Turtle-shaped island in Spring

If you happen to be near the Gorges Reservoir of the Muodaoxi River in China in the Spring you'll be witnessing a unique natural phenomenon - a monstrous turtle rising from the waters.

In reality this is not a real turtle but its only a turtle-shaped island dramatically rising from the waters. It is the event that announces the coming of the Spring.

Every year with the coming of the Spring thousands of tourists flock to witness this extraordinary event dubbed 'Spring turtle rising from water".

This event is celebrated by local residents because turtles are considered auspicious and a sign of longevity. Although it sounds like a fascinating natural spectacle it is actually a man-made "magic".. The water level of Muodaoxi River is controlled by the Three Gorges Dam. In spring, the reservoir supplies water to the areas downstream, bringing down the water level and exposing the island.

The appearance of the island depends on the amount of floodwater heading downstream. For nine months out of a year it is either fully submerged or only has its tip exposed. The turtle shape is fully visible when the water level is between 163 and 168 meters.

If the water falls to around 145 meters, the rock becomes connected to the mainland, losing its unique shape. ,Once the island appears, word spreads quickly, and thousands of tourists rush to click photographs from the nearby hills. "It's a popular saying around here for the arrival of spring, we just say the turtle is coming," said Meng Liu,a local resident.

Grave in the middle of the road

What will be your reaction if you happen to find a well constructed grave in the middle of the road you are driving down.

It may be surprise nor for that matter even anger may result when a person cruising along Country Road 400, in Johnson County, Indiana, US will feel in such a situation. This is one of the strangest landmarks in America that you will stumble upon along this road.

The grave apparently dates back to before Amity village even had a paved road. In 1831, a 37-year-old woman named Nancy Kerlin died in the area, survived by her husband and 11 children.

Keeping with her wishes, her husband William Barnett buried her at her favourite spot on a small hill, overlooking Sugar Creek. While road crews generally tend to flatten out such obstructions, in this case, they made sure to pour the asphalt around the grave. Why? Because they were terrified!

Nancy was the first to be buried in the area, but other locals soon followed suit and a cemetery was built around her grave. Decades later, when a National Guard training camp started moving the graves to make way for development work, Nancy's grandchildren weren't happy with the idea. After several heated arguments, the developers finally agreed to leave Nancy's grave intact.

But it wasn't long before the officials realised that the grave was going to be right in the middle of a road that they had already started to build. So the county decided to push ahead with its plans and demolish the grave. That's when Nancy's grandson Daniel camped out near the grave, armed with a shotgun. He simply refused to let anyone to set foot on the mound for weeks, threatening to put a hole into any worker foolish enough to come near it.

The county was finally forced to relent - they split the lanes right down the middle and laid the road around the plot. In 1912, local authorities placed a concrete slab above the grave to protect it from being run over by reckless drivers. And in 1982, Nancy's great, great grandson Kenneth Blackwell placed a historical marker, probably to stop people's incessant questions about the grave's odd location.

This site is now considered to be one of the most haunted locations in Indiana.

Humane bullfighting

It is not like the bullfighting spectacle in Spain or Mexico where the bull is killed after so much of blood-letting, but the bull fighters in Costa Rica are a different breed.

Since cattle are revered as a source of income for Costa Rican farming families they don't consider it practical to kill bulls for sport. Although bullfighting is an important event at Zapote - the annual Costa Rican bull festival - the bulls always leave the arena unscathed.

Corridas de toros (bullfights) are held all through the year in Costa Rica, but Zapote's is considered to be the country's grandest event. At the end of each year, cattle farmers from all over the nation haul their bulls and gather at the capital, for the much-awaited celebration. And instead of glorifying man's power over the beast, the bullfights during Zapote celebrate bulls. The animals are never killed, only dodged.

Two bullfighting events are held on each day of the festival - one in the afternoon and the other at night. Festival organisers offer cash prizes for the best performances in the ring. Sometimes improvisados are given tasks, like retrieving an object off the bull. Special games like dos ceros (two zeros) are also organised, where improvisados are put in two circles while a bull charges between them. The last one to stay within his ring while avoiding the bull wins a cash prize.

Despite the humane treatment of bulls, the Zapote bullfights have not remained free of controversy. The World Society for the Protection of Animals has condemned the sport for the maltreatment of bulls. The injuries to humans have not gone unnoticed either - each year over 200 people are wounded during the fights, and hundreds are hospitalised. Still, the bullfights are considered the life of the festival. According to Adrián Bindas, a 15-year veteran of the ring, it is the dream of every Costa Rican boy to bullfight in Zapote as soon as they turn 18. In spite of suffering 26 stitches to his face and losing his teeth, Adrián is still every bit as excited about the festival. "I hate football," he said. "I hate martial arts. For me, this is the Super Bowl."

Beggar accepts donations via card

He is a rich beggar. He lives in a 300 pound rented apartment in Preston, England. Every Wednesday he travels to London where he pretends to be homeless, spends three days and nights sleeping rough and begging.

Thirty-seven year old Damien Booth attracts rich tourists visiting London's Mayfair with his haggard-looking sleepless appearance and if the particular tourist feels sorry and and also has only his credit card Booth is ready to accept the donation via the credit card. He actually carries around a card reader to make sure he doesn't miss out any of the contributions he receives.

He walks up to potential donors and tries appealing to their generosity. If they're ready to contribute, he quickly whips out his mobile card reader that transfers all payments to his PayPal account. The reader is linked via Bluetooth to his smartphone, and the donor receives a receipt for his donation.

Booth has successfully managed to convert what is viewed as a rather ignoble occupation into a full-time profession. And he's struck gold - a former friend claims that the man has earned thousands of pounds and even spent five or six holidays abroad in just one year! In fact, his Facebook page has pictures of him in Paris and Ibiza.

"He is taking everyone for a ride and makes an absolute fortune," the friend said. "He has befriended the super-rich at bars and restaurants.

"When he was confronted about his habits, Booth quickly admitted to everything. "I have nothing to hide," he said. "I have been homeless and I did beg while I was in London and I have been down since I got my flat in October. I do it to buy things for the flat.

Since begging is illegal in England, he'll probably have to give up and find a new line of work pretty soon. But given his inventive and entrepreneurial spirit, I'm sure he'll do just fine.