Dr. William Chester Minor. (Wikimedia Commons)

A vocabulary is a literate person’s best friend. And a dictionary keeps a person updated on new words, their meanings and usage, and helps users expand their vocabulary. When one talks of a dictionary, the first name that pops up in mind is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), one of the most widely accepted wordbooks in the world. But did you ever think about people who came up with comprehensive synonyms for a single word or how they managed to compile all the information in a single book? Well then, here’s an interesting piece of the story about Dr William Chester Minor, an army surgeon, who was one of the top contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary.

The early life of William Chester Minor

William Chester Minor was born in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) on June 22, 1834, to an American missionary couple. When he was three, Minor lost his mother and subsequently, his father remarried. W. C. Minor grew up in a large family with eight half-siblings, one of whom – Thomas T. Minor – went on to become the mayor of Seattle, Washington. When Minor turned fourteen, he started living in New Haven with his uncle in Connecticut, where he studied and supported himself financially. In his late twenties, he graduated with a degree in medicine from the Yale University in 1863, with a specialization in comparative anatomy.

His life in the armed forces

During this period, Civil War was at its peak and young Americans had to enrol themselves in the armed forces to fight for their country. Minor, too, joined the Union Army and served as a surgeon at the Battle of Wilderness, treating wounded soldiers on the war front. Shortly after joining, the horrors of war took a toll on him. Witnessing a large number of deaths and casualties on both sides, and the atrocities on the surviving enemy soldiers, Minor started to develop traumatic symptoms. Performing detailed autopsies on corpses added fuel to the fire and he began experiencing episodes of paranoid schizophrenia. This led him to an unexpected addiction. Minor took a posting in New York and began visiting red-light districts on a frequent basis during the late 1860s.

In 1868, following Minor’s ‘new-found interest’ and his recurrent bouts of psychosis, he was admitted to the Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington DC. His superiors relieved him of all his medical duties and resigned him from his commission. William Chester Minor stayed in the asylum, now known as St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, for two and a half years before he was allowed to walk free, upon some signs of improvement. With the gratuity he had earned from his military service and some family fortune, Minor boarded a ship sailing to London in 1871, hoping the new world would cure him of his mental illness.

Minor commits murder

Upon reaching London, Minor took up residence in a rundown locality in Lambeth, where he had easy access to prostitutes and nearby brothels. A life alone and far away from America did not rid him of his delusions and his mental health was greatly affected. His regular profane activities led him into believing that he was being hounded all the time and that he would eventually be molested or poisoned for his ‘filthy’ behaviour. On the night of February 17, 1872, troubled by his delusions, William Chester Minor thought someone was outside his window trying to break in, and grabbed his pistol and ran out into the streets.

Minor’s paranoiac behaviour cost George Merritt his life, who was on his way to work nightshift and unwittingly crossed paths with the madman. Minor mortally shot Merritt in his neck before the police arrived at the crime scene. The trial that followed was given enough press and it became internationally known as the Lambeth Tragedy, where the extent of Minor’s insanity finally came to light. He was judged not guilty by reason of insanity and was later shifted to Broadmoor, a special asylum for the criminally insane in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire.

Life in the lunatic asylum

Since Minor had been receiving his army pension, he was allotted two of the more comfortable quarters in the institution, where he spent the next thirty-eight years incarcerated for his mental illness. He spent time painting and playing the flute, but what kept his mind occupied was reading books, which he had brought with him. Oddly enough, the widow of George Merritt had become friends with Minor. He had paid her handsomely for the crime he had committed and she reciprocated by bringing in books for him, which he stored in his personal collection. Minor had acquired so many books over the years that he had converted one of his rooms into a library. When his luxurious activities like painting had been taken away, he turned to books for companionship.

Contribution to the Oxford English Dictionary

Although the idea of publishing a dictionary of English words was first thought of in 1857, it could not be completed for the next seventy years. When Scottish lexicographer and philologist Dr. James Murray assumed editorship of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, which went on to become the new Oxford English Dictionary in 1879, he sent out an appeal in newspapers and magazines for volunteers to send in quotations to support each word’s definition. One such paper made its way into Dr. Minor’s hands, who did not let go of the opportunity that he thought would ultimately become his salvation.

Dr. James Murray was a Scottish lexicographer and philologist. (Wikimedia Commons)

William Minor dedicated his life to the cause of the new dictionary and worked tirelessly, compiling quotations and illustrating ways in which a particular word was used. He did this for the next twenty years beginning in the year 1880, and the practice seemed to work for him like therapy. For Dr. James Murray, William Minor had become some sort of an enigma. Nobody knew who this unrelenting contributor was, for Minor never signed his name, but continued to send in quotations without fail. When William Minor did not turn up at the Great Dictionary Dinner event hosted by Dr. Murray, he decided it was time to meet this mystery man.

When Minor met Murray

When Dr. Murray arrived at Broadmoor, he expected the contributor to be a learned man at the institution, who practiced medicine; but was astonished to find William Minor to be an inmate on the other side of the wall. William Chester Minor’s profound knowledge impressed Dr. James Murray and it stoked a lasting friendship between the two men. They continued to keep in touch through correspondence and William Chester Minor contributed as many as ten thousand individual entries that today are part of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Later years and death

Although the work on the dictionary had been working like a panacea for William Chester Minor, his mental condition had only deteriorated further. He kept hallucinating and his life had hit a rock bottom. On the insistence of Winston Churchill,  Minor was given permission to go to USA in 1910, where his brother admitted him to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington DC. In 1919, Minor was transferred to a home for the elderly in Hartford, Connecticut, where his physical health deteriorated with his mental health. In the March of 1920, an eighty-six-year-old William Chester Minor succumbed to pneumonia in the elderly home.

For Dr. William Chester Minor, his mind was the monster, but ironically, it was the same gifted mind that contributed significantly to an international book of learning.

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Magnetic Hill in Ladakh. (Rohit Ganda / Flickr)

India is a country that boasts of natural wonders in abundance. One is likely to find an oddity in almost every nook and cranny of the nation. India’s northernmost and newly-formed Union Territory Ladakh is home to one such rare phenomenon. It has not only stumped visitors from all over the world but has also puzzled scientists alike. On average, tourists in thousands, visit The Magnetic Hill in Leh district all year round to experience this thrilling and unique occurrence themselves.

What is Magnetic Hill?

Magnetic hill is also known as Cyclops hill, although the origin of this term remains unknown. It is said to be derived from the eponymous Greek monster with a single, spherical, gigantic eye.

Nothing more than an optical illusion, the Magnetic Hill or Gravity Hill in Leh is a place where the gravitational pull of the Earth works differently as compared to the rest of the world.

Location of the Magnetic Hill

As the name suggests, the Magnetic Hill is a stretch of road in the mountainous Leh-Kargil-Batalik NH1. Located in a remote valley approximately thirty kilometres from Leh, it is positioned around 14,000 feet above sea level, where the gravitational pull of the Earth defies laws of physics.

The Magnetic Hill sits pretty between the longest mountain range in Asia and passes through the Trans-Himalayan region. And is flanked by the Sindhu River on its east making it look like a scene from a fairytale! A picturesque landscape, Magnetic Hill has become a pit-stop for travellers, to soak in the wonders of nature.

Magnetic hill signboard near Magnetic hill in Leh, Ladakh, India. (Ashwin Kumar / Flickr)

The Border Roads Organisation has put up a signboard to help tourists experience the magnetic pull of the region. A horizontal white box is painted in the middle of the road for travellers to park their vehicles in; where it tends to get pulled uphill, despite its ignition turned off. But there is more to this gravity hill than meets the eye. A lot of theories surround this phenomenon associated with the magnetic pull in the locale, leaving its visitors astounded.

Local legends associated with the Magnetic Hill

People living in and around the areas surrounding Ladakh believe this Hill to be the only stairway to heaven. According to local folklore, people who deserve to go to paradise are directly lifted towards the sky while on their way through the hill; and those that did not make it to the list, never get a chance to visit the place. Some even stir up stories of paranormal activity in the area. Tour guides also narrate these legends to pull in more and more crowds, making it an interesting trip.

Scientific Theory explaining the occurrence at Magnetic Hill

While legends are quite popular, one postulated and rational theory suggests a strong magnetic field exists in the particular patch of land, which pulls vehicles towards it. The magnetic energy emitted here affects the vehicles and complicates the navigational equipment of aircraft flying directly over the area. It is said that any aircraft flying over the region starts to experience jerks. In case an aircraft comes within the magnetic range, it is advised to fly at a certain speed and height to avoid accidents. Reportedly the Indian Air Force makes it a point to avoid getting within the vicinity altogether to prevent damages.

The Optical Illusion Theory

Although a great number of people across the globe believe in the magnetic field theory, a lot of other people are convinced Leh’s strange and inexplicable Magnetic Hill is nothing but the work of an optical illusion. Quite contrary to the magnetic field speculation, this theory has managed to find a lot more takers. Attributing to an obstructed horizon from the point of view of a traveller, the downhill slope appears to be uphill. In such a case, a vehicle in neutral gear inside the designated white box appears to move uphill. Although the topography of the surroundings is such that the vehicle actually moves slightly downhill.

Other Magnetic Hills in India and abroad

While the Magnetic Hill in Leh is quite popular, a lot of other places present a strikingly similar gravity-defying experience. The Kawardha Magnetic Hill and Ulta Paani Gravity Hill in Chhattisgarh, along with the Tulsishyam Anti-Gravity Hill and Kalo Dungar Magnetic Hill in Gujarat are places where vehicles seem to roll uphill. Apart from these places in India, the Morgan-Lewis Hill in Barbados, Anti-Gravity Hill in Australia, the Electric Brae in Scotland, Anti-Gravity Hill in Ariccia, Rome, Mt. Penteli in Greece, Mt. Halla in South Korea, Malveira da Serra in Portugal, Gravity Hill in Washington, USA and other magnetic hills in America are some of the places around the world, where gravity plays tricks with an observer’s mind.

In the year 2015, a team of research students from the Rajasthan Institute of Engineering & Technology performed a series of experiments at the Magnetic Hill to debunk the myths associated with it. Although they provided scientific data along with theories nothing came out of it. They tried to prove that there is nothing strange in the area; but in the end, the mystery of the Magnetic Hill and its gravity-defying pull has only deepened further.

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Aerial photo of Hashima Island. (kntrty / Flickr)

History has been witness to a lot of prosperous towns and flourishing cities in the world, which have now been rendered uninhabited. Ghost towns (or cities), as people like to call them, these abandoned places have always left behind tales of tragedy that the modern world finds very intriguing. One such ghost town is located off the Southern Japanese city of Nagasaki called Hashima Island, which is one of the other 505 deserted places in the whole of Nagasaki Prefecture.

General information about Hashima Island

Hashima Island goes by the name Gunkanjima in Japanese language, where gunkan in English translates to ‘battleship’ and jima or shima means ‘island’ in English. The shape of the island, officially called Hashima, resembles the Japanese warship Tosa and so the name gunkan-jima or Battleship Island came to be associated with it. Situated approximately 15 kilometres away from Nagasaki port, Hashima Island has many haunting memories that former residents now have to share with the world. But long before the island wore a deserted look, it was home to some 5,300 odd people, making it one of the most densely populated places in the world at that time. Spreading across 61,000 square metres, the island thrived during the early 1800s, when undersea natural coal reserves were found to be in abundance surrounding the island.

Hashima Island is sometimes also referred to as the warship island. (mahlervv / Panoramio)

Gunkanjima is surrounded by a high-standing, steel reinforced concrete seawall, which protected it (and still does) from the regular, powerful typhoons in the middle of the ocean. The silhouettes of concrete buildings dotting the entire island, which were constructed for families of labourers, give it the look of a warship from a distance. The island measures approximately 480 meters in length and is 150 metres wide. Nature has now taken its course and covered some of the concrete structures, but the dilapidated buildings and belongings of the residents still remain to tell their shocking stories, perhaps best left unheard.

Hashima Island from a different angle. (kntrty / Flickr)

The mining operation at Hashima Island

Although coal was first discovered deep beneath the seabed surrounding Hashima Island in the year 1810, industrial mining began only in the late 1800s. The first inhabitants landed on the isle in 1887 and three years later in 1890, corporate giant Mitsubishi Mining Company purchased the island and took control of it for coal mining purposes. Mitsubishi Corporation’s coal mining operation lasted successfully for more than eight decades, even surviving two major world wars. But soon enough, the coal reserves started to deplete during the 1960s and also due to the rise in the newly-accepted petroleum products, Mitsubishi announced that the mining operation would be closed down. And so in the year 1974, Hashima Island was abandoned with people returning to the mainland one after the other, leaving their belongings as they were where they still lay untouched.

Early occupancy and abandonment of Hashima

Initially, when Mitsubishi started the coal mining process, it began ferrying labourers to the island and back to the mainland. But the daily tiresome procedure gave way to sweeping changes and Mitsubishi Corporation decided to build housing facilities for families of the labourers on the island itself to make it easier and more convenient. Work was in plenty and miners were willing to stay back on the island with their families and so the plan of expansion materialized. A lot of concrete residential places and many industrial buildings quickly started cramming the entire island. Hashima was complete with schools, cinema halls, shops, sports facilities, hospitals, graveyards, temples, swimming pools and even separate playgrounds for children.

Hashima Island. (kanegen / Flickr)

As the company steadily flourished, Mitsubishi not only provided for people’s living but made food, water and electricity available to them at no cost. The residents only had to take turns cleaning and maintaining public places on the island. People had job security and a source of income to run their families and life was easy on the island. But soon it all fell on desperate times. An ordinary high ocean wind would send the residents into periods of misery. They depended on the outside world for everything, right from food, clothing and fresh water to other daily necessities and storms would prevent ships from sailing into the island with supplies. The lack of indigenous vegetation and soil, too, prevented them from growing vegetables on the island, which changed in 1963, when soil was brought in from the mainland and citizens on the island could then cultivate and start eating their own produce.

Abandoned building in Hashima Island. (ajari / Flickr)

Close up photos of the abandoned buildings in Hashima Island. (ajari / Flickr)

The ghost island might now look like it had been in the middle of a catastrophe, but that was never the case. The island was not abandoned overnight but the telltale signs look like it had been emptied all at once. Dusty bicycles still lean against the walls where they were parked inside homes, along with personal pictures on walls, bottles, kitchenware and electrical appliances gather dust as they lay rotting away. At school, stationary and writing equipment lay scattered near the broken desks and benches, all covered in dust. Buildings look like they might crumble anytime, while playgrounds with broken rides seem to wait for children to return. Former residents claim that when Mitsubishi Corporation had decided to shut shop at the island, it had promised the inhabitants work on the mainland, which would be purely based on a first-come-first-serve basis. That is how people left the island with most of their belongings where they were in a bid to get a job closer home in the city.

Controversies surrounding Hashima Island

Hashima Island has become a very famous tourist spot now, but back in the day, it was shrouded in mystery and had a dark past with heartwarming stories. During Mitsubishi’s booming industrial coal mining stint, World War II had broken out and there was no way the company was backing out of such a lucrative deal. With many Japanese youths gone away to join the armed forces against the Allies, Korean and Chinese citizens were brought in on the island in large numbers to fill in for them. These ‘foreign citizens’ were brought in as wartime labourers and forced to work at the undersea coal mines, where they had to endure a lot of hardships.

Former workers, who were very young at that time, say that the conditions in the mines were very exhausting and thegruellingg schedules included them to endure heat, humidity and extreme temperatures inside the excavation sites. The ceilings of digging places hung very low and workers had to bear excruciating pains while they crouched down to mine. The food provided was only two handfuls of poor quality rice balls, which they had to make do with on a double shift. Labourers were sometimes even subjected to beatings in case they tried to relax.

A building in Hashima Island, 1930. (Series of Japanese geography and folk culture: Vol.13)

As per local records, as many as 1,300 Korean and Chinese citizens, who were made to suffer slave labour at the mines, died between 1925 and 1945 due to some or the other tragedy at the island. Some died in underground accidents, others due to illnesses and some more due to malnutrition and exhaustion. Some others even tried in vain to escape by jumping over the seawalls into the ocean below. Former wartime slaves from Korea and China later demanded compensation and reparation charges from Mitsubishi Corporation but the company insisted that all demands had been met by signing of the postwar treaties.

Sightseeing at Hashima Island

After the island was left with nothing but ruins, it was shut down entirely only to reopen to the public officially in the year 2009 as a tourist place. A host of private companies ferry visitors to Hashima Island from Nagasaki Port on a two-way boat trip that takes approximately two hours in total. Sightseers are only allowed to take a 45-minute-long tour on the southern side of the island from three observation decks installed. Tourists are forbidden from straying too close into the ruins for risk of buildings collapsing any time. During rough weathers, landing on the island is not allowed and sometimes, boats do not operate or ferry passengers at all.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Despite the island’s gloomy past, Japan pushed to include Hashima Island into the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites in 2009. It justified that the island marked the country’s industrial revolution but Korea opposed the inclusion stating that the site was nothing more than a disgraceful place where forced labour was carried out. After a lot of pushing and pulling, through a compromise between the two countries, Hashima Island was finally included in the coveted list at a World Heritage Committee in Germany in 2015. It was here that Japan accepted its murky truth and confirmed what Hashima actually faced over all those years.

Recently, the island was featured in the James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’, which brought it into prominence across the world. But the objectionable business that Japan carried out in the name of coal mining still makes people shudder. Those that experienced life on the secluded island for decades might never be able to rub off the haunting memories of their past, but Hashima Island stands in decrepitude, telling the tales of its once successful empire.

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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 Hashima Island: A Once Bustling Japanese Metropolis That Now Reminisces Its Hauntingly Tragic Past appeared first on .

Lost Cosmonauts: Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov during the spacewalk, 1965. (Ria Novosti / Science Photo Library)

Today, we realise that USSR’s Yuri Gagarin was the first man to journey into outer space and USA’s Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the Moon. However, there are many conspiracy theorists, keep refuting the claims and call these events as a hoax.

Space travels have always come at a great cost, post-WW-II when the Cold War between the Soviet Union and USA was at its peak, both countries were trying their best to be one up on the other in the space race. It is said that during this period there were certain secret Soviet space programs that had gone awry, with cosmonauts never making it back, to either their country or planet.

There are also many conspiracy theories that corroborate the fact that the Soviets had sent cosmonauts in space prior to Gagarin, but they were considered either lost or dead while reentering into the Earth’s atmosphere. It is said that to avoid bad publicity and not lose the space race, the USSR covered up the failed events.

Cosmonaut Ivan Ivanovich

Interestingly, one name that stands out in the list of lost cosmonauts is Ivan Ivanovich, which had fueled the world’s interest in space flights. In March of 1961, the Soviets sent a test flight into outer space with Ivan Ivanovich aboard, along with some reptiles and critters. The manned test flight returned successfully, but when media covered the entire event and spotted the lifeless body of the cosmonaut inside, they began speculating that the Soviet mission had ended in tragedy.

Ivan Ivanovich was in fact, a life-like mannequin placed inside the flight to test whether it could be a success for future programs. Ivan was sent in space again a week later, which set the stage for Gagarin’s grand spaceflight – Vostok 1 – giving USSR an edge over her competitors.

Full body display of Ivan Ivanovich at the National Air and Space Museum. (Eric Long / Smithsonian Institution)

Was Vladimir Ilyushin the first man in space?

Apart from these lost cosmonaut theories, there was one theory, which particularly drew the world’s attention. Vladimir Ilyushin, a test pilot and later Soviet general, was the constant subject of a conspiracy theory, which stated that he was the first man in space rather than Yuri Gagarin. While USA was racing against the USSR to launch their first vehicle in space in the 1960s, it was alleged that Soviets had already sent Ilyushin into space a week before Gagarin. His spaceflight had steered off course and landed in China, where he was held as a prisoner for a year, before being sent back to USSR. It was later assumed that his death in a car crash was only the Soviet Union’s way of covering up the failed launch.

Judica-Cordiglia brothers’ recordings

Among all these allegations, two Italian brothers known as Judica-Cordiglia brothers came forward with startling discoveries. In the late 50s, Achille and Giovanni Battista set up their experimental radio station with homemade equipment on an abandoned German bunker. It had all the necessary listening equipment, which they claimed had picked up radio frequencies from several space missions, which were secretly being carried out by the Soviet Union.

They called the site Torre Bert, from where they started to eavesdrop into the frequencies of the secret Soviet space missions. The twosome claimed to have picked up conversations between the cosmonauts and ground stations that lasted for a few seconds as the space shuttles passed over their city.

The Judica-Cordiglia brothers. (Wikimedia Commons)

As their makeshift radio station grew, the brothers hired more amateur space enthusiasts, who helped them in their endeavour to dig deeper into Soviet Union’s dark secrets. They claimed to have come up with as many as nine recordings, which picked up disaster signals and cosmonauts crying out for help as they re-entered into the Earth’s atmosphere. 

Most of the recordings were of labored breathing of cosmonauts, an astronaut dying due to heart failure on one occasion and at one time, a cryptic message had been sent to the ground station. They also claimed to have heard distress signals from astronauts, whose existence was never reported by the Soviets. The brothers’ recordings were more than enough to prove that the Soviet Union had failed miserably in their space venture, resulting in casualties and losing their cosmonauts.

While The US hailed the efforts of the Italian brothers, the USSR rubbished their claims, for they could have possibly brought the country’s space malfunctioning to the fore.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Soyuz 11 Tragedy – The Death of Three Soviet Cosmonauts in Space“.

Recommended Read:
Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin | By Piers Bizony

Recommended Visit:
National Air and Space Museum | Washington, D.C., United States of America

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 Lost Cosmonauts of USSR: Did the Soviet Union Cover up its Secret Cosmonaut Casualties? appeared first on .

Old Man of the Lake in Oregon’s Crater Lake. (Markgorzynski / Wikimedia Commons)

A tree stump in Oregon’s Crater Lake has stood right in the middle of the waters, defying the laws of physics for more than a hundred years. Known as the Old Man of the Lake, the stump has baffled visitors and geologists alike regarding its more-than-a-century-old existence.

Legends associated with the formation of Crater Lake

Although it is known that the lake was formed as a result of volcanic activity, locals have a different belief. As per the Native American folklore, a battle of epic proportions was fought between two volcano gods about 7,700 years ago during the night in southern Oregon. The god of the underworld – Llao – fell in love with Loha, the extremely beautiful daughter of a local Klamath chieftain, who turned down his proposal, citing he was ugly to look at. Angered by the refusal and downright humiliation, Llao, standing on the summit of Mount Mazama, spat magma and threw extremely hot steam jets towards the sky. These fell back to the earth in the form of rain, pouring hot lava and fire on the village.

The Klamath chieftain then turned to the god above – Skell – to intervene and save them all. Skell then descended from heaven on California’s Mount Shasta and hurled volcanic ash and fireballs at Llao in retaliation. In the battle that continued for days, he blew up Mount Mazama and drove Llao back into the underground, locking him inside for eternity. To mark his victory over Llao and restore peace in the land, Skell covered the large caldera by filling it with crystal clear waters. That is how Oregon’s Crater Lake came into being as per local legends, which till date is considered sacred.

Location, formation and specifications of the Crater Lake

Known for its intense blue colour and water clarity, the Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United State measuring a depth of nearly 1,949 feet (594 m). Situated in Klamath County, Oregon, Crater Lake was formed approximately 7,700 years ago, when Mount Mazama collapsed as a result of a volcanic eruption. The crater that formed in the process was almost 2,148-feet deep, and was later partially filled up with water resulting from annual rainfalls and snowfalls in the area. Since water does not flow out of the lake and also because there is an absence of water inlets, which could bring pollutants to fill up the caldera, Crater Lake has some of the purest waters in the world.

Crater lake in Oregon, United States. (Hunter Immel / Wikimedia Commons)

Scientists have measured a record clarity of 175 feet below the surface, which is till where the naked eye can see clearly under the waterline. Due to the low temperature of the water in the volcanic basin and greater levels of dissolved salts present in it, the cold, deep blue water in Crater Lake is slightly alkaline in nature.

The Crater Lake has no native fish, however, seven species of fish were introduced in the lake from 1888 to 1941 of which only kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka; landlocked sockeye salmon) and rainbow trout thrive today.

Two of the main features of the lake are the volcanic cinder cone in the far west of the lake called Wizard Island and the other is the puzzling Old Man that has been bobbling in different locations in the lake for over a hundred years.

History of the Old Man of the Lake

Apart from the lore and horror stories that are a part of the local culture, one bizarre phenomenon that literally sticks out from the water is the Old Man of the Lake. Standing untethered for more than a hundred years, the hemlock tree stump has gained celebrity status among tourists. Long before Oregon’s Crater Lake became a part of the national park, this unusual deadwood was found floating in a vertical position in the water body and nobody could guess where it came from.

It was initially thought that the Old Man of the lake, could have been vertically wedged between a rock, but it was not.

Trees that float (mostly horizontally) eventually sink to the bottom, however, the Old Man showed no such signs. Instead, it continued staying afloat for decades together, without having any root structure to support itself or any telling marks of decay.

In the year 1902, when Crater Lake achieved the status of a national park, American geologist Joseph Silas Diller was sent to scientifically study the aftereffects of the volcanic event and collect rock samples from the Crater Lake. This is when he first recorded about an unusual bobbing tree stump in the lake, which he had observed six years ago in 1896 and was still afloat in the lake. He noticed that the chunk of wood had moved from its earlier position from where he had first found it.

Specifications of the Old Man of the Lake

Aquatic biologist Scott Girdner ran carbon dating tests on it and found that the stump itself is approximately 450 years old. Measuring thirty feet tall in height, nearly four feet of the Old Man’s upper part sticks out of the water, which remains perpetually dry. The upper part is bleached due to continuous exposure to the sun and has a splintered texture. The part floating above the water is around two feet in diameter and the Old Man is wide and buoyant enough to support the weight of an adult person.

A man standing on the Old Man of the Lake, 1938. (NPS)

The stump keeps moving throughout Crater Lake due to water currents and wind patterns. On particularly windy days, the trunk travels at greater speeds, at a rate of nearly 6 kilometres/day.

How has Old Man of the Lake managed to stay afloat for more than 120 years?

Scientists believe that the lower rate of precipitation and evaporation and the relatively cold water of the lake have preserved the stump, making it possible for the Old Man of the lake to float freely. They also concluded that since the lower part of the tree stump has been in the cold water for over a hundred years, its density has increased, making it buoyant and balanced inside the water. However, there is no concrete data to support these claims.

Superstitions and stories related to the Old Man of the Lake

Along with the mysterious formation of the Crater Lake and the circumstances under which the Old Man ended up vertically in the lake, there are a host of other tales that are associated with the place. People have reported spotting campfires in the dead of the night on the uninhabited Wizard Island. Some even claim to have seen ghostly figures in the lake vicinity. Local people also say that the Old Man represents perfect balance like that between earthly elements – of darkness and light, good and evil, earth and sky, movement and immobility and Llao and Skell. It is also said that the perplexing tree stump possesses otherworldly powers with which it can control the weather. And surprisingly, a team of researchers had to give up on their expedition when the ancient stories appeared to come true.

In the year 1988, a team of scientists was sent on an expedition to study the geothermal activity in the volcanic basin at Crater Lake. A submarine was employed to take the explorers below the surface of the water and carry out their experiments. Known for its ability to travel with the winds and water currents, the team thought that the Old Man might pose serious navigational problems to the vessel, hampering their research. And so to keep it from getting in the way of their study, the team decided to tie it towards the eastern side of the Wizard Island for a few days until work was over.

But as soon as the Old Man stood still, all tied up in the lake, the research team experienced a sudden change in the weather. Oddly enough, the clear skies became dark and hazy and the weather became stormy. This continued on for a while making the team suspicious of the weather situation owing to the behaviour of the Old Man. So long as the dead tree stump was bound, the dark clouds refused to clear out and the team had to free the Old Man eventually. No sooner was the stump untied than the sky became clear and the weather settled, puzzling the researchers even more. The study was ultimately left midway and the Old Man was never bound again.

It is yet to be seen what new facts are unearthed from research works on the stump at Crater Lake, but one thing is clear that the Old Man of the Lake will continue to ‘stump’ people whenever they cross paths with it.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Min Min Light: The Elusive Phantom-Lights of the Australian Outbacks“.

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Bibi Ka Maqbara. (Abhideo21 / Wikimedia Commons)

Out of the seven wonders of the modern world, India proudly hosts and boasts of the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra. But did you know that there is another lesser-known monument in the country that is a spitting image of the world-famous Taj Mahal? The Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad bears a striking resemblance to the original ‘love memorial’ as far as its external appearance goes. Not only that, it also has a similar back story, involving a grief-stricken Mughal emperor and his deceased wife at the centre, which has now become a part of all the tales that tour guides narrate on a visit to this place.

Location of Bibi ka Maqbara

Bibi ka Maqbara is situated in Begumpura, just eight kilometres away from the culturally rich and historically important city of Aurangabad in Western Maharashtra. The magnificent doppelganger of the Taj Mahal in all its glory stands testimony to the fact that architecture played a vital role during the Mughal era. Although the city of Aurangabad is more famously known for its 2nd century BCE caves of Ajanta and Ellora, it is also slowly gaining more prominence as a tourist hub, owing to this 16th century Bibi ka Maqbara. Vacationers from all over the world gather at Begumpura to see this glorious memorial, which is also called the Taj Mahal of the Deccan.

Bibi Ka Maqbara Is also called the Dakkhani Taj due to its strong resemblance with Taj Mahal. (Ruqayya noorin / Wikimedia Commons)

History associated with Bibi ka Maqbara

Bibi ka Maqbara, which literally translates to ‘Tomb of the Lady’, was commissioned by the last effective Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in the year 1660. It was erected in fond memory of his first wife Dilras Banu Begum. Princess Dilras Banu was the daughter of Persian Safavid dynasty prince Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi, who was later named the viceroy of Gujarat. Dilras Banu married Mughal prince Mahi-ud-din, who upon his ascension to the throne became known as Emperor Aurangzeb. Their matrimonial union took place in the year 1637 on May 8, amid much fanfare and grand celebrations in Agra at the residence of Mirza Badi-uz-Zaman Safavi, also titled Shah Nawaz Khan. After the couple’s time in Agra, the imperials returned to Aurangabad in Deccan, where Dilras Banu, who had now become the chief consort of the emperor, bore him five children – three girls and two boys – after almost four-year-gap periods.

Princess Zeb-un-Nissa was the eldest royal daughter, followed by Princess Zinat-un-Nissa and later Princess Zubdat-un-Nissa. Two princes Muhammad Azam Shah and Sultan Muhammad Akbar were born later after the royal daughters. Since these five children were the issues of his first and most beloved wife Empress Dilras Banu, Aurangzeb favoured them more over his other children from other wives. However, on September 11, 1657, after delivering their last son Sultan Muhammad Akbar, Dilras Banu Begum developed infections, from which she never recovered. A month later, on October 8, she died due to the postpartum fever developed during the complicated childbirth. Shortly afterwards, the eldest daughter Princess Zeb-un-Nissa was given the responsibility of looking after the neonate.

Inside Bibi Ka Maqbara. (Dr Murali Mohan Gurram / Wikimedia Commons)

With the sudden demise of his favorite wife at just 35 years of age, the bereaved Aurangzeb set a chain reaction of grief in the family, greatly affecting the elder son Muhammad Azam Shah the most. Three years after Queen Dilras Banu’s demise, in the year 1660 Aurangzeb commissioned the construction of a burial chamber, which would be the final resting place of his wife. Although Aurangzeb is never credited with having built grand structures during his long reign, he made an exception and followed in the footsteps of his father Shah Jahan. In memory of Empress Dilras Banu Begum, who was posthumously given the title Rabia-ud-Daurani, Aurangzeb ordered a mausoleum to be built in Aurangabad, the city named after him. The memorial came to be known as Bibi ka Maqbara, which became the largest monument that Aurangzeb had ever built.

Specifications of Bibi Ka Maqbara

The work on the edifice started in the year 1661 and carried on until 1669, bearing a striking similarity to the famous Taj Mahal, built during Shah Jahan’s reign. Aurangzeb’s mother Empress Mumtaz Mahal had also died during childbirth, much like his wife Dilras Banu; so his father Shah Jahan had built the Taj Mahal as an ode to their love, as Mumtaz’s final resting place. Hoping to rival the Taj, Aurangzeb ordered work on Bibi ka Maqbara to begin just like its more famous and larger, original structure. Attaullah Rashidi, the son of Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the chief designer of the Taj Mahal was hired to work on Bibi ka Maqbara, while Hanspat Rai was the principal engineer, assisting Attaullah in the construction work.

One third in size as compared to the Taj Mahal, Bibi ka Maqbara cost the royal family approximately six hundred and seventy thousand rupees, with necessary construction material coming in from all parts of the country. French jewel merchant and traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier during his travels to India, mentioned extensively in his journals about his first-hand account of the material imported for constructing the maqbara. Marble for the monument came in from the mines of Rajasthan, while loads of basaltic rock, sand, limestone and cement (for stucco decorations) were also ordered for its construction.

Built as per the Islamic style of architecture, the construction of Bibi ka Maqbara is based on the Quranic mentions of the four gardens of Paradise. Known as charbagh, the main mausoleum stands at its centre within an area of fifteen thousand square feet in total. The centrally enclosed edifice measures approximately 458 m by 275 m, flanked by axial ponds on its sides. Like the original structure, the Deccani copy is built on a high, square podium, with four minarets on all the four corners surrounding the dome. The main structure can be reached by a flight of steps on three sides just like the Taj.

While Taj Mahal is completely made out of pure white marble, the Taj of the South only has its dome and dado-level walls covered in marble. The rest of the structure above has a fine plaster polish to give it a marble-like appearance. Bibi ka Maqbara, though is not as magnificent as the Taj Mahal, it still is an exquisite piece of Mughal architecture, with a hint of Deccani architecture into its construction. Paler in comparison, Bibi ka Maqbara is almost similar to its forbearer except for one major difference. While the four minarets of the Taj Mahal are shorter than the onion dome, the approximately 72 feet high minarets of Bibi ka Maqbara are taller than the main central dome.

The entire hexagonal complex has its outside walls with arched recesses and bastions, fashioned as per the refined Mughal architecture. The marble on the tomb has intricate lattice screens, while geometric patterns adorn the dome’s canopy on the inside. Floral motifs beautify the interior walls of the structure and foliage designs embellish the exterior part. Finely done brass doors serve as the gateways to the inside of the structure. The entrance is followed by a series of fountains and water channels that are placed alongside the twelve-doored pavilions or baarah daaris.

