Colombia

February 14th 2011

This 100-ft Long Sub Was Built To Carry 8 Tons of Colombian Cocaine

When you need to transport eight tons of cocaine across international waters, you can’t exactly just pay an extra baggage fee. So Colombian drug lords did the sensible—and trendy—thing: they spent 4,000 million pesos (approx $2.2 million) to build their own drug-trafficktacular submersible. Colombian authorities seized the vessel before it could make its way to…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 14 '11

January 3rd 2011

Colombian man is holding a census for ghosts

Undertaker William Betancur’s a man with a mission. His quest? To catalog the entire population of specters, apparitions, and poltergeists in the Colombian city of Medellin. So far 215 ghosts have been cataloged and 23 were photographed or recorded. Betancur embarked on this project after he sensed his ghostly dog wandering around his funeral parlor.…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jan 3 '11

December 25th 2010

The strangest ways Christmas has been used for psychological warfare

For decades, militaries have weaponized Christmas songs, symbols, and sentimentality for psychological warfare and propaganda purposes. Here are some bizarre tales about ersatz Christmas cards during World War II, controversial Christmas trees, and decking the halls in the Colombian jungle. 1.) The Korean DMZ Christmas Tree This week, South Korea lit up a 95-foot-tall metal…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Dec 25 '10

December 3rd 2010

The Life and Times of a Colombian Cocaine Submarine Captain

Gustavo Alonso was the captain of a cocaine submarine based in Colombia, until he was arrested at sea with 3.5 tons of coke on board. He soon realized that solitary confinement in prison was better than working for the cartels. German weekly Der Spiegel interviewed “Alonso,” who spoke on condition of anonymity for obvious reasons.…

Tech News Jeff Neumann Dec 3 '10

September 24th 2010

How They Found and Killed the Bloodiest Narcoterrorist In the World

This Thursday, Mono Jojoy was killed in his secret jungle base. He was the military boss of narcoterrorist group FARC, responsible for the deaths and kidnappings of thousands of people in Colombia. Caught and killed thanks to a boot. Víctor Julio Suárez aka Jorge Briceño Suárez aka Mono Jojoy, born in 1953, was the big…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Sep 24 '10

August 17th 2010

How Did Only One Person Die in This Insane Plane Crash?

This plane crashed in the Caribbean on Monday. It broke into three pieces. Of the 125 passengers, only one died. How is that possible? (If you say “Jacob” I will kill you.) http://gawker.com/5537097/lost-wtf-of-the-week-adam–eve The plane may have been struck by lightning before crashing while landing on a runway on St. Andres, a Colombian island in…

Tech News Max Read Aug 17 '10

July 31st 2010

Colombia’s Caño Cristales is a river of psychedelic algae

For most of the year, Caño Cristales in Serrania de La Macarena, Colombia is a normal river. But for a brief period between the wet and dry seasons, Caño Cristales explodes with kaleidoscopic algae straight out of another dimension. From Atlas Obscura: Caño Cristales is a succession of rapids, waterfalls, and manholes with a water…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Jul 31 '10

April 18th 2010

Colombian Artist Storms Bogota with Nude Art-Displaying iPad Necklace

A man walking around at night with an iPad lanyard around his neck, displaying semi-nude artwork, could be seen as a meandering perv. Or, as was the case in Bogota, the man is Claudio Arango, and he’s an artist. Office dwellers, before pushing play please note that there are grainy, painted/pixelated boobs in this video:…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 18 '10

May 29th 2008

OLPC To Become Colombia’s Finest Import

OLPC has agreed to supply 65 thousand XO computers to the state of Caldas, Colombia, providing an injection of technology to a rural area of the country. The first 15,000 will be distributed throughout the most remote areas of the state by the end of 2008, while the remaining 50,000 will be offered in the…

Tech News Adrian Covert May 29 '08

April 15th 2008

DiY Public Library Is a Low-Tech Beauty

A new library in Casanera, Colombia shows us what humankind might have built with sticks and stones if they’d never discovered bricks, steel, and electricity. The Villanueva Public Library was built on a modest budget, designed by a bunch of university students in Bogota. And instead of importing fancy, expensive materials, builders used local timber…

io9 LISA KATAYAMA Apr 15 '08

March 31st 2008

A Greenhouse Made of Steel

Who said nature has to be pristine and untouched by technology? The Orquideorama is a giant steel-and-wood structure recently built in the middle of a more traditional botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia. It consists of a series of modular, honeycomb-like “flower-tree” structures. The hexagonal “flowers” actually serve an important function—they collect rainwater and distribute it…

io9 LISA KATAYAMA Mar 31 '08

February 28th 2008

Stonehenge Structures Make Cool New Skyscrapers

Colombian architect Giancarlo Mazzanti was commissioned to build a new modern library in Santo Domingo. But instead of making the facade a shiny, multi-dimensional steel thing that stuck out like a sore thumb, he created these three giant artificial rocks. It’s a kind of urban-Stonehenge look, mixing ancient paganism with the ultra-modern. The rocks are…

io9 LISA KATAYAMA Feb 28 '08

November 21st 2007

Homemade Cocaine-Smuggling Sub: Party Time on Das Boot

When it comes to the millions of dollars involved in smuggling drugs, even coked out dealers can tackle a big, complicated project. Recently, Colombian marines seized a homemade fiberglass submarine big enough to hold 4 crew members and 12 metric tons of cocaine —making it one of the largest such crafts found. Since the sub…

Tech News Sean Fallon Nov 21 '07

August 29th 2007

1200-Feet High Zip Line the School Bus for Colombian Kids

There’s a South African zip line that claims to be the highest one in the world. But how about this one that takes Colombian kids from their hillside village to school? Well, faced with one minute of eyeball-spinning terror 1200 feet above the jungle, or a two-and-a-half hour hike, which one would you take? [Spluch]…

Gadgets AddyDugdale Aug 29 '07

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This 100-ft Long Sub Was Built To Carry 8 Tons of Colombian Cocaine

Colombian man is holding a census for ghosts

The strangest ways Christmas has been used for psychological warfare

The Life and Times of a Colombian Cocaine Submarine Captain

How They Found and Killed the Bloodiest Narcoterrorist In the World

How Did Only One Person Die in This Insane Plane Crash?

Colombia’s Caño Cristales is a river of psychedelic algae

Colombian Artist Storms Bogota with Nude Art-Displaying iPad Necklace

OLPC To Become Colombia’s Finest Import

DiY Public Library Is a Low-Tech Beauty

A Greenhouse Made of Steel

Stonehenge Structures Make Cool New Skyscrapers

Homemade Cocaine-Smuggling Sub: Party Time on Das Boot

1200-Feet High Zip Line the School Bus for Colombian Kids

Want more stories like these?

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