Recent Activity

• May 25, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Kyrk Gyz Cave
  

  Koytendag, Turkmenistan

  Kyrk Gyz Cave

  A cave covered with bizarre stalactites of cloth

  In the Köytendag Mountains, a dirt trail leads to the remote Kyrk Gyz Cave. Inside the cave is a something which looks familiar but slowly reveals itself to be bizarre. The ceilings of the... »

  Curious Caves, Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Tawsam, Rachel and 2 others

• May 15, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Depression era Dinosaur Park
  

  Depression era Dinosaur Park

  Towering concrete dinosaurs give a window into Depression-era paleontology

  Ever since learning of their existence, we've been piecing dinosaurs together, taking them apart, piecing them back together with different heads, naming them, debating them, and renaming them. In... »

  Unusual Monuments, Strange Statues | Edited by Dylan, Rachel and others

• May 11, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Artigas Gardens
  

  La Pobla de Lillet, Spain

  Artigas Gardens

  Famed architect Antoni Gaudi built this generous thank you gift to a friendly host who housed him during a job

  The distinctive designs of modernist architect Antoni Gaudi can be seen all over Spain, and are admired and studied by artists, architects, and the general public alike. His passions were... »

  Architectural Oddities, Follies and Grottoes, Horticultural Marvels, Outsider Architecture | Edited by serflac, Rachel and others

• April 24, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Ann Arbor’s Fairy Doors
  

  Ann Arbor’s Fairy Doors

  Whimsical portals to another world

  In 1993, While Jonathan B. Wright was renovating his century-old home, his young daughters made a delightful discovery: itty, bitty, six-inch doors scattered throughout the space. When opened,... »

  Small Worlds and Model Towns | Edited by HJHausman, Rachel and others

• April 23, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Ellora Caves
  

  Aurangabad, India

  Ellora Caves

  This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

  Religious devotion was not uncommon in ancient times, but tolerance was often much harder to come by. Happily, for curious travelers and religious devotees alike, the caves at Ellora offer a truly... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by capvt, Mark_Casey and 2 others

• April 20, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Chios Rocket War
  

  Vrontados, Greece

  Chios Rocket War

  The Chios Rocket War "Rouketopolemos", in which two churches in the town of Vrontados shoot bottle rockets at each others' bell towers in a strange Easter celebration

  Two rival parishes on the Greek island of Chios engage in a most unusual and dangerous Easter tradition that has been taking place quite possibly since the Ottoman era. The churches, which sit on... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Wondrous Performances, Rites and Rituals | Edited by Rachel, Dylan and others

• April 16, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Dogs of the Titanic
  

  Dogs of the Titanic

  The canine companions that got seats on the lifeboats, and those that went down with the ship

  Our tragic romance with the stories of those on the RMS Titanic has led to intense research on every passenger that walked upon its decks. Some of those passengers walked them on four legs, and... »

  Fascinating Fauna, Museums and Collections, Memento Mori | Edited by Rachel and Seth Teicher

• April 12, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the World’s Quietest Place
  

  World’s Quietest Place

  This lab's maddening silence is good for business but bad for sanity.

  Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis is the home of “the quietest place on earth,” as recorded in the Guinness World Records. (It also happens to share the same building as the recording... »

  Strange Science, Inspired Inventions, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by katiebaker4, Rachel and others

• April 3, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Surfing the Amazon
  

  Surfing the Amazon

  Once a year, ambitious surfers can ride the world's largest river

  The visuals are surreal. Surfers, in their typical wetsuit outerwear, riding a 12-foot wall of water, with that classic frothy white hook on top spilling its way down to the base — a perfect wave.... »

  Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders | Edited by Mark_Casey, Rachel and others

• April 2, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Magic Mushroom House
  

  Magic Mushroom House

  An architect in Aspen used psychedelics as his muse while building this mushroom masterpiece

  Aspen has long been established as a winter wonderland for the rich and famous, and in the 70s, the party was in full swing. Architect Andre Ulrych not only joined the party, but supplied a most... »

  Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Rachel and Seth Teicher

• March 29, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Truman's Little White House
  

  Truman's Little White House

  A historic presidential getaway on the continental United States' southernmost island

  Presidents are well-known for their getaway locations, whether they choose to clear brush on a ranch in Texas, visit their childhood home in Hawaii or retreat to nearby Camp David. Less common in... »

  Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by Mark_Casey, Rachel and others

• March 29, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Darth Vader Grotesque
  

  Darth Vader Grotesque

  The sci-fi villain is a little known inhabitant of the Washington National Cathedral

  Cathedrals are well known as places of quiet reflection and reverence for divinity. To encourage these behaviors, architects often use calm, echoless corridors, vaulted ceilings arching toward the... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Mark_Casey, Rachel and others

• March 26, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Mantin House
  

  Mantin House

  French Time Capsule-19th Century home revealed to the public

  Louis Mantin, a French aesthete “obsessed with death and the passage of time,” wrote in his will that he wanted to turn his home into a museum after his death. He made a very specific and... »

  Museums and Collections, Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by acclarkey, Rachel and 2 others

• March 20, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Rustic Canyon's Murphy Ranch
  

  Rustic Canyon's Murphy Ranch

  World War II-era Nazi compound nestled in the Santa Monica hills

  Hidden under dense foliage and down a treacherous decaying flight of hundreds of concrete stairs lies a World War II-era enigma. The now heavily graffiti-tagged Murphy Ranch sits nestled on a... »

  Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Cheddar, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• March 19, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Abigail's Elegant Victorian Mansion
  

  Abigail's Elegant Victorian Mansion

  Experience the "opulence, grace, and grandeur of Eureka's most famous Victorian Inn."

