2010 was an exceptional year for Red Bull Racing, with Sebastian Vettel scoring the first Formula One World Championship title, in Abu Dhabi. To celebrate the event, Red Bull has created a life-size Formula One car replica, out of Red Bull bottles. The unique artwork is on display at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, and is made up of 2,615 bottles of Red Bull energy drink.
Ha Wenjin, a dog lover from China, has given up her job, sold her house, car and jewelry to take care of over 1,500 dogs and 200 cats.
The middle-aged woman says she started out with just a few dogs that she could tend to in her spare time, but as their number kept growing, she had to give up her career and spend her entire day caring to the dogs’ needs. Before she knew it, she practically had her personal animal shelter, complete with 10 workers who look after the dogs, and 2 more who take care of the cats.
LIFE Magazine first reported on Ha Wenjin‘s amazing animal shelter, in 2006, and the resourceful woman managed to keep the facility outside Nanjing running until now. She had a number of volunteers coming in at least once a week to check on the dogs, and people donated most of the food. But now, the 1,500 dogs and 200 cats have to move to a new home, as Chinese government officials reclaimed the land the shelter is built on, and threaten to close the place down.
Ha Wenjin had to act fast, and find a cheap but large enough space, where her beloved pets could relocate to. She managed to find it in Houyu village, far away enough from human settlements, because she admits 1,500 dogs are not quiet. Now all she has to do is find enough volunteers to help her move the dogs with the help of four buses, and clean the vehicles afterwards. Ha Wenjin definitely has her work cut out for her, but she has no intention of giving up in her fight to save as many stray dogs and cats as she can.
Back in 2006, LIFE Magazine reported it cost around $37,500 a year to take care of the dogs, but now, with more than double the number of animals, you can imagine how tough it is for Ha Wenjin to keep her animal center open, especially with no help from local authorities. Luckily, most of the food comes from donations, but there are many other things that cost a lot of money.
Just to be clear, the animals are not as crowded as the photos show. It’s only like this at feeding time.
Caine, a beautiful 2-year-old boxer/Rhodesian ridgeback mix, has learned to survive without a tongue, after he lost his in a paper shredder incident.
The adorable Caine has always been a curious pet, and that, unfortunately, cost him his tongue. It happened at the beginning of 2010, when his owner, Ashley Taylor, left him in the care of her mother, Pat, while she went away for the winter holidays. The last thing Pat remembers before the accident is hearing Caine sniffing around the kitchen, as was his habit. Then came a terrifying yell, and when she rushed into the kitchen she saw the dog’s tongue hanging around three inches, on the other side of the shredder. He had probably tried to grab a piece of kibble that had somehow fallen into the shredder, and activated the device.
Matt Glassmever, a Nashville musician who doesn’t mind using his hands around the house, has used 350 old vinyl records as shingles for his porch roof.
Using a nail and washer to cover the middle hole in each of the 350 records, Matt managed to create an original roofing that not only looks good, but is also quite practical. As you can imagine, this unusual roof was looked upon with skepticism by people who claimed it would disintegrate in less than a year, from the powerful sunlight, but Matt says he kept another hundred vinyl records outside for two years, and neither heat nor cold did anything to affect their durability. The labels peeled off, obviously, but the records themselves were in very good condition.
I doubt Matt Glassmever cares much about what other say about his roofing project, what’s important is that he managed to recycle some old records in a very original and practical way, and nobody can ever take that away from him.
Patrick Roger, one of the most talented chocolatiers in France, has created a ten-meter-high chocolate Christmas Tree, to raise money for charity.
Roger and his team have worked on the giant chocolate Christmas tree for an entire month, in the Patrick Roger chocolate factory, on the outskirts of Paris. According to the chocolate artist, building something like this is quite a challenge, and they had to come up with a sort of interior cavity, to make the tree strong enough against the significant vertical pressure.
The chocolate Christmas tree is made out of one ton of chocolate, which is the equivalent of around 800,000 regular-sized chocolate bars. And while it acts as proof of Patrick Roger’s talent as a chocolatier, there is some real Christmas spirit behind this tasty work of art. The chocolate Christmas tree will be showcased during France’s Telethon, a charity event that aims to raise money for the treatment of neuromuscular diseases. People who call and make donations will receive a piece of Patrick Roger’s Christmas tree.
