Aerial view of the now-abandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park. (Chris Woodrich / FEMA Photo Library)

Bounties of nature are blessings. Even the ravages of nature are a blessing, albeit in disguised as a tragedy. So, when New Orleans city of America was hit by Hurricane Katrina, the state administration woke up to its lapses of commission and omission. And realized that it was more of a manmade disaster than a natural calamity. The theme park ‘Six Flags’ built on the sea coast, and ravaged by a hurricane, will now be modelled into a seat of learning about the environment and adventure sports.

The amusement park was hit by Hurricane Katrina

The park was ill-fated right from the beginning. Inaugurated in the year 2000, under the name Jazzland, it went bankrupt in just 2 seasons. Thereafter, in 2003, it was taken on lease by Six Flags, the largest amusement park company in the world. Two years later, in 2005, the park was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Damage caused was huge and irreparable. Hence, the Six Flags was forced to abandon the amusement park.

The tropical cyclone, Katrina, began as a depression over the Bahamas, the island country in the Atlantic Ocean, on 23rd August’ 2005. In the next 2 days, fierce winds blew at 119-154 Km/hr. in Florida, the southernmost state of America. On 27th, the storm intensified in the Gulf of Mexico and became category 3 hurricane with winds blowing at a speed of 185 Km/hr. Very soon, it became the most powerful Atlantic storm ever with winds lashing the Gulf of Mexico with a speed of 275 Km/hr. On 29th August, the hurricane progressed to category 4 in the southeast of New Orleans.

Photos of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans. (Nathan Hoang / Flickr)

Related: How is the intensity of tropical cyclones estimated?

New Orleans was already flood-prone

Experts had warned much in advance that most of the urban settlement in the city of New Orleans was low lying and prone to flooding. Global warming was causing the sea surface to expand and eat into coastal areas in the course of time. The advice wasn’t taken seriously. Some even believed the city would not be hit by Katrina. But that was not to be, and hell broke loose in the city of New Orleans. New Orleans wasn’t directly hit by Katrina, it was collateral damage that did it in. The 10 inches of attendant rain was too much for the embankment (levee system) put in place to check to the flood of the city’s metropolitan area which was already located below sea level. As the levee system failed, the water of Pontchartrain and Borgne lake rushed in, inundated 20% of the city by the afternoon of 29th August.

Huge loss of life and property in spite of the warning

Mayor of the city, a day earlier, had sounded alert and ordered all inhabitants to move out of the city for safety. About 1.2 million inhabitants followed orders and moved out of the city. But about 10 thousand, willy-nilly, stayed put. And, by 30th of August, 80% of the city was submerged in water. In that situation, the local state administration couldn’t extend the required help to the affected people. With the city’s administrative machinery paralysed, there were instances of looting and arson. People perched on rooftops were salvaged by helicopters. The deluge and its aftermath claimed 1,800 lives. Material damage was to the tune of 160 billion dollars. By far the costliest natural disaster recorded in American history.

The resurrection of the park was impracticable

The Six Flags: New Orleans, situated on low lying 162 acres of land became a ready container for the surge of water flowing from a higher level. The drainage pumps installed in park failed and soon it became a pool of floodwaters, 4-7 feet deep. Material damage was huge. 80% of the park buildings were demolished. Prolonged contact with saltwater corroded the metal of fun gadgets and rides installed in the theme park. Repairing and restructuring the damage was deemed untenable. And the possibility of restarting the amusement park in future was put to rest.

Photos of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans. (Nathan Hoang / Flickr)

The ruined park became a public nuisance

There are people who revel in exploring the deserted and the abandoned urban sites. It is their way of having a first-hand feel of ruins which were glorious in their heydays. Could the remains of park cater to such people, and become a destination for urban exploration (Urbex)? No. Reason being wanton pilferage, and take-away in the name of souvenir, which would invariably happen in urbex. Also, because the area of the decrepit park isn’t safe for the visitors. It is flushed with wildlife like alligators, snakes, wild hogs, rabbits and insects. For the people living in the neighbourhood, as of now, the park is an eyesore, a festering wound that must be treated as soon as possible.

Is Six Flags New Orleans reopening?

At present, the desolate park is closed for visitors. Entry to the site is declared illegal. In the year 2016, the possibility of reviving the Six Flags Park, and attracting investors for same, was thoroughly explored. But to no avail. Therefore, it was finally decided to remove all traces of what remains on-site as a remnant of the erstwhile Six Flag’s funfair.

Mayor of the city of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell, declared in May this year that the leftovers of the park would be demolished to clear the ground for another establishment. The exercise would cost 1.3 million dollars to the state exchequer. The evacuated land would be used to establish an institution land for creating awareness about climate change. It would also be a school for zipline courses on adventure sports, and guided tours to the nearby wildlife refuge.

Special thanks to Nathan Hoang from Flickr for releasing the photos of the abandoned theme park in creative commons.

Fact Analysis:
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Country calling codes map. (Maximilian Dörrbecker/Wikimedia Commons)

Telephone codes were introduced to manage the ever-increasing database of telephones worldwide. Calling codes were simple numbers to begin with. The USA got number 1, Africa 2, Europe 3 and 4. These were further classified depending on their load capacity. So, France and UK got catchy two-digit numbers, 33 and 44 respectively. Smaller countries, like Ireland and Iceland, got 3 digits, 353 and 354 respectively. The objective, as per the Red book (1960) of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was that the code and the telephone number put together should not exceed 11 digits.

Numbers soon got cluttered and unwieldy

The blue book (1964) divided the world into 9 zones. Zone-1 for North America, Zone 2 for Africa, and Zone 3 and 4, for Europe. One to three-digit codes were allotted to different countries. Subsequently, white book (1968) gave code 37 to East Germany. Trucial states (the tribal states in southeastern Arabia) got 971. Zanzibar (a region of Tanzania) got 252. Turkey, its European code 36 discarded, was shifted to zone 9 (Western Asia and the Middle East), and given a new code 90. The Green Book (1972) shifted many Central American countries from zone 1 (North America) to zone 5 (South America). Tribal states in southeastern Arabia got renamed as ‘United Arab Emirates’ and got 971 as calling code. Ceylon and Rhodesia retained their code, 92 and 263, even as their names got changed to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, respectively.

Digital era brought stability in code profiling

The arrival of the personal computer put an end to regular updating of codebooks. The Republic of Upper Volta got a new name – Burkina Faso but retained old code – 226. The Falkland Islands earlier clubbed with Guatemala, got a separate code – 500. North Korea got a new code – 850. As Germany re-united in 1990, united Germany adopted West Germany’s 49, dropping East Germany’s 37. Eritrea separated from Ethiopia (251) in 1993 and got a new code, 291.

The last shuffle of the 20th century was the Middle East

In 1993, Yugoslavia (38), was replaced with Serbia and Montenegro (381), Croatia (384), Slovenia (386), Bosnia (387) and Macedonia (389). In 1995, Vatican City got a separate code 379; earlier it was clubbed with Italy (39). Czechoslovakia (57) was divided into the Czech Republic (420), and Slovakia (421) in 1997. East Timor separated from Indonesia in 1999 and got the code 670. The same year, Palestine got 970, separate from Israel (972).

Today, only 6 countries retain the codes allotted by the Red Book of 1960. The method, as well as madness (politics), have seemingly decided the codes that are functional today.

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View of Sana’a, Yemen. (yeowatzup/Flickr)

The geographical region between Northeast Africa and Southwest Asia is called the Middle East. It is verily called ‘the cradle of human civilization’ as it is the birthplace of the world’s earliest known civilizations. Yemen, with its city of Sana’a, is part of this ‘cradle’.

From 9th century BC to 6th century AD, Yemen saw rise and fall of several civilized states like Sabaean (pre-Islamic south-western Arabia mentioned in the biblical story of King Solomon and Queen Sheba), Awsanian (South Arabia) and Minaean (the ancient Yemenis who lived along the present-day strip of desert called Ramlat Dehem). Thanks to the spice trade, the principal vocation of people, these states were rich and prosperous. No wonder the Romans called them ‘Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia)’.

Sana’a, Yemen

Old Sana’a, Yemen. (Rod Waddington/Flickr)

Excavations reveal that the earliest human settlements in Yemen happened around 5,000 BC. The city of Sana’a is located 2,200 meters above sea level, across the mountains of Yemen. It is the oldest Arabian city, which is consistently inhabited for over 2,500 years. Famed as the heartland of Arabs, its 6,000 residential houses (built before 11th century), 14 hammams (bathhouses) and 103 mosques reflect the ancient Arabic architecture. Well-built mud houses and high rise brick towers on a stone base are signature landmarks. Fired bricks and white gypsum are used in making decorative designs. The overall town planning is thoughtful. The brownish colour of structures merges into the colour of earth and the mountain range. A medley of tall minarets, beautiful gardens, and rest houses adds to the spender of the city.

Sana’a, Yemen. (Antti Salonen/Wikimedia Commons)

Himyarite Kingdom

Himyar kingdom, which lasted from 2nd century BC to 525 AD, was the last pre-Islamic statehood. Sana’a was granted the status of a ‘city’ in 2nd century BC. By 1st century AD, it was a key station on the terrestrial trading routes. From AD 525-75, it was ruled by Abyssinians (ancient Ethiopians) professing the Christian faith. The Christian influence on the city peaked from 527 to 565 AD in tandem with the reign of the Roman Emperor – Justinian.

The Great Mosque, planned & constructed in the lifetime of Prophet Mohammed, in 630 AD, contained several pre-Islamic relics. In the 7th Century, as Sana’a transformed into an Islamic state, the pre-Islamic relics were destroyed. Protection has been extended to the old city of Sana’a through Building law of 2002 and Antiquities Law of 1997. World heritage committee has suggested the building of a buffer zone around the old city.

Inside Sana’a, Yemen. (Rod Waddington/Flickr)

Ottoman Rule

With the occupation of Egypt in the 1st Century BC, Romans made the red sea their principal route for business and trade. This weakened Yemen regimes, which depended principally on the land route for trading. Consequently, the Christian Abyssinians took over Yemen in the 4th and 6th centuries. In the later 6th century, the Sassanids of Persia governed Yemen, and in the 7th century, Yemen was ruled by an Islamic state. Following the rapid spread of Islam from Mecca and Madina–where it originated, Yemen was quick to embrace Islam and spread it into other countries as a front-line soldier.

Ottoman rule, founded by the leader of Turkish tribes at the start of the 13th century, gave a new lease of life to Sana’a. Islamic architecture was revived. It reflected loud and clear in the technique of ‘organizing the spaces’. The city was expanded in a big way, and its scenic landscape was enhanced. The houses and buildings were constructed from the material locally available and ensured living comforts and protection during exigencies. That’s the hallmark of Islamic architecture.

From the mid-17th to mid-19th century, Yemen remained virtually isolated from the rest of the world. In the early 20th century, Yemen was split into two states, north for Ottomans and south for British. Ottomans were forced to flee from Yemen following defeat in World War 1 in 1918 and after a series of upheavals, Yemen Arab Republic was formed in 1962.

The civilizations of Bible and Koran mingle seamlessly in the old city of Sana’a. In 1893, Aden (a port city of Yemen) was occupied by the British. With the end of Ottoman rule in 1918, and British rule in 1967, Yemen became a republic in 1990.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Byblos, Lebanon: A World Heritage Site and the Oldest Continuously Inhabited City in the World“.

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Snake wine. (Jacek Karczmarczyk/Wikimedia Commons)

Man’s tryst with snakes is as old as 10,000 BCE. Be it in the form of mortal fear, awe, astonishment, or curiosity. That which doesn’t kill us makes us strong, said Friedrich Nietzsche. A serpent with all wherewithal to kill is served to you as a drink. But does it make you strong?

Caters to man’s craving for bizarre

There is a growing concern, worldwide, to conserve wildlife, including endangered snakes. Yet the wild and weird fascinates man in his never-ending search for health and vigour. Wine/alcohol, seasoned with snake flesh, is one of such fascinations. Taking it is justified on the grounds of medicinal properties and a unique flavour.

Hyped as tonic and miracle drug

Like placebo effect of a fake drug, notions and myths about snake wine fuel its market demand. It is touted as a cure for rheumatism, migraine, sciatica and many other ailments. It is also passed as an aphrodisiac – a sexual stimulant. Wildlife being a potential source of disease to humans doesn’t seem to be an issue. The lovers of snake wine go for it, even illegally, come what may.

Read more: Tiger Farms- Where a Shady ‘Tiger Conservation Business’ Puts the Entire Feline Population at a Greater Risk

Made by dropping a snake in alcohol

The procedure to make snake wine is simple. A snake is placed into a glass or china jar filled with rice wine. The snake may be dead or alive. For 5 kg of wine, half a kg of snake flesh used. The snake may be dead or alive. For 5 kg of wine, half a kg of snake flesh is required. The jar is then sealed and stored. Wine is ready in two months’ time. If stored longer, it matures to a better finish.

Another way is a short cut; doesn’t require marinating the snake body. Blood, bile or beating heart of a freshly killed snake is put into a ready-to-drink glass of wine or alcohol. Taken as a one-shot, this is another way to get high on snake spirit.

Other reptiles and arachnids are also used to prepare snake wine. (Kiran Jonnalagadda/Flickr)

Non-poisonous preferred over poisonous species

Poisonous snakes; their flesh, and the poison, are used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is argued that the alcohol content of wine neutralizes poison and makes it safe for the consumer. Yet, it is advisable to use non-poisonous snakes for winemaking. There have been instances of snakes raising the head and biting the unsuspecting handler of the wine jar. Additionally, poisonous snakes are just about 7% of the snake population, and King Cobra is already taken in the IUCN’s red list of threatened species, hence the use of non-poisonous snakes is recommended.

King cobra wine. (Khương Việt Hà/Wikimedia Commons)

Inimical to the welfare of snakes

Even as the killing of snakes is decried world over, snake wine isn’t. It sells well globally and it is here to stay. Till a better sense prevails, and snakes are spared the commercial use they are put to. That alone would signify well for the health of the eco-systems on earth.

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Ideologically opposed USA and USSR

They were also apprehensive of the Soviet Union’s plan of expansion beyond the occupied territories. And on the other hand, Soviets nursed a grudge against America for not having recognized them as part of the international community for long. Russians also took exception to America’s delayed participation in WWII, which cost them millions of lives.

The ill will between the two nations soon galvanised into policy matter. Post World War II, America adopted a policy of ‘containing’ the Soviet Union. There could never be a permanent agreement with Soviets. Hence the best way out was vigilantism to check Russia’s ‘expansive tendencies’. This, for over four decades, remained the undercurrent of the foreign policy of America.

Read more: When the CIA trained cats to spy on the Soviets

Atomic power was a new symbol of military might

The policy of restraining USSR also became a reason for building and storing war weapons. Arms budget of America was increased four-fold, and Americans deemed communist expansion a threat to America and the world.

Atomic bomb test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll. (Victorrocha/Wikimedia Commons)

Hence such expansionism was sought to be curbed with military force. Atomic power, which gave Allied forces victory in WWII, became a symbol of military might. USSR tested atomic explosion in 1949. America retaliated by testing a more powerful hydrogen bomb. USSR responded with a test explosion of improvised and updated weaponry, ‘super bombs’.

Americans and Soviets geared up for nuke challenge

Atomic explosions come with a price tag. The environment gets dangerously polluted with radioactive waste. The fear that these explosions could annihilate the world, like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, grew by the day. Post-WWII Americans built bomb shelters in residential areas. They carried out mock drills in schools and public places for remaining safe in the event of a nuclear holocaust. Both nations implied the Cold War.

Space exploration became part of the Cold War

No wonder the emerging field of ‘Space Exploration‘ too became a bone of contention between these two nations. Soviets led by launching the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, in space on October 4, 1957. The satellite was launched by firing the Russian R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile. America, second in a space race, was rattled—what if R-7 carried a nuclear weapon instead of a satellite? America thus enhanced its surveillance of the Soviet Military.

Communists of America were declared traitors

Apart from external threat, America faced an internal threat too. A report of the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) said that there were groups of communists spread all over America. They were traitors serving the interest of the Soviet Union, not America. Committee’s finding came as a rude shock and course correction was done in a big way. Communist ideologues were denied work. Thousands of state employees were hauled up for investigation. Suspects, including University Professors, were charged with subversive activities and were fired from their jobs. Anti-communist/anti-Soviet sentiment prevailed in every nook and corner the American society.

Read more: The Soviet ‘Masterplan’ to use dogs for bombing German tanks

Interventions and alignments kept the Cold War alive

When North Korea, aided by USSR, invaded South Korea in 1950, it was construed as communist expansion, and America responded by deploying its military force. Korean War ended in a standoff in 1953. But the muscle-flexing of the nations continued unabated. America made West Germany a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in 1955. Soviet Union countered this with Warsaw Pact, a unified military command of USSR with Albania, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and East Germany.

Cuba became a nuclear flashpoint

America, in 1961, made a discrete but unsuccessful attempt to topple Fidel Castro’s communist rule in Cuba. The very next year, the Soviet Union constructed the base for its nuclear missiles in Cuba. Panicked, America made frantic efforts to avoid a prospective atomic war. A reconnaissance US aircraft that flew over Cuba was shot down. US Navy was put on red alert. This was nearest that the two superpowers could have come to a nuclear flashpoint. However, direct communication between the American President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ensued, and peace prevailed. A hotline between the White House and Kremlin for emergency talks was established for good. The two sides agreed to work towards the goal of a nuclear test ban treaty.

Project A119 ticked silently in the background

Even as the aforesaid scenario unfolded, a top-secret space project of America, proposed in 1958, thrived in the backdrop. It was ‘Project A119’, beguilingly called ‘A Study of Lunar Research Flights’. Leonard Reiffel, a physicist who would become Deputy Director of NASA’s Apollo Program, headed the project.

Cover of A Study of Lunar Research Flights. (Armour Research Foundation)

Explosion on the moon was meant to scare the Soviet Union

The US Air Force directed Leonard Reiffel to conceptualize a nuclear explosion on the surface of the moon and work out its immediate (visible) and long-term effects. Reflecting on the proposal, Reiffel, much later in the year 2000, observed that proposal was out and out, a PR exercise. A mushroom cloud was what they wanted to see on the moon, with just one aim, to browbeat Russia in the space race. A visible mushroom cloud on the moon would humble the Soviets and put Americans in a one-up position.

Read more: How Russia’s Space Mirror Experiment Deflects Sunlight to Light up Arctic Region for Brief Period

Secrecy of Project A119 leaked

Reiffel had made a ten-member team for executing Project A119. It included two noted Astronomers, Gerard Kuiper (now considered as the father of modern planetary science) and Carl Sagan (who became a celebrated television personality later on). Even as the project was top-secret, Sagan inadvertently reneged on secrecy. In 1959, while applying for the Miller Institute of Graduate Fellowship, he wrote about his engagement with Project A119. Keay Davidson collected this spec of evidence in the late nineties while writing Sagan’s biography. When the book was released, Reiffel was forced to acknowledge and explain Project A119.

Researchers worked out the details of hitting the moon

Leonard Reiffel worked on the moon bombing project at ARF (Armour Research Foundation), Chicago, from 1958 to 1959. The place is now the Illinois Institute of Technology Research. His research concluded that the moon could indeed be hit within an accuracy of two miles. An intercontinental missile, already launched by the US in 1959, was good enough for it. The light-weight Atom bomb would be a better choice compared to the heavy-weight Hydrogen bomb. If the moon was nuked, dust and gas would rise on the moon surface would be good subjects for study. How the hit would be different for the two sides of the moon, light and the dark was explained.

Before the launch of the atomic warhead, Rieffel explained, three identical instruments must be put on the moon surface. These instruments would measure a slew of parameters at the time of the explosion, and the moments before and after the explosion. These findings would enrich our knowledge of the moon, and its environment, and planet earth. It would also expose any microbes that may live on the moon surface. Thankfully, the idea of nuking the moon with an atomic missile remained limited to a hypothesis and was never implemented.

Controversies around Project A119

When the project information leaked in the late nineties, it attracted wide-ranging public debate. There were speculations that had the explosion been actually carried out, the moon would have been trashed. Reiffel rubbished such claims and said the explosion, at worst, could have created a small crater on the moon. So small that best of the telescope couldn’t make it visible on earth. Reiffel conceded that the contamination of the moon’s environment with radioactive material was a dangerous prospect. Such contamination could thwart research related to the origin of life on earth. Hence, Project A119 was dismissed.

Nuking moon was deemed impracticable

There were other apprehensions as well. Like the possibility of a bomb-carrying missile straying from the path and falling on earth. Also, nuclear device exploding midway, short of reaching the moon. These possibilities may have dampened the enthusiasm of the US Air force, and the space adventure was quietly dropped.

What was USSR’s stand on the moon all this while? Surprisingly, the Soviet Union planned and geared up on similar lines. And accordingly dropped the idea of polluting the moon.

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The feral horses of Assateague Island. (tramod / Flickr)

The horse is man’s second best friend after the dog. Its majestic looks, heady smell, terrific speed and amazing stamina are matchless. The scale ‘Horse Power’ testifies to the iconic status it holds as a power parameter. Its resilience too is mind-boggling. It can revert back to its pristine wild form (which existed before its domestication in 3000 BC), to become ‘feral’, if driven out from human care.

That’s what happened in the late 17th century. The increasing tax burden on domestic animals forced farmers to abandon their horses. Equine herds were driven to Assateague, a 60 km long barrier island, to live free.

Another view is that a Spanish ship ferrying a herd of horses wrecked at high sea. The horses which swam to safety became the ‘feral’ horses of Assateague Island.

Feral vs wild horse

Przewalski’s horse. (Claudia Feh / Wikimedia Commons)

It is important to note that ‘wild horse‘ is not the same as ‘feral horse’. There is only one truly wild horse in the world at present, it is Przewalski’s horse but recent research has suggested that they too might have been descended from domesticated horses. The rest of the so-called wild, are actually feral horses. Any domestic animal becomes feral when it lives freely in the wild away from the care and protection of human masters. Feral horses are a genre that was ‘pet’ in the past but became wild in the face of harsh circumstances. Interestingly, given a chance, they can switch to domestic use all over again.

The Assateague island

The feral horses of Assateague island are divided into two major groups. One, living on the Maryland side of the island, another on the Virginia side. Maryland herd is monitored by The National Park Services. The herd on the Virginia side is owned and cared for by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department (hence the name Chincoteague ponies for the Virginia herd) who have a grazing permit to keep the horses on the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. While the Refuge and The National Park Services may respond to an emergency in the first place, the call is finally taken by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department. A major tourist attraction, the island is just 3 hour’s drive from Washington DC. It can also be reached from Baltimore, Annapolis, Southern Delaware and Northern Virginia. Its natural beauty, flora and fauna gives the island a place of pride in National Treasures of the United States.

Major tourist attraction

Where wild horses are a treat to watch, tourists are warned to remain at a safe distance. Touching or patting them may provoke them to bite or kick in self-defence. Even feeding the animals is prohibited as human food can make them sick. Hierarchized into groups of two to twelve individuals, called the band, Assateague’s horses roam free eating salty marsh grass that grows on the island. Their big belly and short stature is an adaptation to the retro environment. Ingestion of salty grass compels them to drink more water, hence the huge belly. The harsh environment of the island makes them petite like their distant ancestors. Clearly, a case of devolution, of reverting back in lineage – to their pristine wild forms. Yet, they have the wherewithal to become man’s companion once again, in changed circumstances. To keep their population in check, horses are sold off to private owners. ‘Misty of Chincoteague’, the children’s novel written by Marguerite Henry, describes a local festival called ‘Pony Penning’ wherein young foals of Virginia herd are sold by auction.

Feral horses grazing near the shore of the island. (Bonnie U. Gruenberg / Wikimedia Commons)

Horse population is regulated by the state

Resilient as these robust creatures are, they once again adapt to man’s proximity, when put into urbane conditions. Males are allowed only one breeding; then they are sterilized. This is done to avoid inbreeding and ensure diversity in future generations. The state monitoring restricts the size of the herd to 150 adults so that the natural resources of the island are not threatened. Wild must necessarily be hard on weak and the ailing. So, care is taken not to interfere with nature’s edict of the survival of the fittest. Only token veterinary aid/intervention is provided, like euthanasia for the terminally ill. Sick and weak are allowed to perish so that only the fit survive to live and procreate.

A mother horse with her foal grazing. (NPS photo)

The island is much more than just feral horses

On a positive note, horses are not the only attraction that the island offers to tourists. It is also an ideal destination for the bird watchers. Scenic beach, white sand, blue sea waves, safe campground are other bounties of tourist interest. Island’s neighbourhood offers good opportunities of the sighting of wildlife as well.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Zebroid: Strange Equine Hybrids That Make Their Parentage Shine“.

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21 Grams Experiment: The New York Times article about the experiment from March 11, 1907. (The New York Times)

IT WAS ON the 10th of April 1901 in Dorchester, Massachusetts when Dr Duncan MacDougall and his team of four other doctors selected six dying patients for an experiment to determine the weight of human soul which leaves the physical body when a man dies. So, logically, a difference of body weight before and after death must be the weight of the soul that departs. Of the six patients picked up by them, five were men and one woman.

The 21 Grams Experiment

The just-about-to-die patient was placed in a specially made Fairbanks weight scales. As the first patient died, the needle of the weighing machine flickered and rested on a lower scale. The loss in weight was estimated to be three-fourths of an ounce or 21 grams.

Dr Duncan MacDougall. (Boston Sunday Post)

A repetition of the experiment with the second patient gave a similar result. Doctors monitoring the experiment made independent observations. Loss of weight in patients was a consistent finding, though the extent of loss varied from one patient to another. The third patient didn’t show any weight loss immediately on demise but showed a minute later. Dr MacDougall blamed the dying man’s phlegmatic temperament for the delayed exit of the soul from the body. The patient, he said, was ‘slow of thought and action’. So, the soul seemingly hung on to him for a minute even after death.

The experiment could only be carried out in four patients. One patient died before being put on weighing scale and in yet another case, the equipment failed. Doctors did their best to ensure that the experiment was conducted fairly and impartially. The weight of air in the lungs, body fluids, water evaporating from the skin; all were taken into account. The weight loss which still remained unaccounted was obviously the weight/mass of the departing soul. Doctors concluded that the average weight loss of each patient was ¾ of an ounce, implying that the human soul weighed 21 grams.

However, no change in weight was observed when Dr MacDougall repeated the experiment on 15 dogs. A physics teacher at Los Angeles, H. Lav. Twing tried the same on mice in 1917. He too didn’t find any change in body weight after their death.

Scepticism and criticism

The scientific world expressed serious doubt on the relevance and authenticity of these experiments. Fellow Massachusetts doctor Augustus P. Clarke said that there is a sudden rise of temperature when death strikes because lungs stop working and their cooling effect on bloodstream goes off. This rise in temperature, he said, caused sweating and loss of moisture by evaporation through the skin surface. Loss of weight upon death, he argued, was because of such sweating and evaporation, and not because of the soul leaving the dead. According to him, the experiment failed with dogs because dogs cool their body by panting and not by sweating. Dr MacDougall countered by saying that death stops blood circulation in the body, so the question of blood rushing to the skin and raising body temperature simply doesn’t arise.

The debate on the subject continued unabated with many questioning the intent, ethics and veracity of such morbid experiments. ‘Which family would offer their dying member as a Guinea pig for scientific study?’ posed sceptics. Experiments failing with animal species implied that animals don’t have a soul. This inference too was questioned.

Though Dr MacDougall announced that he would try to photograph the soul in subsequent experiments, his stand on nature of soul remained ambiguous. He conceded that his experiments were not conclusive and that more such experiments must be conducted to know the truth. That apart, an assumption based on only 4 out of chosen 6 patients couldn’t be rated as a significant finding. The exact time of the patient’s death too couldn’t have been precise and accurate.

MacDouglass passed away in 1920 without any further breakthrough in weighing the human soul leaving a maxim that the human soul weighs 21 grams.

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Trigona spinipes. (José Reynaldo da Fonseca / Wikimedia Commons)

Life cycles of different bees are similar but their lifestyles and feeding mechanisms vary. And while bees are usually known for organized community living and nectar collection, there are bees that defy the norm and do not sting and builds a nest with animal dung. Like, Trigona spinipes, found in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and elsewhere in South America.

Stingless, but not unarmed

Trigona spinipes belongs to the family Apidae. It nests on trees, buildings and other human structures. Inability to sting doesn’t mean inability for self-defence. It can be extremely belligerent and attacks an opponent in a swarm. Shooting into natural openings and hair growth of adversary is a significant offence. Their two mandibles, each having 5 teeth, can inflict a painful bite. The bite, at times, can be so strong that the mandibles can dislodge and prove fatal/suicidal for the bee on the offensive.

Nest and the food source are abridged with odour paths

For gathering food, the stingless bee creates odour-trails. These are zigzag pathways, none going straight from the food source to the nest. Bends on way are meant to mislead an invasive organism, which, otherwise, reach the nest following odour trail. However, the trail is a flawless guide for the friend bees, to move between the food source and the nest. On the flip side, Trigona spinipes too poaches on odour track of other species, to steal from food source of those species.

Literally lives in the trash

They nest at greater heights on vegetation compared to other species. Like any other bee, Trigona spinipes collects into a swarm prior to nest formation. Bifurcation of tree branches is the preferred location. The honeycomb is made up of wax, plant fragments, mud, resins and debris, including dung. Waste material of the bee colony, called scutellum, makes the framework of the bee nest. The length of the nest can vary from 50-60 cm, same for the width. Nest formation is not seasonal, but need-driven. As the honey produced & stored is in a polluted environment—it is unfit for human consumption. Nevertheless, it is used as medicine.

A matured nest of stingless bees Trigona spinipes. The greenish part is a recent addition and is possibly cow or horse dung. (Jorge Stolfi / Wikimedia Commons)

Males are forced into a solitary existence

The life of a bee begins as an egg (3 days duration). Development in the next two stages, larva and pupa, follows a divergent course resulting in the formation of three distinct classes of bee: queen (female), worker (female) and drone (male). The female larvae which are fed a special quality of food, develop into queen bees, others develop into worker bees. The number of worker bees in a colony can vary from 5000 to more than a lakh. Male bees are driven out from the nest. Expelled males (drone) lead a solitary existence (it may last from 4-6 weeks) or join the swarm of worker bees to search for food, and coincidently, find a virgin queen to mate with.

Only one male mates with Trigona spinipes queen

The virgin queen flies out from her parent nest, with a bunch of worker bees, to settle at a new location. The odour of the queen bee attracts males (drone) who lie in wait outside the queen’s new abode. The queen bee flies out to mate. Only one male, out of 30 to 100, from nests scattered far and wide, gets a chance to mate with her. On this count, Trigona spinipes differs from most honeybees which mate with more than one male. After mating, the queen returns to the nest to lay eggs. The eggs that are fertilized by the male, become females (queen bees and worker bees). All unfertilized eggs develop into males.

Queen and worker compete for producing more number of males

The Queen is larger in size and is a prolific egg producer. As head of a nest, she is central to all activities in the honeycomb. The worker bees, being females, also produce eggs, albeit in a limited number. Thus workers and the queen bee become rivals. Unfertilized eggs laid by both of them (queen mates with just one male, so a sizeable part of her eggs remain unfertilized, and workers never mate) develop into male bees (drone). The rivalry goes to the extent that they eat away each other’s unfertilized eggs. Queen tries damage control by placing her unfertilized eggs in the same cell as fertilized ones, to confuse the worker bee. Ostensibly, the queen, as well as the workers have a vested interest in promoting their respective male progeny.

Like most honeybees, Trigona spinipes is a pollinator of agriculture crops, hence farmer’s friend. However, it harms some crops like passion fruit where farmers must guard against it to avoid losses.

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Terry Fox along North Park St during 1981 Marathon of Hope. (Ross Dunn / Flickr)

Terry Fox was lucky to be born into a loving, caring family. Fortunate enough to have a teacher who inspired him no-end. But a road accident would bring him face to face with bone cancer, and the flip side of life. Could he do something to fight cancer for self, as well as for other patients? Yes, thought the Canadian athlete, Terry Fox. He would run a marathon to collect money for cancer research. And he ran a great distance, taking an artificial leg in his stride. Lost his life, but won against cancer, in a big way.

A versatile outdoor player

Born on July 28, 1958, Terry Stanley Fox was the second sibling among 3 brothers and 2 sisters. The qualities of head and heart he imbibed from his mother Betty, and father Rolly, set him apart from other children of his age group. School’s basketball coach, Bob McGill saw an immense drive in him and felt Terry would do better as a cross country runner than as a basketball player. Terry agreed in letter and spirit. The switch to running was hard in the beginning. But, true to his nature, Terry persisted and impressed his coach. Nevertheless, his love for basketball sustained even as his coach felt he wasn’t good at this game. Coach suggested yet another switch—wrestling. But basketball remained close to Terry’s heart, and his coach finally allowed him into the game. And as a student of class 8th, he became a formidable basketball player.

Excelled in Basketball

Terry was so possessed with the game that he would attend school even when ill. By the time he was in 10th class, Terry had become a key player of his basketball team. His dedicated attempts, irrespective of victory or defeat, were widely appreciated. In the final year of high school, Terry received the Athlete of the year award. Apart from basketball, Terry made his mark in soccer and rugby as well. In academics too, he showed significant improvement. On joining the University, he opted Kinesiology (the study of human movement) as his major subject and aspired to become a coach, a physical education teacher, like Bob. Praising him, Bob McGill said Terry always obeyed his coach. So much so that if the coach asked him to hit head on the wall, Terry would do it without a second thought.

A road accident changed his life

Terry was 18 years and pursuing University education when he met with a road accident in 1976. He escaped, virtually unharmed but with knee-pain that persisted for a long time. Four months later, in 1977, he went for a medical inspection. The report said it was Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. From the knee, the cancer was spreading to the rest of his body. To check the spread, the leg was amputated at the thigh region. Before the surgical operation took place, his coach was on his bedside. He showed him an article on Dick Traum, an amputee who ran the New York City Marathon. And Terry got his new assignment.

Planned out Marathon of Hope

The surgery and the 16-month long chemotherapy that followed steeled his resolve to run like Dick Traum. Even after the surgery, he continued playing outdoor games – seated on his wheelchair. The plight of fellow cancer patients shook him to the roots. He would run, long and hard, and raise money for the welfare of cancer patients. The run would be called ‘Marathon of Hope’.

Followed his heart to the last breath

Feats that overshoot the limits of physical endurance have mind power behind them. The mind leads, and the body follows. Thigh cells that were supposed to stop growing at a particular biological age, didn’t. They continued to grow. Following surgery, Terry was supposed to lie low and take precautions, but he didn’t. His passion for games, and outdoors, remained undiminished. Cancer and Terry were so much similar, hence, bound to clash.

Resolved to raise money for cancer research

In 1979, Terry wrote to the Canadian Cancer Society asking for funds. He got funds as well as sponsorship for his fundraising run, the Marathon of Hope. On 12th April 1980, he began his marathon from St. John’s, Newfoundland, the easternmost point of Canada. He had reached there in the company of his friend Doug Alward. Start of the run was sober. No fanfare or celebrations that a Herculean effort of this magnitude verily deserved. A determined Terry bathed his leg in the Atlantic Ocean and began the epic run from the east coast of Canada.

Ran marathon for 143 days

Imagine a person running with just one leg, the other leg is artificial. It can’t be a smooth run. It would be a mix of limp and leap. And that’s what defined Terry’s run on the roads of Maritime Provinces. The staccato run of a human frame, braving elements of nature, was a moving experience for the onlookers. Blood oozed on the stub of his thigh and the consequent pain was writ large on runner’s face.

Terry Fox during his 1980 “Marathon of Hope”. (Jeremy Gilbert / Wikimedia Commons)

It was a poignant sight, and people in hordes gathered on roads to cheer and applaud him. Here was a Samaritan, a cancer survivor, running for the welfare of cancer patients. Terry ran 37.5 km (approximately 23.3 miles) every day, for a total of 143 days, end to end.

Ran to the tipping point, and fell to cancer

After covering a distance of 5,372 km (3,338 miles), Terry couldn’t take it any longer. Cancer had raised its head, again. On September 1, 1980, he was forced to stop running. Cancerous cells had invaded his lungs. He was treated, unsuccessfully, at British Columbia. On June 28, 1981, at the age of 22, he succumbed to cancer. But not before bagging coveted awards and honours: The companion of the Order of Canada, Lou Marsh award for outstanding athletic accomplishment and Canadian of the Year. His dream of raising money for cancer research was also realized.

Terry’s spirit survives his death

As they say: End is the beginning. He raised more than 11 million dollars through his Marathon of Hope. The trail he blazed, is here to stay. Terry fox run is held every year in September, in the memory of the prodigal runner. Similar runs are organized in more than 50 countries. The Terry Fox Foundation has raised over 400 million dollars for cancer research. An internet survey in 1999 named Terry Fox as Canada’s greatest hero. In 2004, Terry was declared second greatest (first being Tommy Douglas) Canadian of all time.

He was courage personified

In death, as in life, Terry Fox symbolises courage in adversity. Many buildings and roads in Canada are named after him. At Port Coquitlam, his home town, a city hall is dedicated to his memory. Theatre, Secondary school, Park, and a library in the town bear the name ‘Terry fox’. Port Coquitlam, the town where Terry got his prosthetic leg and learned to use it, is running a nomination campaign to put a picture of Terry on Canadian currency.

The whole of Canada is Terry Fox’s memorial

Terry Fox memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Alex Guibord / Flickr)

A statue of Terry adorns the space near the Prime Minister’s office. A commemorative one-dollar coin of Canada and a mountain have been named in Terry’s honour. Many believe, Terry could be seen on the Canadian currency soon. As per the norm, only the political luminaries find a place on a currency note. Terry may break this rule. As he broke many, so profusely, during his lifetime.

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Transylvania, a historical region in Romania. (Antony Stanley / Flickr)

A geographical region in the Roman Empire (27 BC- 476 AD) was ruled by Hungarians, and the barbarian tribes of Huns (Asian origin) and Saxons (German origin) in the 11th century. It became part of Romania after the First World War, inspired ‘Dracula’ novel in 1897 and saw mutiny in 1989. Thanks to its cultural intermixing, medieval looks and spooky buildings, it’s now a popular tourist destination. We are talking about the Transylvania region of Romania in South-eastern Europe.

A bone of contention for long

Transylvania is surrounded by 3 mountains: Carpathian, Transylvanian Alps and Bihor. The Hungarians (Magyars) conquered it in 1003 AD. Thereafter, for many centuries, it thrived as an autonomous unit, until the invasion of Mongols in 1241. It became independent after Turks defeated Hungary in 1526. In 1566 Hungary was divided between Habsburg (Royal German family) and Turks. That brought Transylvania under Turkish suzerainty. Hungarian revolution of 1848 separated Transylvania from Hungary, but the two became one again in 1867. In World War I, following the defeat of Austria and Hungary, Transylvania got united with Romania. The allied forces recognized the union in 1920. In World War II, Hungary regained a part of Transylvania but ceded it to Romania in 1947. In 1989, they overthrew the communist rule in Romania.

A Christian Knight inspired the novel ‘Dracula’

Throughout these trials, Transylvania, in popular perception, remained a haunted place. A place where the spirits of the dead rose from their graves and sucked the blood of unsuspecting humans. Its creepy image reached a high with Bram Stoker’s novel ‘Dracula’ published in 1897. The novel blazed a trail of horror stories based on Transylvanian folklore.

The word Dracula is derived from ‘son of Dracul’. The phrase implied Vlad the Impaler (real name Vlad Tepes)–son of the 15th-century nobleman Vlad II Dracul. The word Dracul in Romanian means ‘the devil’, which contributed to Vlad’s reputation. Vlad Tepes was the king of Wallachia (now in Romania) and notorious for cruelty to his enemies. He would decapitate, eviscerate, impale and boil alive his enemies to give out a deterrent message. In 1462, when Ottoman (Turkish tribe) invaded Wallachia, he hoisted as many as 20,000 invaders on spear shafts; the stab passing through their body flesh, giving them a painful slow death. As the bodies writhed in pain, Vlad, the ‘son of Dracul’, wined and dined in their midst, even tasted their blood as part of his macabre revelry. This historical account inspired the character Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel.

The astonishing showcase of medieval town planning

Apart from Vampire stories, Transylvania is known for its unique architecture. There are a good number of villages in Transylvania showcasing Saxon (a German tribe) architecture in full glory. Each village has a church that doubles up as military base (medieval forts of Europe).

Prejmer, a commune of three villages, is home to the most typical and largest fortified church in the region. It is fortified with 10 feet thick and 40 feet high walls. Interiors were designed to serve as food depots during peacetime, and shelter in war condition. Rooms inside were earmarked for every family home in the village, so that in an emergency, all knew which room to move into. People could stay put the church for several weeks, with children continuing with their studies in make-shift school in the same premises. Apart from this, the Saxon forts were also used as hubs of trade and industry in peaceful times. Bran Castle is another popular fort, famed for its creepy looks.

Bran castle. (Nicu hoandra / Wikimedia Commons)

Moving on roads in Transylvania gives you a feeling of travelling back in time. It is a 100-years-back spectacle of dirty roads, horse-driven carts and hoards of sheep being driven to pasture. Transfagarasan road though is an exception. Situated on the Fagaras Mountains, it is an amazing zigzag road, running over a valley, through a 900-meter tunnel, into the forests of Wallachia.

Transfagarasan road with hairpin turns. (Horia Varlan / Wikimedia Commons)

A UNESCO heritage site and architectural landmark

Seven Saxon villages find a place in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site as milestones of gothic style architecture (13th to 16th century). Gothic architecture was a revolution of sorts as it created a multiple support system for the roof. Earlier, the entire weight of the roof rested on the 4 walls, which had to be commensurately thicker as the size of the building increased. Ribbed vault, flying buttresses and pointed arches were the support systems which took away much of the roof-load from the 4 walls of the building. Thus walls could be kept slim even as the area, and the height of the building increased.

Bermuda Triangle of Romania

Bram Stoker, the author of ‘Dracula’ had described Transylvania as ‘one of the wildest and least-known portions of Europe’. And not without a reason. Hoia-Baciu forest of Transylvania, called the ‘Bermuda Triangle of Romania’, is a weird jungle flush with strange woods.

Hoia Forest. (Cristian Bortes www.eyeem.com/bortescristian / Flickr)

Trees branch out weirdly into intimidating shapes. The tourists report of eerie silence interrupted by sounds of footfalls, with none in sight. Legends say that the forest is possessed by ghosts and evil spirits. A young girl was lost in the forest and returned after 5 years, but could not recall how she lived in the forest. Similarly, a shepherd and his flock of sheep went missing. Tourists have complained of headache and restlessness in Hoia-Baciu. Yet, the forest is a popular hangout for a picnic, adventure, and watching wildlife. Visitors can see wildlife through the hides, specially created for their safety and convenience. The Carpathian Mountains have a good population of wolves, lynx and brown bears.  There are a good number of mineral springs where people go for health reasons.

Alcoholic drink is part of the staple diet

Description of Transylvania is incomplete without the mention of a popular drink called Palinka. It’s a brandy distilled from plumes, although drinks made from other fruits as well. It is gulped in one go before taking the main course of the meal. Apart from routine use, Palinca is also taken on special occasions of revelry and celebrations.

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The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier underway with the Italian Marina Militare training ship Amerigo Vespucci on 12 July 1962. (U.S. Navy)

Man has used wooden rafts to cross rivers since times immemorial. In time, the rafts got upgraded to boats. Then came gigantic sea ships, powered by winds skilfully trapped in fabrics called sails, and the oars operated by human hands. Machines took over later in the 19th century. But, the sails and the oars, remain in reckoning even today. For commerce, adventure sports and the training of defence forces.

Boats evolved hand in hand with human civilization

Existence of water vessels, the boats can be traced as far back in history as 4000 BCE. Herodotus (484-425 BC), the Greek historian wrote about a 2-year sea voyage undertaken by an Egyptian king in 600 BCE. Boats were designed according to their use (business, travel, or battle). Both were rowed, i.e. propelled by human hands, but differed in the way their bodies were constructed. These remained in use for long till cyclonic storms forced the man to trap and use wind power, and ‘sails’ arrived on the scene.

An artistic depiction of a ship using both sail & oar propulsion. (Internet Archive Book Image / Flickr)

Sail and mast were the first improvisations

The sails were pieces of cloth tied to poles in a spread out. These came in the way of winds, and the wind power was used to propel the boat. One combination of cloth and the poles hoisting it made one ‘mast’. The mast generated wind power for propulsion of the ship/boat. Some ships used both sails and oars for propulsion. Hostile winds did intercept the journey, but sails could be moved and rotated to cheat winds and remain going. Merchant ships were better off on sails alone, as space otherwise used to house the rowing crew, was made available for more payload. This ushered an era of the pure ‘sailing’ ships in a big way.

The rig was next development

In time, sails were no more plain sheets of cloth to catch the wind, but skilfully arranged traps which could be used synergistically by trained men. The sails could be manoeuvred to move the boat even against the wind currents. A change in their relative positions ensured tapping the power of flowing air as well as the fierce winds, into the desired direction. Masts attached to ropes and rotating wheels, in an ensemble called rig, made it possible.

Number of masts and shape of sail added to the efficiency

Speed remained a challenge in pure sails. In oared boats, increasing the number of rowing hands was the logical answer for more power and more speed. Could the same be achieved with more number of sails and masts? Yes, by increasing the number of masts, speed of the ship could be increased significantly. Till 1400 BCE, all ships were using a single mast.

In the beginning, the principal sail was square-shaped. It had to be rotated for change in the direction of the journey. Such rotation naturally demanded some free space on the deck. It also demanded a number of men to rotate a large rig manually. So in 1200 BCE, 2 masts were put into use. The front mast was larger and triangular (lateen) and the second – smaller (generally square-shaped), behind the front mast. By 5th century AD, ships had several masts. And sails were oriented in myriad ways for desired travel. The masts were so oriented that winds could be harvested on both sides, front, as well as the backside.

Oared ships evolved in parallel

Simultaneously with pure sail, oared ships were also evolving. Like, Chinese putting a watertight box long the length of the boat where men could sit comfortably and move oar with more efficiency. Oar-cum-sail models were also in vogue. In these ships, sails could be wrapped to avoid sharp frontal winds and move on pure rowing.

Carvel and clinker constructions were the earliest 2 designs

The reign of Richard I (1189-99) saw 2 kinds of ships: the fighting ship, called galley and propelled by oars. And, merchant ship – the pure sail. The Mediterranean carrack of France was one of the 2 landmark ships of 14th century. It had 3 large masts, hull (boat’s body) made in carvel construction, wooden planks butting against each other to give a smooth surface. And used both square as well as the lateen (triangular) sails. The other ship was double-ended clinker construction (hull made by overlapping wooden planks) with similar sails.

Compass facilitated global travel

By the beginning of the 15th century, ships were using a compass for navigation. Ships, all decked up with sails (3 masts and 6 sails), became common. By the end of this century, Vasco Da Gama and Columbus made their mark in oceanic navigation, and trading became global. By 1425, the payload on a large ship had gone up from 300 tons to 1425 tons.

Ships catered to trade as well as battlefield

Merchant ships had their own armed security to face possible threats in the course of the journey. A ship used for trade during usual days could double up as fighting ship in wartime. In time, trade became a flashpoint for war. The 17th century war between Dutch and English resulted from a trade rivalry. Ship designs were spruced up to for the twin challenge of battle and business. The trading ships were escorted by the well-armed naval ships to protect them from enemies.

Britain became the naval superpower

As the Europeans explored east, they engaged the natives of the coastal region as their business partners. Thus, in places like Calcutta (Kolkata), Madras (Chennai) and Bombay (Mumbai), European settlements were established. The arrangement paid rich dividends to Europeans, churning out profits to the tune of 100% and even more. The 17th century was Holland’s ‘golden century’ and during this very time, England superseded France as ‘Europe’s seat of industry’. As the trade of English grew by leaps and bounds, professional shipbuilders were roped in to upgrade the sea boats. By the 18th century, Britain became the topmost naval power, a status it lost to America in the middle of the 19th century.

American navy became the next superpower

When America became independent in 1783, the British colonies established in America lost business. The American traders geared up to compete with the British East India Company, and the first thing they required was strong and efficient ships. They studied the existing ship models and managed to build better ships at low cost. A number of sails were put up to increase the speed. Thus, they could ferry perishable goods well in time and beat the competition. In the year 1815, the American ships were radially improvised. By the year 1840, the total body weight of ships increased from 500 to 1,200 tons. Ship’s body (hull), earlier, used to be 4 times longer than the size of beam (width of the ship at the widest point). The ratio increased to 5^1/2  times. The longer ships could travel at a faster speed and returned its cost-prize to the owner in 2 to 3 years.  In 1620, the British ship ‘Mayflower’ took 66 days to travel from England to America. The American ship (from Black Ball Lines’ series), covered this distance in just 23 days in 1825. In 1845, the distance was covered in just 14 days.

