Oddity Central |
- Artist Turns Confiscated Scissors into Creepy Spider Sculptures
- Lunch Beat – Sweden’s Unusual Lunch Break Dance Parties
- Unemployed Man Builds $31,000 Submarines in His Basement
- Ilha de Queimada Grande – Brazil’s Scary Snake Island
| Artist Turns Confiscated Scissors into Creepy Spider Sculptures Posted: 02 Apr 2012 04:18 AM PDT
Every year, the Transportation Security Administration confiscates countless objects deemed dangerous from passengers boarding flights at airport terminals across the US. Apart from guns, knives or aerosol, a lot of scissors end up in their recycling bin. Enter Christopher Locke, an artist who figured out he could actually use scissors to create creepy sculptures of spiders. It’s a known fact that spiders don’t have many human fans. Most people just think they look creepy and would simply squish them given the opportunity, even if they don’t pose a real threat. But, that’s not really a viable option when talking about the scissors spiders of Christopher Locke. You’d have a hard time stomping on one of them without having your foot pierced by sharp metal, so you just kind of have to accept them. Reminiscent of a classic Tim Burton movie, these metal sculptures are created from disassembled scissors, bent into shape and welded together in the creepy shape of spiders.
Heartless Machine via This Is Colossal Artist Turns Confiscated Scissors into Creepy Spider Sculptures was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Lunch Beat – Sweden’s Unusual Lunch Break Dance Parties Posted: 02 Apr 2012 03:21 AM PDT
The time just after lunch hour is perhaps the sleepiest in a typical workday. Over the years, people have come up with very creative solutions to keep themselves awake and in a working mood, but nothing can beat Sweden's Lunch Beat, a truly original way to spend lunch hour. Dancing in a club, at noon probably doesn’t seem like the perfect way to spend your lunch break, but it’s exactly what more and more Swedes are doing to re-energize themselves. They just groove to the music for about an hour and then get back to work. The first Lunch Beat was organized in an underground parking lot in Stockholm, in June 2010. Only 14 people attended that first event, but it was so much fun that the word spread pretty quickly. Today, hundreds attend the monthly Lunch Beats organized in the Swedish capital. The phenomenon is slowly spreading to other Swedish and European cities as well. Photo: Peter Magnusson The Lunch Beat party generally starts at noon and goes on for one hour. Entrance fees are about $14, and although the atmosphere inside is identical to that of a nightclub, the absence of booze might make it a little different for some clubbers. According to Daniel Odelstad, the organizer of Lunch Beat Stockholm, "People are sober, it's the middle of the day and it's very short, effective and intense. You have to get in there and dance because the hour ends pretty quickly." The first rule of Lunch Beat, apparently, is that you must dance. If you don't want to, then there's really no point of being there at all, is there? First time visitors at Lunch Beat are pretty amazed at the behavior of the otherwise reserved Swedes. Most of them say it's great to see clerks mingle with businessmen and the young with the middle aged. They don't even seem to mind returning to their offices all sweaty and smelly. Ellen Bengtsson, a 29-year-old government employee says, "It's great. We'll go back sweaty together." Photo: Peter Magnusson Lunch Beat is a not-for-profit initiative. Anyone can organize it as long as they adhere to a few simple rules. The entrance fees are used to pay the rent and also to provide sandwiches, so no one goes back to work hungry. It sure does sound like a wonderful community initiative, and of course, a great way to stay awake at work after lunch hour.
via SF Gate Lunch Beat – Sweden’s Unusual Lunch Break Dance Parties was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Unemployed Man Builds $31,000 Submarines in His Basement Posted: 02 Apr 2012 02:31 AM PDT
In a world where Internet and Smartphone app startup companies are a dime-a-dozen, it's not every day that you see a startup that makes submarines. And definitely not one that is run by one man, from his basement. Yet, that's exactly what 37-year-old Zhang Wuyi has been doing after he was laid off from his job in a textile machine factory. Wuyi, from China's Hubei province, builds mini submarines in a makeshift workspace in the basement of a disused building. When he started off, he worked alone. Today, he has three orders under his belt and also employs ten workers. His submarine models are capable of diving up to 30 meters under sea level and travel at 20 kmph for 10 hours. They can seat two people and also contain oxygen tanks and video cameras. The walls are made of wrought iron. It takes Wuyi up to a month to build a submarine, and each one sells for about $31,000. Photo: Jason Lee/Xinhua Wuyi's 'small and simple' submarines are aimed at local fishermen. The first and only sold sub so far was purchased by Cong Zhijie, a sea cucumber farmer. He says, "I was brave enough to be the first user of the submersible, but that machine helped me catch up to 50kg of sea cucumbers in 40 minutes." The second submarine is currently under construction at Wuyi's basement factory. Pictures and videos of his DIY submarines have become quite popular, and are being talked about on TV and online.Although his submarines won’t be diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench anytime soon, they serve as inspiration for many other engineers who dream of turning their passion into a successful business. Photo: Jason Lee/Xinhua Photo: Jason Lee/Xinhua
via Shanghaist Unemployed Man Builds $31,000 Submarines in His Basement was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
| Ilha de Queimada Grande – Brazil’s Scary Snake Island Posted: 02 Apr 2012 01:58 AM PDT
An aerial view of the Brazilian island of Ilha de Queimada Grande, you would agree, looks breathtaking. It's probably a place where you would love to spend an exotic vacation. But this is an excellent example that looks can be very deceiving. If you were to set foot on the island, you would always be no more than 3 feet away from your death. Because for every square meter of land on the island, there is a very deadly, very poisonous snake. Ilha de Queimada Grande is located about 90 miles off the shore of Brazil. The island is, not surprisingly, devoid of any kind of human presence. The Brazilian Navy has forbidden people from visiting the island, except for a few scientists who need special approval. The reason – the presence of highly dangerous Golden Lancehead snakes. The lanceheads that occupy the island of Ilha de Queimada Grande can grow anywhere between half a meter to 2 meters long. The venom these snakes inject is so powerful that it can kill two men at once. This venom is fast-acting too, since it simply melts the flesh surrounding the bite. The scaly creatures breed all year round, producing 50 babies each time. With no enemies, the snakes have been able to take over the island and populate it quite freely. They survive mainly on migratory birds that use the island as a resting point. Of course, where there are predators, so must there be local legends. There are two, in fact, associated with Ilha de Queimada Grande. According to one story, a lone fisherman once wandered onto the island unknowingly, to pick a few bananas. He was promptly bitten, but managed to return to his boat. However, the fast-acting venom did its bit and he was found dead a few days later on his drifting boat, in a large pool of blood. The second legend tells of the gory death of the island's last lighthouse operator and his family. It is said that one night, several snakes entered through the window and attacked the man, his wife and their three children. They tried to reach their boat in order to escape, but the snakes hanging from the branches injected them with so much venom that they died before reaching the shore . I do wonder how they managed to survive there for as long as they did.
via Atlas Obscura Ilha de Queimada Grande – Brazil’s Scary Snake Island was originally posted at OddityCentral.com  |
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