Raining chocolate: People might use the expression, “It’s raining cats and dogs,” but no one ever says, “It’s raining chocolate!” That’s what happened in the town of Olten, Switzerland, recently. Many people reported seeing chocolate powder in the air, and others mentioned that vehicles were covered with an accumulation of the sweet, brown stuff. Turns out that there was a logical reason for the phenomena. The town is home to a chocolate factory that had a problem with its ventilation system. The chocolate powder made its way outside and was blown around by strong winds.

Working the land: Apartment dwellers in cities expect to look out their windows to see such things as parking lots, malls, stores, and gas stations. At one apartment complex in Lublin, Poland, the view is a little different. At harvest time, the buildings’ occupants can look out and see a farmer in a combine harvesting the crop. While other farmers in the area sold their land to urban developers, this one decided to keep his property so he could keep farming. Most people living in the nearby buildings don’t seem to mind at all; they like seeing agriculture in action, rather than asphalt and urban sprawl.

Artsy hairstyle: Clients who get haircuts from stylist Truong Xuan Tuan wish their hair would never grow again! That’s because the stylist, of Hanoi, Vietnam, creates works of art on the backs of people’s heads using razors and trimmers. He might trim hair to form a celebrity’s face, a cartoon character, a spider, or an urban scene. Because he cannot simply rub out any mistakes, he only creates designs that he has practiced making in the past. Those coming into his shop can browse through a portfolio and pick something they like. Warning: the designs become a bit fuzzy as the person’s hair grows back!

Manhole lights: City planners in Tokorozawa, Japan, have a novel idea to decorate manhole covers. They outfitted 27 of these necessary, but usually unattractive, pieces of the city’s infrastructure with solar-powered LED lights. The lights reveal designs that incorporate anime characters, which are popular in Japan. The 27 artistic designs are illuminated every evening at 5 p.m., and those who are out late can enjoy them until they turn off at 2 a.m. Another motive that inspired the city’s planners is that the extra lighting may help prevent nighttime crime. See them here: www.myCoffeeNews.ca/extra

Nutty creation: Usually seen in landscape architecture, a gabion wall is a wire cage filled with material such as rocks or stones. But what about using such a structure as a centrepiece inside a home? Yerce Architecture and ZAAS, two Turkish design companies, did just that. A photographer, who is their client, lived in a loft apartment and wanted a natural component in the interior surroundings. The result is an accent wall like no other - a metal cage filled with walnuts. Although unconventional, the wall brings warmth from the colour of the walnuts, as well as an interesting texture that works with the streamlined furnishings.

Flower cakes: Those walking into Julie Simon Cakes in Los Angeles, California (U.S.), would be forgiven if they thought a flower arrangement on display was real. In fact, the flowers in this confectioner’s shop are cakes made by Simon herself. Her designs are so intricate that viewers would swear they are looking at a cluster of peonies, a vase of tulips, or a container full of a variety of blossoms. Simon’s cakes have attracted a lot of attention since she quit her corporate job in 2018. Even celebrities order cakes from her for a child’s birthday or a friend’s anniversary.

Fishing pool: With travel at a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels around the world have seen a huge decrease in business. To make ends meet, the Aveda Resort, a luxury hotel in Kumarakom, Kerala, India, tried a novel approach to maintain some of its income. They re-purposed the hotel’s pool as a fish farm. The large pool was drained and filled with fresh water, then loaded with 16,000 young pearl spot fish. The fish can be harvested and sold, raising money to help with the hotel’s expenses. The project has also helped to keep hotel staff busy.

Hot springs: In the Tuscan region of Italy, a natural hot spring near Saturnia is a sight to behold. Called Cascate del Mulino, which means “Waterfalls of the Mill,” this hot spot features natural white limestone pools over which warm water flows. The turquoise liquid, at a constant 37°C (98.6°F), comes from an underground source and is full of minerals and sulphur. This beautiful natural wonder is free for users and is located downstream from a tourist complex called Terme di Saturnia Spa, where an entrance fee must be paid. The best time to visit is in fall, winter, or early spring when it is less crowded. See the beautiful falls and some other hot spots of Tuscany here: www.myCoffeeNews.ca/extra

Dating game: If you are trying to meet that special someone, it’s best not to damage their property in the process. But that’s what Yoshito Harada of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, did. He got into the bad habit of slashing the tires on women’s cars, then following them so he could offer to help. Recently, one of his targets remembered him from a previous tire-slashing incident, and she called the cops. It wasn’t long before the police discovered that Harada had played this “game” several years earlier and had been caught. He paid compensation for the tires and didn’t go to jail, but none of the ladies was interested in dating him.

