Whether you worked hard today or can’t seem to find work, let’s take a break from the stress. It’s cold and ugly outside in some places, so think about sea arches like a mysterious portal to another world of sunshine and warm tropical water. If you love beaches or cliffs, you should be awed by these natural rock formations while enjoying your virtual travel to the sea. Hey, it’s a free trip, let’s find the right mood. Forget about the ups and downs of life. You can feel the warm wind blowing a salty ocean spray on your skin as well as feel the warm sand under your feet. You can hear the roar swish of waves crashing. Exhale out the negative energy, as the tension slowly seeps out of your body, and you get ready to take off for your journey to see 32 stunning and spectacular sea arches.

Let’s Go Play

(image credits: Cyril BRETON, Stefan Mendelsohn, thefatcat44)

Let’s go play. You will travel first to France. Étretat is best known for its cliffs, including a famous natural arch pictured on the top left. To the left of that arch, erosion collapsed another arch which is now only a sea stack. Next, you’ll hop virtually to Spain to take in another lovely hole in a rock. The top right sea arch is at Cala Santanyí, Majorca, Balearic Islands. Are you ready to get in the ocean? From there, you’ll travel to Dorset, England, to take in a twilight stroll on the water’s edge near the famous Dorsel Door.

France, Italy, Mexico

(image credits: Erroba, nespyxel, Wonderlane)

Because the view is so awe inspiring, you’ll go back to Étretat, Normandy for a picnic on the cliff. Gaze where the waves have sliced through the cliff for the opposite view of that grand natural arch. From there, you’ll fly to Ponza, Italy, where you can get in a boat like the one that can be seen sailing through the window in the rocks. In the bottom image, you see waves and a very low arch near Mazatlan, Mexico. The undertow is strong and the rocks are sharp so be careful but have fun.

Hawaii, Spain, Greece

(image credits: j o s h, siskud, episa)

For more warm tropical water, let’s head to Hawaii and Volcanoes National Park where many sea caves or lava tubes have collapsed, leaving majestic sea arches behind. These natural arches will continue to erode, lasting but a short span of time and perhaps centuries only. Many sea caves erode down to sea arches such as in the top right, near Costa Blanca, Spain, where the waves are crashing against the caves to form more sea arches. On the bottom, you can dive into the gorgeous turquoise waters surrounding Arch Rock, along the northern coast of Crete Island, Greece.

Corona del Mar CA and Island of Gozo, Malta

(image credits: UCI Sociology Department, Vin60)

It’s time for you to have some fun in the water and out. First, at Corona del Mar, California, you can see this marvelous sea arch at low tide and with breaking waves. It is a four mile round trip hike to Crystal Cove. Snorkeling is good beneath the cliffs of Corona beach. The park features three miles of Pacific coastline, plus open bluffs, wooded canyons, and an offshore underwater park. Then take another virtual hop across the world to land in the Mediterranean. In the bottom image, the natural bridge continues to be cut away by crashing waves off the coast of Sicily. Malto, Gozo offers great snorkeling, bright orange-red sands, and some of the oldest religious structures and temples in the world.

Yesnaby Scotland to Berry Head England

(image credits: windywolf,>> Hal <<)

Now you’re off the Yesnaby, Scotland, an area renowned for its Devonian geology, geos, crumbly rocks, sea stacks, blowholes, boiling seas and towering cliffs. If you feel a bit energized, perhaps you’d like an adventure here? This is a very popular spot for climbers due to Yesnaby Castle, a two legged sea stack. Then you zoom to Berry Head, England, and this natural bridge, or dark sea arch. Berry Head offers plenty of caves and threatened wildlife.

From Kap Dyrholaey to Normandy

(image credits: Kenny Muir, gilgpictures)

Wow, now you are in southern Iceland at Kap Dyrholaey where the energy created by the wind and huge waves as they crash against the sea arch cleanses your mind of the rest of your stress. The vibrant colors of the rainbow flow around you, bringing a smile to your face as you feel alive and happy. Then like a flash, you are back in France to enjoy the peace and privacy on the beach where this sea arch reflects in the still water, doubling your pleasure.

Durdle Door

(image credits: Wiffsmiff23, Rob Funffinger)

You blinked, didn’t you? Now you are in Dorset, England, in the late afternoon as a storm blows in next to Durdle Door. The sand and pebbles are warm under your feet, as you take in a deep breath and taste the salty tang of sea air. The ocean spray in the wind cools you as you harness the positive energy of the ocean, the crashing waves, and the approaching storm. You can have all of nature’s awesomeness while you absorb the beauty of this stunning sea arch.

Take it in — London “Bridge” Arch and La Jolla

(image credits: sorgun68, AMagill)

London Arch was once called London Bridge, but erosion caused the natural bridge to collapse, leaving behind this sea arch in Port Campbell National Park, Australia. Here the sun is warming and smiling, kissing your skin. But what you really want is to get out there in the ocean, right? Go ahead, take a deep breath in and dive under the water. Take in the beautiful colored fish before you kick and glide to the surface. Take in a deep breath as you bob up down on the waves, now in La Jolla, California. Go ahead, take in the beauty around you.

Mermaids and Adventurers

(image credits: djgr, cláudia gabriela marques vieira, acampm1)

Calling mermaids and adventurers, welcome to Mermaids Inlet at Currarong, Australia. The natural  rock phenomenon is still more of a sea cave in the left image, providing safe passage for only mermaids or daredevils. The water swells, cutting the cave even more until eventually erosion will slice it down to a sea arch. Now virtually hop back to England like in the top right, at Lulworth Cove. The area surrounding that natural arch is called Jurassic Coast because it’s a geological goldmine. Yet in a heartbeat you are in Algarve, Portugal. Here the ocean is as warm and as inviting as the sandy beach. The seagulls cry overhead, calling to the adventurer in you to cut loose and have fun.

Sea Windows

(image credits: vgm8383, Dat The Man, little_frank, Patrick Smith)

Welcome back to Cali, near Pfeiffer Beach and Big Sur. The top and bottom images are the same large arch just a few feet off the beach. These awesome sea windows call to you to kick back in nature and enjoy. Swim, dive, have a picnic, but enjoy the stunning sea arch. If you would rather, you can head out to Sunset Cliff in San Diego, California, at the middle left. Not enough of a virtual jump for you? How about on the middle right, to Dyrhólaey, Iceland? The window looking out at the ocean is huge, but if you plan to swim then you’d better like cold water or have a wetsuit.

Mouth and Heart of the Sea

(image credits: Andrea Cucconi, little_frank)

Then you are off to Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain. The island has much to offer you, but the lava caves are her heart. Lanzarote has many water sports such as scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, windsurfing, fishing and sailing. The lava cave in the top photo will continue to erode until only a sea arch remains. From warm breezy seashores to the chilly climate of west Iceland to see the Mouth of Gatklettur. This is a peculiar yet spectacular area of cliffs and sea arches. The bottom image is the circular arch rock, the open mouth of the chilly sea.

