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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Architectural Horrors, Part 3


"QUANTUM SHOT" #478
link


When "Oops!" is immortalized in stone

It's not easy to fix an error once it's literally "cast in stone" and turned into an atrocious building, which somehow gets approved by the (obviously drunk) quality inspectors.

Maybe builders just hope that future occupants would not mind seeing these blunders too much (as long as they are non-life-threatening) - but surely, a more sensitive soul just might get really disturbed and go nuts... inside all this architectural chaos:







Forms & Shapes from the Endlessly Creative Minds of (Drunk) Architects:

This cottage is under construction, but already makes a statement: "Smells like a Russian Spirit", it says -



Cottage house that has a dream to be a castle one day... or rather, a nightmare:



This apartment building ended up under the bridge - imagine the living conditions there, noise, vibration, etc...




Ugly!!! Did they model it after a dump truck? -



This road police booth would take off and chase the offending car, just as any flying saucer:



Frankenstein would not live in this.... but Igor might:



In Ukrainian city Truskavetz you can have a beer inside a coffin-shaped bar, called "The Eternity". How appropriate -




The interior decoration is even more mind-boggling. Get your drink - maybe your last one! - and choose your coffin at the same time:





The structure under the balcony here looks like a miniature prison, or dungeon... What horrors are concealed inside? -



Wishful thinking: this sign says "Paradise". Very inviting entryway, isn't it? -



One more about balconies: this guy obviously despaired about his balcony thing, so he put a sign over it: "Balcony For Sale!" -



Any buyers? Not if it looks like this inside:



Is this building falling, or what? -



More support horror stories:



No need for support here:



Structural failure...



This does not look to be too stable:



And this is definitely NOT straight:



What is this? A one-room apartment for a house elf? -



Make more holes for the airconditioner! (improving air intake?)



No trains should enter here -


(image credit: archinect)

All cranes are doomed to fall sooner or later.... luckily no one was killed in this:





These apartments are overpriced. (well, we know these are temporary shacks for construction workers, but it's still funny) -



Stairs should lead somewhere, unless they don't -



Aww, teenie-weenie escalator! -



Hangover got in the way? Complete disconnect:



Washrooms never cease to amaze: some hilarious hybrid of shower stall and toilet, found in Ukraine:



Gotta love this piping masterpiece:




Murals, Embellishments, etc.

This mural is a little bit creepy - all these people staring at you in the windows -



This girl clearly has an extra finger:



A quintessential street art - a classic framed painting hangs over the sewer piping. Must be there for the enjoyment of all the highly-cultured Ukrainian workers:



Steampunk horse sculpture, which is actually quite awesome:



Another interesting sculpture - a tree, plagued by... chairs:



A palace in the clouds... very inspiring:




These guys knows what they're doing

Local Spiderman struts his stuff:



The strength is there, but what about intelligence? (Do we have to ask...)



Image sources: dwg.ru, Novosti po Narodnomu, Idioteka, Exler, EnglishRussia, bsk, Karaul

CONTINUE TO NEXT PART! ->

Check out the rest of "Architectural Horrors" series! ->

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Category: Architecture,Funny Pics


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COMMENTS:

25 Comments:

Blogger brian t said...

About that shower head next to the toilet... I saw this in the toilets at my employer's offices in India. It has to do with Islamic toilet rituals: Muslims are supposed to wash themselves after using a toilet. In more modernized places they now use Bidets.

___  
Anonymous Ryben said...

So...what´s up with the first building?

It´s not specially beatiful but it´s a quite functional building. Not to live there but perfectly OK for an office or small company in an industrial zone.

___  
Anonymous Jon said...

I have a mildly similar (but bigger) washroom in my apartment in South Korea. You can clearly tell that it's a handheld showerhead, so you wouldn't be showering directly over the toilet.

Re "These apartments are overpriced" -- looks more like that's a shack for construction workers. Still a funny juxtaposition though.

And I would drink at that coffin bar for sure.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ryben., the 1st building doesn't have a door... just windows that are 1 foot off the ground

___  
Blogger Eric said...

Hey, Anonymous: Couldn't there be a door or two on the other two walls?
I have to agree with Ryben - more info is called for.

