As you all know, Chinese are very serious when it comes to their historical legacy, their centuries old customs and traditions, so it comes as no surprise that even though it’s rapidly becoming one of the most industrialized nations in the world they still honor their forefathers by performing ancient ceremonies.
Avery good example is this Cin dynasty traditional ceremony, performed in the city of Hangzhou. Progress is great but history is fascinating.
Meet Jocelyn Wildenstein, also known as the The Lion Queen, The Cat Woman or The Bride of Wildenstein. She was born in 1940 and in a crazy attempt to stay young forever she is said to have spent around $4.000.000 on plastic surgery. Sadly that only brought her the title of world’s scariest celebrity, from a plastic surgery website, in 2004.
It’s pretty sad when you think about it, if I were her, I’d rather look like a nice old lady rather than as a doll-faced monster. Anyway her boyfriend seems to like her…I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that she’s rich!
Before you go laying the “this is photoshoped” line on me, do a little search on the web and convince yourself it is real. It’s actually one of the most well-known diving places in the world, set in Palau. Actually if any of you watched Survivor Palau, you might remember this as one of the sights.
Jellyfish Lake was once connected to the waters of the Pacific ocean, but is now completely isolated. The large population of jellyfish living here was believed to be missing those stinging cells, also known as nemastocysts, but it turns out they do have them, only they’re really tiny. That’s why it’s perfectly ok for people to swim so close to the jellyfish, our tissue doesn’t feel the sting.
This is definitely one of the “must-go before I die” places, right up there with Devil’s Pool and Morning Glory Pool!
Photo: tata_aka_T/Flickr
Photo: Shinji/Flickr
How would you feel if you were hanging on a metal arm atop of the eighth-tallest building in the world, the Stratosphere hotel in Las Vegas? I know I’d be terrified, but if you’re one of those thrill seekers that will gladly swim in Devil’s Pool, you might like this.
The X-Scream is, according to many, the ultimate fun ride in the world. Those willing to risk a heart attack are loaded in a cart and hoisted high into the air before the track plunges into a 30 degree angle. Just when it reaches 30mph, the carts comes to a full stop at the end of the track, leaving nothing but 300meters of air between passengers and the ground…now that I don’t want to try! I don’t care about their fancy security measures, that include titanium restraint bars and a manual return mechanism in case of power failure, I ‘m just not getting on that thing!
Ivrea is a small town, about 40 minutes north of Turin, Italy. It isn’t a very animated settlement, but once a year, during the Orange Battle Carnival, Ivrea comes to life. the battle is an allegoric representation of the medieval insurrection of 1194, against the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick of Swabia. Masked, armored men throw oranges at the crowd who in turn throw them back at them, until the streets are covered by a carpet of squashed oranges that is sometimes even 30 cm thick…
As much fun as I’m sure this carnival is I have to wonder if those oranges, like the bananas in the banana wall, would have been more appreciated by some starving children in a third world country. But hey, that’s just me…
Situated in the village of Jukkasjärvi, 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, in Sweeden, the Icehotel is one of the most fantastic tourist locations on the face of the Earth. Using pure, clear ice from the frozen Torne River, artists from all around the world come to Jukkasjärvi every year, to sculpt beautiful ice and snow structures. We are not aware of how spicy the prices are ( you can check here) but we’re sure it’s a unique experience that’s gotta be worth every penny!
No matter how much you love swimming I’m willing to bet the farm you wouldn’t dare do it here…unless you have a death wish!
This is the Citarum river, in Indonesia, possibly the most polluted river in the world, due to mankind’s greed and insensibility regarding environment. Once one of the most beautiful waters in Asia, now the Citarum is a graveyard of debris, where locals, who can no longer fish, risk their lives scavenging for bottles and anything else they might sell for a small profit.
If you’re ever in Zimbabwe, don’t miss the chance to take a swim in The Devil’s Pool, a small lagoon, enclosed by rocks, on the edge of one of the biggest, most beautiful waterfalls in the world, Victoria Falls. Set on Livingstone Island, at a height of 103 meters, Devil’s Pool is definitely one of the most surreal locations on Earth.
About Oddity Central
Oddity Central is all about the oddities of our world. If you’re looking for bizarre events, unique travel destinations, weird inventions, freaky characters or odd art, you’ll most likely find here. Simply put, Oddity Central is a collection of oddities gathered from all around the world.
With all the weird stuff happening on a daily basis, it’s hard to keep up, so if you find something you think deserves a place among the oddities on this site, get in touch and share it with the rest of us bizarre lovers.
About Spooky
Real name is Florin, but since I’ve used this nickname since the first time I’ve ever created an online profile and it fit the topic of my blog, I thought I’d use it instead.
What can I say about myself? I’m just your average 25-year-old, living in Eastern Europe (Romania). I’ve been blogging since 2007, about various topics, like video games, cars, travel destinations, but it wasn’t until early 2008, when I started Oddity Central, that I truly found something I actually liked writing about. Since then, I’ve become an oddities-freak, always searching for something cool to share with you guys.
I know my grammar and spelling aren’t always perfect, but most times I post on the run, without proof reading my articles. I’m really sorry about that, it’s not that I’m retarded (yeah, I’ve been called that), but this is just a hobby and I have to focus the largest part of my time on important stuff like my job, my friends and…what’s the other one again? Oh yeah, my family 🙂
