The Tree of Knowledge

In the small southern Iraqi city of Qurna, an unusual shrine stands on the shore of the Tigris: a small, dead tree, protected by low brick walls and surrounded by a concrete plaza. This tree is, according to local legend, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the one that Eve ate from in the Garden of Eden.

Qurna (also spelled Qurnah, and pronounced “gurna”) has been noted in travelers’ accounts for centuries as the place point where the great Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet and join together for a few miles before emptying into the Persian Gulf. The Tigris and Euphrates are two of the four “rivers of paradise” that flowed out of the Garden of Eden, as named in Genesis 2:10-14. Elements from the early stories of Genesis have been traced to the cuneiform tablets written by the Sumerians and Babylonians, who lived in this part of the world.

It is clearly a deciduous tree, not a palm, but no one can say for sure which species it once was, or how long it has been there. British soldiers reportedly climbed and broke the Tree in post-World War I occupation; it was repaired with concrete. In the 1950s, a small park of local plants was built around the Tree as a gesture of goodwill after World War II. Under the early reign of Saddam Hussein, the shrine was preserved in a small concrete plaza, which has reportedly deteriorated in the wake of the 2003 American invasion. By then there were actually several Trees of Knowledge.

Although the shrine is associated with the Garden of Eden story, which is shared among Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, it also retains aspects of much older, pre-monotheistic traditions of tree worship in the Middle East. When one sacred tree dies, you must plant another to preserve the sacredness, so often several trees are standing in different stages of decay. People travel from other parts of the country to pray at the Tree, sometimes tying small green pieces of cloth around its branches as a token.

Propeller Island City Lodge

Berlin is a city known for the pervasiveness of art and for its tendency toward outlandish character. Propeller Island City Lodge does not disappoint that legacy.

Propeller Island is the pseudonym used by the German artist Lars Stroschen whose usual oeuvre consists of audio-visual creations. This particular construct of his takes D.I.Y to the extreme. This hotel is hand-made down to the last detail; original, uncopied and unique.

Each room has a different character, whether it is the “Padded Room” where everything is upholstered with green leather or “Two Lions” where guests get to choose between sleeping in elevated cages or a twin bed down below.
Perhaps those are more of an acquired taste? Rest assured there is space for those who would like a gentler introduction to such as their “Blue Room” where you will be surrounded by mirrored sails and remains one of the most popular City Lodge rooms.

Consider yourself part of the performance and rest easy inside of this permanent art installation hotel.

Rio Tinto (Red River)

Originating in the Sierra de Huelva mountains of Andalusia, in the town of Nerva, Spain's "red river" runs through the southwestern region of the country. For approximately five thousand years, copper, gold, silver and other minerals have been mined along the river, with dissolving iron giving it a strange reddish hue.

The Red River is often considered the birthplace of both the Copper Age and Bronze Age. The Iberians and Tartessians in the area began mining the river in 3000 BCE, followed by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. For hundreds of years, the river's mines were abandoned until rediscovered and operated by the Spanish government in 1724.

After large-scale excavations by companies from the United Kingdom in the 19th century made the river extremely dangerous for people because of the high acidity level, the multinational Rio Tinto Company was formed to operate the mines. Rio Tinto no longer manages the river, but by the end of the 20th century it had become one of the world's largest mining companies.

The high acidity keeps people away from the waters, but draws scientists in. Extremophile aerobic bacteria in the water provide conditions similar to those found in other areas in the solar system. Jupiter's moon Europa, for example, is thought to contain an acidic ocean underneath its surface. Life in the Rio Tinto - the bacteria feed on iron and sulfide minerals in the river's subsurface rocks - make the likelihood of life on Europa all the more possible.

Big Rock Erratic

An erratic is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Large, hulking chunks of rock, jutting out of an otherwise flat and sparse landscape, catching the eye and mystifying any comprehension of its origin.

Properly called “glacial erratics,” these rock formations are actually relatively common. Formed by dislodged rocks that traveled on top of a glacier thousands of years ago, their decidedly out-of-place appearance comes from the result of that glacier-based piggyback ride, as the melting ice deposited the far-flung rocks where they didn’t belong.