___  
Anonymous Coligny said...

By Japanese standard it's fracking luxurious... Don't believe the dysneyland view they offer... 10 % of buildings are antisysmic and uglier than all of these (except maybe 3 buildings in Tokyo, that you will find on everypostcards)... the rest of the country is made of wood huts...

___  
Blogger SLer2008 said...

@ Coligny.. are you for real?
Idiot.

___  
Anonymous Noodles said...

Ryben - the buildings upside down! Looks like a B.S Johnson job to me...

Also I think I have to call the author on "temporal housing"...unless Dr Who has had a major change of career ;)

___  
Anonymous Andyman said...

The first building just looks unfinished.

___  
Blogger Binkle said...

about building #6... I'd be interested to know where this builing is the "cottage house with dreams of being a castle" If it was in England, it might make sense that it was tall.... looks like there were several building phases and I know at some point the UK had a roof tax to try & tax the wealthy... the larger the roof, the more tax, so it'd make sense to expand your house up with a small roof. Just a thought.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heh. So many russian/ukraininan buildings.

They're architecturally innovative!

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

lol at the third picture. I guess the person on the end wasn't satisfied with the size of the original window. Is that a door behind it???

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oops Sorry 4th picture^^^^^^^

___  
Blogger lontu lõvikutsu said...

This picture with photos of people looking out of windows is from Tartu, Estonia. Its on corner in front of University building. People on photos are locally well known - artists, actors, professors. Building windows on this wall has been closed for very long time, so to make town nicer and to promote good people photos were made there.

___  
Anonymous gestalt said...

I love the hanging Christ-shaped electric post.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

#5 does not say 'smells like a russian spirit'

Its difficult to translate things like spirit and soul because they mean different things in every culture, but a direct, rough translation would be:

here is the russian breath
here is the smell of russia

The word for soul in Russian has the same root as the word for breath.

The building might be a museum dedicated to Russian history or something.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder, what does "tongue-in-cheek" translate into Russian as...

___  
Blogger Jycius said...

Ryben, anonymous, eric, the answer to the question lies in looking -through- those windows. If you would like to work in that building I invite you to do so... but you should be warned that you will be working behind a two-walled structure.

___  
Blogger Eric said...

That it is an incomplete structure is obvious. That does not make it fit the category.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your selection of "Architectural Horrors" is so bourgeois and close-minded... Some of these buildings are actually more interesting from an urban point of view than any exotic titanium mash-up from Frank Gehry.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The weird thing about the mini-escalator photo is that it has stairs leading up to it!

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"That it is an incomplete structure is obvious. That does not make it fit the category."

... what category? Has the blogger made any claims whatsoever about what he planned on showing? I have become so annoyed lately with people complaining about bloggers posting "irrelevant" things on their blogs. They own the blogs! They can post whatever they want! What is someone with your level of seriosity doing looking at a blog like this anyway?

___  
Blogger Eric said...

The category is "architectural Horrors", stated clearly at the header to the post, and beneath it a clear and succinct paragraph stating his intention for the rest of the posting.
Our good webmaster invites responses, to which I've read nothing offensive or insulting here... simply inquiry-oriented... except from you and someone yelping about bourgeois & close-minded westerners - both anonymous.

Chill. Enjoy.

___  
Anonymous Pat said...

Those stairs that lead to nowhere
looks like MC Escher made it

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

coundnt stop loughing at the "a hybrid"....
thanks for the wicked collection!

___  

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  • 'A gentlemen´s duel'... superb !!!!
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  • Google
    Error
    Not Found
    The requested URL /abramsv/SNXj8c6IwxI/AAAAAAAAfY0/b3TGt-btAOcs1600-h/er6turfgjgh.jpg was not found on this server.

    Even Google didn't like the green astroturf Caddy limo.
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    Only of you don't consider the ability to go off road a requirement.
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  • I'd like to see a Ferrari Limo!!!
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  • BATMOBILE LIMO!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/74189386@N00/582645535/
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  • A lot of the limos look like they're from Playboy - which obviously would be completely over the top. The interior design looks pretty much similar only different colors.

