Cooler Beds

1. Book Bed

 

Now you can literally curl up in the pages of a good book! Yusuke Suzuki made this bed with sheets forming the pages and pillows serving as bookmarks.

 

2. Cabriolet Bed

 

Although manufactured in the late 60's, the Cabriolet Bed by designer Joe Colombo holds good in design and technology even today. Probably regarded as ahead of its times, the bed incorporates multifunctional features that is seen in most modern designs as well. Included on the bed head are switches for operating the fan, radio, cigarette lighter and even a phone. The coolest thing about the entire design is that in a jiffy, total privacy can be achieved with minimal fuss. The bed doesn't rely on flimsy curtains of the four-poster style seen used in those days, instead the yellow canopy on top pulls down to completely engulf the bed.

 

Also included in the bed head are small drawers to store nick-knacks or medicines. The backside of the Cabriolet Bed features a mirror. The limited edition bed is not just fancy but functional to match the designs as well as needs of the modern homes.

 

3. Roller Coaster Bed

 

The New Decor is an art exhibition displayed at the Hayward Gallery in London. The exhibit featured 30 artists and is designed to explore “the evolution of interior and exterior environments.” The artists have essentially created provocative installations from everyday household furniture or items, such as this roller coaster-resembling bed by Los Carpinteros. It looks like it would be such a blast to have a slumber party on, or even just to roll around it for a while.

 

4. Millennium Falcon Bed

 

Kayla Kromer, of Hamburger Bed fame, strikes back with this out-of-this-galaxy Millennium Falcon bed, complete with working taillights, smuggling pouches, and a goddamn starfield projector.

 

5. Net Bed

 

File this under cool beds for geeks. Located inside an actual office, this bed was designed to look like a giant net (or spiderweb) overlooking the bottom floor.

 

6. Sofa-Bunk Bed

 

Sure we've all seen convertible sofas that transform into a double bed and even easy chairs that convert to single beds but have you ever seen a couch that can become bunk beds? Now you have with the space saving Doc couch from Resource Furniture. The cover is fully removable for easy cleaning and there is an integrated ladder.

 

7. Bird Nest Bed

 

This giant bird nest was designed by Merav Eitan and Gaston Zahr as part of the Green Garden Exhibition. Looks so inviting, doesn't it?

 

8. Morfeo Sofa Bed

 

This may be the ultimate combination especially for those who love to read in bed. From Domodinamica comes the Morfeo sofa sleeper with some really great curves and a very fun look. It has been compared to a cartoon character but this creature's antennas are very useful reading lights that can be turned off individually, and adjusted to multiple positions.Morfeo can really compliment a modern decor or finish off a guest room. The sleeper is very comfortable making it as useful as it is cool. The Morfeo comes in several colors and it costs around $5500.

 

9. Sandwich Bed

 

This bed can be found at the ‘Happy Days' room at the FantaSuite Hotel in West Bend, Wisconsin. Entitled to tomatoes, lettuce, bacon and cheese, among other ingredients, it is part of the decor theme of the fourth network FantaSuite Hotels.

 

10. Bath Bed

 

I haven't found much information about this bathing bed, but I'm sure it must be the coolest experience ever.

 

11. Beam Bed

 

This Beam Bed is designed to shoot out an array of light beams from under your sleeping surface. It makes your bed resemble a UFO more closely than a comfortable place to rest your head.

 

Designed by Ewan Robertson for Lagostudio, this lacquered wood crafted Beam Bed emits a steady glow from the central base of the frame which is divided into beams thanks to borders set along the bed frame. What results is a beautiful light display which turns your boring bedroom into something that resembles an alien landing deck. The Sun inspired design is both calming and unsettling at the same time. It might take some getting used to, but it's a truly unique way for changing the entire landscape of your bedroom. No information yet on where or when we can see such a product for sale, but we think many of you might be interested.