The interior design inside the tomb. (Abhideo21 / Wikimedia Commons)

Tomb of Queen Dilras Banu Begum

The mortal remains of the late empress of Aurangabad are placed in a grave below the ground level. It is a low-barricaded, simple, octagonal structure, which is enclosed in elaborately designed marble screens on all sides. Stucco paintings and inscriptional Arabic patterns decorate the surrounding of the cenotaph. The underground grave of the empress is covered with a silk cloth, which is open for the tourists to see during visiting hours at Bibi ka Maqbara.

Tomb of Dilras Banu Begum. (Abhideo21 / Wikimedia Commons)

Controversy over ownership of Bibi ka Maqbara

Although the board at the entrance of Bibi ka Maqbara today credits Aurangzeb’s son Muhammad Azam Shah as the builder of the edifice, it was actually Aurangzeb’s original idea. Muhammad Azam Shah would only have been eight years of age when work on the structure began, possibly not sure what all of it actually meant. Azam Shah was only put in charge of overseeing the construction of the monument and its repair work on his father’s instructions later on in his life. While the war for the ascension to the throne of Agra was on between the sons of Shah Jahan (with Aurangzeb winning it), Aurangzeb was mostly away from his seat in the Deccan, leaving the construction work to Azam Shah only for namesake.

Bibi ka Maqbara might not be a world-renowned mausoleum, or might be called the ‘poor man’s Taj’ or even a cheap copy of the monument dedicated to love, but the towering structure in Aurangabad, erected in memory of Aurangzeb’s wife, continues to carry forward a legacy that is left behind by the Mughals in the southern part of the country.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Mahabat Maqbara and the Extraordinary Tomb of Bahar-ud-din Bhar“.

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Chang and Eng Bunker in a suit. (Wellcome Images)

Called conjoined twins or Siamese twins, the birth of these physically connected set of children is a rare phenomenon; but these have been the subject of discussion whenever a pair is born. Do you know where the term Siamese twins originated? There is an interesting story related to it and the two individuals – Chang and Eng Bunker – have unarguably been the most prominent conjoined twins. Their anomaly has been documented in great detail in many medical records across the globe.

Early life of Chang and Eng Bunker

Born on May 11, in the year 1811, the Bunker brothers came into the world together in modern-day Thailand. This Southeast Asian nation was formerly known as Siam until the late 1930s after monarchy ended in the country. Chang and Eng were born to parents of mixed Chinese, Thai and Malay descent. Their father Ti-eye was a fisherman in Mekong village, while their mother Nook looked after the children. Their mother had named her twin sons in and Jun, which was later, anglicized to Eng and Chang respectively. The twin brothers were born in a very large family with seven other normal siblings, which were nothing like the two of them. Surprisingly, only Chang and Eng were fused together at the chest, which made free movement quite a challenge for them.

Right from the time they were born, they were physically connected together in such a way that they always lay side by side, facing each other. During their childhood days, their mother never treated them differently and brought them up, along with their siblings as normal individuals. That made the Bunker brothers fiercely independent and helped them lead a normal life. Their mother encouraged them to participate in physical activities like running, stretching and swimming, which in turn, would help their connecting cartilage to lengthen. This would allow them to move more freely and walk more easily, while still being joined to each other. And it helped the twins to a great extent. The tissue expanded as the twin brothers grew up and allowed them easy movement, so much so that they could even row a boat together all on their own.

Physical appearance of the Bunker Brothers

Though the twin brothers were attached at the breastbone by a soft tissue, their bodies were distinctively different. Each organ they had was separate and functional in its own way, except for a fused liver. They were connected by a four-inch long connective tissue or cartilage at the sternum, which as infants, held them very close together. The tissue stretched, but it never separated them apart. The cartilage, which ran parallel to their breastbone, was somewhat tubular in shape and the band measured approximately two inches in diameter and eight inches in circumference. The connecting tissue was thick and quite flexible, allowing them a certain amount of freedom. From their own perception point, Chang was the one on the left side and Eng was the one on the right. They stood five feet and two inches tall. Chang was shorter than Eng by an inch and wore heeled footwear to make up for the difference in their height.

Growing up years and anecdotes from the life of the twins

Incidents of twin children being born attached to each other were not new in the world, as many other (lesser-known) conjoined twins were born in the world before the Bunker brothers. But people got curious when it came to Chang and Eng. The news of their birth reached far and wide, evoking all kinds of reactions from the villagers.

In the early years, the birth of twins was believed to bring bad omen and many people wanted the Bunker twins dead. Some also came up with bizarre ideas on ways to separate the two young boys, but they and their mother remained unfazed. When a cholera outburst in Thailand claimed the lives of their father and five of their siblings, Chang and Eng together became the sole breadwinners of the family. Along with their mother, they raised ducks and traded the preserved eggs to run their home, after they ended their stint at a cocoa bean manufacturing unit.

Though like other villagers, King Rama II of Siam was also in favour of putting the twins to death, his successor King Rama III came around to the idea of having them as his personal emissaries. He paid their family handsomely to keep the Bunker brothers for his diplomatic courtroom tasks as his representatives. Soon, their fame spread beyond their little fishing village and Chang and Eng Bunker started to travel as respected citizens. It was on one of their excursions that a Scottish merchant Robert Hunter spotted the twins and convinced King Rama III to allow them to go on an exhibition tour of the United States of America for three years from 1829 to 1831. Abel Coffin, an American sea captain and a friend of Hunter’s joined him in the idea and that is how the Bunkers’ journey into the outside world began.

Chang and Eng, conjoined twins. (Wellcome Images)

The Bunker brothers as oddities

Upon reaching Boston in August of 1829 with Coffin and Hunter, the Bunker brothers were presented at circuses as sideshows and human oddities. In those times, people born with anomalies, birth defects or unusual appearances were either left to die or picked up by road show organizers, who presented them as freaks to make extra cash. And Americans, too, paid to watch two individuals from a far away Asian kingdom, congenitally connected to each other, putting up their antics on display. The Bunker brothers travelled with Hunter and Abel and presented their rare traits to many an audience across many American as well as European countries and received not just a celebrity status and money but also respect. The exhibition of the Bunker brothers was a hot topic of discussion wherever they went, thus eventually giving rise to the term ‘Siamese twins’ (the term later stuck with conjoined twins from any part of the world).

The professional life of the Bunker brothers

Though the Bunker brothers were to return to Siam after three years, they dropped the plan and continued to live in the US, where they could earn enough money for themselves. They worked for Hunter and Coffin for three years and later joined P.T. Barnum’s troupe, where they showcased their strength and dexterity, performing stunts and tricks. The Bunkers also entertained royalty throughout the world in Asia, Europe and America, performing acrobatics and sleight of hands for their regal spectators. Whenever the Bunkers performed their feats, they drew large audiences and their shows ran packed houses. One of their performances and their willingness to settle in the United States also gave them their surname ‘Bunker’, which they borrowed from a spectator, to become naturalized citizens of the country.

Wood engraving of Chang and Eng Bunker by H.S. Miller. (Wellcome Images)

After breaking away from P.T. Barnum, they travelled solo in their early twenties. They performed synchronized backflips and somersaults and presented acts that even normal individuals couldn’t accomplish. They answered the audiences’ curious questions at times and at other times, dismissed the ideas of medical practitioners in the audience that suggested their surgical separation. The twins made a good fortune but soon enough they were tired of their lives on the road and decided to put an end to it all and lead a quiet life in a remote township of Wilkesboro in North Carolina.

Marriage and later life of Chang and Eng

With the money they had saved, the Bunker brothers bought slaves and a two hundred acre land for farming and the lives of the industrious twins as businessmen took off. At 31 years of age, Chang fell in love with Adelaide, one of the daughters of a landowner named David Yates. However, Eng had yet to develop such feelings for any woman. When Chang wished to marry Adelaide, Eng had no choice but to agree to wed Adelaide’s sister Sarah, so that they could settle down together at Mount Airy in North Carolina, without curious eyes prying on them all the time. Yates was reluctant to give away his daughters to the Bunker brothers initially, not because they were conjoined twins but because they were Asians. The marriage of the twins to the Yates sisters in the year 1843 probably became the first ever interracial wedding the state had ever seen.

Chang and Eng Bunker with their wives and children. (Mathew Brady)

Though it was not easy for them to lead a normal life as married men, Chang and Eng Bunker were always under the abhorrent eyes of their neighbours, who discussed their sex lives more disapprovingly owing to their rare oddity. Some even went on to call their ways to procreate as incestuous and insulted the couples. Soon, the sisters started quarrelling and grew tired of sleeping in the reinforced bed together, where the twins slept in the middle flanked by their own wives to their sides. That led the Bunker brothers to build another house, close to their first one, where they took turns living in Chang’s home for three days, followed by a trip to Eng’s for the next three days. Between the two, Chang and Eng sired twenty-one children – Chang and Adelaide had ten children and Eng and Sarah had eleven. Though among the twelve daughters and nine sons, none were twins, two children were deaf-mutes and two died before they completed three years of age.

Chang and Eng Bunker with their wives and 18 of their 22 children. (unattributed / Syracuse University)

Death of the Bunker twins

After all the money was exhausted raising families, the Bunker brothers decided to return to show business again, this time with two of their children in tow. However, their magic had started fading away and people across the globe refused to believe the twins could be husbands and fathers. To many people, the idea was appalling and the twins started losing their audience, their fame as well as their money. After performing for more than four decades, the twins couldn’t showcase their oddity anymore, which led Chang to take to drinking heavily. In 1870, he suffered a stroke, which paralyzed the right side of his body, where Eng was attached. Eng nursed his brother back to health, but Chang never fully recovered.

Their life spiralled out of control and only saw a downfall towards the beginning of the 1870s. Work kept lessening; tours had stopped, families were disturbed and the aftermath of the American Civil War had added to their miseries. On January 12, 1874, Chang was stricken with severe bronchitis and complained of stinging chest pains. His condition worsened and he passed away in his sleep in the wee hours of January 17. When Eng woke up, he panicked to see himself attached to his dead twin, while he was still alive. A desperate surgery to separate the dead twin was attempted by calling upon a doctor, but it was too late. By the time the doctor arrived three hours later, Eng had died too.

The bodies were taken to Philadelphia for autopsy, where it was revealed that Chang had died of a clot in his cerebral cavity due to the stroke, while Eng had died of fright. An examination of their connecting cartilage proved that though it was the Bunker brothers’ wish to be separated later in life; it could have been a fateful decision, had they taken it, upon their return to showbiz. The Bunker wives permitted the state to perform a detailed autopsy on the twins, which later revealed that although the twins had separate organs; they shared conjoined hepatic vessels owing to their fused liver. It is doubtful whether doctors could have successfully been able to separate the brothers, without causing the death of one of the twins due to excess blood loss.

Legacy of Chang and Eng Bunker

Chang and Eng Bunker memorial bronze statue in Thailand. (Poakpong / Flickr)

Buried in a common grave at a cemetery in White Plains Baptist Church in Surrey County, the medical marvels and the original Siamese twins, rest peacefully after a fulfilled life of adventure and risks. A plaster cast of their torso is displayed at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where people visit in the hundreds to see the rare humans. The twins have close to 1,500 descendants, who earlier lived in secrecy, but have now started to come out at reunions as proud members of the odd yet reputed Bunker family. With their abnormal appearance and their zest for life, the inseparable Bunker brothers left the world awestruck.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Extraordinary Conjoined Twins: Lazarus and Joannes Baptista Colloredo“.

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The post Chang and Eng Bunker: The Famous Congenitally Fused Twins That Brought the Term ‘Siamese Twins’ in Vogue appeared first on .

Artistic impression of Mansa Musa and his army. (HistoryNmoor / Wikimedia Commons)

Imagine being so rich in today’s times that the tokens of appreciation and gifts you gave to a country for their generosity could cause an economic meltdown in that nation! Such is the tale of an African king, who lived during the Middle Ages and had so much wealth in gold that none of the richest tech giants, affluent business magnates or monarchs of the modern world could outdo him even today. Mansa Musa I of Mali unarguably remains the richest man of all time to ever live in human history.

Story of Mansa Musa’s life

Although not much is known about his birth, the earliest records state that Musa was born in the year 1280 into a family of emperors. Related to the first muezzin in Islam, Bilal ibn Rabah, Musa was the great grand-nephew and a direct descendant of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire.

He became the tenth king of the present-day West African country of Mali through regency, and his ascension to the throne was not easy. Musa narrated the account of his coronation to a 14th-century Syrian historian Shihab al-Umari, who mentioned it in one of his documents. It is said that when the king before Musa – Mansa Abu Bakr II – renounced his claim to the throne to explore what was west of the Atlantic Ocean in the year 1312, he took along a large fleet of ships and an entourage of slaves with him to satisfy his wanderlust.

But little did anyone know that his second expedition to the edge of the Atlantic would become the last he would ever undertake. He went missing, never to return. Before his voyage, Abu Bakr II had conferred the regency on Musa to make decisions in his stead, until he returned, in the best interest of their kingdom. So when the sultan did not come back from his voyage after a long period of waiting, an urgent need for a Mansa (ethnic West African tribe of Mandinka used the word mansa, which translates to emperor) arose. That is when Musa decided to take over the reins of the Malian kingdom and was coronated as Mansa Musa I.

The flourishing Mali Kingdom under Mansa Musa’s rule

During the mid-1300s, Europe had become cash strapped and impoverished with civil wars breaking out frequently. But the continent of Africa was flourishing and Mansa Musa left no stone unturned to expand the boundaries of his kingdom. Before Mansa Musa came into power, the realm of Mali was already rich in gold supplies. And when he took over in 1312, he became even more powerful and began to conquer the neighbouring territories on the west of the African continent. His kingdom spread a little over than three thousand kilometers and stretched all the way to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. He seized control over as many as twenty-four African regions, which include the modern-day countries of Mauritania, Niger, Chad Republic, Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso and Nigeria and parts of Guinea-Bissau. Documented records state that the Malian Kingdom under Mansa Musa’s rule stood second in size after the great Mongolian Empire.

There was plenty of natural resources in the kingdom and commodities like salt and gold were in high demand worldwide during those days. Renowned Moroccan explorer and scholar Ibn Battuta mentioned in his accounts that only a year of production could yield a tonne of gold in Mali and that is how the empire kept prospering under the reign of Mansa Musa. During Musa’s rule, Mali alone accounted for almost half of the world’s gold. Trade flourished and the historical city of Timbuktu became the most important hub of business during his reign.

Mansa Musa’s historic pilgrimage to Mecca

Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim and in the year 1324, he undertook a trip of over six thousand kilometers to the holy land of Mecca to perform his Hajj and that was when the world came to know of an African king, who was so rich that he made other kings look like paupers. His travel did not come cheap. Mansa Musa travelled for his pilgrimage, spanning the length of the Sahara Desert with a large convoy and a herd of animals that was a sight for the onlookers to behold. Most documents say that he travelled with as many as two hundred thousand men, but the exact numbers have been varying in some accounts.

His retinue included forty thousand soldiers, courtiers, royal officials, entertainers, heralds, twelve thousand slaves and hundreds of camels and horses, along with several flocks of sheep and goats to provide meat on the journey. As many as five hundred servants were in attendance to his senior-most wife. It appeared as if an entire city was on the way to the pilgrimage through the desert. All of Mansa Musa’s courtiers were dressed in fine Persian silks and gold brocade. His slaves wielded gold staffs that weighed approximately 2.7 kilograms each and every single out of the hundreds of camels is said to carry roughly 135 kilograms of pure gold on it.

When Mansa Musa passed through Egypt

While Mansa Musa’s vast caravan was on the way to Mecca, it passed through Egypt’s capital city of Cairo, where such a rare grandeur was on display for the first time ever. It caused mass hysteria, which as per the documents of Shihab al-Umari, eventually led the ruler, al-Malik al-Nasir to summon Mansa Musa. It was mandatory for a visitor to greet the Egyptian sultan by kissing his hands and feet but Musa refused saying he was on his way to perform his Hajj and in no way would he bow down before anybody else but his God. This made the sultan to finally greet him with respect and admiration and the two kings exchanged pleasantries for a while. The Egyptian sultan played the perfect host to Mansa Musa’s entire retinue for a three-month stay.

As the entourage began on their onward journey, Mansa Musa, in a gesture of his humility, gave away gold to people as gifts. He even flooded the markets with gold dinars purchasing local and foreign commodities. Although gold was in short supply in Cairo in those days, Musa’s generous gifts in gold led to the value of bullion dropping very drastically. His well-intentioned donations led to a cash catastrophe. The depreciation of the precious metal caused a massive financial crunch and the gold market crashed. When Mansa Musa returned from his pilgrimage and passed through Cairo again, he tried to help Egypt recover from the meltdown. He took away some of the gold from circulation by borrowing it for an exorbitant interest rate, yet it took a little more than a decade for the desert country to get back on its feet.

Mansa Musa’s significant contribution to Mali

A generous man, offering to charity at every opportunity, Mansa Musa, on his return trip to Mali from Mecca, purchased lands for his men to stay. He acquired lands in Gao, a territory in the Songhai kingdom, where he commissioned the building of mosques, palaces and audience chambers. Apart from wealth and power, he sought knowledge and brought back Islamic scholars and poets to spread the word of God in his kingdom. Mansa Musa also allowed individuals to practice their own faith and never forced his religion on his people nor was he in favour of conversions. As his empire kept expanding with time, he separated all the territories under his rule and divided them into provinces, appointing governors to oversee them, who reported back to him.

From his travel, he also brought back an Andalusian architect named Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Al-Sahili to build study centres and mosques in Timbuktu. This architect from Granada in Spain went on to construct the iconic Djinguereber Mosque in 1327, which is still standing tall and serving its purpose for a little close to seven hundred years. For this masterpiece, Mansa Musa is said to have paid 200 kilograms in gold to Abu Ishaq, which in today’s times would be approximately equal to 8.2 million US dollars.

Djinguereber Mosque. (JM / Flickr)

Mansa Musa urbanized Timbuktu and commissioned construction work of libraries, schools and art centres. He is also credited as the first person to encourage traditional education in West Africa. Timbuktu became an educational center and students from all over the world came to study at Mali during its golden period.

Mansa Musa I of Mali reigned for about 25 years and died in the year 1337, leaving its reins to his son Mansa Maghan I. But the stories of his great fortune still come as a surprise.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Hetty Green: The Richest American Woman Who Was Known for Her Extreme Miserliness“.

Fact Analysis:
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The post Mansa Musa: The ‘Golden’ Emperor of Mali Who Was Reputedly the Richest Man Ever appeared first on .

A Bedouin tribe along with their camels. (Boston Public Library / Flickr)

Long before the world moved towards modernization, humans lived in different small communities, where they shared the same culture, traditions and way of tribal living amongst themselves. As times changed, these tribals gradually adapted to change and followed the new ways of the world. However, one tribe that is believed to be as old as time and which did not give up its primaeval ways and still continues to lead an ancient life is the Bedouin tribe. Living in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and later spreading into Northern Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean Levant region, the Bedouins are known to have lived as per their olden traditions for over two millennia.

History of the Bedouins

The English word Bedouin comes from the Arabic words badiyat and badawi or bedu, which mean ‘desert’ and ‘people that live in the desert’ respectively. Experts are of the opinion that the term originated from the Arabic word baadiyah or bedaya, which in the English language roughly translates to ‘the beginning’. It is believed that the modern Arabs are descendants of the Bedouin tribe, who had been widely instrumental in spreading their culture in the Arabian regions.

Bedouins are considered to be the original Arabs, who make up the entire modern-day Middle East and some parts of south-western Europe. While most of the Bedouins also follow Christianity, a majority of the tribals practice Islamic traditions. The Bedouins are nomads that wander in the vast desert lands and primarily engage in cattle herding. Divided into three groups as per their customs, some Bedouins herd camels, some tribes raise sheep and goats, while others are herdsmen that practice farming and agriculture.

A Bedouin spearman sitting on an Arabian camel. (Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection)

Considered to have been around since 850 BC, the Bedouins also find a mention in the Holy Quran as Araabs, or predecessors of the Arabs. Originally belonging to the Arabian Peninsula, where the tribe had settled for a very long time, the Bedouins are now mostly found in modern-day countries like Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, some parts of Turkey and Israel. These tribals started moving out from the dry wastelands for lack of food and water. During the months of winter, when the weather is cold, Bedouins move towards the deserts and then return to their cultivated lands during the summer months. As times are changing, more and more Bedouin youth are giving up their traditional nomad ways of living and moving towards cities for a better future and sustenance. However, these modern youngsters have been organizing and actively taking part in their cultural events on a regular basis during the year to keep in touch with their age-old customs and traditions.

A Bedouin man. (Whiting, J. D., photographer / LOC)

Basically, cattle-herding tribesmen, the people of the Bedouin ethnic group have maintained their rituals of engaging in poetry recitation, traditional music, tribal dance forms like the sword dance and tent-knitting customs. Camel races are organized on special occasions to celebrate a wedding or a festival. In the past, the Bedouins had zero interaction with people belonging to different tribes, except for fellow Bedouins from other clans, until recently when the tradition was done away with. Marriage within the same extended families is permissible in the tribe, with cousins marrying each other most often. The Bedouins follow a patriarchal and patrilineal pattern of family and practice polygamy. More than three or four generations live together as a single unit, where men engage in cattle herding, while women share homely duties. Until recently, meals were shared in a big, single-serving dish by the members of the extended family living under the same roof.

Two Bedouin women using millstone. (Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection)

A Bedouin woman baking bread. (Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection)

Due to the harsh desert life, Bedouin people have adapted themselves to life and are known for their generosity and hospitality that they extend towards others. No traveller that ever comes across a Bedouin tribe is sent away without being fed well. Each Bedouin clan or qaum is at the centre of the society, partaking in various social activities. A collection of several of the people from different qaums together make up a qabila or a tribe. Spread across different desert nations, the government of Jordan strongly acknowledges the fact that the unique identity of their country is because of the major contribution of traditional values of the Bedouins. Though the Jordanian government is doing everything to provide education, healthcare services and settlements to the tribals, the Bedouins prefer to live as nomads like their ancestors did over thousands of years.

Cultural ways of living of the Bedouin tribe

The dromedary camel (Arabian camel)  is the most revered animal of the Bedouins, for it can sustain for a very long period of time in the dry region without water, providing easy transportation to the tribals. It is also used for its meat, milk and hide, which is used in weaving the traditional Bedouin tent. Apart from the camel, goats also provide with hair for the large tent, which is known as bait-al-shaar or ‘house of hair’. The sheep provides wool for clothing and is also used as a means of food.

A Bedouin tent. (yeowatzup / Flickr)

The men in the Bedouin tribe wear the traditional galabiya dress, which has now become an indispensable part of Arabic attire. Mostly white in colour, the galabiya is a loose-flowing, long garment, paired with the Arabic kuffiyah (cotton headscarf with an igal or black rope used to tie the scarf) to protect them from the scorching desert sun. The look is completed with a shalwar or baggy-crotched pants, a belt, an abaa or cloak and a furwah or jacket for the cold weather. The attire keeps the body well-aired in the heat. The galabiya that the women wear is mostly a blue or black coloured (though now a lot of other colours are incorporated) cotton gown, with wide and long sleeves, complete with embroidery and hand-crafted decorations all over it. Silk galabiyas are worn on special occasions.

A Bedouin bride and groom in their traditional attire. (Missouri History Museum)

Face veil of Bedouin women. (Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / Flickr)

The women also cover their faces with the traditional yashmak or veil to protect themselves from the desert sand and extreme heat. These usually vibrant red and orange veils also have decorations in the form of multi-coloured beads, pendants, chains and coins. Married Bedouin women wear a heavily-embellished asaba or black-coloured headgear covering their faces to mark their marital status. Typically, a woman’s headcover would often specify which clan she belonged to and where she lived. In addition, the embroidery on the dress and its colour would also indicate whether the woman wearing it was unmarried, widowed, married, or looking for a partner. However, this custom of status distinction by identifying a woman’s dress is now slowly fading away. Bedouin women are also fond of jewellery, which are chunky silver pieces engraved with semi-precious gems like agate, turquoise, carnelian and coral to name a few. Necklaces, rings, nose pins and other pieces of jewellery are usually presented to a woman as her wedding gift.

Bedouin women weaving. (Matson Collection / LOC)

Traditions followed by the Bedouins

Bedouins also take part in poetry recitation or Al-Taghrooda, which is composed and performed by men. Usually riding on camelbacks, Bedouin men chant the generally seven-lined verses of the poem, which they believe, keeps the rider entertained. While travelling, the first verse is recited by the lead singer and another group of Bedouin travellers reply by chanting the verses that follow it. Al-Taghrooda is also performed at special occasions like weddings with improvisations and also while spending time at campfires, where Bedouin qabilas gather for social bonding. Nowadays, women folk also engage in composing and singing poetry while working together in groups. With poetry recitation, the singers convey messages of love towards their kin and oftentimes it also serves as a way to highlight social issues. The UNESCO has listed Al-Taghrooda as a living human heritage, which will serve as a legacy for future generations to come.

A Bedouin wedding procession. (Missouri History Museum)

Male members of the family having a meal together at the wedding of two Bedouins. (Zoltan Kluger / National Photo Collection)

Long before Bedouins opted for a more sedentary lifestyle that is evident today, the ancient nomads believed in ghazw or raiding. These tribesmen would often loot other passing caravans, tribes and settlements while on the move in order to extort compensation for their protection. For a brief period, some Bedouin men also served as bodyguards and worked as mercenaries to make extra income, while at other times, they transported goods and people across the desert as a means of collecting profits.

As the younger generations of Bedouins are opting out of the traditional way of living, different governments of the Middle Eastern countries are doing their bit to modernize the tribe meeting with little success. Though most of the tribals are now also engaging in falconry and horse-breeding, others are raising doves during their leisure time in the hot and arid desert lands. Swinging between urbanization and tradition, change certainly isn’t inevitable for these desert-dwellers.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Vadoma: Tribe Famous for their Ostrich Foot Syndrome“.

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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 Bedouins and the Desert: Aspects of Nomadic Life in the Arab East | By Jibrail S. Jabbur (Author), Suhayl J. Jabbur (Editor), Lawrence I. Conrad (Translator)

Genre:
Non-fiction > History

The post The Bedouin People: A Desert-Dwelling Tribe That Has Preserved Its Age-Old Traditions for Many Centuries appeared first on .

Zaha Hadid in 2013. (Dmitry Ternovoy / Wikimedia Commons)

It is said that a woman is the architect of society; but little did they know that one woman would actually go on to become the architect of the world in the truest sense of the word. Dame Zaha Hadid, the celebrated Iraqi-British architect, best remembered for her ideas of deconstructivism and the curves she added to every piece of building she designed across the globe. Though the gifted architect passed away in the year 2016, her work still continues to inspire budding talents that hope to walk in her footsteps someday.

Zaha Hadid’s early life and education

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1950, Zaha grew up in a moderate and secular Middle Eastern country, where girls had equal opportunities as boys during those days. The Iraq of her times was neither war-torn nor was it stricken with misery like it is today; instead it had a more Westernized outlook and approach and had an economy that was rapidly growing. During her childhood days, there were a lot of women who had made a name for themselves in different fields of profession, but there was not a single woman architect that Iraq had ever produced. Confident and determined from the very beginning, Zaha had made up her mind to do something that no woman had ever done before. Her influential family, comprising of her father – Muhammad al-Hajj Husayn Hadid – an industrialist, economist and politician par excellence, her mother Wajeeha Sabonji – an artist, and her brother – Foulath Hadid – a prolific writer and expert on Iraqi affairs – strengthened her resolve further to make a mark for herself in whichever field of work she chose.

After she completed her elementary education from boarding schools in England and Switzerland during the late 60s, Zaha enrolled for her mathematics majors in the American University of Beirut. Later in 1972, she moved to London to pursue architecture from the world renowned Architectural Association School of Architecture, where she studied under future great architects like Rem Koolhaas, Bernard Tschumi, Will Alsop and Daniel Libeskind to name a few. Although the 70s was a time when the trend of swinging more towards historicism and post-modern styles of architecture was prevailing, Zaha had her own ideas of design. She was strongly influenced by the work of her professor Koolhaas, who was working on principles of neo-modernity in architectural style during that time. When Zaha graduated in the year 1977, Koolhaas offered her a partnership job at his and Elia Zenghelis’ (Zaha’s another tutor) Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) firm in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, but her career at the OMA was very short-lived. She had other better and bigger plans.

Zaha Hadid’s career get-going in architecture

Before launching her own brand ‘Zaha Hadid Architects’, Zaha taught at her alma mater for some time, while polishing and honing her own architectural drawing skills in the meanwhile. She emphasized more on the suprematist style, the Russian art movement of the 20s, which focused on geometric forms and patterns using a limited range and blend of colours. She created her own art form, terming it ‘fluid kind of spatiality’, which represented the changeable modern life from her perspective. People in the field had named her ‘the inventor of the 89 degrees’, for she never created anything that stood perpendicular to the ground. Her designs were always less than 90 degrees in one way or the other.

Haydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by Zaha Hadid. (Investigation11111 / Wikimedia Commons)

She had a broader sense of space and she never paid enough attention to minute details first. Zaha’s sense of perception and the way she designed a sketch was mind-bending, as the shapes seemed to morph into something else entirely while one passed through them. She dabbled more in shadow work along with indefinite and mostly confusing design forms. Though Zaha was more into abstract forms of design, something that wasn’t very popular back then, her idea wasn’t very well received in the initial stages of her career.

Modest beginnings in the field of architecture

While Zaha was confident that she would carve a niche for herself in the field of architecture, it took a long time for her drawings to be recognized the world over. Clients willing to invest money in her designs could not fully understand her idea of art; because her architectural drawings, which were well ahead of their time, weren’t functional as far as constructing an actual building based on them was concerned.

In the year 1982, when Zaha won a competition to design a spa called The Peak in Hong Kong, it looked as if her career had received a head start. But it was not the case. The plan was abandoned more quickly than it was taken up. The plan never materialized and it was only when she designed the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein on the German-French and Swiss border that her hard work had finally been recognized. Though the fire station was later converted into a museum, Zaha had eventually found her true calling.

Zaha Hadid’s work gained momentum

A naturalized citizen of the UK by the late 70s, Zaha began working her way from small edifices in the country to slowly and steadily making waves on the international architectural scene. First building a ski jump in Innsbruck, Austria, between the years 1999 and 2002, which also had a cafe and a panoramic view of the mountains, she worked in the United States, where she had won commissions to design two art museums – a first for a woman in America. Coincidentally, she was competing against her own mentor and dear friend Rem Koolhaas. By the mid 2000s, Zaha had started winning international competitions, which allowed her to convert her unusual architectural drawings into designs for the whole world to see. The Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany, built between 2002 and 2005 was one of her most ambitious projects. Not only was the building functional but it also had space for recreational activities underneath the main structure. The building, which resembles a gigantic ship, is complete with a café, a shop and an entrance to the museum upstairs.

Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany. (maraCZ / Flickr)

The ground floor of the science center. (Spyrosdrakopoulos / Wikimedia Commons)

More notable works of Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid’s designs on paper had begun dotting the world in reality, with countless countries having one of her creations in at least one of their cities. She had achieved a celebrity status and her building designs had gained a landmark status by the mid 2000s and that had cemented her position amongst the topmost women in the field. After the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, USA, another museum project came her way. This time it was in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she designed an extension for the already constructed Ordrupgaard Museum, using only diagonal lines.

Ordrupgaard Museum extension by Zaha Hadid. (jelm6 / Flickr)

During the same years, she won a commission for designing the Administration building of BMW Motors in Leipzig, Germany. The interiors of the first floor, consisting of 30 rooms of the Hotel Puerta America in Madrid, Spain had brought her laurels.

Zaha Hadid’s major architectural ventures

By the late 2000s, Zaha Hadid had begun working on major reputed projects, some of which included the Salerno Maritime Terminal in Italy, the Napoli-Afragola High Speed Train Station in Naples, Italy, a unification of three government buildings including a multimedia library, a public archive and a sports department called Pierres Vives in Montpellier, France and Opera Houses in cities like Guangzhou in China and Dubai in UAE. She designed a private residence in Moscow for a Russian citizen – Vladislav Doronin – called the Capital Hill Residence, which happens to be the first and only private property Zaha ever worked on. In Glasgow, Scotland, she designed the Riverside Glasgow Museum of Transport, which is a striking structure of zigzag lines and patterns.

Inside the Napoli Afragola railway station. (Pivari.com / Wikimedia Commons)

Pierres Vives by Zaha Hadid in Montpellier, France. (Marc Meynadier / Flickr)

Prominent projects and unfinished works

While her adopted home country was set to host the Summer Olympics in 2012, Zaha Hadid designed the Aquatics Centre, which became an icon in itself. Designed like the fluidity of water, in her own words, the London Aquatics Centre became the talk of the town, with even Olympic-winning swimmers praising her work. Zaha Hadid passed away in 2016 in Florida, USA, due to a sudden heart attack at the age of 65 and left some of her work unfinished. The work on Beijing Daxing International Airport in China, currently under construction was taken up by Zaha’s architectural firm, which will also be one of her several other posthumous projects. The Scorpion Tower or the One Thousand Museum in Miami, Florida, which is a residential high-rise condo, will also be completed by her firm post her death. The list also includes the Al Wakrah Stadium, now known as Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, which will be the venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup set to be held in the country.

Bridge Pavilion designed by Zaha Hadid for the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain. (Grez / Wikimedia Commons)

Awards won by Zaha Hadid

While there are a lot of awards that Zaha had won in her long and fruitful career, the high-ranking Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is the Nobel Prize equivalent in architectural parlance, was the one she cherished the most. She also became the first woman to receive the honour of the Pritzker Prize in 2004. Zaha also won the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) European Awards in different years for her diverse construction designs that had been built the world over. For her peculiar projects and architectural designs, Zaha also received UK’s most esteemed architectural award – the Stirling Prize – in two different years. She also became the first and only woman to win the Royal Gold Medal by the RIBA in 2016. She was appointed the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002 and made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2012 for her services in the field of architecture. Internet giant Google, too, celebrated her achievements with a doodle on its home page in 2017. Several other international awards from different countries were also bestowed upon her for her unrelenting and dedicated service in the field of structural design.

Jockey Club Innovation Tower by Zaha Hadid in Hong Kong. (Iwan Baan / Forgemind ArchiMedia / Flickr)

The dynamic Zaha Hadid became a name that had come to stay in the business. The kind of designs she created in architecture became synonymous with her ideas and it was difficult to push her aside. A woman standing tall like her architectural pieces in a male-dominated field, Zaha has left a huge shoe that will take a long time to be filled. Her work across the world will stand testimony to the fact that even after she passed away, her art will continue to be literally looked up on.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Mae Jemison: The First African-American Woman in Space Had an Illustrious Career from Medicine to Cinema“.

