Unknown sights of the world. Collection of unknown sights of Russia. Be sure to check it out! Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Our world is not ordinary. As soon as it seems to us that we have already seen everything and know everything, he gives us something amazing. We bring to your attention a selection of the most unusual and mysterious sights of the cities of the planet.

The sexiest grave in Paris

At the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, tourists seek not only to visit the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison.

There is an equally visited grave of a certain Victor Noiret. The young man died a week before the wedding, and the inconsolable bride wished to see a headstone in the form of a lying statue of her beloved with a characteristic bulge in the trousers. Since then, the grave of Victor Noiret has become a place of pilgrimage for women: they say that if you rub the genital area of ​​​​the monument and kiss the statue on the lips, an intimate life will improve in a year, a husband and, possibly, a child will appear.

Monument to the workaholic in Los Angeles

At the entrance to the head office of Ernst & Young in Los Angeles, there is a monument to a man with a diplomat, whose head is immured in an office building. The author of the statue warns workaholics about the danger of going to work and not seeing the beauty of the world around them. True, now tourists are photographed near the bronze sculpture, and office workers, contrary to the warning, work in the offices of the building without sticking their heads out.

Sign "Forbidden to talk to strangers" in Moscow

An initiative group of citizens installed a sign stylized as a road sign in Moscow on the Patriarch's Ponds. It does not carry any information for drivers, but only warns against talking to a stranger, following Mikhail Bulgakov's admonitions in The Master and Margarita: "Never talk to strangers." Bulgakov's Woland, Behemoth and Koroviev are clearly discernible in the silhouettes on the tablet. We advise you to take the warning seriously and enter into dialogues with foreign professors at the Patriarch's Ponds with caution!

Monument to rain in St. Petersburg

One has only to remember the city on the Neva, as you begin to shrivel from dampness. The rain of St. Petersburg - the unspoken symbol of the city - was dedicated to poems and songs. And now the St. Petersburg rain has its own monument! This is an umbrella behind a glass wall, on which the downpour drums. There is no person under the umbrella - apparently, the thing was carried away by the no less famous St. Petersburg wind.

Monument to the Liverpool Four in Almaty

It is unlikely that the legendary Beatles visited Almaty at the height of their fame. But the inhabitants of the city were not upset, but got themselves personal Beatles, perpetuating them in bronze. On the bench where John Lennon settled down, tourists all the time sit down and happily take pictures in an embrace with the bronze artist.

Monument to the artist in Astana

An informal symbol of the creative youth of Kazakhstan is a monument to a girl in jeans and a baseball cap who paints a picture. If your muse has left you, sit on the artist's lap and ask for inspiration. Tourists write their wishes on the canvas, and this is not an act of vandalism: a magical sculpture closely monitors their fulfillment. The bronze artist is part of the sculptural series "Citizens", commissioned by Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Bottle Museum in Pattaya

It is better not to scatter glass bottles on the beach, but to hand it over to the museum. For this, a whole complex has been opened in Pattaya. Here, behind the bottle glass, real magic is happening: multi-masted ships float, beautiful dolls blink their eyes, copies of paintings by great artists are visible. It's hard to believe that such a delicate work can be placed in a bottle - you have to see it with your own eyes!

Over each exhibit (and there are more than three hundred of them in the museum), the Dutch master Peter Bedele worked for at least 15 hours. He has been working with bottles for 15 years! A nice bonus will be the exhibition of historical Coca-Cola labels.

Monument to the white dog in Phuket

In memory of the victims of the 2004 tsunami, a large exhibition was held in Bangkok that same year. Most of the installations spoke about the grief of the loss of loved ones, and only one sculpture reminded of pets who died in the disaster.

The monument to the white dog, despite the huge demand from collectors, was donated to Phuket after the event. Here the statue stands to this day on the city beach.

"Gogol" nose in Kyiv

The nose of the collegiate assessor Kovalev took one night and went for a walk. After a lengthy search, he was captured by the gendarmes, so he gave up trying to sneak away with a fake passport to Riga and went to Kyiv, on Andreevsky Descent. From where, however, he also fled - to Desyatinnaya Street. There, the character of the famous story now flaunts on the wall, and not alone, but with a chic twisted mustache.