  A combination bed and breakfast, living history museum, and eccentric collection of Victorian-themed memorabilia, Abigail's Elegant Victorian Mansion is a place that truly has to be seen to be... »

  Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes, Outsider Architecture | Edited by rebeccaclara, Rachel and others

• March 16, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the El Ateneo Grand Splendid
  

  El Ateneo Grand Splendid

  Historic palatial theater is now one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores

  With each incarnation since its inception in 1919 -- first as a performing arts theater, then as a cinema, and now a bookstore -- the Grand Splendid has proven itself befitting of its majestic... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by morinaga, Nicholas Jackson and others

• March 16, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Montserrat's City of Ash
  

  Montserrat's City of Ash

  A city continually buried under the ash of a volcano that has been erupting for more than 15 years

  As vacationers flew to the Caribbean on a Boeing 737 in 2010 they heard the pilot get on the intercom and calmly announce "Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to the left of the plane, you'll see a... »

  Fiery Wonders, Anomalous Islands, Geological Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Dylan, gabeschwartz and 4 others

• March 15, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Dunsmuir-Hellman Historic Estate
  

  Dunsmuir-Hellman Historic Estate

  Neoclassical Revival mansion and set of horror cult classic Phantasm

  The Dunsmuir-Hellman Historic Estate, located in western Oakland, should first and foremost be famous to any true horror fans. It was the filming location of the 1979 horror film Phantasm, and the... »

  Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by TrevorShawnElia, Rachel and 3 others

• March 15, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Coromoto Ice Cream Shop
  

  Coromoto Ice Cream Shop

  Shop with the world's largest number of ice cream flavors, ranging from delightful to downright bizarre

  Trout, mushrooms in wine, hot dog -- these are just three of the 900 ice cream flavors enjoyed at the Heladeria Coromoto ice cream parlor in Merida, Venezuela. The shop offers the world’s largest... »

  Commercial Curiosities, Bizarre Restaurants and Bars | Edited by katiebaker4, Rachel and others

• March 13, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the McElroy Octagon House
  

  McElroy Octagon House

  One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly

  Only two octagon houses are left standing in San Francisco, but at one point in the 19th century this style of house was promoted as a superior and cutting-edge architectural style. Thousands were... »

  Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by rebeccaclara, Rachel and others

• March 8, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the Empire Mine State Park
  

  Empire Mine State Park

  The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

  The Empire Mine was the shining diamond of the setting of the gold rush, producing 5.8 million ounces of gold during its operation between 1850 and 1956. While there are 367 miles worth of shafts... »

  Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Architectural Oddities, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Rachel, Seth Teicher and others

• March 7, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the 24-Hour-Sprinkles
  

  24-Hour-Sprinkles

  Ingenious bakery opens up the first Cupcake ATM at their flagship location in Beverly Hills

  In what could quite possibly be the most frivolous yet exciting advancement in the competitive cupcake industry, the chain bakery "Sprinkles' has made its power move: 24-hour cupcake dispensers... »

  Commercial Curiosities, Bizarre Restaurants and Bars | Edited by Rachel, Dylan and others

• March 5, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the AquaDom at Radisson Blu Berlin
  

  Berlin, Germany

  AquaDom at Radisson Blu Berlin

  The largest free standing aquarium in the world resides in a hotel lobby in Berlin

  Touted as the largest cylindrical fish tank in the world - 25 meters high and 12 meters in diameter, the Aquadom is a sight to behold. It contains over 1 million litres of water, a coral reef, and... »

  Fascinating Fauna, Odd Accommodations, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Burt, Rachel and others

• March 2, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the House Attack
  

  Vienna, Austria

  House Attack

  The house that took a plunge into the facade of a museum

  Museum Moderner Kunst (MUMOK) pride themselves on their extensive collection of 20th and 21st century modern art, and their status as the largest art museum in Austria. This may or may not be why... »

  Museums and Collections, Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Rachel and Seth Teicher

• March 1, 2012 Seth Teicher updated the The Enchanted Forest
  

  The Enchanted Forest

  The Enchanted Forest is an old world fairytale-land with over 350 fairy folk figurines hidden amongst 800 year old cedars.

  Artist Doris Needham and her husband Ernest needed a place to put her hand-sculpted cement creations, so they bought a forest and filled it with enchanted figures from fairytales and nursery... »

  Strange Statues, Follies and Grottoes, Outsider Architecture | Edited by elinar, Rachel and others