In Alberta, Canada, there is a particularly large and far-reaching trail thousands of erratics known as the Foothills Erratics Train. The Big Rock erratic is its crown jewel.

Comprised of 16,500 tons of quartzite, the Big Rock, or Okotoks, erratic is the largest known glacial erratic on the planet. Located just over four miles from Okotoks, Alberta, from which it derives its name, the massive rock formation is an unmistakable monolith in an otherwise monotonous landscape.

Despite the interesting but simple origins of this slow-forming landmark, it has long attracted legends and myths. These date back thousands of years to the Blackfoot tribe, whose legends explained the rock’s peculiar location by detailing an argument between the rock and a young warrior that eventually gave way to a frantic chase and the eventual splitting of the rock down its center.

Today, mysticism-minded travelers still find themselves drawn to the Big Rock, usually avoiding the scientific explanation for the unusual formation, instead preferring to make up their own stories as time goes on.

Socotra Island

The island of Socotra is part of an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It is so isolated that a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. Notable are the dragon's blood trees that look like flying saucers perched on trunks. Adenium socotranum are trees that look like elephants' legs with pink flowers on top. Birds such as the Socotra starling, Socotra sunbird, and Socotra grosbeak are found nowhere else on Earth. Bats are the island's only native mammal.

In 2010 a Russian archaeological team discovered the ruins of a city on Socotra dating to the second century AD. The island is also held by some to be the location of the original Garden of Eden, due to its isolation, biological diversity, and the fact that it is located on the edge of Yemen's Gulf of Aden, which many connect with the ancient Sumerian tales of a paradise called Dilmun.

There are almost no roads on the island, which is also home to a collection of caves and a number of shipwrecks.

Montserrat's City of Ash

As vacationers flew to the Caribbean on a Boeing 737 in 2010 they heard the pilot get on the intercom and calmly announce "Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to the left of the plane, you'll see a volcano erupting."

The volcano that they saw erupting and hurling a plume of ash into the sky was the Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. The volcano has been doing just that, intermittently, for the last 15 years.

While we tend to think about volcanos as having short-lasting, devastating eruptions, many are very slow moving, operating on a much more geological time scale. So it is with the Soufriere Hills volcano, which -- much to the horror of the island residents -- has been taking its sweet time, and been in an active state of eruption since 1995.

When the previously quiet volcano began to erupt in 1995, the first eruptions since the 17th century, it sent lava flows and ash falls over the small island of Montserrat. The affected areas were evacuated and no one was killed. However, after people had resettled, the volcano went off again in 1997, this time killing nineteen. The volcano would continue to erupt and would destroy the capital city of Plymouth, the islands only port, and its only airport as well as cover the entire south side of the 10 mile long island in a thick layer of ash. (Montserrat has had particularly bad natural disaster luck, as 90 percent of the islands buildings had previously been damaged by 1989's Hurricane Hugo.)

With the ongoing eruption the South side of the island was declared uninhabitable and over half of the 12,000 people living on the island before the eruption have never returned since being evacuated. Those that have stayed live on the north side of the island and have rebuilt their port and airport.

The volcano is being closely studied by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Scientists believe that the volcano is made up of two large magma chambers stacked on top of each other, which may be causing the extended eruption.

The people of Montserrat live in the shadow of a continually active volcano, but despite the hardships that can bring, they persevere, developing the culture and economy of their beautiful island home with the cheerful determination they are famous for.

Within the last year, lava flows came down the south side of mountain and reached the sea, while part of the lava dome collapsed sending a plume of ash 20,000 feet into the air. Just another day in Montserrat.

Asahi Plaza Capsule Hotel

Japan has a multitude of interesting and innovative ideas to its credit. Many have been adapted by other cultures. Some remain uniquely Japanese. Pod hotels are in the latter category.

Created to meet the need for hotel rooms in the crowded urban centers around Japan, they provide the most basic of accommodations when visiting a city. A bed, and not much more, is fit into the science fiction-esque sleeping quarters. Some technology is mounted on the walls, but not much more, as it's aimed at visitors who have better things to do in Osaka than spend hours sitting around in a rented room.

