Oddity Central

Oddity Central

X-Alps – The World’s Most Amazing Adventure Race

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 03:00 AM PST

For most people, the route from Salzburg to Monaco is by road. But who wants to go on a boring road trip, when you could climb mountains and paraglide across the Alps instead? Of course, to do that you’ve got to have a real taste for adventure. If you do, then the Red Bull X-Alps annual race is just the thing for you.

It is said to be one of the toughest challenges in the world, demanding not only expert paragliding skills but extreme endurance. Participating athletes need to hike or fly over a distance of about 1,000 kilometers between Salzburg and Monaco, through one of the world’s most unforgiving environments. For adventurers, this is the ‘ultimate’ race.

Each team entering the race consists of one athlete and up to two supporters to help with logistics, food and motivation. The contestants race between 5:00 am and 10:30 pm, hiking over 100 kilometers a day. A paraglider, harness, rescue parachute, helmet, emergency signal rocket, reflector belt and tracking device must be carried at all times.

X-Alps-race3

English Artist Turns Dirty White Vans into Works of Art on Wheels

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 02:00 AM PST

You don't really need an expensive canvas to make beautiful art. Rick Minns, from Wicklewood in Norfolk, proves that a dirty old van will do the trick.

Seriously, if someone like Rick lived in my area, I'd never clean my car. I would  just leave it coated with layers of filth, hoping he'd find it and do his thing. Rick, or 'Ruddy Muddy' as he's now being called, creates amazing works of art in the grease, mud and dust collected on unwashed vans parked in the streets.

Rick said that he had often wondered if people would like to find art on their cars, rather than the usual 'clean me' and other rude messages scribbled in the dust. That’s how he got the idea for 'Graffilthy Art’. "I was a bit bored at work one day, with a bit of spare time on my hands and thought it would be like a bit of fun," he said. When no-one complained, he took it as a good sign and kept going. "I played around with a few things and they sort of developed from there."

ruddy-muddy-art

Meet Yacouba Sawadogo – The Man Who Stopped the Desert

Posted: 20 Jan 2014 01:00 AM PST

Yacouba Sawadogo is an exceptional man – he single-handedly managed to solve a crisis that even scientists and development organizations could not. The simple old farmer's re-forestation and soil conservation techniques are so effective they’ve helped turn the tide in the fight against the desertification of the harsh lands in northern Burkina Faso.

Over-farming, over-grazing and over population have, over the years, resulted in heavy soil erosion and drying in this landlocked West African nation. Although national and international researchers tried to fix the grave situation, it really didn't really make much of a difference. Until Yacouba decided to take matters into his own hands in 1980.

Yacouba's methods were so odd that his fellow farmers ridiculed him. But when his techniques successfully regenerated the forest, they were forced to sit up and take notice. Yacouba revived an ancient African farming practice called 'zai', which led to forest growth and increased soil quality.

Yacouba-Sawadogo

Comments system

Disqus Shortname