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The Shwedagon Pagoda officially titled Shwedagon Zedi Daw, also known in English as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a 99 metres (325 ft)[citation needed] gilded pagoda and stupa located in Yangon, Burma. The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within: the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight strands of hair from Gautama, the historical Buddha. Uppatasanti Pagoda is an exact replica of Shwedagon Pagoda in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma.

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19 Aug 2013 14:37:00,post received 0 comments

Wow Burning Man 2013 - AddOn

Every year, participants in the Burning Man Festival descend on the playa of Nevada's Black Rock Desert to form a temporary city – a self-reliant community populated by performers, artists, free spirits, and more. Last week, an estimated 68,000 people came to Burning Man 2013 from all over the world to dance, express themselves, and take in the spectacle. Gathered below are some of the sights from the festival, which lasted a week and came to its conclusion yesterday

First part HERE.

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17 Oct 2013 13:24:00,post received 0 comments

Educative Slauerhoff Bridge, Netherlands

The Slauerhoffbrug (English: Slauerhoff Bridge) is a fully automatic bascule bridge (aka tail bridge) in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. It uses two arms to swing a section of road in and out of place within the road itself. It is also known as the “Slauerhoffbrug ‘Flying’ Drawbridge”. A tail bridge can quickly and efficiently be raised and lowered from one pylon (instead of hinges). This quickly allows water traffic to pass while only briefly stalling road traffic. The deck is 15 m by 15 m. It is painted in yellow and blue, representative of Leeuwarden's flag and seal.

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06 Nov 2013 10:34:00,post received 0 comments

Educative Titanoboa: Monster Snake

Titanoboa, meaning "titanic boa," is an extinct genus of snake that lived approximately 60–58 million years ago, during the Paleocene epoch, a 10-million-year period immediately following the dinosaur extinction event. The only known species is Titanoboa cerrejonensis, the largest, longest, and heaviest snake ever discovered, which supplanted the previous record holder, Gigantophis.

A full-scale model of the snake was unveiled at New York City's Grand Central station before the exhibit opens at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

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06 Feb 2014 12:38:00,post received 0 comments

Fact Battling Rio's Gangs

Residents observe a police officer take up position during an operation at the Mare slums complex in Rio de Janeiro March 25, 2014. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

Residents observe a police officer take up position during an operation at the Mare slums complex in Rio de Janeiro March 25, 2014. The federal troops have taken control of security operations in Mare slums complex to help quell a surge in violent crime following attacks by drug traffickers on police posts in three slums on the north side of the city, government officials said. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

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Brazil

09 Apr 2014 09:22:00,post received 0 comments

Fact St. Patrick's Day

Chamrock (cq), an Irish wolfhound, sports a green coat as he waits for the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade on March 17, 2012 in Chicago

Chamrock, an Irish wolfhound, sports a green coat as he waits for the start of the St. Patrick's Day parade on March 17, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Tens of thousands took advantage of record high temperatures and sunny weather to attend the city's annual St. Patrick's Day celebration. (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)

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18 Mar 2012 10:22:00,post received 0 comments

Fact Hong Kong by Michael Wolf

The focus of the german photographer michael wolf's work is life in mega cities. Many of his projects document the architecture and the vernacular culture of metropolises. Wolf grew up in Canada, Europe and the United States, studying at UC Berkeley and at the Folkwang School with Otto Steinert in Essen, Germany. He moved to Hong Kong in 1994 where he worked for 8 years as contract photographer for Stern magazine. Since 2001, Wolf has been focusing on his own projects, many of which have been published as books.

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23 Jan 2013 12:02:00,post received 0 comments

Wow Parkour in Motion by Ben Franke

New York-based photographer and videographer Ben Franke captures the beautiful, acrobatic movement of parkour. The photographer followed New York City free runners, known as tracers, for a few years, documenting their athletic prowess as they freely roamed about the urban streets with a zest for life. Finally, he decided to take his personal project to the next level by producing a collection of dramatically captivating portraits of these athletes for his series titled Parkour Motion.

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07 Feb 2013 12:19:00,post received 0 comments