The largest photo-mosaic in the World

The largest photo-mosaic in the World was realized by the Romanian magazine Unica. The 1.014.653 photos were uploaded by the readers of the magazine and were assembled to form an unique giant photo. Statistically, 41% of photos uploaded represent children, 21% pets, 16% family, 10% friends, 7% holidays, and 5% miscellanea. The mosaic was exposed at Băneasa Shopping City, Bucharest.

The software that plays the mosaic image was created especially for this project by Arxia company in Cluj. Browsing the images is very easy - the mouse helps you do zoom in and zoom out in the crowd of shots. The world record is to be approved by Guinness Book of World Records.

Dacia Duster

Renault-owned, Romanian budget marque Dacia has proved a big hit in Europe with its range of value-for-money family models. Dacia has been transformed under the Renault banner to the point that it has sold 1.25 million vehicles in the past five years, thanks to a cocktail of price, space and equipment.

The Dacia Duster is the cheapest SUV with seven seats on the market and will be sold under a range of brands including Renault, Logan and Sandero depending on the country of sale, and goes on sale in Europe following the Geneva Motor Show. Like all Dacias, value for money is key, with the Duster offering plenty of space and equipment for the money - at over 4300mm long and with a boot capacity ranging from 474 to 1636 litres, it's a similar size to a Toyota RAV4.

According to World Records Academy, the mid-sized Dacia Duster 4×4 (measuring in at 4.31m long x 1.82m wide) has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and will be available in 4×2 (for or 10,500 Euros, tax included) and 4×4 specification (for 13,900 Euros) - setting the new world record for the Most affordable SUV.

Dacia Duster is available with a choice of engines that include one petrol (1.6-litre / 82kW) and two diesel units (1.6-litre / 63kW & 1.6-litre / 82kW). The diesel versions emit from 135g of CO2/km (for the 4×2 version) and from 145g of CO2/km in the case of the 4×4 version. Available in 4×2 and 4×4 specification, the light-weight Duster weighs in at 1,160kg and 1,250kg respectively; the Duster is based on a platform sourced from the Logan family and uses a wishbone (front) / multi-arm (rear) suspension arrangement.

Inside, the five-seat cabin is modern, uncluttered and functional, and offers several areas that can be modified with different colors and surface finishes. Particular attention has been paid to cabin ergonomics to ensure that the controls are conveniently positioned and that driving data is easy to read.

Active safety features include ABS, EBA, EBA, ESC (an option on some versions), CSV understeer control and Traction Control, while on the passive front, dual front airbags and three-point inertia reel seatbelts are standard. Depending on the variant, and country sold, side and curtain airbags are also available.

There will be four versions of Duster: Standard, Ambiance, Laureate, Prestige, and several optional packs. The first customer to receive the new Dacia Duster 4×4 is the Romanian President, a very active promoter of another Dacia brand - the Logan model which he use frequently and drive by himself. Alan Prost, the French champion in Formula 1, who piloted a competitive vehicle Dacia Duster in 'Andros Trophy 2010', was the one who launched officially the new SUV in Romania, on March 18, 2010.

Most expensive newspaper copy

According to World Records Academy, the world record for the most expensive newspaper copy in the world belongs to a Romanian newspaper, Zimbrulu şi Vulturulu (The Auroch and the Eagle), printed in Iaşi on November 11, 1858. The newspaper was exposed in the World Philatelic Exhibition EFIRO 2008, in Bucharest, Romania. It returned home in Romania after more than 2 years in London, in a British collection, and dozens of other years in a bank in Switzerland.

The copy was bought by Joseph Hackmey, a famous art collector, at an auction held in Geneva by the "David Feldman" auction house. The piece had a starting price of 500.000 Euro and was sold for 700.000 Euro. With fees and commissions involved, the final price reached 829.500 Euros.

It has become the most valuable copy of a newspaper and the most precious philatelic piece (it is also a collection of postal marks) from a random happening - as the Romanian Post representatives said. The famous copy was sent in November 1858 with destination Galaţi. Because the package was weighting very much, on the copy were applied 8 postal marks Auroch Head (Cap de Bour), one of the most rare and appreciated stamp. It was franked with eight 5 Parale (coins) First Printing Cap de Bour, comprising a quarter of the 32 known used pieces on bluish paper. This is the most famous set of stamps and postal marks applied on a correspondence. At Galaţi it was sold to a bookseller and collector of stamps.

Lăpuşna Castle

Lăpuşna is a village belonging to Ibăneşti commune, Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in Gurghiu Mountains, 45 km far for Reghin, in an area of outstanding beauty.

The story of the Lăpuşna Hunting Castle (or the Royal Hunting House) starts in 1923, when King Ferdinand I of Romania (1914-1927) had visited for the first time the area of Gurghiu Mountains. Charmed by the picturesque beauty of the landscapes, he decided to build in Lăpuşna a hunting lodge. The castle was built between 1925-1926.

The ensemble is composed of of 7 buildings with 35 rooms and a park of 4 hectares. It seems that the firs planted around the buildings form the contour of Romania. Not far is the wooden Lăpuşna Monastery (1779), brought here from Comori village by King Carol II, church that served as a place of worship for the Royal House. Once the relocation of the church, were brought here icons which proves the strong links between Moldavia and Transylvania during the 18th century.

The Hunting Castle was owned by the Royal House of Romania. King Ferdinand I, King Carol II (1930-1940) and King Michael I (1927-1930 and 1940-1947) often came here to hunt. It was nationalized in 1947, and was administrated by the commune of Ibăneşti.

Then, the castle became the favorite hunting place of the Ceauşescu family, the dictator bringing here numerous heads of state as Nikita Khrushchev, Todor Jivkov or Josip Broz Tito. Ceauşescu used the castle at least three times a year.

After the fall of Communism in 1990, the castle was used as a hunting base by Ion Ţiriac, Prince Dimitrie Sturdza, and many American and European hunters. Here were established several world records for trophies of Carpathian brown bear, black goat and deer. In total, there were obtained more than 300 gold medals for hunting trophies. Here is also a good place for trout fishing in Gurghiu River.

Images from here.