17 most anticipated games at E3 2012

1. Gears of War: Judgment

Platform(s): Xbox 360

People Can Fly (developers of Bulletstorm) are working on the next Gears and it should be as chainsaw in’ good as all the others. All we know right now is that Marcus Fenix takes a step back to let a young Damon Baird and Cole Train aka Augustus Cole star.

2. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Platform(s): PS3

Sony’s cloning Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. formula, but instead of cute, cuddly and colorful characters from the Nintendo-verse, it’ll have Sony favorites such as Nathan Drake (Uncharted), Kratos (God of War), Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank and more. What could possibly go wrong?

3. Dead Space 3

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3

Details are slim on what direction EA plans to take its third-person survival horror-shooter franchise, but we do know that the game will feature co-op multiplayer and will reportedly take place on an icy planet. So long as there are plasma cutters, we’re game.

4. Halo 4

Platform(s): Xbox 360

With developer Bungie out of the picture and 343 Industries in charge of bringing Master Chief back to the FPS genre, Halo 4 is set to make a ton of fan boys wet their underoos. Can Halo survive in an FPS world that’s now dominated by Call of Duty? We’ll see.

5. God of War: Ascension

Platform(s): PS3

The fifth home-console game in the series (there were a few PSP spin-offs); Ascension is actually a prequel, if you take into account its story. It’ll explore protagonist Kratos’ past before he became the Ghost of Sparta and is the first game in the franchise to feature multiplayer. Multiplayer in a GoW game? It’s okay. Series creator David Jaffe says it’s looking good, even though he’s not working on the game.

6. Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3

Activision’s hit franchise is the undisputed king of FPS and Treyarch looks to repeat its success a second time by taking the battlefield to the year 2025. And of course, in the future, warfare isn’t warfare without unmanned drones, jet fighters and killer robots. To keep Black Ops II fresh, Treyarch is developing the game with dynamic missions in place, meaning different choices will lead to different endings.

7. Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3 / Wii / PC / OS X

Laugh all you want, but Warren Spector’s Epic Mickey sequel deserves a spot on this list. If you’ve never played 2010′s Epic Mickey, you don’t know just how creative the game is. Rather than limit the magical paintbrush-able world to the Wii Remote, Power of Two brings the same gorgeous graphics (this game actually has colors other than brown!), but in HD, voice acting, co-op multiplayer (the original game didn’t have any) and fixed camera issues that many found dizzying in the first game.

8. Assassin’s Creed III

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3 / Wii U / PC / PS Vita

The title is a little misleading because AC III is actually the fifth game in the series (Brotherhood and Revelations came after AC II). Taking place during the American Revolution, AC III puts you in control of new hero Connor Kenway who takes up the fight when his hometown is attacked by colonists. Powered by a completely new game engine, Ubisoft is not pulling any punches with AC III. It’s reported that Ubisoft has doubled its development team to ensure the game looks and plays like a next-gen game. Even more exciting is that a spin-off of the game will make its way to the PS Vita as Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and it’ll reportedly star a female assassin named Aveline.

9. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3

Revengeance is not your typical Metal Gear game. You don’t control Snake and you don’t sneak around with cardboard boxes over your head. Instead, you’ll be playing as pretty-boy Raiden, wielding tons of different katanas and swords to slash the living sh*t out of almost everything — enemies, environments, vehicles — in a cyborg suit. As with many of slashing game types, things can go sideways if there’s no depth or the A.I. isn’t very smart. This being a Hideo Kojima-produced game, we’ve got high hopes for it.

10. Resident Evil 6

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3

Forgetting for a moment Japan’s crazy $1,300 “special edition” Resident Evil 6 pre-order, Capcom brings Leon S. Kennedy back (last seen in RE 4) with new partner Helena Harper to fend off yet another bioterrorist attack. Still cloaked under deep secrecy, RE 6 is said by Capcom to be its largest game production ever, with over 600 staff members working on it.

11. Forza Horizon

Platform(s): Xbox 360

The Forza series has always been about rivaling Gran Turismo and being the most realistic racing simulator on consoles. Horizon takes the franchise onto a different road — an open world one that’s rumored to be set in Colorado. While Horizon will still run on Forza 4′s physics engine, it should be a little more arcade-like and less sim than previous titles. Do we smell a Need for Speed rival creeping up?