    Anyways, can you imagine the gasoline cost on those?
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  • Should have a couple of extras on the Smart Car order sheet;

    Function: Optional
    Form: Not Available
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  • Couple more that might interest you:

    1. Tank Limo (actually a cut'n'shut FV432 troop carrier):

    http://www.tanklimo.com/

    2. BRDM limo - not stretched as such, but certainly pimped-out by the Russian entrepreneur who owns it:

    http://www.englishrussia.com/?p=381
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  • Best one is the Limo Hearse in Dallas,Tx. You can see pics on myspace.com/limohearse . We are actually using their red one for our wedding. :D
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  • Prius Limo:

    http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/non-solar/prius-stretch-limo-achieves-50mpg-and-seats-8/
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  • Maybe gas shortages are actually a good thing. That's all I can think after looking at these. Oh, yeah, and I'm a social worker, and I work every day with the people that our society has decided to throw away and judge as unworthy. There are fewer resources every day to try to help as many people as we can, but if we go down, we'll go down fighting. And meanwhile people are spending money on limos like these... it makes me sick, and it should make any moral human being sick too.
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  • The sooner we run out of oil the better.
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  • Disgusting. Not only are these vulgar monstrosities being built to chug up already over-congested roads and fill the air with ozone-depleting CO2, but some people find them 'great'. Meanwhile, how well do you think they're going to float when the sea-levels are above your window-sill? I am a graphic designer - those who like limos need to question their taste (if applicable) and their ethical values.
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  • What's a "social worker"? Methinks you're an enabler. Just as guilty as the people who build and rent these wasteful monstrosities. But...you're vastly more morally reprehensible.
    Read more

  • The Valley Baptist Church limo -- the rusted out one toward the bottom of the stack -- is an older Checker Airport limo, and they were actually quite functional at the time they were built, being designed to haul large numbers of passengers between hotels and airports. They've pretty much been supplanted by mini-buses and vans now and have gone the way of the classic Checker taxi cab.
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  • the lamborghini limo is a fake, isn't it?

    The 3rd one from top is great! I would make that one my personal playboy limo, of course full of playmates!:D

    By the way, it's a big no-no a playboy limo without playmates!;D
    Read more

  • limousines hire is the best thing ever to happen in the uk. They have become very popular over the years and the limo industry emply many people.
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  • I hired a limo for my prom in birmingham and i was overwhelmed at the amount of extras that were in the limousine including tv screens and dvd players with brilliant lighting. it was brilliant if your looking to get the best limousines go to the link below.

    http://www.hirelimobirmingham.co.uk/
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  • I agree i hired a hummer limousine and it was immense, it had everythign and the size of it was very big. I enjoyed every minute of it and the service was brilliant to.
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  • we hired a limo to go with our rolls royce phantom and the limo was huge. i did not realise how big these cars are.
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  • There's a lovely gullwing limo here in peterborough it's a 300c it's known locally as the baby Bentley. i'll try to get a photo.
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  • The pics of the guy on the skycraper were made by Charles Ebbets circa 1930. You can see many more here:

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/5617915/Charles-C-Ebbets-Photography-Lunch-on-the-skyscraper
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  • I have had the chance of swimming in Pamukale before it was forbidden. There are also man-made pools. The water is dense... The first time I was there I dived... and hurt myself.
    The natural pools are a real dream! Too bad we are so many on this planet!
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  • I can't eat it becaue I hate carrots! =P
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  • There's a pool up at the top of Pamukale where you can dive under Roman columns. It's from a thermal spring, so I was able to swim there last November. Well worth a visit.
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  • As a sad note - Ian Hibell was killed last month in Greece.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4673693.ece
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  • Hello, just to clarify... North and South America are ONE continent, not two.

    Take care!!
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  • er, well actually, not.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continents
    Read more

  • Thanks!! I missed that information!!