American ships laid benchmark in sea navigation

The ship ‘Rainbow‘ built in 1845, a clipper ship (synonym for merchant ship), was a milestone in American shipping. It had a slim body sporting a large stretch of sails on 3 masts. Multiple arcs held sails flutter high in the air, some extending well beyond the hull. This enabled the ship to tap wind power for faster speed. More of these ships were built in the following years. Notably, the ‘Witch of Waves‘. Another, ‘Lightening’, covered 436 miles in a day at the speed of  18^1/2 knots.

Motorised boats didn’t shadow the sail glory

As the era of machine propelled ships began with steamships in the early 1800s; the number of pure sails, pure rowers, and their combos, came down. But their utility has persisted, as exemplified by following two ships.

The ship “Preussen” in full sail. (Allan C. Green)

Preussen: It was a fully rigged (endowed with sails, masts and related operating tool) ship having  5 masts (combo of cloth canvass and hoisting poles) on a 133 meter long steel body and. Built in 1902 by German F. Laeisz shipping company, it was incredibly elegant and smooth sailing, hence called ‘Queen of the Queens of the Seas‘. It was the largest ship of the Flying P-liners group, a genre of ships renowned for cruising speed and reliability. Being fully rigged, it required a trained crew for navigation. With a top speed of 18.5 knots, it travelled from Germany to Chile in 53 days. Unfortunately, it was hit by a British steamer in 1910, and couldn’t be salvaged.

INS Tarangini. (Cruadin / Wikimedia Commons)

INS Tarangini (A75):  It is a 3-mast boat built by Goa Shipyard Ltd., and designed by Colin Muddie of UK.  The boat carries 20 sails. The name Tarangi is a Hindi word which means ‘wave’.  Commissioned in Indian Navy in 1997, it is used mainly for the training of cadets for Indian Navy. It is ideally suited for interface with sea environment, which is a basic drill for a career in Navy.

There are a total of 30 sail ships for naval training all over the world. Tarangini is one of them. It is a hands-on lesson in seamanship and character building for budding mariners. A floating classroom to study wind, weather and choppy sea waves. Apart from the navy, Tarangini also imparts short term courses to cadets from army and air force. From its base port at Kochi, it has sailed around the world, travelling 33,000 nautical miles in the Arabian Sea. The voyage, that touched 18 countries, was undertaken in 2003-04. Apart from that, Tarangini has successfully participated in the global competition of `Tall Ship Races’, in the year 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2018.

Acknowledging the role of Tarangini in manpower development, the Department of Posts had released a postage stamp in on it in 2004.

If old is gold, nothing says it better than sail ships.

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Artwork of sleep paralysis. (Henry Fuseli / Wikipedia Commons)

When you lie down to sleep on a bed, it’s never an instant switch off. You loll in bed, change sides and wait for the sleep to overtake you. Similarly, you rise from sleep in snatches of wakefulness, and not an instant switch on. But suppose you wake up from sleep and the first thing you notice is that you can’t move your body; you would indeed be terrified. This condition is called sleep paralysis.

The condition was first recognized as caused by the devil

The disorder can be traced back to 2000 BC, and was then recorded as a ‘bad dream’. People from the Mesopotamian to the Roman Empire believed that bad dream was caused by the demon incubus. In Latin, incubus means ‘to-sit-on’. The demon sat on the chest of its victim, gave them terrifying dreams. The hangover of these dreams persisted well into wakefulness, making them unable to get up in first few attempts after waking up.

Subsequently called nightmare

By the late 19th century, this condition came to be known as ‘nightmare’. Temporary immobilisation of body either at the point of sleeping, or waking up. The word ‘mare’ in Old Norse (North Germanic language) means ‘crusher’ and stands for the crushing weight of the demon or ghost who rides on the chest of his victims.

The syndrome is seen more often in people suffering from narcolepsy (excessive sleepiness) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It has also been observed in cases of prolonged insomnia, errors of medical anaesthesia, and high-stress levels. As the condition is unpredictable, it leaves a person frightened and shaken to bones.

It is a disconnect of the brain from the body

Except for its fearful and stinging memory, the sleep paralysis is not a malignant condition. In simple words, it is a lack of rapport between the brain and the rest of the body. As one retires to sleep at the end of the day, the nervous system, as well as the muscular system, must lie low to make way for sleep. Brain, accordingly, directs the nervous system to relax muscles and make them inactive. That’s important because the brain continues to function during the sleep and muscles may become active in sync with brain activity. Like, one may not actually get up and start walking if he is dreaming a walk. Incidentally, though, cases of dream-walkers are on record and that too is a condition where the brain and the body are acting at cross purposes. Normally, before deep sleep, the brain takes care to relax the body muscles. Equally, when a man is done with sleep, the brain allows muscles to activate and get going. But somewhere, either the brain miss-commands or the muscles don’t-obey, resulting in sleep paralysis.

Symptoms of sleep paralysis

Three symptoms are indicative of sleep paralysis. One, inability to move or speak on regaining consciousness from a good or bad sleep. Two, a strong feeling that there is some person or thing close to the bed. Three, a choking pressure on the chest. Anyone of these symptoms, or their combinations, are indicative of this condition which is also called parasomnia.

Can’t move muscles

As for the inability to move, it is an indication that the brain and muscles are not on the same page, as they are supposed to be. While going to sleep, muscles relax following the brain command to lie low. On completion of sleep, either the brain missed commanding muscles to activate, or the muscles failed to follow the brain’s order for activation.

The hallucination of something near

Presence of strange person or thing near the bed points to the momentum of bad dream the person had during his sleep time. This points to brain malfunction; inability to comprehend the reality of wakefulness from an illusion of dream sequence.

Unbearable weight on the chest

Pressure on the chest may both be psychological, the fear stemming out of a bad dream, or somatic, i.e. a consequence of ailment or disease the man may be suffering from.

A night terror is different

Sleep paralysis needs to be separated from ‘Night Terror’ which happens when the person is still in deep sleep. Herein, a terrifying dream may so overwhelm a person that he wakes up and tries to save self without realising his whereabouts. This again is a brain-body jam, but of a different kind. Not sleep paralysis.

Sleep is a second stage process

Technically speaking, sleep has two major parts. One, the stage of Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM), this is also called quiet sleep. Two, the stage of Rapid Eye Movement (REM), also called the ‘active sleep’ or the ‘paradoxical sleep’. The act of sleeping begins with lying down on the bed, while still conscious of our thoughts and body movements. Then begins the 1st stage of NREM.

Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) stage

The 1st stage of NREM is the window from wakefulness to sleep. Herein, if a person is shaken by someone to get up, he would get up and say he wasn’t sleeping. Then comes the 2nd stage of NREM. Lasting about 20 minutes, this stage is characterized by a fall in awareness of the surroundings and a drop in body temperature. The respiration and the heartbeat get stabilized. In the 3rd stages of NREM, muscles relax, blood pressure comes down, breathing is slow and steady, and the man slips into a deep sleep.

The NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) is a complicated stage in itself as proved by an abnormality called sexsomnia. A person suffering from this condition, if sleeping next to another person, may engage in penetrative sex without being aware of it. Surprisingly, in many cases of such sexual abuse, the accused was let go by the law on the premise that he suffered from sexsomnia and that he was not consciously aware of the abuse that he committed.

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Stage

The 3rd stage of NREM is followed by REM stage. The REM stage is characterized by the eyes (eyeballs) moving swiftly in their sockets, the body becoming more relaxed and immobilized, peak-dreaming, and brain going in hyper mode. It is also called paradoxical sleep as it has a hyperactive brain presiding over relaxed and inactive body muscles.

Sleep soothes body systems

It goes without saying that sleep is crucially important for health. Importance of sleep hardly needs elucidation. It is a phase of suspended animation in which the brain ensures repair work of the wear and tear in body tissues. But more important than this is the processing of complex thoughts. Hopes, aspirations, fears, setbacks of the individual need sorting so that the person gets up refreshed, physically and mentally. Otherwise, the negative thoughts can harm the person and endanger life.

Sleep balances the conscious and the subconscious mind

It is pertinent to note, that the working of the conscious mind during wakefulness, is just a minuscule of the sum total of our brain activity. A much bigger and potent thought process goes on, insidiously, below this layer of conscious mind. It is called the subconscious mind. Sleep is a bridge between these two minds. Going to sleep literally means slipping into the zone of the subconscious. In a dream one can fly, meet ghosts, do and see impossible; is all thanks to the subconscious mind. Dreams, in a way, are cathartic and act as an outlet for unrealistic and harmful thoughts. Hyperactivity of the brain in the REM phase is actually for striking a healthy balance between these two minds: the conscious and the subconscious.

Lifestyle matters

Imagine a man suffering from some acute or chronic disease. A man taking late nights cups of tea, or intoxicants. In such case sleep would be affected. Brain would face additional task of sorting out man’s complicated emotional inputs. The wrongs of lifestyle may pile up more pressure on the brain than it can handle. This weakens mind-body integrity which may lead to various disorders. Add to this the highly complex nature of sleep itself, and one can understand why sleep paralysis is such an enigma.

No specific treatment for it

Obviously, sleep paralysis is a state of being, and not a disease. Statistically, about 50% of the people suffer from this condition at some stage of their life. Individuals suffering from other physical and mental disorders are more likely to have brush with sleep paralysis. Essentially, it is an overlap of REM sleep with wakefulness. Man does get control of his muscles to post waking up, but after some time gap, not immediately. There is no specific treatment for it. In the past people were treated by bleeding, rubbing of the extremities, and drastic purgatives. Even prayers and exorcism was tried. An 18th-century prescription was to give pinprick or a rude shake to the person. Modern medical treatment is also empirical but care is taken to go to the root of the psychosomatic problems responsible for sleep paralysis.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Under the Sea: Do Fishes Dream?“.

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Om Banna temple in Pali district near Jodhpur, India. (Sentiments777 / Wikimedia Commons)

Trust the state of Rajasthan to give you soulful of the physical and the metaphysical world. Be it a brother-sister saint couple of Jeen Mataji temple at Sikar, or the ghost-ridden Bhangarh fort in Alwar, or the Saint Swaroopnath of Singhana who buried self, while still alive, to atone for having killed a cow inadvertently. The list is long and includes an aficionado of Bullet bike, named Om Banna who died in an accident at Pali. When the bike was lifted to a new location, it came back, mysteriously, to the accident site. Perplexed people in neighbourhood read divine intervention into it and made a temple, with a motorcycle as the presiding deity.

The accident resulted from the fog of the winter morning

It was a cold and foggy morning of 23rd December 1988. Om Singh Rathore, a young man, aged 21 years, decided to meet his friend and went out on his Bullet motorcycle. Heavy fog on way impaired visibility and he collided with a tree on the wayside. The impact was hard and the head injuries killed him on the spot. His bike rolled and fell into a close-by a ditch. Police were informed and the bike was shifted to a police station and rider to a hospital which declared him brought in dead (BID).

Motorcycle mysteriously changed place

On day-2 of the incident, the motorcycle was found missing from the police station. The search conducted led to startling revelation. The two-wheeler, Royal Enfield Bullet, was found lying at the site of the accident. The bike was ferried back to the police station where it was kept with more caution. One, its entire fuel petrol was drained out. Two, it was bound with chains all around. Still, on day third, bike disappeared from the police station. Again, it was found at the same location where the accident happened. This to and fro, say the locals in the area, happened a few times more till the police handed over the bike to the family of diseased.

Bike returned even from its buyer in Gujarat

The bereaved family took possession of the bike and sold it to a man in Gujarat. But the translocation happened yet again. The Bullet bike was spotted at the same place in Rajasthan where the accident happened.

Transmigration of the motorcycle made it an object of worship

The locals of the area concluded that it was no ordinary motorcycle but one with some spiritual force behind it. As such, it was worthy of reverence and even worship. Accordingly, they approached the Banna family and requested that the motorcycle be handed over to them. They would make and temple in the memory of the biker Om Banna, and place the Bullet bike in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Events moved fast, and a temple came up close to the tree that felled the biker, leading to his death.

The Bullet Baba temple became hugely popular

Om Banna shrine. (Jonathan Laroche / Flickr)

People burn incense before the effigy Om Singh. (Daniel Villafruela / Wikimedia Commons)

Locals worship the bike and vouch for its spiritual dimension. Like, they say, the engine of a bike comes alive on its own. And then, after sometime, it gets switched off, automatically. Rumours suggest that those who pass by the temple without paying their respect, face a rough journey ahead. Maha Prakrami Singh, the son of the late Om Banna believes that the spirit of his departed father lives with his worldly bike. The spirit, he says is benevolent to bikers passing on the highway, and helps them when they are in any kind of trouble.

The tree that caused Om Banna’s death decorated with various offerings. (Daniel Villafruela. / Wikimedia Commons)

A good number of people visit the temple daily and the ambience inside and outside of the temple is like any holy shrine held in high esteem. Devotee burn incense sticks, offer bangles, flowers and scarves, and distribute sweets.

Located close to National Highway 62, Om Banna temple is approachable via Jodhpur, and through the Railway Junction, Pali.

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An unidentified woman shaking a dolphin’s hand. Photo used for illustration only. (Florida Memory / Flickr)

Life evolved on earth beginning from a single cell. Then came multicellular organisms. These all reproduced asexually, till extremes of stress arising from environment forced life forms to switch to sexual reproduction. In hard times they reproduced sexually and in normal times asexually. Further on, a big chunk of life graduated to sexual reproduction for all times. But sex generally remained confined to animals of the same species. Any deviation from this remained untenable. But there is a documented case of a sexual relationship between an aquatic mammal and a human. A 23-year-old lady, Margaret Howe Lovatt, deputed to teach the English language to a male dolphin, was forced to put up with latter’s sexual advance.

Interspecies communication was the seed-idea

The story begins with a science fiction “Man and Dolphin” written by a Dr John C. Lilly in 1961. The author, an eccentric neurosurgeon, argued that dolphin had superior brains like humans, and they pined to communicate with humans. The idea appealed to Frank Drake of National Radio Astronomy, West Virginia. Drake, an Astronomer, was searching for extra-terrestrial life by analysing radio waves received from other planets. He arranged state funding for Dr John C. Lilly and encouraged him to conduct scientific experiments to explore the possibility of interspecies communication.

Laboratory was built for human-dolphin interface

Dr Lilly couldn’t have asked for more and established a lab named Dolphin Point. The lab was equipped with a pool for 3 dolphins and a workspace for training and research. The lab attracted the attention of a passer-by young lady named Margaret Howe Lovatt.

Margaret was employed to teach English to dolphin

Margaret grew up on ballads of human-animal camaraderie and was fascinated by the idea of the lab. Dr Lilly had already established that the dolphin brain was 40% bigger than the human brain. That dolphin had a human-like response to pain and anger and could understand human language to a fair degree. Margaret’s interest in the project was viewed favourably by the Director, Gregory Bateson, and she was appointed to teach the English language to a male dolphin named Peter.

The lab was a semi-aquatic building

The Dolphin house was flush with seawater to enable Margaret to live well with Peter and 2 female dolphins. The water on the first floor was shallow for convenience of the interface between Peter – the dolphin, and the lady -. A working desk, hanging from the ceiling, was the dry area the lady could climb to for study and making notes. There was a hanging mattress too, surrounded by shower curtains, where she could retire for rest. Nevertheless, the job assigned to her was tough. Margaret cropped her hair and adjusted to a semi-aquatic living. Virtually cut off from rest of the world, she lived on canned food and focussed 24×7 on completing Peter’s training within the assigned time frame of 10 weeks.

The training program was rigorous

The training schedule of the dolphin began at 8 in the morning. The dolphin was trained to mimic a given set of human sounds. Margaret taught Peter to greet her with the sound of “Hello Margaret”. Sounding “M” was difficult for Peter. Margaret painted her face white and lips black so that her lip movement could be seen by him and he could manoeuvre his blowhole accordingly to mimic a sound. Peter worked equally hard on the sound of M, and finally succeeded by rolling over. So dedicated was the teacher-taught duo that the dolphin succeeded in pronouncing words like we, one, hello, work and play with human approximation. Dedication to assigned job led to mutual admiration, and, finally to love with sexual overtones. The lady though emphasised that sexual attraction was one-sided, from Peter to her, and not the other way round.

Peter grew fond of Margaret

As the rigorous training schedule progressed, the physical, as well as the emotional bonding between the two, grew strong. Margaret and Peter lived, ate and played together. The 22-inch deep water on the first floor permitted the two to come close for work. Gradually, Peter ceased to be all obedient and turned adventurous and naughty. When the lady said “work”, the dolphin countered “play”. The trespassing didn’t stop at that. When Margaret rested on her hanging mattress, Peter splashed water on the shower curtains, calling her down for the company. They played together as a routine in the morning at 10 AM. But Peter, seemingly, demanded more time to play. At 12 PM and 3 PM, Peter was fed on a fish-diet. At the same time, Margaret played with Peter. She would throw the ball, and towels which the dolphin would dutifully chase and bring back. Peter also got hooked to watching television in the company of Margaret. All was going well and Peter was making good progress in learning. Just then, the 6-year-old dolphin and showed signs of sexual maturity. Peter loved rubbing against Margaret and bite gently on her toes. The two slept in close proximity. At times Peter was restless at night, yelling and wriggling in the water around Margaret’s bed, and forcing her to get up early in the morning, ostensibly to feed him.

Fondness grew to possessiveness

As Margaret readied to teach shapes and counting, Peter didn’t seem to care. Like a sulking schoolboy, he didn’t listen to his teacher. Touching by Margaret made him quirky. He yelled just as Margaret opened her mouth to teach. Of all the worlds taught to him, one that he uttered best was “ball”, the symbol of playing and having fun in the water. Peter enjoyed looking at his reflection in the mirror and felt annoyed when Margaret talked on the phone. He grew extremely possessive of her and wanted her uninterrupted attention all the time.

Female dolphins failed to satiate Peter

By the second week, Peter grew fond of Margaret’s physical presence and enjoyed touching her knees, ankles, feet and legs. Though generally docile, at times, he gave her hard push. No more interested to play ball solo, he nudged her in many ways to play with him. The dolphin got sexually aroused several times in her company. This was clear as the light of the day, beyond an iota of doubt. The sexual arousal of dolphin clearly rattled their teacher-taught relationship. Peter was infatuated by his teacher’s physical presence and that showed loud and clear in his behaviour. That was something that Margaret was not prepared for. Dolphin house had a separate pool with 2 female dolphins. And as per the research protocol, a sexually aroused male was to be sent in the pool of the female dolphins. Margaret did just that. When Peter returned to Margaret after a while, he was subdued and gentle. But the attraction towards human anatomy was far from over. In fact, it got accentuated.

Margaret was forced to address dolphin’s sex drive

Peter loved rubbing his mouth on her legs. Margaret rightly concluded that Peter was trying to court her. He was positioning his underbelly and the genital area to where it could be fondled by her. It was a benign invite for sex from a dolphin which could very well be aggressive and demanding for same. Ignoring him could cost Margaret her job. Sending Peter down to female company time and again was eating into her training hours and a sexually agitated dolphin was not receptive for learning. So, in her wisdom, she decided to masturbate the aroused dolphin the hope that a sated dolphin will get back to the training schedule in earnest.

Forced cohabitation became ‘enjoyable’

It was like, she revealed, later on, a forced togetherness turning into an enjoyable togetherness. That, she added, was a very close encounter, not with a dolphin, but a male, Peter. Unfortunately, just as the two made a good company (sexual from point of view of Peter, and “probably sensuous” on Margaret’s part), the experiment had to be stopped for want of funds.

Fund crunch stopped experiment in track

With the experiment ending pre-time, in 6 weeks instead of stipulated 10 weeks, Peter was sent to a different location. There, as per the report of Veterinary Doctor, Peter committed suicide. Dolphin is very much capable of committing suicide by choosing not-to-breathe (its respiratory muscles are under its voluntary control, unlike in humans where these are involuntary and can’t be controlled by will) and drown to death in a pool of water.

Why Peter committed suicide?

So, what killed Peter? Unrequited love for a human female? Or an inability to jell with females of its own species? Or both reasons operating simultaneously?

Was training to communicate with humans a kind of stress, like the one which led to sexual differentiation during evolution? And that stress led to inter-species sexual attraction? Education is stressful even for human children, so surely it couldn’t have been any different for a dolphin. Or, was Peter treated as incompatible by the two female dolphins put in place for the former’s sexual satiation? An element of competition is integral to sexual reproduction. Several males compete to mate with a female and only one, the best of the lot, succeeds in fertilizing the female. As this choice denied to the female dolphins, did they reject Peter sexually? Organs of reproduction in female dolphin are such that a male deemed unsuitable may be entertained only partially, deceptively, without giving it a real chance of fulsome copulation. Could such rejection be the reason for the unnatural attraction of Peter towards a human female? Was the handwork done by Margaret more convenient for Peter than a cumbersome penetration into female dolphins?

This obviously is a grey area for scientific exploration.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Sex in Space – Is It Possible? and Why It is Important“.

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HMS Kildangan with dazzle camouflage, 1918. (Imperial War Museums)

Dodging the enemy in a battlefield is always a strategy of paramount importance. During World War I, Germany came up with U boat, the submarine, which could move below the surface of the water. The allied ships, which could only surf on the water surface, became their easy target. The heavy-weight smoke bellowing ships could scare hide between the sky above and the water below. Search for their camouflage led to a crazy idea: if you can’t conceal (from the enemy), confuse (the enemy) with paint of colour patterns. The idea, called dazzle camouflage, was instantly adopted. Little thought was given to its on-ground efficacy. But the tactic didn’t last for long.

Conventional camouflage was not tenable for warships

World War I was not the era of guided missiles which can hit moving targets with precision. The naval battle, then, was more about visual acuity and firing on an anticipated point in the distance. The U boats launched by Germany were capable of navigating below the surface of the water and emerge at a firing distance from the ships of allied forces. Something had to be done, quickly, to save allied warships. The general rule of camouflage is to blur the distinction between an object and its surroundings. Like a chameleon turning green in green foliage, and brown in a heap of dried leaves. But this couldn’t apply to ship floating between skyline and the choppy sea waters. Clouds form and disappear, the smoke from chimney leaves a trail which is hard to conceal. Add to this changing colours in the skyline, and it becomes clear that there could be no way out to merge the gross appearance of a boat with the unfolding of colour patterns in its background.

Hiding got reversed to brazen revealing

So, what could be the possible alternative? An out-of-the-box solution came from British marine painter Norman Wilkinson. His take on the problem was simple. Given that concealing of sea vessels was not possible, why not make them more prominent over the surface of the water? Prominence would be imparted by painting the body of the ship with myriad shapes and designs in bright colours. That would surely surprise, if not shock, the enemy. The new image of the ship would be a sharp departure from the image of it in the enemy’s mind. Hence, the opposite side is bound to be overawed with the spectacle. And that’s quite a gain in battle conditions which call for an unwavering concentration and a cool mind. The enemy is momentarily put on the back foot and forced to rethink on the offensive. The idea was called Dazzle camouflage. There are many references of such out-of-the-box fooling tactics in history. Like Horse of Trojan used by the Greeks to enter the city of Troy. The reference of a golden deer in Ramayana. It so enticed Sita that she compelled her husband Ram to get it for her. In fact, winning a battle has always involved conning of the enemy in some way or the other.

Illustration of how a ship would look through a periscope with and without the dazzle camouflage. Dazzle camouflage also made it difficult to estimate a target’s range, speed, and heading.. (Wikimedia Commons)

Dazzle camouflage became an instant rage

The idea of dazzle camouflage was an instant hit and more than 1200 ships were colour painted for security. These included the passenger and merchant ships as well. The sister ship of world fame Titanic, RMS Olympic, was also painted for dazzle camouflage.

RMS Olympic camouflage. (Wikimedia Commons)

HMS Argus (1918).

S.S. Alloway (1918).

The very audacity of the idea was a dampener for the enemy. That is, a ship acquiring a more visible frame, as if to say: here I am, hit me. Understandably, the new look of allied warships challenged the sensibilities of a naval commander. Consequently, they erred in judging the distance of the ship and their gun/cannon fire strayed from the target. An experiment on sailing ships did support the idea to some extent. Some dazzle ships were presented for trial. Gunners were directed to aim at these boats and shoot. The gunners, in some cases, missed the target by as much as 55 degrees. Variegated shapes and patterns on ships were a positive drag on the aiming exercise of the opponent. Hence the boats escaped the enemy onslaught. The target being visibly different from one on which the enemy had practised in mock drills, proved to be an added challenge in the do-or-die battle situations and proved to be a disadvantage for the German Navy. That is, in those days of World War I when weapons were simpler and unsophisticated.

The intended effect of Dazzle Camouflage. (Wikimedia Commons)

Not a sure-shot security feature

On the flip side, dazzle camouflage had its limitations. It wasn’t a foolproof security shield. A mail boat named RMS Leinster, done up in dazzle camouflage, was hit and destroyed by a torpedo. No wonder, the dazzle camouflage became redundant as sophisticated war weapons arrived on the scene during World War II. Reason being that the use of automated guns and ammunitions removed much of human guesswork in the war zone. Nevertheless, the dazzle camouflage is a part of history and a surreal lesson in psychological warfare.

Can be seen in the animal world

A herd of zebras. (Michael Mwakalundwa / Wikimedia Commons)

Dazzle camouflage is very much a part of nature’s order. Zebras are a typical example. A herd of Zebra, from a distance, appears as a pattern of black and white stripes rather than a group of animals herded together. We humans can decipher the nature of this animal group from distance. But a wild predator may only see waves of white and black lines in the animal aggregation and may decide to change track. Thus the dazzle camouflage seems to pre-empt a possible predator attack on Zebras.

Seemingly derived from an art form

The idea of dazzle camouflage ostensibly came from an art form, cubism, invented by Pablo Picasso around 1907-08. Cubism is an exercise in abstracting a known shape and size. Picasso’s painting of human and animal forms, distorted to the hilt and were yet recognizable. Thus black and white geometric distortions, the dazzle camouflage, is a work of art in the same measure as a tool of camouflage in the battlefield of early 20th century.

Has applications in many other fields

Mitch Cope, co-founder Design 99 at Detroit, Michigan, has observed that buildings with design pattern were safer from vandalism as compared to those having no such design. Going by this premise, the Design 99 studio created abstract colour designs on abandoned housed, and claimed that it acted as a deterrent for the vandals and burglars.

So, like signage we see in market place and highways, coloured patterns have an indelible impact on our psyche. That this effect could be extrapolated on to a naval battle in World War I, will remain food for thought for defence experts as well as the professional painters/artists for all times to come.

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Survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy at Chingari Rehabilitation Centre. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

Why should modern technology go hand in hand with orthodoxy? Because we are too poor to afford a whole lot of automated systems. We have a huge number of unemployed people waiting to be given jobs. But, we must industrialize to become a ‘developed nation’. So we invite a multinational for a project. Pamper it in cocktail circuits. And when it gets going, we put a speed breaker. The multinational is forced to cut cost and go slow. The nose and the eyes of the labour, it is presumed, are enough to detect anything out-of-order. The whole system is forced into lethargy, and the way is crafted for the world’s biggest industrial disaster. That’s the story of the Bhopal gas tragedy that killed 3,500 people within days, but as many as 25,000 people have died from related illnesses and affected more than 500,000 people.

It began with inviting foreign direct investment

The intervening night of 2nd and 3rd December 1984 couldn’t have been more catastrophic. Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) Bhopal, a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) of America, released a huge amount of a toxic chemical in the air, accidentally. The chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC), was stored in a tank in amounts exceeding the regulatory mandate. In the normal course, it would be used in the making of the product, an insecticide, called ‘Sevin’. Sevin was imported to India till the Indian government decided that it must be manufactured within the country. So, UCC was invited to establish a manufacturing unit for the Insecticide at Bhopal.

A sudden policy change was enforced

Accordingly, UCIL, the subsidiary of UCC in India since 1934, acquired land in Bhopal in 1969 for the manufacturing unit of ‘Sevin’. The American Company was directed to raise that at least one-fourth of the venture capital from local shareholders. The government itself had a 22% stake in the company’s subsidiary, Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL).

All was a honeymoon and hunky-dory between UCC and the Government of India till 1973, when a new act FERA [Foreign Exchange Regulation Act] was introduced, which required the dilution of foreign equity from 60 per cent to 40 per cent. 

The UCC, which owned a 60 per cent stake in Union Carbide India decided that the company should reduce its investment to the Bhopal plant from $28 million to $20.6 million in order to retain control of its Indian subsidiary, and this meant poor safety standards. They also sought exemption from FERA by proposing to manufacture methyl-isocyanate (MIC) in Bhopal, which was later granted under “strict guidelines” in 1975. 

The exterior of Union Carbide pesticide factory. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

Inside the Union Carbide pesticide factory. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

The decade of 1980 was tumultuous for India

The first half of the 1980s was a politically volatile phase for India. The state of Punjab saw terrorism in the name of a separate homeland for Sikhs. Reign of Terror was part of Pakistan’s plan to cut off Punjab from India in the form of a new nation, Khalistan. The Indian government was forced to conduct Operation Blue Star to flush out terrorists from the golden temple in Amritsar. The hurt Sikh sought revenge by assassinating Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, on the morning of 31st October 1984. This was followed by large scale pogrom that selectively killed Sikhs living in Delhi and other Indian cities. And that same year, on the intervening night of 2nd and 3rd December, the toxic gas MIC, leaked from the Bhopal plant, leaving a trail of death, and endless debate on ‘who was responsible’. Given the kind of political scenario prevailing at that point in time, sabotage wasn’t ruled out.

Count down began with indiscriminate cost-cutting

No doubt, someone in the Bhopal factory trespassed on duty. Someone was negligent. Otherwise, the lethal gas wouldn’t have leaked in such amounts as triggered death and incapacitation on a massive scale. But, first thing first. What really set the ball rolling? Doubtless, the cost-cutting exercise. There is a saying that you never know what enough is unless you have had more-than-enough. So, the innocuous and innocent-sounding cut-cost was the first step. It created a system which, over a period of time, became a harbinger of a lackadaisical production house.

Professionalism in the plant was reduced to a charade

As mentioned by The New York Times,

“The seeds of the accident were planted in 1972 when, under Government pressure to reduce imports and loss of foreign exchange, the company proposed to manufacture and store MIC at the plant”

Cost-cutting measures initiated in 1972 implied that technical staff, computers, and modern equipment must be reduced to a minimum. The lowering of standards led to increased employee turnover, and the number of rookie employees sitting on controls.

The workforce at the Bhopal plant had no expertise in sensing danger and tackling it timely. All they tried to do was to work in piecemeal and adhere to rule book as best as they could. In the process, they developed short cuts and go about their job mechanically, without foresight. What happened on 2nd December 1984 was a reflection of this attitude. Stored quantity of methyl isocyanate (MIC), a constituent of the finished product ‘Sevin’, rose to 63 tons. Of this lot, 42 tons were stored in tank number 601. That was full capacity fill even as the rule book said that the tank should never be filled more than half of its total capacity. The excess of MIC, as per the rule, should have been moved to a spare-tank. But, the spare-tank was full too. Workers had inadvertently got used to keeping even the spare tank full. That was a mistake. And there were many more mistakes. Like, all MIC was required to be cooled to a lower temperature. But the refrigerating unit was disbanded as part of the cost-cutting exercise. A scrubber cylinder meant for neutralizing toxic leaks, and a burner for the same purpose were dismantled for servicing.

High employee turnover affected the work culture

Workers on duty had reported leak at 11.30 PM on 2nd December. It was the toxic gas, MIC, starting to leak. In an hour’s time, the leakage became uncontrollable and people living in the vicinity began waking up due to lung distress, burning eyes and vomiting.

Control room safety board inside the abandoned Union Carbide factory. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

Investigations revealed that the Bhopal plant wasn’t able to sell all the Sevin it produced. It was sales deficit since 1982. Ensuing losses forced many highly trained professionals to quit the job and move to more prospective work areas. As plant lost money, management focussed on the economy to the serious detriment to safety norms. The leak, which was misconstrued as water-leak, was the doing of an untrained worker (less paid and hence fitting into cost-cutting exercise). The worker was directed by a trainee supervisor to wash an improperly sealed pipe, an act prohibited by the rule book. Through the defective seal, water seeped into the already overfull tank number 601. The stored MIC reacted with water raising internal pressure to a level where MIC broke through the tank cover. Of the three safety systems installed in the manufacturing unit, one had been taken off for servicing. The remaining two were unable to control the overwhelming leak.

Safety sign inside the now-abandoned factory. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

Even alarm systems were not distinctive

Shakil Qureshi, a MIC supervisor, revealed that the staff was used to defective and unreliable gadgets in the factory. Hence a gadget that worked well, got ignored too. He himself had noticed that pressure in one MIC tank shot up five times in an hour’s time. But didn’t realize it indicated danger. Tragically, the alarm that rang to alert for MIC leak went unnoticed. Reason being the sound of the alarm was no different from other alarms including one used for calling practice drill.

Prudence being the watchword in Bhopal plant, computer systems which could monitor operations, and sound timely warning to attending staff were not installed. Workers can sense irritating leaks using their sense of sight and smell, thought the Indian management. But the UCC manual clearly said, ‘Although the tear gas effect of the vapour is extremely unpleasant, this property cannot be used as a means to alert personnel.’ Budget restrictions reflected on the training of the manpower too. Employees knew they worked in an unsafe environment. In 1983, the number of operators in a shift was reduced from 12 to 6. Kamal K. Pareek, a chemical engineer had remarked in 1971: “(the plant) cannot be run safely with 6 people”. No public relations exercise was ever done to familiarize the city of Bhopal with what the factory was doing. And what possible dangers it posed to life and the environment around it.

Gas-leak created all-around panic

The circumstances were favourable for a tragedy of epic proportions. Panic was naturally the first reaction of workers in attendance at the pesticide factory. There were buses in plant premises which could have ferried them quick and far. But fear was so overwhelming that the vehicles were ignored. Poignantly though, as it emerged later, even running helter-skelter didn’t help. People who stayed put in their home, willingly or helplessly, survived. And those who ran out met toxic clouds on way and died a painful death.

Approximately 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate, along with other toxic chemicals, got released from the Bhopal factory. The toxic MIC floated at random, killing people in running trains, on roads and wheresoever it could dip or rise with the free-flowing air. Slums and villages near the factory were worst hit. Half of the 8.5 lakh population of Bhopal city coughed, suffered difficult breathing, and itch in eyes and skin. Internal haemorrhages, pneumonia and respiratory failure caused deaths on a large scale.

Doctors panicked

No public alarm was raised by the UCIL. The fatal hit of floating MIC clouds caused mayhem, and people rushed to hospitals in large numbers. Government hospitals, only 2 in number then, neither had the capacity nor the expertise to treat such large number of toxic gas patients. Confusion in the medical circle was so paramount that even routine drug, sodium thiosulphate, wasn’t used in the period it was critically required. Instead, doors of UCC were beaten for medical guidance. A formal guidance was provided, but that was inadequate. The government claimed that the leakage of MIC was stopped in 8 hours. But the effect and after-effects of gas leak remain even to this day, i.e. 35 years after the incident happened. The overall tally of the dead is over 25,000 people. Thousands got deformed as the toxic effect was genetically transmitted to the next generation. Even now, the newborn show tell-tale symptoms of physical and mental deformity.

Birth defects are still reported children in the region. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

Let us look hard on our own selves

Now, let’s separate the grain from the chaff. UCC America and the state of India were pitted against each other in a legal battle. Naturally, both accused each other for the Bhopal tragedy. Warren Anderson voiced sabotage theory which was rebutted by the Indian side. A detailed investigation led to the conviction of some employees in the chain of command and they were punished as per the Indian laws. Compensation, as decided between American and Indian courts, was doled out to victims. Many NGOs worked, and are still working for the rights of the gas affected. And there is a feeling in the Indian camp that justice was delayed, and dispensed in favour of America. But, let us rewind and begin from the very start. UCC was given business opportunity in Bhopal purely on merit as it was already operating in India as Union Carbide India Limited since 1934. The product it was called upon to make-in-India, Sevin, already had a market. Those were the days when the green revolution was at peak and pesticide were deemed indispensable for agricultural crops. And, just when UCC was all geared up to deliver a classy industrial unit, the Indian side said: gear down. We don’t want machines that would make human labour redundant. We have an acute shortage of jobs. We want the Bhopal factory to be a job provider for the local population. And UCC was forced to step back and cut costs ear-marked for computer technology which alone could have ensured safety to the Bhopal plant. Political compulsions of the day came in way of the state of art industrial technology. And, the Bhopal plant became a cross between technique and tradition.

Union Carbide pesticide plant today in Bhopal, India. (Julian Nyča / Wikimedia Commons)

India’s disaster management record is poor

If past is any guide, disaster management or crisis management in India leaves much to be desired. Rhetoric overtakes logical investigation. Political posturing comes into the forefront. If the diagnosis and treatment of the patients remained in suspense for long, we can’t blame America for it. It was natural for India to bay for Anderson’s blood. But let’s not forget, he wasn’t responsible for the cost-cutting drive, nor for the loss of market for Sevin. And let’s not forget that the only consistent finding, the only undisputed finding, in the entire trail of investigation is mismanagement. The emotional quotient of the tragedy shouldn’t blind us to the fact that it was our own policy-making which paved way for a tragedy of this magnitude. Chaos and mayhem that followed the gas leak, didn’t permit a fair and time-bound investigation. In fact, sabotage under those conditions could have very well happened, without leaving any trace for the investigation agencies.

Bhopal gas tragedy memorial statue. (Bhopal Medical Appeal / Flickr)

The Indian and the American judiciary worked in top gear

Judiciary in India, as well as America, have done their part on the issue. UCC paid a compensation of $470 million for the victims in 1989. Politicking on the issue made waves even in 2019 general elections. In the 35 years past this tragedy, political parties have blamed one another for the disaster and siding with the American company. The CEO of Union Carbide and the chairman of UCC, Warren Anderson, was seen as the main villain behind the gas disaster. He died on Sept 29th 2014, without being deported to India to face trial. Many believe he escaped punishment for two reasons. One, protection by the US government. Two, negligence of the Indian government.

Author’s Opinion

So the takeaway from Bhopal disaster is that let’s clean our own house first. Let’s not compromise with professional expertise. Giving jobs to untrained and unqualified people is no way to remove unemployment, or save a business from loss. Politicians shouldn’t play to the gallery in matters of hardcore business. This is the only way out to prevent tragedies, like the Bhopal gas-leak, in future.

You can make a donation to the Bhopal Medical Appeal and help fund the important work taking place at Chingari: bhopal.org/donate/

Also, check out “The Bengal Famine of 1943: The Man-Made Famine That Killed Around 3 Million Indians“.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

The post Bhopal Gas Tragedy: India’s Very Own Chernobyl That Affected Over Half a Million People appeared first on .

Map of the National Highway 44 in red. (© OpenStreetMap contributors / CC BY-SA)

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), established in 1988, was a quiet government department till 1995.  Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the- then Prime Minister of India, charged it with his dream project. He wanted India’s primary highway roads enhanced and upgraded. National Highway 44, the longest-running National Highway (NH), part of the 4000 KM North-South Corridor was part of his vision transformed to reality by 2012. And NHAI woke up to a vibrancy that continues even today. The way through was riddled with ups and downs.

Highly criticised road project

Noted journalist Tavleen Singh had harsh opinions about the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). In her article titled ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream highway project is a nightmare for taxpayers’, she said Indians were being taken for a ride. That instead of going for expressways, which were need of the hour, the government was going for highways, that too by repairing and conjoining existing old roads. If we squander our limited resources in such patch up work, she argued, how shall we build expressways? It is pertinent to state that expressways cater only to high speed (average 100Kmph) automated vehicles and don’t pass through towns and villages. Highways in India, on the other hand, can barely sustain an average speed of 60Kmph as these brush through towns and villages and must accommodate traffic therefrom.

Highways- vital for the health of the economy

But India being a developing nation, its development plans couldn’t be a photocopy of other nations. Vajpayee knew it only too well and went ahead despite nay-sayers. In the fifty years before him, the road network in the country grew at an abysmally slow speed. Whereas the traffic increased 25 times, roadways grew only 8 times. For the past 2 decades, there was a pressing need to streamline roadways to up the status of the Indian economy.

Modernisation of Indian roads was long overdue. A lion’s share of India’s GDP, 5.5 percent, comes from the transport sector. Eighty percent of goods and the same percentage of people move by roads. Mustering funds and acquiring land for highways was a difficult task. Yet, in a couple of years, 5,400 km of new highways were built, sending clear signals that Vajpayee meant business. His 3 major projects, North-South corridor (NH44), East-West Corridor and the much-publicized Golden Quadrilateral (a highway ring connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) proved to be a thumping success.

National Highway 44 is the longest merged highway of India

National Highway 44, covering North-South corridor of NHDP, is a 3745 Km stretch. It extends from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and is a fusion of several old highways. Old roads which have gone into its making are NH-1A. (Srinagar), NH-1 (Punjab-Delhi), partly NH-2 (Delhi-Agra), NH-3 (Agra-Gwalior), NH-75 and NH-26 (Jhansi), and NH-7 (via Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madurai, and Tirunelveli). The NH-44 passes through 11 Indian states. An 82 Km length of NH-44 lying between Bengaluru and Krishnagiri is considered a part of the Golden Quadrilateral.

Highways numbered to facilitate navigation

The government of India undertook a major task in 2010 to rationalize numbers allocated to highways. The idea was to make numbers indicative of the geographic location of a particular highway. Going by that assumption, even numbers were assigned to all North-South highways and odd numbers to all East-West highways. For North-South highways, numbers increase as we move from East to West. Thus NH-4 is more towards East of India and NH-44 more to the West. Likewise, for the East-West highways, the numbers increase from North to South; NH-1 is more towards North and NH83, towards South.

Another rule is that all major highways would either be a single-digit or double-digit. Three-digit numbers are reserved for secondary roads or the arterial branches of the main highway. For example, roads branching off from NH-44 would be named as 144, 244, 344 etc. Regarding their approximate geographical location, 144 would be located more towards the north, and 944 more towards the south (1 and 9 both being odd, are assigned to North-South highways as mentioned earlier). Another norm is to suffix A, B, C, D, etc. This is \to indicate further branching of secondary routes. Like, 527A and 966B.

The highway witnessed some national tragedies

A symbol of resurgent India, NH-44 has made news for the wrong reasons too. Rape and murder of Disha, a Veterinary Doctor, in Telangana recently. Her 4 rapists were killed in a police encounter on the same spot close to NH-44, where the lady was raped. The year 2015- 16 saw terror attacks on the security personnel on the J&K highway, claiming 15 lives. Then, in 2003, the murder of Satyendra Dubey made headlines. The young IES officer blew the whistle on some corrupt practices going on in NHAI. He was shot dead, presumably by the road construction mafia. His death forced the Government of India to enact ‘whistleblower protection bill’ to safeguard professionals who expose corruption in their work area.

Vajpayee’s vision is still making waves

The present-day Modi government has taken Vajpayee’s dream to the next higher level, to expressways. Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Nagpur and Bangalore-Chennai and many other expressways are in the pipeline. Road construction work is being completed at a faster rate. In 2014, roads built per day were a meagre 7 Kilometres.  For the year 2017-18, the figure rose to 28 kilometres. The target set to be achieved is 45. A total of 416 projects, worth 3.26 lakh crores are expected to be completed by 2020.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pan-American Highway: The Longest Road in the World Measuring About 30,000 Kilometres“.

Fact Analysis:
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Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. (Airwolfhound / Flickr)

Circa 1980. The American military was in for a serious setback. Operation Eagle claw, launched for release of American hostages in Iran, had to be called off. The inability of helicopters to reach the target in one go, and needing assistance on way, ruined the mission. A freak accident on a stopover killed 8 commandos. The failure raised some serious questions. And the answer was found in Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, the aircraft which could land and take off like a helicopter, and travel long distances at high speed like an aeroplane.

Tiltrotor is the switch between 2 modes

Quick and precise hit over a long-range is key to the success of military operations. Hence, right since the Second World War, a need was felt for a fusion of helicopter’s vertical lift, and aeroplanes’ horizontal speed. The combo was finally developed by Bell Helicopter, Textron, in the 1950s. Named Bell XV-3, it was an aeroplane with wings having rotating fans/ propellers at the tips. The propellers could tilt 90 digress (tilt-rotor concept) for 2 functional positions. One, vertically upright, like propellers in a helicopter. Two, horizontally, towards the nose of aircraft, like in aeroplanes. Fans were rotated by turboshaft engines located in the belly of aircraft.

In helicopter mode, propellers rotate in the opposite way

In position one, aircraft could lift vertically from the ground to become airborne and land on ground similarly, like a helicopter. In two, the aircraft could moves linearly like an aeroplane. The linear speed in the air was 185 miles an hour, much faster than helicopters of that era. The fans located on wingtips rotated in different directions. That provided stability without the need of a tail fan used in conventional helicopters. Successful in more than 110 transitions from a helicopter to airplane mode, Bell XV-3 was discontinued following one accident. Nevertheless, the success of tilt-rotor for 2-in-1 aircraft was established beyond doubt.

Bell XV-15: Engine and propellers were conjoined in 1977

Bell XV-15 program was picked up in 1977. This time the turboshaft engine and the propeller fan, instead of being located at different places, were merged into one functional unit. The unit was installed on the tip of the fan, and the unit as a whole acted as tilt-rotor. The rotating blades could face forward (like an airplane) or upwards (like a helicopter). It was an improvement over the earlier version in 2 ways. One, tilt-rotating was simplified. Two, more space could be made available for passengers and equipment

Bell XV-15, VTOL. (NASA)

America got serious for Vertical Lift Aircraft

The debacle of Iran Hostage crisis force pentagon to go for long-range transport aircraft which could have taken their commandos up to Tehran in one sortie, without midway halts and refuelling. So, in 1981, Bell Helicopter, Textron, was commissioned to develop Joint Services Advanced Vertical Lift Aircraft (JVX).

In spite of hiccups, programme V-22 remained in force

The contract for JVX was won by Bell-Boeing in 1983 and several varieties of aircraft were produced. These included variants for Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy and Army. On May 23rd, 1988, Bell’s Flight Research Centre produced the first Osprey under the V-22 program. The program though ran into rough weather. The cold war between America and Russia was heading to an end. Consequently, there was a drastic reduction in the defence budget and V-22 faced the brunt of cost-cutting. There were attempts even to close down the programme. But the program survived, in spite of accidents which caused a great loss of men and material.

CV-22 Osprey with rotors facing forward. (Airwolfhound / Wikimedia Commons)

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey come in several variants

The present-day Osprey is the perfect answer to the failure of Operation Eagle Claw in 1980. Equipped with 2 Rolls Royce Engines, it can carry 24 passengers in addition to 4 crew members internally, and ferry 12,500 pounds in an external slung load (artillery, land vehicles, and supplies) externally. MV-22 variant of it can fly at a speed of 276 miles an hour and cover a range of 230 miles. It can also be refuelled in the air to increase the range. In May 2015, it covered a distance of 2,500 miles, from a Pacific island to Nepal.

MV-22 Osprey after landing on the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer. (U.S. Navy)

More variants are being manufactured

Presently, the number of Ospreys with the US Marine Corps is 360. Air force has 50 and Navy 48. The difference between MV-22 and CV-22 is that the latter’s fuel carrying capacity is 304 gallons more as compared to former. Hence CV-22 can cover a greater distance, albeit at a slower speed. For cargo shipment, the US Navy has ordered for 38 CMV-22Bs, which can travel a greater distance than other variants.

MV-22 and CV-22 have seen action in Iraq, Syria, Africa and Afghanistan. Ospreys, because of tilt-rotor, can’t carry side-mounted weapons like traditional helicopters. Only light machine guns are carried, at the back. Efforts are underway to develop a belly-mounted gun compatible with JVX.

Commercial tilt-rotors will arrive soon

Notwithstanding trials and tribulations, the idea of tilt-rotor, and its manifestation as V-22 Osprey is here to stay. Bell V-280 Valor, another variant of the genre, is slated to replace UH-60 Blackhawk in Army.

Bell V-280 Valor. (Danazar / Wikimedia Commons)

A commercial tilt-rotor, AgustaWestland AW60, is being developed by Leonardo – the aviation giant of Europe.

American Navy shall have an upgraded version, CMV-22Bs very soon, in 2020. Marines and Air force shall work with their present stock for long.

V-22 program, starting from 1980, has come a long way. Ospreys would remain signature combat aircraft of the US military, till at least, the middle of the present century.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “F-82 Twin Mustang Aircraft – The Dual Cockpit Fighter of the Forties“

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Mug shot of Carl Panzram. (Wikimedia Commons)

Evil is portrayed in myriad shades and description in stories, folklore, films and literature. It is a qualitative trait. Measuring it quantitatively, in terms of less and more, is not tenable. Evil is evil, and that’s it. Yet, could there be something like top-end evil? Or top-end villainy? If yes, then Carl Panzram, the serial killer, could be the answer. His gruesome and brutal ways defy description. Verily the vilest in human history, he didn’t fear God. Never regretted his treacherous trail. Seconds away from death, he spat on hangman’s face and bullied him for being so-damn-slow in hanging him.

