Hashima Island, also known as "Battleship Island" due to its shape when seen from a distance, is an island off the coast of Nagasaki that's full of history. Nine miles from the coast, Hashima Island became occupied in 1887, when an underwater coal mine was built and began operating there.

Because of its distance from shore, the island became a permanent home for the mine's workers and their families. Hashima became a self-contained town, with homes, stores, and streets. Much of the architecture above ground was dedicated to large concrete apartment buildings to house the island's inhabitants.

In 1974, the coal mine was closed and all the residents left quickly after, leaving the island completely uninhabited. It has sat untouched ever since.

French photographer and explorer Sebastien Tixier visited the island in 2008 and brought back amazing images of the eerie, decaying, and utterly singular place. "It is a quite unique place in the world: an entire city, on a totally urbanized island, completely abandoned," he tells Business Insider.

Tixier shared a selection of photos of the island with us. He has also compiled his photos in to a book, which you can get a copy of here. 

Tixier first became interested in Hashima Island as a joke. He was having a beer with a few friends and urban explorers, lamenting the fact that there didn't seem to be much left to explore. One person, in jest, suggested the island of Hashima. Initially they laughed, but then Tixier began to think about it seriously.

Tixier decided he had to go. He and some partners did research and then set out to Japan to try to gain access. When they arrived, Tixier says they discovered that "we were clearly not so prepared! None of us spoke Japanese and we had no idea how to get [onto the island]. Yet, it was amazingly easy to do."

Tixier visited Hashima Island twice, a year before commercial tours of the area became available in 2009.

Some of these phenoms are already on our list of the 50 most dominant athletes alive.

Others, if everything works out, could be in the next few years.

While sports history is of full of examples of athletes that fail to live up to the hype, there are also stars like LeBron James, Tiger Woods, and the Williams sisters who actually met their astronomical expectations.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks player (age 20)

The so-called "Greek Freak" was better in 2014-15 than anyone in the NBA expected. He has the height of a center, the skills of a guard, and an unreal 7'4" wingspan.

His potential is off the charts. He has been compared to everyone from Kevin Durant to Kevin Garnett. He has more raw physical talent than anyone else his age, and if he continues to develop, he could rule the NBA with Anthony Davis once the LeBron era comes to an end.

Martin Odegaard, Real Madrid player (age 16)

Odegaard, a Norwegian prodigy who burst onto the scene at age 15, had every big team in Europe clamoring for his services in January of 2015.

Soccer is full of examples of young players who fail to live up to the hype. Will Odegaard be different?

It's promising that he started Norway's most recent European Championship qualifier, and he bypassed the typically club progression and jumped straight to Madrid.

Simone Biles, US gymnast (age 18)

If there's one person you'd bet on being a star at the 2016 Rio Olympics, it's Biles.

Biles has been the most dominant force in women's gymnastics in the last two years. She won four golds at the last World Championships and the gold in the all-around competition in both 2013 and 2014. She's better than breakout star Gabby Douglas was when going into the London Olympics, and has a chance to take home a boatload of medals.

LeBron James' sheer talent and force earned him a spot on our annual list of the most dominant athletes alive.

He's a 6-foot-8, 250-pound man who moves like a point guard. He's a once-in-a-generation physical talent. 

But it's his work ethic that has turned that potential into results on the court.

From late-night workout sessions to teaching himself how to play power forward, LeBron is the perfect example of someone who is fully maximizing his genetic gifts.

He gets a special four-page scouting report before every game. His teammates get only a two-page report.

Source: SI

He could run every play in Miami's playbook from all five positions.

Source: SI

He holds an annual "Hell Week" of grueling workouts with other elite athletes at his house in Akron.

Source: ESPN

Not everyone is lucky enough to have the time to travel regularly.

Thanks to Instagram, though, you can at least feel like you're somewhere far, far away.

Numerous avid travelers and travel photographers use the app to document the trips they take to exotic destinations all over the world.

So next time you're feeling gloomy on a Monday morning at the office, take a look through one of these Instagramers' feeds for some travel inspiration.

