The House of Bones - Casa Batllo

One of the most photographed buildings you could possibly find in Barcelona is that of Casa Batllo, also known as the ‘House of Yawns’.

A more recent, more macabre name for this stunning Gaudi masterpiece is that of the ‘House of Bones’. Situated near to its cousin, Casa Mila (or La Pedrera), upon the Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batllo stands out from the other buildings in that its walls are in an elaborately decorated order with Gaudi’s characteristic absence of straight lines. The Casa Batllo’s disconcerting nickname (House of Bones) is owed to the ‘skeletal’ look of the columns of the building’s gallery and not because there are any skeletons to be found in the closet.

Restored and remodeled by the Spanish modernist architect Antoni Gaudi in the years 1905–1907, Casa Batllo is now one the most overlooked buildings by the tourists who visit Barcelona. Although Casa Batllo is a museum now, Gaudi designed it for for a wealthy Barcelona Aristocrat.


Casa Batllo’s roof has been compared to a reptilian creature, the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur, the dragon killed by St. George (Sant Jordi being the patron saint of Catalan).


It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the facade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues.






From the balconies resembling the bones of animals to the scale like surface of the front facade, the building is a tour de force of an artist reaching the peak of his powers. At night the floodlit facade has an iridescence like the scales of a fish. This polychromic finish is known as trencadís.


The enlarged windows on the first floor gave it another nickname, ‘House of Yawns’.

World's Largest Pair of Jeans

Seamstresses in Peru set out to set a Guinness World Record for the largest pair of jeans sewn. The pair of jeans measures 141 feet tall and 98 feet wide and weighs in at 7.5 tons. The current record is held by the city of Medellin in Columbia. That pair was 114 feet tall and 82 feet wide.

It sounds like they are just waiting for their record setting jeans to be accepted by Guinness. There wasn't a Guinness representative present, but a notary who can send documentation to the group was.

The pants will be recycled as backpacks for school children. For more info.

15 Places in the World Described by Just One Picture

Only in China



Only in Russia



Only in Brazil



Only in Romania



Only in Pakistan



Only in Amsterdam



Only in Egypt



Only in Thailand



Only in Texas



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Only in India



Only in America



Only in Alaska



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Only in Germany

The Most Dangerous Walk to School

For most parents the school-run may seem death-defying, but it usually only consists of a quick drive or walk to the gates.

So spare a thought for the families of Gulucan village in West China, who take their lives in their hands every day with a a school walk which involves navigating a narrow path carved into a 5,000-ft cliff-side.

It is the only way they can get to the school, which with its five concrete rooms is the known as the best construction in the village.



Source: dailymail

Halloween Costumes for your Car

Well, it never crossed mind that you could dress up your car for Halloween (if you did, you are a Halloween-freak, not a bad thing) but here’s a collection of some really weird Halloween Costumes people have put on their cars or should I just say Halloween cars?