Hotel of Key Cards

Ever wondered what to do with all those hotel key cards you’ve accumulated? Maybe you’ve thought about building your own hotel out of the them. No? Well, that's okay, because Holiday Inn had that bright idea, and will be unveiling the Key Card Hotel—yes, a hotel made out of many, many key cards (more than even we have)—tomorrow in New York. The elaborate stunt is part of the chain’s “Key to Change” promotion, which gives guests the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to a relaunched Holiday Inn of their choice, anywhere in the world. That’s right: this is not your daddy's Holiday Inn. Spending $1 billion on the relaunch roll-out, IHG expects that 1,200 of its properties will have been relaunched by later this month.

06 more images after the break...

Key to Change Promo details

• From September 14 through October 22, guests at a newly relaunched Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express anywhere in the world can enter the contest. Winners will be identified immediately. (And you can play more than once. Bonus!)
• You can also enter online here. (You can generate a promotion code right there on the website. When we played the code was CHANGE85E4. We didn’t win. Boo.)
• Grand-prize winners will win an all-expenses-paid trip to a Holiday Inn of their choice, anywhere in the world.
• Key Card game pieces will also be distributed directly to Holiday Inn Priority Club® Rewards members.
• The Key Card Hotel was created by world-record holder, cardstracker Bryan Berg.
• It’s made of more than 200,000 Holiday Inn key cards, weighs 4,000 pounds, and took four months to construct. It’s the largest card structure Berg has ever built. (Even though he’s created a few city skylines, including Vegas.)
• The Key Card Hotel at New York’s South Street Seaport from tomorrow through next Monday, September 21st.
• Berg will also build a freestanding 9-ft. replica of New York’s Empire State Building in the lobby of the Key Card Hotel, using Holiday Inn branded playing cards.
• The Key Card Hotel has a lobby, bedroom, and bathroom, all furnished with amenities made out of Holiday Inn key cards.
• The first 250 guests who attend the Key Card Hotel grand opening tomorrow, September 17, at 2:00 pm will receive a free night stay at any Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express around the world.

Via : Link

Did We Already Have Electricity 2000 Years Ago

Sunset in Babylon By Raphael Lacoste / Photo from Raphael Lacoste

If you thought electric bulbs and batteries were modern European inventions, here is something to put that fact to question! A 1936 excavation of some 2000-years-old ruins in an ancient Baghdad village unearthed a small yellow clay vase about 6 inches in height. It had a copper-sheet cylinder lining within it that measured 5 x 1.5 inches.

A soldering material (most probably lead and tin) was used at the top edge of this mysterious cylinder, bearing remarkable affinity to modern solder alloy. A punched-in copper disk at the base of this cylinder was sealed with asphalt or bitumen. A similar asphalt layer also found at the top end held together an iron rod, bearing acidic corrosion marks inserted within the cylinder.

More after the break...

Ever since its recovery, several possibilities have been suggested by experts. Wilhelm König, the German archaeologist brought forth a startling idea that the clay pot could well be a form of electric battery. Following his theory, a Massachusetts based engineer Willard F.M. Gray created a model of this battery in 1940, filled it with copper sulfate solution and proved that it could produce electricity.

In 1970, the German Egyptologist Arne Eggebrecht followed in the footsteps of Gray. He supplanted the copper sulfate solution with fresh grape juice to generate about 0.87V of electricity for gold plating a silver statue. These experiments proved beyond doubt that 1,800 years old civilizations knew how to produce and utilize electricity by means of an acidic agent.

The path breaking conclusions of Konig lost its significance in the turmoil of the World War II. His European co-excavators had raised objection to his theories since the presence of batteries at a predominantly religious age seemed an unlikely possibility. However, soon a set of ‘ancient batteries’ were unearthed from the same sites in Iraq, inspiring a score of baffled propositions.

While some speculated that the electrochemical set up of the ‘batteries’ was meant to produce electricity, others refuted this claim. A series of thinly electroplated objects were found by König in Baghdad that probably used these cells though others opined that these were mainly fire-gilded. Demonstrative experiments have proved that though this battery uses a very primitive mechanism, it could plate a small object with a micrometer thick gold coat over two hours.

However, the electroplating theory was never unanimously accepted and other possible usages were suggested for these batteries. Paul Keyser hinted that the mild electric shock produced by using an iron bar in vinegar was used by healers or priests for electro-acupuncture. It could also have been a trick to create a sense of awe among devotees by electrifying the metal statue of a God.

Although these possible secular and religious applications for the ancient Baghdad batteries were credible, some archaeologists expressed their skepticism for the electrical theory. They raised questions on the absence of wires and the presence of bitumen insulators for the copper cylinder as the problem points of these so-called galvanic cells.

They pointed at the bitumen seal as an evidence for the clay pots being used for non-electronic, storage purpose. Accordingly, they said these were secure storage vessels for preserving sacred scrolls, parchments or papyrus documents within the airtight chamber of the cylinder.

