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It’s no surprise that Maxim has crowned Bar Refaeli #1 on its annual Hot 100 list. The Israeli supermodel received “millions of votes” from readers, propelling her up from the #6 spot she held last year. We’ve listed Maxim’s top 30 below, and you can see the full list at Maxim.com.
She Ping attempts a new record.
Fearless Chinese beekeeper She Ping attempted a new world record last week, covering himself in a 73 lb. bee suit – an estimated 331,000 bees total. According to China Daily, local media reported that Ping had smashed the previous Chinese record of 53 lbs., set in 2008.
But Ping’s taste of sweet victory didn’t last. As the Huffington Post reports:
“A representative from Guinness World Records told The Huffington Post that a record set in 2009 still stands.
The “Heaviest Mantle of Bees,” as it’s called, weighed 135.4 pounds and was comprised of an estimated 613,500 bees. Vipin Seth set the record in India on March 9, 2009, according to Guinness World Records.”
Too bad all the buzz may have been for nothing.
Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images
One of the world’s most fiercely debated paintings just became even more mysterious. Artist Ron Piccirillo recently discovered “a secret that has been hiding for five hundred years” — three animal heads in the landscape of the Mona Lisa. Piccirillo claims to have figured out Leonardo da Vinci’s “secret vantage point” for viewing paintings, which revealed the ghost-like animal images.
See them for yourself. Here’s the original Mona Lisa:
The original Mona Lisa
And here are the hidden pictures. Clockwise: An ape, a lion, and a buffalo.
Clockwise: An ape, a lion, and a buffalo. Photo: thehiddenhorsehead.com
Piccirillo explains more of the mysteries behind the Mona Lisa and expands on the evidence behind his theories in a recent post on his site, The Hidden Horse Head.
H/T Buzzfeed
After a painful 749-day losing streak, Tiger Woods is finally back on top. The golfer eked out a one stroke victory Sunday in the Chevron World Challenge, finishing up four rounds of solid play with a birdie-birdie finish on the final two holes. In fact, Woods only made one glaring mistake yesterday, and it had nothing to do with his golf game.
What the what?! (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
Looking at the top half of this photo, nothing seems amiss — Tiger celebrating a hard-fought victory while wearing his signature red shirt, paired with black slacks and topped off with a matching black vest and cap. But the bottom half of the picture is another story. Black socks to match the pants, and then…white shoes. Oh yes, he went there. But why?! With his Nike mega-endorsement, it’s not like Woods doesn’t have an endless supply of perfectly good black golf shoes sitting around at his disposal. You’d think that the world’s most famous golfer, anticipating one of the most photographed and talked-about moments of his career, might have taken the time to match his outfit. Or at the very least, get a second opinion from his caddy.
An all-black ensemble with white shoes is a fashion faux pas of the highest order. The only thing worse might be a brown belt with black pants (and since Woods’ vest is covering his waistband, we can’t be entirely sure he isn’t rocking one of those, too).
A Marc Jacobs perfume advertisement featuring teenage actress Dakota Fanning has been banned in the UK, following several complaints that the photograph sexualized children. In the ad for Jacobs’ new fragrance “Oh, Lola!,” Fanning poses in a lace dress, an oversized bottle of perfume placed suggestively between her legs.
The banned advertisement. Photo: Marc Jacobs
The UK Advertising Standards Authority released a statement, saying:
“We noted that the model was holding up the perfume bottle which rested in her lap between her legs and we considered that its position was sexually provocative. We understood the model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the age of 16. We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality. Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualize a child.”
For its part, the perfume’s maker Coty defends the ad, telling The Telegraph “[they] did not believe the ad suggested the model was underage or that it was ‘inappropriately sexualized’ as it didn’t show any ‘private body parts or sexual activity,’” and that “the giant perfume bottle…was ‘provoking, but not indecent.’”
Though she got her start as a child actress in films like “Charlotte’s Web” and “Uptown Girls,” Fanning, 17, is no stranger to controversial roles. In 2006, at just 12 years old, she filmed an explicit rape scene for indie film “Hounddog.” Then, in 2010′s “The Runaways,” Fanning portrayed a teenage rocker struggling with drug addiction. The film also gained publicity from a lesbian kiss between Fanning and actress Kristen Stewart.
