that another bounty of £100 was placed on his head - a reward which was to transform him from a footpad into a murderer.

His end, if not heroic, was certainly attention-grabbing. Turpin settled in Yorkshire under the alias “John Palmer” and passed as a gentleman farmer … with a larcenous side business rustling stock.

His cover was blown most ingloriously, when he was detained as a possible horse thief and sent a pseudonymous letter to his brother in London asking for help. The brother was too cheap to pay the postage due, so the letter returned to the post office where Turpin's schoolmaster chanced to see writing in a hand he recognized, and journeyed to York to identify the wanted man and pocket the reward.

In April of 1739, Dick Turpin was driven through the streets of York in a wagon to the hangman's noose. Dick Turpin waved and smiled. Upon reaching the gallows, he launched into a thirty minute speech to entertain the crowd. Then he grabbed the noose, threw it about his neck, and jumped off the ladder. He died five minutes later.

It is only in his last act of death, that Dick Turpin showed any of the bravado that would characterize the Dick Turpin of legend. Like most outlaws, Dick Turpin was a nasty, brutal, and uncaring man. Yet somehow, he has earned a measure of immortality in the stories of the great outlaws. 


Ned Kelly: the Australian outlaw who killed policemen

Edward "Ned" Kelly (1854 – 1880) was an Australian bushranger, and, to some, a folk hero for his defiance of the colonial authorities. Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish convict father, and as a young man he clashed with the police. Following an incident at his home in 1878, police parties searched for him in the bush. After he murdered three policemen, the colony proclaimed Kelly and his gang wanted outlaws. A final violent confrontation with police took place at Glenrowan. 

Kelly, dressed in home-made plate metal armour and helmet, was captured and sent to jail. He was hanged for murder at Old Melbourne Gaol in 1880. His daring and notoriety made him an iconic figure in Australian history, folk lore, literature, art and film.


Belle Starr: the outlaw queen who would use her womanly charms to release gang members

Belle Starr was one of the wildest women of the West - an outlaw who would do anything for a profit. The flamboyant "Bandit Queen" was born Myra Belle Shirley in Missouri in February 8, 1848. While a child, her family moved to Texas. Myra was barely in her teens when she began associating with the seedier elements in her neighborhood. She had soon made acquaintances with a couple of hoods by the name of Frank and Jesse James. 

Over the next few years she entered into a relationship with a member of their gang, Cole Younger and had a child with him. She was now an established member of the outlaw community. Moving on from Younger she married a horse thief by the name of Jim Reed and had a son with him. It wasn't long before the outlaw life caught up with Reed and he was killed in a gunfight. Belle then moved to the Indian Territory where she entered into her second marriage, this time with a Cherokee Indian rogue by the name of Sam Starr. The Bandit couple formed a gang around themselves and, from their hide-away on the Canadian River, entered upon a life of rustling, horse stealing and bootlegging whiskey to Indians. The brains behind these operations, carefully planning each move, was the woman who was now known as Belle Starr. 

Sam and Belle found the bandit life very lucrative. She would use her money liberally to bribe the freedom of any gang members who were captured. Failing this, she would tempt the lawmen with her womanly charms, almost always achieving her ends – the release of compatriots. 

The nearest settlement to the Starr gang's operation was Fort Smith. The local Magistrate was famous Judge Isaac Parker – the hanging Judge. Parker became determined to put Belle Starr behind bars. Several times his Deputies had brought Belle in to face various charges like rustling or bootlegging. Yet, each time she was set free due to lack of evidence. In the fall of 1882, however, Parker got lucky when Belle was caught red handed as she attempted to steal a neighbor's horse. He finally had something that would stick. After a trial, he sentenced Belle to two six month prison terms. After nine months she was let off for good behavior. 

Belle's time behind bars, however, did nothing to change her in her chosen life course. Upon release she went straight back to her life of rustling and bootlegging. In 1886 she again became a widow when Sam was fatally shot at a party. Not one to waste time mourning, Belle soon got into a relationship with a younger desperado who went under the unlikely alias of Blue Duck. Blue Duck got himself into deep water when he murdered a local farmer. The evidence was overwhelming and he was soon standing in the dock before the hanging judge. Parker sentenced him to hang. Belle however wasn't prepared to see her lover hang. She hired the very best lawyers in the District. They ended up appealing the case all the way to the White House. President Grover Cleveland commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. 
In 1889 Belle entered into her third marriage, this time with a much younger bandit by the name of Jim July. This marriage, however, would be the death of her. The relationship was particularly stormy. 

After one fierce quarrel, July was reported to have offered an accomplice $200 to kill his wife. When the offer was rejected, July screamed, “ Hell – I'll kill the old hag myself and spend the money for whiskey!” A few days later Belle Starr, the Bandit Queen, was shot to death from an ambush on a lonely country road. She was 41 years of age.

Amazing Young bodybuilder Richard Sandrak

He started to lift weighs when he was only 6 years old. 
When he was 10, all his friends with whom he attended sport respected him for what he was capable of doing.
Now he is 16 years old and he doesn’t think to stop.

Top 10 Incorrupt Corpses

Throughout the years the Roman Catholic Church has found the bodies of some of their saints to be incorrupt. When this happens, the body is often put on display (quite often they are put inside a Church altar with a glass front). This is a list of the most famous incorrupt saints.

Saint Veronica Giuliani, Died 1727



Saint Veronica Giuliani (Veronica de Julianis) (1660-July 9, 1727) was an Italian mystic. She was born at Mercatello in the Duchy of Urbino. Her parents, Francesco Giuliana and Benedetta Mancini, were both of gentle birth. In baptism she was named Ursula. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, she showed signs of sanctity from an early age. Her legend states that she was only eighteen months old, she uttered her first words to upbraid a shopman who was serving a false measure of oil, saying distinctly: “Do justice, God sees you.”
Saint Zita, Died 1272



Saint Zita (c. 1212 - 27 April 1272) is the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. She is also appealed to in order to help find lost keys. Zita often said to others that devotion is false if slothful. She considered her work as an employment assigned her by God, and as part of her penance, and obeyed her master and mistress in all things as being placed over her by God. She always rose several hours before the rest of the family and employed in prayer a considerable part of the time which others gave to sleep.
. Saint John Bosco, Died 1888



Saint Don Bosco, born Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco, and known in English as John Bosco (August 16, 1815 – January 31, 1888), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and recognized pedagogue, who put into practice the dogma of his religion, employing teaching methods based on love rather than punishment. He placed his works under the protection of Francis de Sales; thus his followers styled themselves the Salesian Society. He is the only Saint with the title “Father and Teacher of Youth”.
Blessed Pope Piux IX, Died 1878



Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878. Pius IX was elected as the candidate of the liberal and moderate wings on the College of Cardinals, following the pontificate of arch-conservative Pope Gregory XVI. Initially sympathetic to democratic and modernizing reforms in Italy and in the Church, Pius became increasingly conservative after he was deposed as the temporal ruler of the Papal States in the events that followed the Revolutions of 1848.
Blessed Pope John XXIII, Died 1963



Pope John XXIII (Latin: Ioannes PP. XXIII; Italian: Giovanni XXIII), born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (November 25, 1881 – June 3, 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City on October 28, 1958. He called the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) but did not live to see it to completion, dying on June 3, 1963, two months after the completion of his final encyclical, Pacem in Terris. He was beatified on September 3, 2000, along with Pope Pius IX, the first popes since Pope St. Pius X to receive this honour.


Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, Died 1879



St Bernadette was born Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. From February to July 1858, she reported eighteen apparitions of “a Lady.” Despite initial skepticism from the Roman Catholic Church, these claims were eventually declared to be worthy of belief after a canonical investigation. After her death, Bernadette’s body remained “incorruptible”, and the shrine at Lourdes went on to become a major site for pilgrimage, attracting millions of Catholics each year.
Saint John Vianney, Died 1859 [



St. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney (May 8, 1786 - August 4, 1859) was a French parish priest who became a Catholic saint and the patron saint of parish priests. He is often referred to, even in English, as the “Curé d’Ars” (the parish priest of the village of Ars). He became famous internationally for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish due to the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings.
Saint Teresa Margaret, Died 1770



n March 19, 1934, Pope Pius XI entered Blessed Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart in the register of saints. In Germany, the new saint is virtually unknown outside of the Carmelite Order. Her life was quiet and hidden. She died on March 7, 1770 at the age of 22, and of this short lifespan, she spent five years in the Carmelite monastery in Florence. She performed no brilliant, attention-getting deeds, nor did her reputation reach the wider world. She spent her life living quietly and with virtue.
Saint Vincent de Paul, Died 1660 [



Saint Vincent de Paul studied humanities at Dax with the Cordeliers and he graduated in theology at Toulouse. Vincent de Paul was ordained in 1600, remaining in Toulouse until he went to Marseille for an inheritance. On his way back from Marseille, he was taken captive by Turkish pirates to Tunis, and sold into slavery. After converting his owner to Christianity, Vincent de Paul was freed in 1607. Vincent returned to France and served as priest in a parish near Paris. n 1705 the Superior-General of the Lazarists requested that the process of his canonization might be instituted. On August 13, 1729, Vincent was declared Blessed by Benedict XIII, and canonized by Clement XII on June 16, 1737. In 1885 Leo XIII gave him as patron to the Sisters of Charity.
Saint Silvan Died circa 350



There is little known about Saint Silvan except that he was martyred (killed for his faith). Considering his body is over 1,600 years old, it is remarkably preserved.

Amazing Mountains Of Muscles

Working out is good for the body, so, why not. But when a person becomes literally a mountain of muscle, this is not good at all. 
The most interesting is that among bodybuilders, both women and men, the features of their faces are changing ... and for the worse. 

Amazing Capoeira Martial Art

This is martial art. It’s very physical, rhythmic and simply beautiful.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that makes a ritual of movements from martial arts, games, and dance. It was brought to Brazil from Angola some time after the 16th century.

14 Stations of the Cross

First Station
Jesus is condemned to death

Second Station
Jesus carries His cross

Third Station
Jesus falls the first time

Fourth Station
Jesus meets his mother

Fifth Station
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

Sixth Station
Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

Seventh Station
Jesus falls the second time

Eight Station
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

Ninth Station
Jesus falls a third time

Tenth Station
Jesus’ clothes are taken away

Eleventh StationJesus is nailed to the cross

Twelfth Station
Jesus dies on the cross


Thirteenth Station
The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross

 

Fourteenth Station
Jesus is laid in the tomb

Famous Stack Formations

To describe them, different rock structures that are formed by natural processes have been given various terms by geologists. A stack is a rock formation which is made up of a steep or upright column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast. They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by water crashing against the rock or as a result of wind erosion. These impressive formations are intricately created by nature only through time, tide and wind.

Hopewell Rocks (Canada)

New Brunswick’s icon are dark sedimentary conglomerate and sandstone rock formations called Hopewell Rocks. These natural wonders are created by the tides of the Bay of Fundy: the highest tides in the world reaching up to 30 m (98 ft)which happens twice a day. At low tide, visitors can explore the sandstone pillars and when it’s high tide they can choose to paddle a kayak around the rock formations which bears interesting names such as “ET”, “Mother-in-Law” and “Lover’s Arch.”






Haystack Rock (USA)


Rising at 72 m (235 ft) off the coast of Oregon, USA, Haystack Rock is the third tallest volcanic stack in the world. The basalt sea stack was formed by lava flows coming from the Grand Ronde Mountains millions of years ago. The rock used to be a part of the coastline but years of erosion have since separated it from the headland. It is a haven for many sea birds, including terns and puffins. The famous monolith can be seen in the movies: The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop and the 1979 Steven Spielberg movie, 1941.



The Twelve Apostles (Australia)


The Twelve Apostles is a collection of giant sea stacks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park in Victoria, Australia. They were formed by the constant wind and tide erosion of the limestone cliffs that started millions of years ago. The stacks were first formed into caves which later became arches that eventually collapsed to form what was initially called the “Sow and Piglets.” The name was changed in the 1950s to the more tourist-luring name “The Twelve Apostles” even though only nine were left.



Old Man of Hoy (Scotland)


The Old Man of Hoy is a 137 m (449 Ft) red sandstone stack in the Island of Hoy, Scotland. It is believed to be about 400 years old and will probably not exist for long as there are indications that it doesn't have much time left standing. The Old Man is a famous rock climbing site that was first conquered in 1966. The famous stack appears in the opening scene of the 1984 Eurythmics video “Here Comes the Rain Again.”




Old Harry Rocks (England)



Old Harry Rocks is a collection of chalk stacks in Dorset, England. They are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Due to erosion, Old Harry may not exist for long. Some of the stacks have already fallen including Old Harry’s original wife which fell in 1896. Different groups have been working on saving the formations.



Am Buachaille (Scotland)


Am Buachaille is a tall vertical rock formation in the Scottish county of Sutherland. The stack was first climbed in 1968. Am Buachaille means “The Shepherd” in Scottish Gaelic.




Ball's Pyramid (Australia)

Ball’s Pyramid is a 562 m (1,843 ft) high volcanic stack in the Lord Howe Island Marine Park in the Pacific Ocean. The formation which is a volcanic plug of a shield volcano and caldera that formed millions of years ago is the tallest volcanic stack in the world. The summit was first successfully conquered on Valentine’s Day in 1965.  



Tri Brata (Russia)



At the entrance of Avacha Bay lies Tri Brata, a trio of scenic stacks which is considered a symbol of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the main city of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Legend has it that three brothers who went to defend a town from a tsunami turned into pillars of stone.