A juvenile criminal at eight

Carl Panzram was born on 28th June 1892, at East Grand Forks, Minnesota, America. When he was just a growing child, his father ran away from family. Denied family care, he fell into bad company. When 8 years old, he was tried in Juvenile court for being drunk and delinquent. As he continued with his errant ways, he was sent to the Minnesota State Training School, a centre for reform and rehabilitation. There, he was beaten and raped by some staffers. That hardened him all the more. On 7th July 1905, he set the school on fire and ran away.

Sacked from army

When 15, he lied about his age to get enrolled in the army. Before long he was caught in an act of stealing and sacked. Simultaneously, he was sentenced to hard labour at Leavenworth. His prison sentence was signed by no less a person- William Howard, the then Secretary of War. Later on, when Howard retired as President of the United States, he had another brush with Carl. When he came out of Leavenworth prison, he was a hardened criminal who took vicarious delight in Vandalising the holy Church.

Inspired by the cruelty of Pascual Orozco

After discharge from prison in 1910, he went to Mexico and joined a rebel leader Pascual Orozco. He was privy to mass murder of prisoners by Orozco during Mexican revolution. The sight of this wholesale slaughter conditioned his attitude towards his future victims. With the passage of time he became more and more audacious, gruesome and unrelenting. He picked up the weak, the harmless, the unsuspecting, and killed them like a fun game.

Carl Panzram enjoyed revealing his own crimes

With none to fear, not even God, he went full steam, killing, raping and robbing. In between, he was arrested and jailed, but that was no deterrent. He was chillingly cool and collected in all his villainy. If it was not for his own revelations, we wouldn’t know about most of his crimes. Did he reveal all his misadventures? There is no way of verifying this. There may have been a lot more than what he divulged. The law of the land was generally oblivious to most of his orgies and blood baths.

Even the former president of America was robbed

In August 1920, he broke into the house of William Howard Taft, the former president of America. And came out with substantial money, and a Pistol, the personal weapon of the President. Cash money was used to purchase a Yacht. The watercraft was used for bootlegging, rapes and murder, and the victims were thrown in the sea.

Changed places to avoid arrest

Changing places, by design and default, he arrived at Angola and picked up the thread of serial crimes. Six men were killed and fed to crocodiles. Three boys were sodomised, and one of them murdered. And soon, it was time to move to a different location. His next ground, once again, was his birthplace, America.

Met his nemesis in a robbery case

On reaching America, Carl Panzram stole a boat and faked it as one he owned and destroyed it to escape police hunt. The Police finally nabbed him in 1928. He was arrested in connection with a robbery at Washington DC. Without fear, he not only accepted the crime in question, but went on to reveal the chain of his other crimes, for most of which he was never caught or questioned. His account seemed outlandish to the state officials, and the only cognizance they took was of his robbery at Washington DC. Accordingly, he was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. It’s while passing this sentence that his deeds got better of him. He battered a prison foreman to death and was officially convicted of murder. This single murder led, he was sentenced to be hanged to death.

Wrote his autobiography before walking to the gallows

During the time he waited for execution, a patronizing jail guard persuaded him to write his autobiography. He agreed and gave horrific details of crimes he committed as well as crimes he planned to commit but couldn’t. The details embodied in the book Panzram: A Journal of Murder are nauseatingly base. Like, his resolve to break all laws made by men, as well as God. Sadistic delight in killing the innocents. His idea of using rectum for carnal pleasures. His abhorrence of vaginal sex and obsession with anal intercourse. His derision for Jesus Christ. Wining and dining and then killing fellow revellers as they slept after the event. Cajoling a 12-year boy to an isolated spot, sodomising him, and then hitting him on head till his brain out from ears. The list is long.

Unrequited plans were equally gruesome

Then, there were crimes he wanted to commit, but couldn’t. Train robbery was one. A bomb was to be planted in the middle of a tunnel. It would blow the train and tunnel would cave in. Loads of sulphur and formaldehyde, strategically placed, would fumigate the passengers to death. For those who survived, Carl Panzram would be ready with his gun at the open end of tunnel, to shoot them dead. He also mooted blowing up a train station in New York and poisoning the water of village Dannemora. The weirdest of all plan was to trigger a war between Britain and the United States. He would somehow sink the British warships in American waters. And that was all required to begin the war. The money looted from train blasts was to be invested in stocks, which, in the event of a war, would go up, and make him a multimillionaire.

Killing, he said, was the only key to reforms

Utterly remorseless and incredibly wayward, Carl Panzram showed no emotion even in face of death. He rebuffed people who intervened to get his sentence commuted. Hanging, he told them, would be good for him. He lived and breathed rape, robbery and murder and remained defiant to the very end. He wished all his sympathizers had just one common neck, which he could grab, and kill them all in one stroke. That was his way of saying thanks to people who wished him well. He never believed in reform. To those who wanted to reform him, he said that the only way to reform people was to kill them.

Consistently cruel up to the end

The cold-blooded murder of 21, more than a hundred sodomy, thousands of robberies and arson; was no big deal for him. His 6 feet, 200 pounds body was a killing machine with brute power. His mind was focussed on death and destruction. Not only for the humans around, but also for his own self. No wonder, his last words to the hangman were, “Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could hang a dozen men while you’re screwing around!”.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Leonarda Cianciulli: The Ill-fated Correggio Killer who Made Soap and Cookies of Her Victims“.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

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Head of a goblin shark. (Dianne Bray / Museum Victoria)

Goblin Shark look like an alien, a character straight out of science fiction. Their dead bodies appear frightening, hence the name ‘goblin’. Goblin sharks pose no real threat to humans. Living at the depths of around 4265 feet (1300 m), they are a rare sight. Knowledge about them is limited to their accidental findings in fishing trawls.

First discovered in 1898

The Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni), is also called “living fossil“ as it ceased to evolve some 70 million years ago. It thrived in deep and dark sea floors, like Mariana Trench, for millions of years. It has been caught, accidentally, from myriad regions of Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Goblin belongs to the shark family mitsukurinidae, which lived in the sea 125 million years ago. It was first noticed in 1898, off the Japan coast, as a surprise finds in a commercial fish load. In Japan, the fish is also called Mitsukuri shark.

Goblin shark or Mitsukurina owstoni. (Justin / Flickr)

Stretchable jaws are the characteristic feature

The goblin shark has a characteristic protrusible mouth. It can stretch its jaw forward to catch its prey and then retract it back under the snout. This act makes the fish look frightening. A long flat nose/snout covers the jaws. The skin is translucent. Hence the blood vessels are visible from outside and the fish appears pink in colour. They can camouflage with ease, as the red colour appears black in the deep sea. That keeps them safe – hidden from their enemies.

Uses mouth like a slingshot to catch prey

In the year 2008 and 2011, divers working with NHK (Naharkatiya), a Japanese television, captured 2 goblins and made live videos. That showcased their unique capacity to unhinge their jaws and stab them forward to catch its prey (Crustaceans, squids and fishes etc). This ‘slingshot feeding’ includes the fish mouth surging ahead of body line at a terrific speed of 3.1 meters per second. That way, the fish gets an instant thrust of 9.4 percent of her body length. If a human swimmer had this ability, his teeth would move a good 7 inches in front of his face. The protrusible jaws compensates for the hard swim in high-pressured deep waters, to overtake a prey swimming at a faster speed. This also ensures surety of kill in a food scarce zone.

A juvenile goblin shark. (Dianne Bray / Museum Victoria)

Photo-sensors on snout search out the prey

The knack of shooting the mouth distinguishes goblin from other sharks. The long snout (rostrum) of the shark carries a special sensor which sense electric fields and helps in locating prey at depths where the sunlight can’t reach, hence visibility is poor. The mouth of the fish has rows of thin and long teeth, some visible even when the jaws are closed. Body length can go up to 10.5 feet (3.2 meters). Notably, half of a whole lot of shark species in general, are less than 3 feet long.

Distribution map for goblin shark. (Yzx / Wikimedia Commons)

Goblin shark reproduction

Goblin shark reproduces via internal fertilization. Post mating, the female retains fertilized eggs in her body. During the gestation period, the developing lives feed on the unfertilized eggs. After birth, the newborn takes to predation. Their uncertain and unreachable location in deep ocean precludes any possibility of catching them commercially or for research. Knowledge about them is based entirely on their accidental capture while hunting for other varieties of fish.

Nevertheless, the existential importance of the deep-sea sharks can’t be denied. Apart from awe inspiration for human creativity, sharks are key to nature’s food chain, ecotourism, and the study of genomes. Life on the seafloor can reveal how it survived the worst of living circumstances. Such a study can open new doors for the survival and the welfare of the human race.

Click here to view the footage of goblin shark.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “An Up-Close and Personal Encounter with the Alien-Like Pacific Barreleye Fish“.

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Golden Bridge, Vietnam. (Trung Le / Flickr)

Tourism is crucial for the economy of all countries of the world. Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing economies, rides high on tourism which contributes 7.5 percent to its GDP. Golden Bridge in Da Nang city of Central Vietnam is a popular tourist attraction. The bridge got constructed in a record time of one year, and became an instant hit. Opened to the public on June 2018, it’s an architectural marvel, a slice on nature, an emerging national symbol, and a spiritual jaunt rolled into one.

A yellow fabric spread in the hands of God

The golden bridge is a 150 meters long overpass and derives its name from its golden-coloured silhouette. Grossly it looks like 2 hands of a damsel are holding yellow silk between them. The gigantic hand, representing mountain god, hold the bridge up in forested hills of Son village in Hoa Vang district of Da Nang. The bridge offers a fascinating view of mountains and greenery in the distance. Located 1414 meters above the sea level, it provides a breathtaking view of the mountain tops in British Columbia, Canada. Flush with Lobelia Chrysanthemum flowers along the way, the curved bridge is sheer magic to walk on.

The two hands of the golden bridge. (Xiquinho Silva / Flickr)

A favourite of writers, photographers and filmmakers

The golden bridge has received rave reviews from scribes and the travel bloggers. Media generally holds that the bridge may become a new symbol of Vietnam. The experience of crossing the bridge is described by many as crossing the paradise. A popular venue for excursions and events, a fashion shoot was also held on the bridge. The shoot was attended by the leading Vietnamese models. The versatile make and placement of the bridge make it a photographer’s dream place for an intensive and extensive photoshoot from myriad angles.

Prestigious part of Ba Na Hill resorts

The golden bridge is part of Ba Na Hill resorts. The Ba Na Hills used to be the holiday resort of the French rulers in the 20th century. The colonial rule was usurped in 1945, and thereafter, the resort, called French village, turned into ruins. As of now, a replica of the village is constructed in the area for tourist. The visitors can see the area in a cable car. Remnants of colonial time buildings/settlement can also be seen in Hill resort area.

Golden bridge ranks among the world’s top 100 tourist destinations

The Ba Na Hills in Da Nang was already a tourism hub even before the construction of the golden bridge. The bridge added to the popularity of this place. In the present day global trend of erecting uncanny bridges for tourism, the golden bridge has a pride of place. It ranks among the top 100 tourist destinations of the world. Designed by TA Landscape Architecture in Ho Chi Minh city, the bridge is a masterpiece of the genre. The principal architect, Vu Viet Anh, said the bridge was designed to give walkers a feel of ‘moving in the hands of god’.

Close to nature in make

Doubtless, blending with the environment without compromising with tensile strength, is the key feature of the golden bridge. The concrete ‘God Hands’ is built on an iron frame imitating skeleton the human hand. Fibreglass fills up for muscles and skin, and fingers are crafted to look natural fingers of a living human.

A way to sightseeing and excursions

The bridge, a $2 billion architectural marvel, is connecting a link to several seeable destinations. Like, Debay Wine Cellar, the wine store built by the French in 1923. Le Jardin D’Amour Flower Garden, a conglomerate of 9 gardens with exquisite flower varieties. French village, with a vintage of the colonial past. Fantasy Park, the amazing playground for multiple games. And much more.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Capilano Suspension Bridge: A 129-Year-Old Bridge that Continues to Draw Intrigued Visitors“.

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A ship skimming oil after Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (kris krüg / Flickr / CC By 2.0)

Man has used natural gas since 500 B.C, coal as a source of energy since 1000 B.C. and petroleum (crude oil) is being used since 1860. In the pool of energy provided by these fossil fuels, coal’s share, over the past hundred years, has reduced from 96% to 30%. Today, crude oil contributes 39%, coal 33% and natural gas 28% to this pool. Extensive and intensive digging of oil wells in the sea bed (offshore), apart from open land (on-shore), has led to this pattern of power available to mankind. But drilling of oil offshore has the potential to threaten the environment. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the industrial disaster that struck in the Gulf of Mexico, on 20th April, 2010, bears this out.

What caused the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?

Deepwater Horizon was an oil drilling outfit located in Mississippi Canyon, an undersea canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. It was owned by the British Petroleum (BP) and given on lease to a company named Transocean. The oil well lay 4,993 feet (1,522 metres) below the drilling rig. The well ran 18,000 feet deep into the sea bed, to tap on the crude oil stored therein. The oil pool down there was sealed with concrete to be tapped later on, as per need. The seal was imperfect, hence the natural gas sneaked through it, and escaped on to the rig platform, exploding into a fireball.

April 21, 2010: Fire boat response crews trying to control the fire on Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. (US Coast Guard)

The inferno killed 11 workers and injured 17. The fire couldn’t be controlled and by the morning of 22nd, the rig was completely destroyed. The pipeline connected to the well broke away and the fossil fuel broke loose into the seawater. It is believed that more than 60,000 barrels of crude oil flowed out every single day.

Efforts to control the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Blowout Preventer (BOP), a specialized valve which was supposed to close the way of crude oil, malfunctioned. Reason being that the pressure of rising oil and gases had bent the conducting pipe. Because of the bend, the blades (blind shear rams) failed to block the pipe, and blow out continued in a big way. An attempt was made to stop the leakage by placing a containment dome over the breached part. But the natural gas reacted with cold water to make gas hydrates – the buoyant molecules which usurped the containment efforts. Efforts to kill the well by injecting heavy mud into the blowout preventer also failed.

Finally, in the month of June, BP took recourse to an apparatus called LMRP (Lower Marine Riser Package) cap. The cap was lowered on top of the Blow out preventer (BOP). Though it was a loose fit, and some fuel continued to escape into the environment, approximately 15,000 barrels of oil could be salvaged into a tanker. Some ancillary measures were also put in place and the total collection was raised to about 25,000 barrels per day.

Plug on leakage was systematically reinforced and perfected

In the following month of July, the LMRP was replaced with a more enduring ‘capping stack’ and the oil leakage stops on July 15, 2010 (after almost 97 days). It was estimated by scientist that 4,900,000 barrels of crude oil had already seeped into the marine surroundings, even as 800,000 barrels was safely collected.

Photo of the oil spill from Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Petty Officer 1st Class Michael B. Watkins)

In an exercise called static kill, drilling mud was forced into the well through the BOP. The procedure worked because the mud was injected at a much lower pressure compared to the previous.

Come September, full and final sealing of the well, ‘bottom kill’ was carried out. This was done by creating two relief wells (one as a backup unit), which began in the month of May. It ran parallel to the oil well and intersected it at a point. The ‘bottom kill’ was accomplished by injecting cement in the first relief well. A series of safety tests were carried out for 2 days and the oil well was declared killed on September 19, 2010.

Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The gigantic amount of oil that flowed into the sea called for a massive clean-up exercise. This was done by pumping 1.8 million gallons of ‘oil dispersants’ into the open water. These chemicals emulsified the oil, making it biodegradable. Dispersants were also generously sprayed over the oil slick floating in the sea.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules spraying oil-dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico. (US Air Force)

Efforts were also made to siphon it out of the water bodies. But the clean-up was hard on the beaches of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi where the pollutant made an inseparable mesh with marine vegetation. The exercise, headed by the U.S. Coast Guard, continued up to 2014. Billions of dollars spent in clean up were debited to British Petroleum, Transocean other associated companies.

Oil skimming in progress. (United States Coast Guard)

Government administration stepped into damage control

The Gulf Coast states were naturally hit by the disaster. Large swathes of seawater were rendered unfit for fishing, and many industries were hit. The U.S President, Barack Obama, declared a moratorium on offshore drilling. Though the moratorium was reversed by a district court, close to 12,000 workers were temporarily thrown out of job. Tourism in the area fell sharply. British Petroleum created a corpus of $20 billion and distributed the amount to the victims of the tragedy.

Normalcy was restored in the troubled areas

The wide-ranging control measures finally paid off. By July, fishing was allowed in restricted waters, and by October, most affected areas were declared safe. Moratorium on drilling was lifted pre-time, in mid-October. Though the residual crude oil prevailed in the environment, the fall out was generally controlled.

Law of the land followed its due course

Then followed a protracted course of legal action against the British petroleum. The United States Environmental Protection Agency imposed a ban on BP in 2010 from new government contracts quoting “lack of business integrity”. The bar though was lifted in March 2014. The Transocean paid $1 billion as fine for the breach of Clean Water Act. Civil trial for the case continued till October 2015, when a final settlement of $20.8 billion was announced. This was biggest penalty ever, imposed on a single company by the U.S government.

Devastating effects of oil spill on marine life

The environmental pollution caused by the disaster was more worrisome compared to financial losses. The leaked oil, layered around the body of sea turtles, mammals and birds. Sickness, death and loss of fertility were recorded in whales and dolphins. Feeding on oil proved fatal for birds and bathing in polluted water trashed their thermoregulatory mechanism.

A turtle covered in tar is being rescued. (Louisiana GOHSEP / Flickr)

A brown pelican soaked in oil caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Louisiana GOHSEP / Flickr)

30% of the laughing gulls and 12% of the brown pelicans perished in the pollution. A study conducted in 2014 revealed that some 600,000 – 800,000 birds died of the oil toxicity. Animals salvaged from danger zones were medically treated and rehabilitated at different locations.

A satellite tracking study revealed that the oil contamination killed 65,000 turtles in 2010, and 300,000 affected turtles may have migrated to safe regions. Another study in 2014 pointed out that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the spilled oil led to heart defects in the larvae of many fish species of commercial importance. That apart, flora and fauna from the seaside and the food chain in the area were disturbed irreparably.

Till oil drilling demands peak vigilance

The fossil fuel store of the earth, the non-renewable energy source, may not deplete any time soon. Yet, in 50 or 100 years, it may be sufficiently exhausted to make drilling of oil impossible or financially untenable. Till then the management of oil wells, especially the offshore ones, calls for especial vigil to avoid such disasters in future. This, alongside the encouragement to non-conventional and renewable sources of energy, will ensure that the world continues to get its required supply of energy, in the times to come.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “India’s Jharia Coalfield, 100 Years of Simmering Greed“.

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The head of Champawat Tiger. (Nihal Neerrad S / Wikimedia Commons)

Today, the Asian Tigers are a threatened species with just about 3200 thriving units. The number was a lakh (hundred thousand) a century back. The most numerous subspecies, Bengal Tigers, is reduced to 2500 and is also endangered according to IUCN. Man’s itch for infrastructure development and professional hunting has led to this drastic depletion. Tigers are not the natural enemies of man, but may turn on him following injury, and the exigencies of living space. The story of the Champawat tiger, a Bengal tigress that killed 436 humans, is a classical example.

The killing started in Nepal and extended to Kumaon

In the 19th century British ruled India, a Bengal tigress in the Himalayan range of Western Nepal turned into a man-eater. A man of Tharu tribe from Rupal village was her first victim. Professional hunters were called and put on the mission to kill the tigress. But the tigress was too swift and cunning to be caught. Next, in an upscale measure, the army was put on job. Army gheraoed the tigress (who, post her death much later, would be named as Champawat Tiger), but she escaped by crossing over to an adjoining habitat.

Kumaon district, across river Sarda, became her new home, and a terror zone for the natives living there. For seven years, the tigress struck men women and children with brazen audacity, even during the day time, if the opportunity presented itself. An estimated 436 humans fell prey to the deviant wild cat.

Only hassled and handicapped tigers attack men

Tigers normally don’t attack humans for food. They do so only in some exceptional circumstances. In the case of Champawat tiger, it was a hunter’s bullet that failed to kill her but smashed her upper and lower right canines. This injury constrained her from catching its natural prey. And the pangs of hunger forced the tigress to an easier catch, the humans. Another contributing factor was the rampant deforestation done by the British government. The exercise done in the name of infrastructure development was a direct infringement on the living space of the wildlife.

Verily, a fight between man and nature

As man was busy asserting his power on nature, the Bengal tigress was out asserting her power on mankind. Best time for the kill was the day time, when men moved out for work. So, most of her attacks occurred during the day. Even those who rested in the 4 walls of their homes, weren’t spared. Human habitation became her food-spread which she walked into whenever hungry.

Surreptitious killings created mayhem 

Ferocious canine teeth, brute power and the quick reflexes of a tiger can freeze any human with fear. The ears of a tiger can hear a wide range of frequencies from 0.2 kHz to 100 kHz, they also have a strong sense of smell. Ears can also rotate on base to catch sound from a particular direction. These endowments make the big cat a stealth killer. Time and again skilled hunters, police and military were engaged to kill the tigress, but to no avail. Orthodox and the God-fearing natives even started believing that it was some kind of a curse from the nether world. Gripped with fear, people stopped moving out of homes. Ironically, even homes weren’t safe. The tigress attacked people sleeping in huts, travelling on boats and even those who perched on trees.

Finally, the British administration couldn’t take it any longer. In the year 1907, the deputy commissioner of Nainital, Charles Henry Berthoud, was determined to do ‘something’. He went out to meet his friend, Jim Corbett.

Jim Corbett was tasked to kill the man-eater

Jim Corbett was a renowned hunter and a railroad worker of Irish lineage. Born and brought up in Kumaon hills, he had spent quality time with native hunters of Kaladhungi forests. Killing of a leopard at the age of 10 was his first landmark, and many more would follow. Berthoud wanted Jim to go after the Bengal tigress. Even though Jim had no hands-on experience of dealing with a man-eater, he agreed to give it a try. He didn’t have to wait for long to go ahead on the task. A fresh killing was reported just 5 days later. A woman astride a tree, plucking leaves for fodder, was pounced upon and killed. This happened in a town 60 miles away. Jim packed up, took six natives as helpers, and headed towards the town.

Village Champawat became the name and the nemesis

On reaching the destination, he saw villagers in a state of shock. As for the tigress, there were no signs of her. So, he decided to wait and watch. A nearby village, Champawat, was frequented by the tigress in the past. The village would go on to become the nemesis, as well as the enduring identity of the tigress as ‘Champawat tiger’. On the advice of the villagers, Jim moved towards this village and got the ultimate lead, a yet another kill. A 16-year-old girl was mauled by the tigress and dragged deep into the woods. The trail was marked by fresh blood. Jim followed the trail and found the victim’s skirt in a distant valley. In the near vicinity were seen scattered pieces of bones, and a severed human leg. Warm blood was still oozing from the leg. Obviously, the man-eater was somewhere near. The thought gave him a mix of hope and fear, and an alert Jim spent hours sitting in a hideout, his finger pressed to trigger. But the big cat eluded him, and he was forced to return.

Massive manpower was used in the final assault

On the day next, Jim reached the valley with a team of 300 villagers. The team spread out into a wall that forced Champawat tiger in a direction where Jim lay in wait. The human wall screamed, beat drums and used firearms to intimidate the animal. With a pounding heartbeat and loaded gun, Jim was now ready for a tryst with destiny. A tiger leaping with lightning speed would give him only a couple of seconds to take aim and shoot. Missing the aim would cost him life. So, for him, it was a matter of do-or-die.

The beast fell to the second round of firing

The moment of reckoning finally arrived. Jim saw some stripes emerge out of shadows. It was the tigress. Corbett fired a shot, which missed the mark. He fired again, this time it hit the animal. Third shot too was on target. But high on adrenaline, the big cat still surged for an attack. Out of ammunition, Jim ran for his life. Sprinting across the valley as fast as he could, he took a shotgun from a colleague, ran back to the hit-but-alive tiger, and fired a volley of bullets from 20 feet distance. With that, he called it a day.

Champawat Tiger made a world record

Death of the Bengal tigress was widely celebrated. But, for Jim Corbett, it was a solemn occasion. Death of the tiger weighed heavy on his mind even as there was relief and satisfaction of a job done. Post mortem findings revealed her broken canines, the prime reason for her turning into a man-eater. The tigress entered in Guinness Book of world records for killing the highest number of humans, i.e. 436. It is believed she may have killed more, as many cases may have gone unreported.

Many more man-eaters were put to death

Post the killing of the Champawat tiger, Jim Corbett was engaged in the extermination of other man-eating tigers too. The last man-eater he killed was in the year 1938, at 63 years of age. A celebrity, and bestselling author of 6 books, he was an animal lover and a committed conservationist at heart. The declining number of tiger population perturbed him even during his lifetime. So much so, he devoted the last 2 decades of his life for the protection of tiger species. Corbett national park at Nainital, Uttarakhand, committed to protecting the endangered Bengal tiger, is a fitting tribute to this outstanding naturalist, hunter, and lover of the wildlife.

Jim Corbett rooted for the conservation of wildlife

Tigers are “a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage”, opined Jim. They turn man-eaters when wounded, and in some exceptional circumstances, he added. From the man-eating tigers in the past, to the threatened-with-extinction tigers at present, the time has come a full circle. The need of the hour is to conserve tigers at all cost. Otherwise, as Jim Corbett rightly said: if the tiger goes extinct, India will be poorer.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Jim Corbett: A White Hunter Who Became Saviour of Tigers“.

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Jim Corbett with the freshly killed Tiger of Powalgarh. (Wikimedia Commons)

How many hats can a man wear in a lifetime? A railway employee, a contractor, a hunter, conservationist, family man, author, a celebrity, philanthropist, army officer, photographer. Jim Corbett, the British naturalist, born in colonial India as Edward James Corbett, wore all these hats. Tiger reserve of India, Jim Corbett National park, is a living testimony to this iconic Anglo Indian.

Jim Corbett’s father served at Dehradun and Nainital

Jim Corbett was born on 25th July 1875, at Nainital, in the Kumaon of Himalaya (present Uttarakhand). He was the 8th child of William Christopher Corbett and Mary Jane Corbett (2nd wife). William had married Ann Morrow while serving as Captain in the British army, at Dehradun in 1845. Ann died 2 years later, after giving birth to 3 children. In 1859 William left army service and became a postmaster in Nainital. There he met Mary Jane, a widow with 3 children, and married her. The newlyweds then had 6 children to look after and would be blessed with 8 more in the future.

In 1862, William shifted to Nainital. His sister and her husband died, leaving behind 8 children, of which, 4 would live with the Corbett family. On 21st April 1881, William died of a heart attack, leaving Mary Jane with the charge of 9 children, including the 6-year-old Jim.

Jim left studies to support his large family

Born and brought up in a big joint family, bonhomie and camaraderie came easy to Corbett. He had his schooling at Oak Openings School (now Birla Vidya Mandir, Nainital) but left studies at 18 to shoulder the family responsibilities. In 1892, he obtained a temporary job with the Bengal and North Western Railway as a fuel inspector at Manakpur, Punjab. Later, he became a trans-shipment contractor at Mokameh Ghat in Bihar, overseeing the movement of goods across the Ganges. His dedication to the welfare of his family would keep him from starting one himself, and he remained a bachelor all his life. His elder sister, who too didn’t marry, remained his companion and soulmate.

Served in the army during the world war 1

During the world war 1 he joined the army and commanded a unit of 500 men (Kumaon Labor Corps) in France. Promoted to the rank of major, he commanded the 114th Labour Battalion, in the third Afghan war (1919). For 16 years, from 1920 to 1936, he spent quality time, hunting and tracking in Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania), Africa. By 1930 he grew weary of hunting and found a better calling: shooting animals with 16 mm camera. Photography gave him greater joy than shooting with a firearm. He gave up hunting and took up the cause of conservation of wildlife.

Taking on man-eating tigers became his prime call

The defining part of Corbett’s career as a hunter, began with a Bengal tigress, in 1907. Killing it established his image as a devious hunter, and at the same time kindled in him an appreciation for wildlife. For, he realized that tigers turned man-eater when incapacitated due to injury or old age. The feline had lost two canine teeth to a bullet that failed to kill her. Unable to catch on her natural prey base, the big cat turned to an easier option – killing humans for food. Champawat had claimed 436 human lives and was a reigning terror in Kumaon area in 19th century India. Attempts at containing the cat had failed, and a jittery British government commissioned Jim Corbett into the task. Following a tip-off, he reached the village Champawat and saw remains of a woman victim. A human chain was formed to force the animal to move into anambush. A trap was laid and the tigress was shot down in a daredevil encounter. That was the end of the tigress, posthumously named as the Champawat man-eater.

Jim Corbett with the Leopard of Rudraprayag. (Wikimedia Commons)

Another credit for Jim was Panar Leopard (1910) that killed about 400 people. Jim’s first attempt was an anticipated shot in the dark. The hit animal was tracked in the wood with searchlights and killed in the second attempt.

Talla-Des man-eater that claimed 150 human lives in a span of 2 years, was exterminated it in 1929. Her two grown-up cubs were also killed. The man-eater was spotted through a blood trail leading to a thicket of ferns. Two rounds of bullets fire killed the animal on spot.

Jim Corbett narrates in his book The Jim Corbett Omnibus:

“When I saw the two tigers lying asleep I concluded that the man-eater had found a mate, but later, when my third shot flushed a third tiger, I knew I was dealing with a tigress and her two cubs. Which of the three was the mother and which the cubs it was not possible to say, for all three looked about the same size when I had viewed them over the sights of my rifle….The cubs had died for the sins of their mother.”

Man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag had killed 125 villagers. Leaving human bodies unburied in epidemics had (including Panar leopard) hooked it to the human flesh. Jim eliminated it in the year 1925.

Mohan man-eater, a terror in settlements of Kosi valley was killed in 1929. The tiger was sleeping. For once Jim reflected on ethics of gaming a sleeping life. But the fact of its being a man-eater prevailed.

A group of 3 man-eaters from Kumaon division, reported in 1929, was the next pick. The hunt led to Chowgarh Tigress and her grown-up cub, responsible for 64 killings. Jim began his hunt from Kala Agar forest. In his first attempt, the cub got killed. The thread of the mission was picked up in February 1930. Buffaloes, used as bait attracted 2 tigers and 2 leopards which were not man-eaters but got killed under that impression. The dogged search for the man-eater concluded on 11th April 1930. Jim suddenly found himself dangerously close to the man-eater. The tigress, just 8 feet away, could pounce on him any second. Jim gathered his wits and shot the animal dead. By any reckoning, it was the toughest challenge he faced in his lifetime.

Chukka man-eater was a male Bengal tiger that killed 3 boys of village Thuk in Ladhya Valley in 1937. After repeated attempts, it came under the firing range of Jim, perched on a tree at a strategic location. Two bullets were fired and the animal fell lifeless. This was 2nd last in Corbett’s man-eater kitty. The last one was the Thak man-eater, a Bengal tigress that killed 4 humans in 1938. It fell to Jim’s on 30th November 1938.

His experience as a hunter made him a lover of wildlife

Increasing empathy towards the wild during his hunting days made Corbett a staunch conservationist and he took up the cause of protecting wildlife from human interference. He worked tirelessly to establish Hailey National Park in 1936. The park, a beacon light of conserving forests and the wildlife, was later renamed Ramganga National Park and finally, after his name, as Jim Corbett National Park in 1957. Jim Corbett authored 6 books penning his life experiences and conveying his message of living in harmony with nature.

Jim Corbett National park

Located in scenic surroundings of Himalayan foothills and the Shivaliks, Jim Corbett National Park is a popular tourist destination in India. Spread in an area of 520 square kilometres at Nainital, Uttarakhand, it is home to a wide spectrum of wildlife. Project Tiger, launched in 1973 for the protection of the endangered species of Asian tiger, began from here. It is home to 650 species of birds and 5 species of deer. A good number of otters, crocodiles, elephants, pigs, tigers, leopards, bears and reindeer etc. make it a vibrant exposition of wildlife in its natural surroundings. Visitors to the park, go in a jeep/canter safari to see the wild in its pristine form.

Two houses of the Corbett family are tourist attractions

The winter house of the Corbett family was located in Kaladhungi, a forest area in the Himalayan foothills, popularly called Corbett’s village. The house was converted into a museum in 1967. Another house of Corbett’s, on the slopes of Ayarpatta hill in Nainital, named Gurney house is now owned by Varma-Dalmia family. Visitors to the national park, however, allowed to see this heritage home.

Criticism and controversies

In 1947, Jim Corbett, along with his elder sister, left India for Kenya, where he died at the age of 80. Corbett’s illustrious career has its own share of criticism. Some scholars feel he was just an extension of India’s colonial masters who raised hunting as a popular sport. This led to hunting on a wider scale. A large number of tigers survived a shoddy hunt, to live with injury and incapacitation. Such injured felines, they aver, turned on human beings. And, Jim was strategically positioned as the saviour of the forest dwellers. His positioning as a friend of villagers won the British government the goodwill of the local population. Those were the days of India’s freedom struggle when the colonial rulers were generally doubted by the Indians. Some have accused Jim of exaggeration in his writings. Another criticism is in respect of an Indochinese subspecies of tiger, panther tigris corbetti. The name, it is argued, is not after Jim Corbett as claimed by many. Actually, it is after a Researcher of Natural History, Gordon Barclay Corbet (Jim Corbett has ‘tt’). Jim has also been accused of killing many felines which were not man-eaters, and killing just for sport.

Overall, a perfect gentleman

Nevertheless, his image as one who saved men from tigers, and subsequently tigers from men, survives controversies. Villagers loved him and admired him in spite of being a white man. He is still fondly and reverentially remembered by the inhabitants of the places where he lived and worked. This, coupled with the body of work he gifted to the posterity, will keep Jim Corbett immortal in the annals of history.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Tsavo Man-Eaters: A Pair of Rogue Lions That Killed Nearly 135 People“.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

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Model of Plan Voisin. (SiefkinDR / Wikimedia Commons)

Towns and cities of the past have given way to today’s better planned metropolitan cities. But the change doesn’t come easy. The resistance to change is as tenacious as a desire for change. The transition of Paris – the capital of France, from the 18th century to the present day, is a good example. Napoleon Bonaparte began the process of change. His nephew, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte carried it forward. Come the year 1920s, and it was time for a Swiss-French Architect, Le Corbusier, to propose Project Plan Voisin. The Plan was opposed tooth and nail and had to be dropped. But the spirit of the project survived and got adopted worldwide. Chandigarh, the wonderfully planned city of India, is one such adoption.

Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier in Chandigarh, India, 1955. (IISG / Flickr)

Eighteenth-century Paris reeked in filth and foul air

Voltaire (1694-1778) complained that the city roads were narrow and dirty. Houses, he said, were unfit for healthy living. He lamented that public money was wasted on showbiz rather than used for creating civic amenities. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769- 1821) began a major restructuring of Paris, with the construction of a canal for the supply of clean water to the city. His exile to Elba came in the way and he deeply regretted his inability to rebuild Paris. His nephew, Napoleon III wanted Paris to be updated into a beautiful and integrated capital city. For this, he appointed an Administrator named Haussmann in the year 1853. The city must flush with fresh air and open spaces, Napoleon III decreed. Two phases of the job were completed successfully. In the 3rd phase, serious doubts were raised on the working of Haussmann, and he was sacked in 1870. The pending work continued till 1927, by which time, Project Plan Voisin was public.

Plan Voisin was deemed too radical for adoption

Brian child of the prodigal architect, Le Corbusier, Plan Voisin was a revolutionary idea in urban planning. Clearly, ahead of time, the plan met with severe opposition. Tabled in 1925, it envisaged the total replacement of buildings in Central Paris with 18 look alike skyscrapers. Corbusier wanted a radical departure from the norms of the past. This was not granted and the plan was rejected. Subsequently though, it got worldwide acclaim and recognition. A cluster of skyscrapers at La Defence, a business hub in Paris built in 1958, is inspired by Plan Voisin. Ditto for the housing estates in suburbs of Paris, except that it invited contempt for reasons unrelated to the original Plan Voisin.

Dream of a modern city remained unfulfilled

Le Corbusier envisioned 60-story towers in a spread of green, people snacking on terraces in a high-rise, and aeroplanes flying in the background. Height facilitated more light and air into human habitation. Back then, the idea seemed outlandish. But today’s trend for tall buildings all over the world proves Le Corbusier right.

Sceptics argue that dropping the plan was a good idea as today’s most beautiful part of Paris, on the right bank of River Seine, would have been destroyed by the plan. But Marybeth Shaw spoke in favour of the Plan. In the thesis titled “Promoting an Urban Vision: Le Corbusier and the Plan Voisin”, he writes that Central Paris was filthy, overcrowded and disease-prone. Hence, demolishing it was necessary for sanitation and liveability. Le Corbusier’s proposed grid iron construction of 18 glass Towers coupled with green lawns and multi-tiered parks was the perfect answer to this problem. The plan included low rise apartments, roads and airport as well. It was a blueprint of Corbusier’s dream of a modern city.

The momentum of past perceptions weighed heavy on the plan

Expressing surprise over the rejection of Plan Voisin, Nicholas Fox Weber, author of Le Corbusier’s biography, said that the architect was misunderstood. Fears against his plan were imaginary. Rightly so, for the destruction of Paris, which the plan entailed was creative destruction. The old must necessarily give way to the new. Paris of Corbusier’s vision was a city with clean air and ample living space. It was devoid of noise and clutter normally linked with city living. The skyscrapers, tall and lean, looked like standing in the air, detached from the ground below. With vertical housing, huge space was set free for streets, roads and public utilities. That would make Paris a trendsetter in housing for the future. Corbusier argued hard that signature establishments of Paris would be saved and lesser installation relocated, but his plan wasn’t approved.

Plan’s core philosophy equating city to a human body found buyers

Nevertheless, the idea caught the world’s attention. Corbusier’s belief that a city was an equivalent of a living human body and hence should be similarly endowed, found takers. India’s Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru invited him to build the city of Chandigarh. Project Plan Voisin reflects in buildings all over London, Shanghai, Melbourne and Manhattan and in modern cities all over the world.

Plan Voisin was a way out of filthy and polluted living

Le Corbusier saw glaring bankruptcy in civic amenities and living conditions of urbanites and proposed a solution to it. The solution was Project Plan Voisin, named after the carmaker he would partner with if the plan was approved. Modern city buildings subscribe to mixed use, whereas Corbusier advocated strict separation. This difference apart, the impact of Plan Voisin on modern architecture is significant.

If failures are road maps of success, Plan Voisin stands out as a sterling example of it.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Sewers of Paris: The Massive Underground Sewers That Keep Paris Clean“.

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A driver using a global positioning system through his phone. (THE COLLAB. / Pexels)

The day: September 1, 1983. A Korean Air Lines Flight 007, taking off from New York City to Seoul, drifts 200 miles away from the flightpath, towards a sensitive Soviet military installation in the Kamchatka Peninsula. Soviet Pilots detect these intrusions and jump into action. KAL 007, the passenger plane, is mistaken for the spy plane and shot down. If only the KAL 007 had the Global Positioning System (GPS), then used exclusively by the U.S. Military, it would have noted the drift and mended direction. And, the tragedy could have been averted. Lest such navigational lapses repeat, America – the owner of GPS, then opened this facility for civil use all over the world.

Backed by solar power and batteries

GPS was conceived as stealth technology for the reconnaissance and surveillance work of the U.S. Defense Forces. Its formation began with the launching of the first GPS satellite into earth’s orbit in 1978. By the year 1994, it became a group of 24 satellites. Presently there are 32 satellites. Each weighs about 2000 pounds and carries a 17 feet expanse of solar panels. Functional life of a satellite is about 10 years and the duds are replaced with new functional units. Powered by solar energy, and on-board back-up batteries, each satellite is able to transmit 50 Watts or less of electromagnetic power. This generates 2 low-power radio signals which travel by the line-of-sight. That means, barring high-density solids like concrete buildings and mountains, the signals pass through all other mediums (plastic, glass, clouds etc.).

Satellite information is decoded by GPS devices

The signal given out by the Satellites is loaded with 3 types of information:

1. Pseudorandom code: It is an identification of the particular satellite which is sending the information. The satellite page on the GPS device being used on earth gives a clear indication of the sender satellite.

2. Ephemeris data: This shows update on functional status and the orbital-position of the satellite.

3. Almanac data: It has orbital and state (health) information of every satellite in the constellation. The GPS almanac also includes necessary data to correct for distortion caused by the ionosphere.

Geographical positioning is determined by trilateration

Each satellite, circumnavigating 12,500 miles (20,117 kilometers) away in space, makes 2 rotations of the earth in a day. The satellite demarcates a circular zone on the GPS device as the area of the user’s probable location. Circular zones, as indicated by a 2nd and 3rd satellites would naturally intersect, and the point of intersection reveals the geographical position in a narrowed down range. Even a 4th satellite may chip in with yet another intersection. More the number of intersections, more pinpoint and accurate the location of the GPS user. If still more number of satellites come in the loop, even 3-D position (longitude, altitude and latitude) can be assessed. This methodology of zeroing on to the exact geographical position is called trilateration.

Notably, GPS device, like smartphones, can only collect data transmitted by the satellites. It can’t send data back to the Satellite, except when it syncs with cell phone towers and internet for better output. The device can, as an exception, send such synced information to the satellite systems.

Capable of doing lot more than just positioning

GPS device doesn’t just stop at finding the subject location. It also reveals the distance to a projected destination, how long it may take to reach there, the speed of the subject, topography of the area being travelled, time of sunrise and sunset, and much more. Thanks to technological up-gradation, more and more sensitive receivers are now available. These have enhanced GPS reception in a big way. Some adjutant systems too, like WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation system) and DGPS (differential GPS), have ensured better results. WAAS accounts for atmospheric variations and the geographical position is homed in by more than 3 meters. The correction ensured by DGPS, (used by the U.S. Coast Guard), is in the range of 1-3 meters. With further research and development, tracking of 20 or more satellites could be a possibility. More the number of satellites engaged, better theresults. However, starting from 2018 the U.S. Coast Guard has slowly started to discontinue the use of DGPS due to the increase in the accuracy of GPS technology.

Can the reading on GPS device go wrong?

Yes. Satellites, apart from expiring in 10-year time, can also be obstructed temporarily. Like, conditions in troposphere (the atmosphere 6-20 KM above the sea level), and ionosphere (1000 KM above the sea level) may cause signals to move slowly. Signals may also bump off some high-density solid on earth and lead to error in positioning. 

What if America asserts its ownership of GPS?

By and large, GPS is a freebie from America. That, ironically, is its plus as well as minus. Plus, because it is being used extensively and intensively all over the world. Minus, because nothing really comes for free. On all good things, there is a price tag, overt or covert. Of the two levels of GPS services available, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) is free for use worldwide. The other level, Precise Positioning Service (PPS), is not for all. Its use is limited to American Armed forces, federal agencies and some selected nations. What if America decides to restrict worldwide use of GPS? It would indeed rattle the world, overly dependent on GPS in many ways. Is the world ready to face this eventuality?

World moving in the direction of alternatives

Yes, the world seems to be geared up for GPS road-block. Russia has built its own satellite cluster in space, called GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Galileo is another system, owned by the European Space Agency. China is busy expanding BeiDou to increase its global coverage. Most gadgets are receptive to GLONASS and GPS, and to some extent to BeiDou. The Indian counterpart is IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System), also called NAVIC.        Nevertheless, GPS remains the most widely used system as of now.

In spite of competition, GPS holds ground

Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting, a satellite market research firm opines that the satellite navigation services of the future will divide the world into two camps. One: pro-China. Two: pro-US. The pro-China lobby would include nations sceptical of the service provided by the U.S. and the European Union.

Is there a pressing need for alternative navigation systems?

No, feels Curcio. Rightly so, for more reasons than one. According to Brian Weeden, director of the Secure World Foundation states that- the biggest merit of GPS is its consistency and reliability. Further, he says, establishing a global satellite navigation system and making it trust worthy, like GPS, is a hard job. Add to this the fact that BeiDou would be a two-way transmission. Satellite to device on earth, and from device to the satellite. This 2-way track would need more of spectrum bandwidth and the accuracy of positioning could be compromised.

What has ostensibly annoyed the Western countries is the probable role of BeiDou in China’s plan for a smaller & smarter military. It could be used for precision-guided missiles, reconnaissance, and short messages (the facility lacking with GPS). Doubtless, it would add to the military might of China significantly. Not surprising, considering GPS too was developed for the U.S. Military, and used for the first time in the Gulf War.

Keen contest among the nations of the world would indeed change the present day scenario of the global positioning systems. But it won’t come a day too soon. And GPS is likely to hold ground for pretty long.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Yellow Concrete Arrows Are the Last Reminders of Transcontinental Airway System“.

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Mugshot of Leonarda Cianciulli. (Wikimedia Commons)

How unlucky can one get? Is life already programmed at birth, or even before it? Is one’s journey in life a foregone conclusion? These questions relate to a girl born to a raped woman, in Italy. The woman married her rapist, but went on to despise her daughter, Leonarda Cianciulli, who grew up to make soap and cookies for a living at Correggio. Highly superstitious about her bad luck, she mixed her trade with a spree of serial killings. Held to account by the law of the land, she spent 30 years in jail, and died in a criminal asylum, doing the remaining part of her sentence.

Leonarda Cianciulli was a neglected child of a raped woman

Born on 18th April 1894, Leonarda, the unwanted child of a raped woman, had a disturbed childhood. Her father, the man who raped her mother (and married her later), died when she was a toddler. Living in extreme poverty, her mother remarried but her financial hardships persisted. A jinxed mother couldn’t care less for her daughter. Leonarda, thus, grew up as a bundle of nerves. So much so, that the girl tried to kill herself on two different occasions.

Riled about her mother’s curse

Stepping into youth from a turbulent childhood brought a new set of problems for Leonarda. Her parents chose a wealthy match for her, but she refused to marry him. Instead, she married a registry office clerk, much older than her age. Then on, she always believed that her marriage was cursed by her mother. Curse mattered to her. Pushed to the wall with hardships since birth, she found succour in soothsayers and fortune-tellers. She realised she was already ill-fated and didn’t want any addition to her woes. So, she feared the curse. Ironically though, her fears came true.

Young Leonarda Cianciulli. (Wikimedia Commons)

Devastated by earthquake

The newlywed Leonarda Cianciulli shifted to Lauria (present-day Potenza) in 1921. Even as she settled down and bore children, financial problems dogged her. Frantic to support her growing family, she ventured into illegal transactions, and was jailed for fraud in 1927. Upon her release from jail, she shifted base to Lacedonia (present-day Avellino) and tried to rebuild her life all over again. But bad luck continued to haunt her. An earthquake in 1930 destroyed her house, and the family was on the streets. Forced to move for survival, they then settled down in Correggio, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Here they found some peace of mind. Leonarda opened a soap shop and became a popular businesswoman.

Tried black magic to solve her problems

By now Leonarda had come a long way. She got pregnant 17 times and had 3 miscarriages. 10 of her children died at various stages of their growing period. Only 4 siblings survived. A staunch believer of astrology, palm reading and fortune telling, she believed her misfortunes were predestined. A fortune-teller had told her that none of her offspring would survive, all would die. Her mother’s curse too rankled her. Could she do something about it, and save the life of her remaining children? To her great concern, her eldest son got enrolled in the Italian army in the wake of ongoing World War 2. Deeply superstitious, she desired to counter the evil spell that killed her children, bode ill for her still alive, and made a mess of her life. Her knowledge of black magic said that the nether world could be appropriated to spare one life in exchange for another. So why not kill an unrelated person to save the life of her dear ones? She did just that, and added her bit of creativity to the macabre slaying of three unsuspecting ladies. She was practising fortune-telling herself, and her victims were beholden to her for solving their problems.

Killed three with astute planning

Her first victim was Faustina Setti, a middle-aged spinster wanting to get married. Leonarda promised her a husband in Pola (present-day Croatia) on condition that latter keeps it a secret. She also got some letters written by her victim. These were welfare intimations which Leonarda would post to the relatives of the victim from Pola. But the victim, Faustina Setti, wasn’t taken to Pola. She was served a spiked drink. When she fell unconscious, Leonarda killed her with an axe, cut the body into pieces and collected blood separately. Body pieces were boiled in caustic soda and made into soap. Coagulated blood was added to cake and served as a snack.

Her second victim, Francesca Soavi, was promised a job at Piacenza. Same modus operandi was followed. The victim was directed to keep the matter a secret and given a bunch of welfare letters which could be posted to her relatives. And then, done to death. In the third victim though, she met her nemesis.

The third victim did her in

Her third victim was Virginia Cacioppo, a 53-year-old ex-opera singer living in penury. She was offered a job in Florence, as secretary to a fictitious theatre personality. Of course, with the same secrecy clause. Virginia too met with the same gory end. Leonarda enjoyed making her soap bars, and edibles and went on record saying Virginia gave her the best output. To her bad luck, Virginia’s sister-in-law had seen her in Leonarda’s company, and concerned at her disappearance, she reported the matter to Police.

