American Tourist Eats Pickled Human Toe



Traveling often involves eating things you’d never imagine ingesting at home. Fried tarantulas, grilled bull testicles, ant eggs, fish eyes… the list of unusual foreign foods goes on and on. But one thing we’ve certainly never imagined would make the list is human toes. However, that’s exactly what an American man ate over the weekend, during a peculiar drinking game in Canada.

According to the tradition, you’re expected to plonk the pickled toe into a beer glass filled with a drink of your choosing and ensure the toe touches your lips as you chug down your booze.

The drinking ritual has been taking place at the Downtown Hotel in Dawson City, Yukon for more than 40 years, but few have dared to swallow the toe. Doing so is frowned upon and will earn you a $500 fine. But that didn’t deter the American tourist who gulped the toe down along with his beer on Saturday. The man made off with the pickled digit lodged firmly in his digestive tract before the bar owner could stop him.The bizarre drinking game apparently started back in the 1970s when a local riverboat captain came across a frostbitten toe while cleaning out a ship cabin. It’s thought the toe was already about 50 years old at the time. In the years since, about 60,000 tourists have taken part in the strange custom, with a few brave souls chowing down on the gnarly body part. The first toe was apparently swallowed in 1980 and altogether about 15 toes have been lost or consumed. Where exactly the other 14 toes came from, however, is anyone’s guess!

The Naked Walk Of Shame And Other Crazy Hotel Antics

Traveling to new places gives us a sense of anonymity we just can’t get when we’re in our home cities – there’s next to no chance of us bumping into someone we know or having people recognize us as “that weird person that did xyz.” Which is perhaps exactly why so many travelers lose their inhibitions when they’re on the road and do things they would never dare otherwise.

What kinds of crazy antics do travelers get up to? Well how about asking hotel room service to deliver a bottle of coca cola to your room and then answering the door in nothing but your birthday suit? Or worse yet, asking hotel staff to hold a camcorder while you and your partner get down and dirty in your suite? It’s hard to believe, but these are exactly the kinds things hotel guests get up to according to a survey by booking website lastminute.com.au.The poll, which focused on Australian hotel guests, revealed many travelers engage in cheeky or otherwise awkward behavior. Requests for “adult” entertainers happen surprisingly often according to hotel staff, while other guests inadvertently put on an adult show after locking themselves out of their room while stark naked (be sure to check out the video below of one such mishap which took place earlier this year). Other less raunchy but no less bizarre behavior include a guest who tried to bring his pet snake with him on vacation and one who drove a golf buggy straight into the hotel.

Bizarre Trampoline Bridge Proposed In Paris, France




Visitors to Paris may soon find themselves bouncing across the River Seine on a giant inflatable bouncy bridge. According to news.com.au, the idea was proposed by Paris-based architectural firm Atelier Zündel Cristea (AZC) during a local design competition.

“Our intention is to invite its visitors and inhabitants to engage on a newer and more playful path across this same water,” AZC writes on their website. “We propose, now, a distinctive urban feature: An inflatable bridge equipped with giant trampolines, dedicated to the joyful release from gravity as one bounces above the river.”

Not only that, but the structure is more environmentally friendly than putting up a new traditional bridge. The bizarre bridge features enormous trampolines in the middle of three 98-foot-round sections, with everything being held together with a cord. When the right amount of tension is present, the sides of the structure flip up to keep walkers, or bouncers, from tumbling over the side.

We’re not sure how safe this is, but it sure looks like fun.

[Image via AZC]

10 Ways To Experience Bizarre Natural Phenomena




To experience something out of the ordinary on your next trip, check out some of these bizarre natural phenomena.

Morning Glory Cloud, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia

While you can occasionally see a Morning Glory Cloud or roll cloud in other parts of the world, the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia is the only place it can be predicted and observed regularly. A Morning Glory Cloud can be up to 620 miles long, 1.2 miles high and is often only 330 to 660 feet off the ground. Additionally these clouds, which sometimes appear both solo and in groups, can move at speeds up to 37 miles per hour. While this phenomenon is not clearly understood, certain theories do exist, such as effects from mesoscale circulations linked with sea breezes that develop over the area and high humidly and pressure mixed with strong breezes. You can visit Buketown in Queensland for the best chance of witnessing the phenomenon.Experience The Phenomenon Of “Mystery Spots” In Mooresville, Indiana

For those who’ve never heard of mystery spots, there are areas all over the country that defy the laws of nature and physics. Water may flow up an incline, people are able to stand on walls and balls roll uphill. The most famous mystery spot is located in Santa Cruz, California, although many are skeptical of the authenticity of this pay-to-see attraction. To experience the phenomenon in nature, you can head to Mooresville, Indiana. Here you’ll find Gravity Hill, an unmarked hill that pulls your car upward instead of down. You can put your car in neutral and see what happens to test the mystery spot out for yourself. To get there, you’ll get off at Exit 59 from I-70. You’ll drive about a mile heading south before turning left onto Keller Hill Road. Head east about 4.5 miles until it ends, and near here is where you’ll find Gravity Hill.

Some other known mystery spots are located in Spook Hill, Florida, Marblehead, Ohio, Gold Hill, Oregon and Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.




Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights), Near North Pole

Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, may be the most well known natural phenomenon that exists. This astronomical curiosity features shafts, swirls, arcs, rays and curtains of vibrant colors on the night sky, putting on an awe-inspiring neon light show. What you’re really seeing is the colliding of electrically charged particles from the sun as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. This occurs over the North Pole and South Pole.