Gary Arndt (@everythingeverywhere) says he's been "perpetually traveling since 2007." He's been to over 100 countries and all 7 continents. He took this one from a float plane flying over the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/0258ctlXHY/embed/
Width: 1200px

 Click here to see more of Arndt's photos >

It's no surprise that Arndt's bio says he's the "2014 Travel Photographer of the Year;" his Instagrams — this one was taken at a yacht club in the British Virgin Islands — are mesmerizing.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/0-hEW_lXKT/embed/
Width: 1200px

Foster Huntington (@fosterhunting) is both an author and stellar Instagramer. He documents everything from tree houses, to vans, to extreme snowboarders.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/yAmzUMSFMe/embed/
Width: 1200px

 To see more of Huntington's photos, click here >

Think fast: What's the most valuable thing that you own? What would you grab first if your house was on fire? More than likely, the thing you're thinking of is high in emotional (not monetary) value.

For a project called "What We Really Value," credit comparison site TotallyMoney.com asked 50 photographers in 20 different countries to give photographic answers to these very questions.

The resulting images and quotes will make you think long and hard about your own valuables. Here, we highlight a few that struck a chord with us. 

SEE ALSO: 31 stunning photos from Sony's World Photography Awards

SEE ALSO: These Incredible Works Of Art Were All Created With Apple Products

MY GRANDFATHER'S COFFEE CUP: "This is the cup my grandfather used to drink his coffee from every morning. Now I do the same."— Nikos, Pastra, Greece

A HAND-ME-DOWN MIT: "I grew up playing softball with this glove, which was given to me by my father. Today, my own son uses it."— Dyana, Wisconsin

A SYMBOL OF FREEDOM: "I can go virtually anywhere with [this]. Without it I am trapped."— Whitney, Stone Mountain, Georgia

Working as an engineer for a tech firm in Silicon Valley is a high-paying job.

But EVERY company has IT needs.

And as demand grows, so do the salaries for the IT pros who work in every industry.

Computerworld recently surveyed 4,800 IT pros nationwide to find out what they were paid. Not every job was paid over $100,000, but many were.

No. 15: Systems programmer, $105,239

Job title: Systems programmer

Salary: $101,702

Bonus: $3,537

Total compensation: $105,239

Change from 2014: + 2.9%

Programmers can write software for apps used by people and/or they can write software that will be used by the machines themselves.

As a new phenom called the Internet of Things takes hold, there's a growing need for people to write code that will be used by machines.

No. 14: Software engineer, $108,522

Job title: Software engineer

Salary: $102,978

Bonus: $5,544

Total compensation: $108,522

Change from 2014:  +4.2%

Jobs that involve writing software may not pay as well in the general business world as they do in the tech industry, but they still pay well.

Industries like automotive, retail, and finance and accounting are all particularly hot areas for IT pros and programmers in 2015, the Computerworld survey finds.

No. 13: Project leader, $109,121

Job title:  Project leader

Salary: $102,978

Bonus: $6,143

Total compensation:  $109,121

Change from 2014: +4.1%

There are two types of managers in the IT world, those who manage people and those who manage projects. Some IT projects can be huge, multimillion dollar, multiyear affairs and the people who lead them are paid accordingly.

Mike Judge, creator of "Office Space,""Beavis and Butthead," and, most recently, HBO's "Silicon Valley," has sold his Malibu ranch house for $4.3 million, Variety reports.

"Silicon Valley,"partially inspired by Judge's time as an engineer in the 1980s, is a hilarious satire of today's tech industry.

Judge's 3,696-square-foot home has six bedrooms, a large pool area, and a detached guest house. It was originally listed for $5.3 million in 2013. 

Judge also owns a 7,300-square-foot mansion in Austin, in addition to a large house in Santa Monica.

The home sits on a large, grassy lot in the Point Dume section of Malibu.

Originally built in the 1970s, the home was remodeled in 2002.

Inside, you'll find lots of the dark wood typical of the Craftsman style.

Tech entrepreneur and CEO of startup studio Science Inc. Mike Jones may have lived in Los Angeles for nearly 20 years, but he still values his Oregon upbringing.

When he and his wife were looking for a place to raise their children, they wanted a property where they could teach their children the value of nature and provide ample space for play. That’s not exactly easy to find in the confines of Los Angeles County.

They eventually found a stunning 6,000 square foot, five-bedroom house on three acres of property in Malibu, California, bordered by state parks on one side and a gorgeous ocean view below. 

Jones invited us over to check out the property.

