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Urban explorers and photographers have a tendency to keep exact locations a secret, but somewhere in Spain lies a porcelain doll factory that was abandoned decades ago. The business was dropped in a hurry, it seems, as many half-made dolls and doll-making equipment was left behind to decay. See a collection of photographs from inside, and read about the history of the porcelain doll business at Environmental Graffiti. Link
(Image source: Abandonalia)
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The town of Júzcar in the Spanish province of Andalucía got an offer they couldn’t refuse. Sony Pictures approached the village for an opportunity to promote the 2011 movie The Smurfs. Would the citizens be willing to have their whitewashed homes and public buildings painted blue? The local government would receive a nice cash payment, and the buildings would be painted twice -once blue, and then restored to their original white. It was a win-win situation. But… the villagers and tourists liked it so much that Júzcar will remain blue! See lots of pictures of blue Júzcar at Kuriositas. Link -Thanks, RJ!
(Image credit: Flickr user manuelfloresv)
You
can argue that the box office gross for the rom-com movie Larry Crowne
by Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts was so
low that it's criminal.
But it's the movie's promotional poster that's actually illegal, at least in Spain:
The poster, which shows Roberts and Hanks riding without protective headgear, was in violation of Spain's strict traffic rules, which ban "any publicity, in print, audio or video that may incite excessive speed, reckless driving, situations of danger or any other circumstance involving conduct contrary to the principles of the law".
ThinkSpain said the makers of the film had been fined more than £25,000 for the breach.
An unnamed man went to get some cash from a Caja Madrid bank machine in Llodio, Alava, Spain and saw his cash coming from the slot -plus a snake! Even though the snake lunged toward his hand, he grabbed his money, then summoned the police. A bank manager activated the cash release that had trapped the snake, which was then boxed and taken to an animal shelter. Link -via Arbroath
One of the difficulties with using solar energy is its inability to produce electricity around the clock. Torresol Energy in southern Spain has solved this problem by storing thermal energy in two tanks of molten salt. This enables the plant to generate electricity long after sundown in order to satisfy the energy needs of the local populace. The molten salt — known as MSES — stores enough thermal energy during the day to create steam power during the night.
The MSES consists of 60% potassium nitrate and 40% sodium nitrate. This mixture has the amazing ability to retain 99% of the heat energy generated by the CSP plant to be reused later. Essentially what Forbes calls a “battery” that lasts for about 15 hours – more than double Andasol I’s 7 hour capacity – the MSES is not considered especially toxic to the environment.
Gemasolar is expected to produce approximately 110,000 MWh of energy each year – enough to power 25,000 homes. Although a 19.9 MW plant is relatively small, this functions on par with a 50MW plant that lacks decent storage since it can feed the grid all of the time. Designed to operate 6,500 hours annually, this latest development in super-duper CSP plants opened in May, 2011.
Castles on cliffs are the stuff of fairytales. And sure, it was a security measure, building the kingdom’s stronghold in the least accessible location, but that doesn’t make these seven beautiful castles located on cliffs any less impressive or fairytale-like. The one above is Alcazar in Segovia, Spain, built in the 12th century and now open to tourists year round and home to the Spanish General Military Archives. Link
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The Metropol Parasol in Sevilla, Spain, is the largest wooden structure in the world! The 150 x 70 meter wooden grid covers an archaeological site, a farmer’s market, a plaza, and bars and restaurants to serve tourists who come to see it. Read about this amazing construction and see lots more pictures at Kuriositas. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Turismo de Sevilla)
Filmmaker Terje Sorgjerd (previously at Neatorama) set up cameras on El Teide, the highest mountain in Spain, from April 4th to 11th, 2011. The object was to take a time-lapse video of the Milky Way. However, a sand storm blew in from the Sahara desert. Sorgjerd assumed his project had been ruined, but was pleased with the resulting video. -via the Presurfer
Lucas Jatobá spent three years living in Barcelona and had the time of his life. Now the Brazilian is moving to Sydney, Australia, and he wanted to do something nice to say goodbye to Barcelona. A Spanish travel website helped him with 250 theater tickets, which he attached to balloons and released over the city. The song is “Change the World” by Canadian singer Jessica Allossery. -Thanks, Lucas!
A housing development in Zaragoza, Spain, will name its streets after classic video games. Last Saturday, residents dubbed one road “Avenida de Super Mario Bros.”:
Other planned roads in the neighborhood include streets named for “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Space Invaders” and “The Legend of Zelda.”
Video games won out over more traditional options in an online poll that residents used to pick their street names, said Antonio Almudi Miranda, president of the Arcosur neighborhood association.
“We are people who grew up living with video games. We know them very well,” he said. “I’m 25. I’m the same age as Mario.”
Link via Nerd Bastards | Photo: CNN
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
Hundreds of people in Spain are participating in championship matches in the grueling sport of competitive napping. The National Association of Friends of the Siesta is hosting the event in order to promote the practice of the siesta. Here’s how the event is judged:
Ruz then went to the competition area. A doctor attached a pulse meter to her chest so the judge, sitting in a lifeguard-type chair overlooking the five sofas, could tell whether she’s really asleep.