Glass sculpture of runner Louis Spiridon in Athens

Athens is one of the richest cities in sights. Remembering it, you immediately think of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the temples of Hephaestus and Zeus. But few people know that there are more modern monuments in Athens. For example, a glass sculpture of the runner Luis Spiridon, who became the first Greek to win the Olympic marathon.

After the installation of the statue in Omonia Square, the Athenian marathon distances always pass through this place. And now - an unexpected fact from eyewitnesses: since the huge sculpture is entirely made of glass, in windy weather you can hear its melodic ringing.

"Traffic Tree" in London

The intersection of Westferry Road and Marsh Wall in East London was rightfully considered one of the most boring places in the city: there were only residential buildings and office buildings around. Artist Pierre Vivant decided to rectify the situation and installed an artificial tree 8 meters high at the crossroads, which consists of 75 traffic lights! While tree lamps do not regulate traffic, they cause drivers to unwittingly slow down on a busy stretch of road. And each signal is switched on according to its own schedule with the help of a service that serves real traffic lights. True, the intersection of Westferry Road and Marsh Wall did not please passers-by for very long: now the traffic light tree has been moved to Trafalgar Way.

Strange and unusual sights in the world are beyond counting! They speak much better than promoted locations about the character of the city and the mentality of its inhabitants. Go on a journey and find your amazing places in every corner of the planet!

During the time we always strive to get to the historical center, or a beautiful city square. Many of them are very similar to each other in that they have the same ones - they are riders on horseback, military generals or seers looking into the future, or elaborate fountains. From time to time you want to see something unusual and this collection will help you with this. Meet the most unusual monuments that are located in different parts of the world.


Fountain Eater of Children (Kindlifresserbrunnen)

Monument to Wenceslas on a dead horse

Monument to the Cotton Weevil

Carhenge

Monument to Enema in

Giant Robot Gundamu

Shark Monument in Headington

Underwater sculptures by Molinere

Manneken Pis, Brussels

Anna Chapman - Russian entrepreneur, and the most beautiful and famous of the intelligence agents

Before you go somewhere to travel, you need to collect information about this country. Photos and videos, the only fact from our past days. After all, having visited some country, we want to take pictures near beautiful buildings, landscapes, etc. Each country has its own attractions, but there are many places that many tourists do not know. Do not look for stereotyped places, find corners where it is really interesting and beautiful, but few people know about it. Today we will tell you about sights that are not standard and are not described on every site.

1. Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Mausoleum-mosque, located in Agra, India, on the banks of the Jumna River. It was built by order of the descendant of Tamerlane - the padishah of the Mughal Empire Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth of the fourteenth child.

Legend has it that Prince Khurram (before the accession to the throne of Shah Jahan was called Khurram) met a beautiful poor girl in the bazaar. And as soon as the prince managed to look into her eyes, he no longer saw her dirty clothes, nor her poverty. He firmly decided to marry the beauty, so as not to be separated from her ever. And so it happened. For a long 17 years they did not part with each other for a day. Even on military campaigns, Mumtaz Mahal always accompanied her husband. She bore him 13 children. During the 14th birth, the woman died.

2. To the Olysee?, Rome

colossus

The amphitheater, an architectural monument of Ancient Rome, is the most famous and one of the most grandiose structures of the Ancient World that have survived to this day. It is located in Rome, in a hollow between the Esquiline, Palatine and Caelievsky hills.

The construction of the largest amphitheater of the entire ancient world, with a capacity of over 50 thousand people, was carried out for eight years, as a collective construction of the emperors of the Flavian dynasty. It began to be built in 72 AD. e. under the emperor Vespasian, and in 80 AD. e. the amphitheater was consecrated by Emperor Titus. The amphitheater is located in the place where there was a pond that belonged to the Golden House of Nero.