Mike Jones and his wife, psychologist Dr. Jennifer Jones, live with their two kids in Malibu, off the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. To get there, you have drive up a long and snaking set of roads.

And through a private gate. Their house is set so far into the property that you won't even see it until you make your way halfway through the "driveway."

The house was built in 1958, but you wouldn't know it from the outside. It is one of the most booked houses in California for shooting commercials. The house has been featured in Verizon, Bose, and Apple commercials, among others.

The underbelly of the web is vast and scary. Knowing the right search terms can lead down a rabbit hole of illicit offerings.

While it's well-known that the dark web offers black market marketplaces for things like drugs and firearms, so too are there places where hackers offer up their skills for a fee.  These hackers-for-hire offer a wide-ranging menu of services, many of which are likely not legal. 

Here's are some of the unsavory services we discovered and how much they generally went for.

Hacking a generic website: As much as $2,000

Most hackers for hire are found on Reddit-like forums. There are a bunch of them, and you have to know where to look. But these hackers remain anonymous, offering certain services, and demand decentralized payment.

One post on an underground hacking forum claims it will "Website hack or ddos. Paying well." The poster explained that they wanted a WordPress-built website down. While this person would not provide reasons, he or she did add that the bounty was as much as "2k euro."

A tool to hack Facebook accounts: $19.99 for 3 months

On this same forum you can find a post for a downloadable tool called Facebook Hacker, which lets users hack into Facebook accounts. It claims that it can "hack any Facebook," using "multiple methods of hacking." People responding to this thread claimed the service worked. 

Yelp reviews: $3 - $350

One popular hacker offering involves boosting Yelp ratings. Many offer services for posting positive Yelp reviews for a price. They can go as low as $3 a pop. Other, more savvy individuals say they've figured out how to remove bad reviews. Some hackers even offer months-long services for a set fee. They say they will continually post good reviews, post bad reviews on competitors, and ensure that no bad reviews show up on a business' page. These programs can cost as much as $350.

It's that time of year when the broadcast networks are bringing down the ax on several of its series.

In order to make room for its new series and prepare for May's presentation to advertisers, executives have been crunching the ratings numbers, checking their pilot inventory and making both easy and difficult decisions on which shows have to go.

"Revenge" had the dubious honor of becoming the first casualty of the season when ABC officially announced its farewell after the current fourth season.

That would be followed by other tough (though expected) goodbyes to Fox's "The Mindy Project" and The CW's "Hart of Dixie."

*Updated as networks announce decisions

"Cristela" (ABC)

In many ways, "Cristela" was never really given much of a chance.

ABC stuck it on Fridays between low-rated "Last Man Standing" and "Shark Tank" — neither of which made any sense with the comedy about a middle class Mexican family.

That aside, ABC has been a trailblazer in show diversity and has several pilots in the wings that would make up for the loss of "Cristela." So, it had to go.

"Forever" (ABC)

This supernatural drama about a man who can't die struggled for an audience since its premiere episode. It was a surprise when ABC decided to order a full season of the series.

No doubt, it hoped it would find an audience. Plus, it hales from Warner Bros. Television, a partner on high-profile Marvel shows “Agents of SHIELD” and “Agent Carter.” It never did find its audience and WBTV should be happy that ABC gave it a fighting chance.

"Resurrection" (ABC)

There is no more coming back for ABC's "Resurrection."

Last year, the series premiered with huge ratings for ABC but fell consistently after that. That should have been a sign for the network to bury the show.

But, it went on to a second season that just couldn't recapture its audience.

On Wednesday night, the Plaza Hotel hosted the Boys & Girls Harbor’s Annual “Salute to Achievement” Benefit, a first for the organization that usually sticks to its campus on E 104^th Street.

New York titans of industry like Bill Ackman and Lyor Cohen and came together to honor David R. Weinreb, CEO of the Howard Hughes Corporation, for his contributions to The Harbor, a non-for-profit based in East Harlem that encourages creativity and critical thinking through the performing arts. 

Each year, The Harbor provides free after-school programming for over a thousand students, from preschool through high school, with a heavy emphasis on the creative arts. Last night was no exception. Students from the Harbor program sang and danced choreographed performances to the delight of the audience, which included both donors and alumni of the program, which was founded 1937.

