Popularly known as the "King of Fruits" in Southeast Asia, durian is distinguished not only for its size and thorn-covered husk, but definitely also for its repulsive stench, which is best described as a mixture of feces and vomit. In spite of its odor, it tastes heavenly. As the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace puts it, it flesh is like "a rich custard highly flavored with almonds," while English novelist Anthony Burgess compared his experience of eating durian to "eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory." Durian is widely used to flavor an assortment of sweet and savory Southeast Asian cuisines as candies, biscuits and ice creams. However, due to its smell, it is banned from establishments as airports and hotels.
Limburger Cheese
Limburger cheese is a high calorie and cholesterol-rich German/Belgium dairy product well-known for its pungent aroma. It is made from pasteurized goat's milk fermented in the bacterium Brevibacterium linens, the very same bacterium found on human skin and partly responsible for body odor. So, if by chance you walked past someone who hasn't taken a bath in a month and thought if only such a scent could be turned into something edible, then, take heart, treat yourself with some Limburger cheese!
Natto
Natto is a popular traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans, most usually eaten during breakfast to accompany rice. Commonly used as an ingredient of miso soup, salad and even ice cream, it has a somewhat nutty and salty taste that somehow contradicts its rather strong ammoniac smell. Supported by medical studies, natto contains a chemical enzyme, aptly called nattokinase, which can reduce the likelihood of blood clotting, and thus, can help to prevent heart attack and strokes. It is also rich in vitamin K, which can assist in bone formation, thereby preventing osteoporosis.
Surströmming
Also called as "soured herring", surströmming is a Swedish delicacy consisting of fermented Baltic herring. Freshly caught herring are cleaned, placed in barrels to be fermented for about 2 months, and then canned for another 6 to 12 months of fermentation. Gases accumulate considerably inside the cans, building up an enormous amount of pressure that causes the once cylindrically-shaped cans to swell into rounded ones. Several major airlines have banned the fish citing the possibility of the pressurized cans exploding in-flight. The dish is often eaten outdoors due to its smell, which is a blend of amazing aromas including rancid-butter butyric acid, pungent propionic acid, rotten-egg hydrogen sulfide and sour acetic acid. It is normally eaten with bread topped with butter, chopped onions and boiled potatoes and served a glass of cold milk or beer. Though the Swedes do confess that it may not be the world's best smelling food, it certainly makes up for its taste.
Century Egg
Also known as hundred-year egg and thousand-year egg, century egg is a Chinese delicacy made from duck, quail or chicken eggs preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, lime, salt and rice straw. After the process is completed for several months, the yolk becomes a dark soft, greenish substance that exudes an odor similar to ammonia and sulfur, while the white becomes a dark brownish transparent jelly with little flavor. It can be eaten without extra preparation as a dim sum or side dish; and is popularly used to garnish rice congee or porridge.
Kimchee
A staple of the Korean diet, kimchee is made of vegetables, principally cabbages and radishes, fermented in brine and a mixture of seasonings as garlic, scallions, onions, chili pepper and ginger. Kimchee smells much like sweaty feet. And the bad news is: eating it also makes one smell pretty much the same as the pungent spices such as chili and garlic makes the odor ooze out of your pores even long after you have consumed it. Having a variety of vegetables as its main ingredients, it is reputable for being a healthy food as it contains very high concentration of dietary fiber that can aid digestion, and is rich in various vitamins and minerals that may possibly reduce the risk of some types of cancer.
Hákarl
Hákarl, a traditional Icelandic delicacy, is made from Greenland or basking shark, which is very poisonous in its unprocessed state due to its high uric acid content. The shark is fermented for about 6 to 12 weeks under the ground covered with gravel and topped with stones until all fluids are squeezed out of the body; and then hung to dry for several months. It has a particularly formidable ammoniac smell, much akin to many cleaning products; and a taste that will get your gag reflexes going in no time. Hákarl is generally served in small cubes on toothpicks with a shot of the local brandy brennivin that can somehow ease the eating process. Renowned chef Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel hit show "No Reservations" described the dish as "the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing."
Who was she? Vesna Vulovic was a stewardess back in the '70s working on a Serbian airline.
How She Stared Down Death: Except for surviving countless ass gropings during her time as a stewardess there was really nothing special about this lady. Oh yeah, except for the fact that she fell 33,000 fucking feet and lived to tell the tale.
