“The Kamchatka Peninsula, in the far east of Russia, is a region of exceptional natural beauty with its large symmetrical volcanoes, lakes, wild rivers and spectacular coastline. The peninsula has only been recently explored due to it remaining off-limits to foreigners until the 1990s. The modest human exploitation has kept the peninsula and its flora in largely pristine condition.” w/ photos

“You know what’s hard? Math. Science. Finding a strip club that serves quality food. Rick’s Cabaret in Midtown Manhattan has a wonderful Caesar salad (they claim to bake their croutons on premises, which is a definite lie); Club Cheetah in Atlanta has a delightful Sunday brunch featuring a bacon & goat cheese omelette that’s light & playful; and Dallas’ The Lodge has a cheeseburger that will give you a mouth erection (mouthrection?) But you know what’s even harder? Finding a strip club that serves quality food with healthy, vegan options. If that’s the kind of thing you’re into, Casa Diablo, located in Portland, Orgeon, might be your favorite place ever.” w/ photos

“Calanches, known is known in French as Les calanches de Piana and they are set within the Regional Natural Park of the island. Set 1280ft above sea level the rocks glow red when the sun is at its peak, which is maybe appropriate with this carved out heart at its center. We may as well admit that the heart shape rock is, of course, due to millennia of erosion but for the romantically inclined it is easy to imagine otherwise. Perhaps a lovelorn god of the ancient European world played here and carved out the heart to immortalize his adoration for a local beauty. Or perhaps we’ve been watching Ray Harryhausen movies too much.” w/ photos

“Hydroelectric power stations are typically located near water sources, or on the source itself, such as dams on rivers. But Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Power Station is located more than 49 miles from the nearest water source – the Mississippi river. Built on top of the mountainous St. Francois region of the Missouri Ozarks, approximately 140 km south of St. Louis near Lesterville, Missouri, the Taum Sauk Hydroelectric Power Station is a pure pumped-storage hydroelectric plant, designed to help meet peak power demands during the day. During periods of high electrical demand, water stored in a kidney-shaped reservoir on top of Proffit Mountain is released through turbines into a lower reservoir, two kilometers away, on the East Fork of the Black River. At night, when electrical demand is low, the excess electricity available on the power grid is used to pump water back to the mountaintop. In essence, the power plant functions like a huge battery, storing excess power until it is needed.” w/ photos

“While the sea coast extends for hundreds of miles, one of the best places to see these dunes is at Swakopmund. Known as Swakop in Namibia, it is the country’s biggest coastal town and a mecca for Namibians on holiday. The city’s German origins are quite pronounced in beautiful old German Colonial buildings throughout the city, making an even starker contrast for this town sitting at the edge of the Namib Desert. From here, helicopter ride is available that flies you around the Skeleton Coast and the Namib desert in general.” w/ photos

“The red lagoon is surrounded by two other pools of yellow and green water, and they are said to bubble when surrounded by unpleasant people. it is therefore common belief that these accumulations of colored water are owned by the devil himself. According to a few experts the color is due to different species of algae living in its depths.” w/ photos

“Whether or not you believe in the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’, one company is trying to change the way we consume beverages on-the-go. The Sly Fox Brewing Company has come up with the novel idea of a 360 degree lid. Drinkers peel off the top of the can and enjoy the contents as if drinking from a regular cup. The technology has been developed by Crown Holdings, Inc. The company say the entire lid of the can is removable and ‘essentially eliminates the need for separate glassware.’ Instead of cracking open a small hole on the top of the can, the 360 Lid allows the top to be completely removed, creating an aluminum beer cup.” w/ photos

“The rocks are made of granite which was embedded into the Earth’s crust during the Ordovician period, some 500 million years ago. At that time Kangaroo Island was part of Godwana, the supercontinent in the southern hemisphere, which included Australia, South America, Africa, India and Antarctica. About 150 million years ago, Godwana began to split up into the present continents. Australia moved northward and with it the Ordovician granite. Through preformed clefts and a certain proportion of easy weathering minerals such as feldspar and mica, spheroidal weathering started. Continuous wind erosion in a relatively dry climate can result in such bizarre shapes.” w/ photos

“Formerly an ordinary Belgian farmhouse, La Balade des Gnomes was transformed into a magical tourist resort by architect owner Dominic Noel. Inspired by fantasy settings, ancient Greek history, science fiction and medieval castles, the resourceful Mr. Noel managed to create his incredible hotel exclusively out of natural materials like wood, stone and cob (mud mixed with lime and straw). “The hotel was created by people who have a strong interest in nature,” the owner says, but anyone with a rich imagination would certainly appreciate the unworldly design and decorations of this place. The names of the rooms do a good job of describing what you can expect to see when you walk through the door: The Legend of Trolls seems taken straight out of the Lord of the Rings, In a Moon Neighborhood takes you to a distant future where humans can spend their vacation in a hotel on the Moon, while Macquarie Island boasts a marine decor complete with a boat-shaped bed.” w/ photos

“At one point in his life, Gofo wanted to enroll in the military. Then he thought about becoming a policeman, a firefighter or a teacher, but he ended up as a priest in the Mexican city of Satillo. He says his ultimate career choice was probably influenced by the values passed on to him by his religious family. But for him, entering the Church didn’t mean leaving everything he loved up to that point at the door. That included his love for rock culture, his passion for motorcycles or any of his vices. On the contrary, he decided to let his unique personality play a big role in his profession, as a way to reach those for whom conventional religion held no appeal. He continued dyeing the end of his black locks red, wore skull rings and bracelets in church, rode his chopper around town, and even referenced rock songs during Mass. Obviously, all that didn’t sit well with many of his conservative parishioners, but it got him closer to members of the community that would otherwise be inaccessible to the Catholic Church.” w/ photos + video