World Belly Board Championships in Cornwall

More than one hundred belly surfers from all over the world gathered in Cornwall, Britain, for the annual World Belly Board Championships.

You might be surprised to know surfing wasn’t always about standing up on the board and riding the waves. British surfers practiced the sport on their bellies, using short wooden planks, over one century ago. On September 6, 2009 belly surfers from as far as Australia and America gathered in Cornwall for the annual charity event for the National Trust and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The World Belly Board Championships began back in 2002 as a way to commemorate the beginnings of British surfing.

Cornwall has been the main surfing area in Britain and it’s recognized as the first place where a British surfer actually stood up on a surf board. The first photographic evidence of this dates back to 1929.

Photos by Matt Cardy/Getty Images Europe

via Zimbio

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Sauna World Championship 2009

Yes, believe it or not, there is such a competition as Sauna World Championship.

Held in Heinola, Finland, the Sauna World Championship brings together around 200 competitors from all around the world. These hot heads can withstand sauna temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius.

Inaugurated in 1999, this crazy competition has both a men’s and women’s challenge. The Finish men have proven unbeatable every year since the 1999, while women from Belarus and Russia managed to steal the trophy on a number of occasions.

The rules of the Sauna World Championship are simple. Contestants, dressed in just their bathing suits, go inside a steaming sauna and have to stay there for as long as they can. As water is thrown over the stove, temperatures reach 110 degrees Celsius. The last contestant to leave the sauna, on his own two feet, is declared the winner.

This year the men’s title went to veteran Timo Kaukonen, and the women’s trophy was snatched by Russian Tatyana Arkhipenko.

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Remember Our World Is Melting

Raising awareness on the issue of global warming is not easy this days, but artists come up with all sorts of original ways to make the news.

Take Brazilian artists Nele Azevedo,  who created 2,000 ice-sculptures and placed them on the steps of the Berlin Opera Hall, to melt. That’s a lot of work to watch melt away in one hot afternoon, but at least her message made the newspapers. And if one more person knows about the melting Arctic ice, than her effort was not in vain.

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Let Vegetarianism Grow on You, Literally

PETA activists finds original way to promote vegetarianism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ashley Fruno, an old PETA activist from Canada, who in the past even went nude to promote vegetarianism, now found an even more ingenious way to attract attention. On September 2, 2009, miss Fruno showed up in front of a mall in Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur, dressed in a beautiful green dress, made only out of vegetables leaves.

She was holding up a sign that said “Let Vegetarianism Grow on You“. Well, she did and it looks amazing on her.

Photos by Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung

via Xinhua

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Destructotherapy in China

The Chinese Government knows how stressful work can be and decided to help the people release the pressure through Destructotherapy.

This is not the first time we’ve posted a piece on Destructotherapy, but it is the first time I’ve heard of it in China. Authorities in Changsha have set up a destruction therapy course in a park, where people could smash the hell out of used cars and all sorts of broken home appliances like TVs, refrigerators or washing machines.

I think more and more people should embrace Destructotherapy, after all, there’s nothing more relaxing than smashing stuff to bits.

Photos by Xinhua/Li Ga

via Xinhua

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El Ingles – The 67-Year-Old Matador

67-year-old Frank Evans, Britain’s oldest and only bullfighter, returns to the bullfighting arena and slays 2 unlucky horned beasts.

After a knee replacement and a quadruple bypass, ageless matador Frank Evans performed once again in the Plaza de Toros, in Benalmadena, on the Costa del Sol. A grandfather of five, Evans looked cool as ice, though he had to best two big bulls that could have ended his career in just one second.

El Ingles admits it’s not the most pleasant way to spend an afternoon, but, although he got a cut on his face, a few bruises and grazes, he only remembers the good bits of the fight.

Now one of the most popular bullfighters in Spain, Frank Evans started at the bottom, taking bullfighting lessons in his spare time. He got his first bullfighting contract in France, by pure luck, when he was mistaken for another bullfighter. He later gave up, because of lack of gigs, but decided to return to follow his dream when his fathered died. He decided life was too short not to do what you really love.

Now, El Ingles has dozens of scheduled bullfights and the crowds love him.

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Rubber Doll Swimming in Russia

I’ve seen rubber dolls used in many ways, most of them for adult eyes only, but using them as flotation devices makes much more sense.

Hundreds of crazy Russian swimmers gathered in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest city, for the annual Bubble Baba Challenge (Bubble Woman Chalenge). They plunged into the cold waters of the Ob River and had to swim for 100 meters with a rubber doll. The dolls helped keep them afloat, but were quite difficult to maneuver.

The first five swimmers to complete the Bubble Baba Challenge received prizes and diplomas.But what’s important is, everybody, including the 1,000 spectators, had fun. Read More »

Olympic Babies Compete in Crawling Race

They’ve only been born for a year and they’re already competing in sporting events. No wonder they’re called Olympic Babies.

