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8/26/13

Most Amazing Train Railways

Most Amazing Train Railways

1. Maeklong Market Railway (Thailand)

 
The food market in Maeklong, Thailand is located on top of train tracks. Several times a day shopkeepers swiftly pack up their food stalls and pull back their canopies to let the trains pass. Once the trains have rumbled through, the crates of vegetables, fish, and eggs are placed back into position and shoppers return to the tracks, which serve as a path through the market.
 
2. Napier-Gisborne Railway (New Zealand)

 
The Napier to Gisborne Railway Line is unique in that it crosses the main runway of the Gisborne Airport. Trains have to stop and seek clearance from the air traffic control tower to cross the runway and continue down the line; a 1939 steam train in the middle of an airport runway isn't exactly a common sight!
 
3. Tren a las Nubes - Train to the Clouds (Argentina)

 
The Tren a las Nubes (Train to/of the Clouds) is a touristic train service in Salta Province, Argentina. The service runs along the eastern part of the C-14 line of the Ferrocarril General Manuel Belgrano, connecting the Argentine Northwest with the Chilean border in the Andes mountain range. At over 4,220 meters (13,850 ft) above mean sea level, it's the third highest railway in the world. Originally built for economic and social reasons, it is now primarily a tourist attraction as a heritage railway.
 
The railway line has 29 bridges, 21 tunnels, 13 viaducts, 2 spirals, and 2 zigzags. Because of the design decision not to use a rack-and-pinion system for traction, the route had to be designed to avoid steep grades. The zigzags allow the train to climb, travelling back and forth parallel to the slope of the mountain.
 
4. Tunnel of Love (Ukraine)

 
The Tunnel of Love is a beautiful spot in Klevan, Ukraine. A three kilometer railway section leads to the fibreboard factory. The train runs three times a day and delivers wood to the factory. However, the trees make a green corridor, which attracts many couples, as well as photographers, for its eye catching avenue.
 
It is said that if you and your beloved come to the Tunnel of Love and sincerely make a wish, it will come true.
 
5. Trans-Siberian, World's Longest Railway (Russia)

 
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway line in the world. There are connecting branch lines into Mongolia, China, and North Korea. It has connected Moscow with Vladivostok since 1916 and is still expanding.
 
Full-time construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began in 1891 and was put into execution and overseen by Sergei Witte, who was then Finance Minister. Similar to the First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA, Russian engineers began construction at both ends and worked towards the center.
 
6. The Landwasser Viaduct (Switzerland)

 
Switzerland has large areas of land that are mountainous. Before the 19th Century, the mountainous terrain meant that it was difficult to travel across the country, and consequently communication was relatively poor. Swiss railway engineers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries had to be extremely innovative, imaginative, and courageous to build a complex and efficient mountain railway system. This not only included planning and building difficult mountain routes, but also constructing the many bridges and tunnels needed to cross and go under mountainous areas. The Swiss are still investing heavily in their railway network, making it one of the most efficient and advanced in the world.
 
One of the most impressive feats was the building of the Landwasser Viaduct, built in 1902, which carries a mountain railway track. This is possibly one of the most famous railway viaducts / bridges in the world and is seen in most Swiss travel / holiday brochures.
 
7. Georgetown Loop Railroad (USA)

 
The Georgetown Loop Railroad was one of Colorado's first visitor attractions. Completed in 1884, this spectacular stretch of three-foot narrow gauge track was considered an engineering marvel of its time.
 
The thriving mining towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume lie two miles apart in a steep, narrow mountain canyon. To connect them, the railroad's builders designed a “corkscrew” route that traveled twice the distance, slowly gaining more than 600 feet in elevation. It included horseshoe curves, grades of up to 4%, and four bridges across Clear Creek, including the massive Devil's Gate High Bridge. The Colorado & Southern Railway operated the line for passengers and freight from 1899 to 1938, when it was abandoned.
 
In 1973, the Colorado Historical Society began restoring the railroad as part of its 978-acre Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park. A replica of the High Bridge was completed in 1984 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its original construction.
 
