Dutch Village With No Roads

Can you imagine a village with no roads? There is such a place in the Netherlands called Giethoorn (pronounced 'geethorn'). There are no roads and cars have to remain outside the village. The only access to the stunningly lovely houses in Giethoorn is by water, or on foot over tiny individual wooden bridges.

Giethoorn is located about 5km southwest of Steenwijck in Holland and became famous - especially after the 1958 Dutch film "Fanfare", made by Bert Haanstra, was set there. Giethoorn is now an internationally known tourist attraction in the Netherlands. 

Giethoorn is called the Venice of the Netherlands because about 7.5km of canals run through the little village. Some 50 little wooden bridges span the canals. It was founded in around 1230 and originally called Geytenhorn, which over time has become Giethoorn.

All traffic has to go over the water, and it is done in so-called “punters”, called ‘whisper-boats’ as they are driven by an electric motor, so they barely disturb the peace and quiet in this scenic little village.

The canals are only about 1m deep and were dug out to transport peat, the digging of which resulted in many ponds and shallow lakes, called ‘Wieden’. Many houses have been built on islands and are only reachable over wooden bridges.

Most houses have thatched roofs, the marshy areas providing a lot of reed. In former days only rich people had tiled roofs, for tiles were much more expensive than reed, but now it’s the other way round. Having a thatched roof costs a lot more money than having it covered with tiles. 

The unique look of this village of 2,620 people has to do with early peat mining in the area. Little did they know that what they built out of necessity would eventually become a world renowned tourist destination. This is a very picturesque place to visit, harking back to an earlier time in history when everything was done at a much more gentle pace. Just soaking up the peaceful atmosphere is therapeutic. You really should pay the place a visit.

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16-Year-Old Daydreamer's Surreal Escape

Belgium-based photographer Ian Komac captures and creates surreal scenes both in nature and indoors. The 17-year-old photo enthusiast has been honing his craft from a young age, continually growing his skill set in photography and photo manipulation. Following the completion of his final school exams this year, the young photographer has just embarked on a 60 Days of Summer project.

Just shy of 20 days into his creative photo project, Komac has diligently been shooting and uploading images to both his Flickrand Facebook accounts. His most ambitious additions have made great use of props. The photos invite viewers to get lost in his magical land where hot water dances out of a tea kettle and lands perfectly into a cup and a giant rotary phone leisurely sits in a forest.

Aqua Lagoons Amid Brazil Sand Dunes

What a surreal sight! If you ever travel to Brazil make sure to visit Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, especially between the months of January and May. The rainy season, it's during that time that Brazil's white sand dunes, which are spread across 570-square-miles, transform into an amazing natural phenomenon. Fresh water collects in the valleys between the sand dunes, creating thousands of aqua-colored lagoons. Interestingly, you'll also find a fair amount of fish in those waters! It's said that fish eggs are carried to the lagoons on the legs and feathers of birds.

About 60,000 people visit the incredible destination each year. To protect it, most vehicles are not permitted access into the national park. It can only be visited with a guide or as part of an excursion. So plan ahead!

Ugliest Animals in the world

Not every animal is as cuddly as a giant panda or as extravagant as a peacock, but every animal has its role to play and every organism is important. We have a selection of 8 ugliest animals on the planet for you.

Oyster toadfish or Fish-frog:

A small and very unattractive fish-frog lives in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Outwardly resembles a fish-drop, only a little less sad and optimistic.

Purple frog:

Purple frog was discovered by scientists in 2003. This species is a living fossil, it lives in the Western Ghats. Its habitat, a tiny area of ​​14 square kilometers. The closest relatives of this brown lump of mucus lives thousands of miles to the west – in the Seychelles. This frog leads a reclusive life, eats termites and comes to the surface a few times a year, only to mate.

Goblin shark:

Another inhabitant of the oceans that’s extremely unattractive. The shark got it’s name because of its nose and mouth with a retractable thin crooked teeth. 

This shark is extremely aggressive, and will eat just about everything that moves.

