Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Mexico’s Teenage Angels Risk Their Lives in the Name of Peace

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 04:00 AM PDT

Sometimes, all you need is a message from an angel to turn your life around. And it doesn't really matter if that angel actually happens to be a human being; it's the timing that really counts. Perhaps no one realizes this fact better than a group of 15 to 22-year-olds in Mexico, who are risking their lives by going out into the streets as angels, in an attempt to change their society. The 'Messenger Angels', as they call themselves, are young evangelical Christians who take a message of peace to public places in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's most violent city.

The messenger angels are all dressed the same – hair combed back, white make up, white robes and white wings. They stand at busy intersections and places where crimes usually take place, holding up signs that display messages of peace – like 'Looking for God's Forgiveness'. "We get people's attention because instead of doing bad things, like other young people, we are doing this because we want Juarez to change," said Cynthia Gutierrez, one of the angels. The city has a population of 1.3 million and over 9,000 murders in the past three and a half years. One of the boy angels said: "In society, they've separated us a lot. As well as in our families. That's why we try to share a message to drug dealers, hitmen, raiders."

"Well, some people think we are right, others think we are wrong. I think this is right, to create more consciousness in every person that's going down the wrong path," added another angel. He was holding up a sign that read: 'Chapo Guzman, Time is Short, Repent'. Some of the other signs say: 'Police-killer: Stop it! From: Jesus Christ', 'Corrupt Police Officer: Seek God' and 'Authorities: nothing can be done without Christ'. I suppose messages from God don't really get more direct than this.

Messenger-Angels-of-Juarez

The Hauntingly Beautiful Blue Pond of Hokkaido

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 03:00 AM PDT

If you happen to have a Mac that runs on OSX Mountain Lion, then these images are probably familiar to you. The aptly named 'Blue Pond' reflects such a pristine blue color off its waters, that you just can't take your eyes off it. The pond, located on the left bank of River Bieigawa near the town of Biei in Hokkaido Island, Japan, wasn't very well known until recently, when the computer giant decided to make it a part of their latest operating system.

Interestingly, the Blue Pond is not a natural formation. The artificial pond was created when a dam was built to protect the area from mud flows due to its proximity to a volcano on Mt. Tokachi. When the volcano erupted in December 1988, local officials decided to construct the dam upstream along the river. All the water blocked by this dam gets collected in a depression in the forest, creating the pond.

It's not just the striking blue that sets the pond apart, but also the barren tree stumps that protrude from the surface of the water. Also, the color of the pond hardly remains constant. It keeps varying based on the season, and the viewing angle. In a certain light and angle, the electric blue pond appears to be a lovely green instead. This unusual phenomenon has no real scientific explanation. Some theories attribute it to a high concentration of aluminum hydroxide in the water. The naturally occurring mineral is known to reflect the shorter wavelength blue light, just like the earth's atmosphere does. Of course, the water itself is colorless.

Blue-Pond-in-Hokkaido

No Grownups Allowed at Japan’s Children-Only Magical Sweets Shop

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 02:00 AM PDT

Most teenagers can't wait until they're 21 so they can have a legal ID, but here's one shop in Japan that will make them want to stay young forever – an ID proving that they're a sixth grader or younger. Because that's how young you've got to be to enter Japan's Future Sweets Factory – a magical place filled with all things sweet and delicious. Kids get to enter the factory alone, leaving their parents behind in the lobby area.

Future Sweets Factory is located on the premises of the hugely popular Patisserie es Koyama (famous for its special roll cake), in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture. The entrance to the factory is through a large, colorful egg-shaped dome. Beyond the dome lies a waiting hall where children bid goodbye to their parents for a few hours. The kids proceed through a special kid-sized door to where all the magic happens, just like in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!

Inside the factory, away from their parents' watchful eyes, kids are treated to samples of freshly made sweets. True to its name, at the Future Sweets Factory kids get to sample all kinds of sweets that are yet to hit the market. They also get to watch the chefs bake three special surprise sweets that cost only 150 yen each. The factory is decorated to suit the kids’ tastes – with cartoon characters and robots.

Japanese-sweets-shop

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