12. Aliens: Colonial Marines

Platform(s): Wii U / Xbox 360 / PS3

We’ve yet to see any official game launch lists for the Wii U or even a solid list of what’s in development for Nintendo’s next console, but we’re super excited for Sega and Gearbox’s Aliens: Colonial Marines. Why? Because the developers seem genuinely in-love with the Wii U GamePad, heaping tons of praise on the system’s technical prowess (although, Gearbox can’t divulge) and new game possibilities of the touchscreen controller. If Gearbox is so psyched about making an FPS on the Wii U, then we’re pumped, too. We’re just dying for new ways to play an old genre.

13. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow — Mirror of Fate

Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS

Historically speaking, the Castlevania games have always shined in their 2D forms, whereas its 3D games have all, well, stunk. Konami looks set to unveil a 3D combat-action adventure game based off the PS3 and Xbox 360′s Lord of Shadow games. Castlevania games always tend to do very well on Nintendo handhelds. If Konami plays its cards right, we could be looking at the next hit 3DS game.

14. Sleeping Dogs

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC

It’s not easy to take a game that was in development for another publisher and then rebuild it into a brand new one, but Square Enix is doing just that with Sleeping Dogs. In a previous life, the game was called True Crime: Hong Kong, until Activision canned it last year, and SE scooped it up and fixed it into a presentable RPG/shooting/street racing open-world game. Sleeping Dogs puts you through the eyes of Chinese-American cop Wei Shen who’s acting as an undercover Triad member. Think of it as a bloodier version of Rockstar’s GTA: Chinatown Wars, made for consoles with gritty graphics, all in the beautiful city of Hong Kong. Yeah, we know, you’re drooling!

15. Tomb Raider

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC

Lara Croft’s getting another reboot — one like she’s never had before. Darker, grittier and with more realistic breast proportions, the new Tomb Raider will focus on building a believable Lara Croft. We’re expecting the game to have similar inroads with Uncharted a game that took the action-adventure genre to a whole new level.

16. Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time

Platform(s): PS3 / PS Vita

You won’t believe your eyes aren’t deceiving you when you gaze at Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time. It’s like watching an HD animation or cartoon, only it’s not one, it’s a controllable video game. Thieves In Time rounds out our list of E3 games that excite because it’s one of the only games of this generation (on PS3 and Xbox 360) that make gorgeous use of last-gen’s cel-shading technique to breathe life into polygons. Not only is Thieves In Time one of the best showcases of what devs can still get out of the current hardware, but it’s hilariously cheesy, but funny dialogue make it a must-buy when it comes out. Bonus: it’ll be released on the PS Vita as well.

17. Borderlands 2

Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC

Borderlands brought Diablo-style loot lust to the first-person shooter, and the sequel promises bigger, badder guns, a whole new cast of characters and all of the frenetic, explosive action that saw people drains hundreds of hours each into the first one. Borderlands 2 looks like it’ll also keep the same unique art style and humor that made the first one such a hit.

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Architects transform submarine into a bar

Two hundred and fifty years ago, brewer Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease for his St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. To commemorate this event, the Guinness Company could have rolled out a stretch limousine, but it decided to go one better by launching a “deep-sea bar” in the chilly waters of the Baltic off Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by London-based Jump Studios, the modified tourist submarine was commissioned as part of the Guinness Sea Experience competition, that included an underwater trip inside the Guinness sub as a prize.

Interior views of original layout of Guinness submarine

Seating design for refurbished submarine

The GRP components used to form the shell

How the GRP components fit inside the submarine

Side view of assembled GRP shell

Bar arrangements in submarine shell

Perspective view of assembled shell

Details of assembled GRP components

The GRP shell was installed in a tourist submarine

The shell had to conform to all ventilation and fire safety standards

Guinness and Jump Studios have teamed up to turn a submarine into an underwater bar

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Sky High, But Grounded Incredible Tree Houses

A rickety platform in the backyard can no longer be called a tree house… not after seeing these. A real tree house is either a real house built in a tree, or a fantastical feat perched high in the tree tops. These gigantic and beautiful tree houses re-define the standard.

