When a self-proclaimed “vegan hillbilly” first laid eyes on this rotten cabin in the woods of Missouri, he saw something in it that no one else did.

He took a chance on the cabin, buying it for a mere $100 and soon enough, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with the wooden structure. 10 years later, and after many hours of blood, sweat, and tears, not even Aiken could believe how this pile of planks would end up looking.

For Richard Aiken, rebuilding a cabin was just the next challenge in a long life of accolades and accomplishments.

However, there was one unique side to Aiken that not even his closest loved ones knew about him…

Richard Aiken has a passion that he hasn’t been able to explore as much as he had hoped to in life – nature.

The mathematician surprised many of his loved ones when he announced that he wanted to live in the woods…

Aiken’s sudden passion for all things natural and desire to move into the wild shook his family to their very core.

Naturally (no pun intended), they didn’t like the idea of him packing up and relocating to the woods…

One thing is for sure – living in the wild can be full of dangers, especially when you are by yourself.

Nevertheless, the “vegan hillbilly” stayed true to himself, put his foot down and went ahead with his plan…

It made sense that Richard Aiken wanted to venture into the wild and live a humble retirement.

While he wasn’t poor, Richard was cash-strapped. Buying land and building a home in the woods, believe it or not, costs money…

A friend of Richard’s happened to own a plot of land in the woods that he wanted to live in.

Knowing Richard’s financial situation, he happily offered it to him for free. However, he decided to give him $100 for it…

What Richard loved most about the opportunity was that this mystery cabin was located, literally, in the middle of nowhere.

After putting an ad in the papers, he realized something daunting. “Those that were in really good condition were quite expensive,” he said.

When he first saw his newly acquired “cabin,” Richard was convinced that he had made a big mistake.

“This is the original 1830’s log cabin he started out with,” Richard’s daughter wrote on a blog post.

While the odds seemed stacked against him, Richard was surprisingly positive about the cabin, describing it as “a real find.”

“It was two stories, with a very large ‘pen’ of about 21-22 feet square,” he wrote. Richard committed and got this “mission impossible” renovation underway…

As Richard stepped inside the cabin for the very first time and looked inside, he had no idea just how much dead wood was inside.

There was a huge pile of trash that needed to be removed.

After 10 years of hard labor, sacrifice, and teamwork, Richard and his family could finally say that the cabin was complete.

What was originally a hollowed out carcass of a cabin was now a cozy, beautiful home that only architects and professional builders could dream of constructing.

Images of the cabin now compared to when Richard first bought it are like night and day.

“I hope I shall never finish working with this log cabin,” he said in an interview. “Never stop the silence.”

So off Richard went to bring his derelict cabin to full glory. His family eventually got on board and helped him with the project.

In no time at all, the cabin started to look a whole lot better.

One of Richard’s goals was to build a basement underneath the cabin – a place where he could store essentials such as food and wine.

However, after spending many days digging and excavating, the family soon hit bedrock six feet deep.

In order to ensure that he got the basement that he was so desperate for, Richard thought of a great idea.

He decided to have floor support structures made out of white oak, this would help to support the main framework of the cabin.

Richard’s family discovered something remarkable about the cabin; it was resting on top of a water table.

They learned that a secret lake had been lying there all that time. All of a sudden, Richard had another idea – to build a cute wooden dock.

The fact that Richard and his family spent so much time working on the cabin in the middle of nowhere was a problem in itself.

With time, the family began to show contempt for one another, with a number of individuals getting sick and tired of the project.

Before he knew it, Richard had a much sturdier, stronger foundation to build his cabin from.

He got his family to fill the gaps with daub-covered chicken wire. Everything the Aikens did during construction was rustic and traditional.

Richard wanted to make the cabin look like one of the classic Missouri homes in the wilderness from the 1830s.

Richard claims that he spent between $30,000 to $40,000 in order to have the cabin the way he had originally envisioned.

Richard’s used oak from trees that had already fallen and tried to refrain from chopping down trees as much as possible.

It appears that his philosophy could be found in the end results. Take this staircase, for example, which the family built out of a fallen tree.

One of his proudest moments over that 10-year period was his beloved fireplace, which Richard designed based similar looking hearths from the 19th Century.

“[The Rumford hearth] is a brilliant design widely adopted to optimize heat transfer within a room,” Richard said.

Another issue that Richard could potentially face in the wilderness was access to light.

Instead of trying to install electricity into his cabin, he decided to go with candle chandeliers instead.

Richard owes a lot of thanks to the Amish neighbors who helped him work on the cabin from time to time.

They provided the Aikens with a very useful house-warming present – a wooden dining table.

Richard turned around and told his family that he wasn’t planning on moving into it, at least, not on a permanent basis.

