Sam Van Aken created a tree that "grows over forty different types of stone fruit including peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, and almonds."
Even the most beautiful trees tend to bloom in only a single color, but artist Sam Van Aken is growing trees that turn into a kaleidoscopic array of flowers come spring. A project of his, the "Tree of 40 Fruit," has Van Aken grafting 40 different stone fruit branches onto a single tree, ultimately creating a tree that will slowly begin blooming at the beginning of spring and continue through the season as different varieties hit their marks. Come summer, those will all begin to grow fruits, including different types of cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots.
Van Aken, who tells Epicurious that he grew up on a farm, uses a technique called grafting to combine the similar fruit types onto a single tree. His use of the technique is certainly on the uncommon side, though similarly expansive efforts have been done before — The Daily Mail reports that a man in England put 250 varieties of apples on a single tree. Van Aken's trees are certainly designed more for the art of their blooming, but there's a preservation element that he's bringing in to it too. Van Aken says that he tries to include local fruits on each of his trees, as well as varieties that aren't commercially available.
None of the trees appear to be quite as grand in scope yet as Van Aken's gorgeous rendering (above) imagines them to be. For now, they're still young and small, but photos on Van Aken's "Tree of 40 Fruit" website show that they're already beginning to display what makes them so unique. The trees are currently spread across the US, with the majority of them around New York and New England. Epicurious reports that there are 16 of them so far, located in museums, community centers, and some private collections.
If you're looking for a good fright, forget about going to see a horror movie, or wandering through a cemetery in the middle of the night. Just flip on the National Geographic channel and find yourself a good documentary about the horrors lurking under the sea.
Living thousands of feet below the water's surface may not have done these creatures any favors in the looks department, but it has led to some utterly bizarre adaptations that let mother nature's ugly step-children survive in their unique environment. And while it's fun to point and stare at how hideous they all are, just remember they'd probably do the same to us if they visited dry land.
Deepstaria enigmatica
Not only may you never want to sleep again after seeing this undulating sheet of brown goo writhing its way across your screen, you'll never want to use blankets again either. We'll take a hungry great white shark over this creature any day—at least we know which end is up there.
Psychedelic Fish
It gets its name from its tie-dye-like skin, but the Psychedelic fish is also known as the Frog fish because of the way it uses its lower fins to hop and crawl along the ocean floor. And for some reason its back fin is perpetually twisted to the side making it difficult for the fish to swim straight ahead. Is this mother nature's version of a Nascar driver?
Pacific Barreleye Fish
More formally known as the Macropinna Microstoma, the Barreleye Fish's eyes are protected beneath a clear soft dome that lets it keep an eye on prey floating above and all around it. It's also got kind of a cool fighter pilot thing going on.
Predatory Tunicate
Growing out of the ocean floor like water-filled plants, Tunicates are usually passive feeders. But this predatory version lures in other sea life through its large gaping mouth, trapping and digesting them for dinner. Didn't we see its bigger brother show up in one of those Star Warsfilms?
Prehistoric Frilled Shark
Frills are supposed to be a cute addition to a little girl's outfit. So why are prehistoric creatures like the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park, and this rare Frilled Shark, making them part of our nightmares? This bizarre-looking shark somehow manages to make even Jaws seem adorable.
Pistol Shrimp
This little guy actually looks like your run-of-the-mill shrimp, but it's what it does with its pincers that's utterly bizarre. It's called the Pistol Shrimp because it's able to cock and slam its pincers shut with so much force that it produces a super-heated blast of water that stuns its prey. Easily making this the world's most deadliest beatnik.
Vampyroteuthis Infernalis
(aka The Vampire Squid From Hell)
Being compared to a vampire straight from the gates of hell can't be great for its self-esteem. But this unusual creature—that falls somewhere between an octopus and a squid—lives up to its name with barbed tentacles, glowing eyes, squirting phosphorescent ink, and the ability to turn itself inside-out into a spiky ball of horror.
Mysterious remains of giant human skeletons unearthed. Is Nephilim real? These discoveries are always the same, the skeletal remains of some giant bones were dug up and a photo with someone standing next to what appears to be an unbelievably large human skeleton.
Did Giant Humans Once Exist?
Skeptics immediately dismiss all of these as just being fake, just another hoax. As some of the photos have been revealed as just that…a cleverly photo-shopped fake image.