Which of these is not like the others? The 2nd and 3rd tree houses might seem real, but the first gives a new meaning to the phrase “concrete jungle.” With a trunk made entirely out of concrete, this Japanese restaurant gives visitors access via an elevator in the trunk. The largest of the three is Tarzan’s Tree House, a gorgeous, and sadly, artificial, creation at the Hong Kong Disneyland.

The largest tree house in the world, the Minister’s House is a 10 story structure in Tennessee that was built on the backs of 6 giant oak trees. The minister in question quoted divine intervention that compelled him to create the building. The second tree, not too shabby itself, is part of Treehouse Village Resort in Kavieng, Papua New Guinea.

Baumraum created the first featured structure as a playful guest room of an Austrian house. Most of the weight is borne by the surrounding trees, but the use of heavy stilts turns the structure into something much larger. Cedar Spire, a castle-like creation in Scotland, is a gorgeous example of fully integrating a fun structure around trees. Creator David Rasmussen is known for his wooden sculpture, and the occasional, amazing, tree house, like the one featured here. The main house is held aloft by several tree trunks, while an extension reaches out to nearby trees as well.

Tree House company Blue Forest comes up with some of the most gorgeous, and livable, tree houses in the world. These are not meant for backyard playdates; these structures are meant for full time living. Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania hosts the Canopy Cathedral, a two story church in a gorgeous natural setting.

This first fantastic tree house is located in British Columbia in the wild and awesome Enchanted Forest. Children must love spending a day playing around in a house that looks like it’s straight out of a fairy tale. The second tree house seems impossibly high, and must be a great spot to get away from the world. Aforementioned German group Baumraum creates amazing tree houses that are incredibly sophisticated, like this one overlooking a fenced grassy plot.

The Yellow Treehouse, featured in these first two images, is an award-winning architectural feat (and restaurant) located in New Zealand. The tree house suspended with scaffolding is now completed, and is actually a Swedish tree hotel room. For nearly $600 a night, the woods can be enjoyed from an incredibly modern perch.

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Gift Guide 2012

HP Envy Spectre XT Laptop

HP’s Envy 14 Spectre, with its thin form and slightly crazy Gorilla Glass frame, was one of our favorite ultrabooks of the past year. The followup is thinner (just over a half inch), faster (it’s got one of those new Intel Ivy Bridge processors), and just plain better.

Breville Smart Grill

For many a guy, the indoor grill is the most useful kitchen appliance. These hot plates on steroids can cook just about anything, from puny paninis to serious steaks. Breville’s Smart Grill will send your old George Foreman back to the gym. Fold down the top to roast your sandwich, or open it up to double your cooking surface to party-size portions.

Stake Barbecue Tool

The master griller needs his tools, and the Stake is several tools in one. It’s a spatula—until the prongs extend and it becomes a meat-poking fork. But wait, there’s more! The spatula plate separates into a burger-grabbing set of tongs, so the Stake combines all three basic burger-flipping tools in a single package.

Tivoli Radio Silenz Headphones

Finally, somebody went and mixed 747-silencing noise-canceling headphones with way-classy wood housing. Our favorite feature of the Tivoli: A “defeat” button that temporarily nixes the noise cancellation and turns down the volume, allowing you to hear what the heck is going on without having to take these things off. It’s great for dealing with constant office interruptions.

Casio Classic Retro Digital Watch

For our money, nothing fits a wrist as well as a classic Casio. This retro wristwatch, which sports a nice-looking steel band, is a throwback to the Pac-Man days. And unlike that four-digit Rolex, it might actually see the outside of a drawer.

Lutron Serena Remote Controlled Shades

Remote-control blinds used to be the domain of Bond villains and Vegas hotels, because of their grand-plus price tags and professional installations. However, the Lutron Serena Remote Controlled Shades—which are custom-cut to fit in your window—cost as much as a smartphone. And any joe with a driver can install them.