Understanding their concerns, he decided to use it as a place where they could go to for vacations.

Richard knew that it would be a shame if no one other than his family and himself reaped the benefits of his home’s transformation.

On his Instagram account, he started to share images of his cabin.

After completing construction, he shared his story with the world, posting images of the transformation on sites such as Reddit and Imgur.

Needless to say, the internet fell in love with the Aikens’ project and many want to follow in Richard’s footsteps.

As you can see, Richard has designed and constructed a cabin that isn’t just suitable to stay in during the summer months.

Richard claims that during the winter period, the Amish family helps him maintain the cabin so that it doesn’t suffer any serious damage.

People will always do things differently from each other, and we all have our own logic. Sometimes, the way an individual does something can seem absurd or out of the ordinary. We are going to discuss 40 things that people do differently. Let’s see which category you place yourself in.

Since the invention of phones, many of us don’t use watches anymore. We have this device in our pocket that can offer us information at all times. Thus, we seem to have forgotten that wrist or pocket watches were once an absolutely necessary object to have.

Although wristwatches are still popular, they have become more of an accessory that’s related to fashion rather than utility. Should we still wear watches for their utility or just use our phones instead?

I’m sure all of us notice that some people don’t eat the crust of the pizza. What’s up with that? It’s all made out of the same thing, so why not eat the crust, as well?

That’s a question that a lot of people cannot answer. They either don’t like it, or it just seems logical for them not to eat it.

Some people pour the milk in the bowl before they put the cereal in. Other people put the cereal first and the milk afterward. Which one seems more logical? If you put the cereal after, it will stay crunchy for a longer period of time.

Looking at it the other way, if you put the cereal in first, it will absorb more of the milk and become fluffier. What type of person are you?

Smartphones are a huge part of our lives. Keeping our smartphones secure is a very important thing, since they hold a lot of intimate information about us. Some people use four-digit codes, as they are easier to remember and a lot more practical.

However, there are other people who use six-digit codes for extra security. What do you think? Are six-digit codes too much, or are four-digit codes too little? Is there such a thing as too little when it comes to security?

We all have that one friend that sets about ten alarms in the morning. This is extra annoying for the people who wake up with the first one, right? Some people hate mornings, but other people love them. I think that’s the thing that creates a difference here.

People who get up with only one alarm have no problems with mornings, or maybe they’re just not heavy sleepers. People who need more alarms are probably people who need a little convincing to get out of their warm and comfy bed.

Some people like to break the rules. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Others simply just don’t give everything that much thought. What do you think about people simply biting a bar of chocolate?

Since the chocolate has a specific pattern that can be broken piece by piece, is it normal to bite it? What type of person are you? Would you just bite into a chocolate bar?

Returning to the category of people who want to watch the world burn, this one is interesting. Some people use bookmarks: you put it at the page you left off, you open the book, see the mark, continue your reading.

Other people do not know that bookmarks exist, or maybe they just don’t care. That being said, some people just decide to bend the page of a book in order to remember where they left off.

How do you cut your sandwich? Some people think that it’s absolutely normal to cut it sideways. Some people think that it’s absolutely normal to cut it diagonally. What is the right way?! Is there such a thing as the right way to cut a sandwich? Why are there so many questions when it comes to sandwiches?

Shouldn’t sandwiches be easy to make and magical to eat? Has society failed sandwiches? No one knows, everyone cuts as they please.

Some people don’t check their notifications. I mean they do, but they don’t. Everyone has that one friend who has 99 notification icons on all of his apps. We can also think of those people who have 1,423 unread emails.

Some people have their icons clean so they can know when a new notification pops up. Some people don’t care and just leave them to add up.

Are you a headphone or an earbuds type of person? Is there a right way to listen to your favorite music? Yes, there is. The right way is your own way. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. Some people enjoy using headphones because they cover their ears and eliminate all other outside sounds.

Earbuds do the same thing, but they just don’t cover your ears. They kind of seal them. Whether it’s headphones or earbuds, keep on rocking.

To folder or not to folder, that is the question. Are you the type of person who meticulously puts all of your apps into folders that are designed for a certain category of apps? Do you enjoy having more than three pages on your smartphone? Very well then, no one can judge you.

Some people prefer folders, while for other people, it’s easier to just swipe and go to the page they want rather than go through folders.

This is a very controversial one. Some people out there think that the only correct way to eat sushi is the traditional way. Other people think that food is food, and you should eat it as you please. What type of person are you? Do you use chopsticks when eating sushi? Do you use chopsticks at all?

Perhaps, you just eat the way you learned to eat when you were a child. Either way, we believe both ways can get the job done.