Angeles Duran, a woman from the Galician region of Spain, claims she is the rightful owner of the sun, and intends to have everyone pay taxes if they want to keep enjoying its rays and warmth.
It sounds crazy, and the notary Angeles Duran consulted in the matter thought the same thing, but her arguments had him questioning the possibility of someone actually becoming the owner of the burning star. There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals. An American was quick to pronounce himself owner of all planets and the moon, but he forgot to mention the sun, so she’s now claiming possession.
Angeles Duran is also considering asking people to pay a tax if they want to keep in enjoying the sun’s benefits. She has already consulted the Spanish Ministry of Industry and explained that her claim isn’t outrageous at all. If you can place taxes on rivers, why couldn’t she do the same with the sun, right. In her infinite generosity, the woman is prepared to give 50% to the state budget, 20% to the minimum pension budget, 10% to research, and another 10% to end world hunger. She is only considering keeping 10% for herself.
If you’ve had enough of those boring calendars featuring gorgeous women, cute puppies, or peaceful settings, the Son of Road Kill Calendar 2011 is just the thing for you.
The wacky idea for a road kill calendar belongs to 58-year-old Kevin Beresford, an English courier always on the lookout for an original calendar idea. His job has him driving around the country all the time, so he has seen his share of animal carcasses, lying on the side of the road, and he thought he’d give his idea for a road kill calendar a shot. he started taking photos of squashed squirrels, dead dogs, stiff birds and battered badgers, made a selection of the 12 best ones and launched his calendar.
Believe it or not, Kevin Beresford’s road kill calendar was a huge hit. He has already sold hundreds of them already and is struggling to keep up with incoming orders. Asked about his crazy idea, Kevin said it’s dedicated to “all the courageous critters that never quite made it across the road in time.”
Saimir Strati, the well-known Albanian master of mosaics has created yet another masterpiece, a giant mosaic made of 300,000 industrial screws.
Strati, who already holds four Guinness records for various mosaics, has just applied for a fifth one, the world’s largest mosaic made with industrial screws. His latest artwork measures 490 cm by 240 cm and features a portrait of Greek poet Homer in the middle of a giant banknote, entitled “currency of the soul”. The Albanian artist who has previously created impressive mosaics out of nails, bottle corks and paintbrushes, has dedicated his latest masterpiece to his fellow art creators from Tirana, Albania.
Saimir Strati has spent two weeks creating his unusual banknote mosaic, using 300,000 industrial screws.
Environmental organization 350.org has just kickstarted the world’s first global climate art project, where the Earth itself is the canvas for incredible artworks visible from space.
The worldwide exhibit includes sixteen art pieces in twelve different countries, but they all have the same purpose – raising awareness about climate change. Created just before world nations leaders gather in Cancun, Mexico, for the UN climate meetings, these giant artworks will catch the attention of everyone, including aliens, since they are visible from outer space.
Trying to get leaders to accept 350 parts per million as the target for stabilization of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, members of 350.org have organized the masses around the world into living works of art, visible from space. I’m not sure this is enough to impress corporation-controlled governments to do the right thing, but their efforts are definitely commendable. Take a look of what they achieved, below:
Zhu Cheng, one of China’s most famous and talented sculptors, has helped nine of his art students to create a replica of Venus de Milo out of excrements.
Now, I know we’ve had quite a few strange art mediums here at Oddity Central, from garbage to chewing gum, but excrement has to be the weirdest one yet, by a long shot. Zhu Cheng helped and direct a team of nine art students to recreate the Venus de Milo statue out of feces. Now, the source doesn’t actually specify if we’re talking about animal or human excrements, but I’m pretty sure it’s the last one…A symbol of beauty created from something so disgusting, the idea is pretty cool, but I can’t help but be grossed out by the thought of having to mold feces into a statue with your hands.
Ad you can see in the photos, the excrement-made Venus de Milo is encased in a transparent box, to protect it, and make sure the smell of crap doesn’t drive everyone away from the exhibition at Henan Art Museum in Zhengzhou city, China.
But the most unbelievable thing about this “shitty” statue of Venus de Milo is that it was actually bought by a Swiss art collector, for a staggering 300,000 yuan ($45,113). Talk about spending money on crap, right? Read More »
Nick West, 1 51-year-old banker from Clevendon, Britain has spent the lats 35 years putting together an impressive collection of 6,788 beer cans.
