Recent Activity

• February 25, 2010 ilbonito added Roppongi Hills Garden Pond
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Roppongi Hills Garden Pond

  An ordinary pond with fish from out of this world

  When the Roppongi Hills urban development project opened in 2003, it quickly wowed Tokyoites with its office towers, art museum, deluxe hotels, and prestigious shopping. The most curious part of... »

  Fascinating Fauna, Instruments of Science | Edited by ilbonito, michelle and 2 others

• January 22, 2010 ilbonito added Floralis Generica
  

  Floralis Generica

  105 foot wide giant metallic flower blooms anew every day in the heart of Buenos Aires

  Designed and paid for by Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano, the Floralis Generica, a giant silvery flower, has been a striking city landmark since it opened in 2002. The enormous metal flower... »

  Strange Statues | Edited by ilbonito, M Rebekah Otto and others

• January 21, 2010 ilbonito added Lucky Dragon and Atomic Tuna Memorial
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Lucky Dragon and Atomic Tuna Memorial

  Oddly touching memorial to a little-remembered nuclear tragedy

  On March 1st 1954, the 23 crew members of the Japanese fishing boat "Daigo Fukuryu Maru" ("the Lucky Dragon") were amazed to find a fine snow falling, far out to sea in the tropical North Pacific.... »

  Disaster Areas | Edited by ilbonito and re_nakaba

• November 20, 2009 ilbonito added Da Lat Crazy House
  

  Da Lat, Vietnam

  Da Lat Crazy House

  A Surreal flight of architectural fancy in Vietnam's Central Highlands

  This bizarre guesthouse is one of the landmarks of the city of Da Lat, a mountain resort popular with local honeymooners. In the Crazy House, Antoni Gaudi meets Alice in Wonderland in a fantastic... »

  Odd Accommodations | Edited by ilbonito, mrobscurity and 3 others

• November 11, 2009 ilbonito added Ueno Zoo Escaped Animal Drill
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Ueno Zoo Escaped Animal Drill

  "Wild" beasts break loose from Tokyo Zoo to the delight of Japanese children

  Ueno Zoo's "Escaped Animal Drill" is one of Tokyo's oddest annual events, but one that has built up a cult following among elementary school-aged children, and lovers of the absurd. Each year,... »

  Wondrous Performances | Edited by ilbonito, michelle and others

• October 17, 2009 ilbonito added Suoi Tien Cultural Theme Park
  

  Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

  Suoi Tien Cultural Theme Park

  Have fun at the world's first Buddhist waterslide park

  Suoi Tien Cultural Theme Park is a Vietnamese water-filled fantasy land, located rather unromantically next to a rubbish dump 15 kilometres South of Ho Chi Minh City. Suoi Tien, or "the fairy... »

  Follies and Grottoes | Edited by ilbonito, Dylan and 2 others

• September 7, 2009 ilbonito added Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm
  

  Samut Prakan, Thailand

  Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm

  60,000 hungry jaws await at the world's largest crocodile collection containing, among other exhibits, a reptilian freakshow

  Bangkok's concrete jungle might seem an unlikely home for 60,000 crocodiles, but at the Samut Prakan Crocodile farm on the city's outskirts, that is exactly what you get. Founded in 1950 and now... »

  Fascinating Fauna | Edited by ilbonito

• September 7, 2009 ilbonito added Cao Dai Holy See
  

  Tay Ninh, Vietnam

  Cao Dai Holy See

  The lavish temple of a religion that worships Buddha, Mohammed, Joan of Arc and the author of "Les Miserables"

  Tay Ninh, 90km outside Saigon, is in many ways a typical Vietnamese provincial city - surrounded by rice fields and choked with motorcycle traffic. But it has one very particular claim to fame - a... »

  Curious Places of Worship | Edited by ilbonito, Tre and 3 others

• September 4, 2009 ilbonito added Dinosaur of Ta Prohm
  

  Siemreab, Cambodia

  Dinosaur of Ta Prohm

  Hoax, mistake, or evidence of dinosaurs in human times?

  Hordes of tourists descend on Cambodia every year for the sole purpose of visiting the temples at Angkor. This magnificent series of temples, carved out of the jungle in the 12th and 13th... »

  Incredible Ruins | Edited by ilbonito, mrobscurity and 2 others

• July 29, 2009 ilbonito added Kosik the talking elephant
  

  Soul-t'ukpyolsi, South Korea

  Kosik the talking elephant

  Seoul amusement park boasts a Korean-speaking pachyderm

  In 2006, keepers at Seoul's Everland amusement park/zoo complex were surprised to hear a voice coming from inside the elephant enclosure. Kosik, a 16-year-old elephant, had learned to talk (in... »

  Fascinating Fauna | Edited by ilbonito and wythe

• July 29, 2009 ilbonito added Meguro Parasitological Museum
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Meguro Parasitological Museum

  Meet the world's longest tapeworm in a collection that really gets under your skin

  Billing itself as the only establishment in the world entirely devoted to parasites, this quirky little museum has become a popular offbeat attraction - and even date spot - in the relatively... »

  Fascinating Fauna, Pharmacy Museums, Natural History, Medical Museums, Unique Collections | Edited by ilbonito and wythe

• July 29, 2009 ilbonito added Aoyama Technical School
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Aoyama Technical School

  Giant robo-cockroach building devours Tokyo

  Located on an unassuming residential street in Daikanyama, the Aoyama Technical School's hulking metallic form has been known to give passersby quite a surprise. It lurks around a sharp corner,... »

  Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by ilbonito and wythe

• July 26, 2009 ilbonito commented on Gunkanjima Island

  spelling error in title corrected

• July 26, 2009 ilbonito added Gunkanjima Island
  

  Nagasaki, Japan

  Gunkanjima Island

  Once the most densely populated place in the world, this island is now a ghost town

  Few places in the world have a history as odd, or as poignant, as Gunkanjima's. The tiny, fortress-like island (also known as "Hashima") lies just off the coast of Nagasaki. The island is ringed... »

  Anomalous Islands, Ghost Towns, Incredible Ruins | Edited by ilbonito and wythe

• July 24, 2009 ilbonito added Kan'ei-ji Temple
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Kan'ei-ji Temple

  A Buddhist temple to insects that died for science

  Close to Tokyo's Ueno Park, the Kan'ei-ji temple is a quiet pagoda far removed from the hustle and bustle of the park's top tourists draws - its zoo and museums. Few visitors stop by, and most of... »

  Curious Places of Worship | Edited by ilbonito, wythe and 2 others

• July 21, 2009 ilbonito added Giant GUNDAM robot
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Giant GUNDAM robot

  Twenty meter robot towers over Tokyo Bay for one month only

  Welcome to Tokyo's newest - and perhaps shortest-lived - tourist attraction, a 20-meter robot standing in a park, overlooking the harbor of the world's manga metropolis. The lifesize, plastic... »

  Strange Statues | Edited by ilbonito

• July 19, 2009 ilbonito added Sougenji Kappa-Dera Temple
  

  Tokyo, Japan

  Sougenji Kappa-Dera Temple

  Shrine to Japanese water-goblins, complete with their preserved body parts

  In Japanese folklore, "kappa" are bipedal, turtle-like aquatic goblins who sometimes grab unsuspecting humans, often children, as they walk over bridges or through swamps, pulling them down into... »

  Wonder Cabinets | Edited by ilbonito, wythe and others