The Needles (England)


The Needles is a set of three chalk stacks in the Isle of Wight, England. The name comes from the 36 m (120 ft) needle-shaped pillar called Lot’s wife which collapsed in 1764. A 33 m (109 ft) high lighthouse stood at the western end of the formation since 1859. The rock columns were featured in the 2005 TV program Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of Southern England.



Lange Anna (Heligoland)




Lange Anna (“Long Anna” or “Tall Anna”) is a prominent 47 m (154 ft) free standing sea stack in the colorful sandstone island of Heligoland, a German islet in the North Sea. The rock column is estimated to weigh about 25,000 tons. The base of the rock formation is protected by a seawall from further erosion and possible collapse caused by the tides.

8 Incredible Green Roofs

Green roofs have been around for centuries in Northern Scandanavia, but they’ve really only become a popular trend in the last few decades. Recognized now for their ability to reduce the urban heat island effect while also reducing heat loss and energy consumption in winter months - among many other benefits - green roofs are really taking off, all around the world. And these aren’t just your average pieces of sod plopped on top of a building, either. These roofs are meant to be seen, designed by the artistically inclined in newfound attempts to express and flex their creativity.

Here’s a roundup of eight great green roofs for you to admire:

GENO Haus, Stuttgart, Germany




The government sponsored the building of this roof in 1969; made of a Styrofoam base, this green roof remained functional until it was renovated with improvements in 1990. Germany was an early green roof adapter in the 1960s and continues to lead the way today, with an estimated 10% of all German roofs being “green”.

Nine Houses, Dietikon, Switzerland




This set of nine houses built in 1993 by architect Peter Vetsch were made out of concrete and buried in earth and grass. They remind of modern hobbit houses.


The Solaire, New York, United States



Built in 2003 with two green roofs by designer Rafael Pelli and landscape architect Diana Balmori, The Solaire was the first green residential building in North America. Residents live steps from the Financial District and Tribeca, and have the opportunity to experience a beautiful rooftop oasis when they come home each day.


Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall, Japan




Emilio Ambasz found a home for a 100,000-square-foot park in the form of 15 terraces atop a government building in Japan. This green roof features a whopping 35,000 plants representing 76 different species. A window office in this building will get you the best view the of the city, hands down.


Historial de la Vendée in Les-Lucs-sur-Boulogne, France




Nearly two acres of green space featuring native species was incorporated into the roof at Historial de la Vendée in France. The museum opened in June 2006.


Chicago City Hall, United States



One of the examples of green roofs built in the United States is the one that exists on top of Chicago City Hall. Although the roof is not normally accessible to the public, views from surrounding buildings reveal an organized sunburst pattern that is in keeping with the symmetry of the building’s architecture.



California Academy of Sciences, United States




A visit to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park must now also include a tour of the outstanding 2.5 acre green roof of the California Academy of Sciences. The Academy claims that the building consumes an amazing 30-35% less energy than required by code.


School of Art and Design, Singapore




Wouldn’t you like to study here? A curving green roof protects a five-story glass building that allows for ample sunlight to shine in and pretty views to look out to. Simply inspiring.

10 Strange Legends And Images Of Saints

Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, thousands of saints have come and gone. Many of them become patron saints because of the experiences in their own lives. These experiences are often bizarre and frequently gruesome. This list looks at ten of the more unusual cases.

St Dymphna



St Dymphna’s story is truly sad, but one that parallels many popular folk legends. Dymphna was a virgin daughter of a pagan king. She secretly baptized into Christianity. After her mother died, her father became insane with grief, and declared that he would only marry another woman as beautiful as his wife. Eventually he noticed that Dymphna his own daughter, shared his wife’s beauty. He determined to marry her, but the girl fled from him in horror, accompanied by a trusted priest. They sought sanctuary elsewhere but were found by her father’s men. The priest was promptly killed, and her father once again proposed to her. She refused to marry him, and he himself struck off her head. Dymphna is depicted as a beautiful, virginal, young girl. She is often holding a holy bible and white flowers. She is the patroness of incest victims and the mentally disturbed.

Simon Zelotes



Simon Zelotes (or Simon the Zealot) was one of the twelve disciples. He had previously been a violent man but was converted by Jesus. Not much is known of his life after Jesus’ death, but he is believed to have travelled widely preaching the gospel. Legend has it that he was martyred in Mesopotamia by being hung upside down and sawed to death - longitudinally. He is often depicted holding the saw that was the instrument of his martyrdom.

St Apollonia



St Apollonia was an old deaconess who fell victim to the persecutions of Christians in Alexandria. As Christians fled the city, Apollonia was seized by a mob. They beat her and knocked all her teeth out. They then lit a huge fire to burn her if she did not renounce Christianity. Begging for time as though she would comply with their demands, instead she jumped into the flames herself and died without renouncing her faith. She is the patroness of dentists, and is depicted holding pincers containing her tooth or with a gold tooth on a necklace.


St Margaret of Antioch



St Margaret of Antioch was a popular saint in the middle ages. Legend states that she was the daughter of a pagan priest, but decided to convert to Christianity. This angered her father as well as a suitor whose advances she rejected. They had her reported to the authorities as a Christian, and she was jailed. In jail she met the devil in the form of a dragon, who proceeded to swallow her whole. The cross she carried however, irritated the dragon’s belly and she was able to tear her way out using the cross and emerge whole from the dragon. Several attempts were then made to execute her by drowning and fire, all of which failed, leading many who witnessed her tortures to be converted. She was finally beheaded. She is often depicted emerging from the dragon’s belly, cross in hand. Appropriately, she is the patroness of childbirth.

Saint Bartholomew



Saint Bartholomew is one of the Apostles of Christ. After Christ’s death he travelled the world as far as India, evangelizing and preaching the gospel. He fell afoul with the pagans in Armenia where he was martyred. Legend states that he was flayed alive (removing the skin from the body while keeping it as intact as possible), and then crucified upside down on a cross. He is the saint invoked by those who deal with skins and leather. He is depicted in art as a man holding his flayed skin.


St Christopher



St Christopher belonged to a tribe in North Africa known as the Marmaritae. That area of the world was then largely unknown and considered inhabited by all sorts of strange creatures, including dog-headed men. Some conflicting legends surround Christopher. In one he is a dog-head captured by the Romans and forced to serve them. He becomes a Christian convert and thus a unique figure amongst his kind. Another legend has St Christopher carrying an infant across a river, only to find him growing unbelievably heavy as they progress. The child then reveals himself to be the Christ child and his heaviness due to the weight of the world on his shoulders. Still other legends exist about St Christopher actually being granted the face of a dog by God, to ward off unwanted female attention. He is often depicted as a richly robed dog-headed man - a cynocephalus.

St Roch



St Roch was born of nobility but soon renounced his life of wealth and privilege to work amongst plague victims. He travelled the country effecting many healings of plague victims. When he too contracted the plague, he retreated to a secret hut in the woods. He was there befriended by a dog, who brought him sustenance and licked the sores on his leg until he was healed. When he eventually returned to civilization, many who had previously known him were dead. He was imprisoned, and with his dog continued to minister to suffering prisoners until his death. He is the patron saint of dogs and is invoked against diseased body parts. He is depicted lifting one hem of his robe to reveal his leg sores, while his faithful dog licks them.

St Agatha of Sicily



As a beautiful woman St Agatha attracted the attentions of a powerful judge named Quintianus. When she refused his advances he had her sent to a brothel. She prayed and after 30 days remained still untouched. Quintianus then ordered that she be chained, whipped, stretched on a rack and burnt. During these tortures her breasts were cut off. Legend states that St Peter miraculously healed her wound that night. The enraged Quintianus then had her rolled on hot coals and glass until she finally expired. She is the patron saint of breast cancer sufferers. She is depicted carrying her breasts on a plate. On her saint day ( 5 February) in Sicily, little marzipan confections resembling breasts are still eaten today.


St Denis



St Denis had an exceptional youth, testifying and converting pagans to Christianity. He eventually became bishop of Paris. His many conversions however, ultimately enraged the pagan priests, who decided to execute him by beheading. Legend states that after his head was chopped off, he picked it up and walked several miles with it tucked under his arm, preaching all the way. He is represented as a headless body holding its decapitated head in its hands.

St Lucy



St Lucy as a young girl decided to devote her life to Christ and refused to marry the groom selected by her mother. Though her mother eventually accepted her decision, her jilted suitor was not so generous, and reported her as a Christian to the authorities. Trying unsuccessfully to force her into prostitution, the soldiers found her body strangely heavy and immovable. Thus as punishment, she was tortured by having her eyes gouged out, and then killed. Legend states that God restored her sight before she died. She is represented in iconography as a young martyr holding her eyes on a plate, and is the patron saint of eye problems and blindness.

Living Rock Massive Monuments Sculpted in Situ

Most buildings and sculptures are made out of stone which is quarried and then taken somewhere else to be carved or used in construction. However, some are created in situ and you can probably think of a few right now. Forget the usual suspects - these lesser known places where the sculpting took place on site, give us some of the most remarkable destinations in the world.

The Giant Buddha, Leshan


China has many a Buddha dotted throughout its extraordinary landscapes but the Giant Buddha of Leshan is unique in that it was carved directly out of the cliff face - just look at the people at the feet of the statue. The sculpture, which is seventy one meters (or over three hundred feet) tall dwarfs the tourists that flock to see it. It is positioned so that it faces Mount Emei and stands at the meeting place of three rivers. Although the Government of China has promised a restoration program, the statue has suffered from the effects of pollution, particularly over the last twenty years. Fortunately, the statue was not damaged in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008.

The Church of Saint George, Lalibela


Lalibela in Ethiopia is the home of eleven churches, hewn from the rock. The most famous is that of Saint George, which was built in the thirteenth century. As demonstrable a point as you can get that Africa was not the ‘dark continent' many suppose until the arrival of Europeans, it shows that technology there was virtually on a par with that of the western world. The site is a UNESCO world heritage center and has often been referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. Its dimensions - 25 times 25 times 30 give it is rectangular shape.


Somapura Mahavihara, Parhapur


Bangladesh has a long and vibrant history and is dotted with religious sites that simply take the breath away. Among them is the Somapura Mahavihara, which was a Buddhist monastery (otherwise known as a vihara). It is thought that it was carved at the end of the eight century CE. The site covers twenty seven acres and was an important academic center for people of three religions (showing that we can all get along when we have to, surely). You could think of it as a kind of contemplative university. Monks from as far afield as Tibet regularly visited it in its heyday.



Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota


Although the USA is a comparative newcomer to massive sculptures which have been carved in situ, Mount Rushmore is among the most famous statues in the world and will no doubt withstand the millennia as it was designed to do. When finished, however, the Crazy Horse Memorial should be the largest sculpture in the world and stand over one hundred and seventy two meters (that's five hundred and sixty three feet). In other words, it will be almost ten times taller than each of the Presidents' heads at Rushmore. Started in 1948, it remains unfinished and there is no date which has been fixed for its completion either. The face, however, was completed in 1998.



Naqsh-e Rustam, Persepolis

Iran is not exactly out of bounds to western tourists but is not as such in the top fifty destinations. This is a shame as the country holds some astonishing archaeological secrets. One of these is the Naqsh-e Rustam, dating from the sixth century BCE. They are all carved at great heights and the technology and manpower needed for such tasks must have been unimaginable then as they are still astonishing today. They are known as the Persian Crosses by local people as the facades are carved in such a shape. The center of each of the crosses leads to a small chamber where the king would have been laid in a sarcophagus.



The Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra



Built in the second century BCE, it could be joked that these caves were created while most of the population of Europe was simply living in them; these are one of the masterpieces of pictorial art. For many centuries these temples were built under the rule of Hindu Kings, many of whom contributed to their construction. 

They were built in a horseshoe shape, keeping the lines of the ravine from which they were hewn. If you think that this counts as a cave system rather than a sculpture, you may be right from the outside. Take a look at the inside though. If that isn't sculpture, what is?




Decebalus, Orsova


The world never stands still and gigantic sculptures are still being teased from the rock. The former communist country of Romania is no exception and here they have chosen to honor Decebalus. Translating as "The Brave One" was a king of the Dacians and fought many a war against the Roman Empire. It is thought that the far more famous Spartacus was himself a Dacian, so you know now how tough these people were! The historian Iosif Constantin Dragan funded twelve sculptors to the tune of over a million dollars. After ten years of hard graft it was completed in 2004. It stands opposite an almost two thousand year old plaque commemorating Roman victories against the Dacians. How is that for unequivocal defiance millennia later?



Kailash, Ellora

Back to India and the Kailash temple is part of a complex of over thirty that cover over two kilometers. The amazing thing about this is that the temples were excavated vertically. That is, the workers started at the top and went downwards. The temple was literally exhumed from the rock face over a period of many years. Kailash was built in the eight century CE and it is believed that two hundred thousand tones of rock were removed during its construction. It is a traditional temple to Shiva in most other respects but stands proud as the biggest monolithic temple in the world.




Mada'in Saleh, Hejaz


Again, not exactly on the tourist map of many, Saudi Arabia had its first UNESCO World Heritage Site announced in 2008. This is the ancient city known as Negra. Some of the inscriptions found here date back almost three thousand years. It is mentioned many times in Quran. However, this site comes with a warning sign. Many Saudi Arabians consider the place to be cursed and although the government encourages tourism here many of the local people will not go and advise visitors not to either. To quite from the holy book, "So the earthquake seized them, and they lay (dead), prostrate in their homes."

Top 10 Amazing UFO Sightings

The sighting of strange craft, lights and entities over our skies has taken place for centuries now. These mysterious visions have taken many forms and have been explained in a variety of different ways. Many attribute them to bizarre natural phenomenon, others claim that they are visitors from another dimension, even the realm of the fairies, or secret craft controlled by our own governments. Without a doubt the most popular explanation is that UFOs are the mode of transportation for creatures from outer space with intentions unknown. Whatever the truth may be, UFOs have had a marked impact on our culture, creating paranoia, suspicion and even inspiration. 

