Looking at photos of the Zombie Parade that took place on July 18, in the streets of Frankfurt, Germany, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Resident Evil games I used to play when I was in high-school and how they scared the living crap out of me.

Luckily, the zombies in the photos don’t really want to eat your brain or hurt you in any other way. I have to say the make-up on these guys is simply amazing. I’m sure I would totally have a heart-attack if I walked into any of them in a dark alley, at night.

Zombie parades are becoming more and more common, as they are held in different countries around the world. The first zombie parade was organized back in 2003, in Toronto and, in 2005, there 80 zombie parades, attended mainly by horror movie lovers.

Photos by Johannes Eisele/ REUTERS

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Ok, so I’m not sure if it’s really the sweetest, since they have serious competition from the guys who cooked the world’s largest cheesecake, but it’s definitely up there with the sweetest.

Over 100,000 Palestinians gathered in the center of Nablus city, on the West Bank, to watch as the largest Kunafa cake was being made and hopefully, even grab a bite. 170 bakers, from 10 bakeries around Nablus, worked together to create the longest and heaviest Kunafa in history.

Kunafa is definitely one of the most delicious desserts in the Arab world, baked from semolina flour, hiding a delicious mozzarella-like cheese,  sweetened with a sugar syrup sprinkled with rose water and covered by a crunchy carpet of crushed nuts.

The giant Kunafa measured 74 meters in length and weighed 1765 kg, 400 kg more than it needed to break the old record. It cost around $15,000 to make and the ingredients include around 700 kilograms of semolina flour, the same amount of white cheese, 300 kilograms of sugar and six tons of cooking fat.

The record has been recorded and will be presented to the Guinness Book of Records for acknowledgment.

No, I’m not talking about the shortage of drinking water in third world countries around the world, that’s what the Dirty Water Campaign is for.

This time I’m talking about…let’s call it fun-water shortage. A massive heat-wave hit China these last few days, and temperatures soared to an alarming 40 degrees Celsius. So what were the poor Chinese people to do, under these circumstances? Find a place to cool of, of course, and what’s better than a swim at the local swimming pool, right?

Well, that’s just not the case for the people of Nanjing, who barely had enough room to tread water at this over-crowded swimming pool. The Daily Mail thinks this might just be the most crowded swimming pool in the world and I tend to agree. But then again, what do you expect in a country with a population of over one billion?

More swimming pools maybe? Just a thought…

Although I wasn’t able to find much info about this spitball competition, I know it was held somewhere in Britain and it’s sort of like the Spitball World Championship. I really liked some of the fancy spitball launchers some of the contestants displayed. They show just how passionate some people can be about a…sport other people find silly.

via Ochevidec

You can buy a bottle a bottle of Malaria-infested water, as well as well as many other potentially fatal diseases at vending machines across Manhattan, New York.

UNICEF has devised a very original way of raising awareness to the water problem millions of people across the globe are facing every day. The Dirty Water campaign gives people the chance to buy a bottle of disease-infected water, other people are forced to drink on a daily basis. The water-bottles are kept in vending machines across Manhattan and can be purchased for $1 each.

Of course, the water isn’t really poisoned, but it does look very dirty. The campaign has been very successful so far, exceeding all expectations. Passers-by are encouraged to make a donation through the vending machines, by SMS or online.

Here’s what is written on the Dirty Water vending machines:

“Thirsty? So are millions of people around the world with no access to clean drinking water. 4,200 children die of water-related diseases everyday. Help provide safe drinking water to developing countries. Donate today. You wouldn’t drink dirty water. No one should. Donate now by texting TAP to 864233 (UNICEF) or visit tapproject.org.
Just a dollar provides a child with 40 days of clean drinking water.”

photos via Ochevidec

On every second Saturday of July, people gather outside the Mugs Away Saloon, in Laguna Niguel, California, for the annual Mooning of the Amtrack.

Known also as the Mooning of the Train, this tradition dates back to 1979. Legend has it it all started when a rich person walked into the bar and promised free drinks to anyone with enough balls to show their naked behinds to the passing Amtrak train.

This year around 1,000 people attended the mooning and a great time doing so. there were no incidents, unlike last year, when many of the 8,000 mooners got intoxicated in public and the festivities had to be shut down.

The trains are mostly full when they pass by the Mugs Away Saloon and the conductors even slow down so the passengers can really enjoy the view.

On June 19, Glamour Magazine challenged 100 German women to a race on high heels and win 10,000 euros.

Held in west Berlin, Germany, Glamour Stiletto Run 2009 had 100 women compete in a 100 meters race on stilettos. There were only two rules, the heels had to be at least 7 cm long and at most 1.5 cm wide.

The winning time of 14.7 seconds was obtained by local girl Denise Hanitzsch, who was the runner up in last year’s race, because one of her stilettos broke. Denise confessed she didn’t train for the race, because she didn’t have to. She works in an office but is forced to run on high heels daily.

