This 2012 model of Noah’s Ark was funded by super-rich Dutchman-guy Johan Huibers. He likes to blow his money on making replicas of things and this is his second Noah’s Ark. It’ll be a “Bible Museum” and there will be life-size plastic animals to imitate the beloved biblical story of Noah saving two of every animal on Earth from the flood sent by an angry God.
This Johan dude is obsessed with the Ark.
It is not Huibers’ first ark. He completed his first, a half-scale replica of Noah’s Ark, in 2004, and used it to take tourists on canal trips, before beginning work on a full-scale version in 2008.
The origin of the project stems from a dream Huibers said he had in 1992, in which the low-lying Netherlands was flooded by the North Sea.
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“The next day I bought a book about Noah’s Ark. That night while sitting on the couch with my kids, I looked at it and said: ‘It’s what we’re going to do,’” he told AFP. “I have always been a dreamer.”
He resolved to build the ark, to inspire children with the biblical story of how Noah and the inhabitants of his Ark survived the flood that, according to Old Testament, washed the world clean of sin.
Despite his best efforts, it was impossible to adhere entirely to the biblical description of the Ark. Genesis describes Noah’s boat as made of “gopher wood,” but experts disagree over what this is.
Instead, Huibers and his team built the boat by welding together the metal hulls of 25 barges into a single frame, which was then covered with Scandinavian pine. Weighing about 3,000 tons, the boat contains sleeping quarters, a theater, restaurant and conference facilities to seat 1,500 people.
Huibers initially wanted to sail his ark to London for the Olympics to share his message with sports fans. But he was forced to abandon his plan to sail across the North Sea after authorities raised safety issues.
Huibers might be done with this ark building business but billionaire Clive Palmer isn’t letting the rich guy spending spree end there.
He wants to build a real-life Jurassic Park.
Yup. Jurassic Park. In real-life.
It went so well…the first time.
You can’t book your vacation there yet but Palmer is in talks with the mad scientist who cloned a sheep to clone a freaking dinosaur. For real. I don’t see anything going wrong there.
Clive Parlmer and the creature who may eat him one day.
We here at TaraNormal.com want to see these two rich guy plans brought together into 1 massive rich guy plan. Can we please get the cloned dinosaur onto the replica of Noah’s Ark? Please? I need to witness this sight in my lifetime.
Sources:
http://www.geekologie.com/2012/08/full-scale-seaworthy-noahs-ark-replica-c.php
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/30/world/europe/johans-ark-noah-dutch/index.html
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2012/07/31/clives-going-jurassic-sunshine-coast/