While technically it’s possible to see the northern lights anywhere, it’s best to view them from areas closer to the poles, like northwest Canada, Alaska, Iceland, northern Scandanavia and northern Norway. Visit between the autumn equinox and spring equinox, or September 21 to March 21. It is also said that 2013 will be a peak year to view the lights.

Mosquito Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico

While there are a few instances of bioluminescent bays around the world, this one is the brightest one recorded by the Guinness Book Of World Records. Listed as a national natural landmark, the bizarre site glows a bright neon blue due to Pyrodinium bahamense, Dinoflagellates (dinos), living in the water. When these “dinos” touch another organism or are shaken they produce the burst of bright blue light that makes the water glow. Travelers have the opportunity to not just look at the bizarre bay, but also snorkel and kayak the waters.




Dead Sea, Jordan/Israel

Along the Jordan and Israeli borders you’ll find the Dead Sea. At 1,388 feet below sea level, its surface and shores are the Earth’s lowest elevation on land. The sea itself is 1,237 feet deep, making it the planet’s deepest hypersaline lake. What’s really amazing about this body of water, however, is how it allows people to effortlessly float, as shown above, due to the high salt content. Moreover, the salt and minerals from this water specifically provide a plethora of health benefits, like helping with arthritis, allergies, skin aging and psoriasis.

Spooklights, Various Locations

Spooklights are bizarre visual phenomena that are often mistaken for ghosts and UFOs. Most sightings happen at night, when people see globes of light in all colors, shapes and sizes. Some explanations for the occurrence include headlights, swamp gas, electrical discharges from tectonic forces, ghosts, aliens and hallucinations. Generally, the word spooklight refers to a bizarre case that occurred just west of Hornet, Missouri in an area known as “Devil’s Promenade.” However the phenomena, also known as Ghostlights and Earth Lights, can now be experienced regularly in certain areas all over the world, for example: the Paulding Light in Watersmeet Michigan, Mafra Lights in Marfa, Texas, St. Louis Spooklight in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the Min Min Lights in Australia.




Sailing Stones, Death Valley, California

Located around Racetrack Playa in Death Valley you can find sailing stones, also known as moving rocks or sliding rocks. These names refer to a geological phenomenon where rocks move without any help from animals or humans along a level surface. The reason as to why this happens is still undecided, but trails left by the stones differ in direction and length, and even texture and design. Because the stones only move every two to three years, it may be hard to see one in action; however, you’ll be able to admire the natural sand art formed by this unusual phenomenon.

Naga Fireballs, Mekong River, Thailand/Laos

The Naga Fireballs is a phenomenon that has been occurring on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia for centuries. Most notably around the time when the Buddhist rains end in October, glowing balls of differing shapes and sizes rise up from the water and disappear. Some are just a few sparks while others are the size of basketballs. While the Mekong gets the most attention for the bizarre occurrence, other bodies of water near Phon Phisai town also experience naga fireballs. There are certain theories behind the phenomenon, like methane gas buildup, surface electricity discharging into a solution and even that the entire thing is a hoax caused by tracer fire from soldiers. If you ask a local villager, they’ll most likely tell you it’s Naga, the mythical snake living in the river. At this time, however, nothing has been proven.




Foxfire, Forests Around The World

Despite its name, foxfire is not hot, nor fire. Notes on this natural phenomenon have been documented since the times of Aristotle, who talked about a light that was cold to the touch. Foxfire is a bioluminescent fungus that sometimes appears on moist, decaying wood, occurring during wet seasons all over the world. For your best chance of seeing it for yourself, get away from any artificial light sources.

Rain Of Fish, Yoro, Honduras

Apparently, it really can rain animals. Each year around the first major rainfall in May through June, still-living fish pour down from the heavens onto one department in Honduras. The phenomenon is said to have been happening since the 1800s, and today is known as Festival de la Lluvia de Peces, or Festival of the Rain of Fishes, complete with a parade and carnival. While scientists are still unsure as to why this happens, certain explanations do exist. Some believe strong winds pick up the fish from the Atlantic and shower them down over Yoro, while others think heavy rains wash the fish up out of their natural habitat and leave them on land. Others cite back to Father Jose Manuel Subirana, a Catholic priest who visited Honduras in the mid-1800s, who prayed to God to feed the hungry people of the area and was granted a sustainable gift.

[Images via Mick Petroff, Shutterstock, Shutterstock, PD Photo.org, Cas Liber]

China’s Popular Beach Trend: The Facekini




If you’re traveling to China this summer and want to fit in at the beach, you may be less than thrilled to learn the popular fashion trend will not allow you to get a tan. Dubbed the “facekini,” these masks cover the person’s entire face, head and neck, with holes cut out for the eyes, nose and mouth.

In northeast China’s seaside town of Qingdao, women especially find these masks appealing for beachwear. Unlike most Westerners who enjoy getting bronze in the summer, Chinese women view white skin as a sign of beauty. In fact, the Chinese have an expression that roughly translates to “white skin covers up a hundred uglinesses.” Because of this, these women will do whatever it takes to stay fair.

“[I wear this because] I fear getting tanned,” said Wang Xiuzhi (王秀芝), a “facekini woman” on Qingdao’s No. 1 Bathing Beach, as reported by Xinhua. “I come here to swim often and [the mask] does work.”

According to CNNGo, the facekini has other benefits, like preventing jellyfish stings, repelling mosquitoes and warding off sharks.

While many people from outside China are just finding out about the facekini, the truth is it has been popular in Qingdao for the last five years.

Would you wear a facekini to the beach?

[Image via AFP / Getty Images]