Dendera – Egypt / Photo from Nikki&Michi

However, in the Temple of Dendra in Egypt a stone relief seems to feature an electric lamp throwing light. The believers also pointed out that there was no soot in any of the pyramid shafts or underground tombs of Egypt, which must have stayed if the workers used fire as a source to make the elaborate carvings and decorations within the chambers. Many think, there must have been an alternate source of light other than fire and this speaks volumes in support of the battery theory. The concept of using polished copper plates for mirrors does not hold much ground as a promising source of light.

Carved walls in the temple’s crypt / Photo from Lenka P

The Dendera Light Bulbs / Photo from Hazelra

The Dendera Light Bulbs / Photo from Hazelra

Currently the Baghdad batteries are preserved as valuable pieces of curios in the Baghdad Museum. The dating of these unique clay vases revealed them to be belonging to the Parthian occupation era, somewhere between 248 BCE and 226 CE, although disputed. The Parthian were predominantly a warrior clan and not given to scientific sophistications. Dr St John Simpson of the British Museum attributes the Baghdad batteries to Sassania.

Via : Link

Tsaparang and the Lost Kingdom of Tibet

Tsaparang, the ancient capital of the Guge kingdom holds a special significance for the lovers of history. Situated in the Garuda Valley of Western Tibet’s Ngari Province, this lost kingdom [Vid] extended between modern Ladakh border and the upper Sutlej River. It lies approximately 26 kilometers west of the Thöling monastery, 278 kilometers west of Ali and in close proximity of the sacred Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. What is eye-catching about Tsaparang is the large fort built on a 500-600 feet high pyramidal rock. 13 more images after the break...

Photo from www.tibetreis.com

If you observe this rock closely, you can detect the presence of labyrinthine caves and tunnels dug onto it. It is speculated that in ancient times, there were two public temples the Lhakhang Karpo (White Chapel) and the Lhakhang Marpo (Red Chapel) accessed by the commoners inhabiting a village near its base. There are a set of serpentine tunnel staircases leading to the monks’ quarters and the royal quarters with increasing height with the summer palace poised at the top.

Photo from www.tibetreis.com

Photo from www.tibetreis.com

Historical accounts say that after the assassination of the anti-Buddhist Tibetan king Langdharma in the 9th century, one of his two sons named Namde Wosung had established Tsaparang as the Guge capital. Other accounts claim that Guge came into prominence when Langdharma’s grandson Nyima Gon fled to Western Tibet and subsequently distributed his kingdom among his descendents by the names of Maryul (modern Ladakh), Purang and Guge. Soon Guge acquired a powerful position by 10th century CE when it started controlling the India-Tibet trade route.

Guge Landscape / Photo from superboggly

Tsaparang along with Tholing came into existence with the reintroduction of Buddhism in Western Tibet by King Yeshe O in the 11th century. The power and prosperity of the Guge Kingdom was felt far and wide and was visited by the missionaries Manuel Marques and Antonio de Andrade in 1624. The church that you find at the foot of the Tsaparang citadel was built by them. With missionary activities rising in subsequent times, Tsaparang was captured by the Muslim besiegers sent by the Ladakh king. Although they defaced Guge Empire, some of the most captivating frescos of Tsaparang have remained intact.

Photo from www.tibetreis.com

Photo from www.tibetreis.com

What puzzles modern tourists and researchers of Guge, is why this once lively empire, inhabiting at least by 10,000 people has left behind no descendents at all. Could the 1650’s Ladakhi invasion followed by that of the Red Guards of the Chinese Cultural Revolution have completely wiped out the tunnel residents of the Tsaparang dwellings? Today you can visit Tsaparang as a Tibetan tourist spot and come across an excess of interesting facts and clues about Tsaparang that the pages of history do not provide.

Photo from www.tibetreis.com

Photo from www.tibtreis.com

The average buildings of the conical rock over which the ruined citadel of Tsaparang is situated, are carved out of rocks and mud brick. The chapels along the winding path to Tsaparang have stood against the ravages of time and stand out distinctly from the surrounding ruins. The Guge temples containing a wealth of statues were destroyed indiscriminately by the Chinese Red Guards in 1967. Thankfully, just before that in 1948, the German Buddhist monk Lama Govinda and his wife had visited Tsaparang and photographed the temples in their untouched glory.

Photo from himmies757

Photo from mckaymc

Along with the Red and White Temples, the smaller temple called Dorje Jigje Lhakhang in Tsaparang and the Tibetan Buddhist Rinchen Zangpo in Tholing are remarkable for their intricate geometric hand-painted patterns. All the three holy abodes are bedecked with a range of natural and imaginary deities that look beautiful despite the notorious vandalism. The 14,000 feet climb to the fortress on top calls for real fortitude, but when you actually go through it and explore the handiworks of the ancient Guge artists with a flashlight, the hard work seems to pay.

Photo from ddefranza