Indian Couple Buy Land Next to Tiger Reserve And Simply Let Nature Take Over
For the last two decades, Indian wildlife photographer and conservationist Aditya Singh and his wife have been buying land adjacent the famous Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, and simply letting the forest grow back as a refuge for big cats and other wildlife. In 1998, Aditya Singh left his comfortable job with Indian civil services […]
How the World’s Largest Signature Is Used by NASA to Analyze Satellite Imagery
In the late 1990’s, when a Texas farmer decided to clear up some new grazing land for his cattle by leaving up just enough trees to spell his name in giant letters, he probably never imagined that his signature would one day be used by NASA to evaluate the quality of their satellite cameras. Jimmie […]
Horsetail Falls – The Yosemite Waterfall That Turns Into a Natural Firefall in February
A temporary waterfall in Yosemite National Park has become a popular tourist attraction in the mouth of February, because under the right conditions sunlight makes the water flowing down the rock face look like fire, hence its nickname, Yosemite Firefall. Every year, from December to April, water from melting mountain snow flows toward the eastern […]
Festival of Exploding Hammers Ushers in Lent with a Bang
Every February, on the day before Lent, the small Mexican town of San Juan de la Vega honors its namesake saint with a loud tradition that has come to be known as the Festival of Exploding Hammers. The origins of this bombastic festival are shrouded in mystery. According to one local story, Juan de la […]
Small Italian Town Lights Up World’s Largest Christmas Tree
For nearly three decades, Gubbio, a small medieval town at the foot of Mount Ingino in Italy’s Umbria region, has held the Guinness Record for the world’s largest Christmas tree. In 1981, the 750-meter Christmas tree spread over the slope of Mount Ingino was lit up for the first time. Every year since, on the […]
Just Room Enough Island – The World’s Smallest Inhabited Island
Just Room Enough Island, is an aptly-named private-owned island with literally just enough room for its owners’ house, a couple of trees and a miniature beach with a pair of bench chairs. Part of the Thousand Islands archipelago on the border between the U.S. and Canada, Just Room Enough Island measures about 3,300 square feet […]
Indonesian Restaurant Gives You a Fish Pedicure While You Eat
If the idea of having dozens of fish nibbling at your toes while you enjoy some traditional Indonesian cuisine sounds intriguing, you may want to check out this unique restaurant in Indonesia’s cultural capital of Yogyakarta. Located far away from the city center, the Soto Cokro Kembang restaurant originally relied on a relaxing flower garden […]
The Japanese City Where Beautiful Koi Fish Swim in Drain Channels
Can you imagine an inhabited city where the water running through the the drain channels is so pure that beautiful koi fish can swim in it? Well, such a place exists on Japan’s Kyushu island. It’s called Shimabara, and it’s quite a sight to behold. When the area around Shimabara was affected by the natural […]
This Famous Tree Log Has Been Floating Vertically for 120 Years And No One Knows Why
A floating tree stump known as the “Old Man of the Lake” has been bobbing in the blue water of Oregon’s Crater Lake for at least 120 years, baffling scientists with its upright orientation and allegedly even controlling the local weather. The first account of the Old Man of the Lake dates back to 1896, […]
This Whimsical Unicorn Cafe Is Probably the World’s Most Colorful Place
If you’re ever in Bangkok, Thailand, and you;re a fan of unicorns, ponies or just colors in general, there’s a place you simply must visit. It’s called “Unicorn Cafe” and, just like you’d expect, it’s full of plush unicorns, rainbows and lots of other colorful treats. To say Unicorn Cafe is a colorful place would […]
World’s Scariest Haunted House Will Pay You $20,000 If You Can Make It Through a Tour
The owner of McKamey Manor, dubbed by many the world’s most terrifying haunted house, is promising anyone who can survive its scariest tour yet a prize of $20,000. Many haunted houses claim to be the most terrifying, but there’s a general consensus among cheap thrill enthusiasts that McKamey Manor is really the scariest of them […]
Tokyo Bar Only Lets People In if They Come Alone
Nights out on the town are much better when shared with friends or loved ones, but while most bars and clubs around the world welcome groups, one particular Tokyo establishment only welcomes parties of one. Hitori, a small bar in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood, has a very particular admission system – everyone is welcome as long […]
Italian Town Bans Use of Google Maps After Too Many Tourists Stranded Because of It
Baunei, an idyllic mountain village on the Italian island of Sardinia, has launched an appeal to visitors asking them to stop relying on the directions of Google Maps when driving around the area. Salvatore Corrias, the mayor of Baunei, claims that in the last year alone the local fire service or mountain rescue team have […]
Ukraine Opens Radioactive Chernobyl Reactor Control Room to Tourists
In an effort to boost tourism to turn the Chernobyl disaster zone into a tourist attraction, the Ukrainian government recently decided to open a highly radioactive reactor control room to tourists. The control room of Chernobyl’s reactor four is where Ukrainian engineers turned off the nuclear reactor’s cooling pumps during a safety test in April […]
This Japanese Restaurant Has Been Using the Same Broth for Nearly 65 Years
Otafuku, one of the oldest oden restaurants in japan, has been heating up the same batch of broth every day since 1945, only adding more water to it as it evaporates. It may sound gross to most westerners, but it apparently makes oden stew taste amazing. Oden is a traditional Japanese stew that is simmered […]