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Mark Twain wrote about it in his 1869 book Innocents Abroad. When Twain asked one of the monks what would happen when he died, the monk responded, “We must all lie here at last.” And lie there they do. Some 4,000 Capuchin friars who died between 1528 and 1870 are still lying, hanging, and generally adorning the Santa Maria della Concezione crypt in Rome.

In 1631, the Capuchin friars – so-called because of the “capuche” or hood attached to their religious habit – left the friary of St. Bonaventure near the Trevi Fountain and came to live at the Santa Maria della Concezione, of which only the church and crypt remain. They were ordered by the Pope’s brother to bring the remains of the deceased friars along with them to their new home, so that all the Capuchin friars might be in one place.

Rather than simply burying the remains of their dead brethren, the monks decorated the walls of the crypts with their bones as a way of reminding themselves that death could come at anytime; one must always be ready to meet God. A plaque in the crypt reads: “What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.”

The ossuary contains a crypt of skulls, a crypt of leg bones, and perhaps the oddest – a “crypt of pelvises.” Mummified monks were dressed in friar’s clothes and hung from the walls and ceiling. With the addition of electricity, light fixtures were incorporated into some of the hanging monks, bringing a new meaning to the phrase “the eternal light.”

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The church is free, though you are urged to give a donation, and all photography is prohibited.

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In the Waldsassen Basillica in Waldsassen, Germany, the halls of the church are lined with an unusual sort of decoration.

Known as the “Holy Bodies,” they are the skeletons of Christian martyrs who were exhumed from the catacombs of Rome between 1688 and 1765. What makes these even more unusual than standard skeletal relics is that these skeletons are dressed in elaborate 1700s garb, covered in jewels, and generally look like royalty. Each year, the church celebrates a Holy-Bodies-Fest celebrating these martyrs, with the idea that we too are “Holy Bodies.” Beyond this, little about the extravagantly dressed bodies is known.

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The church also has a famous statue of Christ, but its arms were broken off by a soldier. The armless Christ is seen as a symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation, and people make pilgrimages to the church to pray to the “savior without arms.”

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We hear the term “third world” tossed around with a much greater frequency than the other “worlds.” Based on an outmoded Cold War taxonomy in which the first world consists of capitalist NATO nations and their allies, the second world of the communist Soviet Union and its allies, the third of former colonies/developing nations, and the fourth rarely mentioned world of stateless nations or peoples.

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The Conch Republic in the Florida Keys has declared that is the world’s first “fifth world” nation: “We exist as a ‘State of Mind,’ and aspire only to bring more Warmth, Humor and Respect to a planet we find in sore need of all three.”

In the early 80s, South Florida became a conduit for illegal immigrants and illegal drugs. To stem the flow, the United States Border Patrol set up inspection points on the two roads connecting the Florida Keys to the mainland. Key West City was not happy. The federal government did not respond to their protests, and the mayor of the city, Dennis Wardlow, declared “independence” on April 23, 1982. Interpreting the roadblock as a national border, the city decided to become another nation.

Wardlow, though, is a bit of a joker. His protest was a tongue-in-cheek gambit for attention and a boost in tourism. Though the roadblock was shortly removed, the city continues to joke about its “secession” and hosts an annual Independence celebration each April.

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All residents are dual citizens of both America and the Conch Republic. But non-native Conch Republicans can buy a Conch Republic passport for a very reasonable $100. Though some tourists come for the Conch Republic, most come to see Ernest Hemingway’s House which is also located in the Conch Republic and home to its own oddity, 60 cats descended from Hemmingway’s famous six toed cat. Many of the descendant cats are also six toed.

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Sometimes really weird cults born, like this one the Sect of Gadget Hackwrench one.

“She is the divine being, the most untouched and perfect sibling of the great God on Earth”, say one of the participants. “Why I love her? It’s stupid question, how I can’t love the Godess?”. “She is strict, cute, optimistic and her level of technical knowledge is unachievable for a mortal being.” those are just a few of the testimonies of the sect followers.

And if you didn’t recognize the hero – that’s a Disney mouse cartoon.

Dan Ng

Although it is common that children in western countries have better conditions for life and probably happier childhood, In eastern countries there is a large number of children who are having very hard childhood, but yet they find some reasons which can make them happy from time to time.