around-the-world

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9 of the Undead from Around the World

Many cultures have tales of the undead, zombies, vampires, and other creatures who rise from the grave to cause mischief among the living. Many will drink your blood or eat your flesh. We looked at eight of these monsters in a previous post; here are nine more to feed your nightmares. 1. Pontianak... READ ON

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8 of the Undead from Around the World

Zombies and vampires and ghouls, oh my! Almost every culture has stories of beings who rise from their graves or some part of the supernatural world and return to eat the living -or at least drink our blood. Here are a few of those tales from all corners of the world. 1. Vetala... READ ON

Article

Mexico City Tourism Video is Actually Terrific

Here's a visual treat for your Friday afternoon: a video designed to promote tourism in Mexico City, that's actually beautifully shot, and a joy to watch. It's heavily influenced by Koyaanisqatsi and/or the work of cinematographer Ron Fricke -- virtually every shot is in slow- or fast-motion. There's not a whole lot going on here, aside from beautiful cinematography -- but that's the point. Here's how the producers describe it: Una producción del Fondo Mixto de promoción turística de la Ciudad... READ ON

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The World’s 8 Weirdest National Holidays

Whether it means a day off or just an excuse to celebrate, Americans love holidays, even preposterous ones such as National Miniature Golf Day, but we’re not the only ones. The world is full of weird holidays and I, for one, am eager to join in the celebration. If we unify the Earth, maybe we can have a worldwide holiday every day! Day of The... READ ON

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5 Great Australian Frauds

Australians are honest, trustworthy people, without exception. Well… maybe a few exceptions. Here are some of those rare Aussies in history who occasionally tried to tell a few fibs about themselves (including, in one case, lying about being Australian). Naturally, the rest of us are perfectly reliable… 1. Arthur... READ ON

Article

A Visit to a Soviet-era Arcade

Connal Hughes and Anjel Van Slyke made their way to the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines in Moscow, and documented their experience in great detail -- with photos and descriptions of every game (including some videos). The museum is located in a Stalin-era bomb shelter with a reinforced blast door, and is rarely open (the article says it's open two or three times a week, and not until 7:30pm). You pay $10 and are led into what is literally an underground game parlor, to witness amazing creations like... READ ON

Article

The Late Movies: On Top of Mountains

What do you do when you get to the top of a mountain? Take a good look around, congratulate your buddies, and...shoot a video. Here's a collection of summit videos from YouTube, so you can see for yourself what it's like on top of various super-tall mountains. Mount Everest Climber Krishna Patil briefly removes her breathing apparatus to narrate a video at the top of Mount Everest, the tallest point in the world at 29,029 feet. Mount Kilimanjaro This is the first... READ ON

Article

Obscura Day: 2010

On March 20th, Obscura Day was a worldwide celebration of "expeditions, back-room tours and hidden treasures in your hometown." 80 events took place in 20 countries, hosting more than 4,000 people -- with the general theme being really awesome stuff that happens to be in your neighborhood. The video below shows some highlights of what happened. If it piques your interest, check out more info on Obscura Day and mark your calendars for Obscura Day 2011! Obscura Day 2010 from Dylan D. Thuras on... READ ON

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6 Easter Customs from Our Readers

After the post 6 Easter Traditions You Might Not Know, many readers were kind enough to share their Easter customs with us. Now we will share your customs with everyone! 1. Semana Santa... READ ON

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Douglas Adams on Lemurs, Monkeys, Parrots, the Universe, and Everything

Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (among other awesome stuff) was an environmental activist particularly concerned with endangered species (read more about his work on Wikipedia). Just days before his death from a heart attack in 2001, Adams gave a hilarious talk about some of the animals he encountered during his career. He describes adventures in the rain forest, strange animals, and an overview of "twig technology" through the years. At one point he says, "I was a monkey... READ ON