On January 26, 1972 our gal was working an extra shift due to a clerical error. She took the shift anyway to earn a little extra scratch, probably to supplement her bear-wrestling hobby or something. Anyway, some terrorists decided to blow up her plane and succeeded in doing so at the worst possible time, when the plane was really high up in the air.
Not only did she survive the explosion that blew the plane into pieces, but she was the only person to live after hitting the side of the mountain. Normally this would totally suck by itself, but it was winter so the mountain was also frozen which probably made it feel like she hit it after falling 33,000 and 10 feet.
Now because we're talking about reality and not a cartoon, she did in fact break a bunch of bones and fell into a coma, but when she woke up she looked around and asked for a cigarette. Apparently flipping Death the bird really gives you cravings.
Not convinced? Did we tell you she was left paralyzed ... but then regained her ability to walk through sheer force of will and balls-out effort? She also didn't suffer any of those New Age, sissy boy "psychological effects" either and continued to fly like nothing happened. As a bonus she collected a Guinness World Record for her troubles.
Want to see if you're as tough? No problem all you have to do is jump off the equivalent of 26 Empire State Buildings.
In case you're wondering, a fall like that takes about three minutes, which should be plenty of time to contemplate death (and every single bad decision you've made in your life) and after that, don't forget to live, break your back, fall into a coma, become paralyzed and then recover, which we figure is the hard part.
Aron Ralston Hacks Off His Own Fucking Arm
Who was he? A mechanical engineer at Intel. You know those engineers are renowned for being tough guys.
How He Stared Down Death: No biggie, all he did was take a hike in the woods and came out five days later, missing an arm, which he had to cut off himself.
Seems Aron was big on mountain climbing, which by itself is pretty manly, but not enough to get him on this list. Except during this particular hike a boulder fell on him, pinning his arm. For five days he worked to push the rock off and finally realized he would die unless he took drastic action.
Because the prospect of cutting off your arm may not impress some of you hardcore readers, we need to point out that he first had to break his arm by snapping it against the same rock pinning him down. Then came the hard part, cutting through the flesh.
Lucky for Aron he had a multi-use tool. Unluckily for Aron it was a piece of crap knock-off that he probably got from an aunt at Christmas. Plus saying that he was lucky to have the tool to cut through his arm is kind of like saying you're lucky to have Chapstick on your lips while your head is on fire.
Death wasn't about to give up easily though, and after cutting through the flesh, Aron had to use the pliers to cut through the tendons that the knife couldn't cut. If you feel like the details presented thus far aren't quite gruesome enough, here's a nice interview where Ralston describes how the flesh on his arm already started to rot into mush by the time he got free:
Finally he freed himself, gave Death one last manly smile and found some help. He ended up losing the arm but had it replaced by a bitching climbing ax, accomplishing in one step what we hope evolution does for the rest of us over the next few million years.
Jim Thompson POW and Legendary Badass
Who was he? Jim was just a store clerk, until he decided he could probably impress more girls by telling them he was a Green Beret, which he became.
How He Stared Down Death: During the Vietnam War, Jim was captured and held as a prisoner of war, at which time he was beaten and tortured. The time we're speaking of by the way was a period of nine years, giving him a pretty bittersweet record for being held as a POW.
His plane was shot down in 1964, with Jim taking a bullet and breaking his back in the process. Surviving that part would have been enough of a harrowing story for most people to tell for the rest of their lives. But it was a long way from over for Jim.
After being captured, Jim was held in a jungle camp and jammed into a wooden cage too small for him to sit up or fully stretch out. For months his captors wanted him to sign papers saying that he was treated well. Jim told them to fuck off and in return was beaten and tortured some more. At some point, probably because his voice was sore from telling them to fuck themselves, he finally signed.
As a reward, he was moved into solitary confinement for four years. He was finally moved into a prison with other prisoners which was great, except that the beatings and torture continued, which pretty much blew. At one point during his captivity, he became so weak that he suffered a heart seizure. Realizing he needed his heart to live, Jim survived that scare and even managed to escape five times.
The time took its toll on Jim though and it looked like Death would win this one. Another prisoner who saw Jim reported that he thought the enemy had placed a corpse in the cell next door. However, Death forgot the fact the Jim was a Green Beret and he held on until he was finally released in 1973. He weighed 90 pounds.
Thompson unfortunately succumbed to death shortly after his release. And by "shortly" we mean 30 years later, of natural causes, in Florida.
Poon Lim, Cast Away
Who was he? He was steward on a British ship during World War II, with an unfortunate first name, at least by Western standards.