Warm Water for Sea Arch Connoisseurs

(image credits: Len Borden, Retinol)

That last one was cold, right? How about a quick dip in the deep blue water right off Great Ocean Road in Australia? Feel better, relaxed again and no longer shivering? How about a hike now in California? At sunset, connoisseurs of this sea arch come out in droves to soak in the beauty and capture this natural arch with their cameras.

Island Archway, Australia – Hvítserkur, Iceland

(image credits: sachman75, sigfus.sigmundsson)

Australia is a land of awe-inspiring beauty, so you travel there one last time for diving and exploring in the waves. Part of Port Campbell National Park includes the Island Archway and spectacular limestone formations. Just a short trip up Great Ocean Road and you can see The Twelve Apostles which are another awesome type of natural rock phenomenon. You travel one last place, Hvítserkur, Iceland. Hvítserkur is the last remains of a central volcano. Local legend, however, has it that a troll turned into stone when he was surprised by the sun. Sea erosion carved holes through the rock, a bizarre sea arch in the shape of a petrified monster. Although virtual travel, hopefully you enjoyed your free vacation and are now more relaxed and smiling.

25 HDR Earth, Nature and Landscape Photos

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Spectacular Desert Plant Life

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3D Landscape Photography: 23 Stunning Still Life Photos

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Red Beach, Kaihalulu, Hawaii

(images via: Patrick Smith and Xigre)

The Red Sand Beach of Kaihalulu can be found on the Hawaiian island of Maui, south of Hana Bay on the far side of Ka’uiki Hill. The beach is relatively narrow, a factor which combined with its isolation makes it popular with nude sunbathers.

(image via: About.com/Hawaii)

From high overhead, the Kaihalulu Red Sand Beach takes on a rusty hue reflecting the high iron oxide (rust) content in the sand eroding from an inland cinder cone. Add water, as the Pacific Ocean does with each crashing wave, and the rust-red sands take on a darker, more rufous hue.

Shell Beach, St. Barts

(images via: TrekEarth, Completely Coastal and Amoeba Sailing Tours)

Every beachcomber enjoys searching for exquisite, exotic seashells while walking along the shore, and one won’t have to walk far if they happen to be at Shell Beach, near Gustavia on the Caribbean island of St. Barts. A fortuitous combination of abundant marine life, strong currents and the odd hurricane has, over the centuries and millennia, driven countless seashells onto the sands of this eponymously named beach.

(image via: Byron Jorjorian)

St. Barts boasts a surprising number of beautiful beaches for its size. Though none approach Shell Beach’s ratio of shells to sand, most offer a more pleasing surface for those who choose to go shoeless.

Hyams Beach, New South Wales, Australia

(images via: Rates to Go and Koti/mbnet)

Though many beaches sell themselves by advertising their pristine white sand, Hyams Beach in southern Australia takes the cake – with vanilla icing on top. Located 3 hours drive south of Sydney, the beach’s fine, soft, powdery white sands are recognized by none other than The Guinness Book of Records as having the whitest sand in the world. Those planning a trip should put both sunglasses and sunscreen atop their “to bring” list.

(image via: Grevillia Cottage)

The outstanding photograph above was taken by Bill Kaloudis on the north side of Hyams Beach on the shore of Jervis Bay. Even with limited light, the beach’s brilliant white sands manage to reflect enough sunlight to stand out from the darker rocks at the water’s edge.

Papakolea Beach, Hawaii

(images via: PBase, About.com/Chemistry, PBase and Big Island Divers)

“Sea of blue, and beach of green…” Apologies to The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, but Hawaii’s Papakolea Beach would make even the bluest Meanie grin. This exquisite emerald beach can be found at South Point in the Ka’u district on Hawaii’s Big Island. Green sand beaches are exceedingly rare – the only other ones in the world can be found on the United States territory of Guam and in the Galapagos Islands.

(image via: Xigre)

The sands of Papakolea Beach are tinted green by crystals of olivine, a mineral common in igneous rocks but heavier and denser than black pyridoxine that is more easily washed out to sea.

Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK

(images via: Micbinks and Charmouth Fossils)

(image via: BrettB.com)

From time immemorial, fossils of extinct sea creatures dating back tens or even hundreds of millions of years have been eroding out onto the beaches of Dorset, England. One of the most famous sites is Lyme Regis where fossil ammonites – tentacled cephalopods that grew to astonishing sizes – literally litter the beach. The pyritized ammonite shell above lurks among grains of beach sand from the so-called “fossil beach” at Stonebarrow, Charmouth, Dorset in the United Kingdom.

(image via: The Dorset Coast)

Fossils aside, the beaches in south-west England are some of the prettiest in all Europe, especially those near the village of Charmouth beneath towering Golden Cap, the highest cliff in southern England.

Punalu’u Beach, Hawaii

(images via: Hawaii Resort Rentals, Igougo and This Is True)

The deep black sands of Punalu’u Beach in Hawaii were created when hot erupting lava met cold ocean water, exploding into tiny bits. The name “Puna’lu” means “diving beach” in the native Hawaiian tongue; referring to the practice by ancestral Hawaiians of diving down to where freshwater springs poured into the ocean and filling up water jugs in times of drought on land.

(image via: This Is True)

The black sands of Punalu’u Beach attract more than just us humans. At Punalu’u Beach Park, green sea turtles and occasionally hawksbill turtles heave themselves onto the beach to lay their eggs in the sun-warmed black sands. It’s against the law to interact with the turtles in any way, so visitors to the beach are advised to please look but don’t touch.

Pink Sand Beaches, Bermuda and the Bahamas

(images via: Seabird and Concierge)

The Pink Sands Beach in Harbour Island, The Bahamas is one of the most beautiful pink sand beaches in the world. Part of the allure is due to the pleasing combination of pastel pink sand and the shallow Caribbean water that provides a contrasting turquoise shade. The pink tint is derived from several sources, including finely ground coral and microscopic red plankton blending with white quartz and limestone sand.

(images via: Wandalust and Cruise Line Fans)

The island of Bermuda is also famed for its pink beaches, in fact they are one of the British-held island’s most enduring attractions.

Ramla il-Hamra Bay and San Blas Beach, Malta

(images via: Carmelo Aquilina, Gozo Farmhouse and My Malta Info)

Volcanic ash and golden limestone in the surrounding rocks combine to create the rich orange sands that distinguish the beaches at Ramla il-Hamra Bay and San Blas on the Maltese island of Gozo. San Blas beach is smaller and more isolated – all the better to enjoy this Mediterranean nation’s soothing sunlight and unique scenic vistas.

(image via: Tranquility)

Unlike some beautifully tinted beaches, the source of Ramla il-Hamra’s orange sand is unlimited, derived from the rock that makes up the island of Gozo itself. Future generations can enjoy these beaches, well, from here to eternity!

Pfeiffer Beach Big Sur, California, USA

(images via: Uptake Beach and Travelling Board)

Pfeiffer Beach is situated beneath crumbling hills that have released, over time, billions of tiny garnet crystals. The blood-red garnets shimmer in the sand, bringing it alive with reflected sunlight. The action of the waves shapes and twists the tiny crystals into ever-changing iridescent rainbow patterns glowing pink, red, magenta and purple.

