9 TOWERING SMARTPHONE-SHAPED BUILDINGS

Calling Home: 9 Towering Smartphone-Shaped Buildings
By Steve, Web Urbanist, 1 December 2013.

Does your high-rise apartment or office tower look like a mobile phone? These ones do, and you can bet smartphone users inside them get REALLY good reception.

1. Telefónica Chile Building - Santiago, Chile

Image via: Celebrate Big

The Telefónica Chile Building (Torre Telefónica Chile) in Santiago was designed by architects Seismic A&E and while the firm doesn’t explicitly say so at their website, the structure was clearly intended to house a mobile telecommunications company - in this case, Telefónica Chile (known since 2009 as Movistar).

Images via: Chilling In Chile, Dijitalimaj and Wikimedia/Diego Sepulveda

The 143 m (469 ft) tall tower’s design was an attempt to ape the appearance of state-of-the-art mid-1990s mobile phones…considering the building opened in December of 1995, we’d say the architects achieved their goal. It’s odd, however, that planners did not foresee the continuing evolution of mobile phone design through the Telefónica Chile Building‘s estimated lifespan and indeed, only a few short years after it opened the design was already looking quite dated.

2. Omniyat Properties iPad Building - Dubai, UAE

Image via: WIRED

Don’t let the name “iPad” fool you, this 23-story building concept from Omniyat Properties dates from 2007 and its design was intended to evoke Apple’s iPod MP3 player sitting atop a docking station. If the design doesn’t resemble an iPod upon first glance, keep in mind the edifice will lean back at a six degree angle.

Images via: Roberta’s Blog and LandvestDubai

Omniyat Properties suspended work on many of its planned building designs as the late-2000s world financial crisis bit into investment budgets, and the iPad was one of those to be put “on hold” until better days arrived. By 2010 the design had been re-named “The Pad” for obvious reasons and according to Omniyat Properties over 50 percent of payments required to re-start work on this and other outstanding projects had been nailed down.

3. Bic Camera Building - Tokyo, Japan

Image via: Panoramio/alicemarotta

The Bic Camera building in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district is one of about 40 Bic Camera stores in Japan, though it’s the only one that looks like a cell phone. The building’s facade is actually functional in a way, as the number buttons match the building’s floors and include a short description of what products may be found there.

Images via: Spicykarma and Kirainet

Oddly for a building shaped like a cellular phone, the Bic Camera building in Ikebukuro does not specialize in mobile phone sales. Instead, this particular location predominantly sells computers, parts, peripheral devices and the like.

4. The Walkie-Talkie - 20 Fenchurch St., London, UK

Image via: Designboom

The recently completed, 37-story high-rise building at 20 Fenchurch Street in London, UK has been attracting attention for all the wrong reasons. Dubbed the “Walkie Talkie” after its resemblance to those two-way radio handsets, the building designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects displays vast expanses of curved glass which, under certain day-time conditions, focus sunlight in a manner that could be dangerous to people and possessions.

Images via: UrbanGlass, Vancouver Sun and Designboom

If you’ve ever considered the POV of an ant looking up at a kid with a magnifying glass, then walking (or parking) anywhere near 20 Fenchurch is a questionable proposition to say the least. After someone reported plastic parts on their Jaguar had partially melted after being exposed to the building’s reflected heat, a reporter sent to investigate beat a quick retreat when his hair began to catch on fire. That’s one way to dissuade the homeless, Mormons and pigeons.

5. Archpartners Concept Tower - Dubai, UAE

Image via: Eikongraphia

There’s not much info around concerning the above building concept from Archpartners other than it was intended to stoke interest in investors hoping to ride the growing wave of telecom-related infrastructure spending. If the coastal setting with abundant palms is any clue, the Leaning Tower of Telecommunications was yet one more entry in the much-cooled Dubai building frenzy.

6. SK Telecom Headquarters - Seoul, South Korea

Image via: Dan

The SK Telecom Headquarters building in Seoul, South Korea was designed for a telecom company and designed to look like a mobile phone, which makes perfect sense as long as SK Telecom maintains offices in the building and isn’t replaced some day by some anonymous insurance company. Kudos to Flicker user Dan for capturing the above inspiring image of SK Telecom’s T-Tower.

