Some sights just scream “Amurrr-ica!” like jorts and sleeveless tees, motorized scooters in a Walmart or a grown man prying a Tickle Me Elmo from a crying child’s arms on Black Friday. But if you want to see American consumerism at its peak finest, pay a visit to 1 Bass …
San Francisco has become a bedroom community for Silicon Valley’s most respected firms and new startups. As this slideshow on the 25 largest tech employers in San Francisco shows, the city is attracting some of this nation’s smartest, most creative young people in the world and Frisco’s economy is exploding …
A lot of components of Japanese culture are a far cry from what most Americans are used to. Take the uber-popular “cuddle cafes” for example, where men can pay to sleep next to a woman and cuddle (but no sexual favors are allowed). There is also the intensive, 11-year process …
In Japan, there’s a place where authorities find 100 bodies a year, on average. At the base of the beautiful Mt. Fuji lies a dense forest area, formally named Aokigahara, but also referred to as the “Sea of Trees” or as the demon infested “Suicide Forest.” The thick trees block out …
As with so many other aspects of culture, what’s considered “beautiful” and “desirable” in one country is vastly different in another. There is one universal aspect that seems to bypass all geographic and cultural lines–the pressures that continue to push people to strive for sometimes completely unrealistic standards. In a recent …
“Externally, I am a human being…but internally, I am a leopard,” says Stephen, one subject in a recent documentary called “WHAT?! I Think I’m an Animal” on Logo TV. There seems to be a growing number in “therians,” or people who believe they are animals. According to Wikipedia, “Therianthropy is …
So…there’s a Japanese myth about a monster called “Shirime,” a mystical ‘person’ who has an eyeball where an anus should be. According to the story, a samurai was walking down the street and heard someone call out to him to wait. Startled, the samurai turned around and saw a man …
Everyone has heard of fortune tellers–from the cheesy TV ads to the neon, lit-up signs in strip malls, but the methods for classic fortune telling go way beyond palm reading and tarot cards. From chicken talons and parrots to “rumpology”, asparagus and entrails, fortune tellers in history have used a …
Yes, you read that correctly–and condom costs will continue to rise. In Venezuela, a 36 pack of Trojan condoms is currently going for as much as an iPhone in the US. Would you be willing to pay that much for protection? Venezuela already has some of the highest rates for …
In a rare glimpse into the life of the “Old Order” Amish, BBC America was able to find a family willing to risk excommunicaion by agreeing to be filmed. Old Order Amish couple Miriam and David want to spread their message to the ‘outside world’ and let us take an …