Babies born on August 8, known as Olympic Babies, take part in a sporting competition that fits them like a diaper, a crawling race.  The race took place on August 6, 2009 in Beijing, to commemorate a 1 year anniversary since the Olympic Games held in the Chinese Capital.

via China.org

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A Different Kind of Bullfight

Unlike the Spanish, who like to get involved, the Chinese just like to watch as two bulls brutally fight each other. I’m not talking about the Spanish and the Chinese in general, but there’s no denying there are those who actually enjoy this type of displays.

These particular bullfights took place in Lianglong Village, Guanxing Province, China and were part of the local Xinmi Festival. As always, violence and blood managed to gather quite a crowd. And you can’t really blame the animal, they don’t know any better, but the people…

At least I hope they don’t kill the bulls, like they do in the corrida.

via China.org

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World Dwarf Games 2009

Just because they’re short doesn’t mean little people shouldn’t have the chance to compete in sporting events, at an international level. That’s why the World Dwarf Games were created.

Similar to the Paralympics, the World Dwarf Games gives athletes suffering from dwarfism the chance to prove themselves. The games are held every four years, in locations all across the world. The 5th edition of the games was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from July 24 until August 2nd. Competitors from all around the world tried their best to win and qualify for the 2012 Paralympics.

Photos by Reuters

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Drinkable Mosaic of Michael Jordan

To celebrate Michael Jordan‘s induction into the Naismith Memorial, Gatorade teamed-up with an advertising company to create one of the oddest mosaics ever.

Using an image of “His Airness” leaping towards the basket, 14, 641 Gatorade Limited Edition Jordan bottles and 200 lightboxes, a giant drinkable mosaic was created. The unusual creation was first tested in an enclosed space, before being transported to an outdoor basketball court, in Chicago’s South Side, where hundreds of curious Michael Jordan fans awaited to see their idol recreated from Gatorade bottles.

via: Total Pro Sports

Check out the video at the bottom:

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Mona Lisa Painted in Coffee

Well, I think the name Mocha Lisa fits it best, and it wasn’t exactly painted in coffee, but recreated from thousands of coffee cups.

Mocha Lisa was created during The Rocks Aroma Festival, in Sydney, Australia and attracted the curious eyes of 130,000 people in just one day. This incredible coffee masterpiece took 8 people three hours to complete as well as 3,604 cups of coffee and 564 pints of milk.

The 20ft by 13ft replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s La Gioconda was created by adding various amounts of milk to the cups of coffee. I have to say the sepia effect achieved is simply incredible.

There’s a making-of video at the bottom, if you’re interested.

Photos by Alison Lyons/Solent

via Daily Mail

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Peter Pan Gets Married

That’s right folks, Peter Pan finally tied the not with his beloved Tinkerbell, in a lovely medieval ceremony.

Just a day after I posted some photos from the wedding of Superman and Wonder Woman, I learned that the popular Peter Pan got hitched. Randy Constan, famous on the internet for his Peter pan related website, Pixyland, and his beloved Dorothy got married in a magical forest where the annual Tampa Bay Renaissance Festival i being held.

“Sire” Randy was dressed as Peter Pan (obviously), “Princess” Dorothy wore a Tinkerbell costume and the ceremony was officiated by Michael Marzella, who was dressed as Henry VIII.

I wish the happy couple all the best and a fairy-tale marriage.

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Giant Swiss Flag on Santis Mountain

The Swiss found an original way to celebrate their national day on Saturday,  August 1 st, by mounting the world’s second biggest Swiss flag on Santis Mountain.

The giant flag was 120 meters by 120 meters and was a spectacular sight for people in the area. Unfortunately, I read the flag was torn to shreds by the strong winds in the area. Well, at least they took photos of it before it was too late.

Photos by Reuters

via Blick

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Superman Marries Wonder Woman

A true superhero wedding took place on Saturday, in a warehouse in Portland, where Superman and Wonder Woman became husband and wife. I know, you were expecting him to marry Lois Lane, but life is just full of surprises.

When he asked her to marry him, Tony Lucchese told his beloved Sarah LaFore she was his kryptonite and gave her a green diamond ring. Although none of them is a comic-book fan, they kept joking about having a superhero wedding, until it turned into something serious.

They had custom suits tailored and Tony, with the help of his friends, built a Fortress of Solitude altar, in a hangar, so they could be married in a superhero setting. The groomsmen included Spider-man, Aquaman, Flash, The Hulk and Batman, while the maids of honor were dressed as amazons and armed with spears.

Really original stuff and all I can say is: I wish them a superhero marriage as well.

Photos by Amber Waterman/Sun Journal

via Sun Journal

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