Video Of The Day: Rail Company Spreads Happiness Through Japan

by Libby Zay on

To announce the launch of a new rail line, the Kyushu Rail Company loaded one of its bullet trains with cameras and sent it speeding through Japan. Onlookers came out in droves to catch sight of the train, which linked Japan’s southernmost island to the mainland for the first time. They dressed in a rainbow of colors and waved, danced and smiled as the train went by (the Power Rangers even made an appearance; look for them in the video). The rail company had caught something special: an unscripted, bubbly video that showed varied landscape and happy people of Japan. But what the marketers at the rail company didn’t realize was that the commercial was set to air the very day of the horrific 2011 earthquake in Japan.

Kyushu immediately pulled the two-minute celebratory commercial from the air. But after a month or so of unbearable news about the nearly 16,000 fatalities and the 3,000 plus who still remained missing, the company decided to air the commercial. It immediately became an immediate phenomenon; viewers literally shed tears of joy when they saw the smiling faces across the island. The commercial shows the united power of the country, and most importantly made the grieving nation smile. Today, almost a year and a half after the earthquake, the video is still a morale booster.

London Unveils Europe’s Largest Building (For Now)

by Jessica Festa on



The Shard, Europe‘s tallest building, has recently finished external completion. Located in London, the building is 1,016 feet in height, and is being promoted as an icon for the city. While visitors won’t officially be able to go to the top of The View from The Shard, the building’s viewing platform, until February 1, 2013, tickets have gone on sale.

With 95 stories, 44 elevators, 206 flights of stairs, 600,000 square feat of office space and 11,000 panes of glass that will be angled to reflect the sky and change with the weather, the building is impressive. It will feature apartments selling for about £50 million pounds, office spaces, restaurants, a five-star hotel and the viewing platform. Plans for The Shard were approved in 2003. While some believe the building is a disgrace to London’s heritage, creation of the project moved forward.

Later this year, the building will have to change its title to tallest building in Western Europe, as the Mercury City Tower in the Moscow International Building Center will be completed, at 1,089 feet.

On July 5, a laser light show was held to celebrate the building’s external completion, which can be seen in the video above.

The Most Modern Hotel In The World … In 1908

by Sean McLachlan on


Here’s a fun little silent film from way back in 1908 called “The Electric Hotel.” At that time technological progress was all the rage, new inventions seemed to pop up every day and electricity was just becoming commonplace. In this film we see how the hotels of the future will look. The amazing invention of electricity will shine your shoes, undress your wife and unpack your luggage. It all works great until a drunk hotel employee messes with the switches and chaos ensues.

This film was the work of Segundo de Chomón, a Spanish director who at that time was working in France. He was an early innovator in special effects and color film and many of his films feature hapless tourists getting into trouble.

For modern hotels that actually exist, be sure to check out our Gadling hotel articles.

Video: BASE Jumper Survives 400-Foot Drop When Parachute Fails To Open

by Kraig Becker on

A Russian BASE jumper survived a 120-meter (393-foot) drop from an electrical tower after his parachute failed to open while his friends looked on, filming the entire incident. The video, which you’ll find below, shows the man tentatively shuffle out onto the edge of the tower before throwing himself off. Seconds later we see his parachute deploy but it never opens wide enough to slow his descent and as a result he hits the ground at full speed.

Thanks to a blanket of deep, powdery snow at the base of the tower the man actually managed to survive the fall. He reportedly broke his legs, several vertebrae and his pelvis but after going through extensive rehab he was up and walking again in about three months.

I can’t be the only one who actually said “ouch!” out loud when I saw the impact.


Living In Cairo’s City Of The Dead

by Sean McLachlan on


Life can be hard in the developing world, as is shown in this video of a poor neighborhood in Cairo done by IRIN Films. The film doesn’t show your typical slum. This is the City of the Dead, a vast necropolis where poor people have moved in and set up homes and shops inside the tombs.

The capital of Egypt is a sprawling metropolis of some 12.5 million people. Actually, nobody is really sure how many people there are. Cairo has been a huge city for many centuries, and so its necropolis is also huge, some four miles long and filled with tightly packed tombs and mausoleums. The dead have been buried here since the 7th century A.D. Most tombs are simple buildings with little inside except a basic stone marker. Thus poor people can move in, put a lock on the door, and have a ready-made home.

Like with Cairo, nobody knows exactly how many people live in the City of the Dead. Some say half a million; some say ten times that number. They scrape out a living working odd jobs in the city or taking care of tombs for more wealthy Egyptians. A lucky few have saved enough money to set up small businesses serving the needs of their neighbors. A whole city of life has sprung up among the bones of the dead.

%Gallery-159771%Many locals say they like the neighborhood. There’s a chronic housing shortage in Cairo and people here can have a much bigger place than they could ever afford in more traditional neighborhoods. Also, they say people here are friendlier. Perhaps the proximity of death makes folks more aware of their behavior, or perhaps they feel they’re all in the same boat and are thus kinder to their neighbors.

There are downsides too. Living in the tombs is illegal, although the government hasn’t done anything about it, and infrastructure is minimal. Still, the people of the City of the Dead have created their own community where most people wouldn’t even consider living.

Several companies in Cairo offer tours of the City of the Dead. This allows the locals to make some money off the curious who come to see life in the tombs.

Check out the gallery for more images of this strange neighborhood.