Archive for the ‘Believe It OR Not’ Category
Why the Tourist Numbers Fell at Beijing Olympics
The Olympics Games, while being the ultimate picture of grandiosity in sports, is also seen as a source of major spike in tourism to the host country. However, not so for China.
The Chinese had a program and the works needed to inflate tourism — the theme itineraries of “Beijing Historic and Cultural Heritages”, scenic spots like the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace, mega projects as the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube, and the Olympic Park. Yet, far from causing a tourist boom, the 2008 Olympic Games actually caused a drastic fall in the numbers of visitors to the Chinese capital.
In August 2008:
Beijing hotels received a total of 708,000 guests from other areas in China, 47% less than last year.
The number of foreign visitors was only 389,000 arrived, a 7.2% decrease from last year.
Visitors from Hong Kong (the richest city in China) to Beijing dropped by 16.5%, while those from Taiwan (nearest foreign country) dropped by 57.3%.
And the eight months in 2008 prior to the Olympics? Not really a pretty picture, either:
Beijing saw 3.8% less internal tourists and 8.9% less foreign visitors.
The media has not come out explicitly with any explanation for this disappointing performance, but insiders put the blame on several factors including strict security, asphyxiating controls, heavy restrictions on movement and the strong police presence. Do you think these ‘reasons’ were powerful enough to override the passion to watch any sport or the Olympics?
Well, the media, the Chinese government and the organizers might have their own theories, but I believe that the following images from Beijing may have had something to keep the tourists at bay:
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Six-Year-Old Knighted
What do Sir Edmund Hillary, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Nils Olav have in common? Okay, they’ve all been knighted. And who’s the odd man out? Sir Nils Olav is a penguin–well, the odd penguin out, if you may.
Three-foot high and six-year-old Nils Olav was granted a knighthood and the title of “Sir” last week, on behalf of Norway’s King Harald V. Loudon at a special ceremony held at his home in Edinburgh Zoo. Nils waddled out to “inspect” the 130 Royal Guardsmen on parade before being dubbed on each side of his head, which officially confirmed his knighthood. A medal was also attached to his flipper.
King Harald of Norway demonstrated how he rewards good service by honoring Nils, one of his most faithful servants. Calling him “our trusty and well-beloved” Nils, he declared the penguin to be “in every way qualified to receive the honor and dignity of knighthood.”
“It [the event] went extremely well and we are delighted that the Norwegian Guard honoured Nils Olav with a knighthood,” said Darren McGarry, a zoo manager. “We all enjoyed the occasion and Nils was a perfect penguin throughout.”
“Nils always recognizes the Norwegian guardsmen when they come to visit him,” he added. “He loves the attention he receives at the ceremony and takes his time inspecting the troops.”
Seven Strangest Holes in the World
| Belgium |
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| Blaz Island |
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| Canada |
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| Guatemala |
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| Saint Monteglio |
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| Serbia |
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| West Africa |
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Toilet Paper Wedding Dress — What’s Next, Scotch Tape?
Obviously, everything depends on the context. Here I’m talking about a national contest for a wedding dress, which was just wiped out by a toilet paper creation.
The six wedding dress designs on show at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in New York’s Times Square stunned people into silence–it was enough to make them believe they were in someone else’s glamorous bathroom! Six dresses were displayed at the Times Square “odditorium” and three designers won a prize of a thousand dollars each.
However, the cake (not the wedding cake, neither was it made out of toilet paper) went to Katrina Chalifoux of Rockford, Illinois. Apparently, she’d spent two weeks creating a sheath dress with a raised flower pattern from molded toilet paper. I really don’t know what that means, just she won it.
So what were the tools of the trade?
“Contestants used only toilet paper, glue, and/or tape to create gowns and headpieces with ruffles, faux embroidery, pleats and even lace effects,” organizers attempted to clarify.
Watch the YouTube video here:
Alternatively, you can just follow this link.
Well, come to think of it, isn’t toilet paper a good medium for experimenting? I mean, it’s kinda cheap, so you can afford to get carried away with your imagination, it’s safe, the little ones can play around with it, and you can even stamp on it and twist it and make a shape like an elephant or a donkey.