(image via: Brendio)

Though the world isn’t necessarily as colorful as the above image would indicate, it doesn’t have to be – Mother Nature has plenty of special effects of her own!

Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California

(images via: Fort Bragg Attractions and Oddity Central)

Looking out over Glass Beach today, it’s hard to believe the scenic location was used as the local dump for almost 20 years. Area residents used the beach, originally owned by a lumber company, as a de facto rubbish heap from 1950 through 1967 when municipal authorities finally moved to designate an official dump site inland. Most of the heavier garbage was removed but the mighty Pacific finished the clean-up by gradually grinding down tons of broken glass into pretty, rounded pebbles.

(image via: Xigre)

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, glass to sand? Both beach sand and glass are made of the same substance, silicon dioxide (SiO2) though sand contains bits of other rocks as well. The forces that have transformed man-made glass into natural looking pebbles and sand reflect the age-old weathering process that has occurred at the world’s beaches since long before human beings even existed.

Sheer Drops of Scenic Beauty: 10 Most Amazing Cliffs

These ten amazing cliffs run the gamut from serene to staggering - sheer drops of cutting-edge scenic beauty that mark Mother Nature's geological glory.

That's Hot: The 10 Most Amazing Deserts

Sun, sand and heat are the basic recipe for any amazing desert but like any creative cook, Mother Nature reaches for the spice to make things extra nice.

The Largest Gorges & Canyons in the World

The following collection has a mix of the longest, deepest, and widest (in area) canyons and gorges from around the world.

Imagine going blind, and having your sight restored using your own tooth – or putting on a helmet that allows other people to read your thoughts. It may sound like the most unlikely of science fiction, but these things are actually possible thanks to the many astounding scientific discoveries made in the past year or so. From medical miracles to properties of quantum mechanics that theoretically put teleportation within reach, these breakthroughs have the potential to transform our world as we know it.

Man Sees Through Eye(Tooth)

Blind for a decade, Englishman Martin Jones is finally able to see again – through a piece of tooth implanted in his eye. Appropriately, the tooth used was a canine, otherwise known as an ‘eyetooth’. Doctors took a piece of Jones’ own living tooth, placed a man-made lens into its core and implanted it under his eyelid where tissue grew over it. A flap of skin excised from inside the patient’s mouth was placed over the tooth in Jones’ eye where it acquired its own blood supply. A hole cut in the new cornea allows light to pass through. The procedure has restored sight to over 600 people worldwide.

Spray-On Solar Panels

Solar panels are typically inflexible and brittle, limiting the versatility of their application. But what if you could just spray solar cells onto any surface and collect energy from the sun? The technology is currently being produced at the University of Texas, where researchers are using nanoparticle “inks” full of tiny photovoltaics made from copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). These particles are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. Currently, the photovoltaic ink only converts 1% of the sunlight that reaches it into electricity, but the researchers expect to increase the production and have the technology on the market within three to five years.

Taking Steps Toward Teleportation

From The Fly to Star Trek, teleportation has been a common theme in science fiction for decades – but scientists have actually come closer to making it a reality. A research team at Australian National University have developed a new way to generate quantum entanglement in beams of light using only two parts, linking them together so that when something affects one, it affects the other – regardless of the physical distance between them. Team leader Jiri Janousek says that their method could be used for teleportation as well, but it’ll probably be another 50 years before the technology could be used outside laboratories.

Lost World of Wonders in Volcanic Crater

Researchers discovered an entire lost world of never-before-seen species when they ventured into the incredibly remote, nearly inaccessible crater of the Mount Bosavi volcano in Papua New Guinea earlier this year.  In fact, the crater is so remote, it has never before been touched by human influence. The researchers found it remarkably easy to approach the wildlife found within, which showed no fear of the team. A fanged frog, a possum that releases a skunk-like odor when frightened, and a giant wooly rat were among the species discovered.

Solar Panel Shingles

For homeowners that can afford them, the biggest reason not to install rooftop solar panels is often aesthetics: they’re just plain ugly.  But, unobtrusive solar panels that blend in nearly effortlessly with the architecture of a home are now within reach. Dow Solar recently announced a new generation of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roof shingles, and SRS Energy has created powerful solar panels that look just like standard clay roof tiles.

Telepathy Helmet

It’s a nightmare for any conspiracy theorist: a telepathy helmet that can be placed on your head so that other people can read your thoughts. But, this technology isn’t just the stuff of Hollywood films – it’s actually being developed for the U.S. military by a team of scientists from three American universities. The goal of the project isn’t to spy on citizens, however. It will be used to read and transmit soldier’s thoughts to each other so that the need for vocal communication is eliminated. Have no fear, say the scientists involved in the project: the person wearing the helmet must put forth a deliberate effort to communicate their thoughts.

T-Rex’s Tiny Ancestor

The Tyrannosaurus Rex is well known as the king of all dinosaurs, a towering menace of a predator that terrorized everything in its path. But this gigantic dino actually evolved from a pint-size predecessor that measured just 8 feet long. A recent report in the journal Science says that Raptorex kriegsteini, which existed 60 million years before the T-Rex, had nearly identical physical features aside from its much smaller size.

Insanely Tiny Laser Beam

Until recently, it was simply impossible to make lasers any smaller than they already are. A beam of light has to bounce around in a chamber in order to focus, and the chamber has to be of a certain size to allow the light to travel. But now, researchers have discovered that lasers could be smaller if they depended on a rapidly vibrating electron situated on top of a minuscule piece of metal instead of a wave of bouncing light. Using this idea, a team at Norfolk State University built the world’s tiniest laser – 1000 times smaller than the width of a hair – on a bead of gold just 44 nanometers across.

Treasure Trove of Bizarre Blind Species Found

Of all the amazing variety of flora and fauna that exist on this planet, we’ve only discovered 2%. Scientists estimate that there’s another 98 million species of plants and animals that we have yet to identify. Scientists who discovered 850 new bizarre and amazing creatures in underground caves and bodies of water barely made a dent in that figure, but what they found is awe-inspiring indeed. Many of the species are blind and lack pigment, since sight and color are unnecessary in the environments in which they live.

Powerful X-Rays Made from Sticky Tape

Sticky tape is good for more than just wrapping gifts: it can actually produce X-rays. The tape emits a faint luminescence when peeled away from its holder – a phenomenon called triboluminescence. A group of researchers at UCLA investigated a claim made by Soviet researchers in the 1950s that unrolling sticky tape also results in the release of X-rays, and found it to be valid, producing pictures of their own finger bones.

GoGoGajitz! Naturally Strange Science & Tech

Sensational scientific discoveries, great new gadgets and terrific (as well as terrifying) technologies past, present and future await at the all-new Gajitz

5 Spectacular Paradigm-Shifting New Scientific Discoveries

New scientific discoveries, like recent findings on the evolution of dinosaurs, birds, bats and man, have the unique ability to alter and rewrite history.