8. The Death Railway (Thailand)

 
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, is a 415 kilometer (258 mile) railway between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma. More than 90,000 workers and 16,000 Allied prisoners of war died during the construction of this railway, a horrific episode that forms the backdrop for David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai. A ride on a surviving section of the route is now a popular activity for visitors to Kanchanaburi, which is northwest of the Thai capital. The train hugs the sides of sheer cliffs and passes over a number of rickety wooden bridges.
 
9. Gyeonghwa Station (South Korea)

 
There are 340,000 cherry trees in Jinhae, South Korea. When they bloom in the spring, they create a dazzling display of falling blossoms. Gyeonghwa Station, where this photo was taken, is a popular tourist attraction for that reason.

Top Die-Hards in History

Top Die-Hards in History
 
1. Adolf Hitler: suffered over 50 murder conspiracies including a porn-mad plan

 
Leader of the Nazis, Hitler was responsible for the killing of approximately six million Jews (overwhelmingly Ashkenazim), as well as two million ethnic Poles and four million others who were deemed "unworthy of life" (including the disabled and mentally ill, Soviet POWs, homosexuals, Freemasons, Jehovah's Witnesses, among others) as part of a program of deliberate extermination. It's no surprise then that he appears as number one in our list, having suffered over fifty intents of murder. The first of them was in 1921 when shots got fired at him after a speech. In Warsaw 1939, October 5, the Polish army wanted to blow up Hitler's car, when it crossed the (now called) Square Charles de Gaulle. A human error prevented the bomb from exploding. There was another crazy plan of some American soldiers to throw down a lot of pornographic material on Hitler's mountain to make the puritan Hitler go mad. The colonel the soldiers discussed the plan with, said that they were maniacs with an insane plan.
 
None of the plans succeeded and it's believed that Hitler finally died after committing suicide along with his wife, Eva Braun, by gunshot and cyanide poisoning.
 
2. Grigory Rasputin: was poisoned, shot four times, and beaten until he finally died from drowning

 
Rasputin has been tied in the immortality of history to the ill-fated Romanov family. Some may even say that he was the cause of their destruction. Whatever you may think about him: powerful mystic or drunken fruitcake, he wormed his way into the heart of the imperial family and he just didn't want to go. The legends surrounding the death of Rasputin are perhaps even more mysterious and bizarre than his life. The first attempt on Rasputin's life failed; on June 29, 1914, after either just receiving a telegram or exiting church, he was attacked suddenly by Khionia Guseva, a former prostitute. The woman thrust a knife into Rasputin's abdomen, and his entrails hung out of what seemed like a mortal wound. Convinced of her success, Guseva supposedly screamed, "I have killed the antichrist!". After intensive surgery, however, Rasputin recovered. It was said of his survival that "the soul of this cursed muzhik was sewn on his body”.
 
On December 16, 1916, having decided that Rasputin's influence over the Tsaritsa had made him a far-too-dangerous threat to the empire, a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Yusupov and the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and politician Vladimir Purishkevich, apparently lured Rasputin to the Yusupovs' Moika Palace basement, where they served him cakes and red wine laced with a massive amount of cyanide. According to legend, Rasputin was unaffected, although Maklakov had supplied enough poison to kill five men. Determined to finish the job, Yusupov became anxious about the possibility that Rasputin might live until the morning, leaving the conspirators no time to conceal his body. Yusupov ran upstairs to consult the others and then came back down to shoot Rasputin through the back with a revolver. Rasputin fell, and the company left the palace for a while. Yusupov went to check up on the body. Suddenly, Rasputin opened his eyes and lunged at him. When he grabbed Prince Yusupov he ominously whispered in Yusupov's ear "you bad boy" and attempted to escape. Yusopov and his co-conspirators chased Rasputin out into the yard, shooting him two more times and beating him with a rubber club. To ensure he didn't rouse again, the men tied Rasputin in a blanket and dumped his body into the Neva River. His body was found with his right arm outstretched, presumably to make the sign of the cross, indicating that he was still alive when he hit the water and managed to partially free himself. An autopsy established that the cause of death was drowning. His arms were found in an upright position, as if he had tried to claw his way out from under the ice (the Neva Riva freezes between November 25 and December 5, and the ice is gone only by mid-April). It was found that he had indeed been poisoned, and that the poison alone should have been enough to kill him.
 