What do you think? Does Fanning’s perfume ad cross the line?
The creepy fish pictured below might seem like a Halloween hoax, but rest (un)assured…the photos are 100% real.
As reported by National Geographic, marine biologists in Mexico have confirmed that the strange creature is indeed a rare “cyclops shark.” The shark was discovered by an unsuspecting fisherman, who cut the one-eyed fetus from the belly of a pregnant dusky shark he caught in the Gulf of California earlier this year. Since cyclops sharks have never been caught outside the womb, it’s unlikely that this little guy would have survived in the wild.
Since the confirmation, photos of the cyclops shark have gone viral, appearing on Yahoo, Huffington Post, and elsewhere around the web (including my Facebook news feed, which was a nice lunchtime surprise). Scroll down if you’d like to see the the photos, but be warned – they’re the stuff of nightmares.
All photos courtesy of National Geographic.
The 22-inch-long (56-centimeter-long) fetus has a single, functioning eye at the front of its head—the hallmark of a congenital condition called cyclopia, which occurs in several animal species, including humans. Photograph Courtesy Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez.
The cyclops shark is pictured next to one of its siblings, which is normally colored, with a blue-gray back and white underside. Photograph Courtesy Enrique Lucero León.
Fisher Enrique Lucero León holds the cyclops shark next to researcher Bejarano-Álvarez. Photograph Courtesy Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez.
More photos available here, if you dare.
If you think Photoshopping is reserved for flashy advertisements and glossy magazine covers, think again – even politicians can’t escape the wrath of the digital airbrush. Case in point: First-year Canadian MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan is currently at the center of a Photoshopping controversy after someone deemed her cleavage too sexy for Parliament.
Photo: House of Commons
According to Canadian blog Contrarian, an intrepid reader performed a Google image search for Sitsabaiesan and came across the thumbnail pictured at left. When the reader clicked through to Sitsabaiesan’s offical Parliament profile, he found a modified version of the headshot which had been retouched to remove her curves, pictured below. This suggests that the original photo was altered for being too hot to handle.
Photo: House of Commons
Sitsabaiesan is only in her first year on the job, but has already earned praise for her confidence and poise. Unfortunately, her talent is being overshadowed by the curiously cropped photo and its ramifications for women in the political world. Critics argue that the alteration was anti-feminist, and that that the cleavage was removed to make Sitsabaiesan appear less womanly. On the other hand, many believe that the photo was inappropriate to begin with and showed disrespect for what is admittedly a very formal workplace. Both sides of the debate have their merits, but as a working woman, I’d definitely raise an eyebrow at anyone who came into the office showing as much cleavage as Sitsabaiesan did in the original photograph. Perhaps a more conservative outfit choice would have staved off the initial distraction of the low-cut shirt, and more importantly, the subsequent Photoshopping controversy.
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.
From the outrageous red carpet costumes to the daring performances, the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards were, once again, more of a circus than a proper awards show. But this year’s buzziest moment didn’t come from a dress made of meat or a Kanye-style interruption. Beyonce stole the show by announcing her pregnancy in true diva style – cradling her stomach on the red carpet and teasing reporters, ‘I have a surprise!” – then proceeding to give a flawless performance of her hit “Love On Top,” showing off her baby bump to an audience of millions. It will be the first child for Beyonce and husband Jay-Z, who was also present to give a surprise performance of “Otis.”
Beyonce’s big news was hard to top, but plenty of other artists created buzz at Sunday’s awards. Lady Gaga skipped the usual red carpet appearance to prepare for her opening number, dressing as greaser alter ego “Joe Calderone.” The “Born This Way” singer, who took home several moonmen, continued her drag act for the duration of the show, Italian accent and all. Though Gaga kept it casual in a jeans and tee (for possibly the first time ever!), Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj were happy to fill in the crazy outfit gap. Perry had several costume changes; her final number included a cheese cube hat that Perry precariously balanced as she accepted the Video of the Year award for “Firework.” Minaj looked like a walking rainbow, rocking a space-age geometric bodice and accessories straight from the toy store.
Check out the gallery below to see more of the best moments from tonight’s show, including Chris Brown’s high-flying performance, Justin Bieber’s pet snake, and an emotional tribute to Amy Winehouse.
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