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Adalaj Stepwell. (Henry / Flickr)

A stepwell has always held an important position in the history of Indian architecture, with the semi-arid states of Gujarat and Rajasthan occupying top spots, where one is likely to find these in the vicinity. A stepwell, which is also called a baoli or bawdi in Hindi language, formed an integral part of a city’s foundation, providing year-round access to basic water-related needs for locals in the nearby areas. The city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat is home to a renowned stepwell called Adalaj ni vav or Rudabai vav, which is not only an example of fine architecture but is also an ancient yet functional masterpiece in itself.

Adalaj Stepwell history

Initially known as Rudabai ni vav, the Adalaj stepwell came to be known by its current name owing to the quaint village it is situated in. The village of Adalaj is located approximately 20 kilometres on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, which gave the vav (in Gujarati language it means a well, which is accessed through a flight of stairs) its name. Construction work on the magnificent stepwell began during the late 1490s under the supervision of Rana Veer Singh of the Vaghela dynasty, who ruled over a kingdom in Gujarat called Dandai Desh during those times. His little empire was prone to frequent dry spells and insufficient rainwater was the only way in which Dandai Desh could meet the needs.

Rana Veer Singh ordered that a huge well be constructed on the lands nearby that would end their water-related problems once and for all. And so construction work on Adalaj stepwell began, with skilled masons and artisans employed to finish the job for the king.

No sooner did work start on the stepwell than tragedy struck their realm and a war with their neighbouring province broke out. Rana Veer Singh died in the battle, losing his land to a Muslim ruler – Mahmud Begarha, who later rose to prominence as the Sultan of Gujarat during the fifteenth century. After Rana Veer Singh’s passing, his wife, Queen Rudabai decided to complete the work on the stepwell in the fond memory of her late husband, but Dandai Desh’s and Rudabai’s problems had not ended there.

The tragic story associated with the Adalaj stepwell

Queen Rudabai had wanted to jump into her husband’s funeral pyre and commit Sati, but she held back and decided to finish work on the stepwell herself. When Mahmud Begarha, whose actual name was Abul Fateh Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah I, conquered Dandai Desh, he was totally smitten by the beauty of the queen and proposed marriage to her. Queen Rudabai laid out a condition that she would marry him if he allowed work on the stepwell to finish off first. And so under Rudabai’s supervision and on the orders of Mahmud Begarha, construction work on the Adalaj stepwell began again and was completed in the year 1498. The cost of building the vav was an estimated five hundred thousand rupees of that time.

When Mahmud Begarha reminded the queen of the promise she had made to him, she jumped into the waters of the stepwell thus ending her life. Mahmud Begarha did not want to demolish the architectural marvel that he had helped build and decided to keep it intact. It is believed that the six tombs, which one encounters on their way towards the stepwell, are those of the masons who had toiled hard to build the stepwell during Mahmud Begarha’s reign. Legends also state that the queen can be heard weeping at the base of the stepwell on a full moon night.

Specifications of the Adalaj stepwell

The Adalaj stepwell is a square piece of architecture towards the bottom that transforms into an octagonal structure towards the top. Hewn in sandstone and built in brick and mortar, in the Indo-Islamic style of architecture, a colonnade of pillars support the ornate octagonal edifice that descends five stories deep into the underground from top to bottom. Each floor is spacious enough to house a large group of people together at one time. More than five hundred years ago, women would come to fetch water at the stepwell, chat and catch up on their daily lives, along with travellers and pilgrims, who would find a way to rest overnight at the massive stepwell and pray. It doubled up as a resting and trading place and also served ritualistic and practical purposes. Today, tourists gather at the underground level of the Adalaj stepwell to soak in its beauty and splendour.

Inside Adalaj stepwell. (Nandini / Wikimedia Commons)

There are depictions of the day-to-day lives of people on the walls of the stepwell, along with carvings of Jain and Hindu iconography. Fused together with these on the walls are the floral motifs and geometric patterns from Islamic architecture that adorn the entire structure. The amalgamation of Hindu and Muslim designs together in one structure stems from the fact that Rana Veer Singh began work on the stepwell and Mahmud Begarha completed it; each adding his own cultural touch to it. The balconies of Adalaj ni vav are delicately detailed, the pillars or columns on which the structure rests are intricately designed and niches in walls house Hindu deities, which are aesthetically done, adding to the beauty of the already stunning stepwell.

A decorated stone panel of the stepwell. (Itsmalay~commonswiki / Wikimedia Commons)

The Ami Kumbhor, which is also known as the pot that holds the water of life and the Kalpavriksha or tree of life (two important symbols from Hindu mythology) are the main attractions at the Adalaj ni vav, which have been elaborately carved out of a single slab of sandstone in the wall recesses. A few verses in Sanskrit are inscribed on the walls of the first storey, which narrate the tale of Rudabai’s sacrifice and her love for her husband.

The speciality of Adalaj ni vav

Apart from the many special attributes that the water shrine possesses, Adalaj ni vav has the distinction of being the only stepwell in Gujarat, which has three entrance staircases that lead to a stepped corridor. These three entrances converge in the underground pavilion at the first square-shaped storey, which rests just above the circular water tank. The well is connected to an underground aquifer that yields groundwater to the tank regularly. Cross beams run along the entire length of the corridors and passageways to support the structure above. The roof of the corridors has vents that keep the edifice well-lit and properly aerated. Small rooms at each of the landings have oriel windows for proper ventilation. Direct sunlight does not cast on the stairway landings except for a brief period of time during the noon.

The upper storey of the stepwell. (Koshy Koshy / Flickr)

Built as a site where travellers could seek refuge from the harsh sun, Adalaj ni vav provides just that by blocking out the sunlight for the most part of the day. As one descends into the heart of the earth, the air starts to get cooler and the interiors of the stepwell always remain cool with approximately six degrees lesser than the outside temperature. Even though the spiral staircases are narrow and steep, giving a feeling of being confined in a tight space to some, at no point of time does it become darker inside so as to give rise to a problematic situation.

On the upper floors, scores of carved animals are on display, which forms a part of the Hindu mythology, but none looks similar to the other. The stepwell was carefully built more than five centuries ago, keeping in mind the utility that it would serve over a period of time. The artisans’ hard work, expertise and patience were at play while the Adalaj ni vav was under construction and the tragic tale of sacrifice and endless love associated with the stepwell only goes on to show that the country is replete with such masterpieces that are yet to come out of the dark.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Chand Baori: A Quaint Remnant of the Past“.

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Aerial photo of Wadi-us-Salaam. (Sgt. Johnnie French / U.S. Department of Defense)

Situated approximately 180 kilometres in the south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Wadi-us-Salaam, which also means Valley of Peace in Arabic, occupies around 1,500 acres of land in Najaf – considered the third most revered city in Islam. Contrary to the colourful metropolis that looms in the foreground, the mud and clay-built Wadi-us-Salaam has stood silently in the background since ages. The tombs, all tightly packed together in the vast necropolis resemble a crammed city bustling with activity from afar. But a closer look inside the graveyard only paints a gloomier picture, for the place is silent with the dead buried inside it since a very long time.

As per the Shia Muslim beliefs, Abraham (or Prophet Ibrahim in Islamic teachings) purchased land in Wadi-us-Salaam, and he believed that the land was part of paradise, a claim which Imam Ali, too, corroborated after him. Said to be active for more than 1,400 years, Wadi-us-Salaam has seen daily burials since the Parthian Empire, which lasted between 247 BCE and 224 CE. As many as five million dead people (and counting) are buried in the Valley of Peace, which also holds traditional significance to Muslims across the globe. The Shias are of the opinion that Wadi-us-Salaam would be the final destination of the souls of the faithful, no matter where the dead were originally laid to rest. They believe that being buried close to Imam Ali, the son-in-law and first cousin of Prophet Muhammad will lessen their sufferings in the afterlife and on the Day of Judgment, the dead shall be resurrected along with their most venerated religious leader.

Wadi-us-Salaam. (Abdolrahman Rafati / Tasnim News)

Traditions followed at Wadi-us-Salaam

The crypts stretch far and wide in the vast area and the dead population in the gravesite is believed to be more than that of a modern city comparatively. Each year the burial ground witnesses a surge in its number with the deceased buried in layers and layers beneath the earth. Right from honored Islamic prophets to priests, kings and Sultans and Islamic leaders from all walks of life are laid to rest at Wadi-us-Salaam. Since the cemetery is located close to the holy memorial of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, many Shia Muslims from all parts of the world request to be buried at the world’s largest burial site. People from far away countries like India, Pakistan, Southeast Asian nations and closer ones like Iran, the Middle Eastern countries and Lebanon to name a few, visit Wadi-us-Salaam to bury their dead there.

Description of graves at Wadi-us-Salaam

Wadi-us-Salaam is said to be the only burial place in the world, which has stuck to the interring customs followed from more than 1,400 years ago. The graves are built using plaster and baked bricks, standing at different heights. The wealthy build large, family-sized tombs that have domes on top, while the sepulchres from eight to nine decades ago can be seen high in the background with rounded off tops. Lower graves and tower-like graves can also be seen dotting the cemetery that stretches into the horizon in Najaf as far as the eyes can see. Some graves are placed in catacombs, buried deep inside the ground that can be accessed only by ladders. Each grave is said to hold as many as fifty bodies. The land on which Valley of Peace is built is so enormous that people sometimes have to use bikes to traverse the maze-like burial site to reach their loved ones buried in the graves. The crypts usually smell of rose water that relatives sprinkle on the tombs when visiting their dead relatives.

A shrine dedicated to Muhammad al-Mahdi among the graves. (Abdolrahman Rafati / Tasnim News)

Rituals followed at Wadi-us-Salaam before burial

The deceased are given a proper burial at the site conforming to the ancient Islamic traditions, which involve a number of rituals. Before a dead is finally laid to rest, the body of the deceased is given a ghusl, or in other words, the body is bathed one last time before it is wrapped in a qafan – the white shroud in which corpses are draped. Funeral prayers of the departed are conducted inside the shrine of Imam Ali, where the body is circumambulated thrice around the mausoleum. Verses from the Holy Quran are recited at the cemetery while lowering the body into the grave, which is said to ease the passing of the dead into the afterlife.

Wadi Al-Salam cemetery in Iraq. (Wurzelgnohm / Wikimedia Commons)

Problems plaguing Wadi-us-Salaam

While the neighbouring countries of Iran and Iraq fell into chaos, with the onset of war in the eighties, the number of deceased buried at Wadi-us-Salaam doubled up very quickly. As many as two hundred and fifty bodies were buried during the Iraq War in a single day. The gravesite was also the scene of severe clashes during the height of the Gulf War of the nineties. The rebels sought refuge in the crowded graveyard and the Iraqi army had to raze the tombs down to the ground to comb for insurgents. Hundreds and thousands of bodies were interred at the gravesite during that time. Now the burial place also has tombs of soldiers that die defending their country.

Also, with Iraq bogged down by conflict in the past decade, the demand in burial sites has considerably shot up. With burial plots now running out at Wadi-us-Salaam, many reported cases of stealing or illegal reselling of the plots have come to light. Also, with the ISIS conflict currently plaguing the country, burial sites for victims have become quite a problem. The prices of burial plots have also risen up in recent times, which haven’t deterred people from burying their dead at the Valley of Peace.

While Wadi-us-Salaam awaits a permanent mention in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, the ancient and biggest cemetery in the world hasn’t bowed down to the modern ways yet. It stands witness to traditional Islamic rituals that have been upheld since time immemorial and it continues to attract more and more deceased people from all over the world, along with their living relatives that visit in the millions every year.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pere Lachaise Cemetery: Celebrated Parisian Cemetery, Where Millions Visit to Pay Homage“.

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American dream limo. (Courtesy: Jay Ohrberg)

Long ago, when automobiles took to the roads on a commercial basis, they not only made it easier for people to travel from one place to another but it was also a less tiring and more time-saving process. Automobiles became the order of the day and car manufacturers began toying with the idea of bringing changes in the size, shape, design and pattern of the vehicles for more public appeal. Among all the other vehicles that the world had seen, none was as long as the “American Dream”, which was the longest car in the world at one point of time.

History of American Dream limo

Illinois-born Jay Ohrberg, who worked as a truck driver back in the 70’s, was once assigned the task of transporting show cars around North America and Canada for the then five-time American racing champion Craig Breedlove. Jay found out that there was a different set of audience that was in awe of speed cars and had a deep sense of veneration for such vehicles. That fuelled his imagination and gave him the idea of coming up with peculiar designs for building his own show cars. Soon enough he started designing automobiles that were not only strange-looking but were built from things that people would see in their vicinity in their daily lives. His unique car designs were much appreciated by the public, and they brought in the kind of money Jay was looking for, to keep on funding his own designs and custom-making more modified cars and odder-looking designer vehicles.

His stylish cars started to get noticed and eventually Hollywood happened to Jay Ohrberg at the right time. Initially taking it up as a hobby, designing cars for well-known Hollywood production houses became Jay’s passion. The car designer now turned car collector, shifted base to Las Vegas, where he currently owns a shop that deals in such custom-built vehicles. Ohrberg designed a number of automobiles for many popular Hollywood movies and television shows and that prompted him to build a luxury limousine back in the late 80s that would not only go on to stun the world but would also be one of the most unique cars to ever roll.

Specifications of the American Dream

Measuring a whopping one hundred feet in length, the American Dream limo or limousine was built by extensively modifying a golden coloured 1970’s Cadillac Eldorado model, to which more parts were added later on. Ohrberg and his team worked on the sedan by removing its rear seats and working their way by patching up the vehicle with another Cadillac model and joining the two together. Adding twenty-four more wheels, along with its original two front wheels (six in front, eight in the middle and ten at the back), the sedan turned into a 100-feet-long limousine from bumper to bumper. It had seventy-two seats and a host of amenities inside it to boast of. It ran on two motors and had to be driven by two drivers, who had two cabins of their own, one in front and one at the back.

The helipad on the limousine. (Courtesy: Jay Ohrberg)

The American Dream limo interior

When the American Dream limo was complete in the year 1992, it was truly extravagant on the inside. There was a hot tub inside the ultra-luxury car, a putting green (a small part of a golf course), a tanning bed, a plush living room, a Jacuzzi, a swimming pool complete with a diving board, a king-sized water bed, a sun deck, a satellite dish on top and even its own helipad on the backside. A midway detachable panel helped the limousine to be loaded on trailers in two parts in case it needed to be transported from one place to another.

The limousine detached into two parts for being moved. (Courtesy: Jay Ohrberg)

Drawbacks of the American Dream limousine

The comfort car was so long that it could only be driven on a straight path. Owing to its length and its sheer size, it could not negotiate a turn on either side and that is where the two drivers came into picture. It was designed to be detachable in the midsection so that the driver in the back could reverse the vehicle when there was a need for it. Although the car was a limousine, which wasn’t a rare sight in the US, mostly in uptown Hollywood, the American Dream was illegal on the road and did not have permission to be driven publically. It ended up getting leased to a company, which further used the car for promotional purposes.

Last days of the American Dream

After the lease of the luxury limousine ended, it was abandoned in a New Jersey warehouse, where it kept wasting away in solitude in a parking lot. Its body had damaged greatly, windows had been broken, its wheels went missing, its parts had become rusty and moreover, there was no way the car, which once was a rare sight, could be brought back from the brink. Although auctions were held in 2012 to give the car a second chance at life, nothing worthwhile came up due to the damage it had suffered, until two years later when help arrived. In the year 2014, Autoseum Automotive Teaching Museum in New York acquired the American Dream limo, which would help to teach students to build and fix cars that are in such dire conditions.

American Dream limousine in 2014. (Vetatur Fumare / Flickr)

While Jay Ohrberg continues to custom-make and design luxury cars and vehicles for movies and put them on display in his museum, there was no way he could save the one piece of his artwork for the world to see. With plans for an even longer limousine, it is still time to see if it actually materializes. The American Dream had a dream run while it was in working condition on the roads, which earned the vehicle a place in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records. Until Jay Ohrberg designs the longer one as promised, the American Dream limousine will continue to be remembered as the longest car in the world.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Armoured Vehicle-Launched Bridge: A Bridge Over Troubled Water and a Real-Life Transformers“.

Special thanks to Jay Ohrberg for permitting us to use the photos of American Dream limousine.

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Bird’s eye view of the old Penn Station. (Detroit Publishing Company / LOC)

When the world first got to know that there would be vehicles that would carry a thousand commuters together at one time and that these vehicles would run on tracks instead of roads, it went into a tizzy. Almost every nation followed suit and the world was connected with railroad networks in no time. Soon enough each developed nation (of those times) tried to outdo the other by building railway terminals that would be better than the others. But when Pennsylvania Station in New York City in the United States of America was built between the years 1904 and 1910, it was not just a beautiful monument but it became a moment in history for everyone to hold on to.

History of Penn Station

Earlier until the twentieth century, the railway network of Pennsylvania Railroad, also known as PRR, ended on the western side of the Hudson River and commuters who had to travel further over to Manhattan had to take ferries to cross the Hudson. So PRR decided to construct a railway bridge across the river to ease the commute. But since the project had to be a joint venture between the railroad networks of the states of New York and New Jersey (since it connected both), the latter did not consider the option seriously. The PRR then looked to build a railway tunnel under the river instead, but the stringent laws of the state of New York did not allow steam engines to ply in enclosed spaces for fear of pollution and so the idea did not materialize sooner.

It was only in the year 1903 when the then PRR president Alexander Johnston Cassatt finalized the construction of the Parisian-style electric engine railroad approach to expand the railway network that a green signal was given to the project. Finally, in the year 1904, work on the new railroad expansion project took form and the railway terminal, which would go on to become a feat of engineering started taking shape. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, one of the highest-flying architectural firms in the US during that time, the Pennsylvania Station was built on a sprawling eight-acre piece of land and covered more territory than any other building ever constructed in the world then.

It covered the 31st and 33rd streets of Manhattan and was constructed in less than six years time. It followed the Roman and Greek Doric style of architecture and the entire length of the building was approximately 788 feet, which allowed for sidewalks on both sides of the street. The Pennsylvania Railroad bounded the Seventh and Eighth Avenues completely and its facades were built in a way that it patterned after the grand Caracalla baths and temples of ancient Roman civilization.

The waiting room inside the station. (Library of Congress)

Photo of the waiting room from another angle. (Library of Congress)

Alexander Cassatt, who found inspiration in the Gare d’Orsay station on his visit to the French capital of Paris, wanted his New York Penn Station to be even bigger than the Beaux-Arts styled Parisian building. Working closely with Charles McKim of the McKim, Mead and White firm, Cassatt planned a huge building that would house three floors, have twenty-five tracks for trains and would measure a whopping 1,500 feet in length and 500 feet in width. PRR also proposed for a post office to be constructed across the railway station, which the US government considered with a positive outcome. Lands were purchased and work on one of the biggest railway stations began with excavations and construction starting in full swing.

Although the tunnel project began facing initial hiccups, with many laborers dying, working in extreme conditions and some physical damage to the tunnel, construction on the station building went on without halts. Finally, after all the efforts were put in, work on the enormous Pennsylvania Station was officially finished in August 1910 with all underground tunnels in place.

Two weeks later, on September 8, 1910, a part of the station was opened to the public on an experimental basis and in November the same year, the entire station was declared open and fully operational. Commuters, eager to take the new railroad, turned up in the thousands to try out the new railway network that would finally take them all the way across the Hudson in no time.

The interior of the old Pennsylvania Station. (Library of Congress)

Main Concourse interior. (Cervin Robinson)

Description of the Penn Station

When work on the New York Pennsylvania Station was at its peak in 1908, it was considered a masterpiece that the city would look up to and talk about. The huge, arched glass windows, pink granite and marble columns adorned the building that was set to become one of the largest public spaces ever to be built. An engineering sensation, the Pennsylvania Station was constructed using roughly seventeen million bricks, 27,000 tonnes of steel, 83,000 square feet of skylights to allow daylight inside through the roof windows and some 500,000 cubic feet of coloured granite.

A part of the ceiling of the building was made using glass and wrought-iron and a 150-foot high waiting room could fit nearly three thousand people together at one time. Despite the glass roof, the waiting rooms underneath it were always brightly lit but never sunny. There were electronic ticket counters, a large information booth, small stores and restaurants packed in corners, murals decked the walls, cola vending machines were installed at regular intervals (which also led to free publicity), billboards and a few shopping arcades too were crammed inside some parts of the structure.

Platform hall of the historic reception building, 1911. (Cervin Robinson)

Demolition of the New York Penn Station

The Old Penn Station Terminal not only served the commoners but also the privileged alike once it was fully functionally and running. While there was a surge in the flow of passengers to and fro from Penn Station after World War I ended, it sadly saw a decline after the Second World War came to a close and airplanes started to take to the skies.

By the year 1947, the numbers went down drastically and it became difficult to maintain the grand building, which was already running into financial losses. Add to the woes, the Pennsylvania Railroad gave away the air rights to real estate developers. It was then decided to tear down the great building.

Pennsylvania Station, east facade. (Library of Congress)

In 1962, Irving Felt of the Graham-Paige automobile company purchased the air rights and planned to construct the present-day Madison Square Garden and Penn Plaza at the very place Penn Station once stood overlooking the busy streets. However, the railway network underneath the surface along with the tunnels beneath them were agreed to be left functional and operational. There were large public opposition rallies, international outrage and protests from all walks of life to save the building that became a part of the American heritage, but it was to no avail. Finally, in October 1963, when the first wrecking ball hit the building hard, it was clear that the structure would be taken down eventually.

Even though the New York Penn Station was demolished to make way for the multi-purpose indoor sports arena and the hotels and offices of Penn Plaza, it largely helped in preventing other heritage buildings from biting the dust. The Grand Central Terminal was also about to fall as there was a proposal to demolish it too, but the timely passing of the landmark preservation act – New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission of 1965 – helped other buildings see the future. The commission had come at a great cost but it was too late; and one of the most beautiful train terminals from the past had already ceased to exist by then.

All a part of history now, only the photographs of the mighty Penn Station remain that still adorn the walls of the train tunnels. The New York Pennsylvania Station was once a work of art, a stunning engineering marvel that also made its way into movies and people cherished it for five decades and always felt important while riding the railways beneath it.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Now Forgotten Medical Histories ‒ Railway Surgeries“.

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Beginning of the Emu War after World War-I

When World War-I had started to gather momentum, a lot of common, working-class Australian men were sent off to fight for their country on the battlefield. These men, who had previously been farmers, goatherds, shepherds, industry workers and the like, returned home after the war ended and tried to lead a normal life. But the government found it difficult to support these soldiers, who had come back in the thousands. So it was decided that these five thousand odd war veterans would each be offered money and allotted a piece of land to cultivate wheat on and raise cattle as part of the soldier settlement scheme.

As it is, most parts of Australia were already facing a drought-like situation with westerners being the worst affected. Add to the misery, these allocated lands in Perth were either not arable or were in such bad shape that it couldn’t be used for wheat cultivation. To make situations even more difficult, The Great Depression of 1929 hit hard on the world and the Australian soldiers-turned-farmers, who were greatly affected, sunk further into financial crises. Wheat prices fell drastically and even the promised but failed government subsidies did not help them in any way. But just when things were beginning to look a wee bit sunny in the year 1932, emus began to migrate in large numbers from central Australia towards the west, in search of water and a better habitat. The flock of these large, flightless birds, which had no less than twenty thousand emus, was ready to run amok and ravage the farmlands as it moved west.

The immediate action plan

Emus, which are the second largest species of flightless birds in the world native to Australia, with a height that can reach up to 1.75 metres on an average, was a preserved species in Australia up until the year 1922. Things took an ugly turn on the 2nd of November 1932, when these migrating emus started destroying standing crops and eating away the newly cultivated wheat, thus forcing farmers, many of whom were former military men, to shoot down these birds. But the number of emus only kept increasing each time and the farmers had to finally request government intervention and military support.

Some war veterans, who had turned to farming, were taken to see the then Australian Defence Minister Sir George Pearce in Canberra, where they relayed their distressing situation to him in person. He agreed to send troops, armed with machine guns to shoot down the marauding birds, hoping it would all end well for the farmers. Major G. P. W. Meredith, of the Seventh Heavy Battery of the Royal Australian Artillery, who was the commanding officer of the Emu War, descended on Campion, a West Australian town close to Perth to fight off the nuisance. But there was more to it than met the eye.

War on the emus

Soldiers using Lewis Machine Gun during the Emu War. (Wazee Digital / Wikimedia Commons)

With two Lewis guns and some ten thousand bullets, soldiers began firing rounds at the emus, which created an almost stampede-like situation in the area on the first day. Out of the fifty birds that were sighted, only some of them could be killed. Major Meredith and his men were unsuccessful on their first day. A handful of birds were killed at the commanding officer’s orders but that was not all. Despite their tight tactical firing, the emus, which had clearly outnumbered the troops, managed to scatter in all directions and there were very few bird casualties. A couple of days later, when more flocks entered the area, soldiers, who staged an ambush this time, opened fire on the giant birds. But the emus outwitted the onslaught of bullets and escaped unhurt even on the carefully planned military attempt. Out of the thousands that were spotted, only a dozen birds were gunned down. The operation, which was already delayed due to rainfall and jammed guns, bore no fruits again.

As the military was involved in the killing of emus in large numbers, the entire operation had garnered quite a lot of media attention. But with poor results and low outcome, there was more negative press coverage, which forced the Australian government to withdraw their troops to Canberra eventually and put an end to the procedure on November 8, 1932. The emus had won their first battle.

Second attempt at killing emus

After the forces retreated, emus continued to return in large flocks to pillage the wheat crops all over again for a couple more days. So on November 13th farmers requested military support yet again, and this time it took the government a little longer than usual to respond. Finally, when the military arrived, with Major G. P. W. Meredith in command once again, they were able to take down approximately fifty birds in their first attempt than they did previously. Over a hundred emus were killed every week, but the sly and quick-on-their-feet birds still dodged the bullets. It reportedly took ten rounds of ammunition on an average to kill one bird at a time, which later the government thought, was a mere waste of time and energy. Although around five hundred emus were shot down when the military returned to Campion, the entire effort was not worth it and the forces were recalled for good this time. And so on December 2, 1932, just a month after it all began, the great Emus had won the war again.

A deceased emu during the war. (Wikimedia Commons)

The aftermath of the War

Although the government provided the locals with limited ammunition to gun down the birds on sight, not many emus were killed during the operation either. Though the emu population had gone down due to the shortage of food and water, this was due to a natural cause. Farmers requested military aid many times again in the years that followed but it was declined by the government every time. Instead, a bounty system had been initiated, wherein more than fifty thousand bounties were claimed in six months in the year 1934 alone.

As word spread across the globe about the killing of the flightless birds in such large numbers, protests to preserve the rare bird species began and the bounty system, too, had to be done away with gradually. Then on, locals began making use of emu-proof barrier fences to keep the birds away from their lands, which is still a very popular method of pest (emus in this case) control in the Australian farms.

Emu Fence. (WA Government)

Despite the Australian government trying to bring down the rare bird species in order to keep a check on them, the emus won both the wars that were waged against them. A failed wildlife management on part of humans was the main reason these wild birds continued to wreak havoc on farms at every seized opportunity. While emus continue to be an integral part of Australia till date, there was once a time in history, when these birds were tough adversaries for humans that stood tall, dodged bullets and came up trumps too.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Story of The Most Inspiring Football Match in History: Christmas Truce of World War I“.

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Vantablack on an aluminium foil. (Surrey NanoSystems / Wikimedia Commons)

What is colour, one may ask? To put it in simpler words, colour is what the human eye perceives when a ray of light falls on an object and reflects from it into the surroundings. It is basically a certain wavelength of the ray of light that is absorbed and then emitted from the object that makes up a particular colour, which we see eventually. Black, for instance, is a colour that absorbs most of the light, which when cannot be reflected, makes us see the dark colour. But a few years ago, scientists in the United Kingdom created a substance that was so devoid of colour that it became the blackest material to be ever produced by man. Meet Vantablack, the blackest of the black.

What is Vantablack?

Early in the year 2007, several scientific players were in a bid to outdo each other in creating the blackest material man had ever known; but only Surrey NanoSystems succeeded in getting theirs trademarked first. Initially, the work on creating a super-black material began at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK. Surrey NanoSystems in association with NPL worked on ideas to create the blackest substance which could revolutionize many frontiers. And so from the lab-grown experimental substance, the already existing super-black coating underwent several improvisations and Surrey NanoSystems came up with the name for their new material. An acronym of ‘Vertically Aligned carbon NanoTubes Array’, VANTA was prefixed to the colour ‘black’ to get the name of the darkest material ever – Vantablack.

Vantablack was made under a modified vacuum procedure called chemical vapour deposition process and was artificially grown on a substrate, in this case, on an aluminium foil. Millions and millions of carbon nanotubes vertically aligned close together and arranged in an order on a foil, under very high temperatures gave Vantablack its physical properties. Carbon nanotubes are microscopic, rod-like cylindrical structures that are almost five thousand times thinner than a human hair. When these densely packed minute tubules make up a substance, they help in making any material even stronger. When Vantablack was finally created, scientists found out that the new substance could absorb 99.96 percent of the visible light, which made an object coated with Vantablack almost impossible to discern even against a lighter background. It was so black in the absence of light bouncing back off that it felt like looking into a deep pit of nothingness.

Physical properties of Vantablack

Quite ironic as one may call it, Vantablack, the blackest substance ever synthesized, was created using carbon nanotubes, which were made to withstand a temperature of around 450 degrees Celsius emitted from several lamps. Scientists are of the opinion that its colour is the closest match to a black hole humans can ever see. It has ultra low levels of reflectance, meaning its surface does not give out any incident light that falls on a substance coated with Vantablack. It not just absorbs all the light in the visible human spectrum but also other radiations of all wavelengths that the human eye cannot perceive – right from ultraviolet to infrared radiation. Any form of light that enters a material coated with Vantablack gets almost totally absorbed into it and does not find a way out to escape from the tightly packed forest of carbon nanotubes. This trapped light then dissipates and gets converted into heat.

The colour is also super-hydrophobic, which means it does not allow water to have an impact on it or its physical properties. An aluminium material, for example, when coated with Vantablack would float on the surface of the water rather than sink to the bottom, like it usually would. Vantablack is resistant to high thermal exposures and also highly resistant to extreme shocks and vibrations. Vantablack can absorb such high amounts of light, without reflecting it further, that three dimensional objects, when seen from a certain angle, can appear to be two-dimensional to the human eye. Due to its rare physical properties that not many materials possess, Vantablack has found a wide range of applications.

Uses of Vantablack

The lab-grown, super black material has so many potential benefits that its application can revolutionize avenues such as space exploration, defence technologies, architecture and even art to name a few. Originally designed for use onboard space satellites, Vantablack found many takers eventually. Recently, the colour made its space debut on board Kent Ridge 1, a low earth orbit microsatellite, which is a conjunction between German and Singaporean organizations. Vantablack helped the satellite in improving its star-tracker control system and also helped in reducing the interference of stray light in the imaging systems while on the mission.

Thermal camouflage in defence technologies could also be one of the options that can find Vantablack at the helm of things. Due to its heat dissipating quality, Vantablack can also be used in solar power technology. A lens coated with Vantablack can prevent lens flares in powerful telescopes, thus reducing stray light to enter into it, which will allow space researchers to see some of the faintest and most distant objects in the universe. Due to its low reflectance properties, it can be used in infrared sensors, cameras and other imaging and mapping devices. Also, since its conversion of energy is huge, it can be used to power up electronics and other scientific instruments.

While ocular uses of Vantablack stay on top of the list of its potential applications, artists and architects are making use of this super black material to create designs that provide optical illusions for a viewer. At the recently concluded Winter Olympics in South Korea, a British architect Asif Khan unveiled a building called The Hyundai Pavilion in Pyeongchang, which was designed by coatings of Vantablack, and it came to be termed as the darkest building on Earth. British artist Sir Anish Kapoor, who is the exclusive licensee of the spray paint version of Vantablack called Vantablack S-VIS, dabbles in black colour in his artworks – which are mostly hypnotic and disorienting – and he now plans to use the new non-reflective colour in his select works. As far as military uses of Vantablack go, the super black material could mask off aircraft and hide them in stealth mode and can also be used to block out military equipment during the time of warfare.

This blackest of a black substance, which is touted to be even more expensive than diamonds or gold has so many probable uses in countless fields that working with it, will have endless possibilities. While a lot of agencies dealing in products for all walks of life are trying desperately hard to lay their hands on Vantablack, it is only a matter of time, before we get to know how Vantablack starts bending reality in the days to come.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Eigengrau is the Dark Gray Colour That Most People See in the Absence of Light“.

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Verkhoyansk. (Becker0804 / Wikimedia Commons)

Mother Russia, as the nation is colloquially called, is known for its many extremes. Falling right under the Earth’s North Pole, with a majority of its northern areas in the Arctic Circle, Russia experiences extremely cold temperatures throughout the year. Two of the populated places ever to go on record as the coldest in the world are Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk, both in Russia, where bone-chilling winter temperatures make it almost unfit for human occupation. But what sets Verkhoyansk apart is the extreme temperature difference of 105 degrees Celsius that the town experiences between the summers and winter months.

Brief history of Verkhoyansk

Verkhoyansk was founded by the Cossacks or Ukrainian Kazaks (meaning adventurer in Slavic language), which were a group of travelling, Slavic-speaking people, who were the first ones to set foot in Siberia in the mid 1600s. In the year 1638, just a year prior to Russia’s Siberian occupation, the Cossacks built a small, wooden, military fort in the northern areas, a little further from Yakutsk, which was manned on several occasions. They named this fort “Verkhoyansky”, which in the Russian language meant “the town on Upper Yana”. They colonized most parts of northern Siberia and Russia and along with it, the parts of Verkhoyansk, as we know it today.

Later in 1937, when geologists found gold and other minerals buried deep in the frozen lands, it became a tactic to punish the enemies of the state. When Joseph Stalin’s governance was at its peak in the Soviet Union, many political prisoners were sent to forced-labour camps to extract precious minerals from frozen underground mines. These labour camps were (and still continue to be) known as gulag. Verkhoyansk was one of the major labour campsites, where political prisoners were exiled to bear the harsh weathers as part of their punishment.