3. Fidel Castro: survived 638 assassination attempts and counting

 
The infamous Cuba's Dictator is probably the hardest man to kill on planet, or at least the one of the most number of attempts. Fabian Escalante, who was long tasked with protecting the life of Castro, estimated the number of assassination schemes or attempts by the CIA to be 638. Some such attempts allegedly included an exploding cigar, a fungal-infected scuba-diving suit, and a mafia-style shooting. Some of these plots are depicted in a documentary entitled 638 Ways to Kill Castro. One of these attempts was by his ex-lover Marita Lorenz, whom he met in 1959. She allegedly agreed to aid the CIA and attempted to smuggle a jar of cold cream containing poison pills into his room. When Castro realized, he reportedly gave her a gun and told her to kill him but her nerve failed. Castro once said, in regards to the numerous attempts on his life he believes have been made, "If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, I would win the gold medal." One such assassination attempt before the Bay of Pigs invasion involved Johnny Roselli and Al Capone's successor in the Chicago Outfit, Salvatore Giancana and his right-hand man Santos Trafficante.
 
Retired at the age of 83, with poor health, it's hardly probable that Fidel will suffer the 639th attempt.
 
4. Hussein of Jordan: survived 12 attempts of assassination and was saved once by a medal in his uniform

 
Hussein bin Talal was the King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death, in 1999. During his life, he suffered at least 12 attempts of assassination, mostly during the 1950s and 1960s and once wrote 'that sometimes I have felt like the central character in a detective novel'. The first attempt occurred in 1951. He was with his grandfather, the King Abdullah. A Palestinian extremist opened fire on Abdullah and his grandson on July 20 of that year as the pair walked into the mosque for Friday prayers. Abdullah was killed, but the 15-year-old Hussein pursued the gunman. The assailant turned his weapon on the young prince, who was saved when the bullet was deflected by a medal on his uniform given to him by his grandfather. In 1970, King Hussein survived an assassination attempt after gunmen opened fire on his motorcade as it was driving near his summer palace. The king was said to be unharmed but it is understood his driver was wounded in the attack, which took place in the town of Sweileh, 12 miles (19km) northeast of the capital, Amman. The king jumped out of his car and fired back at the attackers.
 
He died of cancer in 1999 at the age of 63.
 
5. Zog of Albania: suffered 55 killing attempts and once survived after shooting his potential assassins

 
Zog I, Skanderbeg III was the king of the Albanians from 1928 to 1939. During his reign, he is reputed to have survived over 55 assassination attempts. One of these occurred in 1931 while Zog was visiting a Vienna opera house for a performance of Pagliacci. The attackers struck whilst Zog was getting into his car, and he survived by firing back with a pistol that he always carried with him.
 
6. Yasser Arafat: escaped from several bombing attacks and a plane crash

 
Mohammed Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa Al-Husseini, more commonly known as Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian leader. During his life survived several assassination attempts. In 1985 he narrowly survived an Israeli assassination attempt when Israeli Air Force F-15s bombed his headquarters there as part of Operation Wooden Leg, leaving 73 people dead. Arafat had gone out jogging that morning. He also survived a car write-off and a plane crash in a sandstorm in the Libyan desert on April 7, 1992. Two pilots and an engineer were killed; Arafat was bruised and shaken. He died November 11, 2004, at age 75 in a hospital in Paris.
 
The cause of death was never announced, and remains a mystery. Conspiratorial suggestions that Israel was somehow involved were quickly rejected by Palestinian authorities. Rumors have circulated for decades that Arafat was gay, and much of the speculation about his death, and the associated secrecy of the circumstances, have led to suggestions that he may have died of Aids.
 
