Crooked Forest (Bent-shaped pine trees)

The Crooked Forest is around 80 years old. It is estimated that the damage that made them look how they do today occurred when the trees were about 7 years old. This would have been before the Second World War reached Poland.

Which helps to explain the most popular theory about how the trees came to be crooked. As the story goes, in 1930 a group of farmers planted these trees, intentionally damaging the base in order to create some sort of product, perhaps uniquely shaped furniture. The world may never know if it’s true because the farmers were unable to finish their work after the invasion on Poland during World War II dismantled their plans.

It is likely the trees were formed like this to make furniture, ship mantels, or numerous other woodworking projects. After all it’s not unheard of to grow trees with a curve in the branch for certain wood-made parts. This practice produces what is known as “compass timbers.”

Even if that’s the reason these trees are now crooked, it still seems so odd and unexplained, simply because someone’s work was never completed.

Others surmise that a snowstorm could have knocked the trees like this, freezing them into a bent position until the snow and ice melted come spring. The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to this unsolved mystery.

There are plenty of trees in the area, all of which grow upright from the base without the funky curve distinct to the Crooked Forest clan. The Crooked Forest is an odd occurrence in a seemingly ordinary place. So perhaps you are wondering why none of the locals have answers to what caused the formation of the Crooked Forest.

This is likely because the local town was devastated during World War II. It wasn’t until the 1970’s, when a new power and heat plant came to the town that it began to reestablish itself. The Crooked Forest is located right near this power plant, known as Dolna Odra (‘Lower Oder’) power plant.

Today tourists come to enjoy many beautiful natural sites common to this area—none of which happen to be as unexplainable as the Crooked Forest. If you are ever in Poland you can visit the 22 rows of oddly shaped trees. The Crooked Forest is located in a suburb called Gryfino in the Zachodniopomorskie province. One look at the forest and you start to imagine endless possibilities, so much history packed into the roots of these trees—if only trees could talk!

Sylvia Hotel, Vancouver (Virginia creeper Plant Covered)

The Sylvia was designed as an apartment building by Mr. W.P. White, a Seattle architect. It was built in 1912 by Booker, Campbell and Whipple Construction Company for a Mr. Goldstein, who had a daughter named Sylvia. During the Depression the Sylvia Court Apartments fell on hard times, and in 1936 the building was converted into an apartment hotel. With the advent of World War II, many of the suites were converted to rooms, in order to provide accommodation for the merchant-marine crews.

After the war the number of permanent residents in the hotel gradually decreased, until by the sixties the Sylvia had become a completely transient full-service hotel. In 1954 it opened the first cocktail bar in Vancouver. Until 1958 the Sylvia Hotel was the tallest building in the West End. A well known landmark, its brick and terra-cotta extension softened by the Virginia creeper that now completely covers the Gilford Street side of the hotel.

- In 1975 the Sylvia was designated by the City of Vancouver as a heritage building, thereby ensuring its survival for many years to come.

The Sylvia Hotel located on English Bay and beside Stanley Park offers a unique lodging experience. We have 120 rooms and suites to choose from, all distinctive in their view and layout. The Sylvia Hotel prides itself on outstanding service, friendly staff and great value, which is why people continue to visit us year after year. The Sylvia Hotel was one of Vancouver's first pet friendly hotels. Our location, being across the street from English Bay and a short distance to Stanley Park, provides our two and four legged guests with a wonderful outdoor experience.

The World's 10 Weirdest Restaurants

1- ITHAA, MALDIVES

The fact that Ithaa in the picture postcard perfect Maldives has only 12 seats and cost $5 million lends it an air of exclusivity from the outset. However, why it makes this esteemed list is due to its setting, 16 feet below the surface of the Indian Ocean. A 180 degree acrylic see through dome is all that comes between you and a dazzling array of stingrays, butterfly fish and creatures, making it the world’s first aquarium-style underwater eaterie. Good weird, but weird nonetheless.

2- MODERN TOILET RESTAURANT, TAIWAN

Although as civilised adults we don’t like to countenance it more than once a year, there is a correlation between eating and the toilet. Yeah, that’s put you off your cheeseburger hasn’t it? In Taiwan, however, they like to make a virtue of this symbiosis. The Modern Toilet Restaurant deals in commode cuisine: food – curry, noodles etc - is served in toilet bowls and its proved so successful owner Eric Wang has opened a string of similarly themed restaurants. What’s even weirder is that in the restaurant’s toilet you do your business on a plate. Honk, honk.

