Recent Activity

• December 2, 2010 nitikp added Huguenot Street
  

  Huguenot Street

  Oldest continuously inhabited street in America

  The Huguenots of New Paltz fled France in the 1600s because of religious persecution. First, they were granted temporary refuge in the German village of Die Pfalz. From there, they came to... »

  Cultures and Civilizations , Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by nitikp and Nicholas Jackson

• November 9, 2010 nitikp liked Pando, the Trembling Giant
  

  Pando, the Trembling Giant

  World's oldest and most massive living organism

  In the Fishlake National Forest in Utah, a giant has lived quietly for the past 80,000 years ago. The Trembling Giant, or Pando, is a enormous grove of quaking aspens that takes the “forest as a... »

  Natural Wonders, Extraordinary Flora | Edited by A Facebook user and Nicholas Jackson

• November 9, 2010 nitikp added The Giants' Grave of Coddu Vecchiu
  

  The Giants' Grave of Coddu Vecchiu

  Mysterious tombstones thought to be remnants of Atlantis

  Giants' graves, or Tomba dei giganti, are megalithic gallery graves that were used as public tombs during the Bronze Age. The tombs are made of a central stele, a stone or wooden slab, which has a... »

  Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Lost Tribes, Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by nitikp and Nicholas Jackson

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Whispering Gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral
  

  London, United Kingdom

  Whispering Gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral

  Hear the quietest sound from across the dome

  In the walkway that circles the inside of Christopher Wren’s great dome whispered words can be heard clearly directly across 137 feet. The trick of acoustics is an artifact of the perfection of... »

  Instruments of Science, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Annetta

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Mysore Palace
  

  Mysore, India

  Mysore Palace

  Modest by day, illuminated majestically at sunset

  In a city famous for its many palaces, the former Royal residence known as Amba Vilas is an exceptionally grand building among grand buildings. It is the fourth palace built on the same... »

  Electrical Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by adelinelum, Annetta and others

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Zwerglgarten (Dwarf Garden)
  

  Salzburg, Austria

  Zwerglgarten (Dwarf Garden)

  Ugly 18th-century dwarf statues living in a perfectly landscaped Austrian garden

  The Zwerglgarten, or “Dwarf Garden,” in Salzburg, Austria was created in 1715 by Prince Archbishop Franz Anton Harrach. Many of these creepy dwarf statues were modeled after dwarves who lived in... »

  Strange Statues | Edited by michelle

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
  

  Vienna, Austria

  Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

  The beautiful baroque library of the Hapsburg empire

  The Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) is a breathtaking baroque masterpiece, finished in 1726. Formerly the court library to the Hapsburgs, it is one of the world's... »

  Eccentric Homes, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by Dylan and Henry

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)
  

  Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)

  100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps

  For generations of Venetians epic fist fights atop neighborhood bridges were a celebrated tradition. Beginning in about 1600, from September to Christmas each year rival clans would gather en... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by Annetta

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to St. Catherine of Siena's Severed Head
  

  St. Catherine of Siena's Severed Head

  A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica

  Set in an ornate reliquary in the Basilica San Domenico in Siena is the dismembered, mummified head of the revered Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). Her right thumb also resides in a smaller... »

  Relics and Reliquaries | Edited by Dylan, Henry and 3 others

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Fresco of John Hawkwood
  

  Fresco of John Hawkwood

  In Florence's great Duomo, a 26 foot fresco honors a mercenary famous for attacking Florence

  A British interloper is memorialized in the Italian sanctuary of the Duomo, in Florence. The inscription under the huge fresco reads (translated), "John Hawkwood, British knight, most prudent... »

  Unusual Monuments | Edited by Annetta

• November 8, 2010 nitikp has been to Museo del Manicomio San Servolo - Insane Asylum Museum
  

  Museo del Manicomio San Servolo - Insane Asylum Museum

  Or why "Are you from San Servolo?" is not a polite question

  Known as the "Island of the Mad," for 250 years the Island of San Servolo was the official mental asylum of Venice. Run by the religious order San Giovanni di Dio, the asylum opened in 1725 with... »

  Strange Science, Medical Museums, Horticultural Marvels, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by Annetta and Dylan

• November 8, 2010 nitikp added Mission San Juan Capistrano
  

  Mission San Juan Capistrano

  Oldest building in California still in use

  Mission San Juan Capistrano was originally consecrated by Father Lasuen on October 19, 1775. But eight days later, word arrived that a revolt was occurring in San Diego; a group of natives had... »

  Rites and Rituals, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by nitikp and Nicholas Jackson

• November 8, 2010 nitikp added The Cheddar Man and Cannibals Museum
  

  Cheddar, United Kingdom

  The Cheddar Man and Cannibals Museum

  Museum about life, death, and cannibalism in the Stone Age

  The Cheddar Man and Cannibals Museum explores life in prehistoric Britain with exhibits about survival skills, art, and daily activities in the Stone Age. Guides describe and demonstrate how to... »

  Watery Wonders, Geological Oddities, Memento Mori, Mummies, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Rites and Rituals, Follies and Grottoes, Subterranean Sites | Edited by nitikp and Nicholas Jackson

• October 30, 2010 nitikp added Maronite Mummies of the Qadisha Valley
  

  Beirut, Lebanon

  Maronite Mummies of the Qadisha Valley

  Mummies preserved naturally for seven centuries

  On July 13, 1990, a team of speleologists (scientists who specialize in the study of caves) discovered the mummy of a four month-old baby in the 'Asi-al Hadath grotto in the Qadisha Valley of... »

  Relics and Reliquaries, Mummies, Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Lost Tribes | Edited by nitikp, dzamonja and others

• October 27, 2010 nitikp added Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
  

  Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

  Traditional 15th century Chinese garden in the middle of Vancouver

  Hidden behind a low white building in the middle of Vancouver's Chinatown is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. The Garden, which is named for the father of modern China, is a... »

  Natural History, Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Architectural Oddities, Horticultural Marvels, Repositories of Knowledge, Obscura Day Location | Edited by nitikp, Nicholas Jackson and others

• October 12, 2010 nitikp liked Mary's Gone Wild Folk Art and Doll Baby Museum
  

  Mary's Gone Wild Folk Art and Doll Baby Museum

  Divinely-inspired village houses 6,000 dolls, plus strange and lovely outsider art

  North Carolina artist Mary Paulsen says God has spoken to her twice. The first time, in 1996, he told her to build a village of houses for her collection of 6,000 dolls. The second time, in 1998,... »

  Outsider Art, Outsider Architecture | Edited by elaelaela and Nicholas Jackson

• September 20, 2010 nitikp added Tivoli Gardens
  

  Copenhagen, Denmark

  Tivoli Gardens

  Copenhagen's celebrated theme park and gardens

  Tivoli, which opened in 1843, is the second-oldest amusement park in the world (after nearby Dyrehavsbakken, which opened in 1583). Consolation prize: Tivoli, with its merry-go-round and boat... »

  Architectural Oddities, Horticultural Marvels | Edited by nitikp, Nicholas Jackson and others