You can travel to Mars for $500,000 a trip

The billionaire founder and CEO of private spaceflight company SpaceX, Elon Musk is planning to help establish a Mars colony of up to 80,000 people by ferrying explorers to the Red Planet for about 500,000 dollars a trip.

Musk’s ambitious ‘Mars settlement’ program would start with a pioneering group of less than 10 people, who would travel to the Red Planet aboard a huge reusable rocket powered by liquid oxygen and methane.

“At Mars, you can start a self-sustaining civilization and grow it into something really big,” Musk told an audience at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London on Friday (Nov. 16).

According to the Discovery News, Musk was there to talk about his business plans, and to receive the Society’s gold medal for his contribution to the commercialization of space.

Large amounts of equipment, including machines to produce fertilizer, methane and oxygen from Mars’ atmospheric nitrogen and carbon dioxide and the planet”s subsurface water ice would accompany the founders of the new Mars colony.

The Red Planet pioneers would also take construction materials to build transparent domes, which when pressurized with Mars’ atmospheric CO2 could grow Earth crops in Martian soil, the report said.

As the Mars colony became more self sufficient, the big rocket would start to transport more people and fewer supplies and equipment.

Musk said that 500,000 dollars ticket price for a Mars trip was affordable.

“The ticket price needs to be low enough that most people in advanced countries, in their mid-forties or something like that, could put together enough money to make the trip,” he said, comparing the purchase to buying a house in California.

ANI

Flaming Fire Waterfalls

The waters in Horsetail waterfall turn into a beautiful flaming fire, looking like a natural formation and God‘s creation.

These Horsetail waterfalls looking like a flaming fire is indeed a beautiful formation that looks like a God’s creation. Of course, this is not a real fire, but it is indeed an amazing natural attraction. These waterfalls belong to Yosemite National Park, California.

Flaming fire of Horsetail waterfall is a rare natural phenomenon that occurs only in the month of February, when the weather changes from winter to spring. During this time, the snow melts and becomes water, running down the river in Yosemite National Park and falls from a height of cliff. These seasonal waterfalls are affected by the glorious color of the spring sunset light, and thereby the water color changes to gold, yellow and bright orange, giving the waterfall an amazing appearance of flaming fire. You can see many eye catching pictures of these flaming water falls in the image section below. The video on right from Yosemite National Park shows and explains this wonderful, glowing phenomenon.

‘Yosemite Firefall‘ is another significant aspect related tothis area that people often get confused with. It was a summer time ritual where burning hot embers were dropped from a height of about 3000 feet from the top of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park down the valley below, and from a distance this used to look similar to a glowing water fall, because the people who used to dump those embers made sure to do so in a uniform fashion. The ritual was performed by several generations of the owners of the Hotel Glacier Point, starting in the year 1872 until January 1968 when it was ended after an order from National Park Service because of the overwhelming number of visitors it attracted, and the fact that it was not a natural event. The last picture in the image section shows the Yosemite Firefall in past.

Ten Stunning Roads for a Lifetime Drive

Going for a long drive with your loved ones or even alone is the best way to replace the familiar and dull everyday commuting with some refreshing air. And when those paved tar creations under your wheels transforms into challenging and complicated bends, long fast straights, little to no traffic and especially with beautiful view, then it makes your drive the pleasure of a lifetime clocked with elucidate thrill.

Here is list of 10 gorgeously mythical highways around the world that inspires you to hit the road!

10. The Overseas Highway – Florida Keys

The stunning 205.2 km highway soars from island to island across 42 bridge southwest through Florida Keys over an extraordinarily blue ocean. The road was built in 1938 on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad which got destroyed in a hurricane.

Most part of this long highway stands on water and it’s a pure pleasure to drive about 5 hours to reach the next island. If you started your drive early morning or early evening you will be blessed to see the incredible view sunrise or sunset.

For most of the year this highway is free of traffic, but if you came here in the holiday season chances are there that you might witness some traffic. But with that spectacular scenery around and marvelous engineering ahead you will love to stay on this road forever!

9. Red Rock Scenic Road – U.S.A

The Red Rock Scenic Road is often called as the “museum without walls” and when you are on this road its name becomes clearer to you. The road wind through Sedona’s Red Rock Country and provides a breathtaking view of beautiful red rocks which elites your soul inspiring your life.

On this road trip on Red Rock Scenic byway you will also come across Montezuma Castle National Monument and the naturally blessed Coconino National Forest which makes you come closer to Mother Nature.

8. Iroha-Zaka – Japan

This winding road of Japan interlinks central Nikko and Oku-Nikko. Those 48 curves on the road looks deadly, but they are thrilling and glorious to drive through. Actually this magnificent Iroha-zaka byway is made of two roads, one to come down and another to go up and they both have 48 curves.

