World's Largest Building - Century Global Center, China

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If you say it's Dubai's International airport terminal 3...you are wrong. As of July 1, 2013 a building in China - Century Global Center located in the growing city of Chengdu has now been crowned with the title. Under the clouds in this Chinese city it's a building which is having state of the art design and being more than 600 miles away from coast but still having it's own seaside. You can do ice skating, take a nap in  five star hotel and can have a sun bath on a beach and that too without ever stepping outside.

An exterior view of the New Century Global Center which has a man-made lake in the front

According to the reports on - thesun.co.uk : the newly built building is a glass dome 3 times the size of the pentagon building in Washington, D.C. It is 500 meters long, 400 meters wide and 100 meters high and is compared as equivalent to the size of Monaco. This building is located just opposite to the Chengdu Contemporary Art Center which is designed by the world famous architect Zaha Hadid.

It is really amazing to know that this building covers 19 million sq.ft and is having office spaces, shopping centers, IMAX cinema with 14 screens plus the most rejuvenating and thrilling spot a water park- 'PARADISE ISLAND'. The in built beach can hold 6000 persons at a given time. If you worry about how to have a sun bath in the closed enclosure...the building has it's own 24x7 sun. The giant structure is having it's own fake sun to shine 24 hours.It is believed that this sun is a borrowed  Japanese technique.

Don't get surprised if we tell you that this master piece was built in just a year!! Yes it's true the entire structure was constructed in a year and Chinese have yet again proved their ability and will.

Image Source : Google, Barcroft Media

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Robotic Exoskeleton - A new hope for the one's on wheelchair

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A New Zealand based company named- Rex Bionics has developed robotic legs or the exoskeleton for the people who cannot walk and are on the wheel chair due to paralysis. It is a $130,000 motorized carbon fiber robot with a joystick on the armrests of the suit to control motions.

According to reports on dailymail.co.uk : These are exoskeletons made of metal and carbon fiber which encases the body and allows that part to move. It is believed that this exoskeleton will mark the end of wheelchair. The first person to experience these robotics legs is Sophie Morgan who is paralyzed from below chest after she met an accident in 2002. After using it she said- "It was wonderful to be eye to eye with each other".

The carapace of Rex held her firmly and the straps were there to hold it from torso to toes. The only movement needed is to move the joystick on the armrest which instructs 29 micro-controllers to react within milliseconds. The best part is- one can control it to move in any direction- sit down, ascend and descend stairs. The bad part: only 10 around the world as of October 2012.

Sophie was given the opportunity to try Rex for filming a News Story for Channel 4. "The benefits of this exoskeleton are not just limited to walking, standing. This also helps in digestion as sitting on the wheelchair makes the lower muscles relax and they also shrink so the digestive system is less efficient.  The robotic legs also helps in preventing the blood clot in legs"- says robotics expert Faisal Almesfer.

Through the stem cell therapy spinal cord tissues can be re grown and will undoubtedly be the ultimate solution of Spine Injuries but research is on this and till then exoskeletons can offer great help and support to the ones who are on wheelchair.

Image Source : Google 

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Underwater Museum- Cancun, Mexico

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There is no fun or adventure in seeing sculptures inside a covered place. But it certainly turns out to be a adventure and thrilling experience when you have to dive in about 10- 20 feet to witness beautiful and amazing marine life with sculptures placed beneath.

Yes, we are talking about underwater museum. This is one of its first kind built in 2009 in shallow waters of Cancun National Park, Cancun, Mexico. This place was once destroyed by Hurricane storm. The British artist- Jason Decaires Taylor's known for his unique work has taken up this task to put sculptures in place beneath the water with the sol intention of conservation. So all the sculptures were made from ph neutral clay thus to help the growth of coral reef and marine life.

The total area occupied will be 420 sq meters. This Marine Park is also the most visited with more than 750,000 visitors per year, thereby placing a lot pressure on it's resources. Therefore the placing of sculptures will also relieve pressure on natural reefs by drawing visitors away.

Some Facts :

1. In 2009 - beneath the waters around Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc- initial steps for a sculptural museum were taken.