3. Machu Picchu, Peru

The city of ancient America, located on the territory of modern Peru, 6 kilometers from the village of Aguas Calientes, on top of a mountain range at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level, dominating the valley of the Urubamba River. In 2007 he was awarded the title of the New Wonder of the World.

Some archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was created as a sacred mountain haven by the great Inca ruler Pachacutec a century before the conquest of his empire, that is, approximately in 1440, and functioned until 1532.

Those wishing to explore the monumental ruins and fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere of an ancient civilization can follow the Inca Trail, a route used by pilgrims for many centuries. It goes from the Sacred Valley near Ollantaytambo through exotic forest and majestic mountains. The hike goes on for several days.

4. Square and St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square

Piazza San Pietro

A grandiose square in the form of two symmetrical semicircles, laid out in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, designed by Giovanni Bernini in 1656-1667. Crowds of believers gather here to listen to the speeches of the pontiff. In the 1930s, Mussolini laid a wide street of Reconciliation from the center of Rome to the square.

Believers gather in the square to hear the papal address from the window of the Lateran Palace or from the balcony of the cathedral (on more solemn occasions, for example, at Christmas; the Pope also appears here for the first time before the public and after his election).

The square, like the cathedral of the same name, is named after St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Before meeting with his teacher, the beloved disciple of Christ was a simple fisherman Simon. Meeting with Jesus, Simon took from him the name "Kepha", which means "stone" in Aramaic. Subsequently, the Gospel began to use a translation from the Greek language: "petros is a stone." So the words of Jesus Christ explain his choice of the name of the apostle: “I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Saint Paul's Cathedral

The Catholic Cathedral, the central and largest building of the Vatican, the largest historical Christian church in the world. One of the four patriarchal basilicas in Rome and the ceremonial center of the Roman Catholic Church. It ranks first in the list of seven pilgrimage basilicas in Rome. Several generations of great masters worked on its creation: Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini. The capacity is about 60,000 people + 400 thousand people in the area.

5. Big Fountain or Onofrio's Fountain, Dubrovnik, Croatia

One of the ancient fountains of the city of Dubrovnik on the Adriatic coast. The fountain originated as the final part of the water supply network created in the city during the Quattrocento period. Dubrovnik had close cultural ties with the Italian principalities, which experienced a cultural flourishing once.

The fountain, built in 1444 by the famous architect and engineer Onofrio de la Cava, can be called one of the first urban water pipes in Eastern Europe. It is located near the Chapel of the Holy Savior.

6. Great Wall of China

Almost 9,000 km long separation wall built in ancient China. The largest monument of architecture.

The construction of the first wall began in the 3rd century BC. e. during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi-huangdi (Qin dynasty), during the period of the Warring States (475-221 BC) to protect the state from the raids of the nomadic Xiongnu people. One fifth of the then population of the country, that is, about a million people, took part in the construction. The length of the wall with all branches is 8.851.800 meters. The length of the wall itself from edge to edge is 2500 kilometers.

7. The ancient city of Petra, Petra, Wadi Musa, Jordan

The ancient city of Petra is located at an altitude of 660 meters above the surrounding area and more than 900 meters above sea level.

Petra (translated from Greek - "rock", "stone"), because of the pinkish hue of rock structures, is often called the Pink City. There are many theories about the history of this place. Archaeologists regularly find things that testify to the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians living in the city. But reliable information is still unknown to anyone. Perhaps it is precisely because of its mystery that Petra attracts travelers from all over the world.

8. Alhambra, Spain

Alhambra

An architectural and park ensemble located on a hilly terrace in the eastern part of the city of Granada in southern Spain. It received its main development during the reign of the Muslim Nasrid dynasty, under which Granada became the capital of the Emirate of Granada on the Iberian Peninsula, and the Alhambra - their residence. The structure of the vast complex, enclosed in fortress walls with towers, also included mosques, residential buildings, baths, gardens, warehouses, and a cemetery. It is currently a museum of Islamic architecture.

Mohammed I began the construction of the palace, which was continued by his son and heir Mohammed II (1273-1302). Under Yusuf I (1332-1354), the Comares tower was built, under Muhammad V (1354-1359) - the Lion's courtyard. Alcazaba was singled out as a citadel and Medina - a residential settlement with an emir's palace.

