World’s Most Exclusive Social Network Charges Rich Snobs $1,000 a Month

Snobby rich kids sick of sharing the social media space with plebs can now sign up for the “world’s most exclusive social network”. It’s even named after them and only costs $1,000 a month. What’s not to like, right?

These days, anyone with a smartphone, tablet or laptop can just go online and create an account for the world’s most popular social networks, for free, and start posting their life online. It’s this inclusivity that makes social media so popular, but it’s also what’s making it more difficult for attention-seeking, filthy rich snobs to stand out. But a new social network called Rich Kids promises to offer rich people the chance to shine online, by making the platform virtually unaffordable to anyone else.

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World’s Most Expensive Chili Peppers Cost $25,000 per Kilo

You should never judge a pepper by its size, especially when it comes to price. The Aji Charapita chili pepper grows is roughly the size of a pea, but there’s nothing small about its price. A kilogram of this stuff will set you back a whopping $35,000.

Native to the jungles of norther Peru, the Aji Charapita is known as a wild pepper, and has only recently recently being cultivated for commercial use. Used fresh, this tiny pepper is said to have a strong fruity flavor that gives salsas and sauces a tropical taste, but it is mostly used in powdered form to a bit of spiciness to various dishes. Although still fairly unknown in most Western countries, the Aji Charapita is a highly sought-after treat among chili pepper connoisseurs and five-star restaurant chefs.

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World’s Spiciest Tortilla Chips Are Sold One at a Time in Coffin-Shaped Boxes

Using extract from the hottest chilli pepper on the planet, American company Paqui Chips has created the world’s spiciest tortilla chip – the Carolina Reaper Madness. It’s apparently so hot that it only comes in packs of one.

Usually, when you open a bag of tortilla chips, you never stop at one, but when it comes to Carolina Reaper Madness chips, Jeff Day, Brand Manager for Paqui Chips, says that one is all you need. “It’s the hottest chip you’ll ever have, I can guarantee you that. After you eat that one chip, trust me, you’re not looking to dig back into the bag and have a second one. So, one chip is what we created to have the experience,” he says.

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Meet the Man with the World’s Best Memory

He has won the World Memory Championship eight times in a period of ten years, can memorize a full deck of cards in a few seconds and is banned from casinos all across the world. He is Dominic O’Brien, the man with the world’s best memory.

Looking back at his childhood, 59-year-old Dominic O’Brien admits that he is probably the world’s most unlikely mnemonist. That’s because as a young boy, he had “severe attention problems” and “never listened to anything the teacher said.” Although the term ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ (ADD) had not yet been coined in the 1960s, it is speculated that some sort of attention disorder may have been a likely diagnosis for Dominic during his childhood. He also used to write backwards and suffered from dyslexia.

“I had a knock to my head as a baby. I collided with a train and was actually dragged off onto the railway line,” O’Brien recalls. “There was severe bruising to the top of my forehead so they think there may have been some damage there.”

The eight-time World Memory Champion believes that if he has been able to become an accomplished mnemonist, despite his childhood problems, anyone can do it. All it takes is creative thinking.

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German Man Creates World’s Heaviest Bicycle

Using giant tires from an old fertilizer spreader and lots of scrap steel, a German cycling enthusiast recently built the world’s heaviest bicycle.

49-year-old Frank Dose, from Schleswig-Holstein, has been working on his two-wheeled behemoth since March, and reckons he has spent around $4,700 putting it together. Was it worth it? Well, he seems to think so, and his wife, Astrid, definitely agrees. “I think his bike is sensational,”she said during an unveiling event, last month. “I am proud and pleased that he has done it.” As of September 3rd, Astrid has an extra reason to be proud of her husband, after his creation set a new world record for the world’s heaviest rideable bicycle.

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Tombs with a View at the World’s Tallest Vertical Cemetery

With the remains of around 100 billion dead people currently buried or otherwise stored on this planet, it’s no surprise that we’re running out of space for final resting places. The phrase “six feet under” just isn’t sustainable anymore, so architects are now looking to the sky as an alternative to sprawling ground cemeteries. High-rise cemeteries are becoming increasingly popular all over the world, and the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica, in Santos, Brazil, is the highest of them all.

