Tag: culture

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Architecture & Design Travel

Spooky Indonesian church shaped like a chicken

Spooky Indonesian church shaped like a chicken

There is a bizarre-looking church in the Indonesian jungle that’s shaped like a giant chicken.

Located in the forests of Magelang, Central Java (here it is on Google Maps, Gereja Ayam or “Chicken Church” was built in 1992 by Daniel Alamsjah.

He foresaw the structure in the late 80s when he received a spiritual message from God telling him to construct a prayer house for all religions in the shape of a dove. However, given the small beak and fluffy feathers, it appears to look more like a chicken.

Closed temporarily in 2000 for renovation — the second-floor walls have since been repainted with scenes from Indonesian mythology — the church has since been reopened as a tourist attraction but still offers a religious tour.

You can learn more about the church on its official tourism website.

Spooky Indonesian church shaped like a chicken
Spooky Indonesian church shaped like a chicken
Spooky Indonesian church shaped like a chicken
Categories
Culture & Society Technology

Christopher Reeves explains what Superman represents

In this video, the late Christopher Reeves who played Superman explains what the fictional superhero represents.

In a world of selfishness ushered in by smart devices and social media, Superman as a friend metaphor is a subtle reminder of the power of relationships.

It’s nice to know that there’s someone out there who’s willing to offer a hand and be a friend regardless of supposed differences, whether that be in race or politics.

Big thinking, small fragile world — such prescient words from Superman in the tribal world that is today.

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Culture & Society

Why 02-02-2020 is a special day in numbers

Why 02-02-2020 is a special day in numbers

Today may be Super Bowl Sunday and Groundhog Dog, but it’s also a day that celebrates the rare 8-digit palindrome — 02/02/2020 — the only one this century.

The eight digit palindrome reads the same forward, and backward in both the American and British formats. The last one occurred 909 years ago on 11-11-1111 and the next one won’t happen until 12/02/2121, 101 years from now.

It’s also worth mentioning that it’s also day 33 of this year, with 333 days remaining.

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Culture & Society

The calendar from 1895 and 2019 share the same dates

A calendar from 1895

This is neat. The calendar from 1895 and 2019 share the same dates. Mind the prescient quote.

Everything comes in circles…The old wheel turns and the same spoke comes up. It has all been done before and will be again…

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,The Valley of Fear
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Architecture & Design Culture & Society

A trip through New York City, 1911

A trip through New York City, 1911
A trip through New York City, 1911

In 1911, Swedish film company Svenska Biografteatern recorded its trip to New York.

Fortunately, the footage survived and most recently was speed-corrected and reproduced with added street sounds of car horns, horses, and police whistles to give us a sense of the environment back then.

Some observations:

  • Notice all the people wearing hats
  • The streets look a bit empty compared to today’s zoo
  • Cable powered trolleys
  • The kids go nuts when the camera is on them. Nothing’s changed!
Categories
Animals Culture & Society Nature

Neanderthals were great hunters but poor artists

Neanderthals were great hunters but poor artists
An early human painting of a lion from the Chauvet Cave in Southern France

Neanderthals were great hunters but poor artists.

According to a study done by professor Richard Coss, their inability to draw could’ve been due to the fact that they didn’t have to plan as hard as Homo Sapiens to hunt down prey in their native Eurasia.

Homo Sapiens, on the other hand, chased hard to get game in the open grasslands of Africa. They developed superior hand-eye coordination as a result of drawing out their prey on cave walls. Such artistry not only made them better visualizers and hunters, but it also helped them develop smarter brains.

Survival of the fittest

Historian and author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari also argued that while Neanderthals might have had larger brains than and an even superior tools to fellow Homo Sapiens, they lacked communication and shared stories, concepts that emerged from rounder skulls.