Top 10 Richest American Athletes

Athletes exist in a constant state of competition. They’re hardwired into it — that’s why they make the personal sacrifices necessary in order to become professionals in the first place, because they’re determined to prove that they are that good. No one makes it into the highest level of pro sports by accident. Call it Jordan Syndrome.

Call it whatever you want. These athletes are in competition off the clock, too, comparing incomes, outspending each other on the finer things in life. Here are the wealthiest American Athletes of 2014, with figures gathered from TheRichest.com, Forbes, and CelebrityNetWorth.

Source: coincidenceuno, Flickr

Extreme Swings | Giant Swing Canyon

Extreme swings — Giant Canyon Swing, located at an amusement park in Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and the swing is situated on the edge of the canyon at an altitude of 396 meters above the Colorado River - Glenwood Springs is a small town in Colorado, which is famous for its wide variety of attractions for the whole family. The 2011 edition "USA Today" said "the most fun city in America," This metal beast set on a hillside cliff, about 400 meters above the Colorado River. Swing throw up once the four passengers, angle 112 degrees at a speed of 80 kilometers per hour. Being at the highest point of the ride, thrill seekers can directly beneath a seemingly bottomless precipice see what makes them scream with excitement, fear and laugh. The creator of these swings, 41-year-old Steve Buckley, rolled them only once, and he also afraid to try it again, but it gets a lot of fun looking at the faces of skiers people and hearing their screams during skiing, lasting 60 seconds . 

Image credit coastergallery.com

Cat Cafe in New York

The cat cafe is a pop-up promotional cafe that features cats and beverages in the Bowery section of Manhattan. Cat cafe concept is not new - these already exist in Japan and some European countries. New York cafe was the first institution of its kind in America, because the local sanitary regulations prohibit such close "communication" with the animals in catering. However, this time the organizers were able to circumvent the ban, this year also plans to open two similar cafes in San Francisco. Visitors make an hourly fee for the stay in the cafe and in return get to choose any foods and drinks. The only downside, cafe opened just a few days before April 27. You can get here from 10 am to 7 pm, at the same time in the cafe may be about 65 people, so potential customers will likely have to stand in line.

High Line Park, New York

High Line Park, Special Park in New York, based on disused railway line in 1.6 kilometers, situated at height of ten meters. The park is named West Side Line and stretches along the lower west side of Manhattan. In 1980 the last train passed along this line was operated by Conrail, extending with three carloads of frozen turkeys. Almost two decades, the area remained abandoned until local architectural enthusiasts David Joshua and Robert Hammond appealed to the public to discuss the future of the High Line. Withing a few months, these town New Yorkers founded the Friends Foundation High Line to raise money and transform an abandoned rail line into unique oasis for pedestrians. Since opening in 2009, the High Line has become the second most visited cultural site in New York, attracting about four million visitors a year. The park has become so poplar that other cities followed suit and began to implement the same project in London, Chicago, Philadelphia and Rotterdam.

Spaceport America Near Completion in New Mexico

Spaceport America, dubbed as the first spaceport in the world, looks like a gigantic moth, its rounded wings outspread against the arid, reddish-brown dirt of southern New Mexico. The view from east reveals a curved, pitched glass facade, soaring steel hanger doors and a white-on-white interior. The lofty architecture encapsulates the equally lofty dream of this complex – to serve as the launch-pad for commercial spaceflight and the dawn of second space age.

The $209 million project has attracted worldwide attention because of its bold premise, stunning architecture and the fact that it is home to the world’s first commercial passenger spaceline company, Virgin Galactic which has signed a 20-year lease and has already launched 12 suborbital flights from the spaceport as of August 2012.

Spaceport America includes basic operational infrastructure such as an airfield, launch pads, terminal / hangar facility, emergency response capabilities, utilities and roadways. The site will be capable of accommodating the activities of both vertical and horizontal takeoff space launch vehicles, serving as the base for pre-flight and post-flight activities, and providing a tourism experience for interested visitors and spectators. 15 more images after the break...

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon National Park is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The Grand Canyon is an 277 miles long and 18 miles wide. This place could completely chаngе уоur mind аbоut the beauty of nature. More images after the break...

American Landscapes — Photos by Timothy O’Sullivan

Canyon De Sheyi, 187

 In the 1860-1870's of the photographer Timothy O’Sullivan has created one of the most famous collections of images in American history. Photos of Timothy O’Sullivan | Library of Congress. 18 more images after the break...

Molokini Atoll Island

Molokini atoll was formed about 15,000 years ago, to break out of the crater with lava. Within this natural rocky crescent are found more than 250 species of fish and 38 species of coral, which are no longer found throughout the Pacific Ocean. 06 more images after the break...

USA Election Illustrated Using Fast Food

Soon after the US election was over, Berlin-based artists Lisa Rienermann and Anna Lena Schiller decided to create an infographic illustrating the most important facts about the US presidential election. The duo decided that burgers and fries, the stereotypical American meal, was the most appropriate medium for visualization.