In 1492, Granada was conquered by the Catholic kings, and the Alhambra became the royal residence. Its first alcalde (and captain-general of Granada) was Iñigo Lopez de Mendoza y Quiñones (1440-1515), Count de Tendilla, nicknamed the "Great Tendilla", grandson of the famous Spanish poet Marquis de Santillana.

In the XVI-XVII centuries. the church of Santa Maria was built on the site of the mosque, and the palace of Charles V appeared next to the palace complex.

After the accession of the Bourbons, that is, from the reign of Philip V (1700-1746), the Spanish kings practically lost interest in the Alhambra.

9. Golden Gate, San Francisco, California

the Golden Gate Bridge

Suspension bridge across the Golden Gate. It connects the city of San Francisco in the north of the San Francisco Peninsula and the southern part of Marin County, near the suburb of Sausalito. The Golden Gate Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the world from its opening in 1937 until 1964. The total length of the bridge is 2737 m, the length of the main span is 1280 m, the height of the supports is 227 m above the water, the mass is 894,500 tons. The height of the roadway above the water surface at high tide is 67 m. This is one of the most recognizable bridges in the world.

10. With a tattoo of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro

The famous statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms on top of the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro. It is a symbol of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil in general. Chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Architect - Landowski, Paul, Albert Caquot[d], Silva Costa, Heitor and Sinhala.

In 1921, the approaching centenary of Brazil's national independence (1822) inspired the city fathers - Rio de Janeiro was then the capital of Brazil - to create a statue of Christ the Redeemer. Cruzeiro magazine announced a fundraiser for a subscription to the construction of the monument. The campaign generated over 2.5 million miles. The church also joined the fundraising: the then Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, don Sebastian Leme, took a great part in the creation of the monument.

The construction of the statue lasted about nine years - from 1922 to 1931.

11. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia

The Musical Theater in Sydney, one of the most famous and easily recognizable buildings in the world, which is the symbol of the largest city in Australia and one of the main attractions of the continent - the sail-like shells that form the roof make this building unlike any other in the world. The Opera House is recognized as one of the outstanding buildings of modern architecture in the world and since 1973 has been, along with the Harbor Bridge, the hallmark of Sydney. On June 28, 2007, the theater was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The height of the building is 65 m, the genre is expressionism.

12. Louvre, Paris, France

Musée du Louvre

One of the largest and most popular art museum in the world. The museum is located in the center of Paris, on the right bank of the Seine, on Rue Rivoli, in the 1st arrondissement of the capital.

The museum building is an ancient royal palace (Palais du Louvre). The equestrian statue of Louis XIV marks the starting point of the so-called historical axis of Paris.

The Louvre is one of the oldest museums with a rich history of collecting art and historical relics of France, from the time of the Capetian dynasty to the present day.

Everything was collected in the Louvre, this museum can be called universal. His collections cover vast geographic and temporal spaces: from Western Europe to Iran through Greece, Egypt and the Middle East; from antiquity to 1848. European art of the latest period of time - from 1848 to the present day - is presented at the Musee d'Orsay and the Center Georges Pompidou, and Asian art is exhibited at the Guimet Museum. The art of Africa, America and Oceania is on display at the Quai Branly Museum.

13. Red Square, Moscow, Russia

The main square of Moscow, located in the center of the city's radial-circular layout between the Moscow Kremlin (to the west) and Kitai-gorod (to the east). It is also unofficially the main square of the country. From the square to the banks of the Moscow River leads a sloping Vasilyevsky Spusk.

The square is located along the north-eastern wall of the Kremlin, between the Kremlin passage, Voskresenskiye Vorota passage, Nikolskaya street, Ilyinka, Varvarka and Vasilyevsky descent to the Kremlin embankment. The streets leaving the square further branch out and merge into the main thoroughfares of the city, leading to different parts of Russia.

