3d illusion arts: Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Russian Jack Sparrow Builds His Own Black Pearl Pirate Ship
Spin Your Room Around at Holland’s Unique Crane Hotel
Stanford Student Solves Three Rubik’s Cubes while Juggling Them

Russian Jack Sparrow Builds His Own Black Pearl Pirate Ship

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 07:52 AM PDT

After seeing the blockbuster movie series “Pirates of the Caribbean”, Alexander Marchenko, a 38-year-old entrepreneur from the small Russian village of Cheryomushki decided to build his very own replica of the Black Pearl pirate ship.

Alexander Marchenko has traveled all over Russia, and is now convinced there is no land more beautiful than his native land of Krasnoyarsk and no people more friendly and welcoming than his fellow locals. Upon returning from his travels a few years ago, he decided to take advantage of the beautiful surroundings and build a hotel. He had noticed the other resorts and lodgings in the area all looked the same way, so he tried to come up with something special that would attract visitors. As luck would have it, the movie Pirates of the Caribbean was running at local cinemas, and as soon as Alexander saw Captain Jack Sparrow’s beautiful pirate ship, the Black Pearl, he instantly knew that’s what he wanted his unique hotel to look like. Although he didn’t have any ship building experience, he went online and downloaded photos and schematics of the famous ship to use as guides, and started working on it immediately. It’s been two years, and now, his own Black Pearl is starting to take shape on the Yenisei River.

Photo: Alexander Marchencko

The 21-meter-long vessel is made almost exclusively from locally-sourced pine and cedar wood, and its “captain” says he plans to add all the tiniest details of the original Black Pearl. But, just like the Hollywood ship, it doesn’t really float. Yes, unfortunately Marchenko and his pirate crew will forever be bound to a sturdy wooden pontoon, unable to pillage and wreak havoc along the Yenisei River. The ship’s maker says he was surprised to learn the original Black Pearl model actually had a heavy metal frame covered with chipboard sheets that made it useless in the water, but ultimately decided to make his replica un-sailable as well. A wooden ship sailing in the freezing river waters of Siberia just wasn’t a very good idea, so he decided to attach it to a military pontoon, for stability. Even if he won’t be able to take tourists on a tour in his Black Pearl, he plans to offer them a genuine Pirates of the Caribbean experience, by adding every little detail of the original ship. Alexander promises everything from the sail masts and rope ladders to the gun holes will be done according to the Pearl’s schematics.

Photo: CTV7 video caption

Right now, the Russian Jack Sparrow is working on the interior decorations, trying to copy them as closely as possible. He spends most of his time in the workshop, carving all the little designs by hand, while three guards protect the ship from vandals and thieves. So far, he has spent 3.5 million rubles ($115,000) building his dream from wood. Alexander hopes to finish work this summer, but it’s hard to estimate when the vessel will finally be complete. Regardless of what hurdles he’ll face moving on, he doesn’t plan on giving up until the Black Pearl of the Yenisei is finished. Judging by the attention his ship is getting in its current state, he is convinced that upon completion, tourists will flock to Cheryomushki to see his wooden wonder.

Photo: Baikal24

Sources: Baikal24, Gazeta19

Spin Your Room Around at Holland’s Unique Crane Hotel

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 05:40 AM PDT

If you’ve ever wondered what it must be like to spend the night in an industrial dockside crane, there’s a unique hotel in Harlingen, the Netherlands, that you absolutely have to visit. The 0ne -room Crane Hotel may not be very spacious, but it allows tourists to operate the giant crane and spin 360 degrees for incredible views of their surroundings.

Located in the seaside town of Harlingen, just an hour’s drive from Amsterdam, the Crane Hotel offers a luxurious getaway for two. The genuine dockside crane used to move containers around during the 1960s was converted into a unique hotel between 2001 and 2003. Although it retains its industrial look on the outside, the interior has been radically altered to provide the same degree of comfort that other high-class hotels do. They’ve added tasteful decorations, the latest audio-video technology, a comfy double bed, and a twin person shower cabin, but also kept some of the elements that make this place so unique, like the observation deck and original windows. Perched about 17 feet above Harlingen’s peer, the Crane hotel is no longer accessed via its old steel ladder, but by a modern internal lift. And as if just spending the night in a real dockside crane wasn’t cool enough, you can also satisfy the kid in you by playing actually driving the industrial equipment. The crane is still functional, and you can rotate it 360 degrees to catch some amazing views of the old Dutch fishing town.

The Crane Hotel’s operators recommend that you only pack a suitcase or soft bag if you value your space. Also, for safety reasons, only two people are allowed on the premises at the same time. A stay at the Crane Hotel in Harlingen will set you back $400 a night. It’s certainly not the cheapest hotel you can find, but it’s the only one that will let you play with your room, and that alone makes it all worth it.

Photos: Vuurtonen Harlingen

via Spot Cool Stuff

Stanford Student Solves Three Rubik’s Cubes while Juggling Them

Posted: 26 Mar 2013 02:53 AM PDT

Ravi Fernando, a student at Stanford University and a member of the World Cube Association has mad Rubik’s cube solving skills. In a recent video, he solves three cubes while juggling them, in less than six minutes.

This is probably the coolest thing you’ll see today. I’ve watched Ravi’s YouTube video a few times now and I still can’t believe it can be done. He is somehow able to juggle three Rubik’s Cubes and solve them at the same time. The only way I can solve one Rubik’s cube in less than an hour is by taking off all the colored stickers and gluing them back in the right order. Pathetic, I know, but this isn’t about me, it’s about this skilled math undergrad who has a cube solving record of just 7.65 seconds ( no juggling, obviously). That puts him in the 48th position on the list of the world's fastest Rubik's Cube solvers. Pretty cool, but it’s not just about speed with this guy, as he can also solve the tricky puzzle blindfolded, with just one hand, and with his feet. And you thought you were special just being able to solve one of these darn things, huh?

Ravi has his own YouTube channel, where he posts all his amazing Rubik Cube solving videos. In one of them, where he solves just one cube while juggling two other rubber balls, a friend says he’s the only one in the world that can do it. That’s probably not true, as others have posted similar videos in the past, but this last one, where he juggles and solves three different cubes, could actually be unique. The guy has such quick hands that you can hardly see him shuffling all the facets, it’s simply an amazing example of cool multitasking.