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Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo’s Ice Sculptures of Melting Men great artwork is cool … literally! In this art installation, Nele created hundreds of sitting figures out of ice – the installation lasted till the last one melted in the heat of the day.

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Old School

There was a time when tall stone walls and ramparts were needed for protection from invading armies, lifestyles have changed haven’t they? Fortunately, as you can see in these stunningly vivid castle pictures below, some have survived for decades and are standing today, a reminder of how life used to be.

Castle Caerlaverock

Caerlaverock Castle is a triangular moated castle dating back to the 13th century located south of Dumfries in the south west of Scotland. John de Maccuswell, deceased in 1241, was first Lord Maxwell of Caerlaverock and its proximity to the English border resulted in its being sieged several times, most notably by Edward I of England.

Interesting fact: Caerlaverock was defended vigorously though defeated. Upon surrendering it was found that only 60 men had kept the entire English army at bay for a prolonged period of time, a testament to its design.

Castle Dunluce

Dunluce Castle was first built in the 1200s by Richard de Burgh, the Earl of Ulsterand, and is a medieval castle located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Dunluce castle is only accessible via bridge from the mainland because it sits atop a bassalt outcropping with extremely steep sides, perfect for defence.

Interesting fact: In the 1600s the kitchen area, next to the cliff face, collapsed into the sea and it is rumored that only one small kitchenboy survived because he was sitting in the corner that didn’t fall in.

Castle Babelsberg

Babelsberg Castle, considered the main castle in Park Babelsberg but only one of several, is located in Germany and was originally built as a small summer palace for Prince William of Prussia circa 1800s. It later served as a paleontology museum from 1966 until the end of the Cold War. Today the location is part of the Potsdam World Heritage Site.

Interesting fact: It survived world war II without much damage only to fall into disrepair during the cold war era. It is being restored to it’s 19th century glory.

Castle Beaumaris

Beaumaris Castle was built in Beaumaris, on the island of Anglesey, beginning in 1295 for King Edward I by Master James of St George however it was never finished. The castle was the last of several castles built in the area designed to defend the royal home. Its design is of the double wall concept where the outer walls house an inside building which is effectively a very defendable castle unto it’s own. With 14 layers of defense Beaumaris Castle is considered near perfect.

Interesting fact: A “Gate-next-sea” protected a tidal dock that allowed ships to dock with the castle for re-supply.

Castle Eilean Donan

Eilean Donan Castle was built as a defence for Alexander II from attacks by the vikings in 1220. In 1719 the castle was destroyed by three royal navy frigates after the castle had fallen into Spanish hands and was then re-built, 200 years later, by Lt. Col. John MacRae-Gilstrap.

Interesting fact: Eilean Donan castle has appeared in several movies including Highlander (1985), Loch Ness (1996) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).

Castle Mespelbrunn

Mespelbrunn Castle was built between Frankfurt and Würzburg Germany in 1412 by Echter of Mespelbrunn. The castle is of medieval moated design with Romanesque – renaissance style.

Interesting fact: Mespelbrunn Castle was one of the locations in the film The Spessart Inn – 1958, which is based on a fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff.

Castle Heemstede

Heemstede castle was completed in 1286 on the spaarne river by Dirk van Hoylede in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been built, burned down and rebuilt several times over the centuries and it was last torn down in 1810, after years of neglect. Today it is a restaurant. [image source: (Erik)]

Interesting fact: Families in the area often moved away during hot summer months to avoid canal fever from the putrid local canals.

Castle Werfen

Werfen Castle, aka Hohenwerfen castle, was built near Salzburg Austria during the 11th century by wealthy archbishops in order to protect the city. Today you can tour this beautiful fortress in the Salzachtal and visit the weapons room museum and a renovated prince’s room.

Interesting fact: The worlds largest glacial caves are nearby and also open to tourism but you’ll have to brave the steepest cableway in Austria to reach them.