Tiger tales: Getting caught in floodwater is no fun, even for tigers. One such feline, a resident of the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, in north-eastern India, was looking for shelter when it discovered a goat shed on someone’s property in Kandolimari Village. Park officials identified the animal as a not-quite-full-grown, male Bengal tiger. Officials kept a close eye on the situation so nobody, including the tiger, would get hurt. During heavy rains, many animals in the park, including elephants and rhinos, must find sanctuary by moving to higher ground.

Tall and straight: Cactus plants can grow to be quite tall, and one in Takinogawa, Tokyo (Japan), leaves onlookers awestruck at its height. This cactus looks like a pole as it reaches for the sky on the side of a three-story building. No one is aware of the plant’s age or genus, but it does appear that someone cares for the prickly thing. Metal rings are wrapped around the plant that attach it to the building, presumably so it won’t topple over. The building is 10 metres (33 ft.) high, and this cactus is a little taller than that. Its top is slightly higher than the building.

Pandemic dress: Peyton Manker was not able to wear her homemade dress to her high school prom, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, lots of people saw her unique dress on social media. Manker, of Sparta, Illinois (U.S.), decided to enter a contest to make her dress out of duct tape, and she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. She spent almost 400 hours and used about 41 rolls of tape to create her dress. The coronavirus-themed gown is royal blue and gold and contains colourful scenes depicting the pandemic, such as hospital staff with masks. See her dress here: www.myCoffeeNews.ca/extra

Lacy cookies: Judit Czinkné Poór of Ajka, Hungary, probably never expected that her skill at painting porcelain would transfer to cookie decorating. That is just what happened, and today the artist is a well-known pastry chef with her own shop. She is able to turn a gingerbread cookie into a creative edible that appears to be covered in traditional Hungarian lace and delicate flowers. She has expanded her decorating to included cartoon characters and animal figures. As can be imagined, completing a batch of cookies takes Poór a long time, so she is unable to keep up with the demand. However, she shares her talent through teaching.

Subway splendour: When one thinks of subway stations in big cities, visions of concrete, graffiti, and dimly lit underground corridors may come to mind. Not so in Moscow, where the metro stations look more like ornately decorated dance halls. Rather than being dirty and unpleasant, these stations are beautiful and opulent. Each station in the city has its own unique design, with some featuring stained glass and chandeliers, while others display plaster mosaics and marble seating. They are unexpected sights to see while waiting to catch the train to a destination. See some of the incredible stations here: www.myCoffeeNews.ca/extra

Odd shape: Square watermelons actually exist in Japan, but they don’t come from special seeds. They are created when a watermelon of the usual variety is grown inside a box so that the final product is square. Watermelons of this shape have the advantage of being stackable, so therefore are more easily transported and stored. The taste of these watermelons isn’t like regular ones because they’re harvested before they become mature. People buy them as ornamental gifts, parting with as much as $100 USD if purchasing from a Japanese store, and for much more from specialty stores in other countries.

A place for books: There is a library like no other in Stockholm, Sweden. Stadsbiblioteket (City Library) was designed by architect Gunnar Asplund in the 1920s. Its round shape is unusual, with stacks of books encircling the huge room. Above the stacks is a viewing area, allowing visitors to take a bird’s-eye look at the hundreds of thousands of books available for reading and loaning. The architectural style is known as Nordic Classicism; some people call it “Swedish Grace.” Both inside and out, the building is a photographer’s dream, not to mention a reader’s fantasy.

Sink art: An artist in Milan, Italy, didn’t let the coronavirus pandemic get in her way. During the shutdown in that country, Marta Grossi used an everyday home feature as her canvas: the sink. Normally used for the drab tasks of doing dishes and personal care regimes, Grossi decided to breathe creative life into the basins by using watercolour paints. From sea anemones to butterflies to floral designs and animal life, she created bright, colourful scenes. She left each painting intact for 24 hours, but took photos before washing each design down the drain.