 

12. Doctor Who 'TARDIS' Bed

 

This may be the coolest bed ever. The "TARDIS" from the massively popular British sci-fi show Doctor Who. It's a time machine disguised as a police box (thanks to all our Doctor Who fans who wrote us pointing that out).

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Most Bizarre Cargo Spills

 1. Tons of Mackerel

 

A truck full of fish overturned and dumped its load into Northern Ireland farmer, Gordon Flinn's, field in January 2012. The tons of mackerel were piled two feet deep in places. The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital, but was not seriously injured and was able to return to the scene. The truck was removed and the road opened later that night, but the Flinns may have to put up with a fishy smell for some time.

 

2. 2,184 cases of Beer

 

Highway 401 in Mississaugua was closed on May 11, 2005 after an accident that spilled 2,184 cases of Grolsch beer. A woman driving a car swerved out of her lane and into the path of a Molson beer truck, causing the truck to roll over and the car to flip. One officer described the scene as "a sea of beer". The woman's life was most likely saved by her seatbelt and airbag. The beer was a goner.

 

NOTE: According to our reader Ken, the accident ocurred in the Netherlands.

 

Below is the article translated by our lovely reader kh:

 

An accident involving two freight trucks has ensured that the N36 between Mariënberg and Hardenberg had to be closed for several hours to all traffic. For over a hundred meters, the wayside (or the road) was littered with broken glass, beer crates and bottles, police said.

 

The reason was two cars collided around one o'clock. One of the trucks was transporting beer and swerved. Despite this, the driver was unharmed. The other driver took off and continued to drive his truck away. He later was stopped in Almelo.

 

The cleanup activities took several hours. The road was reopened to all traffic an hour ago.

 

3. Doughnuts

 

In October 2011, in Illinois, a truck carrying frozen baked goods and bratwurst was involved in an accident, causing its cargo to spill all over I-74. The results were delicious. The accident left 20 tons of food, including chocolate cake, doughnuts and cinnamon rolls, strewn all over the highway. Authorities were forced to close the road for seven-and-a-half hours while crews cleaned up the gooey mess.

 

Two people were reportedly taken to the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening. However, doctors did diagnose them with a case of "full stomach syndrome."

 

4. A Ton of Cocaine

 

We are not talking about the coke we enjoy to quench our thirst. This is the Class A drug. A ton of the stuff ended up on a road in Bogota, Colombia in 2007, after a drug gang's truck overturned. The cocaine was hidden in the walls and roof.

 

5. 29,000 Rubber Ducks

 

They were toys destined only to bob up and down in nothing bigger than a child's bath, but so far they have floated halfway around the world. The armada of 29,000 plastic yellow ducks, blue turtles and green frogs broke free from a cargo ship 15 years ago. Since then they have traveled 17,000 miles, floating over the site where the Titanic sank, landing in Hawaii, and even spending years frozen in an Arctic ice pack.

 

During their voyage, some of the ducks broke away and headed for Europe - others have surfaced in Hawaii. The ducks were among 350 containers which rolled off a ship in high seas; environmentalists are now trying to use their amazing journey to highlight the problem of overboard cargo.

 

6. 40,000 lbs of Ice Cream

 

In December 2011, 18,000 kilograms (40,000 pounds) of ice cream spilled from a semitrailer in the state of Indiana, closing two lanes of an interstate highway. The truck was trying to enter the interstate from a ramp when it tipped, spilling cartons of vanilla, caramel praline crunch, and other flavors of Edy's ice cream, onto the interstate.

 

The spill was expected to take as long as six hours to clean up completely. Oddee's editor would have been glad to help.

 

7. 14 Million Bees

 

Cleanup crews in Idaho had to clean up honey, and an estimated 14 million bees, that got loose after a delivery truck overturned on a highway. Several workers were stung during the first few hours of the cleanup. And some observers told about seeing a strange black cloud and roaring noise above the spill area, before realizing it was a massive swarm of bees.

