Well we may not pay much attention to it, but do you know that some countries spice up their manholes with special designs? Bet ya didn’t know that! When I was backpacking in Hokkaido with my friend in 2002, we saw the cutest manhole with 3 smiley squids on them (Photo thanks to Mr Wabu). Don’t they look absolutely happy? And while backpacking in the island of Rhodes, Greece, my friend and I spotted manholes with delicate steel etchings of the famous deer. These manholes are an art on its own!

Speaking of art and manholes, there’s an ongoing contest by the Singapore Arts Festival hosted on Flickr Groups called ArtsFest Photo Shootout. Believe it or not, even the manholes in over 15 locations in Singapore are involved in the Arts Fest! So try and spot the Arts Fest sticker-covered manholes and snap away with your cameras or trusty phones. The most creative photos (and their ‘owners’) get to win prizes such as Arts Festival tickets, Kenneth Cole watches and even a 3D/2N stay at Bangkok! Wow!

You have up to Sunday, 15th June 2008 to compete for the tickets and watches, and up to Monday, 30th June 2008 for the trip (all submitted entries are eligible for the trip). So what are you waiting for?

(Psst, if you are out of ideas, maybe you can get a group of friends and get them to wriggle their fingers around the manhole sticker. *Giggle*)