The tropical climate of the Philippines makes it possible for the soil to grow some delicious exotic fruits. Most of these exotic fruits are of South American origin and brought here by the West Indies, Spanish or the Americans. These heavenly fruits can be found fresh in the local market for cheap prices. Some of the fruits mentioned are only available seasonally.
1. Philippine Mangoes
Undeniably Philippine mangoes are the sweetest and juiciest in the world. Recorded in the 1995 World Guinness Book of Records as the sweetest fruit. The sweetest mangoes come from the province of Zambales and Guimaras in IloIlo.
There is a wide variety of mangoes in the Philippines but the most popular and the sweetest is the "Kalabaw" variety. Locals eat unripe green mangoes with bagoong (shrimp paste) although this maybe an usually acquired taste. Green mangoes are great with vodka as cocktails!
2. Rambutan
Sweet and juicy when fresh. Rambutan literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit.
3. Avocado
Very refreshing as fruit shake. Try if you can find avocado flavored ice-cream in the local groceries. Arce is a good brand of local ice cream. They use local fruits as flavor. Avocado is cheap in the Philippines. You can buy them at 1$USD for a kilo and when in season they can go as low as .50$USD per kilo!
4. Lanzones
Sweet and succulent little round fruits. The sweetest lanzones come from the province of Camiguin, where they hold an annual festival celebrating the lanzones fruit.
5. Durian
The king of Tropical fruits found it's way in the Philippines through our neighboring countries. Known for its large size and unique aroma. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace famously described its flesh as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds". The province of Davao in Mindanao is home to durian farms.
6. Langka (Jackfruit)
When ripe this fruit is very sweet and has a very aromatic flavor. It also widely used as cooking ingredient for local desserts such as ginataan and turon.
7. Atis (Sugar Apple)
Very sweet and creamy. It's a little bit of effort to eat this fruit as they have a lot of seeds. The fruit flesh is sweet, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The edible portion coats the seeds generously; a bit like the gooey portion of a tomato seed. Sugar-apple has a very distinct, sweet-smelling fragrance
One of the more interesting memes to come out of 4chan are posts of rudimentary drawings of inventions or scenarios that, at first glance, seem to violate the laws of physics and allow for something supernatural to occur. One of the most common types of of these posts are ones related to “free energy” or perpetual motion. We’ve taken seven of these images and asked Steve Nelson, a Physics professor who holds a Ph. D. from Duke University in physics, to explain why these somewhat intuitive ideas fall flat in real life.
1. Free Energy Sail
Why this wouldn’t work:
The force the fan puts on the air (Newton’s Laws, equal and opposite reactions) are put on the fan as well. Because of this, there is no net force on the sail-car, resulting in zero movement. Also, conservation of energy prevents you from recovering the energy of the wind for the fan.
2. Free Energy Flashlight
Why this wouldn’t work:
Solar cells are only about 15% efficient. Light bulbs are even less efficient. Even if you could get a 100% efficient light bulb and a 100% efficient solar cell, you still wouldn’t ever be able to extract a net gain of energy from the system. Even the act of seeing light from the light bulb would necessarily mean that energy was being removed from the system, making the bulb increasingly dim until all the energy was dissipated.
3. Eternal Engine Magnet Car
Why this wouldn’t work:
Similarly to the wind car, this vehicle would not move without violating Newton’s laws of motion. There is an equal force on the arm holding the magnet as on the truck, resulting in no net movement. The intuitive misconception here is that the magnet exerts a one-way force, when in fact there is an equal and opposite force on the magnet.
4. Free Energy Earth
Why this wouldn’t work:
While likely impossible to dig a hole through the earth due to the intense pressures and temperatures involved, this system is subject to magnetic damping that will extract energy from the system over time. This pictured system would produce eddy currents in the conductor due to movements in the magnetic field. The flow of electrons in the conductor would create an opposing magnetic field which would result in the damping of the magnet and cause heat inside of the conductor. The loss of the energy used to heat up the conductor would be equal to the loss of kinetic energy of the magnet.
5. Free Energy Ferrofluid
Why this wouldn’t work:
This one is intuitively difficult to find fault with, and comes the closest of any thus far. However, it will not work and will fail for more practical reasons. Capillary action will not work in the same way with this type of fluid, leading to problems with the ferrofluid moving up the tube. Additionally you would likely have problems with ferrofluid sticking to the magnet instead of falling as depicted in the image.
6. Free Floating Energy
Why this wouldn’t work:
In order for the ball to make it through the valve while keeping the water in, it would be required to overcome friction, removing energy from the system. Additionally, the ball would not just “pop out” of the top and fall back down, additional energy would be required for this to work, leaving the system far from perpetual motion.