Images via: Kevin Sung and RAD

The 33-story T-Tower stands 148 meters (486 feet) tall, which puts it at only 68th place among other Seoul skyscrapers. If only they had straightened out the topmost bend in the planning stage. The T-Tower carries the clamshell flip-phone theme down to the ambient lighting constructed around the building’s base. The overall design should age well, as long as people keep buying bent mobile phones.

7. Jasmine International Tower - Bangkok, Thailand

Image via: PicPost Postjung

The 31-story Jasmine International Tower on Bangkok’s Chaengwatana Road was designed as an “intelligent office tower” attractive to the Southeast Asian nation’s growing telecommunications industry. Features of note include in-house wireless internet, a data centre, and of course the building’s sleek appearance likened by many to one of the latest smartphones.

Images via: Jasmine Tower and PicPost Postjung

Unlike the “Walkie Talkie” building at 20 Fenchurch Street in London, England, the outer walls of the Jasmine International Tower are not angled downward though they do describe a mild parabolic curve when viewed from above or below. Tenants parking in the outdoor lot need not fear, therefore, until they get their monthly bill.

8. Crazy John’s Phone Tower - Victoria, Australia

Image via: Daily Times

Working in an office tower shaped like a mobile phone is one thing, knowing the concept came from the mind of someone known as “Crazy John” is another. This overly realistic cell phone tower was the brainchild (or brainfart, if you like) of one “Crazy John” Ilhan, a fabulously rich Australian who built his fortune on the rapidly expanding telecom industry.

Images via: Brisbane Times, Herald Sun News and Textually

Ilhan’s outrageous tower was to soar 120 meters (almost 395 ft) into the sky overlooking Melbourne’s Southbank district. It might have actually come to pass if Ilhan had not suffered a sudden, fatal heart attack in October of 2007, after which his grandiose cell phone tower plans were thankfully shelved.

9. “Cell Phone Building” - Kunming, China

Image via: People.com.cn

One might call the previously depicted Bic Camera cell phone building in Tokyo many things but “inspirational”? Believe it or not, the visual concept must have impressed unnamed Chinese entrepreneurs so much, they commissioned a version for themselves.

Images via: Global Times, English SINA and 4Comunication

One thing you can’t say about the orange building on Huancheng Road in Kunming, southwestern China, is that it’s not noticeable. It also doesn’t appear to be dedicated to exclusively selling mobile phones, though it is situated in a sprawling mixed-use commercial complex. One supposes you could always call and ask what they do there, though the reply just might be an angry “What do you THINK we do here?!”

[Source: Web Urbanist. Edited. Some links added.]

TOP 10 WEIRD FACTS ABOUT COFFEE

Top 10 Weird Facts About Coffee
By Serene Hitchcock, Toptenz, 1 December 2013.

Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in our society. It has become a daily staple for many people, who enjoy the smell, the taste and the energy and alertness that it brings. Coffee has a very rich history associated with it. From the coffee beans themselves, to the way that each specific drink is made, to where their interesting monikers came from. Coffee is one of the great drinks of our time, enjoying it can easily be translated to a morning, date or even evening activity. With so many different varieties and options to choose from, it’s not hard to find an option and taste that fits most people’s pallet. Included below are the top 10 weird facts about coffee that most people don’t know.

10. It’s Potentially Dangerous

Some people are naturally sensitive to caffeine. Their bodies just don’t react well to it and they potentially experience unsavoury side effects, such as feeling jittery, anxious or unable to fully concentrate. It turns out that this is because coffee is actually a potential psychoactive. Which means that if you consume high doses of it, you may start to see things that aren’t there, and it can, in very rare circumstances kill you. You would, of course, have to ingest a very huge amount of coffee for anything fatal to occur. It would take roughly 70-100 cups of coffee to actually kill you. Though anywhere between 10-20 cups would cause very uncomfortable and annoying side effects. People who already suffer from issues like insomnia, anxiety or bad nerves, are recommended to stay away from coffee and caffeine in any form. So while coffee makes a great daily dose for some people, doses should be controlled and those sensitive to caffeine should steer clear of it all together.