Other guests included CeCe Peniston, Andrew Rosen, Rusty Staub, Rachel Axelrod, Sylvester & Gillian Miniter, Will Carey, Colin & Elizabeth Callender, Bill Pickens, Joseph & Amy Perella, Stephen & Beth Dannhauser, Paul Selver, Jonathan Carver, Ana Laspetkovski, Byron Garrett, Catherine Smith, David Wassong, Paul & Christine Scheele, Kevin Liles, Bill Burrs, Jonathan Canter, Mark & Ronda Axelowitz, Alain & Leah Lebec, and Morgan & Sacha Bale, and many more. 

Dr. Thomas Howard, Executive Director of The Harbor, made his way around each table, thanking donors, joking around with Harbor alumni, and even stopping to hang out with 11-year-old DJ Fulano before introducing the evening with a big smile.

Here's a look at young DJ phenom, DJ Fulano, on the ones and twos.

Sandra Bookman, reporter and weekend anchor at WABC-TV, as the host for the evening.

The next time you find yourself flying into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, take a look at the northeast corner of the airport. There you'll find a groovy-looking building with sports cars speeding on an adjacent racetrack. What you are seeing is Porsche North America's new $100 million headquarters and Porsche Experience Center, which opened their doors to the public this week.

"Today we celebrate a significant milestone in the history of Porsche as we expand our footprint in the United States and reaffirm our commitment to the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta," Matthias Mueller, president and CEO of Porsche, said. "We are investing more than ever before, heightening visibility for the Porsche brand in the US and worldwide."

Porsche North America has called Atlanta home since 1998.

But with the new 27-acre facility, Porsche has created an opportunity to connect with current and prospective buyers.

In fact, the new Porsche compound is the largest investment the company has ever made outside Germany.

Bank of America VP Noah Cooper and his close friend, Rob Sanzillo, an attorney at at Herrick Feinsten in New York, founded a charity that's close to their hearts. Literally.

And on Saturday, they held a packed fundraiser for that charity – Hearts of ECMO, which they created to promote the emergency medical treatment that saved both Cooper's  and Sanzillo's father's lives.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Forget the Apple Watch — here's the new watch everyone on Wall Street wants

Karren Brady is the British multimillionaire known as the "First Lady of Football," after a three-decade career in the industry.

She ditched her formal education at the age of 18 and quickly rose up in the world of advertising and sport, to become one of the few — and, therefore, also prominent — women in football.

She became a director of a major publishing company, Sport Newspapers Ltd., at 20, and a managing director of Birmingham City Football Club before she hit 30. She made an estimated £82 million ($125 million) by the time she turned 40.

After overcoming a potentially fatal cerebral aneurysm and a police arrest over allegations of corruption in English football, she was awarded a CBE for services to Women in Business and Entrepreneurship. 

By the end of last year, she was granted the title Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge.

Karren Rita Brady was born on April 4, 1969, in Edmonton, London. Her family house was near to the Tottenham Hotspur football ground - White Hart Lane.

Her father Terry Brady made an undisclosed fortune in printing and property development while her mother was a stay-at-home wife. Brady has an older brother, Darren.

Until 11 years old, she attended Salcombe Preparatory School in Southgate.

Jeff Gundlach just spoke to investors at the New York Yacht Club and gave the following presentation, called "Summer Insects," a theme inspired by Chinese philosopher Chuang Zhu. 

Chuang Zhu's quote Gundlach used as a jumping off point was, "You cannot discuss ice with a summer insect."

Gundlach said this applies to the high-yield bond, market because for the entire time that the asset class has existed, it "has not experienced a secular rise in interest rates."

The message from Gundlach here is that in the 30 or so years that junk bonds have existed, there has never been a long, extended rise in interest rates. 

Gundlach spent much of his presentation talking not as much about what is imminent for high yield bonds, but about what could be coming for these assets over the next several years.

Thanks to DoubleLine Funds for letting us featuring this presentation.

Want a home-cooked dinner, but don't want to make it yourself?

Kitchensurfing has a solution to your problems.

For $25 a person, Kitchensurfing brings a professional chef to your home, who will make you dinner and clean up the mess afterwards.

Founded in 2012, Manhattan-based Kitchensurfing has raised $19.5 million from investors including Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, BoxGroup, and Joanne Wilson.

