Showing posts with label Facts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facts. Show all posts

30 abandoned places that look truly beautiful

Take a tour of the world’s apparently robust supply of statues, buildings, and temples–and witness the surprising grandeur of dilapidation.

1. Christ of the Abyss, San Fruttuoso, Italy

(Italian: “Il Cristo degli Abissi”) is a submerged bronze statue of Jesus, of which the original is located in the Mediterranean Sea off San Fruttuoso between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera. It was placed in the water on 22 August 1954 at approximately 17 metres depth, and stands c. 2.5 metres tall. Various other casts of the statue are located in other places worldwide, both underwater and in churches and museums.
Via: en.www.lensart.ru
Via: en.www.lensart.ru

2. Kolmanskop, Namib Desert

(Afrikaans for Coleman’s hill, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during a sand storm, abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement.[1] Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a popular tourist destination run by the joint firm NamDeb (Namibia-De Beers).
Via: photography.nationalgeographic.com
Via: photography.nationalgeographic.com

3. Dome houses, Southwest Florida

Built in Naples in 1981, the futuristic igloos seen above may not be around much longer. Falling into disrepair, one dome home owner seeking to restore the vintage vestibule has encountered nothing but exorbitant fines and bureaucratic hassles in the process.
Via: reddit.com
Via: reddit.com

4. SS Ayrfield, Homebush Bay, Australia

SS Ayrfield (originally launched as SS Corrimal) was a steel-hulled, single screw, steam collier of 1140 tonnes and 79.1m in length. It was built in the UK in 1911 and registered at Sydney in 1912. It was purchased by the Commonwealth Government and used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the Pacific region during WWII.
Via: photoree.com
Via: photoree.com

5. Wonderland Amusement Park outside Beijing, China

Wonderland is an abandoned amusement park construction project located in Chenzhuang Village, Nankou Town, Changping District, People’s Republic of China, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside of Beijing. Originally proposed by the Thailand based property developer Reignwood Group, and designed to be the largest amusement park in Asia (to have covered 120 acres (49 ha)), construction stopped in 1998 following financial problems with local officials, while a 2008 attempt to start construction again also failed.The site, which features a number of abandoned structures, including the frame work of a castle-like building and medieval-themed outer buildings, is being reclaimed by local farmers.
Image by David Gray / Getty Images
Image by David Gray / Getty Images

6. Fishing hut, Germany

Fishing Hut in Lake of Berchtesgaden National Park
Via: onebigphoto.com
Via: onebigphoto.com

7. Holland Island, Chesapeake Bay

Holland Island is a marshy, rapidly eroding island in the Chesapeake Bay, in Dorchester County, Maryland, west of Salisbury. The island was once inhabited by watermen and farmers, but has since been abandoned. It is located in the Holland Strait, between Bloodsworth Island and Smith Island, six miles west of Wenona, Maryland.
Via: baldeaglebluff
Via: baldeaglebluff

8. The Kerry Way walking path between Sneem and Kenmare in Ireland

The Kerry Way (Irish: Slí Uíbh Ráthaigh) is a long-distance trail in County Kerry, Ireland. It is a 214-kilometre (133-mile) long circular trail that begins and ends in Killarney. It is typically completed in nine days.It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Kerry County Council, South Kerry Development Partnership and the Kerry Way Committee. The Way circles the Iveragh Peninsula and forms a walkers’ version of the Ring of Kerry road tour.  It is the longest of Ireland’s National Waymarked Trails.
Via: leiraenkai.deviantart.com
Via: leiraenkai.deviantart.com

9. Pripyat, Ukraine

Pripyat (Ukrainian: При́п’ять, Pryp’yat’; Russian: При́пять, Pripyat’) is a ghost town near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, part of Kiev Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus.The city has a special status within the Kiev Oblast, being the city of oblast-level subordination (see Administrative divisions of Ukraine), although it is located within the limits of Ivankiv Raion. The city also is being supervised by the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine as part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone jurisdiction.
Via: reddit.com
Via: reddit.com

