Looking at photos of the Zombie Parade that took place on July 18, in the streets of Frankfurt, Germany, I couldn’t stop thinking about the Resident Evil games I used to play when I was in high-school and how they scared the living crap out of me. Luckily, the zombies in the photos don’t really want to eat your brain or hurt you in any other way. I have to say the make-up on these guys is simply amazing. I’m sure I would totally have a heart-attack if I walked into any of them in a dark alley, at night. Zombie parades are becoming more and more common, as they are held in different countries around the world. The first zombie parade was organized back in 2003, in Toronto and, in 2005, there 80 zombie parades, attended mainly by horror movie lovers. Photos by Johannes Eisele/ REUTERS Read More »

Ok, so I’m not sure if it’s really the sweetest, since they have serious competition from the guys who cooked the world’s largest cheesecake, but it’s definitely up there with the sweetest. Over 100,000 Palestinians gathered in the center of Nablus city, on the West Bank, to watch as the largest Kunafa cake was being made and hopefully, even grab a bite. 170 bakers, from 10 bakeries around Nablus, worked together to create the longest and heaviest Kunafa in history. Kunafa is definitely one of the most delicious desserts in the Arab world, baked from semolina flour, hiding a delicious mozzarella-like cheese,  sweetened with a sugar syrup sprinkled with rose water and covered by a crunchy carpet of crushed nuts. The giant Kunafa measured 74 meters in length and weighed 1765 kg, 400 kg more than it needed to break the old record. It cost around $15,000 to make and the ingredients include around 700 kilograms of semolina flour, the same amount of white cheese, 300 kilograms of sugar and six tons of cooking fat. The record has been recorded and will be presented to the Guinness Book of Records for acknowledgment.

Although I wasn’t able to find much info about this spitball competition, I know it was held somewhere in Britain and it’s sort of like the Spitball World Championship. I really liked some of the fancy spitball launchers some of the contestants displayed. They show just how passionate some people can be about a…sport other people find silly. via Ochevidec

On every second Saturday of July, people gather outside the Mugs Away Saloon, in Laguna Niguel, California, for the annual Mooning of the Amtrack. Known also as the Mooning of the Train, this tradition dates back to 1979. Legend has it it all started when a rich person walked into the bar and promised free drinks to anyone with enough balls to show their naked behinds to the passing Amtrak train. This year around 1,000 people attended the mooning and a great time doing so. there were no incidents, unlike last year, when many of the 8,000 mooners got intoxicated in public and the festivities had to be shut down. The trains are mostly full when they pass by the Mugs Away Saloon and the conductors even slow down so the passengers can really enjoy the view.

On June 19, Glamour Magazine challenged 100 German women to a race on high heels and win 10,000 euros. Held in west Berlin, Germany, Glamour Stiletto Run 2009 had 100 women compete in a 100 meters race on stilettos. There were only two rules, the heels had to be at least 7 cm long and at most 1.5 cm wide. The winning time of 14.7 seconds was obtained by local girl Denise Hanitzsch, who was the runner up in last year’s race, because one of her stilettos broke. Denise confessed she didn’t train for the race, because she didn’t have to. She works in an office but is forced to run on high heels daily. Asked was she was going to spend the 10,000 euros, the winner answered “On shoes! What else?”. Photos by CodeNet.de via Glamour.de

One day, every year, getting down and dirty in mud is a good thing. On July 7, hundreds of kids gathered in Westland, Michigan for the annual Mud Day. For once parents actually encouraged their children to jump in a pool of mud and just have some good, clean fun. Just like Mud Day 2008, this year’s event was sponsored by Westland Country Parks and Recreation and consisted of several muddy events, including a wheelbarrow race. The dirty rascals had a mud hole filled with 200 tons of mud-soil and 20,000 gallons of water. Photos by CFP via CCTV

Animal rights activists gathered in the Spanish town on Las Ventas, for a very original protest against the famous bull fights held there. Organized by Equanimal, the protest had the participants strip to their underwear, lie down and cover themselves with fake blood, and corrida spears. It took place at the end of May and hoped to convince authorities that the Spanish people no longer support such a cruel and barbaric tradition as bullfighting. The anti-bullfighting protest took place in Las Ventas because that’s where a large number of bulffighting events take place. Most bull fights are not even profitable anymore, they are sustain themselves through public grants. Read More »