Asked was she was going to spend the 10,000 euros, the winner answered “On shoes! What else?”.

Photos by CodeNet.de

via Glamour.de

One day, every year, getting down and dirty in mud is a good thing.

On July 7, hundreds of kids gathered in Westland, Michigan for the annual Mud Day. For once parents actually encouraged their children to jump in a pool of mud and just have some good, clean fun.

Just like Mud Day 2008, this year’s event was sponsored by Westland Country Parks and Recreation and consisted of several muddy events, including a wheelbarrow race. The dirty rascals had a mud hole filled with 200 tons of mud-soil and 20,000 gallons of water.

Photos by CFP

via CCTV

Animal rights activists gathered in the Spanish town on Las Ventas, for a very original protest against the famous bull fights held there.

Organized by Equanimal, the protest had the participants strip to their underwear, lie down and cover themselves with fake blood, and corrida spears. It took place at the end of May and hoped to convince authorities that the Spanish people no longer support such a cruel and barbaric tradition as bullfighting.

The anti-bullfighting protest took place in Las Ventas because that’s where a large number of bulffighting events take place. Most bull fights are not even profitable anymore, they are sustain themselves through public grants.
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The smartest autonomous robots in the world prepare for one of the most important robot competitions in the world, the World Cup of RoboCup.

Brilliant minds from all round the globe build soccer-playing-robots and compete in the RoboCup, to promote the development of artificial intelligence. This year, the weekend-long contest was held in the Austrian city of Graz and the protagonists tried to put on a show worth watching.

The Soccer World Cup for robots is not as young an event as you might think. It dates back to 1993 and, across the years, it took place in countries like Japan, Italy and USA. There are different league matches, from the standard to the smaller than 180 mm league.

In one of the leagues, teams use identical robots, and have the task of developing a software that can allow the machines to move autonomously. The dream of the developers is to one day create an entire team of autonomous robots that can defeat the human winners of the Soccer World Cup.

Photos by Reuters

via Telegraph.co.uk

Spanish people really have a thing for bulls, don’t they. Bullfighting, the festival of Pamplona, they’re all centered around the bull.

During the Bous a la Mar Festival, in Denia, near the city of Alicante, people get chased by bulls through the streets and into the Mediterranean Sea. The brave participants plunge into the waters just before the bulls are about to catch them. The animals often fall into the sea as well, where they are taunted some more. Eventually, the bulls are caught with a lasso and towed back to shore by a boat.

via Telegraph.co.uk

One thing is for sure, the Chinese know how to relax.

I mean, what’s more relaxing than an old fashioned pillow fight? It makes you laugh, lets you take release the pressure without hurting anyone, it’s perfect. Looking at the photos, I can say this outdoor pillow fight, staged by the authorities of Nanning, China, was a great success. People are laughing, having a good time, like they have no care in the world.

via China.org.cn

The Chinese know how to have fun and make money at the same time.

During a contest that took place in Nanning, competing teams had to squeeze as many members as they could into a car. They had 3 minutes to get into the car and had to last 10 seconds with all the car doors shut. Not an easy task, but with all that Yoga, I’m sure they managed pretty well. We don’t know how many people fit into that car for the win, but what we do know is the winning team got a prize of 500 yuan. That’s about $73. But who are we kidding, it was never about the money.

via people.com.cn

Some of the ugliest dogs in the world gathered at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, California to compete for the title of World’s Ugliest Pedigree Dog.

Just like last year. the contest was dominated by a pure breed Chinese crested hairless. 15-year-old Miss Ellie has only a few of her back teeth left, cataracts in both eyes and her hairless body is covered with moles and pimples. Her dream is to travel the world and prove that ‘ugly’ is just a word and says nothing about her great personality.

Having been rescued herself, Miss Ellie hopes she can be a spokesmodel for not-so-cute rescue dogs. Along with the title of World’s Ugliest Pedigree Dog, Miss Ellie also received a big trophy and $1,000.

I wonder if, Gus, World’s Ugliest Dog 2008 competed this year, he was a great deal uglier than Miss Ellie.

via Daily Mail

Chinese man stages what could be considered as the most romantic wedding proposal of all time.

Mr. Tian, from the city of Jinan, China used 9,999 roses to propose to his girlfriend, Ms. Liu. Don’t laugh, we only know their surnames. Anyway, Mr. Tian really planned this special marriage proposal to the smallest detail. He had a big rose-heart set-up in front of the hotel him and Ms. Liu were staying and had all of his friends and hotel staff waiting for his girlfriend with a big bouquet of roses on every floor.

Meanwhile, back in their room, Tian got down on one knee and popped the question to his girlfriend. You can imagine what Ms. Liu’s answer was, right? But with so many people in on this, could she really have said no?

via People.com.cn