The Huffman Burning

 
Where: Huffman, Texas, U.S.A
When: December 1980

If you’ve ever thought that you’d really like to see a UFO, that it would be cool to be sitting directly under one as it hover overhead, think again. Whilst there is always the risk of suffering the long-term mental anguish of a creepy abduction experience, there are other, more physical dangers too.

Betty Cash, Vickie Landrum and her young daughter Colby were driving home along a long stretch of open road when they saw a huge diamond shaped UFO in the sky. They made the common mistake of stopping the car and getting out to have a look. They were then enveloped in a powerful blast of heat that burned their skin. The UFO gave off a bright light that hurt their eyes. This is believed to have been a result of their engines firing as the craft then took off at a great speed. At first the witnesses seemed unscathed, but when they returned home they developed acute headaches and became very ill. Their skin was badly burned. They suffered several days of diarrhoea and vomiting, and all the signs of radiation poisoning. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the three never truly recovered from the ordeal. Their eyesight deteriorated over the years and they continued to develop blisters and dry, flaky skin. Whilst the hair loss they initially suffered was temporary it causes psychological damage and the hair grew back frizzy – a constant reminder of what they had been through.

It is believed that the radiation burns were an inadvertent effect of the UFO’s engines. Other UFO witnesses have experienced similar symptoms but all to a lesser degree. This case remains the worst on record. UFO landing sites also often test positive for radioactive traces. 

The Thirsty Orbs

 
Where: Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan 
When: July 1973

Twenty year old university student Masaaki Kudou was working part time as a security guard at a timber yard on Hokkaido’s southern coast. He patrolled the area by car and stopped overlooking a bay to listen to the radio. Sounds like a pretty cushy job to me. It was there that he witnessed what can only be described as an ‘alien’ event.

The young security guard saw what he, at first, thought to be a shooting star. The strange light moved unlike any other shooting star. It zoomed about the sky for a short while before moving closer to the bay. There is began spiraling down to the ocean. By now Kudou could see that the light was in fact a spherical craft of some kind. The sphere hovered closely above the water. A long, transparent tube was extended from it’s underside and it began to suck up the sea water as if through a straw. As it drew water the sphere glowed and made a gentle ‘min-min-min’ sound.

After taking in water, the craft began to move closer to Kudou’s car with, as he puts it, ‘infinite menace’. The sphere came close enough for Kudou to study it in detail. He later described it as being smooth, white and emitting a self-generating glow. It had several potholes around it’s circumference, through which a shadowy humanoid figure could be seen.

Within minutes of the sphere’s appearance, two more craft appeared in the sky over the bay. One was another sphere, exactly like the first, and the other was a large, cylindrical shaped craft. The two spheres entered one end of the cylinder, which abruptly zoomed away. Kunou’s experience left him with nothing but a headache, probably owing to the fact that his radio has been making peculiar noises the whole time


The Perfect Abduction Case

 
Where: Melboune, Australia 
When: August 1993

Driving home after a party near Melbourne, Kelly Cahill and her husband were witness to the usual, tacky looking UFO, glowing and hovering in front of them. As they drove on a little further the car seemed to fill with a bright light. This light did not last long and with a flash, disappeared. There was suddenly no UFO, no light, and a time lapse they could not account for. All of this sounds pretty daft, except that the next day Kelly noticed a scar across her abdomen that had previously not been there. She later suffered what doctors insisted was a miscarriage, although she had not been aware of being pregnant. In fact the official opinion of her personal physician was that the discharge from her lady parts were the result of a self termination.

Baffled by this, Kelly went to see a hypnotist and UFO researcher who helped her to recover lost memories from the night of the sighting. She recalled that the UFO had stopped in front of the car, causing them to come to a halt and step out of the car. She also recalled that there was another car present, driven by people she did not know. She claimed to now recall that the aliens (standard bug-eyed, big head types) had shot her with some kind of energy weapon, taken her and her husband on board their craft and performed some kind of intrusive surgery. Kelly said that the aliens were evil and taunted her. She shouted at them and accused them of having no souls, at which point their eyes glowed red and they got angry. Under hypnotic regression, Kelly’s husband revealed the same.

Now, this in it’s self is not unusual (well, ok, it is), but what was remarkable is that investigators managed to find the couple from the second car and corroborate the story. This second couple did not know Kelly and her husband and did not require hypnotic regression to recall much of the experience. Undergoing the hypnosis, however, they were able to reveal more details, including a third car, which did not stop to witness the visitors up close.

More remarkably, the investigators found this third driver, who made a matching statement. He had seen the UFO but had not witnessed Kelly’s arguments with it’s drivers. This high number of testimonials from unrelated persons has caused abduction specialists to call this the ‘perfect case’. 


The Anchor in the Church

 
Where: Cloera, Ireland 
When: 1211

This is one of the oldest and most peculiar accounts of an unidentified flying object to be recorded. Its occurrence in the medieval period makes it entirely unique and difficult to understand. Other strange sightings have been made in medieval Europe but most seem to involve seemingly ‘devine’ lights rather than solid objects or craft, and so are often explained by witnesses to have been the appearance of saints or angels. This, however is the first ever recorded visitation by an alien ‘ship’. The witnesses used the analogy of a ‘ship’ perhaps because they had no other basis for comparison. Remember that this is several hundred years before even the hot air balloon was conceived.

The occurrence took place at a church in the borough of Cloera. It was a Sunday and so the people of the area had all gathered to receive mass. The ceremony was disturbed when an anchor, hanging from the sky, swung into the church and became lodged against the arch of the doorway. Men from the congregation ran outside and saw a large ship, hanging in the air above the church. They then saw a strange person lower himself on a rope from the deck of the ship to the church doorway. It is said that he appeared to swim in the air. This simple description has been taken to imply that he was somehow light in weight or had the ability to float in the same manner as his ship. At first the men of the congregation went to seize the intruder but the priest told them not to touch him because it might kill him (a strange assumption to make but a wise precaution none the less). The strange UFO naught returned to the safety of his ship where he hastily cut the rope holding the anchor and sailed quickly out of sight. The anchor was kept in the church as proof but has since been stolen.

A second version of this story has it set in Gravesend, Kent, England. This is exactly the same story only a different location. The idea that the crew of the ‘cloudship’ could make the same blunder twice is unthinkable, so this is likely a case of the English stealing a piece of Irish folklore and claiming it to be their own. “Why should aliens visit Ireland? Anything they’ve got, we’ve got more of.” 


he Scare Ship

 
Where: Across the U.S.A and Europe  
When: throughout the late 1800s

Before the flying saucer craze of the 1950s and 60s, the idea of unidentified flying objects was already popular. The 19th century had it’s own UFO spotting craze long before the Roswell incident and even before H.G Wells popularised the idea of invaders from another planet. This craze followed sightings and accounts of what the media then called the ‘scare ship’. Much like the more recent ‘flying saucer’ and ‘crop circle crazes’ this was largely fuelled by the overzealous coverage by national and local newspapers.

The scareship was not thought to be an alien craft but rather a new technological marvel, built in top secret. At the time, the idea of the zeppelin or dirigible had been conceived but not yet constructed. Sightings of the scareship (all variants on theme) were reported across north America and Europe for a period of several years.

The two most likely sightings of the scareship were made by farmers in the U.S who claim to have seen the vessel land and that they had spoken to a member of its crew. This crewman was not a little green man but reportedly a finely dressed gentleman. In each case the man approached the farmer and asked him for help. Once he asked for tools and oil, and the second time for water from a nearby well. The farmers each gave an account that the machine made a whirring noise not unlike that made by steam powered pistons. The second man (Mr Nichols of Josserand, Texas) claimed that he had been invited board the strange craft and was given an explanation of its workings. He was told that it was constructed from a newly discovered metal which had the property of ‘self-sustenance in the air’, and that the craft was propelled by condensed electricity. The man with whom he spoke also said that there were five such ships, all constructed at a secret location in Iowa, and that the technology would soon be made public for common usage. Mr Nichols knew nothing of science and engineering and so did not realise that this explanation was pure gobbledygook.

Most spectacular of all was the tale of a crashed scareship, again in Texas, as a sort of strange preclude to the Roswell incident. On April 19, 1897, the Dallas Morning News carried the following story:

‘Aurora, Wise County, April 17 – About 6 o’clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship which has been sailing throughout the country. It was travelling due north, and much nearer the earth than before. Evidently, some of the machinery was out of order, for it was making a speed of only ten or twelve miles an hour, and gradually settling towards the earth. It sailed over the public square and when it reached the north part of town collided with the tower of Judge Proctor’s windmill and went to pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge’s flower garden. The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard, and while his remains are badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world.’

The report goes on to say that of the craft it’s self, little remained, only enough to say that it was constructed from a strange metal. The journals of the pilot were also found, but they were written in what were described as ‘hieroglyphics’ and so indecipherable.

Scareship sightings vary wildly but take place over a period of two decades. Some have the crewmen speaking Russian. Others say that they looked ‘like japs’. 


The Roswell Incident

 
Where: Roswell, New Mexico, U.S.A 
When: 1947

‘The Roswell incident’ has become an iconic event in modern culture. There is no one in the western world that has not heard the rumours of a crashed alien space ship and the possible extraction of alien corpses to the secret military base at ‘area 51’. However, the details of Roswell make it not one of the most spectacular cases, in fact, rather a dull story in comparison to others. It is only the massive media coverage of this alleged event has made it so famous.

When a local farmer discovered some wreckage on his land he immediately notified the authorities, knowing that a great deal of military activity was present in the local area. Although an investigating air force officer did claim that the wreckage had strange, otherworldly properties, the most likely theory is that it was not from an alien space craft but from a top secret surveillance balloon launched from a nearby test site. This ‘project MOGUL’ balloon was designed to travel over soviet airspace at high altitude but was blown off course and crashed during it’s preliminary testing in New Mexico.

It was claimed that a second crash site contained a more intact alien spacecraft and three dead aliens but by the time the press caught wind of this all wreckage had been removed. Former air force personal working at Roswell airbase and Area 51 have since claimed to have seen this space craft or the alien bodies, but these testimonials remain suspicious. A video of a supposed alien autopsy carried out at area 51 has also since been proven to be false. 


The Washington UFO Flap

 
Where: East U.S.A 
When 1952

‘This is it boys! They’re coming!’ At least that’s what military commanders of the strategic posts around Washington should have yelled when several blips were appeared on the radar screen, heading directly for the Whitehouse. Instead they did nothing, saying that ‘authority had been transferred to somebody else’.

The days leading up to the sighting of the blips had been filled with UFO sightings, mostly by airline pilots, so maybe by the time the blips appeared they had gotten sick of hearing the same stories. Still, it seems obvious that some action should have been taken, the cold war was a time of heightened caution. Staff at the civilian air control tower certainly seemed concerned and badgered the military about the matter constantly. The only answer was that the military was unconcerned and that ‘someone else will take care of it.’ Fortunately the ‘blips’ vanished before reaching the Whitehouse. Perhaps the military somehow knew that they would.

The next few days saw the highest concentration of UFO sightings in history. Airline pilots and stargazing civilians alike all saw disks or formations of disks flying around. These sightings were reported to the authorities at a rate of forty a day. Radar contacts continued to be made, and then mysteriously vanished. These were in the form of groups of six or seven UFOs at a time. Eventually, two jets were scrambled to investigate. They reportedly saw nothing, despite flying through a cloud of blips. 


 next few days saw the highest concentration of UFO sightings in history. Airline pilots and stargazing civilians alike all saw disks or formations of disks flying around. These sightings were reported to the authorities at a rate of forty a day. Radar contacts continued to be made, and then mysteriously vanished. These were in the form of groups of six or seven UFOs at a time. Eventually, two jets were scrambled to investigate. They reportedly saw nothing, despite flying through a cloud of blips. 
3. The Rendlesham Forest Encounter

 
Where: Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England  
When: December 27, 1980

The former cold war base at Woodbridge, Suffolk was a centre of joint USAF/RAF operations on the south of England and surrounded by areas of Rendlesham forest. The events that took place in the scruffy area of the forest bordering the air base have become the stuff of legend. This controversial encounter has been described as the British Roswell but in reality was much more dramatic. The Roswell incident was little more than a crashed something-or-other, but Rendlesham was something else. Armed soldiers searching the woods at night? Bright lights? Secret meetings with alien commanders? Surely this is the stuff of sci-fi movies.

It was two patrolling USAF security officers that first saw the strange bright lights in Rendlesham Forest. Upon investigating, the two officers claimed to have discovered a small triangular shaped craft that they could not identify. The men were ordered to return to base and the craft disappeared. Two nights later the lights reappeared and this time a reconnaissance team was sent out led by deputy base commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Halt. Halt reported that his patrol found a small metallic craft measuring only between two and three meters in any direction. His official report said:

‘It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object, it manoeuvred through the trees and disappeared. At this time the animals on a nearby farm went into frenzy.’

Halt went on to describe a red light seen later that night, and how this light broke up into smaller lights of varying colours. These lights remained in the sky for an hour and put on a small aerial display. The next day a team was dispatched to the landing site. They discovered three indentations in the ground where the craft had stood. The area was contaminated with high levels of radiation. In 1994, in an interview recorded for the TV show ‘Strange But True?’ Lt-Colonel Halt gave more detail about the craft saying that ‘it pulsated as though it were an eye winking at you and around the edges it appeared to have molten metal dripping off it.’ He also gave his suspicions of the ensuing cover-up operation saying that his report had not been acknowledged by his superiors. There had also been a number of photographs taken that night, all of which had been removed and delivered directly to the pentagon.

