Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Meet Philly Jesus – The Former Drug Addict Who Became a “Walking Billboard for the King of Kings”

Posted: 14 Jan 2015 01:31 AM PST

Once a heroin addict, young Michael Grant managed to turn his life around and become Philly Jesus, one of Philadelphia’s most iconic characters. Since April last year, the 28-year-old has been hanging out at LOVE park, in Center City, dressed as Jesus Christ. "I'm not the real Jesus," he admits upfront. "I'm just a huge fan. I'm doing it as a walking billboard for the King of Kings."

Every day, Grant walks seven miles to LOVE Park, carrying with him a 12-foot wooden cross with wheels at the bottom that he made himself. "This is my way of letting my light shine, by carrying a cross in the 'hood'," he explained. "This is my way of sharing Jesus without preaching a blow horn and condemning people. It's like making a statement. When they look at me, I don't want them to see Michael, I want them to see Jesus."

Grant, who was raised in a Catholic family, is the older of two brothers. His mother says that he was always a creative child, did theater and loved drawing. He even went to a clown school, where he learned to juggle knives and torches. "He liked people's reactions, so he always liked reaching people that way," she said.

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Iranian Designers Create Salt Restaurant That Filters Polluted Urban Air

Posted: 14 Jan 2015 12:12 AM PST

The aptly named Salt Restaurant in Shiraz, southern Iran, is completely made of salt. The walls, bar, tables and chairs are entirely made of the white mineral; even the stairs have a smooth, salty coating.

The unique restaurant is the brainchild of Iranian firm Emtiaz Designing Group, who used salt as the main construction material in order to promote the concept of green construction. They created the building using environmentally sustainable, locally sourced, affordable salt, powder and rock. "In this particular case, the walls, structural sculptures and ceilings are made from salt sourced from the nearby salt mines and salt lake of Shiraz which was mixed with natural gum to harden it," said a spokesperson of the firm.

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Guy Quits Office Job to Become Professional Zombie

Posted: 13 Jan 2015 11:48 PM PST

When 26-year-old Alex Noble realied that his job in finance was taking the life out of him, he decided to quit and pursue a career with the undead. The horror fan from Cardiff now works as a professional zombie – in case you're wondering, that is a real job.

Alex explained that he has always been interested in zombies. For five years, he worked as a zombie extra in films, TV, and games. He mostly worked for free, but the experience finally paid off when he was offered a position at Slingshot, the company that runs the zombie chase game '2.8 Hours Later'.

"People started noticing me, because I was doing things differently," he said. "I had a niche look and I was doing the movements and noises differently."

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