Swingline Stack & Shred Paper Shredder

For graduates entering the real world, one thing is certain: An endless stream of junk mail. The only way to ensure that ne’er-do-wells don’t turn your junk into a stolen-identity disaster: Shred those sheets. This shredder lets you stack up to 60 sheets at once for automatic cross-cut shredding. Go grab a cup of coffee—it’ll be done when you get back.

Gerber Steady Multitool

This Gerber multitool adds built-in tripod legs and a camera mount to the expected-but-still-appreciated blades, screwdrivers, and pliers. Now you can be a mobile DIY hero and take steadier shots with the same tool.

Nerf Super Soaker Lightningstorm

Goodbye exhausted pump-arm! The latest Super Soaker gives your war-weary arm a rest. Instead of the classic Soaker pump, these cool-off cannon come loaded with batteries for effortless shooting.

Eagle Creek Flashpoint ORV Trunk 22

There are few travel sins as bruising to an ego (or tight schedule) as being forced to check your carry-on because it’s too big. The Eagle Creek may be the most packable carry-on suitcase we’ve ever seen. It’s got a clever mix of pockets, and can handle a range of pouch and packing accessories that are designed to make the most of your limited roll-behind real estate.

Helly Hanson Odin Fastpack Jacket

This thing isn’t cheap, but if you’re the kind of camper who’s in the game of shedding micrograms from your load, it’s worth it. The ultralight waterproof jacket weighs just 8.5 ounces and packs down to nearly nothing yet still acts as impenetrable protection from precipitation.

Craftsman Bottle Opener

A bottle opener with the classic Craftsman screwdriver handle—simple, and simply brilliant.

Brooklyn Cruiser Driggs 3 Bike

Yeah, we love $9000 nanoweight carbon-fiber racing bikes as much as the next guy, but sometimes, you just need a simple, practical machine for pedaling from point A to point B. The Brooklyn Cruiser Driggs 3 is a simple, sturdy, and fine-looking three-speed cruiser.

Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch With Glowlight

E-Ink e-readers may lack the pizazz of full-color tablets, but we can’t help but love their epic battery life and easy-on-the-eye screen. The latest Nook features a built-in backlight that, when switched on, makes up for one of E-Ink’s biggest shortcomings: The fact that it’s useless in the dark.

Milwaukee M18 Fuel 1/2-Inch Compact Brushless Drill/Driver

“Brushless” is the biggest buzzword in the power tool world, and with good reason: Because the new motor tech operates with less friction, you can expect more power, more durability, and better battery life. While brushless motors have been out for a bit now, entries like this Milwaukee drill/driver are just now bringing it down from pro-only prices.

New Balance RC5000

Presenting: The lightest racing shoe. Ever. Period. New Balance’s engineers pored over every nook and cranny of their staid shoes, looking for ways to cut weight. The end result weighs just 3.2 ounces. Your toenails can’t weigh much less than that.

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SpaceX Dragon flight in pictures: from launch to splashdown

Today saw SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashdown safely in the Pacific Ocean after its demonstration flight and visit to the International Space Station. Space exploration can now check off another milestone: the first time a commercial spacecraft resupplied a space station.

The capsule splashed down at 11:42 A.M. PDT and is being recovered by ships off the coast of Baja, California. A NASA commentator on NASA TV noted that it was “remarkable how smoothly it went, from beginning to end;” the mission lasted nine days, seven hours and 58 minutes.

Birth of a Dragon

Here she is, the SpaceX Dragon, the first commercial capsule to make it to space.

No junk in this trunk

The Dragon capsule itself is attached to a “trunk” that houses its solar arrays before being mated to the Falcon 9.

Dragon’s Wings

To get to space, Dragon relies on the SpaceX Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle.

Dragon mating

Dragon, in its aeroshell, is mated with the Falcon 9, all ready for launch.

Liftoff

The Falcon 9 carrying Dragon lifted off on the morning of May 22.

Up to space

A fantastic view of the Dragon launch.

Dragon on approach

Early on May 25th, Dragon began its approach to the ISS. Instead of docking directly, all Dragon had to do was to get close enough to the station to get picked up by the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Dragon’s eye view

View of the ISS through Dragon’s thermal imager as the spacecraft makes its final approach.

