Takabisha - The World's Steepest Roller Coaster

-with a drop angle of 121º mid-way through

Here is a POV video from the front row:

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Takabisha's Wikipedia page..

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World's Largest Rope Swing

Source / Via - Thanks Carlton!

The World's Largest Emerald

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Here's more info about the emerald, including a great article, and more pictures..

50 of the World's Best Breakfasts

The famous American breakfast - home made thick pancakes with syrup and blueberries, topped off with a few rashers of bacon. Anyone not wishing for a coronary usually opts for a bowl of muesli, so I’m told. Pancakes all the way for me!

I love to eat breakfast, it’s the best meal of the day as far as I’m concerned. Pancakes, cereal, brunch, eggs, healthy breakfasts, greasy breakfasts, I’m not fussy. My only trouble is what to choose.

Here are some of the best of the best from around the world:

An Egyptian Breakfast
The breakfast of choice here is Foul Madammas. It’s made from fava beans, chickpeas, garlic and lemon. Above you’ll see the dish topped with olive oil, cayenne, tahini sauce, a hard boiled egg, and some diced green veggies.



Breakfast in Colombia
There are a variety of regional staples to keep your stomach grumbles at bay throughout the day. In Cundinamarca this changua dish is very popular. It’s made from milk, scallions and cheese.




Breakfast in Mexico
The delightful plate above consists of beef tips, chilaquiles and other assorted goodies eaten in Manzanillo. Nachos, cheese and beans always feature heavily and a delicious, spicy breakfast is the norm.




A Canadian breakfast
That eggy looking section is actually perogies. Perogies are boiled, baked or fried dumplings made from unleavened dough and traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit. Then you’ve got some sausages and toast to mop it all up.


Icelandic Breakfast Cuisine
A hearty and hot breakfast to fight off the dark, icy mornings is what’s needed here. Hafragrautur, or oatmeal, is served with a sprinkle of brown sugar with a few raisins or nuts on top, perfect.




Click here to continue to the rest of the list!

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Population Seven Billion

Motorists crowd at a junction during rush hour in Taipei, on October 29, 2009. There are more than 8.8 million motorcycles and 4.8 million cars on Taiwan's roads and nearly all motor vehicles and inhabitants are squeezed into a third of the island's area. (Reuters/Nicky Loh)(Source)

The United Nations Population Fund estimates that on October 31, 2011, the world's population will reach 7 billion. Just 200 years ago, there were only 1 billion people on the planet, and over the next 150 years, that number grew to 3 billion. But in the past 50 years, the global population has more than doubled, and the UN projects that it could possibly grow to 15 billion by the year 2100. As the international organization points out, this increasing rate of change brings with it enormous challenges. Meeting the basic needs of so many will mean growing, shipping, and distributing more food while providing more clean water, health care, and shelter -- all without inflicting too much further damage on our environment. (Source)


People gather to get water from a huge well in the village of Natwarghad in the western Indian state of Gujarat on June 1, 2003. (Reuters/Amit Dave)Source

Much of [this] growth has happened in Asia — in India and China. Those two countries have been among the world's most populous for centuries. But a demographic shift is taking place as the countries have modernized and lowered their fertility rates. Now, the biggest growth is taking place in sub-Saharan Africa.

Due in part to that region's extreme poverty, infant mortality rates are high and access to family planning is low. The result is high birth rates and a booming population of 900 million — a number that could triple by the end of the century. Population expert Joel Cohen points out that, in 1950, there were nearly three times as many Europeans as sub-Saharan Africans. If U.N. estimates are correct, there will be nearly five sub-Saharan Africans for every European by 2100. (Source)

Here is a super video explanation:

Source

Click here to see 42 images from The Atlantic Dot Com's article "Population Seven Billion"

Even more here at Boston Dot Com's The Big Picture..

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Makes Sense

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The World's Greatest Drag Race

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Parachuting In The World's Biggest Cave

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World's Longest Sea Bridge Opened In China

The world's longest bridge over sea water has opened in opened to general traffic on in China's eastern coastal city of Qingdao. Jiaozhou Bay is located on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula in East China. It separates Huangdao District from Qingdao City and borders on two other cities, Jiaozhou and Jiaonan. The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, with a total length of 42.4 kilometres would easily cross the English Channel and is almost three miles longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the American state of Louisiana. Built in just four years at a cost of 55.5 billion pounds, the sheer scale of the bridge reveals the advances made by Chinese engineers in recent years.

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How About The World's Biggest Game Of PacMan

Tons of user-submitted screens - No way you could ever, ever possibly ever finish them all. Click the image above to go play!

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The World's Smallest Political Quiz

Click the image above to take the quiz!

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Jay Cutler - Not The World's Most Interesting Man

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...but still pretty funny.

More of these here..

The World's Newest Natural Wonders

The Northern Lights                                                                                                                   Source

Each year, the United Nations unveils a list of the world's most stunning natural attractions, called World Heritage sites, and chances are, you've never heard of them—Papahanaumokuakea, anyone? The designation shines the spotlight on a handful of hidden gems, while also protecting them from man.

Over the past 28 years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has identified more than 180 of these natural wonders across 77 countries. These "World Heritage Sites" are deemed "unique, irreplaceable, and authentic." The esteemed club includes the likes of the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, and Victoria Falls among other iconic sites. (Manmade landmarks, such as Rome's Colosseum, are counted separately.)