There is more to do at the hotel than to just enjoy your personal pod, as it is equipped with a variety of communal rooms, such as saunas and a comic book room, though many of the extras cost a little to use.

First opened in 1979, the trend has spread to other locations and cities, but doesn't seem to have left this corner of the globe.

uHigh Bridge

High Bridge is a steel arch bridge that spans the Harlem River, connecting New York City’s Manhattan and The Bronx. The bridge was completed in 1848, nearly 11 years after construction began, and stands 140 feet high and over 2,000 feet long. The height of the bridge was a decision of the New York Legislature, who worried that a low bridge would obstruct boat traffic, so they ultimately decided that a higher, more expensive bridge was necessary.

High Bridge was built as part of the Croton Aqueduct, New York City’s first reliable and plentiful water supply system, which carried water 10 miles south from the Croton River. The aqueduct had to cross the Harlem River at some point along its route south, so the Water Commission decided it best to utilize a bridge to do so.

In 1928, the historic masonry arches that spanned the river were demolished and replaced with a single steel arch of about 450 feet in length. The arches were removed to create space under the bridge for easier boat navigation. However, several of these masonry arches of the original 1848 bridge still remain on either side, with only one on Manhattan and ten on The Bronx.

City officials considered closing the bridge in the mid 1960s, nearly 120 years after initial construction, because of despair. However, the bridge was not closed until 1970 when a pedestrian threw a rock from the bridge and damaged a tour boat.

In 2009, the city began preliminary planning to restore the High Bridge as a pedestrian and bicycle greenway. Despite these initial efforts, the bridge remains closed to this day.

Shatrunjaya Hill

As typified by Muslims' pilgrimages to Mecca or Jews' to Jerusalem, most religions have epic places to where devotees can travel to better secure their places in heaven. The pilgrimage site for Jains, an Indian religious group, is particularly epic. A hugely-complex series of more than 1,000 temples, pilgrims can only reach the site by climbing up nearly 4,000 steps.

Jainism is a relatively small religion, with only a little over 4 million believers in India and small pockets of followers throughout the rest of the world. The Jains' primary belief is non-violence; they believe that people, animals and even plants have souls and should be treated equally and well. Although they have no gods or spiritual figures, they do live with the principle of reincarnation in mind, hoping to eventually be liberated from the cycle of life and rebirth in an eternal transcedence.

The Shatrunjaya Hill site is huge and pilgrimage rites are difficult for such an ascetic religion. The hill's 3,950 steps often take three hours to climb, with the elderly often hiring a dholi, a seat attached to a pole carried by strong men, to the top. It is the goal of devout Jains to climb the mountain 99 times in their lifetimes. Once at the top, devotees are and then devotees are expected to pay homage at each of the complex's many tuks, similar to temples. In worship, Jains sweep the grounds with brooms and remove their shoes so they don't kill anything before sitting down.Then, white-robed pilgrims, monks and nuns chant sacred texts, surrounded by Tirthankaras, similar to unclothed Buddha statues.

In their building, the temples followed the Jainist principle of non-violence. None of the temples were built with ivory or clay because it contains micro-organisms and insects. Instead, all of the temples--the oldest of which dates back to the 11th century--are made of marble, bronze or stone.

The Stonework of Machu Picchu

Cusco, at 11,000 feet the mountain weather is kaleidoscopic, and the Inca tradition is palpably present. Cusco is every single thing that Santa Fe, New Mexico would like to be - magnificently Spanish colonial, profoundly Indian, filled with often brilliant crafts, and made entirely of real adobe. Just up the hill is the famed Sacsayhuaman complex of behemoth stones perfectly fitted together by Incan engineers. (A nice place to stay in Cusco is the Hotel Monasterio - a restored monastery now run by the Orient Express.)

The train ride to Machu Picchu is worth the trip all by itself. Surprisingly, Machu Picchu itself is in fact down from Cusco, and it's eastward, down into the Amazon jungle. As one travels along one sees the biomes change before their eyes. Along the whole way are spectacular rivers, especially the Urubamba, plunging white water without end for miles - it is so relentless and violent, that to this day it has never been kayaked. (When the train stops jump out for some hot corn on the cob offered by locals, with kernels seemingly as big as Inca stonework and purely delicious.)

