These unusual clouds are called lenticular clouds because of their lens-like shape and they tend to form at high altitudes, normally aligned at right-angles to the wind direction. They have often been mistaken for UFOs in the past, due to their odd shape, but they are becoming more common these days. They are indeed another of mother nature’s wonders, truly a sight to behold! Read More »

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.

I have to say that after seeing these pics, I’ve decided I’d love to visit this place as much as I’d love to visit Devil’s Pool, at Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe. It’s just one of those sights that simply takes your breath away. This man-made wonder is 1013 meters long covers 80 acres, its deepest end reaches 115ft and it holds 66 million gallons of water. If you want to take a dip in the world’s largest swimming pool you’ll have to travel to San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo, Chile, where a computer-controlled suction and filtration system continuously pumps water from the ocean, keeping crystal clear. Although it wasn’t cheap, costing around $2 billion to build and another $4 million/year for maintenance, the pool seems to be worth it as it has been attracting huge crowds of curious tourists, since it opened in December. Read More »

These guys give the expression “playing with your food” a whole other meaning and I don’t mean that in a good way. I have nothing against them killing that pig in the comfort of their own home, it’s a popular custom especially in Eastern-European countries, but what they’re doing in these photos is way out of line. People should respect their food, not use as a sick source of amusement…that;s what I think anyway.

I remember a time when everyone of my friends wanted to get a pitbull as a pet, just so they can look cooler, and brag about how dog their dogs were. Now staring at these pictures I realize Africans are at whole other level, anyone of those pets, be it the hyenas, baboons or the python would make a pitbull beg for mercy. Still it looks very cruel, taking wild animals, slapping a huge chain on them and using them as pets, it doesn’t look at all natural. Read More »

Actually the Ashera is not only the rarest, but also the largest, most expensive and exotic house cat you can find. This breed was created by blending two exotic feline bloodlines with that of a domestic cat. The Ashera can reach 14 kilograms in weight and 1 meter in length, it’s famous for taking well to being walked on a leash and getting along with kids and other pets. Now it’s not that I don’t trust the experts but I wouldn’t leave my kid alone with one of these, cats are very independent and sometimes unpredictable and kids can piss them off easily, who knows how they might react. One thing is for sure, they are magnificent animals, well worth $22.000 ($28.000 if you want the Ashera GD, a rarer, hypoallergenic version). Read More »

Jonathan McCullum was a perfectly healthy 17 years old boy, weighing at 155 pounds. That all changed went he signed for an exchange student program in Egypt. His hosts were Coptic Christians, who fast an unmatched 200 days a year and the boy says he was denied sufficient food, all four months that he spent there. When he returned to the states, Jonathan was unrecognizable, weighing a mere 97 pounds and struggling to carry his own baggage and climb up stairs. He had to be hospitalized for two weeks because he risked having a heart attack. Despite the whole ordeal, the boy doesn’t regret his experience and sees it as a mere clash of cultures, he plans on going to Zimbabwe this summer as part of a volunteer program. Take some food with you this time buddy!

For some reason I never thought I’d use the word delicacy in the same sentence with words like cricket, caterpillar, frog, grasshopper, but I guess I was wrong. Apparently in Thailand all these are considered delicious and extremely good for the body. Grasshoppers are boiled alive so they keep their physical detail intact, but you shouldn’t eat the head and intestines…charming. If you’re into this stuff, you might be thrilled to hear you could also try some roaches, beetles, ants, ant eggs and even cooked scorpions.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Takoradee/Wikimedia Commons

 

There’s no way in hell I’m eating something like this, bring the bat soup and the Thai delicacies on, but Vietnamese blood soup…yuck! See it’s all about the way it’s cooked because…well, it’s not cooked at all! They just slit the duck’s or goose’s throat, gather all the blood in a boll, add ginger, some vegetables and sometimes sprinkle peanuts on top and there you have it, that’s your soup. It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and it’s regarded as a source of strength by those who cook and eat it. Strangest thing is, some restaurants in Germany have started serving this and it is a huge success, people can’t get enough of it! If you want to know more about it, or where you can get some, search it online, it’s called Tiet cahn…Good luck!

Photo: Xufanc

 

This is one of the most difficult professions I’ve ever seen, I remember seeing a series of documentaries on it but the sea didn’t look as cold as it does in theses photos. I mean much of the ship is frozen stiff, yet those guys are out there, soaking wet trying to catch as many crabs as possible and ensuring they get a fat paycheck. I can’t imagine lasting one day doing something like that, I mean I have trouble with getting in the water, during the summertime, during the summer, how could I handle the frozen waves of the Bering sea? Respect! Read More »

This is apparently how they used to test new inventions in the Soviet Union during the 50s and 60s (at least that’s when these photos are taken). In this experiment they got that little pig drunk by forcing it to drink wine (Kagor, maybe you heard of it) and launching it into the air using some kind of giant mortar cannon. Some of you might find it funny, but I just think it’s cruel. I guess animal cruelty and animal testing are old issues that aren’t going away anytime soon…

Hundreds of Japanese grown-men wrestle each other in the mud water of Mimusubi shrine in Yotsukaido, a settlement near Tokyo. Every year on February 25 these men take part in this strange yet fun looking rite, believed to bring good harvest for the whole year and good health for babies.

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! Read More »

This impressive underwater vehicle was built by a man living in St-Petersburg, Russia. It is officially registered as the smallest submarine in the country and what is most impressive is that it can travel underwater from St-Petersburg to Helsinky and back, without having to make any stops. This one man, home-made submarine reaches a top-speed of four knots. Not bad!

I have no problems looking at pictures depicting animal moms breastfeeding and literally taking in babies of different species, I even find them very sweet. But for some reason, looking at these photos of women breastfeeding various animals makes me very nauseous, it’s just not natural, no matter what continent your from. Read More »