But that’s not all. There was a second team deployed that night. Airman Larry Warren, who had been nineteen at the time, was part of the second expedition and described seeing a bright light that exploded into ‘a galaxy of colours’ and then reassembled into a solid craft, much larger than the first. The young Airman later released a differing account of his experience near the East gate of the airfield. In this he claimed that he had been ordered to guard the large craft by the East gate whilst an alien figure emerged to hold a pre-arranged meeting with the base commander. He has claimed that he was pressured into keeping this meeting a secret. 


The Phoenix Lights

 
Where: Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A 
When: 1997

This sighting of a large unknown craft over the city of Phoenix, Arizona is one perhaps the most credible and believable, and certainly the most alarming. It was witnessed by more people than any other UFO sighting. It demonstrated the vulnerability of the general public and the willingness of the United States military to tell bold faced lies.

The sighting took place on March 13th, 1997. Early reports have a collection of five lights heading in the general direction of the city of Phoenix. These lights were reported by most to be aligned in a V-shaped pattern and moving either in close formation or marking the underneath of one large craft. Witnesses include a retired policeman (policemen are often considered by ufologists to be reliable sources) and a farmer who described the craft as being ‘as large as a Boeing 747’ and as making a whooshing sound as it passed closely overhead. Another report was made by an experienced pilot who estimated the craft or crafts to be flying lower than 1000 feet and much slower than conventional aircraft. Whilst many believed the lights to represent separate aircraft rather than one large craft, it was always said that there were five lights and that they had remained in perfect formation. One observer recalled four lights with a fifth trailing behind. This might be consistent with seeing the V-shaped craft or formation from the rear or travelling in reverse.

When the unidentified flying sources-of light (which is the original meaning of the term ‘flying saucer’) moved deeper into the state of Arizona they came directly over the city of Phoenix. On the outskirts of the city a family claimed to have seen the lights heading down their street at between 100 and 200 feet but making no noise whatsoever. The object – and most observers from Phoenix agree that it was one large object – then hovered over the city for a disputed amount of time, during which it was witnessed by an estimated 700 residents. Many residents recorded this strangest of phenomenon with handheld video cameras or took photographs showing the five lights in their steady formation. Being the early evening many Phoenix residents were outside enjoying the cool air or having family barbeques with cameras already in hand. It is this enourmous number of witnesses that adds the frightening credibility that has made this case the mammoth UFO sighting it is.

The explanations offered for the Phoenix lights are slim. Although sightings of V-shaped UFOs are not entirely uncommon (in fact the craft seen hovering over Phoenix matches the descriptions of further sightings in Illinois, Texas and the United Kingdom), this shape is more commonly associated with U.S military stealth aircraft. The theory that this was in fact a top secret, experimental aircraft design (presumed by many to be a stealth blimp). Whatever the truth behind the mysterious lights the military was certainly keen to keep it under wraps. The Air force dropped flairs in the distance and has claimed that these were the lights seen by the city’s populous. Despite overwhelming video evidence that the lights moved in formation above the city, the U.S military maintains that they were flairs dropped from an aircraft several miles away. 


The Brazilian Roswell

 
Where: Varginha, Brazil  
When: January 1996

This is the daddy of all alien encounters. In the mass panic that has been called by some ‘the invasion of the goatsuckers’, a town in South-central Brazil was effectively invaded by aliens!

The furore began when several locals reported seeing UFOs in the days leading up to the event. Then, on the evening of Friday, January 19, an American spy satellite detected an unknown object heading towards the town. The local military was put on high alert, with the American military taking an active interest and supposedly advising the Brazilian authorities. Officially, a total media blackout was put into force, but this didn’t stop amateur cameramen recording the scenes of chaos that ensued. White objects were seen flying over, and even through, the city. Some witnesses reported seeing a cigar shaped UFO with smoke billowing from it’s tail end. This may or may not have been an alien craft headed for crash down, as a report soon came in that strange creatures were running loose in the town.

At 7am on the Saturday, deployed army units coordinated with firemen in an effort to find the creatures that had caused the panic. They are said to have found one creature cowering in some tall grass. Witnesses heard three shots and then saw a soldier carrying a sack from the scene – a sack containing something moving. According to Major Calza of the army unit this was nothing more than a mentally handicapped dwarf. A likely story.

A second creature was caught at 10 o’clock that night after having been seen by two young girls. The girls told their mother that they had ‘seen the devil’. The army officers took the newly captured ‘animal’ to a nearby hospital, fearing infection. One of the soldiers died a week later, having a mysterious toxin in his bloodstream. The creature was pronounced dead on arrival and examined by fifteen doctors. They described the creature as having short, skinny arms and legs, a long tongue, no pupils and a distinct smell of ammonia. It was later flown to the U.S on an unmarked plane.

Since this incident, the Brazilian ‘goatsuckers’, named for their supposed taste for animal blood, have been sighted many times. They are believed to be responsible for over a thousand cases of cattle mutilation bearing similarities to those carried out in the U.S. Cows are found drained of blood, with puncture wounds around the neck and jaw, and supposed evidence of having been analy probed. Whilst the goatsuckers are often linked to UFO sightings, more sensible theories explain them to be an unidentified wild creature (possibly genetically engineered). However, their link to the UFO ‘assault’ on Varginha cannot be ignored.

As you might expect, this entire incident has become an official secret. The firemen that captured the first creature have refused to be interviewed on the grounds that it is ‘classified’. One doctor that was given the opportunity to study the creature under tight security also refused to answer questions, saying ‘ask me in ten or fifteen years’.

World's Most Spectacular Tunnels

Generally speaking, tunnels are underground passageways at least twice as long as they are wide and at least
0.1miles or 0.16km in length or longer. Anything shorter than this is called underpass or chute. Tunnels are built

beneath the mountains, seas and cities for transportation, communication and other purposes. Here's a list of

some of the most remarkable tunnels in the world.

Laerdal Tunnel: Norway



The Lærdal Tunnel in Norway is the most spectacular tunnel because it is the longest tunnel in the world. It is

a 24.5 km or 15.2 miles long road tunnel. Its construction started in 1995 and was finished in 2000 and took

the title from Gothard Road Tunnel as the world's longest road tunnel.


The design of the tunnel takes into consideration the mental strain on drivers, so the tunnel is divided into four

sections, separated by three large mountain caves. The caves break the routine, providing a refreshing view

and allowing drivers to take a short rest.

North East MRT: Singapore





The 20 km long North East MRT Line (NEL) of Singapore is the most high-tech tunnels in the world. It is a

Mass Rapid Transit line which is considered as the world's first fully-underground, automated and driverless

rapid transit line.


The line has 16 stations and will take 30 minutes to travel from one end of this line to the other end. This

line is the first in Singapore to be entirely underground.




 Lotschberg Base Tunnel: Switzerland



The 34.577 km or 21.485 mile long Lotschberg Base Tunnel (LBT), a new railway tunnel cutting through the

Alps of Switzerland some 400 m or 1,312 ft below the existing Lotschberg Tunnel. It is the longest land tunnel

in the world that accommodates both passenger and freight trains.



Construction started in 2005 and in full scale operation by December 2007.



Cu Chi Tunnels: Vietnam



Many wondered why the Americans were not victorious against the communists during the so-called Vietnam

War. Well, the tunnels of C? Chi is one of the factors why the Americans withdrawn their forces in the

aforementioned war. These tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in

the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. These tunnels are part of a much larger network of

tunnels that underlie much of the country.


The C? Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the said war and were the Viet Cong's

base of operations for the Tet Offensive in 1968. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerillas as hiding spots

during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and

living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters.





Seikan Tunnel: Japan





The 53.85 kilometers or 33.5 mi long Seikan Tunnel of Japan is the world's longest undersea tunnel. It is a

railway tunnel with a 23.3 km or 14.5 mi portion under the seabed. It travels beneath the Tsugaru Strait

connecting Aomori Prefecture on the Japanese island of Honshu and the island of Hokkaido.


It is also the deepest rail tunnel in the world at 240 meters or 790 ft. This title will be taken by Gotthard base

Tunnel upon its completion in 2018.



Channel Tunnel: UK/France


Another spectacular undersea rail tunnel is the 50.5 km or 31.4 mile long Channel Tunnel between France and

United Kingdom. Its lowest point is 75 m or 250 ft deep. The Channel Tunnel has the longest undersea portion

of any tunnel in the world.


The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, Eurotunnel roll-on/roll-off vehicle transport - the

largest in the world - and international rail freight trains. This tunnel is regarded as one of the "Seven Wonders

of the Modern World" by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1996.



Fenghuoshan Tunnel: China



With a total length of 1, 338 meters long and stand at 4,905 meters above sea level, the Fenghuoshan Railway Tunnel in China is the highest railway tunnel in the world. It is part of the recently-completed Qingzang Railway that links China proper and Tibet.

The Chinese word "Fenghuoshan" means "Wind Volcano".



Moffat Tunnel: USA


The Moffat Tunnel is a unique tunnel. It is a 10 kilometer or 6.2 miles long railroad and a water tunnel that cuts

through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. The railroad tunnel is 24 feet or 7.3 m high and 18

feet or 5.5 m wide. The apex of the tunnel is at 9,239 feet or 2,816 m above sea level. The water tunnel runs

parallel south of the railroad tunnel and is part of the water supple system of Denver. The tunnel was named

after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat.


Delaware Aqueduct: USA



At 137 km or 85 miles long and 4.11 meters or 13.5 ft wide, the Delaware Aqueduct is the world's longest

continuous underground tunnel. It is the newest of the New York City aqueducts. It carries approximately

half of NYC's 1.3 billion US gallons per day water demand. The Delaware Aqueduct leaks up to 35 million

gallons per day.


Paijanne Water Tunnel: Finland


The 120 km or 75 miles long Paijanne Water Tunnel located in Finland is the world's second longest continuous

rock tunnel. It runs 30-100 meters under the surface in bedrock. It provides freshwater for the million people of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and others in Southern Finland.


Since the constant low temperature in the deep tunnel ensures high quality during transport, only minimal

processing is required before use.



 Zhongnanshan Tunnel: China



The 18,040 meter or 11.21 miles long Zhongnanshan Tunnel or Qinling Zhongnanshan Tunnel in Shaanxi

Province, China is the longest two-tube road tunnel in the world. It is also the second longest road tunnel

overall in the world, after the Laerdal Tunnel of Norway. The tunnel opened in 2007 which is worth 3.2 billion

Yuan or US$410 million. The tunnel will reduce the traveling times from Xi'an City to Zha Shui County Town

from 3 hours to 40 minutes.


La Linea: Colombia



 

La Linea or The Line is a highway tunnel currently under construction in Colombia. It will cross beneath the

locally famous "Alto de La Línea" in the Cordillera Central or central range of the Andes mountains. Upon

completion, it will be the longest tunnel in Latin America. Its total length will be 8,580 meters and expected to

be finished in 2013. Total economic benefits are estimated to be US$40 million per annum.



Eiksund Tunnel: Norway


At 7,765 meters or 25,476 ft long and 287 meters or 942 ft deep, the Eiksund Tunnel of Norway, an undersea

tunnel between the municipalities of Volda and Ulstein is the deepest undersea tunnel of its kind in the world.

The tunnel joins the island of Hareidlandet with more than 40,000 inhabitants to mainland Norway. The tunnel

was opened for public traffic in February 2008.

Weird and Cool Stuff Made from Bottles

Bottles can easily become art, shelter, decorations...They don't lose their potential just because they're empty of liquid. Innovators, artists, and just plain thrifty folk have proven this. The musical owl shown here is a perfect example. An art piece exhibited last year at San Francisco's Fifty24, it is human-height, made of chicken wire, bottles (drunk and saved by the artists during their residency), and other materials. Complete with speaker-cone parts for eyes, it played music when plugged in. Seriously, how cool.


This sculpture is a P.E.T. monster made with bottles colected in the Danube Delta, shown off at Panramio. The sheer size of it is enough to highlight the amount of plastic waste tossed aside near open water. Luckily, these became a demonstrative monster, rather than part of some giant swirling patch of plastic.




Amy M. Young is the artist behind this interesting temple of plastic bottles, that looks almost like sculptured ice. This one is gorgeous, but not functional. We know of another temple that might be even more surprising...



Now here is a cool structure made of bottles. This is the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple, made of a million bottles collected by the Buddhist monks from Thailand's Sisaket province. The hard work clearly pays off as you look around the incredible building. Structures made from bottles are not new, but they're getting new recognition, even being awarded energy grants.



 Not only are bottle buildings useful, they can boarder on crazy. This is one of the buildings in Grandma Prisbrey's village. Yep. Village. Located in Simi Valley, California, the village was started by Mrs. Prisbrey in 1955 when she was 62 years old. Over a million bottles make up the 33 structures that house her pencil collection, doll collection, and other collected items. She made daily trips to the dump to collect the bottles, becoming an inadvertent advocate for waste diversion. Currently, the Preserve Bottle Village Committee (with a staff of two) works to preserve the little glass town.


What might make a better decoration for one of the houses in Grandma Prisbrey's village than this chandelier of bottles? It would make for a much better DIY project than purchase, since it is priced at over $1,200. We suggest salvaging an old bar light and a bunch of beer bottles and making it yourself.



It might be a little more difficult to DIY some decorative flowers like these, though. Created by Burning Man artist Rod Pujante, the flowers ponder life without chlorophyll. There have been opportunities to learn how to create these unusual decorations, and they're well worth the effort if you want some everlasting bouquets. Of course, you could also go for paper versions too.


