If you thought there was no way blind people could play soccer, think again. There are even official soccer tournaments for the blind, held between national teams.

The latest tournament took place in the Sokolniki district of Moscow. Four international teams gathered for a series of matches “in the dark”. It’s hard to understand how you can play a game like soccer without seeing a thing. All the players, with different degrees of blindness, have their eyes stuck shut with a kind of band-aid and covered with a night mask that provides protection and puts them all on equal footing.

But just because their vision is impaired, doesn’t mean they can’t use their other senses to coordinate. Their developed hearing helps them locate the ball and their team-mates and guides them towards the opposite goal. The ball itself is not the kind used in normal soccer matches, it’s a lot heavier, doesn’t bounce and produces a rattle noise to alert the players to its location.

The game lasts for two 25-minute halves, in which the players, guided by their coaches and team-guides, people who sit behind opposite goal and direct players on how to approach and score. One of the most interesting things about soccer for the blind is the goalkeepers aren’t blindfolded, so they can see where the ball is going. Still, goals are scored regularly, unlike in the Eton Wall Game.

Don’t imagine the game looks anything like the normal soccer games, the players hardly ever pass long or use their heads, they mainly stick to dribbling, short passing and shooting at the goal.

Photos via Drugoi

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I don’t know how they do it, but Thai trainers get elephants to do the most amazing things. After the amazing elephant painters, from the National Elephant Institute, it’s time for the extraordinary basketball-playing elepahnts.

Malie and Toktak are the stars of the Island Safari Center, on Koh Samui Island. After undergoing months of rigorous training, the two pachyderms have mastered the sport of basketball. I know what you’re thinking, Shaquille O’neal finally found someone his own size to play with.

The elephant trainers start by teaching them the basics of basketball control, before they get to the carrying of the ball in their trunk and shooting it to the basket. It takes a few months before they get the basics of the sport, but they’re improving every day. it won’t be long until NBA drafters start checking these two out, mark my words.

Photos by Bronek Kaminiski/BARCROFT INDIA

via Telegraph.co.uk

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As if ripping a model’s clothes off with your teeth wasn’t cool enough, imagine if her clothes were made entirely out of delicious chocolate. Guess what, your dreams have become a reality! Well…without the ripping clothes off part.

What’s hotter that Asian models dressed in chocolate? Can’t think of anything right now, and if you can, you’re the one with the problem. These girls took part in a parade to kick off the 2010 Salon du Chocolat, in Shanghai. I have to say this is the way every event should start.

via Telegraph.co.uk

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We’ve seen recycled toys used in sculptures before, but Kris Kuksi’s macabre art is on a whole other level.

Born in Springfield, Missouri, Kris had a rough childhood, isolated and secluded with his blue-collar mom, two older brothers and an alcoholic stepfather. This was most likely what caused him to retreat in his own imagination and realize the macabre and grotesque seemed beautiful to him.

As an adult, Kris Kuksi developed his passion for the bizarre into an art that allowed him to break free from his negative childhood. Using old, recycled toys and mechanical parts, Kris creates breathtaking sculptures that seem to host a world of their own, each filled with the most bizarre characters and creatures.

many find his work scary and repulsive, but Kris Kuksi‘s talent is appreciated by famous people like Mark Parker (CEO of Nike), Chris Weitz (director of American Pie and The Golden Compass) or Kay Alden (writer of soap-operas like The Young and the Restless of The Bold and the Beautiful), who own some of his works.

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I remember a time when witches flew on brooms. Nowadays they’re flying on the ski-slopes, using their brooms as sticks. What’s the occult world coming to?

Every year, between January 10-16, over 1,500 people from Switzerland and other European countries gather at Belalp, for one of the wackiest downhill skiing races in the world. The Witches Downhill challenge has contestants dress up as witches and race down a snowy mountain.

Races are organized for children and adults alike and between challenges there are fun parties to go to. Witches Night is the biggest, with over 3,000 participants indulging in singing, dancing, drinking and all around partying.

The Belalp Hexe Ski Race began in 1983, inspired by a real witch that apparently lived nearby and terrorized locals. she actually flew around and everything.

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Avatar fever is infecting everyone these days and a big country like China wasn’t going to be spared.

15 talented sculptors spent 10 days working on two 3-meters-tall sculptures from James Cameron’s blockbuster movie. One of them is of Corporal Jake Sully and the other of his main Na’Vi squeeze, Princess Neytiri. The Avatar mud sculptures were carved in a studio in Wuhan City and are meant to keep the Avatar craziness going even longer

Photos via ImagineChina

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This is not the first bottle house featured on Oddity Central, but it’s definitely the most impressive looking.

After finding these pics on several spam sites that posted no link to the original source, I spent quite a while trying to find some info. Finally I discovered the photos were uploaded by someone on Instructables and were of a family building a plastic and glass bottles house, somewhere in Mexico. That’s about everything I was able to find out about these photos, but what’s that they say? A picture is worth a thousand words?

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21-year-old Lisa Courtney, from Welwyn Garden City, UK, has the world’s biggest Pokemon collection in the world, according to the newest edition of Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition.

Lisa received her title in June 2009, when her collection numbered 12,113 different Pokemon items. Now the passionate collector says she owns over 13,400 items. Since new Pokemon stuff comes out in Japan almost daily, Lisa says she won’t stop collecting any time soon.