This summer, the UN agency added some particularly picturesque landscapes to its list.

China - China Danxia
The region known as China Danxia spans six subtropical areas approximately 310 miles southwest of Xi'an, home of the terra-cotta warriors. Red sandstone pillars, ravines, and other fantastical shapes recall Mars more than they do southwestern China.


Hawaii - Papahanaumokuakea
Preposterously clear lagoons and extensive coral reefs protect rare marine life around this set of tiny islands and atolls in northwestern Hawaii (reachable only by chartered plane). Ghost alert! As native tradition has it, spirits return to this area after death.


Russia - Putoransky State Nature Reserve
This nature reserve is situated more than 62 miles north of the Arctic Circle in northern Central Siberia, and is a vital migration route for reindeer crossing its tundra and rivers. the Putoransky State Nature Reserve is technically a desert because it rains and snows so little here, though snowfall does tend to linger owing to the icy temperatures.

Continue to the rest of the list..

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The World's Funniest Signs

A Yahoo! Travel & Leisure article by Joshua Pramis.


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We asked T+L members to submit their funniest signs for our photo contest — here are the best of the bunch.

Snapping pictures of funny signs seen while traveling is a favorite pastime for many travelers. We’ve all come across these gems: a miswritten translation; an unusual warning; or an illustration that just doesn’t seem right. It might be an official highway sign or something written on a shop awning. All are perfect for adding to your travel photo portfolio and sharing with friends. And oftentimes, photographic evidence of such a sign not only makes for a great souvenir, but also serves as proof for doubtful folks back home. (Click images to enlarge!)

Don’t Drive Your Car off a Cliff!

It seems that this is a real possibility around Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula. After all, authorities put up a warning sign, picturing a car flying headfirst into the sea. And that sign, juxtaposed against an actual cliff in the background, makes for a great travel photo. Fortunately, a T+L member took a picture of it and submitted it to our Funny Signs photo contest.


Some of these signs aren’t just funny, but absurd — like one next to the water in Mystic, CT, saying that throwing rocks will cost you 50 cents each. What’s funnier? That they charge for throwing rocks? Or that they trust you to ’fess up?




Other signs are just plain confusing. We’re all familiar with building maps — like at a large mall, for example — with a big star pointing out where exactly you are. But imagine seeing one — as one of our members did in Beijing — with a bunch of points all over the map, each clearly labeled: “You are here.”

Confusing? Yep. And while this useless map was probably a cause of frustration at the time, it becomes a priceless souvenir when it’s added to the digital photo album.

Here are a few more:



















And you can see the rest of them here..

By the way, they're leaving it up to us to decide who the winner will be, so go vote!

I Guess I'll Just Jump Through This Window

I just saw this on TV, and had to find it to post here. It's bad enough that this idiot didn't realize that these types of facilities tend to have a better pane of glass than just your average window. But by fleeing a courtroom in an attempt to escape, not only does he increase his crime from obstructing justice to felony evasion, his bail was increased from $50-some-odd thousand to $1.5 million!

And then there's the really funny part: How many cops are needed for a call of this nature, anyway??? Looks like a damn clown car full of police officers pulled up! Yeah I ripped that last quote from the World's Dumbest Criminals show that it was on, but hey.. that was funny.

World's Largest Skateboard

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World's Largest Meatball

Chef Matthew Mitnitsky cheers after his meatball weighed in, breaking the world record for the largest meatball, in Concord, N.H., Sunday, Nov. 1,2009. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

More record-setters here at the Big Picture, including 1,800 Santas, 15,000 Thriller dancers, and the world's largest mug of hot chocolate.

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World's 1st 100% Solar-Powered Stadium

The world's first completely solar-powered stadium, located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is set to be completed in time for July's World Games. The massive stadium has a 14,155 square meter roof area--every inch of which is covered in solar panels. When completed, the stadium's 8,844 solar panels are expected to produce 1.14GWh of electricity each year. That's enough to power the structure's 3,300 lights, two huge TV screens, and maybe even sell extra electricity back to the grid.

Architect Toyo Ito designed the stadium with Feng Shui in mind, which is why the steel structure resembles a horseshoe. The structure's layout ensures that fans are in the shade for most of the day,and ample open space is available on both sides of the stadium for park land.

Ito's stadium has been called "a wake-up call to Western architects", but stadiums in the U.S. are becoming increasingly energy efficient. The Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, became the first NBA and NHL arenas to receive LEED certification last month thanks to an array of initiatives, including energy-efficient underground parking, water-conserving toilets, and carpeting made from recycled materials. American Airlines Arena expects to shave $500,000 off its yearly utility bills as a result of its conservation measures. Any guesses as to how much cash Taiwan's stadium will save once the cost of the panels is paid off? (Via)

More images:







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...and a cool little videoclip:


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Click here for more info..

The World's Safest Table Saw

This one's for you, Dad!



More info at Sawstop.com

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The World's Biggest Subwoofer

Royal Device has on its own developed and built in Italy the biggest subwoofer of the world for an Audio/Video room that can be also considered as the greatest AUDIO ROOM for private music listening of the world. The Royal Device audio room belongs to Roberto - the audio designer who made it.

The audio reproduction is focused on the speakers output capability more than electric power output of the amplifiers with no need of KWatts power supply lines, releasing more than 110 dB/1W/1 meter sensitivity starting from below 10 Hz focused on the listening position.





See the rest HERE