What We Loved This Week, Dec. 13 – 19

Published December 18, 2015
Updated December 17, 2015
Volcano Lightning

A thunderstorm complete with volcanic lightning rages over Mount Etna in Catania, Italy. Image Source: The Atlantic

2015’s Most Astounding Volcanic Eruptions Around The World

Volcano Red Clouds

Due to a massive smoke column over 12 miles high, the eruption of Chile’s Calbuco volcano caused widespread evacuation in the surrounding area. Image Source: The Atlantic

About 50 of the world’s 1,500 or so active volcanoes erupt each year. While 2015 may not have seen more eruptions than usual, many of those eruptions sure seemed especially astonishing. In August, Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea erupted while a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred underneath the volcano. In December, Sicily’s Mount Etna erupted twice in one month, spewing lava and ash more than a mile into the air. And there’s plenty more where that came from…

Volcano Red Glow

The Villarrica Volcano of Pucon, Chile, is among the most active in South America. Image Source: The Atlantic

Red Bull Helps Turn 100-Year-Old Spanish Church Into Psychedelic Skate Park

Kaos Temple

The kaleidoscopic ceiling of the newly christened Kaos Temple skate park best reveals the incredible redesign of this former church. Image Source: Colossal

What do you do when an historic 100-year-old church is falling apart and there’s no money to fix it? If you’re a group funded by Red Bull, you turn it into a public skate park and commission artist Okuda San Miguel to give it a face lift. The radical redesign of the church of Santa Barbara in Llanera, Spain has the ceilings and nearly every open wall covered in psychedelic colors and geometric shapes. Fittingly, the former church now has a new name as well: Kaos Temple.

Kaos Temple Halfpipe

The collective who led the redesign called themselves the Church Brigade. Image Source: Colossal

Kaos Temple Ceiling

Lead artist Okuda San Miguel is known the world over for his strikingly colored paintings and murals. Image Source: Colossal

Architects’ Plan To Turn NYC’s Broadway Into A 40-Block Long Park

Green Line Park Manhattan

The proposed park from Perkins Eastman, covering Broadway and several attached squares. Image Source: Dezeen

Following the staggering success of the High Line and, soon, the Lowline in NYC, architectural firm Perkins Eastman has proposed a radical new park: One that covers the entirety of the Big Apple’s most famous street: Broadway. As well as the street, the park would incorporate many of the famous landmarks along the way, including Times Square, Columbus Circle, and Union Square. The chances of this amazing repurposing of the land actually happening are practically zero, but it’s a nice thing to imagine.

Green Line Park Manhattan New York

A map showing the route of the park as it covers over 40 blocks of prime NYC real estate. Image Source: Dezeen

Green Line Park

Emergency vehicles would be allowed to drive through the park, but all other traffic would be banned. Image Source: Dezeen

author
All That's Interesting
author
Established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together a dedicated staff of digital publishing veterans and subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science. From the lesser-known byways of human history to the uncharted corners of the world, we seek out stories that bring our past, present, and future to life. Privately-owned since its founding, All That's Interesting maintains a commitment to unbiased reporting while taking great care in fact-checking and research to ensure that we meet the highest standards of accuracy.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.