Absolutely Cool Moments

Absolutely cool moments

Photos of John Pugh's new murals

John Pugh's new murals 3D murals painted on the sides of buildings by Trompe L'oeil (trick-of-the-eye) artist John Pugh: Main Street , Los Gatos , California . Even the woman peering into the ruin is part of the mural. Taylor Hall, California State University , Chico , California . The Doric-style columns are actually nothing but paint.

Thunderbolts And Lightning

The photo of a lifesaver warning surfers to get out of the sea as a severe storm approaches Ormond Beach in Florida was taken by Jason Weingart. He regularly braves inclement conditions to take photos and video of violent storms all over North America. 

Jason said: "There is nothing in the world quite like storm chasing. 99 per cent of the time is sheer boredom; looking at weather models and forecast products, driving to the target, sitting around and waiting for storms to fire. But that one per cent of the time, when you are standing next to a perfectly structured supercell or a severe thunderstorm pumping out billions of volts of electricity, makes it all worthwhile.

Lightning explodes from a supernal in Nebraska. Composite of 31 images shot over a 10-minute period.

"There are moments when we are getting slammed with large hail and extreme winds, when I think death is a very real possibility. We're all going to die sometime. I feel that we should make the most of our time here on Earth. It's truly awe inspiring to see what our world is capable of. The way that rivers of air and pools of moisture in the sky can come together to produce a giant engine in our atmosphere makes me feel like I am part of something bigger. Getting to experience the violence and beauty that mother nature is capable of is something I wouldn't trade for anything.

Most Desolate City On Earth

The most desolate city on Earth: Take a tour of the ghostly Battleship Island crumbling into the sea off the coast of Japan By Kerry Mcqueeney PUBLISHED: 20:44 GMT, 6 April 2012 | UPDATED: 22:57 GMT, 6 April 2012 Deserted, decaying and crumbling into the sea. Visitors to this abandoned settlement could be forgiven for thinking they had entered a long-forgotten war zone. However, this is Gunkanjima - Japan's rotting metropolis. And it has been described as the most desolate place on Earth. Gunkanjima is a deserted island of concrete that is slowly crumbling away on Japan's west coast. Meaning 'Battleship Island' in English, Gunkanjima's real name is Hashima and it is one of 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture, about 15 kilometres from Nagasaki itself. It earned its nickname due to its resemblance to a military warship. Japan's rotting metropolis: The ruined architecture of Gunkanjima is every urban explorer's dream The 15-acre island was populated between 1887 and 1974, reaching its peak in 1959 with 5,259 inhabitants. However, as petroleum replaced coal during the 1960s, Japan's mines were hit by closures which eventually reached Gunkanjima

Indoor Luxury Resort

No chance of a tropical storm here then! Incredible pictures show luxury resort complete with sandy beaches, palm trees and clear blue water... inside enormous German hangar surrounded by snow By Anthony Bond With sandy beaches, clear blue water and palm trees, this looks like a spectacular and luxurious sun-kissed resort. Holidaymakers can be seen relaxing in swimming shorts and bikinis. Even the occasional flamingo can be spotted. But not everything is as it seems at Tropical Islands. Luxury: With sandy beaches, clear blue water and palm trees, this looks like a spectacular sun-kissed resort Fun: Despite appearances, not everything is as it seems at Tropical Islands Odd: The 'resort' is actually located on the site of a former Soviet military air base in Krausnick, Germany The 'resort' is actually located on the site of a former Soviet military air base in Krausnick, Germany. Tropical Islands is inside a hangar built originally to house airships designed to haul long-distance cargo. And despite it looking like temperatures are through the roof - outside the giant hanger it is actually snowing.

10 Most Famous Diamonds In The World...

10 Most Famous Diamonds In The World... 1. The Hope Diamond The Hope Diamond is not only one of the most famous gems in the world, but it is also one of the largest blue diamonds (4th�largest). It's physical value might be estimated but it's historical importance is priceless. It is so old that no one knows exactly when it was discovered. However, it already had an owner in 1668, in the person of an Indian slave who claimed that the 112 carats stone (which he believed to be a sapphire) came from the eye of an idol. Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a traveler and a gem merchant bought it and sold it afterwards to King Louis XIV of France. Its price today is estimated at $250 million. The legend says that this diamond was�cursed�by the Hindu priests of the temple from where it was stolen. 2. The Golden Jubilee The Golden Jubilee is holding the title of the world's largest faceted diamond in the world, measuring 545,67 carats. It was discovered in 1985, in the Premier mine of South Africa. At first, it was considered an ugly brown diamond. Gabriel Tolkowsky received the diamond, which was supposed to be used at testing some new tools and cutting methods. The result astonished everyone. It turned out that the Unnamed Brown was actually a very beautiful yellow-brown diamond. It remained unnamed until it was presented to the king of Thailand in 1997, for the 50th�anniversary of his coronation (thus, its name). 3. The Cullinan I One of the most famous diamonds in the world, Cullingam I was justly considered the largest diamond in the world up to the discovery of the Golden Jubilee. Also known as The star of Africa, the pear-shaped stone is the largest of the 9 diamonds cut from the largest rough diamond ever, the Cullinan diamond(3106,75 carats). Currently, it is the head of St. Edward's scepter, one of the British Crown Jewels but it can be removed and worn as a brooch.