One is also reminded they are in the Andes. They dwarf all other mountain ranges. So godallmighty huge and steep and inviting and menacing and one marvels at the skill of the Inca and their predecessors, to imagine their mastering these mountains as they did.

If we judge the Greeks and Romans highly because of the excellence of their architecture, what do we make of the Inca, who could be said to surpass them architecturally? In fact the Inca surpass everybody in their reverence for stone and water.

At Machu Picchu sixteen stone waterfalls sequence down one side of the site. All over Machu Picchu massive crafted stones are fit together in near perfect harmony and celebrate the sun, the year cycle, the surrounding mountain shapes, and the way humans take a step.

Daspark hotel unigue

For most travelers, staying overnight in a sewer pipe sounds like just about the worst possible accommodations imaginable -- more like a trip gone wrong than an enlightening and satisfying home away from home.

Dasparkhotel aims to change all of that. Consisting of several individual rooms constructed out of repurposed metropolitan drainage pipes, the proprietors of this hotel have created one of the most unique and thoughtful lodgings in the world.

Industrial drainage pipes are strong and incredibly long-lasting. Unfortunately, that usually means that when they are discarded, they last many decades beyond their actual use, in scrapyards, landfills, or even on the side of the road in some cases. They’re usually buried underground and never really considered by the civilians traveling along the roads and sidewalks they’re built beneath and meant to drain.

By taking some of these hidden yet structurally sound symbols of civilization’s subterranean machinations, dasparkhotel has not only discovered a sustainable and cheap means of launching a business venture, but they also offer travelers a chance to experience a part of society they never see or even think about.

True to the mission statement of most green initiatives, dasparkhotel can get people to about the world we live in, seen and unseen, in an entirely new way. For some, perhaps it’s guilt about the massive orchestration and resources required to simply sustain our way of life; for others, it might be a rare opportunity to appreciate all of the everyday marvels that go misunderstood and underappreciated.

For most, however, dasparkhotel is simple: a place for unique and thought-provoking fun. With each cramped-yet-cozy room, complete with bed, shelving, and a skylight, one gets to say they’ve been in a place they’ve never been before, and hopefully (except for dasparkhotel itself), they won’t ever be again.

WATER FALL RESTAURANT | PHILIPPINES

The Labassin Waterfall Restaurant is a truly singular and memorable experience. Located at the Villa Escudero Resort in the Philippines, guests can enjoy lunch while the water flows under their feet . Besides enjoying the authentic local cuisine, you can enjoy the almost untouched nature of the region formerly occupied by a farm and coconut plantations.

Today's Lifestyle is a Disease in itself - An Indian Perspective

Modern science through improved sanitation, vaccination, and antibiotics, and medical attention has eliminated the threat of death from most infectious diseases. This means that death from lifestyle diseases like heart disease and cancer are now the primary causes of death. Everybody naturally has to die of something, but lifestyle diseases take people before their time. Too many people are dying relatively young from Heart Disease and Cancer and other lifestyle diseases in modern times.
In India the situation is quite alarming. The disease profile is changing rapidly. The World health Organization (WHO) has identified India as one of the nations that is going to have most of the lifestyle disorders in the near future. Nowadays, not only are lifestyle disorders becoming more common, but they are also affecting younger population. Hence, the population at risk shifts from 40+ to maybe 30+ or even younger. Already considered the diabetes capital of the world, India now appears headed towards gaining another dubious distinction — of becoming the lifestyle-related disease capital as well. A study conducted jointly by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Max Hospital shows the incidence of hypertension, obesity and heart disease is increasing at an alarming rate, especially in the young, urban population. According to doctors say, a sedentary lifestyle combined with an increase in the consumption of fatty food and alcohol is to blame cases of obesity, diabetes, hypertension etc.
Lifestyle Disorders in India causing death

Heart Risk

• India No.1 in cardiac patients:  10% population affected, US/Europe No. 2: 7% each; China: 4%.
• Heart Diseases to be single greatest 'killer' in India by 2015 (WHO).
• 50 million people in India suffer from heart problems. Number expected to double by 2010.
• Highest growth among young executives:  1 of 8 is under 40 years.
• Heart attacks among executives at 10 years ahead of global average age:  Prevention needs to start in early 20s.
• Prevalence of CAD up from 17.5% to 35% among corporate executives in past decade: two-fold rise
• Heart attacks kill one in every 10 Indians

Obesity/ Diabetes

• 31 percent of urban Indians are either overweight or obese
• Obesity can, in fact, triple the risk of heart disease.
• India has one of the highest numbers of diabetic patients in the world, as many as 30 million, and growing by the day.