Each bend of the 48 curves in this road is matched with 48 letters of the ancient Japanese alphabet, starting in alphabetical order from I-ro-ha which also gave this road’s name.

7. Highway 1, Big Sur – California

Highway 1 aka ‘Bur Sur’ is stretched across the rugged central California coastline through Big Sur. This superb road runs from beautiful San Simeon to equally stunning Carmel. On the road you will witness extremely dangerous cliff drops with awe-inspiring views and impulsive glimpses of the whole Pacific Ocean in all its glory rushing past immense dark rocks.

There are few peak traffic hours during which you should try to avoid this road. But the traffic doesn’t seem that troubling with those sobering views around to please your eyes and heart. To skip the slow moving traffic there is a bypass through the nearby less-traveled Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, which cuts east and offers an amazing bird’s-eye view of the coast below.

6. Khardung Pass – India

For those who don’t know, the world’s highest road is in our country! The Khardung pass exist at a peak of 17,582 feet above sea level and it is the highest altitude roads that can be driven in a four-wheeler. This road is situated so high that the pressure difference might induce nose-bleeds, so even before your eyes feels the difference your nose will feel it.

All these pains are worth taking for those magnificent glaciers, crazy turns, huge peaks and glorious hills which makes you breathless both in terms of beauty and altitude. You can also see all manner of mammalian and mechanized traffic on the way. As a word of advice, drive slow, steady and familiarize yourself.

5. Ruta 40 – Argentina

The Ruta 40 is one of the longest highways in the world. You can dare to image its length when we say it connects 20 National parks and covers numerous passes through the Andes mountain range. The highway is around 3000 miles long and there are surprises all through the way.

If you feel like the length of this highway is too long then catch the bypass to the touristy southern portion and have a good time exploring the gorgeous upper elevations. To the south the Ruta 40 reaches as high as 16,000 feet above sea level!

4. Karakoram Highway – China to Pakistan

China took 27 years to build this so called ‘Friendship Highway’ though the Karakoram mountain range to link Pakistan with China. This highway is a beauty, but be very patient and careful with this beauty as it has the power to make you meet your maker within a blink of an eye.

This 800 miles long tar creation is paved through Himalayas and on the way you will come across several dramatic sceneries. You will be crossing the splendid stretches of the ancient Silk Road and will also pass some desolate locales like Abbottabad, where Osama bin Laden met his demise.

3. Guoliang Tunnel Road – China

Believe it or not, this marvelous tunnel road was built by 13 local villagers in just five years in the Taihang Mountains in the Hunan province of China. During the construction of this road many villagers have lost their life in accidents and at last it was in 1977 when the road was open for traffic.

This mountain carved tunnel runs 1,200 meters long, 5 meters high and 4 meters wide. This is one of the most dangerous roads in the world and is also called as “the road that does not tolerate any mistakes”. Glimpses of scenic beauty which you will witness while passing the tunnel make it a trip of a lifetime.

2. Stelvio Pass – Italy

This highway of Italy is 9000 feet up in the Italian Alps and connects the Valtellina with Merano and the upper Adige valley. This is the second highest paved mountain road in the Alps and packs 48 switchbacks (numbered by stone markers) into 15 miles.

Stelvio Pass has one of the best continuous hairpin routes in the world and its 48 thrilling turns are meant for adventure loving souls. The road gets very narrow at some places and is very steep at some points. The scenery throughout this pass is absolutely stunning.

1. Transfagarasan Highway – Romania

Top Gear has honored this road of Romania as the best road in the world! This road was built between 1970 and 1974 by former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu as a strategic military route to connect historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia, and the cities of Sibiu and Pitesti.

The Transfagarasan Highway runs from North to South across the tallest sections of the Carpathian Mountains and has 90 km of twists and turns. On the way you will come across Balea Lake, a glacier lake which has been here for thousands of years. There is a 1 km long straight tunnel which makes the ride more exciting.

The northern end of the road is said to be the most beautiful with steep hairpin turns, long S curves and sharp descents. In winters this road is covered by snow, so only during the summers this road is available for all the driving freaks.

Expensive Celebrity Homes

The elegant homes of the celebrities include all the world-class amenities which one can only dream off.  From high-end mansions to luxury apartments, celebrities are spending millions to call these places as their home. These luxurious mansions are iconic and exemplary in their own way; they are also the perfect fusion of ‘Comfort and Luxury.’

1) Oprah Winfrey:

Valued at: $85 million

Oprah Winfrey, famously known for her women-empowering show, ‘Oprah,’ lives in one of the most expensive as well as amazing homes in the world. Her exclusive California estate was brought in the year 2001 for a whopping $55 million and since then the price of the Montecito estate has only increased. According to sources, the house is worth $85 million now. Her lavish home is lovingly called ‘Oasis,’ which is of 23,000 square feet in area. Winfrey’s home includes some attractive views along with lush gardens, gourmet kitchen, six bedrooms, a theatre, 14 bathrooms ,fire places and man-made lake filled with exotic fishes. This palatial house has a ‘garden teahouse’ which is one of the most attractive part that distinguishes this house from the others. To Winfrey, her home reflects her personality and also how she grew up, reports Sumitra Nair, Luxpresso.