7. Alexander II of Russia: after several attempts, got killed with a plan that included 3 backup bombers

 
Also known as Alexander the Liberator, he was the Emperor, or Czar, of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881. In 1866, there was an attempt on the tsar's life in St. Petersburg by Dmitry Karakozov. To commemorate his narrow escape from death (which he himself referred to only as "the event of 4 April 1866"), a number of churches and chapels were built in many Russian cities. Thirteen years later, on the morning of 20 April 1879, Alexander II was briskly walking towards the Square of the Guards Staff and faced Alexander Soloviev, a 33-year-old former student. Having seen a menacing revolver in his hands, the Tsar fled. Soloviev fired five times but missed, and was sentenced to death and hanged on 28 May. In December 1879, the Narodnaya Volya , a radical revolutionary group which hoped to ignite a social revolution, organized an explosion on the railway from Livadia to Moscow, but they missed the tsar's train. On the evening of 5 February 1880 Stephan Khalturin, also from Narodnaya Volya, set off a charge under the dining room of the Winter Palace. Eleven people were killed and 30 wounded but the tsar was unharmed because he was late for dinner.
 
Finally, On 13 March 1881, Alexander felt victim to an assassination plot. As he was known to do every Sunday for many years, the tsar went to the Manezh to review the Life Guards. He traveled both to and from the Manezh in a closed carriage accompanied by six Cossacks with a seventh sitting on the coachman's left. The tsar's carriage was followed by two sleighs carrying, among others, the chief of police and the chief of the tsar's guards. The street was flanked by narrow sidewalks for the public. Another member of the Narodnaya Volya movement, Nikolai Rysakov, was carrying a small white package wrapped in a handkerchief. "After a moment's hesitation I threw the bomb. I sent it under the horses' hooves in the supposition that it would blow up under the carriage...The explosion knocked me into the fence."
 
The explosion, while killing one of the Cossacks and seriously wounding the driver and people on the sidewalk, had only damaged the bulletproof carriage, a gift from Napoleon III of France. The tsar emerged shaken but unhurt. Rysakov was captured almost immediately. Police Chief Dvorzhitsky heard Rysakov shout out to someone else in the gathering crowd. The surrounding guards and the Cossacks urged the tsar to leave the area at once rather than being shown at the site of the explosion. A second young member of the Narodnaya Volya, Ignacy Hryniewiecki, standing by the canal fence, raised both arms and threw another bomb at the tsar's feet. Later it was learned there was a third bomber in the crowd that would have been used if the other two bombers failed.
 
8. Gabriel Garcia Moreno: had his hand cut off with a machete, was shot 5 times but still managed to shout “God does not die”

 
Gabriel García Moreno (1821-1875) was the President of Ecuador in 1861. He was reelected three times. In 1875, when he got elected for the third time, it was considered to be his death warrant. He wrote immediately to Pope Pius IX asking for his blessing before inauguration day on August 30, and told him that he knew about conspiracies to assassinate him.
 
García Moreno's prediction was correct; on August 6, 1875, President Moreno went to the Cathedral in Quito to adore the Blessed Sacrament as he did often. Leaving the Cathedral, his assassins sprang into action. Faustino Rayo, the leader of the band, suddenly attacked the President with a machete while his comrades opened fire with revolvers. But he didn't die right away. Fallen from the porch and lying stretched out on the ground, his head bleeding, his left arm severed and right hand cut off by blows of a machete, the illustrious victim recognized his assailants. Some accounts say he gasped his last words, others that he was able to cry them out defiantly. All agree on the words themselves:“Dios no muere!” “God does not die!” Still conscious, he was brought back into the Cathedral and was laid before the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows. There he received the Last Rites and finally expired. Pope Pius IX, declared that Gabriel Garcia Moreno "died a victim of the Faith and Christian Charity for his beloved country."