Stress/ Hypertension/Lipids

• Hypertension & Stress, especially from work, account for more than 50% of heart ailments
• 100 million people in India have high blood pressure
• Two out of three employees in India are  victim of stress
• Over 40% of urban Indians have high lipid levels (cholesterol and triglycerides)  that are the major risk factors for heart disease

Source: IOA,2008

Dictionary meaning of Lifestyle disease: A disease associated with the way a person or group of people lives. Lifestyle diseases are diseases that appear to become ever more widespread as countries become more industrialized. These are different from other diseases because they are potentially preventable, and can be lowered with changes in diet, lifestyle, and environment. These include hypertension , heart disease, stroke, obesity ,diabetes, diseases associated with smoking and alcohol and drug abuse, tobacco- and nutrition-induced cancers, chronic bronchitis, emphysema  and premature mortality.

TOP LIFE STYLE DISEASES

Name	Comments
Alzheimer's Disease: a form of brain disease.	No one knows the exact cause, but a real breakdown of the cells of the brain does occur. There is no treatment, but good nutrition may slow the progress of this lifestyle disease.
Arteriosclerosis: A generic term for several diseases in which the arterial wall becomes thicken and loses elasticity. Atherosclerosis is the most common and serious vascular disease.	Plaques (atheromas) deposited in the walls of arteries are major causes of heart disease, chest pain (angina pectoris), heart attacks, and other disorders of the circulation. Atherosclerosis usually occurs with aging. It is linked to overweight, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Cancer: diseases characterized by uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells.	Cancer is definitely considered the number one Disease of Civilization. There are more than 150 different kinds of cancer and many different causes.
	Top 5 Cancers
	MEN 1. Prostate (28%)     2.    2. Lung (17%) 3. Colorectal (12%) 4. Bladder (07%) Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (04%)	WOMEN 1. Breast (30%) 2. Lung (13%) 3. Colorectal (12%) 4. Uterus (06%) Ovary (04%)
Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis: any of a group of liver disorders.	Characteristics of liver disease are jaundice, loss of appetite, liver enlargement, fluid accumulation, and impaired consciousness.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): a disease characterized by slowly progressing, irreversible airway obstruction.	The symptoms are problems in breathing while exercising, difficulty in breathing in or out deeply, and sometimes a long-term cough. The condition may result from chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, or chronic bronchiolitis. Cigarette smoking and air pollution make it worse.
Diabetes: a disease affecting sugars used by the body.	There are four main types of diabetes mellitus. Type I diabetes is also called insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile-onset diabetes, brittle diabetes, or ketosis-prone diabetes. Type II diabetes is also called non-insulin-dependent diabetes, adult-onset diabetes, ketosis-resistant diabetes, or stable diabetes. Type II often develops in over weight adults. Type III, or gestational diabetes, occurs in some women during pregnancy. Type IV includes other types of diabetes are linked to disease of the pancreas, hormonal changes, side effects of drugs, or genetic defects.
Heart Disease: any of several abnormalities that affect the heart muscle or the blood vessels of the heart.	Heart disease has been the number one cause of mortality and morbidity. There are a couple dozen forms of this lifestyle disease. Heart disease and other forms of cardiovascular disease can lead to congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump sufficient blood to meet the demands of the body.
Nephritis/CRF: any disease of the kidney marked by swelling and abnormal function.	Characteristics of kidney disease are bloody urine, persistent protein in urine, pus in urine, difficult urination, and pain in the back.
Stroke: a condition due to the lack of oxygen to the brain that may lead to reversible or irreversible paralysis.	Stroke is linked to advanced age, high blood pressure, previous attacks of poor circulation, cigarette smoking, heart disorders, embolism, family history of strokes, use of birth-control pills, diabetes mellitus, lack of exercise, overweight, high cholesterol etc