Radical Rodents: Facts & Stats on Rats

Rats are amazing creatures with amazing skills, abilities, intelligence, memory and traits. Learn rat stories, trivia, and unusual facts about these rodents.

(Images via: Red Bubble, Top News, Flickr, Friend’s Korner, Flickr)

The classic “boy meets girl” love story is hardly the invention of humans. Just ask our friends in the animal kingdom, who have certainly perfected the art of romance. From the love songs of the Mexican free-tailed bat to the dangerous, seductive dance of redback spiders, the language of love rings loud and clear in the animal world, with the end goal of winning her affection clear but the means not always so.

Humpback Whales: Crooning for Your Love

(Image via: RD)

Apparently, crooning is not just reserved to the Frank Sinatras of the world but is fair game in the animal kingdom for attracting the attention of the fairer sex. Male humpback whales apparently sing, that is bellow noises that sound like hums, whups and chirps, to seduce females and claim their territory. Especially interesting is the recent finding that these male whales will change their tunes in response to other whale songs, as if they’re trying to one up each other. Humpback competition is not just limited to singing; when interested in a female, three to eight males will surround the object of affection and fight for the closest positioning to the girl of their dreams.

Giant Pandas: Secret Love Letters

(Images via: My Net Bizz, Flickr, Japan Probe)

Humpback whales are not the only animals with their own language of love. According to recent research, male giant pandas blurt out a variety of sounds (such as barks, moans, honks, growls, roars and squeals) when looking for a partner during mating season. One particularly prevalent sound (the bleat) was recently decoded by researchers as a cue to the female about the size of the male giant panda. Female giant pandas also respond with their own sounds (chirps, snorts and chomps) that convey information about their ages. Also cool were the findings that the male pandas prefer older females to mate with based on their experience, and that boy and girl giant pandas have distinctive masculine and feminine voices.

Mexican Free-Tailed Bats: Batty for Your Love

(Images via: Life in the Fast Lane, Calgary Wildlife Control, Angry by Choice)

Mexican free-tailed bats take animal mating communications to a new level, specifically with love songs that contain syllables and phrases to attract females and send a warning to other males about trying to mess with their girls. Barely audible to the human ear, these bat sounds are categorized as chirps, buzzes and trills, and used in different combinations during these songs of courtship. Especially interesting is recent research discovering that there apparently is some standardization to the bat love songs, with free-tailed bats in different geographic locations using the same “word” for love, even though bats generally do not have any language rules.

South American Songbird: Singing for Your Attention

(Images via: Tree Hugger, Photo Bucket, Flickr)

With a name like the South American songbird, one would hardly be surprised to know that these birds sing to attract females. However, the means in which these birds make their sounds is actually surprising. Rather than using their mouths, these birds rely on their feathers to make violin-like sounds to sweep female songbirds off their feet. The songbirds essentially vibrate a club-shaped feather against a nearby ridged feather to make their sweet music, with the wings acting as if they are part of an orchestra, according to a researcher who recently made this cool discovery.

Redback Spiders: A Love Worth Dying For?

(Images via: Moolf, Hotel Club, Nature, Hunter Valley Backyard Nature)

Confidence and craziness are prerequisites for male Australian redback spiders looking to mate with females. Not only are the males often much smaller in size than the female spiders, but they risk getting eaten alive if they don’t suit the girl redback spider just right. Specifically, studies have shown that the female redback spider demands that the male spiders court them for approximately 100 minutes, or face getting their heads bitten off. This twisted courtship involves the male spider performing a long dance in which he incorporates the female’s web as part of his own and beats on her abdomen as if it is a drum. If the male does not do this for 100 minutes, he will likely be eaten and other males will scramble to mate with the female. Even if he performs this dance for 100 minutes, there’s no guarantee that the male will get to mate with the female.

Alligators: Love Will Keep Us Together

(Images via: The Onion, Have Fun in the Southwest, The Music and You, The Gatorman)

Nearly 1 in 2 marriages in the United States end in divorce, and fidelity is hardly held close to the heart in the animal kingdom, as many species move on from one mate to the other (like female honeybees that mate with anywhere from 40 to 100 males). However, such is not the case for alligators, which often remain together through thick and thin. Recent research has found that up to 70 percent of female alligators remain with the same male partner for many years, with one pair first hooking up in 1997 and still together nearly 10 years later in 2005. Amazingly, female alligators choose to stay together and build nests with the same mate despite being encountered by many other ready-and-willing male alligators during the mating season. Who said faithfulness was a thing of the past?

Hungry, Hungry Animals: 10 Unique Stories of Consumption

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74 of the World's Strangest Animals

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Altered Evolution: Strange Animal Deformities

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(Image via: Matt McGee)

Our relationship to ultraviolet light is an environmental pickle. On the one hand, Westerners chase that perfect Californian tan (while other parts of the world pursue pastier complexions) and flirt with unsightly, permanent sun-damage – and on the other, they plaster themselves with non-biodegradable chemicals that coat the surface of the sea, blocking sunlight and causing mass extinctions. Can’t we change the way we use UV for the better? You bet – as the following two examples show.

(Images via: Josh Spear and SteriPen)

UV plays havoc with our skin because it disrupts living tissue, right down to the DNA level – making it a natural, zero-chemical method of killing viruses and bacteria in places that need to be sterile, such as hospital wards. The World Health Organisation already recommends solar water disinfection as the most effective method of scrubbing toxic organisms out of water supplies – and the makers of SteriPen have taken it further, with a battery-powered UV lightstick you poke into your waterbottle to rid it of nasty gremlins. It’s cheap and portable, and unlike using water purification tablets, SteriPen renders your bottle of mountain springwater bacteria-free without compromising the taste.

(Image via: Yanko Design)

So, UV packs a lethal punch. So how do we feel about putting a low-powered UV lamp in our mouths?

(Images via: Yanko Design)

The Shake Toothbrush, as featured at Yanko Design, powers itself up while you’re brushing your teeth by converting that kinetic energy into an electrical charge. When you’ve finished, you press a button and the energy expends itself through LEDs houses behind the bristles, drying the brush head, dousing it in UV and killing off any lurking bacteria. Perfectly hygienic! Except – it looks like you can turn that button on while you are holding it, including when the brush is in your mouth, and here is why that has us worried. Great idea…but let’s have the lightshow docking-station only, please?

Amazing Green Technologies from Young Innovators

Bleeding-edge green technologies created by high school and college students for developing countries and developed countries alike.

Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree

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GoGoGajitz! Naturally Strange Science & Tech

Sensational scientific discoveries, great new gadgets and terrific (as well as terrifying) technologies past, present and future await at the all-new Gajitz

There’s something truly primitive about the sophisticated homes designed and built by Whole Trees Architecture and Construction. The buildings are beautiful in a raw and natural way because Whole Trees believes in using whole, young-growth trees in their projects. The idea is to get back to the roots of construction, to use a whole material rather than an over-processed one, and to let the inherent beauty of nature shine through in each and every project.

