Image: Ivan Meljac

Where else but Iceland would you expect to find big chunks of ice on the beach, instead of sand? Behold the (brr!) beautiful beach of Jökulsárlón as photographed by French photographer Ivan Meljac, and featured in Quiet Moments in Iceland's Landscapes by Fotopedia.

This woman appears to be floating above the sand, Star Wars skiff style, an optical illusion caused by the shadow of a flag. For her next trick, she will make a day at the beach super boring with the power of  her speech!

Link –via BuzzFeed

Glass Beach is a section of coastline in MacK­er­richer State Park in California. After World War II, it was used as a public dump for two decades until local officials halted the practice. Since that time, the waves have worn smooth the glass shards disposed on the shore. However sad is the original cause, the result is quite pretty. You can view several more pictures at the link. Link -via The Agitator | Photo: In Focus

Aah, the beach. The shimmering ocean, the scantily clad girls frolicking in the sun ... wait scratch the last one, at least if you're in South Korea.

John Glionna of the Los Angeles Times wrote to tell us how people in South Korea's most popular beach go there to avoid the sun:

Covered end-to-end with multihued parasols that turned the beige sand into a sea of blue, red, white and pink, South Korea's popular summer playground is a beach where people studiously avoid the sun.

American businessman Greg Conklin shook his head at the sight: This isn't a public beach; it's another planet.

"In Michigan, we go to the water to sizzle and burn," he said. "You don't see umbrellas jammed together like cars during rush hour. I mean, where's the sand? Where do you throw the Frisbees?"

And it doesn't end there. Read more about how the local officials had to install a high heel-friendly runway on the beach and other eccentricities: Link (Photo: Matt Douma/ LA Times)

Gulpiyuri beach is near Llanes in Spain. It’s a stunning place to build memories, as pictures don’t do it justice. And there’s one thing very different about it.

Gulpiyuri’s name isn’t its only bizarre facet: this beach is found completely inland, in a gorgeous little cove which looks like something out of a fantasy. I kept expecting to see Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields  rolling around on the sand, making out. The Cantabrian Sea bored through the earth to create this sandy spot, and though you can’t see the ocean, its waves to lap the shore just like any beach — it’s odd, like a magical wave pool.

See more pictures at Oviedo. Link

Improv Everywhere took a group of several hundred people to the beach at Coney Island in formal wear, just to see how people would react. If I saw this, I would have assumed it was a wedding reception where they served a bit too much champagne. Read about it at the site. Link -via The Daily What

Corona has teamed up with environmental artist HA Schult to draw attention to the sorry state of the European shoreline. On June 3rd the Save the Beach campaign opened a pop-up hotel in Rome, designed by Schult, made almost entirely from trash that has washed up on beaches across Europe. Winners of a contest on Facebook got to spend a night in the trash (but not trashy) hotel. You may have to fill in an age verification box to see the site.

Link – via It’s Nice That

A group of Hungarian dogs have a great time at the beach. -via Everlasting Blort

Let’s see if you get the humor in this sweet cartoon of Why The Moon Hates The Beach by Mark Heath.

More T-Shirts by Mark over at the NeatoShop | Mark’s official website | Gallery at American Scientist

The Israeli town of Kirvat Yam is offering a hefty sum to anyone who can provide proof of the existence of the mer-people (meeple?).

“Many people are telling us they are sure they’ve seen a mermaid and they are all independent of each other,” Kirvat Yam town council spokesman Natti Zilberman told Sky News.

“I was with friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way,” he said. “At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail. At least five of us saw it and we all couldn’t believe it.”

The town council, which is offering the reward, insists that the mermaid mania is not just a marketing ploy to attract tourists, though it does hope tourists will come out to try their luck at the $1 million prize.

Link – via arbroath

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by coconutnut.

On the Delaware Bay shore, there’s a swinging party that’s been taking place for millions of years.

If you’re a female horseshoe crab, then it’s your night. You’ll swim to shore, meet a special someone and he’ll clasp onto the back of your shell. You and he will crawl onto the beach together, where you’ll spawn at high tide under the light of the full moon.

But the mate attached to your shell is not your only tryst. On this night, you will mate with up to 13 males, all at the same time. Thousands of horseshoe crabs will pile on top of one another, glistening shells covering the beach for miles.

Louisa Jonas of NPR’s All Things Considered has the story: Link

Don’t Miss: 30 Strangest Animal Mating Habits

The beach will have a network of pipes beneath the sand containing a coolant that will absorb heat from the surface.

The swimming pool will be refrigerated and there are also proposals to install giant blowers to waft a gentle breeze over the beach.

Versace’s plans have shocked environmentalists. Rachel Noble, the campaigns officer at Tourism Concern, which promotes sustainable tourism, said that the carbon generated by such projects would contribute to climate change, whose worst effects would be felt by the poor.

“Dubai is like a bubble world where the things that are worrying the rest of the world, like climate change, are simply ignored so that people can continue their destructive lifestyles,” she said.

The hotel should open in late 2009 or early 2010. Link -Thanks, Chris Tackett!