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Friday 28 December 2018

The World's Grossest Foods!

Various parts of the world just celebrated Christmas, which also means yummy food! However, some people worldwide have a taste for things most of us wouldn’t even consider; insects, rodents and even stuff a person would throw in the garbage when cooking! Yes, I’m being deadly serious here and if you wish to know more, I’ve highlighted six of the grossest foods I could find below.


1. Tripe – Various Countries
Many of us have heard of tripe and just as many have not. What it is in its most basic form is the lining of a cow’s stomach. However, in countries such as South Africa, tripe is a whole lot more than that. Here (in South Africa) traditional tripe is taken a step further in a dish that is known as offal. This type of tripe (or offal) not only consists of stomach lining but the animals feet, intestines and head as well!



2. Tuna Eyeballs – Japan
When visiting Japan be sure to pop into a grocery store to feast your eyes on this scary “delicacy” in the fish section. Some say they do not taste bad, and liken them to the flavours of hard-boiled eggs. Tuna eyeballs are traditionally cooked by Japanese chefs as an appetizer but I must say I don’t find the concept appetizing in the least.



3. Locusts – Israel
In around 2013 the craze of eating locusts started in Israel. It seems what lead to this, was bit of a modern day locust plague in the area. Some like them fried and crunchy, others like them dipped in chocolate, all I know is I don’t like them at all!



4. Rats – Various Countries
Again we have one of the grossest things imaginable, considered to be a “delicacy” in many countries, including Indonesia. Some say roasted rats on a stick are their ultimate favourites, others swear it truly does taste like chicken, but all I can say is barf.



5. Fried Spider – Cambodia
If you thought eating rats and locusts were bad, think about frying up a spider and eating that! It is such a big hit in Cambodia, one could even consider it somewhat of a national dish!



6. Mopani Worms – South Africa
Yet again good old South Africa hits the list with number six. The Mopani worm is actually the larva stage of the emperor moth. These worms are named after the leaves they eat and are commonly fried up with peanuts, onions, chillies and tomatoes. I couldn’t tell you what they taste like because I have really never had any interest in trying them.
And there you have it, six of the grossest “foods” imaginable. Feeling hungry yet?

Debbie Nel

Xxxxxxx

Monday 16 April 2018

Lifestyle trends: Airplane! (Houses)

Last year I posted a few threads regarding alternative living spaces, which my readers thoroughly enjoyed. In 2018, I plan on continuing with this popular topic since I must admit it is of great interest and fascination to me as well.


Today’s alternative living space concept is that of airplane houses (and other buildings made out of airplane conversions).



House number 1 – Bruce Campbell’s Boeing 727 house 




The house featured above belongs to retired electrical engineer, Bruce Campbell.  Much of the original interior of the plane has been preserved by Bruce, who believes that ‘every old plane should be recycled into a wonderful home’ (source of information and images used: www.airplanehome.com 2nd image credit: John Brecher)



House number 2 – C-47 “Peasant” house in Chile

In January 1974 a C-47 aircraft with seven souls aboard, crashed in Chile. Luckily there were no casualties.  Many years later, The pilots son, who was one of those aboard the plane at the time of its crash, learned from one of his friends that a group of ‘peasants’ had turned the craft into a functional house (complete with a chimney)!  (Image credit: http://www.douglasdc3.com)



House number 3 – Arthur Bedford’s house

In 1947, Arthur Bedford who was a businessman from London converted an old World War II Horsa glider into a three roomed house. The project was part of an effort to combat the housing shortage of the time. (Image credit: www.shedworking.co.uk)



Hotel 1 – Hotel Costa Verde 727 Fuselage Home 

In its previous life, The 727 Fuselage Home two-bedroom hotel suite (which can be found in Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica) was a 1965 Boeing 727 passenger airliner used by South African Air as well as Avianca Airlines in Colombia.



The gorgeous suite is perched upon a 50-foot pedestal which enables breathtaking ocean as well as jungle views. Not only this, but the entire suite has been refinished in stunning hardwood. (Source of information and images: https://costaverde.com )



Hotel 2 – Jumbo Stay Hostel in Stockholm Sweden

Another fabulous airplane hotel is the Jumbo Stay Hostel in Stockholm, which is a refurbished 1976 jumbo model Boeing 747. The hostel has 33 rooms which can accommodate up to 76 people/guests. The hotel/hostel offers a variety of different rooms ranging from the cockpit suite to the motor room. For more information you can visit the hostel’s website on the following link http://www.jumbostay.com/. (Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org ).



The pros and cons of airplane houses/buildings

Airplane house conversions hold many pros and very few cons. For starters, homes of these types are well insulated making them incredibly energy efficient. They are also quite secure and rust resistant. The entire conversion project costs way less than the purchase of an average suburban home and the finished product often requires much less maintenance. The one downfall however is that buildings of this type can get quite chilly in the winter. This problem can luckily be very easily corrected by making sure you install an adequate heating/cooling system.

And there you have it, some fabulous plane conversions! Would you consider living in a home such as these?

Till next time,

Debbie Nel

xxxxx
Mortal Life Modes 2018

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