It is predicted that globally, deaths from non communicable diseases (NCD) will increase by 77% between 1990 and 2020 and that most of these deaths will occur in the developing regions of the world including India. These conditions not only cause enormous human suffering, they also threat the economies of many countries as they impact on the older and experienced members of the workforce. In India alone, heart ailments, stroke and diabetes are the most demanding ones which are expected to eat away the country's gross national income to a huge extent by the year 2015. Nowadays, worldwide the true picture is, the sedentary lifestyle is more dangerous for our health than smoking. Researchers of University of Hong Kong in a study looked at the level of physical activity in people who died and were able to correlate their level of physical activity with their risk of dying.
The results are fascinating: 20% of all deaths of people 35 and older were attributed to a lack of physical activity. That's more deaths than can be attributed to smoking. Looking at specific diseases, the risk of dying from cancer increased 45% for men and 28% for women due to lack of physical activity. The risk of dying from respiratory ailments was 92% higher for men and 75% higher for women. The risk of dying from heart disease was 52% higher for men and 28% higher for women, all due to a lack of physical activity.

In India, the scenario is quite worse. It is said that, the possibility of an Indian suffering from a lifestyle disease is four per cent greater than people from other nationalities. Changing lifestyle is mainly responsible for an increase in the number of people suffering from hypertension, stress and other heart ailments. Today's 24x7 world order leaves little room for entertainment, social life, exercise and regular eating and sleeping patterns. Time is being converted into money and personal priorities take back seats as corporate interests and personal ambitions take centre stage. Only when our body starts showing signs of fatigue and inability, we look at our daily routine and think how the same impacts our personal lives. Doctors term these diseases as 'affluent society diseases', which are mainly caused due to reduced physical activity and consumption of fast food and alcohol. Since factors like heredity, sex, age cannot be avoided, one must manage one's lifestyle to avoid being at risk of different lifestyle dominated diseases.

In this context, the people suffering from different ailments or those who stays in the risk zone, should have periodic health checkups for early detection of risk factors and diseases. Regular health-checks coupled with lifestyle changes can go a long way in prevention, early detection and cure of diseases. Preventive healthcare involves health promotion, which is aimed at modifying the individual's social circumstance and lifestyle, which can be also termed as Lifestyle Medicine.

Lifestyle Medicine is nothing but the use of lifestyle interventions in the treatment and management of lifestyle diseases. Such interventions include diet rectifications (good nutrition), exercise, stress management, smoking cessation, and a variety of other non-drug modalities. A growing body of scientific evidence has demonstrated that lifestyle intervention is an essential component in the treatment of chronic disease that can be effective when used appropriately with medication.

The emphasis of lifestyle medicine is on:

Assessing lifestyle
Evaluating the risk factors
Evaluating laboratory reports
Discussing the opportunities for interventions
Prescribing an optimal lifestyle
Tracking and follow-ups

Other than lifestyle interventions in various forms, the healthy lifestyle habits that each member of the society should practice are:
- A strict No to - Smoking
- Alcohol
- Illegal Drugs
- Hypertension
- Stress
- Eat Low Fat, Low Salt, High Fiber Diet
- Do Physical Activity etc.

Lifestyle diseases are our own creation. Most men are unable to resist the temptation of cocktail partying, obsession with shopping, workaholism, sedentary living environment, , blind pleasure psychosis, suffocating dispositions, exchanging conscience and faith with wealth, consumption-based happiness indices, absence of regular sleep, leisure, socialising, taking metric kilos of junk food, and finally the mad march against indomitable time. The only remedy lies in the fact that, man needs to control his senses, freshen up his common sense to make life more convenient in the long run.

