Top 10 Unusual Things People Built and Serve a Purpose

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This phrase is never truer than when talking about man made structures. What may seem strange to one actually serves a purpose to another. People have built many things that only they could understand. Sometimes they build the projects for scientific purposes. Other times, they build the things for economic aim. No matter the case for building these unusual things, they usually serve a purpose. Check out below for the top 10 unusual things that people built and are serving a purpose.

#10: Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany

The Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany on the campus of Bremen University may look usual to the outsider. It is a tall tower that is much higher than all the buildings around it. In fact, it is 146 meter tall tower and resembles a smoke stack.^[1]ESA – Drop Towers As its name suggests, the tower serves as a test location for dropping things from a great height in a controlled environment. When something falls, the falling object experiences a short period of weightlessness or micro gravity. Unlike skydiving or going into space, the tower provides scientists from all around the world an opportunity to test their low gravity experiments in a controlled and relatively cheap environment.

#9: Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England

Stonehenge has always been a mystery to modern civilization. We don’t seem to know a lot about it. Historians believe that it was built around 3000 B.C. However, they don’t know a lot more than than. In fact, they don’t know how the heavy stones were brought to the location or even why it was built. One of the most popular theories as to its purpose is that it was used as a type of solar calendar. This is due to the fact that the entrance of the monument faces the direction where the sun rises on the date of the Summer Solstice. Researches believe that Stonehenge tracks the sun and moon in the sky as it moves during the year.

#8: A slide in the office

When going into the office of many hi-tech companies like Google or Facebook, you are bound to see some usual things. These companies have transformed the office environment from cubicle farms to open office inspiring places. They have used studies which show that people work best in open creative environments. Furthermore, the current Millennial generation in the workplace requires that the relaxed culture be more integrated into the workplace.

As such, many of these creative and young technology companies have built slides in their offices.^[2]massey & harris – Products: Slides The same types that you might see young children go down in a playground. Companies build these in order to invest making a more relaxed and creative environment for their, employees, their number one resource. They are making the bet that if they invest in their employees mental health, that they will get better return in work output.

#7: Reading a book in bed without having to prop your head up with a pillow

One of the most unusual things ever invented that actually serves a purpose is a type of glasses that allows you to lie in bed without propping you head up while reading a book. The first device that did this was the Hamblin glasses. It was designed in 1936. The Mablin glasses used a periscope which allowed the reader to lie in bed and look at their book at a 45 degree angle.^[3]Vision Aids in America: A Social History of Eyewear and Sight Correction Since 1900

This great device is great because it supports proper posture in bed. The neck and the spine are some of the most important and delicate parts of your body. If you are not careful, you can hurt yourself very easily. In the worst cases, this can lead to paralysis and even death.

#6: Twin-fuselage aircraft

One of the most unusual things to ever be invented is the twin-fuselage aircraft design. The design looks like two planes glued together tip to tip. However, this aircraft design serves several purposes. First, the twin-fuselage aircraft improves the field of view for the pilot while flying. Second, it decrease the total size of the plane compared to an equivalent single fuselage aircraft. Third, it allowed for shorter development time for high performance fighter planes during WWII. Fourth, the twin fuselage also provides great advantages when carrying payloads. This is especially noticeable in the WhiteKnightTwo when it carries space crafts on the center wing section.

#5: Palm Islands in Dubai

Oil is a limited resource. In fact, according to recent BP oil studies, there is only enough oil left to last 53 years. This means that many countries who get a majority of their income from oil need to figure out a way to diversify their economic plan. For the last several decades, Dubai has done this. The Palm Island was created as part of Dubai’s plan to make itself into a major tourist destination in order to compensate for the decrease in oil revenue ^[4]Visit Dubai – Take time to explore an icon on Dubai’s map. It is a man made island off of the coast of Dubai. It resembles a palm tree when looking at it from the sky.

#4: Ski Dubai indoor skiing arena

Ski Dubai is another perfect example people building unusual things that serve a purpose. It is part of Dubai’s plan, along with the Burj Khalifa and the Palm Islands, to transform its economy from oil to tourism. The strangest thing about Ski Dubai is that it has indoor ski resort located in the middle of the desert. In fact, it gets so hot in Dubai, that the temperatures are easily over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. In addition to the 85 meter tall ski mountain, visitors can also climb an ice tower, ride sleds and toboggans, see penguins, and explore ice caves.^[5]Mall of the Emirates – SKI DUBAI

#3: Loveland on Jeju Island, South Korea

When Korean artists built Loveland on Jeju Island in South Korea, they may have built one of the most unusual things ever. The park is a sculpture park that focuses on sexual themes. In fact, it has various statues explicitly showing various sexual positions and sexual imagery.

However, why would Koreans build a place like this? To better understand why, it is important to know about Jeju Island’s history. During the Cold War, Koreans couldn’t travel outside of the country. Thus, for newly weds, Jeju Island became a very popular honeymoon destination. In addition, due to the Korean Confucian religion customs, arranged marriages were very common. This led to a very subdued and repressed sexual culture.^[6]Spiegel Online –Sex Education in Korea A Phallus Garden in “Love Land” Needless to say, the topic of public sexual education did not exist. Therefore, Jeju Island became a place to help educate the newly married couples on this subject.

#2: Peel P50 miniature car

The Peel P50 car is one of the most unusual things ever. In fact, the original models which Peel Engineering mad in the 60s, still hold the record for the smallest car ever made.^[7]Peel – World’s Smallest Car The 3 wheeled vehicle is only 130 pounds. It can only reach top speeds of 28 mph. With such a low top speed, it isn’t highway safe and you can only drive it around a city. In fact, the original models didn’t even have a reverse gear. If the driver wanted to turn around, they had to get out of the vehicle, pick it up from a handle in the back, and turn it around on the front wheels like a pivot. Fortunately, the modern day version has a reverse gear.

Peel originally made the car because it was extremely fuel efficient. In fact, it can get 118 mpg. It gets such high fuel efficiency solely due to its small size. It doesn’t have to use technologies like solar panels to help.

#1: The Safe House KWK Promes

KWK Promes built the Safe House, one of the unusual things ever built that still serves a purpose. The house is so safe, that it’s nickname is the “Zombie proof house”. The house’s safety functions include a rectangular shape with moving concrete walls that enclose the area.^[8]Robert Konieczny KWK Promes – Residential Buildings When the house is in its enclosed form, there is nothing exposed to the outside. It looks like just a cement cube.