Love dogs? Check out Bau Haus dog cafe in Seoul, South Korea

by Jessica Festa on



When I say Bau Haus is a dog cafe, I don’t mean that there are cute dog photos on the walls or that it’s a meeting place for dog owners (although both of these are part of it) . The eatery is, literally, a cafe for dogs and dog-lovers to eat and hangout at. It is located in Hongdae in Seoul, South Korea, and canines roam around the eatery as visitors feed and play with them. You can purchase dog treats and pet presents, and there are small toys like frisbees lying around to use. Most of the pooches belong to the cafe’s owner and are very well behaved, although anyone is allowed to bring their dog to Bau Haus. And don’t worry about the animals making a mess as the employees at Bau Haus tend to the pooches, caring for them and cleaning up after them.

Video of the day: flying rhinos in South Africa

by Elizabeth Seward on

Flying Rhinos from Green Renaissance on Vimeo.

Flying rhinos aren’t something you see everyday–not even in South Africa, where 19 of these endangered rhinos have recently been moved from the Eastern Cape to a conservation location in the province of Limpopo. Still relatively new, an airlift capture technique was used to transport black rhinos out of inaccessible or difficult locations. Suspending a sleeping rhino by the ankles through the air and to waiting vehicles is undoubtedly a difficult task, but conservation managers, wildlife veterinarians, capture teams from WWF, SANParks, Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife all worked in cooperation with each other to ensure the success of this translocation mission.

All in all, these rhinos were moved 932 miles across the country. With an average commute of just 10 minutes or so by helicopter, one of the advantages of flying the black rhinos in this specific manner is that they don’t need to be drugged for an extended period of time. The WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project has created seven significant black rhino populations over the last eight years–nearly 120 black rhinos have been translocated due to these admirable efforts.

In the unlikely event of College Humor’s parody on air travel…..

by Jessica Festa on



Anyone who has even been on an airplane has seen the flight attendants mimic a range of unlikely events, like what to do if you need to use your seat as a floatation device or if the cabin loses oxygen. Apparently, however, they have been leaving a lot of information out of the safety tutorial. What do the passengers do if the plane crash lands in the mountains and everyone begins eating each other? Or if a bolt of lighting hits and sends the plane through a space time continuum and back to a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth? Luckily, CollegeHumor has put together this very informational (or at least, entertaining), safety video.

There is a bit of questionable religious humor at the very end of the video, however, the beginning and middle of the clip are hysterical and will definitely get you wondering what you would do “in the unlikely event of…”.

Welcome to Hell’s Gate in Rotorua, New Zealand

by Jessica Festa on




While you probably won’t run into Satan, a visit to Hell’s Gate in Rotorua, New Zealand, will immerse you in a world of boiling natural ponds, smoking sulfur pits, active volcanoes, and the Inferno, two violently erupting geothermal pools. The area, which was originally called Tikitere, looks so much like a trip to the underworld that when Irish Playwright George Bernard Shaw set his gaze on the area he immediately dubbed it “Hellsgate”, as that’s where he believed he was. In fact, it is said that Shaw, who was an atheist before visiting the site, converted his religion after spending a week there.

While New Zealand is located on the chaotic “Ring of Fire”, Rotorua itself sits on the country’s volcanic plateau, causing erupting geysers, mud pools, steaming fumaroles, and boiling hot natural pools. Hell’s Gate itself formed over 10,000 years ago when an ancient lake emptied into the sea.

Along with being unique in landscape and natural features, Hell’s Gate also has a rich history. The local Maori people have lived on the site for over 700 years. During those early years a young Maori princess named Hurutini, whose abusive husband was the Chief of the tribe, threw herself into one of the boiling pools to “remove the shame of her people”. Sadly, Hurutini died in the pool, which now bears her name.

Despite the area’s resemblance to the nether world, the natural properties found in the geothermal features of Hell’s Gate actually make for a holistic and healthy experience. The sulfurous hot waters are good for healing wounds while black geothermal mud can help to cure arthritis and rheumatism. There is also an ice cold white mud that changes back and forth from liquid to solid that is used to relieve burns, and a grey mud that exfoliates and nourishes the skin. Luckily, there is an on-site spa where you can try all of these mud-healing treatments for yourself.

For a better idea of what Hell’s Gate looks like, check out the video above. And keep in mind, none of this is man-made.

What is Dwile Flonking?

by Jessica Festa on




Never heard of Dwile Flonking? That’s okay, most people haven’t. The sport consists of two teams, each taking turns to dance around the other, Ring Around the Rosie-style. While one team is dancing, the other has a player in the center of the circle, waiting to pelt a beer-soaked dwile (cloth) at a their opponents. The game has some really unusual rules, such as “A ‘dull witted person’ is chosen as the referee or ‘jobanowl’ and the two teams decide who flonks first by tossing a sugar beet. The game begins when the jobanowl shouts “Here y’go t’gither!” and “A full game comprises four ‘snurds’, each snurd being one team taking a turn at girting. The jobanowl adds interest and difficulty to the game by randomly switching the direction of rotation, and will levy drinking penalties on any player found not taking the game seriously enough”.

Not sure you want to get pegged with a beer soaked towel? There is also a virtual Dwile Flonking game that’s actually pretty addictive.

Think Dwile Flonking can be a new Olympic sport? Send an email to boa@boa.org.uk (the British Olympic Association), as there is a group campaigning to make this happen.