How He Stared Down Death: The ship he was working on was blown up by the Germans. Being total assholes, the Germans did this while the ship was far away from land. Surviving the explosion was no biggie for Poon, but it forced him to climb into a life raft and hang out until he was rescued ... 133 fucking days later.
At first there was water in the raft and a few boxes of biscuits. But these ran out quickly and Poon had to get all MacGyver and make himself some fish hooks out of nails and tin cans to catch fish to survive.
Between doing awesome stuff like catching sharks and drinking the blood of birds he caught, he also had to deal with sunburn, seasickness and storms that wrecked his food and water supplies. Eventually he figured he needed to catch more food. For us that would mean more fish. For Poon it meant catching a fucking shark. For Death it meant Poon was not going down easy.
He could have been rescued sooner but another German U-boat that spotted him offered no help. It was at this point that Poon began to suspect that the Nazis were dicks.
He finally sailed near Brazil and was rescued by some fishermen, and these days the US Navy teaches his survival techniques to its sailors.
The Meng Brothers Eat Coal For Breakfast
Who were they? A coal miner working in China, which is basically like poking Death in the face on a regular basis for a living.
How They Stared Down Death: Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou were working hard in a coal mine when the tunnel they were working in collapsed, burying them alive. Generally coal mines anywhere are not safe places to work, but the Mengs were working in an illegal mine, which meant that the safety budget was probably spent on booze and bribes instead of things like oxygen or emergency training.
After the mines collapsed, a rescue team was sent in to try and dig Meng and his brother out, but then quickly gave up. Their fellow miners then gave it a try, and were promptly arrested for illegal mining, presumably on the basis they could accidentally dig up some coal along with the two human beings trapped under it.
So, trapped underground with no food or water and a system too retarded to save them, everyone gave up hope. The Mengs' relatives even conducted burial rites at the mine.
The brothers, however, were still alive. Realizing the rescue effort wasn't coming, the brothers started digging themselves out. Armed with only one pickaxe and their bare hands, they tunneled their way through 66 feet of coal.
In between making jokes about each other's wives and drinking their own urine, they also tried chomping on some coal to take the edge off their hunger. According to Meng, coal tastes great when you're starving to death. Otherwise it tastes like ass.
Once they pulled themselves to the surface, Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou gave Death the double bird salute and gave the officials who called off the rescue a hard stare. Then they went to the hospital, where Meng Xianchen said he crapped coal for a few days.
Brent Case Has Bear-Proof Skin
Who was he? A surveyor working up in Canada, which is like the US, but with better beer and fewer guns.
How He Stared Down Death: Brent was minding his own business while working in the forests of British Columbia when Death came to visit in the form of a 900-pound adult grizzly bear.
Brent was carrying an ax at the time, but that probably doesn't help a lot against a bear unless it's the kind of ax that shoots shotgun shells. Brent, knowing better, decided to play dead.
Unfortunately the bear wasn't looking for a fair fight and started munching on Brent's skull. At one point he thought the bear was actually eating his brain. While this may not have been true, from the picture below you can't blame him for thinking this.
The bear took a few more chunks out of Brent, threw him into a bog and jumped on him WWE-style a few times before saying "Screw it" and walking off leaving Brent for dead.
It should be noted that playing dead still probably saved his life, as bears typically won't eat an already-dead victim (we're not sure why, but we think it's considered dishonorable according to the code all bears live by). Regardless, with his scalp hanging in huge flaps from his skull and bleeding heavily, Brent managed to get up and go for help. He got back to his car and drove 15 miles, covered in blood and bear bites. Death could only stand on the side of the road and shake its fist.
Alexis Goggins, Invincible Girl
Who was she? Just an ordinary first grader, attending classes, hanging with her friends.
How She Stared Down Death: She had to save her mom from some crazy dude. She did this by jumping in front of him and taking six bullets, point blank, including a couple to the head.
It started when some lowlife kidnapped Alexis and her mom (OK, the lowlife was the mom's boyfriend). The mother tried to stall the bad guy and managed to call 911, but the cops said they couldn't send anyone. Apparently they were all busy with more fucked up situations than a man holding a child hostage at gunpoint.
It was at this point that the gunman decided he should stamp his passport into hell and started shooting. Two bullets struck the mother before little Alexis dove between them, begging the shooter to stop. Without hesitation, he shot six times, little Alexis taking the bullets that would have killed her mother. By this time the cops arrived, as they figured things were getting really serious because now someone was actually shooting.