The project, named "Binders Full of Burgers," is a reference to the Internet meme sparked by a Mitt Romney debate response about how he used "binders full of women" to find female staff for his cabinet as governor of Massachusetts. Using burgers as pie-charts and mustard and ketchup to write and draw graphs, the images illuminate how many Americans have the right to vote, and how big the turnout will likely be, among other things. Further images show poll results illustrated with zigzagging lines of ketchup and mustard. The illustrators use hot dogs, of Frankfurters, to illustrate contributions made by German corporations to the the Obama and Romney campaigns, and fries to depict countries whose names came up most often in the presidential debate on foreign policy. 13 more images after the break... 

Rare Photos of Lumberjacks California Redwoods

This series of photos from the 1915-era capture lumberjacks working among the redwoods in Humboldt County, California, when tree logging was at its peak. The photos are part of the Humboldt State University Library Special Collections, a series of pictures from northwest California from the 1880s through the 1920s by Swedish photographer A.W. Ericson. 09 more images after the break...

New York — Then and Now

I already showed you a dozen times different comparative pictures of different cities of the country in the style of "then and now". And today, I suggest you look at the interesting collection of  images, which depict New York in the past and now. 18 more images after the break...

Monument for Steve Jobs in Odessa

This monument is situated in Odessa on the occasion of first death anniversary of Steve Jobs. Two-meter hand made from scrap local craftsman Cyril Maksimenko. 07 images after the break...

The First McDonald's

The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 furthered the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that the White Castle hamburger chain had already put into practice more than two decades earlier. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee". Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald by 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having puffed out costume legs. 13 more images after the break...

Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta

The World of Coca-Cola is a museum in Atlanta, USA, that celebrates the history and culture of Coke, one of America's favorite soft drinks. The museum is located on a 20-acre complex across Baker Street from Centennial Olympic Park just a few blocks away from where John Pemberton initially created the formula for Coca-Cola. Next to the World of Coca-Cola is the Georgia Aquarium, another popular attraction in Atlanta city. Coke was introduced over 125 years ago in the city of Atlanta and it’s corporate headquarters has remained there ever since. Initially, Coke was sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health. Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured many diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the “Atlanta Journal”. Within a year, Coca-Cola was established as a company. By the time of its 50th anniversary, the soft drink had reached the status of a national icon in the USA.

The original World of Coca-Cola was in the heart of downtown Atlanta, adjacent to Underground Atlanta at 55 Martin Luther King Jr Drive. It opened in 1991, and remained open for 16 years until it was replaced by the current location. The original museum was located in a three-story pavilion and attracted around nine million visitors during that time to become Atlanta's most visited indoor attraction. But the Coca-Cola Company wanted a bigger, more modern facility at which they could display more of the vast amount of memorabilia at their disposal. The new museum was opened to the public on May 24, 2007. 26 more images after the break...

The Growth Of Walmart Stores in America

The Floating Jail

The Vernon C. Bain Center (VCBC) is an 800-bed jail barge used to hold inmates for New York City as part of the New York City Department of Corrections as part of the vast Rikers Island jail complex. Built in New Orleans for $161 million and brought to New York in 1992 to reduce overcrowding in the island's land-bound buildings for a lower price under a David Dinkins-led crime initiative, it is designed to handle inmates from medium- to maximum-security in 16 dormitories and 100 cells. Due to the facility being on the water, a minimum of three maritime crew is maintained under Coast Guard regulations. 07 more images after the break...

North American Wife Carrying Championship Event

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Winding Pedestrian Bridge

Amazing in the form of a bridge in Chicago, leading to the city park Millenium. Its designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The bridge is named in honor of "British Petroleum", which contributed to its construction of the $ 5 million. 09 more images after the break...

Twitter New Headquarters in Market Square — San Francisco

01. Twitter HQ, 1355 Market Street, San Francisco

After announcing their intention to remain in San Francisco 14 months ago, Twitter has officially moved into their new digs in Market Square (1355 Market Street to be exact). The move may help revitalize an area where office space has sat vacant for decades. Market Square consists of two art-deco buildings that are comprised of 890,000 square feet of office space above 200,000 square feet of retail space. It was originally opened in 1937. Below you will find a gallery of Twitter’s new headquarters, shot by in-house photographer @TroyHolden, enjoy! 23 more images after the break...

The 10 Most Stolen Cars in United States of America

10. 2009 Toyota Corolla

Trade-In Value*: $11,100
Original Price in 2009: $15,910
New  Car Value (2011): $17,400

The Toyota Corolla is one of the “best loved cars in America” according to Kelley Blue Book . It rates high on maintenance and resale value — and it gets decent gas mileage. The 2011 had just “minor cosmetic changes,” which means parts from prior year models can be used in the newer models, which makes the car very attractive to car thieves Roughly 800,000 to one million cars are stolen in America every single year. Many of the same models are on the list every year but it’s not just because they’re the most popular vehicles.

 It’s primarily because they have parts that don’t change much from year to year – and most cars are stolen for the parts, not to drive around, explained Geoff Keah, a special investigator for assurance . So, thieves who steal a 1994 model, for example, could sell the parts to use in models for 1995, 1996, etc. 09 more images after the break...