8/21/13

The 2 Easy Ways to Make Your PC Run Like New


The 2 Easy Ways to Make Your PC Run Like New
One of the most frustrating things in life is a slow computer.  
Every few years, we buy an expensive new PC and love how fast it starts up, runs programs, and loads websites. Inevitably though, it starts to slow down until eventually we are pulling our hair out waiting for it to do routine tasks.
Why is this?  It turns out the answer is actually quite simple and you don't even need to be "technical" to understand the causes and solutions.
The good news: It's not the computer hardware that's the problem. In most cases, the hardware you have is perfectly capable of being restored to its original glory and kept in fast running condition with minimal effort.
Rather, the problem lies with changes that occur to the PC's software. The two most common causes of slowdown (along with easy solutions) are:
1. The most common problem: registry errors
Every time you (or your kids) load a program, game, or file, your PC's software registry is updated with new instructions needed to operate that item. However, when the item is removed, these instructions usually remain on your PC. Every time you run your computer it tries to execute these instructions but, because the related program can't be found, it causes a registry error. Your PC is doing a lot more work than it should be, and the result is a significantly slower computer.
One of the best ways to manage this is with a neat little tool from Support.com, a Silicon Valley based company. It's called ARO 2013 and it scans, identifies, and fixes registry errors —resulting in a computer that's a lot more like it was when you first bought it. On top of the amazing results it offers, it's so easy to install and use that it was recently awarded a coveted 4.5 star rating (out of 5) by CNET's editorial staff, and has been downloaded more than 30 million times.
You can now get a free working version of the software, which will quickly scan your entire PC and identify all of the registry errors that may be bogging it down. The free version also scans for junk and checks your PC's baseline security status. It will eliminate the first 50 errors for free, and if you have more errors that you want to clean up or want to set the program to run on a regular basis (which is recommended), you can easily upgrade to the full version for just $29.95.  After that, registry errors will no longer be a problem.
To get the free version, simply click here.
2. Spyware and viruses
Spyware and viruses are software programs that are loaded on your computer without your knowledge or permission. They have various purposes, including:
  • Changing the default search engine in your browser
  • Tracking your Web surfing habits and showing you targeted advertising
  • Using your email program to send out spam to other email addresses
  • Stealing your personal information
Most spyware and viruses get onto our computers through files that we download from the Internet or as attachments to emails. They tend to take up a lot of computing power and, as a result, will significantly slow down your computer.
The simple rule of thumb to follow is to never download any free software programs from companies you do not know and trust, especially screensavers, emoticons, and the like. In addition, you should never open any attachment to an email unless you are 100 percent certain you know and trust the sender. Having a good anti-virus/spyware removal software running at all times will also help.
Follow the above advice, and your PC should stay fast and safe.

Monterey Car Week 2013

Roadster
Atlantis Star Gazer
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2013, The Lodge at Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2013
2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
For a week this August, rare autos went on display for the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and other annual car exhibitions in the Monterey area of California. Attendees were treated with a wide range of vehicles, from a 1914 roadster to the latest model Range Rover sliced in half.
See more vehicles in the Monterey Car Week 2013 gallery and Motoramic group.

8/15/13

World's Most Expensive


From the world's most expensive car (US$12 million) to the world's most expensive home (US$150 million), see some of the world's most expensive stuff on the planet, proving financial crisis is not affecting all of us.
 
1. World's Most Expensive Car ($12.15 million)

 
A 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was sold at 9.02 million euros ($12.15 million) at an auction, setting a new world record for the most expensive car ever sold at auction, according to RM Auctions, which organized the event. It was stated that the price -which includes a 10 percent buyer's premium on top of the "hammer price-" is nearly 2 million euros more than the previous record set at a similar auction at Ferrari's headquarters a year ago.
 
Only 22 Scaglietti-designed Testa Rossas with the signature pontoon fenders were built by Ferrari between 1957 and 1958. It was a formidable racer - a 300 horsepower V12 and nimble handling will do that - and Testa Rossas won 10 of the 19 races they entered between 1958 and 1961.
 