10. 15th century monastery, Black Forest, Germany

The monastery was founded in 1084–85 in the Black Forest, by the source of the Brigach, against the background of the Investiture Controversy, as a result of the community of interests of the Swabian aristocracy and the church reform party, the founders being Hezelo and Hesso of the family of the Vögte of Reichenau, and the politically influential Abbot William of Hirsau. The intended site was initially to be at Königseggwald in Upper Swabia, but at William’s behest St. Georgen was chosen instead. The settlement, by monks from Hirsau Abbey, took place in the spring and summer of 1084; the chapel was dedicated on 24 June 1085.
Via: abandonedography.com
Via: abandonedography.com

11. Kalavantin Durg near Panvel, India

Kalavantin durg is situated aside the prabalgad,the pinnacle is in clouds during rains half of the time.  The base village for the climb is Prabalmachi.  A majestic trek and awesome place to visit during monsoon.
Via: natureknights.net
Via: natureknights.net

12. The remains of the Pegasus in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Pegasus Field (ICAO: NZPG) is an airstrip in Antarctica, the southernmost of three airfields serving McMurdo Station. Pegasus is a blue ice runway capable of handling wheeled aircraft year-round, and the principal Ice Runway on the sea-ice available during the summer Antarctic field season. The other two are the snow runways at Williams Field that are limited to ski-equipped aircraft. The field is named after Pegasus, a C-121 Lockheed Constellation, still visible there in the snow after crashing in bad weather on October 8, 1970. No one on board was injured.
Via: panoramio.com
Via: panoramio.com

13. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត) is the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia,appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.
Via: theglobalpanorama.com
Via: theglobalpanorama.com

14. The Maunsell Sea Forts, England

The Maunsell Forts were small fortified towers built in the Thames and Mersey estuaries during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom. They were named after their designer, Guy Maunsell. The forts were decommissioned in the late 1950s and later used for other activities. One became the Principality of Sealand; boats visit the remaining forts occasionally, and a consortium called Project Redsands is planning to conserve the fort situated at Redsand.
Via: fivelightsdown.squarespace.com
Via: fivelightsdown.squarespace.com

15. Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, England

Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area against French invasion during the Hundred Years’ War. Of quadrangular plan, Bodiam Castle has no keep, having its various chambers built around the outer defensive walls and inner courts. Its corners and entrance are marked by towers, and topped by crenellations. Its structure, details and situation in an artificial watery landscape indicate that display was an important aspect of the castle’s design as well as defence. It was the home of the Dalyngrigge family and the centre of the manor of Bodiam.
Via: commons.wikimedia.org
Via: commons.wikimedia.org

16. Czestochowa, Poland’s abandoned train depot

Via: nedhardy.com
Via: nedhardy.com

17. Sunken yacht, Antarctica

In April, a 76-foot Brazilian yacht named Mar Sem Fin (Endless Sea) sank off the coast of Antarctica, likely due to ice compression and strong winds. Four crew members were rescued from the yacht, which is owned by Brazilian journalist João Lara Mesquita, who was in the region producing a documentary, according to MercoPress.
Via: ruschili.35photo.ru
Via: ruschili.35photo.ru

18. Abandoned distillery, Barbados

Source: i.imgur.com  /  via: reddit.com
Source: i.imgur.com / via: reddit.com

19. Michigan Central Station, Detroit

Michigan Central Station (also known as Michigan Central Depot or MCS), built in mid-1912 through 1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad, was Detroit, Michigan’s passenger rail depot from its opening in 1913 after the previous Michigan Central Station burned, until the cessation of Amtrak service on January 6, 1988. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest rail station in the world.
Source: i.imgur.com
Source: i.imgur.com

20. 1984 Winter Olympics bobsleigh track in Sarajevo

Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track is bobsleigh and luge track situated on Trebević mountain overlooking the City of Sarajevo, built for 1984 Winter Olympics.
Source: flickr.com
Source: flickr.com