Geographical location and topography of Verkhoyansk

Verkhoyansk belongs in the Sakha Republic of Russia and is a part of the Verkhoyansky District. It lies further north from Yakutsk, the capital of Sakha Republic. As its name suggests, it is situated on the upper reaches of the Yana River, which flows through this area. The town of Verkhoyansk falls in the Arctic Circle, which is an imaginary line, far northwards and parallel to the Earth’s Equator in the Arctic region.

In the Arctic Circle and also in the regions that fall in it, the sun doesn’t rise or set for one entire day in the months of December and June respectively. Verkhoyansk, being a part of this area, is subjected to the same kind of extremes. With a winter temperature recorded at minus 67 degrees Celsius and a summer temperature recorded at 38 degrees Celsius, Verkhoyansk is the only place in the world to ever have such a highest temperature range.

Verkhoyansk Range, Yakutia. (Ilya Varlamov / Wikimedia Commons)

A memorial called The Pole of Cold welcomes people into Verkhoyansk. Considered to be the coldest (along with Oymyakon), where the lowest temperatures have been recorded to date, Verkhoyansk twice had a record low temperature of 67 degrees Celsius below zero (although fluctuating between minus 60 and minus 67) in the years 1885 and 1892. Verkhoyansk is also a part of the Frigid Zone, where temperatures can abnormally fall below the regular range during the already harsh winter months. Scientists studying the area say that more than half of Russia sits on permafrost and some places in Siberia, including Verkhoyansk, can have frozen grounds as deep as 1500 metres below the surface. While Oymyakon fights it out with Verkhoyansk for being the coldest inhabited place in the world, Verkhoyansk has a special Guinness record to its credit.

Life of people in Verkhoyansk

With a handful of people living in the extreme weather, the 2010 Census recorded a population of approximately 1300 in Verkhoyansk. Descendents of political prisoners from the Soviet era, along with a few Yakut hunters, make up Verkhoyansk’s total population. Along with the town of Oymyakon, Verkhoyansk is one of the coldest places on earth to still remain inhabited despite being in a state of permafrost.

Modern technology is of no use in this harsh climate and so people rely on experience to beat the chills. At minus 67 degrees Celsius, there is absolutely no humidity in the air, which causes any water vapour particles to sublime into ice dust. This is also one of the reasons why there is continuous thirst in the region, causing coughs. Locals mostly suffer from pneumonia and bronchitis and other breathing-related disorders.

The temperatures are so low that metals can break easily and cables can become so frozen that they can snap on their own. Writing ink freezes the moment it oozes out of nibs, while dry cells do not last for more than a few minutes. Another major problem that people in Verkhoyansk face is a proper burial site for their dead. The frozen ground is difficult to dig and so fires are lit and coals are burnt in them, which in turn, melt the ground below them. The process, which may take roughly three days, is repeated until a grave is ready to bury a corpse.

A cellular tower dots the frosty landscape in the town, which allows people to access the Internet on a regular basis. Running water, supplied in pipelines at a very high speed to prevent the pipes from freezing solid, is not potable. As a result, drinking water is quite a rarity in the area. People cut huge blocks of ice from the rivers, which is later thawed and used for drinking. Many buildings lay abandoned, for people have moved to cities in search of a better future. Local people mainly commute on foot, wearing thick furs, obtained from Yakut horses that are commonly found in this area. Those that can afford motor cars, keep it running all day, for fear of vehicles breaking down until winter is over. People rely on the small Yakut horses for its meat and also eat fish from the frozen rivers.

The now abandoned old airport of Verkhoyansk. (Becker0804 / Wikimedia Commons)

Verkhoyansk has a small airport, which connects the main city of Yakutsk to this tiny, frozen and dry town. A river port brings in supplies for people as and when needed. Airline tickets in Verkhoyansk cost a bomb and many locals prefer to stay in the town itself, although the younger crop now has aspirations for a better city life.

Though life is not so good in the small town of Verkhoyansk, frozen at 67 degrees Celsius below zero during the winter; a hot summer day at 38 degrees Celsius is no relief either. Fighting an extreme temperature range that is nowhere experienced in the world, Verkhoyansk still continues to move on in the ice-covered land at a very, very sluggish pace.

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Maharajas’ Express. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

Train journeys have always held a special place in the heart of people, giving them fond memories to recount. Travelling across villages and cities and watching the lush green countryside and colourful cityscapes roll by, is an exceptional experience for travelers all over the world. But Indian Railways’ Maharajas’ Express is one luxury train that literally goes the extra mile to make sure its patrons have a royal experience of a lifetime on their trip, as the express makes its way through more than twelve choicest destinations in the country.

History of Maharajas’ Express

A joint venture between the public-private organizations of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and Cox and Kings India Ltd. respectively, Maharajas’ Express was started in the year 2010 with a view to boost tourism in North India. The two corporations signed a deal and set up a new company called Royale Indian Rail Tours Ltd., which was to supervise the entire management of Maharajas’ Express. But few months into the partnership and the companies were already running into financial losses, for the business was not very lucrative in its initial days. Cox and Kings India Ltd. had invested a huge sum of money into the venture, while IRCTC claimed that it could bring in more profits if it was given the upper hand in the management duties. This led to a dispute between the two parties and the matter was taken to court.

Maharajas’ Express at a station. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

Following the Supreme Court orders, it was finally decided that IRCTC would take full charge of the operations of Maharajas’ Express alone and with lowered prices, it would offer the same services as it had promised initially. The contract between the two companies was then terminated a year later in 2011. Ever since, IRCTC took over the operations of Maharajas’ Express and is now being managed exclusively by the Indian Railways, becoming the most expensive luxury train in the world.

Tour Packages of Maharajas’ Express

Depending on the itinerary, the Maharajas’ Express covers several destinations in the country, mostly traversing the northern part of India, centering on Rajasthan. The best part about this train travel is that it allows a traveler to enjoy a royal experience only on wheels. The express generally starts its journey at night and travels to places mentioned on the tour package in a span of nine days at a maximum, which is part of its longer route. The shorter trip package includes only a three-day tour on board the luxury train. Although the train travels through several routes, the one that passengers enjoy the most, not only from India but also from foreign lands, is called the Princely India, wherein the express train journeys through the major cities of the state of Rajasthan.

Maharajas’ Express route map. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

The package called Indian Panorama includes a tour of the country’s breathtakingly beautiful landscapes starting from Delhi and covering Rajasthan’s Jaipur and Ranthambore and going all the way from Fatehpur Sikri to Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra, Khajuraho and Gwalior. Another route called The Indian Splendour journeys from Delhi and covers Udaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Mumbai, along with Agra, Jaipur and Ranthambore. Other itineraries, which cover almost the same cities, are called The Heritage of India, The Indian Panorama, Treasures of India and Gems of India.

The Southern Sojourn tour package covers Ratnagiri, Goa, Mysuru, Hampi, Trivandrum and Cochin, while the Southern Jewels include a tour of South Indian cities like Chettinad and Mahabalipuram, along with cities from the Southern Sojourn package.

Facilities provided by Maharajas’ Express

With a total of twenty-three luxury coaches, the Maharajas’ Express offers four categories of cabins, including a Presidential Suite, a Junior Suite, a Suite and a Deluxe Cabin. All the coaches are named after precious stones like Heera (diamond), Moti (pearl), Panna (emerald), Pukhraj (topaz), Neelam (sapphire), Firoza (turquoise) etc. The artfully crafted coaches and thematic décor complement the ambience inside each luxurious cabin. Even the details in every cabin, including its color, are such that they match the royal theme perfectly. The Presidential Suite is elegant and very richly decorated, with space enough for two bedrooms and a grand living room too. Out of the twenty-three coaches, one is reserved entirely for the staff and members of the management, which also has a travelling doctor on board in case of any emergency during the course of the journey. One coach can carry at least eighty-eight passengers travelling together.

Double bedrooms in the luxury train. (Simon Pielow / Flickr / Photo 1 / Photo 2)

Junior suite. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

Lounge of the presidential suite. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

Amenities inside the Maharajas’ Express

Each cabin measures around 112 square feet and has room enough for a double bed, a foldable writing desk and a luggage storage space underneath the bed, a wardrobe, an electronic safe for personal belongings and an air conditioner. The lavish interiors also have a smoke detection system, CCTV cameras and pneumatic suspension for a smoother journey. The state-of-the-art cabin also provides a plasma television set that plays satellite channels, Wi-Fi facilities, carpeted floors and climate control system to make the journey more memorable. The luxury bathroom in each suite is well-equipped and has a shower cubicle, an elegant bathtub, a water closet and a wash basin with a continuous supply of hot and cold water as per the need. The twenty-four hour valet answers to guests’ calls whenever made.

A bathroom from one of the suite. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

The coaches also have boutiques, bars and restaurants, which offer nothing less than a five-star dining experience on wheels. The plush lounge bar called The Rajah Club offers an exquisite range of drinks for its patrons. It also offers games tables for a more entertaining and relaxed trip. Comfortable seating arrangements in this luxury lounge, along with corporate bars for meetings on board are also included in the list of amenities on the Maharajas’ Express.

Maharajas’ Express – Bar. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

A well-equipped kitchen offers an eclectic mix of meals ranging from Indian cuisine to Western dishes. Two restaurants called Mayur Mahal and Rang Mahal offer seating capacities for forty-two guests at a time and serve food from an international platter. All onboard meals are served in the two eateries. Expensive cutlery and tableware adorn each dining table for a more fine dining experience.

Dining at Maharajas’ Express. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

Cutlery and tableware. (Simon Pielow / Flickr)

Awards received by Maharajas’ Express

While in service since the last nine years, the Maharajas’ Express has added quite a lot of feathers to its already brimming cap. It has been consecutively voted The World’s Leading Luxury Train for five times between the years 2012 to 2017 at the World Travel Awards held in different countries. It won the CNBC Travel Awards in the years 2015 and 2010, and was also adjudged winner of the Seven Stars’ Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyle award in the years 2016 and 2015. It was the first runner-up at the Conde Nast Travellers Readers’ Choice Award in the year 2011 among other recognitions that it has earned since its inception.

The Indian luxury train that charges a whopping fare for a week-long journey to world heritage sites in the country, offering several facilities akin to a stay at an opulent hotel is what makes its tour even more special. Providing a world-class travel experience on wheels, the royal journey on Maharajas’ Express is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime tour one can ever undertake.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Idea Behind the Rotary Snowplow Train was Conceptualised by a Dentist“.

Special thanks to Simon Pielow, co-founder of The Luxury Train Club for releasing the above images under creative commons.

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Fort Montgomery. (Mfwills / Wikimedia Commons)

A fort is a living example of human history, which speaks of the great times it has seen over all the years. Yet there is one such military structure that was built in the year 1816, which not only brings embarrassment to a great nation like The United States of America but also brings back haunting memories of the goof up that the country had committed in constructing this structure. Fort Montgomery, also more famously known as Fort Blunder was built by North America, but a little on the other side of the border in Canada.

A brief history of two American wars significant to Fort Blunder

When the British began colonising the countries of the world to gain supreme control, they conquered the Thirteen Colonies along the north Atlantic coast and ruled over them for a very long time. It was only in the year 1776 that the Thirteen British Colonies declared independence from colonial rule and formed the United States of America as a single country. This American Revolutionary War was momentous in the nation’s history and the country was prepared to face its aftermath.

In the year 1812, Great Britain got into a major conflict with an infant United States and its allies again; this time due to America’s desire to expand its trade and territories much further. During this War of 1812, with the help of British Canada, the colonizers got into the heart of the United States that led to the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814. The lakeside town of Plattsburgh, situated on the border between the states of New York and Vermont was one of the easiest passageways that led the British into the country, via Canada.

Fort blunder

Although the United States managed to win the Battle of Plattsburgh in a way, which went on for two years, Lake Champlain (by which the modern city of Plattsburgh sits) had become a site of war, through which the British had gained direct access into North America once. So this time, the Americans were not willing to let the British through their waters easily.

Immediately after the invasion, a structure was ordered to be built on Lake Champlain by the James Madison administration. In case an attack from the British Canadian border came in again, American forces would be ready to face them head on. A narrow strip of sandy land, north of New York called Island Point was chosen, where an imposing structure was to be constructed. This would fortify the shores of America from future invasions along its northern borders.

Construction work on an octagonal-shaped fort quickly began. It boasted 3000 square metres of land, walls as high as thirty feet and armed with a hundred and twenty-five cannons, until a glaring loophole in the geography was pointed out.

When the blunder came to the fore

In the July of 1817, a year after construction work on the stronghold began; the then President of USA, James Monroe resurveyed the area north of Rouses Point and found out that the fortification was mistakenly being built on the other side of United States. The anti-Canada fort was actually on the Canadian soil itself. As soon as the miscalculation was noticed, construction work came to a sudden halt and the unnamed military structure was abandoned, which spelled good luck for commoners residing in nearby areas. In the years that followed, locals began pilfering construction and building material from the fort and carried them away for use in erecting personal and public buildings for themselves. That is when the North American citadel without an official name (although Fort Montgomery is a misnomer) came to be known as Fort Blunder.

When Fort Blunder became Fort Montgomery

The fort lay abandoned and in shambles for a very long time until in 1842 when hopes to renew construction on the very site of Lake Champlain rekindled. After the Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed between the USA and British-held Canada, it resolved the border issues between the two neighbouring nations. It was decided that the geographical border be shifted a bit towards the north. Fort Blunder would finally fall into North American territory and an accidentally-built stronghold would be back in the country where it originally belonged. So in the year 1844, construction work re-began on the fort, picking up momentum in the year 1848. It was rechristened Fort Montgomery in fond memory of the Revolutionary War hero General Richard Montgomery, who was killed in the Battle of Quebec.

Fort Montgomery during the American Civil War

While the work on the fort was still underway, another major war broke out between the northern and southern parts of United States of America between the years 1861 and 1865. Fort Montgomery played a crucial role during this American Civil War. Fort Montgomery held the American defense inside the garrison, in case Britain joined forces with the American slave-holding states.

Construction work on Fort Montgomery was finally completed in the year 1870, and despite the fort never being fully garrisoned at any point of time, its guns and cannons were scrapped off during the years 1900 and 1910. The land where the fort was built, which once bent boundaries, was put up for auction in the year 1926.

The years of Fort Montgomery after the Civil War

Finally complete with forty-eight feet high walls contrary to the original thirty feet, Fort Montgomery was armed with guns and cannons, ready to attack the northern border if ever a situation arose. But nothing of that sort ever happened afterwards and the ammo at the military stronghold became far too obsolete to be used in modern warfare. Once again, locals scavenged the wood, bricks and fixtures from Fort Montgomery for their own use and left it in a mess. Some years later, a large part of the fort was demolished and its stones were used in laying the foundation of a bridge across Lake Champlain. Finally, with nothing much left of the fort that once stood the test of time, was put up for sale.

A private shipping container tycoon from Montreal, who is also the current owner of Fort Montgomery, purchased the piece of history in 2006 and put up the ruins from the past on auction once again. Although nobody has come forward to close a bid ever since he made the purchase, the erroneous fort, which moved margins on the map, still sits on the land that marks the monumental mistake United States of America once made while constructing nothing short of a military memorial.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Kumbhalgarh Fort: Not Only China But India Too Has Its Own ‘Great Wall’ Built Centuries Ago“.

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Inside the tower of silence, Bombay. (GSV / Flickr)

The cultures and traditions of the world vary from one region to another and so do the funerary practices of people of that area. Some communities believe in burning their dead, while others customarily bury their deceased. But despite the difference in places of performing a person’s last rites, the rituals almost remain the same for all, except for the Parsis. The members of the Zoroastrian community opt for sky burials, wherein they expose their departed loved ones to the process of excarnation. Their burial sites are called a dakhma or a Tower of Silence.

Religious beliefs of Zoroastrians

The followers of the Persian prophet Zoroaster all over the world are fire-worshippers and consider the four basic elements of nature – namely fire, air, water and earth – to be very sacred. They do not follow the regular mortuary practices, which include either burying the corpse, setting a wooden pyre or immersing the ashes into the water. According to their beliefs, a dead body is unclean and is a major source of contamination, capable enough to carry contagion. Zoroastrians even consider it unhygienic to touch a corpse.

As per their religion, a dead body attracts evil spirits or Nasu, which charge to attack the flesh of the corpse immediately after the stages of putrefaction set in. Therefore, the members of this community do not consign their dead to the flames; for it is the most exalted of purifiers according to their traditions and it also helps in avoiding the release of infection into the air. Immersing the ashes in a water body pollutes it while lowering a corpse inside the earth makes the soil impure too. So to preserve these elements, they choose the sky burial technique, which is considered to be one of the purest forms of funerary rituals.

What is the Tower of Silence?

Long before modern traditions took over, Persia was home to one of the oldest civilizations of the world. And with it came the sky burial practices. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus mentioned in his sixth century BCE writings that he had closely observed the Persians’ death rituals, which were mostly kept secret from the world during that time. But as knowledge advanced, the reasons for Zoroastrians’ mortuary methods finally came to light. Huge circular structures were erected on accessible mountain tops or in the deserts at an elevated place, far away from city limits for disposal of the dead. Corpses would be carried to this burial site and left for scavenging birds (mostly vultures) to eat away at the flesh within hours and leave the rest of the procedure to nature. This process also prevented the pollution of their four sacred elements. By the turn of the new century, Towers of Silence started to come into prominence and slowly became the most trusted and most preferred burial sites for Zoroastrians.

Tower of silence in Yazd, Iran. (Diego Delso / License CC-BY-SA)

Specifications of a Tower of Silence

The modern-day towers of silence are huge, open-air, cylindrical structures with a flat roof. As tall as twenty-five feet in height and a circumference of two hundred and seventy-six feet, the roofs of these stone or brick burial pits have three sloped, concentric circles, which contain grates on them, all lined together in rows. The corpse of a man is placed in the outermost ring of the roof with the feet pointing towards the centre. Similarly, the remains of a woman are placed in the middle ring, while a child’s dead body is placed in the innermost ring.

Illustration depicting the Interior of a tower of silence. (Wikimedia Commons)

After scavenger birds eat away the flesh, the bones are dried out naturally due to exposure to the sun for several long weeks. These bones that fall off into the central ossuary pits (also called astodaan) below are later treated with lime, which helps in further disintegration of the bones. Whatever is left of it then goes through sand and charcoal filters by means of rainwater and finally it either leaches into the soil or is let off into a water body.

Towers of Silence in Mumbai & around the globe

Although there has been a decline in vulture population for sky burials in India, along with dakhmas now falling under city limits, the ritual still remains in practice in most parts of the country. The dakhmas situated in Mumbai’s Malabar Hills are two of the oldest sky burial sites in the country. Apart from these, there are several other Towers of Silence mostly in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, including the ones in Nagpur and Aurangabad. Also, in cities where the Parsi population is scant like in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Nainital, Secunderabad and Chennai to name a few, dakhmas are constructed that now lie well within the cities boundaries.

The dakhma in Yazd, Iran is considered to be the oldest tower of silence in the world (dating back to some millennia ago), although nothing much of it now remains – both in practicality and physicality. After the Iranian government put a ban in the 70s on the use of a tower of silence, Zoroastrians of the world, including those in some parts of India, resorted to burying their dead in cement-lined coffins, a lot like the other religious practices.

Due to bans and diminishing scavenging fowl populations, Towers of Silence have now been reduced to relics, which add a shroud of mystery to the Zoroastrian sky burial practices that continue to perplex many all over the world.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Tana Toraja in Indonesia: The Celebratory Funeral Ceremonies and the Tree of Baby Graves“.

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Story of the painter

Born in Boston in 1947, William Bill Stoneham never knew who his biological parents were. When he was nine months old, he was adopted from an orphanage. His new family took him to Chicago and later settled in California, where the artist switched jobs, being an independent painter to even working in the film industry. Though William, fondly known as Bill, struggled to make a living as a professional painter, as it did not fetch him enough money. Things then changed for the better for him in the year 1972, when Charles Feingarten Gallery contacted him, under a two-year contract, to produce two artworks each month for a fee of USD 200. With a deadline to chase, Bill could not think of any other option but to pick up an old photograph of his as an inspiration to put on canvas.

His first wife Rhoann had penned a poem in 1971, based on Bill’s sad experience of never having seen or met his biological family. The line from the poem – ‘The hands – resist him…’ caught Bill’s attention and he decided to name one of his creations after his wife’s emphatic lines. With a family to feed and a looming deadline, Bill decided to go for a self-portrait.

He picked out an old photograph from a family album, in which he was five years of age, and painted it with a few modifications to hand it over to the gallery. But despite having displayed several of his other paintings at a one-man show at the Charles Feingarten Gallery, only his ‘The Hands Resist Him’ sold at the gallery. Well-known actor John Marley purchased his piece of art for a huge sum. But Bill’s story did not end there.

What is the painting about?

‘The Hands Resist Him’, measuring 36”x 24”, is an oil on canvas artwork, which depicts a young boy in front of a panelled door, with a sad-looking, life-sized doll standing beside him, holding a broken dry cell in her hand. Several hands are pressed against the panelled door from the inside, where the two figures stand in dim lighting. As per Bill’s interpretation of the painting, it depicts his younger self, standing at a doorway, which is the dividing line between the real world and a world of fantasy. The doll is his escort, which will guide him on to the other side, while the hands depict either alternate lives that the boy could have beyond the doorway or several possibilities awaiting him on that side. The hands also represent the endless opportunities Bill could have beyond the door, which he couldn’t have in real life as an adopted child.

The Hands Resist Him painting by William Stoneham. (© Darren Kyle O’Neill)

How did the painting become viral?

In the year 2000, a woman from California, who only mentions herself as Lucy, found the original painting abandoned near an old brewhouse. Saddened by the condition of such a fine piece of artwork, she took it home. Soon strange things began to happen in her home. Her four-year-old daughter came to her with complaints that the people in the painting did not let her sleep at night. She claimed that the boy and the doll from the painting would come alive each night and fight in her room. Alarmed at what she had heard, Lucy and her husband decided to put up a motion-triggered camera in their daughter’s room to check if what the little girl had said was true or just another one of her nightmares.

And surprisingly, the pictures did show supernatural occurrences. One had the young boy leaving the painting as if he had been threatened by the doll. In another photograph, the expressionless doll, now seemingly angry, had been holding a gun and pointing it towards the boy, instead of the dry cell, which was actually painted in the original. That was when Lucy decided to let go of the painting and immediately listed it for auction on eBay, though with a warning that the picture was cursed. The news of the strange, haunted painting spread over the Internet like wildfire and more and more people got interested in having a look at it.

Haunting stories associated with the painting

After the painting was listed on eBay with the admonition, curious buyers and some non-believers, who wanted to have a brush with the supernatural, tested it for themselves. One buyer said that he fainted at the sight of the painting. Another buyer said she felt like her throat was being tightened by an external grip. One potential buyer saw the listing on his computer and said that the moment he saw the painting on the monitor, it turned white and a blast of heat began to emit out of it. He even began crying for no reason. A lot of people admitted to having difficulty breathing when they first saw the painting, while many others said that their children became uncontrollable and began to scream when they saw ‘The Hands Resist Him’ on the computer screen.

When news reached Bill…

Many bidders tried their best to lay their hands on the painting, but a gallery owner in Michigan, Kim Smith, bought the piece of art for USD 1025. It was then that his inbox started flooding with emails pertaining to people’s own experiences with the haunted painting. He quickly got in touch with an artist named Bill Stoneham, who it turned out, was the actual artist of the original painting. It was also when Bill got to know that a simple painting he had created years ago had come back to him amid all the weird reactions of people and stories of bizarre happenings.

The final fate of The Hands Resist Him painting

The now septuagenarian Bill Stoneham, who works only at his home studio in Washington, says he never knew his artwork had stoked up such chatter on the Internet after he sold it off to John Marley. He had heard of deaths of people who tried to own ‘The Hands Resist Him’, but shrugs the news off as mere coincidences. Though he created sequels of the same painting, he doesn’t know what happened in the process that his oil painting became a matter of such intrigue in all these years. Today, the artwork is still in Kim Smith’s possession, who says that he neither wants to sell it off nor has he experienced any kind of paranormal activity because of the painting. Smith’s sons do not want to keep the ‘most haunted painting in the world’ in their family home and so the original artwork today rests in the back room of their Perception Fine Art Gallery, carefully locked away, only making an appearance on special occasions.

A book titled ‘The Hands Resist Him: Be Careful What You Bid For’ by Darren K. O’Neill, lists all the supernatural experiences of people in a story format for the world to read. Even a movie based on Bill’s painting was made, but nobody knows what led it to become so eerie that the world refuses to take a look at it.

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Recommended Read:
The Hands Resist Him: Be Careful What You Bid For | By Darren Kyle O’Neill

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Space food presentation at Space Food Systems Laboratory in Johnson Space Center. (NASA)

Going out in space is one tough task that astronauts have to face. They are given rigorous training for months before their journey. They are meticulously prepared for a mission, man once only dreamt of. Although it may seem easy to us, but the moment a space explorer steps into the area of zero gravity, nothing is easy anymore.

Zero gravity not only hampers an astronaut’s psychological state but also disturbs their regular physiological functions. And to maintain a strict balance between both, it is necessary that the ones going in space make sure they eat the right kind of food. But did you know that those who travel in space pack special kind of foods with them, lest it becomes a major cause of concern for them and their space shuttle?

The need for space food

Long before freeze-dried and processed foods packed in small tubes were carried on space flights, scientists did not know that a procedure as simple as eating would cause trouble to astronauts. It was only when Russian cosmonaut Gherman Stepanovich Titov experienced space sickness for the first time and vomited his entire stomach’s contents, did researchers realize that food was one of the major factors that needed careful planning before men and women were sent out. A celebrated figure across the globe today, Titov travelled in space on August 6, 1961 following in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Yuri Gagarin. It was this ‘rare event’ that he experienced on Vostok II that brought on the need for special space food for astronauts.

A regular helping of routine food, which resulted in upset tummies, was completely done away with to avoid astronauts falling sick in space in the future. Bite-sized, dehydrated foods that were not just nutritious but also tasty, light-weight, able to be refrigerated and eaten as and when required, specially packaged space foods became the norm. This heralded a new era of supplying meals to astronauts that neither meddled with human physiology in space nor did it affect the astronaut’s psychological condition, deviating him/her from the task at hand.

First food in space

Learning from previous experience, John Glenn, an American astronaut, onboard Friendship 7 in 1962, was issued foods in compact tubes, from which he could easily eat while in a state of zero gravity. He became the first American to eat food in space on board a space shuttle. A combination of applesauce with sugar tablets in water was considered the first space food that Glenn carried with him.

Scientists found out that astronauts could easily ingest, swallow and even digest food while experiencing total weightlessness and so special meals that did not hamper with the natural process of eating began to be issued to astronauts from then on. Some packaged meals issued to Glenn also contained pureed meat and vegetables, which he could directly ingest from a tube, without spilling it around or letting it float away in a gravity-less environment.

Preparing food for space

Before packed meals are sent on board a space vehicle, it is carefully prepared by specially trained chefs, who know what it takes to transport food out of the Earth’s orbit. There are a variety of procedures that are undertaken before packaging and sending food in space. It is either freeze-dried, irradiated or thermo-stabilized, along with a host of other processes that make meals edible in space.

In the freeze-drying procedure, the food is first cooked and then quickly frozen in very low temperatures before putting it inside a vacuum chamber, where the water from it is dried off. This process does not compromise on the taste or the quality of the food. Some foods are also preserved before they are freeze-dried. Irradiated foods are packed in foil pouches before being exposed to gamma radiation to kill off the bacteria dwelling inside them. Irradiated foods do not pose a threat to human life. Thermo-stabilizing foods mean completely destroying the germs and microorganisms from certain food items so that they can be stored for a longer period of time before eating. Fish and most fruits undergo thermo-stabilization before being packed for space delivery.

Nuts and cookies are carried as they are, only that they are coated with gelatin so they don’t end up in crumbs that could float inside the pod. Some dried fruits like apricots, peaches, plums and pears are stripped of some of their moisture and issued to astronauts to be carried outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Long before gourmet meals, just the way we eat on Earth were sent out in space for astronauts’ consumption, less appetizing and almost flavorless meals were issued to them. Packed in tubes, which had to be squeezed out like toothpaste, along with powdered granules of fruit juices or beverages were supplied to them. Astronauts then had to directly add hot water to the powder to rehydrate them before they could enjoy a hot cup of coffee or add cold water to have a sip of their favourite orange juice.

Russian space food. (Wikimedia Commons)

Ramen with an inlet to add hot water before consumption. (Tnk3a / Wikimedia Commons)

Before sophisticated methods like refrigerating and thermo-stabilizing were introduced onboard a spaceship, which are hassle-free methods of food preparation, freeze-drying was one of the most trusted ways of preparing food in space. Astronauts made use of hot or cold water guns, which injected water directly into the zip-locked pouches of food or plastic packets to rehydrate them so as to be eaten. Some space suits also had in-suit drinking devices, which were to be used in case of emergencies. These in-suit devices provided liquid foods in special ports, which were fitted in their helmets so that when things went wrong in their shuttle, they could live in space for a while with food stored in their suits.

Introduction of luxury space food

After John Glenn had the good fortune of eating pureed meat and vegetables, space food saw many alterations to suit the human physiology. More and more sophisticated, comfort foods were introduced, which were not only palatable but healthy as well. Squeeze tubes were discarded and thermo-stabilized pouches or wetpacks came into the picture. These packs made out of flexible aluminium foil or sterilized plastic kept food moist for a longer period of time and didn’t need rehydrating before consumption. These wetpacks allowed astronauts to enjoy bites of turkey, bacon and shrimp, helpings of chicken soup, tuna salad and even have cornflakes or beef sandwiches for breakfast, along with chocolate and butterscotch pudding for dessert.

Food trays provided in space shuttle have straps to help secure them on walls or platforms before using them. (RadioFan / Wikimedia Commons)

The Apollo crew was the first to be provided with utensils, including a spoon bowl, which was a plastic container with dehydrated food already packed inside. Hot water needed to be injected into the bowl to rehydrate the meal, which the astronauts could eat with a spoon. The wetness of the food allowed it (to) stick easily to the spoon and not float away in the shuttle. Luxury foods like chocolate brownies, rice cereals, scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese, stews, along with apple ciders began getting more preference. Later during the 70’s the crew on board the Skylab mission was even provided with tables to sit down on and enjoy their meals together.

Food grown in space

Growing food grains or crops in space is not an easy task since the atmosphere is very different from what it is on Earth. Space is not a conducive environment to grow plants for consumption, yet a group of astronauts cultivated their own vegetables and ate them too. The astronauts of the Expedition 44 mission on board the International Space Station were successful in harvesting food in microgravity, which included some leafy vegetables.

The first space-grown vegetable was the red variety of lettuce, which the crew members cleaned with citric-based sanitized wipes before consuming it. Produced under the Veggie plant growth system, astronauts harvested half of the red and green lettuces, along with mustard, which they ate as salads. These crops were collected by a technique called cut-and-come-again harvesting, which allows the crew to reap more of the same plant after it grows again.

Photo of the first Zinnia flower in space. (NASA / Wikimedia Commons)

On the ISS, a special unit is dedicated entirely for growing plants, where in the near future, astronauts would be able to grow food for consumption as well as pursue gardening activities for recreational purposes. These space plants grow under red, blue, white and green LED lights in a fully-enclosed, environmentally-controlled chamber. This secure chamber allows the crops to grow in an almost natural surrounding with the correct amount of oxygen, moisture and right kind of temperature. If the Veggie system goes as planned, NASA hopes to broaden the spectrum, by adding a variety of foods that can be grown in space. Work on wheat, cabbage and a few fruits is already underway, as space travellers get to eat their test crops.

Plants growing in Veggie unit on ISS. (NASA / Wikimedia Commons)

When an astronaut smuggled food in space

Astronauts posing with a hamburger and tomato in space. (NASA)

Although the meals provided to the space travelers have come a long way, with many improvements made in the last five decades, there was one astronaut, who would have caused a major catastrophe for being disobedient. NASA’s second human spaceflight named the Gemini Project was underway in 1962 and John Young, an aeronautical engineer and test pilot, who later went on to become the Commander of Apollo 16 mission and also the ninth person to walk on the surface of the moon, smuggled a corned beef sandwich in space.

During his four-hour-long journey, he along with his colleague Gus Grissom were provided foods in plastic bags to consume. Not happy with the quality and taste of the freeze-dried space food, Young hid a sandwich in his spacesuit from a restaurant, which he later pulled out in space to eat only to realize what a huge mistake he had made. The crumbs of bread began floating in the space shuttle and there was a risk of those getting wedged between vents or parts of the equipment that kept the spaceship up and running. Grissom and Young could have died due to a major disaster or ended up being fatally wounded. Though both the crew members remained unharmed, he was reprimanded for his careless actions.

Young passed away at the age of 87 in January 2018, but his historic stunt is still etched in the minds of people. A replica of his corned beef sandwich remains preserved in the resin at the Grissom Memorial Museum in memory of the sandwich scandal in space.

A lot has already been done in the field of aeronautics and a lot more has to be accomplished; but the procedure of sending food in outer space remains the same with possibly a few changes being made in the quality, quantity and variety of foods that astronauts can enjoy in the confines of their space shuttle, thousands of miles away from their planet.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “A Glimpse into the Exciting World of Space Tourism“.

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Wave rock. (Pxhere)

Australia is a land full of surprises. Right from being home to strange animals to unusually-formed natural structures, Australia has it all. There are so many naturally-occurring prehistoric formations in the country that an entire year’s trip Down Under wouldn’t be enough to check out all of those. Apart from the many rare structures found here, there’s one odd-shaped rock that has wowed more than half the world’s population in all these years. The Wave Rock in Western Australia, as the name suggests, is a unique-shaped, natural rock formation, which is a true beauty present in its natural form.

The appearance of the wave rock

One look at it and people are sure to imagine that a huge wave, just about to break, has turned to stone and frozen in time. But that is not the case in reality. Nestled close to the small town of Hyden in Southwest Australia, this rock formation, also known as the Hyden Rock, in the shape of a huge crashing oceanic wave is actually an inselberg. Rising straight out of the earth in isolation, this rock is estimated to be around 2.7 billion years old and made up of ochre, red and grey granite stone.

Wave rock from above. (Brian W. Schaller / Wikimedia Commons)

Around 300 kilometres from the southeastern city of Perth, the Wave Rock rises up to a height of about 49 feet and runs approximately 330 feet in length. The remarkable red, yellow and grey colours of the wave are a result of the minerals that have trickled down the slope due to the rains that keep lashing the structure over and over again. It is one of Australia’s most cherished natural marvels, which has kept geologists busy for years, studying its formation and rock composition.

How did the rock form into a wave-like structure?