When Pepe Altstut inaugurated the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery, in 1983, it was only a very small building, but the demand for above-ground tombs with a view was so great that he kept expanding until his cemetery became the tallest in the world. Today, it measures 108 meters tall, features 25,000 storing units (tombs, if you will), several wake rooms, crypts, mausoleums, a peacock garden with its own small waterfall and even a chapel and snack bar on the roof.

While few regular cemeteries can be considered tourist attractions in their own right, the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica is actually one of the most visited landmarks in Santos, and acknowledged as such by the local tourism board. Altstut himself admits that his cemetery is incredibly popular with tourists, and attributes it to the structure’s notoriety as the tallest cemetery on Earth. People from all over the world reportedly come to Santos to see the necropolis where people pay big money for tombs with a view.

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Watermelon Plant That Yielded 131 Fruit in a Single Harvest Sets New World Record

Watermelon plants usually yield only 1 to 4 fruit per harvest, but a new variety created by an agricultural technology company in China has recently set a new Guinness Record after yielding no less than 131 massive fruit.

The Chinese seem to be really good at creating super plants. Just weeks after we posted about their impressive “octopus tomato trees” that can yield over 30,000 fruits at a time, we bring you the “watermelon king”, a new breed of watermelon that can set over 100 viable fruits per plant. Created by the Zhengzhou Research Seedling Technology Co., Ltd., the plant has been acknowledged as the most productive watermelon plant in the world after yielding 131 fruit in just 90 days.

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The Hide-and-Seek World Championship is an Actual Event

The game of hide-and-seek may not yet be an Olympic sport – although efforts are being made in that regard – but it’s apparently popular enough to have its own world championship.

What started out as a fun one-time event thought up by small Italian publication CTRL Magazine, in 2010, eventually turned into an annual event that grew with every edition. This year, the 6th Nascodino World Championship – “nascondino” is Italian for hide-and-seek – will take place on the the 3rd and 4th of September, in the beautiful village of Consonno, once a bustling tourist attraction complete with its own zoo, sightseeing train and several eclectic buildings. It has since become a ghost town, but event organizers consider the settlement perfect for a grand hide-and-seek competition.

The rules of the tournament are a bit more complex than the childhood game we all used to play growing up, but then again, this is a contest for grownups (18-year-olds and above). Participants may register to take part in the World Nascondino Championship in teams of five, after paying a €125 fee per team. The teams are then divided into four groups and one person per group hides while a “neutral searching team” counts 60 seconds. The hidden player then has 10 minutes to come out of their hiding spot and reach a soft mattress (for diving purposes) placed in the middle of a field without being found or at least before a member of the searching team. If they fail to reach their target within the time limit, players are not awarded any points. The game goes on for two days until the ultimate winner is declared.

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The World’s Most Expensive Dining Experience Will Cost You $2 Million

Russian diamond company World of Diamonds has teamed up with Singapore restaurant Ce’ La Vi to offer a lucky couple the world’s most expensive dining experience, for the decadent price of $2 million. It probably doesn’t seem that way, but it’s actually a bargain!

World of Diamonds recently unveiled a 2.08 carat blue diamond ring with a rose-gold plated platinum band that they named after actress Jane Seymour. It has received interest from a number of parties, including a royal family, but instead of simply auctioning it off to the highest bidder, the Russian company decided to make acquiring the stunning piece of jewelry a truly special event. A rich couple will get to take part in an 8-hour dining experience described as the most expensive in the world, at the end of which they will be handed the Jane Seymour diamond ring.

“This is the most expensive dining experience in the world, and the most lavish one possible,” Karan Tilani, Director of World of Diamonds Group, said. “As a diamond mining group, we recognize that Ce’ La Vi is a diamond in the sky. [We expect] the response will be beyond overwhelming, but it’s only two diners who will eventually have the privilege.”

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English Company Creates World’s First TV Remote Control for Dogs

Dog owners feeling guilty for leaving their pets alone at home for too long will son be able to take comfort in the fact that at least the animals won’t be bored. They’ll be too busy changing TV channels and enjoying their favorite shows thanks to the world’s first dog-friendly remote control.

UK-based pet food brand Wagg apparently surveyed a number of pet owners and found that 91% of respondents said their canine friends regularly watch TV with them. Inspired by this interesting finding, the company teamed up with Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, an expert in animal computer interaction design at the University of Central Lancashire, to create the world’s first remote control for dogs. They came up with a prototype for the ingenious device which is currently in a trial and analysis period.