Jasmine Zimmerman whipped up this Bottle House as a way to bring attention to the more than 30 billion bottles used each year in America. It's a green house that will grow and house life from a potentially life-threatening material.


 Another useful repurposing of plastic bottles is to turn them into a solar water heater like Ma Yanjun, a carpenter, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi Province has done. It doesn't quite measure up to the version created in Parana, Brazil, but it certainly illustrates how handy and effective reusing junk can be, and Ma Yanjun has helped over 20 families create their own solar water heater from plastic bottles.



Water heaters aren't the only use of plastic bottles that incorporates solar. Hymini debuted their building blocks made from recycled plastic bottles, which can also incorporate solar charged lights. They're called Polli-Bricks and they have an interlocking shape in order to make building them up into structures an easy task. 


There are smaller, more practical uses of bottles, such as this chair. We're not sure how that might feel to take a seat after the glass has been cooking in the sun for awhile. Still, it looks comfortable and stylish, and offers some inspiration for how to turn trashed bottles into treasured items.


The debate over the carbon footprint of Christmas trees comes up every year. But there is a great solution. You might want to start collecting now if you hope to have enough bottles for a good sized tree like this in December. Just be really careful when setting it up if you're using glass!



Ending on a relatively somber note, we wanted to point out this art piece housed at the San Francisco dump. It's titled "Earth Tear" and is made of plastic bottles. 



 Houses Constructed Using Old Beer Cans

Some people have built and furnished their homes using empty beer cans. An interesting form of aluminum siding is created by using flattened cans applied in an overlapping scale pattern. Other wall designs rely on uncrushed cans. Decorative elements are added by creative arrangement of the cans or by cutting the cans into workable shapes for specific purposes.






Recycled Can Wall Art and Wall Covering

Used beer cans were beautifully repurposed into this butterfly spiral wall art. Others have used a more direct approach and used flattened special edition beer cans as wallpaper. Beer can collectors also enjoy using the uncrushed cans as a wallcovering that doubles as a unique display.




We Didn’t Think of it First

They may have not known about global warming or the urgency of living a greener lifestyle back in the 1960s, but these people were already hip to recycling beer cans. John Milkovisch used more than 50,000 empty beer cans to build his home in Houston. His “Beer Can House” underwent a seven-year restoration and is now open to the public.



Recycled Beer Can Home Decor

Here you can see even more practical uses for used beer cans. Beautiful luminaries and votive holders can be made by carefully cutting cans down and cutting out shapes for light to shine through. At one of the homes that has beer can siding, matching accents dress up the patio and deck.




Wearable Recycled Aluminum Cans

Wearing used beer cans may be less about a practical purpose than it is about quirky fun. After the beer is gone, the ultimate party hat can be made for the next time. Others have taken wearable recyclable art to a whole new level with gowns, jackets and shoes.




Beer Can Boats

Boats have been made from used beer cans by using silicon to hold the cans together and seal out water. Brad Gillam, Rob Meharg and Chris Taylor used approximately 8,000 gold beer cans to build their boat and sailed from from Ipswich to Brisbane, Australia in it. The successful voyage helped raise almost $60,000 for the SIDS and Kids foundation in memory of Gillam’s infant daughter, who died while the craft was being built.





Art and Novelty Creations

While some used beer can creations can have a practical use, others serve merely to amuse (or amaze) us. From dinosaurs to cathedrals to tiny vehicles, the only limit seems to be the artist’s imagination. When this weekend is over, will your empties go to the recycling center or could you think of a better use for them?

Top 10 Tornado Videos

Top 10 tornado videos
Tornado videos can be as powerful as tornadoes themselves, so MNN rounded up some of the wildest funnels ever caught on film. Here's our top 10 tornado video countdown -- and we saved the best for last.

Tornadoes are one of the planet's most photogenic natural disasters, and with zealous storm chasers hunting them each spring and summer, they're well-documented on YouTube. But as this year's U.S. twister season hits its peak, we decided to sift through all that funnel footage and round up the 10 videos that best convey these storms' — and storm chasers' — intensity.
 

 


 
10) Veteran storm chaser Jim Reed tailed this tornado across Kansas in May 2008 along with very patient intern Robin Lorenson. The funnel is impressive, but the most memorable part comes at the 3:58-minute mark, when Reed inexplicably jogs off into the tornado to end the clip.
 
  


 
9) If tornadoes could make promotional videos about themselves, they'd look like this. With a sunset peeking through the clouds and shimmering background music, this scene is more idyllic than intimidating. Storm chaser Roger Hill does offer a compelling case study for the delicate beauty of tornadoes, but if the next eight videos are any indication, this is the exception rather than the rule.



8) An EF5 tornado, rotating at more than 200 mph, is a rare sight even in Tornado Alley. But storm chaser Reed Timmer and friends caught up with this one — and almost vice versa. It was the most severe storm in the deadly Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of May 3, 1999, generating the strongest winds ever recorded on Earth. Timmer says this is what hooked him on storm chasing, which he's been doing for 10 years since. He's also gotten better at holding a camera steady since then. See this video for more footage of the '99 twister.
 
 


 
7) This giant wedge tornado was filmed a few hundred miles north of Tornado Alley in Manitoba, but it'd be right at home in Kansas or Oklahoma. It gives the storm chasers a scare until it settles into a groove and churns around in place, but what it lacks in mobility it more than makes up for with size and power.


6) Kansas' McConnell Air Force Base takes a beating in this footage of a monstrous EF5 twister in April 1991. The highlight comes in the clip's second minute, when the funnel takes a sudden turn toward the camera and roars through a parking lot just a few hundred feet away. This video shows the same tornado a little later in the town of Andover, where it killed 18 people.
 
 

 
5) Filmed in Ellis, Colo., in May 2007, this tornado was on a mission. The clip opens with a frantic scene — the chasers become the chased as they flee down the highway in reverse — but you can clearly see how wildly it's rotating at several points, especially between the 1:35 and 2:20 marks, when it rips apart a building and several trees.


4) This isn't the strongest or biggest tornado of our top 10, but it does run over the camera, which helps. Roger Hill carefully places us directly in the path of an approaching twister, adjusts the camera so we can see it coming, then bolts. There's a happy ending, as the clip's title gives away, when we see a presumably frightened cow safely amble out of the tornado's path.
 
 

 
3) This clip of a quarter-mile-wide EF4 tornado in Manchester, S.D., has been called "the most amazing tornado footage of all time," albeit by the guy who shot it. But it's Timmer again, and since his online bio says he's already seen 230 tornadoes in his decade of storm chasing, he'd probably know as well as anyone. Timmer lists this EF4 among his most "notable tornado intercepts." It was apparently also notable for someone in the background named Alex.


2) National Geographic produced this montage, which is basically its own "best tornado videos" clip. Not only does it compile a bounty of great twister footage from around the country, but it's set against a nice, subtle techno beat. Cows reacting to a tornado is as funny as you'd imagine, and watching people helplessly film their houses being obliterated is as painful as you'd imagine.
 


 
1) Jim Reed, the guy who chased a tornado on foot in our No. 10 clip, and his assistant Katie Bay discover this funnel cloud in the air above them before it touches down. They're lucky at first when it snakes away from them to land, but its invisible tip quickly becomes a roaring tornado that heads right for them.

Food Too Big To Finish Extreme Eating Feats

While American restaurants have often been called out for their sometimes gluttonous serving sizes, some are proud of their oversized portions—so proud, in fact, that a few food purveyors have made them into official eating challenges. Below find eight of the most outrageous dishes around—from 42-inch pizzas to 5 pounds of pancakes—that make our bellies bellow for, well, less.

Jack & Grill Burrito Challenge
 

Jack & Grill in Denver, CO, is famous for their breakfast burrito challenge. Each of these seven pound behemoths contains eight eggs, one pound of ham, grilled potatoes, onions, chili and cheese, all wrapped up inside a gargantuan tortilla. But here’s the kicker: The big prize—free food for life at the restaurant—is only awarded to women who’ve successfully completed the time limit-less challenge. According to the restaurant’s owner, in the ten years the contest has been around, only five women have been up to the challenge (none of whom have returned). But men, take heart—anyone (male or female) who downs an entire burrito gets their photo displayed on the restaurant’s Wall of Fame. 

Pancake Challenge
 

The Seiad Valley Store and Café, a little restaurant in Northern California, hit the Travel Channel’s “World’s Best Places to Pig Out” list in 2003, winning 3rd place for its 5 Pound Pancake Challenge. Rick Jones, the restaurant owner, gave us a rundown of the rules: “The pancakes must be eaten in a 2-hour time limit. If you lose it, you clean it up.” According to Jones, only 17 people have finished the challenge in 19 years. 




Giant Donuts
 

The oversized “Texas Donut” at Round Rock Donuts in Round Rock, TX, has made multiple blog headlines, and has even been spotlighted on the television program Man vs. Food as one of host Adam Richman’s official eating challenges. The donut is described by reviewers as embodying just the right mixture of fluffy dough and sweet glaze, and this photo certainly attests to its grandiose size. A Round Rock employee confirmed that the famous donut, which is a daily menu offering, weighs in at a whopping two pounds—the equivalent of a dozen of their average-sized donuts. 



Beer Barrel Belly Buster
 

Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, offers several varieties of extreme hamburgers, including the two-pound “Challenger,” three-pound “Baby Boy,” and six-pound “Ye Olde 96er” (named for the 96 ounces of meat it contains). But then, of course, there’s the fourth option: The Beer Barrel Belly Buster, which is designed to be a two-person eating challenge, contains 10 and a half pounds of ground beef, 25 slices of cheese, a whole head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, one and a half cups of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, mustard and banana peppers—all between a gigantic hamburger bun. According to local legend, in October 2008, Brad Sciullo of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, became the first patron to finish the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser in one sitting, consuming the 20.2 pound total weight burger in 4 hours and 39 minutes. According to the pub’s owner, “People walk in every weekend ready to take it on.” 



Southwestern Exposure Omelette
 

Beth’s Café in Seattle, Washington has become a local hotspot in large part because of the create-your-own 12-egg omelet included on the restaurant’s menu. According to the café’s staff, this breakfast option was never officially advertised as a “challenge,” but became one in its own right after local patrons began videotaping their self-imposed challenges and posting them on YouTube.com.



42-Inch Pizza
 

Big Lou’s Pizza has been serving 42-inch pizzas since 2000. Originally created as an advertising gimmick to get the local media’s attention, its popularity stuck—which prompted six other sizes of pizzas (ranging from 10 inches to 42 inches). The only catch? This humongous pizza must be eaten on-site since it’s too large for a box. 


Big Texan Steak Ranch
 

Amarillo, Texas is home to one of the country’s most famous steak houses, Big Texan Steak Ranch, an establishment which since 1960 has been renown for its 72-ounce steak challenge. The rules of engagement? Down the entire $72 hunk of meat (plus all the fixins alongside the steak) in less than 1 hour, and it’s yours for free. The owner says that approximately 7 people walk in daily to take on the challenge, and about 6 people fail—namely because of the competition’s long list of terms and conditions. Here are a few: The last bit of meat must be swallowed within an hour (not just in your mouth); once you have started you must remain in your chair for the entire hour; you don’t have to eat the fat but it will be inspected for leftover meat; and should you become ill, it’s considered an instant loss.


Avalanche
 
 

The Cooling Station in Highwood, IL, owes its never-waning popularity to the Avalanche—a 15-inch tall, 42-scoop ice cream sundae loaded with every topping in the restaurant, plus whipped cream and hot fudge. Every weekend, local teens and tweens make it their business to take on the giant sundae challenge, and thus far two girls from Lake Forest High School hold the finishing record of 35 minutes. According to TravelChannel.com, the junior-level students fasted for two and a half days prior to the competition!

The Six Creepiest Abandoned Places

There are many abandoned territories in the modern world. Places that, for one reason or another, were left entirely intact, yet completely vacant for sometimes decades on end. From entire townships fading into obscurity, to rotting amusement parks closed from lack of interest - they’re as varied as they are manifold. Any manmade place seems a little unsettling once emptied of its people, but some places aren’t happy to be merely "unsettling;" some places aim a little bit higher - shooting for the bullseye that is full blown terror. And here are some that hit it dead on:



Gunkanjima, Japan
This is Gunkanjima, Japan, also known as “Battleship Island.” It once had the densest population in the entire world: 1.4 people per square meter. Do you realize how insane that is? Let me put it this way: If you were a fat guy on Battleship Island, there would technically be another person partially inside of you, like the aftermath of some horrifying teleporter accident.
Battleship Island was built during World War II (thus all the concrete reinforcements,) and still stands largely intact to this day. It’s strictly off limits to the public, though sometimes adventurous photographers do sneak into it to take pictures like these, at which point they’re presumably murdered by the world’s densest population of angry spirits and fused into their spectral Hive Mind.





Essex Mountain Sanitorium, United States
Listen, because this is important advice: If you ever start a sanatorium, you need to tear that shit down once you’re done with it. Not repurpose it or leave it empty or something; that is just begging – literally begging – for a group of stupid teenagers to sneak inside of it to have illicit sex, where they will inevitably get murdered by the ghosts of madmen. It’s like a Roach Motel for horny morons. You may as well put an “Idiots Fuck Here” sign out front and start up a mortuary next door; you’d make a killing.



Hey, that could be your tag line!



Anyway, this is the Essex Mountain Sanitorium in Verona, New Jersey. I could tell you all about how terrifying this place is, but I’ll just show you this:


That’s just the kitchen. All they did was make fries there and I still want to cry just looking at it.