Geomorphologists that have been studying the Wave Rock closely for years are of the opinion that the inselberg has taken a beating and suffered erosions over the centuries. This sedimentary activity has left nothing but a rounded projection hanging from above the cliff. What is more surprising is the fact that the wave formation is only on one side of the rock, which scientists have termed a flared slope. A flared slope is a stone or rock formation (mostly made up of granite) where the rock wall is solid on one side, while it is concave on the other side because of the damage suffered due to exposure to rough weathers over all the millennia. There are many other such examples of this kind of a structure in the world, but none is said to be as fascinating as the Wave Rock in Australia.

Wave rock. (dilettantiquity / Flickr)

Dam on top of the Wave Rock

It is believed that the Aboriginals that set foot in the country, were the first ones to discover the oversized Wave Rock, but nothing more concrete is recorded about this part of the history yet. Although the Wave Rock is a natural surf-like formation, a stone wall was built on top of the gigantic rock in the year 1928 by the Australian Public Works Department to collect rainwater. Revamped in the year 1951, the method of rainwater harvesting on the dam served as the only source of water to the nearby dry areas and the stone wall on top of the Wave Rock, channelled towards a dam, continues to provide abundantly for the arid regions till date.

Other features nearby the structure

A variety of flora and fauna can be found near the Wave Rock. Wildflowers, an assortment of orchids, fame grevillea and particularly the acacia plant are very common to the area. A host of animals and birds, mostly endemic to Australia have also been spotted in the Hyden Wildlife Park, including wombats, kangaroos, emus, koalas and wallabies. The wildlife surrounding the Wave Rock is said to keep the area bustling with life and sounds.

One can even climb to the top of the granite wave to enjoy a panoramic view of the town of Hyden just three kilometres away from the rock. The awe-inducing shape and size of the Wave Rock pulls in a flock of tourists to this place every year. The astonishing Wave Rock is now a part of the 160-hectare natural reserve in the Hyden Wildlife Park, where visitors from all over the world come to witness an enormous wave just about to crash that might destroy everything in its path, had it been part of the ocean instead of stone.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Wave in Arizona: A Geological Wonder“.

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Dassault Mirage 2000. (Airwolfhound / Flickr)

The military preparedness of any nation is judged by its loaded arsenal. And if it has the best in its collection to supply to its army, navy and air force, that country no longer lags behind in war. In light of the ghastly terror attack in Kashmir, the Indian Air Force, which recently carried out a surgical strike on Pakistan, is the proud owner of a fleet of aircraft that only some of the superpowers of the world possess. The Mirage 2000, an impressive and deadly aerial beast, is a fighter jet that has come to India’s rescue in all her times of need.

Mirage 2000 in brief

Designed in the late 1970s and manufactured in France by Dassault Aviation, the Mirage 2000 is a multirole combat aircraft, which can perform a wide range of tasks. Right from aerial combats to dropping bombs, long-range missiles at specific targets and also carrying out air-to-ground strikes, the light-weight fighter plane is undoubtedly a force to reckon with. It was initially pressed into service in the French air force in the year 1984 after it took its maiden test flight in the year 1978. In service with nine other countries, including Brazil, Egypt, France, Greece, Peru, Qatar, Taiwan and the UAE, the fleet of Indian Air Force’s Mirage 2000s came to be inducted in the year 1985. Together with the advanced and heavy fighter jets like the Russian-made Sukhoi and MiG-29 and the indigenously-developed Tejas, the aircraft was put into Indian service during the Kargil War of 1999.

Countries that use Mirage 2000. (Wikimedia Commons)

While Pakistan purchased North American-made Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter planes, India went a step ahead and ordered thirty-six single-seater and four twin-seater Mirage 2000s in the year 1982. Since then named ‘Vajra’ from the Sanskrit word for thunderbolt, the Mirage 2000 is an ultra-modern warplane that mostly delivers with hundred per cent accuracy. The aircraft readily served in India’s favour against Pakistan at the line of control in Kashmir.

IAF Mirage-2000. (Tech. Sgt. Keith Brown / U.S. Air Force)

Specifications of Mirage 2000

Despite a dry weight (which includes the weight of crew and passengers, fuel, other necessary fluids and scientific equipment) of around 7,500 kilograms and a maximum takeoff weight (maximum weight at which an aircraft is allowed to make an ascent) of 17,000 kilograms, Mirage 2000 still remains a light-weight aircraft. It measures approximately forty-seven feet in length and has a wingspan of around thirty feet. The delta wings (triangular wings shaped in the Greek alphabet Delta) allow the jet to manoeuver smoothly and maintain its stability mid-air. The IAF Mirage 2000 is available in single or twin-seater options as per the requirement of the air force. The fighter jet with a single-shaft engine can ascend at a maximum speed of 60,000 feet per minute and can reach a maximum speed of 2,335 kmph or Mach 2.2.

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is capable of aerial refuelling. (US Gov)

The Mirage 2000 hits targets with precision and remains the most reliable aircraft in the Indian Air Force. Even the state-of-the-art pilot helmets of Mirage 2000 come equipped with a display inside them. These allow the pilots to see superimposed radar data directly inside, without having to refer to information relayed in the cockpit. This feature enables the pilots to aim weapons at targets by simply turning their heads, without manoeuvering the entire fighter plane in that particular direction.

As many as twelve fighter jets flew into Pakistani airspace recently and the combat aircraft, which also happens to be India’s most preferred war plane, is the country’s trusted aide that thunders in its skies, delivering with a success rate like no other, answering all the calls of duty whenever made.

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World Trade Center Transportation Hub interior. (Luca Bravo lucabravo / Wikimedia Commons)

The World Trade Center Transportation Hub is a huge terminal station, which was conceptualized by a Spanish architect of international repute. Although not as big in comparison to the Grand Central Station, this train terminus in New York became one of the most talked-about transportation hubs, right from the time it was announced. But what set this new structure apart was not just its design but also the cost that went into erecting it. New York City and specifically Manhattan became the beneficiary of an expensive gift that not just shocked the world but also left people open-mouthed and wide-eyed in amazement.

What is PATH

The Port Authority Trans-Hudson or PATH is an underground subway system, which serves between the cities of Newark, Hoboken and Jersey City in the North American state of New Jersey, and also plies through Harrison Town in the same state. The metro line also connects Manhattan city in New York to these cities. The PATH transportation system is located in the World Trade Center complex and it was destroyed in the attacks of 9/11 along with the Twin Towers. Established in 1962, as a subsidiary of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the rapid transit system links Manhattan to its neighbouring cities and serves commuters twenty-four hours of the day on all seven days of the week. Although the PATH terminal was officially opened for public in the year 1962, it had started test riding from the year 1907 onwards.

The World Trade Center transportation hub and Oculus

After the Twin Towers came crashing down and the underground transit system was destroyed in 2001, a Spanish architect, sculptor and designer of international repute, Santiago Calatrava, came up with the idea of building a transportation hub in the same place. After four years of speculation, in 2004, Calatrava made his design of the new transportation center public, which was soon to become one of New York’s iconic landmarks. Known for his daring pieces of work across the globe with designs of railway stations, museums and stadiums that resembled a living organism, Calatrava decided to give the new hub a form that would signify freedom and peace and was also a symbol of rebirth. In his view, the new place would become Financial District’s answer to Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal Station. And that is how the centerpiece – Oculus – with multi-level concourses came into being, becoming the most expensive train terminal in the world.

The exterior of the WTC station. (Steve / Flickr)

The World Trade Center Transportation Hub is entirely made out of glass and steel. The giant, interlocked and ribbed, white structure, resembling a dove in flight, called Oculus, overlooks the National September 11 Memorial. The structure comprises of a huge street-level hallway in the form of Oculus, a large second-level concourse (or open space) used as walking spaces and a lower level concourse that serves as subway stations.

Pedestrian walkway. (The groundview / Flickr)

A huge underground mezzanine (or balcony) makes way for shops, restaurants and also provides access to train platforms, ticket vending machines and ATMs. The lowest level platforms, which connect to PATH railway lines, have train stations, where metros ply to and fro to island platforms and side platforms for commuters’ ease.

The center balcony. (Donaldroszz / Wikimedia Commons)

The transportation hub serves 250,000 visitors daily and draws millions of annual visitors from around the globe. The oval-shaped building measures 350 feet in length and is 115 feet wide. The World Trade Center Transportation Hub is roughly spread in around 800,000 square feet space and it connects the states of New York and New Jersey by underground trains and railway network. The Oculus also doubles up as an indoor pedestrian crossing for commuters going towards the Freedom Tower.

A panoramic view of the area heading towards the subway. (Pedro Szekely / Flickr)

Public criticism and backlash

Although Calatrava hoped to make the Oculus and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub an icon of the tragedy that struck years ago, the building came under heavy criticism from the public and media alike. It received a lot of flak for running behind schedule and also because it was overrunning the estimated budget of USD 2 billion. Already planned on a grossly expensive budget, the transportation center ended up being constructed at an astronomical cost of approximately 5.2 billion US dollars. The entire structure neared completion in 2016, which was otherwise supposed to open in 2009, and it finally opened to the public on the 4th of March. Delayed by seven years, the transit system made it difficult for public transport, while it was under construction. Common people criticized the finished building as a waste of public money and also said that the structure appeared more like an ugly stegosaurus than a gracefully flying dove.

While Calatrava’s office said that the project was taking longer to finish, it explained the reasons for the delay. His personnel stated that the complexity in the structure resulted in the postponement and the advanced technology used in constructing the unusual-appearing building was costing the company more than the stipulated amount. The installation of green technology, superior quality security systems and limited resources added to the financial burden. However, as New Yorkers got more accustomed to the daily commute through the new structure, they started accepting the building as their own.

Whatever be the reasons, the costliest train terminal in the world will always be a gift of love to New Yorkers. The World Trade Center Transportation Hub and Oculus will remind people of their triumph over tragic times, each time they cross paths through it.

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

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2006 Mumbai Sweet Seawater Incident took place at Mahim Creek. (Nicholas / Wikimedia Commons)

They say curiosity leads man to do certain things that he had never done before. And in a strange case in the financial capital of India, a bizarre incident had led people into doing such extraordinary things that it became a hot topic of discussion for a very long time. Back in the year 2006, the usually salty seawater at Arabian Sea creek had inexplicably turned sweet and people residing by the water body thronged the shores to collect the sweet water, thinking it was some kind of divine intervention.

2006 Mumbai sweet seawater incident

It all started early in the morning of August 19, 2006. The water surrounding Mahimi dargah, situated near the Mahim creek had turned sweet all on its own. When local fishermen began their routine and went out to the sea, they noticed the difference and reported the incident. News then spread like wildfire in the vicinity and by afternoon, Mahim beach was suddenly crowded with people, who wanted to witness the strange incident all by themselves.

One man was seen bathing a child on the Mahim beach, a suburban area in Maharashtra’s capital city of Mumbai. It wasn’t an unusual sight to behold, until people came out in large numbers with utensils, plastic bags and bottles to carry the seawater back home for drinking and cooking purposes. Several others began taking a dip in the Arabian Sea, the western coastline of India, to rid themselves of diseases, thinking the water had, in fact, gained some kind of healing properties. Soon enough, news of the rare occurrence began floating in the entire neighbourhood and authorities had to jump in to intervene.

Reports of a similar incident of seawater turning sweet had also started coming in from Teethal, which is a coastal area in the Valsad District of Gujarat. Unbeknownst to the repercussions of drinking the impure, toxic and polluted water, people from Mahim carried the sweetly-saline seawater home, despite authorities warning them against it. Religious fervour caught up amongst superstitious people and by nightfall, Mahim became a holy site, where believers from nearby areas like Dadar and faraway suburbs turned up to test the rather odd phenomenon. A lot of Hindus, as well as Muslim devotees, claimed that the seawater turning sweet was nothing but the revered Sufi saint Makhdoom Ali Mahimi’s doing and that the seawater was now holy. People in Valsad even worshipped it for possessing extraordinary powers.

What had actually happened?

As soon as news channels reported of the mad rush near Mahim Bay, police officials sprang into action. Geologists at the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IIT-B) called it a natural phenomenon while scientists at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Versova, said that the phenomenon was not unusual. Researchers said that in the months of monsoon, Mumbai had received heavy rainfall, which had caused rainwater to deposit in underground rocks, which in turn, released the fresh water into the creek. As the density of rainwater is lesser than seawater it floats on the surface of the saline water, mixing with it in the course of time.

Also, due to the continuous rainfall that the city had received, the overflowing Virar Lake emptied its fresh water content into the Mithi River, which mixes in the sea, thus making the water in the Arabian Sea sweeter and less salty in the process. Heavy rainfall and low tide could also have played a role in this phenomenon.

As the authorities from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), also known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), along with the Mumbai police, did their best in keeping everyone away from the strange happening, people did not give up. They drank the seawater, bathed in it, collected it in containers for future use and engaged in all such activities well after midnight. The police kept a strict vigil on the nearby hospitals and medical institutions, hoping to avert any kind of water-related epidemic if the need arose. But no news of an outbreak of water-borne diseases came by till the dawn of next day and no concrete report of what could have caused the water to turn sweet returned.

What did the reports say?

Despite Mahim Bay being an area of excess pollution, the water had changed in taste. A lot of industrial waste as well as raw sewage flow into the water every day, making it unfit for drinking. The Maharashtra Pollution Control board collected samples and sent it for study and also got in touch with the NIO in Goa, which too, confirmed that it was only because of the upsurge of rainwater inside rocks that had caused such an event. BMC health department’s tests conducted on the water samples showed that the salinity was as low as 600 particles per million as compared to the usual 10,000.

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The extremely well-preserved body of La Doncella and her ornaments. (Photo: Dr. Johan Reinhard / Used With Permission)

The continent of South America is home to one of the greatest indigenous civilizations in human history. The Incas of Peru, who gave the modern world one of the new seven wonders – Machu Picchu – have perhaps been the most inexplicable people to ever walk the earth. Their ways of living, their age-old practices and the monuments they built during their reign, have all been subjects of great intrigue among commoners. And as archaeologists and researchers keep delving deeper into the olden civilization, which existed between the 1200s and 1500s, the more mysteries keep tumbling out of their closets as days pass. One such oddity was the religious sacrifices of children that were carried out during the Inca Empire.

La Doncella or “The Maiden” being examined by researchers after her discovery. (Grooverpedro / Flickr)

Discovering the mummies of children

In a startling discovery made in 1999, Dr. Johan Reinhard and his team of archaeologists stumbled upon ancient, well-preserved mummified bodies of three children, which dated back to more than five centuries ago. At the peak of Mount Llullaillaco, a dormant volcano bordering Chile and Argentina, inside a tomb-like structure, the mummies of Children of Llullaillaco, as they have been named, were found, thus bringing a spine-chilling Inca ritual to the fore.

Left: Dr Johan and his team (in the background) after discovering the Mummies of Llullaillaco, 1999. (Johan Reinhard / Wikimedia Commons) Right: The site where the mummies were found. (Christian Glass / Wikimedia Commons)

As per the disturbing religious custom, commonly known as capacocha, young individuals from Cuzco, the capital city of the Incan Empire, were chosen as gifts for the Sun God Inti. Little girls and boys, probably the best among the lot, in terms of looks, statuses and health were handpicked, well-fed and taken good care of, weeks or even years before it was time for them to ascend the volcano hundreds of kilometers away, where superior priests made the supreme sacrifice.

As the chosen day drew closer, the children, as young as six years of age and a maximum of 16, were dressed in their best attires, adorned in fine jewellery and along with a hundred other offerings like gold, silver and various miscellaneous items, left near the summit of the titular volcano to be sacrificed. This ritual was undertaken during ceremonies like the passing away of the emperor or with a purpose to curb natural calamities or even please the gods.

As per Incan beliefs, it was an act of great honour to be chosen for the sacrifice, where after the children died; they would join their ancestors in the afterlife and look over the village as angels, keeping their kin from harm. Surprisingly, the sacrifices were ordered by the Emperor himself. Before the children began their journey towards their extreme end, they were presented before the monarch, who held a feast in their honour, as the chosen ones would be given up to the gods.

How were the dead bodies preserved?

Owing to the freezing conditions near the summit of the Llullaillaco volcano, the three excavated mummies of the children in question have been found very well-preserved. Not just their bodies, but their internal organs, too, were found to have been well-conserved, along with frozen blood in their hearts and lungs. With their hair intact and still braided and dresses as good as new, complete with fancy feathered headgears, their slightly shrivelled skin, which showed signs of some deterioration, were brought out for more scientific study and for a peep inside the Inca customs. The three mummies were named – La Doncella or The Maiden, El Nino or The Boy and La Nina or The Lightning Girl.

El Nino also known as “the boy” among the three children discovered. (Joseph Castro / Wikimedia Commons)

Children of Llullaillaco: Research and findings

As the study progressed further, scientists found telling evidence. The presence of alcohol and leaves of coca (from which cocaine is derived) in the mummies proved that the children were drugged before they were left out to die in the freezing temperatures near the summit of the volcano, while it also served as a substance that put them in a stupor, as they met their unsettling end. Researchers working on The Maiden used radiological data, X-Rays and CT scans, which revealed more information about the diet during the children’s final days.

During their last few months before the deadly ritual was executed, the children’s diet was slightly modified. A more high-fibre and protein-rich diet was fed to them, which consisted of vegetables and llama meat along with cobs of corn. This fattened them up, which helped them ascend the high altitude of the volcanic mountain without getting exhausted. Alcohol in the form of maize-beer was also given to them, which put them in a dazed state so that they lost consciousness during their last moments. Researchers also believe that some children were murdered by force if they resisted the sacrifice, as evident from traces of blood on El Nino’s clothes and his bundled up state. As per the scientists, there were no special efforts undertaken to preserve the bodies; the cold, thin and dry air near the volcanic peak worked its way on the three children.

Summit of Llullaillaco Volcano. (Lion Hirth / Wikimedia Commons)

While the eldest child among the three named La Doncella was 15-years old at the time of sacrifice, it appears that she froze to death while still in her sleep and her mummified body remains to tell her tale. Sitting cross-legged with a tightly-wrapped shawl around her coffee brown dress and striped sandals, the Maiden’s hair were woven into countless braids when she was found. In a new research in 2012, The Maiden was found to have contracted a virus, which caused a rare lung disorder in her. This fascinating discovery will also lead the scientists to study more about ancient diseases and extinct pathogens that caused illnesses among people that once lived. As per Dr. Reinhard, The Maiden’s body has been the best-preserved mummy, which is now put on public display at The High Country Archaeological Museum in Salta, Argentina. Researches and analyses are still being conducted on the other two mummies of the younger ones.

La doncella (the maiden) on display at Museum of High Altitude Archaeology. (Grooverpedro / Flickr)

While an agreement has been made between researchers and the local tribals to not dig up any more graves, as many as 40 ancient burial sites were discovered in various regions, which could otherwise have given a deeper insight into the fantasy world of the Incan Empire, where religious sacrificing of children was more an honour than anything else.

More Photos: Llullaillaco Mummies by Dr Johan Reinhard

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Rosalia Lombardo: The 8,000 Skeletons, 1,252 Mummies and a Fallen Angel Who Rest Within the Catacombs of Capuchin“.

Recommended Read:
Inca Rituals and Sacred Mountains: A Study of the World’s Highest Archaeological Sites (Monographs) | By Maria Constanza Ceruti & Johan Reinhard

Recommended Visit:
Museum of High Altitude Archaeology | Argentina

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Al `Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (Pteropus conspicillatus / Wikimedia Commons)

Nestled quietly in the western part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the ruins of Al ’Ula seem to come straight out of an ancient civilization. With mud, brick and stone houses, closely arranged together against the blue skies, flanked by mountains on one side and effects of modernisation on the other, Al ’Ula is one lost town that the world has conveniently forgotten. Located approximately 400 kilometres north of the holy city of Medina, the town of Al ’Ula was once a flourishing city that presented a perfect picture of fine Arab architecture. Founded in the sixth century BC, the two-thousand-year-old town is located on the historic Incense Route, which facilitated trade of spices, fragrances, silk and other items of luxury between Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt and the Mediterranean regions.

History of the town of Al ’Ula

An oasis right in the middle of the desert, Al ’Ula had plenty of water and arable land back in time, where humans first started to settle down during the Bronze Age. The Arabian Peninsula is close to a million years old and with Al ’Ula’s regular supply of water, human habitation may have been constant in the valley through the eras. Ancient human carvings and murals dating back to the Bronze Age that flourished in the third and second millennia BCE prove that the old town existed when nothing else did. But unlike other historical sites including Rajajil and Shuwaymis, which were abandoned immediately after continuous periods of draughts set in, Al ’Ula managed to thrive in the harshest of temperatures. A regular supply of underground water system helped the population in the city to prosper for a very long time until the last family is said to have moved out of the town in the year 1983.

Abandoned mud houses of Al ’Ula. (Sammy Six / Flickr)

The religious significance of Al ’Ula

In the year 630 CE, when rumours spread across the world that there would be a Byzantine invasion (also known as the spread of the Roman Empire) in Arabia, the Islamic prophet Mohammed led a military campaign against the western rule. With as many as thirty thousand forces, he travelled towards modern-day Tabuk in northwest Saudi Arabia to face the Roman army. He, along with his forces, passed through the old town of Al ’Ula, where they are said to have halted for three full days and upon seeing no sign of the approaching Roman army, retreated to Medina, thus giving the city a religious connotation.

Al ’Ula as an ancient pilgrimage city

Cashing in on from the water supply of the oasis, the city quickly became a commercial centre and merchants, travellers and caravans started halting for trade in the town. The valley of Al ’Ula, also mentioned as Wadi Al-Qura in Islamic texts, soon became a place of Muslim occupation. On their route to the holy city of Mecca from the Syrian capital of Damascus, pilgrims stopped by in the town of Al ’Ula to buy provisions for their long journey ahead. Later, some of them also started leaving behind their possessions at Al ’Ula, which they would retrieve once they got back. Syrian businessmen are also said to have travelled all the way from their home town to Wadi Al-Qura to sell their supplies to pilgrims, en route Mecca.

Al ’Ula today. (Sammy Six / Flickr)

Life in Al ’Ula back in time

A fortified area, Al ’Ula is still packed with mud and stone houses and was once a capital of the Lihyan Kingdom that ruled over Arabia for a very long time. Apart from the ancient kingdom of Lihyan, the Arab Nabataeans and more recently, the Ottoman Turks ruled over the old city, thus marking its significance in the course of human history. Greeks and Romans, too, are said to have passed through this old town, leaving their mark on people’s lifestyle, as also on the few odd buildings that still stand tall, while on their way to conquer the world. Dotted with mud houses, the narrow alleyways of Al ’Ula always bustled with people and a whole lot of colours back in the day. The houses were tightly packed like mazes in a honeycomb. Farmers sold their produce on donkey backs in the small plazas and life in the old town was always busy.

With more and more civilizations coming in, a lot changed in Al ’Ula over the centuries. The Ottomans built a railway network, linking it to Damascus and more recently, town centres were established during the turn of the modern century. Slowly, people started deserting the old by lanes of Al ’Ula for a better life in the city and the town of Al ’Ula lay all alone in shambles with nothing but muddy houses that could blow away with a strong gust of wind and some stone structures that speak of the ancient people’s architectural expertise.

World Heritage Site in Al ’Ula

As human settlements came and went in the old town of Al ’Ula, one that left an indelible mark, bringing fame to the Islamic country is Madain Saleh, which is also Saudi Arabia’s first ever UNESCO World Heritage Site (named in 2008). Also known as Al-Hijr, it is spread across a sprawling 52 hectare of land and is made up of well-conserved, colossal tombs that are more than a hundred and twenty in number. The intricate and complex facades cut out of solid rocks belonging to the Nabataean period, make it a place of historical, religious, cultural as well as archaeological importance.

Madain Saleh. (Richard.hargas / Wikimedia Commons)

The government of Saudi Arabia has initiated to undertake efforts to bring the old town back to life to boost tourism in the region; but the ghost town of Al ’Ula will remain in secrecy, waiting till the dust finally lifts off from a bygone era, thousands of years old.

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The lonely house at Ellidaey Island. (Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons)

The sparsely-populated European country of Iceland seems to come straight out of fictional stories. It is one of those rare places on earth, which has a lot to offer in terms of its breathtakingly-beautiful vistas. Quite unlike its name, Iceland is mostly covered in lush, green fields. It has blue lagoons, natural geysers, hot springs, huge glaciers, a long list of volcanoes and acres of acres of lava fields. But what sets this island nation apart from the rest of the world is its Ellidaey Island in the Vestmannaejyar archipelago. Anglicized as Westman Island, the Ellidaey Island in the chain, laying in the south of Iceland, is one of the largest groups of islands, which is home to a mysterious mansion that most of us do not know about.

Ellidaey Island and the lonely house

Rising straight out of the ocean, Ellidaey Island is spread across 110 acres. The unoccupied island is situated in the northeast of the nearest inhabited island of Heimaey. It juts out of the ocean towards its far east and is sloped at its western edge. At this slope lies a mansion that has been shrouded in mystery ever since it came into the public eye. As per local stories that float in the area, the isolated house on Ellidaey Island once belonged to a family, followed by five more families that lived there in the vicinity for over a period of three hundred years. These families hunted for seafowl, mostly puffins, raised cattle in the neighbourhood and fished in the open ocean. But it is said that the impractical life far away from civilization in the middle of the ocean was too difficult to sustain and these families left behind nothing but desertion by the 1930s. Ellidaey Island was soon abandoned and lay there ever since.

Ellidaey Island. (Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons)

As decades passed, people who had heard accounts of puffin hunting at Ellidaey wanted to return. And since Ellidaey Island was the best place to hunt for puffins, a lodge was built on the island for the purpose. Stories were abounding that this cabin served as a temporary residence to hunters that visited the island during hunting seasons. Some locals also believed that the lonely house was actually a secret hiding place of a mysterious billionaire, who would frequent the mansion to be away from the limelight. But none of the stories could be confirmed until news came out in the year 2000 that the government of Iceland was planning to gift the mansion on Ellidaey Island to iconic Icelandic singer Bjork, who put the country on the world map with her four-decade-long service.

Bjork’s mansion on Ellidaey Island

Currently not available online, a piece published in The Independent reported that the Icelandic government had actually given away the island and the house to Bjork for her contribution towards the country. The article also quoted that the then Prime Minister of Iceland, David Oddsson (also the longest-serving) saying that he considered gifting the island to Bjork for bringing laurels to their country. But people’s strong reaction led him to rethink his decision and he denied any such generosity later. It turned out that since Iceland has two Ellidaey Islands, Bjork had expressed her desire to build a home on the other Ellidaey Island, which too, couldn’t materialize due to all the confusion.

Lodge of the Ellidaey Hunting Association

After the Bjork fallacy, the lonely house on Ellidaey Island quickly caught the Internet’s fancy and pretty pictures on the quaint island started doing the rounds on a lot of websites. While many people came to believe that the house was photoshopped in the images, many others believed that it belonged to the Ellidaey Hunting Association. In the early 1950s, members of the hunting association built a cabin on the island, where they could stay as hunting season began and also during puffins’ egg-laying season in spring. Easily accessible by boat from the mainland, a zip line, meant strictly for the hunters of the group, takes them to the cabin on the slope. The house, without electricity and running water, is used by the members of the hunting group as a place to stay and rest during hunting season.

Surrounded by a fence to keep a few cattle inside when the cabin is not in use, the lonely house on Ellidaey Island still manages to capture everyone’s fancy. While not much is completely known about the purpose of building the house so remotely on the island, the house still sits on the Ellidaey Island in isolation fuelling a lot of stories in abundance.

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Madagascar hissing cockroach. (Totodu74 / Wikimedia Commons)

Ever since man journeyed from the Stone Age into modern times, he has tamed a variety of animals that have accompanied him as pets. Right from dogs and cats to some even keeping fish and lizards as their animal companions, humans have tried all sorts of creatures to keep them entertained. But have you heard of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches that have gained immense popularity as pets? Humans have accepted these tiny insects as pets that live with them in the confines of their homes.

General characteristics of the Madagascar hissing cockroach

Commonly called the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, it goes by the scientific name Gromphadorhina portentosa. It belongs to the invertebrate type and class insecta. As its name suggests, it is native to the island nation of Madagascar, off the coast of the African continent. It is one of the largest species of cockroaches and can grow up to a size of two to three inches at maturity. In the wild, the hissing cockroaches can live for two to five years on an average. They are oval in shape, have a single pair of hairy antennae (typical of males, while females have smooth antennae) and look like any other ordinary cockroach, with a shiny, reddish-brown back and black-coloured head, except that they do not have a pair of wings. They are excellent climbers and can even scale smooth surfaces. One peculiarity that separates the males from females is that the male cockroaches possess horns, which serve a dual purpose. These are used to intimidate its rivals and also impress probable partners.

The horns of the male hissing cockroaches are also used in a similar way a deer uses its antlers. During a mating competition, when two male cockroaches battle it out for female attention, the two warring males can stand up on their hind feet, while their horns are interlocked, pushing and shoving each other with their bellies to win a female’s affection. These unusual horns at the back of their heads make them more impressive from a female’s perspective. The unique action of ramming into rivals is generally uncommon in insects of this order.

Madagascar hissing cockroach. (Airman st Class Teresa Cleveland / Released)

The female giant Madagascar hissing cockroach is very different from the other cockroach species in the sense that it is ovoviviparous. It lays eggs and also gives birth to live offspring (although it is not a placental birthing). The female carries the eggs inside her body in a special casing called ootheca, which roughly after a 60-days gestation period, are born as live young ones. A female hissing cockroach can give birth to at least 20 to 60 young ones at a time. A young hissing cockroach, also called a nymph, can reach maturity within a short span of seven months.

How does the Hissing cockroach hiss?

An insect rubs its feet against its wings to produce a sound, which helps it fend off its predators and also attract its mates. But since the hissing cockroaches do not possess a pair of wings, they have a pair of specially-modified breathing pores at the abdomen, which forms a part of their respiratory system. The Madagascar cockroaches forcibly expel air through these pores, also called spiracles, to produce sounds, which are audible to the human ears. As per entomologists, the hissing of these roaches sounds similar to a snake’s and it helps the giant cockroach keep its hunters at bay.

The hissing is also louder during their courtship interactions and can be more audible when a male has won a competition. Entomologists also confirm that a size of a male Madagascar roach can be judged by its sound. The louder the hiss, the bigger the insect is. Surprisingly, each cockroach can distinguish between sounds of a familiar cockroach and a stranger’s. Also, a cockroach’s hissing can be of three types: one that is used as a mating call, the other that it makes during a fight and the third one to scare away predators or when it is disturbed.

Habitat, dwelling and diet

The Madagascar hissing cockroach is mostly found in the wild regions, hidden in rotting pieces of wood or detritus. They function in warm climates and are mostly nocturnal, although some might wander in the forests in search of food during the day. Typically scavengers of the insect kingdom, they are detritivores, meaning they feed on rotting leaf and fruit remnants fallen on the forest floor, along with decaying animal carcasses. They derive their nourishment from high protein foods, which are readily available in the wild.

Hissing Madagascar cockroaches as pets

The giant roaches can also be kept as exotic pets due to their adaptability and the trend has caught on in the recent years. Although some countries require a permit to allow this activity, most states freely let these insects to be kept indoors. They are low-maintenance and do not need large spaces to thrive. They do not bite or sting and can even survive on dog food or fresh vegetables and fruits as domesticated creatures. They are not pests and do not disturb until bothered. They generally do not pose problems to humans, except that some people may be allergic to the species or during times when the exposure to these insects is prolonged.

Madagascar hissing cockroaches in Kimball Natural History Museum. (BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons)

Hazards to human health

The pet Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches do not pose any serious health threats to their human masters but recent research has found out that mould on the body of the insect can be a potent allergen. Also, a buildup of their faeces, in the absence of regular cleaning of their enclosures, can be a breeding ground for harmful microorganisms that can cause allergies in humans. The regular shedding of their shells can also give rise to microbial activity, which in turn, can cause nasal allergies and other infections in humans.

While the IUCN Red List terms them as a matter of least concern, the rare Madagascar Hissing Cockroach continues to live freely in the wild in all parts of the world today. Not really a pretty sight at first, these giant cockroaches still make great pets and keep their masters entertained.

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Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery, Estonia. (Modris Putns / Panoramio)

As one walks past the village in the forest, on the road leading up to the Amari Air Base in Estonia, one is very likely to notice an obscure graveyard. One quick look towards the cemetery gives a feeling that a few decorated shark-like fins are jutting out of the ground for no reason. But the secret that this strange-looking Soviet-era burial ground holds is no less than a mystery that common people cannot easily understand.

The basics before the main story

During World War II, the Soviet Union entered into a secret, non-aggression pact with Nazi-led Germany in August 1939. Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it was signed in Moscow between the then Foreign Affairs Ministers Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop of the Soviet Union and Nazi-Germany respectively. Under this Pact, the Soviet Union began occupying the three Baltic States – namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – claiming these ethnic nations as their own territory, although still identifying them as constituent republics.

Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery: The Estonian graveyard of Soviet pilots

Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery up close. (Modris Putns / Panoramio)

Located in Amari town in the Harju County in Northern Estonia, this odd graveyard is the final resting place of the many pilots that died in the line of duty, during the Soviet occupation of Estonia (mentioned above). The Amari Pilots Cemetery was built as a means to pay tribute to the brave Soviet airmen that fought till their last breath and got killed serving their motherland. But that is simply not all. Unlike the regular concrete tombstones we find on graves, the ones on these burial sites are adorned with the tail fins of Russian-made fighter jets, complete with a red star in the centre. It is believed that these tailpieces are most likely the actual parts of the combat aircraft, which carried pilots when they came down crashing with it.

But this was not the ground where the Amari Pilots Graveyard first rested. The Soviet Military Cemetery first served as the burial grounds for casualties of war. It is believed that this air force graveyard was situated few kilometers adjacent to the cemetery in Amari Manor, a large seventeenth-century estate belonging to the noble von Tritthoff family. Probably after the year 1945, when WW-II ended, the graves were shifted to where they are now, a little closer to the Amari Air Base, which during the Soviet times was known as Suurkula Aerodrome. After the manor lay in ruins as Estonia gained freedom, the grounds were leveled off, including the one where the cemetery was, as housing societies took its place. The graves are said to have been removed and shifted closer to the air base, where one can see them today in all their glory.

