Oddity Central |
- Man Says He’s Been to Heaven Four Times, Draws Map
- People CAN Fly: Man Takes Off with Custom-Made Bird Wings
- Hula Hoop Helps Woman Lose Massive Weight
- Serene Seascape Mural Made of 500,000 Fishhooks
| Man Says He’s Been to Heaven Four Times, Draws Map Posted: 22 Mar 2012 06:17 AM PDT
No offence to 64-year-old Sibusiso Mthembu, but hearing his story just made me laugh out loud. Of course, the South African from KwaZulu-Natal tells it in all seriousness. And who knows, he may even be telling the truth about having visited heaven four times, so far. The first time was in 1998, and subsequent visits were made in 2004, 2006 and 2008. It all started in 1993, when a white man (an angel, apparently) paid him a visit and told him he was needed in heaven. And now, after several visits, he's drawing a map to make sure the rest of us 'unlucky' ones get what he's talking about. But it's not the fact that he took a few vacations to heaven or even that he's drawing a map that amuses me. It's more to do with the stuff he says he's seen and done there. According to Mthembu, there are 11 heavens in all, and he was taken to the fifth one, Crista, first. It was there, in a city called Sharmoy, that he claims to have met Jesus. The main heaven is Salem, he says, where God's temple is located. God is apparently in his youth, and of a Grayish complexion. Jesus is white. He saw God for the first time during his second trip, on a planet called Jadalem that's mostly covered in water and ice. Photo: mybroadband.co.za Mthembu's other sightings include Moses, Eliya, and Abel. He also explored the Marshnode City, which is the place people go to when they die, to get reincarnated. But here's the weirdest of all his tales – he says that the people who predicted the end of the world in May last year weren't entirely incorrect. Mthembu seems to have eavesdropped on an important meeting in the heavens, where the biggest war against Satanism was being discussed. The war is supposed to have been launched on May 23rd, so we're basically on a countdown to the absolute end. Photo: TEBOGO LETSIE The map isn't ready yet, but Mthembu is already worried about counterfeit versions. "People must come and see the map as one day someone from Japan or China or Britain will design a map of heaven and the people of South Africa will have forgotten that the map was originally made in South Africa," he says. Perhaps he needs to patent his creation. And while he's at it, write a fantasy novel and strike a movie deal too? via Sowetan Live Man Says He’s Been to Heaven Four Times, Draws Map was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| People CAN Fly: Man Takes Off with Custom-Made Bird Wings Posted: 22 Mar 2012 06:02 AM PDT
How many times have you wished you could soar through the sky like a bird, only to remind yourself that it wasn't possible? For me, it must have been a million times. But now it doesn't seem like such a remote possibility, not after watching this video of a man flying with a pair of custom-made wings. Flying is something humans have been obsessed with, the one form of movement that we’ve never been able to master. Several attempts have been made over the centuries to invent the perfect set of wings that could enable man to fly independently. Now, it appears that this has finally happened, if the claims of Jarno Smeets are to be believed. The authenticity of a video he created of himself flying is being questioned, but it sure does appear like he's doing it for real. And he looks like he’s having a hell of a time. It took the Dutch bloke a year to build these wings that allow him to spend a whole minute in flight. He wears the gigantic wings on his arms, and he needs to keep flapping them like crazy to keep the movement going. After the descent, he's barely able to talk, panting heavily from all the flapping. The whole exercise seems to be in blatant defiance of the generally accepted fact that human muscle power cannot fuel bird-like wings to take flight. Smeets seems to have achieved the impossible with the addition of a couple of electric motors to the wings.
The whole thing looks absolutely incredible, but experts aren't yet buying it. For one, the wings in the video do not show any signs of loading during the flight. Also, the battery used doesn't appear to be large enough to support such a flying operation. Controversy aside, I sure would want to try flying like a bird if it were possible. Human Birdwings via Wired People CAN Fly: Man Takes Off with Custom-Made Bird Wings was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Hula Hoop Helps Woman Lose Massive Weight Posted: 22 Mar 2012 05:48 AM PDT
Who knew that an old childhood pastime could actually help adults lose weight. And I'm talking massive weight here. 31-year-old Jen Moore simply hula-hooped her way from a huge 288lbs to a trim 145lbs. Now she's a fitness trainer with the very same company that helped her shed it all. Sure does sound like a dream come true. Jen couldn't hula hoop when she first got started. Not surprising really, looking at her before pictures. But what's admirable is that she stuck to it, and within two weeks she was able to keep the hoop spinning around her waist. There's been no looking back since then. Within just three months of learning the skill, she ended up losing 40lbs of body fat. Take a look at Jen's 'after' pictures and you would never believe she was once obese. "I would go to my local YMCA and stake out a little corner on the court while the guys played basketball and snickered," she says. "From day one, I felt a tremendous difference in my core strength, confidence and energy just from the workout involved in dropping, bending over and picking up the hoop." Jen and her husband were both obese owing to lazy eating habits. It was in 2008, when the safety bar of an amusement ride wouldn't fit around her waist and she was asked to leave, that she knew something had to be done about her weight problem. Jen and her husband soon made a commitment to work on their weight for the sake of their baby girl. They wanted to set a good example for the child and they sure did do a great job of it. The couple made significant changes to their diet, focusing on healthy eating rather than crash dieting. Neither of them is obese now and Jen's success story is being quoted on several weight loss and fitness magazines. Reading about Jen definitely got me interested finding out more about this hula hooping workout. I watched a few videos from the fitness company Hoopnotica, and it certainly is something different. Worth a try, I suppose. Huffington Post via Daily Mail Hula Hoop Helps Woman Lose Massive Weight was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Serene Seascape Mural Made of 500,000 Fishhooks Posted: 22 Mar 2012 02:46 AM PDT
Cuban artist Yoan Capote uses all kinds of unusual materials to create beautiful art installations. For one of his latest project, Isla, he used around 500,000 fishhooks to build a photo-like seascape mural. Throughout the years we’ve featured a lot of talented artists with the power of turning everyday objects into stunning masterpieces, and today we’re proud to add Yoan Capote to our ever-growing list. The Cuban artist is famous for the way he manages to take common household objects and create beautiful artworks, but I think his latest creation is also his most impressive one. Named Isla, the 26-foot-wide mural was assembled out of half a million intertwined fishhooks, nails and oil. Looking at it from a distance, you’d think it’s just a photo of the calm open sea, but as you draw near, the secret behind the realistic seascape is revealed. Even with the help of 30 assistants, Yoan Capote took since months to complete his fascinating fishhook mural. Asked why he chose fishhooks as a medium for his artwork, Capote said "I decided to use fishhooks in this series because I wanted to create a tension between beauty and seduction and danger and entrapment."
via My Modern Met Serene Seascape Mural Made of 500,000 Fishhooks was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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