2. World's Most Expensive Home ($150 million)

 
Updown Court is currently the most expensive residence in the world, costing about $50 million more than the priciest U.S. home - more than 85 million British pounds (+$ 150 million USD). The brand-new property is totally over the top, with 103 rooms, five swimming pools and 24-carat-gold leafing on the study's mosaic floor. There's a squash court, bowling alley, tennis court, 50-seat screening room, heated marble driveway and helipad. Eight limousines will fit in the underground garage. Then there are the neighbors, who include the queen (at Windsor Castle) and Elton John. It is listed with Savills and Hamptons International. So, even if your blood doesn't run blue, with enough green you can still live near—and like—royalty!
 
3. World's Most Expensive Guitar ($2.8 million)

 
A signed Fender Standard Series Stratocaster has become the world's most expensive guitar, fetching a massive $2.8 million at auction in Doha, Qatar. The musical instrument, auctioned to aid victims of the 2004 tsunami disaster, broke the previous record held by Eric Clapton's $959,500.00 Black Strat. According to the Fender website, "the idea started when Fender Europe's Jamie Crompton contacted Bryan Adams to see how people from the music industry could reach out to help the victims of such a devastating natural disaster. Bryan got his phone book out and rang nineteen of rock's most treasured artists to sign a Standard Series Fender Stratocaster guitar, donated by Jamie and Fender Europe."
Some of the artists who signed on it are Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Bryan Adams, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney and Sting.
 
4. World's Most Expensive iPhone ($3.2 million)

 
The world's most expensive iPhone costs £1.92 million ($3.2-million) and it was produced by a British designer. The exclusive iPhone 3GS Supreme - featuring almost 200 diamonds- is made up of a casing created using 271 grams of 22 carats solid gold. The front bezel houses 136 flawless diamonds totaling a massive 68 carats, while the Apple logo on the back is made from a further 53 gems. The front navigation button is made from a single diamond of more than seven carats.
 
5. World's Most Expensive Christmas Drink ($210,000)

 
Beaute de Siecle, the Hennessy's new limited edition cognac costs £105,000 (about $210,000 ) a bottle. The most expensive drink in the world is just 100 bottles in existence and was created to celebrate the 100th birthday of Killian Hennessy, the sixth generation descendant of the company's founder.
 
The cognac itself is in a Baccarat crystal bottle contained in an ornate wooden chest embedded with mirrored glass and meted aluminium. A bronze key opens the box which then triggers a concealed switch to make the bottle rise up on a velvet tray. The drink itself is blended by Hennessy's cellar master Yann Fillioux from reserve cognacs between 50 and 100 years old.
 
6. World's Most Expensive Parking Spot ($300,000)

 
A private parking space in the Back Bay was bought yesterday for $300,000, turning into the most expensive parking space in Boston, according to Listing Information Network. Debra Sordillo, the Coldwell sales agent who brokered the deal, said that several residents at 48 Commonwealth Ave. engaged in a bidding war for the space, driving the asking price of $250,000 up to the record-breaking $300,000. The winning bidder did not want to be identified, she said. The expensive parking space came with few amenities other than its location -- it is outdoors and uncovered.
 
7. World's Most Expensive Wedding Dress ($12 million)

 
This USD $12 million creation, known as The Diamond Wedding Gown, is the most expensive wedding dress in the world to date. The luxurious design is the result of collaboration between Renee Strauss (owner of a super successful, wedding salon in Beverley Hills) and Martin Katz, a rare jewel dealer. The dress itself uses over 150 carats of diamonds and to give you an idea of what this means, the typical engagement ring rarely hits a full carat and hovers around the half-carat mark.
The Diamond Wedding Gown was premiered in 2008 and took the title of the most expensive wedding dress in the world from a design by Yumi Katsura of Japan. Her creation followed the same traditional white design , but came in at a paltry USD $8.5 million though it does lay claim to containing over 1,000 pearls and one of only two 5 carat white gold diamonds in the world.
 
8. World's Most Expensive Dog ($582,000)

 
This Tibetan Mastiff is believed to have broken the record as the world's most expensive dog — sold to a young Chinese millionaire for a mind-blowing $582,000 in September 2009. The owner, known only as Ms. Wang, travelled to Qinghai province of northwest China to purchase the 18-month old dog, named Yangtze River Number Two.
 