Lingering doubts over the cemetery

Divided opinions still fly abound regarding these tail fin markers at the cemetery. While some argue that the remains of the pilots that died on duty were returned to their homeland and mere memorials were erected at the cemetery, others say that the graves are not empty and are the actual final resting sites of the aviators. Doubts have also been raised over the death of the Soviet pilots, which many experts believe were due to the accidents on the ground during training sessions and not while they were in action during the war. Also, there is no recorded evidence that could confirm whether the tail fins, which serve as the headstones for the graves, are actual parts of the ill-fated fighter planes.

Whatever the case, the Amari Air Force Cemetery remains a one-of-its-kind graveyard in the world. Surrounded by lush green trees and in a very well-maintained condition, this extraordinary burial site actually evokes a sense of respect for the Soviet martyrs that died fighting for their country in a foreign land.

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Pamban Bridge. (Ashwin Kumar / Flickr)

India is a culturally rich country and South India, in particular, is very different from the rest of the nation. Lined by the blue waters of the ocean and dotted by palm trees, the southern part of India has diverse climatic conditions as compared to the whole of India. Falling on the eastern coast of the country, the southernmost state of Tamil Nadu has a unique and first-of-its-kind bridge in India, which till date, not just inspires but also fills every Indian with a sense of pride. The approximately 2.3-kilometre-long Pamban Bridge is the first ever Indian sea bridge, connecting the port town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to Mandapam on the Indian mainland in Tamil Nadu.

Overview of Pamban Bridge. (Shubham Gupta / Wikimedia Commons)

Basics of the Pamban Bridge

Way back in the 1870s, when the colonial British wanted to open trade with Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), they came up with the idea of a bridge for transport purposes. However, the plan was only put in motion in the year 1911 and the first ever Indian part-cantilever-part-conventional bridge was opened in the year 1914. More than a hundred years old now, the Pamban Bridge was the only way of getting to Rameswaram, until a parallel road bridge was constructed in 1988, easing transport further. Designed as per the specifications patented by German-origin American engineer William Donald Scherzer, the movable drawbridge or double-leaf bascule bridge can be rolled up vertically to allow movement of ships underneath. Six men on each side manually roll up the two spans to clear sea traffic below. This bascule feature was one of the firsts for any Indian bridge constructed during the British times.

The movable drawbridge on Pamban Bridge. ([email protected] / Wikimedia Commons)

The Pamban Bridge has as many as 143 fixed spans in total and one pair of navigation spans, on which the concrete railway overpass rests, supporting train movement day in and day out. Sitting on an artificial reef, it required nearly 5,000 tonnes of cement, 2,600 tonnes of steel and 98,000 cubic feet of rocks and crushed stones to construct the bridge. Standing on the Palk Strait between the countries of India and Sri Lanka, The Pamban Bridge is located in one of the most corrosive environments in the world. It is also the location of high-velocity winds, which the historic bridge has withstood for over a century. This corrosion-causing climate, along with the windy weather, poses a great threat to the structure every now and then, making its maintenance a little too difficult.

Mythological significance of the Pamban Bridge

Experts argue that Ramayana, which is the epic tale of victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana, has Pamban Bridge’s mention in it. As per the Ramayana, it is nothing but Rama Setu, which the future king of Ayodhya had built. It is said that Rama Setu was manually constructed by Lord Rama, employing Lord Hanuman’s Vanar Sena and many other animals to get to Lanka, where Ravana had held his wife Sita captive. It is also said that the ghost town of Dhanushkodi, situated in south-eastern Pamban, is where the Rama Setu originates and can be seen from space.

Pamban bridge (on the right) next to the Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge (on the left). (ShakthiSritharan / Wikimedia Commons)

Accidents on and off the Pamban Bridge

Completed in a span of fourteen years, the Pamban Bridge once fell into the eye of a storm literally during the 1964 Rameswaram Cyclone. The powerful typhoon not only overturned a train carrying 150 passengers, killing all of them and breaking a part of the bridge too; but it also ripped apart Dhanushkodi, which till date remains in shambles and uninhabited ever since. In the year 2013, a barge belonging to the Indian Navy collided with the Pamban Bridge, but thankfully, the damage it had caused was very little. Repair and maintenance works had briefly halted railway services to Rameswaram from Tamil Nadu.

Initially functioning as a meter-gauge railway line, the bridge only got a major facelift in 2007, when a broad-gauge line was introduced, allowing even goods trains to ply between the two towns. As recently as 2016, the Indian Ministry of Railways has sanctioned approximately 3.5 million US dollars to replace the heavy manually-operated Scherzer spans by a mechanically-operating one. The engineering marvel has become a tourist attraction of late, which initially was only used by the railways to ply pilgrims to and fro from the holy Hindu town of Rameswaram.

Considered one of the scariest yet most beautiful train travels in the world, made with limited technology available back then, the historical Pamban Bridge is now vying for a UNESCO world heritage tag, which it rightly deserves so.

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Harvey Hancock (standing) speaking in the presence of California Governor Ronald W. Reagan, Former US Vice President Richard M. Nixon and other unidentified men at the Bohemian Avenue. Circa 1967. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories Image Library)

Quietly nestled in one of the highly restricted areas on Bohemian Avenue in California, USA, this gentlemen’s club is one of the most secretive places in the world, which comes to life in mid-July every year. Known as the Bohemian Grove, this all-male club has very limited access to outsiders and nobody knows what goes on inside this vast property. The huge main gates are shut tight for two weeks with guests inside, isolated from the outside world. Rumours of human sacrifices and the place being haunted are some of the stories that make the club more mysterious than any such club in the world.

Bohemian Grove

The 2700-acre property hosts members like heads of the state including a few former US Presidents, business leaders, military officials, political figures, and artists from various fields, media barons and people in power since the time of its establishment. The bohemian-styled club came into form as a summer getaway of sorts for men in 1872 in San Francisco, but after British artist Henry Edwards announced his relocation to New York City in 1878, members of the camp gathered at the present-day Bohemian Grove for his send-off party and made merry all night long, which became an annual practice ever since.

Located amidst a lush forest and surrounded with over 1000-year-old tall redwood trees, Bohemian Grove boasts of an artificial lake inside the property, where high-ranking officials deliver lectures on immediate public issues every once in a while. The club’s motto comes straight out of William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – “Weaving spiders, come not here!”, which explains that all worldly occupation and business deals need to be kept outside the club and dealt with later, while men bond over topics of art and leisure inside.

The artificial lake inside the property. (Aarkwilde / Wikimedia Commons)

Guests and visitors

Bohemian Grove sometimes allows guests, which could be a premium member’s family or friends that are allowed to stay inside only until dark, after which they are sent back. The membership of the elite club is also not easy to come by. One might need to wait for as long as 30 years to get one and an initiation amount of 25,000 USD, only after which he can become a part of the somewhat-secret society. Many known names such as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Calvin Coolidge, Will Irwin, Henry Kissinger, Gerald Ford, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt, George H W Bush and Nelson Rockefeller have once been a part of the private club.

Divided into as many as 127 smaller camps, Bohemian Grove has its own kitchen, which serves scrumptious lamb, steaks and salmon delicacies each night, bars that offer some of the best wines, spacious dining areas, bathrooms, luxurious sleeping facilities and spaces reserved for relaxing right in the middle of the private property. Activities like golfing, canoeing, swimming, music and arts are reserved for bohemians, who catch up with each other in the strictly guarded campsite.

Until now it all seems like the club is like any other across the world, only that its members are some of the richest and most powerful people in the world. But what sets it apart are the ‘other activities’ that are carried out inside the grove. Phillip Weiss, a journalist working for Spy Magazine founded by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, was once sent to gain access into the secret club to get to know more about its activities in 1989 when he came back with reports of some bizarre practices.

What happens inside Bohemian Grove?

Weiss reported that a peculiar opening ceremony at the man-made lake was carried out under the club’s mascot – an owl – symbolising worldly wisdom, which is a 40-foot moss-covered structure made of stone and steel. Known as Cremation of Care, the ceremony started off with burning an effigy of a wooden skeleton inside a coffin, which eased and relaxed the members as outwardly stress and care burnt right in front of them and also as a mark of respecting the forest. High priests dressed in bright red robes then sang songs with undertones of homosexuality. Another Texas-based filmmaker Alex Jones, who had found his way inside, vouched for the same and even claimed to have filmed the entire bizarre ceremony.

But that’s not all. If rumours are to be believed, Bohemian Grove is said to be a place where once a child was murdered in 1984. Several people who have only heard the stories claim the place is haunted by the child’s ghost. While there were no official reports of womenfolk entering the private club, many claimed that sex workers were secretly sent inside for entertaining their influential guests. After there were complaints of discrimination, the once all-male Bohemian Grove was ordered to begin hiring women and employ them accordingly.

As per reports in newspapers, in the September of 1942, Earnest Lawrence, the S-1 Committee and Robert Oppenheimer, which later became the Manhattan Project, met at Bohemian Grove that later changed the future of the world. In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the S-1 Committee is said to have discussed and strategize the building of a nuclear bomb right inside the premises of the privately-owned grove a year later.

After a number of intruders tried to sneak inside Bohemian Grove over all the years, the security became tighter than ever before and reports of activities carried out inside the elite club have only been few and far between. Whatever shady businesses or proceedings go on inside the privileged club, it is but obvious that nothing worthwhile regarding one of the most secretive clubs in the world will ever come out from behind the closed gates.

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Proboscis monkey. (Charles J Sharp / Wikimedia Commons)

Nature has gifted all animals with a distinct trait that distinguishes them from the rest of the animals in the world. But there is something very different about the proboscis monkey that sets it apart from all the simians. A long, pendulous nose that hangs down till its mouth, giving it an unattractive appearance at the first sight itself is what the monkeys are mostly known for. Endemic to the jungles of Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia, shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, these proboscis monkeys are found in large groups along the banks of rivers or living on trees.

Characteristics of the Proboscis Monkey

Commonly known as the Proboscis monkey, its scientific name is Nasalis larvatus, which belongs to the class of mammals. They are named after their peculiar nose, which as per the animal experts, are used as organs to attract mates. The Indonesians call the Proboscis monkey the ‘Dutchman’ since they believe that the early Dutch colonizers had large, pot bellies and unusually long noses similar to these primates. All adult proboscis monkeys are generally brown in colour, with reddish-brown fur on their heads and shoulders. Their arms, legs and long tails are usually grey in colour unlike their entire coat of brown. The female gives birth to a single infant at any time of the year and her gestation period lasts for only six months. The babies are mostly born with bluish faces, which change as they start to mature.

A male proboscis monkey. (pen_ash / Pixabay)

The proboscis monkeys are omnivores; they can stand tall between 24 and 28 inches in height on an average and can weigh anywhere between 22 to 25 kilograms. The females weigh half of what the males weigh and are smaller in size as compared to the male primates. Only the male proboscis monkeys have these long, fleshy noses, while females and infants do not possess any such unique feature. Also, the one characteristic that tells them apart is their ability to swim. The proboscis monkeys have a lifespan of roughly twenty years on an average.

A female proboscis monkey with her child. (Max Pixel)

The proboscis monkey is an arboreal species like its other cousin primates and dwells on trees, and sometimes gets on land in search of food. It lives mostly on trees, near coastal areas like swamps, marshes and mangroves. Its greatest predator is the crocodile that lurks deep in the river waters beneath, attacking the monkey, once it gets in the water. Jaguars and leopards also prey on these monkeys for food. The proboscis monkeys live in harems, which are large groups of females, where a single dominating male takes on more than a dozen females, along with their offspring. Mature, young male monkeys live in separate groups and are usually led by an older male.

Diet of the Proboscis Monkey

The proboscis monkey is an omnivore and can eat anything that it can lay its hands on. But most commonly, the primate’s diet consists of seeds, leaves, fruits and occasionally insects. The monkey eats only unripe fruits and regurgitates its food from the stomach like ruminant animals, to swallow it again for a second digestion. It is the only surviving monkey species in the wild that eats its food twice. It shares a symbiotic relationship with special bacteria in its tummy, which help it re-digest its food in the complex, cow-like chambered stomach.

A male Proboscis monkey eating. (Agoes Suwondo / Wikimedia Commons)

Swimming ability of the proboscis monkey

The proboscis monkey is an agile swimmer, quite unlike its other counterparts and has evolved over the years, possessing partially-webbed feet, a lot like ducks, for a faster swim. This helps it escape its predators in the rivers. The webbed toes help the monkey to swim for a longer period of time and cover longer distances. The monkeys wade across the rivers in an upright position and are bipedal in nature.

The unusual noes of proboscis monkey

As per joint studies in Kyoto University, Cardiff University and Sabah Wildlife Department in Malaysia, biologists say that the elongated noses of the proboscis male monkeys are ornamental tools to attract a female. The odd-shaped noses that hang down their mouths also serve as attractive features, which a female monkey takes very seriously and for which, she can even change her group. The enlarged nose is also used as a horn to threaten other dominant males, who try to lure away their potential mates. Scientists believe that the proboscis monkeys use their peculiar noses to honk and roar so as to intimidate other males, while their nasal cavity also helps in amplifying their mating calls, which largely impress females.

Habitat and endangered status

Although the proboscis monkey species are protected under the Sabah Wildlife Department, they are endangered and their population is fast declining. Their habitats are slowly depleting. The extensive clearing of vegetation in the rain forests of Borneo for logging, unchecked human settlements, poaching and illegal trade of these unique monkey species and other such activities have pushed the monkeys to the brink. Even natives in the forests that hunt the proboscis monkey for its flesh, which they consider an exceptional delicacy, has put the monkey population in jeopardy. Declining by almost fifty per cent in the last forty years, these monkeys are also used in medicinal preparations in China, which has put them at a greater risk.

The palm-oil planters that are mostly active near the riverbanks and mangroves are posing the greatest threats to the unique Borneo monkey. The palm plantations are eating into the proboscis monkey habitat, which has brought down their population very sharply. The IUCN Red List has declared the proboscis monkey an endangered species and conservations have now come up with plans to save their populations.

Although the rare proboscis monkey has achieved an iconic status in the world and is quite popular among tourists like the orangutan from the same region, its survival is at risk. But there’s still hope for the primates, which not only give a strange feeling at their first sight but also make us marvel at the hidden gems nature has in store for all of us.

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Ultima Thule. (NASA / Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute, National Optical Astronomy Observatory)

Space is no longer a figment of humans’ imagination. With so many new aspects being unfolded each day by space explorers and government agencies, there is hardly any scope for denial now. Space is real. And the knowledge of events and occurrences that take place millions of kilometers away from our planet are nothing but man’s tireless endeavours to find out new things that lie in darkness, well beyond our solar system. One such discovery that has come across as yet another major achievement in the field of space research is the recent photographs of ‘Ultima Thule’. A first of its kind finding, Ultima Thule is considered to be the most distant object in space to have been captured on camera by a space probe.

The New Horizons mission

The US space agency’s New Horizons Mission in accordance with John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, was launched in the year 2006 with a view to perform the primary operation of a flyby (where a probe is sent in outer space to only fly past a planet so that it can be studied in detail) to Pluto. In a bid to research and learn more about the dwarf planet of our solar system, the probe performed its task successfully in the year 2015. The interplanetary spacecraft New Horizons was also assigned another task, which was to fly by and gather more scientific information about objects in the Kuiper Belt, farther away from the minor planet Pluto. And ringing in the New Year, the probe did send back good news after all.

New Horizons in 2005. (NASA)

What is the Kuiper Belt?

An area that belongs to our solar system, which is believed to be very frigid, lying beyond the orbit of planet Neptune, where hundreds of thousands of dwarf planets, comets, asteroids and many other small celestial bodies are contained is the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is the icy band where the dwarf planet of Pluto was first discovered in the year 1930. Initially given the status of a planet in 1992, Pluto’s standing came under the scanner when other objects of similar sizes were discovered floating in the Kuiper Belt. Pluto’s status was then stripped of and it came to be termed as a dwarf planet ever since. Similarly, many more objects in the Kuiper Belt known as KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects), including Ultima Thule, have been discovered in the icy ring consisting of dwarf bodies, among which the discovery of Ultima Thule is of prime importance.

Our solar system representation with the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt. (Rursus / Wikimedia Commons)

What is Ultima Thule?

Long before New Horizons space probe made a flyby beyond Kuiper Belt’s gatekeeper Pluto, it had sent over a picture of a hazy, single dot that was named 2014 MU69. But tired of using the official designation every time, scientists immediately gave it the nickname Ultima Thule, for two reasons. Firstly, it was the ultimate discovery that a manmade spacecraft had ever come across (which explains Ultima) and secondly, during the fourth century Europe, an icy cold, mythological, distant land, lying far away in the north was termed Thule, which also stuck with the nickname of NASA’s newest finding. Out of the thirty-six names that were compiled and posted online, Ultima Thule gathered the most votes and so by majority, in 2014 MU69 came to be known as Ultima Thule.

Ultima Thule is also considered a fossil celestial body that holds the secret to the birth of our solar system. It is a trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper Belt, which is a contact binary body, approximately 32 by 16 kilometres in dimension. It is composed of two distinctly separate objects fused together, also called lobes, which explain its contact binary nature. The two lobes of the almost spherical body might have been moving towards each other over several years until they touched and together came to be known as Ultima Thule. The larger body was named Ultima, while the smaller one was termed Thule. Scientists are also looking into the possibility that the two objects could be orbiting each other.

Formation of Ultima Thule. (NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI / James Tuttle Keane)

As per NASA’s data, the picture of Ultima Thule resembles a huge snowman adrift in space; of which, the duration of rotation period is yet to be ascertained correctly. The larger body is three times the size of the smaller body and its brightness did not change as it made a rotation. Ultima Thule spins end to end like a propeller and its axis was found to be pointing outwards. Like most other dwarf planets and regular ones, Ultima Thule has been found to be moderately cratered. The newly found celestial object is considered to be an icy world that is some 6.5 billion kilometers away from the Earth. It is believed to be a building block of planets and its study might offer clues into how the Earth, its neighbouring planets and the solar system formed in the first place.

Artistic impression of a non-contact version of Ultima Thule. (NASA)

As per a statement issued by the lead scientist of the mission Dr. Alan Stern, the probe will travel behind the Sun, the outer surface of which will interfere with the transmission of photographs back to the Earth. It takes around six hours one way for data to be sent back to the Earth, which is why more information can only be relayed back on January 10, once the link to the spacecraft is restored.

First discovered by astronomers through the Hubble Space Telescope on June 26, 2014, Ultima Thule became clearer as New Horizons spacecraft made a flyby beyond Neptune in the solar system and then went further past Pluto into the Kuiper Belt on January 1, 2019.

Now scientists are keeping a close watch on this newly-discovered object in space and waiting for more information to be transmitted from the New Horizons spacecraft in a bid to find out more not just about the happy snowman Ultima Thule but also about the formation of planets inside the solar system and outside ones contained within the Kuiper Belt. It is only a matter of time before we get to know more about the farthest object in space that man has ever literally laid his eyes on.

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Supertree Grove in the Gardens by the Bay. (Jan / Flickr)

Singapore is an island nation in Southeast Asia, which largely depends on tourism for its economy. It is a global entertainment and tourism hub, where people from all across the globe visit each year to unwind. And the country too offers various destinations where tourists can rejuvenate themselves from their daily, fast-paced life. One such destination in Singapore, which is a must on every traveller’s itinerary, is the Supertree Grove in the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens by the Bay is not just a botanical garden but also the biggest glass greenhouse, spread over a sprawling 250 acres of land, with Supertree Grove as one of its main attractions.

Aerial photo of Gardens by the Bay. (Hari Krishna / Flickr)

In 2005, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (who is also the current PM) announced that a garden destination be planned in their country, which would raise the standard of living of the locals and quality of living of foreign visitors. This spacious park, planned adjacent to the Marina Reservoir, would double up as a nature park, where people could visit for outdoor recreation and also get an unhindered view of the vast city skyline.

Work on building a city inside a garden began in 2007 and by November 2011, visitors were let in to soak in the scenic beauty and the fresh, clean air in an experimental tour. From the year 2012, the Gardens by the Bay became fully functional, with as many as 6.5 million tourists visiting the place in 2014 alone.

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Botanist Dr. Kiat W. Tan came up with the idea of the design of the world-class garden on reclaimed land, which has now become home to a million plants and trees from all parts of the world, excluding Antarctica. With diligent and consistent men at work, a dream to build a nature park materialized and a barren, sandy piece of land magically transformed into a stunning, lush green space called the Gardens by the Bay.

The two main attractions of these huge funnel-shaped glass awnings are the conservatories called Cloud Forest and Supertree Grove. The Gardens by the Bay are made up of tall column-less, steel branch-like structures and glazed glass panels that trap sunlight for the cultivation of plants and trees from foreign lands. Temperatures maintained in the domes range between 23 and 25 degrees centigrade, making it easier for plants like cherry blossoms, tulips and dahlias to bloom inside comfortably in their ‘close-to-natural’ surroundings.

Cloud forest, Gardens by the Bay. (Allie_Caulfield / Flickr)

The Supertree Grove

The main tourist attraction to visit inside the Gardens by the Bay is the Supertree Grove. It is an artificial, solar-powered mechanical jungle, with as many as eighteen supertrees that generate solar power and also act as a vertical garden. These man-made trees operate as venting ducts to eliminate harmful gases from inside, collect rainwater and also convert sunlight into energy, providing for the conservatories below, while also acting as sheltered walks for visitors underneath. Rising to scaling heights of 25 to 50 metres (80 to 150 feet), the larger-than-life tree-like structures have tropical flowers, trees, ferns and vines, climbing upwards on steel frames, which also double up as natural canopies.

Supertree Grove at night. (Romain Pontida / Flickr)

Inspired partly by nature and partly by fiction, this climate-controlled Supertree Grove has a 128-metre-long interconnecting bridge high above at 22 feet, known as the OCBC Skyway that links the tree structures together. These skywalks offer visitors a panoramic view of the gardens below, while also helping ease movement of thousands of tourists that visit at once. This interconnecting aerial walkway also presents photo opportunities to visitors as they get to see the Supertree structures with rare flora and fauna from up close.

The super-tall vertical gardens, which are home to exotic flowers like orchids, are fitted with photovoltaic cells to harness solar energy, mimicking plants’ own process of photosynthesis. This energy is then used to light up Supertree structures and also provide for the coordinated light and sound music show that brings this gigantic complex alive in the night time. Every month the theme of the music show changes for more added effect. Food stalls atop the Supertree help tourists refuel after a long day’s tiring sightseeing session. The Supertree Grove also forms a part of pop culture, making its appearance in several movies and video games. The Flower Dome inside the stunning Gardens by the Bay has earned a prestigious place in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2015 for being the largest glass greenhouse in the world.

A horticultural marvel, the Supertree Grove not just provides respite from the tropical Singaporean heat to people but it is also an engineering wonder that gives the island nation a new rank in the list of developed countries, with an eco-tourism destination to boast of. The multi-million dollar project stands true to the government’s strategy of building a city inside a garden, fulfilling the promise of a greener standard of living.

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Portrait of Jacques de Falaise. (Gallica Digital Library)

In the late 1700s, there lived a man named Tarrare, who had such an insatiable appetite that he couldn’t go without eating anything after he just had a fill. People who knew this mysterious man from the past identified him as a glutton, but when his medical tests came out, there was more to his bizarre eating habits than just voracious hunger.

Story of Tarrare’s early days

Born in 1772 or 73 in Lyon, France, Tarrare was born in a humble household. During his childhood years, he ate a lot of food and had an unusual appetite for a child his age. When he became a teenager, his insatiable hunger forced his parents to abandon him due to their deprived living conditions. Tarrare toured the country with bandits and started stealing food to satisfy his unending hunger. He later worked as a showman at a travelling carnival, demonstrating his eating skills and wowing his audiences. His food included not just fruits and meat, but also live animals, stones, corks, flint and other items not considered fit for human consumption. In the year 1788, Tarrare shifted base to the French capital of Paris and began street performing, putting his unusual eating habit on display, gaining a lot of notoriety.

Tarrare’s life in the military

When the War of the First Coalition broke out, where European countries fought against French monarchy between 1792 and 1797, Tarrare joined the French Revolutionary Army. But there again, he did not receive enough ration to satisfy his huge hunger and so he began trading for supplies from his fellow soldiers. On one occasion he was admitted to a hospital due to extreme exhaustion, where Tarrare is said to have eaten the pharmacist’s herbal medicinal preparations. To test his desire to eat nonstop, doctors placed an undisturbed meal for fifteen people, which Tarrare consumed within minutes. He is also said to have been experimented upon for eating live animals, which he consumed successfully, swallowing a cat, an eel, snakes, puppies and even lizards on several different occasions.

Some months later, Tarrare returned to service in the army and was employed as a courier. His task was to carry secret military documents and papers tightly tucked inside his stomach by way of ingestion and later retrieval by means of excretion. But after he was caught transporting confidential information and spying, he was severely beaten up by the German forces. He then returned to Paris for good, quit his military profession and sought Dr. Baron Percy’s help to rid him of his abnormal eating condition.

Tarrare’s medical examination

As is evident from his example, Tarrare suffered from a strange case of polyphagia. Some doctors and surgeons even argued that he had hyperthyroidism, which caused patients to eat in very large quantities. It also caused patients to lose weight rapidly, have intolerance to hot temperatures and sweat profusely, which were evident in Tarrare’s case. But since there was no explanation as to why he ate things, unfit for human consumption, the possibility of him suffering from hyperthyroidism was ruled out. Others speculated that one of Tarrare’s amygdala in his brain was damaged. But that did not hold true either, since he showed no signs of mental illness, thus proving again that his brain was healthy like normal people.

Tarrare never threw up his ingested ‘food’ and despite eating all the while, he never gained weight. He did not weigh more than 45 to 50 kilograms, though his skin sagged in the absence of food and appeared stretched out when he had too many things to eat. Tarrare would become sluggish after he had a stomach full to eat, with doctors even admitting to have seen thin vapours rising out of his body and his stomach swelling up like a balloon. He sweated a lot and had a fetid body odour. Tarrare also suffered from chronic diarrhoea. But all these problems did not stop the oddball from eating to his stomach’s content.

Final years of the living glutton

When Tarrare was in the hospital, while his condition was constantly monitored, he is said to have snuck out in the dark alleys looking for food to satisfy his craving many a times. He was under heavy medication and was given a strict diet to follow, yet he ate things out garbage bins, kitchen refuse, sometimes even viscera of dead animals and carrions during the afterhours. On one occasion, he is said to have been caught trying to eat the flesh of corpses in the morgue and on another instance, he was even suspected to have eaten a toddler. This incident got him expelled from the hospital, after which he never returned to Paris.

During his final days, when Tarrare was only 26-years-old, he contracted tuberculosis and his health constantly deteriorated. Within a month after this, he developed exudative diarrhoea, where his body was filled with pus and stomach was lined with ulcers. After he died, his body decayed very quickly, unlike regular dead bodies and gave out an overpoweringly intense stench. Nothing concrete ever came out of what had given rise to such gluttony that Tarrare was faced with in his youth, and the mystery of his creepy and strange eating habits died with him in 1798 in Versailles. Chief surgeon Baron Percy’s original paper on Tarrare’s strange medical condition ‘Memoire sur la Polyphagie’ was published and republished many times before, but nobody till date could explain what caused him to eat in such huge quantities and things that no man can attempt to consume.

Tarrare vs Jacques de Falaise

Like Tarrare the bizarre glutton, there lived another Frenchman named Jacques de Falaise, who was born in 1754. He too had an unusual capacity for ingesting anything and everything. In the year 1816, he was first hired by the celebrated Parisian magician and ventriloquist Louis Christian Emmanuel Comte to perform this ‘odd exercise’ at his exhibition. Nothing much is known about the sixty years of Jacques’ life, until he came into the limelight with his weird eating habits. Working in a quarry initially, he later started performing in public, putting his extraordinary talent on display. Jacques de Falaise would also swallow live animals like mice, birds, eels, lobsters and other non-consumable items like a rose flower with its stem and thorns, corks, furnace pipes and even cards rolled together. For his performance, Falaise even swallowed a steel sword, about thirteen to fourteen inches long, though never ingesting it completely.

Artwork of Jacques de Falaise performing. (Gallica Digital Library)

But there was something that set Jacques de Falaise and Tarrare apart. While Tarrare ate to satisfy his unending hunger, Jacques de Falaise was a performer, who ingested items unfit for eating to earn money. Unlike Tarrare, after every solid intake, Jacques de Falaise would consume a specially-prepared wine mixture, the formula of which remained a secret. Experts say this mix helped him with digestion and that this habit of polyphagia was a result of deliberate and habitual practice. A life marked with several accidents during displays, Jacques de Falaise had enough to showcase and in March 1825, he committed suicide by hanging himself in the basement where he worked.

A lithograph depicting Jacques de Falaise in action was designed by the French artist Louis-Marie Lante, engraved by Georges-Jacques Gatine and published by Pierre-Antoine Leboux. The painting titled ‘Jacques de Falaise le Polyphage’ is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

“Truth is stranger than fiction,” Mark Twain once noted. But we could never imagine in our wildest dreams that Tarrare’s tale, which seems to come straight out of a horror story, could only be so bizarre.

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Battle of Saragarhi: Members of the 11th Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army. (Profitoftruth85 / Wikimedia Commons)

India is an independent nation and also the largest democracy in the world. But before she became a sovereign state, a lot of battles have been fought on her soil to achieve freedom. One such heroic saga of undaunted bravery and unmatched courage dates back to the year 1897. The Battle of Saragarhi, named after the village of Saragarhi, was an epic act of valour in the history of India that fills every Indian with a deep sense of veneration and great pride.

When Afridis rose in rebellion at Tirah Campaign

Between the years 1897-1898, India was under the British rule and Pakistan had yet to become a separate state. The government of British India had given the Afridi tribe (of Pakistan) subsidy to safeguard the Khyber Pass – a mountainous pass, which borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The government had also assigned the local Afridis occupation of the Pass to defend the nation when the time came. However, as misfortune had it, they rose in rebellion together with their tribesmen, along with the Pashtun Orakzais (basically from Afghanistan) and intruded Tirah Expedition. But the bloodbath at the Battle of Saragarhi was only the precursor to the Tirah Campaign, fought at the North-West Frontier Province, which is now officially occupied by tribal Pakistanis.

Afridi tribe, 1866. (Library of Congress)

Saragarhi and the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army

Just a month before the Afridis and Orakzais infiltrated the Tirah Campaign, in September, 1897, the Pashtun Orakzais waged war with the British Indian Army, leaving a bloody trail in its wake. In the North-West Frontier Province, modern-day Pakistani Province, more than 10,000 Afghani tribesmen fought with only twenty-one Sikh soldiers, who did not leave the battlefield, despite knowing that their fates were already sealed. The 36th Regiment of the British Indian Army, also known as the 36th Sikhs (now known as the 4th Battalion of Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army), were posted at Saragarhi, who did not know what destiny had in store for them, early in the morning of September 12.

Part of British India back then, Saragarhi was an outpost located between Fort Lockhart and Fort Cavagnari. It acted as a communication outpost that relayed messages between the two British forts by means of heliography. On 12th of September, Havildar Ishar Singh and Gurmukh Singh observed that the Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen were heading towards Saragarhi in the thousands, to make way ahead to Fort Lockhart. Gurmukh Singh, who was the signalman, immediately sent a message to the commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel John Haughton at Lockhart. Not prepared for a siege, they expected help to come in from all corners. But Lt. Col. Haughton requested them to hold their positions until reinforcement could be summoned. Havildar Ishar Singh and his men complied with the orders and prepared for what lay ahead.

The Battle of Saragarhi

As the Pathans marched forward towards Saragarhi, the twenty-one men at the outpost, who only acted as messengers, knew the time had come for them to rise to the occasion. They held the ground and tried to delay the enemy from infiltrating further towards the next outpost, but it was obvious they had been clearly outnumbered. The enemy came in the thousands. Not sure exactly how many Pashtun Orakzais were in the enemy camp, but records state there could have been approximately between ten to fourteen to even twenty thousands of them. And these Afghani men were challenged by only a handful of gallant Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army.

By now it was clear that one Sikh soldier had to take on at least 500 Afghanis, but there was another hitch. Each soldier had 400 rounds of ammo for their 4.5 kg Martini-Henry, which meant they couldn’t just rely on firepower alone. They tried to fight off the over ten thousand Afghani enemies for hours but were heavily under assault. As the Orakzais attacked, they received stiff competition from the 36th Sikhs and as many as sixty of their men were killed. They launched a second attack, but it was thwarted again by the Sikh soldiers. By noon, one British Indian soldier had died fighting and another left wounded. Gurmukh Singh forwarded the message to the Lockhart Fort but Lt. Col. Haughton’s back up had yet to come.

Defeated the second round too, the Pathans then set the nearby bushes ablaze hoping to ambush the Sikh soldiers inside, by camouflaging themselves, but the defenders had not admitted defeat yet. Another Sikh soldier was charred to death, trying to protect the guard door. It was only when the enemy had begun getting inside that Havildar Ishar Singh decided to engage in a hand-to-hand combat instead of wasting precious ammunition. But then it had been too late.

The Pathans had breached the Saragarhi outpost and there was very little that Havildar Ishar Singh or anybody else could do. Gurmukh Singh, who had requested to get into action instead of only relaying messages, also died fighting. Ishar Singh fought till the very end, mortally wounded at that time. However, the twenty-one brave Sikh soldiers did not let down their lives for nothing. Despite no backup in sight, they decided to take on the enemy in the thousands and heroically took down more than six hundred of them. Historians are still of the opinion that Havildar Ishar Singh’s brave act of heroic courage in the face of adversity, is one of history’s most supreme military last-stands.

The delay tactic had worked in the martyrs’ favour and Lt. Col. Haughton could buy enough time to muster reinforcement in the next two days, which finally worked at Lockhart. All the 21 brave soldiers with unprecedented courage were posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, which in today’s times, is equivalent to the Param Vir Chakra. Also, September 12 is observed as Saragarhi Day in memory of the bravehearts with unflinching guts who stood their ground.

Not part of folklore or fiction, the Battle of Saragarhi was truly an act of valiance that 21 mighty Sikh soldiers put up in defence And to pay homage, literary works and pop culture have narrations of this gallantry in great detail. Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions is all set to produce an upcoming movie titled ‘Kesari’, which will be directed by Anurag Singh. Featuring Akshay Kumar in the lead as Havildar Ishar Singh, the movie will be a fictionalized account of the factual Battle of Saragarhi, which is truly the greatest example of rare Indian heroism.

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Undated photo of Ota Benga with a baby chimpanzee. (Library of Congress)

An establishment that collects different animals for conservation purposes, along with their study and public edutainment is called a zoo. As nature conservationists today are of the opinion that animals in their natural habitats are better than those in cages; zoos are slowly losing their charm somehow. But surprisingly, there have been zoos in the past that had unique exhibits, which one can never imagine seeing in glass enclosures today.