For all the drivers out there, we have reached a topic that has started a lot of fights in the past – automatic or manual transmission? Some people prefer automatic because it’s much easier and more comfortable when driving long distances or driving in the city.

The other category of people think that a manual transmission is the only way to feel like you have complete control over the vehicle. Which one are you?

We’ve all seen a desktop that was full of browser windows at some point. Why is that? Since tabs were invented, why do people still use browser windows as a means to organize the way they surf the web? Is it wrong? Is it right?

There is no such thing as wrong or right when it comes to these things, it’s all a matter of preference. Some people use tabs when they use an internet browser, others fill their desktop with lots of windows.

Are you the type of person who gives a silly name to your Wi-Fi router? If yes, you can be sure that a lot of neighbors love you! Some people don’t change anything on their router. As long as it works, they just don’t care about these things.

Other people care a lot about the small things, and they want to personalize everything that they own. Thus, they re-name their router to something incredibly funny, or not so humorous, depending on your preference.

Do you wear a digital watch or an analog watch? Believe it or not, some people can’t even read analog watches (and they don’t even want to). Other people are more than capable of reading an analog watch, but they just prefer the easier way, which is using a digital one.

Watches are a big part of some people’s lives. They are an accessory that represents our style and social status. I think we all pay attention to a man when he wears a Rolex, right?

Now, this is a very interesting one. Some people prefer to watch a series on TV as they air. They don’t want to wait for the entire season to come out so they can watch it all at once.

Other people can’t live with the tension and treat their favorite series like a movie, meaning that they want to watch it all at one time. Which type of person are you? Could you watch The Sopranos in one go, or does that just seem crazy?

We all know that there are two types of umbrellas – the classic ones and the ones that fold. Obviously, the umbrella that folds is much more accessible to many of us, since we can store it easier in our backpacks or purses.

At the same time, there are people who couldn’t even think of not using a classic-shaped umbrella. Those come with a certain style that cannot be beaten. Our guess is that it’s just a matter of style.

Going back to the tech side of things, there are people who properly eject their USB flash drives and people who just pull them out without caring about their data. Which one are you?

Do you think that you should always properly eject a flash drive in order to protect your data? Or do you think that the proper way of ejecting a flash drive is just a conspiracy that was created to eat up more of our time?

Pancakes are a delicate subject. They’re a big part of most people’s world. Some people have entire rituals when it comes to pancakes, while others just don’t care that much about food. The point is, some people prefer syrup on their pancakes, and others just prefer to eat them plain.

Which type of person are you? Do you think pancakes cannot exist without syrup, or do you think syrup just ruins them? Some things are better if they are simpler, others are not.

We all do certain small things differently in order to help us. Take ketchup, for example. If you store the bottle with the cap down, you make sure that the next time you’re going to use it, it will easily come out of the bottle.

Other people don’t pay attention to such minor, insignificant things, and they leave the bottle standing up. Is there a right way to do this or not?

Water is one of the few essential things all humans need in order to survive. There are some people out there who couldn’t even imagine drinking still water. They find it too boring, or they just cannot live without the bubbles.

What type of person are you? Do you think water should be drunk as it is naturally, or do you agree that sparkling water is much better and eliminates the boring aspect of drinking water?

Ah, we have a grand one here. Coke or Pepsi? This is a great debate that has been going on ever since Pepsi showed up. There are people who prefer one or the other, and there are people who don’t care because they believe that it’s the same thing.

Is it the same thing, or is the taste of Coke/Pepsi undeniably better? Once again, this is an endless debate.

Most people love watermelon, but there are people out there who don’t like it one bit. Let’s talk about people who enjoy watermelon and then split them into two distinct categories – people who eat the seeds and people who pick them out.

Is there a correct way to eat watermelon? Some people can’t imagine eating the watermelon seeds, since they can create discomfort while enjoying this amazing fruit. Others just enjoy it as it is and don’t think about the seeds.

Writing on blank pages is a thing that a lot of people do, and not all people use notebooks that have lines. Here we have, once again, two big categories of people: the ones who align their writing perfectly and create very straight rows and others who like to live on the wild side and write messier than most.

Which type are you? Do you think that writing should be an organized and perfectly aligned thing? What matters most – the way you write or what you write?

Photography is a great way of gathering memories and capturing those moments that you wish would last forever. Since the invention of digital cameras, people who use analog film have become somewhat special. Developing the film takes time, and it can be a handful for some of us.

However, digital cameras make everything easier. You can have a whole vacation on a USB drive rather than an album. Even though things have greatly evolved, some people prefer having hard copies rather than digital ones.

For those of you who don’t know, toolbars are still around. Yeah, toolbars are still a thing, and there are still people that use them, even though they seem like a thing straight from 2005.