    7 continents

    http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/qt/qzcontinents.htm

    Nice work!
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  • About the continents. There are several different views. In the US the 7 continent view is taught. In Latin America the 6 continent view (one American continent) is taught. In Russia and Japan, they teach a 6 continent view, where Europe and Asia are joined.
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  • I'm surprised this article doesn't cover illegal immigrants at all- how do they deal with this patch of jungle? Many illegals immigrants to the US come from South America, so how does this factor into their journies?
    Read more

  • Are there any roads at all which links Panama to Colombia?
    Read more

  • "Are there any roads at all which links Panama to Colombia?"

    Who knows? Perhaps someone should write an article called "Darien Gap: The Most Dangerous (Absence of a) Road", the entire point of which would be to point out that there is no road (at all) between Panama and Columbia.
    Read more

  • @ Anon:

    Most fly to Mexico
    Read more

  • Cool pics! I have a song about this:

    http://www.joshwoodward.com/song/DariénGap
    Read more

  • About continents. In Russia, there are two words for continents. There are 6 "materik"'s including Eurasia and 7 "kontinent"'s where Europe and Asia are separate.
    Read more

  • Traveled to the Darien in 96. Very cool place. Tons of bugs and travel was slow. There isn't to much to see there except the cool bugs, people groups, and the beautiful jungle.
    Read more

  • Helga Pendersohn a Norwegian has done the Darien Gap on a motorcycle his account can be found in his website he also has some great photos from there.
    Read more

  • Does this mean that when at the end of Prison Break Season 3, when that guy DRIVES from Panama to a Colombian city somewhere they were making it up?!

    LOL
    Read more

  • Did you know that Scotland tried to colonise Darien in the 1690s?

    The scheme failed, bankrupted Scotland and indirectly led to the act of union forming the United Kingdom.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_expedition
    Read more

  • Hi: I´m Colombian and I just wanted to clarify something, in the Darien Jungle, lo cated between Colombia and Panamá there are no activities of El Salvador troops, only Colombian army and guerrillas and I guess that the people from Panamá have to have some people there, but from El Salvador?...If they are there they are illegaly i guess.
    Read more

  • A major contributing factor for why there is no road through this area is that the nations of North America want to prevent the spread of hoof and mouth disease, which is endemic in South America. So Darien is, in effect, a quarantine tool. Let's face it, if the US wanted there to be a road through Darien, there would be a road. But since it doesn't, there isn't.
    Read more

  • Been there.

    I was born and raised in Panama. In 1976, I went via private plane into the Darien. We landed on a very scary grass strip. Our objective was to bring medical supplies to a small mission serving the indigenous Choco indians.

    The Choco were thought to be headhunters. I saw shrunken heads hanging from their huts, but that doesn't mean they ate anyone. I don't really know.

    Back then, the Darien dangers were the wildlife and the "headhunters." The road supposedly couldn't be cut back then because of limited technology - the jungle grew over the slow attempts to cut through before any headway could be made. I do suspect the U.S. could cut the road if they really wanted it done, like one of your Anon comments pointed out. We don't have the same presence there anymore, so it's moot now.

    Great post! Thanks for the update.
    Read more

  • if america is one continent
    then afroeurasia is another
    plus oz & antarctica make 4
    Read more

  • It is Helge Pedersen. Helga is a female name. If you search for Helge Pedersen, you will find the information about the Norwegian motorcyclist and his journey.
    Read more

  • been to the end of the road, in 1984, no waves there, as someone said, if USA wanted a road, it would be done
    hoof and mouth i agree is probably the main reason
    I live in El Salvador, since 1994, dom not know whay those guys were in there?
    and for me, Colombians are the finest folks in the world som quite dissing them and you can catch a ferry from Colon tro Barranquilla, or a small steamer from Balboa to Buenaventura, been there 3 times
    just have a smile, be nice and try to speak some spanish the indigenous folks is another story
    otherwise, a very cool post
    see you at Bubba's next year on El Boqueron
    Read more

  • I would love the trek the Darian. Should anyone ever want to do this with another experience harsh jungle and desert environment photographer, please let me know.
    Read more

  • Shaan, I'd say you'll need a full Catachan regiment as an escort to mke it safely. ;)
    Read more

  • My Peace Corps motorcycle instructor, the late great Ed Culberson rode, dragged, and carried his motorcycle through the Darien Gap and became the first person to complete the Pan American Highway on a motorcycle. He wrote a book about his adventure. Obsessions Die Hard
    Read more

  • Thank you Ted, - great tip about the book!
    Read more

  • That unidentified "plant" is a sort of mealy bug.
    Read more

  • Just got back from the Darien a week ago. I had no problems and even made some friends.