In human zoos of the bygone eras, ethnic humans and people from indigenous populations were put up on display as ‘missing links’ so that the others could see the racial differences and learn about human cultures. One such last of the ethnic humans, reduced to being an ‘artifact’ in an ethnographic museum was Ota Benga, whose life was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride.

Who was Ota Benga?

Samuel Phillips Werner. (theguardian.com / Wikimedia Commons)

Born in the year 1833 in the Mbuti tribe of Congolese pygmies, Ota Benga mostly grew up in the equatorial forests of Central Africa. Once when his entire tribe, including his wife and child, was attacked and killed by colonial Belgian militia – Force Publique – he managed to escape unhurt. But unfortunately he was captured by slave traders a little later. It is unclear whether those were slave traders or cannibalistic tribesmen, but Ota Benga traversed the forests with them for quite a while.

American businessman and anthropologist Samuel Phillips Verner while on a tour in Africa to ‘collect’ an assortment of pygmies for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, spotted the only 4 feet and 8 inches tall Ota Benga and traded for his freedom from the slavers. Then on, Benga accompanied Verner to Missouri, USA, along with four other men from different African tribes, unaware of what lay ahead of him.

Ota Benga’s early life in the USA

Ota Benga at the exhibit in 1904. (Jessie Tarbox Beals / Wikimedia Commons)

Shortly after the five African men arrived in Missouri on June 1904, they became popular exhibits at the controversial St. Louis World’s Fair. The white-skinned people were eager to see these short, Black men from a different part of the world, put on display for their entertainment. The American people specifically loved Ota Benga’s outgoing personality and he, in turn, had come to love the admiration he received. Verner realized the five men had been forced to entertain people and so he took them back to where they belonged – Congo, Africa. However, the young man loved the new life in America and returned with Verner to New York City, where at the American Museum of Natural History, he was allotted a separate room to stay, with a promised employment.

However, things did not work in Verner’s favour and he had to leave Ota Benga there for a while, before shifting him permanently to the Bronx Zoo in the same city. Although Ota Benga dutifully entertained his patrons, the Black man had begun to show signs of aggression and loneliness. Benga longed to be with his own people and wanted a shot at freedom, which he did by trying to escape on more than two occasions. Verner finally took the 23-year-old African pygmy to the Bronx Zoo, where he could roam freely, clean animal cages and tend to the wild beasts at the establishment.

Ota Benga’s life at the Bronx Zoo

After visitors at the zoo noticed how affectionately Ota Benga bonded and played with an orangutan named Dohong – another exhibit at the zoo – they wanted to see more of this ‘foreign’ man’s antics. And so the zoo authorities, taking advantage of the situation, allowed an ignorant Ota Benga to be a part of the Monkey House display. There the young African man unknowingly entertained his guests by playing tricks with Dohong and shooting his bow and arrow at targets and sleeping in his hammock. Bustling and full of life and exuding an ethnic appeal, Ota Benga had quickly become a sensation like no other, although silently in his heart, he longed to go back home.

Ota Benga with a monkey (second from left) and his fellow countrymen at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (S.C. in The Pygmy in the Zoo)

Over a period of time, visitors became hostile, jeering and hurling racial abuses at him, but the bushman, not sure of what the white-skinned men and women said, only smiled and displayed his sharp, pointed teeth, which had been filed as a result of an ancient African ritualistic decoration. Dressed scantily, he was even laughed at by people, who had come to believe that the pygmy was the missing link between man and monkeys. Things slowly started taking an ugly turn, when the usually cheerful Ota Benga was subjected to humiliation and torment by the white people day in and day out. It was in late 1906, when after a lot of protests from human rights activists, religious leaders and commoners alike that Benga was being exploited and inhumanely treated, he was placed in the custody of Reverend James Gordon.

Portrait photo of Ota Benga. (American Museum of Natural History)

Later life and tragic death

Reverend Gordon took Ota Benga to the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum in Brooklyn, where he was well taken care of. But frenzied media attention led Reverend Gordon to shift him to Lynchburg in Virginia in 1910, where Ota Benga learnt the ways of civilized life. His filed teeth were capped; he was schooled in English and taught how to wear American-styled clothes. His life started to turn around considerably after he was employed at a tobacco factory, where he proved his worth. With the money he earned, Benga planned to return to his homeland, which unfortunately never materialized for him.

Reverend James Gordon. (theguardian.com / Wikimedia Commons)

In the year, 1914, World War I broke out and all passenger ships stopped ferrying people across the globe. Ota Benga’s hopes to return home dashed and he fell into depression subsequently. Dejected and down in despair, 32-year-old Ota Benga shot himself in the heart in 1916 and ended his miserable life, which was already shattered, ever since his tribe was exterminated.

Having lived a life of disgrace and forgotten after his death, Ota Benga still remains immortal as the man, who brought racism to its knees and who sacrificed his life for the entertainment of others. Ota Benga has documentaries filmed on him, books written on him, markers built in his honour and a lot of movies inspired by his life, but the life he was subject to in his prime was nothing short of a tragic tale of torment that no man should ever have to endure.

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Nakagin Capsule Tower. (scarletgreen / Flickr)

A walk in the classy Ginza district of the Japanese capital of Tokyo can bring a visitor to one of the rare architectural marvels of the world that is now in a very sorry state. Once a wonder and one of the firsts to achieve a specific tag, the Nakagin Capsule Tower, today cries for attention. Designed and built between the years 1970 and 1972 by Kisho Kurokawa Architect and Associates, the tower in Tokyo, was the world’s first structure to be made in a capsule format, serving a dual function. The Nakagin Capsule Tower was made in such a way that it not just utilized compact areas but also served practical living purposes in the littlest of spaces.

The exterior of the Nakagin Capsule Tower. (Jordy Meow / Wikimedia Commons)

Construction of the Nakagin Capsule Tower

Using steel and reinforced concrete, the Nakagin Capsule Tower has only two central interconnected cores, both of which have eleven and thirteen floors respectively. It was built to occupy a total floor area of 3091.23 square metres, including a basement floor, plus preassembled modular capsules rising above it. Only four high-tension bolts are attached to each of the pods on either ends, which make it easier for the capsule to be assembled into the mainframe or detached from it as and when required. The capsule tower was built mainly to serve travelling businessmen, who would stop for the night and prefer places meant for a single person’s use. The futuristic pods could also be converted into a home for a family by connecting single units together, depending on the number of persons living in it.

Nakagin Capsule Tower during construction. (Forgemind ArchiMedia / Flickr)

Each capsule is preassembled with inbuilt kitchen spaces, complete with a sink, compact refrigerator and pantry cupboards. It also has a convertible bed, which can be used as a seating space when not in use for sleeping. And not just that; each capsule, out of the total 140 in the tower, is complete with home and kitchen appliances, including a television set, a telephone, audio system and an alarm clock. The minimalistic interiors have foldable cupboards that can be used as writing spaces or headboards or can be kept closed when not in use.

Inside a capsule of Nakagin Capsule Tower. (Ken OHYAMA / Flickr)

A single unit measures 8.2 feet by 13.1 feet and has a single circular window, measuring approximately 1.5 metres in diameter. The welded, light-weight concrete boxes also have a separate toilet unit attached inside, the size of an airplane lavatory, which has a bath tub, a commode and a sink. Appearing as cubes neatly and tightly stacked inside a frame, this unique structure was completed in a short span of only thirty days.

Interior of a room inside the Nakagin Capsule Tower. (Chris 73 / Wikimedia Commons)

A masterpiece of metabolist architecture

Developed in Japan in the 1960s post World War II, metabolism architecture followed the principle of cells in the body or DNA strands, which make up an entire organism. The new concept of adaptability sprung up as a result of changing lifestyles post the war and need for more and more spaces to build homes. As a result of these, modular megastructures started coming up, where a single unit could be added to or removed from the main building framework as per the requirement.

A detached capsule of Nakagin Capsule Tower. (Ken OHYAMA / Flickr)

The social experiment quickly started picking up the pace as designers and architects began focusing on flexible, futuristic pods in place of urban living spaces. The Japanese were the first to build such compact homes and particularly Kisho Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule Tower came to be known as the first ever in the world to follow the capsule-like metabolist architecture.

Limitations and problems

Although the chief designer and architect Kurosawa claimed that a pre-assembled single unit was flexible and could be detached and attached to the main framework when necessary, it was not practically possible. Adding on to the already stacked pile and removing cubicles from it was an expensive task and involved a lot of money. Since the capsules were very small, permanent occupants with families even complained that it felt cramped inside and the feeling of novelty had begun to wane off quickly. Concrete had started to fall off and drainage became a constant issue with the residents in the tower.

Falling on hard times

Although the world-renowned architect Kisho Kurokawa hoped his pet project – the Nakagin Capsule Tower – would herald a new era in the field of permanent, futuristic residency, the tower fell into disrepair after its founding father passed away in 2007. Maintenance costs didn’t come by easily as no developer came forward for its renovation purpose. The structure slowly began to go from bad to worse as concrete crumbled and pipes began leaking, causing drainage issues. The few handfuls of residents that had occupied the capsules in the Nakagin Tower called for its demolition after Kurokawa’s death, with a plan to build a new conventional-styled apartment in its place.

Close up of Nakagin Capsule Tower. (urbz / Flickr)

But the plan thankfully never materialized as the world economy crashed in 2008, serving as a temporary relief to Nakagin Capsule Tower’s legacy. While some residents moved out to better places, some still use it as rooms for office spaces, mostly to store their possessions. The abandoned and deteriorating building only has as many as thirty residents left in the tower that now look forward to preserving one of the rarest Japanese heritages. The upcoming Summer Olympics, set to be held in Japan in the year 2020, has given these residents and countless other Japanese people some hope of seeing the world’s first ever advanced living structure on the road to revival.

Although it is unsure yet whether The Nakagin Capsule Tower will live in the future to tell its tale; but one thing is for certain that Japanese were the first to materialize the idea of floating cities, where an entire world fitted into tiny spaces.

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Cancun Underwater Museum, Isla Mujeres. (Ratha Grimes / Flickr)

The Cancun Underwater Museum is home to life-sized sculptures, which are devoted to the art of marine conservation. Known as MUSA or Museo Subacuatico de Arte in Spanish, the one-of-its-kind underwater museum is a non-profit organization located in Mexico’s southeastern coastal city of Cancun. The idea to start an underwater museum cropped up in 2008 when Jaime Gonzalez Canto noticed that the corals in Manchones Reef were being greatly damaged by tourist activities in the region. The director of the Marine Park in Isla Mujeres, which is an island in the Gulf of Mexico, then thought to seek Jason deCaires Taylor’s help to lure tourists away from the natural reefs. Jason deCaires Taylor stepped in to help. An award-winning Guyanan-British sculptor, certified scuba-diving instructor, underwater photographer and a marine conservationist, Taylor is also the founder of the world’s first underwater sculpture park in West Indies.

Jason deCaires Taylor and Gonzalez Canto started materializing their idea of the underwater park and their work began slowly in 2009. By November of the same year, Taylor submerged four of his concrete sculptures into the ocean, out of the initial five hundred planned in total. Later the next year, most of Taylor’s sculptures were placed three to six metres on the ocean floor, along with some more by local Mexican sculptors. By the year 2013, four hundred and eighty-seven of Taylor’s life-sized statues were added to the museum, which had officially opened to the public in the year 2010. Along with Taylor’s artwork titled ‘The Silent Evolution’, Mexican artists have also contributed to the museum, where more than a hundred million tourists visit in a single year.

The speciality of the Cancun Underwater Museum

Growing up in Malaysia and observing how nature reclaimed abandoned human environments, Jason deCaires Taylor worked on the idea of populating marine life, where humans had created the most destruction. He started making special, pH-neutral marine cement-based statues, which were ten times harder than the normal cement mix. Transforming this mixture of sand, micro silica, fibre glass and live coral into human forms, his sculptures were installed under the water, which would work as natural habitats for marine life, specifically coral reefs. Initially, artificial corals were placed on the sculptures, which soon began to lure in aquatic creatures and eventually, coral reefs began to flourish.

Cancun Underwater Museum. (Andy Blackledge / Flickr)

With a previous experience in building an underwater museum in Grenada, West Indies, Taylor’s new self-sustaining ecosystems in the form of human sculptures, took shape and some of his initial works started attracting a variety of tiny aquatic creatures. ‘The Silent Evolution’ also served a dual purpose. It eased the pressures off the natural coral reefs that were being affected by tourist activities like snorkelling and scuba diving and secondly, the visually-striking, porous, life-like statues were helping corals colonize the area quickly in a short span of time.

The underwater museum

Working with people from all sections of the society in Mexico, Jason deCaires Taylor took live casts of local people, with diverse features and expressions, sculpting them into statues, which now adorn the underwater museum. Going around Mexican cities looking for people to pose for his exhibition, Taylor picked up individuals – some carpenters, some accountants, a nun, a three-year-old boy, an acrobat – with extraordinary features to be his inspirations. He made use of giant cranes that transported these statues to the bottom of the ocean floor without either getting damaged themselves or harming nature in any way. Placed in two different galleries, one in Manchones Reef and the other in Punta Nizuc, these vivid human concrete sculptures are on display for snorkelers and scuba divers, who can view these large statues face-to-face. Tourists can also enjoy the view below of corals thriving on human-like figures in glass-bottomed boats.

A diver taking a selfie with an underwater sculpture. (Ratha Grimes / Flickr)

Statues at the Cancun Underwater Museum

Taylor’s stunning statues illustrate the human life and their association with nature. The first one to be submerged was the ‘La Jardinera de la Esperanza’ or the ‘Gardener of Hope’, which depicted a young girl lying in a garden amidst potted plants. Another amazing sculpture is titled ‘Sarah’, which is the only statue to have a pair of artificial lungs, fashioned after an English professor. Snorkelers can blow in bubbles or air from their tanks into the lungs, which later escapes from the open mouth of the sculpture, making it a rare sight to behold. Some statues are seen lost in conversation with each other, while others depict people deep in thought. Some individuals are seen grooming themselves while many others seem looking to the surface amid nothingness as if wanting freedom.

Underwater museum, Isla Mujeres. (Ratha Grimes / Flickr)

Planned initially at 350, 000 US dollars, the unique museum is made in such a way that it withstands frequent hurricanes, global warming and also hostile human activities. Turning eight this year, the spectacular statues are not only attracting marine animals and helping corals grow but also boosting tourism in the region, thus maintaining a symbiotic relationship between man and nature.

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Mapogo lions looking at a herd of buffalo, circa 2011. (Mike’s Birds / Flickr)

A lion is not called the King of the Jungle for nothing. These large animals belonging to the cat family are not just exotic, magnificent beasts but also one of the most formidable hunters of the wild. Living in groups called prides, there was once a legendary union of six male lions that invoked terror in the lands during their prime. The Mapogo Lions of Sabi Sand Reserve in South Africa was a terrorizing group that kept other lions in the region away from their territory. And to keep competition off, these animals killed as many as hundred lions to stay on the top.

The early story of the Mapogo Lions

Born over a period of time in the Sparta Pride in Sabi Sand Reserve, adjacent to the Kruger National Park, five young lions had a playful youth like their other counterparts. As per written records, these lions came into their own in March of 2006, when their reign of terror had just begun. Animal observers named these Mapogo lions after their distinct characteristics. Kinky Tail was named so because he had a tightly curled tail. Satan or Mr. T, the violent of the lot, had a mane groomed in a natural Mohawk style. Pretty Boy was named so because he was obviously more pretty-looking than his brothers. Rasta and Dreadlocks were named after their specifically-styled abundant manes. After the pride lost a young male cub, Makulu (meaning big in Zulu) – a four-year-old – joined in without resistance from the others.

It is said that this band of six brothers stayed close to their pride as cubs, but when they reached their youth, they were abolished so that they could begin a life of their own. But the fact that surprised many biologists was that these young lions did not leave each other’s company at all, rather they hunted together, lived together and reigned terror during their prime.

The Mapogo Lions’ terror-inducing times

After the six lions formed a coalition, they began hunting to feed themselves. A wild buffalo was their first kill and they slowly graduated to killing giraffes, which is supposedly not an easy catch even for the mighty lions. But what set this coalition of brothers apart was their cannibalism, which baffled researchers and animal behaviourists. In their quest for dominance, they did not leave behind any living lion, lioness or cub, who could possibly take over their supremacy. Divided into two groups, these Mapogo Lions dominated the northern and southern territories of the Sabi Sands, keeping away competition from their fellow lions. Rasta, Dreadlocks, Makulu and Pretty Boy formed one band, guarding the southern sides, while Mr. T and Kinky Tail, the inseparable duo, watched out for the north.

The beginning of cannibalistic behaviour

During their reign, not a single lion from other prides could enter their territory and if any beast tried to intrude, it was killed instantaneously. Labelled as sadistic and ruthless, these six coldblooded lions were a formidable force that wiped out entire prides only to stamp their supremacy in the region. What came across as unnatural behaviour was when field guides and rangers saw that these lions killed their own cubs to eliminate future competition. But that was not the end of their brutal behaviour. These lions fed on the flesh of their dead cubs too! And that was just the beginning of their vicious activities.

Once a young male lion from Manjigilane pride tried to show his dominance, but Mr. T and Kinky Tail, in an act of defiance, tore apart the young lion, shattering his pelvic bones and then ate away the soft flesh of its underbelly. Wounded and tired the two dreadful brothers continued their cannibalistic behaviour and same was the case with the other four lions that guarded the southern territory. In just a year, these six brutal brothers took down a hundred others of their own kin, including females and young ones to prove their power in the land.

End of an era

It was in the year 2010 when a new pride of Manjigilane lions had tried to take control of the Sabi Sands, when the death of Kinky Tail was recorded for the world to witness. In a battle that lasted for hours, Kinky Tail was taken down in the same way; he and his ferocious brother Mr. T hunted all their lives. The young lions tore Kinky Tail’s body apart and left him to die, leaving Mr. T almost orphaned. The lone lion then moved towards the south to be with his four other brothers, who by now, had prides of their own.

In the next few months, these five lions managed to keep off competition, mate and take over new prides, but their reign had eventually started to come to an end. Rasta was the first to be killed in July 2010 by a young Manjigilane coalition in an intense fight. Dreadlocks went missing in the same year after he did not return from a night stroll. Some believe that poachers could have killed him or he was taken down by another coalition of lions. Mr. T was killed by the Selati pride in March 2012 in the same way as Kinky Tail was killed by a group of young males – ambushed and subdued. Makulu died during a confrontation with males of the Kruger pride in January 2013. Nobody knows for sure what happened to Pretty Boy or how he died, but rangers speculate that when he was last sighted, he looked thin and weak and could have died of starvation.

Ruling with an iron paw between the years 2006 and 2012, this extremely rare coalition of six cannibalistic lions, reigned terror and wiped out prides that posed a threat to them. Despite the area ruled by eight other prides during their time, none stood a chance at dominance for they were dealing with an aggressive and brutal lot of lions that was never seen before in the wild, killing and eating their own kith and kin. This band of five brothers and one half-brother has an entire documentary filmed on them titled ‘Brothers in Blood: The Lions of Sabi Sand Mapogo’, which proves how these legendary majestic beasts once ruled the wild.

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Sentinelese people catching sea turtles, 1903. (Smithsonian Institution / National Anthropological Archives: NM 40922 04421302)

The North Sentinel Island in the Andamans is currently in the news for all the wrong reasons. Located in the Indian Ocean, this island is where the Sentinelese tribe resides, which is an ethnic group of the last uncontacted people to ever live in the world. Not wanting to establish any contact with the outside world, this secluded tribe wishes to be left alone. But what is so special about these islanders, which has suddenly put them under the spotlight, making waves across the globe?

History of the Sentinelese tribe and North Sentinel Island

Situated in the Andaman Islands, a part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar, the North Sentinel Island lies far off in southeastern Bay of Bengal. It is roughly a small, square-shaped remote island, which is covered with dense forests and flanked by coral reefs in abundance. It is said that the Sentinelese tribe has been living on this island for more than 60,000 years, without attempting to contact the outside world ever since. Speaking their own Sentinelese language, these indigenous people are said to have descended from the Negrito race, which though are closely related to the African tribes, are quite distinct in their genetic makeup. Standing approximately five feet, five inches tall, these dark-skinned aborigines could possibly have been the first Africans to set foot on the North Sentinel Island thousands of years ago.

Aerial photo of North Sentinel Island. (Medici82 / Wikimedia Commons)

As per the Indian Government Census, the Sentinelese tribesmen are said to be an off-shoot of the more forthcoming Jarawa-Onge tribe (also from the Andaman Islands), but their self-imposed isolation over all these years indicates that they could be an ethnic group in themselves, with their own special ways and means to communicate with each other. The natives often turn hostile and turn away people, who try to make their way inside their protected land, hoping to interact with them. Still using bows and arrows to hunt and kill, it is believed that these Stone Age hunter-gatherers might surprisingly not be able to make fire till date.

The way of life of Sentinelese people

They rely heavily on fish and coconuts for food and as per government bodies that keep an eye out on them, no case of consuming human flesh has ever been reported on the island so far, implying that the Sentinelese do not practice cannibalism. They fish in the shallow waters in narrow canoes and live in houses, sizes of which depend on the number of family members. The Sentinelese make use of metals washed ashore from shipwrecks in order to make spears and tips of arrows for hunting. The women tie strings of fibre around their waist, neck and head, while men wear thicker waist belts, along with necklaces and sometimes headgears. They are even said to apply a yellow paste all over their bodies.

The Jangli hut at Rutland Island, a very similar structure to that used by the Sentinelese people. (Maurice Vidal Portman / Wikimedia Commons)

Having cut themselves off from any form of foreign contact for all these years, the aboriginals are susceptible to several common viruses, including fever, cough and cold and the slightest contact from an outsider could wipe off their entire population. Since they do not allow foreigners to step on their tiny island, reacting with resentment to any possibility, the exact number of tribals actually living on the island is unclear. However, as per the Indian Census of 2011, the population of Sentinelese could be anywhere between 50 and 150.

Indian Government rules, regulations and laws regarding the Sentinelese

In the year 1967, with the help of Indian anthropologist Trilok N. Pandit, the Government of India tried to initiate contact with the Sentinelese people, offering a hand of friendship and leaving gifts for them. But they were turned away with humiliation. In 1970, an attempt to contact them was thwarted again, this time, with much hostility and embarrassment from the tribal women.

The last known contact with these indigenous people was back in 1996, after which the government left them as is. Despite being let down previously, the Government of India tried to assess their situation post the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 from afar, but the Coast Guards’ helicopters were shot with a volley of arrows and spears and were driven away forcefully. In 2006, two fishermen, who had inadvertently drifted too far away towards the North Sentinel Island, were killed mercilessly at the hands of this primeval ethnic tribe.

A Sentinel shooting an arrow at the helicopter. (Mr Minton / Flickr)

The Government of India has since been very particular about the Sentinelese, leaving them the way they are. The tribe is protected under the Indian law and it is a criminal offence to enter within a 5 kilometre radius of the island. The government only monitors the activities of the primitive islanders from a distance, never going too close to the island. The strict laws even necessitate a ban on tourists trying to venture far off into the North Sentinel Island, while the tribal people are never prosecuted for killing non-Sentinelese people. Under the Section 8 of The Andaman and Nicobar (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation of 1956, and Amendment of 2012, provisions for stringent punishment, including a jail term of up to 3 and 7 years and fine have been made for exploitation of tribal communities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Communal huts made by Andamanese people, people of a similar indigenous ethnic group and living in the close proximity of the Sentinelese people, ca. 1886. (Edward Horace Man / Wikimedia Commons)

The recent event at the North Sentinel Island

While there have been several previous misfortunes occurring at the North Sentinel Island, with the Sentinelese tribesmen executing those trying to intrude, one incident has particularly rocked the world recently. A 26-year-old American evangelist, John Allen Chau, who wished to spread the word of God and convert the Sentinelese, visited the island thrice before he was killed with arrows, meeting a tragic end. Having visited the island before in 2015 and 2016, the interloper missionary, who was also an adventurer and international soccer coach, illegally travelled to the island, with the help of local fishermen and ventured inside, recording his entire journey, eventually getting killed by the unreceptive Sentinelese on November 22, 2018.

Distribution of indigenous and no-indigenous settlements at Andaman islands. (CJLL Wright / Wikimedia Commons)

Other uncontacted tribes in the world

An NGO – Survival International – a global human rights organization formed in 1969, campaigns for the rights of the uncontacted and indigenous tribes all over the world. As per its survey, there are as many as 100 uncontacted ethnic tribes in the world, out of which 77 live in Brazil alone. A tribe from Rondonia, Brazil, has only a lone man left, who has resisted contact from the outside world. He is popularly known as the ‘Last of his Tribe’. Another uncontacted tribe is the Awa in Brazil, which is the most endangered tribe in the world due to settlers returning to colonize their land. The members of this group remain hidden most of the time during the day and hunt monkeys at night.

The few dozen people of Kawahiva make up another tribe, the members of which are constantly on the run, for fear of losing their land to deforestation and lumbering activities in their region. The native people of the Mashco-Piro tribe are hunter-gatherers who have actively shunned outside contact and live deep inside the Amazon rainforest. The tribal people from Brazil’s Acre rainforest area are nomadic people, who face severe threat of extinction due to the illegal logging businesses and the diseases the lumberjacks bring in with them. Apart from these Brazilian tribes, there are the ethnic groups of New Guinea, living in the dense jungles. Indonesia is also home to some 40 odd indigenous groups, along with some more in Congo, Botswana, and some in Peru too.

2009: Sightings of isolated people in Acre, Brazil. (Gleilson Miranda / Secretaria de Comunicação do Estado do Acre)

Even though the Sentinelese continue to make news headlines every day after the death of the Christian missionary, they have managed to remain untouched from the impact of modernization in the 21st century. Their seclusion and constant prehistoric ways of living baffles us and they remain a mystery and subject of great intrigue, answering our pressing questions that there still exists a world where civilizations live in ways, man left behind millenniums ago.

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Kerguelen Islands: Aerial photo of Îles du Prince de Monaco, Kerguelen Archipelago. (Armand Patoir / Wikimedia Commons)

There are a lot of places that are untouched by human civilization and have still remained unknown to the rest of the world. From islands far off in the oceans to certain tribes that the modern society know nothing about, the world has something new for us each day. One such place that remained unknown until the dawn of the seventeenth century is the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Also known as Desolation Island, the archipelago is one of the remotest places and most isolated landmasses on the Earth.

Discovery of the Kerguelen Islands and its brief history

In February 1772, a navigator and a lieutenant in the French naval service named Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Tremarec officially discovered the landmass in the southern Indian Ocean while on a voyage. He couldn’t bring his ships to anchor at the coasts, so the captain of his accompanying ship claimed the islands for the French crown on their first visit.

Portrait of Captain James Cook. (Nathaniel Dance-Holland / National Maritime Museum)

Hoping that the newly-discovered piece of land would be suitable for agriculture and rich in minerals and natural resources, Kerguelen-Tremarec reported of the island to King Louis XV of France. The royal then sent the sailor back to the island the following year to bring back more news of his newly-claimed territory. But when the explorer couldn’t land on the islet a second time, he deemed it unfavourable for habitation and called it useless and sterile.

Then in December of 1776, British explorer Captain James Cook, on his third voyage, anchored his ship on the island, which comprised of some 300 odd islets and covered roughly 7,215 square kilometers. Although Captain Cook landed on the island during Christmas time and called the place Christmas Harbor, he let the original name stay, honouring the French discoverer.

Captain Cook instead coined another name, calling the entire landmass the Isles of Desolation. Due to its remoteness from the mainland and harsh landscape, Captain Cook aptly named the place Desolation Island.

Satellite photo of Kerguelen Islands. (NASA Earth Observatory)

After the early discovery of this remotest place on earth, Kerguelen Islands became a hotspot for whalers and sealers. They began hunting on the islands, almost driving elephant seals, fur seals and whales to the brink of extinction, killing them for their fur and meat. Another English voyager John Nunn, became shipwrecked on the islands in the year 1825 and lived there with his crew for two long years, surviving on bird eggs and seal meat, until help arrived eventually.

Modern discovery of Kerguelen Islands

Almost three decades ago, scientists on the research vessel Joides Resolution were drilling in the Indian Ocean, when they found something extraordinary. While extracting samples from beneath the ocean bed, they found that the Kerguelen Plateau had sunk almost 20 million years ago under the surface of the ocean. They thus concluded that the plateau was a lost continent on the surface of the planet, which could have been a tropical zone once, where dinosaurs and lush green trees could have existed millions of years ago.

Huge volcanic eruptions could have given rise to the Kerguelen Islands that rose out of the plateau from beneath the ocean surface, making it the remotest place on earth. As per NASA, the archipelago is nothing but the highest points of land on the surface of an underwater plateau.

Researchers are also of the opinion that studying more about the islands in the tundra region is likely to give them an insight into how the countries of India, Australia and Antarctica broke apart during the drifting of the Pangaea. The separation of the supercontinent billions of years ago, gave rise to the Kerguelen Islands in the plateau region, cutting them off and making them isolated from the rest of the world.

Meanders at the Kerguelen Islands. (Armand Patoir / Wikimedia Commons)

Nearest neighbour

The Kerguelen Islands are so far off in the Indian Ocean that the nearest populated location is Madagascar, roughly over 3,300 kilometres away. Due to the Island’s rocky nature, there is no way in which air travel can be made possible to the Islands and hence ships bring in visitors. The French scientists are sometimes dropped off or picked up from their base by a helicopter.

Golden penguins of Kerguelen Islands. (Channer / Wikimedia Commons)

Although the Kerguelen Islands are part of the French territory now, they are comparatively closer to the Antarctic region than to Europe. Apart from the penguin, whale and seal populations, there is absolutely zero human population on the island. The harsh winters and the dry weathers are unsuitable for human habitation, yet French scientists visit the island for research purposes. Setting up base at the Port-aux-Français, scientists study geology, weather and climatic conditions, bodies of ice and environmental sciences related to the islands.

Kerguelen island cabbages. (B.navez / Wikimedia Commons)

Devoid of the human population, a few visitors, along with support staff and research assistants at the French outpost, come over to explore global interconnection, animal encounters, daily routine and past human activities on the Desolation Island every once in a while. Due to the absence of modern development and the mountainous terrain, visitors take the waterways to travel to the place.

Weather, flora and fauna

With a polar climate, the temperatures in the Kerguelen Islands always range below ten degrees centigrade during the summer months too. Grasses, lichens, planktons and mosses, along with special Kerguelen cabbage form the flora at the Desolation Island, while wild cats, feral rabbits, reindeer and wild sheep are the main fauna in the region.

Cliff in the Kerguelen Islands during winter. (Benoit Gineste / Wikimedia Commons)

Despite being a part of pop culture, where noted writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Verne have mentioned this remotest landmass in their literary works, Desolation Island or the Kerguelen Islands still remain a mystery for the rest of the world.

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Luigi Galvani: A galvanised corpse art. (Henry Robinson / N.Y. ; Washington, D.C)

Death is inevitable. And no living organism – whether big or small – can escape it. After a human being dies, rigor mortis sets in and the dead body starts to stiffen, as all physiological functions start to shut down one by one. But once a person passes away and his bodily functions stop, does the corpse have the capability to move on its own or by applying an external force to it?

Luigi Galvani was one such physician and biologist, who through his experiments on animal corpses reached the conclusion that when electricity is passed through a dead body, it twitches, thus giving rise to the term bioelectromagnetics.

Painting of Luigi Galvani with frog legs. (Wikimedia Commons)

Born in Italy to a physician father in 1737, it was but natural for young Luigi Galvani to have an inclination towards medicine. He obtained his degree of medicine in 1759 from the University of Bologna, Italy, where he also started delivering lectures in the field of anatomy. He was also appointed as a professor of obstetrics at the Institute of Arts and Science.

In the year 1762, Galvani married Lucia, daughter of his mentor Professor Gusmano Galeazzi, where post the death of his father-in-law, he carried forward the former’s research works. Galvani had developed a keen interest in animal anatomy while delivering lectures at college, which led him to start his investigative work in the same field.

Luigi Galvani’s experiments on dead animals

If legends are anything to go by, Lucia is once said to have developed tuberculosis in 1780. With her condition deteriorating, she asked her cooks to prepare frog soup, which would cure her of the disease soon.

While the servants struggled to find a place to start preparing soup in a large quantity for her, Lucia ordered them to keep the frogs and other ingredients in her husband’s lab. One servant placed a skinned frog close to an electrical machine and Lucia, who was supervising her cooks, witnessed something out of the ordinary.

When the cook picked up a knife, a spark flew from the electrical machine and touched it. And when the knife touched the frog in turn, the dead animal’s legs twitched and that is how Luigi Galvani is said to have come across the phenomenon. Social scientists argue that it was Lucia Galvani, who deserves to be credited with the theory of bioelectromagnetics, for her desire to have frog soup, but loyalists think otherwise.

Although the frog soup theory is debated, the twitching of a dead frog’s legs, however, is part of the original experiment that Galvani carried out in his laboratory. Facing tough competition from his contemporaries like Alessandro Volta and Benjamin Franklin, Galvani became the first scientist to discover that electricity had the capability to alter physiological actions in a dead body.

He observed that muscles and tissues in animal corpses contained bioelectric forces and they contracted when electricity touched them with a metal conductor. His ten years of extensive research in the field eventually led him into a controversy with his competitors, even though they admired him for his work.

Galvani’s experiments on dead animals led common people to believe that the biologist had come to know the hidden meaning of life and that he had received the extraordinary power to bring the dead back to life. Although nothing of that sort happened, his subsequent invention of the galvanometer and the entire process known as Galvanism has now become a part of the modern science curriculum all over the world. Also, the modern techniques of application of electric shocks to cure an array of medical conditions like paralysis and rheumatism, stemmed from Luigi Galvani’s experiments back in the 1700s.

Luigi Galvani’s experiment on stimulation of muscle in a dead frog. (ITU Pictures / Flickr)

Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft

Renowned English novelist Mary Shelley, who wrote the cult classic Frankenstein, Or The Modern Prometheus is said to have been inspired by Luigi Galvani’s experiments and written the spooky story of the famous re-animated corpse. While on a holiday in Geneva, the process of galvanism gave her the idea to write her most famous book in 1818. It told the story of a mad scientist, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque monster by joining together parts of a dead human body and passing an electric current through it to bring it back to life.

Shelley is also said to have acknowledged her source of inspiration and written about the term Galvanism in one of the paragraphs of her bestselling novel.

