They say love knows no boundaries, but this is taking it a little too far. A Vietnamese man has been sleeping next to his wife’s corpse for the last five years.

Le Van, a 55-year-old man from Quang Nam province, Vietnam, lost his wife in 2003. Because he couldn’t go to sleep at night without hugging his beloved spouse, he slept on top of her grave for about 20 months. When he couldn’t stand the rain and wind anymore, he decided to dig a tunnel into the grave, so he could sleep with his wife.

When the kids heard his crazy plan, they did everything they could to stop him, so Le Van had to think of another way he could cuddle up to his wife at night. In 2004 he unearthed her remains, wrapped them in pieces of paper and a clay mould and put a dummy mask on her face. The man has been sleeping next to his dead wife ever since. Read More »

A group of 12 overgrown pink snails have taken over Plazza Scala, in Italy’s fashion capital, Milan.

These unusual plastic models were created by the Italian Cracking Art group and are on a mission to change people’s lifestyle. In a world where everything is happening so fast, the pink snails are here to let you know “speed isn’t always a virtue” and slowing down to enjoy the beauty of the city can be quite refreshing.

“We need to play with the city to break with our obvious daily routine and rediscover the experience of moving about the city” said Finazzer Flory, Milan’s culture counselor. He added that the giant pink snails are shaped to resemble an ear to also make people listen to what’s going on around them

The slimy giants will be moved periodically towards the Palazzo Reale and, in January, they’ll make an appearance at the central train station. They’ll then go on a series of international visits to Amman, Tel Aviv and Chicago. They’ll return to Milan in 2015, as part of a 120-snail army. That sounds kind of scary…

via UPI

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French designer Fabrice Peltier used the holiday season to raise awareness to the environmental issues of our time.

In one of the central squares of Paris, passers by can admire 4 very unusual trees, made out of used plastic bottles. Over four meters high, Peltier’s Christmas tree’s are decorated with LED lights.

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Cabbages and Condoms, a Thai restaurant that promotes safe sex as well as good food decided to celebrate Christmas by displaying a life-size Santa Claus made of condoms. Cabbages and Condoms is the only restaurant in the world where you get a free vasectomy, at the clinic next door, with every ordered meal. One of the most original eating establishments on Earth, is one of the most popular attractions in Bangkok, Thailand.

For the past two years, the guys at the Cabbages and Condoms restaurant have been greeting the holiday season by building a Condom Santa Claus. I have been able to dig up much info on this latex covered mannequin, but I’m willing to bet it took hundreds, maybe thousands of condoms to make. Here are a few photos of the 2009 Condom Santa:

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The Falling Photographer, as he is commonly known, shoots photo of himself right in the middle of a big fall, in the name of art.

Kerry Skarbakka says he first began taking falling pictures right after the events of 9/11 and uses his body ” as a metaphor to describe the tensions and anxieties we all feel.” For some of his works, the artist uses special rigging and climbing equipment to achieve the desired effect, but he often  plunges dangerously, with no protection.

The Falling Photographer travels all over the world in search for suitable locations to shoot his photos and he also sets up scenes in his personal studio. For the bathtub photo below, he installed an installation to make him flip in the air, but he still banged his head on the side of the tub a few times.

Kerry’s works have been exhibited in art galleries across the world and he plans to shoot enough photos to put together a book. So far he has around 40 photos that can be purchased for as much as 4,500 pounds.

Photos by KERRY SKARBAKKA/BARCROFT MEDIA

via Telegraph.co.uk

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Dieter “Didi” Senft, a hardcore cycling fan and bicycle builder, showcases his latest creation, the Santa Claus Bicycle.

Didi is probably the most famous cycling fanatic in the world. Ever since 1993 he has been making appearances during Le Tour de France, dressed in a red devil suit and carrying a trident. His unique costume earned Didi the nickname El Diablo.

But Mr. Senft is much more than an entertainer, he’s also the creator of over 200 over the top bicycles, 17 of which are acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records. This year, to celebrate Christmas, Didi Senft built the Santa Claus Bicycle, an original contraption that’s 7.30 meters long, 2 meters wide and 3.10 meters high. Santa’s bike weighs 800 kilograms and it’s decorated with 3,000 Christmas lights.

But the most impressive thing about Didi’s Santa Claus Bicycle is that it’s fully ridable.

Photos by REUTERS via Daylife

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To make sure they squeeze some money out of them, young Chinese beggars have begun clinging to the legs of their victims.

Picture this: you’re walking down the street, minding your own business when this helpless little beggar girl comes up to you and asks you to buy a flower. You say something like “no thanks” and move on. But wait, one of your legs seems to be immobilized. You look down at the leg and see that same girl wrapped around it saying she isn’t going to let go until you buy a flower. This sort of harassment takes place more and more often on the streets of China’s major cities.

Now, considering there’s rarely any police around to help you with the issue, there are two things you can do. One way to resolve this would be to kick her with your other leg, but what kind of animal hits a child, right? So your only other option is to actually buy the flower and see to your business. Maybe you think there are other ways to escape the grip of these persistent beggars, but those already trapped by one say they don’t let go no matter how hard you try to reason with them or even hit them.

So the obvious question is: are these clinging beggars to blame? I would be inclined to say no, because they’re just doing what they must to survive. There are criminals that send them to “work” every day and if they don’t earn their keep, they’re in serious trouble.

via bbs.163.com

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Held at the Tokyo Big Site, on Odaiba Island, the Tokyo Nail Expo featured some of the most amazing fingernail artworks.

Apparently, the nail industry is really big in Japan right now, so it’s no wonder they’ve actually organized an exposition where nail artists could showcase their latest masterpieces. The Japanese nail industry has grown to 200 million yen, so it’s no wonder this year’s event drew in a crowd of approximately 50,000.