    Look:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHMSDCpaInw
    Read more

  • Seems like you had a great trip - great video!
    Read more

  • re popping popcorn with cellphones - see http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2008/06/orville-redenba.html
    Read more

  • Yeah, the popcorn cell phone trick is a fake viral video ad. Old news.
    Read more

  • The Lite Mate looks like one of the bizarre typewriters from Naked Lunch...
    Read more

  • Pretty sure that cat in a SCUBA suit was from an ad for kitty litter.
    Read more

  • Great site- full of very interesting things!! love the posting on "The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth"

    www.fishmix.net
    Read more

  • First!!!
    Read more

  • Wow!!! A very very awesome post here on DRB!!! What about the A380 though? Is it not going to be one of the biggest planes when it becomes more common in service soon??
    Read more

  • Antonov isn't Russian, but an Ukrainian plane. It was constructed during the Soviet Union years, though.
    Read more

  • It should be A-380 in the text now... fixed.
    Read more

  • Great article! Keep it up.

    Grz, Godius
    Read more

  • One you missed- Boeing have butchered a 747 in order to make something capable of carrying 787 fuselage parts- as they can' go hiring an Airbus now, can they? The thing is called the "Large Cargo Freighter" (LCF), and has a huge barrel fuselage starting about where the "bump" should go back down.
    Read more

  • Love the article!

    What was that lockheed nuclear plane called? Where can I read more about the concept?
    Read more

  • and no pic or anything abaot the DO-X
    ??? DORNIER ..was the best!!!
    Read more

  • The powered version of the Me 321 Gigant was designated the Me 323.
    Read more

  • Note that in the Antonov An-225 landing gear picture the first tyre is bald with a little bit of canvas showing through at the base. I guess there are a few other tyres to take the strain when that one blows out ;)
    Read more

  • Yeah, the Antonov was on the Ukranian property at the time of the split and they managed to snatch it.

    Was made by Russians originally for the Buran space shuttle.
    Read more

  • DanG! Did you notice the size of those cannons on the Russian Ka-7? Wow due that thing meant serious business.

    Jiff
    www.anonymize.us.tc
    Read more

  • I wish someone would supersize my Mercury Cougar.

    filthyrichmond.blogspot
    Read more

  • the last picture is a boeing 747, not the a380.
    Read more

  • I was always hoping for a plane that would span 20 floors/levels high, sorta an apartment complex in the air.

    I guess that would have been the next step had zeppelins actually been sustainable.
    Read more

  • Surprised you didn't include the aircraft that the An-225 was based on, the An-124. This is also bigger than the biggest US cargo aircraft, the C-5.

    A few monster-sized planes left out that are also impressive:

    A cargo version of the B-36 was built: the XC-99. Only one was built, and after service as a cargo carrier in the Korean War was put out to pasture. It is currently awaiting restoration at the USAF Museum.

    The Martin Mars, four of which were built in the 1940s for the US Navy, were the largest flying-boats to enter service. Two are still flying, as enormous water-bombers fighting fires in British Columbia.

    Along the same lines, the Saunders-Roe Princess was designed after WWII to fill a perceived need for a luxurious long-distance flying-boat passenger liner. Unfortunately, delays in construction along with the advent of more practical long-range airliners (such as the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, based on the B-29) killed any hope of the Princess going into service.

    The Bristol Brabazon was designed by the same committee that outlined the need for the Princess. This huge prop airliner, around the same size as a 747, was only built to carry about 100 passengers and was deemed economically unfeasible.
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  • The Atlant maybe the only plane able to carry something bigger than itself, but it certainly isn't the only one to carry something heavier than itself. The PAC Cresco has a dry weight of about 1.3 tonnes, but can carry 2 tonnes of cargo off the ground.
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  • The Spruce Goose flew for a mile, not 70 feet. 70 feet is the altitude it reached, not the distance.
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  • The Guppy looks kind of um... hydrocephalic...
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  • The AN-225 was actually on the ground in Philadelphia at the time of the split. It sat around for a couple of weeks waiting for a decision to be made about to where it was going to fly "home."

