Monday, December 27, 2010

10 countries you probably never heard about

You really have to be a geography freak to know about these countries from the list. It’s irrelevant to us how recognized they are as countries but they surely look at themselves like that. Of course a special thanks to Wikipedia for the article’s research.
vanutu-small-country
10. Vanuatu, 90% of Vanuatu people household and consume fish, and 80% are living in rural, isolated villages with their own gardens and food supplies. Scuba diving is a very popular tourist attraction here. Tsunamis are not a rare thing in Vanuatu, and earthquakes have a negative affect on the country’s economy.


nauru-small-country 9. Nauru, a former German Empire colony is also known as Pleasant Island of the South Pacific. The people of Nauru are collecting rain water during monsoon rains between November and February because they are very limited on natural fresh water. The most popular sport in this country is Australian rules football, and they have football league with seven teams.

tuvalu-small-country 8. Tuvalu, is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. They don’t have regular military forces, and spend no money on defense. Tuvalu is the 4th smallest country in the world. The first inhabitants of the country were Polynesian people.

comoros-number-7 7. Comoros is African island nation in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. The island is an old French colony, and today there is about 300 000 Comorians living in France. 98% of the population is Islamic.

guernsey-small-country 6. Guernsey is under the responsibility of the United Kingdom but they don’t count as a part of the U.K, as well as the European Union. Guernsey is located in the English Channel on the coast of Normandy. They have complete autonomy over internal affairs, and they are discussing total independence from the British Crown.

isle-of-man-small-country 5. Isle of Man, also known as Mann, is self-governing British Crown Dependency, with a location in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. They are not a part of the European Union. Isle of Man economy is based on offshore banking and tourism. The island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC.

tokelau-small-country 4. Tokelau, is a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand that consists of three islands. The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word that means “north wind”. The island has the smallest economy of any country in the world that makes them almost completely dependent on subsidies from New Zealand. 96% of the population is Christians and 57% of these are women.

cook-islands-number-3 3. Cook Islands, are a self-governing parliamentary democracy. With over 90 000 tourists per year, tourism is their far best industry and their leading element of the island economy, far ahead of offshore banking, marine, pearls and fruit exports. Cook Islands got named by the British navigator Captain James Cook when he arrived the islands in 1773.

pitcairn-islands-small-island 2. Pitcairn Islands, officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands that are formerly a British colony, the last remaining in the Pacific. The population’s language is a mix of English and Tahitian. In recent years the church has been closed because only 8 islanders have been visiting it regularly. There is only one Café and Bar on the island, and the Government Store is selling alcohol and cigarettes. They used to have moral strict laws which prohibited dancing, smoking and consummation of alcohol.

soviet-republic-unknown 1. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is the independent republic located between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nagorno Karabakh is one of the most heavily mined regions of the former Soviet Union because of the 1991-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War. They are still not recognized by any state, including Armenia. 95% of the population is Armenian, and the rest are Greeks and Kurds. Their tourism are basically directed to Armenians that live in Western countries.

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Top 10 largest concerts in history


10. Blockbuster RockFest 1997 [385,000] was a music event that celebrated capital punishment. It was held on Texas Motor Speedway with hot artists like No Doubt, Counting Crows and Matchbox Twenty.



 9. Woodstock 1969 [400,000] was the pop culture event of that decade that had a big influence on both American music and culture. Legendary artists like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana and the Who was only a few of many others that performed. The audience, that were mostly hippies, sent a message to the world that everyone could gather together to enjoy music and celebrate peace.


 8. Toronto SARS Benefit 2003 [450,000+]. The disease SARS that attacked Asia and Toronto in Canada was the reason for this benefit concert. Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Justin Timberlake were some of the artists that supported by performing.

 7. Simon & Garfunkel [500,000] held their second reunion concert in Central Park in 1981. It was a free concert that was televised by HBO.

 6. Isle of Wight Festival [600,000] was the biggest concert ever held in UK. The Who, The Doors and Leonard Cohen were some of the performing artists, and Jimi Hendrix had unfortunately his last performance on this event. All the tickets were sold out the first day.