3- DANS LE NOIR, UNITED KINGDOM

The dark is a wonderful invention (it’s not really an invention is it? Ah well, that’s for another time): great for a bit of slap and tickle; a must for horror films and a panacea for headaches. At the risk of sounding like a conservative bore though, is it the best setting for food? The folk at Dans Le Noir, in London’s Clerkenwell certainly think so. With up to 59 other diners, you can eat your meal – which is a surprise, although you can give them rough instructions – in a blackened room. What’s more, the waiters are blind. It’s meant to completely revolutionize your sense of taste. Hifalutin concepts aside, it doesn’t really sound right to us.

4. DINNER IN THE SKY, WORLDWIDE

Predictably, if there are those that wish to eat lobster thermidor below the ocean, there will be others that want to chow down on steak tartare up in the sky. Enter stage left (or should that be sky dive from the above plane?) Dinner In The Sky. Having originated in Belgium, the concept has been rolled out worldwide. Guests are seat belted to a table that is attached to crane before being elevated 165 feet in the sky where they hover while enjoying a luxurious meal. How odd.

5. IZAKAYA KAYABUKI, JAPAN

Monkeys are clever little critters. A lot smarter than your average human some might say. They certainly think so over in Japan. So much so that Kaoru Otsuka, owner of the Izakaya Kayabuki in Utsonomiya, hires them to work in his restaurant. Well, we say hires, they’re actually his pets. Insert pay peanuts, get monkeys jibe here.

6. ISDAAN, PHILIPPINES

According to a cursory scan of reviews on t’interweb, there are plenty of sound gastronomic reasons to visit fish restaurant Isdaan should you ever be down Philippines way. And yet, the reason for its inclusion here is that in an antechamber, diners can smash plates, mugs and even TVs before settling down to some scrumptious seafood. Violence and cracking food: a win win.

7. ROGUE 24, AMERICA

Eating out should be a pleasurable experience. A time to relax with your nearest and dearest while eating pork belly. Aaah, pork belly; gimme, gimme, gimme. What it shouldn’t remind you of is school, full of rules and regulations. Patrons of hip Washington eaterie are forced to sign a two-page contract telling them what they can (eat either a 16-course or 24-course tasting menu) and can’t (tweet, text, take pictures and anything else involving a mobile) do. Crikey, some people just like to be abused.

8. THE CLINIC, SINGAPORE

Linking food and hospitals might sound out mixed signals, but there’s no doubting The Clinic’s credentials. This isn’t some backstreet burger joint serving dodgy food that will send you to your nearest A&E. Rather; it’s a high-end concept restaurant a la Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck. And alongside the molecular gastronomy, the dining experience comes with a medical twist. Food is operated on under surgical lights and diners are seated in wheelchairs. Bonkers.

9. S’ BAGGERS, GERMANY


On the other hand, some people like a bit of banter with waiters. Dick’s Last Resort, a restaurant chain over the pond, intentionally hire rude and abusive staff and actively encourage them to verbally fire both barrels at customers. Thankfully, diners are in on the act and most seem to lap up the admittedly obvious, but funny, childish and smutty innuendos.

10. DICK’S LAST RESORT, AMERICA

On the other hand, some people like a bit of banter with waiters. Dick’s Last Resort, a restaurant chain over the pond, intentionally hire rude and abusive staff and actively encourage them to verbally fire both barrels at customers. Thankfully, diners are in on the act and most seem to lap up the admittedly obvious, but funny, childish and smutty innuendos.

Sky Tower (the world's craziest free-fall drop ride)

When it comes to some of the world's craziest rides, they often look scarier than they actually are. No matter how high the drop, how fast the speed, or how powerful the g-force, you can always take solace in knowing that you're strapped into a harness and there's plenty of high tech mechanisms between you and certain death. Except on Tivoli Friheden's "Sky Tower". 

When the park declares "nothing but a net!" they're being honest. Riders of the absolutely insane "Sky Tower" free-fall nearly 100 foot at somewhere around 55MPH. No rope. No harness. The only thing between you and the net is air. As you can probably imagine, the drop is nothing short of terrifying, and lucky for us, this video exists to show us what it's like without having to actually go through with it.

you've got a couple options. You could head to Denmark and take a drop on the "Sky Tower" featured in the video, or you could head to Dallas, Texas' Zero Gravity Thrill Amusement Park where their version is apty named "Nothin' But Net". For $36 you can poop your pants all the way down, so long as you don't have a heart condition.

There used to be at least one other park in the United States where you could take the free-fall challenge, but then ride operators let a 12-year-old girl take the 100 foot drop and forgot to raise the safety net. She landed on concrete, was critically injured, and the rest is history.

