The Biggest Secret Rock Concert [pics]

In the third part of our “playable buildings” series, Environmental Graffiti reporter Jammie Nicholas, explores the Great Stalactite Organ of Luray Caverns, Virginia

Deep within the underground labyrinth of the Luray Caverns, Virginia, USA is what is likely to be the world’s largest and awe inspiring musical instrument: The Great Stalactite Organ. The Luray Caverns were discovered on August 13th 1878 by a group of local men who became the first to see the abundant underground cave formations of stalactites, stalagmites and columns.

The Amazing Story of the Gold Accumulating Machine

 
Image by Flickr user Project BS

In 1897 Charles E. Fisher and Prescott Ford Jernegan presented their ‘gold accumulator’ to a crowd of potential investors at Passamaquoddy Bay, Maine. They claimed it could suck particles of the precious metal out of the swirling currents, making untold fortunes - and they were right.

Cheese Sculpture Honors Independence Day

 
Image by Reuters

The French may be known for their love of the most pungent of cheeses and the British for the cheese-rolling antics, but the US claimed bragging rights in the world cheese stakes today when they immortalised the signing of the Declaration of Independence into the food-art hall of fame with a giant cheese sculpture in Times Square, New York.

LSD Could Be In Our Water

A study by Royal College of Art graduate Tuur van Bulen, has revealed that the way people live in behave in each zone of London is reflected in the quality of their tap water. So what can water tell us about the habits of those that live in the capital?

Cute Little Cats Get Made Into Burgers At Peruvian Festival

There are few things in this world that elicit such strong reactions from people as a kitten. In fact, the only thing that could possibly evoke stronger emotions is a multitude of kittens. (My experience strongly suggests that the delight one feels from each kitten multiplies exponentially as each kitten is added to the equation).

Mark Twain’s Amazing Hoax that Deceived the World

Environmental Graffiti reporter Thomas Davie investigates one of the most awesome 19th Century global pranks, by one of America’s greatest literary geniuses

In Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court Hank Morgan watches his medieval companion wallow with pigs she believes to be enchanted nobles and proclaims, “I was ashamed of her, ashamed of the human race.” Twain’s own shame at the human race’s partiality to superstition and pseudoscience was revealed on a much larger scale by his audacious hoax that claimed a petrified man had been discovered in Virginia state - complete with wooden leg and rude gesture.

The Public Hanging of a Circus Elephant

Horror stories of animal abuse in the circus are well-known to us all. The cruel lash of the lion tamer’s whip or the sting of the cattle prod are familiar memories of a bygone era when exotic animals were novelties made to perform for our entertainment. But on September 13th, 1916, more than eighty years ago, the small town of Erwin, Tennesee witnessed an event that as gone down in history as one of the most barbaric acts of animal cruelty ever committed.

The Biggest Wall of Antlers in the World

Do you get freaked out when you see a deer on the top of a car, during hunting season? Well, this museum will surely spook you since it contains the highest number of antlers per square meter than any other place in the world. It’s the Vajdahunyad Castle, located in Budapest, Hungary.

Man Falls Into 30cm Hole

Not the actual hole. Image by J Kriton

When a man dropped his lighter down a hole in a busy street the last thing he expected was spending the next two hours wedged up to his armpits in the pavement.

Some Wasps With Your Wasabi? [pic]

Image by yeinjee

There is certainly nothing novel about eating insects. The ancient Romans dined on larvae reared on flour and wine and Aristotle enjoyed feasting on young Cicadas. Even today bugs are eaten the world over from Nigeria to New Zealand and are an excellent source of nutrition - both cheap and easy to breed. But perhaps (crunch, crunch) the last insect you might expect to see staring back at you from your dinner plate is the wasp: the cause of many a painful childhood memory.

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