2. The founders of the project were : Jaime Gonzalez Cano of The National Marine Park, Roberto Diaz of The Cancun Nautical Association and Jason deCaries Taylor.

3. The underwater museum now consists of more than 400 permanent sculptures. Each figure has it's own meaning.

As per the reports on : underwatersculpture.com -
The Museum will demonstrate the interaction between art and environment science. It will show how art can form a complex reef structure for marine life to colonize and grow on there own.

Image source : Google

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The Beautiful horse breed, Akhal-Teke

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The Akhal-Teke is a horse breed from Turkmenistan, where they are a national emblem. They are noted for their speed and for endurance on long marches. These "golden-horses" are adapted to severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest surviving horse breeds. There are currently about 3,500 Akhal-Tekes in the world, mostly in Turkmenistan and Russia, although they are also found throughout Europe, Australia, and North America. 

The Akhal-Teke typically stands between 58 and 64 inches (147 and 163 cm). These horses are famous for those individuals who have a golden buckskin or palomino color with a distinctive natural metallic shimmer of their coats.  A number of other colors are recognized, however, including bay, black, chestnut, palomino, cremello, perlino, and grey. The Akhal-Teke's most notable and defining characteristic is the natural metallic bloom of its coat.

The breed is tough and resilient, having adapted to the harshness of Turkmenistan lands, where horses must live without much food or water. This has also made the horses good for sport. The breed has great endurance, as shown in 1935 when a group of Turkmen riders rode the 2500 miles from Ashgabat to Moscow in 84 days, including a three-day crossing of 235 miles of desert without water. The Akhal-Teke is also known for its form and grace as a show jumper.

Source: Wikipedia

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Breathtaking Glacial Waterfalls in Svalbard, Norway

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Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Despite being so close to the North Pole, Svalbard remains comparatively warm, thanks to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, which makes it habitable. In fact, Svalbard is the northernmost permanently inhabited region on the planet. 

Svalbard is one of the most beautiful places on earth, nearly 60% of which is covered by magnificent glaciers and waterfalls with many outlet glaciers ending up in the sea. When snow and ice melts many of these glaciers have small beautiful waterfalls. Most of Svalbard is barren rock but during the short summer, the melting snow in the milder parts of the islands gives rise to vast stretches of tundra vegetation, sometimes dotted with delicate flowers.

Svalbard is home to seven national parks and twenty-three nature reserves that covers two-thirds of the archipelago, protecting the largely untouched, yet fragile, environment. Svalbard is a breeding ground for many seabirds, and also features polar bears, short legged reindeer, polar foxes, whales, seals and walruses. Svalbard is renowned for its variety of birds, including Arctic Terns, Arctic Fulmar and Puffins. Whales can be spotted off the coastlines particularly during late summer. Humpback whales, Orcas, Beluga Whales, and Narwhals all frequent the ocean waters near Svalbard.

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'Harry Potter' superfan builds incredible Hogwarts model with 400,000 LEGO pieces

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If ever there was a “Who’s the Bigger Harry Potter Fan?” contest, I am sure no one can even come close to Seattle-based builder, Alice Finch. The certifiable Potterhead spent 12 months building an incredible 400,000-piece, 170-square-foot Lego replica of Hogwarts Castle that puts your fan fiction to shame.

In addition to its massive size, the most impressive thing about the Lego castle is its depth of detail. Clearly Finch is a smart woman  who thought to include a Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with a closet for a boggart (à la Prisoner of Azkaban), and even the Grey Lady. She also helpfully uploaded a 79-photo Flickr album of the whole castle so fellow superfans can properly obsess. In addition to basically every character mentioned in the books and movies, the Great Hall and the Chamber of Secrets are among many of the rooms featured in the playable L-shaped set.

Finch explained she got inspired by Lego building with her young sons, and that they, along with her husband, helped her finish this massive project. She discussed how much time went into getting Hogwarts ready for students. The castle was finally finished in October last year for the annual Lego festival Brick-Con, where Finch went on to win “People’s Choice” and “Best in Show” last year.

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