Died passing jail term for her crimes

Leonarda Cianciulli was arrested, tried for her crimes, and awarded 30 years’ prison sentence. An additional 3 years’ stay in women’s criminal asylum, after 30 years’ jail term, was also pronounced. During her stay in asylum she suffered from cerebral apoplexy and died on 15th October 1970.

A gypsy had righty prophesied to her that she saw her one hand in prison and another in a criminal asylum.

Enjoyed this article? Then check out “Amelia Dyer: The Nurse Who Killed Babies for Business“.

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Sea Shadow (IX-529) sailing through Californian waters, 1999. (US Navy)

The element of surprise is crucial to victory in warfare. This can be achieved by escaping the enemy’s vigil. Then only, it is easy to hit the enemy at a chosen time and place. This happened at Pearl Harbour, the U.S Naval base near Hawaii. Japan took America by surprise, destroying 20 ships, 300 planes, killing 2400 and wounding 1000 people. In vengeance, America nuked Japan, and the world changed forever. Warfare too changed radically. Stealth vehicles became the lifeline of the war game. These vehicles could escape the enemy’s IFF (Identification of friend or foe) screening and slip into the enemy’s territory unnoticed. The trend began with radar-defying aircraft. Subsequently, the technology was applied to naval ship- Sea Shadow (IX-529).

The challenge is to neutralize waves which locate movement

The three keynotes of IFF (identification of Friend or Foe) exercise are the sonar (sound navigation and ranging), the radar (radio signals) and the infrared (heat sensors) waves. The stealth ships must escape these three to survive and succeed. Stealth technology is all about facilitating such ‘escape’ and is in great demand worldwide. Reflecting surface of the ship is called the Radar Cross Section (RCS). An effort is made to reduce RCS through shape, design and the painting of Radar Absorbing Materials (RAMs) on the ship body.

Photo of Sea Shadow (IX-529) from above. (U.S. Navy)

The first stealth carrier was an aircraft

The American Aerospace company- the Lockheed, made radar defying fighter plane, F-117 Nighthawk which saw action in the Gulf War of 1991. The outside of the plane was dotted with angular surfaces. Any radiations which fell on these surfaces got scattered in multiple directions. At the same time, radiations also got absorbed into a coat of radar absorbing material (RAM) applied on the plane’s outer surface.

The little amount of radiations or radio waves which got reflected into the enemy radar, don’t suffice for proper identification of the aircraft. So, the aircraft escapes the enemy’s preventive assault on it. If an aircraft could `escape’ thus, why not a naval ship? On this premise was built the Sea Shadow (IX-529) an experimental stealth ship. Though it remained experimental only and wasn’t put into action, it opened the way for an improved version of its class.

From aircraft, the idea was planted on naval ships

F-117 Nighthawk during flight. (Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon II)

Sea Shadow (IX-529) was built and tested on a submersible ship called Hughes Mining Barge (HMB-1). It was a joint venture of DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency), the US Navy and Lockheed. Technically, Sea Shadow was a SWATH ship, i.e. ‘Small Water Plane Area Twin Hull’ ship. Two hulls, instead of a conventional one, were provided for balance and buoyancy. The twin-hull stayed below the water surface. SWATH ships travel at a faster speed, has a higher carrying capacity, but consumes 80% more energy than the single hull types.

Sea Shadow (IX-529) remained a learning exercise

Each of the two hulls of IX-529 had a propeller, a stabilizer and hydrofoils (an arrangement that lifts the hull up to reduce friction when a boat moves at a fast speed). The ship was thus designed to ensure that it remained stable even when the sea was rough with waves reaching up to 18 feet high. Ship’s first trial in 1981 was a failure as it couldn’t dodge the surveillance systems. A course correction was made by repositioning motor propellers and further trials were held in 1985 and 1986. The exercise proved useful for the future endeavours, but Sea Shadow itself could barely reach a functional status. In 1993 it was put up for public viewing. Finally, in 2012, it was sold and dismantled.

Sea Shadow (IX-529), at Hughes Mining Barge before being scrapped. (Stephen Schafer / Wikimedia Commons)

The thread of IX-529 was picked up by USS Arleigh burke ships

In the meanwhile, the first ship of Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was commissioned in America on 4th July 1991. It was another genre of stealth ship equipped with the computer-radar-and-weapon system. It was named after Admiral Arleigh Burke, the Hero of World War II, who later became chief of Naval Operation. The ship was designed for anti-aircraft, as well as anti-submarine action. The hull and the mast of the ship were designed to dodge the enemy radar. It had an all steel construction, an improvement over aluminium-admixture used in earlier versions, as aluminium was vulnerable to fire. Double spaced steel was put in ship’s vital spaces for protection from rocket attacks. Multiple-angle surfaces in place of the vertical surface, and tripod mast in place of the traditional lattice mast; these were the unique features of Arleigh Burke design which made the ship undetectable by anti-ship missiles.

Zumwalt-class destroyer succeeded the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer

Modernization and updating of Arleigh Burke led to a new series of stealth ship, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000). A game-changer in warfare, Zumwalt had a smooth outer surface with sharp angles. It was so designed that it could easily tear through massive water waves. The hull was wider below the waterline than above it. This effectively diminished the ship’s 190-meter Radar Cross Section (RCS) to that of a small boat. Motors were electrically driven and the exhaust pipe was kept cool. This reduced the chances of infrared and sound waves locating the ship’s position with accuracy. However, by 2008, there were issues related to manufacturing cost and technological integration demanded by the American navy. Hence Zumwalt was laid down, to be taken over by improved editions.

USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000). (SurfaceWarriors / Flickr)

And the story goes on, and on

First developed by the German Navy, the stealth ships have come a long way and are being used by all countries of the world. ‘Visby-Class’ of stealth ships of the Swedish Navy are best of the lot internationally. Other famous names of the genre are British Type 45, India’s Shivalik range, Braunschweig Corvettes of Germany, and Houbei Missile boat of China. Doubtless, best in warfare is a transitory phase, and technological upgradation must go on ceaselessly all the time.

Enjoyed this article? You would also love “Lockheed Blackbird SR-71: The Fastest, High-Altitude Reconnaissance Aircraft in the World“.

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Maned wolf. (Max Pixel)

Listed as near threatened, the maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) a carnivore of Canidae family is found in the forests and grasslands of Southern America, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. It does have a mane but doesn’t look like a wolf. A fox look- alike, it isn’t a fox either. It is a unique creature, just one surviving species of the genus Chrysocyon.

The maned wolf is also known for its disproportionately looking long legs. (Tambako The Jaguar / Flickr)

Their uniqueness is a mixed blessing

A healthy adult can weigh between 20-25 Kg and measure 3 feet high in standing position, the animal has thick red skin loosely attached to the body frame. Long black hair on the nape and back make for a waving hair tuft, hence the name maned wolf. The hair on other parts of the body range from red, yellowish to brown, giving an overall impression of golden colour. Genus Chrysocyon, in the Greek language, means a golden-dog.

A maned wolf at Beardsley Zoo. (Sage Ross / Wikipedia Commons)

Raising of hair gives puffy plumpness to the animal and helps it scare the enemy in crisis situations. Ironically, being the largest sized animal of the Canidae family makes it stand-out and hounded by other members of the family like jackals and stray dogs. Genetic studies have shown that mane wolf descended from a large-bodied mammal the ice age.

Diet of the maned wolf 

Maned wolf has a shorttail. The species name brachyurus means ‘short tail’. It measures 25-45 cm and is white-haired towards the distal end. White colour is also around chin and muzzle. A denture is a mix of carnivore and herbivore pattern; sharp canines of the carnivores and flat grinding molars of the herbivores. Animal, thus, is omnivorous. Half of its food intake is animal flesh and other half is fruits and vegetables. It preys on reptiles, small animals and birds- including poultry. It moves cautiously in the long grass and then pounces on prey with agility. A few bites later the prey is swallowed down. Lobeira, an apple-like fruit is animal’s staple food. This fruit also protects it from the kidney worms. Other vegetarian picks include sugarcane, roots, and fruits available in the habitat.

Lobeira, also known as wolf’s plant. (Evaldo Resende / Wikimedia Commons)

Demarcates its living range with excreta-stench

The animal lives solo or in monogamous pairs in about 10 square mile area of its natural habitat. The habitat is open grasslands with or without a sprinkle of trees and bushes. They also thrive well near swamp, rivers and forests. A peculiar stench of their urine and faeces demarcates their territorial holding. Based on the sharp smell of excreta, the other name for the animal is “skunk wolf”. The home-area of the living range is zealously guarded against intruders. They don’t howl like wolves, nor live in packs, but bark loudly to communicate with fellow animals and warn others to keep off their dominion zone. They have sharp ears which can rotate on base to catch sounds coming from different directions.

Good jumper and dodger, but a bad runner

Maned wolf has a peculiar wobbly gait. As it moves, the bodyweight is borne on two legs of the same side. The other two legs move together to create forward motion. Like the undulating move of a giraffe. In full gallop, the stilt-like hind legs are pushed clear ahead of the forelegs. Peculiar configuration of legs enables the animal to jump high and long in a jiffy. However, it is not a good runner and doesn’t chase its prey. Rather, it beguiles and shocks the target with a sudden move. Being a poor runner in a straight line, it is easily hunted down by its enemies. Generally, it gets along well with other species of the habitat. It is shy facing a man, who it would avoid at all cost. The animal has an average life expectancy of about 6.5 years with a maximum lifespan reaching up to 12-15 years.

Killed by man for medicine and mental peace

What has made this docile life near-threatened? One is human greed. Many believe body parts of maned wolf can be used as medicines as well as a good-luck charm. Then, many believe, falsely of course, that they harm their domestic livestock. These assumptions led to their wanton killing. The animal’s inability to reproduce fast and plentifully is another drag. Females have just one oestrus (heat period in which it allows male to mount for sexual reproduction) which lasts for about 5 days. One to five number of babies are delivered after a gestation period of 65 days. Thus one pregnancy adds an average of only 2.5 young ones to the population. Both the male and the female take care of their young ones. After one month of suckling, the newborn live off the food regurgitated from the mother’s mouth.

Young maned wolf playing. (Tambako The Jaguar / Flickr)

Paul Hawken rightly said that whereas the biological diversity is messy and noisy, extinction is silent. The only voice against extinction can be the human voice. And it ought to be raised for this lone surviving species of the golden-dog genus.

Enjoyed this article? You would also love “Hoatzin Reptile Bird: A Dinosaur-Like Bird with the Digestive System of a Cow“.

Special thanks to Tambako The Jaguar for releasing the photos of the maned wolf in creative commons.

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Maginot line in Alsace region, France. (Thilo Parg / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

In great attempts it is glorious even to fail, said Cassius Longinus. The phrase best describes the predicament of France in World War 2. Defeated by Germans in a tooth and nail fight of epic proportions, France surrendered to Nazi forces of Adolf Hitler in 1940. Subjugation lasted till allied forces liberated it from German occupation in 1944. It was a long haul for a militarily deficient France, in which, a defensive wall – Maginot line, constructed along the border, played a key role. It was a saga of astute planning, unflinching courage and exemplary valour. Here is how it unfolded.

André Maginot. (George Grantham Bain collection / Library of Congress)

Similar to the Great Wall of China

Circa 1930. The world was passing through a phase of severe economic depression. Andre’ Maginot, Minister of war, and a disabled veteran of the First World War had a huge responsibility on his shoulders. The responsibility of saving France from Germany – the sworn enemy of France.

A defensive wall, like the great wall of china, was proposed. Wall won’t’s be as long as of china, but it would be fortified with concrete and iron, and would be strategically sited along the border. It would have an underbelly of a military base with all facilities of housing, training and fighting the enemy. The border along the friend countries would be sparsely shielded to project friendly vibes.

A map showing the Maginot line fortification. (Niels Bosboom / Wikimedia Commons)

Security of army personnel was the prime objective

Fortification on the border was a tenable answer to huge loss of life and property suffered on account of repeated invasions of France since ancient times. It was time tested strategy to force the enemy to sideways where it would be trapped and neutralized. Fighting the enemy from permanent trenches, flush with all facilities to thrive, was seen by many as an overly defensive-approach inconsistent with hi-tech warfare of the future. Yet, the proposal was passed. The main reason being the safety of soldiers.

The First World War had claimed the lives of almost 1.4 million in the French army. This was a severe jolt to the French demography and implied huge shortage of future soldiers. Fixed fortification of iron and concrete, it was hoped, would instil a sense of security in soldiers and keep their morale high. Experts warned that in the highly mobile battle scenarios of future, forts would be a drag. But the Government of the day took cognizance of the alarming drop in the human population. Required number of soldiers to defend France would take more than a decade as an entire generation of youth was wiped out in the first World War. Hence the limited size of the army that existed in France had to be guarded zealously and uncompromisingly.

Borrowed name from the chief patron, Andre’ Maginot

The budget required for a continuous, strategically porous defence, was huge. Grossly, the wall would extend from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel. It would cost close to 3 billion francs. Andre’ Maginot, the disabled veteran of first world War, then serving as Minister of War, got the proposal passed in the Chamber of Deputies. Hence the protective wall was named the Maginot line. Violation of French territory by the enemy, he argued, would not be allowed at any cost. And the nation, already bankrupt, okayed huge capital for defence fortification, even as the global economic recession made waves.

The wall of concrete fortification was built on the border of France with Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Border with Belgium was discounted as it was a friendly nation who would call France for help if Germany invaded and the two then would fight the invader together. This, ironically, didn’t happen.

The line was dotted with armoured infantry units 

By 1933, construction for the Maginot line was in full swing. Conceived as a defence-in-depth, it was a medley of subways, bunkers, munition hedges, soldier hideouts and shelters. Army pickets were so arranged that the enemy approach could be blocked at multiple levels. Many armoured kiosks could pop-up over the ground, and disappear into the basement on the command of inmate soldiers.

47 mm AC model 1934 cannon, a French anti-tank gun equipped at the Maginot line. (German Federal Archives)

A soldier looking through a periscope in the Fort de Sainghain on the Maginot line, 1939. (Imperial War Museum)

Facilities inside the Maginot line

Behind the primary and secondary rows of defence, was a vibrant underground military base with boarding, lodging, entertainment and training facilities. Community kitchens, Mess halls, hospitals, canteens, mortuary and almost every facility available to civilians over the ground, was made available to the soldiers underground. Electric train, diesel generators, storage for food and ammunition, air conditioning and ventilation systems added to the grandeur of the underground zone. No wonder, adequate provisions and impenetrable security of iron and concrete bunkers boosted the morale of the French army in a big way.

Electrical panels and diesel generators inside Ouvrage Rochonvillers, one of the largest fort of the Maginot line. (Les Bergers des Pierres – Moselle Association)

Internal rail line inside the Maginot line. (© Pascal dihe / https://www.dihe.eu / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Kitchen inside Ouvrage Rochonvillers, Maginot line. (The Shepherds of Stones – Moselle Association)

Some calculations did go wrong

Come 1935 and it was clear that Germany would attack France any day. To the disadvantage of France, regions in the vicinity of two European rivers, Rhine and Saar, became part of Germany. This was not anticipated by France in its fortification drive on borders. Faith in Belgium was another mistake. It was rightly anticipated that Germany would invade France through the Belgium route. It was also hoped that Belgium then, would approach France for a counterattack. But it didn’t happen this way as Belgium declared itself a neutral state. In a damage control exercise, France made frantic efforts to extend Maginot line defences to plug the emerging loopholes. Even Italy became an irritant, and the border with it had to be put on vigil.

German attack overwhelmed France

As France braced up its borders, and stretched the Maginot line in tandem with emerging threats, Germany attacked Poland in 1939. France and Great Britain, going by their treaty obligations to Poland, declared war on Hitler. But the actual war would still take 8 long months. During this time, the two sides remained on red alert, waiting for the other side to attack first. And then, Germany struck all of a sudden as the French procrastinated in their cosy trenches. German Air Force had moved in for a kill. A bomb was dropped on Nancy, the French city. Hit hard, the French army and the British Expediency Force (BEF) were forced to retreat. Holland surrendered to Germany. French and British forces were clearly on the back foot. A small fortification on Maginot line, close to the Sedan town, fell to a determined attack of the German Infantry. Soldiers housed in fortress fought valiantly but lost, and their bunker became their graveyard. The Germans then systematically went about demolishing 6 more targets on the Maginot line.

Some units defied the order to surrender

Reacting to the consistent defeat, the concerned French General – Maxime Weygandordered his troops to withdraw immediately. On the other side, the British army (BEF) too was pushed back by the Germans. The stage was now set for the conquest of Paris. On way, a unit of French soldiers fought bravely. Their concrete fortress was badly damaged in German fire.

The concrete fortification after suffering damage due to enemy attack. (German Federal Archives)

In the night time the damage was repaired and the holed in soldiers readied for another German assault. They refused to lay down arms, even after Paris was taken over by the German army. Enraged Germans surrounded the fortress from all sides and bombed it hard for two hours. Presuming men inside dead or disoriented, Germans neared the target for the final capture. To their horror, soldiers inside the bunker fired with precision, killing or wounding 80 Germans. They came out only upon getting written orders from their superiors, proudly carrying the French Tricolour flag even as they marched to surrender.

Clinching victory was hard for Germans

The remaining French Army along the Maginot line still had a finger on gun-trigger and refused to quit. Their surrender would still take Germans a long haul of artillery shelling. Jules Pelletier, the Commanding Officer of a fort at Hackenberg, announced that he would fight to-the-end. Germans Shelled non-stop for two days but failed to deter him. Disgusted, they moved on to other targets, where too, they faced reverses. It was only when the ceasefire was officially announced that the French defenders came out and walked into the German captivity.

Thus, the Maginot line gave real nightmares to Hitler’s men. If France had not surrendered and commanded its defence forces to lay down arms, the battle would have continued. The French defenders had enough food and ammunition to keep fighting for 3 months. Grit and determination shown by the French army entrenched along the Maginot line was iconic. Their valour was all the more sanguine as it came at a time when the nation’s polity had meekly surrendered to Hitler’s onslaught.

A true memorabilia of French fortitude

Today the Maginot line is a war-ravaged relic keeping alive the memory of French defenders who lived and died for the honour of France in the worst of circumstances. Iron and concrete bunkers damaged in the enemy fire stand as mute testimony to the heroic fight of French soldiers during the Second World War. Many of the battered fortresses have been repaired and renovated for tourist attraction. Visitors are taken on a guided tour of the underground cantonment where the French defenders lived and fought to the hilt for the honour of their motherland. Some fortifications are still being used by the French army. Those that are decrepit and lost to elements still serve to remind us of the men in uniform who in spite of losing a battle, kept their nerve, morale and patriotism intact.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Schwerer Gustav: The Largest Artillery Gun” That Was Built to Destroy the Maginot Line.

Fact Analysis:
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Tomb of Bibi Jawindi in Uch Sharif, Punjab, Pakistan. (Usamashahid433 / Wikimedia Commons)

The Tomb of Bibi Jawindi is a 15th-century relic, which as of now lies in dilapidated condition. Title of UNESCO World Heritage Site has been sought for it as it symbolizes the Sufi sect as preached by the woman Saint – Bibi Jawindi.

Bibi Jawandi was the great-granddaughter of the famous Sufi saint Jahaniyan Jahangasht whose spiritual legacy she carried forward with panache. Jahaniyan Jahangasht literally means one who wanders worldwide. That was realistic too as he travelled widely and left a lasting impression on the South Asian Muslim Society. He implored people to follow Sunna (the prophet Muhammad’s way of life) in speech, conduct and action. To go on the Sufi path, he said, one must consume less meat, as that helped win over the man’s lower self. Prayer, he said, could change one’s destiny. Notably, he held the soil of Indian sub-continent in great esteem. The reason he gave was, that this soil had touched the feet of Adam. Grandfather’s ideology became Bibi’s command; she lived it fulsome.

Her tomb is an exquisite Islamic architecture

After Bibi Jawindi died in 1403,  Prince Dilshad of Iran got a tomb built in her memory in the year 1493. It could verily be the first love (esoteric love) mausoleum predating the better known Taj Mahal of Agra in India. The tomb of Bibi is located in Uch, Punjab, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Uch was founded as Alexandria by Alexander the Great in 325 BCE. It was a vibrant centre of Sufism during the 13th century Mughal Empire in India. Apart from the tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Uch is also known for the mausoleums of other two Islamic saints – Baha’al-Halim and Jalaluddin Bukhari. Located in close proximity, tombs are masterpieces of Islamic architecture.

Tomb of Bibi Jawindi next to the mausoleums of two saints – Jalaluddin Bukhari & Baha’al-Halim. (Abbrar / Wikimedia Commons)

The tomb of Bibi is eight-sided on the exterior but circular in the interior. Their three tier structure is flush with glazed ceramic ware. The top tier carries a dome. Islamic scriptures mark both the interior as well as the exterior of the mausoleums. Eight tapering towers mark each of the 8 corners of the base tier. White and blue tiles in the shrines are a visual treat. A stretch of common graveyard surrounds these historical shrines of the Sufi divas.

A close up photo of the tomb. (Usman.pg / Wikimedia Commons)

Tombs are in bad shape

The tombs have withered and disintegrated over time from the vagaries of nature. Repair works done till date are inadequate. Hence an appeal has been made to the world community for the conservation and upkeep of these illustrious monuments.

The backside of the tomb. (Kumail Hasan / Wikimedia Commons)

The disintegration of the tomb seems to mirror neglect of the Sufi sect of Islam in general

A small section of Sunni Population, Wahhabis denounce pilgrimage to shrines out-side-of Islamic faith. Professing to uphold puritan Islam, Wahhabis view such pilgrimage against the teachings of Mohammad. So averse are they to idol worship of any kind that they demolished the birthplaces of Prophet Mohammad, and his first wife Khadija. These places, they feared, could become shrines and objects of worship.

Is it possible that shrine of Bibi Jawindi – the diva of inclusive and all-embracing Islam, suffers neglect because of the ideological divide among the Muslims? Is the negligence a  reflection of a general disregard for the Sufi cult of Islam? The answer needs a sincere soul searching.

Tomb of Bibi Jawindi: A heritage site status is well deserved

A Sunni Islamic fundamentalist movement, the Taliban, shouldn’t obliterate the memory of the woman Sufi Saint, Bibi Jawindi. The least that can be done in this direction is to restore her tomb to its pristine glory and spread her message into the public domain. It is hoped that tomb’s inclusion into the list of UNESCO world heritage sites would do this job.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Naqsh-e Rustam: The Incredible Tombs and Rockface Reliefs of the Sassanian Kings“.

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People enjoying dinner at Dinner in the Sky restaurant, Latvia. (Kārlis Dambrāns / Flickr)

Food was central to the existence of prehistoric man. From the central position, the food got increasingly marginalized as man became civilized. With the Industrial Revolution 200 years back, food became an industry, and food insecurity became a thing of past. Eating out (of home) became popular and trendy. Food got clubbed with fun, and in time, to adventure. Welcome to a heady combo of food, fun and adventure – Dinner in the Sky, a Belgian based Novelty restaurant.

A delightful mix of food with adventure

Rated as one among the top ten unusual restaurants worldwide, Dinner in the sky (DITS) is an open platform with canopy, offering fun time and dinner 150 feet above the ground. The platform is taken to this height by the arm of a crane machine to which it is suspended by ropes. Launched in 2006, DITS was a business deal between Hakuna Matata (a communications agency covering the food and beverages) and Fun Company (engaged in erecting amusement parks with the help of crane machines). This gave a platform to 22 restaurant owners of Europe to showcase their cooking skills. The extravaganza began in Belgium, but as of now, is franchised to 40 cities worldwide, including Bengaluru in India.

The novelty restaurant being hoisted by a crane. (Alastair Campbell / Flickr)

The joy ride is expensive and subscribes to laid down health parameters

For Eating-in-the-sky, the Enthusiasts must conform to a set of guidelines. They must be above 18 years of age, and in good health. Body height shouldn’t be less than 145 cm, and body weight shouldn’t exceed 150kg. Pregnant ladies, the faint-hearted and those afraid of heights should abstain from the ride. As for tariff, be ready to shell out a princely amount. Take the case of DITS Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It offers 3 classes for the aerial dining: economy, business and first-class. The price tags are 88, 136 and 231 USD respectively. For DITS Bengaluru a mocktail session costs 3,999 per person and the cost of dinner is a whopping 6,999 per person.

Seating capacity is limited, it’s only for 22

A worker preparing the table. (Kārlis Dambrāns / Flickr)

On-the-ground, DITS is a rectangular table, braced up for crane-lift. It has a seating arrangement for 22 people who all are strapped well before takeoff. A dedicated team of security staff and chefs accompanies the group. The seats are adjustable to individual needs. One can swivel left and right and relax on an adjustable backrest. To stretch out the legs, there is enough space in front of the seat. A customized footrest is also provided.

Food and drinks at Dinner in the Sky

Food isn’t prepared up in the air. It is prepared on the ground and taken up in ready- to- eat form. The party begins with an appetizer followed by the main dinner, and dessert at the end. After the platform is hoisted up in the air, the food is served to the customers by the on-board chefs. The dining lasts for an hour and 15 minutes, during which a 3-course meal is provided along with and fruit juices and water. There are other attractions too, like the display of fireworks. But most riveting is the swing and swagger of suspension and the all-round spectacle of space therefrom.

A chef preparing food for the diners. (Kārlis Dambrāns / Flickr)

Fine dining at the restaurant. (Kārlis Dambrāns / Flickr)

The revelry is well insured and perfectly safe

The sky event begins with the clients going through the registration process and safety briefing 45 minutes before the take-off. Participants are then secured in their seats with a 3-point safety belt. With safety checks scrupulously carried out, the platform is hoisted up in the air with crane machine. The process is perfectly safe, certified as it is with TUV Rhineland, Germany, the global provider of technical, safety, and certification services. Security on the platform remains in contact with ground staff by way of radio as well as hand signals. Once tied to the seat, safety belts can’t be opened without security help. Toilet facility is available all through the sky time. DITS is not just for dining in the sky, but also for social and business events. An appropriate insurance cover goes with each event and that makes it safe in every which way. Thus, every second of fun and feasting 150 feet above the ground, becomes magical and memorable.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Maharajas’ Express: An Ultra-Luxury Indian Train That Redefines the Experience of Travelling“.

Special thanks to Kārlis Dambrāns for releasing photos of Dinner in the Sky under Creative Commons license.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

The post Dinner in the Sky: The Thrill of Partying in a Crane Lift appeared first on .

Adolf Hitler (second from right) and generals watching the Schwerer Gustav. (Nazi Germany official press photograph)

Once bitten, twice shy. This was true of Hitler, the infamous dictator of Germany. He served in the army of Bavaria (which became part of Germany in 1919) in World War 1 (1914-1918). When the Allied forces (France, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, Italy, Russia and the United States) defeated Axis powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey), Hitler felt devastated. World War II (1939-45) happened as a natural consequence of World War I. Hitler, by then, became the dictator of Germany, and longed for revenge. He conceived the idea of a really big cannon, Schwerer Gustav. One, that could demolish the Maginot line – a concrete fortification built in France. But the destiny unfolded otherwise. Hitler, and the big gun, both met a tragic end.

Behemoth of a gun

Schwerer Gustav, the Artillery, was a huge cannon designed by the Krupp company, a German steel and arms manufacturer. Work for the fabrication of the big gun began in 1930. The gunfire, ordained Hitler, must have the capacity to rip through 1- meter thick layer of steel, or 7-meters of reinforced concrete. The artillery, when finally commissioned, weighed 1344 tons and fired a 4.8 metric ton projectile at a distance of 48km, with a speed of 820 meters per second. The design of the cannon was approved in 1937. The spring of 1940 was set as the deadline for the rollout. But the deadline couldn’t be kept. In Hitler’s scheme of things, this gun, named Schwerer Gustav, would be the be-all and end-all of his victory in World War II.

Designed and produced by arms manufacturer Gustav Krupp

Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, this triggered the start of second world war. Schwerer Gustav, the giant cannon couldn’t be delivered on expected time, the spring of 1940. Luckily, the delay was no handicap, because, the war plan was altered in a big way. Maginot Line, which was the reason behind the big gun concept, was ignored. In the changed plan, the Germans invaded France through a different route, i.e. Belgium. By the end of 1940, the cannon was ready. It was test-fired in 1941 in the presence of Hitler. Seen as a gift from Gustav Krupp, the arms manufacturer, the cannon was named Schwerer Gustav. Schwerer in German means ‘heavy/great’. Another gun produced along with it was named Dora.

Schwerer Gustav was used in the war in 1942, with satisfactory results

The big cannon was deployed for action in the siege of Sevastopol, Ukraine, on July 1942. A men-force of 1420 took 3 weeks to assemble the big gun. In ready-to-fire mode, the artillery was 43 meters long and 7 meters wide. The inside diameter of the gun barrel was 80 cm. The axis of the barrel was positioned well over 7.5 meters above the ground base of 4 railway tracks (hence the name railway gun). The gun fired 300 shells on the city of Sevastopol, causing significant damage in the enemy camp. Another remarkable hit was at the undersea ammunition magazine of Soviet Naval base in Severnaya Bay. The ammunition magazine was kept 100 feet below the seafloor and topped over with 30 feet of concrete. Gustav’s 9 fires not only devastated this difficult target but also sank a ship that strayed into the firing range.

The Schwerer Gustav railway gun in the Soviet Union, 1941. (Nazi Germany)

Dora, the sister cannon was deployed against the Stalingrad city in Southern Russia. But as the Russian force closed in, it was hastily withdrawn and wrecked to prevent its use by the enemy.

Massive frame of the cannon was hard to move and operate

The Germans realized soon enough that the mammoth size of artillery made it an easy target for aircraft of the Allied forces. Dedicated railway tracks had to be put up for the movement of the heavyweight Schwerer Gustav. The tracks had to be laid in advance at strategic places in the battle zone. A good length of supplementary track was also required to position the gun for the kill. From the firing position, the cannon could fire only in up and down directions, not sideways. For firing sideways, to the left and the right, a curved extension was mandatory. To operate the gun, a team of 2000 men was required. Most members of the team were engaged in giving air cover to the cannon.

The Schwerer Gustav canon in position to fire. (Nazi Germany)

Assembling the gun into functional form was an arduous task. It took 4 days to assemble the 5 principal components of the artillery, and fit them into working posture. Calibrating the gun also took several hours to complete. Thus, the gun could fire only 14 rounds in a day. The delivery on the battlefield was little compared to the huge operating expenses of the weapon. No wonder, Germans abandoned the Gustav Gun within a year of using it. The gun, verily the largest ever in the history of mankind, was destroyed before the world war ended in the year 1945. This was done to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Some sources say Russians seized the cannon and disassembled it. Some say Russians took away remnants of the gun already trashed by the Germans.

Men loading shell in Schwerer Gustav. (Nazi Germany)

So, did the big gun make a difference to the outcome of World War II?

Surely not. Built at a whopping cost of 10 million German Reichsmarks, its output, in the overall war scenario, was lacklustre. All it did was to demolish a slew of Polish and Soviet defences. It may have been a psychological boost to Axis forces for some time, and a possibly a fear factor for the Allied forces. But at the end of the day, Gustav gun was more of a liability than an asset. The amount of money spent on its production and operation was too huge for its constrained application and performance.

Hitler, obviously, was so seized by the idea of the mega gun that he thought little about alternatives. Perhaps a more manoeuvrable and manageable weapon system would have been a better choice. Experts believe that the adoption of jet-engine aircraft, rocket technology and nuclear weapons would have stood Germany in better stead. The giant gun was no match to the speedier and more accurate fighter aircraft of the Allied forces. Aircraft could carry bombs and explosives much heavier than Gustav gun could fire.

What if Hitler had planned better, and won World War II? The hypothetical question Keeps doing round time and again. But the fact remains that fate of war rests on tactical planning and easy-to-use weapons. Hitler, seemingly, lost on both these counts. Warfare technology had changed significantly in the decade that fell between the 2 World Wars. Schwerer Gustav, though unique and powerful, was behind the contemporary technology in many ways and hence failed.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Hindenburg: The Tragic Death of World’s Biggest Commercial Airships“.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

Recommended Read:
Superguns 1854-1991: Extreme artillery from the Paris Gun and the V-3 to Iraq’s Project Babylon | By by Steven J. Zaloga (Author), Jim Laurier (Illustrator)

Genre:
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The post Schwerer Gustav: Why the Largest Artillery Gun Turned Out to Be a Flop During World War II? appeared first on .

Ham – the chimpanzee in his biopack couch preparing for the sub-orbital spaceflight. (NASA)

The cold war between America and the Soviet Union (present-day Russia) wasn’t limited to just sea and territorial region. It extended well into space. In the Space Race, Russia took the lead by launching an artificial satellite Sputnik-1 into earth’s orbit in 1957. Later the same year Sputnik-2 was launched with Laika the canine cosmonaut who became the first animal to go into orbit. America in the meanwhile sent fruit flies (1947) and monkey-mice team (1951) into space. Life could survive in space; this was proved beyond doubt. But could life also perform a designated task in space? America sought an answer by sending Ham – the chimpanzee, into space and the answer was ‘yes’. The answer came full 10 weeks ahead of Soviet Astronaut Yuri Gagarin orbiting around the earth on 12th April 1961.

Ham – the chimpanzee was procured and trained for the space mission

Born in African forests of French Cameroons in 1957, Ham was procured and purchased for Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, America. It was one in a team of 40 chimpanzees chosen for training at the ‘School for Space Chimps’. The training was a part of NASA’s Project Mercury, which aimed at sending a human being in the space. On Jan 2, 1961, six from these 40 were shortlisted and shifted to Cape Canaveral, Florida for the last round of preparations. They were divided into 2 groups of 3 each, lest illness of anyone spread the infection to all six. The mission would help scientist understand if the human body could perform well at high speed and zero-gravity conditions of space travel.

Trained for responding to coloured light in a preplanned manner

The training schedule established a healthy rapport between the primates and their handlers. The health of chimps was thoroughly monitored. Ham, initially called No. 65, was supervised by a Neuroscientist.

Ham with his trainer at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (NASA on The Commons / Flickr)

The training was about testing a directed response to 3 lights – red, white and blue, kept before the chimps. Each light had a lever below it. The red light was continuously on, and its lever wasn’t supposed to be pulled. The white light was off and would flicker only when the related lever was pulled. The chimps were trained to switch on the white light once every 20 seconds. The blue light shone erratically for 5 seconds during which time the chimps must pull the lever related to blue light. Primates performing as per the directions were rewarded with food bite and water. Derelicts got punished with electric shock in the sole of their feet. Primates were also subjected to simulated microgravity and g-forces to acclimatize them with the space environment.

Ham the astrochimp had two other names before his return from the space mission

A technician displaying all the equipment of Ham the Astrochimp in preparation of the launch. (NASA on The Commons / Flickr)

Mercury Redstone 2 rocket was ready for take-off on 31st January 1961. Which primate would go on a mission was decided on 30th. The decision went in favour of the flamboyant Ham. Another primate (Minnie) was selected as standby. Interestingly, the name Ham was made public only after the successful return of the primate on earth. Before that, No. 65 was made his official name, and for a good reason. The officials felt that if a formal name was announced for the chimpanzee, it could add to bad publicity in case the primate couldn’t return safely from the space. Ham – the chimpanzee had a pet name too, ‘Chop Chop Chang’; that’s how the handlers addressed Ham during his training period.

Preparing for takeoff was elaborately planned

Ham in his spacesuit sitting inside MR-2 capsule prior to its test flight. (NASA)

Nineteen hours before takeoff, the selected primates were given a special diet and placed in their pressurized cabins with biosensors attached to their bodies. Seven and a half hours before takeoff, a chain of pre-launch examinations were conducted. Four hours before the journey, the two were dressed up in spacesuits, positioned in their couches, and taken to a transfer van. In the transfer van, they were provided with environmental control equipment. Two and a half hours before launch, only Ham was boarded into an elevator and ushered into the nosecone of the spacecraft. It would be a sub-orbital spaceflight as spacecraft wouldn’t orbit or circle the earth.

In spite of several problems, the mission was a success

Problems for the mission began right from the start. There was a dip in air pressure, but thanks to the buffer arrangement, Ham remained safe. A technical snag made spacecraft overshoot planned altitude of 115 miles and cover 157 miles. Speed too went on the excessive side. Against the planned speed of 44000 mph, the spacecraft reached a speed of 5,857 mph. Consequently, it landed on earth 422 miles away from the launch site, as against the planned distance of 290 miles. Naturally, salvage operations after the splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean got delayed. However, help reached in the nick of time and Ham escaped death-by-drowning.

Ham being greeted by the commander of the ship after his recovery. (NASA on The Commons / Flickr)

On return to earth, Ham was in high spirits and accepted apple given by the commander of the recovery ship. He also shook hands with the members of the receiving team. But for a little limp in legs, he was in a good physical shape. Flashing of cameras, and the commotion of the Press reporters did irritate him, and it took quite some time to cool him down.

Ham being rewarded with an apple after his successful spaceflight. (NASA)

Ham’s performance in space was on expected lines

Ham’s perform in the total 17 minutes of his journey in space was satisfactory. His reflexes to lights and levers were only a little slower in the space than on earth. Enough hint to the scientific community to go ahead with the manned spacecraft. As mentioned earlier, it was only after the success of the space mission that the name Ham was made public. Ham, the Astrochimp. Ham is the acronym for Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, the laboratory that trained the iconic primate. Coincidently, the-then lab commander was Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton ‘Ha’’ Blackshear.

In life, as well as death, Ham remained a subject of keen scientific exploration

Ham shot to instant fame and was widely covered in media. Till 1980, he lived at Smithsonian’s National Zoo at Washington DC. Then he was shifted to the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro where he died in 1983. Skeleton from Ham – the chimpanzee’s dead body was removed and sent to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology for studies and investigations. Other remains of the body were buried in Alamogordo, New Mexico, at the International Space Hall of Fame.

Several space programs followed in quick succession

Ham’s space jaunt opened the way for a chain of successful Mercury programs. Alan Shephard, the first American Astronaut was launched into space on May 1961. Enos, another chimpanzee, went into orbital space flight in November 1961 and made 2 full circles around the earth. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit around the earth.

Was Ham the chimp subjected to cruelty?

The story doesn’t end here. There is a flip side to it, if a noted Primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall is to be believed; she perused the photographs of Ham – the chimpanzee taken during 17 minutes of his space flight and after recovery of his capsule from the Atlantic Ocean. The photographs, according to her, were shockingly horrendous. Terror was writ large on the primate’s face. He lived alone in captivity for 20 years after travelling in space and died prematurely at the age of 25.

Goodall criticized NASA’s portrayal of Ham as a hero. Chimp’s pictures given in the media were selective and edited. The animal did go through bouts of extreme pain and distress but such pictures were kept away from the public. She also took exception to remove and exhibit the primate’s skeleton. That, she said, amounted to death-without-dignity.

The use of animals in experiments for the advancement of technology and human welfare will remain a grey area of human endeavour. Nevertheless, the contribution of Ham, the Astrochimp, will remain a milestone and a turning point in the history of Space Science.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Laika the Canine Cosmonaut – From the Streets to the Stars“.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

Recommended Read:
Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle | By Colin Burgess & Chris Dubbs

Genre:
Non-fiction > Space

The post Ham – The Chimpanzee that Paved Way for Launch of Manned Spacecrafts appeared first on .

Robert Wadlow, the tallest person in recorded history. (Paille / Flickr)

God does not play dice with the universe, said Albert Einstein. Yet some humans seem an exception to this rule. Excessively tall, surprisingly short, or grotesque in other ways, they seem to question nature’s wisdom in crafting body shape. The answer lies in the body’s endocrine system which goes haywire for myriad reasons. Robert Wadlow – the tallest man ever, born to Harold Franklin and Addie May at Alton, Illinois, USA; is a good case study.

Born normal, but grew at an alarming rate

Robert was born on 22nd Feb’ 1918, with a normal 4 kg birth weight. It was his weighing 13 kg in 6 months, which alarmed the attending doctors. Then on, there was a rapid increase in his height and weight. Four siblings, younger to him, were all normal. By the age of 8, he was taller than his father. That made him a VIP of sorts. In primary school, he had a custom made table and chair in the classroom. He was a cynosure basketball player. All he had to do to score a basket was stretch his hand up over to the mouth of the net. A cinema hall created a special seating arrangement for him in the front row. It had five-seat space to spread his frame in a relaxed manner.

Malfunction of the pituitary gland caused his condition

But all was not hunky-dory. Behind the veneer of name, fame and revelry, was an anguished soul in an abnormal body frame. Pituitary, the master gland of the endocrine orchestra, was playing a wild tune in his biosystem. When an individual matures (14 to 19 years in males), the growth locus of long bones goes quiescent, and the further growth of the person stops. No such process, technically called ‘epiphyseal closure’ or ‘bone end plate closure’, occurred in Robert’s body. The result, Gigantism – a consistent and unstoppable body growth.

Ventured into show biz to support his parents

His gentleness stemmed from the poignancy of his anatomical and physiological constraints. Help and encouragement from his family and local community notwithstanding, the awe of onlookers often unsettled him. A wave of severe economic depression was lashing the world, and Robert knew how expensive it was for his parents to support his customized living. So, when the Ringing Brothers Barnum and Baily Circus offered him a job, Robert quickly took the opportunity. Even as his parents disapproved a circus job, he joined it and delivered well. Seeing his success, many business houses approached him to promote their product. The International Shoe Company gave him a pair of giant shoes, 37AA and a half size to wear, and took him on a nationwide publicity tour. As he continued to grow, his shoe size would reach 40.

Robert was a great crowd puller. His mild manners and humility earned him the title of ‘Gentleman Giant’. Yet he was ill at ease in public and longed for the safety and comfort of his home in Alton.

Being a giant was no joke

A giant body frame was a liability in many ways. His energy requirement was 8000 calories, more than thrice of an average human adult. His long legs suffered from poor blood circulation and needed brace support for walking. Lack of sensation in the legs was pathological. If a blister formed, he wouldn’t even know about it. And that proved to be his undoing. On July 4, 1940, in a professional appearance, an ill-fitting brace injured his ankle. Injury persisted unnoticed, leading to blister formation and generalized infection. His body temperature shot up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. A minor surgery and blood transfusion was performed but to no avail. On the next day, 15th July, Robert passed away at the age of 22. His height, measured 18 days before death, pegged at 8 ft. 11.1 In; the tallest human till date.

Robert Wadlow was a darling of his native town

Nature’s perceived aberration, Robert Wadlow was loved and revered by the inhabitants of Alton. More than 40,000 people attended his last rites. Funeral services were attended by 10,000 people, and all businesses in the town remained closed on that day. His coffin, weighing 1000 pounds was carried by 12 pallbearers, and 8 walked along as relievers up to the Alton Cemetery.

A legend in life and beyond

At South Illinois University School of dental medicine, a life-size bronze statue of Robert Wadlow, as well as the bronze model of his chair, is open for public viewing. The memory of Robert is also preserved in the Alton Museum of History and Arts. There, the Photographs and artefacts related to Robert’s life will give you a feel of life that the Giant with a Golden heart lived and suffered.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pasqual Pinon: The Aberration of Multiple Heads“.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

Recommended Visit:
Alton Museum of History and Arts | Illinois, USA

Recommended Read:
Very Special People: The Struggles, Loves and Triumphs of Human Oddities | By Frederick Drimmer 

Genre: 
Non-fiction > Biography

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Amelia Dyer. (Wells Asylum authorities / Wikimedia Commons)

The reign of Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901) is generally seen as the period of all-round peace and progress in British History, except for one blemish. The ruling, that a child born out of wedlock would have no paternal rights. The law was made to discourage illegitimacy. But it ended up putting unwed mothers, and their newborns, on a slippery road. Baby care centers, called baby-farms, sprang up in huge number, promising to bring up such children on a contract fee. Some mothers desired death for baby, setting in motion the practice of killing babies covertly, and showing it as a natural death. Amelia Dyer was one such baby-farmer who was caught, convicted, and sentenced to death.

Eventful childhood, unconventional marriage and career shift from nursing to baby farming

Born in Bristol, England in 1836, Amelia grew up in a well to do family. When she was 10 years old, her mother died following a spell of mental illness. Amelia then moved to live with her aunt. At 24, she married a much older man (59 years old) and thereafter got trained in nursing. She began her nursing career with a midwife, Ellen Danes, who worked as a baby – farmer.

Amelia’s husband, George Thomas, died in 1869 and the charge of raising their young child fell on her. The 1836 act of Parliament absolving men of any accountability towards illegitimate children had left unmarried mothers high and dry. They could either kill their newborn, become prostitutes for survival or seek help from baby farmers. Most turned to baby farms. Widowed Amelia Dyer saw better prospects in baby farming and settled down into this business.

Baby farming was more about disposing of babies than good care of them

The underbelly of baby farming was an open secret. Many ladies would want their child smothered during delivery and shown born-dead. If the midwife didn’t agree to do this, the baby farm was their next choice. At the baby farm, the newborn was ill-treated, doped and starved to death. As greed overtook business, quick death by strangulating and other means became frequent. That spared money that would otherwise be spent on children, howsoever miserly. Dyer took sadistic delight in choking her charge and see them gasp to death. Mothers who really cared for their children were given evasive replies. When pressure from mothers mounted, baby farmers would run away to an undisclosed location.

Cashing in on her image as a female nurse, Amelia Dyer killed babies unchecked

Amelia Dyer’s deceit worked for 30 long years, thanks to her feminine gender and nursing profession. Getting married for a second time and bearing 2 more children didn’t change her ways. She spent time in mental asylum feigning madness, shifted places, and changed names; all to escape the law. But a doctor, in 1879, pinned her down. Alarmed at a number of death certificates she wanted for children in her care, he suspected foul play and reported the matter to Police. Dyer, surprisingly, wasn’t charged for murder. She was only charged for neglecting her duty and sentenced to a 6-month jail term. However, that didn’t deter her. She came out of the jail like a hardened criminal and decided to remain away from doctors in future.

Discarding babies in river Thames proved to be her undoing

A clever and long inning in crime ended in 1896. Dyer was then living with her daughter Polly and son-in-law at Readings, Berkshire. On March 30th, a package was seen floating in river Thames. On inspection, it revealed the corpse of a human baby wrapped in a paper carrying name and address of Mrs. Thomas. That was her identity with respect to her first husband. On given address, the neighbors redirected cops to Kensington Road, Reading, the new address of Dyer.

Search at Dyer’s house revealed incriminating evidence. These included dressmaker’s tape, purchase of baby clothes, ads inviting mothers to baby farm, correspondence related to adoption and mothers inquiring welfare of their wards. There were no dead or living children in the house, but in some corners, the stench of dead bodies prevailed. In the meanwhile, River Thames was extensively searched and many more cadavers recovered.

Accepted her crime in all humility

Stunned Dyer had little to say in her defence. All bodies recovered from the river weren’t her doing, she said. Only those with white tape around the neck were her victims, she blurted. The truth weighed heavy on her mind as her sins stared her in the face. She had taken care to attach weights to bodies trashed in the river. Obviously, weights weren’t heavy enough to sink babies deep. Bodies floated on the surface, and Dyer was fixed. She confessed to her crime and was awarded capital punishment. Convinced that her end was justified, she wrote a detailed confessional statement while interned in jail. When asked about her last-wish as she walked to gallows, she said her confessional statement was enough for her last wish.

Her death restored human rights of the illegitimate children

It was saving grace forAmelia Dyer that her daughter and son-in-law were not convicted along with her. She pleaded vehemently for their release saying she alone, and none else was guilty of killing babies. Two years after her execution though, her daughter Polly’s name surfaced in a case of ‘baby disposal’. But by and large, by then, it was a safer environment for illegitimate children. Local authorities were empowered to monitor baby farms and the adoption laws were made more stringent. By the dawn of the 20th century, the British Parliament was forced to ensure that illegitimate children got financial security and other rights from their biological fathers.

Though Dyer was formally charged with 14 murders, experts believe she killed more than 400 children. And that made her Britain’s most notorious serial killer.

Enjoyed this article? Then check out “Leonarda Cianciulli: The Ill-fated Correggio Killer who Made Soap and Cookies of Her Victims“.

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An artwork of cats, dogs and pitchfork falling from the sky. (George Cruikshank / National Gallery of Victoria)

Drops of water falling from the skies are normal, also the fall of snow and ice. But if rain, apart from these three, is seen to precipitate animals or parts thereof, it surely isn’t normal. Such cases have been documented in history, as well as in scientific journals. So, these can’t be dismissed as hearsay, conjecture or prank. What is it that defies logic and tempts people to believe that animals can rain just like water drops?

Rain of Animals is part of human history

Animals falling from the sky, like water drops in the rain, are part of human history and folklore. Frogs and fish raining find mention in the works of the Roman writer, Pliny, the Elder. Pictorial depiction of animal rain on rocks has been found in archaeological surveys. Also, on the record are thousands of eyewitness’s accounts testifying to these weird rainfalls in the course of human history. Indeed, the events were scrutinized and many dismissed it as fake. Yet the frenzy persisted, leading to the lasting impression that animals can indeed rain down like drops of water.

