Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Lack of Building Space Inspires Chinese School to Build Running Track on Its Roof

Posted: 12 Dec 2014 04:49 AM PST

An elementary school in Tiantai, in China's Zhejiang Province, has a 200-meter running track built on its roof. It's a strange place to have children running, but the school's authorities didn't have much of a choice. There wasn't any construction land available on the campus grounds, so they figured a track on the roof is better than no track at all.

"Under the circumstances that limited land cannot provide enough space for students to exercise in, we chose to challenge the concept that playgrounds and tracks have to be on the ground," said chief architect Ruan Hao. The unique design has received worldwide recognition – it represented China at the 14th Venice Architecture Exhibition this year.

rooftop-running-track

Venice of the Middle-East: The Floating Basket Homes of Iraq

Posted: 12 Dec 2014 04:20 AM PST

Little is known to the world about Iraq’s Tigris-Euphrates marshlands – an area that, at one time, covered over 9,000 square miles – bigger than Venice's lagoon and Florida's Everglades combined. The marshland was inhabited continuously for over 5,000 years and at its peak, it was home to half-a-million 'Marsh Arabs' or 'Ma'dan'.

The Ma'dan consisted of several tribes that had developed a beautiful, eco-friendly culture that centered on the marshes' natural resources. One of the truly admirable aspects of their lifestyle was their beautifully elaborate dwellings – floating houses made entirely out of reeds that were harvested from the open water.

These architectural wonders, strongly reminiscent of the 'casoni' of the Venetian fishermen, were called 'mudhif'. They were temporary structures built of reeds in only three days, without the use of nails or wood. Even the islands that the houses would rest on were made of complicated arrangements of mud and rushes.

venice-of-the-middle-east

Elderly Care Home in Germany Uses Therapy Alpacas to Make Residents Happier

Posted: 12 Dec 2014 03:00 AM PST

Just looking at the picture of an alpaca will make you want to pet the adorable creature. So it comes as no surprise that the camel’s super fluffy cousin is being used for therapy in Germany, at Berlin's Mana Wedell Tagespflege elderly care home.

A group of alpacas live in the home's garden and are welcome to go inside for a visit. A video of their interaction with the residents was put up on YouTube, and although it is in German, you can tell that the place is so full of love.

The footage shows the alpacas being taken to each of the residents' rooms for a visit. It appears that the alpacas are incredibly affectionate and love to be cuddled. They also seem to enjoy being given tasty treats and like riding the elevator. The residents also have a great time petting and spoiling the delightful animals, making them happier and healthier.

therapy-alpacas

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