21. Craco, Italy

Craco is an abandoned commune and medieval village located in the Region of Basilicata and the Province of Matera in Italy. About 25 miles inland from the Gulf of Taranto at the instep of the “boot” of Italy. It is typical of the hill towns of the region with mildly undulating shapes and the lands surrounding it sown with wheat. It was abandoned in 1963 due to recurring earthquakes.
Source: i.imgur.com  /  via: reddit.com
Source: i.imgur.com / via: reddit.com

22. Russian military rocket factory

These incredible pictures were taken by a young Russian woman after she crept inside a factory belonging to one of the world’s top manufacturers of liquid-fuel rockets. Lana Sator found her way into one of NPO Energomash’s huge factories outside the Russian capital Moscow, without coming across a single security guard – or indeed any other employees at all.
Source: lana-sator.livejournal.com  /  via: i.imgur.com
Source: lana-sator.livejournal.com / via: i.imgur.com

23. Abandoned mill from 1866 in Sorrento, Italy

The Valley of the Mills, “The name Valley of the Mills, derives from the existence of a mill – functioning since the beginning of the ’900′s – used for grinding wheat. Attached to the mill, rose a sawmill which furnished chaff to the Sorrentine cabinet makers. Everything is completed by a public wash-house used by the women. The creation of Tasso Square, since 1866, determined the isolation of the mill area from the sea, provoking a sharp rise of the percentage of humidity, which made the area unbearable and determined its progressive abandon.”
Source: logicalrealist  /  via: i.imgur.com
Source: logicalrealist / via: i.imgur.com

24. Cooling tower of an abandoned power plant

Photographer Richard Gubbels out of Utrecht, Netherlands shot these amazing photos inside the cooling tower of an abandoned power plant.
Source: flickr.com  /  via: i.imgur.com
Source: flickr.com / via: i.imgur.com

25. House of the Bulgarian Communist Party

The House of the Bulgarian Communist Party was built in another era, however, one that long ago crumbled along with the way of life it embodied.  After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Bulgaria moved into a new age of parliamentary democracy.
Image by Dimitar Kilkoff / Getty Images
Image by Dimitar Kilkoff / Getty Images

26. Abandoned city of Keelung, Taiwan

Source: flickr.com  /  via: i.imgur.com
Source: flickr.com / via: i.imgur.com

27. Lawndale Theater, Chicago

When the Lawndale Theater of North Lawndale, IL closed permanently in the mid 2000s, it had been in use primarily as a church. The balcony was sealed off from the main level when the theater was converted into a church.
Source: ebow.org
Source: ebow.org

28. North Brother Island near New York City, New York

North Brother Island is an island in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker’s Island. Its companion, South Brother Island, is a short distance away. Together, the two Brother Islands, North and South, have a land area of 20.12 acres (81,400 m2).
Source: ny.curbed.com
Source: ny.curbed.com

29. El Hotel del Salto, Colombia

Tequendama Falls (or Salto del Tequendama) is a major tourist attraction about 30 km southwest of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. The thousands of tourists who visit the area to admire the 157 metre (515 feet) tall waterfall and the surrounding nature, make a stop at another nearby landmark as well, the abandoned Hotel del Salto.  The luxurious Hotel del Salto opened in 1928 to welcome wealthy travelers visiting the Tequendama Falls area. Situated just opposite to the waterfall and on the edge of the cliff, it provided a breathtaking view to its guests. During the next decades though, Bogotá river was contaminated and tourists gradually lost their interest to the area. The hotel finally closed down in the early 90′s and was left abandoned ever since. The fact that many people in the past chose that spot to commit suicide, made others believe that the hotel is haunted.
Source: alveart
Source: alveart

30. Nara Dreamland, Japan

Nara Dreamland (奈良ドリームランド Nara Dorīmurando?) was a theme park near Nara, Japan which was built in 1961 and inspired by Disneyland in California. On August 31, 2006, Nara Dreamland closed permanently.
Via: steampunkopera.files.wordpress.com
Via: steampunkopera.files.wordpress.com

Why Do People Commit To Behavior Which Consistently Lacks Moral or Ethical Principles