Edinburgh Castle

Castle Edinburgh dates back to the 9th century BC although nothing of it remains from that period. It is now Scotlands second most visited tourist attractions and it towers over the city of Edinburgh from it’s location on Castle Rock mountain. The castle has seen a lot of military activity over the years and still houses a garrison of soldiers albeit mostly for ceremonial purposes.

Perhaps it’s most notable change of hands occurred in 1314 when Robert the Bruce hand picked 30 men to re-capture it from King Edward I of England by climbing the north precipice at night and catching it’s defenders off guard. The re-take was successful but Robert the Bruce ordered it’s defences immediately destroyed to prevent further capture.

Castle Matsumoto

Matsumoto Castle, also known as Fukashi Castle, is located within the city of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture and can be dated back to the warring states period circa 1504. Matsumoto Castle is a short travel from Tokyo Japan and is sometimes called the ‘crow castle’ by tourists because of its dark color and wing-like roofline. I’m not up to speed on the extensive history of the area, I wish I was, but if you are please share your historical information in a comment below.

Interesting fact: In 1872 Matsumoto Castle was sold at auction which rendered it vulnerable to being dismantled but it was spared that fate and is now a National Treasure of Japan.

Andrew Zimmern kicks off the new season of Bizarre Foods with a trip to the beautiful Tanzania. Here he tries some of the traditional local fare, including soup with goat lungs, heart, and liver, and cow stomach, intestines and tongue. Tune in Tuesday, April 14th, at 10 E/P! www.travelchannel.com

Eating food when you’re stoned is like having a thousand orgasms in your mouth all at once (maybe I worded that incorrectly), and during our extensive research sessions in preparation for this article, we discovered a collection of foods that we feel stimulate the stoned palate more than any other delicacy on earth. These, in our opinion, are the 7 best foods to eat when you’re stoned:

Pop Tarts

For most of us, Pop Tarts are the foundation of our understanding of what a pastry is. You can pop them in the toaster for a simultaneously crispy and gooey treat, or you can eat them raw, right out of the thin aluminum wrapper, just like the astronauts eat! The extensive variety of Pop Tart flavors can appeal to nearly any taste, whether it be the traditional Cherry, S’mores-flavored, or even the brown sugar ones with the diahrrea-colored frosting. They also come in two-packs, and there’s nothing better when you’re high than suddenly remembering you actually have twice as much food as you thought you did.

The Super-Special Recipe: For a real flavor kick, try toasting a couple of Pop Tarts, and then spreading butter on them while they’re piping hot. The butter will melt into the frosting and create an unfathomable concoction of goodness.

Sonic’s Chili-Cheese Tater Tots

Anyone who’s fortunate enough to live near a Sonic Drive-In can verify that Sonic’s regular menu is basically a Stoner Paradise, but their Chili-Cheese Tater Tots are easily the top contender. They’re reasonably priced, so that you can get about 5 orders of these puppies before you’re even approaching the price of a normal fast food meal, and the dish contains three stoner staples: chili, cheese, and tater tots, a flavor combination that kicks you in the face like the love-child of a rabid kangaroo and the physical manifestation of awesomeness.

The Super-Special Recipe: Throw a handful of Fritos (or Chili-Cheese Fritos, if you’re feeling extra bold) into the mix for an added crunchiness and a little bit of a salty flavor that might make you pass out from sheer mouth ecstasy.

Late Night Jalapeno Popper Doritos

The most amazing thing about this flavor of Doritos is that they actually taste exactly like jalapeno poppers late at night. I don’t know how it’s possible, but the people at Doritos (who have to be high all the time) have really outdone themselves this time. There’s another flavor in the Doritos “Late Night” collection, called Taco Stand or something like that. That one is pretty good, too, but the jalapeno poppers are so tasty they’ll make your balls tingle a little bit, and the best part is that they’re incredibly easy to find when you’re stumbling through the grocery store, blazed out of your mind and looking for something to munch on; they’ll be the only product on the chip aisle that’s in a black bag with neon light lettering on it. Well-played, Doritos, well-played.

