The Desert of Maine – An Unusual Tourist Attraction
The Desert of Maine, a 40-something-acre patch of sand and silt near the town of Freeport, is a geological oddity, natural wonder, and a warning of what irresponsible land use can create. The “most famous natural phenomenon in Maine” is actually the result of poor land management over several generations. Although not technically a desert […]
Johatsu – Japan’s Evaporated People
People vanish from their established lives all the time, but nowhere is this phenomenon as prevalent as in Japan, a country that has even devised a term for the phenomenon – “johatsu”. The most common reasons that drive people to disappear without a trace are exactly the ones you’re probably thinking about – inescapable debts, […]
Cuban Painted Snails – Probably the World’s Most Beautiful Gastropods
Out of the roughly 1,400 species of land snails that call Cuba home, the six species of the genus Polymita, fondly known as painted snails, are without a doubt the most eye-catching. When it comes to snail per se, there’s probably no beating the spectacular red-and-black contrast of the Malaysian fire snail, but as far […]
Hero Doctor Performs Over 37,000 Free Surgeries to Give Children a Chance at a Better Life
An Indian plastic surgeon is being praised as a hero without a cape after spending much of his life performing over 37,000 free procedures to correct children’s cleft palates and cleft lips. According to the CDC, cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby’s lip or mouth do not form […]
Man Who Broke His Back Falling on Stairs From Bed to Home Office Covered by Work Insurance, Court Rules
A German Federal Court recently ruled that a man who broke his back by falling down the stairs from his bedroom on his way to his home office should be covered by his employer’s workplace accident insurance. According to court documents published last Wednesday, Germany’s Federal Social Court ruled in favor of an unnamed area […]
45-Year-Old Woman Impersonates 22-Year-Old Student for Two Years, No One Notices
A 45-year-old woman who stole her estranged daughter’s identity managed to fool everyone that she was 22 for two years, enrolling in university and dating boyfriends who were convinced she was in her early 20s. Laura A. Oglesby risks spending five years behind bars without parole, as part of a plead deal, after admitting to […]
Human Punching Bag Makes a Living by Letting People Punch Him to Relieve Stress
For the last 11 years, “Turkey’s first and only stress coach” has been making a living by letting people punch him, without ever punching back. Hasan Riza Gunay started working as a human punching bag in 2010, after finding inspiration in Turkish director Kemal Sunal’s classic movie “Sark Bulbulu” (Eastern Nightingale), in which the protagonist […]
Dozens of Camels Disqualified From Beauty Pageant Over Alleged Botox Injections
In an attempt to keep artificially-enhanced camels out of official beauty pageants, Saudi authorities recently disqualified 43 camels over the use of Botox and other cosmetic procedures. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz Camel Festival is one of the several annual events that features a camel beauty pageant. As funny as that might seem to us westerners, […]
Monkey Mia – The Australian Paradise That Dolphins Visit Daily
If you’ve ever wanted to see a dolphin up-close in its natural habitat, and, if you’re lucky, even hand feed it a tasty treat, there’s no place to do it at than Monkey Mia, the only beach in Australia that dolphins visit every day. The wild dolphins of Monkey Mia, on the coast of Western […]
Man Allegedly Stares Directly Into the Sun For an Hour Without Blinking
An Indian pensioner recently set a bizarre new national record after allegedly spending an entire hour staring directly at the sun without sunglasses and without blinking once. The 70-year-old retired Government officer from India’s Uttar Pradesh state was identified as Mr. MS Verma. He apparently trained for this incredible feat for 25 years, after being […]
Abestos Snow – The Most Dangerous Fake Snow in History
Nowadays, most people would rather die than go anywhere near anything containing asbestos, but there was once a time when people literally sprinkled themselves with fake snow containing the proven carcinogenic. Up to the late 1920s, cotton was the main ingredient used for fake snow on Hollywood film sets and in people’s households, but in […]
Woman Lives for Free in Beijing by Disguising Herself as a Socialite
A Chinese art student recently conducted an intriguing experiment in which she spent three weeks living the good life in Beijing without spending a dime, by pretending to be a well-off socialite. Zou Yaqi, a 23-year-old art student at the University of Beijing has been getting a lot of attention for her unique graduation project […]
This World War I Refuge Dug Into the Side of a Mountain Is a Spectacular Sight
Carved into a vertical rockface in the Monte Cristallo massif, in Italy’s Dolomites Mountains, this incredible shelter sits at 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) above sea level. Mountain climbers brave enough to take on the Via Ferrata Ivano Dibona in the Italian Dolomites are treated to many memorable sights, including that of a unique structure embedded […]
Man Breaks World Record for Loudest Belch for the First Time in 10 Years
An Australian man managed to break a decade-old Guinness record, after letting out a belch louder than the average electrical drill. Neville Sharp, from Humpty Doo, Northern Territory, has been belching ever since his sister, Sandy, taught him how to do it when he was only six years old. He has been honing his “skill” […]
Man Arrested 5 Times in 3 Days Due to Resemblance to Wanted Criminal
A Chinese man recently went through the worst week of his life after being arrested five times in only three days due to his uncanny resemblance to a prison escapee. In October of 2021, a criminal by the name of Zhu Xianjian managed to escape from a prison in Northeast China’s Jilin Province. Authorities scrambled […]