Hallerbos Forest (Like in Fairy tales )

Even if you don't believe in fairies and magic anymore, there's probably still a little part of you that will always wish you were living in a fairy tale (Don't even try to deny it. Think of how cool it would be to have magic powers). As far as I know, though, magic isn't actually real, so the closest I'll ever get to experiencing a real-life fairy tale is to visit the most enchanting forest in the world-- Belgium's Hallerbos Forest. 

Hallerbos was the former stomping grounds of some of the area's most well-respected saints and dukes back in the day, and was prized land because of its old-growth oak and rare beech trees. You won't see any massive trees here today, though, because the forest took a hit during World War I, when the Germans cut down most of the beeches and oaks and left the forest in ruins. Hallerbos, which was actually owned by the German Arenburg family before the war, was given to the country of Belgium as war reparations in 1929.

Between the 1930s and the 1950s, a huge effort was made to replant the trees and restore the forest to its former glory. But, the main attraction of the woodland is far and away its enchanting carpet of bluebell hyacinth flowers that covers the forest floor every spring. The best time to see the mesmerizing natural beauty of the flowers is between late April and early May-- only a few short weeks each year.

Wood sorrell and wild garlic are scattered throughout the bluebells, which actually survived the destruction of the forest during the war. Replanting and expanding the forest continues even to this day, although on a smaller scale than before. Now Hallerbos covers roughly 1,360 acres of tranquil, alluring woodland beauty. 

World's 5 Smallest Countries

1- Vatican City

0.2 square miles - The world's smallest state, the Vatican has a population of 770, none of whom are permanent residents. The tiny country which surrounds St. Peter's Basilica is the spiritual center for the world's Roman Catholics (over 1 billion strong). Also known as the Holy See, Vatican City is surrounded by Rome, Italy.

Vatican City

2- Monaco 

0.7 square miles - The tiny state of Monaco lies along the French Riviera on the French Mediterranean coast near Nice. An impressive 32,000 people live in this state known for its Monte Carlo casinos and Princess Grace. It has been independent off-and-on since the 13th century.

Monaco 

3- Nauru 

8.5 square miles - The 13,000 residents of the Pacific island Nauru rely on diminishing phosphate deposits. The state became independent in 1968 and was formerly known as Pleasant Island.

Nauru 

4- Tuvalu 

9 square miles - Tuvalu is composed of 9 coral atolls along a 360 mile chain in Polynesia. They gained independence in 1978. The former Ellice Islands are home to 12,000.

Tuvalu 

5- San Marino 

24 square miles - Located on Mt. Titano in north central Italy, San Marino has 29,000 residents. The country claims to be the oldest state in Europe, having been founded in the fourth century.

San Marino

The Longleat Maze (the longest maze in the world)

If you've been looking for the perfect place to get lost on your next vacation, look no further than the village of Horningsham, England, where the garden of the Longleat stately home is ready to let you get lost in the truest sense of the word.

The Longleat Maze, designed and created in 1975, is the longest hedge maze in the world, spanning a length of a whopping 2.72 kilometers over 1 and a half acres. Consisting of some 16,000 English yews that stand eight feet tall, it's easy to see why the incredible maze has "help boxes" scattered throughout its interior. If you lose your way in here, you could quite easily be lost for hours, especially considering that a successful navigation with no mistakes can take around an hour.

The maze is so massive that it requires a team of six gardeners wielding high powered hegde trimmers to keep in check. Their rounds last nearly a month, and they perform their exhausting duties twice a year.

Want to try your luck at the Longleat Maze? Just make your way to Horningsham, England, but bring your GPS just in case. Want some puzzles a bit closer to home? Visit Room Escape Adventures , where you and some friends will work to escape a room with a zombie slowly gaining on your team, or head to Wizard Quest, where you'll enter a fully-realized fantasy world that needs you brave magic spells, vicious goblins, and mysterious puzzles in order to escape.

Bristlecone pine Tree ( The Oldest Trees on Earth )

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pines, or Pinus longaeva, is a long-living species of tree found in the higher mountains of the southwest United States. Bristlecone pines grow in isolated groves in the arid mountain regions of six western states of America, but the oldest are found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of California. These trees have a remarkable ability to survive in extremely harsh and challenging environment. In fact, they are believed to be the some of oldest living organisms in the world, with lifespans in excess of 5,000 years.

Bristlecone pines grow just below the tree line, between 5,000 and 10,000 feet of elevation. At these great heights, the wind blows almost constantly and the temperatures can dip to well below zero. The soil is dry receiving less than a foot of rainfall a year. Because of these extreme conditions, the trees grow very slowly, and in some years don't even add a ring of growth. Even the tree's needles, which grow in bunches of five, can remain green for forty years.