Yangtze came home to an A-List entrance at Xi'an airport in China's Shaanxi province, where he was reportedly greeted by hordes of dog lovers and picked up by a motorcade of 30 black Mercedes-Benz cars. Sometimes a dog's life isn't that bad, huh?!
 
9. World's Most Expensive Hamburger ($200)

 
In 2008 Burger King, the fast-food giant, launched a $200 burger in the name of charity. Setting a new record, the world's most expensive burger is available at just one restaurant in West London, England, once a week — but it will eventually be available to order via a hotline.
 
The fine ingredients of what is called simply 'The Burger' include Wagyu beef, white truffles, Pata Negra ham slices, Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, lambs lettuce, pink Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise in an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun.
 
10. World's Most Expensive Baseball Card ($2.8 million)

 
This extraordinary card is lately sold at a record-breaking cost of $2.8 million against its earlier sale of $2.35 million around six-months back. This smoking price has beaten the record cost of the top 27 cards sold till date at public auction. The T206 baseball card, which is known as “Mona Lisa” among the variety of baseball cards, features Wagner in his teens clad in Pittsburgh Pirates uniform and it has become the only desire of the baseball card collectors.
 
Production of baseball cards dates back to decades ago. But what is so special about T206 Honus Wagner cards that helped them tout as the most-expensive baseball card ever? In the primitive period, these cards were produced by tobacco companies and used to feature cigarette. In 1909, Honus Wagner was amongst the renowned global shortstops who did not want to promote smoking and thus he produced this card. Only 50-60 samples are expected to exist and out of which few of them are in mint condition. Some years ago (July 2000), this card was owned by Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky and was sold on eBay to an anonymous Southern California collector for a smoking $1.27.
 
11. World's Most Expensive Suit ($103,000)

 
What would fit with the world's most expensive wedding dress? The world's most expensive suit of course! Unveiled today in Pall Mall, London, the "Alexander Amosu," named after the designer himself, could be yours for just over $100,000. Each suit will be a one-off creation made from gold and platinum threads, the rarest silks and a blend of Himalayan Pashmina, Qiviuk and Vicuna. And, to complete the garment, nine 18-carat gold and pave set diamond buttons will be sewn into place. The triple-figure price tag includes hyperbolic levels of customer service: Alexander and his tailors will travel to clients anywhere in the world to take measurements and fit the suits.
 
12. World's Most Expensive Jeans ($27,000)

 
This Spin Jeans comprise of only 8 instances worldwide at a suggested retail price of ¥2,625,000 JPY (approximately $27,000 USD). Truly original but hardly wearable, the jeans seen here should be considered much more a re-appropriated piece of art than fashion. A multi-colored splatter pattern covers every square inch of a pair of iconic Levi's denim.
Putting on one of the most successful art shows of all-time last year, and the highest grossing contemporary living artists of all-time, artist Damien Hirst has brought forth a certain style to his definition of art. Bold and brash, he teams up with Levi's on the release of a new denim style.
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Coolest Shower Designs


 
1. Aquarium Shower

 
This totally baller shower enclosure called Plano Acquario by Cesena has a real aquarium built right into one of the walls. How cool would it be to be standing in the shower under a flow of water while watching fish swim around you? Very relaxing. They say you can put a TV or a bookshelf in there instead of the fish tank but what fun would that be?
 
2. Deer Stag Shower

 
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take a shower with a deer stag head spewing water onto you? Now you can. This porcelain version was unveiled at Milan Design Week 2010. I've no idea what such a design would even cost, but it's safe to assume it won't be showing up in the fixtures aisle of your local Home Depot anytime soon.
 
3. Colour Phasing Shower Light

 
This is shower head with a temperature controlled light so you will never burn your bottom again. Temperature changes from green (when the temperature is less than 32C) to red (at more than 45C). The phasing colours in between are blue, orange, purple and pink.
 
