With over 2 million visitors flocking in every year, Brazil's second largest city, Rio de Janeiro is already the most popular tourist destination in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, with the city hosting the final game of the 2014 World Soccer and the 2016 Summer Olympics, things can only get worse. While most cities prepare for events like this by adding more hotel rooms or police force, Rio is etching bar codes into the city's iconic black and white mosaic sidewalks and, its not because they are trying to sell them to the tourists either!...

From January 14th to February 23rd, 2013, an estimated 100 million Hindus are expected to converge to the northern Indian ciity Of Allahabad to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela. The festival that is often referred to as the largest gathering of mankind, also doubles up as a pilgrimage undertaken to absolve all worldly sins....

Though there have been many cases of sinkholes swallowing up garbage bins, trees or even a car or two, one large enough to devour entire buildings, has never been encountered before! That however changed when the ground suddenly gave away on January 29th, 2013 in central Guangzhou, the capital of China's Guangdong Province....

Cycling or even walking in urban areas can be a little treacherous, thanks to the fact that one is sharing the road with vehicles that are Increasingly getting larger and heavier. A 2009 study conducted by the World Health Organization revealed that of the 1.27 million people that perish in road traffic crashes each year, about half, are pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. Now there may be a solution that could provide at least some relief to protect this vulnerable group - An airbag!...

'Please do not play with your toys on the living room furniture!' - If that is something you hear more often than you care for, you are in luck. That's because thanks to award winning British toy and furniture designer Amy Whitworth, your parents may actually invite and even, encourage you to bring your toys in and play not just on, but with the living room furniture. Playhouse by day, coffee table by night, the ingenious Qubis Haus is a win-win for all!...

It was exactly two years ago in January 2011, that the people of Egypt finally garnered the courage to stand up against the injustice they had been enduring for 30 years, under the reigning government of President Hosni Mubarak. Within 18 days, the president succumbed to the wishes of his people by resigning and handing over interim power, to the country's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces....

Spain is host to some of the world's most fun and crazy festivals - Events like Pamplona's Running of the Bulls and Castrillo de Murcia's El Colacho or Baby Jumping. But, what the Spanish seem to enjoy the most, is pelting food at each other, the most famous example of which is of course, La Tomatina. However, they have a few others that you have probably never heard of and if you thought throwing tomatoes at people was odd, wait till you read what gets thrown during these two annual celebrations....

Minister, saint, hero, civil rights activist - These are the words often used to describe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - However, in light of President Barack Obama's second-term inauguration ceremony this morning, the word that seems to fit the bill perfectly, is visionary - The man who had the foresight to see that America could one day transform into a nation where everyone is equal, regardless of race, color or creed. So who was this amazing man that single handedly spearheaded America's civil rights movement?...

Sweden has to be one of the coolest places for a kid to grow up in - First, they introduced the concept of schools with no grades or classrooms, then came Monstrum's amazing playgrounds and now, the coolest idea of all - 'Forcing' 13-year-olds to play Minecraft as part of the classroom curriculum....

You may have encountered instances when you could have bet your life about something you had seen or done, but yet when you revisited, either the thing has vanished or the chore, left undone. If you happen to visit Ireland you may encounter the same feeling at the Loughareema Lake - However, in this case it is not your mind playing games with you, but the lake itself, which seems to sporadically appear and disappear....

They were the regular Mr. and Mrs. Smith. 54-year old Andreas Anschlag was a car engineer who had worked at several companies, while 48-year old Heidrun Anschlag was a devoted housewife. The couple lived in a comfortable detached home in the quiet community of Marburg, West Germany. A perfectly boring existence right? Not quite!...

In December 2012, three men braved Antarctica's treacherous and remote Princess Ragnhild Coast to seek out a colony of Emperor Penguins that has hitherto just been suspected to exist. They were not disappointed!...

While summers in the world's driest inhabited continent AKA Australia can get a little uncomfortable, this year seems to be starting out a little more extreme than usual. On Monday January 8th, the Australian meteorological dept reported an average continent temperature of 104.6°F (40.33°C) - Surpassing a record set in 1972. And, the forecast for the rest of the season looks even worse....

Giant squids, the kind referred to in Jules Verne's 1870 novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, have been known to exist for many centuries. However, finding the world's largest invertebrate in its natural habitat had proved a little elusive. Now, thanks to some patient Japanese researchers, we can all finally get a glimpse of this magnificent cephalopod!...

On January 7th, 68-year-old British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his team of five sailed off from the picturesque port of Cape Town, to begin the first leg of what is aptly being called 'The Coldest Journey' - A never before done 2,300-mile trek across the Antarctica in winter!...

Many parts of the Northern Hemisphere have experienced a rather severe winter this year. However, very few can be compared to that felt by the residents of some parts of Russia where the temperatures have dipped as low as -50°Ç - Some of the lowest recorded in the area in the last 50 years!...

One might expect people living in subzero temperatures to escape to some warmer destinations or simply, hibernate. But the residents of Harbin in Northeast China do neither. They instead turn the hostile icy environment into such an amazing winter wonderland that millions of tourists from all over the world actually brave the chilly temperatures to experience it....

The fact that dolphins are one of the smartest living creatures on earth has been known for many years. Now it turns out that these magnificent animals are quite generous too! At least the ones that live in the waters around Australia's popular Tangalooma Island Resort who apparently love to swim to shore bearing gifts for the staff that have been feeding them daily, since 1992....

If you like most of us, have read and perhaps even seen all the old and new reiterations of Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel a zillion times, you are in luck. That's because a cultural curator in Germany has discovered a treasure trove of 500 new fairy tales that have been tucked away in the archives for over 150 years!...

In this digital age when most music is consumed via streaming or downloads, even waiting for a vinyl record to begin playing, seems like an eternity. So you can only imagine how excruciating it must have been for the fans of Shout Out Loud, who had to wait for more than six hours to listen to the Swedish Band's latest single, because it had to be first, chilled to perfection!...

On Tuesday December 18th, the web was abuzz with some sensational news - A toddler playing in a park in Montreal, Canada had been suddenly scooped up by a massive golden eagle, taken for a quick spin and then, dropped back safely - All in broad daylight ! Of course, to prove that it really happened the whole incident was caught on camera and downloaded on YouTube!...

While most of you are still waiting to see you what surprises are in store for you this Christmas, some animals in Australia are sitting content and happy. That's because for them, the holiday came early this year!...

You have all heard of 'Puss in Boots', but 'Goat in Boots' - That, has to be a first. And this four-legged animal is not a fictional character in a book or movie either, but a real life specimen that resides in the tiny village of Probus in Cornwall, England....

If you have ever wondered what Noah's Ark, the ginormous boat that saved Noah, his family and two specimens of every animal genus that inhabited the earth may have looked like, you are in luck. That's because a Dutchman has created a life-size replica, with a slight modern day twist!...