7. Free Energy Windmill
Why this wouldn’t work:
This is another case of failing to account for the equal and opposite forces as stated in Newton’s laws of motion. The magnets exert an equal and opposite force on the blades as the blades do on the magnets, resulting in a windmill that does not move.
Via: WellHome
Nothing brings people together like a gigantic party, especially if it’s got a bizarre theme like roadkill, bugs, testicles or tomato throwing. People convene in massive numbers for some pretty crazy things, from rolling cheese down a hill in England to covering themselves in mud from head to toe in Louisiana. These 7 parties are some of the craziest in the world with millions coming together to indulge in strange culinary delights, engage in exhibitionism and forget about real life for a while.
Roadkill Cookoff
(images via: Road Kill Cookoff)
There’s a whole lot of perfectly good, entirely free meat out there, and you don’t even need hunting skills to acquire it – just peel it up off the road. The annual Roadkill Cookoff takes place in Pocahontas County, West Virginia every September and features dishes with enticing names like Rigormortis Bear Stew and Thumper Meets Bumper. They also crown a lucky Roadkill Queen every year.
Rio Carnival
(images via: theage.au)
It may just be the biggest and most outlandish party on earth. During the four days before Lent, real life comes to a screeching halt in Brazil to focus on the three pillars of Carnival: samba, women and beer. Female dancers push the public nudity envelope in barely-there costumes festooned in sequins and feathers, leading a massive parade of the 14 schools of samba, with each school wearing a different type of costume. Other events include street processions and masquerade balls.
Louisiana Mudfest
(images via: LouisianaMudfest.com)
The Louisiana Mudfest may or may not be the South’s biggest party, but it’s definitely the dirtiest. Off-road vehicle enthusiasts love nothing more than to go ‘mud riding’, and this festival draws thousands of 4×4 owners and their families to play in over 300 acres of mud.
La Tomatina Tomato-Throwing Party
(images via: WebEcoist)
From WebEcoist: “Once a year, tens of thousands of tourists gather in a town in Spain to hurl over one hundred tons of overripe tomatoes … all in just one hour. When the festival is called to a halt fire hoses are used to clean the streets as well as the participants. For this brief but amazing food fight the size of the town quadruples, drawing visitors from all over the world to participate in the largest spaghetti sauce bath of all time.”
Testicle Festivals
(images via: 2camels, Gadling.com)
People who live in Montana tend to have a “waste not, want not” philosophy. So, why would they throw testicles away and give up all of that delicious, boneless protein? At least 15,000 people share that outlook, heading to the Rock Creek Lodge outside of Clinton every year to “have a ball at the Testicle Festival”. Bull testicles, also known as Rocky Mountain Oysters, are peeled, marinated in beer, breaded and deep-fried.
A few states away in Illinois, there’s a somewhat smaller, but no less strange annual homage to genitals: the Turkey Testicle Festival. 1200 pounds of deep-fried turkey balls sell out completely every year. One brave culinary explorer claims “they look like little popcorn shrimp, and they taste like chicken.”
Burning Man Festival
(images via: Declan McCullagh)
Burning Man, which takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy, is held every year at the end of August in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, drawing some 50,000 people to the remote area for “community, artwork, absurdity, decommodification and revelry”. To attend Burning Man is to temporarily step into an alternate world where clothing is optional, weird is normal, there’s always something new to try and wildly artistic creations are everywhere you look.
Holi Festival
(images via: Newshopper)
For hundreds of years, Hindus in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and other countries have welcomed the arrival of spring with a “festival of colors” celebrating the escape of a Hindu figure named Prahlada from death by fire due to his devotion to the god Vishnu. On the main day of the festival, called “Holi”, participants throw colored powders and liquids at each other, which were traditionally made from medicinal herbs that fight viral fever and cold.
Via: WebUrbanist
The birthday cake has been an integral part of the birthday celebrations in Western cultures since the middle of the 19th century. Certain rituals and traditions, such as singing of birthday songs, associated with birthday cakes are common to many Western cultures. The Western tradition of adding lit candles to the top of a birthday cake originates in 18th century Germany. However, the intertwining of cakes and birthday celebrations stretch back to the Ancient Romans. The development of the birthday cake has followed the development of culinary and confectionery advancement. While throughout most of Western history, these elaborate cakes in general were the privilege of the wealthy, birthday cakes are nowadays common to most Western birthday celebrations. Around the world many variations on the birthday cake, or rather the birthday pastry or sweets, exist.