References:

1. Adams M; Sedentary lifestyle causes more deaths than smoking, says study; Natural news.com

2. Hatfield F. (2004);Exercise and Diabetes; Fitness the Complete Guide

3. Jenkins M. & O'Connell M. (2005); Nutrition: You Really Are What You Eat;The Jump Off

4. Bhatia.C; (2008);We are more prone to lifestyle disorders, a healthy diet is the only solution; Express India

5. Sassi F and Hurst J(2008); The Prevention of Lifestyle-related Chronic Diseases: An Economic Framework; OECD Health Working Paper

6. Stanelli De (2007); Dangers Of A Sedentary Lifestyle- Disease Risks Associated To Physical Inactivity; Suite101.com

7. Lifestyle Diseases-The Natural Health Perspective tm

Nicholas Jackson

Nick is the editor of Atlas Obscura. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago with a family that considered a six-hour haul to St. Louis a world-class vacation, he took to books and the Internet to dream of more exotic and curious expeditions. His whole life was spent waiting for someone to create the Atlas. In addition to managing the content and contributors on this site, Nick works as a staff editor at The Atlantic and an officer of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies. Previously, he has written profiles of everyone from Bjork to David Letterman for Encyclopaedia Britannica, covered national politics for Texas Monthly, summarized thousands of breaking news stories for Slate and turned a 26-hour sentence in a South Texas jail cell into an award-winning feature story. Friend him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

Niagara Tesla Monument in New York

Nikolai Tesla, originally born in what is now Croatia, moved from eastern Europe in 1884, and after working for Edison, went on to focus on his own work once he realized he and Edison had different long-term goals. That work became essential to electricity and the modern world.

To honour that work, and the Niagara Falls which inspired his efforts, the Yugoslavian government presented a sculpture by Frano Kršinić to the United States in 1976. The statue depicts Tesla reading his notes, and is identical to another monument at the University of Belgrade.

The spot overlooks the American side of Horseshoe Falls, the main section of Niagara Falls. Tesla was apparently inspired to attempt to harness the power of the falls when he saw a photo of them as a child in eastern Europe. He spent much of his life working with electricity and made groundbreaking contributions. Eventually he was part of the team which built the first alternating hydroelectric power plant, which allowed power to become a practical part of American households.

Nikola Tesla Street Corner

Nikola Tesla has his own New York City street corner. This particular memorial is perhaps a bit ironic, since the now-legendary scientist practically lived on the streets during the last ten years of his life.

Having played second fiddle to Edison during much of his nearly-sixty years in the United States, Yugoslavia-born Tesla died debt-ridden and obscure in the New Yorker Hotel. Before his death, he spent much of his time feeding pigeons in Bryant Park, which sits on the same street where his street-marker commemoration now hangs.

Still, Tesla's unfortunate final years in the Big Apple are obfuscated in favor of a poker-faced street sign. The city dubbed corner of 40th and the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) Nikola Tesla Corner in 1994.

Unusually, rather than choosing to highlight one of Tesla's places of significant discovery, New York City instead seemed to memorialize Tesla's legendary love for pigeons with its choice of place. Bryant Park, between the Public Library and Sixth Avenue, was where Tesla famously fed thousands of pigeons and cared for many.

Perhaps mixing a bit of truth and bit of mad-scientist lore, Tesla allegedly loved an all-white pigeon romantically. As the story goes, the bird flew to tell him she was dying with a bright light in her eyes. After the bird died in 1922, Tesla knew that his life's work was finished. Regarding this beautiful bird, Tesla supposedly said, "I loved that pigeon as a man loves a women, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.”

Still, in picking such a sentimental and highly-unscientific place to honor Tesla, one can't help but wonder, where's the birdseed?

New England Peace Pagoda

A Peace Pagoda is a special place. Although known, duplicated and built by Buddhist communities all over the world, the existence of one in a community speaks to the closeness of its residents to the Buddhist tradition, and to the Buddhist community itself within the larger populace.

That's why the creation of this one in Leverett, Massachusetts is so unique, even as it takes the same form and function as hundreds like it around the globe. Massachusetts, of course, is not known for its Buddhist community nor its tradition of Buddhist icons and temples. But created and welcomed by local Buddhists as well as the community at large, this Peace Pagoda is a symbol of aspiration and hope for peace – one which transcends any singular religion or philosophy.

