13 Apr 2010

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

Close on two weeks late with this post but still better late than never.
Inspired by APRIL FOOLS DAY I thought I'd bring you these articles that could well have been hoaxes such is their strangeness.
First of all from the animal kingdom.
Hows this for one funny looking bird. Meet Sirocco the KAKAPO (pictured left) - New Zealand's mysterious Parrot of the night" who even has his own FACE BOOK PAGE.
OR
How about these ........ SELF-SHEARING SHEEP? (Pictured right)
Yes you read correctly, there is a new breed of sheep (honest) - the Exlana - being bred here in Devon which loses its wooly coat automatically in the Spring. Much shorter and sparser then that on traditional sheep, the wool begins shredding and is picked up by birds for their nests, or simply composts into the soil.

More interested in architecture? I really thought this was the Guardian newspapers idea of an April Fool's Day hoax it being in the 1st of April edition but no, this has actually been built.
(Pictured below) Unveiled as the artistic centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic Park and officially titled the ARCELORMITTAL ORBIT (but given the nickname Hubble Bubble) this structure, at 400ft high, is taller than BIG BEN (315ft high) and the STATUE OF LIBERTY (152ft high), just short of the GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA (455ft high) and considerably shorter than that to which it is being compared - the EIFFEL TOWER (1,o63ft high). *
Not impressed? How about these other 'funny' buildings? Just click on the relevant link(s) to view.
THE BASKET BUILDING of Newark, Ohio. The headquarters of (what else but?) the Longaberger Basket Company.
In the seaside town of Sopot, Poland, THE CROOKED HOUSE which opened in 2004 and is said to be the most photographed building in the country.
As if a passing giant toppled this nineteenth-century US courthouse over, we have the gateway to Tennessee's WONDERWORKS THEME PARK complete with inverted streetlamps and palm trees.
Built as a water tower for the Thorpeness Holiday Village in Suffolk in the 1920's, the 'HOUSE IN THE CLOUDS' now serves as a highly unusual holiday home.
* All heights being approximates.

16 comments:

chitra said...

That was an intresting read. Liked the basket house but the crooked house and house in the ecloud page didn't open.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Chitra - Having no problems opening the two pages you mention, it is the kakapo page that I can't open.

Kelly said...

Wow! These are all quite interesting! I've seen the crooked house before, but everything else was new to me.

You really find some great stuff!

Still wondering why you'd want that self-shearing sheep, though. I guess if it was a breed kept for meat it could be economical (saving on the expense & time of shearing), but for any other reason... I don't know.

Kissed by an Angel said...

That was really interesting!! Unfortunately I am going to be able to the the Arcelormittal Orbit from my office window!! I work not far from the new Olympic site!!! Wow - I'm totally underwhelmed!
xxxx

Nina said...

Great post and I do adore that sheep. :P

Traci said...

Wow! I love the self-shedding sheep! And how about the basket building? Very cool!

As always, an interesting read.
:-)
Traci

susan s. said...

That is the parrot that was trying to shag the back of someones neck on a Stephen Fry show! It was hilarious. That is why he has a facebook page!

kathryn said...

OHMYGOD. Those houses were FANTASTIC! I'm torn between loving the upside-down house and the wavy, spooky-looking one.

Thanks for sharing!

Oddyoddyo13 said...

That's so weird! This would've been perfect on April Fool's Day-oh well, its fun pretending!

Heather said...

my head now hurts from looking at those buildings and trying to make sense of them. Poland did me in.

Jenners said...

I just love the way that sheep is smiling!

Gina said...

LOL at those stories. Seriously funny lookingn birdie there, yet cute in its own way. The Wonderworks theme park...we're actually getting one of the Wonderworks buildings where they look like a house built upside down on the outside....can't wait to see it in person, should be fun. It should look nice in the vicinity of the Ripley's building that looks like half of the Titanic. ^_^

Alyce said...

I'm still trying to figure out just how to pronounce the real name of the Hubble Bubble thing. I guess that's why they gave it a nickname. :)

Alyce said...

I just had to comment again after going to look at the crooked house. My first thought was to wonder how much that would mess with a drunken tourist's mind (if they didn't know it was supposed to look like that).

TirzahLaughs said...

Self shearing sheep? Interesting.

If they get a self-cooking pig, they'll have my attention.

LOL.

INteresting though. I love quirky stuff like this.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. I love the crooked house - an amazing building, great photos, and it reminds me of home.
I love Pen and Paper too -- light-hearted and fun with enough seriousness stuff to prevent it from appearing trite. Excellent! Well done! I'll be back (you might have heard me say that in my films [or dreams maybe...])