Gotcha

With the Earth being all Earthy and gorgeous in the background, Dragon is grappled by the Canadarm at 9:56 am.

Bringing her in

Astronauts Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers used the Canadarm to bring Dragon in to the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node for berthing.

Astronauts at work

Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers doing some Dragon taming from the Cupola of the ISS.

The final few feet

The Canadarm brings Dragon in for the final berthing maneuver.

Docked

Dragon nestles snugly in its berth on the Harmony node.

Enter the Dragon

Stuffed to the gills with food, supplies, and science equipment, Dragon’s hatch is opened by the astronauts. The breathing masks were worn until Dragon’s internal atmosphere could be verified safe.

Mission success

Don Pettit, Joe Acaba, and Andre Kuipers waving from inside Dragon.

Dragon on approach

Here’s the first glimpse the world got of the Dragon spacecraft, as tracked by a P-3 aircraft. Dragon was about 10 minutes to splashdown when this was taken.

Splashdown

This is the first picture of Dragon after its successful mission. Here we see it bobbing in the Pacific Ocean, waiting for recovery crews to finish securing the capsule.

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10 Ways to Hack Your Car Interior

A few gadgets and DIY tricks to improve the quality of your drive time.

USB Power Multiplied

Tablet computer and smartphones are replacing paper maps and directories, which is great, except that iPads and iPhones gulp down battery power on a long trip. Most cars have just one USB power point for recharging your gizmos, and that’s not going to be enough for a 12-hour road trip, or if you have a carload of people playing Angry Birds.

You can, however, add two additional (and more powerful) USB points to a cigarette lighter socket. Sporty’s Pilot Shop sells a plug-in unit with two 2.1-amp USB outlets, enough to charge even Apple’s power-hungry iPad. Cigarette lighter sockets can handle more than 10 amps, so this is a convenient way to make sure your camera, video game, MP3 player, and tablet computer stay charged during hours on the road.

Homemade Electronics Dock

Bean-bag-style dashboard electronics holders don’t work well in the corners. And the suction windshield mounts that come with most GPS navigators can block your view of the road (in some places you can even get ticketed for this). So we thought up a better way.

Buy a small sheet of dark gray or black plastic at a hobby shop and cut out about a 6-inch square. Then on one side stick self-adhesive strips of hook-and-loop fasteners (Velcro), hook side only. On your dashboard stick the loop (softer) side of smaller strips to hold the plastic square in place. Finally, on the side of the plastic that faces the driver, stick on small pieces of hook-and-loop to hold your iPod, smartphone, or other gadgets in place.

Pro RAM Ball Mounts

Here’s another way to get rid of those suction-cup mounts that fall off the windshield on hot days. A more sturdy way to mount electronics in the driver’s view is to use the RAM-type ball-and-clamp mounts, which use a fixed ball that is permanently mounted. The fixed ball is discreet when the mounting bracket is removed, and study when the whole unit is installed.

A Coat Rack That’s Not Terrible

Car coat hooks are lousy, especially if you have rear seat passengers who don’t want your bomber jacket in their faces. Our solution is to use a mesh bungee that you can find at a motorcycle shop. These 18-inch-square stretchy nets are intended to hold a spare helmet onto the rear seat or fender of a motorcycle. We attached their four corners to the four grab handles on the ceilings of cars with wire ties, stretching the bungees until they are taut. The result is a sort of hammock to hold coats, hats, gloves, and whatever else you want to keep off the car’s floor. Most vehicles have enough of a curved ceiling that your stuff will remain higher than a person’s line of sight out the rear window.

Floating Phone Holder

If you use your phone’s controls often while driving (and you live somewhere where this is legal), then keep the phone within reach to limit the time your eyes are off the road. The best way we’ve found is to use a dedicated phone mount on a gooseneck, similar to the placement of a console shifter. Some of these mounts use flexible hydraulic tubing, but the ones we like use true gooseneck tubing. Some of them even have plastic conduit that can cover wires.

Better Cup Holders

Back in 1993, now-defunct Pontiac offered 15 cup holders in its Trans Sport minivan. Most cars these days can’t host quite so big of a party, and the cup holders they have are annoying: Center-console-located cup holders block your arm during shifting, and door-pocket cup holders are too low to reach.