Alexis thought about dying for a second then decided she still had some shit to do. Death could only watch as she grabbed her stuff and headed back to the land of the living, despite some serious injuries that would have killed most of us twice and some of us three times.
This would be jaw-droppingly impressive for a 250-pound Marine combat vet, let alone a seven-year-old girl. And while we would like to cling to our original theory that she's actually an immortal Highlander, the truth is this seven-year-old girl is simply more man than we'll ever be.
One of the most popular places to hang-out during the blistering hot summer months are at one of the approximately 1,600 water parks around the world. Nowadays, it doesn’t even have to be summer to enjoy some of these awesome water parks, because a growing trend in the amusement park industry is indoor water parks. You can now enjoy the excitement of blasting down a speedy water ride while there’s two-feet of snow outside – even at places as far north as Alaska!
In 2003 alone, there were an estimated 72 million visitors to water parks across North America, and this figure is growing by about 3% per year. So needless to say, existing water parks will continue to grow, and new ones will be popping-up, across the globe. Water parks are continuously trying to build the fastest, tallest, and scariest water rides on the planet, and this list of the top water parks in the world will let you know where you can find some of the most awesome water slides anywhere.
Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia
Sunway Lagoon: As the largest water park in Malaysia, Sunway Lagoon is a place that must be visited when traveling to the Kuala Lumpur area. This award-winning water park features a ton of water rides that are separated into 3 main areas: Waters of Africa, World of Adventure, and Wild Wild West. Each themed area has its own set of thrilling water rides, including a state-of-the-art surf beach with over 6,000 tons of real sand, and palm trees, that make this experience truly one-of-a-kind. Thrill-seekers will also love the Cameroon Climb double-tube ride, which blasts you down a steep hill from 45ft up, and then shoots you back up a steep hill at a height of about 24-feet – all while traveling at blistering speeds. 2
Ocean Dome, Japan
Ocean Dome: This amazing indoor water park in Japan just happens to be the largest retractable-roof dome on the planet. This huge indoor water park is the second largest in the world at 322,752 square feet of water-splashing fun. It features a very realistic ‘Great Bank’ indoor wave pool that has 450 feet of crushed-marble sand as its beach. You’ll also find a very large volcano surrounded by water slides that ‘erupts’ every hour by shooting flames into the air. Unfortunately, the Ocean Dome was closed down in October of 2007. So if you were one of the 10 million visitors to this great water park, consider yourself lucky! 3
Tropical Islands, Germany
Tropical Islands: This is not only the largest indoor water park in the world (covering 710,000 square feet), but it’s also the largest free-standing building in the world at about 1,080ft long by 630ft wide by 321ft high. This former zeppelin hangar has been transformed into not just a water park, but a full tropical island paradise with water, sand, and even a rainforest with 30,000 trees and plants. Up to 7,000 visitors can fit into this huge building at any one time, and enjoy the water slides, artificial sun, or just relax on the large beach.
Chimelong Water Park, China
Chimelong Water Park: This awesome water park will be the world’s largest water park as of the summer of 2008. The 900,000 square foot water wonderland will be a water-lovers dream with some of the most innovative new water attractions anywhere. One of the new water rides at Chimelong Water Park is called the Behemoth Bowl, which will essentially be a gigantic bowl that visitors will slip-and-slide their way through on their way to the pool below. This new attraction will be like no other water ride in the world and should make Chimelong one of the most visited water parks on the planet. Aside from the Behemoth Bowl, this place houses some of the fastest, tallest, and scariest water slides in the world – it also sports the longest lazy river in the world, so you can relax after shooting down all of the thrill rides that Chimelong has to offer.
Wet ‘n Wild, Florida
Wet ‘n Wild: Labeled as the best water park in Orlando (there are many of them), Wet ‘n Wild was one of the first water parks in America (1977). This insane water park has 5 awesome thrill rides, along with tons of other more relaxing water rides. Brain Wash is a 2-4 person tube ride that features a 53ft vertical drop into a huge 65ft domed funnel. The Bomb Bay water slide features a ridiculous 76ft nearly vertical drop – the cool thing about this ride is that you rest on a trap door at the top of slide, and it suddenly opens without warning dropping you 7-stories down – wow!
