A man shows off his tattooed head at the London Tattoo Convention. Last year, more than 20,000 enthusiasts attended the event.
American daredevil Jonathan Trappe prepares for take off in his homemade balloon contraption
He controlled his altitude by releasing air in his durable high performance balloons
Uplifting experience: Daredevil Trappe's airborne adventure evoked scenes from Pixar's 2009 film Up (film still above)
Trappe was so high he took oxygen with him on the flight to deal with the altitude
He had ten ground support members to help him in his high-flying endeavorAmerican daredevil Jonathan Trappe prepares for take off in his homemade balloon contraptionHe controlled his altitude by releasing air in his durable high performance balloonsUplifting experience: Daredevil Trappe's airborne adventure evoked scenes from Pixar's 2009 film Up (film still above)Trappe was so high he took oxygen with him on the flight to deal with the altitudeHe had ten ground support members to help him in his high-flying endeavor
A great way to escapes, even if just for an hour or two, is to hop in the car and go for a drive... roll down the windows, let your hair blow in the wind and leave all of your troubles behind. Better yet, grab a friend and hit the open road! We are about to embark on a journey that takes us around the world, from the wild and wacky to the white knuckled, our journey is going to take us all the way from the world's shortest street straight through to The Road of Death. So, if you think you can handle it grab your GPS, gather your nerves and get ready for the ride of your life as we explore ten of the worlds craziest roads!
With just one address on the street (No 1) Ebenezer Place, in Wick, Caithness, Scotland was awarded the Guinness Book of Records title for the Worlds Shortest Street. This tiny little street measures in at a measly 2.06m or six feet and 9 inches. Better, make sure you don’t blink or it just might
Looking for something a bit longer? We it looks like we have found it. Measuring in at an astonishing 1,896 km or approximately 1178.12 miles, Yonge St. was at one time awarded the title of the world's longest street in the Guinness Book of World Records. Yonge St. is the main road that runs between two major lakes in Ontario Canada, Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe. This remarkable street runs all the way from the United States Minnesota border and wanders along Highway 11 all the way to the lakeshores of Toronto. To think about the distance in another way; this one street is long enough to run from San Diego, California, to Seattle, Washington.
Looking for the scenic route with an adrenaline rush to boot? Well look no further then the Col de Turini in France. Situated more than 1 mile above sea level near the Italy-France border, The Col De Turini is one of the more famed roads that winds through the Alps. This gem has been a stage in the Monte Carlo Rally, a part of the Tour De France and listed as one of the best driving roads by the show Top Gear. What makes this road so special? Well how about this: it is 1607m high and starts with a stunning series of hairpin turns that wind the driver down into a gorge surrounded by awesome scenery – a wild river on the left, and a steep rock wall on the right. While all the hairpin turns might be nerve-racking to even the best drivers the beauty of the Alps and all its natural scenery make this drive well worth it!
Feeling a claustrophobic? So are we after visiting the Spreuerhofstraße in
Need more room to roam after the Spreuerhofstraße? Well how about 9 de Julio Avenue, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The day Argentina gained its independence the locals celebrated in a big way… with a big street! They named their main street in downtown Buenos Aires, 9 de Julio. Now, this is not just some ordinary street. This street is a whopping nine lanes wide with landscaped gardens for medians making this the widest street in the world. Bet your not feeling claustrophobic anymore… are you?
So, you liked the adrenaline from the Col de Turini, but you are looking for something a bit more rugged? Well have we got the road for you! Nestled in the Canyonlands National Park in Utah, White Rim Road is 103 miles of rugged twists and turns that wind down into the very bottom of the canyon its self. Not only is this a beautiful ride it is down right dangerous. So bring your 4X4, plenty of water and make sure you have on your head screwed on straight - this is one heck of a challenge, but we promise you won't regret it!
OK, you liked all those twists and turns, but are ready to be back on the paved road, so it looks like Lombard St. in San Francisco is for you. This street is the winner for the world’s most crooked street. OK, so only about a quarter of a mile of this street (between Hyde and Leavenworth) zig and zag this way and that way, but this is no accident. This section of Lambard St. is at a 27% gradient, which makes it difficult for cars and pedestrians alike; hence the zig-zag section with a 5 mph speed limit makes it manageable.
Lombard St didn’t have enough of a wow factor for you? Well that's OK, come on over to Stelvio Pass in Italy. Located in the Eastern Alps this road was originally built between 1820-1825 and has changed very little over time. The Stelvio Pass Road connects the Valtellina with Merano and the upper Adige valley. At 1.7 miles above sea level with 48 white-knuckle hair pin turns this road is nothing but challenging. With some steep inclines and tight squeezes at a height of 2757 meters, this stunner is the second highest paved road in the Alps; so one thing is to be for certain - the views are breathtaking and the drive is challenging.