Boating and marine stores have gimbaled drink holders that you can mount high on the door panels of your car, which we find is the most convenient place while you’re driving. Just be careful not to slam the door with a Starbucks Trenta there.

Enhanced Door Pocket

If you’re carrying an assortment of stuff such as pens, notepads, or small cameras, keep it all organized with cordura toolbelt pouches, which you can buy at big box stores. Screwdriver sleeves are perfect for tire pressure gauges, and larger tool pouches can hold sunglasses and flashlights.

You can use hook-and-loop adhesive fasteners to attach them by their top sleeves to the door panels, although during off-road and pre-runner truck trips we’ve actually riveted the pouches to the doors with fender washers.

Remote CB and Radar Detector

There was a time in the late 1970s when no self-respecting driving enthusiast got behind the wheel without a radar detector and a CB radio. These days, due to the outlawing of radar detectors in large trucks, the good ‘ol CB radio is still a valuable source of information passed on by commercial truckers, typically including traffic delays, accident locations, and, yes, the locations of speed traps. Truckers depend upon large radios, but we’ve found that discreet handheld units can be mounted almost out of sight and still provide clear sound and the ability to transmit. In addition, these days you can get remotely mounted radar detectors from companies like Escort that can be placed in other parts of the car, away from the eyes of law enforcement.

Moveable Shade

No matter how large and flexible the visors in your car or truck may be, there always seems to be that gap somewhere, during sunset or sunrise, where light can temporarily blind you and you just can’t block it. Pilots use a windshield’s surface static to hold tinted plastic sheets to areas where the sun is shining in. You can place these small, moveable sheets on the windshield or side windows to knock down the intensity of sunlight and save your eyes some strain.

Cockpit Cargo Carriers

There can never be too many bins and cubbies to hold all the gadgets, snacks, notepads, and other miscellany you want at the ready during a road trip. One handy area for keeping extra stuff accessible is just under your knees; trunk cargo bins are too big for this space, but the kind of covered cargo carriers meant for the tiny cockpits of small airplanes fit perfectly here. We like the Sporty’s Pilot Shop’s Covered Floor Organizer, which is designed to fit between the narrow seat rails of a Cessna 172. You can bungee it to the front of your car’s seat to keep it in place.

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8th World Wonder in the Works: Tunnel from Russia to USA

It sounds like science fiction, but is back on the table after nearly a century of talk: a railway to reconnect the Far East with the Far West, theoretically enabling a Londoner to travel by rail all the way to the US of A (though industrial uses are currently the priority over passengers).

The undertaking might cost as much as a hundred billion dollars, but it could also carry a hundred million tons of freight per year, which puts that price tag in perspective. As for relative examples in engineering: consider the fact that the English Channel tunnel is only half the proposed length of this next world wonder.

Representatives from the Kremlin and White House recently met on the matter and have approved this incredible project to link Alaska with Siberia across the Bering Strait, continuing an existing line on both sides that branches deep into both participating countries.

Commonly known as the Bering Strait Crossing, this is a variant on a surprisingly long-lived theme, from visions of Czar Nicholas II to connect these two countries underground, and more recent ideas to use two islands between the closest points of connection as pit stops for long-span “peace bridges”.

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50-year-old ghost ships which are the only reminder that this desert used to be a sea

In the middle of the desert, you may stumble across a strange sight – a panorama of ghostly ships basking in the sun.

The ships are a relic from a bygone age, when the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan was a rich area teeming with fish and providing a bustling trade for the surrounding communities.

Then, in the space of a few years, much of the sea dried up, the fish died, and nothing was left but the rusting hulls.

The Aral Sea used to one of the largest lakes in the world, covering 26,300 square miles. Now, it exists only as about 2,000 square miles of water, split into four smaller lakes.

The vanishing sea – actually a lake, but dubbed the ‘sea’ as it was one of the largest lakes in the world – was a planned act by the Soviet Government.

The government wanted to use the water to irrigate other parts of the desert for the production of cotton and other goods and was well aware this would destroy large swathes of the Aral Sea.

