Hasta La Gadget!

The Slow Horse is a hotel in a tiny ski town, which is fitting. It mimics its mountainous Northern Italy setting so closely, it wouldn’t belong anywhere else. More »

Italian archaeologists have made a fascinating discovery, which they announced a few days ago at a conference in Turkey where the discovery was made: the Gate to Hell, or so it is called. Officially named Pluto’s Gate (Ploutonion in Greek), this portal of sorts is filled with foul-smelling fumes that cause near instant death. Also discovered was a nearby pool, which priests and such would stay in overnight to receive visions.

The visions, not surprisingly, were hallucinations caused by breathing in the diluted fumes that wafted from the Gate to Hell into the more open air. In addition to the pool discovery were stairs and a temple, as well as a column and a dedication to Kore and Pluto, lords of the underworld. The stairs are where individuals would watch the rituals performed by the priests who were allowed near the opening.

Individuals were allowed to release birds into the opening to watch them meet their quick fate, and bulls and other animals were often thrust into the opening as part of rituals, being dragged back out after dying via ropes tied to them. The opening has been discussed in many ancient texts, including by Strabo, who wrote in 24 AD: “This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death.”

The discovery was made by Francesco D’Andria of the University of Salento, as well as his team. The portal is still as deadly today as it was thousands of years ago, according to D’Andria, who said that during the excavation process, birds were drawn towards the warm air from the opening, only to die when they got too close. For now, the team is digitally reconstructing the location, which you can see in the rendered image above.

[via Discovery]

Ancient portal to the underworld found in Turkey is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Public transit doesn’t have to be a total bummer if you’ve got a nice enough hub for it all to connect to. That seems to be the logic behind the upcoming 1.5-million-square-foot, San Francisco Transbay Transit Center. Some are calling it the city’ “Grand Central,” and if it lives up to the plans, it’ll certainly be grand. More »

Believe it or not, this is the Dutch Embassy in Ethiopia. It doesn’t look like your average bureaucratic building, but perhaps more government agencies should take cues from not just its unusual aesthetic, but how the architects—Dick van Gameren and Bjarne Mastenbroek—drew influence from two different cultures. More »

Hotello gives new meaning to that expression about someone ‘living out of a suitcase.’ This usually refers to people who can’t find the time to unpack, which is why they grab clothes and other essentials straight out of their suitcase after they get home from a trip. Hotello is basically an entire room in a neat and portable package.

The Hotello was designed by Antonio Scarponi and Robert de Luca for Swiss design group Das Konzept. Everything you need is contained in a red trunk with wheels on the bottom so you can take it around with you easily. When you need to set up your room, just open it up and set up the metal structure to hold up the sound-absorbent curtains.

Pull out the bed, set up the stool and table, and put up the rack where you can hang your clothes. When things get too dark, just flip the switch to turn on the lamp that’s attached to a poseable arm.

The only thing the Hotello lacks is a bathroom – but I think that’s asking for way too much.

[via psfk via C|NET]