World Water Park, Canada
World Water Park: Located in the chilly city of Edmonton, this indoor water park remains at a tropical 86 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Just because this place is indoors doesn’t mean that the water attractions here are sub-par. This 2.7 million gallon water wonderland features the world’s largest indoor wave pool and 85ft high slides. Some of the most extreme water slides at World Water Park are Tropical Typhoon, Sky Screamer, and Nessie’s Revenge. Aside from these three thrill-slides, there’s also about 9 other slides, a bungee jumping area, a long zip-line, and hot tubs to relax in. And get this…When you’re done frolicking in the water, you can go shopping at the world’s largest shopping center (800 stores and 110 restaurants), which is the building that World Water Park is located in – the West Edmonton Mall. 7
Schlitterbahn, Texas
Schlitterbahn: This huge water park in Texas has continuously been voted as the world’s ‘Best Water Park’ by Amusement Today’s respected Golden Ticket Awards. Schlitterbahn, which means ’slippery road’ in German, is definitely one of the top water parks in the world because of its innovative water slides. This 65 acre water wonderland is the home of the world’s first surfing machine, 3 uphill water coasters, 17 water slides, and 3 miles of tubing fun. One of the rides at Schlitterbahn is called Raging River, and it’s a mile-long chute which takes an incredible 45 minutes to finish! Probably the most groundbreaking water ride is the Master Blaster, which features jets of water that push rafts up and down hills down a 1,000ft track – water parks from around the world have scrambled to create their own version of this ride. This place is even located near a natural spring, so much of the water here is fresh spring water, rather than heavily chlorinated water.
Splashin’ Safari, Indiana
Splashin’ Safari: Nestled in the festive town of Santa Claus, Indiana, Splashin’ Safari has consistently been considered by many as one of the best water parks in the Midwestern United States since it was opened in 1993. This 22 acre Africa-themed park is situated right next to Holiday World Amusement Park, and it features over 15 hair-raising thrill-slides, as well as multiple wave pools, lazy river, and kiddie areas. One of the must-ride water slides is called the Zinga, which is an 8-story high tunnel slide that shoots riders into a gigantic funnel and eventually into the splash pool below. Another can’t miss ride is called Zoombabwe, which is the tallest tunnel water slide in the world at over 10-stories high and 900 feet long!
Water World, Colorado
Water World: This 64 acre water park in the Mile High City is one of the largest in America, and it features some water rides unlike any other in the world. The abundance of water rides here (42 in all) range from kiddie rides, up to some of the best thrill-rides in the U.S. One of the most popular rides at Water World is called the Screamin’ Mimi. This mostly-dry water ride (does that make sense?) shoots riders down a 50ft dry track and then skips them across the water below. There are three speed slides at Water World (Flat Line, Red Line, and Pipe Line), and they fire sliders down approximately 80ft at speeds around 40 mph. When you’re ready to slow-down at Water World, the must-ride attraction is called the Voyage to the Center of the Earth, which is a 5-minute slow ride that takes you back into the time of the dinosaurs – very unique and fun for the whole family. There’s so much to do at Water World that you may want to plan on staying here for more than one day. 1
Aquacity, Majorca
Aquacity: Off the east coast of Spain, you can find the beautiful island of Majorca and the home of the largest water park in the Balearic Islands, Aquacity. This 621,000 square foot water park is a mix of beauty and excitement. About a quarter of the water park’s land is dedicated to spectacular gardens and parks. The other three-quarters of the land is dedicated to anyone looking to have a good time splashing around in one of the best water parks in the area. A few of the must-ride water attractions at Aquacity Majorca Island include: Banzai, the Grand Canyon, and Devil’s Tail. There are a total of 16 pools at this gigantic park as well, so there’s plenty of room to just kick-back and relax once you’re exhausted from hitting-up the thrill-rides.
Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park, North Carolina
Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park: This refreshing water park is one of the largest on the east coast of the United States, and the largest in either of the Carolinas. With over 5 million gallons of water being splashed around at Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park, this place is the place to be on a hot and humid Carolina summer day. This park boasts over 36 water rides which range from kiddie slides to adrenaline-junkie speed slides. Two of the main attractions at Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park include the Bonzai Pipeline and Daredevil Drop. Bonzai Pipeline scoots two people at a time down a 50ft nearly vertical drop at about 40 mph, while Daredevil Drop sends riders down 76ft in a near free-fall.