On the square there is a Execution Ground, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky, the Mausoleum of V. I. Lenin, next to which is the Necropolis near the Kremlin wall, where figures (mainly political and military) of the Soviet state are buried. To the west of the square is the Moscow Kremlin, to the east - the Upper (GUM) and Middle shopping arcades, to the north - the Historical Museum and the Kazan Cathedral, to the south - St. Basil's Cathedral (Pokrovsky Cathedral). The unique architectural ensemble of the square is under the protection of UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The area, paved with Crimean dolerite paving stones, is a pedestrian zone. Car traffic on the square has been banned since 1963. There is also a ban on the movement of bicycles and mopeds. The total length of the Red Square is 330 meters, the width is 75 meters, and the area is 24,750 m².

14. District Mala Strana (Mal? Strana), Prague, Czech Republic

Mala Strana is a unique monument of baroque architecture, the oldest historical district of Prague. Mala Strana is located in the heart of Prague, between the Vltava River and two hills decorated with picturesque terraces.

This place holds a lot of evidence of how Prague and its royal dynasties developed. The cobbled streets of the quarter remember Mozart, who often visited this place.

Despite the compactness of the area, there are numerous churches, villas, baroque palaces in the Lesser Country. Lesser Town - a place of pilgrimage for photographers - where, if not here, you can capture magnificent views of the Prague capital with characteristic red-tiled roofs and medieval buildings.

15. Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle is built in the Bavarian Alps, on a rock 92 meters high. This is one of the most famous castles of Ludwig II of Bavaria, sometimes referred to as Ludwig the Mad. Neuschwanstein literally translates as "New Swan Rock", but in general the castle is named after the Knight of the Swan from Wagner's opera "Lohengrin". Every year, the castle attracts about 1.3 million visitors, making Neuschwanstein one of the most famous royal buildings in the world.

The slender, soaring palace is located near the town of Füssen and Hohenschwangau Castle in southern Germany, near the border with Austria. The white-stone building with patterned windows is crowned with graceful pointed turrets with loopholes and arched balconies. Neuschwanstein Castle fits perfectly into the surrounding Alpine landscape. From afar, it looks like a theatrical scenery. The architectural concept belonged to Ludwig II. He began building it in September 1869. “The most beautiful place you can find,” the king wrote to Wagner. “Here I will build a castle in the style of the old German knightly fortresses.” Six months before his death, the king moved to an unfinished castle.

There is no militancy in Neuschwanstein. This is a fortified palace. Not for war, but for lofty dreams and beautiful music. On the walls and tapestries, in the design of furniture, the interior of stairs and passages, on the ceilings, images of swans prevail - drawn, stone, wooden, metal. The wall paintings in many of the rooms are based on Wagner's operas Tristan and Isolde, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parsifal and Tannhäuser. 12 luxurious halls of the royal chambers are open for inspection.

16. Pissing boy, Brussels, Belgium

One of the most famous sights of Brussels, located in close proximity to the Grand Place, at the intersection of Bannoy and Oak streets. This is a miniature bronze statue-fountain in the form of a naked boy urinating into a pool.

The exact time and circumstances of the creation of the statue are unknown. According to some reports, the statue existed already in the 15th century, possibly from 1388. Some local historians say that it was installed as a reminder of the events of the Grimbergen war, when the cradle with the son of Gottfried III of Leuven was hung on a tree in order to inspire the townspeople with the view of the future monarch, and the child from there urinated on the warriors fighting under the tree. According to another legend, the statue was originally intended to remind the townspeople of the boy who extinguished the ammunition laid out by the enemy under the city walls with a stream of urine.

The statue acquired its present form in 1619 thanks to the skill of Jerome Duquesnoy, the Mannerist court sculptor, father of the more famous Francois Duquesnoy. Starting from 1695, the statue was repeatedly abducted, including this happened while the Napoleonic troops were in the city (the last time the statue was stolen was in the 1960s, after which it was once again replaced with a copy). The pursuit of the Manneken Pis kidnapper is told in the 1908 silent French film Sa?da a enlev? Manneken-Pis".