Enjoy in 7 of the most unusual, amazing, and creative birthday cakes:
Octopus Cake
200 pound cake shaped to look like an enormous Octopus. [link]
LEGO Cake
Chocolate LEGO inspired cake with rice-krispy treat minifigure. [link]
Lady Gaga Cake
Unique birthday cake inspired by Lady Gaga. [link]
Coca-Cola Cake
Unusual birthday cake consists of four red cans of Coca-Cola. [link]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cake
Awesome birthday cake made for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. [link]
Back to the Future Cake
Ace of Cakes created Back to the Future 25th Anniversary cake. [link]
Coffee Mug Cake
Four layer chocolate cake with coffee buttercream and latte art. [link]
Via: toxel.com
What make the holidays super special apart from the food, family and friends, are the traditions. Some traditions are…well, very traditional. But others can be fun and very weird. Here’s a highlight of the weirdest and most interesting Christmas traditions from around the world.
Christmas Pickle
First in line, the Christmas Pickle.
It’s an old tradition where a pickle ornament is hidden on the Christmas tree. The first person to find the pickle among all the other ornament is said to recieve an extra present on Christmas. The tradition has stories originating from the Spain to Germany, but either way it seems like a fun and not to mention weird tradition!
Skating to Mass
From December 16th to December 24th, there’s a very unique tradition that takes place in Caracas, Venezuela. The busy city streets of Caracas are closed off before 8 AM to any motor traffic. This allows the streets to be open to traffic on 4-wheelers! It has been customary in Venezuela to attend Misa de Aguinaldo (Early Morning Mass) and by closing traffic off to bulky cars and buses, everyone can skate to mass on time.
Webs?
Here’s an odd item you wouldn’t automatically associate with Christmas.
On a Ukrainian Christmas tree the site of a spider or web is not unusual. The folk tale that goes with the tradition says a poor family woke up on Christmas morning to find their once bare tree decorated with spider webs that shined silver and gold in the morning sun.
Crackers
Christmas crackers or bon-bons are a fun item to celebrate with in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries. The cracker is a cardboard tube wrapped in holiday wrapping twisted at the ends. The fun part starts when you hold on to one side of the twisted end, another person holds the other, and you pull! With a BANG, the cracker will split unevenly, and the luckier individual will be holding the longer end of the cracker — which holds a special prize. (Image credit: Sparkly Kate via Flickr)
Crackers are also a part of New Years celebration in some places. Wouldn’t it be just fun if crackers were a part of every holiday?
Fried Chicken
Make reservation for your Christmas Chicken today! Those residing in Japan have already begun the process of pre-ordering their fried chicken for Christmas.
Unlike the traditional ham or turkey Americans are used to seeing during the holidays, many in Japan celebrate by eating fried chicken. While less than 1 percent of the Japanese population is estimated to be Christian, by the power of marketing and advertising it has become common practice to eat KFC during Christmas. The meal is also accompanied by a delicious Christmas cake for dessert. Let the feasting begin!
Christmas Witch
In Italy, children will go to bed waiting for a magical being to bring presents, and I don’t mean Santa Claus. (Image credit: ho visto nina volare via Flickr)
In Italian folklore, an old witch delivers gifts and candy to children on Epiphany Eve (January 5th). Santa’s competitor, La Befana, is usually portrayed as an old lady riding a broomstick, usually covered in soot as she enters homes through chimneys. Very similar to the tradition of leaving cookies and milk for Santa, children will leave wine and food out for the Befana.
Brooms
Ok — so going along with the Christmas Witch story, here’s one about brooms. There’s a superstition in Norway that advises households to hide their brooms on Christmas Eve. It is believed that witches and evil spirits will rise from the graves and use the brooms to fly through the sky and create chaos until dawn. Doesn’t this sound very much like Halloween?
Do you have an interesting family holiday tradition? Why not try one of these wacky traditions or start a new one.
Happy Holidays!
By ChanMi Park, Planet Green
Swim or lounge on top of the world with these sexy rooftop pools from around the globe.
1. Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
57 floors up, this 500 foot long pool is not for the faint of heart. (Photo by williamcho)
2. Hotel Joule in Dallas.
Part of the pool juts out from the building with only a thick pane of glass between swimmers and the city ten floors below. (Photo by the urban fabric)
3. Thompson Toronto Hotel Pool.
Opened in June 2010, the heated infinity pool is on the 16th floor and overlooks downtown Toronto. (Photo by Thompson Hotels)
4. Harbour Plaza Hotel in Hong Kong.
Glass-walled pool with views of downtown Hong Kong and the distant hills. (Photo by PVCG)
5. Old Sydney Holiday Inn.
Could there be better views of Sydney? It seems unlikely as this pool gives views of the city spanning from the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House. (Photo by Starr Public Relations.)