Water Country USA, Virginia
Water Country USA: This 1950-1960s surf theme park brings back memories of the Beach Boys, but it also has some of the newest and most innovative water rides in the Eastern United States. Waiting in line for a ride is usually faster here than most other water parks because of the electronic monitoring system put in place that gives you the ‘green light’ when it’s safe for you to take the plunge. The Hubba-Hubba Highway is a 1,500ft river rapids – the largest water ride at this park. Other popular rides here include: Big Daddy Falls – a super-soaking river rafting adventure that is 670ft long; Jet Scream – there are 4 ultra-fast (25 mph) twisting and turning flumes that all splash at into the same pool; Nitro Racer – you can race up to 6 other people down this super-speed slide; Rampage – shoots you, and your surf toboggan nearly straight down 75ft at ultra-fast speeds, and then skips you across 120ft of water. There’s also Surfer’s Bay, a huge wave pool
Aqualand, Corfu
Aqualand: Aqualand Corfu is one of the largest water parks in all of Europe, and some say that it’s the best. It certainly has was it takes to be one of the best aqua parks in all of Europe including the third largest wave pool in the world, 375,000 square feet of fun in the sun, and some of the best water rides in all of Europe. Some of the popular water slides here include: the Black Hole, Kamikaze, the Four Twisters, Crazy River, Giant Slides and there are also kiddy slides for children. Aqualand Corfu even has two new free-fall slides for adrenaline-junkies, and a gigantic jacuzzi for those who just want to relax beneath the warm Greek sun. This place is definitely worth spending a day here next time you come to Corfu.
Water Country, New Hampshire
Water Country: This water park has something for everyone from young children to adults. Water Country is the home of the largest wave pool in the New England area, as well as a variety of speed slides and tube rides. You can race against your friends on the Double Dive Boggan, or experience the thrill of a bobsled ride at the Triple Giant Slides. The Double Geronimo is a side-by-side speed slide that fires the rider almost straight down the 58ft slide. You can also enjoy two white water rafting rides with your family: Thunder Falls and Wild Canyon.
Wild Rivers, California
Wild Rivers: Wild Rivers is an excellent family water park, and it’s usually not as crowded as nearby Raging Waters in San Dimas. Hop on a singel or double-tube and get soaked on on River Rapids, Wipeout, or Chaos. The longest water ride at Wild Rivers is The Abyss – a 655ft dark tunnel ride with a 50ft vertical drop. Go surfing or body surfing at Monsoon Lagoon or Hurricane Harbor, or just relax pool-side. No matter what kind fun or relaxation you’re looking for, you’ll be able to find it at Wild Rivers. Unfortunately though, Wild Rivers had to shut down operation by the end of the 2007 season. They are looking for a new area to build the park, but we’ll have to wait and see if this happens.
Aqualand, Gran Canaria
Aqualand: Aqualand is a chain of water parks in Europe with a total of 15 locations scattered throughout Spain, Portugal, and France. Aqualand Maspalomas in Gran Canaria is the largest water park in the Canary Islands. This park features 13 attractions and 33 water slides. The most popular water slide here is called the Tornado - a giant, double-tubed water slide that will give you the feeling of being flushed down a toilet!
Blizzard Beach, Florida
Blizzard Beach: Blizzard Beach in Florida has to be called the ‘coolest’ water park in the world because of its snowy winter theme – not to mention it has some of the tallest water slides (slopes) in the world. The approximately 1.6 million visitors flock to this winter wonderland in the sun each year to take on one of the tallest and fastest water slides in the world – Summit Plummet. This awesome water slide features a near-vertical 120ft drop, and you can expect to reach speeds of up to 60 mph! Get ready for the biggest wedgie of your life! For those people who are a little less daring, you can check out the one of the longest (1,200-feet) family raft rides in the world, or kick-back and relax at the 3,000ft lazy river.
Typhoon Lagoon, Florida
Typhoon Lagoon: This tropical paradise in Florida features a huge 2.75 million gallon wave pool for surfing or body boarding, which happens to be the largest outdoor wave pool in the world. The fun doesn’t end there though. Thrill-seekers can take on the 95ft Mount Mayday tube ride, which curves down the huge man-made mountain. One of the most unique aspects of this water park is its one-of-a-kind, 362,000 gallon saltwater Shark Reef stocked with tropical fish and sharks. Snorkeling and diving at this gigantic shark tank is one of the most unique experiences in the world.
Adaland, Turkey
Adaland: This water park is located on a mountainside overlooking the Aegean coast in Turkey. The views here are spectacular, and the water rides are equally impressive. Adaland is billed as Europe’s largest water park, and it features a white-water rafting river, enclosed tubes, and plenty of breakneck chutes. One of the most unique aspects of this park is the outdoor dance club that sprays a nice cooling mist over the patrons while they dance to music played by live bands or a DJ.