The Super Special Recipe: Two words: QUESO DIP.

Bagel Bites

Bagel Bites are easily in the top five greatest inventions of the century. It goes: bikinis, television, video games, rubbermaid furniture, and Bagel Bites. They’re adorably bite-sized, packed full of flavor and texture, and you can get a box of thirty of these little buggers at your local grocery store for under $10. That means that you and three of your closest friends can enjoy a feast of nearly 100 Bagel Bites for around $8 each.

The Super-Special Recipe: Remember that half of a jar of pasta sauce that’s just sitting in your fridge? Well, it will compliment Bagel Bites perfectly.

Gatorade

You know those soap commercials on TV, where it shows the guy sniffing the soap and then he suddenly gets hit in the face with spring water, or snow, or whatever else can be used as an analogy for freshness, and then it comes back to the guy in the store, and he makes a face like, “Woah, that’s fresh!” and then he puts the soap in his cart? Well, imagine if that commercial was in 3-D, because that’s what it’s like to drink Gatorade when you’re high. It doesn’t matter what flavor you choose, your Gatorade is going to taste awesome. Maybe it’s the electrolytes. Maybe it’s the subtle fruity goodness. Maybe it’s the cool shaped bottle…or maybe it’s all part of Gatorade’s devious little plan to– no, on second thought, it’s probably the electrolytes.

The Super-Special Recipe: Gatorade pops, anyone? Try pouring some gatorade into a cup and leaving it in the freezer for a couple of hours to make delicious gatorade popsicles. You can try putting a stick in them when their partially frozen, but you’d better try that before you start smoking, because it’ll be way too complicated when you’re high. Otherwise, just let it freeze and eat it with a spoon.

Jack In The Box’s Taco Nachos

Somewhere deep within the bowels of Jack in the Box’s headquarters, there’s a super-blazed kid sitting in a room somewhere, and a bunch of scientists keep bringing strange concoctions of food into him and saying “How does this taste? Is it good? Would you buy it?”. Of course, the kid is super-blazed, so he says yes to everything, and that’s why you can go to Jack in the Box and get a hamburger, or tacos, or egg rolls, or a teriyaki bowl, or a breakfast chicken sandwich at any hour of the day. The undisputed champion of Jack in the Box’s incredibly stoner-friendly menu is, without a doubt, their new Taco Nachos. Basically, they’ve taken a bunch of their tacos (already a tried-and-true stoner favorite), dumped a bucket-full of nacho cheese on them, and garnished it with jalapenos. This one is going to hurt on the way out, but going in, it’ll be pure bliss.

The Super-Special Recipe: Just add Hot Sauce.

Hawaiian Shave Ice

I used to work at a Shave Ice stand in Arizona. About 75% of the customers on any given day were clearly stoned out of their minds, and now I know exactly why: shave ice is great when you’re sober, but when you’re high, it is f*&kin’ incredible. Shave ice is different than a sno-cone, because the ice is shaved off of a large cube with a razor blade, not chipped away with an ice pick, like a sno-cone. That means that it has a much softer texture, and it absorbs juice a lot better than a sno-cones do, and stays frozen longer as well. Also, most shave ice places have a wide assortment of flavors, aside from just your standard sno-cone flavors. Obviously, shave ice is not as readily available as some of the other items on this list, and it may be hard (or impossible) to find, depending on where you live and what time of year it is, but that makes the experience that much more magical: when you find a shave ice stand and you’re incredibly high, it’s like the stars have aligned. Cherish that moment.

The Super-Special Recipe: Most shave ice places will give you two flavors for free, so experiment and have a blast. It’s virtually impossible to f*ck it up with the wrong flavors, because it’s going to be delicious no matter what. My personal favorite has to be cherry and green apple. It sounds a little basic, but the sweet and sour combination in those two flavors is unbelievable. Some shave ice places will also offer cream on top of it, which will blow your f*&kin’ mind!