 5. Summer Jam at Watkins Glen [600,000+]. A huge hippy concert held at the Grand Prix auto circuit in Watkins Glen, New York, with bands like The Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers.

 4. Steve Wozniak’s 1983 US Festival [670,000] was a culture festival sponsored by one of the co-founders of Apple Computers, Steve Wozniak. It was held in California with great performers like Motley Crue, U2 and David Bowie.

 3. Garth Brooks in Central Park [750,000] was a great country concert with excited and cheering “cowboys” in the audience. Brooks performed classics as “Friends in Low Places”, and “The Dance”.

 2. New York Philharmonic in Central Park 1986 [800,000]. The largest classical concert that celebrated the rededication of the Statue of Liberty.

 1. Rod Stewart at Copacabana Beach 1994 [3,500,000]. A New Years celebration featuring Rod Stewart with the largest concert crowd ever. The wonderful Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was overcrowed with singing and celebrating audience.

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Tribons Is A Vision of Future Computer System Technology by FrogDesign

Tribons concept is a vision of future technology to be influence and shape ideas of community and tribalism, self-awareness and education, trust and global citizenship. The idea of Tribons concept is based on a lightweight and powerful computer system that connects kids with their friends and family, thus providing emotional support to those who are living anonymously in different cities because of the recent mobility.



Tribons are designed as digital mentors, that support kid’s personal interests and show pathways to boost knowledge and development of skills. Moreover, it offers experiences and information, and make possible the understanding and participation in environments. By using Tribons, an urban child would be introduced to the natural and biological world, and similarly, a rural child can enhance their knowledge about the urban landscape. The accessories developed to comprise an earpiece that is controlled by a spontaneous 3D interface that projects various educational materials and features a safety system that allows parents track their children. Not only that, this gadget includes an additional medical module that offers surveillance of the wearer’s health parameters that will take care in case of chronic sickness and the probability of injuries.



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9 Strangest & Amazing Vacation Across World!

1. A Vacation to the Moon



Space Adventures provides the opportunity for you to blast off in a Soyuz spacecraft for a circumlunar mission. During the seven-day space flight, which reaches top speeds of 17,000 mph, you'll see stars, the illuminated far side of the moon, and the Earth from 250,000 miles away. Candidates must train for four months alongside Russian cosmonauts at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Two seats are available for $100 million each.

2. A $1 Million Vacation

 

A battle is brewing for bragging rights to the most expensive vacation. The Emirates Palace resort in Abu Dhabi announced a Million Dollar Travel package that "incarnates pure opulence."Along with first-class airfare and seven nights at a giant suite at the Palace, the package includes:

Chauffeur-driven Maybach at your disposal daily during your stay in Abu Dhabi.
Daily SPA treatments.
Day trip in private jet to Iran where you'll create your own Persian carpet with the country's most-exclusive and best-renowned hand-maker. Day trip to Bahrain in private jet for "a pearl deep sea experience," with the pearl hand-designed settings.

The Emirates is hoping the trip gets it a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records. But it turns out that Leading Hotels of the World has its own ode to opulence. Its $1 million Around the World in 80 Ways trip, which plays off the storied journey of Phileas Fogg, lets travelers recreate the 19th-century around-the-world fantasy experience with 21st-century comfort and flair.

3. A Vacation With Real Mermaids


At a west Florida intersection, where the 21st century runs headlong into 1947, is a roadside attraction that must be seen to be believed. There are no Disney cartoon characters or underwater mannequins, but living, breathing, bubble-blowing mermaids just an hour drive north of Tampa. Weeki Wachee Springs attracts tourists from around the world, and during its heyday attracted celebrities including Elvis Presley. But in recent times the park has fallen into disrepair and is faced with a few financial and political woes.