Noah’s Ark Waterpark, Wisconsin
Noah’s Ark Waterpark: One of the largest water parks in the United States, Noah’s Ark features over 60 water slides, rides, and games. The 70 acre park has just about anything that an amusement park should have including: 47 water slides, 2 wave pools, 2 rivers, 4 children’s water play areas, Paradise Lagoon pool, 3 amusement park rides, 18-hole mini golf, 3 arcades, and their new 4-D Dive-In Theater. This water park has been around for 30 years now, and it continues to be one of the most visited water parks in the U.S. Time Warp is one of the most popular water slides at Noah’s Ark. This is the world’s largest ‘bowl’ ride, and it drops a total of 70-feet. There’s also the Black Anaconda, which is a quarter-mile long water coaster that reaches speeds of 30 mph.
Wild Wadi Water Park, Dubai
Wild Wadi Water Park: This 12 acre water park in Jumeirah, Dubai is the perfect blend of fun and relaxation. While there may not be as many thrill-rides here as other water parks, there is still plenty of fun and excitement to be had at Wild Wadi. There are a total of 8 Master Blaster rides here, which are the water coaster rides that use jets of water to shoot riders up-hill along the track. There’s also two Flowrider wave-making attractions for surfing or boogie boarding. The lazy river at Wild Wadi is unique in that it unexpectedly explodes periodically with bursts of 16,000 gallons of water, from a huge man-made mountain, down the once docile river turning it into a raging rapids. The one must-ride water slide at Wild Wadi is the Jumeirah Sceirah, which is a 108fttall free-fall slide that fires riders down the track at about 50 mph!
Raging Waters, California
Raging Waters: Raging Waters is one of three such water parks in the state of California, and it happens to be the largest in Northern California at 23 acres. There’s plenty of fun to be had at this park, including the new Dragon’s Den tube ride that takes riders circling around a 35ft bowl while being watched by a mist-breathing dragon in the center of the bowl. Another awesome slide here is the Shotgun Falls, which shoots visitors down the chute and then drops them 10-feet into the water. The speedy Serpentine Slides are also popular at Raging Waters, as they send riders down a 7-story, twisty slide at blistering speeds.
SplashTown Waterpark, Texas
SplashTown Waterpark: This awesome water park in South Texas features everything from much-needed relaxation, to rip-roaring fun and excitement. There’s plenty for the kids to do at Crocodile Isle and Treehouse Island, and there’s also plenty of thrill-rides here as well. New for 2008 is the RipQurl, which is a dark tunnel flume that sends riders into a huge 40ft bowl and finally into the pool below. There is plenty of other exhilarating water slides here as well, including the Tornado, Thuder Run, Texas Freefall, Space Rapids, Shotgun Falls, Zoom Flumes, and much more. SplashTown has a total of over 50 water rides, and they also hold the title of the largest wave pool in South Texas.
Kalahari Water Park, Wisconsin
Kalahari Water Park: The largest indoor water park in the United States is the Kalahari Water Park in the state of Wisconsin. At approximately 125,000 square feet, this indoor aqua park hosts the longest indoor lazy river in America. This place has a FlowRider surf machine that creates perfect 5ftwaves to ride year-round. You can also find a Master Blaster water coaster here – the only indoor uphill water coaster in the country. You can also check out the wave pool, kiddie areas, and hot tubs at Kalahari among other water activities. Once you’re exhausted you can rest at your own private cabana equipped with flat-screen TV, refrigerator, chaise lounge, security safe, and iPod docking station.
Sandcastle Waterpark, UK
Sandcastle Waterpark: The Sandcastle Waterpark is the largest indoor water park in the UK, and it features over 18 different water attractions for people of all ages. This place has a wave machine, lazy river, kids play areas, and of course water slides. If you come to this place, you’ve gotta check out the Masterblaster water coaster, which is the longest indoor water coaster in the world. Another awesome attraction here is the Sidewinder. This gravity-defying half-pipe water ride was the first of its kind to be constructed at an indoor water park. Kids will love the Caribbean Storm Treehous and play here for hours, while parents can relax in the lazy river. 28 White Water, Georgia
White Water: This Water Park at Six Flags in Atlanta has plenty of family water rides to choose from, and they also have two awesome thrill-rides. The newest and most popular thrill-ride at White Water is the Tornado. This is a 75ft tall water slide with a gigantic funnel at the end, which eventually swallows you up. If Tornado isn’t enough fun for you, you need to check out the Cliffhanger. This speed slide shoots you nearly straight down from 90ft up, and at crazy speeds.