Spanish people really have a thing for bulls, don’t they. Bullfighting, the festival of Pamplona, they’re all centered around the bull. During the Bous a la Mar Festival, in Denia, near the city of Alicante, people get chased by bulls through the streets and into the Mediterranean Sea. The brave participants plunge into the waters just before the bulls are about to catch them. The animals often fall into the sea as well, where they are taunted some more. Eventually, the bulls are caught with a lasso and towed back to shore by a boat. via Telegraph.co.uk

One thing is for sure, the Chinese know how to relax. I mean, what’s more relaxing than an old fashioned pillow fight? It makes you laugh, lets you take release the pressure without hurting anyone, it’s perfect. Looking at the photos, I can say this outdoor pillow fight, staged by the authorities of Nanning, China, was a great success. People are laughing, having a good time, like they have no care in the world. via China.org.cn

The Chinese know how to have fun and make money at the same time. During a contest that took place in Nanning, competing teams had to squeeze as many members as they could into a car. They had 3 minutes to get into the car and had to last 10 seconds with all the car doors shut. Not an easy task, but with all that Yoga, I’m sure they managed pretty well. We don’t know how many people fit into that car for the win, but what we do know is the winning team got a prize of 500 yuan. That’s about $73. But who are we kidding, it was never about the money. via people.com.cn

Some of the ugliest dogs in the world gathered at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, California to compete for the title of World’s Ugliest Pedigree Dog. Just like last year. the contest was dominated by a pure breed Chinese crested hairless. 15-year-old Miss Ellie has only a few of her back teeth left, cataracts in both eyes and her hairless body is covered with moles and pimples. Her dream is to travel the world and prove that ‘ugly’ is just a word and says nothing about her great personality. Having been rescued herself, Miss Ellie hopes she can be a spokesmodel for not-so-cute rescue dogs. Along with the title of World’s Ugliest Pedigree Dog, Miss Ellie also received a big trophy and $1,000. I wonder if, Gus, World’s Ugliest Dog 2008 competed this year, he was a great deal uglier than Miss Ellie. via Daily Mail

Dogs show-off surfing skills at the 4th Annual Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Competion in Imperial Beach, California. Well after seeing the surfing mice, these photos of dogs mastering the surfboard just don’t seem that impressive anymore. But, I guess they deserve some credit, after all, surfing’s certainly not an easy sport. Still…surfing mice, now that’s impressive. via Telegraph.co.uk

Times Square is one of the most crowded places on Earth, but that didn’t stop 200+ people from practicing yoga right in the middle of it. On the morning of the Summer Solstice, on June 21, 2009 more than 200 yoga enthusiasts gathered in the “Crossroads of the World” for the seventh annual free yoga classes. Participants probably thought it would be  a challenge to achieve total peace and calmness in the center of Time Square. I wonder if yoga granny took part in this unusual yoga session. Photos by REUTERS/XINHUA via People.com.cn

The bride and groom, both sci-fi fans, decided they didn’t want a conventional wedding so they opted for one in total weightlessness. Noah Fulmore and Erin Finnegan, two love-birds from New York City, spent nearly $20,000 on a 90-minute-long zero-gravity wedding. The ceremony was performed in a modified Boeing 727 jet that takes roller-coaster-style dives, used to simulate the zero-gravity experienced by astronauts in space. The couple also exchanged wedding rings made out of precious metal from a meteorite that crashed in Namibia 30,000 years ago. They said the experience was everything they hoped for. Photos by REUTERS via Daily Mail

Competitors went toe to toe last weekend, for the title of World Toe-Wrestling Champion. Who knew something as silly as toe-wrestling was an actual sport, right? Well, turns out it really is and people have been clashing their toes in the World Toe-Wrestling Championship for the last 14 years. This year’s competition was held in Ashbourne, England. The rules were pretty simple. After a basic check for foot hygiene, two competitors “toed-it-out”, trying to push each other off the “toedium”. Toe-wrestling has become more and more popular lately and, this year, the championship drew-in contestants from all around the world, including Australia and the US. The final toe-down was between two locals, last year’s champion Paul “Toeminator” Beech and Alan “Nasty” Nash. After a tough match, the judge decided “Nasty” had the stronger toes and awarded him his fifth World Toe-Wrestling Championship trophy. via People’s Daily