In this competition, the siesta is limited to 20 minutes, a duration which the organizers and some doctors say is optimal; a quick nap after lunch to get refreshed, without entering a deep sleep cycle.[...]
The intricate rules award points to contestants depending on how long they sleep during the 20-minute competition time, any unusual positions they sleep in, eye-catching pajamas they might be wearing, and yes, a lot of extra points for snoring.
Link via Althouse | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user das911s used under Creative Commons license
Just as we have suspected, Neatoramanauts! Cats are taking over the world. Here’s proof: a giant cat’s claw building rising up in Oviedo, Spain.
Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the building defies description — better just to look at the pictures. Construction started in 2003, but was paused due to the financial crisis. Right now, it’s on track to be fully completed in February 2011. In honor of one of Oviedo’s most famous children, the palace will be inaugurated officially as the Palacio de Congresos Princesa Letizia.
The two side wings of the horseshoe shaped complex will hold ministry offices. A hotel is going into the back building and in the center, under that audacious roof, will be the area for expositions and congresses. Below ground is a shopping mall, with the goofy name of Modoo, already open for business. In all, the size of the palace is over 15,000 square meters. [...]
By the way, we love the Palacio. From afar, it dominates the cityscape a little too much, but seen from close up, it’s awfully impressive.
Link – Thanks Juergen!
Izarzugaza, a traditional butcher shop chain in northern Spain, has come up with a solution for the perennial problem of a 2 AM craving for chorizo:
Not long ago the store began selling online, however, and delivering to customers as far-flung as Segovia and Madrid. Even more interesting, though, is that it has installed a vending machine outside its Mundaka shop that sells a variety of meats, sausages, sandwiches and other goods around the clock. Products sold within the machine vary with the season, so that summer offerings might include pasta salads while the emphasis is more on meatballs and sausages in the wintertime.
Link via Geekologie | Screenshot by Geekologie, photo by Leticia Pérez Prieto
Previously: Strange and Wonderful Vending Machines
Spanish face transplant patient known only as Rafael revealed his new face at a press conference. The 30-year old had a partial face transplant surgery to repair deformation due to benign tumors:
Months of rehabilitation await him, but Rafael can now distinguish between hot and cold and feel pain in his lips.
After the operation, Rafael recognized himself in the mirror and liked what he saw, Gomez Cia said. “Not only did he not see himself as a monster, but rather he also thought he looked younger.”
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.
If you think you’ve got problem, just think of Australia and you’ll surely feel a bit better. See, they’ve got a little locust plague problem. How little? Oh, the size of Spain or so:
Millions of the quick-breeding and fast-moving insects have damaged crops and caused havoc in country towns by infesting parts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia – covering an area of approximately 500,000 square kilometres (190,000 square miles), roughly the size of Spain.
Hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops of early sown wheat and barley as well as pastures and gardens have been eaten by the “widespread infestation” of the native Australian pests, which break out annually and are the bane of the Australian agriculture industry.
However this year’s outbreak could potentially be worse than the devastating plague of 2004 – when locusts swept through eastern Australia damaging an area twice the size of England – because of recent rainfall across drought-affected inland Australia.
Link (Photo: Murty Colin)
A weekend trip to Granada, Spain gives us all a look at the Nazrid Palaces of the Alhambra, built in the 14th century by the conquering Moors of North Africa. Considering the history, it’s astonishing that these buildings have survived 700 years without significant damage. The Alhambra is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Link -Thanks, Juergen!
For some reason, the good people of Spain really like horned, charging mammals involved in their sports. From the classic (yet controversial) bullfighting matches to the Running of the Bulls, and now an old tradition revived- Bull Leaping! At Oddity Central, Spooky writes:
Teams of 5 to 7 bull leapers gather each year in cities like Valencia or Barcelona, to take part in a performance that many compare to the Russian roulette. Each team may face up to three bulls in the ring, at once, taunting and jumping over them just when the beasts prepare to impale them.
And, as he points out, no animals needlessly die during the events.
Video of the action. Link to story/more pics. | Photos by Ojodigital.
Photo by Iwan Baan
Gorgeous design and blending of utilitarian and aesthetic elements. More photos at link (The Contemporist).
The New York based landscape and urban design office of Balmori Associates has designed the “Garden That Climbs The Steps” in Bilbao, Spain.
The magnificent Christians & Moors Festival took place in the Valencian mountain town of Alcoy, Spain on April 22nd through the 24th. This festival celebrated the pageantry and recreated the historial battles of the 13th century.
With beautiful, ornate costumes that manage to look both hundreds of years old and sparkling new, thousands of marchers transform the streets of Alcoy’s magnificent old city into a gigantic party. The festival’s first day sees the entrances: first of the Christains at 11:00, and then of the Moors at 17:00. Each parade lasts hours and hours, and is chock full of incredible music, dancing, floats and costumes.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Random Good Stuff.