Japan, Australia, America, all witnessed fish rain

A report on June 2009 says multiple instances of animal rain happened in the Ishikawa region of Japan. A 55-year-old, standing close to a parking lot in Nanao city, said he heard a loud bang and on rushing in the direction of the sound, he saw dead tadpoles, in their hundreds, lying on the windshield of cars. Likewise, in 2010, live fish fell from the sky on successive nights in Lajamau, Australia. Curiously, the same thing happened in this town, even in the year 1974 and 2004. Fish fall at Marksville, America, as narrated by a wildlife biologist, was more spectacular. He recorded the density of the fall as one fish per square yard and reported that fish fell on roads and housetops. He took care to collect and preserve the fallen fish for public demonstration.

No single explanation answers all queries

Now, a reality check. At the outset, it would be safe to assume that at least some of the stories may have been hyped. Animals dying en-masse, in a group, is a well-known matter of fact. Could animal rains be just that, the deaths in a group? In the year 2011, Black Birds fell in clusters in Arkansas and Louisiana in America, and in Sweden within 5 days of each other. Arkansas, in addition, witnessed a lakh of drum fish die off in a 20-mile stretch. The event was explained thus: the New Year fireworks frightened the roosting birds that then flew erratically with disastrous result. Flying avian may collide with high tension electric wires or be hit by hail or lightning. Sudden panic too can kill birds with cardiac arrest. Regarding drum fish, the incident was linked to some unidentified disease as only one species was involved. However, no single explanation clears all doubts related to events.

Animal rain is part of the human psyche as well

Folklores impact human mind subtly, subconsciously. So, for all such cases, the influence of folklores validating animal rains can’t be overruled.  The public mind primed to such stories can’t be rational when the rain of animal is reported from real life. It fits into a pre-set mental frame.  Also, man is generally confined to his daily chores and has no time to ‘stand and stare’, to have a fulsome view of the environment he lives in. In effect, he knows little about his natural surroundings.

Maybe the living or dead which one sees spread on the ground in rain or storm, already existed there, hidden somewhere. Seen for the first time, it is erroneously inferred to have ‘rained’ down. In reality, it was relocated to a different, visible place. The dying or died-off organisms already existed in nearby locations, but weren’t observed in normal times. Some exigencies popped them out and bashed them in an unseemly place. Fish, frog, birds and other animals were just lifted from their homes and thrown out in open. This could happen with or without the presence of rains, storms, accidents and disease conditions.

Flying birds may drop their food during the flight

Interestingly, the cases of animal rain keep appearing time and again. And also the speculations and hypothesis about them. Like Indian officials speculating that a flock of migrating pelicans carrying fish in their beaks dropped them while flying, creating an impression of fish rain.

An incident of 3rd March 1876, mentioned in Scientific Americana, is about chunks of meat falling from the sky. The chunks fell in a 100×50 yard area in Kentucky, America and were found to be venison or mutton. The meat shower happened because buzzards, the meat-eating birds, vomited while flying. If one bird in the flock of this species throws out ingested food, other birds disgorge in camaraderie. Thus, pieces of meat fell on the ground.

Whirlwind throwing animals up in the air could be a possibility

Waterspout off the coast of Florida. (NOAA)

French physicist Andre Marie Ampere was the first scientist to go deep into the matter. According to him, gusts of wind carried a bunch of frogs up in the air to great heights. Therefrom, the frogs fell to the ground, like it’s raining. The current hypothesis of ‘waterspouts’ is the probable cause of animal rain vibes in Ampere’s view.

Waterspout, a kind of tornado formed over water bodies, can suck in animals and throw them up in the sky. This, incidentally, explains why most such rains reveal fish and frog only. Other types of tornadoes can verily throw other organisms up in the air, like worms and spiders. But the rain of such organisms is rare. The popular phrase ‘raining cats and dogs’ doesn’t have any scientific basis.

It could be a dislocation on the ground and not rain from above

The mystery remains unsolved. How come only one species is seen involved at a time? It’s either fish or frog. Why not fish and frog, both together? Ideally, a combo is a distinct possibility when airlift happens from a habitat having multiple species. Quantum of airlift from any water body has not been reported or calibrated as yet. As such, waterspout doesn’t explain all about the rain of animals.

Menacing storm, circling winds, heavy rains and hordes of fish flapping in rain were observed in Central America. An investigation by the National Geographic in 1970 revealed that fish which seemingly rained down were blind, uniformly sized and alien to fish living nearby waters. The rained fish, the investigation said, came from underground rivers. How exactly they came over ground from underground, along with the storm every year in the month of August, couldn’t be explained. Albeit one thing is clear. It isn’t a fall from skies, but just a transfer to a new location on the ground.

Rain can be unusual even without the ‘animal’ factor

Bizarre rain can happen even without the ‘animal’ factor as happened in Siberia in January 2007. In a place close to Kazakhstan, where a heavy sandstorm blew a while back, orange coloured snowfall was seen. The investigation revealed that the colour was on account of orange coloured sand mixing with snow. Even red coloured rains are reported, and surprisingly, these predate the ‘animal’ rains. Homer’s epic poem Iliad talks of blood rain. That can be rated poetic imagination, but there are references to red coloured rain even post this seminal literature. The one in Kerala, India, happened between 25th July to 23rd September 2001, when red coloured rain was reported. In bits, the rain was perceived to be of yellow, green and even black colour.

Algae and dust particles may have caused red rain

The red rain was investigated by Centre for Earth Science Studies, Kerala. The red colour was attributed to dust particles, dissolved salts and polluting elements. The dust particle could be from the Sahara Desert or a meteorite. The microorganisms from Africa and South America, algae and other aquatic life could also be responsible for the colour. The Red Rain of Sicily in 1872 was ascribed to meteoric dust and a slew of organic and inorganic compounds. Godfrey Louis and Santhosh Kumar Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, contended that red colour of rainwater was on account of alien microbes released from a disintegrating comet, and not because of algae.

Animal rain, it seems, will remain in reckoning even in the times to come.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “2006 Sweet Seawater Incident: When the Seawater in Mumbai had Miraculously Turned Sweet“.

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Pamukkale or Cotton Castle. (Antoine Taveneaux / Wikimedia Commons)

She made history with her beauty and brain. And patronizing a place which would become a popular tourist jaunt. Welcome to Cleopatra’s Antique Pool, where the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra (69-30 BCE), known for her penchant for health and beauty, spent quality time in the hot springs. The pool is one of the 17 water bodies located at Pamukkale (meaning cotton castle) in the Denizli province of the Republic of Turkey. It is a scenic spread of dazzling white calcium carbonate in 8860 ft. X 1,970 ft X 525 ft. Verily called ‘spa town’, Pamukkale is a health cum healing joint in the valley of river Menderes. It is a medley of slabs, pillars and caves made of calcium compounds. The name cotton castle comes from a legend that bales of cotton were spread out to dry in open. But, in time, these mutated to the present day limestones. A tad realistic as the cotton is the principal agriculture crop of the area.

Pamukkale, Turkey. (Katie Hunt / Flickr)

Created by the natural forces of hot water springs and earthquakes

The formation of the cotton castle is a handiwork of 2 elements, water and earth. Hot water springs flow out from bowels of the earth. Their waters are supersaturated with minerals, which precipitate as water spreads on the uneven ground to find its base. The precipitate settles into terrace formations. Carbon-di-oxide (gas) disengages from the mixture and escapes into the open air. Some of the gas is trapped in the mass of precipitate that falls on the wayside, on cliffs and slopes, creating calcium bubbles. From distance, the bubbles look like fluffs of cotton on limestone slabs (travertines) and pillars (stalactites). Amid these white and shining terraces, some caves are also formed in a natural way. The air in the caves is flushed with carbon dioxide and these were used for religious purpose in ancient times.

Pamukkale: A historical site, health resort, and religious hub

The site, back in 190 BC, was a holy city called Hierapolis. It was a place known for sacred rites and spiritual pursuits, as well as for curing of diseases with mineral rich hot water springs. Frequented by the royalty, including the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, it was famed as the retirement retreat for the Roman Kings. Two massive earthquakes, one in 60 AD and another in 1334 AD ravaged this historic city. Nevertheless, the ruins of the city add to the overall charisma of Pamukkale as a picnic spot. The ruins are a key component of ‘Cotton Castle’ which was declared the world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Rubbles of buildings, the sediment of calcium terraces from hot mineral water, collection of spring water in pools of varying depths and size; all added to make natural upheavals into a piece of fine art. Among the relics dotting the cotton castle, Hierapolis theatre with its VIP boxes, 2 tier seating and niche compartments, a devious church, graveyard, city walls and pathways are noteworthy.

Hotels and approach roads planned to protect the site’s natural formation

With the reputation Pamukkale, as an excursion cum historical site spreading far and wide, in the year 1960, hotels and approach roads were built within and outside of it. The construction within was found detrimental to the Travertines and water pools. Hence it was demolished. Further, laws were enacted to ensure that water from pools is not misused by the hotels, but made available of tourist for bathing and excursion.

Surprises galore for the visitors

Karahayit hot spring, another attraction at Pamukkale, is a maze of coloured water. The colour reflected in water is decided by the nature of dissolved oxide in it. Located 5 km away from Pamukkale, the water of these springs may be up to 55° Celsius hot.

A visit to Pamukkale is an out-of-this-world-experience. Trekking barefoot on shining terraces, sitting on the poolside, bathing or simply splashing in mineral water, with temperature ranging upward of 35° Celsius, is a magical feeling. Bathing is generally safe. Water is drowning deep only in some places, and provisions are made to attend to emergencies. The ground can be slippery and limestone can have sharp edges; so caution is advised.

Paraglide for a bird’s eye view

Want to watch the whole thing from the sky? You can, thanks to the paragliding facilities available. A walk through the Pamukkale Nature Park can be your sneak peek into local customs, as the place is popular for its wedding ceremonies. For boating in the lake, and being one with hordes of ducks out there, you can hire a paddle boat and have your heart’s fill.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Clear Water Lagoons and Pristine White Sand Dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park“.

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View of Pitcairn Island. (Balou46 / Wikimedia Commons)

A ship named HMS Bounty sets sail from England to Tahiti – the largest island of French Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. From here it must collect breadfruit saplings, and take them to West Indies for plantations. At Tahiti, they realize that mission is ill-timed and they must camp there for 6 months. Camping is eventful and 47-member crew is ripped with revolt. The captain is forced to leave with a bunch of his followers. Rebels find a hideout in an unpeopled landmass – Pitcairn Island – the present-day British Overseas Territory in the South Pacific and a nation of 40 odd citizens.

Easy and comfortable living at Tahiti Island instigated a revolt

The Royal Society of London had sponsored a small sailing boat named HMS Bounty for Tahiti. The objective was to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to West Indies, where these would be grown for food for the slaves. All was well till the ship arrived at Tahiti. There it transpired that breadfruits were in a dormant phase where their transplantation was not possible. So they must wait for about 6-months. The place being idyllic and friendly, so the stay on the island was a blessing in disguise. It offered delicious edibles, liquor and women. Fletcher Christian fell to the charms of a native lady named Mauatua. When the waiting period was over, three members of the crew refused to leave the Island. High-handedness of Captain William Bligh was also a reason behind the revolt spearheaded by Fletcher Christian.

Captain of the ship was humiliated and forced to leave

Rebels refused to obey Captain William Bligh and in a brazen show of defiance, he was roughed up and pushed on a small 23-foot-long boat. Seventeen crewmen sympathetic to him were also forced on the same boat and freed into choppy sea waters. It was a virtual death sentence, as ration on the boat would barely suffice for 5 days. Displaying rare courage and professional acumen, Bligh and his men sailed 3600 miles to reach Timor, West Indies, on 14th June 1789. On March 15, 1790, Bligh was home, in England.

Some mutineers were arrested and 3 of hanged to death

On October 22, 1790, court-martial inquiry was ordered into the rebellion at Tahiti. William Bligh and his accomplice were acquitted of this charge.  Bligh was promoted to the post of Captain (hitherto this was his honorary designation).  On Nov 7, 1790, a ship – HMS Pandora, commanded by Captain Edward Edwards, was deputed to search for the mutineers and bring them to England. Fourteen rebels were arrested from Tahiti. Unfortunately, on 30th August 1791, the ship met with an accident and sank, killing 31 crew members and 4 prisoners. Court-martial proceedings of the surviving prisoners began on 18th September 1792. Three mutineers were sentenced to death. In the meanwhile, Bligh had sailed back to Tahiti all over again and delivered a consignment of breadfruit plants in West Indies.

Public sympathy for mutineers made waves

Surprisingly, many in public sympathized with mutineers – Christian and his fellow rebels. Arranging cheap food for slaves in the West Indies, they felt, was tantamount to promoting slavery. In those times, liberty was being flagged as more sacrosanct than loyalty to the state. Hence, Bligh was criticized as a blockhead who drove Christian to the brink. Yet, he may not have been so rude or uncaring. Maybe he just got pitted against a mentally weak, lovelorn, and shirker like Fletcher Christian. Despite ups and down in his eventful career, William Bligh made it to the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Blue in the year 1814.

Some rebels took shelter at Pitcairn Island to escape arrest

The rebel group of 16, led by Fletcher Christian had moved from place to place, searching for a safe haven. They knew they would be hounded by the state agencies. The group found refuge in the island of Tubuai, but the place wasn’t fit for colonising. Hence, they sailed back to Tahiti, where the fear of arrest by the British Authorities haunted them. So, Christian along with 8 crew members, 6 Tahitian (natives of Tahiti) men, 12 Tahitian women and a child, searched for a hideout in South Pacific. Sailing 1000 miles east of Tahiti, on 15th January 1790, they found Pitcairn Island. The finding was not entirely an accident. Christian learned about the island from a book, Voyages that lay in the cabin of his boss, Captain William Bligh. Situated between New Zealand and Panama Canal, Pitcairn Island had a rough and unfriendly coast. It indeed proved to be a safe haven for Christian and his group as the island remained out of British reach for long.

American ship spotted Pitcairn Island seeing the smoke of a cooking fire

In the year 1808, an American ship was attracted to Pitcairn Island, thanks to the sight of smoke billowing from cooking fire. Americans rushed in to find a group of women, children and an elderly man. The man was John Adams, the only surviving mutineer of the HMS Bounty. He informed that the ship was burnt down as it could reveal their presence on the island and lead to their arrest. Rest of the mutineers, he added, died of sickness and internal squabbles.

The natives of Pitcairn Island. (Wikimedia Commons)

The British came to the island and found one surviving rebel

A British ship sailed to the island in 1825 and granted state amnesty to John Adams. Women and children living on the island with Adams as the Headman continued living there. Adams died in 1829. The amazing history of the Pitcairn finds a place in several books and films. Mutiny on the Bounty, a 1962 Hollywood film, is classic of the genre.

The UK continues to make efforts to up the sparse population of the island

Presently, just about 40 people live on the Pitcairn Island, and some of them are descendants of the Bounty rebels. In 1855, its population went up to 200, forcing migration as 2 square mile land area of the island couldn’t take them all. The migration happened to Norfolk Island, 4000 miles away. Two years later some 20 people returned to Pitcairn. About half of the population of Norfolk (total population is about 2000) had descended from Fletcher Christian and his rebel colleagues.

A supply ship approaching Pitcairn Island. (Balou46 / Wikimedia Commons)

The Pitcairn Island seems jinxed as few want to settle here, even if the government provides free land for housing. A child abuse case happened here in 2004, in which a man of Fletcher Christian ancestry was involved. The 40 odd people living here depend on government aid for a living. There are no jobs to take up. New Zealand, the nearest business hub, is 3000-miles away. The island boasts of just one General Store, which opens only thrice a week. Availability of electricity, internet, pollution free environment, deep blue coloured drinking water should, hopefully, attract more inhabitants to this serene island.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Tristan da Cunha: The Remotest Inhabited Island in the World“.

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Thelenota ananas, a steadily decreasing endangered species of sea cucumber. (Aexander Vasenin / Wikimedia Commons)

In nature, there are no superior or inferior life forms. All living creatures are equally important for the environment. A creature that’s meek, easy to hunt, and high on man’s greed list, can go extinct, endangering the host ecosystem. This seems to be happening to some species of sea cucumber. In the Malayan language of Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and southern Thailand, this marine fish is also known as Trepang.

It’s a cousin of starfish and sea urchins

Sea cucumber is found in the Indo-pacific region of the ocean. That includes parts of Africa, Japan, China, Australia and Mariana Islands. Generally, sea cucumber lives in shallow lagoons, reefs and rubbles, searching food in the sand at the bottom of the ocean. It belongs to a group of marine animals called Echinoderm, and its body size varies from 0.75 inches to 6.5 feet. Starfish and sea urchins are other members of this group.

Typical echinoderms have a radial body symmetry. But the body symmetry of sea cucumber is bilateral, i.e., it has a well defined dorsal and ventral side. Grossly, the body is cucumber-shaped, muscular and flexible. When threatened, it shoots out sticky threads from its body to entangle the enemy. It can mutilate its body and shoot internal organs out through the anus in self-defence. Organs thus wasted in self-defence can regrow, and the organism is once again its normal self.

Conservation efforts ignored in favour of big fishes

The tenacity of this marine animal, however, has failed in the face of human greed. The popularity of sea cucumber, as food and drug in the Asian continent, has led to its indiscriminate fishing. Consequently, many species are on the verge of extinction. But alarm bells don’t seem to be ringing. Maybe conservation is focussed more on sharks, whales and other trendy fish. Some varieties of sea cucumber, in the meanwhile, are exposed to a real threat of extinction.

Elephant Trunkfish (Holothuria fuscopunctata) a least endangered species of sea cucumber. (François Michonneau / Wikimedia Commons)

Keen market demand spelled doom for the sea cucumber

Some species of sea cucumber sells from US$ 10 to US$ 600 per Kg in Hong Kong and China. The cold water variety of it sells for US$ 3,000 per Kg dry matter. Demand for the fish rose with the rising prosperity in China. Consequently, hunt for the sea cucumber intensified in more than 70 countries. Wild Trepang was extensively fished from the seashores of poor countries.

Currently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) deems 7 species of sea cucumbers (from a total of 371 species) as endangered and 9 species are vulnerable. High market demand for sea cucumbers has consistently depleted the population of these hapless creatures. Fishermen were paid well, and in advance, hence they went all out fishing and damaging the marine ecosystem. After tapping the natural habitat of required variety, other virgin waters were searched and exploited to the hilt. Thus, the market demand was met. Marine resource of the economically poor nations was exploited to the detriment of sea cucumber. Hence, the rich countries were advised to help poor nations through means other than poaching on the latter’s wealth of Trepang fish.

Sea cucumbers must survive for the health of marine life

The conservation of the sea cucumber is vital for the health of the marine ecosystem. It scavenges on the sand of the sea floor. Dead organic matter mixed in the sand is used up as food and the ingested sand is expelled through the anus as excreta. The excreta act as food for other sea organisms. The alkalinity of the Trepang excreta reduces pollution-induced acidity of seawater and thereby helps in keeping the marine ecosystem in good shape.

Sea cucumber as food

The existential crisis for some species of sea cucumber hasn’t come a day too soon. The countdown began as early as the 17th Century when Trepang fishing became big business in the islands of South East Asia. Sea cucumber was hugely popular in China as food and as an aphrodisiac. Huge market demand from China made the Makkasar town (Indonesia) a nodal centre for trading in the sea cucumbers.

Catching the sea cucumber is easy; no special skill or gadget is required. A feel with bare feet can locate the muscular creature in shallow waters. It is then taken out either by clutching with bare hands or by aimed stabbing in water. Trepangs were easily impaled using a multi-pronged spear. Weights were attached to spear to make it heavy and fall steadily down in the water and stab sea cucumbers.

Sea cucumber gourmet. (Max Pixel)

The rising demand of sea cucumber in 1980s and 1990s led to the fishing of its deep sea varieties. This is done with the help of compressor diving. A recent report of FAO reveals that major sea cucumber reservoirs worldwide are depleting at an alarming rate. Not surprising, considering that worldwide demand for it, as food and medicine, recorded a sharp increase in the 20th century.

Hopefully, the 21st century should see some positive developments towards conservation of sea cucumbers. Fishing them prudently would obviously be the first and foremost step in this direction. That alone will ensure an adequate supply of sea cucumber for human food, as well as a healthy environment for plants and animals living in seawater.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Proboscis Monkey: The Rare Borneo Monkey Species with an Unusually Long Nose to Lure Its Females“.

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Stanley Clifford Weyman (left) impersonating as a naval officer with Princess Fatima Sultana of Afghanistan and her entourage. (Library of Congress)

Not all people are satisfied with what they are. The idea ‘If I were him’ dogs them perpetually. Some find ways to sublimate their desire through creative activities. Those who don’t, act their thoughts and suffer consequences. Stanley Clifford Weyman was one such want-to-be-someone- else, who acted his thoughts, and became a notorious impersonator. On the flip side, his misadventures earned him admiration too.

The name was part of the game

He was born at Brooklyn, New York, on Nov 25th, 1890, as Stephen Jacob Weinberg. When 21, he dribbled with his own name, shuffled it and moderated it into new formations, to fit his myriad treacheries. So, sometimes he was ‘Swift’, at other times S. Clifford Weinberg, Ethan Allen Weinberg, Sterling C. Wyman, Rodney S. Wyman, Allen Stanley Weyman, C. Sterling Weinberg, Ethan Allen Weinberg, and finally, when 50, Stanley Clifford Weyman. He wasn’t content to be a common man, a Mr Nobody. When impersonating an officer in the French navy, he chose the name ‘Royal St. Cyr’. Strange as it may seem, Stanley made no facial alterations to look different while impersonating.

Couldn’t have fulfilled all his career ambitions, so chose a short cut

As a growing child, Stanley wanted to be a doctor. His poor parents couldn’t afford it. In time, Stanley acted as a doctor for one of his phoney roles. As an attaché of William Gaynor, the Mayor of New York, his deception lasted till the Mayor himself called his bluff. Then he became a bomber pilot of Balkan war who bombed the Sultan of Turkey. And, funnily, honoured by the same Sultan for his bravery.

What made Weyman tick? It was the blitzkrieg of his trickery that worked for him. Rather than facial makeup, he relied on being well dressed for the occasion. He took care to research his role and hence was rarely suspected till much later on. Acting Ethan Allen Weinberg in 1915, he inspected USS Wyoming, an American battleship undergoing repairs on Hudson river. Posing as Consul General for Romania, deputed by the Queen, he fixed a date with Naval Administration on phone. He arrived in Naval Uniform, wearing Admiral’s hat, and received a 21-gun salute at New York Harbour. In full airs of a senior officer, he castigated seeming inconsistencies around. In a bit of an overdrive though, he arranged for a lavish party for officers at Astor hotel. That did him in. The spies zeroed down on him as he was in the midst of a sumptuous meal. He famously lamented missing his sweet dish. He should have been arrested after he had finished his dessert, he remarked in a lighter vein. Naval Officers were aghast, but couldn’t help admiring his grit and ingenuity.

Was humble when caught in the act

No trace of remorse on being caught. No panic, no melodrama, just plain submission to the law of the land. That was the enigmatic Stanley, acting phoney, not for material gains, but just to allay his never-ending itch to be someone else. Itch happened once again in 1921. Princess of Afghanistan, Fatima, came to America for business. Simultaneously, she wanted to meet, Warren G. Harding, the President of America. But because of administrative hiccups, she couldn’t. Enter Stanley, and she could.

Stanley read about Princess Fatima in a newspaper and decided to meet her. The meeting happened in her hotel suite, and Weyman introduced himself as Naval Liaison Officer, an imaginary post. Apologising profusely for the problems she faced, he assured her of arranging her meeting with the President. Princess couldn’t have asked for more and gave him all the money he needed for the job. Then, it was quintessential Weyman on his mission. On 5th July 1921, he escorted Princess Fatima and her group to the White House and introduced her to the honourable President. Event’s group photo carried his picture and that proved to be his undoing. When picture went public, he was recognized, convicted for faking a Naval Officer, and jailed for 2 years.

Stanley Clifford Weyman (left) with Princess Fatima and her three sons. (Library of Congress)

Stanley Clifford Weyman: Earned admiration of even his victims, and tricked to the hilt

Undeterred, Stanley went on to act as a personal physician to Pola Negri, the widow of Rudolph Valentino, the superstar of the silent film era. When exposed, the lady took no offence and refused to take legal action against him, instead, she reportedly said “I don’t care. He is the best doctor I’ve ever had.”

By 1930 his infamy had peaked. That made it difficult for him to con anymore. But he still had wits about himself. When world war 2 broke out, service in the Army was declared compulsory. Stanley came to the rescue of those who were keen to avoid this compulsion. He opened a school to teach them how not-to-be-picked-up-for-army. They should act as mentally challenged, or deaf, he would coach them. Everyone had to imbibe his teachings well. Else, he would disable them for the army – by puncturing their eardrum. The macabre practice came to light in 1943, and Weyman was again in lock up. Clearly, his time was up and over.

Lived his hi-fi dreams but died a common man

The year 1960 saw him in as a real civil employee, a Night Manager at a Motel in Yonkers city, New York. Here, in an incident of robbery, he was shot dead. A man who impersonated a Doctor, Psychiatrist, Naval Officer, Sanitary Expert, Liaison man, diplomat and aviator, all for a personal high – met with a pedestrian end.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Story of the Ingenious and Daring Escape from the Alcatraz“.

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Animal Suicide: Kathy, one of the five bottlenose dolphins that were part of a famous television show called Flipper. The dolphin reportedly committed suicide after being depressed for a long time. (1950sUnlimited / Flickr)

Humans commit suicide, is a given. Do nonhuman animals commit suicide? Well, that’s not a given. Generally speaking, it’s a moot point. A human contemplates on past, present and future. He may seek closure in self-inflicted death. Animals, ostensibly, live in present with limited hindsight and foresight. So, why would they want to die? But, the ground realities reveal that suicide could be a way with non-humans as well.

Animal Suicide: Dogs and horses have done it

Man’s best friend, a dog, was in news in 1845, for committing suicide. The Illustrated London News reported that a dog of Newfoundland breed lay low for a couple of days, and then, threw itself in water, attempting to drown. It was rescued. But it rushed once again to deep waters and was rescued yet again. This exercise continued for long. In the long last, dog succeeded in drowning to death, something that he was dead bent to accomplish. Another case of a chain of canine suicides was highlighted by this portal under the head, ‘Overtoun Bridge from where dogs leap to their deaths’. Despite tangible holes in suicide theory, it is hard to ignore that animals too may choose to die, out of their own free will.

Consider man’s second-best friend, horse. Aristotle (384-322 BC), described one which jumped into a gorge and killed self. The horse had unwittingly mated with its biological mother. A case like Oedipus, the mythical king who unwittingly married his biological mother. When the couple realized the truth of their relationship, both were full of remorse. The lady killed self, and Oedipus renounced the world.

Grief/monotonous existence/choice of a less painful death, have triggered animal suicides

The list of suicide-prone animals is long and mindboggling. Dogs prostrating at the graves of their dead masters and dying. A cat, unable to bear the grief of her dead kittens, chooses to die. A herd of cattle, as recently as 2009, jumps off a cliff in Swiss Alps over a period of 3 days. A deer jumps to death over a slope, preferring to die by a bone-crushing fall rather than fall to hunting dogs.

The suicide of a dolphin, star of the 1960 television show, Flipper, made waves. It is believed that the dolphin grew tired of monotonous life and decided to die. Dolphins are an intelligent creature. They have the ability to observe their thought processes and choose one that suits them best at a particular point in time. They are also unique in being voluntary breathers, unlike humans and other animals who are involuntary breathers. Dolphins breath consciously whereas for other life forms breathing is automatic, uncontrolled, reflex action. That means the dolphin may decide not to breathe till it dies from lack of oxygen. Since such observations can’t be reproduced in experimental conditions, it remains a tentative finding. Nevertheless, this self-induced death of a dolphin is a strong argument in favour of animal suicides.

Suicide bombers do exist in the animal kingdom

Further, there are some life forms which act as suicide bombers. The objective though, is not self-centred, as in suicide, but is self-denial for a larger good. For example, the exploding ants of Malaysia. These ants blow their head or abdomen (autothysis) in the face of a threat. The blow scatters a paste which traps and kills the threat. Thus, a suicide/self-sacrifice saves fellow ants from an enemy. A similar defence is characteristic of a termite (Globitermes sulphurous). It catches hold of the intruder/enemy and pumps its (termite’s) abdomen to release glue which spills over both the lives pitted against each other. The glue hardens upon coming in contact with air, killing them both. Likewise, pea aphid blows up its body to scare, even kill a predator, to save its commune. In what’s closest to committing suicide, it may surrender to a natural parasite, the wasp, to lay eggs on its body. Young wasps feed on aphid body, killing it in the process of growing up. A volunteer aphid thus barters its life to buy protection for the rest of the aphid group from wasp attack. Much like the grandma story of a village and a demon. To contain demon to lesser harm, one villager would volunteer to walk to the demon’s cave every day, and offer himself as food to the demon. That would keep the demon in good humour and save the rest of the village from demon’s wrath.

Self-sacrifice could be suicide by default

Consider self-sacrificing crab spider. It feeds her young ones with her unfertilized eggs. The taste of eggs hooks young ones to the taste of their mother’s body. And the mother is devoured, bit by bit, till it goes lifeless. Matriphagy, the act of feeding on mother’s body, is also observed in some species of scorpions, insects and amphibians. This may be a case of maternal care gone awry but does prove that there is a thin line that separates life and death. If self-preservation was a baseline of animal behaviour, as generally believed, such cases of self-denial wouldn’t be seen among animals. Can these instances, be construed to mean suicides?

Man, unlike animals, may philosophise to choose death

Is suicide a consequence of physical factors? If yes, there are parallels between humans and non-humans. Like, the monotony of existence, perceived pain and tragedy, a drug or substance-induced fatal attraction, etc. Risk of suicide goes up significantly in a man living on anti-depressant drugs. That’s a physical factor prompting suicide. But it is well known that metaphysical factors are significant drivers of human suicide. An IAS officer Mukesh Pandey makes a detailed video of him explaining why he is about to commit suicide. The officer isn’t bogged down by any pain or tragedy, but feels, vaguely, that life isn’t worth living. Does such a metaphysical angle apply to animals as well? Can animals contemplate that life isn’t worth living? Well, as of now, we have no way of knowing.

The mystery of dog-suicides in Scotland remains unsolved

For dog suicides at Overtoun Bridge in Scotland, one explanation is that dog being colour-blind, can’t separate bridge from surrounding greenery, and trips in the intervening space. Another view is that the smell of rodents living in the downside of the bridge lured the canine for a fatal jump. No cause-effect relationship has been established till date and dogs leaping to death from bridge remain a mystery. In stressful situations, scorpions sting their own selves and die. Sceptics say that a fearful scorpion goes sting-stabbing recklessly, and swirling at the same time. And, in an error of judgement, stings its own body and dies. A case of self-defence gone haywire. Were the dogs jumping off the Overtoun bridge doing so in some kind of self-defence?

Can one life use another for its own survival?

Could there be something that programmed the canines, in the above example, to go for daredevil jumps? Can a parasite programme the host animal to go daredevil? There is one interesting case. The infection of a protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, in the brain of rat. It programs rat to go daredevil and for a purpose. The protozoan parasite needs the body of a cat to complete its life cycle. Because it can reproduce sexually only in a cat’s biosystem. So, what does it do to reach to a cat which a normal rat will always avoid? The parasite hijacks the rat’s neuro-mechanism which helps it remain away from the cat. The infected rat, so to say, is reprogrammed to be attracted to a cat. That obviously makes it easy prey for its natural predator, and the parasite thus gains access to the cat’s body. Could there be more such cases of one life driving another to the path of self-destruction?

Overall, suicide in animals remains an enigma

What is crystal clear is this that sentience is part of animal psychology, like it is of a human being. Both are aware of life, pain and crisis situations. Both may choose death over life in a particular set of circumstances. But suicide is not the same thing as dying for one’s community or fellow beings. It ought to be a closure for a suffering or an unacceptable status of life. Such closure is clear in human suicides as it is communicated by the subject before dying or inferable from cogent circumstantial evidences. No such so closure can be inferred in animal suicides as animal-human communication is extremely limited. Moreover, the metaphysical side of suicide makes it a subject beyond the reach of scientific investigation. Therefore, it is hard to prove, as well as to disprove, that animals commit suicide. Doubtless, there are radical differences in the thought process of humans and non-humans. Suicide, seemingly, is not one of those differences. Or, maybe, we should wait till a standard definition of suicide is drafted.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Overtoun Bridge: A Mysterious Site from Where Dogs Leap to Their Deaths“.

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A patient in Iron lung. (Public Health Image Library)

The act of breathing, per se, is a mechanical activity. It begins with the expansion of the chest. Expansion creates negative pressure in the chest cavity, thereby in the lungs located therein. As the air always flows from positive pressure to negative, outside air rushes into the lungs. Then the chest cavity contracts, forcing air out of the lungs. If breathing stops for some reason, and for long, death follows. In such an emergency, a machine intervenes to revive breathing. This machine is called ‘Iron Lung’.

The iron lung machine

The breathing machine is a metal tank that takes in the entire human body except for the head which must be kept out. By creating positive and negative pressures, it forces the chest cavity to breathe-in and breathe-out. Thus the patient with difficult breathing is facilitated to breathe easy (artificial respiration) during the critical period of illness/disability.

How does an iron lung work?

The idea of iron lung became relevant in the year 1670, when John Mayow, an English Physician, gave a practical demo of the process of breathing. He prepared a model of bellows with tugged-in bladders. As the bellows expanded, the bladder within got filled with air. When bellows were compressed, bladders got emptied of air. Breathing, he demonstrated, was based on the process of ‘External Negative Pressure Ventilation (ENPV)’. Similar experiments were repeated by Dr. Woillez in 1876, and Dr. Stewart in 1910, and the principle of ENPV was established beyond doubt.

Used in medical emergencies in 1920

A reference is found to the use of the word ‘Mechanical Pump’ during the poliomyelitis epidemic of 1920. It was a metal box wherein a patient’s body could be laid for artificial respiration. The term ‘Iron Lung’, it seems, was used for the first time for the above said Mechanical Pump.

Based on the principle of ENPV, Philip Drinker and Agassiz Shaw of Harvard created iron lung in 1927. The same year it was used for the patients of polio and chest paralysis at Bellevue Hospital, New York. It was iron boxes with 2 inbuilt vacuum cleaners, capable of creating a regulated push and pull on the chest cavity. Subsequently, John Emerson improvised on it to cut manufacturing costs and increase the working efficiency.

Improvisation continued for long

In the 1920s, iron lungs were tried and tested on cats. Based on these experiments, Dr Philip Drinker and Louis Shaw built a wooden version of the iron lung. It looked like a drawer. The pressure in the drawer was created by the use of syringes. Tried and Tested breathing machine was then used on children suffering from infantile paralysis.

In 1926, Dr. Drinker improvised this wooden contraption by using iron syringes and called it ‘Iron Lung’ on that count. This machine revived a serious case of polio, unable to breathe properly. The patient was revived successfully, but unfortunately, died on account of pneumonia. Another patient put iron lung recovered completely. Thus it was clearly established that iron lung helped a patient significantly. About a thousand iron lungs were being used in America by 1930.

Trials and tribulations

No wonder, in the 1930s, iron lungs were called ‘Drinkers’ as a mark of respect for Dr Philip Drinker for his pioneering work on breathing machines. Industrialists and philanthropists then increasingly came forward to sponsor better and better versions of the iron lung. These included a hinged opening in an iron box, aluminium version and rotating version.

A technician calibrating an iron lung. (Public Health Image Library)

In 1931 Dinker’s design was improved by John Haven Emerson. He provided for the patient’s bed to slide in and out of the iron lung. Also, vents were created on sides to feel the patient’s body without tampering with the air pressure of the machine. Interestingly, Emerson was dragged to court by Drinker for trespassing on his patent. Emerson’s lawyer argued that there was nothing novel in Drinker’s machine and hence, the patent was invalid. Judge not only ruled in favour of Emerson but observed that lifesaving technology must be shared as much as possible.

In 1937, a polio epidemic broke out in Australia. Import of Drinker’s machine from America being prohibitive, Edward Both, Australian biomedical engineer was roped into finding a low priced alternative. He prepared plywood edition of respirators. This design of breathing machine impressed Lord Nuffield, the English Motor manufacturer, immensely. He got about 1700 plywood respirators built in his automobile plant and distributed them free to hospitals worldwide.

A wooden version of iron lung invented by Edward. (South Australian History Network / Flickr)

In 1952, the USA had a record number of 57,628 cases of poliomyelitis (polio). The disease causes muscular paralysis, and if chest muscles are involved, the patient dies on account of the inability to breathe. In such conditions, obviously, the iron lung was indispensable.

Iron lung ward in a hospital in Downey, California, circa 1953. (FDA)

Experience of the iron lung

Its life-saving quotient notwithstanding, the iron lung was anything but a pleasant experience for the patient. That’s understandable as they would be administered medicines and cared for in restricted space that the respirator permitted. Often such intervention called for stopping the machine and forcing patient breath on her/his own with a calculated risk. Monotony was a problem too. The patients were kept in good humour by providing a face mirror, a dangling book that could be read with assistance and an exclusive ward where they could talk to each other while interned in the iron lung. Children were primed for the task by explaining the procedure with the help of a doll.

A woman in an iron lung looking at herself from the mirror. (oakenroad / Flickr)

Weaning from the iron lung was a task too. Full recovery could take up to 2 years during which the patient was carefully watched and assisted with physiotherapy.

Respirators and ventilators are the modern versions of the iron lung

As of now sophisticated machines called respirators and ventilators are in use. Since Polio is generally eradicated, these are used in emergency wards and the intensive care units. And of course, these are patient-friendly and pose no hindrance to ancillary medical care and interventions. Ventilators have become a surgical necessity since the 1950s when muscle relaxants began to be administered along with anaesthesia. Naturally, breathing muscles of the anaesthetized patient went limp and hence ventilators became indispensable for surgery.

External Negative Pressure Ventilation is now replaced with Positive Pressure Ventilation System

Modern ventilators are a system of an electric pump, humidifier and a breathing tube. The tube is put into the patient’s mouth or nose (invasive intervention). The electric pump sucks in outside air, and humidifier adds moisture to this air. Positive pressure generated by machine pushes a fixed amount of air into the lungs for a fixed duration of time. The second step, the exhaling of breath happens in a natural way. This is called Positive Pressure Ventilation system (PPVS). The first PPVS was developed in Copenhagen, Denmark, to address polio outbreak in 1952.

Patient’s blood report is used to orient the machine for desired assistance

How is ventilator geared up to serve a patient? This is done by doing a blood test to know the patient’s metabolic rate, and the oxygen-carbon dioxide ratio required to sustain that rate. The next step is to calculate the amount of air that must be pumped in per minute into the patient’s lungs. When calibrated properly, the machine delivers the right amount of air for breathing-in. As for breathing-out, it happens passively as a natural ‘exhale’ by the patient.

Breathing machines come in wide-ranging varieties

As of now breathing machines are being used extensively and intensively for wide-ranging medical conditions. These include conditions triggered by damage to respiratory centres in the human brain. Damage may happen due to cancer, stroke or head injury. Injury to the spinal cord can paralyse diaphragm, and lead to difficulty in breathing. Many respirators cater specifically to critical cases of muscular atrophy and degeneration.

If a patient must remain on the ventilator for long, then breathing tube is surgically connected to the windpipe, as a passing tube through nose or mouth repeatedly for long can be agonising and injurious. Such cases may even opt for vintage non-invasive machines. The advantage of these respirators is that no tube is required to be fitted to the patient. So, even a layman can use it for a patient resting or convalescing at home. There are smaller handy variants too. These miniature breathers, with fancy name ‘turtle’, can be tied to the patient’s chest to assist breathing.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Xenotransplantation: Transplanting Vital Organs from Animals into Humans“.

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RP FLIP partially submerged. (John F. Williams / U.S. Navy)

The RP FLIP (FLoating Instrument Platform) is an oceanographic Research Platform (RP) conceived and built by the Marine Physical Laboratory, it is actually a customized float, not a ship. It is owned by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) and operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

Workings of RP FLIP

RP FLIP is a 355-foot-long drift, having a functional laboratory in front and a hollow metallic extension at the back. When the hollow contains air, FLIP floats on water. When air is replaced with water, then it sinks in water, elevating the front part, the laboratory, by a sharp 90 degrees. The research work goes on uninterrupted in this vertical position. Work over, the float returns to the horizontal position, to be towed to a new location for oceanographic study or surveillance.

RP FLIP in a horizontal position. (Office of Naval Research / Flickr)

Interior and exterior is designed for a radical shift in position

Most of the lab’s compartments have two doors, one for the horizontal, and another for the vertical position. Accessories and equipment are so designed to remain functional in changed orientations. Some fixtures are provided in duplicate so that one remains usable, irrespective of the float position. Others are swivel supported for easy manoeuvrability. Of the 2 bathrooms available on the lab, one functions in vertical, and another in horizontal alignment of the Research Platform.

How was the idea of a floating lab conceived?

Two scientists, Dr Fred Fisher and Dr Fred Spiess wanted to study the nature of sound waves in the depths of sea water. Normal ships move up and down, and sideways, on the restless sea surface. Hence, were unfit for such studies. Search for a serene lab on water surface led to the invention of FLIP in 1962. This lab collects weather-related data, studies sound signals, measures temperature, calibrates wave size and density of seawater on a particular location on the sea surface. In order to keep the RP isolated from interfering sounds, no engine or propulsion mechanism has been installed on RP. It is moved to the water surface with the help of outside force. The RP is so designed that it is steadiest and quietest when in the vertical position.

The ship in a vertical position. (Office of Naval Research / Flickr)

A total of 5 crew members and 11 researchers can remain interned on FLIP for a month. When the float switched from the horizontal to the vertical position, a partition in the horizontal position becomes the deck in the vertical position. On this deck, the lab staff huddles up in the switch-over period. When the change is complete, a five storey laboratory, the 55 feet of RP, is seen standing over the sea surface. The 300 feet of RP remains submerged in the water below. Switch in position is a visual delight, and takes about 28 minutes. As seawater fills into the shaft, it dips into the sea at 90-degree angle, jacking up the laboratory by the same degree over the water surface. In the vertical position, all measuring devices work to their optimum capacity. Therefore, the data picked up is reliable.

Contribution of RP FLIP

The subject matters studied by FLIP include sounds of marine life, heat flow between sea and atmosphere, the formation of storms, the impact of earthquakes, and circulation of water in the ocean bed. RP works in deep (more than 2000 fathoms) as well as shallow waters and isn’t ruffled even by an 80-foot wave. A 30- foot wave causes a meagre 3 feet up-down in the vertical lab. Notably, RP FLIP is one and the only research station of its kind. It was renovated in 1995 and has conducted quality research in the marine milieu. It was rested (dry dockings) 4 times since its launch and completed 50 glorious years in 2012.

Flip to vertical and horizontal positions is easy and smooth

From a functional vertical position to the resting horizontal stance, the switch for RP is the converse of the stand-up operation. To begin with, water in the shaft is removed with the help of compressed air. That makes the shaft light, and moves towards the surface of water till it becomes perfectly horizontal, and emerges out of the water. The research lab at the other end automatically slides down to horizontal position. And once again, we have the float, spoon-shaped, bobbling in seawater.

RP FLIP amid transitioning from horizontal to a vertical position. (Office of Naval Research / Flickr)

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “CSCL Globe: The Largest Container Vessel in the World, Until MSC Oscar Usurped its Ranking“.

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Devils Tower National Monument. (Christen Gobel / Wikimedia Commons)

A film script is a baseline on which location for the shoot is decided. Steven Spielberg did the same. But the location found was so enticing that he discarded the script. And location became a new baseline, for an altogether new story. The result was the blockbuster Hollywood release of 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The location was a foothill called Devils Tower. But there is more to this giant stub, than what meets the eye on the silver screen. It is a mix of the physical and the metaphysical in Wyoming, America, near river Belle Fourche.

Devils Tower in Wyoming: A national monument

The Devils Tower is 867 feet high. Its top surface measures an acre and a half, and base circumference – about a mile. Declared a National Monument of America in 1906, the tower was held sacrosanct by the Indian tribes of America’s Northern Plains. Several word-of-mouth histories and references testify to its spiritual significance. In Arapahoe, the tower is called ‘Bear’s tipi’. Kiowa, another county, calls it ‘aloft on a rock’ and ‘tree rock’. The Native American tribes have used several expressions like: Bear Lodge, Bear Lodge Butte, Grizzly ear’s Lodge, Mythic-owl mountain, Grey Horn Butte, and Ghost Mountain. As wild bears inhabited the area in the past, the animals’ name became part of the tower’s identity.

The naming exercise was riddled with misinformation

How come Tower got named differently than mentioned in history and legends? The story begins with a geologist, Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, going on a scientific expedition to the Black Hills Region of Wyoming in 1875. He inquired about the tower’s name in the local language and understood the answer as ‘Wakansica’. That, translated into the English language, read ‘The Bad God’s Tower’. It was simplified to ‘Devil’s Tower’.

Now, the question arises about the missing apostrophe in ‘Devil’s Tower’. And why an ungrammatical usage ‘Devils Tower’ remains current? President Theodore Roosevelt had approved the same name as coined by Colonel Dodge, i.e. with-apostrophe Devil’s Tower. But a clerical mistake in the office of the president bypassed apostrophe and posted name as Devils Tower. The mistake was never corrected, so it remained as such. In the meanwhile, another mistake came to light. Colonel Dodge had inadvertently picked up a wrong word for translation. Right word was a similar sounding, but different, Wahanksica, which translates to English as ‘black bear’. This is also corroborated from multiple sources as explained in the foregoing.

Locals, who hold tower sacrosanct, demanded the renaming of ‘Devils Tower’ as ‘Bear Lodge’. Demand was rejected on the ground that a change would confuse people, and harm tourism.

Devils Tower formation

How the tower was formed is equally fascinating. From the earth’s hot inner core, molten rock (magma) keeps moving upwards. It may, or may not, reach to the surface of the earth. One such move happened 50 million years ago, but remained short reaching surface, thanks to a sedimentary rock coming in its way. In course of time, the sedimentary rock withered away, revealing the track followed by the intrusive lava. The magma or lava had cooled down into pillars of hexagonal shape, giving the protruding igneous rock an awesome formation. Grossly, the pillars appear to be hollow, but in reality, these are solid. The rock, light grey to beige coloured, is totally devoid of quartz (a plentiful mineral of the earth – crust).

Devils Tower. (Wikimedia Commons)

A crucible of nature’s bounties, adventure, outing and human faith

Vegetation on Devils Tower is a mix of lichens, moss and grasses.  Chipmunks (squirrels) and more than 160 species of birds inhabit the top part of it. The Pine forest and the grasslands in surrounding areas are home to 40 species of mammals. That apart, the region has a vibrant population of amphibians, fishes and reptiles.

The tower is a popular destination for rock climbing. Prominent columns on the shaft are ideal for clutching, tethering and climbing the rock, and have a rocking experience. Five to six thousand rock climbers come here every year, especially in the month of June. That, incidentally, is also the time when people visit the tower for religious rites. In spite of being a tourist hub, Devils Tower retains its past image of a spiritual domain. Rituals of faith are a routine on the tower’s sacred sites, and tourists are advised not to touch objects related to such rituals.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Devils Hole: The Only Wild Habitat in the World Where the Endangered Devils Hole Pupfish Are Found“.

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Kuldhara village, Rajasthan. (Suryansh Singh / Wikimedia Commons)

Rajasthan, the Indian state with desert land, scrub forests, high rocks and hills, is also the land of the esoteric and the paranormal. Its folklores are flush with stories about ghosts and how the spirits live on to wreak vengeance, even after the physical body dies. Kuldhara, a village in Jaisalmer district is one such story. A prosperous community of this village was forced to leave their village. They did it under duress, with a heavy heart.

History of Kuldhara

The incident happened in 1825. Kuldhara was a stronghold of Paliwal Brahmins who had made their mark in business and agriculture. Even in water-scarce of desert land, they grew wheat and other water-intensive crops. They were good animal raisers and did business with Sindh (now in Pakistan) and other countries through the old silk route. They traded in food grains, poppy, indigo, ivory, and dry fruits on camel back. All was going hunky dory for the community till the Diwan of Jaisalmer, Salim Singh, came on the scene. He was Diwan of Jaisalmer, and a corrupted one. His lecherous gaze fell on the daughter of the village chief. The chief must marry his daughter to him; else face disastrous consequences, by way of punitive taxes.

For Paliwal Brahmins, it was a second major migration

The village chief had a Hobson’s choice. Marry his daughter to a debauch, or suffer a crushing tax burden. A council was held. The council of Kuldhara and neighbouring villages ruled that their daughter wouldn’t be given to a lout who already had 7 wives. Nor would they accept the taxes. They would rather move out with whatever they can carry easily. This was a second such crisis for the community. First happened at their erstwhile abode in Pali, Jodhpur. The king of Jodhpur, envious of their prosperity, increased their tax burden inordinately. That had forced their first migration. Now was the time for the second migration. Their tumultuous history was repeating itself.