6. Colonnade Boston Hotel.
The only rooftop pool in Boston, this pool is 11 stories up and non-hotel guests are welcome during the week. (Photo by colonnade)
7. Grand Hotel Central in Barcelona.
The infinity pool gives great views of Barcelona’s famous Gothic District. (Photo by Grand Hotel Barcelona)
Via: MatadorNetwork
Tired of the same boring hotels? Me too… And there are plenty of weird hotels around the world that could provide for any tourist a more interesting and special accommodation. Some of them are finished and just waiting for you, others are projects or in construction. But all of them are amazing…
World’s first hotel made of key cards
The world’s first hotel made entirely of key cards has been unveiled in New York. The 37-square-metre hotel was made from more than 200,000 key cards and weighs 1814kgs.
The design was created by Holiday Inn, the world’s largest hotel group, to mark the relaunch of 1200 of its hotels around the world. (source)
Ice Hotel – Sweden
The Icehotel in the village of Jukkasjärvi, about 17 km from Kiruna, Sweden, erected each year from December to April, was the world's first ice hotel, first opening in 1990. (source)
Every year the ice hotel is redesigned. All of the furniture, from the chairs to the bedroom furniture are carved from ice. Due to the extreme cold weather, guests wear beaver nylon jumpsuits to protect them from the elements. A unique experience to be sure. This hotel books up very quickly as you can imagine. (source)
The First Garbage Hotel In The World
Designer H.A. Schult has designed the world’s first hotel made entirely of garbage in Rome. The walls are constructed using the masses of debris that are found on the beaches of Europe. The hotel is part of a publicity campaign by the environmental group Save The Beach, to draw attention to the problem of pollution on the coastline.
The doors of this bizarre hotel, made of garbage, have opened to the public, last week, in Rome and has already received the support of various celebrities, like Helena Christensen, the famous model, who agreed to spend a night in the Save the Beach Hotel. (source)
Hotelicopter - World's Largest and First Flying Hotel
The Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience.
Each soundproofed room is equipped with a queen-sized bed, fine linens, a mini-bar, coffee machine, wireless internet access, and all the luxurious appointments you'd expect from a flying five star hotel. Room service is available one hour after liftoff and prior to landing." The Hotelicopter is due to fly maiden journey this summer(June 26th) with an undisclosed price… (source)
Baumhaus Hotel
Child Friendly Treehouses in Eastern Germany.
Choose one of 5 cosy tree houses situated 8m to 10m up a tree in a fantastic recreational park outside Görlitz. First open in June 2005, it is arguable whether it is the first tree house hotel in Germany or the craziest.
These 2 storey dwellings are furnished in a crazed rustic style, with brightly coloured walls and off-angle windows and are sure to entertain. Odd shaped beds are the norm here as you won’t find any straight walls. Each tree house contains an ‘emergency toilet’, but if only for the sake of the cleaners, a central toilet block is provided on one of the lower decks with running water. The central area also contains a particularly German addition – a mini bar filled with beer ready for evening guest celebrations. (source)
Exploranter – Overland Hotel
A hotel on wheels that tours the South America.
Exploranter is a mobile hotel, fully equipped with industrial kitchen, hot showers, 30 leather seats, 28 beds and lots of mobility.
Exploranter is a Hotel on Wheels.
The highlight is the human atmosphere in trips. Surrounded by the most amazing landscapes, guests make friends and live an unforgettable experience. The Exploranter team goal is to tease guest senses.
Trips range from 1 week routes to 22 days expeditions.
Bizarrely, this moving hotel means that you probably travel less than if you were staying in a traditional hotel as you don't need to move around yourself to see different sites - you stay right at the sites themselves! Equally, your itinerary can span natural rather than national borders, say to see both Chilean and Argentiniean Patagonia on the same trip. Trips through the Pantanal conservation area (the world's largest freshwater wetland) average around 800 km in a week, in Patagonia they drive 1,200 km in twelve days. The longest drives cover around 200 km a day, but still showcase the best of each region. (source)
Capsule Hotel
Capsule Inn Sapporo is a capsule hotel located at the center of Susukino in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Capsule hotel has beds shaped like capsule and used as sleeping unit. Each floor has facility like bed rooms, a lounge area, a public bath, and a locker area. Besides sleeping time, the lounge area can be used as dinning and resting area. Public bath is also available.
Beds for sleeping are called “capsule bed” and they are the only private area. There are controllers with buttons for TV and radio within your reach so that you can enjoy your privacy comfortably. (source)