I’m not a big fan of painted, long nails, but I have to admit the nail artworks presented at the Tokyo Nail Expo 2009 were pretty impressive.

Photos by Junko Kimura/GETTY IMAGES

via 923NOW

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Damn, I’m so thirsty, I’d kill for a bottle of Buffalo Wings right now. Whew, thank God for Meat Water, right?

The best way to describe Meat Water drink is “dinner in a bottle”. This high efficiency survival beverage brings you all your favorite foods in liquid form. that’s right why bother cooking Italian meatballs, pizza, fried oysters or whatever else you like, when you can just drink them out of the bottle?

Apparently, Meat Water is perfect for athletes because it allows them to cut down on exercing and eating time and allows them to enjoy themselves. Of course that doesn’t apply to me because, one: I’m not an athlete, and two: I actually enjoy myself when eating.

Read more about Meat Water on their official site

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A tarantula clinging on your back isn’t something you’d pay for, but that’s exactly what this dude Kevin did.

Ok, so it’s not a real tarantula, but still, it’s very creepy. the Tarantula Backpack was designed by Tamera, a talented Australian artist who creates a variety of 2D and 3D creepy toys and artworks. This particularly scary masterpiece was commissioned by Kevin,  who uses it to get his sick father’s blood pumping. After undergoing cancer surgery he needed to get his blood flowing, so his son thought placing his newly acquired Tarantula Backpack on the end of his bed would do the trick.

The fluffy tarantula unzips beneath its mandibles and you can store all your stuff inside. I thought the Black Dragon Backpack was creepy, but this is even scarier.

via Trendhunter

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Cody, a Chocolate Labrador is one of the most valued employees of a conveniance store from Clearwater, Florida.

Karim Manour started bringing Cody to work with him about five months ago, during the early shifts. At first it was just so he could have some company, but customers that spotted the fury rascal fell in love with him instantly. Seeing his beloved pet was so popular, he decided to throw the dog a bone, as it were, and gave him a job.

Now Cody has his very own t-shirt and name tag and is up for the employee of the year award, because of his growing customer approval rating. The mutt doesn’t really work as a clerk, but he does manage to calm-down angry people and make sad people feel better simply by being his adorable self. Now if that doesn’t deserve a raise, I don’t know what does.

Photos by Jim Damaske

via Tampa Bay

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It may look like an ordinary old stagecoach, but, in truth, there’s nothing ordinary about this colorful masterpiece.

After seeing a smaller model of a stagecoach made from toothpicks in the window of a store, Terry Woodling  decided he was going to build his own life-size replica. This was back in 1981, but he didn’t really get started until Thanksgiving of 1994. Also known as “Me. Toothpick”, 72-year-old Terry spent 15 years of his life working on his one of a kind toothpick stagecoach, in Warsaw, Indiana.

More than 1.5 million flat toothpicks went into the project, bound together by a whole lot of glue. The fact that it’s glued was  actually why his stagecoach didn’t get acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records. But Mr. Toothpicks isn’t too disappointed and decided to donate it to the local Warsaw Museum. But his extraordinary creation caught the eye of Ripley’s Believe It or Not and got a place in their famous museum.

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With a price tag of $3.14 million, the iPhone 3GS Supreme, designed by Stuart Hughes, is the most expensive cell phone on Earth.

The exclusive gadget has a solid 22 carat gold casing that weighs 271 grams as well as considerable number of flawless diamonds. The iPhone 3GS Supreme was designed by British artist Stuart Hughes for Goldstriker International, a company that specializes in creating extravagant mobile phones.

It took ten months to complete, but the final result is more opulent than you could have ever imagined. The front side of the iPhone 3GS Supreme features 136 flawless diamonds, while the Apple logo on the back is made from 36 diamonds. The directional key of the phone is  a rare 7.1 carat diamond. It also comes in an over the top 7 kg case, made from a single block of granite.

Unfortunately you’ll never get to hold this technological treasure in your hands, as it has already been acquired by an anonymous Australian business from the gold mining industry.

via gizmag

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On November 25, a yam and taro contest crowned the largest yam of 2009, in South-West China.

As one of the biggest yam and taro supplier in China, Anhe Township held the seventh annual Yam King Contest. Farmers from all around the area brought their biggest harvested yams hoping they’ll snatch the title of yam King 2009.

The winner of the contest was a 1.66 meters-long yam that weighed 38 kilograms. I bet that’s big enough to feed the farmer’s whole family for a long time.

via Xinhua

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Brixels is an Austrian company that specializes in creating portraits using LEGO bricks. Just send them a photo and they’ll send you back the perfect Christmas gift.

The amazing LEGO mosaics you see below were created with thousands of  1×1 bricks in four different colors (black, white, dark gray and light gray). Although the guys at Brixels have made LEGO portraits of celebrities like Barack Obama, Marylin Monroe or Bruce Lee, it doesn’t mean you can’t have your face recreated with LEGO.

In fact, the company presents its clients with two options. Other send them the photo and receive a LEGO kit that you can put together yourself, or have them piece it together. Sure the last option is more expensive, but considering these things are made of up to 4,600 pieces, you migt one to consider it.

Brixels (cool name, don’t you think?) was founded by Stefan Sacherer, a 29-year-old graphic designer from Salzburg. A big LEGO fan, Stefan built his first mosaic as a present for his girlfriend. The positive reactions of their friends inspired him to open Brixels, in order to allow people to create their own LEGO portraits.

Damn good idea, if I do say so myself!

Check out the high-speed of a LEGO mosaic being assembled, at the bottom.

Photos by REX FEATURES

via Telegraph.co.uk

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