Weeki Wachee is a theater built into a natural spring-allowing the audience to walk into an underwater world without getting wet. With today's environmental laws, there will probably never be another place like it in the U.S. Clad in their iridescent Lycra tails, the mermaids perform choreographed routines and stories and are sometimes joined by fish, turtles, and manatees-creatures that some say inspired the original mermaid legends.
4. A Naked Vacation


 
A fun-but-unscientific poll found out that more Americans are open to the idea of naked vacations, a.k.a. nakations. The poll found that 48 percent of Americans would be willing to bare it all at a nude beach. That's up from 31 percent last year. Why the increased interest in nakations? Are Americans' attitudes about nudity loosening up? Or are travelers simply looking to travel light - so they can avoid the hefty baggage fees now imposed by many airlines?

All you'll need for the week (sunscreen, cap, sunglasses, shoes and toiletries) can fit in a small carry-on that will fit under the seat, avoiding even carry-on bag fees. But saving money on baggage is one thing. But what about the risk of sunburn "down there?" It's a real concern, experts say. In other words, slather it on if you take it all off.
5. A Vacation Where You Can Swim With Pigs

 
Swimming with dolphins? You can go one better! Visit the paddling porcines in Big Major Cay and jump in for a dip if you're brave enough. They won't bite---well, as long as you don't whisper "BLT" within earshot.
6. A Vacation In A Little People Themed Park
 If you've hit up all the SeaWorlds and Wisconsin Dells of the globe, why not take a trip to a make-believe town populated by little people? According to TEA, Asia has the fastest-growing theme-park market-with 77.6 million visitors for Asia's top 15 parks alone. One of the region's biggest recent openings was the 2009 blockbuster debut of Dwarf Empire, a hilltop park in southern China devoted to-and almost entirely staffed by-people under four feet tall. The park also gained worldwide media coverage for employing many of the country's height-challenged, who traditionally have had a hard time finding work. Thanks to the park, many of China's dwarves are now gainfully employed as everything from janitors to crown-wearing empresses.

7. A Trip to Afghanistan

Although it is not considered safe for tourists at the moment, many look forward to being able to visit Afghanistan in the near future. Why? Take a look at some of the remarkable places you would be able to visit and decide for yourself. Would you take a vacation to Afghanistan? Tthe City of Screams, the Minarets of Ghazni, the Blue Mosque – these are just some of the incredible sites of Afghanistan. Astonishing lakes, ancient destroyed cities and breathtaking landscapes may persuade you to think a little differently about this war torn but still spectacular country.

8. A Ghost Tour


While Halloween brings to mind ghosts and goblins, did you know that many ghostly tours are available throughout the year? Florida offers a collection of tours and excursions guaranteed to scare up the need to plan a day trip or weekend getaway. As entertaining as they are informative, ghost tours explore paranormal phenomenon that may have you believing... or not
9. An Underwater Vacation


Talk about an extreme vacation! An Australian adventurer spent two weeks living underwater, riding a bike to generate electricity and using algae to produce oxygen! Breathing air provided by algae soaked in his own urine, "aquanaut" Lloyd Godson spent 12 days living in a yellow steel capsule submerged in a flooded gravel pit.

The 29-year-old's claustrophobic ordeal was intended to shed light on the practical and psychological challenges of living in an alien environment. His temporary home, a 10ft long box, was billed as "the world's first self-sufficient, self-sustaining underwater habitat." Back on dry land, and toasting the success of the experiment with champagne, he admitted to suffering cabin fever.

18 Amazing Building Wonders from Construction World

Not all buildings are the same and some are pretty darn unique. Construction and architecture have risen to a new level altogether with great minds working vigorously towards building a world with breathtaking structures that were a far cry from even imagining forget seeing them for real. The following 18 images are of amazing engineering wonders found across the globe.  Which one is your favorite?