The banker from North Somerset started his British beer can collection when he was only 16 years old. His wife-to-be, Dorothy, bought him a book about collecting beer cans, not knowing she would spend the next 35 years regreting her bad taste in presents. Nick became quite fond of collecting all kinds of beer cans, and before long, the couple had to move to a larger house, one that would be roomy enough for his ever-growing collection.
Dorothy doesn’t approve of her husband’s hobby, and she’s sure that if they would have remained in their old home, they could have paid off the entire mortgage by now. Instead, the largest room in their new house is now occupied by 6,788 cans of beer. To top things off, Nick spends serious amount of money on vintage beer cans, as much as $1,975 for one of the first cans ever produced in Britain.
Nick West usually drinks the contents of the beer cans he collects, but he doesn’t do it the usual way…Instead of pulling the key, he makes two holes in the bottom of the can, empties the content, drinks it, and ads the can to his collection. That’s kind of a hassle, but I guess it’s worth it, if you can live every guy’s dream of having a house full of beer cans.
Mr. Hou is an average Joe who recently became popular thanks to a few photos of his chalk art being posted on Chinese forums.
The first photos of Mr. Hou’s 3D chalk art first appeared late last month, and Chinese netizens quickly gave him the nick name “Chalk God” and compared him to the architects from the sci-fi blockbuster Inception, for his ability to create unbelievably realistic-looking landscapes.
Because his works first appeared on a Chinese forum, his identity had to be dug-up by the media, and everyone was surprised to discover the talented chalk artist was just an average citizen who exercised his talents for the fun of his little boy. The humble Mr. Hou said he doesn’t believe his artwork are that impressive, but actually the ideas behind them.
Check out a video of Mr. Hou in action, at the bottom.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if giant eggs started falling from the sky, right in the middle of your city? Of course you haven’t, but Hank Hofstra has and he decided to show the whole world.
Dutch artist Hank Hofstra was tired of looking at boring old Zaailand, the main square of Leeuwarden and one of the largest in the Netherlands, and decided to do something about it. There had been lots of topics on making the landmark more appealing, but nothing had really been done about it. Remembering an old Dutch saying, “To lay down the first egg, you have to start with the first egg”, Hofstra decided to lay the first eight giant eggs, himself.
After meeting with local authorities and companies involved in the Art Eggcident, the artist and his team spent two days spray-painting the eggs, each one around 100 meters in diameter. As you can expect, the giant sunny-side-up eggs immediately drew the attention of passers-by, but reactions were very different. Hours after the Eggcident’s completion, 80% of people who saw it said it was hideous, but now, weeks later, 80% of people say it’s brilliant. Shops around Zaailand Square definitely appreciate Hank’s work, since it bought in tons of tourists and boosted their sales.
Freshmen have always had it a little rough in college, but at the St. Andrews University, in Scotland, their plight at the hand of senior students has become a celebrated tradition called Raisin Monday.
The traditions of Raisin Monday date back to the early days of St. Andrews. New students (also known as “bejants” and “bejantines”) had to show their gratitude to seniors, for showing them the ropes around campus, and a pound of raising was considered an expensive and tasty enough sign of appreciation. With the passing of time, some freshmen started ignoring the custom, so senior students came up with of receipts written in Latin acknowledging the receipt of the pound of raisins. If one of the freshmen students didn’t have such a receipt, he would get doused in one of the local fountains. Another reason for a dousing was the challenge of the receipt, by a senior, for mistakes in written Latin.
Throughout the years since St. Andrews University opened its gates in 1410, the traditions of Raisin Monday have changed according to the times. Nowadays, new students have to buy seniors a bottle of wine as a token of gratitude, and the dousing in water fountains has been replaced by a general fight with shaving foam.
Zhang Yujian, a Chinese stuntman from Mudanjiang City, Heilonjiang Province, has eaten two light bulbs during his performance, on Monday. XInhua reports the glass-eating master has a record of three light bulbs eaten in just 120 seconds. Now, I’m not sure if he eats the entire thing, but he certainly made short work of the sharp glass, without any serious cuts.
I knew the Chinese had some pretty bizarre foods, at least for my taste, but Zhang Yujian is taking things a little too far. I wonder if he’d be interested in meeting Russia’s sand-eating woman, I bet they’d hit it off. Read More »