Once again, there are two types of people: the ones who use toolbars because they find them helpful and those who simply cannot understand why toolbars exist and wish they would be destroyed forever. Which one are you? When was the last time you used a toolbar in your browser?

A person’s desktop can be considered a mirror of his mind. You can say the same thing about a person’s room. There are messy people and organized people. It’s just the way things are. In fact, some are more efficient in their messiness than others are in their perfectly organized lives.

There are two types of people: the ones who have a desktop full of icons and files and the ones who have folders. It’s all a matter of preference. That being said, what does your desktop look like?

Let the tech battle begin! There are people who prefer an Apple iPhone and those who prefer an Android-powered smartphone. There are a lot of people who think Apple products are overrated and not as efficient as other products.

Then again, Apple fans say that the quality of Apple products cannot be compared to anything else! What smartphone do you use? Apple or Android? Do you think it’s a matter of better or just different?

Each and every one of us has our own unique style. Some people would rather have long hair because of the way it looks and also because it’s said that hair shouldn’t be cut off at all.

Other people would rather have a bald head, as it’s much easier to maintain and it’s less complicated to style. This is yet another debate that’s been lasting for a long time and that has a lot of arguments coming from both sides.

Card or cash? Ever since the invention of the credit card, there are people who have never used cash again in their lives. Carrying money around is dangerous, and it also comes packed with a lot of bacteria. If you didn’t know, money is one of the dirtiest objects around.

Although there are situations when only cash can help you, not every store or person can scan a card. What do you think? Is cash something that is outdated or something that will never be outdated?

There are people who have been driving for most of their lives, while other people have been riding the bus for years and years. What type of person are you? Do you think driving is more efficient? In some cases, it’s not!

There are cities that have such a good public transportation system that cars are a thing you use only when absolutely necessary. On top of that, using the bus is a great way to help the environment. Which one do you prefer?

Some people recycle in order to help the environment. Even though we should do all we can for the environment that we live in, there are people who simply don’t care and would never recycle.

They say that it takes too much time or that the people who are in charge of collecting the garbage put it all the same place anyway. What type of person are you? Do you recycle, or do you think it doesn’t help at all?

This is a relatively new debate since affordable electric cars haven’t been around for that long. Do you prefer gas-powered cars or electric cars? What would you choose if you had the option? When it comes to environmental issues, some claim that creating the batteries for an electric car is just as bad as driving a gas-powered car for 50 years.

There are a lot of arguments around this relatively new topic. There’s no question that electric cars are becoming more and more popular, though. What do you think?

This one is a relatively interesting one, since the two are actually completely different things. Although there are teas that contain just as much caffeine as a strong espresso, the two are just completely different beverages when it comes to taste and flavor.

Coffee has been around for a while, but tea predates it by far. What do you prefer? Coffee? Tea? Both? Believe it or not, there are people who simply love both. There are also people who hate both.

Most of us love sweets in any form we can find them. Oddly enough, there are people out there who simply hate the taste of sugar. They cannot stand it one bit. Pretty weird, huh? Not at all. It’s a matter of taste, just like most things in this article.

There are people who love the taste of sugar, and others who love the taste of salt. There are people who want the best of both worlds and enjoy both just as much. Which one are you?

Ever since smartphones were invented, they’ve been helping us in a lot of ways. Giving us reminders is one of the most perfect examples we can think of. Your memory doesn’t have to focus that much on reminding you of things at certain hours, as your phone can do that for you.

The other category of people, on the other hand, believe that you should remember things by yourself in order to keep your brain focused and active. Reminders or memory? Which one do you use more?

Following up on the discussion about the digital era, some people still use physical notes. We’ve all seen some movie with a detective who took notes in a small pad they had in their chest pocket. It seems like an ancient thing if you think about it, right?

Most people nowadays just use their smartphones to take notes. It’s simpler, and it makes sure that you’ll never lose them since you can even upload them to your cloud. What do you think? Should notes be taken physically or just stored digitally?

Music is one of the things that makes all of our lives better. Believe it or not, there are people who strongly prefer listening to music on a vinyl player rather than in digital form. Why is that? The sound quality cannot compare. The fact that the sound waves are physically engraved onto the record makes it sound a lot more authentic.

It comes with a lot of other complicated aspects, though. What would you prefer – a huge physical library or just an icon on your phone?

As a beautiful ending, we will split people into two last categories: day people and night people. There are people who love daylight and mornings, so they wake up as early as possible to enjoy as much of the day as they can.

Other people hate daylight – they’re modern-day vampires if you will. They sleep throughout the day and can only function at night. Which one are you? What do you think is the best time to work or be active? Day or night?