Its Buddhist caretakers claim that this Peace Pagoda is one of the strongest examples of integration and support for such a monument with the larger local community. This communal sense of duty and hope is inspirational to all involved, promoting "a joint vision of peace, non-violence and respect for the sacredness of all life," according to the local Buddhists.

A Peace Pagoda is about process, not just completing a building. What might have taken a commercial company mere weeks to create has actually been built by the community over the course of years. This slow-burning passion and creation evokes the concentration, respect and awe of both participants and onlookers, as the building slowly, purposefully comes into being. That engagement changes hearts, driving commitment and zeal that otherwise might pass quickly once the structure is built; but because of the slow, deliberate creation, this Peace Pagoda will last years, not only in the physical space, but also in the hearts and minds of those who created it.

Pas des Trucadors

Near Ses Illetes Beach in Baleares, Spain, a lovely seaside trail extends along a narrow peninsula, windswept and seasprayed, flanked on either side with rocky cliffs that tumble down to secluded beaches below. Mostly popular with backpackers and travelers embracing the bohemian lifestyle, Pas des Trucadors is a rock-solid example that sometimes the most hidden places really are the best.

It’s no wonder then, that the cliffs in this hushed locale are scattered with man-made rock formations -- little towers of flat stones stacked together by visitors, compelled either by whimsical curiosity or a legitimate interest in the various mysticisms that endorse such fast works of natural art.

Thought to be a highly meditative experience, the stacking of stones in otherwise remote or natural locations is popular throughout the world from Arizona to Croatia. It’s not uncommon to see these diminutive pseudo-sculptures at places of rustic beauty, often standing singularly and quixotically along trails in the Grand Canyon or along the Sierra Madre.

But in places of particular seclusion, where one is built, others are sure to follow, as the culture that surrounds the place inspires other visitors to do the same, until eventually there is a veritable forest of handmade towers standing silently, marking a place of peace and tranquility, but only to those who know the signs.

Japan's largest sausage

Dubbed the "Giant Turd" by locals, this 42-foot-tall statue is a tribute to Stawnichy's Meat Processing, a family-run sausage factory famous for its kielbasa.

Opened in 1959, the factory has never left the hands of the Stawnichy family. Started by a father and son team, the son, Edward, took over the factory in 1971 and his daughter now mixes all of the spices used at the shop.

Visitors to the factory, which has a reputation for having the best Ukrainian sausage in all of Canada, can request a tour of the facility Tuesday through Thursday.

The Stawnichy family set up a non-profit foundation to oversee the construction of the 12,000 pound statue and accompanying tourism rest area in 2001 at a cost of about $120,000. Four years in the making, the statue, constructed of fiberglass, was made to withstand 160 km/h winds and is surrounded by four flags representing Canada, Alberta, Mundare, and the Stawnichy brand.

unique tree in the world video

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs (including a distinct group with a multiple-stem mallee growth habit) in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent areas of New Guinea and Indonesia and one, Eucalyptus deglupta, ranges north to the Philippines. Only 15 species occur outside Australia, and only 9 do not occur in Australia. Species of Eucalyptus are cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics including the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, China and the Indian Subcontinent.

Eucalyptus is one of three similar genera that are commonly referred to as "eucalypts," the others being Corymbia and Angophora. Many, but far from all, are known as gum trees because many species exude copious sap from any break in the bark (e.g. Scribbly Gum). The generic name is derived from the Greek words ευ (eu) "well" and καλυπτος (kalyptos) "covered," referring to the operculum on the calyx that initially conceals the flower.

Some Eucalyptus species have attracted attention from global development researchers and environmentalists. Such species have desirable traits such as being fast-growing sources of wood, producing oil that can be used for cleaning and functions as a natural insecticide, or an ability to be used to drain swamps and thereby reduce the risk of malaria. Outside their natural ranges, eucalypts are both lauded for their beneficial economic impact on poor populations:22 and criticised for being "invasive water-suckers", leading to controversy over their total impact.

On warm days Eucalyptus forests are sometimes shrouded in a smog-like mist of vaporised volatile organic compounds (terpenoids); the Australian Blue Mountains take their name from the haze.