17. Easter Island, Chile

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is an island in the Pacific Ocean in Chile, famous for its giant stone statues.

Easter Island is also a unique landscape with volcanic craters, lava formations, glowing blue water, beaches, low hills, livestock farms and many archaeological sites, most of which are devoted to the study of moai figures. They reach a height of 10 m. One of the figures, on the Anakena beach, was installed almost in its original position, and a memorial plaque was placed next to it in memory of the arrival of Thor Heyerdahl in 1955.

Our world is a strange place. As soon as we begin to get the feeling that we know everything about him, he suddenly shows us strange places or creepy rock formations. If you know exactly where to look, you can find places as unusual and mysterious as those that we will discuss below:

10 Erotic Rock Valley
Türkiye

Far away in the arid and dusty plains of Anatolia lies one of Turkey's top attractions: Cappadocia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes ancient stone dwellings, underground churches and Byzantine art. This place is quite possibly one of the main historical areas of the Middle East. Therefore, it is rather strange that this place is also the location of a forest of huge stone dildos.

That's right. Thanks to a long history of geological upheaval, the rocks around the small town of Goreme have taken on various strange shapes. And the strangest of these forms can be found in (Love Valley). Rising skyward and crowned with slightly conical ridges at the top, the stones look like Ron Jeremy's dignity on steroids. The whole valley is full of them - huge stone phalluses, stretching to the horizon as far as the eye can see. It's no surprise that this area is now the go-to destination for European boys from student organizations who come here to take funny and provocative photos.

9 Devil's Bath
New Zealand


If you ask a child to draw a radioactive pool, then he will definitely draw something like the Devil's Bath in New Zealand. This pool is a small lake in the Taupo Volcanic Zone near the city of Rotorua. The lake is filled with water that glows with a bright and unnatural green light.

Based on the fact that this is a volcanic zone, you can probably guess what exactly makes Vanna glow with such an unnatural light. The lake sits on extensive sulfur deposits that flake off the bottom and float to the surface, giving the water its distinctive hue. Because of this, the water in the lake always looks like radioactive slime. This process also causes the fact that the lake stinks very strongly. It emits a strong smell of rotten eggs, which even in guidebooks is compared with the consequences of a giant infernal gas emission.

Devil's Bath is not the only lake on Earth that has such a rich green color. Lake Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai in Indonesia also looks like a secret radioactive waste dump.

8 Desert Glass
Libya and Egypt


The last place on Earth where one would expect to find anything is the Libyan Desert. This is the most severe place in the already inhospitable Sahara. Here you can expect to see only sand, stones and nothing else. However, if you go to a special point in this desert and start digging in the sand, you can find the most mysterious artifact of this region: Libyan glass.

This glass, which is actually huge chunks of yellow silicon, has puzzled locals for centuries. The Aterians used it to make tools and weapons. The ancient Egyptians made intricate jewelry from it. In the 1930s, this glass was stumbled upon by Western researchers who set out to find out the history of the origin of this glass.

To date, it is believed that glass appeared as a result of the fall of a meteorite or comet to Earth. During the collision, the sand was overheated to a temperature of 2,000 degrees Celsius and, accordingly, melted. We can only imagine what this glass looked like a few minutes after the collision.

7. Franz Gsellmann's Weltmaschine "World Machine"
Austria


Photograph: Roman Klementschitz

The World Machine nestled in a small barn in Austria may be one of the strangest projects in human history. Franz Gselmann has been building this collection of moving, brightly colored, intersecting wheels and engines for 20 years and no one knows why.

In 1958, Gselmann, the son of a poor farmer with no training in engineering or mechanics, saw a large model of the atom at the Brussels World Exposition. Completely enamored with it, he purchased it instantly, returned to Austria, threw everything out of his shed, and placed the model in the center. And then he started building.

Over the next twenty years, Gselmann secretly built his strange contraption around a model of the atom, adding bells, clocks, fans, conveyor belts, whistles, chains, and even a xylophone. Plastic models of Joseph and Mary, an iron rooster, a spaceship, a small windmill, Christmas garlands, a toy gondola, and a whole bunch of other things too ridiculous to mention, also found their place in Gselmann's structure. He hid his creation from his family until it was nearly complete. Then he suddenly died without saying a word to anyone about why he was building it.