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World’s Fattest Child Weighs 192 Kg. at Just 10 Years of Age

Arya Permana, a 10-year-old boy from Indonesia, has been dubbed the fattest child in the world after it was reported that he weighs a whopping 192 kilograms. His heavy frame has left him unable to walk, attend school or find cloths that will fit him.

Arya, from the village of Cipurwasari in Indonesia’s Arawang Regency, started gaining weight rapidly at the age of two, when his parents noticed that he was much larger that his older brothers had been at his age. In the beginning, they were happy about his fuller figure and considered him a healthy child, but as the years went by and his appetite and weight got out of control, they realized something was wrong with the boy and he needed medical attention. They took Arya to several doctors, but none of them found his weight abnormal and told the parents to take him to a bigger hospital if they thought he needed help.

“They asked us to take him to better hospitals if we think he needs medical attention. I have spent money beyond my capacity on his treatment but I am a poor farmer and making ends meet is a big task for me,” the boy’s father, Ade, said. “I am exhausted now and I cannot afford expensive hospitals. But I hope to see my son perfectly normal one day.”

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German Company Creates the World’s First Vegan Wooden Sneakers

German sneaker company nat-2 has recently unveiled the world’s first vegan wooden sneakers which are up to 90% real sustainable wood.

Just last week, we wrote about Piñatex – a new material made from pineapple leaves that is all set to become a sustainable alternative to animal leather – and today we present yet another interesting innovation, wooden footwear. According to a press release by German high-end sneaker brand nat-2, to make it flexible “the wood is applied to an organic cotton and vector engraved in a way that the material bends and becomes soft and flexible like a fine nappa leather. The feel is very smooth and fine, while you can smell the wood and see the tree’s natural texture.”

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Persian Hercules Looks Like He Could Tear the World in Two

Meet Sajad Gharibi, a 24-year-old weightlifter from Iran who has stunned the internet with his impressive physique. Weighing a whopping 345 pounds – most of it sheer muscle – Gharibi is said to be able to lift up to 386 pounds. He certainly looks like a guy you never, ever want to get on the bad side of.

Lucky for us, those who know this mountain of a man say that, despite his grizzly appearance, he is actually a gentle giant with a very big heart. They mean that both literally and metaphorically, I presume. That’s reassuring as he is probably the closest we’ll ever get to seeing a real life The Hulk, and we don’t want him sharing both his looks and short temper.

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You Might Not Want to Go There, but North Korea Is One of the World’s Last Havens for Birds

North Korea may be one of the world’s least tourist-friendly countries on Earth, but its strategic location along the avian East Asian Australasian Flyway and complete lack of development is preventing the extinction of several once plentiful species of migratory birds.

Around fifty million birds, from tiny song birds to cranes, journey across the East Asian Australasian Flyway every year, and eight million of them are shorebirds or waders. For many of these, North Korea’s west coast is the only stop for tens of thousands of miles, which means that without it, they would probably couldn’t finish their epic trip. But what makes this otherwise inhospitable place so important to birds?

A group of New Zealand bird watchers asked permission from the North Korean government to enter the country and observe the migratory birds. Armed with binoculars, powerful telescopes and cameras they counted the birds making their stop from the southern hemisphere all the way to the top of the northern one. “As we lose habitat elsewhere, the birds are going to get more and more pushed into remaining habitat, which by default means North Korea,” birder David Melville told the BBC. Because the shorelines of neighboring countries China and South Korea have witnessed rapid developments, with most of the mudflats having been converted to dry land for agriculture and industrial projects, the birds have virtually no place to stop and refuel.

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World’s Oldest Twinkie Turns 40, Still Refuses to Decompose

In 1976, Roger Bennatti, a chemistry teacher at George Stevens Academy, in Maine, unwrapped a fresh Twinkie and placed it atop a classroom chalkboard so he and his students could see how long it took for it to decompose. 40 years later, that question remains unanswered, because mould simply refuses to grow on the world’s oldest Twinkie.

The official shelf-life of a Twinkie – as stated by the company making them nowadays – is only 25 days, but as the famous Twinkie of George Stevens Academy clearly shows, it’s really a lot longer than that. It has been sitting in a glass case for four decades now, and even though it might not be safe to eat, it is looking fantastic for its age. Its shape hasn’t change a bit, and if mould hasn’t grown on it so far, chances are it never will.

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