Can they all be hoax’s or have giant humans ever existed?
Since the late 1800′s there have been countless newspaper articles reporting discoveries of giant human remains being found all over the world.
>18 strange skeletons found Wisconsin
>Giant Skull dug up in San Antonio Texas
>Giant bones found in NY
As well as similar findings in Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, Boston and the list goes on.
So if any of these were real… then why aren’t there any of these fossils in museums?
This is when things get interesting as some people claim that the conspiracy lies not in the giants skeletons discovered, but in their cover ups.
If giant humans once existed, would that Discredit the theory of evolution?
And if any of these giant skeletons are indeed real, is that proof of the Nephilim, an ancient race of people like Hercules believed to be the son of gods.
As numerous comments claim that the bones given to the Smithsonian were all “mysteriously lost” before they could be put on display.
Is any credit to these claims or are the existence of giants in history just a myth?
Extreme lethargy, unexplained weight loss and incontinence can be indicators of sinister medical conditions; sex toys are rarely the cause
But a 38-year-old Scottish woman's worrying medical symptoms have finally been explained and doctors blame her sex life! For ten years, she had a sex toy suck inside her vagina and she was none the wiser.
The curious case was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. After presenting at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with severe emaciation, sepsis, shaking and lethagy, the woman was admitted for surgery after doctors discovered a foreign item wedged in her vagina. It turned out to be an 11cm - long sex toy, that had last been used ten years ago.
The patient admitted she'd be drunk at the time and had little memory of using it with her partner. Doctors subsequently ruled out signs of depression, psychosis or abuse in the woman.
Over the years, the sex toy had lodged between her vagina and bladder, causing a "vesicovaginal fistula" - or an abnormal tract which allows urine to flow into the vagina. This explained the incontinence.
The sex toy also caused a potentially life-threatening case of obstructive uropathy because of the blockage in the bladder. This caused urine to back up into the kidneys.
Once the sex toy was removed, surgeons were able to repair the significant internal damage.
An American doctor is in grave condition after contracting the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa. Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, who works with Ebola patients is now fighting for his own survival in an isolation unit on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia.
"I'm praying fervently that God will help me survive this disease," Brantly said in an email Monday.
Brantly's prognosis is grave and efforts to evacuate him to Europe for treatment have been thwarted as Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has closed border crossings.
A second American aid worker, Nancy Writebol, tested positive for the Ebola virus at the same hospital, a relief group official said Sunday. Brantly also asked that prayers be extended for Writebol, who worked as the personnel coordinator for Serving in Mission, or SIM, in Monrovia, CNN reports. She is reportedly in stable and serious condition.
"She is showing full symptoms of the disease," a spokesperson said. Both Americans have since been isolated and are under intensive treatment.
Brantly has been working with Samaritan's Purse in Liberia since October 2013 as part of the charity's post-residency program for doctors, said the group's spokeswoman Melissa Strickland. The organization's website says he had worked as a family practice physician in Fort Worth, Texas.
Isaacs, the Christian relief group's vice president of program and government relations, said the fact that health care workers have been infected underscores the severity of the West Africa outbreak that has killed hundreds in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
"It's been a shock to everyone on our team to have two of our players get pounded with the disease," said Isaacs, adding health ministries in those poor nations are challenged to respond. "Our team is frankly getting tired."
The highly contagious virus is one of the most deadly diseases in the world. The World Health Organization said the outbreak is the largest ever recorded, killing more than 670 people in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since it began earlier this year.
Health workers are at serious risk of contracting the disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids.
Photos of Brantly working in Liberia show him in white coveralls made of a synthetic material that he wore for hours a day while treating Ebola patients.
There is no known cure for Ebola, which begins with symptoms including fever and sore throat and escalates to vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding. The WHO says the disease is not contagious until a person begins to show symptoms.
Brantly's wife and children had been living with him in Liberia but flew home to the U.S. about a week ago, before the doctor started showing any signs of illness, said Melissa Strickland, a spokeswoman for Samaritan's Purse.
''As Ebola spreads Worldwide, how worried should We be?"