Whole Trees Architecture was founded in 1991 by Roald Gunderson, an architect with a keen interest in improving the relationship between humans and forests. They way we’ve been going, he says – chopping down old growth to process and mill it into lumber – isn’t good for us, the trees, or the buildings we make from them. Instead, he uses young growth in his buildings. He processes it as little as possible and lets the natural curves and connections shine through in the finished structure. He advocates “thinning” the forests, much as one would thin a garden. He removes the small, windswept, invasive and diseased trees to make room for the stronger, older trees to repopulate the forests.

But it’s not just about saving the forests. Using whole trees is a more architecturally, structurally and environmentally sound choice than lumber or even steel or concrete. Whole trees tend to be very difficult to burn, and unlike other building materials, they sequester carbon rather than releasing it in the production process. And while most milled lumber tends to come from outside of the U.S., whole young trees can be found anywhere. Using them for construction may just improve the local economy while helping to reduce the carbon emissions that would result from milled lumber’s transportation.

With so many benefits to building with whole trees, why don’t more people do it? There are many answers to that: we live in the age of machines, where few things are done by hand anymore. Not many people are skilled in using trees’ natural curves to create buildings. And it is truly a challenge to design a building using material that is so raw and so variable. But regardless of the challenges, the structures created by Whole Trees are some of the most impressive tree houses – in the most literal sense of the word – ever seen.

The company’s commitment to a greener world doesn’t stop with their design and construction projects, of course. Whole Trees’ office is a whole tree and straw bale building that runs on solar power and wood stove heat. Gunderson’s passion shows through in the workshops and training sessions he gives to people who are interested in incorporating whole trees in their own projects. Maybe someday soon we’ll see more of these fascinating earthy structures popping up all over the world.

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Albino Sea Turtle

(images via: Wallace044, Thai Photo Blogs and Nature’s Crusaders)

Sea turtles can live to surprisingly long ages but they suffer from high mortality when they’re young. Albinos are especially vulnerable due to their bright white color. The inquisitive-looking example above top was photographed at the Sea Turtle Sanctuary at Isla Mujeres near Cancun, Mexico.
(images via: Thailand Voice and Homo Symbolicus)

Every year around 15,000 Green and Hawksbill turtles are hatched and housed at the Thai Military Sea Turtle Conservation Center on Khram Island near Pattaya, and every so often an albino turtle turns up. The hatchlings are kept at the Center until they’re about 6 months old, at which point their shells have hardened enough for them to have a better chance of survival in the sea.

Albino Koala

(images via: Repubblica and BBC)

Onya-Birri, the only albino koala in captivity, was born September 1, 1997 at the San Diego Zoo. He spent the first six months of his life the way all baby koalas do – inside his mother Banjeeri’s pouch. When he emerged for the first time, zoo staff were likely as surprised as Banjeeri though she has raised Onya-Birri just as she would a non-albinistic cub.

(image via: Life In The Fast Lane)

Onya-Birri, whose name means “ghost boy” in the language of Australia’s aboriginal peoples, had orange-tinged fur in common with normal gray koalas when he was very young.

Albino Cobra

(images via: Strangezoo, Guidespot and Fotosearch)

Snakes on a plain? Albinism occurs in all snakes but it adds an extraordinary quality to cobras. Though they may lack pigment in their skin and eyes, potential owners should be aware that they’re just as poisonous as their more colorful cobra cousins.

(image via: Sharenator)

Since one albino cobra isn’t creepy enough for some, how about three? This toxic trio (shown at just 2 weeks of age) hatched at the National Zoological Gardens in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in June of 2005. Their albino mother laid a total of 20 eggs but only three hatched.

Albino Hedgehog

(images via: Underwhelmer, GregF69 and Meantux)

(image via: Life In The Fast Lane)

Hedgehogs are native to Europe, Asia, Africa and New Zealand (though not Australia), and they are extremely popular in the United Kingdom. The smaller African Pygmy Hedgehog subspecies make docile pets and albinism gives this already odd-looking creature an extra touch of weirdness.

(image via: Poisonfrogs)

Breeders who specialize in hedgehogs often offer a range of coloration that includes albinos, possibly because some potential owners may be averse to the glowing red eye effect that makes them look like miniature hogzillas. The cute critter above appears to be a “snowflake”.

Albino Lobster

(images via: Fisherman’s Catch and Deep Sea News)

Genetic mutations can result in lobsters being blue, yellow, orange, even two different colors (and sexes!) split right down the middle. But like the great white whale of the 19th century, the elusive white lobster is something extra special, mysterious and beyond just a novelty. Indeed, the odds of an all-white lobster occurring are estimated to be about 1 in 30 million! Odds or not, white lobsters have been caught before and will be caught again. The above specimen, “Lincoln the Lobster”, was trapped by Casco Bay lobsterman Bill Coppersmith in 1997.

(image via: Telegraph UK)

You know you’re thinking about it so let’s get it out: Will a white lobster still turn “lobster red” when plunked into the cookpot? According to Robert Bayer, director of the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, Lincoln would end up a “sort of cooked white gray — not red.”

Albino Bat

(images via: Cellar, Grandpa Cliff and Conde Nast Traveler)

Bats exhibit albinism on occasion but anecdotal evidence seems to indicate the condition is more rare than in other mammals. The little guy above was rescued from a cat attack in early 2004 and it still looks freaked out, holding onto Pam Tully’s thumb for dear life! Tully, a carer at the Batreach Bat Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre located near Cairns in northern Australia, nicknamed the Little Northern Freetail bat Starshine.

(image via: i-Pets)

There’s only one known albino Leaf-nosed Spectacled Bat, and it lives at the Moscow Zoo’s Ekzotarium pavilion – as it should, being totally ekzotik. The bat was born in January of 2007 and has been named… wait for it… Angela!

Albino Axolotl

(images via: John Clare and Caudata)

Axolotls are neotenic – meaning they remain in their larval, gill-breathing form and usually do not metamorphose into lunged, land-living adult salamanders. Axolotls can assume various forms including Golden, Leucistic and Albino. The leucistic (white) form displays the dark eyes that many pet owners find more appealing than the blood red blinkers of the albino variety. Here’s a short video of a “dancing” axolotl complete with cute/annoying background music:

\”Axolotl Dance\”, via Punki80

(image via: EPOCA)

Popular as pets due in large part to their “smiley” faces, axolotls can grow up to a foot (30cm) long and are endangered in their primary habitat: Lake Xochimilco in and around Mexico City.

Understanding the scientific explanation for albinism will do much to eliminate harmful and discriminatory attitudes that unfairly target albinos of any species. Live and learn – and appreciate nature for its variety and wonder!

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They eat human brains and eyeballs, turn snails into pulsating zombies, grow up to 25 feet long in people’s intestines and eat the tongues of fish. Symbiotic relationships may be common in nature, but that doesn’t mean that all parasites are beneficial – many are downright horrifying. These 13 disgusting parasites will have you immediately jumping in the shower to quell that itchy paranoid feeling.