9. It was Originally Eaten

Coffee beans have been around for centuries. So before it became the different drinks that many of us enjoy today, it was used in a myriad of different ways. In the country of Ethiopia, a farmer noticed that his goats would act rather suspiciously after they’d eat from a specific bush. Upon further investigation, he found that what they were eating from were coffee plants. He ate some of the berries himself and found that they gave him a great energy and vitality. In the coming years, coffee was actually eaten regularly. African tribes would mix the coffee berries with fat and create energy balls that they would eat once or twice a day, when they needed a boost of energy. So coffee was not always consumed via the liquid form. It was only until later years that it being ground and brewed, became the common method of preparing and enjoying it.

8. Coffee Experienced A Big First

Now many of us know that being the first to do anything always sets a big precedent. When anything experiences or does something first, before all other options, it becomes special, original and a pioneer in some ways. Well coffee has this claim when it comes to something very specific. It seems that coffee was the very first food to be freeze dried. This happened in the year of 1938, when the coffee company Nestle invented the freeze dried coffee. It was a milestone that was unprecedented and set a whole new standard for how food could be packaged and sold. This new type of coffee was convenient for so many different reasons and it really allowed consumers the choice in how they wanted to buy their coffee.

7. Second Most Traded Commodity on Earth

There are many different grains, materials, and products that are traded at a high rate amongst countries in this world. The import and export businesses that different countries take part in, is essentially what keeps certain countries thriving and growing. The truth is that many countries have struggling economies that are only aided, and held together by the commodities that they trade to other countries that consume them at a high rate. Coffee is so popular and in such high demand that it is actually the second most traded commodity on earth, only behind oil. This means that other than oil, which countries need for transportation purposes, coffee is the entity that is traded the most. That definitely gives us an idea of just how popular and vital this bean is to certain parts of the world. Some people really can’t do without their coffee fix, they just have to have it. Their days just aren’t complete or run as smoothly if they don’t have that morning cup of joe.

6. The World’s Most Expensive Coffee

Even though coffee is a bit of a common thing in most of our lives, there are specialty type coffees that are available that most of us couldn’t afford. The most expensive coffee in the world can cost up to US$600 per pound and it goes by the name of Kopi Luwak. What’s more interesting and bizarre about this specific type of coffee is where the beans come from. They actually come from an animal. Yes, that’s right. The excretion of a Sumatran wild cat makes these coffee beans wildly expensive and sought after. The wild cat does not digest the coffee beans correctly, what happens to them while they are in the stomach of the cat causes them to come out in prime condition for brewing. It sounds gross and completely unbelievable, but it’s the truth. It’s so highly regarded that it’s currently the most expensive coffee found anywhere in the world. I don’t know that I’d pay hundreds of dollars to drink remnants of animal poo, but different strokes for different folks.

5. Where Do The Beans Grow?

Every type of crop grows in a very specific way. Not all types of natural beans, seeds, fruits or vegetables flourish in similar atmospheres. Everything needs its own elements that help it grow and prosper. Coffee beans are no different. Coffee beans grow on a bush. The buds are actually very unique looking and if you are looking for something that resembles a coffee bean that you’re used to seeing in coffee shops, you’d surely walk right past it. No, coffee beans that are still attached to their bushes actually resemble grapes more than anything else. They have an either green, red or purple hue and they’re much larger than the coffee beans that you’re used to seeing are. The surrounding leaves are generally dark and waxy. They are also incredibly durable and sustainable plants. Depending on the care, a coffee bush can live up to 20-30 years. That’s long enough to keep your caffeine high going for years on end.

4. Coffee Beans are Actually a Fruit. Kind of.

Some people have a hard time understanding what exactly a coffee bean is or where it comes from. Coffee beans are actually technically the pit of a berry. So they are actually a seed that comes from a fruit. This is a fascinating discovering when we think about the fact that most people assume that the coffee bean is actually a bean. But no, it is a seed, that comes from a fruit. So arguably, the fruit that the coffee seeds come from would have a similar effect on your body and your energy if you were to eat them whole. Interestingly enough, no one really suggests that. It seems that the coffee bean itself (or the seed, rather), has become so popular, as it’s blended and brewed, that the original state of the seed, whether attached to the berry or not, does not often enter into the equation. It would be interesting though, if those who don’t enjoy the actual taste of coffee, could opt for a smoothie with the berries that the coffee bean comes from. But then again, caffeine is available in many other forms so maybe it’s an unnecessary idea.