Wild winds: On New Zealand’s South Island is a windswept area called Slope Point. This forbidding place on the island’s most southern tip, almost midway between the Equator and the South Pole, experiences relentless, howling winds that come across the ocean, uninterrupted, from Antarctica. Sheep graze there, and years ago farmers decided to plant trees to act as shelters for the animals. Today, those trees are a tourist attraction because the wind has forced them to grow sideways – literally. While people like to come to see the trees, they must make day trips because there are no accommodations on this wild, windy point.

See the trees here: www.myCoffeeNews.ca/extra

See you soon: When prison inmates make an escape, they usually hope not to return. This was not the case for two incarcerated men in an Italian prison. Cousins Davad Zukanovic and Lil Ahmetovic managed break out of jail in the middle of the night. They left a note explaining that they had urgent family business to attend to, adding a dubious promise that they’d be back in 15 days. Regardless of the convicts’ stated intentions, police took the escape seriously and are doing their best to track the men down. If they get caught, authorities will add five years to their sentences.

Team spirit: One traditional sport that came from the Zhuang people of Gunaxi province in southeastern China requires immense teamwork. It’s called board shoe racing. In this sport, three team members place the toes of their shoes in leather straps attached to two planks that each are one metre (3.2 ft.) long. To race, they must run in perfect unison to avoid falling over. While board shoe racing requires athleticism, an important requirement of the team is working together and cooperating with each other. The sport likely dates back to the Ming Dynasty, when it was used to help train soldiers.

Kidding aside: Kris Hedstrom of Odessa, Florida (U.S.), thinks she had the wool pulled over her eyes when the Nigerian dwarf goats she purchased couldn’t be registered as pedigrees. The goats – Bella, Gigi, Rosie, Zelda, and Margoat – came from neighbour Heather Dayner’s farm. When Hedstrom tried to register the animals, she was turned away because Dayner was not an active member of the American Dairy Goat Association. Not to be deterred, Hedstrom filed a lawsuit asking Dayner to pay for a paternity test on the goats.

Purple paradise: Those who like the colour purple now have a must-see destination to put on their wish lists: Banwol Island and Parkji Island in Sinan-gun, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Authorities on these islands have planted lavender fields and various trees with purple flowers, and they are developing an infrastructure painted with purple. The two islands are connected via a purple footbridge, and some of the roads have been splashed with violet paint. Homeowners have even joined the action by painting their houses various shades of this vibrant colour. See this amazing purple paradise here...www.myCoffeeNews.ca/extra

Sculpture garden: Xilitla, San Luis Potosi, in north central Mexico is the home of Las Pozas, a surrealistic sculpture garden. It was the brainchild of the late Edward James of England and was built between the 1960s and 1980s. A wealthy man, James loved orchids, and he grew many varieties on his Mexican property. However, everything was wiped out in a hailstorm in 1962. That’s when he started building his tropical campus of interesting sculptures, with the help of his Mexican friend and foreman, Plutaco Gastelum. There are over 30 rock and concrete sculptures left today, going by such names as The Staircase to Heaven.

Tea time: It may come as a surprise that, in a tea-loving locale, the oldest tea shop in London began as a coffee shop more than 300 years ago. Today, the cafe is called Twinings Tea Shop, but when it opened three centuries ago, it was called Tom’s Coffee House. It was started by Thomas Twining, who was in the business of importing commodities, including tea and coffee. His shop became known among his aristocratic customers to have some of the best tea in the city. Today, the shop still stands at 216 Strand, and the name “Twining” has gone down in history as a popular brand of tea.

Vertical cave: A deep cave in Mexico is called Sótano de las Golondrinas (Cave of the Swallows). Located in the forest in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, this open-air cave shaft is over 370 metres (1,200 ft.) deep, and even deeper in some spots. Its name stems from the brightly coloured parakeets and swifts that settle down along the walls at night. In the morning, all the birds fly up and out of the cave, making a spectacular sight. The Cave of the Swallows also attracts human visitors who enjoy extreme sports. They jump in with a parachute or spend a full hour rappelling to the bottom using specialized ropes and gear.

Pyramid crazy: Andrey and Victoria Vakhrushev from the village of Istinka near St. Petersburg, Russia, are enamoured by the Great Pyramid of Giza. In fact, they are so captivated by the ancient structure that they built a replica in their backyard. While much smaller than the original, the couple’s creation is still a sight to behold. They thoroughly researched the project and applied similar specifications to scale. They ended up using about 400 tonnes of concrete blocks. Finding a contractor took a while, but eventually one agreed to take on the job. See their creation here...

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