Tongue-Eating Cymothoa exigua

(images via: Treehugger)

It’s like something out of a bad horror movie: a disgusting little critter that invades a fish’s body, eats its tongue and proceeds to live in its mouth. The fish is able to survive just fine with its new ugly parasitical tongue, and while this creature will give you the creeps, it isn’t a threat to us. A fisherman who found a live one, describing it as “a bit of a nasty beast” said, “It doesn’t affect humans other than if you do actually come across a live one and try and pick it up – they are quite vicious, they will deliver a good nip.”

Human Botfly

(images via: Science Blogs, Discovery, afpmb.org)

There are all kinds of botflies – from the Horse Stomach Botfly to the Sheep Nose Botfly and indeed, the Human Botfly. It’s not hard to guess why they’re given such names. The adult female human botfly captures a mosquito and attaches its eggs to the mosquito’s body, so that they drop off into the wound created when the mosquito feeds. The larvae develop inside the human body for about eight weeks before dropping out to pupate. The wounds swell to outrageous proportions in the meantime, and the larvae can move throughout the body and even cross the blood-brain barrier.

Crab Hitchhiker: Sacculina Carcini

(image via: Wikipedia)

Once a crab picks up a freeloading Sacculina carcini, which starts its life as a tiny slug, it’s over. The crab has now been doomed to a lifetime of watching helplessly as the slug forces itself into the crab’s body armor, taking over its body and extending its root-like extensions into the crab’s organs, nervous system, gonads and appendages. The crab can’t molt or reproduce on its own – its body is basically serving as a shell for the Sacculina carcini, which eventually pops its ‘head’ out of the crab’s shell to better attract mates. It then forces the crab to do a kind of parody of its own reproduction habits, only with the hitchhiker’s eggs.

Tick

(images via: Biology-blog.com, BorisLavdopudja.net)

There are few things more revolting than the sight of a tick engorged with another creature’s blood. These little arachnids are external parasites that lurk in tall grasses, just waiting for a potential host to pass by, whether it’s a mammal, bird, reptile or amphibian. They carry a number of diseases including Lyme disease, Q fever, Colorado tick fever and several more.

Filarial Worm

(image via: Wikipedia)

Filariasis is one of the nastiest parasites you can imagine, with effects that are absolutely devastating. Elephantiasis – a disfiguring disease characterized by the thickening of the skin and underlying tissues – is a classic sign of late-stage infection with these microscopic, thread-like worms, which live in the human lymphatic system and prevent normal function. Filariasis is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Screwworms

(images via: Impact Lab)

The screwworm larvae eat the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, burrowing into the surrounding flesh as they feed. Is the most nightmarish thing about this parasite the fact that it can enter animals through their navels and nostrils, or that they ‘screw’ deeper into the flesh if you disturb them?

Half a century ago, these nasty little maggots were a serious threat – especially to pets and livestock, though they were known to invade the wounds of humans as well. They were eradicated in the U.S. through the farming and release of sterile adult screwworm flies in the 1960s, but are still a problem in many parts of the world.

Candiru, the Urethra-Invading Fish

(image via: Wikipedia)

Tales have been told so many times of humans being invaded by tiny fish that swim up through their urine streams and into their urethras when they urinate into certain bodies of water, it’s hard not to believe it. While some are skeptical, there’s a recent documented case – photos and all – of a small fish removed from a man’s scrotum after it entered through the urethra and bit its way through the scrotal wall. Though the species wasn’t positively identified, it seems likely that it was the Candiru, which is certainly capable of the feat.

Sushi Worms: Anisakis

(image via: Wikipedia)

There’s a reason that raw fish is supposed to be frozen before humans consume it, whether in the form of sushi, sashimi, fermented herrings, cod livers or ceviche. That reason is the Anisakis, a genus of parasitic nematodes that often infect fish. The life cycle of Anisakis involves being eaten first by a crustacean, then a fish, and is complete when consumed by a mammal – and that mammal might just be you.

And, don’t worry, you’ll know if you do become infected – because you’ll be doubled over in violent abdominal pain almost immediately.

Tapeworm

(image via: Wikimedia Commons)

Even if you manage to escape Anisakis, there are always tapeworms to contend with – and they’re no picnic, either. One Chicago man told ABC about the time he went to the hospital with a 9-foot worm – and he didn’t find it in his garden. Getting a tapeworm from raw or undercooked fish, beef or pork may be rare, but it happens.  Food blogger Helen Rennie says, “Chefs sometimes joke if the worms are moving then the fish is fresh.”

Tapeworms can reach up to 25 feet, and it can take months or years for them to reach full size. Symptoms are generally mild, so you might not even realize you have one.

Insane Snail Parasite

(images via: people.SMU.edu)

A poor little snail is gliding along, minding its own business, when it accidentally infects itself with Leucochloridium paradoxum by eating the parasite’s eggs in bird excrement. In the snail’s digestive gland, these parasites hatch and produce sporocystes, long green-banded tubes that stretch into the snail’s tentacles and begin to pulsate. Those little worms are intentionally trying to attract the attention of birds, so they’ll get eaten and end up back in the birds’ bodies to complete their life cycle.

Guinea Worm

(image via: Berkeley.edu)

This worm is called Dracunculiasis, or “affliction with little dragons”, because sufferers say it feels like they’ve got fiery serpents under their skin. Europeans gave it the name “Guinea worm” because they first saw it on the Guinea coast of Africa in the 17th century. It’s contracted when a person drinks stagnant water contaminated with the worm’s larvae, or when they walk unprotected in infected waterways.

Once inside the body, the larvae find their way into a body cavity and breed. Then, the male is absorbed into the body and the female, full of eggs, burrows into connective tissues or long bones. About a year after infection, the worm attempts to leave its human host’s body by creating a blister on the skin of the person’s leg or foot.

Cat Parasite Turns Humans into Zombies

(image via: gsbs.utmb.edu)

Ever wonder what compels crazy cat people to collect so many animals? As out-there as it sounds, their brains might just be acting on the orders of a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, which is commonly found in cat feces. Experts say infection by a Toxoplasma gondii can make some people more prone to some forms of neuroticism, and may cause them to slide in their hygiene and housekeeping habits – thus, allowing the parasite to spread and flourish. Some 60 million people are estimated to be infected in the United States alone.

Eyeball Eater: Acanthamoeba

(image via: CDC)

Washing your contact lenses doesn’t just remove irritants – it prevents little parasites from hitching a ride into your delicious eyeball, where they’ll not only feed on bacteria present in the eye, but on your corneas themselves. Luckily, only about one out of a million contact lens wearers are susceptible to infection by the Acanthamoeba parasite, but this free-living amoeba can also get into your eye when you swim in pools or lakes. Early diagnosis is essential for treatment, or victims will eventually go blind.

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Amazing High Mountain Wildlife

For these animals, negotiating rocky terrain and finding food in such a scarce environment is second nature.

