London mascots rival that dreaded logo

They only have one pair of eyes between them and look like Sonic the Hedgehog crossed with a character from the Disney film Monsters Inc.

But you had better get used to these strange blob-like creatures because Wenlock and Mandeville, as they are known, are the mascots for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics respectively, and will be all over Britain for the next two years.

Following the ridicule over the £400,000 Olympic logo, their creators will be hoping that Wenlock and Mandeville get a more favourable reception - even though they too carry the much-mocked 2012 image.

Built to impress: Wenlock and Mandeville's design features include cameras for eyes and the Olympic colours

Blobs: Wenlock, named after the Shropshire town, and Mandeville after the hospital are the 2012 London Olympics mascots.

Inspiration: Wenlock copies Usain Bolt's famous pose in a four-minute animation which explains the story of the duo.

Testing his skills: Wenlock tries gymnastics, inspired by Beth Tweddle

Futuristic: Wenlock and Mandeville give each other a high five.

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Gigantic Snow Wall Along Tateyama Kurobe

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is a unique and spectacular route through the Northern Japan Alps, which is traversed by various means of transportation, including cable cars, trolley buses and a ropeway. The route is particularly famous for the high snow walls that line some of its roads in spring.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route was completed in 1971, and connects Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture with Omachi Town in Nagano Prefecture. The route was carefully built so that the surrounding environment is not damaged. Consequently, three lines go entirely under tunnels; among them, two are trolleybus lines. Trolleybuses have all gone from Japan, except for these two lines which are still used here as they don't exhaust gas.

The route goes through Tateyama in the Hida Mountains with a lot of scenic sites, including Kurobe dam. The section between Kurobe Dam and Ōgisawa was originally made for construction of the dam, while the section between Tateyama and Kurobeko was for tourists from the beginning. Currently, the route is purely a sightseeing one, only used by tourists. The main attraction that draws the crowd to this route is the magnificent scenery of the Tateyama Mountain Range, part of the Chubu Sangaku National Park. The 20 meter high snow corridor is a highlight during spring, while alpine flowers and autumn colors attract hikers during the summer and autumn.

Along the route, some stations have hotels around them that are used as bases for mountain climbing or trekking.

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Excalibur: The World's Tallest Climbing Wall

Towering over 121 feet (37 meters) in the air, the Excalibur at the Klimcentrum Bjoeks (Bjoeks Climb Center) in the town of Groningen, The Netherlands, is considered to be the tallest climbing wall in the world. What makes climbing the Excalibur a challenge, aside from the monumental height, is a sleek curve 36 feet (11 meters) out from the base that creates an artificial overhang as one encounters when climbing a real peak. Because of the curve it is possible to climb the tower in many different ways, each posing a different challenge.

At Bjoeks Climb Center, there is an array of indoor climbing walls, including one designed for first-timers and another that’s at a 45 degree angle. There’s also a large indoor-outdoor bordering area with 117 boulders to scamper over.

The Bjoeks Climb Center was started in 1996 by Gert van deer Veen and his friend and climbing partner, Alco Pols.

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Hanging Temple in Mount Hengshan, China

Located in a canyon at the foot of the Mountain Heng in the province of Shanxi, China, the Hanging Temple or Hanging Monastery is a rare piece of architecture. The temple is built into the cliff side about 75 meter above the ground, and stands propped up by hidden rocks corridor and wooden beams inserted into the mountain. Over 40 halls, cabinets and pavilions within an area of 152.5 square meters are connected each other by corridors, bridges and boardwalks. They are evenly distributed and well balanced in height. Inside the temple are more than 80 bronze cast statues, iron cast statues, and clay sculptured statues and stone carvings banded down from different dynasties.

According to 7wonders.org, the temple was build to avoid the terrible flood, and use the mountain as protection from rain, snow and sunshine.

The Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it includes Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian elements.

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Rock Restaurant of Zanzibar

Perched on a rock in the middle of the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania, is a tiny seafood restaurant simply named The Rock Restaurant. The one and only Rock Restaurant is not distant from the shore of the beautiful Michanwi Pingwe beach. Depending on the tides that day, you can go walking, swimming or even by boat. The restaurant serves a wide variety of sea food with a distinctly Zanzibari twist as well as a a selection of wines, beers and soft drinks. Selections include delicacies like Fish Carpaccio, Calamari prepared with prawns and zucchini, or familiar treats like Lobster Spaghetti and more. The seafood is always fresh there.

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Gorgeous Photos Taken by Google Street View Cameras

Google's Street View camera cars can sometimes capture unbelievable landscapes and moments, as Pittsburgh-born photographer Aaron Hobson discovered when scouting for locations around Los Angles using Google Street View for a new project. After getting addicted to Google Street View, Hobson began exploring other places around the globe for amusement. Soon he had amassed a collection of Street View shots of the loneliest and most isolated places on earth.

    "After hours and hours of driving through empty countrysides, tundras, and deserts, I began to put together a dozen or more locations that matched my aesthetic appeal and narrative. I decided to turn my gaze outward at the world and the isolation of other people and places through the Google technology. This process is about the amazing technology of Google Street View and the places it has allowed anyone with a computer and internet access to explore. I am trying to share remote locations of splendor and beauty, places of isolation where life is difficult and slower being so far removed from large societies."

"The first hint that they’re not his photos is that when you take a closer look, you realize that any faces captured in these photos are blurred out”, writes Nancy Messieh on TheNextWeb. “Aaron is simply curating these photos, taken by the mechanical eye of Google Street View cars.”

 Capetown, South Africa

 Dearagon, Spain

 Morrone Del Sannio, Italy

Inverallochy, Scotland

 Prejmer, Romania

 Route 17, South Africa

   Sao Joao Del Rei, Brazil

 Saska, Czech Republic

     Saint-Nicolas-de-la Grave, France

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Kandovan: An Iranian Village Carved in the Rocks

Tucked away in the remote northwest corner of Iran is the village of Kandovan that is not only famous for its scenic beauty, but also for the unique dwellings of its residents. Many of its homes have been made in caves located in cone-shaped, naturally formed compressed volcanic ash formations that make the landscape look like a gigantic termite colony. Current residents of Kandovan claim that their village is more than 700 years old. It was created when those fleeing the advancing Mongol army took to the caves to hide. The homes are known as "karan" in the local Turkic dialect, a word that roughly translates as the plural of beehive.

Over the years, the people of the village have expanded their residences. Now, most cave dwellings range from two to four stories complete with living areas, a storage room and an animal shelter. Many have porches, windows, doors and stairwells carved into the rock. The caves are also some of the most energy efficient homes on Earth, with the rock providing adequate insulation to keep the interiors comfortable throughout the long cold season. The homes also remain cool in the summer.

If you wish to visit this unique village, it is located in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province, 60 km south of the provincial capital Tabriz in Osku county.

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