This is probably one of the most disturbing forms of entertainment for people in Western countries. It’s basically animal cruelty. On the other hand, in countries like Indonesia and India street monkeys are completely normal. Poor citizens dress up little monkeys like dolls and train them to act like humans. The monkeys have a chain around their neck while they are forced to entertain people in the streets.
Just a few pay attention and give some money to the owners of the monkeys, but most people don’t even bother looking. They earn very little on this street performances, but for them it’s better than nothing. Luckily the street monkeys have been reduced since Jakarta is getting more and more affluent, and the Jakarta Animal Aid Network are doing there best to put a stop on this animal cruelty. Speaking of monkeys, here are some amazing photographs that shows how photogenic they can be.
A world renowned tourist destination is “La Isla de la Munecas”- a Spanish name which means the Island of the dolls. This Island of dolls is situated in Mexico and as the name suggests, one expects to see a beautiful world which will leave an everlasting impression. But the reality is exactly opposite and very harsh when one discovers the thousands of mutilated ugly dolls hanging from every tree on the island.
Don Julian Santana, a hermit who renounced the world and his family to inhabit this island dedicated his last fifty years of his life to the make the “La Isla de la Munecas”. It is believed that, he did this to please the spirit of a little girl who had drowned in the canal. Whatever may be the reason, he managed to turn this island into a bizarre, scary place where an eerie eye of mutilated dolls haunts your every move, on this strange island.
Don Julian is said to have led an isolated life ,except when he ventured to collect old dolls that he either scavenged from the garbage dump or bought in exchange for his homegrown fruits and vegetables. Personally one is made to believe that he obviously did not like intrusion and tried to scare off inquisitive onlookers by hanging scary doll faces. In 2001, Don Julian was discovered drowned to his death in the same canal surrounding his home. Don Julian is dead to the world but his eerie disturbed vision stays on, in the faces of lifeless dolls mutilated and hung in the worst forms of human torture and punishment.
This is a ghostly sight that serves as a dark tourist attraction especially for the young generation who is fascinated by gore and death. Many visitors are overwhelmed by the dead childish faces of dolls that never lived but appear to haunt this place, always looking at us as though we were responsible for their deaths. A world renowned tourist destination is “La Isla de la Munecas”- a Spanish name which means the Island of the dolls. This Island of dolls is situated in Mexico and as the name suggests, one expects to see a beautiful world which will leave an everlasting impression. But the reality is exactly opposite and very harsh when one discovers the thousands of mutilated ugly dolls hanging from every tree on the island.
Now there are hundreds of them, suspended from trees, from metal wires, on the walls of the dilapidated shacks on the property. They look like images that might have appeared in a nightmare or a low-budget horror film. Some are green with verdigris, many are naked, others with matted, windswept hair. Julián died in 2005. Now his nephew administers the place.
Around the world there are countless hotels,some of them small and unassuming and others which once visited will never be forgotten.Some are bold, others creative and some are simply wonderfully beautiful,making them as unforgettable as they are unique. That said, here are five of the worlds most wondrous hotels…
1. The Caves Resort, Jamaica
Built into the cliffs just south of Negril, Jamaica, the Caves Resort, is an incredible oceanfront sanctuary which is a popular lure for locals and tourists alike. Set just off the beaten path, the hotel is a true utopia and is built almost entirely into the cliffs and overlooking the ocean below.
The surrounding beaches are truly seductive and also very little known meaning that the resort is wonderfully peaceful.
2. Giraffe Manor, Kenya
Just 12 miles outside of Nairobi lies Giraffe Manor, an outstanding hotel where guests can get up close and personal with one of the most elegant species on the planet. Set within 140 acres of forest and having been set up as a breeding centre by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, Giraffe Manor aims to conserve the habitat of the Rothschild Giraffe while educating people on the species and giving them a holiday they will never forget.
The resort is also home to a number of other animals, including warthogs and tropical birds, however unlike the giraffes they’re far less likely to stick their head through the windows and steal your breakfast from out of your hand. For the nature lovers out there, Giraffe Manor is an absolute must-see and it ears extra bonus points for being educational as well as entertaining.
3. Hotel Kakslauttanen, Finland
Hotel Kakslauttanen is more often known as the Igloo Village, the reasons for which become apparent when you look upon it. The entire resort is made up of thermal glass igloos which offer majestic and unbeatable views of the Northern Lights.