4. The 18-head Shower

 
With all of the crazy inventions people come up with today, it comes as no surprise that this baby would be invented. What? You want to be freakishly clean and you enjoy a solid stream of water to caress your nether-regions? Well, look no more! As you can see in the picture, this shower does enjoy the advantage of sporting 18 different shower heads. With adjustable settings (i.e. temperature, water pressure, etc.), you really can't go wrong with this. Oh wait, yes you can. How? Well, one only needs to look at its price tag. $100,000. Yes, that is 5 zeros you are looking at. I need to find someone who has this and see if they will give me a spin in it.
 
5. Viteo Garden Shower

 
The Viteo Garden Shower begins a gentle, meter high shower as soon as you step on its white platform a little over four inches high. What's interesting about it is that instead of water coming down on top of you; it springs up from below, fountain style. Honored with the iF Product Design Award 2007, the white platform is made from a stainless steel frame base, sturdy UV-resistant ABS plastic white skin and slip-resistant tread. Sandwiched in between are springs which take a light load of about 33 pounds in order to activate the valve which causes water to spray from an inner channel system to 16 fine cone shaped jets. The result is a gentle cone of water from 2 to 4 meters (6ft to 13ft). And while the gushing flow of cold water from your tap may prove rather startling, not nearly as so as the cool $930US price tag.
 
6. Folding Shower

 
This Folding Shower, is a concept by French company Supiot and it is currently looking for a manufacturer and a distributor. It has a unique design that's supposed to allow people living in small apartments to install a shower that doesn't take up too much of their limited space.
 
7. Rotating Shower/Bath

 
The industrial designer Ron Arad came up with this rotating shower/bath with Italian manufacturers Teuco (the shower section of their website was particularly funny). You can have a bath in the lip, or rotate it around to give you a shower cabinet if you fancy that instead. Of course, you'll need a bathroom the size of most of our entire flats to fit it in. And it also doesn't explain why this girl is having both a shower and a bath with her clothes on. Still, it's very cool.
 
8. Pocket Shower

 
This is a very cool idea for campers and festival followers, the pocket shower, fill with water, hang from tree, get clean. The pocket shower comes in a fist sized bag but can hold up to 10 liters of water which is enough for a 7 minute shower. The water reservoir is made from a thin black material which absorbs sunlight and a solar system that heats the water. This is probably one of the few showers you'll enjoy when camping. You can buy the pocket shower from I Want One of Those for $26.98
 
9. Psychedelic Shower

 
These awesome temperature-sensitive glass tiles will change color depending on their current temperature. You just tell the manufacturer what base temperature you want, and every 6-10 degree increment from there activates a different color phase. There are three phases in all, and once you've passed the third, it will return to the original color. I wouldn't recommend installing these in a house with more than one or two people in it. You can bet that the first person in the shower is going to use up all the hot water just messing with the colors on the tiles. Of course you'll need to rob a bank first, since a single 4" x 4" tile will run you $33, or around $300 per square foot.
 
10. Shower Pod

 
It's nice being clean. It's a shame, then, that being clean is just so much damn work. Like, you get in the shower, and then you're supposed to STAND there. Stand! And you have to be rubbing soap on your body and shampoo in your hair, and if you try and do that in opposite directions at the same time, it'll make you fall over and you'll crack your head open and die. And that would be bad. The automatic human washing machine takes most of the dying out of showers by not only giving you the chance to lie down while getting clean, but also by doing all of the actual cleaning for you. You stick yourself inside the washing pod and command it to go, and it will wash you with soap and water, use infrared light to steam heat you, pamper you with sound and aromatherapy, and then finish up with a seaweed wrap and some body lotion. Then you get out, and the machine sterilizes itself to get rid of all the nastiness you left behind.
 
I have no idea how, or how well, the automatic human washing machine (aka the "Santelubain 999") actually performs its numerous cleaning tasks, but the website assures us that “the automatic human washing machine has been recognized by various people through coverage by different medias.” Ah, okay, very good then.
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