Centralia, United States
Centralia, Pennsylvania was a coal mining town that was been almost completely evacuated several decades ago. Forty years ago, to be precise. That's when somebody started a coalfire underground that's still burning to this very day. The entire town is burning just inches beneath the surface, and noxious smoke churns up from every opening, every sewer grate, and every crack in the highway. The asphalt of the street forms giant misshapen bubbles from the heat below, and sink holes randomly open up from time to time - the ground simply dropping away to the eternal fires raging just beneath. Forty years ago the fire started, and forty years ago everybody left because they didn’t want to live balanced precariously on the precipice of hell.
Well, almost everybody. Centralia still has a population of nine.



Nine!



Which means that there are either at least nine people possessed by the devil right now, or else Clint Eastwood cloned himself nine times. Because he’s the only person I can possibly think of who’s got balls big enough to shrug off the potentiality of getting eaten by the fires of hell every time he mows his lawn.





Kaeson Youth Park, N. Korea
In Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, there are several abandoned amusement parks around, because hey - it’s hard to really relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of a merry-go-round when all of the other horses have cameras mounted in their eyes, and grabbing the gold ring is indicative of capitalist greed and therefore punishable by death.
This particular park, Kaeson Youth Park, is the largest of the lost parks, and is currently abandoned save for the Ghost of Blackbeard (who is clearly just Old Man Whithers trying to scare off tourists to keep his smuggling business a secret. Duh.)





San Zhi, Taiwan
This is the settlement of San Zhi, in Taiwan. It was originally supposed be a tourism-driven town, and the unique architecture of the place reflects that goal. A series of “mysterious accidents” plagued the settlement as soon as it was completed, so it was never actually used; just left abandoned to rot. Local religious beliefs held the complex to be the base of angry spirits, which is supposedly why it was never demolished.
By the looks of it, those “mysterious accidents” probably refer to the time George Jetson went crazy and murdered his entire family - his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, and Jane, his wife - with a Space Axe. They say that if you stand at the heart of the complex and say the words “Jane! Get me offa this crazy thing!” three times in a row, Astro will appear and tear out your throat.





Hellingly asylum, England
In the Sussex countryside stands possibly the most terrifying structure in existence: Hellingly Asylum. That’s its real name, by the way - not an ominous alias whispered in the darknened corners of the tavern by frightened locals.. They opened an asylum, and they named it Hellingly. Because fuck it, everybody knows that turn of the century asylums are pretty much guaranteed to be haunted by the ghosts of maniacs anyway, right? May as well be up front about it.
Look at that. Fuck you I’m going down that hallway. I would honestly be surprised if you weren’t grabbed by the multi-headed corpsebeast of the long-dead madmen whose identities (partially erased by electro-shock therapy) have merged over time into a writhing ball of madness and terror.

10 Unbelievable Sleepwalking Stories

The sleepwalking nurse who draws masterpieces in a trance

Meet Lee Hadwin By day a nurse, at night he's a "sleepwalking artist" who produces strange and fantastical artworks which he has no recollection of drawing when he wakes up the next morning.

Dubbed 'Kipasso', he says he is utterly mystified by his nocturnal talent, while at the daytime he shows no interest or ability in art whatsoever. Major galleries have been asking for examples of his work, which they hope to market on its artistic merit as well as its novelty value.

Hadwin first started sleepwalking when he was four years old, but his parents believed it was a normal childhood phase. When he was in his teens, he began producing art work while asleep, at first on his bedroom walls. Once, staying over at a friend's house, he covered the kitchen walls with doodles in his sleep, an embarrassing discovery at breakfast time the next day. In his late teens and early 20s, the intensity of his sleepwalking increased and Hadwin would wake to find everything in the vicinity: tableclothes, newspapers, clothes and walls, covered in artwork.

Hoping to harness the strange ability, he started leaving artists' materials out when he went to bed and, sure enough, when he awoke he says he would find full-blown pictures beside him. Now, he leaves his home prepared for nocturnal wanderings, with sketchbooks and charcoal pencils scattered around the house, particularly under the stairs, a favorite venue. (Source)


The sleepwalker who drove 10 miles and killed his in-law

Kenneth Parks, a 23-year-old Toronto man with a wife and infant daughter, was suffering from severe insomnia caused by joblessness and gambling debts. Early in the morning of May 23, 1987 he arose, got in his car and drove 23 kilometers to his in-laws' home. He stabbed to death his mother-in-law, whom he loved and who had once referred to him as "a gentle giant." Parks also assaulted his father in law, who survived the attack. He then drove to the police and said "I think I have killed some people... my hands," only then realizing he had severely cut his own hands. Under police arrest he was taken to the hospital where he underwent repair of several flexor tendons of both hands.

Because he could not remember anything about the murder and assault, had no motive for the crime whatsoever, and did have a history of sleepwalking, his team of defense experts (psychiatrists, a psychologist, a neurologist and a sleep specialist) concluded Ken Parks was 'asleep' when he committed the crime, and therefore unaware of his actions. (


The sleepwalking woman who had sex with strangers

In 2004, sleep medicine experts have successfully treated a rare case of a woman having sex with strangers while sleepwalking.

At night while asleep, the middle-aged sleepwalker from Australia left her house and had sexual intercourse with strangers. The behavior continued for several months and the woman had no memory of her nocturnal activities. Circumstantial evidence, such as condoms found scattered around the house, alerted the couple to the problem. On one occasion, her partner awoke to find her missing, went searching for her and found her engaged in the sex act.

Incredulity is the leading player in cases like this. But a combination of factors convinced the doctors that the case was a real sleepwalking phenomenon, including the distress of the couple, and an in-depth clinical evaluation. She stopped her night-time excursions after psychiatric counselling. Drugs such as benzodiazepines, which are sometimes used to treat sleep walkers, were not necessary.


The sleepwalking chef who cooks while sleeping

Robert Wood, a 55 year-old chef, gets up four or five times a week while asleep and heads to the kitchen where he prepares omelettes, stir fries and chips. He has been sleepwalking for 40 years but, together with wife Eleanor, is becoming increasingly worried about having an accident while in the kitchen.

The couple from Glenrothes in Fife now cannot sleep for more than around three hours at a time. Mr Wood believes an ulcer in his intestine may be at the root of the problem. Because the condition only allows him to eat very small portions, he thinks his hunger pangs might cause him to head to the kitchen. Once he tried to fill a small bowl with a whole box of cereal and carton of milk. Mr Wood is said to be seeking help from sleep specialists in Edinburgh.

The sleepwalker who froze to death

In Jan 2009, Timothy Brueggeman, a 51-year-old electrician from Wisconsin, sleepwalked out of his home in Hayward wearing only his underwear and a fleece shirt. His body was found the next morning about 190 yards from his rural home.

With temperatures around -16°F, Brueggeman died of hypothermia.
Investigators found a bottle of Ambien in his bedroom. Ambien is the most-prescribed sleeping pill in the country and has been linked to hundreds of cases of sleepwalking. Sanofi-Aventis, which produces the drug, insists Ambien is safe when taken as directed and not mixed with alcohol or other drugs. But a friend of the victim, Ed Lesniak, admitted that his friend, who was plagued with insomnia, sometimes drank when taking the sleep aid.

This wasn't Brueggeman's first dangerous sleepwalking incident. Last summer, he drove his pickup truck into the side of his own garage. Brueggeman's mother had advised him to stop taking Ambien after the incident.


The teenager who sleepwalked out her bedroom window

Just recently, in May 2009, a sleepwalking teenager stepped out of the bedroom window at her historic castle home and plunged 25ft to the ground. Rachel Ward had got out of bed and pulled on a jumper before making her dramatic, unconscious exit from the first floor of the 19th century house.

She landed feet first on a narrow strip of grass next to her car, leaving six-inch divots in the ground, before collapsing. Semi-conscious, she screamed for help and her parents took her to hospital. There, to the amazement of doctors, tests revealed she hadn't broken a single bone. It was only the following day that Miss Ward, an 18-year-old A-level student, properly woke up. (


The sleepwalker who molested a child and got absolved

In 2007, Alan Ball went to a New Year's Eve house party, drank heavily and fell asleep on a sofa. At some point during the night, he got up, went upstairs and climbed into bed with an under-age girl, whom he kissed on the lips.

After a year in which this lorry-driving father lost his job and was able to see his five-year-old daughter only during supervised visits, a judge at Preston Crown Court cleared him of sexual assault in 2009, after the 35-year-old claimed he was sleepwalking at the time of the incident and had no memory of the events.


The sleepwalker who mowed the lawn naked

In 2005, a sleep-walking computer expert was reportedly caught by his wife mowing the lawn naked at 2am. Rebekah Armstrong was woken by a noise coming from the garden. When she realized her husband Ian was not in bed she went downstairs to see what was happening.

Rebekah found Ian was mowing the lawn completely starker. She was afraid to wake him up because she had always been told it can be dangerous to disturb someone who is sleepwalking. She just unplugged the mower, went back to bed and let him get on with it. Ian, 34, later got back into bed and didn't believe Rebekah when she told him what he'd been up to.


The sleepwalker who emailed friends

In 2005, a 44-year-old woman went to bed about 10pm but got up two hours later and walked to her computer in the next room. She turned it on, connected to the internet, and logged on before composing and sending three emails.

Each was in a random mix of upper and lower cases, not well formatted and written in strange language, the researchers said.
One read: "Come tomorrow and sort this hell hole out. Dinner and drinks, 4pm,. Bring wine and caviar only." Another said simply, "What the…".

The new variation of sleepwalking has been described as "zzz-mailing". The neurologists said that unlike simple sleep-walking, the activities their patient was involved in required complex behaviour and co-ordinated movements including typing, composing and writing the messages.

She was also able to remember her password and turn the computer on and connect to the internet, although she had no memory of the event. It was thought that the woman's sleep-walking may have been triggered by prescription medication, although the causes of the phenomenon are not fully understood.



The sleepwalking dog

Apparently, sleepwalking is not exclusive to humans. Meet Bizkit, a cute dog who suffers from somnambulism and became an instant viral hit on the web.

The worst potholes in the world

Harare, Zimbabwe




According to its residents, nowhere in the world is the pothole situation worse than in Harare. Unlike potholes that just make your ride a bit bumpy, their potholes actually attempt to swallow your car. 


Chicago, IL



Chicago is on par with many third world countries when it comes to road repairs. 

Not only does the city have 100's of miles of poorly maintained roads, they also lack the money/manpower/will/interest to repair them.

The city keeps telling residents that they have crews working around the clock, but try telling that to the 1000's of people who need to buy new wheels for their car after hitting one of these monstrous holes. Chicago even has a special portion on their web site where drivers can file a claim for pothole damage. 




Yes - the city of Chicago is so behind on their pothole repairs that KFC decided to fill the holes themselves, and use the whole thing for a bit of goodwill generating PR.



Colombo, Srilanka



Colombo is one of those cities where potholes morph into sinkholes. Large amounts of rain scour the ground from under the roadbed, and the result is the kind of hole that can swallow a car.



Another Colombo pot/sinkhole. Thankfully it doesn't look like any vehicles were lost in this thing, but you can clearly see some damaged pipes and other infrastructure in the massive hole.



Jamaica



Bad combination - super relaxing island and the kind of pothole that will really put a dent in your day (and wheels). It is bad enough when you hit one of these things with your car, but popping the front wheel of your moped or bike in them is enough to turn your bike seat into an ejector seat.


New Orleans, LA



It's not really fair to criticize New Orleans for their potholes - the city is still recovering from Katrina, but that doesn't make this pothole less impressive. Notice the car tire on the left, showing just how deep this thing is. 


Xiamen City, ChinaOuch. The only thing worse than hitting a killer Chinese pothole, is hitting one when a photographer is standing there waiting for you to go flying, just so he can snap a great picture.
Liu Tao was criticized for not warning cyclists of the danger lying ahead of them. If you enjoy seeing people get hurt, or just want to know how the fall ends, check out the other photos at the source article.




Kiev, Ukraine



I'm not sure whether this pothole appeared out of the blue when people were coming down the road, or whether these cars were simply parked in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it sure looks like an expensive mess.


New York, NY

For the final pothole in this lineup, what better place than New York City? Seriously, when the potholes get this big, you may be better off leaving the car at home and sticking with public transport

Michigan potholes from hell




I'll let this video clip speak for itself. 

In Russia, pothole drive you?




Funny how you can make almost any video interesting by adding some snappy Greek music to the background!

7 Prescription Drugs With Worse Side Effects Than the Ailments They Treat

Purpose: To help you quit smoking.
Side Effects: Suicide



Chantix
“Some patients have reported changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions when attempting to quit smoking while taking CHANTIX or after stopping CHANTIX.”



- Purpose: To treat arthritis.
Side Effects: Death



Celebrex
“CELEBREX may increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke that can lead to death…Serious skin reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, can occur without warning and my cause death.”


 Purpose: To aid in sleeping.
Side Effects: Sleepdriving and amnesia


Ambien
“Sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully awake, with amnesia for the event, have been reported. If you experience any of these behaviors contact your provider immediately.”



 Purpose: To help treat restless leg syndrome.
Side Effects: Gambling addiction, hallucinations and amnesia. 



Mirapex
“Mirapex may cause you to fall asleep without any warning, even while doing normal daily activities, such as driving. When taking MIRAPEX, hallucinations may occur and sometimes you may feel dizzy, sweaty or nauseated upon standing up.” Also linked to amnesia and gambling addiction.



 Purpose: To treat severe acne.
Side Effects: Birth defects and suicide



Accutane 
“There is an extremely high risk that severe birth defects will result if pregnancy occurs while taking ACCUTANE in any amount, even for short periods of time…There is an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, and premature births have been reported…The patient will be counseled to avoid pregnancy by using two forms of contraception simultaneously and continuously one month before, during, and one month after isotretinoin therapy, unless the patient commits to continuous abstinence…ACCUTANE may cause depression, psychosis and, rarely, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, suicide, and aggressive and/or violent behaviors.”