(Images via: Science Blogs, Channel 4, Travel Pod, Neat-O-Rama)

A recent study detailed that nearly 50 percent of dogs and almost 60 percent of cats are overweight or obese due to high-calorie diets and insufficient exercise, sparking questions in this author’s mind about the eating habits of animals in the wild. From bonobos maintaining a unique food rating system to rats falling in love with junk food to apes knowing when wild fruit is perfectly ripe to lizards literally basking in the sun for Vitamin-D, animal consumption is a wide spectrum of cool, absurd, weird, disgusting and critical stories. Bon appetite.

Nature’s Food Critics: The Bonobos

(Images via: Rubicon Exotic, Lolaya Bonobo, Flickr, Harvard, Huffington Post)

Apparently if bonobos could talk, they would tell you that their top 5 favorite foods are as follows: figs, raisins, grapes, bananas and popcorn. That’s not bad in terms of healthy foods. According to recent research, bonobos preferred these foods during a study that examined their eating behavior and ultimately learned that these animals maintain a unique vocalization system to express their like or dislike for certain types of foods. More specifically, bonobos made a barking sound when presented with their favorite foods and grunted like a little piggy when presented with unfavorable foods. Foods that were in-between in terms of bonobo likes and dislikes were greeted with peeps, peep-yelps and yelps. Yams and peppers were least liked by the bonobos, which researchers believe use this vocalization system in the wild to communicate with other bonobos about the presence of certain types of foods.

Nature’s Junk Food Lovers: The Rats

(Images via: Elated, My Lovely Rats, Morning Star, Sky, Ekawaaz)

Just when the bonobos get us off to a good start about eating healthy, leave it to the rats to come in and screw everything up. Actually, recent research showing how rats get hooked on junk food could have larger implications for understanding why people may become addicted to food and drugs. More specifically, pleasure centers in the brains of rats become less responsive once rats become addicted to junk food, a similar effect seen in previous studies in which rats became addicted to heroine. In the food study, a group of rats was given junk food like Ho Hos, sausage, pound cake, bacon and cheesecake. These rats soon became so addicted to these less-than-healthy foods that they became less active and continued to eat them despite knowing that they would receive a mild, electrical shock. According to researchers, the rats needed more and more of the junk food to receive pleasure once they got hooked on these fatty substances, just as rats on heroine needed more and more of the drug once they became addicted. Even more interesting, the addicted rats refused to eat any other food for two weeks once the junk food was taken away from them, choosing to starve rather than subsist on healthier grub.

Nature’s Man-Eaters: The Tsavo Lions

(Images via: Squidoo, Blue Lion, Wild Dream Liners)

What happens when grazing animals like buffalo, zebras and other normal sources of food were not available to lions as a result of drought? In 1898, two Tsavo lions in Kenya turned to the convenience of man at a time when there were more humans in their area during construction of the Uganda Railroad. Recent research examined the carbon and nitrogen in the teeth of the remains of the two lions — now on display at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History — and estimated that the lions claimed 35 humans in a 9-month period. Past accounts had credited the lions with eating as many as 135 humans during that span before they were shot to death. Especially interesting and scary is the belief that the lions worked in a tandem when hunting men.

Nature’s Vitamin-D Lovers: Lizards

(Images via: Flickr, Flickr, Flickr)

We’ve all seen pictures of lizards basking in the sun, a common ritual that had been popularly believed to help regulate the body temperatures of these reptiles. According to new research, it turns out that lizards also bask in the sun to get them some vitamin D, a vital nutrient found in orange juice. Lizards and humans are similar in that we both have compounds in our skin that can convert sunlight into vitamin D. What’s especially interesting with lizards is the belief that these reptiles have sensors in their brains telling them when they’ve gotten the right amount of Vitamin D. Why does this matter? Well, too little vitamin D can make the lizards sick while too much of this nutrient can be toxic. Sure, this example of lizards basking in the sun for vitamin D is not exactly a story about animal eating habits, but it certainly is a relevant depiction of how other types of animal consumption are as vital to healthy living.

Nature’s Food Testers: Apes

(Images via: Discovery, Flickr, Mama’s Health)

Apes have always loved to get their hands on bananas at any time of the day, but did you know that these primates may actually know when this favorite fruit is just right for their picking and eating without even having to peel one open? According to new research, dying brown spots on bananas are surrounded by rings that glow blue in ultraviolet light and may suggest to wild apes that the food is good to eat. Scientists have theorized that apes search for food that emits short-wavelength light and use this detection to gauge whether food is ripe or rotten. Since apes are better than humans at seeing such light, these new findings on the light emitted from bananas could eventually provide more research on the eating habits of apes.

Nature’s Spoilers: Firefly Flashes

(Images via:U Know Why, Top News, Maggie’s Farm Revisited, Deep Creek Times)

Just as light seemingly plays a role in how apes and monkeys determine when to eat food, light also signals to other animals not to eat certain types of prey. A recent study found that bats use firefly lights as a signal not to eat this prey, a good decision when considering that fireflies can be toxic for bats. According to field observations, fireflies may actually help themselves and larger predators by flashing light when in danger. Researchers provided the example of a bat catching a firefly with its wing or tail prior to getting ready to eat it. However, with such contact, a firefly may emit its light, signaling to the bat to let the prey go because of its danger, thus saving the firefly’s life. Based on field observations, bat reactions to eating fireflies are not good and can include head shaking, gagging and vomiting.

Nature’s Secret Food Stashes: Penguins and Sperm Whales

(Images via: , MSNBC, Tree Hugger)

Sometimes when the going gets tough for finding food in nature, the tough get going. For a long time, scientists wondered why some penguins actually leave their families and drift out to sea for long periods of time. This mystery is now understood based on new research of adult Macaroni penguins in the Subantarctic. Following spring breeding, these adult penguins spend six months swimming and diving in the deep sea so that they can feed on a secret stash of food: Subantarctic krill and crustaceans. As for the mythical and elusive sperm whale, it was recently captured on video stealing fish from fishing lines. Amazingly, the sperm whale was able to unhook the fish without getting caught in the fishing lines. For a mammal that big, stealing fish seems like an uneven playing field, but hey, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do sometimes.

Nature’s Food Myths: Beavers

(Image via: Max Wideman)

Beavers have always subsisted on and loved eating wood, right? Not so, according to new research that details how giant beavers in the Ice Age were more like hippos than modern beavers in terms of what they ate. Carbon dating of the extinct giant beaver Castoroides ohionesis revealed that this precursor to the modern beaver ate large amounts of aquatic plants and pond weeds as there were likely few trees during the Ice Age. However, once the climate became better and wetlands were replaced by forests, the beaver’s love for tree bark began. In current times, beavers crave wood so badly that they will resort to eating their own homes when in need of food.