 

A truck was hauling the bees from California to North Dakota when the driver veered off onto the shoulder, tipping more than 400 hive boxes and honey. Crews worked for two days before removing all the honey from the roadway, although deputies say a significant amount of bees were still buzzing.

 

That's what I call a sticky situation.

 

8. Shoes

 

On January 2, 2009, shortly before 8:00 a.m., thousands of shoes mysteriously appeared on a Miami highway. Who spilled the shoes? Nobody knows. But they disrupted traffic on the Palmetto Expressway for hours. There was no sign of a crash and no one has claimed them.

 

They were a strange mix of shoes... work boots, slippers, sneakers, sandals, even roller blades. A private contractor was hired to pick up the shoes and dump them in an empty field (weird). Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization, was expected to pick them up and distribute them, probably in Haiti. If anyone does come forward they will be charged for the cleanup.

 

The shoes had, what seemed to be, yard sale price tags on them.

 

9. $80,000 of Bull Semen

 

It's not often a huge load of steaming bull semen spills across a highway- but that's exactly what happened when four vats fell from a bus and shut down an American interstate in Nashville, Tennessee. The wayward canisters containing the cattle sperm were first reported to police at five a.m., after motorists driving on the downtown Nashville interstate caught a whiff of a foul odor wafting across their vehicles.

 

A Greyhound bus ticket found near the vats alerted emergency crews as to who was responsible for their transportation, and it's understood the bus carrying the canisters was totally unaware of its lost cargo. Experts in cattle breeding and artificial insemination estimated that the four canisters were worth up to $80,000 US.

 

10. Two million Euros in Coins

 

Cash-grabbing motorists brought a road to a standstill after an Italian lorry carrying Euros overturned and spilled two million of them - in coins. The truck overturned in Foggia, southern Italy, in July 2010, shedding its contents all over the highway and leading motorists to hit the brakes and dig in.

 

Local police said that it was impossible to establish how much money had been stolen, as many of the Euro 1 and Euro 2 coins remained in piles on the highway. But motorists acting quickly before police arrived made off with at least Euro 10,000. The truck's driver and one passenger had suffered minor injuries. The truck was carrying the money from the Italian mint to local banks.

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Amazing Constructions Built on Rooftops

1. Fallen Star (California)

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When it comes to public art, few schools do it as well as the University of California, San Diego. Maybe I'm biased because I went there, but UCSD's Stuart Collection, which dots the entire campus, is seriously top-notch. The latest addition is "Fallen Star" by South Korean artist Do Ho Suh. And yes, it's a house hanging off the edge of a seven-story building.

 

"Fallen Star" took a team of engineers and other experts several years to plan and construct. Suh based the look of the fully furnished house on the architecture he saw in New England. It's even beautifully landscaped. Though the up-tilted floor and seemingly precipitous overhang might deter the faint of heart, it's totally safe.

 

2. Private Temple over residential block (China)

 

A privately-built illegal temple-like structure is seen on the top of a 20-storey residential block in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen August 22, 2013. A police spokesman said that the elaborate temple-like structure is built illegally on the roof. The temple on top of the building in Shenzhen's Nanshan district is believed to have been there for at least three years, local media reported. The temple and the inaccessible rooftop had caused concerns over safety issues among some residents. But despite complaints from neighbours, the temple only came into the spotlight after a wealthy physician in Beijing was given 15 days to tear down his illegal villa and garden built atop a 26-story apartment block.

 

3. Mountain Villa on building rooftop (China)

 

Zhang Biqing, a successful Chinese businessman from Beijing, has spent the last six years building a realistic-looking two-story mountain villa atop a high apartment building right in China's capital city. Zhang Biqing, a former government adviser turned successful entrepreneur, thought when he decided to build his dream mountain villa at the top of a 26-floor apartment building in Beijing's upscale Park View estate.