Purpose: To treat psoriasis.
Side Effects: Decreased immune system, arthritis and WORSE psoriasis

Raptiva 
“RAPTIVA can decrease the activity of your immune system to fight infections. People using RAPTIVA may have an increased chance of getting serious infections. Some infections in people using RAPTIVA have become serious and in rare cases these have led to hospitalization or death. RAPTIVA likely increases the risk of getting Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare brain disease caused by a virus which usually results in death or severe disability…Other serious side effects experienced by patients treated with RAPTIVA included low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia), low blood counts (anemia), new or worsening psoriasis, new or worsening arthritis, and nervous system disorders.”
More …



Purpose: To control blood sugar in diabetics.
Side Effects: Bone fractures, heart failure and pregnancy




Avandia 
“AVANDIA can cause or worsen heart failure…Women taking AVANDIA should know that AVANDIA may increase the risk of pregnancy. More fractures have been observed in women taking AVANDIA. Other possible side effects of AVANDIA include anemia and hypoglycemia.”

The Extreme Mammal Hall of Fame

The biggest (and smallest) and baddest (and cutest) mammals went on display in the new “Extreme Mammals” exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Stretching across the globe and back 70 million years, the exhibit provides an exciting overview of the diversity of the sweaty, hairy, nursing class of animals to which humans belong.

If you’re in D.C., you can catch the exhibit through January 3, 2010. Or you can check out some of the specimens in this photo gallery of extreme mammals.

The image above is Indricotherium, the largest land mammal ever discovered. An adult could weigh 20 tons, more than a family of African elephants. It lived in the forests of central Asia about 30 million years ago, but died out as those forests turned into grassland. As you might surmise, its closest living relative is the rhinoceros. 



The Proboscis monkey (Nasalis gerardis) is nature’s Pinnocchio. A male’s nose can grow to 7 inches long. This extended sniffer is believed to attract the lady monkeys. 


Petaurus breviceps). While the other exhibits feature models, six real, live sugar gliders will be on display. These tiny marsupials can jump for extended distances by using their skin like a parachute. 


Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus). Spectacled bears weigh less than a pound when they are born, but grow into 300-pound adults. They also have pretty faces.” 



Tasmanian devil skeleton (Sarcophilus harrisii) You knew that Tasmanian devils were among the more badass mammals on name alone, but it turns out they have the strongest bite-force of any mammal under a foot tall. 



Cynognathus skull fossil (Cynognathus crateronotus). This mammalian relative lived more than 250 million years ago. Its original scientific name meant “dog jaw” in honor of the canine way its teeth worked. 



Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). The pangolin is covered with scales made from keratin, the same stuff that makes up your fingernails. If you scare them, they turn into a ball of blades while spraying you with jets of skunk-like liquid. In other words, if you see one in Asia, steer clear. 


No list of strange mammals would be complete without the platypus. Not only do they look strange, but they don’t give birth to live young like other mammals — they lay eggs. Another strange fact: Platypuses produce milk but don’t have nipples, so it oozes out onto patches of their skin where the babies can access its nutrients. 


This odd-looking mammal has a camel-like body and a long giraffe-like neck and a flexible elephant-like trunk. Sadly, it’s no longer around to poke fun at. The South American animal went extinct 10,000 years ago. 


Glyptodont (Glyptotherium floridanum). Behold the enormous ancient relative of the armadillo. These herbivores could grow up to 10 feet long and were covered with thick armor. 

10 Incredible Images of Big Waves from Below

Driven by the wind, waves are the chariot horses of the open seas, some of them galloping thousands of miles before they are brought to a halt, breaking as they reach land. These surfers’ steeds are found in all sizes, from colt-like ripples to colossal rogue waves, but rarely are they seen from beneath, and rarer still is the commotion they conjure below the ocean’s surface captured in all its beauty on camera.



The texture of the bubbles in the shot above of the photographer’s wife catching a wave at Australia’s Soldiers Beach is enough to give you goosebumps. Notice the reflection of pink from the surfboard in the bubbles just above it.


In this photo of some surfers duckdiving, the angle of the onrushing wave the boarders must push their way through is clearly marked.




Like the first image in this article, this next shot, rich in green, shows how humans are not the only creatures who must react to the way waves move over their heads.



No protagonist of either the human or animal variety in this next pic, though there’s still plenty to occupy the eye in the contrast between the rippled and froth-filled patterns created by the wave.


Inspired by the surging power of waves, this shot by specialist underwater photographer Luke Bubb is from a series titled Ocean Storm. It certainly looks like something heady is brewing overhead.


The steady march of waves rolling in is visible as different layers piling on top of one another in this next photo.



Indigo makes its presence felt in this next shot as the sun shines through to the left of the frame.


Bubbles trapped in the water make the image appear almost blurred as the tumult subsides in the aftermath of a wave that’s just broken.


More bubbles galore in the final shot of our image gallery, and a chance for a brief reflection on the science behind all this aesthetic beauty. A breaking wave occurs when the wave’s base is no longer able to support its top, so that it collapses. This typically occurs when the wave runs into shallow water and the steepness of the wave becomes too great. Easy-to-surf spilling breakers, plunging waves that barrel and can dump the unwary, and surging waves that may drag people back in to deeper water are all varieties of breaking waves. Dangerous some of them may be, but we’re pretty sure they all look sweet from beneath.

The Seven Smelliest Creatures in the World

 Bombardier beetle



The Bombardier beetle gets its name from the mixture of chemicals it can fire from its rear. The beetle has two separate chemicals, hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, stored in its body. Whenever the beetle feels threatened the chemicals mix with some special enzymes and that heat up the liquids. It then shoots a boiling, stinky liquid and gas from its rear, causing some serious woe for anything that happens to get sprayed with the liquid. Darwin allegedly experienced the sting and smell of the beetle’s spray after he put one in his mouth to free up a hand during a beetle collecting expedition.


Wolverines



Unlike the X-Men character, real wolverines are shy members of the weasel family. They’re seldom seen by humans, but they’re frequently smelled. Like most members of the weasel family, the wolverine has glands that it secretes fluid from to mark its territory. The musky scent is supposed to be very unpleasant, and has given the wolverine the colourful nicknames of “skunk bear” and “nasty cat”.


Musk ox


Speaking of musk, you know an animal is likely to smell when its name derives from producing a smell. The musk ox is a furry, horned mammal that inhabits the Arctic. While it’s called an ox it’s more closely related to sheep and goats than normal oxen. The “musk” of the musk ox is only produced by the males. The smell comes from the animal’s urine, which it uses to mark its territory during mating season. This is important, because during the mating season male musk oxen are particularly aggressive. Much like rams, they’ll fight with head on crashes until one submits. They’re so aggressive they’ve even been known to charge birds who alight in their territory. When the musk ox marks its territory, a lot of the smelly urine gets matted into the hairy belly of the animal. This accounts for its generally gross smell.


Stink bugs




Much like the musk ox, stink bugs have a name that’s fitting. There’s no single “stink bug”. The name applies to a variety of members of the hemiptera order. The insects produce a stinky substance in their thorax, between the first and second pairs of legs. The smelly liquid is actually very similar to pheromones in its chemical makeup, but the small changes make a world of difference. Very few bugs are going to be drawn to the stink bugs’ secretions in hope of a little nookie. Like the bombardier beetle, the stink bugs’ foul smelling liquid is a defence mechanism.


Skunk



For many people skunk would be the first thing that springs to mind when the phrase “smelly animals” is brought up. Plenty of us have been driving along quite happily, only to suddenly recoil in horror as we recognized the pervasive stench of skunk roadkill beginning to fill the car. There are 11 species of skunk, two in Asia and nine in the Americas. All of them have the ability to spray a foul smelling chemical when threatened. The famous skunk spray is a mix of sulphuric chemicals, and skunks can spray accurately up to 15 feet. The stench is so powerful almost every animal leaves it alone, the sole exception being the Great Horned Owl which has almost no sense of smell. Despite the power of their spray, skunks don’t really like to use it. They only carry about 15 cc of their smell chemicals in their body, enough for about five sprays, and it can take a week and a half to replenish their stench supply.


 Tasmanian devil




While the Tasmanian devil has become a cartoon caricature for some, the creature’s stench is legendary. According to some who have encountered it in the wild its stench can never be forgotten. It’s said to reek of death which, along with its ghastly cries and vicious feeding behavior, may have given it its reputation as a fearsome creature. In reality, the devil is shy and solitary and doesn’t generally go around stinking up the joint. They aren’t even particularly prolific hunters, preferring to get together and chow down on carrion. It’s only when the devil is agitated that it starts to produce its horrible smell. Of course, for a fairly animal running into a human can be fairly agitating so that may have given rise to the idea they constantly reek of death and decay.


Striped Polecat




The striped polecat, also known as the zorilla, is a skunk-like member of the weasel family. The African mammal is almost certainly the world’s smelliest creature. Its anal glands can allegedly be smelled from a half a mile away. That’s over seven football fields. Much like the skunk, the striped polecat can shoot these smelly secretions from their anal glands to help deter predators. While the animal’s smell is amazing enough, even more amazing is the fact that some native peoples actually use the polecat’s incredibly nasty secretions as a perfume. It’s likely they use it to mask their own smell when hunting, however, rather than an affinity for the smell of a striped polecat.

The Beauty of Birds Flocking Above

Ever since Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller The Birds, watching birds flock has never been the same. The following pictures, however, leave that association behind and instead show the remarkable skill and coordination that flying in a flock requires. 

Flocking is a collective animal behaviour that can be observed in birds, fish and insects; all animals in fact, only that for some species, it is called herding, swarming, schooling or, er, summer sale. 

Thousands of grackles swarm around Houston’s Wortham Center at dusk:



It is an instinctive behaviour that follows simple rules and does not require central coordination, but whose results can be astounding: bird migrations over thousands of miles, for example, or complex structures like termite mounds. The advantages of a flock versus a single animal are that a group of animals is stronger, better protected and can hunt or feed better. 

In birds, flocking behaviour can be observed beautifully in flight when often huge flocks of birds cover an area in the sky, flying around apparently without coordination but also without any collisions. Three general rules guide flocking behaviour, and, as tests have shown, not only for animals:
Separation: don’t step on your neighbour’s toes (or claws), avoid crowding;
Alignment: keep in line and steer toward the average direction of the neighbours;
Cohesion: keep the structure and steer toward the average position of the flock neighbours.


 Following all the rules? A flock of red-winged blackbirds at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas:



Bird formations especially have puzzled humans for a long time until studies revealed a few simple facts.

 Each bird flapping its wings creates an uplift for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, for example, the whole flock gains a 71% greater flying range than each bird flying alone.


 Watch out, here we come! Synchronized seagull formation:


 Canadian geese in classic V-formation above Lake Michigan:



 Each formation has a lead bird that rotates back into the formation when it gets tired so that another bird can take over the head position. 

 Similarly, any bird falling out of formation soon realises the extra resistance when flying alone. It quickly moves back into line to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it. For that reason, geese flying at the back of a formation, for example, honk encouragingly to those in the front to keep up their speed.


 A reinforced V, for greater encouragement or did they just feel chatty?



 When a bird in formation gets too tired, sick or wounded to continue, at least one bird will drop out of formation as well and follow it for protection and help. They stay with the wounded bird until it dies or is able to fly again. If their original formation is already too far ahead to catch up with, they will join another one.

The flocking phenomenon has become a biannual event in Denmark that is known as Black Sun (Sort Sol), where European starlings gather in vast numbers and therefore temporarily darken the sky with their complex flying patterns. 


A huge flock of starlings over Tondermarsken in southwest Jutland, Denmark:


A cloud of starlings during “Sort Sol”:



 Actual migrating bird formation over the Mediterranean:


Birds on the trail of the airplane or vice versa?


 Beautiful shot of birds flying into the sunset taken from the terrace of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.:


The accidental symmetry of the next picture is just amazing. A near perfect V on top of an inverted perfect V.


Ten birds flying in formation over the Golden Gate Bridge:


A flock of barnacle geese over the perfectly flat landscape of northern Germany:


The sub-Saharan red-billed quelea is the world’s most abundant bird species. No wonder then that queleas are able to live and breed in huge flocks, often tens of thousands strong, that can take hours to pass when flying past. 


 Red-billed quelea over a watering hole in Namibia:


Taking a U – an Auklet flock over the Shumagin Islands, Alaska:



Flying right at you – a flock of seagulls at Galveston, Texas:



A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky. 

(The first stanza of Maya Angelou’s poem “I know why the caged bird sings.”)


Pelicans escaping the Pacific waves at Cove Beach, Año Nuevo State Reserve, CA:


A large flock of birds over one of Rome’s many churches:


A semicircle is just a rounded V-formation. A flock of geese close to Chicago’s O’Hare airport:


Spectacular formations of greater white-fronted geese (left), snow geese (right) and Canada geese (background):

Top 10 Greatest Explosions Ever

Explosions, both natural and man-made, have caused awe and terror for centuries. Here are 10 of the most powerful explosions the world has ever seen, with a surprise honorable mention at the end.


The Halifax Explosion

In 1917, a French cargo ship fully loaded with explosives for World War I accidentally collided with a Belgian vessel in the harbor of Halifax, Canada. It exploded with more force than any man-made explosion before it, equivalent to roughly 3 kilotons of TNT. The blast sent a white plume billowing 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) above the city and provoked a tsunami that washed up as high as 60 feet (18 meters). For nearly 1.2 miles (2 km) surrounding the blast center, there was total devastation, and roughly 2,000 people were killed and 9,000 injured. It remains the world's largest artificial accidental explosion.