We were curious, so we decided to try Kitchensurfing for ourselves. 

When you log into Kitchensurfing's website, you choose one of three main courses. Each day, Kitchensurfing offers one meal with a meat-based protein, one vegetarian meal, and one meal with fish. (We went with the vegetarian option). You also choose a one-hour time slot for your chef to come prepare your meal.

The day of your meal, you'll receive a confirmation from Kitchensurfing, letting you know which chef is coming to cook for you.

This is our chef, Chris. He told us he's been working for Kitchensurfing for three months, but that he also has his own catering business on the side.

Successful people know they are what they read.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, for example, spends 80% of his day reading.

So what is the first source that highly influential people check when they wake up? We surveyed leaders across industries to find out more about their morning reading habits.

Alison Griswold and Max Nisen contributed to an earlier version of this article.

Warren Buffett starts his days with an assortment of national and local news.

The billionaire investor tells CNBC he reads the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the New York Times, USA Today, the Omaha World-Herald, and the American Banker in the mornings. That's a hefty list to get through.

Barack Obama reads the national papers, a blog or two, and some magazines.

The President of the United States told Rolling Stone he begins his day with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He's a devoted reader of the Times' columnists, and also likes Andrew Sullivan, the New Yorker, and The Atlantic.

Bill Gates reads the national papers and gets a daily news digest.

The Microsoft cofounder gets a daily news digest with a wide array of topics, and he gets alerts for stories on Berkshire Hathaway, where he sits on the board of directors. Gates also reads the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Economist cover-to-cover, according to an interview with Fox Business.

Ever been curious to see what famous tech CEOs and founders looked like before they were famous, back when they were still in high school?

From Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to Microsoft's Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, we've collected some of the most hilarious, awkward, and (sometimes) suave yearbook photos of some of the world's most famous leaders in tech.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs attended middle school and high school in Cupertino, California, where he was introduced to Steve Wozniak. The two shared a love for pranks and computers, and would later go on to found Apple with him in 1976.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was born in San Jose, California. While working at Hewlett-Packard, Wozniak was introduced to Steve Jobs, who was still in high school but working at HP for the summer. The two hit it off, and the rest is history.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he attended a prestigious prep school called Lakeside School and got to first use a computer. Gates then went on to Harvard, and later founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975.

If you were handed three photos of a cheetah, an ostrich, and a porcupine, you could tell the difference. But what if you were only given the sounds these animals make?

One of them chirps. Another one squeaks. The third booms (that's the technical term). Do you know what sound belongs to which animal?

Booms and chirps aren't even the craziest sounds you'll hear in this compilation of shocking noises made by some of the world's most recognizable animals. Perhaps the most bizarre is a bird that sounds exactly like an old-school polaroid click camera.

A single animal can produce dozens of different sounds for different purposes. Here, we provide an example of one call from each. 

Unlike lions, jaguars, and other wild cats, cheetahs can’t roar. Instead, they chirp. That’s because the thyroid bone in their throat that they use to help generate sound is shaped differently from the same thyroid bone in wild cats that can roar. That’s also why your house cat can’t roar.

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/E6Qh3VTmtxU
Width: 800px
Height: 500px

Read more about why cheetahs chirp and lions roar.

Male ostriches are usually silent, but when it comes time to mate, they're very vocal. By filling a sac in their long necks with air, they produce a low-pitched, hollow, booming sound to let the female know they’re ready. Males in captivity will sometimes boom at visitors, too.

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/5kYiJAwVbEs
Width: 800px
Height: 500px

Read more about how ostrich sounds in Ostrich Production Systems.

This is Teddy. He's part of the Texas traveling educational zoo, or Zooniversity. Wild porcupines are solitary creatures who don’t like to share. Teddy, although not wild, is no exception. When wild porcupines squabble over food or den space they sound a lot like Teddy in this video when asked to share his corn. (skip to the 26th second to hear him talk).

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/UGz8jcbJjRw
Width: 800px
Height: 500px

Read more information about Teddy and porcupine behavior on National Geographic.

Every year, the International Whisky Competition brings together top whiskey experts to rate the best scotches, bourbons, blends, and other delicious spirits from around the world.

There are 30 categories, with gold, silver, and bronze awards for each. This year's competition took place on April 23 and 24 in Chicago.

Join the conversation about this story »