Remains of houses in Kuldhara village. (Archan dave / Wikimedia Commons)

They left their homes and cursed village to remain deserted forever

So, on a dark night, there was a mass exodus of about over 1500 people from Kuldhara and adjoining 85 villages. They left their homes, and most of their belongings, and walked out in the wilderness. So discreet was the march that it went unnoticed.  It is believed that the community moved to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. But while departing, they cursed the land they left behind. That it will never be populated. And, whosoever will try to settle here, will suffer their curse.

Most villages around Kuldhara, with their names altered, are colonized now. But Kuldhara and partly Khaba (home to Hindus displaced from Pakistan) still remain desolate.

Haunted looks and an eerie ambience

The curse of the oppressed Brahmins of Kuldhara has worked. There is a prevailing belief that whosoever tried settling in Kuldhara, was rattled by paranormal forces. With sunset, the place is closed for visitors. People in the neighbouring areas believe that supernatural forces descend in the village at the night time. The fact is corroborated by investigation of the paranormal society, New Delhi. Weird sounds, spooky shadows, damage to the parked vehicles and more such bizarre incidents occurred with people staying here beyond the day time.

The area is a promising tourist spot

The deserted sandstone houses of village bespeak of good architectural design. The remnants of 600 living homes, temple, wells, water reservoir, water ponds and public places reveal that the community had an aesthetic sense of living. The site is now supervised by the Archaeological Survey of India. Plans are underway for renovations to make this village visitor – friendly and an enjoyable tourist destination.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Dhanushkodi: Where a Cyclone Ripped Apart an Entire South Indian Town, Rendering it Uninhabited“.

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Eugen Sandow. (Library Of Congress)

Oscar Wilde famously said there were 2 tragedies in a man’s life. One, getting what one wants. Two, not getting what one wants. Eugen Sandow, the charming health coach of the 19th century, suffered both tragedies. He desired a muscular and shapely body, as carved out in Greek and Roman Sculptures. He got it. What he didn’t get was peace in family life. He died prematurely at 58 and was buried anonymously. A fan and an admirer, 77 years later, redeemed him as ‘The Father of Bodybuilding’.

Inspired early in life to have a strong and enviable physique

Eugen Sandow was born in Konigsberg, Prussia (today’s Kaliningrad, Russia) in 1867, as Friederich Wilhelm Mueller. In 1885, he moved out of Prussia to avoid the state enforced military recruitment.  He changed his name to Eugen Sandow and became a circus athlete, showing his muscles and physical strength to earn a living. By the age of 19 (year 1886), he was famous for his hair-raising stunts like breaking a chain tied to the chest, backflips, one finger pull-up, etc. That was what he wanted to be, since his childhood. As a child, he had gone to Italy on a trip and he was overawed with Sculptures of Greek and Roman heroes. The superhuman body frames impressed him no end. He even took measurements of the body muscles carved in the marble stone. The measurement served as benchmarks for his own muscle-development. And, he went on to become the first athlete in the world to have his body built to a plan.

Eugen Sandow posing. (Wellcome Collection)

Mesmerized Europe and America with his stunning power feats

Sandow turned his passion for bodybuilding into gainful employment. In 1889, he won a strength competition at London and toured Europe extensively. His muscular profile and physical strength took Europe by storm. He travelled to America in 1893 and staged a memorable performance at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He stood in a black box, body smeared in white powder, looking like a statue in marble. There, he met another strength performer, Milo Steinborn, who could lift an elephant on his back. He liked meeting people of his league and exchanged knowledge on health and vitality. Interrupting his tour of America, he had flown to Europe to marry his lady love. Thereafter, he flew back to America to complete his pending work.

Eugen Sandow being compared to Hercules. (Wellcome Collection)

Appeared in films as well

In 1894, the 27-year-old Sandow starred in a film series produced by Edison Studios. The same year he acted in a commercial film titled ‘Sandow’ which dwelt on his passion for bodybuilding.

More than power play, his posturing and muscle stretch ticked with masses

His stage shows were primarily aimed at displaying the prowess of well-developed muscles. But he noted that it was not the strength quotient alone which appealed to spectators. What amused audience more was the sight of his muscles quiver to his command. Therefore, a demo of muscle flexing by body postures became the highlight of his shows which were called ‘Muscle Display Performances’. This paved the way for posturing and muscle flexing as practiced by the present day bodybuilders.

Eugen Sandow flexing his triceps (left) and biceps (right). (Wellcome Collection)

A rare combination of brawn and brain

He was an author, creator of training instruments and body-building systems, and a keen businessman. A physical culture studio in London, Sandow cigars, Sandow health magazine and health drink, testifies to his business acumen. The first ever bodybuilding contest of the world was organized by him on 14th September 1901. Titled ‘Great Competition’, the event was held at Royal Albert Hall, London, UK. The jury, apart from Eugen Sandow himself, included the famous sculptor sportsman Sir Charles Lewes, and the Scottish writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyal.

His extramarital affairs proved to be his nemesis

Eugen was not just a body-beauty, but also a well-dressed socialite with a pleasing personality and keen sense humour. His manners were enticing and his friends’ list read like who’s who of the rich and famous. Married to Blanche Brooks Sandow, and proud father of 2 daughters, his popularity, in the long last, did him in. His women fans weren’t content with looking at him on stage, from distance. They wanted to touch him, feel his muscles, in a one-on-one after the stage show. And, of course, pay him well for this extra favour. He was romantically linked even to a male musician, a member of his entourage. His wife, naturally, resented his romantic affairs.

Eugen Sandow

In 1909, Sandow tied up as a fitness guide for the English army. Subsequently, in 1911, he became health advisor to King George V. It was indeed a great going for him all the way till his death on October 14, 1925. Rumour mill worked overtime to explain his death. Local media said it was brain stroke. Some said it was a fall out of Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that he was suffering from. His extramarital affairs and marital discord were well known. This came clear in his wife’s request that her husband be laid to rest incognito. Keeping that in mind, his grave wasn’t given any identity reference.

His contribution to the world of bodybuilding was finally acknowledged

Thankfully, an admirer, Thomas manly, put up a tablet on Sandow’s grave in 2002. The tablet carried his name, life span (1867-1925) and a metaphor that would become his identity for all times to come – The Father of Body Building. Indeed, a fitting tribute to a man who made health and strength fashionable, and bodybuilding a popular way to look good and feel good.

Eugen Sandow gravestone. (Reteprenrut / geograph.org.uk)

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Robert Wadlow: Trials and Tribulations of the World’s Tallest Man“.

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Fingal’s Cave, Staffa Island. (Luk~commonswiki / Wikimedia Commons)

The major part of the European continent in 3rd century BC was ruled by a group of tribes called Celts. Their Folklores refer to a wonder cave called Uamh-Binn (the cave of Melody), which, at present, is known as Fingal’s cave. Located in the island of Staffa, Hebrides, Scotland, the cave has an ensemble of multifaceted rock pillars.

The cave, as per the legend, was connected to another area of a similar disposition. The area, a spread of 40,000 multifaceted rock pillars propping from the sea surface, is Giant’s Causeway (GiC) in Northern Ireland. Both sites, as of now, are rocking tourist destinations, famed for the unique geometric shape of their constituent rocks.

Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland. (Gerd Eichmann / Wikimedia Commons)

Fingal is a short form for the name ‘Fionn mac Cumhail’

The cave’s name ‘Fingal’ is borrowed from the name of a hero in a popular poem series penned by the 18th-century Scottish poet, James Macpherson. The series is a translation of Irish mythology originally scripted in Gaelic (a language of Celtic tribe of Scotland). Fionn mac Cumhail is the hero of the poem. Finn would have been a convenient short form for the hero’s name. But Finn, in popular usage, refers to a citizen of Finland, and this wasn’t acceptable to the poet. So, he tweaked Finn to ‘Fingal’ lest the cultural glory of Scotland and Ireland is shared by another country i.e. Finland.

Inside Fingal’s cave. (Luk~commonswiki / Wikimedia Commons)

His hugely popular work ‘Fingal’s cave, an ancient epic poem in six books’ was an inspiration for Sir Joseph Banks, a naturalist, who arrived at the cave in 1772 and was greatly impressed by it. As Fingal was the name of the hero in his favourite poem series, he gave the same name to the cave, calling it ‘Fingal’s Cave’.

Formation of Fingal’s cave

Formation of the cave, and the GiC began some 60 million years ago when a volcano burst tore through the overlying limestone rock. The molten lava cooled down to form hexagonal (six-sided) pillars of igneous rock. The pillars are so well structured as if made by man, not nature. The 20 meters high and 75 meters long Fingal’s cave, and GiC, both are made of mafic rock (dark coloured silicate, rich in magnesium and iron). Both are out and out a marvel of nature, having no human hand whatsoever in their formation.

On gross observation, all pillars seem alike. Closer observation though reveals subtle differences. Not all pillars are hexagonal. Some have up to eight surfaces instead of six. Length and thickness too varies.

Fingal’s Cave. (Library of Congress)

Pleasant sounds heard in Fingal’s cave

The great musician Felix Mendelssohn was so impressed by the acoustics arising out of the cave, and the sight of islands surrounding it, that he composed a symphony titled ‘Fingal’s Cave Overture’. 

With Mendelssohn’s music, the fame of Fingal’s cave spread far and wide. Very Important Personalities like Queen Victoria (queen of Britain and Ireland), Alfred Lord Tennyson (poet laureate of Great Britain and Ireland), Jules Verne (French Novelist) Wordsworth (English Poet) and J.M.W. Turner (English painter) visited the cave and went head over heels describing how wonderful they felt. Turner expressed his awe through his oil painting titled ‘Staffa, Fingal’s Cave’. English rock band Pink Floyd and Sculptor Matthew Burney were also greatly impressed by the cave of melody on the seaside.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Cave of the Crystals: A Geological Wonder with Giant Shimmering Crystals“.

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Pere Lachaise Cemetery. (Pierre-Yves Beaudouin / Wikimedia Commons)

The French Military Leader and Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, was also a visionary and social reformer. By a decree: “every citizen has a right to be buried regardless of race or religion”, he overruled the law that forbade cemeteries in the town area. That made way for Pere Lachaise, the iconic burial ground in Paris. Though Napoleon himself was buried at a different place, this cemetery became a sought after site for the last-rites. Iconic personalities, including the noted writer Oscar Wilde, rest here in peace as people worldwide come here to pay their respect and revel in a memorable outing.

The main entrance of the cemetery. (Coyau / Wikimedia Commons)

A tourist destination of world fame

The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is now a tourist destination of world fame. Its name is derived from the confessor of Louise XIV, a Jesuit priest, called le Pere La Chaise (full name Father François de La Chaise d’Aix). The priest was in possession of this land (called Mont-Louise) in the 17th century. The land was acquired by the city of Paris in 1804.

Cemetery of le Pere Lachaise. (Jorge Royan / Wikimedia Commons)

The cemetery clearly had an eventful past, beginning with King Louis XIV (beheaded in French revolution in 1793). The king had passed orders for all cemeteries in France to be shifted out of the city. His Highness felt that graveyard released foul smell and hence shouldn’t exist in open ground. Following his orders, 4183 graves were dug out amid chanting of prayers by the Catholic Priests and shifted to an underground cemetery (Catacomb). Over 6 million dead bodies were laid to rest in the new arrangement of the catacomb system. The metaphor of corpse turning in their graves, literally, saw the light of the day.

French Revolution (1789-99) did upset the catacomb project, but it was back on rails in the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. The first municipal cemetery of Paris, Pere Lachaise, opened to people of all faiths by a ruling of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. The ground is spread with greenery, with 4134 trees dotting the land. Wide-ranging Flora and fauna add to its natural beauty.

A memorial to the dead at Pere Lachaise Cemetery. (JLPC / Wikimedia Commons)

Shifting graves to a new location was a masterstroke

In the beginning, people were chary of using Pere Lachaise, accustomed as they were to the facility within the city. However, in a surprising state move, remains of the famous writer Jean de La Fontaine and the playwright Moliere were exhumed from catacomb and re-buried at Pere Lachaise. Along with them, the remains of the 12th-century lovers, Abelard and Heloise (Romeo and Juliet of France) were also re-interred. The strategy paid off. People not only flocked to visit the tombs of their idols but also bought plots there, for self and family.

Final repose for a million departed

Pere Lachaise is a 44-hectare cemetery where close to a million people rest-in-peace. The list includes the rich and the famous. The composer Chopin, the dancer Isadora Duncan, the painter Pissarro, the actor Simone Signoret, the writer Oscar Wild, the poet Apollinaire, the playwright Moliere and the list goes on and on. There is mass grave too, of insurgents done to death by the government forces, and buried en masse in May 1871.

Abuse of tombs by visitors at Pere Lachaise Cemetery

A visit to graves is not necessarily all solemn and serious affair. People get physical with it. Like a barrage of kisses leaving a lipstick mark on the grave of Oscar Wild. Graffiti is also made by the fans and admirers of the late prodigies. The grave of rock singer Jim Morrison (1943-71) became a spot for drug and sex revelry by the singer’s fans. Cemetery’s conservation office was forced to move in for damage control and issue warnings. Another case of besmirching involved tomb of a young journalist, Victor Noir (1848-70), shot dead by Pierre Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Legend has it that scratching the groin of Noir’s bronze statue ensured fulfilling sex and pregnancy. The idea took off to a level that threatened the shape and substance of the statue.

A place for mortal remains and urn ashes comes at a price

Famed world over as a privileged place for the last rites, acquiring a plot for burial in Pere Lachaise isn’t easy. You must be a domicile of Paris or own a plot there. Mortal remains can be dug up and moved to in-house godown (ossuary) if the lease time of the plot expires, or the plot gets decrepit. To obviate such a possibility, ‘perpetuity’ is the preferred option. Other options are for 10, 30 and 50-year lease. The prize of the plot depends on its size and the duration of the lease. A 2 square meters plot for perpetuity (eternity) costs a princely 16,000 Euros which is roughly 12.5 lakhs in Indian Rupees. The ashes of the diseased (funeral urns) are stored in the underground as well as overground ash-condo (Columbarium). This facility too comes at a price. Urns can be stored in a niche (vault in Columbarium) for 50 years at a price of 2,466 Euros, plus the taxes and administrative fees. A simpler arrangement of last rites is Memory Garden (Jardine de Souvenir), in the east of the cemetery. Here the cremated remains are ceremoniously scattered; eternal rest at low cost.

Père Lachaise Cemetery. (pxhere)

Outing mandates respect for the dead

The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is open to visitors all 365 days a year. Carrying of the pets and edibles are not permitted. As funerals are a daily routine, visitors are advised to show respect to the dead and empathise with their grieving relatives.

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Tata Mercedes Benz buses. (Tata Motors / Sajha Yatayat)

Imagine a workplace where ethics and enterprise go hand in hand. Where, moving with the time, even ahead of time, is the norm. Where core competence is forever growing and reaching out to the untouched and the unexplored frontiers. Where hearts and minds work in harmony for the welfare of people at large. The place is Tata Motors.

Expansion from one business vertical to another was smooth

The long journey of the Tata Group in Automobile segment began with the first truck rolling out in 1954.  It carried the Mercedes logo as TELCO then had technical collaboration with Daimler Benz (brand name Mercedes Benz), a German Manufacturer. The trade name was switched to ‘T’ for Tata in 1969. Tata 407, launched in 1986, and called just 407 in general reference, was a game-changer. An indigenously built light commercial vehicle, it outdid Indo-Japanese models like Eischer-Mitsubishi, DCM Toyota, Swaraj Mazda and Allwyn-Nissan. Tata Sumo, the first multi-utility vehicle with 8 and 10 seat variant was launched in 1994.  Then came the Mercedes Benz car E220 in 1995. Tata Indica, the first fully India made passenger car hit the road in 1998. The much awaited and talked about people’s car, Nano, costing just a lakh rupees, was launched in January 2008. A new range of World standard trucks was rolled out in May 2009, and India’s first Sports car – Racemo in 2017.

Tata Motors today

As of now over 4 million Tata vehicles of diverse utility are running on Indian Roads. Company’s manufacturing, sale and after-sale service has pan India presence. Following listing on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2004, Tata Motors became an International Automobile Company. It is operating in the UK, South Korea, Thailand and Spain through subsidiaries and associate companies. In 2005, Tata Motors entered into a collaboration with Hispano, a reputed bus and coach manufacturer of Spain.

Hand in hand with defence forces

A sanguine partner to the Indian Armed Forces, Tata Motors has supplied over 1.5 lakh vehicles, including fully armoured combat vehicles to the Indian army, paramilitary and the police. World-class trucks like Prima, Ultra, Signa and Tata Ace (mini-truck), India’s first CNG bus, a Hydrogen fuel cell bus, and a wide range of Electric and Hybrid locomotives are hallmarks of Tata Motors.The Company’s commercial and passenger vehicles are being exported to several countries in Europe, Africa, Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia and South America.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) executed with the utmost sincerity

Story of Tata Motors is incomplete without an appraisal of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) package. Tata subscribes to nation building through sustainable development, inclusive growth and social equity. Empowerment of women and SC/ST community through agriculture and allied activities, vocational training in marketable trades, and engagement with all levels of formal education is the keynote of CSR. Tata Motors is a signatory to United Nations Global Compact and is committed to community development and rural uplift as enshrined in the principles of the Global Compact.

Humble to the core

A string of milestones, sterling achievements and Awards apart, the downright humility of Group leaves you spellbound. Group’s advertisements are unique and relate to a common man in simple words. These end with modest one-liners like: and we also make steel. …We also make tomorrow…. Value abled – Values stronger than steel.

Indeed, values say it all. Miracles happen when plans and policies are value driven. When innovation is the watchword and concern for the environment is paramount. Steeled by values, Tata Motors is all braced up with vision and technology, to move into the future.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Maharajas’ Express: An Ultra-Luxury Indian Train That Redefines the Experience of Travelling“.

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Aerial photo of Thilafushi. (Ibrahim Asad / Panoramio)

Any short term solutions can create a gigantic problem later on. This happened with Maldives, seeking disposal of litter created by the visiting tourists. The trash was dumped on Thilafushi Island, a convenient riddance. This garbage dumping island of Maldives is also known as ‘The Rubbish Island’.

In time, the garbage mounted to 330 tons per day, and the island soon became the world’s largest rubbish dump. The blue lagoon of Thilafushi was reduced to stinking garbage. Burning/Processing of the waste polluted the ecosystem of an island renowned as ‘Tropical Paradise’.

A worker carrying rubbish inside the island. (Dying Regime / Flickr)

Began as garbage bin of the capital of Maldives

Thilafushi, the Trash Island, is a short distance from Male’, the capital city of Maldives. A creation of throwaways from the visiting tourists, a blemish on the scenic beauty of the island, it began as a dumping ground for Male’s municipal waste. Male’ has a lakh of people living in an about two square kilometre space, making it world’s topmost human-density. Hence, the waste output is in top order.

In spite of environmental pollution by junk, tourism thrives

The heaps of garbage are transported to Thilafushi by ship. Offloaded junk is first sorted manually. A part of it is burned away and part is buried in the ground. The electronic and hazardous wastes are a part of the garbage, much to the worry of environmentalists. Asbestos, lead and spent batteries contaminate water and thereby harm ecology and human health.

Dumping ground at Thilafushi. (Dying Regime / Flickr)

The tourists don’t seem to mind the junk. Empathising comments bear this out. Like, litter after all is contained and not dumped in the ocean, what else can a nation, barely 1% above sea level, do to parry junk? Many find the dump a creative way of waste disposal. The Maldives, therefore, continues to be a popular destination among the tourists.

Waste has jacked up usable land area

All waste from Kaafu atoll (the islands constituting the administrative block of Maldives) and resorts across the Maldives, is pooled up at Thilafushi. The plastic and metal from the junk is recycled. Waste from construction work is spread out in the shallow sea water to increase the land area of the island. Garbage thus converted to land is rented out to industries. That’s quite a gain as otherwise the industries would encroach on the meagre living space available to the local inhabitants.

Trash being offloaded at the island. (Shafiu Hussain / Flickr)

Tourism and trash are mutually reinforcing

A chain of factories, shelter for hundreds of Bangladeshi migrants who process junk to make a living and an unending stream of garbage; all these add up to increase the land area of Thilafushi by a square meter a day. Maldives reaps gold from tourism ($4,500 GDP per head), and every tourist generates 3.5 kg of junk per day. The wealth created by tourism though isn’t uniformly spent on public welfare. A big chunk of it is spent on huge quantities of edibles and petro diesel imported for the tourists. That incidentally augments the garbage load which, lately, is being shoved to India. The ships which bring vegetable from India, take junk material along on return journey. This junk is then processed and sold in India.

State government finally banned the use of Thilafushi as a dust bin

The Government of Maldives was sieged of the waste problem since long. The problem became all the more vexing in view of the climate change. Sea level is rising because of global warming and the Maldives faces a real threat of getting engulfed by the sea. The State finally ruled against the pooling of junk at Thilafushi. The illegal dumping of waste directly into the sea which was going on earlier also came to an end. Unfortunately, the trash now finds way to Indian shores.

The garbage island has inspired eco-friendly movement

On a positive note, the drive against junk is here to stay. Mohamed Nasheed, the President of Maldives, held an underwater meeting in 2009 to highlight the perceived threat of Global Warming. A contract was signed with Tatva Renewable Energy, India, to recycle garbage, and use it as a source of energy. The contract was cancelled following a political turmoil in the Maldives, but the baton was picked up by tourist resorts.

Kurumba Resort has reduced its garbage output by 70% with innovative waste management. The Reethi Rah resort has its own solar power and trash recycling system. The visitors to this resort enjoy a guided tour of the recycling facility. Club Med’s Finolhu resort is also solar-powered, and a zero-waste unit.

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Aral sea, Mo’ynoq. (Land Rover MENA / Flickr)

Russia, then, was the undivided Soviet Union. The state government thought rivers which fed the Aral Sea (actually a lake, derived from prehistoric ‘sea’ cut short by tectonic shifts on earth surface) could be syphoned to support agriculture crops in the desert land of Central Asia. The idea worked for a short time, then nosedived, demolishing geography and demography of the area to the point of no return. A typical case of nature’s fury in the face of human misadventure.

Tapping rivers for agriculture took the toll on the terminal lake (sea)

The Soviet irrigation project of cotton cultivation, 1960s. (David Stanley / Flickr)

Indeed, in 1960, the government action appeared a benign idea towards the welfare of the Russian people. The Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, the two rivers feeding Aral Sea (lake), were channelled into infertile plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, to grow agriculture crops.

Come 1980, and Uzbekistan became the largest producer of cotton, but the Aral Sea shrunk in size. Reduced input of water from the feeding rivers wasn’t enough to compensate for the loss of water by evaporation in the arid conditions.

By 2000, Aral Sea was reduced to a minuscule of its 1960 size and split into 2 halves: the small Aral Sea, and the large Aral Sea. By 2001, the 2 parts, connected precariously, got completely detached. Drought conditions depleted the Amu Darya and stopped its flow altogether. In 2014, a big chunk of the large Aral Sea was lost to desert sand.

Aral sea in the year 1989 (left) and in the year 2014 (right). (NASA. Collage by Producercunningham / Wikimedia Commons)

The drying Aral Sea changed the climate and the demography unfavourably

Drying of the Aral Sea ruined fishing business, uprooting the stakeholders and forcing them to migrate for new business/employment. The salt content of the lake increased as the surface water evaporated fast. The fertilizers and pesticides used in nearby crops found their way into the lake. Winds lashing the lake bed got laced with salt and chemicals and contaminated the region’s ecosystem. Summers and winters became unusually harsh as a moderating influence of water disappeared with the dying lake. Standing crops required surplus irrigation to flush out harmful chemicals; that jacked up the rate of water depletion in the region.

Waterbody changed to a graveyard of boats

Indeed, drying of the Aral Sea is a typical case of irreversible man-made disaster. It transfigured one of the 4th largest lakes in the world into the desert sand. Most of the heydays working ships now lie thrashed on the lake bed, stripped of their saleable parts. The ship graveyard in Moynaq, Uzbekistan is a poignant reminder of what once used to be a roaring Aral Sea.

Abandoned ships at Aral sea. (Arian Zwegers / Flickr)

Market-driven economy post disintegration of USSR added to the woes

With the disintegration of Soviet Russia in 1991, subsidies and safety nets of a centralized government came to an end and the emergent independent republics were forced into a market-driven-economy. This added to the hardships which the shrinking Aral Sea had already precipitated. Indeed, the circumstances were propitious for a war-over-water in the Central Asia region.

Damage control was too little and too late

Belatedly, the government of the day rose to the challenge of the vanishing lake. The Republic of Kazakhstan built the Kokaral dam in 2005. This reversed the trend of water depletion and gave a fillip to the fishing business. By 2008, Syr Darya water was well under state control. This resulted in the revival of the small Aral Sea to the extent of 68%. The salinity of the lake too was reduced to half.

The larger Sea (on Uzbekistan side) though, couldn’t be revived. The Republic of Uzbekistan showed more interest in growing cotton than spare water for this part of the lake. The lake got decimated all the more when Lukoil, the Russian oil company, drilled it for oil and gas in 2006.

War on water became a reality

With water resources pushed and shoved, the neighbouring countries were bound to feel hard up. Cotton farmers of Uzbekistan felt threatened by the establishment of the hydroelectric power plant in Kyrgyzstan. This flared up border skirmishes between the two nations. The strategic holding of water by Kyrgyzstan in 2013 choked the water supply in 11 regions of Uzbekistan, and the acrimony between the two republics was an all-time high. Salty winds blew from the vanishing sea all this while, endangering public health no end.

Biological weapons programme was another highlight of the region

A spooky dimension to the eco tragedy is added by the secret experiments in biological warfare. Vozrozhdeniya, an island in the Aral Sea, was the site for the biological weapon’s program of the Soviet Union. It is believed that fully or partially developed biological weapons lie buried there. The island, buffered by a huge body of water and desert sand was an ideal place to culture dangerous microbes like anthrax, typhoid, plague and tularemia and turn them into weapons of mass destruction. The site is now an unrestricted area where anyone can walk in freely.

Messing with nature is no commerce

Irreversible climatic changes in Central Asia testify to the error Soviet Union made in messing with the path of rivers falling in the Aral Sea. Obviously, if society can react to stress imposed on it by the environment, the environment too can react to stress imposed on it by human society. Unfortunately, nature’s reaction, as in this case, maybe too hard to be moderated or reversed.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Euphrates River: A Dying River that Birthed One of the Oldest Civilisations“.

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Sagrada Familia. (Bernard Gagnon / Wikimedia Commons)

A Roman Catholic Church, Sagrada Familia, was conceptualized by a Spanish Christian, Josep Maria Bocabella (1815-1892), in the late 19th century. The industrial revolution was telling on the faith of masses in church and he thought he must do something to reverse the trend. So, he started the construction of this Church in Barcelona, in 1882. The first Architect, Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, began work in neo-gothic design. He was removed in 1883 and replaced with Antoni Gaudi, the exponent of Catalan culture of Spain. The Church was then moulded in Gaudi’s idiosyncratic design till his death. Then there were interruptions and sabbaticals, and 136 years passed by. But all along, the monument remained a tourist attraction and a functioning church.

Antoni Gaudi. (Pau Audouard / Wikimedia Commons)

Gaudi was fired with missionary zeal 

A lover of nature, and Catholic by faith, Antoni Gaudi was best that Joseph Maria could have found to shape his vision. Inspired by real-life forms, Gaudi tried to replicate the organic world of God. He considered God as the Master Architect and worked hard to reflect His grace in whatever he did. So possessed was he about the task in hand that he never bothered about time and budget. All he cared for and mused about was his design which must be as live as real life. He lived frugally, like a hermit, and believed he was picked by God for the exposition of Christianity through Architecture. His conviction was as fierce as it was eccentric. No wonder, his contemporary Architects let him have his way than counsel him on his plan and procedures.

Antoni Gaudí’s contribution

From 1915, Gaudi began work on Church building with crypt (underground room in the Church where important people are buried after death) which his predecessor had left unfinished. Then he moved on to nativity façade (portico). As good a sculptor as an architect, he crowded walls with biblical scenes, saints, symbols, inscriptions and a medley of life forms ranging from reptiles, birds, seashells, fruits and flowers. The central part of the Church building was designed for choir (for 1,500 heads) and top for the chimes of bells.

Nature’s Grace reflected in murals

In Gaudi’s scheme, there was no place for straight lines and right angles. He revelled in tree-like columns which portrayed his view of Mother Nature. Images merged with, and flowed into, each other, not necessarily in good taste, but invariably shocking and surprising the onlookers in huge measure. Even his die hard critics advised every patriotic Spaniard to have a feel of Gaudi’s ‘superbly- creative-bad-taste’.

Details in the facade of the church. (A,Ocram / Wikimedia Commons)

Death didn’t finish Gaudi’s magic

A brooding bachelor, Gaudi was hit by a tram while crossing a railway track in 1926. He died 3 days later, and was buried in the same crypt he began his work with. The thread of his unfinished work was picked up by his loyal team. With Spanish Civil War in 1936, work got derailed. A group of revolutionaries barged into the Church and destroyed models and drawings left by Gaudi. Catholicism came under attack. An attempt to bomb Sagrada Familia failed, but 40 churches in Barcelona were demolished. Twelve people associated with the Sagrada Familia project too, were killed.

Sagrada Familia in 1905. (Baldomer Gili i Roig / Wikimedia Commons)

In spite of the Spanish Civil War, construction of Sagrada Familia continued

As the civil war ended in 1939, little was left of Gaudi’s blueprint on the building project. So, the construction work remained suspended for long. In 1960 there was a call to stop any further work on the proposed Church. It was argued that the monument was a piece of art which must be left untampered as a mark of respect for its creator – Antoni Gaudi. But the patrons of Sagrada Familia disagreed. Monument, they said, was more than just the memory of the late architect. That cleared the deadlock and the construction restarted in the 1970s. A new series of wall pictures were made under the supervision of sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs. These were about the brutality of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Parametric design software gave a fillip to the project

Come 1977 and the Church still had no roof and interiors. A team of Architects brainstormed to understand Gaudi’s designs in order to complete the pending work, but failed. Even computer software, in the early nineties, couldn’t unravel the secret of Gaudi’s complex designs. But the dogged persistence of Mark Burry, the executive architect and researcher, paid off. He found that designers of aeroplanes worked with the same geometric complexity as Gaudi did. He therefore, used aeronautical software to decide the architectural strategy for working on interiors of Sagrada Familia. In a matter of coincidence, the buildings designed by American architect Frank Gehry had uncanny similarity to Gaudi’s design. So, Mark Burry and Frank Gehry joined hands to create parametric design software. This software became a trendsetter in the early 2000s, with La Sagrada Familia as one of its users.

Final finish yet to happen

With parametric design, the work on interiors began in right unrest and got completed by 2010. But the Church is still far from a full and final completion. Much more remains to be done. It is hoped that the year 2026, the 100th death anniversary of Gaudi, may see the Church completed in all respects. That would put the cumulative construction period to a whopping 143 years. The building would then have 18 towers, the middle one being 560 feet high.

As of 2018, the brown coloured part in the model are already built and the remaining is yet to be completed. (Balou46 / Wikimedia Commons)

Sagrada Familia. (C messier / Wikimedia Commons)

What made the church tick?

What makes Sagrada Familia an object of undying curiosity, and most visited tourist site in Barcelona? The answer lies in its history and its architecture. The idea of the monument was conceived when the industrial revolution was being perceived as a threat to religion. Joseph Maria Bocabella alluded the misery of Barcelona’s poor to their drift from religion. So, he set out, in his own way, to correct the fault. He would do it by building a church, dedicated to Mary, Joseph and Jesus- the holy family (La Sagrada Familia), which would inspire people to be religious and God-fearing.

The ceiling of the church. (SBA73 / Flickr)

The interior of Sagrada Familia. (Robertgombos / Wikimedia Commons)

The work began in Neo-Gothic style prevalent in Europe in those days. Come Gaudi, and his unique style got added to it. An amalgamation of myriad styles continued as the construction work lingered on for more than a century. Work, as it progressed, emerged as a heady cocktail of myriad views and perceptions. Whereas Gaudi’s architecture seemed live and breathing, subsequent imitations of it were static and limp. The change, obviously, added to its mystery quotient, attracting 20 million visitors to this unfinished church every year.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Sedlec Ossuary: The Famous Bone Church of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic“.

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Illustration of Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo. (Wikimedia Commons)

Imagine a court scene. The man in the witness box is sentenced to death, but he isn’t perturbed. Rather, he bursts into a hysterical laughter and for good reason. He uncovers his overcoat and reveals another life, a conjoined twin, jutting out of his chest. He can’t be hanged as that would kill an innocent life, his twin brother, inseparably attached to his body. And the death sentence is revoked.

Remove dramatics in the above description, and what you have is a chapter from history. It happened with conjoined twins named Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo who were born in Genoa, Italy in 1617, and died around 1646.

Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo shared vital organs

The twins were born attached to the breast bone (xiphoid). Joannes Baptista, the lesser twin had his left leg hang downwards with only 2 fingers in each of his two arms, and rudimentary sex organs. The excretion of his biological waste was through the mouth, nose and ears only. Obviously, the major twin was the engine of conjoined life, executing cardinal functions of eating, excreting and blood circulation.

They earned their living by exhibiting their abnormality

The freak-brothers earned their living by exhibits in Europe. Lazarus, the viable twin, was the organizer as well as the principal actor on the show. Well dressed and good looking Lazarus is said to have married and sired several children, all medically normal. The lesser twin, Joannes, was low on consciousness. He didn’t speak, seldom opened his eyes, but elicited pain when pinched or prick. With foul smell, overgrown head (twice the size of Lazarus), toothy mouth and unkempt beard, Joannes was an eerie company, but a passport to immense riches his co-twin earned and enjoyed showcasing their abnormality. A bizarre lifestyle did rankle Lazarus sometimes. He worried for his future and shuddered at the prospect of smaller sibling dying as that would mean his own death too.

Smaller sibling saved the life of the larger

Apart from being the bread and butter, and a critical component of unified life, the lesser sibling, was also a saviour of the major, Lazarus, in litigation. There is an incidence, as revealed at the beginning of this article, of the major twin committing a murder. During a show, Lazarus felt ridiculed so outrageously by a reveller that he gave him a fatal blow. Yet, he escaped death on the legal premise which forbids the killing of an innocent. Killing him would have meant death to the innocent lesser sibling, hence death sentence on Lazarus wasn’t carried out.

Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo. (Wikimedia Commons)

Twins were a public figure

The freak siblings were quoted as a reference point in mainstream society. Like equating Catholic England with the lesser sibling and the State of England with the better sibling; former thriving at the cost of the latter. The twins were profusely written about and talked about. Even poems were written on their predicament and challenged existence.

How conjoined twins are formed

As for the formation of conjoined twins, there are two theories. One says that during the process of fertilization in the womb, the fertilized egg splits partially, with one portion becoming the host and other the parasite, in the newborn life. The other theory talks of fission, the developing embryo splitting into two separate parts, each developing autonomously. However, the stem cells of the 2 parts, being similar in all respects, tend to meet, entwine and grow together, joining the 2 prenatal lives together, and the shunt persists in post-natal life.

Separating these conjoined twins was never mooted in their lifetime because they shared vital organs and lived in a host-parasite relationship. Moreover, the medical knowledge at that time couldn’t have addressed a complex surgery required for such abnormality.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Chang and Eng Bunker: The Famous Congenitally Fused Twins That Brought the Term ‘Siamese Twins’ in Vogue“.

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Ushuaia, Argentina. (Jerzy Strzelecki / Wikimedia Commons)

As the earth rotates on its own axis, at least two points on its rotational axis remain fixed, or relatively fixed. These are north and south. With a fixed ‘south’, the earth can verily have a ‘southernmost’ city. Welcome to Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city. It is the capital city, as well as the port, of Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) Province, Argentina. Ushuaia, in Yamana lingo, means ‘deep bay’ or ‘bay to background’. Located on the southern tip of South America, it is a popular tourist destination with an easy approach to the sea, mountains and forests.

Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego. (G20 Argentina / Flickr)

Establishment

Situated on the shoreline of the Beagle Channel, Ushuaia is surrounded by Martial Glacier and snow-covered Andes Mountains. It is an astounding mix of nature’s bounties. Adding to it is the thrill of being in a city at ‘the end of the world (fin del Mundo), and the excitement of visitors is easy to understand. Most tourists pose for photographs with a signboard saying ‘we have reached the end of the world’. Civilized settlement in this tribal, uncivilized area began with English missionary Waite H. Stirling in 1870. The Argentine Naval base was set up in 1884. The Tierra del Fuego island groups were divided between Argentina and Chile in 1993. The same year, Ushuaia was categorised as a city.

Ushuaia. (Deensel / Flickr)

Colourful houses in Ushuaia. (G20 Argentina / Flickr)

Economy & weather of Ushuaia 

The economy of this southernmost city on earth is based on woodcutting, sheep rearing, fishing, and ecotourism. A roadside signage reads: ‘Ushuaia End of the World Beginning of Everything’. Indeed, for the locals of this region, Ushuaia is the beginning of the world, and not the end of it. The city, at the latitude of 55 degrees south, is closer to the south pole than to the north of Argentina and Bolivia. Here, even the summers are cool, as the temperature never exceeds 17°C. In a span of 24 hours, one can have a fulsome feel of all the four seasons: summer, winter, rain and spring.

A large area on the Argentina side of the Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) is occupied by Torre Del Paine National Park. The park can be reached with a 40-minute ride on Tren del Fin del Mundo (End of the World Train). The National Park offers an exciting interface with subpolar climate, resulting from the combined effect of waterfalls, lakes, glaciers, forests and mountain peaks. Patagonia, the place touching 3 oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Oceans) and shared by Argentina and Chile, is another attraction. Patagonia is a thinly populated area with a rich spread of the mountain range, desert, plains and grassland.

Torre Del Paine National Park. (mzagerp / Flickr)

See penguins and wildlife at the lighthouse

Another must-see is a lighthouse in the northeast of Les Eclaireurs Islands, called Light House at the End of the World (Les Eclaireurs). It is a 33-foot-high cone-shaped brick structure in red and white. Located at a distance of 5 nautical miles from Ushuaia, it was built in 1920. The solar-powered light flashes every 10 minutes from this tower, guiding ships in the area. Boats sailing in Beagle Channel halt at the lighthouse, so that travellers can see the penguins and the wildlife from a close distance.

Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse. (Nestor Galina / Flickr)

Penguins of Ushuaia. (Pilar F / Flickr)

Charles Darwin too went on an Antarctic cruise

Beagle Channel, the strait that separates Tierra del Fuego from other islands, is a navigable link between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Antarctic cruise via this channel offers a fascinating view of sea lions, penguins, and Peale’s dolphins. Albatross and many southern seabirds are also sighted. The channel is named after the Royal Navy Survey Ship – Beagle, which sailed into the channel for the first time. The second visit of the ship, Beagle, was historic as the famous scientist Charles Darwin was on board. A glacier-fall at one place could have sunk the ship, but timely action by Darwin and his colleagues saved it. Pleased at Darwin’s presence of mind, the ship’s captain named the place as Darwin Sound.

Prison, now a museum, was built to attract human settlement

The Ushuaia prison, built in 1896, is an important destination. For long, Ushuaia was used by the Argentina government as a penal colony. Criminals and state offenders were sent here to serve the jail sentence. The aim of setting up a prison on the island was to encourage human settlement. People managing the jail populated the area and it was expected that in time the population would rise. But it didn’t. Efforts to jack up the population were made again in the 1970s and 80s, by offering tax rebate. That did attract settlers to some extent. Government efforts continue even now, but inclement weather is a big drag for the newcomers, especially for the ageing and the older. As of now, the prison houses Museum of the Ex-Presidio showing prisoner’s stories written on walls. The prisoners lived in atrocious conditions. It was indeed ‘end of the world’ or even worse for them.

Museo Marítimo de Ushuaia, inside the historic prison turned museum. (Liam Quinn / Flickr)

Why the name ‘the land of fire’?

Ushuaia has come a long way from a tribal land where early European explorers saw heavy smoke billowing. Accordingly, they named the island the land of fire (Tierra del Fuego). The smoke emanated from fires lit by the tribes living there. These tribes, the Selk’nam, the Manek’enk, the Kawesquar and the Yamana are almost extinct now. A few Kawesquar though can be seen in Chilean villages.

Thanks to the flourishing tourism industry, Ushuaia is now a vibrant city famed all over the world for its scenic beauty and natural resources.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “North Sentinel Island: Home to an Uncontacted, Hostile and Primitive Tribe“.

Recommended Visit:
Museo Maritimo y del Presidio | Museum in Ushuaia, Argentina

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Skylab space station. (NASA)

Wernher von Braun. (NASA)

If well-begun means half done, shoddy beginning implies poor result. And that’s what happened with Skylab, America’s first and last space station. The idea of a midway stopover in space missions to the moon and other celestial bodies came from the German-American Scientist Wernher von Braun in the 1950s. The idea found expression in a hugely popular Hollywood movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, released in 1968. The cold war to dominate earth’s outer space, unfortunately, compelled President John F. Kennedy for straight-to-moon- mission rather than work on a protracted project of the space station. Hence the trust in Apollo program. Yet Skylab remained on the back burner, to be picked up in the future. It indeed was picked up, but only to be closed down for good.

The concept was cornered by cold war considerations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to begin with, deliberated that space station should be created in space itself. The empty fuel tank of the old and spent space craft floating in space could be converted into a fully staffed and equipped research lab.

The idea was given up to give priority to military reconnaissance over space research. With man landing on the moon in 1969, budgetary constraints propped up. The incumbent President Richard M. Nixon curtailed NASA’s space program. Only one space station, the Skylab, was given a go-ahead signal.

A multitasking behemoth

Skylab, a prefabricated laboratory, weighing 170,000 pounds (heaviest spacecraft till date) consisted of 4 major parts: 1. The Orbital Workshop (OSW), 2. The Airlock Module (AM), 3. The Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA) and 4. The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM). OWS was the main living compartment of the crew. It was supplied with 12.4 kW of electrical power by 2 large solar plates attached to it. AM helped cosmonauts walk in space. MDA carried docking port for the Apollo spacecraft and experiment package of earth resources. ATM carried Telescopes and solar plates for supplementary power.

Diagram of Skylab and its components. (NASA)

Inside Skylab Orbital Workshop. (NASA)

Running into trouble soon after takeoff

Skylab was put into space by the launch vehicle, Saturn V on May 14th, 1973. Just 63 seconds into the air post blast off, the first problem cropped up. Micrometeoroid shield, the protective cover and the thermal insulation of Skylab, came off. One of the two solar panels too broke loose. Nevertheless, the Skylab was ferried to space and put into orbit within 10 minutes of the takeoff.

Herculean efforts were made to repair the damage

As programmed by the mission control, solar plates/assemblies and ATM were set in order. However, in OWS, these assemblies were unkempt and could generate only 25 watts of power. Thermal protection already crippled with the ripping of micrometeoroids, temperature inside the lab rose alarmingly. Shorn of required electric power and temperature-control, Skylab was heading for disaster. Initial damage control efforts either restored the power, or the temperature; not both simultaneously. Luckily, the problem was solved with a workable compromise.

In view of the impaired status of Skylab, now orbiting the earth, visit of the first crew to it was deferred by 10 days. The 3-man crew comprising of Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad (commander), Paul J. Weitz (Pilot) and Joseph P. Kerwin (Science Pilot) geared-up to make the Skylab fit and functional. They carried an improvised thermoregulatory system and installed it in the lab.

Installing the system was an act of daring spacewalk; a laudable achievement indeed. Marshal Space Flight Centre, Huntsville, and Johnson Space Centre, Houston, worked in tandem with the crew. Micrometeoroid shields, ostensibly, were damaged by supersonic air currents. The scientists felt that more should have been done for the aerodynamics of Skylab before its launch. It was a daring spacewalk and laudable achievement.

Visiting crew enjoyed their space jaunt but work suffered

Skylab workshop, orbiting in space, was visited by 3 different space flights, each carrying 3-men crew. Visiting astronauts were veterans as well as rookies. They spent 171 days and 13 hours in the lab conducting hundreds of experiments on subjects including human adaptability to zero gravity, solar energy and resources on earth. A record stay of 84 days in orbit was achieved by the third crew.

Life on Skylab was easier than what popular perception may hold for space travellers. Astronauts could eat, drink, bathe and attend to call of nature with the same felicity as on earth. They dressed in casuals and worked on exercise equipment for fitness. But there was a flip side too. The last crew was all-rookie and didn’t jell with mission control. The work targets couldn’t be achieved as zero gravity proved more cumbersome than anticipated. The misunderstanding reached to the point of no communication, which was widely perceived as the incumbent astronauts going on strike.

NASA astronaut Jack R. Lousma taking shower in Skylab. (NASA)

Ergometer bicycle for exercise in the Orbital Workshop. (NASA / 7030269)

What led to the perception that the 3rd Crew of Astronauts was on (space) strike?

A 90-minute no-response from 3 rookie astronauts to the Mission Control in Texas on December 28, 1973, led to hullabaloo in NASA. Were the astronauts defying command, and resorting to strike in space?

Not really, as transpired that no-response was on account of a technical glitch because just as the Skylab completed a circle around the earth, communication Astronauts was re-established. The 90 minute disconnect on that fateful day, said one Astronaut on board, was an unintended technical error on their part.

Apart from technical problems time and again, the crew was clearly ill at ease with mission control on earth. Their discomfiture began on the very first day of their arrival on Skylab. They found mannequins carrying their nameplates, a way of their predecessor, Skylab 3 crew, pranking them. Add to this the huge workload assigned to them, as it would be the last lap of Skylab mission, and the mental pressure on the rookie crew can be understood.

Mannequins left by the Skylab 3 crew of Skylab to be discovered by the Skylab 4 crew. (NASA)

The crew, unlike other missions, had no space-veteran. It was snubbed time and again, and denied encouragement and feedback by the mission control. Work overload seemed a natural reaction of NASA as the mission was supposed to be called off shortly, and the mission control wanted to draw maximum work from the men in space. The crew worked overtime to their threshold capacity. Their dress and accessory were a misfit and the irritation showed in their body language. Their bosses construed it as indiscipline and called them lazy and careless. That, surely, heightened misunderstanding. By no stretch of imagination was it a ‘strike in space’, as the very idea of such strike was untenable and foolhardy. NASA too finally relented that the Astronauts were indeed overworked and stressed out.

Falling Skylab created commotion all over the world

The consistent efforts of NASA notwithstanding, Skylab suffered delays and derelictions. Nature too seemed unfriendly. The hot and expanding atmosphere messed with lab’s orbit around the earth. Scientists anticipated putting Skylab into a higher orbit. But doing so would take time, and the lab had already tipped to fall on earth by 1979. That put a stop to prospective salvage operations, and the people world over waited for the fall with fear and anxiety.

The D day arrived on 11th July 1979. The debris of Skylab fell over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. There were fears that it could fall in South India. There were reports of people sporting a metallic hat to guard against the debris of the free-falling Skylab. Tragicomic reports of people hurrying up with their important assignments, well before the lab could come in their way, appeared in newspapers. Thankfully, the falling of Skylab didn’t harm any life or property on earth.

Skylab project surely didn’t end on a planned and positive note, yet the repertoire of knowledge and space experience it generated can’t be ignored. Especially so because the project parried several cliff hanger situations in spite of the low downs of the budget and the human resource.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “A Glimpse into the Exciting World of Space Tourism“.

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Pontcysyllte Aqueduct at Froncysyllte, Wrexham, Wales. (DeFacto / Wikimedia Commons)

The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century was spearheaded by Great Britain, and this is best reflected in Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Pronounced as ‘Pont-ker-suk-tay’, it is a landmark waterway, situated in North Eastern Wales. It is made of a cast-iron trough supported on 18 stone towers, 127 feet (39 meters) tall and each tower separated by a distance of 53 feet.

The trough rests on cast-iron arches which connect the towers on the top end. The brainchild of prodigal engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop, it is tallest and the longest water channel made of iron. Also called ‘stream in the sky‘, it stands in a league with historical monuments like Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and The Great Wall of China. Literally, Pontcysyllte means the bridge that connects the river. Coupled with 11 miles of Llangollen canal, it is a designated UNESCO world heritage site, and a listed grade I building.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. (Akke Monasso / Wikimedia Commons)

The construction of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The story of this aqueduct, Pont y Cysyllte (Bridge of Cysyllte), begins in 1770 when the idea of the Ellesmere canal was conceived. This canal would link the city of Chester with the River Mersey in the north-west of England. William Jessop (1745-1814) was the technical supervisor of the project starting in 1795. The project faced a major problem. The canal must pass through river Ceiriog (in North-East Wales) and river Dee (passing through Wales and England), both having prominent valleys.