 

But yhe faux-rock villa complete with trees, patios and karaoke studio will soon be torn down after a demolition order was issued by the city's urban-management department.

 

During the six years it took to complete, residents complained about the infernal construction noise, but after seeing the enormity of the complex covering the entire top of their building, they began to worry about structural damage. The mountain in which Biqing's villa appears to be carved may be fake, but the materials used to make it are reportedly pretty heavy as well, and threaten to weaken the residential building's resistance. It turns out the whole rooftop project is illegal, as Zhang never received the necessary planning permission for his extreme dwelling, yet no one ever bothered him about it until Chinese newspapers recently covered the topic sparking public outrage.

 

4. Rooftop soccer at Shibuya Station (Japan)

 

More than just a destination or a name on the map, each neighborhood in Tokyo functions almost like a self-contain miniature city, with its own business district, shopping arcade, and residential quarter. And generally, huddled in the center of all the hustling and bustling activities is a transportation hub, like Shibuya Station. Exist as part of the Tokyu Department Store, it boasts 8 rail and metro lines, including 3 privately operated railways, the N'EX express train to Narita Airport and a newly built terminal station from famed architect Tadao Ando.

 

Just beyond the maddening horde and the human scramble, however, is a quieter, joyful existent. High above the Shibuya Station, or more accurately right above it, is the adidas FUTSAL PARK.

 

Constructed in 2001 as an introduction to 2002 FIFA World Cup (hosted by Japan and South Korea), the adidas FUTSAL PARK promotes a miniature version of soccer, futsal, on a 14,000 square-foot pitch and commands a breathtaking 270-degree view of Shibuya. Inspired by a former playground on site before the construction of the transportation complex, the FUTSAL PARK hosts nightly tournaments among adults, professional game viewing venues, and J-Frontage, futsal school for toddlers and children. It' s almost a marvel of urban planning, to maximize usage of spaces not generally associated with activities such as futsal.

 

5. Rooftop 'Villas' on top of Shopping Mall (China)

 

Can't find enough space in the big city to build yet another office tower? Here's an idea: Build a complex on top of a shopping mall. That was the answer for the developers of Jiutian International Square, an eight-story shopping mall in the Chinese city of Zhuzhou. They built four villas -- complete with gardens -- on the roof of the shopping mall. But instead of looking for four rich families seeking single-family homes in the middle of the city, they plan to use the mansions to house the mall's 160 real-estate management employees.

 

Unlike the previous constructions in this list, the villas have proper permits, were built to code and already have electricity and water installed. The employees housed there will get panoramic views and the chance to work in one of the most original office buildings in the city.

 

6. Rooftop Lake (England)

 

This lake on the Selfridges roof garden opened for the first time since World War II. The lake is located in London and dyed green and serves cocktails. In order to give the Selfridges a boating license, there were miles of steel used to reinforce the roof so that it would hold the lake.

 

After the devastating bombing of the department store in 1940 owner H.Gordon Selfridge vowed never to open the gardens again. In the 1920s and 1930s the roof, with its spectacular views across London, was a place popular for strolling after a shopping trip and was often used for fashion shows.

 

7. Runaway on top of Manhattan building (New York)

 

A helicopter landing on a New York rooftop is a common enough site, but why is there a WWI-era warplane perched on a tiny rooftop runway in Lower Manhattan?

 

Rooftops on large buildings are typically overcrowded with functional necessities like water tanks and air-conditioning equipment, so when the William Kaufman Organization built an office tower at 77 Water Street back in 1970, they perched atop it something a little more whimsical and aesthetically pleasing.

 

Onlookers in other buildings higher than the 26-story office tower are distracted from the necessary machinery by a runway with functioning lights, on top of which is perched a bi-plane.

 

The result is magical, even if the plane itself is merely a non-functioning replica of the original.