    Eventually declared a Ukrainian ship, local Ukrainian immigrants helped set up fund raisers for the crew, including tours of the massive beast (I got inside, what a marvelous piece of engineering.)

    I remember they had a Christmas tree set up in a corner of the cavernous hold. They sold souvenirs-Pins and postcards.

    I have a coffee cup that says:
    MRIYA
    Philadelphia-Ukraine
    November 15-17,1991.
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  • Jeremy - great info, will go into Part 2

    Jeff - flight length fixed

    Mriya coffee cup would be something that DRB store would sell :)
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  • The first Ka-7 pic (the one with the cannon) is obviously fake. Impressive aircraft nonetheless, had no idea it existed until I read this article. The Russian aviation museum in the link was also new to me. Thanks!
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  • I recall attending an airshow outside of Boston. To enter the show the crowd walked through a C-5, that's a big plane. Come to think of it, it was the same day a bunch of us were crowded into the tail of a KC135 tanker when a crewman came back and asked us to slowly walk forward so the nose wheel wouldn't slam back down onto the tarmac too hard. Aircraft wheelies! Too cool.
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  • The first Ka-7 picture is not a Ka-7, it's something much bigger, which almost certainly was never built. The ka-7had six, then in later modification, seven engines.
    This monster, in cg image form, not a real photo, has at least ten engines, many more wheels, a vastly larger fuselage...
    I'd be interested, though, to find the original source of that image...
    Oh.. and the truck is not a soviet 1930s truck either... looks more american in origin.
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  • i think the super guppy is kind of cute. some rich guy should turn one into a luxurious flying mansion.
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  • I like all the aero planes, especially the old ones. There is a history covered in these pictures. I also have a great collection of my favorite jet planes and soon I will exhibit them.
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  • Well, if some countries get off their asses and give Beriev some funding, we'll have a new king of the skies - and it'll be amphibious to boot. The Beriev Be-2500 is planned to have a 156m wingspan!! That's almost double the An-225's
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  • In the mid 1970's, I was at an air show in Cleveland. They had a C-5A Galaxy there. To give you an idea of the size of this brute, there were three members of the aircrew standing on top of the horizontal stabilizer, flying a kite!
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  • Good post, but why is it that people always manage to forget that the Wright Brothers WEREN'T the first to manage sustained flight, and that the first was actually Richard Pearse, only a few days earlier, or weeks perhaps, than the Wright Brothers, across the world down in a little place called NEW ZEALAND!!! Just because we're small, it doesn't mean we should be forgotten. The two flights were completely unrelated, btw.
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  • Wowwwww..!! what an impressive collection.

    Thanks for sharing this insightful view of the aviation industry, i always found it very intriguing.
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  • There was another "monster" that is almost an aircraft. It flew, but not very high. Some of the WIG or Wing In Ground effect aircraft were huge. These Ekranoplan types were called the "Caspian Sea Monsters". http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/lun_ekranoplan.pl
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  • Aqui em Portugal, agora usamos expressões para expressar o quão boa uma gaja é, assim: "Olha que avião! Comi-a toda..." ou "É mema boa! É um autêntico 747..." Nesse caso acho que a Beyonce seria um A380 a Ivanka Trump o An-225 e a Lucy Pinder um C-5 Galaxy
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  • Here is the translation of this comment from Portuguese:

    "Here in Portugal, now we use words to express how good it is a girl, thus: "Look at that plane! Ate it all ..." or "It's good MEMA, it is an authentic 747 ..." In this case I think that Beyonce would be an A380 Ivanka Trump to the An-225 Lucy Pinder and a C-5 Galaxy"
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  • Quote:
    Anonymous said...

    i think the super guppy is kind of cute. some rich guy should turn one into a luxurious flying mansion.
    end quote.

    Or a small flying Country! The rich guy would now be the president or king. And secede from his country of origin, and invite others. Just a thought.

