Worlds most Unusual Hotels

Hydropalace
Qingdao, China

Scheduled to open in 2009, the Hydropalace in Qingdao, China, will be anchored in the Yellow Sea in water that is 16 to 20 meters deep at low tide. Guests will arrive at the hotel by yacht, which will also stop at a planned land-based hydrotower, scheduled to open for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Ice Hotel
Quebec, Canada

The Ice Hotel is created anew each year out of 15,000 pounds of snow and 500 pounds of ice. The 34-room hotel features an ice chapel, two art galleries and a host of outdoor activities. The temperature inside the hotel ranges from 23 to 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and the beds are carved from ice. You don't sleep directly on the ice, though--there' s a wooden plank between the ice and a comfy mattress, plus you're insulated with a special sleeping bag that can withstand the harshest climes (-40 degrees Fahrenheit). Happily, the bathrooms are not frigid--the heated facilities are in the adjacent hotel.

Casablanca Hotel
New York City

Ever wanted to live like Bogey? The 48-room Casablanca Hotel in Times Square features a Moroccan décor complemented by Rick's Café, named for the restaurant in the classic 1942 film featuring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Propeller Island City Lodge
Berlin, Germany

Would you rather sleep in a coffin or in a bed atop a castle? These are just a couple of options available when visiting the Propeller Island City Lodge, where each of the 31 rooms embrace a different theme. From the orange room to the symbol room--tiled entirely with wooden blocks painted with 300 different symbols--this gallery-esque spot gets those creative juices pumping.

The Pitcher Inn
Warren, Vt.

The nine rooms and two suites at The Pitcher Inn are designed on themes such as "School," "Trout" and "Calvin Coolidge." We're not just talking variations in wallpaper--the "Stable" suite has a hay chute opening into it. Guests don't rough it, however. The inn is a Relais and Chateaux property, and it includes a spa and dining room that uses fresh local and regional ingredients.

Scientists Discover New Flying Dinosaurs

It’s the cutest little 120-million-year-old flying reptile you could ever hope to see.

Nemicolopterus crypticus is a new genus and species of pterosaur, described from a nearly complete fossil discovered in Early Cretaceous sediments in northeastern China.


They say the fossil specimen, the only one known, is probably of a juvenile. So although its wingspan is estimated at 10 inches, it would probably have been larger at adulthood.

Still, it’s one of the smallest pterosaurs known, far smaller than many others. That giant of the sky Quetzalcoatlus, for instance, had a wingspan roughly 40 times wider.

Nemicolopterus shares some features with other later pterosaurs, notably a toothless jaw. But it has some unique features, too, including a projection on its femurs that the scientists say probably supported muscles or tendons that might have connected to the foot, making for strong legs.

It is also the only pterosaur known to have some curved bones in its toes. The scientists say that shows it was adapted to life in the trees. It probably hung out in the canopy of gingko forests, eating insects.