The area lacks any light pollution, meaning the skies above reveal millions of stars every night and come alive with colour as the Northern Lights dance. By night, temperatures outside the igloos plummet to -22° fahrenheit but thankfully the rooms are designed to keep visitors warm and toasty.
4. Hotel de Glace, Canada
Believe it or not, the Hotel de Glace is built entirely from packed ice and snow which are sculpted to create this masterpiece. Each year during the summer months, this incredible hotel melts away however each winter it is rebuilt in all its former glory.
From January to March each year, hundreds of people flock to the hotel where they can rent an ice bed, sit at the ice bar (while drinking from ice glasses) or even get married within the miraculous ice chapel.
5. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort, Maldives
For obvious reasons, the Conrad Maldives Resort was recently voted the best restart in the Maldives and also ranked as one of the best resorts worldwide. The resort is surrounded by lush green waters which are filled with whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins, turtles and a colourful coral reef, all of which make for a spectacular sight.
All of this can be viewed from above water or, if you’re lucky enough, you may be able to bag a night in one of the worlds first underwater bedrooms or feast in the underwater restaurant and you can watch the spectacle of the ocean from below. The hotel also boasts 101 varieties of cheese for guests to feast on and, even more unbelievably, 20,000 varieties of vine to go alongside them
Caves have fascinated man for hundreds of thousands of years yet to this day many still remain uncovered or fully unexplored.
Caves are somehow captivating and it seems there’s just something about the mystery they hold, the sheer size of them and often the incredible surprises they shelter within. That said, here are eight of the most incredible caves in the world, each of them likely to take your breath away…
1. Kungur Ice Cave, Russia
If you stepped into Kungur Ice Cave you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stepped into another world. Situated near Russia’s Mutnovsky Volcano, Kungur Ice Cave is an incredible feat of nature. The half mile long cave boasts ballooning ice formations which seem to glow with majestic colours as light from above filters through.
2. Vatnajokull Glacier Cave, Iceland
Located within the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajokull Glacier Cave is always changing due to the ice melting. While it makes for an undeniably beautiful sight, caves within glaciers can be extremely dangerous to explore as the ice is constantly changing shape and breaking apart.
3. Son Doong Cave, Vietnam
Stepping into Son Doong Cave is like stepping into another world. It’s currently the biggest known cave in the world and inside its cavernous walls you’ll find countless incredible rock formations, isolated eco and weather systems, as well as miniature jungles and vast skylights where the limestone ceiling has collapsed.
Experts believe the cave is between two and five million years old and still haven’t been able to explore all of the cave since its discovery in 1991.
4. Naica Mine, Mexico
While routinely mining within Naica Mine, workers were shocked when they broke through a cave wall and found themselves gazing upon what’s now known as The Cave of Crystals, a chamber which contains the biggest crystals known to man.
The cave makes for a majestic sight with crystals growing up to fifteen meters long, though sadly the caves are closed due to the general public due to the intense heat within them and as they’re so far beneath the Earth’s surface.
5.Cave in Algarve, Portugal
If you’re looking for the perfect beach then this may just be it. This magnificent cave was created by the sea eroding the rock, eventually carving out this picturesque cavern. The cave is only accessible by the crystal blue waters surrounding it and inside you’ll find a near perfect looking beach which is completely isolated.
6. Reed Flute Cave, China
The Reed Flute Cave (named for the reeds which grow at its entrance and can be made into flutes) has been attracting visitors for over 1200 years. Within the caverns are some spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations, serene, mirror-like waters and a fascinating array of colors which will doubtless leave you breathless.
7. Glowworms Cave, New Zealand
The Glowworms Cave in New Zealand really is like something out of a fairytale. Looking up from inside the majestic caves, you could be forgiven for thinking your were looking up at a starry night sky.
The darkness of the cave’s ceiling is illuminated by thousands of tiny glowworms, creating a breathtaking sight that has been drawing people’s attention for 120 years.
8. Antelope Canyon, USA
Located in the Arizona desert, Antelope Canyon’s walls are smooth, fluid and lined with a mix of red and orange colors. Over the years they have been carved out during the monsoon season when flash floods stormed the canyon, something which still occurs and changes the shape of the caves yearly.
Many unwary tourists have been fatally caught out during monsoon season by these beautiful, if sometimes deadly caves.