    The idea's based loosely on this.
    Give it a Splat!
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  • Awesome picks! These picks are enough to motivate some students to make the career as commercial pilot. Some flight schools also give online pilot training to the students. So, interested students can take the information and training from these sites.
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  • GREAT post. you always post a couple of things I've never seen before.

    Another aircraft I recommend checking out is the 'Tarrant Tabor'. An amazing but disasterous machine

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarrant_Tabor
    http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/bww1/tabor/tabor-3.jpg
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  • Aces up, Avi! Excellent stuff!

    Came across this a while ago -- Saunders-Roe was approached by P&O Lines about a titanic flying boat for the London-Sydney run. SARO began designs for a 1000 passenger airliner with five decks and 24 Rolls-Royce jet engines (!!!!!!!)

    http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread198736/pg1
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  • source of the CG KA-7/K-7 rendering:

    http://www.rusring.net/~levin/k7/k777.htm
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  • The Urban Camouflage is in China, not North Korea.
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  • [...] So very, very cool [...]
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  • >> "Scientists claim that sharks kill
    >> "without ill will... Yeah, right."


    Yeah, right?

    So you would trust your personal emotions, or urban legends, rather than scientific experiments?
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  • That was sarcasm / irony. Scientists are right, of course.
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  • Irony aside you seem to be pushing the usual shark line (just liek all the shark documentary that spout a conservation lien or two but are mostly 'blood in the water' recreations). A passing comment about the plummeting number of most species and the involvement of gratuitous catching and killing as 'trophies' would have been appreciated.

    A shark attack is by defintion "provoked" by something and those of us who grew up in area where sharks can be found know that the 'always hungry, perfect killing machine' blah blah blah line is most just a moral panic. Shark attacks are rare and either freak attacks of someone swimming where locals would have told them not to.

    Sharks are fascinating for reasons other than having teeth. Recent telemetry data from Australiasia show how great whites migrate over previously unsuspected huge distances. So even when we protect them in one area they can still be wiped out in other. perhaps some stories like that might be nice?
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  • Before getting the wrong idea about these noble creatures, I suggest that you all try and get a hold of the following movie called "Sharkwater"
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856008/

    These noble creatures have been around for 400,000 years and are slowly being rendered extinct by Asian companies who set up illegal sharkfin businesses in Costa Rica. All for supposedly aphrodisical purposes.

    In addition, sharks are not the blood thirsty predators that Hollywood has made us think they are. Get this movie, watch it- then see how your views change as to who the real monsters are.
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  • Co Writer-Lauren

    In my original article, the "Yeah right" was not present.

    Just in case me friends at Triond check this out, the article has been changed to fit the guidelines of this website. Thanks for understanding.
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  • Indeed sharks rarely attack people without some kind of provocation, unless their usual behavior have changed because of some ecological accident or poisoning of the big fish.

    You can count the number of shark attacks on your fingers (mostly in Australia I mean, and only with your hand's fingers).
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  • Awesoommee! So awesome. One day I'd like to go to the coast of South Africa so I can watch those bad boys jump into the air catching their "snacks." You outdid yourself with this one. Too cool.
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  • Oh my...I may never get back in the water.

    Kim Buck
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  • Thanks so much for the comments everyone. This was a fun piece to write.
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  • Excellent and impressive!
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  • Great article!
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  • I usually get scared when I go into the ocean. The water, you can't see more then an inch so who knows whats down there. These pictures don't help!
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  • Stunning ... cool ... fantastic
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  • You know, I think I've just gone off snorkeling.
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  • Sharks do have bones in their bodies. Their upper and lower jaws. That Ghost Shark does not not look like a shark, because it has dorsal fin rays. Also, THE coolest things about sharks is that they do not have intestines, they have a spiral valve that is much more orderly than our 26 feet of guts and they have Ampules of Lorenzini. The ampules are able to detect muscle contractions through electrical discharge in the water. Each shark comes equipped with these little detectors for all the other items in the sea that have muscles in them.
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  • Thank you Zav, most enlightening comment... Spiral valve FTW
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  • Very nice article.
    But I'll probably never swim in the ocean again:)
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  • We contact every photographer (wherever the source is known) and obtain permissions from them. If the source is not known, we ask for more info and will take photo down if needed.
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  • As a person who's frequently in the water, I find it very disturbing that people (photographers, tourism operators etc.) are teaching sharks to approach boats to be hand-fed. These creatures are very intelligent - Great Whites can swim thousands of kilometres/miles to arrive at a known feeding spot on the same day each year. So why would anyone with a brain be teaching such creatures to approach boats for a treat? What happens if you’re in the boat, and you have no shark treats?? Seriously, folks, keep your distance from sharks. They are wild creatures, and they don’t need to be close to us. We have a bad record for species extermination.
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  • the first ghost shark photo is actually a Chimaera monstrosa
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  • Great article! I love anything shark-related, and this was some new information for me. Keep writing!
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  • "Mystery Machine -- Good for "UFO", or "Dr. Who" TV series, for sure - but anybody has more info?"

