The world is definitely as weird as it is fascinating. If you’re up for a strange trip that will leave you with more questions than answers, then these 8 sites should be on your bucket list.
Crooked Forest, Poland
In Poland, each pine tree curves by the ground and shoots up into the sky. Some think that those who planted it may have purposely deformed it with unknown tools and methods to use it for particularly-shaped wood crafts, while others think that a snowstorm is to blame.
Just Enough Room Island, America
The world’s smallest inhabited island is in New York. At one-thirteenth of an acre, the Sizeland family enjoys a house, a tree, some shrubs, and a small beach. This must be what Marie Kondo’s dreams look like.
Island of the Dolls, Mexico
South of the center of Mexico City, an island is filled with deteriorated dolls. According to the former owner Julian Santana Barrera, he found a girl, drowned among the lilies, and hung her doll on a tree as a sign of respect. However, he started reporting that he was being haunted, and for the next 50 years, he hung more and more dolls in an attempt to appease the girl’s spirit. Barrera died in the same place he found the girl.
Darvaza Gas Crater, Turkmenistan
When Soviet scientists tried to drill through a pocket of natural gas, they figured it was best to burn it off to stop poisonous gas from releasing into the air and nearby towns. It hasn’t stopped burning for four decades. It’s aptly dubbed as the Door to Hell.
Cat Island, Japan
If you love cats more than people, you’ll find Tashirojima is your heaven. According to history, the island raised silk-worms to create textiles during the Edo Period. They kept these furry felines to keep the mice from eating up their livelihood, and there began an exponential boom in the cat population. Today, cats outnumber the residents 6 to 1.
Krafla Toilet, Iceland
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By the Krafla power station, an open-air bathroom sits in the middle of nowhere. It’s been a site for wacky photos from travelers who are willing to trek to it. This is living proof that the world is, indeed, your toilet.
Veijo Rönkkönen Park, Finland
In a Finnish forest, 550 peculiar sculptures became a monument to the young body. In an earnest exploration of the self and the world outside it, Veijo Rönkkönen spent 41 years surrounding himself with the practically every type of person. When art galleries asked if they could exhibit his works, he would ask the sculptures, and they would always say no. Despite this, Rönkkönen warmly welcomed visitors to his park.
Immovable Ladder, Jerusalem
Stemming from the extreme religious stubbornness of the 19th century, someone put a ladder against the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Standing (or rather, leaning) as a symbol of the status quo. It was a result of a long-running dispute about holy spaces. In 1852, the Ottoman Sultan decreed that six factions of Christianity were to share the church as a place of worship, and it’s said that the ladder was put shortly after that. Now, no one dares to move the ladder without the permission of the other five.
What’s the strangest place you’ve been to? Tell us in the comments below!
