A Blast From The Past: Episode 29

From the archives of Amusing Planet.

Rainbow Eucalyptus–The Most Colorful Tree on Earth

These trees may look like they've been painted on, but these colors are all natural. This peculiar tree is called Eucalyptus deglupta, commonly known as the Rainbow Eucalyptus, and also known as the Mindanao Gum, or the Rainbow Gum. The multi-coloured streaks on its trunk comes from patches of outer bark that are shed annually at different times, showing the bright-green inner bark. This then darkens and matures to give blue, purple, orange and then maroon tones.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, is one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. The gardens were created by members of the Cornish Tremayne family, over a period from the mid-18th century up to the beginning of the 20th century – the garden evolving and becoming more extravagant with each passing generation. Throughout the 19th century, the gardens thrived, growing larger and requiring greater staff to manage them. Then it fell into disuse when many of the gardeners went off to fight World War I, and was eventually forgotten until it was discovered in the 1990s.

World's Largest Scale Model of the Solar System Covers Entire Sweden

The Sweden Solar System is the world's largest model of our planetary system, built at a scale of 1:20 million and stretches the entire length of the country. The Sun is represented by the Globe arena in Stockholm, the largest spherical building in the world. The planets are placed and sized according to scale with the inner planets being in Stockholm and Jupiter at the International airport Arlanda. The outer planets follow in the same direction with Saturn in Uppsala and Pluto in Delsbo, 300 km from the Globe. The model ends at the Termination shock, 950 km from the Sun.

Ready to Cook Featherless Chicken

An Israeli geneticist, Avigdor Cahaner, created the world's first featherless chicken at the genetics faculty at the Rehovot Agronomy Institute near Tel Aviv, Israel. The bare-skinned bird was created by cross breeding a broiler with a species that has a featherless neck. The idea behind the development of this naked bird is that it will create a more 'convenient' and energy efficient chicken which can live in warm countries where feathered chickens don't do well and cooling systems are too expensive to be commonly affordable. And of course, the bird doesn’t require plucking, saving additional money in processing plants.

Kandovan: An Iranian Village Carved in the Rocks

Tucked away in the remote northwest corner of Iran is the village of Kandovan that is not only famous for its scenic beauty, but also for the unique dwellings of its residents. Many of its homes have been made in caves located in cone-shaped, naturally formed compressed volcanic ash formations that make the landscape look like a gigantic termite colony. Current residents of Kandovan claim that their village is more than 700 years old.

Cano Cristales: The River of Five Colors

The Cano Cristales is a river of Colombia located in the Sierra de la Macarena. For most of the year, Cano Cristales is indistinguishable from any other river: a bed of rocks covered in dull green mosses are visible below a cool, clear current. However, for a brief period of time every year the most amazing transformation occurs - the river blossoms in a vibrant explosion of colors.

Urine Soaked Boiled Eggs: A Chinese Delicacy

As spring sets in, a strange but familiar smell permeates the air in Dongyang City of China’s Zhejiang Province, as locals begin to eat the seasonal "virgin egg." It’s the smell of urine, because "virgin eggs" are actually eggs boiled in the urine of virgin boys. The local word is Tongzi Dan which translates to “boy egg”. This bizarre street eat, though appalling to an outsider, has been a standard street fare in Dongyang for hundreds of years.

Rude Hand Gestures of the World

A hand gesture is arguably the most effective form of expression, whether you’re defaming a friend’s mother or telling a perfect stranger to get lost. Learn how to go beyond just flipping the bird with this illustrated guide to rude hand gestures all around the world, from asking for sex in the Middle East to calling someone crazy in Italy. Detailed photographs of hand models and subtle tips for proper usage make Rude Hand Gestures of the World the perfect companion for globe-trotters looking to offend.