3. Want Good Turkish Coffee? Get an Ibrik

While there are many different ways to properly make all the varying types of coffee that are available, some more old fashioned and archaic ways really are the best. They may not necessarily be efficient in terms of time, but they will make a remarkable cup of coffee. The ibrik is a historical coffee pot that makes luxurious Turkish coffee. It is a bit small in size, so it doesn’t make a lot at a time, but the process that it goes through to make the perfect tasting coffee, is slow and deliberate. Even the way that the pot is structured, adds to the overall effect that it has on the coffee. Along with being small, the neck of the pot is narrower than the bottom; this is a key element that allows the coffee to turn out the way that it does. If you’ve got the time, invest in one. Why not go for a uniquely cultured coffee experience?

2. Coffee Grounds = Possible Fuel Option?

Well it seems that some people think that this could be a viable option in the future. The American Chemical Society did a study that showed the inherent power within used coffee grounds. It is estimated that coffee grounds hold anywhere between 11-20% oil by weight. It seems that we may have a great option for alternative fuel on our hands. These researchers see and understand the on-going issues it seems that we are having obtaining oil, at a reasonable cost on a regular basis. With gas prices going up and down with no conceivable end in sight, any form of alternative energy would prove to be a welcome sight and may even help pad our wallets a bit and save us money. We are definitely a long way away from saving our own coffee grounds to gas up the car, but this experiment gives us a positive outlook for the future.

1. A Ban On Coffee?

Not everyone throughout history has actually taken a liking to coffee. While there are some people now who don’t drink it, or prefer decaf because of the caffeine, in the 16th century it was actually banned by Muslim rulers. Alcohol was also something that was banned in the same communities. But coffee was prohibited after those who were drinking it started to exhibit certain and specific side effects. The Muslim rulers felt that the stimulating effects that coffee had on its drinkers was unsavoury. Though the ban didn’t last very long, it showed that coffee is a very powerful stimulant that can have noticeable effects. Some that are desired and maybe some that are a bit troublesome. But hey, if it gets you through the day, right?

Top image: Kopi Luwak (civet coffee) from Gayo, Takengon, Aceh, Indonesia. Credit: Gunawan Kartapranata/Wikimedia Commons.

[Source: Toptenz. Edited. Top image added.]

10 STRANGE AND FASCINATING FUNERALS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE

10 Strange And Fascinating Funerals Of Famous People
By Mike Devlin, Listverse, 1 December 2013.

All of us are destined to die - a sombre reality, to be certain, but one best openly accepted. Depending on your religion, your budget, or your popularity, your funeral may be elaborate or simple. Most, however, run along the same lines - a few tears shed and a bit of ceremony. For those who were larger than life when they were breathing, though, death can be just as bizarre and magnificent.

10. Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur was one of the most famous and influential rappers of all time. Unfortunately, he did not merely rap about a violent existence - he lived one. On September 7, 1996, Tupac and his entourage attended a Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas before leaving to hit the clubs. En route, a vehicle pulled up next to the car Tupac was riding in and riddled it with bullets. The rapper was struck multiple times.

He died in the hospital six days later and was cremated. There are an abundance of options for dealing with the ashes of the deceased - sometimes they are buried, scattered in some favourite place, or even placed on the mantle next to the wedding pictures. Tupac’s pals had a decidedly less conventional way of keeping their friend with them forever. Members of the rap group Outlaw Immortalz (which Shakur had founded) mixed some of his ashes with marijuana and smoked them. Tupac died as he lived in more ways than one.

9. William The Conqueror

William I was best known for leading the Norman invasion of England, becoming King in 1066 after proving victorious at the Battle of Hastings. He died in 1087, after apparently being thrown against the pommel of his saddle while on horseback and suffering internal injuries.

By all accounts, William was a large man, grown more stout in his latter years. According to Book VII of the Historia Ecclesiastica, Benedictine monk Orderic Vitalis claims that the sarcophagus made for the King was too small. They tried to force the body into the space, whereupon it ruptured. Per Orderic, “the swollen bowels burst, and an intolerable stench assailed the nostrils of the bystanders and the whole crowd.” Not surprisingly, the services were quickly wrapped up.