18. Dubai Rotating Towers




Dubai has garnered much attention in recent years with a never-ending supply of architectural wonders being built, or proposed, at a head spinning pace. Mostly these towering structures are grand and tall, but some are also green
An ambitious project by David Fisher’s firm Dynamic Architecture looks set to be yet another new addition to Dubai’s skyline.
The building’s 59 floors will be capable of rotating about a central axis, their continuous motion allowing residents in the tower’s 200 apartments to choose a new view at the touch of a button.
The form of the building would constantly change as each floor rotates separately giving a new view of the building as it turns.
The new tower is the first building of its size to produced in a factory. Each floor, made up of 12 individual units, complete with plumbing, electric connections, air conditioning, etc., will be fabricated in a factory. These modular units will be fitted on the concrete core or spine of the building at the central tower.
The 59-floor building will be powered entirely by sun and wind energy. And, the architect claims that the building will generate 10 times more energy than required to power it, thus making it a positive energy building. Solar panels will be fitted on the roof to harness sunlight, and a total of 48 wind turbines will be sandwiched between the rotating floors, placed so that they are practically invisible.


17. Regatta Hotel Jakarta



Taking the form of ten apartment towers, a five-star hotel and an Aqua Park in a complex spawning over 11 hectares of reclaimed land, the Regatta project is certainly one of the best structures you will come across. Regatta’s development follows a nautical theme, the centrepiece of which being an aerodynamically shaped hotel bound to be one of the most striking landscape features overlooking the Java Sea. I would kill to live in some place like the Regatta, with sea as your backyard an a spellbinding view.





The Chicago spire stands tall at no.3 and literally so as it is touted as one of the most significant residential developments in the world and also the tallest. A simple inspiration and a great result that is there for everyone to see by the year 2010. It is inspired by nature and its complexities and beauty. This 609m structure will dominate the Chicago skyline and our hearts too.


15. Chicago Spire



The Chicago spire stands tall at no.3 and literally so as it is touted as one of the most significant residential developments in the world and also the tallest. A simple inspiration and a great result that is there for everyone to see by the year 2010. It is inspired by nature and its complexities and beauty. This 609m structure will dominate the Chicago skyline and our hearts too.


14. Singapore Green Building


A new green complex from world renowned architecture firm Foster + Partners will be adding more than a dash of green to the Singapore skyline. As sustainability becomes an essential ingredient to development in this island nation, the UK-based firm is leaving no stone unturned to make good use of alternative energy sources in this 150,000 square meter mixed-use project. As the winning design from an international competition, Singapore’s new eco-complex from Foster + Partners is pushing the green envelope from top to bottom in this sophisticated downtown design.
The complex will fill an entire city block between Singapore’s Marina Center and the Civic District with commercial, residential, retail, hotels, and a ‘green’ link to an Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. All facades will be fitted with solar cells and, to help control solar gain, direct sunlight will be filtered through ribbon-like canopies rising from the base of the entire complex to the exposed east and west elevations of the towers.
The canopies will form vertical louvers at the elevations and provide more renewable on-site energy with integrated thin-film solar arrays. Vertical green spaces, and extensive sky gardens are also important components of the towers, further greening the whole structure with natural vegetation and ambient temperature moderation.
The slanted facades are designed to catch the wind and direct it downwards for natural cooling of the ground floor spaces. A rainwater harvesting system, geothermal heating system, chilled beams and ceilings, and an ice storage system for cooling are further enhancements planned for the complex.


13. River Gym




The River Gym will fulfill one of the major contemporary fitness goals of “functional training”. This training protocol will exploit the inherent disequilibrium of floatation devices. Often the average urbanite exercising at the gym performs controlled repetitive single plane movements using industrial fitness equipment. All of this energy is summarily dissipated and ultimately exhausted for the sake of a single individual’s wellbeing. Other potentials exist to harness this vast human expenditure of caloric energy. Why not have the simple transfer of this workout vigor supply New York with needed supplemental transport and amenities? How can we extend and capitalize on this untapped group potential? Into what form will this new kind of gym evolve?


12. Bio Marine Inspired

Malaysia is all set to get another iconic structure that will surely become one of the landmarks of the country when it gets done. Green architecture and green building has taken a new meaning in the last couple of years with green features looking more stylish than the regular ones. This can only be good news for those who have been trying to give green architecture a mighty big push forward. Yesterday we came to know that the already green Reichstag building is set to become the greenest parliament in the world. Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur is not too far behind in the green race though.
Two of the tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, are located in Kuala Lumpur. So it comes as no surprise to us that a stunning new residential development is planned for the Putrajaya waterfront known as Precinct 4, just 30km south of Kuala Lumpur. The design is special with green features and amazing architectural splendor inspired by marine life. It also draws from traditional Islamic designs and is arranged in a permeable, radiating block of bioclimatic architecture.