Blobfish:

When God created all living things, and saw that “it is good”, he just did not notice the Blobfish. This creature has the sadness that no comedian can wash off. Blobfish lives off the coast of Australia, at a depth of about one kilometer, it is under threat of extinction.

European anglerfish or monkfish:

This deep-sea animal, can live at depths of up to half a kilometer, and is edible, especially in France. It has a dense white meat without bones, that’s very popular in restaurants. This fish is yet to work out a plan to hide from humans, so they are easily caught, right now their numbers are declining rapidly.

Platypus:

Beaver, duck bill and poisonous spurs on their hind legs – what could be worse. Platypus is one of the few venomous mammals, who can seriously injure their abusers just by touching them. Platypus venom is deadly to small animals and can cause huge and unbearable pain that can last for several months to humans. However, this animal is loved by Australians, they even got it’s face on a 20 pence coin.

Aye-aye:

It has an elongated body with slender legs, which clings to the branches of trees. Such unpleasant appearance can not explain very beautiful hair that puffs up on the head. On the other hand, the Aye-aye has some enchanting charm and charisma. Even though he is not handsome, his middle finger will out rank any human who wants to give you a f*ck.

Naked mole rat:

Curious feature of excavators is their immunity to cancer and insensitivity to certain types of physical effects: they did not respond to thermal and chemical burns, can live at prohibitively high concentration of carbon dioxide. Naked mole rats have a strict internal hierarchy between individuals and complex social systems. With this organization, and stamina it is not surprising that naked mole rats can live up to thirty years.

Strangest Museums Around the World

When we think of museums we often have a generic image of grandiose institutions containing artifacts from hundreds, thousands and millions of years ago. They are usually a favorite haunt for school trips and tourists excursions providing educational and inspiring insights to our past. Well forget that. Much more interesting are the museums on the fringes of society, catering to the weird and wonderful tastes in life. So ready on and puzzle yourself with six of the oddest attractions on the face of the planet.

Dog Collar Museum, Kent, England:

Yes they have a museum for these. Based in Leeds Castle, Kent, the collection covers canine collars spanning 500 years to the present age. Hardly the most exciting of exhibits, this is one for people with nothing much going on in their lives.

The Museum of Death, San Diego, US:

If you feel like you need more fun in your life, where better to visit than this wonderful building in San Diego. It’s the number one place to view real life murder weapons and various displays of body bags and coffins for your viewing pleasure. Make sure you catch the morgue pictures from the Black Dahlia murders. Fun for all the family!

The Iceland Phallological Museum, Iceland:

This one might not be for everyone as it’s quite literally full of d*cks! This museum is the only one in the world dedicated to penises from one country. You couldn’t make this stuff up. The exhibitions cover all manner of willies ranging from mice and shrew right up to the impressive member of a blue whale. This place is truly unique and it even has a penis shaped entrance sign. What are you waiting for?

Currywurst Museum, Berlin:

On a similar theme to the one above, the Germans have decided to pay homage to their love of the sausage by dedicating a whole museum to it. Focusing mainly on the “Currywurst” variety, visitors are greeted with various sights and smells of all things sausage. There is even the opportunity to mock up behind a sausage stand and feel what it’s like to be a sausage seller. Exciting stuff!

Leila’s Hair Museum, Missouri:

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder, up pops this interesting little place in Missouri. Owned by a former hairdresser, this museum is the place where you can observe a variety of things made from hair. Handbags, bracelets and even wreaths have all been given a hair make over. In all there are over 2000 examples of antique art made from human hair. We can’t help feeling that the place has a bit of a Norman Bates vibe going on.

The Mütter Museum, Philadelphia, US:

Finishing off our roundup of strange museums, we have the Mütter Museum. Now this is a place where you are actually encouraged to stop and stare at other humans. These humans are dead though and here you can bask in the delights of corpses that have turned into soap and peruse over two thousand objects removed from the mouths of various different people over the years. You will even have the pleasure of seeing the cancerous growth of President Grover Cleveland as part of the wonderful display before you head out to lunch!