A-maze-ing Laughter is a collection of 14 enormous bronze statues depicting a shirtless guy laughing hysterically. But when the deadline approached, the city didnt want it to go. The Biennale Foundation didnt have the funds. Source:The Globe and Mail/The LA Source/Wikipedia
The fountains in Sanssouci Park were originally designed by Prussian King Frederick the Great in the 1750s. After endless efforts and enormous material consumption, the project was finally abandoned in 1780. The station was built between 1841and 1843. In 1895, the steam engine was replaced by a new, more powerful engine with 160 horsepower. Since 1937, the pump is run by two electrically driven centrifugal pumps. Inside the building a permanent exhibit provides information about the history of the building and the machine....
They grow them on trees. This is achieved by using plastic moulds and through years of pruning, coppicing and grafting. Later, Gavin had to undergo several operations to straighten his spine. That got me thinking about grafting and how things stick together. Why would you grow trees, chop them down with all the faff? Why dont you just grow the shape you want and it is eminently scalable? Growing an individual tree into a complete chair takes anywhere between four to eight years....
Fish wheels for commercial fishing is only allowed in Alaska along the Copper River and the Yukon River. Fish wheel operations on the Columbia were finally banned in 1928, in Oregon, and 1935 in Washington. The baskets scoop fish out of the water without snaring or hooking them, thus keeping them unharmed. Once on the deck, they can be measured, weighed, tagged, and released. Sources:Offbeat Oregon/Laws of Fishing/Oregon Historical Society/Wikipedia
Unfortunately, a conflict arose among the participating sculptors regarding the places assigned on a public square. While the others argued, Mario Irarrazabal quietly took his creation to the beach. Irarrazabal finished his work in just six days. Irarrazabal’s sculpture became an immediate hit earning him worldwide acclaim. It has been photographed by thousands of tourists and has appeared on countless postcards and magazines.
These ponds measure 1.5 square kilometers, and are lined with rubber to keep the salts in. Once the potassium and salts are left behind, they are gathered and sent off for processing. After the water evaporated, the potassium salts crystallized into large beds of potash deposits. These formed about 300 million years ago and today lies about 1,200 meters below the surface. The resulting brine is pumped out of the wells to the surface and fed to the evaporation ponds....
It is this annual flood that makes the land fertile allowing it to be cultivated and civilization to exist. Since the ancient times, the Egyptians depended on the Niles flood and its regular return for their sustenance. But the flood was unpredictable. If the river failed to rise, it caused drought and famine. The Egyptians therefore began measuring the Niles water level to make it predict the harvest. Nilometer on Elephantine Island....
Messam used no glue and no steel reinforcement. The only thing holding up the bridge is sheer compression. The crazy part is you could actually walk over the bridge without it collapsing. Wedges were hammered between each block to compact the structure, before removing the wooden former. The Paper Bridge is a temporary project commissioned by the Lakes Culture tourism organization. Stones used will be redistributed around the area leaving no footprint of the bridges existence....
As news about the fence spread, even more bras started appearing. Photo credit Unfortunately, not everyone was pleased. Over the years, the fence was stripped off the bras on numerous occasions. But the bras returned each time. The first attempt at clearing was made just two months after the first bras were attached. Another attempt was made in October 2000 when a few unknown persons removed some 200 bras from the fence....
Many amphora were re-used to serve as drain pipes or flower pots, for instance. Broken amphorae were pounded into chips and mixed with concrete and widely used as a building material. So they were dumped in landfills. Monte Testaccio was not a haphazard waste dump, but a highly organized and carefully engineered refuse site. Lime was then spread over the broken jars to neutralize the smell of rotting oil. It has been estimated that Rome was importing at least 7....
The site that would become the Mill Ends Park was originally scheduled for a light pole. It was Fagan who started calling the space as the “World’s Smallest Park.” The park was dedicated, two years later, on St. Patrick’s Day in 1948. He told a story about how he looked out the window and spotted a leprechaun digging in the hole. He ran down and grabbed the leprechaun, which meant that he had earned a wish....
In one, a lady appears to have been shot dead on the bed while sleeping. A man lies sprawling on the floor next to her, his night clothes stained with blood. The room is in a disarray. There is blood on the floor and tiny hand prints on the bathroom tiles. More than 70 years later, they are still used by forensic investigators. Frances Glessner Lee was born in Chicago....
New York-based photographerJeffrey Milsteinprovides us this view. Milstein, who is an architect, specializes in photos of planes and infrastructure. He also shot airports while flying above in an helicopter showing us itsmarvelous engineering and complexity. This time around, he has been shooting cruise ships. Theres no door on Milsteins side, which gives him an obstruction-free view and room to maneuver. He has also photographed ships in Fort Lauderdale and Miami for his ongoing project....
