The Toilet House of South Korea

There’s a house in South Korea that’s designed to look like a toilet. The “toilet house,” as it’s called, was built in 2007 by Sim Jae-deok, who later became chairman and founder of…….wouldn’t you know it…….the World Toilet Association. The toilet-shaped house is in Suwon, which is about 25 miles south of Seoul. While Sim was famously called "Mr. Toilet" and the house nicknamed the toilet house, that's not its official name. Instead, Sim named it Haewoojae, which signifies in Korean "a place of sanctuary where one can solve one's worries." The $1.6 million house has two bedrooms, two guest rooms, and three "deluxe" bathrooms. The entire 4,520-square-foot house is made of steel, white concrete, and glass. It also has a symbolic bowl-like opening in the roof. Sim died in 2009. He was 70 years old, which means he was only able to enjoy his famous toilet-shaped house for two years. However, the house lives on. Today it's a museum that not only tells the story of the history of toilets but is also used as an art gallery. Should you want to spend the night there, the house can be rented for a mere $50,000.

 

 

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The World’s Most Famous Diamond and How It Was Tossed Out a Window

On January 26, 1905, a glint in a South African mine wall changed diamond history forever. Exactly 121 years later, the Cullinan Diamond still dazzles — not just because it remains the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered, but because its origin story includes a few moments so improbable they sound almost fictional. Weighing 3,106 carats — more than 1.3 pounds and often described as roughly the size of a human heart — the Cullinan’s journey from mine wall to crown jewel is packed with strange twists. Perhaps the least-reported tale is also the most shocking. After the stone was removed from the Premier Mine near Pretoria, it made its way to a mine office for inspection. There, a skeptical manager reportedly dismissed it as a worthless chunk of glass or crystal. Diamonds, after all, simply weren’t that big. So what did he do? According to long-standing lore, he threw it out the window. The stone was retrieved, examined more carefully, and confirmed to be the real thing. When the Cullinan was purchased by the Transvaal government and destined for King Edward VII as a birthday gift, security concerns reached a fever pitch. To thwart thieves, officials staged an elaborate ruse: a fake diamond, guarded by police, was shipped aboard a steamer amid great publicity. The real Cullinan? It traveled quietly to England in an ordinary parcel sent through the mail. Both arrived safely — proving that sometimes the simplest solution is the safest.

 

Queen Mary, the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the Cullinan diamond

 

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Norway’s EV Success Story

Norway is leading the way for a transition to zero emissions in transportation. Beginning in 2025, all cars sold in the country must be zero-emission, meaning electric or hydrogen. By the end of 2025, 95.5% of all new passenger cars sold were fully electric. Part of the country’s success is the incentives they offer. Here are just some of the incentives that Norway offers to EV owners:

• No sales/import tax on EVs.

• No road tax.

• Ferry fares are 50% off for EV drivers.

• Toll roads only charge 50% for EV drivers.

• Free municipal parking.

• Free access to bus lanes.

• Free charging stations for people living in apartment buildings.

For longer distance trips, a well-organized charging network has been put in place. There are fast charging stations on all main roads in Norway. As of middle of 2026, nearly 11,000 cars can fast-charge at the same time. Norway seems to be doing everything right, which is why the majority of their citizens drive electric vehicles.

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The Last of the Iron Lungs

On June 8, 1953, Martha Lillard celebrated her fifth birthday with a party at an amusement park in Oklahoma. A little over a week later, she woke up with a sore throat and a pain in her neck. Her family took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with polio. She spent six months in the hospital, where she was put in a giant metal tank — a ventilator informally called an iron lung — to help her breathe. To this day, Lillard is one of the last people in the U.S. who still depends on an iron lung to survive. Now, 73 years later, an iron lung is still keeping Lillard alive — she sleeps in it every night. While many people who had polio or post-polio syndrome either weaned themselves off the machines or switched to another form of ventilator, Lillard never did. "I've tried all the forms of ventilation, and the iron lung is the most efficient and the best and the most comfortable way,” she said. Today, Lillard spends much of her time alone. She paints, watches old Hollywood movies, and takes care of her beagles. Although some of her life experiences were limited, Lillard thanks a childhood friend named Karen Rapp for teaching her to appreciate small things. One thing she’s definitely grateful for is the iron lung. "It's what sustains me. It's what heals me. It's what allows me to breathe the next day," Lillard says. "I look at it as a friend, as a very dear friend.”

 

 

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