Nature’s Food Crises: Albatrosses and Leatherback Turtles

(Images via: The Bird Guide, Turtle Protection, Resource Efficiency, Tree Hugger)

Just how dangerous is pollution — particularly introducing plastic into the environment — to animals? Ask remote albatrosses and ancient leatherback turtles. A recent study found that Laysan albatrosses living on Kure Atoll (a remote island in the Pacific Ocean) ingest 10 times more plastic than chicks living on the populated island of Oahu. Another study analyzed 400 deceased leatherback turtles and found that approximately 1/3 of these reptiles had plastic in their digestive systems. It turns out that these turtles can easily mistake plastic for jellyfish, their main source of food. Just as plastic can block a turtle’s gut, cause digestive problems and even lead to death, this material can also puncture intestinal tracts of albatrosses, thus highlighting the dangers of improper garbage disposal and the importance of recycling.

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Out Of The Blue, Into The Ground

(images via: Ross Sea and Highly Allochthonous)

The word fulgurite is derived from “fulgur”, which means “thunderbolt” in Latin. That’s just part of the story, though, as the real action begins once the bolt hits the ground. The average lightning bolt packs up to a gigajoule of energy – enough to power an all-electric home for about a week, or around 300 kilowatt-hours. When a strike enters the ground it makes its presence known by vaporizing soil & sand along a downward, branching path that may be up to 20 feet long. Temperatures of up to 50,000 degrees blast sand (silicon dioxide) into a hollow tube lined with what is essentially glass: a fulgurite.

(image via: Heavenly Scent)

It’s estimated that around 16 million lightning storms occur on our planet each year, with most of these storms shedding multiple lightning bolts. Though conditions have to be just right for a fulgurite to form, the sheer number of bolts hitting sandy soil over countless centuries has resulted in innumerable fulgurites (or pieces thereof) scattered in and on the ground.

Fossilized Lightning

(image via: Arran Museum)

Archaeologists working near Corrie Village on the cost of Scotland’s Isle of Arrran in 1966 made an astonishing discovery: a fossilized fulgurite! Judging from the age and nature of the surrounding sandstone, the lightning strike which created the fossil fulgurite occurred some 250 million years ago at the end of the Permian Period. Though our planet has changed much since that ancient era before the dinosaurs even appeared, the fundamental physical processes that drive the hydrological cycle, including lightning, obviously have not.

(image via: Duneguide)

The Corrie Village fulgurite fossil was likely formed when lightning struck the crest of a sand dune and radiated into the dune, vitrifying and hollowing out a glass tube of unknown length and depth. Deserts in Scotland? A quarter of a billion years ago, what is now the British Isles existed as part of Pangaea, a huge super-continent with vast, desert-like interior regions.

Mother Nature’s Litter Box

(image via: Discovery Channel)

The easiest fulgurites to fond and recover are those that have formed recently in loosely structured sand. The shifting sand makes the fulgurites both easy to see and relatively uncomplicated to remove. One might compare the occurrence of fulgurites in dune fields to a cat’s litter box, except on a much larger scale.

(images via: Smithsonian NMNH, About.com: Geology and Stoneridge Engineering)

Expanded human activity in previously isolated desert regions such as the Sahara and Gobi deserts, and the Australian Outback, has helped make fulgurites less rare for collectors to acquire and at the same time, lowered their cost.

Lechatelierite, or “Lightning Glass”

(images via: NATURE Geoscience, Grey Moon Glassworks and Beading Gem)

The glossy, glassy interior lining of many fulgurites is actually a form of natural glass called Lechatelierite. In some cases the tube may be completely plugged with glass. People have worked Lechatelierite into jewelry since prehistoric times and it can be quite beautiful as the examples above right clearly show.

(image via: Cristales Curativos)

It’s possible that ancient societies noted the connection between lightning, sand, and the glass inside fulgurites; then set about artificially melting sand to make the first glass.

Man-Made Fulgurites, Part 1

(image via: Celestial Monochord)

In early May of 2006, something odd caught the eye of a pedestrian making his way along the concrete sidewalk past the corner of Colfax and 24th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the discoverer, “The scar was something like 3 meters long and in about 5 segments, each about 2 cm deep and up to about 5 cm wide… On closer examination, I found the edges of the scar almost completely encrusted with black glass, some of which was easy to pick loose.”

(image via: Communication Overtones)

Though the characteristics of the scar have much in common with those of classic fulgurites, the horizontal structure of the scar and its location directly beneath power lines hint at a more prosaic yet still electrical origin.

Man-Made Fulgurites, Part 2

(images via: Cabinet Magazine and Explore Magazine)

Downed power lines are one thing; artificially triggering lightning to make DIY fulgurites is another thing entirely. That’s exactly what artist Allan McCollum has done, however, not one but some hundreds of times in the summer of 1997. The results range from slim glass tubes no larger than soda straws to the Mother Of All Fulgurites, a fork-tailed monster over 17 feet deep that the Guinness World Book of Records has recognized as the world’s longest.

(image via: Allan McCollum: The Event)

McCollum conducted his fulgurite experiments in cooperation with the University of Florida’s International Center for Lightning Research and Testing and their base of operations was at the Camp Blanding national guard base near Starke, Florida. During what was referred to as The Event, lightning was attracted by way of small rockets launched two to three thousand feet into overhead storm clouds – with each rocket spooling out an ultra-thin copper wire that kept it grounded and directed any provoked lightning. Ben Franklin would be proud!

Other Glass Acts

(images via: Paleoastronautica and Tektite Source)

Besides lightning strikes, there are a couple of other ways to create glass from sand. Both methods involved the application of extreme force resulting in exceptionally high temperatures. The first is a meteorite impact, such as the one that created the Kebira Crater on the Libya-Egypt border nearly 30 million years ago. A huge area was showered with melted sand, which when cooled took on an ethereal yellow-green hue. So-called Libyan desert glass was prized by the ancient Egyptians, and a worked piece is prominently displayed in the center of an ornate breastplate designed for King Tut.

(image via: Paleoastronautica)

Glass can also be created by ground or near-ground level atomic explosions. The first such atomic bomb explosion took place on July 16, 1945 at the White Sands Proving Ground near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Known as “Trinity”, the test measured 20 kilotons and left a large area at Ground Zero covered with greenish glass. Dubbed “Trinitite”, the glass was (and still is) mildly radioactive yet is much coveted by collectors and souvenir hunters.

One Strike, You’re Out

(images via: Majorly Cool and Viatouch)

(image via: ETF)

Meteorites, atomic blasts… suddenly lightning bolts are looking a lot better, though you still don’t want to be too close when one arcs down from the sky. The somewhat sphincter-ish impact spot above shows where lightning struck the ground – beneath the center there’s likely a fulgurite. Taking the anatomical analogy slightly further and to take this article to its logical “end”, here’s a video of some Fulgurite Endoscopy:

Fulgurite Endoscopy, via Cleanmonk

Incredible Freeze-Frame Night Lightning Photography

It takes a lot to catch lightning storms at just the right moment on camera to capture this impressive natural phenomena

12 Stunning Natural Light and Fire Phenomena

Amazing images, photographs and videos of sun flares, wild fire and forest fire, lightning, smoke art and meteor showers display nature's beauty.

Glass Beach: Radical Example of Natural Recycling

Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California, used to be a dump - literally. Now it's one of the most unique and beautiful beaches on the planet.