Irrigation began in the 1940s, with the Soviets building large – but poorly-waterproofed – canals to divert water from the rivers that filled the lakes.

Estimates suggest that 50 to 75 per cent of the drained water ended up going to waste,

During each year of the 1960s, water levels dropped around eight inches a year – and then, in the 1970s, 24inches a year vanished.

In the 1980s, as more water got sent off for irrigation purposes, the water level dropped at the highest rate yet – an average of 35 inches a year – and by this point, the lakes had almost nothing left to give.

The locals faced a barrage of problems, as the thriving fishing industry died away, due to the salt-levels and pollution – previously diluted over the vast mass of water – increasing rapidly.

It was not until 1991, when Ukbekistan broke from Russia, that the tide began to turn.

But not before things got worse, with an increase in the use of fertilizer poisoning the lake further.

The evaporation from the lakes, the increased salinity, and the accumulation of fertilizer made the lake a toxic mess, and health problems, such as tuberculosis and cancer, hit the remaining locals.

From 2005 onwards, efforts began to restore the lakes to at least a shadow of their former glory, with a dam project helping to increase the water level, reduce the salinity, and bring wildlife back to the lakes.

But it will take a long way to recover from what Ban Ki-Moon, secretary general of the United Nations, called ‘one of the worst environmental disasters of our time’.

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The Most Hazardous Places In The World

Kantubek, Vozrozhdeniya Island

Once the site of laboratories and testing for the Soviet Union’s Microbiological Warfare Group, the deserted island co-owned by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is now abandoned and contaminated by anthrax, smallpox, plague, and more. Rusted out boats litter the arid landscape as a result of the drying out of the Aral sea.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Two years after the disastrous earthquake that dramatically changed Haiti’s landscape, its capital faces incredible challenges and instability. Cholera has recently spread throughout the densely populated neighborhoods, and violent gangs rule the streets. Homicide rates in Port-au-Prince have reportedly become 6 times higher since 2007.

Homs, Syria

Since 2011, Homs has been at the epicenter of an extremely violent Syrian uprising. The city has seen been completely obliterated by government bombings targeting the Free Syrian Army. The UN, backed by several prominent world leaders, has begun intervening—but the entire country is in a very volatile state and will likely remain so for some time to come.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Those travel warnings are no joke. Thousands have fled the city of Juarez in Mexico, where the drug cartel wars have given way to frequent kidnappings, shootings and beheadings, often in broad daylight. Drug cartels have also been known to burn down entire businesses, leaving residents who are courageous enough to stay behind completely destitute. Before the recent out-of-control violence, Juarez was the site of over 4,000 female homicides between 1993 and 2003. The true culprits were never found.

Grozny, Chechnya

Though the conflict that gutted most of Grozny is over for now, the rebuilding process has been slowly progressing. Because of its long history of violence and poverty, organized crime in the area remains high, especially the kidnapping of Western tourists.

Mogadishu, Somalia

Up until 2006, Mogadishu was run by competing warlords who terrorized the region for several decades, but the violence isn’t over. In recent years, there has been an uptick of deadly suicide bombings and the city’s economy remains fragile. Many of its inhabitants are refugees from other parts of the country and suffer from disease and famine.

Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands

A place with the word “Bikini” in its name might sound inviting, but Bikini Atoll has been the site of nearly seventy nuclear bomb tests. While it was finally deemed safe to visit the island in the late 90s, officials advise against coming into contact with any food product grown or raised on the island because high radiation levels still permeate the soil.

Dallol, Ethiopia

Located in a region of Ethiopia so remote it is only accessible by camel, Dallol is considered to be the hottest place on Earth, with an average temperature of 94°F. The settlement has been uninhabited for decades because of the oppressive heat, which often causes the spring waters and acid ponds to bubble up.

