Video: Finding Love In Iran

by Sean McLachlan on


When people think of Iran, dating isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. It’s a conservative country with a strict form of Islamic law. Natural urges are unconquerable, though, and young people will always find a way to hook up. This video from Alessio Rastani describes how the young and well-off find love in Tehran, Iran’s capital. Rastani talks with his cousins, who live there, about how to go about it and what Iranian women are looking for in a man.

This is nothing new. When I was in university back in the ’90s, one of my friends was an Iranian woman studying in the U.S. She told me that when she was in a girls’ high school, guys would hang out in front of the gate at the end of the day and throw little balled up pieces of paper onto the ground with their phone numbers on them. If you liked the guy, you picked up the piece of paper and called.

She was strictly Muslim, so talking was all she did. She liked one guy enough that she got permission for him to come over. After a few visits, her parents left them alone together. The first time this happened they sat together and talked for a couple of hours. After he left, her mother came out from the next room and said she’d been listening the whole time and was proud that she had been a good girl. My friend replied, “What did you expect me to do!?”

For her, you could be a good Muslim and still have fun.

Check out Rastani’s YouTube channel, HelloIranTV, for more great videos about life in Iran.

Video Of The Day: Human Towers In Tarragona, Spain

by Libby Zay on

Spain has a multitude of novel traditions. While bullfighting and tomato throwing festivals are known worldwide, there’s another custom that isn’t as widely recognized. Throughout Catalonia, people who create human towers – also known as castellers – compete to see who can create the tallest human pyramids. Only these flesh-and-muscle structures aren’t really pyramids at all; they are single and multiple-tiered assemblages that are supposed to resemble castles. The Catalan tradition is said to have begun in the 18th century, and today it is still going strong. These castells have a bulky, sturdy bottom with several layers, usually culminating with a small child on top.

As you’ll see in the video above by Mike Randolph from a recent festival in Tarragona, Spain, being a casteller can end in tumbles and falls. In fact, in the sport’s history, two castellers have died – one in 1983 and another more recently in 2006. Although it can be risky, the practice is considered sacred; the knowledge required for raising castells is traditionally passed down from generation to generation, much like gondoliering in Venice, Italy. In fact, UNESCO considers castellers to be amongst the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

71-Year-Old Grandmother To Bike From Russia To France

by Melanie Renzulli on

After having traversed Russia no fewer than 16 times by bike, what’s next? For 71-year-old grandmother Yulia Mikhailyuk, the next step is a bicycle journey from the western Russian city of Tver to Paris, France.

According to Russia Today, Ms. Mikhailyuk, a former physical education teacher, took up biking only after her 50th birthday as something to do after retirement. Since then, she has cycled her way across the largest country in the world 16 times, riding from dusk until dawn, stopping only for half-hour meal breaks and to sleep in a tent along the roadside.

The trip to Paris is a new challenge for the senior cyclist, who is making the trek to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Russian victory over France in the Napoleonic War of 1812. Ms. Mikhailyuk expects the 2,867-kilometer (1,781-mile) Tver to Paris bike trip to take approximately two months to complete.


Video: Oregon Man Turns Retired Jetliner Into Home

by Laurel Miller on

Reduce, reuse, recycle – we’ve heard it ad nauseum, but it’s certainly a great maxim to live by. Bruce Campbell, an Oregon electrical engineer remodeling a retired 727-200 commercial jet into a home, believes he’s on-trend, according to an interview with CNN. He admits it’s not for everyone (it’s like the Ninth Circle of Hell for aviophobics such as myself) but he does have a point about the wings making for a great deck.

For a tour of Campbell’s dream home in progress, watch the video.

Demolition Derby In The United Kingdom: A Little Bit Different

by Sean McLachlan on


Traveling through Europe you’ll notice that many things are just a little bit different from the United States. Like the Royale with Cheese (actually the Cheese Royal, Tarantino got it wrong), Europe has many slightly different takes on American icons.

Demolition derby, for example is huge in the United Kingdom, but it’s called banger racing. Cars race around a track while smashing into each other. Nobody cares much about who wins the race since the crashes and flips are far more fun.

The most popular car to use for these races is the Reliant Robin. These three-wheeled vehicles were popular in the 1970s and ’80s because legally they were considered motorcycles and weren’t subject to high automobile taxes. Lightly built of fiberglass and equipped with surprisingly powerful engines, they’re fast but top heavy, and liable to flip on sharp turns. This, of course, makes them perfect for banger racing. Check out this video to see what I mean.