8. Abraham Lincoln

Photo credit: Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

More has been written about Abraham Lincoln than nearly any man who has ever lived, but there are still esoteric bits of knowledge to be had about America’s 16th president. After being assassinated, Lincoln’s body was sent by train from Washington, DC to Springfield, Illinois, making several stops along the way for the mourning nation to pay their respects.

On April 25, 1865, the procession made their way down Broadway in New York City, where it was photographed. In an ancient snapshot from that day, one of the homes of the wealthy Roosevelt family appears along the left side of the frame. Leaning out the window were two children, one of whom - six-year-old Teddy - stared down at a legacy he would assume some 36 years later, as the nation’s 25th president.

7. Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee's Funeral July 31, 1973 by suprafly

Like many personalities on this list, Bruce Lee became far more famous after he died than he ever was in life. One of the foremost martial artists in the world, Bruce had a short but celebrated film career. His sixth and final movie, Game of Death, had not yet been completed when he died of a mysterious cerebral edema allegedly caused by medication he’d taken.

The filmmakers were in a pickle. Only a few scenes of Game of Death had been recorded, but they decided to tack it together into a full movie using trickery such as stand-ins - most of whom bore less than a passing resemblance to the actual Lee. These anomalies were explained by a scene which indicated the main character had faked his own death. This was accomplished by using footage of Lee’s actual funeral, including shots of his corpse lying in its casket. Creepy.

6. Genghis Khan

The Mongol warlord Genghis Khan bathed the soil of Asia in blood in his attempts to conquer the world. He died in August 1227 at about 65 years of age in China. His cause of death has long been debated, with various sources attributing his passing to everything from a hunting accident to cold-blooded murder. It is likely we will never know his ultimate fate.

Legend has it that his funeral procession carried his body back to Mongolia, slaughtering anyone they encountered along the way so no one would ever know his final resting place. Soldiers allegedly killed everyone present at his funeral, and were then themselves killed. Horses were said to have trampled over the burial site to obscure it, and a river’s path diverted to so the great Khan could slumber forever undisturbed. However, since Mongolia escaped Soviet occupation in the 1990s, several groups of researchers have set out to find the nearly 800-year-old tomb.

5. Josef Stalin

A bloodthirsty dictator, Stalin is surely on the short list for the worst human to ever draw breath. During his tenure as the Premier of the Soviet Union, he was responsible for the deaths of untold millions of people. Stalin himself died on March 5, 1953, likely of a stroke - though some conspiracy theorists believe he might have been fed a fatal dose of warfarin rat poison by political opponents, particularly Lavrentiy Beria, head of the NKVD and forerunner of the KGB.

After an autopsy and embalming, Stalin’s body was sent to Moscow’s Hall of Columns to lie in state. The people of the USSR, who’d been fed a steady diet of misinformation for decades, were grief-stricken by the loss of their “great leader” and crushed toward the building in an attempt to view the body. In the ensuing riot, an estimated 500 people were trampled to death. Even in death, Stalin just could not stop killing.

4. The Red Baron

The best-known fighter pilot of all time, Manfred von Richthofen, was a member of the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I. He is credited with 80 official dogfight victories, but was probably responsible for somewhat more. On April 21, 1918, in northern France while in pursuit of a Canadian plane, he was shot through the heart and lung. Von Richthofen still managed to successfully land his own plane, dying moments later.

So impressive were the Red Baron’s skills that - despite being an enemy with a great deal of blood on his hands - he was buried by the Allies with full military honours, including memorial wreaths, one of which read “To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe.” He was buried in Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin, which ended up on the Soviet side of Germany during the Cold War. His tombstone was riddled with bullets by those attempting to flee to the West. Eventually, the body was moved to a family plot, where it rests today.

3. Andrew Jackson

“Old Hickory” Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States, a war veteran with a fiery temperament. His body was said to rattle with the many bullets he’d absorbed fighting in duels and he actually took part in stomping down a man whose pistols misfired during an assassination attempt. Jackson seemed almost immortal, but was plagued by poor health in his later years, suffering from edema and tuberculosis. He was known for coughing up blood, the consequence of a bullet lodged in his chest that could not be removed. Like all men, he succumbed to the inevitable, dying on June 8, 1845.

At his funeral, Jackson’s memory was appropriately honoured by a most unlikely source. According to the writings of one Reverend William Menefee Norment, who was present at the funeral, “Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house.” That’s right - Andrew Jackson was such a silver-tongued devil that it rubbed off on his parrot.

