Impossible Tightrope Walking Elephant

Ok, how does that thin rope hold the elephant, it looks like it might snap! Tight rope walking is when you walk along a thin rope, normally from quite high up. It is often practised in a circus although normally with humans, not huge elephants!

Incredibly Cute Skateboarding Chick

                                               

He is sooo cute! And he is very good considering that I once fell off a wall trying to stand up on a skate board. The look he's giving, it is so smug and cheeky and adorable! This is probably my favourite image so far.

Some of the main facts on skateboarding.........................

Skateboarding started in the 1950's, when surfers in California decided that it would be good to surf in the streets. It is unclear who made the first board, several people did similar ideas simultaneously and many have claimed to. They started as just wooden boards with wheels, quite hazardous. however, as popularity grew, the designs began to evolve and companies started producing similar designs to those of today. Competitions started in 1963, held by companies for business. Better wheels were invented and popularity was growing, skateboarding had begun.

source:http://skateboard.about.com/cs/boardscience/a/brief_history.htm

Crazy Jet Skiing Meerkat

AH!!! How can he not be petrified? Those Jet Skis go at 60 miles an hour and there is spray 2 meters high. Jet skiing is basically water motor biking. When I tried doing this I closed my eyes and tried to  imagine myself in a different place. Also, does anyone know how that meerkat can hold on, does he have opposable  thumbs?

Some of the important facts about jet skiing.............................

The Jet Ski, or personal watercraft, originated in the 1960's by an "home" inventor who combined small, fast and manoeuvrable to created a high powered watercraft. It was an huge success in the 1970's and it soon became multinational. Since then, it has been updated to create faster, stronger multiperson crafts carrying 2, 3 and even 4 people at am time.

Source:http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/personal-watercraft.html

Wacky Horse Riding Bears

I would be terrified if I was a horse being ridden by a colossal bear! How can they be so relaxed about it? I thought it was supposed to be inbuilt to run from predators such as HUGE BEARS! Do you think that the horses are trotting along calmly or bolting in terror?

The History of Horse Riding........

Actually, the first "tame" horses were kept 10000 years ago in managed herds so that the people could eat without having to hunt. They were not tamed like today but hurt or shackled so that they couldn't run away. The first rides were at around 4200 BC as farmers used them to make it easier to herd livestock. This meant that they could increase the size of their herds and, in extension, their earnings.
Slowly, riding equipment was created, making them horses easier to ride and control. The invention of the wheel meant that horses could pull chariots in races, some of the first of the many competitions riding has inspired. Now, it is one of the best known and most popular sports worldwide.

Source: http://www.lovehorsebackriding.com/history-of-horseback-riding.html

Wicked Surfing Dogs

Okay, so I'm guessing that you know what surfing is. I feel so sorry for those dogs. I wonder how deep the water is and does anyone know how they don't fall off because I can't even stand up on a surf board? Do you think that those dogs would teach me?

Some of the basics on surfing..........

Surfing is one of the oldest practised sports and originated 3000 years ago in Western Polynesia. Actually, the first "surfers" were fishermen who found that coming in on wooden boards was the easiest way to bring in their catches. In the 15th century, the sport of  "wave-sliding" was popular among the rich. The first Polynesian settlers to land in Hawaii were experienced in simple surfing, and after hundreds of years of riding the waves of Hawaii, the famed  Hawaiian form of the sport became popular, leading to it's huge reputation today.

Source: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring04/britton/history.htm

Insane Skydiving Cat

 

This picture was shot by an advertising company.

Skydiving is jumping out of an airplane and free falling before opening up a parachute and  floating down to the ground. I know cats are supposed to like heights but seriously, this seems like animal cruelty. I don't think this cat is exactly happy, judging from its' facial expression.

As many of us are already aware, the airplane was invented by the Wright brothers in 1903 but the parachuting part of skydiving actually originated in China, in the 1100's when people used to jump off natural hills and mountains reasonably safely. Leonardo da Vinci  also came up with a design of a pyramid shaped, wooden framed parachute. The first person ever to jump from an aircraft was Jacques Garnerin who jumped from balloons in the late eighteenth century and performed novelty acts. However, it was taken to a new level when the airplane was invented. The jumps were faster and more spectacular, resulting in new popularity. 

source: http://men-skydiving.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/brief-history-on-skydiving.html

Epic hang gliding dog

Okay, I thought it took serious training to not die when you do this but this guy seems to do it naturally. Hang gliding is basically flying and gliding using the wind to carry you up. It is kind of like being under a giant kite. How he can do that without help I have no idea.  I also wonder whether that dog gave informed consent to take part in a dangerous sport.

Here are some major facts about hang gliding.

In the late 19th century Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer made over 2000 experimental flights on an early glider. This might have been a cause for excitement, however the Wright brothers had just achieved powered flight and Otto was forgotten. However, in the late 1940s,  Dr. Francis Rogallo (a NASA scientist) and his wife became interested in hang gliding. They worked in their spare time to develop the first flexible wing kite, which they invented in 1948. In the 1950's, NASA decided to see if this wing could be used as a steerable parachute for there various space capsules. When the images were releases there was a huge wave of excitement and hundreds of amateurs rushed to build there own gliders. How ever, there was little information avaliable the many attempts were often unsuccesful and hazardeous. Now hang gliding is a common sport in mountainous areas.

Source:http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-hang-gliding.htm