She’s been to japan five times already and is planning a new shopping trip. Lisa Courtney started collecting Pokemon memorabilia 13 years ago, when her mother gave her a Nintendo magazine featuring the popular animated characters. She fell in love with Pokemon and hasn’t gotten over it since.

During her troubled adolescence, when schoolmates bullied her, laughed at her physical disabilities and even called her names like “Elephant Man”, Lisa turned to her beloved Pokemon collection, for comfort. Her entire family understood her passion and were very supportive, especially with the giant Pokemon collection taking up most of the house.

Lisa Courtney says holding a record for something she feels so passionate about is an indescribable feeling.

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24-year-old Ruslan Moukanov managed to prove it’s not all about the money when you want to drive the car of your dreams.

For the young Kazakh, the exclusive Rolls Royce Phantom seemed like an unreachable dream, when he first saw some photos of it, years ago, in the local library. Since raising 500,000 euros was out of the question, Ruslan had to come up with another way of getting the car of his dreams.

Using only his auto-tuning skills, this Rolls Royce fan managed to give his old Mercedes Benz a total make-over and turn into a perfect replica of the Phantom. It might not drive like one and the materials used might be “a little” cheaper, but for the ,3000 euros Ruslan spent, it doesn’t get much better than this. Congrats!

via AutoRoyalty

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Stop! Don’t even think about screaming “Photoshopped!” because Mike Libby’s Insect Lab is 100% real. And so are his incredible Steampunk insects.

Mike began his unusual project on a day like any other, when he found an intact dead beetle. Thinking about how the little bug functioned as a mechanical device, he remembered he had also found an old wristwatch and decided to combine the two. After dissecting the beetle and mounting the mechanical parts, he realized he quite liked his new craft and decided to stick to it.

Now Mike Libby creates all kinds of Steampunk insects, from scorpions to ordinary beetles and dragonflies. He only works with non-endangered species from all around the world, fitting them with mechanisms from antique watches as well as old typewriter and sewing-machine parts.

Check out Mike Libby’s Insect Lab and feel free to email him if you want to purchase any of his Steampunk wonders or place a special order.

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I’m a big Merc fan myself, and the SL600 is definitely on my “to get list”, but this Swarovski-covered neck-twister is not my style.

But, apparently, most Mercedes fans are crazy about Swarovski crystals and it was once again proven at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, where the sparkling SL600, covered with 300,000 Swarovski crystals, stole the show.

Created by Garson/D.A.D, a popular car accessory company, the two Sworovski SL600 made their second appearance at the annual auto show in Tokyo, after they were first introduced last year. They were still the stars of the show, though.

via AsiaOne

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The Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle is cool enough just the way it comes out the factory doors, but the guys at PitStopMotorsport took it one step further.

All you Predator fans out there, hold on to your jaws, because it’s about to hit the ground. PitStopMotorsport specializes in tuning and modding bikes and the Predator Bike is definitely one of their best works yet. And the best thing about is the awesome bike is totally street-legal.

via Zuzutop

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One of the most popular tourist destinations in Switzerland, the open air Ice-Palace features an impressive collection of castles, towers and grottoes made of ice.

The Ice Palace (Eispaläste) is located in the middle of a forest, near Black Lake, in western Switzerland. Designed by Karl Neuhaus, a talented ice sculptor, the Ice Palace celebrates its 23rd exhibition. The cold climate in the Freibourg area can only sustain this frozen masterpiece for around three months, from Christmas until early March.

The best time to visit the Swiss Ice Palace is after sundown, when all the structures and sculptures are illuminated with colorful lights. It’s a truly memorable sights that attracts thousands of tourists every year.

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If you ask me, it looks more like lave gushing out of the Earth, but if the artist says it’s fire, I’m sure not going to argue.

Cole Blaq proved his LEGO mastery by creating what many thought impossible, flames out of LEGO bricks. Using light gradient in the center and red on the edges of his creation, and an overhead lamp for the glow, Cole managed to get the desired fiery effect, without any light sources inside the LEGO sculpture.

What’s even more awesome is that if you look carefully you can see the artist’s name (COLE) engulfed by flames. Pretty cool.

via Brothers Brick

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British artist Adam Sheldon recreated Jesus’ crucifixion using some pieces of burned toast and a scraping knife. His work of art is now on display at the Anglican Church of St Peter, in Lincs.

33-year-old Adam Sheldon took on the project at the request of his mother, who worships at St. Peter’s Church. Before starting work on his 1.8 ,meters long, 1.1 meters wide masterpiece, Adam scraped the Last Supper on three pieces of toast, to perfect his technique.

He used a regular toaster to burn the pieces of bread, then dried and flattened them so they would fit in a giant frame. Using a scraping knife he managed to create the lighter parts of the artwork, and darkened the background with a blowtorch.

At first, the reverend and parishioners were stunned by Sheldon’s creation, because they didn’t expect something this…original, but now they’re thrilled to have such art on the walls of their church. The artwork was so skillfully scraped, some believed it was actually painted on tiles, before realizing the tiles are really pieces of bread.

The toast crucifixion of Jesus will be on display at the Anglican Church of Saint Peter until January 30, if the rats don’t get to it by then.

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