Las Cascadas Water Park, Puerto Rico
Las Cascadas Water Park: Originally built in 1985, this Puerto Rican water park is the largest in the Caribbean. At this park, you can relax along the Tropical Lazy River, challenge the speed slides, or conquer the Twister. There are plenty of other water activities at Las Cascadas for the kids, and for those who just want to relax. Right now, construction is underway for a new monstrous water slide, and an adjacent hotel. While this isn’t one of the biggest or most innovative water parks in the world, it’s definitely growing year after year. Who needs a huge state-of-the-art water park in the Caribbean anyway – its already one of the most beautiful natural water parks in the world!
There are many species of birds but these ones in the list are more vulnerable to harm because they cannot fly to escape danger.
All of the birds that live in this world are all beautiful, but these birds that are listed below are even more unique because of its inability to fly.
Takahe Bird
is bird is only found in New Zealand and is considered to be an endangered specie of any living flightless birds under rail family. Its been assumed to be extinct before but after a very long search, some takahe birds were found near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison mountain. its overall length is up to 63 cm (24.8 in). It is a stocky bird, with reduced wings, strong legs and a massive bill. At present, there are 225 remaining Takahe birds in its habitat and is being carefully bred to prevent extinction. The only problem is the slow maturity and the low fertility of mature Takahe bird.
Penguin
A penguin cannot fly but is a very good swimmer because it can flap its arms rapidly. Its kind lives only in the Southern hemisphere, it is because of the cold temperature there. There about 20 species of penguins but is still debated until now. The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin, while the smallest is the Little Blue Penguin. Penguins usually feed on fishes, squids and other small sea preys they could find while swimming underwater.
Kiwi
This bird is endemic to New Zealand and is used as the national symbol of the country. This flightless bird is considered to be the smallest among the ratites. There are about 5 species of this kind of bird. Kiwis are very shy and nocturnal that is why they are vulnerable to predators, but ever since people built sanctuaries for them, they can already be seen in daylight. They have a very sharp sense of smell, and they are a very unusual kind of bird having nostrils at the end of their bills.
Cassowary
This is knwon to be the second largest flightless birds next to ostrich. They are fed mainly on fruits and other plants that edible. Its species is also part of the ratite and has only three accepted today: Southern Cassowary, Dwarf Cassowary, Northern Cassowary. They are a very kind of bird but once disturbed would be a very dangerous bird as listed by the Guinness. Although Cassowary birds are already becoming extinct.
Ostrich
This is known as the lasrgest flightless bird and it is the only specie that lives of its family. I know that most of us already know this fact but its egg is even larger than its brain that is why this kind of bird is known to do crazy things. An ostrich can run as fast as 46 miles per hour and is considered to be the faster bird runner on land. There is nothing to be worried about with this species because they are not even close to being endangered.
Rhea Birds
This specie belongs to the flightless ratite birds and is native to South America. Among any other flightless birds, it has large wings that are spread when this bird is running. It has two species; the American Rhea and the Darwin's Rhea. This bird reach up to 6 months until it become mature but does not go into breeding until it reach the age of 2 years old.
Kakapo
If we are going to examine the fosils of the Kakapo in the entire country of New Zealand, it would seem that it is the most common bird before. The species of this bird are already becoming extinct that is why many conservation plans have been made to prevent this bird to get extinct. According to statistics, the number Kakapo birds significanly increased. They are nocturnal, that's why the meaning of their name is "night owl". This bird is also named as parrot owl because of its features.
Emu
This bird is the largest native bird of Australia is the only extant member of genus Dromaius. This bird reaches up to 2 m (6.5 ft) in height, and is common to mainland Australia. Almost the same as the ostrich, it can run up to the maximum speed of 30 miled per hour. It is not yet becoming extinct nor is it near of becoming endagnered. It is because of its environment that makes it sake frm any harm. There are about three extant specie in Australia. Flightless Cormorant or Galapagos Cormorant
The name itself would suggest that it is a native in the Galapagos Island. Among any other cormorants, this is the only specie that has lost the ability to fly, it could be because this bird has adopted life on the land and water. This bird has an estimated 1500 embers left on the wild that is why many groups try to have active conservation program to save the lives of the remaining flightless cormorant. It normally feeds on fishes, eels, small octopus, and other small sea creatures. This bird is considered to be the largest among its extant species. Reproduction of its bird starts on the coldest months like July to October when there is an abundant food.
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Century Egg
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