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Living off-grid #video#USA These sustainable houses will take your eco-consciousness to a whole new level! They are built from recycled and natural materials and are completely off-grid. Architect Michael Reynolds calls them ‘earthships’. He started building his eco-houses in the 1970s. They don’t need access to water, gas or electricity. Earthships store rainwater and the sun’s heat, treat sewage and garbage, maintain a comfortable temperature inside and generate sustainable power. What else do you need? He has since built an entire community in a New Mexico desert, where he lives with like-minded people and teaches them to build earthships from scratch. Could you live in a sustainable house like this? Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

What do baby elephants dream about? 🐘💤 #video#Africa Little Limpopo is like a human baby! He has to be bottle-fed, sung a lullaby to, covered with a blanket and patted before going to sleep. What a cool job his nanny has! Limpopo is an orphaned baby elephant. He lives in a special elephant nursery in Zimbabwe, where one family of conservation enthusiasts take care of orphaned infants. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

World’s largest e-waste dump #video#Africa Agbogbloshie is one of those places you’d never want to visit. Ever. It’s where your previous generation iPhone goes after Apple presents the new one. Electronic goods containing toxic chemicals are supposed to be recycled properly. However, it’s too expensive and used electronics are mostly disposed of in places like Agbogbloshie. Tonnes of e-waste from Western countries and Asia are delivered to the former wetland near Ghana’s capital Accra. The e-waste doesn’t just lay there, some 80,000 locals work here day and night, collecting scrap metal. They call it Sodom and Gomorrah that feeds and kills them. They can earn $3-5 a day for one meal a day, but the terrible air pollution makes it very dangerous. Emmanuel is one of the metal scrappers at Agbogbloshie. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

AI love you! #video#Japan This guy just married a hologram… Now you’ve seen everything. Akihiko Kondo identifies as ‘fictosexual’, which means he’s only attracted to fictional characters. His wife is Hatsune Miku, a computer-generated hologram. She is a popular virtual singer and idol in Japan, whose songs helped Akihiko ‘heal’. Akihiko had always thought he would stay alone for the rest of his life. He was never a hit at school, nor did his co-workers like him very much. Miku has many manifestations and Akihiko owns them all: a voice assistant in the form of a hologram, a doll and a bunch of stuffed toys. Although the hologram’s creators stopped supporting it a while ago, Akihiko keeps loving his fictional wife. Advantages over real women? Miku won’t die, betray or age. Akihiko isn’t unique for his love for a virtual character. He’s among 3,700 Japanese who married their favourite characters from anime or computer games. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Father of the world’s largest family dies #video#India Ziona Chana, the leader of a polygamous cult in India and the patriarch of supposedly the world’s largest family, died at the age of 76. According to various reports, he could have from 89 to 94 children from 38 or 39 wives. They all lived together in a 4-storey house they built themselves and had no doubt Ziona is a god. Ziona led the ‘New Generation’ cult, whose male members can have as many wives as they wish. The sect was founded by Ziona’s father and uncle, who believed the human body is immortal. So it took a while for the cult members to accept Ziona’s death. While they decide on a successor, you can check out our documentary about the world’s largest family and the bizarre cult. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Would you like to get a prize from RT Documentary? 🎁 Take part in our documentary marathon! RT Documentary is celebrating its 10th anniversary today. On June 23rd, 2011, RT Documentary launched on air. To mark the occasion, we’re having a special live stream that starts right now! We’re broadcasting live our best documentaries chosen by our viewers! They’ve gathered millions of views, but they’re worth watching again! We’re also giving away 10 prizes that we’ll send anywhere in the world. How do you win a prize? ✔️ Watch our live stream ✔️ Look for code words on the screen ✔️ Catch ‘em all to make a phrase ✔️ Be the first to post it in the comments section on our platforms The live stream is available on Facebook, YouTube, and our website. We have 3 prizes for each platform. There’s a special prize for the best wishes written on our website - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOwUn4sfGzE Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Why did Albanian women have to pretend to be men? #photo#Albania Diana looks like an old man in a military beret, but she’s a burrnesha. That’s what they call Albania’s last sworn virgins, who made an oath of celibacy in exchange for leading the life of a man. Diana’s brother died, so she took his place. Diana was a tomboy and had always stood up for her female neighbours. Albanian women invariably became burrneshas through social necessity, not because they were transgender or gay. Some burrneshas agreed to live as men because their families had lost a patriarch. Others chose the path because it was just easier to live as men, who could own property, move freely, work, drink and smoke. Happily, these days, Albanian women don’t have to become burrneshas to enjoy these freedoms. So the custom is all but dying out. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Tanzanian 'ghosts' #video#Africa Being an albino in Tanzania (and a few other African countries) is very dangerous. Not because it's sunny all the time and UV radiation is bad for people with this condition. But instead, albinos are hunted down and hacked for body parts by witch doctors. These traditional healers stoke a superstition that people with albinism don't die and their bodies possess magical properties. They cut their limbs and drain their blood to use in potions and make amulets. The old beliefs are so strong that albinos often become outcasts in society. Many choose to live in special sanctuaries. Here's a heartbreaking story of a girl named Kabula, who was traced and attacked by hitmen. Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

How our film crew escaped a polar bear attack #video#Russia When you're a filmmaker, you have to be ready for any situation, like encountering a wild polar bear! Our film crew came across one during the shooting of 'Freed to Be Wild' in Kamchatka. The polar bear didn't retreat, while our crew and bear warden Tatyana only had flares and their voices. However, Tatyana had told the crew what to do. "I had to remember Tatyana's lessons, so together with the entire film crew, we growled and waved tripods and sticks over our heads," director Natalya Karachkova recalls. In the Kamchatka peninsula, polar bears are a common sight. The predators have become frequent visitors to villages along the coastline. They're attracted by delicious Pacific walruses, who now spend more time on the mainland and less on the sea-ice that is slowly disappearing. That's why locals know this life-saving skill very well. Phew! The polar bear looks adorable, but only from a safe distance, right? Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

❗️Olympics: Hubbard confirmed as first transgender to compete at Games! New Zealand has selected weightlifter Laurel Hubbard to compete in the super-heavyweight category in Tokyo - meaning she will become the first transgender athlete at the Games due to updated selection requirements. The 43-year-old will also be the oldest lifter at the 2021 Olympics. She transitioned 10 years ago, having never competed at men's international weightlifting competitions. A number of scientists have said the new guidelines do little to mitigate the biological advantages of male puberty, including bone and muscle density. New Zealand's athletics body has stated it is all for 'inclusion'. Is it a level playing field? RT SPORT t.me/rtsportnews