Thomas Telford (1757-1834), an engineer and architect of eminence, was roped in to meet this challenge. Telford was renowned for a string of path-breaking cast-iron bridges. Jessop -Telford duo had constructed an aqueduct over the river Ceiriog at Chirk – a small town in Wales, in 1795. This aqueduct was done in the stone structure which deemed unfit for this particular challenge. Because, the valley of River Dee was too deep and wide to permit a conservative stone- aqueduct. As the cast-iron bridges had proved their worth by this time, Telford proposed cast-iron bridge. His proposal was approved, and work began in right earnest with the approach way of canal done up by 1805. Then Pontcysyllte happened, and the rest is history.

A show of astute planning and daring technique

Officially opened for ships/boats on 25th November 1805, the aqueduct was admired worldwide for its unique design and utility. The design was unique as it forged iron into mason work. And utility was evident in ships sailing across the waterway held 126 feet above the river Dee on arched metallic ribs fused with masonry pillars. The top ends of the pillars were kept hollow to minimize load on the lower portion. A bizarre ingredient, ox blood, was mixed in a lime mortar to enhanced stickiness which would keep the stone pillars in good shape.

The approved design for aqueduct was hammered into shape by the dedicated team of professionals at Ellesmere Canal Company. Plas Kynaston Foundry was set up at close by to ensure speedy availability of cast iron parts for the construction of the aqueduct. Supporting arches and the water trough were bolted together and fixed atop the mason pillars. The trough was made airtight with Welsh flannel mixed in a blend of lead, iron, and sugar.

Only one fatality in 10 years of the construction period testifies to the astute dedication and commitment of Thomas Telford to this project. No wonder the project was a thumping success and Telford was nominated the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1820. Memento marking the grand occasion had a picture of Telford in the background of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

A tourist destination par excellence

The stream in the sky is as good for navigation as for a walk or cycling on towpath built aside. For the walkers, there are no railings on the side of the water body, but the outer edge of the duct has a protective railing to check accidental fall. The trough is flush cleaned every 5 years by closing the flow and draining water through an outlet.

A boat crossing the aqueduct. (August Schwerdfeger / Wikimedia Commons)

A popular tourist destination, the aqueduct provides a breath-taking view of Britain’s gorgeous countryside. On the flip side, visitors are warned of the potential dangers of reckless revelry. A ‘Ponty Safety’ drive launched by `The Canal and River Trust Charity’ in Wales forbade visitors to use floating boards in stand-up position. As channel has no railings on one side, a stand-up reveller could tip over to a fatal fall. Even the side protected by railings may not help a brazen cyclist on a narrow towpath. Such accidents may happen as the microclimate around aqueduct is unpredictable. Gust of wind can ruffle a tourist any time with disastrous consequences.

Challenges

Ellesmere canal clubbed with Pontcysyllte aqueduct, had a profound impact on the economy of the region. When the local heavy industry wound up and cargo transport dwindled towards the fag end of the 19th century, the canal tourism thrived well. The economic crisis of 1930 and the World War II were a setback for the canal. An Act of Parliament in 1944 decommissioning Ellesmere canal was another blow. Nevertheless, the western branch of the canal was conserved as ‘Llangollen Canal’, for supplying water in the region. Yet, no ship sailed across the aqueduct till 1950 when a group of enthusiastic individuals rooted for tourism to preserve the industrial heritage of the canal. Tourism upped in 1960, and the canal was back in business. The British Waterways, since 1954, is serving as the navigational authority for the Ellesmere canal.

A prime relic of the Industrial Revolution

Strength and durability of the Pontcysyllte aqueduct merit description. Leaving aside re-laying of cast iron plates of the walkway in 1879, no change or repairs were made in it till the end of 19th century. Thus, it remained a prime relic of the industrial revolution. The collapse of fill embankment did happen in 1945, 1960,1982 and 1985, necessitating repairs in some areas of the duct. Further to this, the aqueduct was thoroughly repaired and renovated thoroughly in bicentenary celebrations of the year 2003-4.

A calculated risk which paid off

As a classic creation of Thomas Telford and William Jessop teamwork, a scheduled ancient monument and a world heritage site, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct stands today as majestic and functional as when launched more than 2 centuries back to ferry ‘Llangollen canal’ across the valley of river Dee. To this day, the joints of the aqueduct are sealed using the same old mixture of flannel with the iron-lead-sugar combo. Boating in the aqueduct and strolling on the towpath, one gets a feeling of being suspended in the air. What was generally viewed as a high risk off the beat idea at the time of its conception, has proved to be an earthy reality which has withstood the test of time, and will remain viable for long in the future.

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Inside an abandoned house in Kolmanskop. (Michiel Van Balen / Flickr)

Kolmanskop is the name of a railway station in Namibia (Southern Africa). It lies 850 km south-west from Windhoek – the capital city of Namibia, and 10 km from a secluded seaside town called Lüderitz. The station is named after a man called Johnny Coleman. This man, a transport driver, was stranded in a severe sand storm along with his ox wagon and died of extreme thirst in the hot desert. In his memory, the station was named Kolmaskop.  `Coleman’s hill’ in Afrikaans is called Kolmanskop, hence the name. It is called ‘Kolmannskuppe’ in the German language. The station, in course of time, became the hub of a diamond industry of world fame.

Kolmannskuppe signboard. (Zairon / Wikimedia Commons)

Discovering diamonds in Kolmanskop, Namibia

Circa 1908, following official orders to keep the Kolmanskop railway line clean, a railway worker picks up a sparkling stone from the track and takes it to his boss. August Stauch, the boss, a mineralogist by hobby, was impressed with the finding. It surely wasn’t an ordinary stone. He showed it to Sonke Nissen, his friend and a Mining Engineer. It was a diamond. Great news indeed, but they must keep it to themselves, to make the most of it. They do just that and keep the finding a closely guarded secret. They quit their jobs and acquire 75 acres of land at Kolmanskop, between Luderitz and Keematshoop. With fond dreams of digging diamonds, and living happily ever after, they settle down in their new venture.

Diamond transformed a sleepy habitation into a rich township

A secret as precious as a diamond, obviously, couldn’t hold for long. Soon, it was out in the public domain and the diamond seekers swarmed the area. In a matter of 23 years, the place got transformed into a vibrant township, the world’s richest. With a population of just 400 people, the town, in 1911, boasted of electric power, school, hospital and casino. It also had a theatre, sports hall, ballroom and swimming pool. An ice factory was set up to supply ice for the fridge in households.  The town had a functioning post office, bakery and shops for all kinds of provisions. The hospital, notably, had an x-ray machine, the first ever to be installed in South Africa. Apart from medical use, the machine helped to fix workers who tried stealing diamonds by swallowing them.

The government taking notice of the diamond business

In time, the state administration woke up to the diamond loot and banned possession of land in Kolmanskop for private use. The Railway Station was declared a restricted diamond area. A well-organized industry came up in the region, to separate diamond from sand. Cape Town was unlucky to have missed this industry all because of a bad decision. The desert region of kolmanskop was offered to Cape Town administration in 1885, but the Cape government, then, had declined the offer.

World War came as a spoiler for the diamond industry

The diligence that went into separating diamonds from the sand was enormous. This can be gauged from the fact that processing 10 tons of sand yielded just one or two carats of diamonds. Yet, up to 1914, a massive amount, 1 ton of diamond, was extracted. As world war broke out the same year, the diamond industry came to a grinding halt. The Germans, having a major engagement with the diamond industry, fled the area. Thereafter, Kolmanskop came under the direct administrative control of South Africa.

Kolmanskop, Namibia. (Johan Jönsson / Wikimedia Commons)

Intensive mining exhausted one resource, forcing search for another

With the depletion of diamond reserves around the Railway Station, the mining activity had to be moved to the contiguous distant areas. Prospective mining areas were found in the south of Luderitz, and up to Oranjemund town at the mouth of river Oranje, near the South African border. In a decade’s time, the diamond industry shifted completely to the South and the 1914 setup was trashed. With all inhabitants quitting Kolmanskop by 1960, the only vacant building remained, to be dishevelled and engulfed by the surrounding desert.

The evacuation of the town was hastened by the discovery of upscale diamond deposits in 1928. These deposits were on beach terraces close to the river ‘Oranje’. People rushed 270 km south of Kolmanskop to grab the precious bounty. In the process, all settlements in the region were uprooted. For some time, Kolmanskop served as a supply depot for the mining operations at the far-away diamond deposits. But subsequently the supplies got sourced from South Africa and connections with Kolmanskop were severed for good.

As the diamond industry shifted base, ruins of Kolmanskop became a tourist hub

The shift of the diamond industry to Luderitz brought immense riches to this town. At the same time curiosity about Kolmanskop, the Railway Station where the story began in 1908, increased by the day. Some tourists went to the deserted township of the diamond industry and explored the derelict buildings lying in sand mounds.

A house engulfed by sand dune. (Sonse / Wikimedia Commons)

The abandoned homes and buildings were dug out, repaired and renovated. These were typical German architecture with large windows and curtailed roofs. The curiosity soon became business and Kolmanskop came back to life in a new avatar – a tourist destination. The risen-from-sands township is now an organized vacationer, guiding visitors in multiple languages: English, German and Afrikaans. Tours operate twice daily from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, only one tour is conducted.

Aerial photo of Kolmanskop. (SkyPixels / Wikimedia Commons)

Déjà vu Kolmanskop

The desert sand blows through the day and only scant vegetation grow in Kolmanskop region. Yet in its heydays, gardens with eucalyptus trees, lawns and flowers were kept and maintained by the township. Freshwater was brought in through railway tankers and stored for irrigation as well as human consumption. The harsh desert conditions discouraged keeping of pets. But the story of one pet ostrich is very much on record. The bird was generally hostile to people but drew cheers on Christmas Eve when it pulled at celebratory sledge on sand mounds.

Kolmanskop. (calliopejen1 / Flickr)

Like diamonds are forever, Kolmanskop remains in the reckoning even in doom.

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Nubra Valley in Ladakh, India. (Navaneeth Kishor / Flickr)

Ladakh is a part of India’s border state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a mountainous cum desert region lying between two mountain ranges, Kun Lun in the north and Himalayas in the south. Its population is a mix of Tibetan Buddhists (39.7%), Hindus (12.1%) and Muslims (46.4%). A fulsome feel and exciting interface with its Indo Aryan and Tibetan descent, cultural diversity, and natural bounties can be experienced at the Khardung La Pass, Diskit Monastery, Maitreya Buddha Statue, Hundur Monastery, Yarab Tso Lake, Panamik village, and the Samstanling Monastery. A trip to the Nubra Valley situated 10,000 feet above the sea level in the northeast of Ladakh is your passport to visit all these places and much more.

Nubra Valley, Ladakh

At a distance of 150 Kms north from Leh, Nubra Valley is a tri-armed (Y-shaped) valley, formed by the river Shyok (a tributary of the Indus) and Nubra (also called Siachin River). Surrounded by snow-capped Himalayan range, it looks like a backdrop of the moon in winter. Hence the valley is also referred to as “Broken Moon Land’.

Nubra Valley. (alex hanoko / Flickr)

Sandwiched between Tibet and Kashmir, Nubra valley is an ideal tourist destination and trekking hotspot. You can reach this beautiful valley through Khardung La pass, which many believe to be the highest motorable road in the world. Others contest this argument and say the highest is Dungri La (Mana Pass) at 18,406 feet, Khardung being just 17,582 feet. The debate revolves around nuances of what constitutes a motorable road, or what accurately defines a motorable road. Khardung La pass is strategically important in the context of highly sensitive Indo-China relations. It is also a gateway to Siachin glacier – the northernmost corner of Ladakh. The glacier was a bone of contention between India and Pakistan in the year 1984. Since then, both the countries have fought intermittently for the territorial claim over this region. Hence, Siachen is also called highest battlefield in the world. As of now, India has control over the entire Siachen glacier.

Khardung La Pass, Ladakh. (Samson Joseph / Wikimedia Commons)

Maitreya Buddha, an architectural marvel

Khalsar and Diskit are the two prime villages located in the Nubra valley. Khalsar is a small village with 98 inhabitants in 22 houses on 114.5-hectare land area. Diskit, situated at 10,310 feet above sea level, is administrative hub of Nubra valley. Maitreya Buddha, also called Jampa Buddha, a 32-meter statue facing Shyok river is located close to Diskit monastery. The statue, an iconic piece of architecture is made of gold donated by the neighbouring monasteries. Local inhabitants too had contributed their bit in the making of this statue. Apart from Buddha statue, ace paintings, drums, the colour-patterned Tibetan silk is also a cynosure of the 350 years’ old Diskit Monastery.

The 110 Ft tall Maitreya Buddha. (Atishayphotography / Wikimedia Commons)

Lachung temple, located close to the Diskit Monastery, is dedicated to Tsong-kha-pa, the Tibetan Lama who founded the Yellow-Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism as a separate from the older Red-Hat sect. The main attraction of this temple is a statue with a yellow coloured Gelugpa hat which represents Tibetan Buddhism associated with His Holiness – the Dalai Lama. The Temple is renowned for its religious beliefs and distinctive architecture.

The hidden lake

Yarab Tso Lake is located near the Sumur village and at the entrance of Panamik village, 15 Km from Diskit. Extremely scenic and serene, it is also called the hidden lake, owing to its discreet location. To reach it, one must tread uphill for about 15-20 minutes. The water of the lake is crystal clear. As it is considered holy, visitors are not allowed to swim in it. An oasis in the desert land, Sumur village is famous for 250 years old Ensa Gompa, situated on top of a rock. Panamik village has hot sulphur springs, located 3,183 meters above the sea level. Tourists from all over the world come here to take a dip in hot sulphur water for health reasons.

Monasteries keep the torch of Buddhism burning

Another attraction of Sumur village is Samstanling Monastery, founded around 140 years back by Lama Tsultrim. It lies 124 KMs north of Leh and is home to 50 resident monks. The monastery falls on way to Panamik, in a thinly populated area. It is clearly visible from a distance owing to its traditional hues of gold, red, ochre and white. Stairways to the monastery are painted red and flanked with decorations of religious prayer. Fruit-laden berries line the way to the monastery’s entrance. The interiors of the monastery are decked up with murals of Buddha and his teachings. The guesthouse and the residence of the Monastery Head are located on the other side of the monastery. Residence in the monastery is also home to the reincarnation of Bakul Rinpoche, the 7-year-old prodigy, who greets and blesses the devotees.

Alchi Monastery of village Alchi, 64 Kms from Leh, is one of the oldest monasteries of Ladakh. It is famous for wall paintings dating thousands of years back. Thiksey, a 15th-century Monastery, is located at a distance of 19 km from Leh on the bank of river Indus. It belongs to the Yellow sect of Buddhism and has a 15-meter-high Buddha at the entrance of a new temple.

Alchi Monastery. (Steve Hicks / Flickr)

Thiksey Monastery. (Angshuman Chatterjee / Wikimedia Commons)

Sand dunes and Bactrian camels

Hundar, another village in Nubra Tehsil, is located on the bank of Shayok River and is known for sand dunes and Bactrian camel. The ruins of the King’s palace and other buildings of old times, when Hundar used to be the capital of Nubra kingdom, are now the region’s archaeological assets. Hundar has a hilltop fort called Gula and two Buddhist temples: White Temple (Lhakhang Karpo) and Red Temple (Lakhang Marpo).

Nubra sand dunes. (Raghavan V / Wikimedia Commons)

Bactrian camel of Hundar is the two-humped, truly wild camel that exists on earth. It has the ability to shut close its nostrils to stop sandy air from entering into the lungs. It can survive long periods of travel without food and water, thanks to the fat stored in its humps which are converted to water and energy. On a refill, a thirsty Bactrian can gulp down 30 gallons of water in 13 minutes. Herds of this camel thrive in Gobi deserts of Mongolia and China but are a critically endangered species with their overall number being just about 400.

Bactrian camel. (Jasmeet23289 / Wikimedia Commons)

Border village has a stamp of multiculturalism

Turtuk village, close to the line of control (beyond which lies Gilgit-Baltistan, the area under Pakistan control), is a place of scenic beauty.  It became a part of the Indian land only after the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Earlier, it was in Pakistan’s control. Hence, it is also referred to as the village divided by the border. Inhabitants of the village speak in a mix of Persian and old Tibetan language called Balti. Turtuk, in fact, is a Muslim village in a Buddhist land. Mixed ancestry of this village gives a feel of 3 nations: India, Pakistan and China. The locals are extremely friendly for tourists who come here from all over the world. This northernmost Indian village is also the largest apricot producing village of Ladakh. Most local cuisines are prepared with a generous dose of apricots. Walnuts too grow abundantly in this area.

Turtuk village. (Rajnish71 / Wikimedia Commons)

Ladakh is a leaf out of ancient, as well as modern, history

Historically, Ladakh had a unique distinction of being the hub of cross border trade. When China closed borders with Tibet and Central Asia routes in 1960, trade routes have closed for international business, except for tourism. Ladakh was the gateway of the Silk Route, the trade route of the ancient world between 130 BCE – 1453 CE. Actually, it was not one route, but multiple – routes, hence the term ‘Silk Routes’ is more appropriate. Marco Polo (1254 – 13243) travelled on these routes and described them in his writings. The name Silk Road (Silk routes) though, was given by German Geographer and Traveler, Ferdinand Von Richthofen in 1877.

Ladakh was divided into two districts in 1979: 1. Leh (the capital of Ladakh as well as the largest town of Ladakh) and 2. Kargil (second largest town of Ladakh). During the 1999 Kargil War, Pakistani troops infiltrated into parts of western Ladakh i.e. Kargil, Drass, Mushkoh, Batalik and Corbata; the key locations on Srinagar-Leh highway.

Ladakh is verily a piece of history, of distant past as well as recent times.

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Tipu’s Tiger at V&A Museum. (Victoria and Albert Museum / Wikimedia Commons)

No one would like to keep the memory of his sworn enemy in his living room. If one does, there must be a strong reason behind it. Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore from 1782 to 1799 had a memento about his bitter enemy being ravaged by a life-size tiger. It was a mechanical toy called ‘Tipu’s Tiger’. After his death, the British, the enemy, took away this contraption and used it to their advantage. They displayed it to justify why they had to wage a war against Tipu and liquidate him.

‘Tipu’s Tiger’ says a lot about pre-colonial India and its general response to British imperialism.

Rivalry with the British came to Tipu as an inheritance

Battle of Plassey, 1757, gave British a foothold in Bengal to colonize India for the next 100 years. Tipu Sultan’s father, Haider Ali, defeated the British in 1st Anglo-Mysore war in 1767. The second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84) was inconclusive, but the third (1792) gave the British a clear victory. Postwar negotiations demanded half of Mysore’s geographical territory and a big chunk of the state treasury. To ensure transfer of the negotiated bounty, two sons of Tipu Sultan, Prince Abdul Khaliq (8 years) and Prince Muza-ud-din (5 years), were taken hostage by the British. The pawn though was shown as an act of British benevolence towards young-ones of the vanquished King. No wonder Tipu Sultan was deeply hurt with the double whammy of losing his kin and kingdom. What could soothe his frayed nerves?

The toy tiger

Tipu found solace in a mechanical contraption he got custom made to show his angst against the British duplicity. The tiger was his state-symbol. He ordered a life-size wooden tiger mounted on a supine British soldier. A metal frame was put in place to close and open a window on the tiger’s left flank. Putting tiger into play mode activated a music system fitted within. The sounds that came out of the system were an admixture of tiger growling and the victim moaning. At the same time, the soldier’s left hand moves like last minutes of a dying person.

Tipu’s Tiger front view. (Victoria and Albert Museum / Wikimedia Commons)

This indeed was an apt release of Tipu’s pent-up emotions. The British referred to him as the Tiger of Mysore and the Toy tiger became a euphuism for Tipu Sultan ravaging the British Imperialism represented by the prey, the white soldier. Tipu toiled hard to put ravaged Mysore back into shape. Adopting European technologies, reforming the military and strengthening foreign relations was part of his action plan. Nevertheless, the British juggernaut overwhelmed him.

Tipu met his nemesis

In the 4th Anglo-Mysore war in 1799, Tipu went down fighting valiantly. His capital city, Seringapatam, was taken over by the British. White soldiers ransacked and looted the vanquished property till the Duke of Willington intervened a few days later to restore law and order. State treasury, precious metals and jewellery looted from the king’s palace were distributed as rewards in the British army. Tipu’s golden throne was gifted to the East India Company Directors in London. His mental solace, the mechanical tiger, was also dispatched to Britain. It was displayed in East India Company’s New Indian Museum. When the museum closed, it was sent to South Kensington Museum in London, which was subsequently renamed as Victoria and Albert Museum.

Tipu’s Tiger became an emblem for both the British and colonial India to justify their animosity for each other in different ways

Needless to say, British Used Tipu’s mechanical tiger to demonstrate that Tipu was a cruel aggressor and they the poor sufferers like the mauled white soldier in the contraption. A press report on it said: “… a sufficient proof (if any were yet wanting) of the deep hatred of Tippoo Saib towards the English nation.”

The head of the automaton. (Victoria and Albert Museum / Wikimedia Commons)

Tipu’s toy became a symbol of the bitter rivalry between the British and the Indian rulers, with dual meanings. For the British, it indicated how cruel the Indian rulers were to them. To the Indians, it represented how India responded to the highhandedness of British Imperialism.

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Recommended Visit:
Victoria and Albert Museum | London, UK

Fact Analysis:
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White Sands National Monument. (Marshal Hedin / Flickr)

Sand, the all-pervading cover of dust on the earth surface, has always evoked sublime human emotions. It is revered and seen as a living example of nature’s compassion and infinite disposition. Technically it is defined as particles (granules) ranging in size from 1/16 to 2 mm. Depending on the composition, sand exhibits myriad colours like silvery, muddy, black, green and even pink. At one particular place, it is white. The place is White Sands National Monument at New Mexico.

White sand is composed entirely of gypsum

The composition of sand is decided by the nature of constituent granules which may be mineral particles, rock fragments or remnant of some life form. The major part of sand consists of a silicate mineral known as Quartz (SiO₂). The rest of sand body is a mix of complex minerals (Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Silica and Aluminium) called feldspars, with lithic (stone), biogenic and artificial (manmade) fragments.

Aerial photo of the desert. (Ybratcher / Wikimedia Commons)

The white sands expanse at New Mexico consists entirely of pure Gypsum, hence appears white in colour. Sand otherwise, and generally, is devoid of Gypsum (Calcium Sulphate Di-hydrate) because gypsum is soluble in water and anything which is soluble in water, can’t remain in the sand for long. The climate at New Mexico is generally dry, and water here from having no escape route to the sea, gypsum dissolved in rainwater stays put in the sand. As water evaporates in course of time, dissolved gypsum dissolved again precipitates in pure form and becomes part of undiminishing white sand. Repeated exposure to freezing and thawing disintegrates gypsum crystals into tiny grains, forming a wide stretch of gypsum dunes over about 715 square kilometres of south-central New Mexico.

Sunset at White Sands National Monument. (White Sands National Monument / Flickr)

The scenic beauty has an eerie nuclear holocaust connect

Extremely scenic and mesmerising, white sand gives a feeling of being in a different world. A major part of the expanse lying outside the boundaries of the national park/monument is notified military testing area for the US Army. Verily called White Sands Missile Range, world’s first atomic bomb was tested in this range, 65 miles north of the National Monument, on July 16, 1945. Weeks later, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuked.

Formation of white sand spread took millions of years

White sand formation in the area began some 250 million years ago when shallow Permian Sea pervaded the present day New Mexico. In time, the sea water receded and gypsum precipitated on the dry bed. Mounds of gypsum thus collected mingled with rocky mountain formations some 70 million years ago. Tectonic shifts in earth’s crust, about 30 million years ago, transformed the region into a depression called the Tularosa Basin. The Basin became a repository of gypsum washed off from the mountains around.

During the ice age, 12000 to 24000 years ago, South West America had greater rainfall than it has today. So, Tularosa Basin became a huge lake. The lake dried up with the passage of time leaving a huge amount of gypsum in the basin. Some 6,500 to 7,000 years ago, gypsum took the shape of white sand dunes. The body of white sand at National Monument is still expanding. Some sand dunes move up to 9 meters away in a year. So, only that vegetation can thrive in this region as can put up with constantly shifting and moving sandbanks.

Flora and fauna at White Sands National Monument

Apache pocket mouse. (White Sands National Monument / Flickr)

Harsh environmental conditions notwithstanding, the white sands ecosystem is home for myriad life forms. Among the animal species, there are pallid bats, subsisting on insects, lizards and rodents. The Apache pocket mouse, the endemic species of White Sand which can live without drinking water ever in its lifetime. All the water it needs for body functions is extracted from the ingested food. Kangaroo rat, the amazing survivor, with 8-inch tail in a total body stretch of 13 inches can jump up to 10 feet high in the air and fool predator with leg and tail work. Pocket gophers, the reddish, sandy brown to yellowish white rodents living close to sparse vegetation. Porcupine, the mammal with antibiotics in skin, inhabiting dense vegetation. The quick-footed Desert Cottontail, and the Black-Tailed Jackrabbit clocking terrific 20 mph and 40mph respectively. Kit fox, the largest nocturnal animal that lives solo, not in the pack. Badger, the short-legged omnivore living vegetation rich dune fields. Coyotes, the highly adaptable canine of white sands. Bobcat, larger than the domestic cat, scurrying over several miles of the White Sand. Over 220 species of birds and many species of insects and reptiles are also part of the White Sands eco-system.

Vegetation in white sand apart from having food and fuel value is used in several different ways. Rooting in perpetually shifting sand and thriving on salty and alkaline water, plants in this region are central to the life support system in the region. Creosote bush, the perennial 3 to 5-foot vegetation, at times reaching up to 10 feet, having a flexible stem, is the most characteristic flora. It has a pungent smell. The yellow, velvety flowers turn into fluffy white fruits. A resinous coating on its green leaves reflects sunlight to guard the plant against extreme heat. The bush is fodder for livestock. It is also used as firewood and medicine. Dyes, insecticide, fish poison and glue material are also prepared out of this vegetation.

Notable among other plants of the region are the following. Desert Willow, the 15-40-foot shrub with funnel-shaped pink and purple flowers, used in medicine and basketry. Fourwing Saltbush, with seeds surrounded by four winged capsules, hence the name ‘fourwing’. Its foliage has a salty taste. Hoary Rosemary Mint, the three feet tall aromatic shrub with silvery hair. It was used by the American Indians for seasoning of foods. Honey Mesquite, a food flavouring agent and a slow-burning smokeless fuel is used in medicine, beverage and stimulant broth. Mormon Tea or Longleaf Jointfir, a bamboo-like plant containing traces of ephedrine, a stimulant and decongestant. It is also used as dye material for wool. Rio Grande Cottonwood, with much of its trunk buried in the sand, is shelter for many bird species. Buds and flowers of this tree are edible and bark is also used as medicine. Rubber Rabbitbrush, the greyish green shrub with golden flowers is used for making a yellow dye. Skunkbush sumac, also called lemonade bush, produces red and orange berries and is used for making a lemonade-like beverage.

Popular tourist destination in spite of inherent risks

Tourists are attracted to white sands for the out-of-this-world feeling which they instantly get. The Sand appears cool even when the sun is at its scorching blast because gypsum is a natural insulator having low thermal conductivity. On the flip side, potable water is available only at the visitor centre. That’s a great disadvantage but has failed to deter visitors. A tragedy happened when and a couple and their 9-year-old son went on a hike without a sufficient stock of drinking water with them. The couple died of thirst on the Alkali Flat Trail. Their son, however, survived.

Hikers at White Sands National Monument. (White Sands National Monument / Flickr)

As the monument is adjacent to white sands missile range, it is kept out of bound for visitors during missile testing and other military exercises. Yet accidents happen. Like an unmanned drone aircraft from Holloman crashing in the park and contaminating it with jet fuel and scattered debris. The accident happened 3 years back, but the contaminated area is still not spruced up to allow tourists in.

Tourist picnic area. (Tomošius / Flickr)

Inherent dangers notwithstanding, the White Sands national monument remains a keenly sought tourist destination.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Clear Water Lagoons and Pristine White Sand Dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park“.

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Agbogbloshie. (Marlenenapoli / Wikimedia Commons)

It is common knowledge that waste matter must be disposed of in an eco-friendly manner. The same holds true for electronic waste. What if e-waste is collected, processed and sold at market in the form of utility products, bypassing the statutory and the environmental concerns? This is the story of electronic garbage piled up at Agbogbloshie, a slum area of Accra, the capital city of Ghana in West Africa.

In Agbogbloshie, e-waste is pooled up surreptitiously, processed and resold

The whole affair is a saga of cheating and circumventing rules and regulations. The damaged/dysfunctional electronic goods are pooled up clandestinely and dumped in open land. The impoverished inhabitants over there rummage through it to take away whatever is marketable. Garbage is a mix of electronic parts from automobiles, computer, and communication devices.  Cables are singed to remove their core metal. The damaged but reusable items are refurbished and repaired into a functional package and sold in the market. Copper mixed with other metals is sent to recycling firms in Europe, China, India and the Middle East. A good amount of the catch from debris is sold off in Ghana’s domestic market.

Motorcycle scrap in Agbogbloshie. (Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform / Flickr)

Piles of photocopy machines. (Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform / Flickr)

Processing of waste produces toxins and pollutes the environment

The ham procedures adopted for mining the waste are harmful for workers as well as the ecosystem of the area. Toxins produced at site find a way into the food chain, posing serious threat to flora and fauna. The air in Agbogbloshie is laden with metals and PCN (polychlorinated naphthalene). Heavy metals and flame retardants (chemicals added to finished industrial products to make them fire resistant) are detected in blood samples of garbage handlers. Neuro developmental, reproductive and fetal disorders are in noted in these workers. The land and water in the area are contaminated by toxic waste. Once a vibrant wetland replete with small wildlife, it now stinks so bad that one can smell the rot from a long distance.

Workers recovering copper after burning wires in Agbogbloshie. (Jcaravanos / Wikimedia Commons)

Waste is sourced from industrial countries and government departments

About 80 tons of smuggled e-waste arrives here every month from industrial countries like USA, UK, EU, and Austria. Famous international brands of electronic goods, retired digital appliances from government departments and a vast range of e-accessories can be seen lying in the stretch of plastic waste at the dumping ground.       

The major quantity of the garbage reaches Agbogbloshire via Durban (South Africa), Tunisia via Bizerte, and Nigeria via Lagos. Consignment is carefully labelled and deceptively worded to circumvent the Basel and Bamako Conventions (a treaty of African nations prohibiting the import of any hazardous waste). Once the shipment reaches Ghana, it is ushered to any one of the several dumping grounds, one being at Agbogbloshie.

Waste business is hazardous for health and the environment

Is the Ghana Government oblivious to the extreme danger thriving in the heart of its capital city? Not really. Demolition of scrap work at Agbogbloshie was mooted several times. Cogent action in this direction was taken in June 2015. But it transpired that such action would only serve to shift business to some other discrete location, and the real problem would remain unsolved. Widespread unemployment in Ghana is the prime reason behind the illegal processing of e-waste. Scrap provides employment to about 6000 workers directly and 1500 indirectly. Migrant workers and young children scavenge the rubble to earn a living.

Soil at ground zero contains high-level toxic lead; 100 times higher than the contiguous land areas at a distance. Little vegetation grows in four and a half kilometer range of the dump. Air laden with toxic fumes has decimated the bird number; however, swarms of flies can be seen hovering over the vast stretch of dirt. With the rains, toxins of the waste seep into underground water. River in the locality is flush with stinking black and green waste.

Contaminated water near the dumping site. (Lionel Scheepmans / Wikimedia Commons)

State concern is obvious, but the solution will take time

The Government of Germany announced a 25-million-euro garbage processing project for this wasteland in the year 2017. The project would facilitate buying the scrap and selling repaired, extracted and re-made products/by-products from e-waste. Nevertheless, the harm done to the host environment would take longer to go. That would require a great deal of rehabilitation, detoxification and bio-degradation work, which, as of now, seems like a distant dream.

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An illustration of a whipping boy. (Walter S. Stacey / Wikimedia Commons)

What can be the best way of showing loyalty and commitment to one’s master? Maybe to give one’s life in the line of duty. But could it also be taking the punishment for the fault of Master? That too not as a matter of exigency, but as a consistent and bounden duty? Seems strange and even disgusting. But that was the way of the Royal families of England during the 16th and 17th Century. The whipping boy’s story is that of a slave who suffered punishment on behalf of his master.

Proxy boys were close friends of the children in the royal family

The Tudor and Stuart Monarchs of England had a custom of keeping ‘whipping boy’, who, as the name suggests, took the beating if the Crown Prince committed any mistake. Whipping boys were no innocents picked up for this seeming injustice. They were buddies of the Royal Princes who lived with them and shared their noble privileges. As for punishing them on behalf of the Prince, the explanation given was that the Prince would suffer mental agony in the knowledge that his friend suffered for his (Prince’s) mistake. This searing thought would mend the Prince for future and reform his behaviour.

Proxy punishment was not tentative and baseless

What lay at the root of such indirect punishment? It was of the assumption that kings were the agents of God on the Earth. This was said in clear terms by James I in his Parliamentary speech in 1609. Hence, royal blood couldn’t be punished by ordinary mortals. The only person who could punish the Prince was the King himself but he was generally too busy to attend to family.

Who all patronized ‘whipping boy’?

The practice probably originated in the 16th century when Edward VI became king at the age of 10 years. The corporal punishment to the King was unthinkable even if he was an immature growing lad. So the practice may have begun as a safety valve for a boy monarch who couldn’t be punished but nevertheless had to be trained and sensitised to his mistakes. King Edward is said to have had two whipping boys. One Barnaby Fitzpatrick, an Irish. Another English boy named Edward Browne. But the contemporary information in support of this claim is lacking. William Murray is said to have served as whipping boy for Charles I in the 16th century and was profusely rewarded for his services. Louis XV of France too had a whipping boy in his childhood.

Conrad, King of Jerusalem and later of Italy (1228-1254), says history, was extremely mindful of his conduct as a growing child. Reason being he had a pack of 12 companions (whipping boys) who would suffer bodily punishment for any demeanour unbecoming of him. Richard Croke, mentor for Henry Fitz, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519-1536) had complained against another tutor, George Cotton. The complaint, made in 1527, was that Cotton had withdrawn whipping boys engaged for the royal kid, saying it was inappropriate for Croke to punish them in Henry’s presence.

Idea of proxy physical punishment finds a place in literature too. The play ‘When You See Me You Know Me’ by Samuel Rowley describes the pain of a proxy of the future Edward VI. In one of his sermons, in 1628, John Donne preached that proxy punishment was good, but a sick or ailing proxy shouldn’t be punished. Malagrowther, a fictional character in Walter Scott’s Fortunes of Nigel (1822) is shown as the whipping boy of James VI of Scotland.

English origin of the custom doubted

David Norman Beach (1943-1999), the English historian was chary of accepting that such a custom ever existed. He wondered if it was a canard cooked up in Queen Victoria’s time (1837 to 1901) to defame their ancestors. He felt that the idea came from Stuart dynasty which succeeded Tudor dynasty (one of the best known in history) and thrived from 1603 to 1714 amid lots of tumult and turmoil. It is also likely that the idea of whipping boy (or something similar) came from dictatorial eastern monarchies (Persia, China, Egypt etc.) in ancient or medieval times. There are stories about children of pharaohs watching their playmate fed to crocodiles. The prince had not done his homework, hence his ‘whipping boy’ was thrown to crocodiles as a punishment.

The idea has a parallel in Bible stories

The 1530 Bible translated by William Tyndale talks of the Day of Atonement. On this day a goat was chosen to carry symbolic sin-load of the people. The priest laid his hands on the head of the goat and then it was let loose into the wilderness. It was believed that the sins of people got cast away along with the goat that walked into the wilderness. The word ‘scapegoat’ has originated from this background.

Idea ticks in spite of inadequate evidence

There is no clinching evidence to suggest that ‘whipping boys of the early English Period’ were an accepted and established norm. Yet, scattered references to it, or something similar, pop up in history and mythology. And these references are hard to ignore.

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Wang the human unicorn. (Unknown)

The earliest case of a horned human on record is of Wang, a Chinese man. He had a 13-inch horn on the back of his head. A Russian banker who spotted him in 1930 sent a photograph of him to Robert Ripley (1890-1949), the creator of ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’. Ripley tried to meet Wang and even announced a reward for anyone who could arrange their meeting, but failed. However, Wang’s status was confirmed by other unicorns (mythical one-horned animal, used here as an allusion to horned humans) whom Ripley met in his travels. In the course of his research, he found many other Unicorns. A French woman, Madame Dimanche had a 9.8-inch horn on her forehead and another tiny growth at the wrist. Ripley also wrote about a 16th Century man named Francis Trovillou, called Horned Man of Mezieres. Madam Dimanche had her 10-inch horn removed surgically.

Liang Xiuzhen, an 87-year-old Chinese is another such case reported as recently as 2015. She had a five-inch horn growing on top of her head. For 8 years, it persisted as a black mole which gave way to horn formation in 2013. The horn soon fell off and was replaced by another faster-growing horn. The new growth was made entirely of keratin (material which makes up the outer layer of human skin and hair). Doctors feared to remove it thinking it was a cancerous growth. In 2010, a Chinese grandmother Zhang Ruifang, 101-years-old, had 2 horns sprouting from her forehead. One was two and a half inch while other just a speck. She was happy having them and refused to have them surgically removed.

What are horns?

A horn protruding from the ear lobe in an elderly person. (Jojo / Wikimedia Commons)

Composed largely of keratin, horns in humans are called cutaneous or skin outgrowths, and not without any reason. Keratin is the same substance which constitutes the hair and nails and is produced by specialized cells present in the outer layer of skin. These outgrowths are generally harmless, but in 20% of cases, these become cancerous. Horn formation may be triggered by exposure to radiation from sunlight, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) or scars resulting from freak/unhealed injury. A case of genetic predisposition is also reported, in which both father and son were unicorns. Surgical removal is the only viable treatment. But some horns, especially the malignant types, regrow.

Lucid accounts available in the medical literature

According to the ‘Book of Wonderful Characters: Memoirs and Anecdotes of Remarkable and Eccentric Persons in All Ages and Countries’, by Henry Wilson and James Caulfield describes a man named Trovillou having a horn as large as a sheep’s. ‘Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine’ by George Goud, MD., and Walter Pyle, MD., mentions a peculiar case of Paul Rodrigues, a Mexican porter. The horn on his head was 14 inches in circumference and divided into 3 shafts.

The human horns are not just confined to head the region. Even sexual organ, the penis, is reported to host horn growths. One man had a history of circumcision gone awry. The skin flap ended up showing a small marble sized horn.

Fewer cases now, but the cases still keep coming

Before 1900 A.D., there were more than a hundred documented cases of the horned human being. This condition occurred more commonly in elderly females. Thanks to the medical interventions, very few cases of horned humans have been recorded in the past hundred years. But occasional cases keep coming up for the simple reason that human skin does have the potential to grow into a horn-like structure.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pasqual Pinon: The Aberration of Multiple Heads“.

Recommended Read:
1. Book of Wonderful Characters: Memoirs and Anecdotes of Remarkable and Eccentric Persons in All Ages and Countries |  by Henry Wilson and James Caulfield
2. Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine | by George Goud, MD., and Walter Pyle, MD

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

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The list was debatable and at least one of the listed place (Hanging Gardens of Babylon) was deemed imaginary and non-existent. The envy of man and fury of nature decimated all these ancient wonders except one – the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.

In 20th century A.D., Swiss entrepreneurs Bernard proposed updating the ‘Seven Wonders’. With a hundred million votes gathered from the world over, the ‘Wonders’, announced on 7th July 2007 superseded the list of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’ with the new official ‘Seven Wonders of the World’.  Described below are the places/monuments included under these 2 headings respectively.

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

The Great Pyramid of Giza

Great Pyramid of Giza. (Nina Aldin Thune / Wikimedia Commons)

The only existing monument from the ancient wonders, it was built between 2700 BC and 2500 BC. Actually, there are 3 pyramids located in Giza. These are: Khufu (Cheops), Khafra (Chephren) and Menkaura (Mycerimus). Khufu is the most colossal and magnificent of the three. It is made of 2 million stone blocks, each weighing 2 to 30 tons. Khufu was also deemed to be the tallest building of the world until the 19th century. The symmetry of the monument is astonishing considering archaic tools of those times. Log rollers and sledges were used to move massive stones.

Pyramids were tombs built for the royalty. Pharos and their queens used to be buried here along with provisions. It was believed that they would need those provisions in the after-life. Great hidden treasures have been unearthed by archaeologists from these pyramids. Most of this concealed wealth was also stolen and looted in course of time.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Hanging Gardens of Babylon. (Maarten van Heemskerck / Wikimedia Commons)

Ancient Greek poets described it as terrace plantation done by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 600 BC so that his lover Amytis doesn’t miss her home in Media (present day Iran). There being no first-hand account of it in Greek and Roman literature, the story missing in the written script of that time and no cogent explanation on how these gardens could be irrigated at such height put a question mark existence of hanging gardens. Most scholars believe that the Hanging Gardens were figments of poetic imagination and didn’t exist in the real world.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Statue of Zeus at Olympia. (Quatremère de Quincy / Wikimedia Commons)

Built by Athenian sculpture Phidis, this statue was installed in the temple of Zeus at Olympia (the ancient Olympic site) in 5th century BC. Richly embellished with gold and ivory, it shows god of thunder seated on a wooden throne. On his sides are sphinxes, the mythical creatures with head and chest of a woman, body of lion and wings of a bird. At forty feet tall, the statue nearly touched the temple roof. It remained in shape for more than eight centuries. In 4th century AD, Christian priests got it shifted to a temple in Constantinople, where it was destroyed in a fire in the 5th century A.D.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Replica of Temple of Artemis at Miniatürk Park, Istanbul, Turkey. (Zee Prime / Wikimedia Commons)

Artemis was worshipped as the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals and chastity in ancient Greece. A chain of alters and temples were built and rebuilt on her name at Ephesus (present-day Turkey). Two marble temples, first built in 550 B.C. and second in 350 B.C. were the best of the lot. The first temple caught fire on July 21, 356 B.C. It is believed the fire was coincident with the birth of Alexander the Great. The ravaged temple was replaced with new, only to be destroyed yet again by Ostrogoths in 262 A.D.

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. (Ferdinand Knab / Wikimedia Commons)

It was built by Artemisia, the Greek queen, for her husband Mausolus – who died in 353 B.C. Mausolus was also her brother. The grief-stricken queen is said to have drunk his ashes mixed with water and ordered the construction of the Mausoleum (grave). Made in pure white marble, it was a mixture of Lycian, Greek and Egyptian architecture. The grave, believed to be 135 feet high, was destroyed in a 13th-Century earthquake. The 1846 collection of the mausoleum ruins is kept on display in London’s British Museum.

Colossus of Rhodes

Colossus of Rhodes. (Nathan Hughes Hamilton / Flickr)

Built in the 3rd century B.C, it was a towering bronze statue of the Sun god Helios built by the inhabitants of Rhodes – a Greek Island. It took more than 12 years in the making and was erected in 280 B.C. For 60 years it stood as the tallest 100 feet effigy before an earthquake razed it to ground. A century later Arabs invaded Rhodes and sold off the remains of the ravaged statue.

Lighthouse of Alexandria

Lighthouse of Alexandria. (Emad Victor SHENOUDA / Wikimedia Commons)

About 380 feet high, this lighthouse guided ships in the Nile River. Built in 270 B.C., it was situated at Pharos Island close to the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The building, as reflected in pictures of it on ancient coins, had 3 tiers. It was square at bottom, octagonal in middle and cylindrical at the top. The top of building carried a 16-foot statue of Ptolemy II or perhaps Alexander the Great. Some remains of this lighthouse have been discovered at the bottom of the river Nile.

NEW OFFICIAL SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Chichen Itza. (Daniel Schwen / Wikimedia Commons)

It is a remnant of the Maya Civilization (1800 B.C. to 900 B.C.). The name Chichen Itza implies a large sinkhole or sacred cavern into which offerings ranging from precious stones and metals to human lives were dropped as an appeasement to God. Also called Temple of Kukulcan (warriors), it also served as an astronomical observatory, the temple of the serpent God, playing field (in which the loser was beheaded) and much more. Built between 9th and 12th century over base measuring 181 ft. across, the monument is 99 ft. high. As sunlight shifts during the day, the shadows depict a snake in motion. Imageries on monument reveal expertise of Mayans in agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics. Numeral zero was being used and their calendar had 365 days in a year. The number of steps had a total count of 91 in each staircase on 4 sides of the structure. Thus the total number of steps added to 364. To this, if we add the step to the topmost podium, it becomes 365, the total number of days in a calendar year.

Christ the Redeemer (1931) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Christ the Redeemer. (Nico Kaiser / Flickr)

Located in the National Forest of Tijuca Park on top of Corcovado Mountain, the statue is the largest art deco (architectural style of applied decoration) in the world. It took French Sculptor Paul Landowski 5 years to make this 38 metres statue of Jesus Christ overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. Inaugurated on 12th October 1931, it symbolises compassion of the Brazilians. Open arms of Jesus are a welcome gesture for all the visitors coming to Brazil.

The Roman Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Colosseum. (Diliff / Wikimedia Commons)

Emperor Nero is said to have played the fiddle while Rome burnt. But after the great fire of Rome died down, he decided to build a huge villa in the area destroyed by fire. The same area, 8 years later came alive with an engineering and architectural marvel, the Roman Colosseum. It was an elliptical Amphitheatre built by Flavius (the family name of the emperor and his sons who built this monument). 88 meters long and 156 metres wide, the Amphitheatre could accommodate 55,000 spectators. The seating arrangement was based on the social standing of spectators and some cadres and classes were not permitted to enter the Colosseum.

Starting with 1st century A.D., Colosseum hosted gladiator and wild animal fights, executions, dramas and exhibitions. It remained a nodal centre of mass entertainment for as long as 523 A.D. In the early 16th century it served as castle, cemetery and workshop before being taken over by the Catholic Church. Today the monument is principal tourist attraction of Rome.

The Taj Mahal (1630 A.D.) Agra, India

Taj Mahal. (Yann / Wikimedia Commons)

A mausoleum, Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of Mumtaz Mahal, his beloved wife who died in A.D.1630. The construction of the monument began in 1632 and completed in 1648. A new settlement, named Mumtazabad (present-day Taj Ganj) was created for the huge workforce of 20 thousand labours working on site. Designed by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, domed by Ismail Khan Afridi of Turkey, calligraphed by Amanat Khan Shirzi, versed by Poet Ghiyasuddin, and imbued with the immense love of a king for his queen, Taj Mahal was destined to be a symbol of eternal love all over the world.

Mumtaz, in 19 years of her wedded life, bore 14 children to Shah Jahan. The birth of her last baby, a daughter, claimed her life. Honouring the last wish of dying Mumtaz, for creating a monument to immortalize their love, Shah Jahan went all out to redeem it. Ravindra Nath Tagore has rightly described Taj as a teardrop on the cheek of time.

Situated on banks of river Yamuna, Taj Mahal is sheer poetry in marble. It looks all the more enticing when seen in full moonlight. To the left and right of Taj are 2 mosques for offering prayers. The exterior of Taj has 4 minarets, 41.6 meters high and slanting outwards lest they fall on the tomb in the event of an earthquake. The main gate, 30 meters high, leads to a 300×300 meters garden (Chargbagh) on both sides of the pathway.

Interior of Taj carries tombstone of the Royal couple. One signage pays homage to Shah Jahan, and another to Mumtaz Mahal. Graves are studded with precious stones and surrounded by latticework in marble. A vintage lamp burns non-stop above the tombs, a verisimilitude of the undying love that the couple shared.

The Great Wall of China (220 B.C and 1368-1644 A.D)

Great Wall of China. (Severin.stalder / Wikimedia Commons)

The period, 476 to 221 BCE in Chinese history is described as the ‘Warring States Period’. During this period different regions of China fought with each other to impose their overall supremacy. The state of Quin (pronounced as ‘Chin’ and hence the name ‘China’) won this battle. The victorious General Quin Shi Huangdi demolished border wall of all vanquished states and commandeered construction of a great single wall along the northern border to guard against nomadic Xiongnu of Mongolia. Significant additions were made to the wall in Ming Dynasty (1368-1664).

The Great Wall of China is actually a merger of numerous walls built over a period of 2000 year across Northern China and southern Mongolia. Many walls run parallel to each other. The best part of it runs for some 8,850 kms. About one-fourth of the wall is in the form of natural barriers like river and mountain ridges. Rest of the wall, nearly 70% of entire length, is the actually constructed wall. Ditches and moats too constitute some stretch of the wall.

It was not until 1980 A.D. that Chinese govt. made a dedicated attempt to project the great wall as a tourist attraction. In 1987, the wall was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Over 4 million people visiting the Great Wall every year testifies to the curiosity this 21,196 km long wall commands world over.