2. Alexander The Great

Ruler of the Macedonian Empire, Alexander the Great was never defeated in battle and his territories were vast and ever-expanding. If he hadn’t perished at the age of 32, there is no telling what he might have accomplished or its impact on history. Alexander died in Babylon, and he’d requested that his body be dumped into the Euphrates River, but his wish was not granted. Instead, legend has it that his body was preserved - either by embalming or soaking in honey, a point debated by various sources - for two years as an elaborate golden sarcophagus and cart were built to transport him to his final resting place.

His funeral procession was intercepted by Ptolemy I, one of Alexander’s generals, who whisked the body away to Egypt, where he would form his own dynasty. In the ensuing years, the body was viewed by various Emperors and important personages, and was moved to at least three different tombs. Like Genghis Khan, the location of Alexander’s tomb has since been lost, and is one of the most sought after archaeological items, along with such elusive treasures as the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail.

1. Hunter S. Thompson

The inventor of so-called “gonzo journalism,” Hunter S. Thompson was a hard-drinking, drugging, gun-toting writer of no small acclaim. Thompson’s most famous work is probably Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, the tale of a debauched romp through Sin City, later made into a movie starring Johnny Depp as Thompson. An actor of uncommon dedication, Depp spent time at Thompson’s ranch to learn his mannerisms and speech patterns, and the two became fast friends.

When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, Johnny Depp funded a crazy, awesome funeral in the writer’s honour. A 46-meter (150 ft) tower was built replete with the shape of a fist clutching a peyote button - a symbol Thompson had used during an unsuccessful bid for sheriff in Pitkin County, Colorado - and a cannon mounted on top. Attendees included Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, Sean Penn, and Senators John Kerry and George McGovern. As Thompson’s favourite songs - “Spirit in the Sky” and “Mr. Tambourine Man” - blared and fireworks exploded, the cannon shot his ashes into the sky.

[Source: Listverse. Edited.]

TOP 10 COUNTRIES THAT ARE NUMBER 1 IN SURPRISING CATEGORIES

Top 10 Countries That are Number 1 in Surprising Categories
By Karl Smallwood, Toptenz, 30 November 2013.

We all like to think the country we live in is the best at something. With that in mind, when you actually look into it you’ll find that a lot of countries are the best at rather odd or unexpected things. Consider for example that…

10. Afghanistan: Drugs

Anyone who’s seen the Rambo movies think Afghanistan is full of nothing but people playing sheep ball. However, the country is actually one of the drug capitals of the world. Cannabis, hashish, opium and heroin are all shipped by the metric ton from a place that 30% of the people in the world can’t locate on a map.

It’s weird: for a country most people think is kind of backwards, Afghanistan sure has all of our drug addicts by the balls.

9. Singapore: Keeping Babies Alive

We’re just going to get this out there - people in Singapore just aren’t getting laid. Seriously, the birth rate over there is so low the government itself has stepped in to try and get couples to do the horizontal hug.

But when they do give birth, the resulting baby is good to go for a long time. Singapore has brilliant healthcare - so good in fact, that they have the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. So while Singapore couples have sex less often than Amish people, their babies are like Superman, only they grow up to fight for truth, justice and the Singaporean...Singaporese…That Country’s Way.

Dammit, we should have paid more attention in geography class.

8. Australia: Uranium

It’s a running joke that Australia is full of things that could kill you. Spiders, scorpions, snakes - hell, probably even the sand can straight up kill you. So it’s not so much surprising as it is really, really disheartening that even the ground in Australia is absolutely crammed with deadly uranium.

How much? Try 31 freaking percent of the entire world’s supply. That’s how much of the stuff is sitting comfortably underneath oodles of spiders. But here’s the weird thing: Australia doesn’t even use nuclear power. They’re sitting on thousands of years worth of energy and, even though half their country looks like a screenshot from Fallout 3, they don’t even use the energy they have access to. Come on, Australia. You and Turkmenistan need to talk.

7. Venezuela: Beautiful Women

Some people say beauty pageants give women an unhealthy body image and are massive anti-feminist, but as Lisa Simpson once said, “that’s what a fat girl would say.”