Currently, there are many theories about why Gselmann devoted the best years of his life to building his crazy machine. Perhaps the most poetic of them is that he thought it would reveal the most intimate details of the human soul.

Source 6The Deadly Bubbles of Lake Abraham
Canada


Created by human intervention in the 1970s and named in one of the dreaded public naming contests, Canada's Abraham Lake doesn't sound like a must-see. However, if you go there in the winter, you will come face to face with one of the most simultaneously cool and deadly natural phenomena in America. Flammable bubbles of methane gas below the frozen surface of the lake bump into the ice, as if waiting for someone to ignite a spark and blow them up.

The methane bubbles are given off by bacteria that feed on decaying animals and plants. As a rule, these bubbles rise to the surface without anyone noticing them. But in winter, they turn into white bubbles of gas suspended at different angles in the frozen water. The result is simply stunning bubble towers (as pictured above) trapped below the surface of the lake where any passer-by can clearly see them. This annual show has led to Abraham Lake becoming one of the most popular photography destinations in Canada.

5. Lake Of Blood
Bolivia


Photograph: Valdiney Pimenta

If the Bible was written in Bolivia, we would assume that the guy who wrote the section on seas of blood visited Laguna Colorada. This high-altitude lake, which looks like the aftermath of a bloody Django Unchained shootout, at first glance, consists of only one ingredient: blood.

The lake is actually the habitat of a special type of red algae. In addition to the red deposits that rise from the bottom to the surface when the water moves, it is these algae that give the waters of the lake its color, reminiscent of horror films. The principle is very similar to that which causes the bright and beautiful color of the Cano Cristales River in Colombia. However, unlike the algae that grows in the river, which blooms once a year, the Colorado Lagoon remains bright red all year round.

Most interestingly, Bolivia is not the only country that has such brightly colored lakes. Lake Retba in Senegal has a bright pink color similar to chewing gum, which is caused by an excessively high concentration of salts in its waters.

4. Disco Mosque
Iran


What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "mosque"? Most likely, you imagine something like the famous Blue Mosque (Blue Mosque) located in Istanbul: a majestic place intended for pious contemplation. That is why the Shah Cheragh Mausoleum, located in the Iranian city of Shiraz, is so unique. Shah Cherakh Mausoleum looks like the inside of a disco ball.

The reason for creating such a colorful interior is a rather interesting story in itself. At the beginning of the ninth century, two brothers were killed at this site during anti-Shia persecution that spread throughout the region. Their deaths were more or less forgotten for the next 500 years, until Queen Tashi Khatun decided to build a mosque at their graves, turning them into a place of pilgrimage. Then she ordered that the mosque be covered with glass to increase its brilliance a thousand times.

3Great misty rainbows
All over the world


Needless to say, the rainbow is just a stunningly magnificent phenomenon. However, there are other types of rainbows in nature that look even more beautiful than the legendary double rainbow. Perhaps the most rare and striking of these is the hazy rainbow.

This type of rainbow only appears during fog. Rainbows of this kind are more like the ghost of an ordinary rainbow that was recently killed, and whose spirit came to your soul. Oftentimes, hazy rainbows don't look real - they're pale, white, ethereal, like an illusion made from smoke.

They appear in exactly the same process that is responsible for the appearance of ordinary rainbows. The difference is that while normal rainbows are created by light bouncing off large water droplets, hazy rainbows are created by the refraction of light by incredibly tiny water droplets. This makes them appear pale and hazy, giving them a ghostly appearance.

2. Dead horse on a ride
State of Nevada


Sometimes on our Earth there are such strange things that there are practically not enough words to describe them. A dead driver horse from Nevada is one of those things.