 

8. Didden Village on the roof of private residence (Netherlands)

 

Most topping up on rooftops is done for two reasons: a need for additional space and the desire to live or work high above the city rooftops, closer to heaven than to other people. Dutch architecture firm designed an extension for the Didden family on top of an existing monumental house and atelier. The attic storey of the house below is extended by a sky-blue parapet. Behind it two gables of the same colour can be seen. It creates a crown on top of the monument. The extension is an example of the growing trend to exploit the urban roofscape for new living and working spaces.

 

Unlike many similar projects, the Didden Village does not simply offer its owners additional living and sleeping space. It actually functions like a real small village, with alleys and courtyards equipped with benches, tables and a pool. Shoulder high parapets create the necessary air of privacy.

 

9. Houses on top of a factory (China)

 

These houses are seen on the rooftop of a factory building in Dongguan, Guangdong province. They were completed in 2011. According to local media, the government said the size of the houses was not in line with the original design submitted, thus the construction should be deemed illegal.

 

10. Upside-Down House on top of Slovakia Headquarters (Slovakia)

 

The Slovakia-based headquarters of Strabag is an energy-efficient building - with an upside down house smashed into its side! The European construction company hired artist Erwin Wurm to add his signature work "House Attack" to the outside of their building. Designed by MHM Architects, SKC Bratislava is modern office building that takes advantage of geothermal heating and cooling and is filled with art. The horizontal tower is clad in green low-e glass and it provides office space for 530 people in Slovakia's capital, Bratislava.

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Most Unusual Weddings

1. The couple who decided to get married with no clothes in front of 250 guests

 

Ellie Barton and Phil Hendicott decided to spend their wedding in their birthday suits. The pair of exhibitionist Aussies exchanged vows in front of 250 guests wearing nothing more than their wedding rings - and a bouquet of strategically-placed roses. Mrs. Ellie Hendicott wore a white, painted on "dress." The only thing she really wore besides the bouquet was a long white wedding veil. Phil Hendicott wore nothing but a black top hat to cover his manhood. The wedding ceremony was conducted in the morning, live on FM radio to hundreds of thousands of Australians.

 

2. The couple who got married on a Bung-jump platform – and obviously jumped after saying yes

 

Jeroen and Sandra Kippers of Brussels, Belgium, were lifted on a platform by crane up 160 feet in the air for their wedding ceremony. They were joined by the officiant and about 20 guests. Another platform held the musicians. After the vows, they made it official by bungee-jumping over the side! The company behind the nutty nuptials – Marriage In The Sky – have been inundated with requests from couples desperate to fling themselves off the end of the aisle.
But the ultimate thrill-seekers' wedding doesn't have to end there – once the wedding party have all been lowered back to earth, guests can head skywards again – for a floating reception. Wedding guests are wowed with a three-course wedding breakfast – all while strapped in to the dining chairs. The cost for such a spectacular ceremony? Around £25,000.

 

3. The Chinese bride who wore a 200m-long dress to set a World record

 

The bride from Guangzhou, China, set the world's longest bridal train record at 219 yards. The Chinese bride accented her gown with a train that was over 600 ft long and weighed over 220 lbs. Xie Qiyun had this photos taken in front of a hotel in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province on her special day. According to Guinness, the longest wedding dress train measured 1362 m [4468 ft 5.94 in] and was created by Andreas Evstratiou in Paphos, Cyprus, in February 2007.

 

4. The couple who got married at T.J. Maxx

 

Who doesn't get excited about the prospect of bagging a bargain? Bride Lisa Satayut decided to combine that feeling with her excitement over bagging her beau. Explaining that T.J. Maxx is her “happy place,” Satayut married Drew Ellis in the size 8 shoe aisle of a T.J. Maxx store in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. The bride — a self-proclaimed “'Maxxinista” — wore a strapless white chiffon gown, with long black gloves and bright green gladiator-style sandals. A widened aisle, vine-covered arch and white chairs with red bows highlighted the traditional ceremony that included string music, display-dodging cameramen — and curious shoppers who stopped bargain hunting long enough to watch.