We jest, but the so called “big four beauty pageants” are where some of the world’s most objectively attractive women meet to be judged by people who get to write “staring at people in bikinis” on their tax return.

By far Venezuela has the most Big 4 wins with 19: five more than America (the second place winner) and 11 more than India, the third place winner. Now, we know that everyone is beautiful in their own way, but be honest: how many of you are debating going to Venezuela for a vacation after reading this?

6. United Arab Emirates: Not Dying

The record for lowest death rate is owned by a truly unexpected nation. By far, the fewest people overall die in the United Arab Emirates. And we mean by far. While there are dozens of countries that best the mighty United States (Qatar, Nepal, Laos, Pakistan, Aruba and Iran all have lower overall mortality rates,) the UAE is the only country around with less than one death per thousand citizens. We presume this means people only get scared half to death over there or something.

5. Switzerland: Not Bribing People

Bribes are commonplace just about everywhere, except in Switzerland. Now, most people’s image of the Swiss is a bunch of people in funny hats, eating chocolate while clocks-a-plenty chime in the background. We don’t really picture them as shrewd businessmen, let alone honest ones. Hell, does anyone picture a businessman anywhere being honest?

Well, according to the Bribe Payers Index, which is apparently a thing, the Swiss are the unlikeliest group of people to slip someone a bribe. For all of you cynics out there, Russia and China are the most dishonest countries in this category. Among many others.

4. Armenia: Piracy

Prior to reading this title, did you think of Armenia as a technologically advanced country, or anything other than the country that brought us System of a Down? If you’re Armenian we apologize, but let’s face it: you’re not exactly South Korea.

However, regardless of how much we think Armenian people understand technology, they themselves understand it well enough that they don’t have to pay for it anymore. Yes, Armenia is a pirate’s paradise, with 92% of all software there being pirated. Except for System of a Down albums. Those guys get all the money.

3. Russia: Billionaires and Diamonds that Nobody Can Reach

When you think of Russia, you probably think of a bunch of people wearing furry hats and drinking bottles of vodka by the crate to stave off the cold. Sure, we’ve all heard the rumours about Russia being full of billionaires, but did you know that’s no mere rumour? Turns out, the city of Moscow alone had 64 billionaires living there.

But it’s not just billionaires - Russia is full of diamonds too and, because everything Russian has to make you grow chest hair on your eyeballs, they’re all there as a result of a meteor smashing into the Earth. The Popigai Crater supposedly contains trillions of carats worth of diamonds that will never be mined. Why? Because the environment is just too harsh and unforgiving for mining to be economical. Yes, Russia is sitting on billions of dollars worth of diamonds, and no one can touch them because Mother Russia is too badass to let them go.

2. Italy: Go-Karts

Considering how good Italy is at virtually every kind of sport that involves strapping a driver into a fiberglass coffin and asking him to go around hairpin corners at 200 MPH, it’s probably not surprising that they whup ass at the mini version of that too.

In a way though, it is surprising. This completely confirms a stereotype we’ve all been too scared to admit. Just for a second, rack your brains and see if you can think of a fictional Italian with a penchant for go-kart racing. Yes, Mario Kart isn’t just stupidly good fun. It’s also an accurate representation of how much ass the Italians kick at karting.

We’re not just clutching at straws here; take a look at the following list of winners of the karting world championship:

See? We told you; Italy utterly dominates. Even Wikipedia knows!

1. Israel: Social Media

Social media dominates the online landscape these day. Even on this very site, you’ll see links to share this article on Facebook, Twitter and *stifles laughter* Google Plus. It’s unavoidable, but strangely, it’s not the US that uses social media the most. It’s Israel.

Though exact numbers are hard to pin down, Israeli citizens used social media almost twice as much as people in the US, which would make them the most avid users of social media on Earth. In fact, social media is such a problem that the Israeli government has had to crack down on soldiers using the service after a female soldier uploaded “racy pictures” of herself to her Facebook profile.

Say what you want; we’ll bet you never expected to learn Israeli soldiers are so into Instagram their government had to step in and tell them to cut the crap.

Top image: Ranger Uranium Mine, Northern Territory, Australia; credit: Geomartin/Wikimedia Commons. Inset map: Australia's uranium; credit: World Nuclear Association.

[Source: Toptenz. Edited. Top image added.]