Machu Picchu (1460-1470), Peru

Machu Picchu. (Martin St-Amant / Wikimedia Commons)

A city of Inca Empire (pre-Columbian America), Machu Pichchu (meaning Old Mountain) is a historical Latin American site located 8000 feet above sea level. Built on a mountain top in the 15th century, it remained unknown to the outside world till 1911. It is also called the `lost city’ as it wasn’t seen even by the Spanish who conquered Inca in the 16th century. The city had thrived hardly for 100 years when an outbreak of smallpox forced people to flee it.

Machu Picchu was first discovered by an American Professor, Hiram Bingham. It is spread in an area of 32,500 hectares with cliffs on 3 sides, a high mountain on fourth and a river flowing 1400 feet down below. Buildings are made of stones without any cementing material between them. Yet the walls are impenetrable and earthquake resistant. The little flexibility that un-cemented stones permit enables the wall to withstand tremors and remain in shape.

The site is notable for 3 structures. One, the temple of the 3 windows with great architecture. Second, the temple of the sun and third, a hilltop stone which was probably used as a calendar or an astronomical clock.

Petra (9 B.C. – 40 A.D), Jordan

Petra. (Maxpixel)

Discovered by a Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812, Petra was the capital city of Nabataeans (Arab people who inhabited Northern Arabia and south-east of Palestine). Surrounded by mountains, and sandstone hills, the approach to Petra isn’t easy. This is why it was chosen as the capital of Nabateans. It is also called rose city because of rose coloured sandstone hills. Multi-coloured stones create an awesome colour spectacle at sunrise and sunset which are the best times for tourists to visit this place.

Word Petra means ‘rock’. Caves and monument are carved out of rocks. The main entrance of Petra is 200 meters high. A total of 800 structures including buildings, toms, baths, funeral corridors, temples, theatres, pharaoh’s treasure mausoleum, gateways and leeways through sandstone bear testimony to technical and artistic acumen of the Nabataeans. To reach Petra, one must cross a 1 km long deep gorge.

The ground at the site is extremely uneven hence, automobiles are not permitted. Draught animals are the only means of transport at Petra is extremely scenic and geographically protected. No wonder Smithson Magazine selected it as one of the 28 places one must see before it’s time to die.

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Kumbhalgarh Fort and its boundary wall. (Sujay25 / Wikimedia Commons)

Kumbhalgarh Fort was built by Rana Kumbha in the 15th century. It is located 82 kms northwest of Udaipur, in Rajsamand town of Rajasthan in India. Close on heels of Chittorgarh Fort, it is the 2nd largest fort in Rajasthan. Surrounded by a huge serpentine wall, called the Great Wall of India, the fort was declared one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Rajasthan in 2013.

Two historical icons of Rajasthan, father and son duo, had a fateful bonding with this place. Maharana Udai Singh II was 14 years old when he was running for his life and found shelter at this place. Subsequently, he became king of Mewar in 1540, right at this place and his eldest son, Maharana Pratap, the legendary hero of the battle of Haldighati, was born here.

An architectural marvel

The first fort of the Kumbhalgarh complex is believed to have been built by Samprati, a descendant of King Ashok in 2nd century BC. The subsequent additions till 15th century took the number to 84 forts. Among these, 32 were designed by Rana Kumbha and Kumbhalgarh fort is most outstanding of his creations.

Situated 3600 ft. above the sea level on a hilltop, Kumbhalgarh is surrounded by an uninterrupted 36 Km wall which is second only to the Great Wall of China in continuous fortification. Though 700 years old, it stands firm and strong as ever. Running like a snake in hilly terrain, the wall is thin at some places and exorbitantly thick at other sites. It is 15 to 25 feet wide and folklores say that 8 horses could run side by side on top of it. Construction of the wall took more than a hundred years and it was enlarged in the 19th century. Huge lamps lit on wall emitted enough light for the farmers of the valley to work at night time. Kumbhalgarh Fort separated Mewar (It extended from Ranthambore to Gwalior, including the vast area of the present day Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh) from Marwar (Jodhpur region, Southwestern Rajasthan lying partly in Thar desert) and served as a refuge for the kings of Mewar in difficult times.

Fort has 7 imposing gates named, Aret Pole, Halla pole, Hanuman Pole, Ram Pole, Vijay Pole, Nimboo Pole and Bhairon Pole. While there are many gates in the fort, Ram Pol is said to be a piece of architectural wonder as almost every building inside is visible from there.

Ram Pol, the most prominent gate of Kumbhalgarh Fort. (Aryarakshak / Wikimedia Commons)

Surrounded by 13 mountain peaks, it is home to temples of Hindu and Jain faiths, numbering 60 and 300 respectively. The palace top gives bird’s eye view of the surrounding Aravalli hills where, from walls, one can have a clear view of Thar Desert. A notable structure is Lakhola tank built by Rana Lakha in 1382-1421 CE. It is 5 km long, 200 meters wide and 60 ft. deep. Another water tank, Badshahi Bavdi, equipped with staircase, was built by Akbar in 1578.

One of the temples inside the fort. (Uncle Alf / Wikimedia Commons)

Kumbhalgarh Fort: The tumultuous past

The Fort was attacked by Ahmad Shah I, the ruler of Gujarat in 1457. The attack was a failure but the temple of Banmata deity was destroyed. It was believed that the deity protected the fort from invaders. Conceived and built as hidden-fort for safety and battle advantage, it is visible only on a close approach.

Again in 1535, Bahadur Shah, from Gujarat, attacked and ransacked Chittor. Post this attack, efforts were made to put Chittor back on rails. Prince Udai Singh being too young for the crown, Banvir, a distant cousin was made interim ruler in 1536. But Banvir wanted to rule Chittor for long and hence, decided to kill Udai Singh. Panna Dai, the nursemaid of prince got an intimation of it and shifted Udai to a different location. When furious Banvir came searching for young Udai, she pointed to her own son sleeping on bed, his face covered. Her son, Chandan, was of the same age as Udai. Banvir killed the boy assuming it was Prince. Panna then left Chittor searching for a safe haven. Banvir was widely feared; hence none dared to help Panna and her charge, Prince Udai. In the long last she found shelter in Kumbhalgarh, several kilometres west of Chittor.

The saga of sacrifice, valour and carnivals

By sacrificing her son to save Udai Singh, Panna Dai saved the future of Mewar. Young Udai Singh became Maharana Udai Singh II of Mewar and went on to establish a township, named after him, Udaipur. His son, Maharana Pratap became a legend in his lifetime for his valour and patriotism.

A 3-day festival is organized every year by The Tourism Department of Rajasthan to highlight Maharana Kumbha’s passion for art and architecture. The festival is marked with concerts, dances, fort walk, turban tying, tug-of war, use of mehendi and many events of popular interest.

Rich cultural heritage, glorious history, marvellous architecture and scenic beauty of Aravalli hills make Kumbhalgarh a unique tourist destination in India.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Fort Montgomery: When North America Made a ‘Monumental’ Mistake on the Other Side of the Border“.

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Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Aliens landing on earth in a flying saucer and then zooming off is one idea which is part of science fiction as well as informed debates. Is there some truth in the stories of the flying saucers, also called Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)? Or, is it just human imagination, a pure fiction? Or, could it have something to do with defence research carried out by America in utmost secrecy? Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar, Canada’s Flying Saucer, gives us a sneak-peek into these questions.

Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar manufacturing begins

John Carver Meadows Frost, the designer of Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar in his lab. (Bzuk / Wikimedia Commons)

The idea of a supersonic aircraft with a circular wing in the periphery of a saucer-like main body was conceived by Avro Aircraft Canada in 1952. The aircraft was designed to land and take off vertically with the help of a circular Turborotor powered by turbojet engines. Canadian Defence Research funded this project to the tune of $400,000 (₹2.8 crore). The air thrust generated by jet engines propelled the aircraft. Directing the thrust downwards create ‘ground effect’ which make it float in the air at low altitude. Directing thrust to the rear made saucer travel forward. Jack Frost, the team leader of the project, was convinced that Canada’s Flying Saucer would qualify for Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) as well as to supersonic speed.

America steps in to collaborate with Canada

But the road ahead was difficult. Just 2 years into the project, the Canadian Government abandoned it, saying it was too expensive to be sustained. Fortunately, by then the United States Air Force (USAF) came to know about the project and found it promising for their specific requirements. Those were the days of the Cold War, and the US was ambitious regarding Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft for its Air Bases. Hence, in 1955, USAF signed a contract for $750,000 (₹5.25 crore) to revive this project. The project progressed well and more than $250,000 (₹1.75 crore) were ploughed into it till March 1957. This entire exercise was kept a closely guarded secret till July 1960.

VZ-9 Avrocar during flight test. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Avrocar project fails to meet American expectations

The first Avrocar at Avro factory. (Bzuk / Wikimedia Commons)

US Army and Air Force had different expectations from the prospective aircraft. The Army wanted a subsonic, all-terrain, transport and reconnaissance plane. Air Force, on the other hand, wanted a VTOL jet, which could dodge enemy radar by flying at low altitude and then run away at supersonic speed. The twin objectives were sought to be achieved by application of the Coanda Effect based on the principle that when a moving fluid, such as air or water, comes into contact with a curved surface, it will try to follow that surface. A saucer-shaped main body with a circular wing could exploit the Coanda Effect to the hilt. Small shutters on the edge of flying saucer could direct the direction of the aerial journey. On this premise, 2 small test vehicles, named VZ-9AV (experimental vertical flight for the 9th concept proposal from Avro) were built in the year 1958. Unfortunately, these test vehicles failed the flying test. Supersonic speed couldn’t be reached. A few feet into the air and the saucer wobbled uncontrollably (Hubcapping). A maximum altitude of 3 feet and a speed of 35mph was all the test vehicles could achieve.

US Army and Airforce then undertook to develop the air vehicle in a top secret black project.

Labelled drawing of the major components of the Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Avrocar project was closed, but the research yielded collateral gains

The Project was wound up in 1961 when problems observed in test conditions couldn’t be eliminated. However, leads from the project found application in diverse fields of research and development.’Ground effect’ produced at take-off and landing was used by Bell Aerospace in 1963 for ‘Advanced Cardiac Life Support’. Prototypes of Boeing YC-14 and McDonnell Douglas YC-15 (both are short take-off and landing tactical military aircraft) were also based on Avrocar studies.

Was America hiding something?

Of the two Avrocar models manufactured and tested, one is kept at the US Army Transportation Museum in Virginia and another at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. But this, surely, is not the end of the story.

Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)

There are indications that the US Air Force, in collaboration with Avro Canada had already built a supersonic flying saucer in 1956. One declassified memo talks about a flying saucer which could travel 2,300-3,000 mph over a height of 1 lakh feet and cover a distance of 1850 Km.

The US government, it appears, was secretly working on a flying saucer project since 1940. This is proved by ‘Roswell UFO Incident’ which happened in the summer of 1947. An unidentified debris was found in Roswell, New Mexico, which the local Air force base dismissed as a crashed weather balloon. But people weren’t convinced. The debris was widely described as a crashed flying disc and the official version to the contrary was seen as a cover up exercise. Officials of the nearby Roswell Army whisking away the crashed fuselage promptly and surreptitiously was also viewed as a cover up.

Unidentified flying object (UFOs) may well have been the secret trials of Avrocars by America

A series of flying disc accidents reported in the fifties further reinforced the perception that it was some kind of a secret American Experiment. When the story of the mysterious UFOs broke some 50 years later, US military explained it as part of top-secret atomic espionage project called Project Mogul. But the explanation was too little and too late. America’s ‘top secret black project’, or something like it, probably existed even before the idea of flying saucers was conceived by Avro Aircraft Canada. The US collaborating with Canada, it seems, was a carefully thought out American agenda. The US, ostensibly, was already in the making of such flying machine and partnered Canada for business. Hence it is difficult to believe the official version that the Avrocar project closed down as a failure.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Convair NB-36H: The only American Aircraft to Carry an Operational Nuclear Reactor“.

Recommended Visit:
1. US Army Transportation Museum | Virginia, USA
2. National Museum of the United States Air Force | Ohio, USA

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Head Crusher. (Unknown)

Medieval period or the Middle Age lasted from 5th century AD to 15th century AD. During this period mankind had a protracted transition from orthodoxy to logical thinking. However, a deterrent punishment carried out in full public view, remained a thumb rule for maintaining law and order during this time. Of all sentences, like exile, confiscation of property, fines, death by hanging, beheading, exposure to elements and mutilation, Head Crusher was most horrendous and spine-chilling. Objective, as for any other form of torture was: to force convict into the desired confession, derive sadistic pleasure from the process, send out a message to people what breaking the law can lead to an agonising death for a condemned person.

Head Crusher: The simplicity of device defied sinister task it was put to

Head crusher was a mechanical device where culprit’s head could be fixed immovably and subjected to calibrated pressure through a metallic cap. Chin resting on the bottom, the head was put under a helmet like dome attached to a screwed iron bar above. Rotating screw bar pushed the helmet down on the skull which got pressured in the same measure as rotations of the screw bar.

The first effect was excruciating pain in the whole body

Imagine a gradual thrust on scalp of a person. First to be pinched hard are sensory areas of the head below the skin surface. This generates excruciating pain in head, neck and facial region. Executioner may hold at a particular level to force convict into a confession and then unwind to release him to a new lease of life or wind the bar a little more for greater harm.

Since pressure on the head, courtesy the dome-shaped metal cap is diffused over its upper surface area, rather concentrated on a fraction of this area, the brain is spared extreme damage in the initial stage. But concussion irritates nerves running from the brain to all parts of the human body. Thus, excruciating pain is felt all over. The agony of the subject can only be imagined, all the more so because the man’s mouth remains shut and he can’t even groan in pain.

Jawbones were crushed in the second step

A few more turns and the jawbones feel the crunch. The joint that makes jaws move and the act of chewing food possible is smashed. Upper and lower teeth lines press hard against each other till teeth are splintered and fall apart. This obviously tips life to a point of no return even if the procedure is stopped at this stage. Further to this step, the distance to death is shortened by every passing minute.

Eyeballs fell out as more rotations followed

The cavities of the eyes are next to fall to incremental pressure generated by the executioner. The front of the eyeballs being open space, pressure building up on skull bones finds escape in dislodging eyes from their sockets. So, eyes protrude and fall out. Some contraptions had receptacles in place to catch popped out eyeballs.

Finally, the brain flowed out like water

The brain is the last organ to be mutilated, thanks to its extremely protective casing and no free space in proximity. But the final bursts of screw batter the soft and spongy brain tissue into a pulp which must find a way out. It does so through the ear canal and the pulverized the brain literally flows out through the ear canals. Needless to say, the condemned man is dead by now.

A legacy of the Medieval period, punishment by torture continued well into renaissance period, till the latter’s philosophy of humanism prevailed. Thanks to it, the present day capital punishment subscribes to a dignified and least painful death. Convicts are neither made into a spectacle nor subjected to pronged agony, as done in past.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Five Punishments for Chinese Slaves“.

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Unverified photo of Zona and her husband Trout Shue. (Unknown)

Greenbrier Crime Case is the only legal case in the world which admitted evidence purportedly coming from the ghost of a dead woman. This is the story of a housewife in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States, which transpired in 1897.

A woman dies in mysterious circumstances and is cremated without much ado. But days later, there was a re-evaluation on her death case. Her mother was seized of the matter, who blames foul play and reopened the case. The woman’s dead body is dug up from the grave and post-mortem is conducted.          

The story

Elva Zona Heaster, aged 22 years and an unmarried mother of a child meets a man named Edward Stribbling Trout Shue in 1896. The man had moved to Greenbrier in search of work and started working as a blacksmith. The two fell in love and got married without the approval of Zona’s mother. Her mother instinctively disliked Shue and didn’t want her daughter to marry him.

Come January 24, 1897, Zona got buried in Soule Chapel Methodist Cemetery after her dead body was discovered at home, stretched on the floor a day earlier. Her mother had immediately called for a local doctor and a coroner (an official who confirms the identity of the dead within his jurisdiction).

In the pre-funeral mourning at home, the body language of Shue defied sobriety of the occasion. Expressing high pitch grief, he didn’t allow anyone close into the face of the dead body. Giving support of a pillow and a rolled-sheet to ‘head’ he explained that arrangement would help his wife rest easy. Tearful Shue also put a scarf around her neck saying it was her favourite wear. However, when the body was moved to the cemetery, many noticed that head of the corpse wobbled as if it was free of the neck.

Suspicion

Mary Jane Heaster. (Wikimedia Commons)

After the mourning ceremony, Mary Jane Heaster, the mother of the deceased removed the spreadsheet of the coffin and gave it to Shue who refused to keep it. So she kept the sheet to herself and noted that it smelt bad. She soaked it in water and saw that water turned red. It had blood stains which couldn’t be cleaned by washing. This convinced her that her daughter was murdered. A religious lady, she immersed herself in prayers beseeching her daughter’s spirit to manifest and reveal her side of the story. Her prayer was heard. Zona appeared in her dream and her spirit said that she was killed by her husband following an altercation at the dinner table. She turned around to enable mother to have a fulsome look at her broken neck.

Mother shouts foul

Crestfallen and charged, Jane met John Alfred Preston, the legal representative, and forced him to reopen Zona’s case. Preston already had inputs pointing to foul play in the matter. He promptly contacted Dr. Knapp who had inspected Zona’s dead body. Dr. Knapp confessed that the dead body wasn’t thoroughly examined. He had arrived on the scene an hour late and by then Shue had dressed up the corpse himself. The body wore stiff collared high-neck dress, face covered with a veil. Shue wailing bitterly holding Zona’s head made medical examination difficult. Dr. Knapp did see some injury marks on the neck but the manner of grieving husband prevented a closer examination.

Dead body dugout

Following doctor’s submission, authorities dug out Zona’s body from the grave. A 3-hour autopsy on February 22, 1897 revealed the neck and windpipe broken and ligaments torn. Shue had to be present during the post-mortem. He was livid throughout and asserted that no one could prove him guilty in the court of law. On the basis of the autopsy findings, Shue was arrested and jailed at Lewisburg. Reports of his shady past poured in suggesting he was married twice before he met Zona. The first wife divorced him for being cruel and second died mysteriously within a year of marriage. Even in jail, Shue joked about his ambition to marry 7 women. He was sure of going scot-free in trial saying that the evidence against him was negligible.

Trail & the Greenbrier Ghost

The trial of the case began on June 22, 1897.  Coroner, John Alfred Preston presented Zona’s mother, Mary Jane Heaster, as a key witness. He limited himself to the observed facts of the case and avoided referring the ghost sighted by Zona’s mother.  Shue’s lawyer though pointedly questioned the lady about her interface with the ghost, hoping to find holes in her statement. Undaunted by hassling, Heaster was consistent in her submission. The judge was forced to acknowledge ghost angle to the case as it was pushed by the defence lawyer. Finally, Shue was held guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. A lynch mob tried dragging Shue out of jail and kill him, but was dispersed by timely intervention.

Justice

Shue was shifted to West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville. He remained incarcerated for 3 years and died in an unknown epidemic on 13th March 1900. Historical marker erected by the state of West Virginia near Zona’s grave says: “the only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer.”

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Burke and Hare: Two Body Snatching Serial Killers Who Sold Corpses for Anatomical Science“.

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The larger Nemi ship. (Unknown)

Nemi ships are the first ever luxury cruise ships built by a debauch Roman emperor, Caligula, in 1st century AD. The ships sank in the lake in the 1st century AD and were salvaged to a museum in the 19th century, interestingly by another eccentric ruler, Mussolini.

Dimensions and layout

Decoration on Nemi ship. (Historical photographic archive of the L. da Vinci Museum of science and technology)

The ships, two in number, were made of cedar wood. Measuring 230 feet x 66 feet and 240 feet x 79 feet, these covered a large area of the Lake Nemi’s water surface (1.67 square Kilometres). With plush interiors and classy built, these ships were clearly ahead of their time in terms of architecture and engineering. The larger ship was called ‘Floating Palace’ while the other smaller ship was a temple dedicated to goddess Diana.

The front portion of the ships (barges) was studded with jewels. Doors and windows were made of bronze. Ball bearing of lead was used to minimise friction in furniture and fixtures. The floor was made of glass and marble. Symmetrically arranged bronze sculptures and upholstery of precious metal gave royal ambience to the living space. Hot and cold water ran through the lead pipes inscribed with the emperor’s full name, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Piston pumps ensured the flow of water in pipes. Hot water was used for bath and cold for drinking and running of fountains. Barges built by Hellenistic (323BC-31BC) rulers of Syracuse, Sicily, and Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt seem to have inspired Caligula to make Nemi ships. He, it seems, went all out to prove that Rome could make better ships compared to those made in Sicily and Egypt.

Recovered Nemi Ship supported by iron cart. (Historical photographic archive of the L. da Vinci Museum of science and technology.)

The man behind Nemi Ships

Caligula, the delinquent third emperor of Rome spent lavishly on the construction projects. Not content with living in land villas, as Roman kings did, he went in for villas on water, the floating palace, the Nemi ships. These were rudderless ships and could move on water only by pulling of chains tied across the lake. Sails, made of purple silk, were just ornamental. Their splendour and novelty attracted a large number of visitors from Rome as well as from outside.

According to Historians, these luxury boats were used by the depraved ruler, Caligula for sinister and salacious objectives. That was in tune with his maverick and errant character. He punished high ranking senators for no rhyme or reason, womanised recklessly and was in an incestuous relationship with his sisters. He was so whimsical that once he proposed enrolment of his favourite horse as a member of the Senate.

Hull of the second Nemi Ship. (Historical photographic archive of the L. da Vinci Museum of science and technology)

Thin and sickly with unkempt overgrown hair, he lived like there was no tomorrow. Far from moderating his ugly looks, he accentuated it all the more by villainy in facial expressions and wearing weird clothes. He called himself God and made a game of torturing his enemies to death. Floating palaces were an ideal hideout for Caligula to indulge in vile activities of all shades and description.

A benign view on subject holds that the smaller of the two ships was the temple of Diana – the goddess of the hunt, the moon and nature in Roman mythology. Nemi is Latin word for ‘grove’. Surrounded by Alban Hills, the lake is a great scenic beauty. The ancient name for the lake area was Speculum Dianae or ‘the mirror of Diana’. According to Roman author and administrator, Pliny the young, lake Nemi was a sacred lake and Roman law prohibited any ship sailing in its water. An exception though was made for Caligula to launch Nemi ships.

The first Nemi Ship with people in foreground. (Unknown)

Why were the two floating palaces allowed to sink?

One view is that they sank following a severe storm or an earthquake. The other is that these were forcibly drowned by the emperor himself in one of his drunken orgies. Recovery of Nemi ships without loss of architectural details even after 1900 years of burial in the lake is historically significant as it sheds light on architecture and construction techniques of that period. Plumbing technology of Nemi ships isn’t seen anywhere else in that time period. It is only much later on, in the middle ages (5th to 15th century), that the art and craft of plumbing were rediscovered.

Interestingly, the fact of Nemi ships’ burial in lake water was known since the very beginning. Some attempts were made to dig them out too, damaging their body structure. In 1446, leaders Cardinal Prospero Colonna and Leon Battitsa Alberti tried to pull ships out of lake water with ropes but failed. In 1827, Annesio Fusconi built a floating platform for same, but couldn’t succeed. Finally, it was left to the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini to excavate the ships from their watery grave in 5 years of dedicated attempt (Oct 1928 to Oct 1932). Siding with Germans in World War II, Mussolini was deposed in 1944 as the tide of the war turned in favour of allies. On May 31, 1944, Lake Nemi Museum was hit by shells fired by the allied forces and the remains of Nemi ships preserved there were charred to ashes.

Caligula sat on the throne in 37 AD and was assassinated in AD 41 by his own bodyguards. Dictator Mussolini too died violently, killed by his own countrymen in 1945. The man who conceived the idea of Nemi ships and the man, who excavated them for public view, both met a grisly end.

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The body of a dead Mount Everest climber, which is now referred to as Green Boots. (Maxwelljo40 / Wikimedia Commons)

The fascination that Mount Everest offers to climbers comes at a price. There is always a lurking danger of one falling to eerie depths, dying from lack of oxygen or a fatal hit by boulders falling. There is also a possibility that dead bodies may not be brought back for last rites in view of harsh weather. Yet Mountaineering goes on with unabated fervour and enthusiasm. Dead bodies that stay put where they fall become beacon lights to guide climbers. The mortal remains become milestones telling climbers the altitude on their way to Mount Everest. Some 200 such bodies stay put on the Himalayas and act as a guidepost for the intrepid mountaineers of future.

The story of Green Boots

‘Green Boots’ used to be a popular milestone on the way to the summit. These were green coloured shoes purportedly worn by an Indian climber named Tsewang Paljor. He was part of an expedition in 1996 which had only one survivor, Harbhajan Singh. Sensing imminent danger, Singh had urged his three colleagues, including Paljor, to give up and turn back to camp. But the team ignored him and reached the summit. However, on return, they fell to blizzard and zero visibility. Paljor’s body lay frozen near a cave, his green shoes being most conspicuous of all remains. Hence the name, Green Boots. In 2014, Green Boots, like many other fallen climbers, were reverentially dropped on the lee side of the mountain.

Upon passing Green Boots, mountaineers enter ‘death zone’, the top end of the Himalayas, almost 26,000 feet above the sea level. It has only one-third of oxygen compared to plains. This, coupled with high atmospheric pressure makes the death zone extremely hard for climbers. They feel numb, tired, disoriented and can barely thrive beyond two days. No wonder, the mountaineering protocol prescribes leaving the dead on ground zero rather than risk more lives in rescue and recovery. Where survival of self is a grim challenge in itself, saving others would naturally be a second priority.

The tragic death of David Sharp

Another mountaineer, David Sharp had joined Green Boots at the same cave. Making a solo attempt against peer advice did him in. He sat at cave distressed and frostbitten and died with head resting on his bent knees. Unlike Green Boots, he was lucky enough to be seen alive by at least 40 people, but none helped. Sharp’s death triggered a wide-ranging debate on whether mountaineering was all about reaching the summit and neglecting comrades in danger. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to summit Everest criticized climbers for ignoring David Sharp. Calling such an apathy ‘horrifying’, he emphasised that a colleague must be helped even if it meant cancelling expedition. The mad rush to reach to the top (summit fever) regardless of the wellbeing of fellow climber was widely condemned. On the flip side though there were salvos saying climbers may have confused David for Green Boots. And that, some mountaineers did indeed try to help him but gave up on finding that his condition was too precarious to be restored to normal.

Aerial photo of Mount Everest. (shrimpo1967 / Flickr)

Death of other prominent climbers

With nearly 200 deaths, and many bodies still lying in the mountain range, Himalaya has acquired a dubious distinction of being the world’s largest open-air graveyard. After first ever conquest of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, over 4000 mountaineers have tried to scale the mountain, braving harsh climate and daunting terrain of death zone; all for tasting the glory of reaching world’s highest summit. Some of them never came back and became part of the mountain body, preserved in ice.

Hannelore Schmatz’s story is another one of this trail. She reached the peak in 1979 but died on her way down. The first woman and the first German citizen to scale Mount Everest, she was warned by her Sherpa not to set up camp in the death zone. But she did and braved snowstorm during the night. However, just 330 feet short of base camp, she fell down exhausted, never to get up again. Her body remained well preserved in sub-zero temperatures on the southern route. Resting against withered backpack, eyes open and hair blowing in wind, the corpse was subsequently pushed off the mountain by strong winds.

Why are the dead bodies not retrieved?

Horrendous weather conditions on Everest, especially in the death zone, make it almost impossible to retrieve a dead body. Lack of oxygen and treacherous terrains make the task all the more formidable. Bodies when found, are seen inextricably merged with the frozen ground. The same factors which kill mountaineers, make it difficult for the rescue team to help the needy. Rescue operations may, in fact, add to the overall tragedy. Two rescuers died while trying to recover Hannelore Schmatz’s body, the lady mountaineer from Germany. Many lives were lost in the process of helping out distressed climbers. Like Sergei trying to save his wife Francys Arsentiev, and both losing their lives in 1998. Their team tried hard to save the lady but gave up on realising it was impossible. Her husband Sergei though persisted with the ominous result. Marker role of Francys Arsentiev on snowy terrain ended in 2007 as her mortal remains were reverently shoved to a lower face of the mountain.

As long as the mountains are there, to paraphrase George Mallory differently, Mountaineers will keep climbing them regardless of dangers to their life. The show, as they say, must go on.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Roopkund Lake: What are Hundreds of Bones Doing Around a Lake in Uttarakhand?“.

Optional Visit:
Mount Everest | Mountain in Asia

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Dolls hanging from the tree at the Island of the Dolls in Mexico. (Esparta Palma / Flickr)

The story relates to the mid-20th century Mexico. Don Julian Santara Barrera, an eccentric man, had parted way with his wife and daughter to live alone, a recluse, on an island on Teshuilo Lake in the Xochimilco canals of Mexico (also called the Venice of Mexico).

In the year 1950, he saw the corpse of a young girl floating in the canal. ‘I could have saved her, he mused, ‘had I intervened timely’. The girl’s death was not his fault but still, he grew remorseful.

Finding a doll floating at the same place as the corpse and taking it to be a manifestation of her spirit, he took the doll out of the water and hung it on a tree. That was the beginning.

Soon the island would be teeming with thousands of such dolls, pooled up by him as well as by the visitors. Barrera’s belief that dolls carried the spirit of drowned girl found resonance in tourists who flocked to see dolls even as the spectre was sans joie de vivre of a typical picnic spot. The jaded, wasted and mutilated dolls, exposed as these were to the elements of nature without any care or maintenance, were anything but a pleasant sight.

Mexico fell to the pull of weird, ugly, sullied and corrupted dolls. Many said they heard the dolls wail, whisper, brawl and giggle at Isla de las Munecas or the island of the Dolls.

Isla de las Munecas. (Cordelia Persen / Flickr)

Isla de las Munecas. (Derek Simeone / Flickr)

Island of the Dolls in Mexico

Doll’s island at Xochimilco canals is an hour of boat journey from Embarcadero (eastern waterfront and roadway of the port of San Francisco, California). The Island is the best-known Chinampas (raised agriculture fields between canals for farming in swampy areas) or floating garden in Xochimilco.

The name floating garden is a misnomer as the land mass is rooted to the lake bed by the root system of willow trees planted in the periphery. For a guided tour to the site, brightly coloured flat-bottom boats called ‘trajineras’ are available. Passing through scenic lagoons, floating restaurants and musical entertainment on way, these boats reach to the final sombre destination-the island of dolls.

Death of Don Julian and accounts of tourists

Don Julian was found dead in waters similarly as the corpse of girl that he believed he should have saved. His grisly death added to the overall mystery of the island and reinforced the myth of the island being a haunted place. Locals dismiss ghost theory and say that the place is ‘charmed’ and not inimical to anyone in any way.

Professional photographer Cindy Vaskos visited the island in 2015 and opined that it was the creepiest place she had ever seen. Way to the site, she said, was all greenery and avian chirps till you see dolls hanging from trees, and then there is ominous silence and seriousness.

Close up photos of the dolls. (Kevin / Flickr)

After Don Julian, the new caretaker on the island is Anastasio, his cousin. The spirit of the ‘little girl’, he says, resided in the collection of dolls. Dolls come alive at night, he affirms, moving their heads and whispering. Mutilated dolls though, infested with moulds, insects and spider webs, have turned floating garden into a graveyard of dolls.

More dolls. (Zen Skillicorn / Flickr)

An alternate opinion on the story holds that the death of the girl in question never happened. That, they say, was the hallucination of a recluse living away from mainstream society. Whatever be the real reason behind the doll-story, dolls attract tourists from the world over.

Majority of people believe in spirits, and in the afterlife. On seeing these dolls, it seems, their innate belief becomes part of their overall observation. When they see dolls, they also see the image of their own thought process.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Crooked Forest of Poland“.

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The Mechanical Turk and its inner working. (© Jan Braun / Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum / Used With Permission)

Man’s fascination for machines and gizmos predates industrial revolution when machines were replacing manual labour, draught power, and even entertainment in a big way. Then a path-breaking feat happened in the 18th century. A machine arrived on the scene not to replace horsepower, but cerebral power. It was a replacement for man’s ability to think critically. A machine could play chess against a man, and more often than not, beating him in the game.

The machine, the Turk was a mannequin of a sorcerer like, a wide-eyed, turbaned and moustachioed man sitting behind three and a half feet long, two feet wide and two and a half feet high wooden cabinet studded with Chess Board. Automaton Chess Player or the Robotic Chess Player were other names for The Turk. The machine was conceived, created and designed by Viennese Engineer Wolfgang von Kempelen in 1770.

Projected as chess playing contraption, the machine remained in vogue, though intermittently, for 84 years, giving tough time to whosoever sat on the rival’s seat. It defeated best of chess masters and became a rage. How the machine really worked, would take time to become public. In those days of the industrial revolution, machines of all shades and description evoked immense awe and surprise for their physical output. And here was one doing mental work of tall order. People hooked to magic shows for entertainment in those days couldn’t have asked for more.

The reconstructed version of The Turk at the Heinz Nixdorf Museum, Germany. (Marcin Wichary / Flickr)

Theories about the working of the Automaton Chess Player

The inaugural show of the Robotic Chess Player was held in Habsburg court in Vienna. Maria Theresa, the Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, was deeply impressed. After the inaugural show, the Turk went into a hiatus till after Maria’s death, her son Joseph II would revive it. In a 1783 Paris show, Benjamin Franklin played with the machine and lost.

In the following years, it toured England and Germany and came on the radar of sceptics. People started doubting the Turk. British author Philip Thicknesse said an automation couldn’t be passed as a chess player. He rejected the possibility of chessboard being manipulated from distance, magnetically or otherwise, as many believed. However, he proposed that the cabinet concealed a child of 10, 12 or 14 years, who was exceptionally talented in the game of chess.

The Turk. (Carafe / Wikimedia Commons)

Just as a magician shows his empty hands to crowds before performing tricks, Von Kemplen showed innards of the cabinet, revealing largely empty space, and an ensemble of cogwheels as if those were the brain of the Robot machine. Hand movement of Turk was precise, man-like, in placing chess pieces on board. The other player was chosen from the crowd.

Compared to the-then prevalent shows of animal and human dummies, the Turk provided a far superior option for mass entertainment. It was a dummy not only moving head and hands but also expressing anxiety and indignation like Chess wizard. When Napoleon Bonaparte, the iconic opponent of Turk, tried to cheat, the angered Robot uprooted all chess pieces, amusing Napoleon to no end.

So how did the Mechanical Turk work?

The maverick machine had to put up with some-one-is-hiding-inside-the-cabinet theory for decades. The cabinet was big enough to house an individual, child or an adult, who could execute chess moves directly or by some kind of remote control. The concealed person hid in the bottom drawer as the cabinet was opened for the perusal of the audience in candlelight. The hidden person being a fugitive amputee and good-at-chess Polish soldier, Worousky, who Von Kempelen met in Russia, was also mooted.

Illustration from a book trying to explain the workings of the Mechanical Turk. (Joseph Racknitz / Wikimedia Commons)

Hearsays and rumours added to the mystique of the Chess machine but the truth was plain and simple. There indeed was a skilled operator inside the cabinet, trained and groomed for the game.

The mystique of the chess playing Turk grew by the day. Robert Willis, English Academic and Mechanical Engineer, 1821, wondered what more could these humanoid machines accomplish in times to come. Charles Babbage, the English Polymath, was so impressed he got down to work for a machine which could automatically calculate and tabulate mathematical functions, a harbinger of present-day Artificial Intelligence. Tom Standage wrote “…… (A machine like Turk) raised the possibility that machines might eventually be capable of replacing mental activity too.”

What made The Turk so impressive?

The explanation lies in the surprise element which it was able to generate. The game began with the mannequin moving head sideways to survey the chessboard. The grim expression on the wooden face, moving eyes, the gentle tapping on board in a manner of brainstorming, moustaches and headgear of an oriental magician; all these combined to overawe, if not unnerve, the rival player. And then there were instances when machine threw tantrums over perceived cheating by the opponent.

With the death of Kampelene in 1804, Turk came in the custody of Bavarian showman Johann Nepomuk Maelzel who organized shows in the USA in the 1820s and 30s. In 1830s Maelzel, as well as the hidden operator of Turk, died of yellow fever in Cuba.

Noted American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published an essay in 1836 to prove that Turk was assisted by a hidden human. By 1850, hysteria generated by Turk was on the wane. Left as antique in a Chinese museum in Philadelphia, it was destroyed in a fire breakout in 1854. The final nail in the coffin of The Turk came from Dr. Silas Mitchell in 1860. He elaborately revealed secrets of the Automaton Chess Machine in his magazine named ‘Chess Monthly’.

Yet, it would be an understatement to call Turk just a hoax or a clever deceit. The frenzy that it generated in heydays impacted laymen and elite alike. Father of the present day Computer, Charles Baggage, was defeated twice by the automaton. The machine and magic combo – Turk verily foreshadowed Artificial Intelligence of today. And that’s no ordinary gift of the Turk to the posterity.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Euphonia: The Sad Story of Joseph Faber and His Creepy Machine That Made Ghostly Sounds“.

Recommended Visit:
Heinz Nixdorf Museum | Paderborn, Germany

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Fallen trees, aftermath of the Tunguska event.

We live in a Galaxy replete with millions of stars, the sun being just one of them. And billions of such Galaxies constitute Universe or Cosmos. Some galaxies are so far away from earth that light must travel for billions of years to cover this distance. Hence we never know their ‘present’ status. All we know is how they appeared billion-years-back when the earth was a ball of fire with no life existing on it.

Now imagine a huge cosmic body from the universe hitting a part of the earth and exploding. The blast happened at 7.15 AM on June 30, 1908, and is known as Tunguska Event.

What was the Tunguska Event?

Location was Podokamennaya Tunguska River, Siberia, Russia. No wonder, even 110 years later, our knowledge about ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the blast is inconclusive. All we know is that this explosion was a thousand times more devastating than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Yet, surprisingly, no human casualty was officially reported (at the Tunguska Event). International Newspapers reported the event as volcanic eruption based on similarities with 1883 volcanic eruption of Krakatoa.

Russian Revolution happened in 1905 and repeated in 1917. The year 1914 saw World War-1. Partly because of these volatile times and partly because of the extremely inhospitable climate of the Tunguska region, a dedicated investigation of Tunguska Event couldn’t be carried out for well over a decade.

What caused the Tunguska Event?

Various theories have done rounds to explain the event. The absence of an impact crater, no evidence of extra-terrestrial material (later investigations though claimed to have found them) and eyewitness accounts varying widely lead to the conclusion that Tunguska Event was caused by a comet hitting the earth.

The comet, largely made of ice, vaporized completely before the hit. But doubts were raised on how an ice body can penetrate so deep into earth’s atmosphere. A nuclear explosion by some alien species was too farfetched to hold ground.

Black hole colliding with earth, causing matter-antimatter reaction leaving no debris, was also mooted. The anger of Gods and alien spaceship crashing while searching for water were other outlandish views.

Lucas Gasperini from the University of Bologna argued that a small lake, Cheko was created by the Tunguska explosion. The lake is unusually deep, he said, whereas all surrounding water bodies are shallow. Also, the lake finds no mention in official records prior to 1908, he contended. Wolfgang Kundt, an Astrophysicist, said the explosion was caused by 10 million tons of natural gas released from earth crust.

None of the above theories succeeded in quelling all doubts. The only thing known for sure was that what fell on earth was a cosmic body. Another theory of a large meteoroid of 50 to 100 meters diameter colliding with the earth seems most plausible. Such meteoroid collisions happen once in a few hundred years.

Russian team led by Leonid Kulik made a trip to the explosion site in 1927 and found eighty million burnt and splintered trees lying scattered across 820 square miles area. A 50Km spread of singed vegetation lay in the butterfly shape. The ground was so deeply scorched that little vegetation grew there even as two decades passed. The manner in which the mutilated trees were sprawled around the epicentre of blast supports the asteroid theory. The energy of the explosion is estimated to have been 10-15 megatons of TNT (trinitrotoluene) and the asteroid exploded some 3-6 miles above ground.

Regarding why no extra-terrestrial material was found at ground zero, it was argued that swampy earth may have swallowed it deep down. Subsequently impact related minerals, like Nano-diamonds, metallic and silicate spherules were found and these were linked to the crashing meteoroid body.

Eyewitnesses saw blasts from as far as 800 Kilometres, strong hot winds shook buildings and shoved materials, seismic waves were recorded in the Western Europe; these point to a cosmic body crash. Impact crater did not form because the meteoroid vaporised completely in the air itself (friction in earth’s atmosphere causes this vaporisation producing bright light which flashed across Siberian and European skies at night).

The caveat in asteroid theory is that the impact related minerals found at the site may have been cosmic dust from small meteorites which keep disintegrating in earth’s atmosphere every day. Further, it is inconsistent with some eyewitnesses saying that explosions lasted more than 10 minutes. A meteoroid fall couldn’t have generated multiple explosions for 10 minutes.

Tunguska event is more than a scientific curiosity. It shows our extreme vulnerability to cosmic events which happen every 100 to 1000 years. Scientists estimate that if the fall of Tunguska cosmic body was delayed by just 4 hours, its target would have been St. Petersburg, the capital of Imperial Russia and not the sparsely inhabited marshy range of Siberia. Should such event happen in today’s world, the extent of damage can only be imagined. Our interface with the Universe is as mysterious as the Universe itself.

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Apollo 11 slow scan television photo. (NASA)

When the first human, Neil Armstrong, walked on the moon on 21st July 1969, America as a nation was facing multiple challenges on several fronts. With more than 15 thousand soldiers killed, over a lakh wounded, and 5 lakh soldiers deserting US army till 1973, anti-Vietnam-war sentiments were at a peak. Credibility, as well as the Economy of American state, was in bad shape.

A domino effect, NASA began to dismantle ALSEP’s (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package) network of Scientists and Engineers in 1974. By 1977 there was a total shutdown of stations receiving radio data from lunar instruments put on the moon by Apollo missions. But an exploration of the moon was too significant to be stalled abruptly. The body of knowledge it created required refining and updating for space research.

Apollo 11’s missing tapes

Dr. Marcus. G. Langseth, Scientist at Columbia University had studied the flow of heat through Earth’s upper layer between 1966 and 1975. Seiichi Nagihara, a geophysicist at Texas Tech University wanted to analyse Langseth’s data with upscale analytical techniques which were not available in Langseth’s time. But he was shocked to find that half of the ALSEP data was lost following project shut down. Search for the missing files being a top priority; two dozen scientists joined him and formed ‘ALSEP Data Recovery Focus Group’ in 2010. The Group, funded and supported by NASA, recovered 450 tapes at National Records Centre in Maryland. But 4550 archival tapes, which would go bad in a decade’s time, remained untraced giving agonists fodder for calling the moon missions a hoax.

Impact of the missing tapes

Rumour Mills worked overtime, right since the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, to say that no man ever landed on the moon. What was flashed on television worldwide, they said, was a film made in a studio. Those who couldn’t send even a chimp into space in 1961, argued wags, now claim 2 men have landed on the moon; how come? Where has the huge $25 billion Apollo budget gone? Bickering found a base in a book “We never went to the moon: America’s $30 billion swindles” self-published in 1974.

Author, Bill Kaysing said Apollo program was a subterfuge for the secret militarization of space by America and that moonwalk was stage show passed as space odyssey. Author’s association with Atlas V (a rocket used for interplanetary missions and military payloads to International Space Station) gave him some credibility but the book had little in the name of scientific approach and investigative journalism.

Another sceptic, Bart Winfield Sibrel asked Buzz Aldrin, the Astronaut on Apollo 11, to swear on Bible that he walked on the moon. Enraged Aldrin hit him on the face. Time and tide being against the American government, naysayers had a field day and remained in news. Vietnam War and Watergate scandal had seriously eroded people’s faith in State Administration which appeared on the back foot in defending the veracity of Apollo expeditions.

Apollo 11, as a matter of fact, is easy to understand. Let’s begin with the missing tapes. Though only 450 tapes could be found and 4550 remained untraced, bona fides of NASA and the American government can’t be doubted. For, if there were a mala fide attempt at destroying them, even 450 wouldn’t have been found, and the state wouldn’t have supported team searching for the missing tapes.

Is moon landing just a hoax?

Why no stars were visible in lunar photos? Well, just as they are not visible on earth in daytime. How did Astronauts survive radiations of Van Allen Belts? Simple, they took care to avoid hotspots of this belt and navigated through a safe zone. That apart, Apollo 11 was fairly insulated against radiations.

Videotapes of men walking on the moon are fuzzy and indistinct; why? The answer is the underdeveloped technology of that time. Cameras captured images on a slow scan format so that space on Broadcast Spectrum could be saved for important communications. Sceptics laughed saying shadows in photographs were bizarre. That, they said, indicated shifting of arc lights for on-stage photo-shoot. Scientists explained that objects photographed on snow-covered hills, rough and uneven surfaces are bound to have shadows of varying dimensions.

How did flag flutter when no wind blew on moon surface? Well, flag fabric was supported with metallic wire to keep it spread, in flying shape. Astronauts jumped in the air supported by thin wires, said, sceptics. The scientists argued that this was impossible calling attention to dust that rose with movement. Were it earth, rising dust would mingle in atmospheric air, creating a dusty cloud. But that being moon, the dust didn’t rise, but fell back on the moon surface.

The cameraman was nowhere seen in footages, how was the videography done then? Actually, the Astronauts had cameras tucked in their suite. The moon lander vehicle too was equipped with the camera. With the passage of time, problems faced by America were sorted out, the credibility of state restored and Apollo rumours petered out in face of consistent and logical rebuttal from state agencies.

Presently Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is circling around the moon, collecting images and scientific data, and collating it with findings of Apollo Mission. This project of NASA has put to rest many misgivings about man’s landing on the moon. Though doubts are still raised off and on, general opinion favours the stand of the scientific community. Man, doubtless, landed on the moon, claims to the contrary notwithstanding.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Lost Cosmonauts of USSR: Did the Soviet Union Cover up its Secret Cosmonaut Casualties?“.

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Portrait of Pasqual Pinon. (Freaks: Collectie Akimitsu Naruya)

Albert Einstein said God does not play dice. Even if some creations of nature seem odd and dicey. Call it congenital abnormality, or a freak of nature, it happens in all life forms, plants and animals. It may vary from six fingers in human beings to as extreme as two full bodies joined together to varying extents. Having two heads also falls in this category even as chances of this happening are just about 5 in 10 million.  

Pasqual Pinon, the two headed-Mexican was born in the year 1889. He was a railroad worker from Texas. Technically speaking, he did not have two biological heads. It wasn’t a case of Craniopagus Parasiticus, the genetic `two-heads’. What seemed like a second head on top of the ‘main’ was actually a cancerous growth, a tumour.

The promoter of a circus show saw opportunity in Pinon’s bizarre look and inducted him into his circus team in the year 1917. An artificially created face (from silver as per some reports) was surgically planted on the overhead tumour for a realistic two- heads appearance. This configuration served well for mass entertainment in Sells-Floto circus. Pasqual Pinon performed in the circus for several years before returning to Texas once again to retire.

Popular cases of people with two heads

Another case of the two-head syndrome was born in a poor family of village Mundul Gait in Bengal state of India in May 1783. So horrified was the midwife on seeing the freak arrival that she flung it into burning fire. Scalded baby though was rescued by his parents who thought child’s malevolent look could earn them a living. They were right. The child was a crowd puller in Calcutta. His fame spread far and wide. But he died of a snake bite when he was just 4 years old. His skull is displayed in Hunterian Museum of Royal College of Surgeons of London.

The twin heads of the Bengal boy shared little functional similarities though structurally they were similar and situated one above the other. Second head had ill-developed eyes and ears, and a stump in place of a scalp. Emotions of the first face didn’t reflect on second but the two shared a gastronomic relationship. When the main head was eating, the second showed signs of being ready to receive food. Their sleep cycles were different. When the boy slept, the second head was awake.

A recent case of two-headed man was from China, Chang Tzu Ping. He was noticed worldwide when he moved to the US to have his other face removed. In this case, the auxiliary face was situated on the right chin and showed lip sync with a primary face.

How does this occur?

Organisms with twin heads are called bicephalic or dicephalic.  Three-headed and multi-headed forms are also found in nature. This condition, in general, is called Polycephaly.

Duplication of an organ is a phenomenon with improper reading or execution of gene codes. Genes are the rulebook that describes how the new life ought to be constructed at the embryonic stage. The rulebook is ‘read’ by the Transcription Factors (TF’s) of the embryonic cells and instructions therein are carried out for building up of specific proteins.

TF’s are of 2 types: Activators and Repressors. The coordinated and opposite activity of these 2 ensures that gene instructions are followed with absolute precision. In a situation of TFs not collating and coordinating ideally, an order for one organ may get corrupted for multiple organs (activator unchecked by repressor), leading to two or more heads in newborn.

Einstein’s dictum can’t be negated. God indeed never plays dice. It is just that things go cogently wrong somewhere in the intricate and highly complex web of life. Otherwise, nature is forever working for the ultimate welfare of life and environment.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Extraordinary Case of Wang the Human Unicorn“.

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