 

5. The groom who decorated his wedding with 99,999 roses to surprise his bride

 

Groom Xiao Wang spent a year's salary on buying 99,999 red roses for his bride, Xiao Liu, for their wedding conducted in Chongqing, central China, where the number 999 is considered to be a good luck omen. The couple, both 24 years old, needed 30 cars to take the flowers to the service. They advertised on the internet for car owners and for helpers to stick the flowers on the vehicles. The flowers themselves were flown in from the other side of the country. 'I remembered that Liu loved these special roses and the idea just grew and grew. It was worth it all just to see the look on her face when she saw the cars,' said groom Wang. Liu who met Wang while they were at University together added, 'I mentioned a year ago I would like a romantic wedding; I can't believe he remembered, but it was amazing.' The groom also donated 20% of the cost of the roses to charity to get even more good luck.

 

6. The woman who married her dead fiancé in the morgue

 

A heartbroken mother decided to "marry" her murdered fiancé in a hospital morgue. Irish father-of-two Kevin Lavelle, 29, was viciously battered with an iron bar in a gruesome gang attack while working away from home to raise money for his wedding to fiancée Michelle Thomas. The caring dad was attacked by nine louts and beaten to death as he returned to his lodgings in Banbury, Oxfordshire. But even death could not keep him and Michelle apart.
Despite her unbearable pain, Michelle organised a "wedding" in the morgue of Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, where Kevin lay dead. The touching ceremony - witnessed by close family and friends - was conducted by the hospital's Catholic priest who administered the last rites to Kevin. In front of an open coffin, the priest blessed the wedding rings that Michelle had bought specially for the service. Their two children, James, now five, and Megan, now four, went to their daddy's funeral wearing the clothes they would have worn to their parents' wedding. The priest asked Michelle if she would have taken Kevin to be her "lawful wedded husband" and she replied "I do." Kevin's dad Paddy placed a ring on Michelle's finger and a ring was placed on Kevin's finger as he lay in the coffin.

 

7. The couple who got married inside a shark tank

 

April Pignataro and Michael Curry of New York City got married in June 2010. The bride wore a white wetsuit and the groom wore a traditional black wetsuit as they climbed inside a 120,000 gallon shark tank to take their vows at Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead, N.Y. Both are experienced divers and were protected by a cage as sand sharks, nurse sharks, eels and a giant grouper circled around. They wore scuba gear and mikes that broadcasted their words to each other, as well as to friends and family. They said their “I dos” over a radio transmitter with an officiant who did not get in the tank.

 

8. The Russian couple who decided to get married while bicycling

 

A couple of bicycle lovers decided to tie the knot in a very unusual but healthy way: by riding bicycles all over the city, accompanied of course by their cyclist guests.

 

9. The bride who had 110 bridesmaids and set a World Record

 

Did you know that there's a Guinness World Record for the most bridesmaids in a wedding? One bride from Proctorville, Ohio, broke the record with more than 100 bridesmaids at her June 11, 2010 wedding. Jill Stapleton, who owns Jill's Tumble World, a dance school, asked her students -- all 110 of them -- to be her bridesmaids and walk down the aisle at her wedding. The bride asked each girl to choose her own dress for the wedding in either purple or teal, the school's colors. In lieu of bridesmaid bouquets, each bridesmaid carried a single rose. The previous record for the most bridesmaids in a wedding was 90.

2014 Miss America Nina Davuluri Bollywood Dance Talent

Fearless Flyer

The single-person Patrol Ultralight Aircraft is compact and lightweight as well as super-easy to use and assemble. Designed primarily for emergency situations like fire-control or search-and-rescues, the quick assembly and transportability of the craft make it ideal for a variety of time sensitive missions. A hybrid electric/solar/petrol propeller system gives it extra efficiency and longevity in the sky. Designer: Kate Dekhtyarenko -