Chernobyl

In 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at Chernobyl in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. It was the worst nuclear accident in history. The blast, which blew the 2,000-ton lid off the reactor, sent out 400 times more radioactive fallout than the Hiroshima bomb, contaminating more than 77,000 square miles (200,000 square km) of Europe. Roughly 600,000 people were exposed to high doses of radiation, and more than 350,000 people had to be evacuated from contaminated areas.


The Trinity Blast

The first atom bomb in history, dubbed "the gadget," was detonated at the Trinity Site near Alamogordo, N.M., in 1945, exploding with a force of roughly 20 kilotons of TNT. Scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer later said that while he watched the test, he thought of a line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita: "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Nuclear weapons later ended World War II and ushered in decades of fear of nuclear annihilation. Scientists recently found that civilians in New Mexico may have been exposed to thousands of times the recommended level of public radiation.


Tunguska

The mysterious explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in 1908 flattened some 500,000 acres (2,000 square kilometers) of Siberian forest, an area nearly the size of Tokyo. Scientists think the blast was caused by a cosmic impact from an asteroid or comet perhaps 65 feet (20 meters) in diameter and 185,000 metric tons in mass -- more than seven times that of the Titanic. The resulting explosion could have been roughly as strong as four megatons of TNT -- 250 times more powerful than the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima.


Mount Tambora

In 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded with the force of roughly 1,000 megatons of TNT, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The blast hurled out roughly 140 billion tons of magma and not only killed more than 71,000 people on the island of Sumbawa and nearby Lombok, but the ash it released created global climate anomalies. The following year, 1816, became known as the Year Without a Summer, with snow falling in June in Albany, N.Y., river ice seen in July in Pennsylvania, and hundreds of thousands of people dying of famine worldwide.

The K-T Extinction Impact Event

The Age of Dinosaurs ended in a cataclysm roughly 65 million years ago that killed off roughly half of all species on the planet. Although research suggests the planet was on the verge of an environmental crisis before the Cretaceous-Tertiary or K-T extinction, the straw that broke the dinosaur's back is widely thought to have been a cosmic impactvast crater roughly 110 miles (180 km) wide at Chicxulub on the coast of Mexico may be the blast site.


The K-T Extinction Impact Event

The Age of Dinosaurs ended in a cataclysm roughly 65 million years ago that killed off roughly half of all species on the planet. Although research suggests the planet was on the verge of an environmental crisis before the Cretaceous-Tertiary or K-T extinction, the straw that broke the dinosaur's back is widely thought to have been a cosmic impactvast crater roughly 110 miles (180 km) wide at Chicxulub on the coast of Mexico may be the blast site.

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided spectacularly with Jupiter in 1994. The giant planet's gravitational pull ripped the comet apart into fragments up to 1.8 miles (3 km) wide, and they struck at 37 miles (60 km) per second, resulting in 21 visible impacts. The largest collision created a fireball that rose about 1,800 miles (3,000 km) above the Jovian cloudtops as well as a giant dark spot more than 7,460 miles (12,000 km) across -- about the size of the Earth -- and was estimated to have exploded with the force of 6,000 gigatons of TNT.


Shadow-casting Supernova

Supernovas are exploding stars that often briefly outshine entire galaxies. The brightest recorded supernova in history was sighted in the constellation Lupus (Latin for wolf) in the spring of 1006. The extraordinary golden explosion now known as SN 1006 took place roughly 7,100 light years away in a fairly nearby part of the galaxy, and was bright enough to cast shadows and read by at night, remaining visible for months in the daytime.

The Farthest Recorded Explosion

Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions known in the universe. The light from the most distant gamma ray burst seen yet, dubbed GRB 090423, reached our world even from about 13 billion light-years away this year. That explosion, which lasted just a little more than a second, released roughly 100 times more energy than our sun will release in its entire 10 billion year lifetime. It likely originated from a dying star 30 to 100 times larger than the sun.

Oh, and ...

Honorable Mention: The Big Bang

The universe was born in the Big Bang, theorists say. Although it is often thought of as an explosion -- perhaps because of its very name -- it actually wasn't. In the very beginning, the universe was super-hot and extraordinarily dense. The common misconception is that the universe then exploded out from a single, central point into space. The reality appears to be much stranger -- instead, the fabric of space itself seems to have stretched, and as it expanded it carried galaxies along with it like raisins in a rising loaf of bread.

20 Crimes Caught on Google Street View

Reckless Driving
"I didn't realize this was a no parking tree."
Mildly Reprehensible Knievel.
Timmy made extra money working as a bicycle airbag.


2. Burglary/Theft
Either this is Spiderman's laundry day, or this guy's trying to break in.
It's awfully nice of him to steal a bicycle for his imaginary friend.
I'm thinking that's not the Staples parking lot.


3. Vandalism/Destruction of Property
Short on money, Joe tried deserpately to paint an ATM.
Before she buys a car, she kicks the tires...and the door...and the side-view mirror...and the salesman.


4. Public Intoxication
In his defense, that light pole would fall down if he wasn't there.
Few have seen the alley behind Sesame Street.
The park: where everybody knows your name.


5. Assault and Battery
This beatdown went on for 16 units!
Practicing for their middle school production of Rocky III.
Never too young to commit a felony.


6. Indecent Exposure
Trying to build up her resume for that Girls Gone Wild application.


7. Brandishing a Deadly Weapon
We're pretty sure this is a toy gun.
This, on the other hand...
"There can be only one!"


8. Illegal Parking
Unless this is a hover car, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"The white curb is for gelato loading and unloading only..."
Citation for Driving a Vespa While Male.


9. Prostitution
Even Cinderella was hurt by the recession.
Must be the car.
oo
Hooker? I hardly know her!


10. Joyriding


OK, this is a Google Earth photo, but it's clear that someone's taking their frustrations out on a baseball field.


11. Underage Smoking
Blurring your hair won't hide your shame.


12. Speeding
Busted.
Erik Estrada don't play that.
"I'm sorry ma'am, this is a no Schwinn situation."


13. Drug Dealing
That car was made for buying drugs.
Obviously peddling crack.


Obviously peddling crack.
14. Jaywalking
Not using a crosswalk...
Not waiting for the light...
Not living in reality.


15. Lewd Behavior


I don't wanna know what's going on here...OK, maybe I do.
Can't you at least wait 'til you get home to blow it up?
16. Failure to Obey a Street Sign
The Google car is apparently above the law.


17. Arson?
Aftermath of the Great Tulip Riot of '07.
What fire?


18. Public Urination

A menage-a-tinkle.
"The bush was on fire."
Guilty.


19. Stalking
"Soon, that sarong will be mine..."


20. Unspecified Offenses
"Sir, your rims are just too shiny."
"I swear, someone put that construction cone in my pants."
When the police station runs out of coffee, 7-11 gets shut down.

Amazing Sculptures Made of Typewriters

Taking vintage typewriters and turning them into sculptures without using an kind of glue, welding or soldering may sound impossible, but not for Jeremy Mayer who has created these amazing typewriter sculptures by using cold assembly methods.

10 Most Incredible Solar Flares Captured In Pictures

Solar flares are like the Sun’s equivalents of Earth’s natural hazards, though of course they occur on a much larger scale. It would be nice to say such phenomena have minimal impact on the environment or life on Earth, but solar flares do strongly influence our local space weather, and produce streams of highly energetic particles in solar wind that can pose radiation risks to astronauts. Who knows what a biggie could do? While we wait for the answer, trying not to put the words “mass” and extinction” together, don your protective glasses and prepare for some dazzling images of solar eruptions – like the limb flare above.

Solar flares are giant explosions in the Sun’s atmosphere that release incredible amounts of energy. Putting our puny attempts at generating power firmly in their place, solar flares heat plasma to tens of millions of degrees Kelvin and accelerate particles to almost the speed of light, while emitting radiation across all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum – from radio waves to gamma rays.


Most flares occur in active regions around sunspots. They are triggered by the sudden discharge of stored magnetic energy in the corona, the Sun’s plasma – or ionized gas – atmosphere, visible as a halo during solar eclipses. Above, one of the largest X-ray solar flares ever recorded is pictured, which took place in 2003.




In this video clip, we see what could be the first major flare of the next solar cycle exploding from a new sunspot. It seems solar flares go through peaks and troughs of activity in a cycle of 11 years or so. According to a recent article in Wired: “Last year marked what scientists thought was the solar minimum. But through the beginning of 2009, the sun stayed unusually quiet. That changed yesterday, when a major sunspot appeared on the backside of the sun.”


The image above shows a filament erupting during a solar flare, lifting off the active solar surface and blasting into space as an enormous jet of magnetic plasma. Observed at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, both the emission and absorption of energy that takes place during such events can be seen. The plasma physics of these processes is not completely understood, though the one certainty is that it’s the Sun’s magnetic field pulling the strings.


This stunning eruption above is not a solar flare but rather a solar prominence, a huge cloud of gas suspended above the Sun and manipulated by – you got it – magnetic forces. Observed from the STEREO spacecraft orbiting the Sun, this prominence rose and cascaded to the right over several hours, like a flag unfurling, as it broke apart and streamed into space.

Prominences are relatively cool, though emphasis is on the word “relatively”, as they can still reach a scorching 60,000 Kelvin in temperature. They appear to be the after-effects or so-called after-flares of solar flares proper.


This next pic shows another prominence, this one handle-shaped and similarly huge. A prominence will often extend in a loop as it traces the Sun’s magnetic fields. When prominences erupt, escaping the Sun’s atmosphere, they tend to form over a timeframe of roughly a day, though stable prominences may linger in the corona for several months. Above, the hottest areas of the Sun appear almost white, while the darker red areas indicate cooler temperatures.

When prominences break apart, they can give rise to a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection, such as the one pictured above. A coronal mass ejection is an ejection of material from the Sun’s corona that sends a giant spray cloud of charged plasma particles, elements and the trailing coronal magnetic field hurtling into space. The force is comparable to a billion megaton nuclear bombs.


In this next image, loops of highly charged particles burst from the Sun, whose turbulent surface sizzles at around one million Kelvin. The commotion of the charged particles creates a strong magnetic field that pulls the particles into the loops, like a ball of string in agitated hands. Over time, magnetic stress builds in the Sun’s atmosphere until – boom! – the energy is released in massive explosions of the type we have been treated to here.

When the charged particles and X-rays released come to bombard the Earth – a la The Fantastic Four – they can disrupt communications and power systems while also posing a potential threat to satellites and astronauts in space.

According to NASA: “Understanding the difference between harmful and harmless coronal mass ejections is one of the biggest questions…[facing] scientists studying the face of the sun.” Nevertheless, with the two STEREO systems observing the Sun from opposite angles, we are well placed to see such ejections in three dimensions instead of just one, and to better understand how solar storms travel through space.

This final image is not strictly speaking a solar but rather a stellar phenomenon, as it shows a tremendously powerful explosion from the distant star, EV Lacertae. Thousands of times more powerful than the largest solar flare observed to date, the consequences of this record-setting flare would have been of more concern had it occurred closer to home. Interestingly, EV Lacertae is a much smaller, weaker and younger star than the Sun, but because of its youth, it is spinning faster and whipping up gases to produce a far more powerful magnetic field. Makes one more than happy with our own Sun’s middle-aged spread.

Crystal cathedral

The largest glass building in the world, the Cathedral was built by the Rev. Robert Schuller. Schuller started out in 1955, as pastor of California's first "drive-in" church, in Garden Grove.

After significant success on the airwaves, Rev. Schuller opened the Crystal Cathedral in 1980.

And that's not to mention the cathedral's pipe organ (with 16,000 pipes, it's among the five largest pipe organs in the world), the 100-plus voices of the Hour of Power Choir, or the electric fountain/stream that runs down the middle of the central aisle.

But the real star of the show is the building itself; each week its soaring heights are captured in glittering detail by the television cameras.






The mammoth church is indeed impressive, and it is open daily for free public tours.

Made almost entirely of glass (and a spiderweb framework of white steel), the star-shaped "cathedral" is something to behold: over 400 feet long and 200 feet across, rising some 12 stories above the ground, with an angular, mirror-like exterior, its transparent, sun-lit interior features a giant television screen, and an altar of rich marble (bearing a natural image that some think resembles Christ on the cross).

The church seats almost 3,000 worshipers for Sunday services. But giant, sliding glass doors on the side of the church allow even more worshipers to watch the services from their cars in the parking lot.

Boasting over 12,000 panes of glass, and a sparkling, contemporary bell tower, the "cathedral " is an Orange County landmark visible for miles around.

The new glass tower was added in 1990, and is a stunning edifice in its own right; at the tower's base you will find a tiny, dome-shaped chapel housing an uncommon, cross-shaped crystal.

In the simple gardens on the south side of the church, you'll find statues of Job, and of Christ as the Good Shepherd. The patio (like all of the walkways here) is studded with marble plaques bearing short, inspirational Bible verses and the names of contributors.


There are frequent special events, concerts and recitals held at the Cathedral, as well as three annual holiday events.

Each year, the Crystal Cathedral puts on two major pageants: "The Glory of Christmas." (in December), and "The Glory of Easter" (in March). These dramatic religious spectacles blend religion & show-biz; they feature a cast of 200 in Biblical period costumes, a choir, flying "angels," live animals, and joyous music from a 70-piece orchestra.

Amazing Face Paintings

Food Faces! Inspired by Food!! Face Paint Art by James Kuhn.





"Lip Service" Face Paint art in motion!





Wizard Of OZ face paint art




Amazing Face Paint Art