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9 Weirdest and Uniquely Shaped Buildings

The Hashtag Tower (Seoul, Korea)

Now this is something to talk about: Danish architects BIG have designed an apartment tower complex that looks like a hashtag.
The Cross # Towers constitute a three-dimensional urban community of interlocking horizontal and vertical towers. Three public bridges connect two slender towers at different levels – underground, on the street and in the air. Catering to the demands and desires of different residents, age groups and cultures, the bridges are landscaped and equipped for a variety of activities traditionally restricted to the ground. The resultant volume forms a distinct figure on the new skyline of Seoul – a “#” that serves as a gateway to the new Yongsan Business District, signaling a radical departure from the crude repetition of disconnected towers, leaning towards a new urban community that populates the three-dimensional space of the city.

Elephant Building (Bangkok)

Meet the Elephant Building in Bangkok, Thailand. Designed by Sumet Jumsai and completed in 1997.

Ren Building (Shangai)

The Ren Building is an interesting design by PLOT, which has since split up into BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and JDS (Julien De Smedt). The project was a proposal for a hotel, sports and conference center for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The building was conceived as two buildings merging into one. The first building, emerging from the water, is supposed to be devoted to activities of the body, and houses the sports and water culture center. The second building, emerging from land, is to be devoted to the spirit and enlightenment, and houses the conference center and meeting facilities. The two buildings are to meet in a 1000-room hotel, a building for living. The building becomes the Chinese sign for “The People”, and a recognizable landmark for the World Expo in China.

Swastika Building (California, US)

This is a US Navy building in Coronado, CA that was unintentionally built in the shape of a swastika. Now, because of a public uproar, the Navy will be spending $600,000 to alter the shape of the building.

Wing Shape Zayed National Museum (UAE)

This wing-shaped building is the Zayed National Museum designed by Foster + Partners. It is located on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and will be the first museum completed for the island for showcasing the history, culture and more recently, the social and economic transformation of the Emirates.

The museum features five wing-shaped towers protruding from a man-made, landscaped mound that houses the galleries. The towers act as thermal chimneys and draw cooling currents through the museum without any need for electricity. Fresh air is captured and drawn through underground ground-cooling pipes and then released into the museum’s air. Since the towers heat up at the top, air is pulled up vertically through the galleries due to the thermal stack effect, and is then pushed out of the air vents.

“COR” building (Miami, Fl)

A new high rise is going up in Miami’s design district, and it’s a lean, green, eco machine. A collaboration between Chad Oppenheim architecture + design, energy consultant Buro Happold, and structural engineer Ysreal Seinuk, the $40 million, 25-story, “COR” building will incorporate mixed-use residential and commercial space, integrating green technologies including wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and solar hot water generation. The building’s exoskeleton is a hyper-efficient structure that provides thermal mass for insulation, shade for residents, and architectural elements such as terraces and armatures that support turbines.

With the aim to attract creative and design-oriented businesses and professionals, the interior of COR features sleek commercial and comfortable residential spaces ranging from $400,000 to $2 million. Each residential unit will include Energy Star appliances, recycled glass tile flooring, and bamboo-lined hallways. In total, COR will play host to 113 residential units, 20,100 square feet of office space, and 5,400 square feet of retail space (which already includes a café and furniture store).

Wood Skyscraper (Vancouver)

The seemingly radical idea of building a skyscraper out of wood is not so strange after all, as architect Michael Green is quick to point out, because of two main advantages that wood has over concrete and steel – it’s eco-friendly and cost-effective.

‘Tallwood’ would be made of large panels of ‘laminated strand lumber’—a composite made by gluing together strands of wood. Trees are a renewable resource, and they help to reduce air pollution. Sourcing from sustainable-managed forests could be deemed more environmentally sensitive, according to CNN.

Unlike concrete—which produces about 6-9kg of carbon dioxide for every 10kg of concrete—wood sucks carbon out of the atmosphere? And contrary to popular belief, wood actually is quite fire-resistant.

Coin Building (UAE)

Aldar headquarters building in Abu Dhabi. Designed by MZ Architects and opened in 2010. This coin-shaped building is the world’s first circular skyscraper.

Egg Building (China)

This beautiful structure known as “The Egg” is China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. This dome-shaped building is submerged in water and contains an Opera House, a Concert Hall, and a Theater. Remarkably, this building is just as massive and intriguing below the surface of the water. “The Egg” is home to underwater corridors, an underwater garage, and even an artificial lake. The structure took over five years to build.

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