Call it what you like…thirst for control, money, power, greed, lust or simply a lack of conscience. Does good behavior lead to more good behavior and by the same token does bad behavior lead to more of the bad? The answer depends on our ethical mindset, according to new research published in Psychological Science.
What makes a person feel justified in taking advantage over another? Psychological scientist Gert Cornelissen of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and colleagues found that people who have an “ends justify the means” mindset are more likely to balance their good and bad deeds, while those who believe that what is right and wrong is a matter of principle are more likely to be consistent in their behavior, even if that behavior is bad.
Previous research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, found that providing a sense of power to someone instills a black-and-white sense of right and wrong (especially wrong). Once armed with this moral clarity, powerful people then perceive wrongdoing with much less ambiguity than people lacking this power, and punish apparent wrong-doers with more severity than people without power would.
Existing research is mixed when it comes to explaining how previous behavior affects our current moral conduct.
Some researchers find evidence for moral balancing, suggesting that we hover around a moral setpoint. Going over that setpoint by doing a good deed gives us license to engage in more self-interested, immoral, or antisocial behavior. When our moral self-image falls below that setpoint, however, we feel ill at ease and try to compensate by engaging in positive behavior.
What decides whether you will sell out your personal values to the highest bidder? It can be reasonably suggested that there would be no corruption in the world if people refused to sacrifice their value systems for monetary compensation. So why does it happen?
A neuro-imaging study shows that personal values that people refuse to disavow, even when offered cash to do so, are processed differently in the brain than those values that are willingly sold.

The brain imaging data showed a strong correlation between sacred values and activation of the neural systems associated with evaluating rights and wrongs (the left temporoparietal junction) and semantic rule retrieval (the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex), but not with systems associated with reward.
Investigators have previously found that particular emotional centers in the brain charged up when the dilemmas involved people in clear and present danger. But the brain activity was diminished in moral decisions that did not involve “up close and personal”‘ harm to others–such as deciding whether to keep money found in a lost wallet.
Other researchers have argued for behavioral consistency, suggesting that engaging in an ethical or unethical act leads to more of the same behavior.
Cornelissen and colleagues explored what facilitates either phenomenon in a series of three studies.
The results from all three studies showed that participants’ dominant ethical mindset, in combination with their previous behavior, influenced their behavior in the lab.
When given a pot of money to divide, people with an outcome-based mindset allocated fewer coins to their partners after recalling recent ethical behavior. They were also more likely to cheat when given the opportunity to self-report the number of test items they answered correctly. These results suggest that they felt licensed to engage in “bad” behavior after thinking about their good deeds.
People who had a rule-based mindset, on the other hand, gave more coins to their partner and were less likely to cheat after recalling an ethical act, indicating that they were trying to be consistent with their previous behavior.
The relationship seems to be driven, at least in part, by the fact that people with an outcome-based mindset are attending to their moral self-image, or the discrepancy between the self they perceive and the self they aspire to be.
The theoretical framework explored in these studies — integrating ethical mindsets and moral dynamics — helps to reconcile seemingly conflicting strands of research.
Cornelissen and colleagues believe that this research deals with a fundamental mechanism that could help us to understand patterns of moral behavior for people in any kind of role, such as consumers, managers, employees, neighbors, or citizens.
It may also help to explain cases in which individuals are consistently unethical.
Making moral judgments requires at least two processes — a logical assessment of the intention, and an emotional reaction to it. When rules are established, violation of those rules can often lead to the wrong assessments leading to negative emotions.
“In the current studies, we showed that a rule-based mindset can lead to a consistent pattern of unethical behavior, in which violating a rule becomes the norm. Such a pattern resembles the slippery slope of moral decision making,” write Cornelissen and colleagues.
According to the researchers, additional research may help us better understand the mechanisms that underlie this behavior and find ways to prevent individuals from descending down the slippery slope.
Charlie Anderson holds degrees in Psychology and Public Health Sciences. He currently consults for various institutions and agencies in Canada and the United States.

Sources :
  1. Prevent Disease
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