The dead horse driver, which is located next to a remote road leading out of the half-abandoned town of Baker, Nevada, is exactly what it seems. The skeleton of a horse is comfortably seated behind the wheel of a rusty old car, and its hoof rests at ease on the dashboard. It is clear that this was done by people from a small and semi-abandoned town who have too much free time. However, when you see it for the first time, it's simply impossible not to imagine a horse going for a ride and just stopping to take in the view.

1. The bottom of the iceberg
Antarctica


You probably know that we only see the tip of the icebergs. Approximately 90 percent of their mass floats underwater and never sees people. Unless, of course, they are lucky enough to be. “Lucky” is probably not a very good word, since the process of flipping an iceberg is very dangerous.

This usually happens only after it has broken off and fallen into the water, and gravity has not yet determined which end should be on the bottom. When a large iceberg capsizes, it generates as much energy as an atomic bomb when it explodes and can easily sink even the largest ocean-going ship. However, if you manage to survive it all, you will be in for a pleasant surprise, because the bottom of the iceberg can be very beautiful.

Without a layer of snow to cover it, the underside of an iceberg can appear bright blue. This is because it absorbs light at the red end of the spectrum, which means that ice itself has a brilliant blue color. The end result is something that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie and, like many of the hidden wonders in our world, it will be amazingly beautiful.

Published a guide to unknown corners of the planet. The list of the most amazing sights in the world consists of 600 places that once again emphasize the greatness of our planet.

The creators of the book, writer Neil Gaiman and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, believe that this book is one of the best travel guides of our time, as it inspires travel and creativity.

Here is what a dozen modern "wonders of the world" look like:

Root bridges in Cherrapunji city, India

"Living" bridges are created with minimal human intervention, which only guides the growth of flexible roots. Thus, the locals not only grew strong bridges that can withstand up to 50 people, but also did not harm nature.

Merry Cemetery, Romania

Thanks to the original multi-colored tombstones, which often depict episodes from the life of the deceased. The first bright tombstone in 1935 was installed here by wood carver Joan Petras Stan. The cemetery reflects the culture of the ethnic tribes of Transylvania, for whom death is a joyful event.

Star City, Russia

In the closed urban-type settlement, you can watch the preparation of cosmonauts for flight and get acquainted with modern technology and the history of Yuri Gagarin's flight.

Fingal's Cave, Scotland

Many hexagonal basalt columns adorn the walls of a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa. Impressed by these places, Felix Mendelssohn wrote a beautiful overture.

Underground temples of Damanhur, Italy

The temple of the Damanhur spiritual community in the cave was built over 15 years. The underground complex occupies 6 thousand cubic meters. The walls in it are decorated with paintings and mosaics, stained-glass windows, columns and sculptures flaunt in the halls.

Glowing waters in Toyama Bay, Japan

The bright neon glow of the water off the coast in Toyama Bay is due to firefly squid. Bioluminescent mollusks no longer than 7 cm differ from their large counterparts in the presence of photophores - organs that emit bright light.

Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop, Ghana

The Ghanaians believe that the coffin should reflect the character and habits of the deceased, and being buried in such a coffin is considered the greatest respect.
The tradition of burying the dead in unusual coffins originated in Ghana from the middle of the last century, since then the Kane Kwei Carpentry workshop has supported this custom.

Paronella Park, Australia

All structures of the park, except for the castle, are built of concrete and covered with moss for 80 years, which makes the park very picturesque. The unusual park was built by an immigrant from Spain, Jose Paronella, who in the 1930s began to equip places of entertainment for local residents.

Stalactite Organ, Virginia, USA

In 1956 mathematician Leland Sprinkle noticed a good musical resonance in the cave. For several years of work, Sprinkle processed the rocks to the perfect sound. Each resonator is attached to a hammer, which is controlled by electricity from a conventional organ keyboard.

Lightning Catatumbo, Venezuela

At the confluence of the Catatumbo River into Lake Maracaibo, winds coming from the Andes cause thunderstorms, and methane, which is rich in the atmosphere of these wetlands, rises to the clouds and feeds lightning discharges. The frequency of lightning reaches 280 strokes per hour and even more. The greatest number of thunderstorm days falls between May and October.