    'Tis science fact:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%A9rotrain
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  • hi all,
    congratulations for this blog (one of my very favourite!

    just a precision about the Oktapodi movie: it's been done by students of the Gobelins' school (Paris)
    which is one of the finest french animation school. you'll find some of their works here : http://www.gobelins.fr/galerie/animation/ at the bottom of the page, there's a link to earlier student's works.
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  • Wow nicoptere - some great animation on this site! Thank you!
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  • interesting post, as usual.
    in scotland we call them 'doocots' a 'doo' being a pigeon.
    one really nice one here, and a few rather less nice urban ones from hidden glasgow
    http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/doocots/index.htm
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  • Your blog is simply amazing.

    In Israel we have quite a few dove columbariums chiseled in stone inside vast underground cave complexes. These caves are assumed to be places of hiding that the Judean rebels built and fortified in preparation for their rebel against the Roman empire:

    http://www.parks.org.il/ParksENG/company_card.php3?CNumber=509499

    BTW, I think that many times the doves were kept not only for their droppings, but also for their meat. A known Palestinian dish is stuffed dove.
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  • In my home town (Cincinnati OH), they brought in pigeons decades ago to get rid of the insects.

    Now they need to get rid of all the pigeons!
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  • In Hungary too you find specific pigeon houses.
    above the gate at the entrance of the land, there is a pigeon house whose size and details reflect the wealth and status of the landowner
    (forgot the name, only been there years ago).
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  • The English Pigeon tower is situated in Rivington near Bolton in Lancashire. It was originally built by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme in the early 1900's. Although the first two floors were used as dovecotes, the top floor was actually a sewing room for Lady Leverhulme.

    William Lever is famous for founding the Lever Brothers soap company which eventually became the huge international conglomerate Unilever.
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  • Thanks for using my picture; I had no idea the post was going to be so interesting. Great read!
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  • I think that the photo labeled:

    And a stunning neo-classical(?) "French Shrine to the Pigeon"

    looks like the museum of Salvador Dali in Firgures, Spain. Great collection!
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  • Dali Museum? Close, but not quite...
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  • Brasilia, Brazil has a pigeon tower designed by Oscar Niemayer

    http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=pombal%20brasilia&w=all&s=int
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  • Here's a temple-style pigeon house I found in Suwon, South Korea.
    http://www.daehanmindecline.com/digital/indecline/20041106hwaseong/72.JPG
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  • I'm from Iran and we didn't use these towers to make them happy! There are some reasons:
    1. To eat their meats and their eggs!
    2. To use their droppings for fertilizer. This could be the main reason, because most of pigeon towers are built near farms and fields.
    3. To have some entertainment! (take care of them as pet and/or to participate them to a flying race!)
    4. And use them as a courier.
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  • There are near 1000! pigeon buildings in Palencia, a province of Spain:

    http://www.castromocho.com/palomares.html

    http://es.geocities.com/mmalmier/pueblos.htm
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  • What a great post! Pigeons so got it good everywhere else. What happened over here, that's what I wanna know?
    Your pal
    Brian Pigeon
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  • What a fantastic collection of photos of pigeon houses. Best I have ever seen. You really help preserve the history of this bird as an essential part of early farming and communication. Thanks!
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