2) Hugh Hefner:

Valued at – $54 Million

Hugh Hefner’s extravagant ‘Playboy Mansion’ is as impressive as its owner. This $54 million home is located in Holmby Hills in Los Angeles, California. This lavish ‘Playboy Mansion’ spreads over 21,987 square feet and was designed by the architect, Arthur R. Kelly, back in the year 1927. Hefner’s palatial abode features 22 rooms, swimming pool area with – bathhouse, sauna and grotto, waterfall, tennis courts, zoo and aviary (with a pet cemetery), game room, wine cellar and the famous yet elusive ‘Elvis Suite.’

3) Billy Joel:

Valued at- $35 million

Singer Billy Joel’s beach house is perhaps the hottest place to live. This uptown home is worth $35 million and spans over an area of 303,310 square feet. This house is located in La Gorce Island in Miami Beach, Florida. This beach facing stylish house is made up of materials like glass, stone and onyx. Also, this house is famous for onyx-studded bathrooms and a fireplace, which is hand-carved. Joel’s lavish house offers breathtaking views of the beach, which makes it the most exotic.

4) Jerry Sienfeld:

Valued at – $32 Million

Jerry Sienfeld, the famous stand-up comedian and wife Jessica bought singer Billy Joels’ home for whopping $32 million. This house is situated in The Hamptons (East), New York. This expensive property spans over 12 acres of land and features some interesting entities. It is renowned for its one-of-a-kind baseball field. This lavish house includes 22 garages, den, nursery room and playroom. This water-front house of Seinfeld also has a guesthouse and a pool. In the year 2007, OK magazine called his house the “best partying house in the Hamptons.”

5) Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Valued at-$23.5 million

Hollywood’s action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his ex-wife Maria Shriver had a very lovely home in Brentwood County, California. This extravagant home was bought for a whopping of $18 million in 2003, and since then, the value of the property has only appreciated. Apparently worth $23.5 million now, this house is spread over 2.5 acres of land or over 14,500 square feet. This palatial abode features around 10 bathrooms, 7 bedrooms, tennis court, spa, a pool and duck pond with natural stream. This house has a Mediterranean-style compound and a full-sized guest house and also been said that the house is “totally private and secluded.” This former couple’s home was also on the list of ‘elite homes on sale.’

6) Will Smith:

Valued at-$20 million

Hollywood celebrity couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s dream house in California is one of the most spacious as well as expensive. Smith lovingly calls their house as ‘Calabasas Castle.’ This house is located in Santa Monica Mountains, Calabasas, California. The couple’s palatial house is so big that sometimes it jokingly said that it has its own zip code – the American version of our pin codes. This residential property spans over 63 acres of land and occupies an area of 11,000 square feet. Calabasas Castle has few distinct features such as a bar in every room of the house, golf course, tennis court, basketball court, a huge swimming pool and a man-made lake.

7) Shah Rukh Khan:

Valued At- 17.84 crore (approx)

Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan may have one spacious abode in Mumbai, but this doesn’t stop him from being the proud owner of a Signature Villa on ‘The Palm Jumeirah’ worth 17.84 crore. This expensive house, he claims it as a gift for his endorsement of the ‘The Palm Jumeirah,’ the man-made Island. This house features six bedrooms, two remote control car garages, a swimming pool and private access to the beach. This lavish villa in Dubai spreads over 8500 square feet and occupies 14000 square feet of plots. Khan likes to visit this villa with his family as the place provides privacy for his family.

8) Pink:

Valued At- $11.8 million

Singer Pink and her husband Carey Hart invested on a Malibu Mansion for $11.8 million, the time when the couple was expecting their first baby. This beautiful mansion is located in Malibu, California and spreads over 6800 square foot. This lavish property is near to the coastline and has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a large swimming pool and five garages.

9) Jay Z and Beyonce:

Valued at-$20 million

This couple has a beautiful lavish home on a private island worth $20 million. The same island which singer Jay z gifted his pretty wife Beyonce on her 29^th birthday. This private island is located off-shore Florida and spreads over 12.5 acres of land. This expensive house features world-class amenities and offers breathtaking views of the landscape.

10) Salman Khan:

Valued at- 32 crore

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has recently invested on a triplex worth 32 crore, which is near to Shahrukh Khan’s house Mannat. Apparently, he has not shifted to his new home on a 28-storey building named ‘The Adress,’ which is also near to this current home at Galaxy apartments. This property spreads over 9763 square feet of area and is still under construction, according to sources.