Ready to come back down to sea level? Well there's no better place to do it then Hawaii! Jungles and waterfalls line the road to Hana, and the views are killer! Well, maybe we should have picked a different word. After all, to get to Hana you will need to travel 52 miles of cliffhanging winding roads with some 600 twists and turns that include narrow bridges (50 of them) and blind curves. If that is not enough so scare you off in some places it is only wide enough for one small car at a time! This is one white-knuckle beauty that is sure to please with a great big dose of adrenaline and lush jungle and ocean views to boot.
OK, so you have had enough of the pretty and the “slightly dangerous” but are you ready to take on El Camino de la Muerte? Yungas Road or the El Camino de la Muerte, ‘Road of Death’ is a 43-mile long road that connects La Paz and Coroico, in Bolivia. Infamous as the “world’s most dangerous road” with extreme drop offs of 2,000 ft, no side guardrail and only the width of a single car, it is estimated that nearly 200 to 300 people are killed every year on this road. To make the journey even more of a hazard it is often muddy, covered with rocks from landslides and very foggy with low visibility. This is no ordinary road; this is a death trap.
The Seed Cathedral is a 20-metre high building, constructed from 60,000 transparent 7.5-metre long optical strands, each of which has embedded within its tip a seed. The interior is silent and illuminated only by the daylight that has filtered past each seed through each optical hair; a quiet space in which to contemplate this formidable collection of the world’s botanical resources.
We all think that the trade in animal skins for fur was appalling, and happily it is no longer as prevalent in the world as it once was, but two female artists in Germany felt strongly that not enough attention was truly given to the perils faced by the animal world at the hands of humans, and decided to highlight this issue through unusual graffiti art. 
The two ladies from Berlin and Paris call themselves ‘Neozoon’ and prefer to retain their anonymity for the present. They call their creations ‘Neozoons’, created using old fur coats that are cut up into the outlines and shapes of various animals, and placed strategically around city streets in Berlin, Paris, Madrid and others, always in places where their positioning has subtle undertones of meaning. 
Originally, Neozoon contented themselves with pure graffiti art in that the wall art was always rendered as animal silhouettes, but over time, they expanded those artistic horizons to include more three-dimensional artworks, positioned in trees or in zoo cages, ‘aping’ playful creatures in captivity. The artists always look to place their animals in places where they seem at home.
A good example of this was the placement of some bear graffiti pieces in Berlin, very near to the spot where the heraldic bears of the city occupy their own special pit. Another was the way in which the artists decorated a huge slaughterhouse at La Villette in Paris with a gamboling flock of graffiti lambs. The aim of these passionate women is to stimulate the thought processes of passers-by about the lack of animal life in most city environments.. 
Perhaps the sight of those cute lambs on the slaughterhouse wall led viewers to question their own attitudes to meat consumption, but the sight of those discarded fur coats decorating the urban environment must surely lead people to remember the creatures these furs once adorned.
Perhaps the sight of those cute lambs on the slaughterhouse wall led viewers to question their own attitudes to meat consumption, but the sight of those discarded fur coats decorating the urban environment must surely lead people to remember the creatures these furs once adorned.
Neozoon take great pleasure in finding that overall reaction to their art is positive on the part of the public. Some find the whole idea offensive, but surely anything that promotes the ethos of recycling that which would otherwise go to waste must make this powerful message worthwhile?
With ever expanding human populations that eat meat regularly, there can be no surprise that tens of thousands of innocent creatures die each day to satisfy human appetites, while conversely other animals are spoiled outrageously because they are kept as family pets. We think nothing of spending more on feeding our dog each week than it would take to help preserve the life of an endangered animal. Priorities seem to be all wrong in the crazy society. 
In Germany, Neozoon l means the introduction of an alien species into an environment where it will hopefully grow and develop, so the artists hope that their ‘neozoon’ graffiti artworks will stimulate awareness of animals endangered by thoughtless human actions and lead people to act positively to address these issues. 
Ultimately, they say, the whole thing is simple. Old fur coats are the end product of a long chain of human mistakes, and, instead of being destroyed, can form the working basis for Neozoon to emphasize the lack of a relationship between animals and people in urban habitats. Not that these things last long. Once finished, these glorious graffiti animals often disappear, normally within two weeks of installation.
Even that, however, does not detract from the intrinsic beauty of these most unusual examples of urban street art, which always leave viewers with much to ponder, being both evocative and even slightly sinister to the onlooker’s eye. They are superb, stylish and perhaps even somewhat controversial, but certainly unforgettable and brilliantly executed. The two mysterious artists have given us wonderful pause for thought. Whatever next?