11. Moscow Crystal Island



Moscow’s rapidly growing skyline will soon feature an eye-popping new addition: Crystal Island, which will be the world’s biggest building when completed. Sir Norman Foster’s mountainous 27 million square feet spiraling “city within a building” will cost $4 billion and it is scheduled to be built within next 5 years.

The Crystal Island will be Lord Foster’s second large scale project in the Russian capital, and his third new building design that resembles a volcano (we’re talking about his two mountainous buildings in Astana, Kazakstan). Although many people are calling this design the ‘Christmas Tree’ of Moscow – we can’t help but be reminded of the utopian and also rather volcanic X-Seed 4000 design for Tokyo. Unlike that pipe-dream project, however, Foster has a track record of getting buildings built, so the likelihood is high that we will see this striking structure towering over the Kremlin within 5 years time.


10. Millennium Dome




The Millennium Dome, often referred to simply as The Dome, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. Located on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East London, England, the exhibition opened to the public on 1 January 2000 and ran until 31 December 2000. The project and exhibition was the subject of considerable political controversy as it failed to attract the number of visitors anticipated, leading to recurring financial problems.
While all of the original exhibition and associated complex has since been demolished, the canopy or shell of the dome still exists, and it is now a key exterior feature of the The O2 entertainment district.


9. Crooked House



8. Book Themed Building



7 Spiky Tower




6 Grocery Basket Building



5.Honeycomb Building



4.Rabbit Building

3.Burj Al Khalifa



Burj Khalifa (Arabic: ??? ?????? “Khalifa Tower”),known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft).
Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010. The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Burj Khalifa at the “First Interchange” along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai’s main business district.
The tower’s architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who started his own firm in 2006, was the chief architect, and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project. The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting, is jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa.
The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new “Downtown Dubai”, US$20 billion. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2).


2. Shanghai World Finance

The Shanghai World Financial Center was planned to be the tallest building in the world when it was designed in 1997. The 97 Story building would surpass the spires of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. When Construction was restarted in 2003, the 508 Meter Taipei 101 in Taiwan was already underway to becoming the World’s Tallest Building. Plans where changed but the Tower couldn’t be built any higher than its present height at 492 meters since the already done foundation was meant to support a 460 meter tall building.
The structure features 3 floors of underground parking, shops and a conference center on floors 1 through 5, offices on floors 7 through 77, a hotel located on floors 79 through 93, and finally observation and exhibition areas on floors 94 through 100.
To protect the building from fierce winds, the Shanghai World Financial Center holds two tuned mass dampers below its observation floors to reduce the building’s sway during windstorms and earthquakes.
After the events of September 11th, 2001, the building was redesigned to withstand a disaster such as a plane crash including 12 fireproof refugee areas, and two external elevators.

1.Beijing Olympic Stadium

Sports stadiums have long followed the enduring design of one of the original wonders of the world, Rome ’s Coliseum. Herzog & de Meuron’s National Stadium in Beijing is an attempt to rethink the classic sports-arena layout for more ecologically correct times.

The Swiss architects (of Tate Modern fame) wanted to provide natural ventilation for the 91,000-seat structure — perhaps the largest “eco-friendly” sports stadium designed to date. To achieve this, they set out to create a building that could function without a strictly enclosed shell, yet also provide constant shelter for the audience and athletes alike.

To solve these design problems, they looked to nature for inspiration. The stadium’s outer grid resembles a bird’s nest constructed of delicately placed branches and twigs. Each discrete space within the facility, from restrooms to restaurants, is constructed as an independent unit within the outer lattice — making it possible to encase the entire complex with an open grid that allows for natural air circulation. The architects also incorporated a layer of translucent membrane to fill any gaps in the lacy exterior.


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