Around The Interwebs

El Caminito del Rey, the World’s most dangerous walkway

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:31:58 +0000

El Caminito del Rey, also known as “The King’s little pathway” in English, is an extremely dangerous walkway located on the steep walls of a gorge in El Chorro, Spain.

It was built in 1901 and took 4 years to complete. It was mainly used by workers at the hydroelectric power plant to move between the water falls, and to transport materials. The walkway was officially named in 1921 when King Alfonso XIII crossed the walkway for the inauguration of the dam.

The walkway rises about 100 meters above the river below, and is on average a mere one meter wide. It was constructed out of concrete resting on steel rails, anchored into the rock face. Today, the walkway is extensively deteriorated, with large sections of concrete missing. There is a safety wire anchored to the wall, but its strength is highly speculated on. In 2000, the local government closed both sides of the walkway after four people fell to their deaths in different incidents.

The regional government of Andalusia is busy restoring the walkway at a cost of almost €9 million, which will include car parking and a revamped shop. Most of the original sections of the walkway will be preserved, and the new walkway will incorporate many of the original designing features.

Crossing it, even when revamped, will definitely require nerves of steel!

Photo via Shockingnewz

Photo via Wikipedia

Photo via MyTripsDiary

Boxx Electrical Bike – The weirdest bicycle to date

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:22:27 +0000

Meet the Boxx, the geekiest electrical bike we’ve seen to date.

As the name implies, the bike is shaped just like a box. Weighing in at 120 pounds, it can achieve an impressive top speed of 35mph & 80 miles to a charge. The Boxx also includes tons of extras, like ABS, All Wheel Drive (AWD), traction control & drive by wire.

The bike comes standard with a one year warranty, and there’s more extras available than Stormtroopers at a Star Wars convention.

If the weird shape doesn’t put you off, then you’ll be enlightened to know that the bike is available in various colours.

It’s an excellent idea, but at almost $4000 per bicycle, it will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Visit the official site at www.boxxcorp.com

All photos via www.boxcorp.com

Focara of Novoli – A Bonfire Of Epic Proportions

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:23:57 +0000

Every year between the 7th and 18th of January, the people of Novoli, in south-eastern Italy, embark on a festival of fire, known as the Focara. The Focara is held in memory of St. Anthony, who was the Patron Saint and protector of Novoli.

Preparations for the festival starts almost a month in advance. The locals build a massive bonfire structure, consisting of almost 100 000 bundles of vines, send in by local farmers.

The entire structure is set alight on the 16th, and it burns throughout the night.

Photo © DanPer

Photo © masozzo

Photo via Quotidiano di Puglia

Photo via Vini e Sapori

Shadow Art – Talented Artists creating masterpieces using shadows

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:25:22 +0000

We never really stop to look at our shadows – It’s such an everyday thing that nobody really
notices them.

Some extremely talented artists are creating artistic shadows out of seemingly randomly placed
objects. Anything from wedding rings to trash are carefully placed in just the right spot to
create realistic shadows of everyday objects.

Flickr

Kumi Yamashita

Henrietta Swift

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

Alang – Where Ships Go To Die

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:44:32 +0000

It’s known as the graveyard of ships, a place where unskilled workers break down ships & vessels for scrap metal, with mostly nothing more than your average DIY hand tools.

Maintaining an empty vessel or ship is extremely costly, and a lot of the times it’s cheaper to simply strip the ship for scrap. Ship owners worldwide send their ships to Alang to be broken down, because of the cheaper labor and lack of local laws preventing such a thing.

One of the major concerns with the shipyard is that the nearest full service hospital is 50 kilometers away, and sometimes workers who gained serious injuries have to wait a full day to get medical attention.

Because the workers are not trained in breaking down large ships, they often cause dangerous chemicals like mercury to spill onto the beach and into the ocean.

Alang is located at 21°24 43N 72°12 10E, on the Indian coast.

Photo by www.rodedwards.ca