Top 10 Banned Foods around the World

While we are usually allowed to pick what we choose to eat, a few foodstuffs have been deemed so controversial that they have been banned from sale. An astonishing number of these items have been banned because of believed negative effects on the health, safety and welfare of customers and to protect the particular species of animal concerned. Here is a list on some of the foods that have been banned in some or the other part of the world.

Foie Gras

A delicacy made from duck or goose liver is banned in Turkey, the European Union, and Israel because of a process called force-feeding. The birds are force-fed corn mash or some other type of fatty food about 8 days before they are slaughtered to enlarge the liver and give it a fatty consistency to make Foie Gras.

Citing cruelty to animals, as these birds are not habituated to consuming so much food, many countries have banned this food item. Nevertheless, Foie Gras is readily available in many of these countries.

Shark Finns

Still in the process of being banned worldwide, Shark Fin delicacies and slicing of shark fins are now banned in the Scottish and U.K. waters. The practice has been banned entirely in Hawaii as 60,000 sharks were killed off the waters of Hawaii every year. To protect the dwindling species an outright ban has been put against the unnecessary barbaric act. Shark Fins are usually used in shark fin soup, which was considered a luxury meal in many Asian countries.

Uncertified Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Tooth fish)

Banned in 24 countries for the fact that it was extremely popular in restaurants and houses and many feared it would become endangered. Known for being extremely delicious due to the flaky white flesh and a high fat content, the Chilean Sea Bass are sometimes caught and sold for extremely high prices illegally and are also raised in fish farms. Many countries have a limit on who can import the fish.

Sassafras

A widely used plant in treating ailments, aromatherapy, cure a cold and as a cure for syphilis by Indian tribes, Sassafras was banned in the 1960s. All uses of sassafras and any ingredient made out of it, especially Safrole- colourless or slightly black oil extracted from the root bark or the fruit- was banned as it was possibly carcinogenic. Rats given sassafras during lab experiments contracted liver cancer determining its possibility of being carcinogenic.

Stevia

Commonly known as sweet leaf or sugar leaf, Stevia is a plant based sweetener banned in America, European Union, Singapore andHong Kong. It was banned on the belief that it was an “unsafe food additive”. Stevia is believed to have positive health effects like weight loss and lowered blood sugar levels. The ban on Stevia was later removed under the provision that it would be labeled a dietery supplement instead of a food additive. It is also said to apparently cause cancer but was failed to be backed with scientific evidence.

Absinthe

Gradually banned around the world in the 1800s due to a large increase in violence, mental illness and hallucinations, Absinthe made its comeback in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The 20th century researchers looked at absinthe and considered it to be extremely unsafe.
Though traditional absinthe is no longer made, the spirit is still distilled in many countries, particularly the Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, and Spain. In 2008, about 200 different types of absinthe were available.

Red Fish

New Orleans Chef Paul Prudhomme publicized his recipe for blackened redfish in 1980 sparking a redfish craze during the time. The recipe became so popular (still very popular till date!), that it threatened the redfish stock and in July 1986, a ban was placed on selling of the fish and all fisheries were shut down to allow the fish to naturally rebuild their population in U.S.A. The only state exempt from the federal law banning the selling of the fish for profit is Mississippi.

Puffer Fish

Known as Fugu in Asian countries ad blowfish otherwise is banned in many countries as the internal organs and a few body parts are highly poisonous. If you eat a wrong part of this fish or consume a poisonous part of the fish, you are likely to die from tetrodotoxin- a neurotoxin that destroys body’s nerve tissue paralyzing the body and causing asphyxiation.
In 1603-1868 the Tokugawa shogunate prohibited the consumption of Fugu, but this law died down as the shogunate’s power decreased. In the European Union, selling or consuming this fish is strictly prohibited. In the U.S., it is illegal to sell, harvest, or serve the fish without having a license to do so. This was enacted in 2002.

Beluga Caviar

Much like the redfish listed, the Beluga sturgeon was becoming endangered, and a ban was imposed on the import of Beluga Caviar from the Caspian Sea in 2005 by the United States. The ban was lifted in 2007 with restrictions, allowing 96 tons of caviar to be sold worldwide. Although, spotting this caviar I just as difficult as spotting the sturgeon fish itself.

 Beluga Caviar can be found sold online from many vendors or in one of those expensive restaurants serving a tiny spoon of the caviar for a huge amount.

Horse Meat

Considered a taboo food in countries like the U.S., Ireland, Australia, Canada,and throughout various cultural groups around the world, Horse meat, though banned, horse slaughter goes on everyday in the U.S. as well as the U.K. The southern states in America are known for their slaughterhouses where the meat is sold to other countries. The slaughter and consumption of horse meat was banned as they are seen as companions and sports animals.