How his works influenced others

After Volta coined the term galvanism in his honour, Galvani went on to carry out research work in the field of bioelectromagnetics for a long time, while also working on his experiments simultaneously. But in the year 1790, Luigi Galvani’s health began to decline post his wife’s death due to TB. This came as a setback to him and his work began getting affected too. In 1796, Napoleon invaded Bologna, which forced the biologist to quit working finally. Galvani moved into his ancestral home with his brother, where he breathed his last, two years later in 1798, leaving behind a legacy that is more than two centuries old.

After Galvani died, his nephew decided to carry forward his legacy and so in the year 1803, Giovanni Aldini pioneered the art of reanimation of human corpses. In London, a twenty-six-year-old George Forster was executed for murdering his wife and child and the freshly decapitated body of the criminal was brought to Aldini, who was on a Europe tour, demonstrating his skills.

Aldini attached copper and zinc batteries to the dead body and passed current through it. Bystanders saw that the cadaver’s jaw and facial muscles began twitching and one eye opened due to the quivering. A little while later, when Aldini reattached the poles of the battery to other parts of the body, the entire corpse began to move as if dancing in a reanimated form, leaving audiences spellbound as well as spooked out. He carried out his experimental shows in different parts of the continent and also began working on carcasses publically.

Luigi Galvani dedicated his entire life to studying the effects of electricity on dead animals after discovering it by chance at his lab, but the need to feed people’s curiosity to know more in the field gave his nephew a grisly opportunity to work on human cadavers. Common people might not understand what galvanism or a galvanometer would mean, but Mary Shelley’s story of Frankenstein surely gives them a peek into his fruitful and rich heritage.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Dr. Robert E. Cornish’s Controversial Experiments to Revive a Dog’s Decapitated Head“.

Recommended Read:
An Account of the Late Improvements in Galvanism: With a Series of Curious and Interesting Experiments Performed Before the Commissioners of the French National Institute, and Repeated Lately in the Anatomical Theatres of London | By Giovanni Aldini, Hooper Robert 1773-1835

Fact Analysis:
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Manmohan Singh. (Obama White House / Flickr)

Produced by Sunil Bohra and directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ is an upcoming political drama, based on the life of ace economist Dr. Manmohan Singh, who served two terms as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014. 

Films are a medium of edutainment and especially in a country like India, cinema holds a great importance. More than fifteen hundred movies are made in one year in the country and as many as two dozen films releases on a single Friday. Biopic, in general, is one genre of movies, which Indian viewers take a special interest in. Getting to see their fellow Indians’ stories being highlighted to the world, biopics hold a special place amongst cinephiles. And moviemakers have taken advantage of this particular aspect and made interesting films on sportspersons, businesspersons, film personalities, politicians, people in the field of education etc.

About the movie The Accidental Prime Minister

Anupam Kher. (Kris Iyer / Wikimedia Commons)

Written by Hansal Mehta, the film stars two-time National Film Award winner and veteran actor Anupam Kher in the lead role as the former PM. Kher, who has conquered the audiences with his performances in more than five hundred films, in a career spanning three decades, has stepped into the shoes of Dr. Manmohan Singh and looks like a spitting image of Dr. Singh.

The actor had shared his first pictures in Dr. Singh’s avatar on a photo-sharing networking website and fans had gone into a tizzy, seeing the actor getting the politician’s dressing sense and mannerisms perfectly right. Ever since the film had been in production, several pictures from the sets had been doing the rounds on the Internet, and that piqued audiences’ interest in the latest docu-drama.

German actress Suzanne Bernert will be playing the role of Sonia Gandhi in the upcoming biopic. (Lens Naayak / Wikimedia Commons)

German-born actress Suzanne Bernert has been roped in to play former Indian National Congress party President Sonia Gandhi. Ahana Kumra will be seen in the role of Priyanka Gandhi, while Arjun Mathur will be playing current Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi. Akshaye Khanna is all set to portray Sanjaya Baru, who has written the tell-all memoir, on which the film is based.

Who is Sanjaya Baru?

‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ is based on Sanjaya Baru’s eponymous book ‘The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’, which he had written during his time at the Prime Minister’s Office. Sanjaya Baru, who is a policy analyst and a political journalist and commentator, had previously been the official spokesperson and media advisor to Dr. Manmohan Singh and he also served as the Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He was the Director for Geo-Economics and Strategy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

Serving in various capacities, Sanjaya Baru had been a Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations and the Chief Editor of the financial newspaper The Business Standard. Writing extensively on the economic and strategic policy in India, he has also been the Associate Editor of Economic Times and Times of India. Sanjaya Baru also served as the Member of India’s National Security Advisory Board in the PMO. It was during his time at the PMO that he got to know the former PM closely, which egged him on to write about several aspects of the politician’s professional life after he was sworn in as the Prime Minister.

The controversy surrounding the book and the movie

From the time the movie was announced, it went into hot waters for bringing to the fore a political topic that was not just sensitive but also a bit controversial in nature. ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ based on the book was also talked about most for its debatable story, which otherwise the PMO had deemed as fictitious when it was published in 2014.

A man of few words, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s capability as the Prime Minister came under the scanner when the then Congress President Sonia Gandhi, declined the position of the Prime Minister of the country in the year 2004 and instead recommended Dr. Singh for the highest post. As per Baru’s book, he alleged that Dr. Singh had been subservient to Sonia Gandhi, who did not hold any government position, yet had the power to pull the strings and control the political scenario of the country as well as Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Baru also alleged in his memoir that Dr. Singh wasn’t quite prepared for the role of the PM yet was given the responsibility, who later failed to assert himself or his power while still being the all-powerful man in the country.

Dr. Manmohan Singh besides Sonia Gandhi during President Clinton’s visit in India, 2000. (U.S. Embassy New Delhi / Flickr)

Top news agency Reuters published Baru’s opinion which said during Dr. Manmohan Singh’s second term “the politically fatal combination of responsibility without power and governance without authority meant Dr. Singh was unable, even when he was aware, of checking corruption in his ministry without disturbing the political arrangement over which he nominally presided”.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, who has been the Indian Minister of Finance, studied Economics at his graduation level and went on to pursue Economics at Cambridge University. He later did his D.Phil from the University of Oxford and presented his doctoral papers on India’s Export Performance. He then worked for United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Dr. Singh held various prestigious positions at the national political level, some including Director and Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and also the Chairman of the Union Grants Commission (UGC).

NOC for the film

Former Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief and moviemaker Pahlaj Nihalani had issued a statement that the makers of the movie, based on Dr. Manmohan Singh’s life after he assumed office as the PM of India, would require a No Objection Certificate from Dr. Singh and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi ahead of the film’s release. He also mentioned that as per the guidelines of the Censor Board, the producers will also have to obtain a NOC from all real-life persons that have been portrayed in the movie, as has been the rule till date. Without an NOC, the film might not see the light of day. All films based on real-life personalities abide by these rules and there are no exceptions.

Now when the biopic is under post-production and is nearing completion, it would be interesting to see what controversy and drama unfold on the big screen, and whether ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ wins hearts once again in reel life, when it hits screens on December 7, 2018.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Battle of Saragarhi: When 21 Valiant Indian Soldiers Held Their Ground, Fiercely Fighting Against Thousands of Afghans“.

Recommended Read:
The Accidental Prime Minister | By Sanjaya Baru

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The International Space Station. (NASA / Crew of STS-132)

Everyone is aware of a vast, limitless zone, several hundred kilometers outside the Earth’s atmosphere, where celestial objects orbit around giant stars and many unknown astronomical events take place. This boundless zone, known as space, is intriguing and there have been a host of government bodies and individual agencies that have spent billions in research and exploration of this area of nothingness. And to add to it all, there’s one major recent feat in the field of computing that a private info-tech company has achieved, which will change the way astronauts transmit their data back to the Earth. But before we get there, here are a few basics we must know of first.

What is the International Space Station?

In simple terms, the International Space Station (ISS) is a home away from home. It is a huge spacecraft orbiting the Earth, where astronauts live and carry out scientific researches for specific periods of time. Launched in the year 1998 by a Russian rocket, the International Space Station was built by a group of nations, where the first crew, comprising of astronauts from different countries of the world, arrived in the year 2000. Over a period of time, more nations added their own modules to the space station, finally making the ISS as big as an entire football field, as we know it today.

Weighing approximately half a million kilograms, the ISS is huge enough to accommodate six astronauts at a time, with all necessary living facilities, which also includes a gymnasium. With research labs from countries like Japan, USA, Russia as well as some European nations including Germany, France and The Netherlands; the ISS is where space research and exploration is carried out, which otherwise could not have been done on the Earth.

What is Cloud Computing?

We all know that a computer is a device that receives information, processes it; stores it and recalls it as and when instructions are fed into it. A remote server is a computing term, which is a device that is not attached to the client’s keyboard but it can be accessed from any part of the world from anywhere over a shared network. And cloud computing is a term, which means the delivery of a host of Internet services like databases, applications, networking, analytics and storage to a client on demand in any part of the world. In short, cloud computing means a shared pool of computer resources and services, which can be accessed remotely over the Internet by a lot of clients.

Cloud Computing and International Space Station

In the year 2017, when a space cargo capsule called SpaceX Dragon was sent into orbit to deliver cargo to the astronauts at ISS, little did the space researchers know that they were in for a pleasant surprise. Developed by tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a supercomputer known as Spaceborne Computer was delivered to the International Space Station after it was thoroughly tested for over a year to check if it would sustain in outer space. The supercomputer (a network of computers working together) was examined to see if it could withstand the harsh space atmospheres, radiation flares, frequent power outages, zero gravity and vacuum; and only then it was delivered to its destination aboard the ISS in August.

Basically, the idea behind delivering this supercomputer to the ISS was to cut down on time that the astronauts required to send research data to and fro from space. HP Enterprise developed cloud computing techniques in Spaceborne Computer and made it easier for the experimenters in orbit to store their own data and use it when necessary. Till now, astronauts transmitted data back to the Earth first to get it checked, while waiting for results to come back. Now, researchers can directly run their analyses in space instead of sending it back for insight. And so, with the help of cloud computing, communication between Earth and space can become a lot quicker, more real-time and much more efficient.

How cloud computing could ease challenges at the ISS

The connection and bandwidth between space and Earth is slow and intermittent and there could be problems regarding communication for a few minutes. With cloud computing, the unreliability can be done away with and there can be no chances of data loss, while it is being sent back to the Earth, as opposed to before. Testing supercomputers in space can make way for more research studies on an advanced level in the future, where astronauts are eyeing other planets for habitation such as Mars. The Spaceborne Computer will also help scientists to carry out their research work without making use of bulky, overly expensive and time-consuming computing devices.

As the one-of-a-kind, first-ever cloud experience, which is set to make communication between Earth and space easier, makes its way into the International Space Station; it gives us one more reason to rejoice, as mankind takes another giant leap in the field of space communication.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “NASA’s Deep Space Network: How We Communicate with Space Probes Billions of Miles from Earth“.

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Height comparison of Statue of Unity with other notable statues. (Jdcollins13 / Wikimedia Commons)

Vallabhbhai Patel was one iconic person, who played a key role in the Indian Freedom Struggle Movement, freeing the country from the British rule. He was also the architect of modern India, who was responsible for bringing together the country as one independent sovereign state.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 1949. (Government of India work)

Vallabhbhai Patel is popularly known as ‘Sardar’ (Hindi for leader), for his administrative skills and leadership qualities even to this day. He was the first Home Minister of Free India and was also the Deputy Prime Minister after India attained freedom. Since he persuaded all the 562 princely states of the country to agree and integrate as a united nation; Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel came to be known as the Iron Man of India.

In honour of the founding father of the Republic Of India, a statue dedicated to him will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India on October 31, 2018, which also happens to be the great freedom fighter’s 143^rd birth anniversary. So, just when India is about to unveil the tallest manmade structure in the world – the Statue of Unity – here’s a sneak peek into the monument that is all set to make the world go green with envy.

The Statue of Unity early this year. (Vijayakumarblathur / Wikimedia Commons)

Specifications of the Statue of Unity

At a height of 182 metres, the Statue of Unity will now be the tallest statue in the world, replacing the ‘Spring Temple Buddha’ statue in China, which is approximately 153 metres tall. The Statue of Unity is double the height of one of the world’s most popular statues – USA’s Statue of Liberty (93m) – and will be taller than some of the highest statues in the world, including Japan’s ‘Ushiku Daibutsu’ (120m), Russia’s ‘The Motherland Calls’ (85m) and Brazil’s ‘Christ The Redeemer’ (38m). The monument is built in such a way that it can withstand high-velocity winds, as high as 60 m/sec and also hold out during major earthquakes, as powerful as 6.5 on the Richter Scale.

A three-month-long nationwide campaign called ‘Loha’ was initiated in 2013, where Indian farmers and villagers were urged to donate their work-out iron tools and implements and scrap metals, which were to be used in building the tall iron structure. Eventually, as much as 6,500 metric tonnes of structural steel, 18,500 metric tonnes of reinforcement steel and 1,700 tonnes of bronze, along with 210,000 cubic metres of concrete were used to build the Statue of Unity. To overcome rusting issues during monsoons, the statue is clad with bronze panels and comprises of two semi-joined concrete cylindrical cores, which are surrounded by steel bars.

Key Features of the Statue of Unity

The nearly completed statue on unity. (Rahul 71144 / Wikimedia Commons)

In the year 2010, the current Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat then, launched a special purpose vehicle called Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust, which was to undertake the construction work of the statue. In 2013 he laid the foundation stone of the project. Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro took up the designing, construction and maintenance initiatives of the statue, which was set to be completed by October 2018. Built on an island called Sadhu Bet or Sadhu Hill near the Rajpipla city of Gujarat, the statue is precisely located in the Kevadiya Village, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

A 3.5 kilometer-long highway is built to link the Statue of Unity to Kevadiya Village, which will be open to visitors after the statue is unveiled. A 5-km long boat ride will ferry visitors to and fro from the monument in the days to come. Occupying around 20,000 square metres of land, the Statue of Unity is surrounded by a 12 square kilometer artificial lake. The tallest statue in the world overlooks the Narmada Dam and the viewing gallery or observation deck, built at 500 feet high above the sea bed (approximately near the statue’s chest area), will allow tourists to soak in the panoramic beauty of the neighbouring Vindhyachal and Satpura mountain ranges. It will also allow viewing the 212 km-long reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

The free-standing structure, which has a total height of 240 metres, including the star-shaped 58-metre base, accurately depicts Sardar Patel wearing his trademark dhoti, kurta and a shawl over his shoulders. Once open to visitors, the statue will start its services for its patrons, thus bringing a boost in tourism. A plaza for shops, food stalls, retail outlets, souvenir shops and other amenities will start functioning for public a little after the unveiling ceremony. Two high-speed elevators will help in quick and easy public transit. The statue would be able to accommodate approximately 15, 000 tourists in a day and the observation deck could have room enough for 200 visitors at once, without overcrowding.

Birdseye view of the statue. (Abhinay6597 / Wikimedia Commons)

The three-tiered base of the statue (up to the shin) will have a large museum depicting the life and times of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the contributions made by the Iron Man of India towards the nation. A mezzanine will form its second base, while a memorial garden on the roof will serve as a visitors’ centre. The statue will have a 3-star hotel, conference centre, research hub and an administrative complex in the premises. The second zone will cover the statue’s thighs and Zone three will house the observation deck. Zone four and five, up to the shoulders and head of the statue respectively, will be out of public reach, and it will function as the maintenance area. The lobby area at the base will also have an audio-visual gallery, complete with depictions of tribal Gujarati culture.

Public reaction and criticism

Designed by renowned Noida-based sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar, the idea of constructing an expensive structure in an artificial lake, initially received a lot of flak from the public and mixed reviews from the world media. The tribals residing in the nearby area said that the project robbed them of their land and the expenditure at which the statue is being built could have been otherwise used for raising the standards of living of the tribal people. Constructed within 42 months at a cost of approximately INR 2,989 crores, farmers and locals were also of the opinion that the extravagant budget of the statue could have been cut down and used towards improving the agricultural land.

Many foreign media outlets had mixed reactions while the Statue of Unity was under construction. Washington Post reported that the statue, weighing 67,000 tonnes, would showcase India’s growing prosperity and rising status as a global power; while other media houses stated that apart from serving as the ruling Indian political party’s fitting homage to the statesman, the Statue of Unity would serve no other purpose.

Whether the towering statue will elevate India’s status in the world economy or not, it will be left for us to see if the tallest structure in the world, aptly named Statue of Unity, would be able to do any justice to its name.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the History Behind It“.

Fact Analysis:
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Bamiyan Buddhas: Women passing by the huge cavity where once the ancient statue of Buddha stood. (DVIDSHUB / Flickr)

Ancient relics are pieces of work that have been handed down by our predecessors for us to take great pride in what humans could once achieve without the help of modern technology. The two colossal Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Central Afghanistan were living examples of just that – very well-preserved part of history – yet a rule of extremism in one of India’s neighbouring countries bombed out a treasured heritage that once stood towering above all else. Although the statues of Buddhas at Bamiyan have been lost forever, the legacy of the gigantic statues still continues to linger on.

History of the Buddhas at Bamiyan

Considered to be the largest statues of Lord Buddha in a standing position ever to be built during that period, the massive Buddhas at Bamiyan were nothing less than a site of great archaeological importance as well as traditional value. Some two hundred and fifty kilometers north of Kabul, in the capital city of Afghanistan, is the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region, where two enormous statues of Gautam Buddha were carved out in the Koh-i-Baba Mountains between the third and sixth century BCE.

Standing at an elevation of approximately eight thousand feet, these two statues were carved in the mountainside, out of which the smaller statue was completed sometime in 507 CE and the larger one in around 554 CE. The smaller one of the two statues stood at a towering height of 125 feet while the larger one measured a whopping 180 feet in height.

One of the Buddhas before being destroyed. (Wikimedia Commons)

Blending together the Greco-Buddhist art form called Gandhara art; the Bamiyan statues depicted Gautam Buddha in a human form, as per the Buddhist philosophy but strongly reminded of the Classical Greek stone artwork, as was evident in the clinging and draping of monarchial robes on the two statues. Between the conquests of Alexander the Great and Islamic conquests of Asia, thousands of years ago, Greco-Buddhist art greatly flourished in the regions of modern-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, thus giving rise to the Gandhara art form, which was visibly the predominant style in the construction of the Bamiyan Buddhas.

Description of the Buddhas at Bamiyan

Hewn into the mountain itself, the two Buddha statues stood in a concavity with the back still attached to the wall till where the robe ended into the niche of the mountain. The legs and feet of the sculptures stood freely, as they provided for easy circumambulation around the statues to pilgrims that came visiting the Bamiyan Buddhas. The bodies of the statues were made by chiselling the sandstone of the mountain, while the details in the robes were carved using clay. Other intricacies like the facial expressions were designed using stucco (a type of plaster) and mud mixed with straw. This mixture was then painted on the statues to enhance their quality.

The smaller Buddha statue from the top. (Phecda109 / Wikimedia Commons)

The smaller statue, which was colloquially called Shamama in Afghanistan, was said to be multi-coloured, while the larger one, known locally as Salsal, was painted a bright red, particularly in hues of carmine. Pilgrims’ records also suggest that the smaller statue was decorated with gemstones and also had a plating of bronze over it. While the faces of the two statues were said to be made out of wooden or clay casts of that time, the arms and head of the huge stone figures were supported by wooden scaffoldings. A lot of wooden pegs were also used to hold the stucco together in place, which was visible in the form of multiple holes that were dug into the stone statues at different places. The bright colours of the giant figures faded with time and nothing much remained by the turn of the new millennium. Also, minor acts of vandalism over the years and continuous erosion over the centuries rendered the appearance of the Bamiyan Buddhas unsettling.

Destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in history

While the military organization of Taliban in Afghanistan were primarily responsible for the destruction of the huge stone statues of Bamiyan, several rulers preceding them had made futile attempts to bring down the massive stone Buddha figures. Genghis Khan invaded the Bamiyan valley back in the year 1221 but he did not bring any harm to the revered Buddha statues. Even the Mughal rulers, who made their way into India through the Bamiyan valley, paid little heed to the giant stone figures, except Aurangzeb, who is said to have used artillery to try to destroy the magnificent idols. Persian ruler Nader Afshar, too, tried his best to blow up the enormous statues but failed miserably. During the Shia Rebellion in the region in 1847, Afghani Emperor Abdur Rahman Khan ordered the destruction of the face of the larger stone Buddha idol and succeeded in the effort, although the rest of the huge statue remained as was.

Despite idolatry strictly not being a part of Islamic teachings, the Muslim country of Afghanistan never planned to destroy the two gigantic statues, stating that there was no form of worship at the site. However, in the March of year 2001, when the radical Islamic military outfit of Taliban took over the country, the militiamen active in Afghanistan and funded by the Al Qaeda, another multi-national Islamic organization, brought down the two idols by detonating bombs at their base and shoulders, ripping apart the glorious statues that once stood the test of time. This act not only received negative criticism from across the globe, but native Afghanis also mourned the felling of the two monumental statues that formed a major part of their lives, apart from also bringing in revenue as priceless heritage treasures.

In spite of multiple international pleas to save the timeless pieces of architecture, and several appeals from UNESCO, the Taliban did not budge. Instead, they set heavy explosives and launched rockets to bring down the Bamiyan Buddhas, which were listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

Restoration efforts of the Bamiyan Buddha

Although nothing much could be done out of the rubble that was left after Taliban bombed the statues, a lot of individuals as well as different organizations, along with the Afghanistan government (post-Taliban rule) and UNESCO, came forward to pledge the restoration of the Buddha statues. It was hoped that with international funding and recovery of the fragments, partial anastylosis (procedure of rebuilding a monument from the original fallen parts) of the Bamiyan Buddhas was possible. But in 2006, after scaffoldings were constructed on the site where the smaller statue stood, serious safety issues cropped up and the plan was put in the backburner again. With little hope left and many problems that kept plaguing the restoration process, it was finally decided that the world’s wonders would return to their niches in the mountain, though only in the form of a 3D light projection.

Further Discoveries at the heritage site

After the world’s tallest Buddha statues were turned to dust, a team of international researchers and archaeologists returned to the site to dig deeper into the area. Several caves were found in the mountain range, which upon analyzing further, opened up a treasure trove. When Buddhism was at its peak in the region, many monks found shelter inside the small, domed caves alongside the foot of the mountain range, in which the statues stood tall. Many brightly-coloured, oil-painted frescos and ceiling art, which illustrated the teachings of life of Gautam Buddha, were discovered inside the caves, which is said to be the work of the hermits and monks that resided inside the caves. Apart from the two colossal structures of the Buddha, several smaller statues of the lord, in a seated position were also found carved into the cliffs nearby.

Paintings inside the caves which are now destroyed. (JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD / Wikimedia Commons)

Oil paintings dating back between the 5th and 9th centuries were also discovered inside. Apart from these paintings, which were made using natural pigments, coins and ceramics from that era were also unearthed during the excavation. But the surprising find that the archaeologists came across was a damaged sculpture of Gautam Buddha in a reclining position, which was almost 62 feet in length. Although the sculpture was badly damaged, it raised hopes for many other such enormous finds.

But even as the treasures of the lost world came to light from the caves in the Bamiyan valley, the gigantic Buddha statues, which the world once took great pride in, had to quietly settle in the dark forever.

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

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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Halley research station. (Forgemind ArchiMedia / Flickr)

Antarctica is an amazing and distinct continent. As per the records, this windiest, coldest, driest and harshest place is the last one to have been discovered on our planet. The average temperatures in this continent in the southern hemisphere can sometimes dip to as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius. But that does not make it so peculiar. One of the world’s first floating research facilities on this continent is what makes it even more unusual.

The British Antarctic Survey’s scientific research centre called Halley Research Station is one of the several peculiarities in Antarctica, which is nothing short of a wonder. The construction work of Halley Research Station began in the year 1956 and it was built on the 150 metre-thick Brunt Ice Shelf, which is a large floating sheet of ice attached to the mainland.

Over all these years, the one-of-a-kind research station, now called Halley VI, has become a mix of several facilities all rolled into one. It monitors the ozone activity, studies the Earth’s atmosphere; it houses a meteorological centre and also has its own space weather observatory. But what is so fascinating about this research centre is that it is built on a floating sheet of ice and can be relocated as separate modules or as a single unit during times of crisis.

The facility

Portrait of Emond Halley. (Richard Phillips / Wikimedia Commons)

The research station was named after English astronomer and mathematician Edmond Halley. In the year 1957, after construction work of the station was completed, the research centre underwent quite a few changes and came to be officially known as ‘Halley VI’ in February 2013.

Halley VI was the first research centre that discovered the ozone layer way back in 1985. The colourful structure, built on hydraulic skis is also the world’s first ground research station that can be completely relocated from time to time. The futuristic facility is fully equipped with state-of-the-art housing areas and modern labs, where scientists brainstorm on issues related to global climate change and rising sea levels.

Out of the total eight interlinked, relocatable modules, the central unit is for socializing, while the other pods house laboratories, offices and dwelling spaces. The research station also has its own magnetometer, weather balloons, mechanical workshops and radars.

Weather balloons being released near the Halley Research Center. (NASA)

A GPS receiver constantly monitors the movement of the ice shelf on which the research facility sits, for fear of it floating away from the main landmass. There are dangers of the ice sheet calving off as a drifting iceberg into the ocean but the tracker can quickly notify before disaster strikes.

Halley VI roughly accommodates 70 scientists and staff members in Antarctic summer, which lasts from January to March. On the contrary, there are approximately only 15 to 16 scientists to carry on with the research work during the harsh winter months on the continent.

The staff members include cooks, doctors that monitor health during the extreme conditions, engineers to look after the logistics of the facility and scientists that are all experts in their respective fields. Being one of the most isolated places on the earth, the inhabitants of Halley VI only have each other for company, with a few Antarctic animals outside the pod.

Although residing inside a module for scientific studies can be a tough day in and day out, the best part of staying during winter months for scientists is the Aurora Australis that is on display at nights. With prolonged darkness for a period of over 105 days together, the natural display of colours keeps the inhabitants going.

One of the modules of Halley VI Research Station with aurora australis in the background. (Richard Burt / Flickr)

Apart from studying ozone depletion and producing accurate weather forecasts, Halley VI doubles up as a natural lab, which provides an exceptional environment to look into human behaviour on test flights. In collaboration with the European Space Agency, Halley VI is also equipped with a cockpit simulator, similar to Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, which helps in testing human behaviour on manned international space flights on lunar missions or future manned missions to Mars.

Life at Halley Research Station

Emperor penguin. (Christopher Michel / Flickr)

A typical week at Halley VI consists of scientists engaging in research work related to the changing climate, rising sea levels and atmospheric weather mapping by day. Apart from hectic schedules, they also take part in relaxation activities like playing games, building igloos, throwing parties, celebrating Christmas, watching the Milky Way on a clear night and spotting colonies of Emperor penguins that keep them entertained.

The RRS Ernest Shackleton – a transport ship – visits the research station every once in a year in December to supply cargo and ferry research passengers to and fro from the base. Stopping by for almost a week, the vessel equipped with its own small research facility, loads and unloads necessary goods and commodities at the station.

Researchers at the unit are also provided with heavy snowmobiles called Sno-Cats and light snow vehicles like Challenger 756B that speed up ferrying work from the coast towards the facility in the thick snow.

Halley research station. (Forgemind ArchiMedia / Flickr)

In cases of emergencies, inhabitants are taken to safer places, the weather labs keep functioning automatically inside, collecting data from the pre-installed solar batteries. But during extremely harsh winter weather, all experiments are suspended and Halley VI comes to a standstill.

Recently in December 2017, satellite images showed a 17-km-deep fissure in the north and east side of the ice sheet. Since it was spotted on October 31, it came to be known as “Halloween Crack“. Because of this developing fissure in the ice sheet, the 200-tonne hi-tech pods were immediately shifted and staff members were sent away. The heavy glacial activity also suspended work on the station. The relocation to the new site was successful but the deteriorating weather and snow storms only forced the shutdown of the systems. The facility is expected to begin work in November 2018, which will be the onset of summer in Antarctica.

Despite all the hurdles, Halley VI has overcome all obstacles and has relentlessly worked in the environmental and space research fields for over six decades, and has given us many new insights into the Earth’s southernmost polar region.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “McMurdo Station: The Largest Research Centre in the Antarctic“.

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Allahabad Junction railway station. (Superfast1111 / Wikimedia Commons)

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said that – nothing is permanent except change – and that is the absolute reality of the universe. Change is the way of life and that is how living individuals grow and develop. Humans make changes in and around them, in their surroundings, in nature and in every little thing they come across.

Without change, there is no future and had there been no change in the past, there would have been no present. Speaking of which, in recent times, the one thing that has kept most Indians talking is the renaming of the historic city of Allahabad in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which will now officially become Prayagraj.

A brief history of Allahabad

As per the verbal folklore in Bundelkhand region, Allahabad derives its name from the ballads of a twelfth-century brave general called Alha, who served in King Parmal’s army. Alha fought against Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan, the stories of which went on to be popularized as poetic narrations that spoke of his great valour. This led people into believing that the ancient city got its name from the Hindi ballads of Alha named Alha-Khand and that subsequently led to the city’s name – Allahabad

Some others believe that the city was initially named Kaushambi by Hastinapur rulers during 1200 to 900 BCE, until the Mughals invaded the country and changed the city’s name. Emperor Akbar in his chronicles – Akbarnamah – mentions the naming of the city in 1583. It is said that the Mughal Emperor first visited the city in the sixteenth century and was so greatly impressed by its location that he named it Allahabad or Alahabas, which literally translates to ‘Residence of God’. He built a fort named Ilahabad on the banks of the confluence of three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, which were and still are collectively known as Prayag. It was only when his grandson Shah Jahan took the throne, he renamed the city from Ilahabad of Allahabad, which until a few days ago, stuck with its identity.

Allahabad Fort. (Vyomtripathi / Wikimedia Commons)

History of the name ‘Prayag’

As per the Hindu mythology and scriptures, when Lord Brahma created the universe, it was at this specific place in the country that he offered his supreme sacrifice, which came to be known as prayag or ‘‘place of offering’. It is also said as per the Vedas, that when the three sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati met at a point, that particular place came to be known as Triveni Sangam. And hence the place came to be known as prayag, which can also mean a ‘place of confluence’. Whatever the story, the name Prayag remained in the end.

The man behind the new name

A Hindu cleric named Ajay Mohan Bisht, who is popularly known as Yogi Adityanath in India, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Renouncing his family life and home when he was only 21 years of age, Yogi Adityanath became a disciple of Mahant Avaidyanath, from whom he also received a few tips in Indian politics. Becoming a Member of Parliament at the young age of 26, Yogi Adityanath slowly rose in the political scenario of the country, finally landing the prestigious CM seat of Uttar Pradesh in March 2017.

Yogi Adityanath is the person who has been instrumental in changing the name of the historical city of Allahabad, on the request of his cabinet members in 2018, which currently awaits confirmation. His cabinet ministers had tried to forward a renaming proposal to the Centre on two occasions, once during CM Kalyan Singh’s reign between 1991 and 1992 and the other during current Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s tenure as CM of Uttar Pradesh between the years 2000 and 2002. Prior to the proposal of renaming Allahabad came into force, Yogi Adityanath was also instrumental in renaming another place in Uttar Pradesh. Weeks before Prayagraj was conceptualized, Yogi Adityanath, along with his cabinet ministers, forwarded the suggestion of rechristening Mughalsarai Railway Station as Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, naming it after the titular RSS ideologist. The official renaming ceremony of Mughalsarai station was held in August 2018, with a long list of BJP leaders present at the occasion.

The process of changing a city’s name

After the end of the British Rule in India in 1947, several Indian cities were renamed in due course of time, since people believed the names were more anglicized and sounded English. Procedures of changing an Indian city’s official name differ from state to state and it is the duty of the State Legislators to look into it. First, an MLA would raise a request in the form of a resolution, which has the proposal of changing a city’s name. The proposal is then carefully thought upon and finally when the resolution is deliberated and cleared from the State and Centre, the State Legislation makes necessary changes and gives a new name to the city, finally making it public.

Public reaction and after-effects

A lot of flak was received from all corners of the country, once the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government decided to finalize on a new name for the city of Allahabad. Scholars and politicians alike were of the opinion that changing the names of cities randomly do no good and that change was unnecessary and uncalled for. Not only would it affect the Allahabad University, Allahabad Bank or other prestigious institutions bearing the city’s name, but it would also add to the woes in the name of the Allahabad High Court. It would add an extra financial burden on the state government to rename the educational or financial institutions in accordance to the new name of the city. And that in turn, would pinch the pockets of the taxpayers in the state.

Historically the city has its own importance with places of great interest. The Triveni Sangam has its own cultural and religious significance, where the Kumbh Mela is held every twelve years. It is also the site where various national leaders’ ashes after their cremation have been immersed. Allahabad is also the site where the aftereffects of the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 during the British Rule had taken place, with the massacre of countless Indians. The Allahabad Museum, which is one of the four national museums in the country, holds its own importance with rare collections of unique artworks, prehistoric paintings, and archaeological finds put up on display, talking of the city’s historical prosperity.

The city of Allahabad with its biodiversity of flora, fauna and culturally-different people thriving together in the same region, along with a national prominence is also a historically wealthy place, which has migrated towards a modern world, with its heart still in the right place.

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Shadow of a man on the steps of Sumitomo Bank in Hiroshima. (U.S. Army)

The bombings of Hiroshima not only left the city in shambles but also left the shadow of victims that were burnt without leaving their traces behind. When Enola Gay dropped bombs on two Japanese cities during the War, little did people, who survived them, know what they had endured.

During the year 1945, when the Second World War was almost nearing its end, the United States of America dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The cities were instantly reduced to a pile of dust within minutes but that was only the beginning of larger problems that Japan was about to face.

The after effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima are still visible in some form or the other in the generations of people that lived the traumatic times.

The main event

On the morning of August 6th 1945, at approximately 8:15 AM Japanese time, the first ever nuclear bomb used in warfare – Little Boy – came crashing down on Hiroshima, destroying everything in its wake. It was a day of usual business at the Sumitomo Bank in Kamiya-Cho, when the employees were making their way towards their workplace. At the entrance of the bank – approximately 250 metres away from ground zero – a person sat on its stoned steps, waiting for the bank to start its operations for the day.

As soon as the bomb went off on touchdown, within seconds, the said person, supposedly a 40-year-old woman, was incinerated in such a way that only the outline of her body or her shadow remained on the steps. The eerie silhouette was so vivid that one could also guess the way she sat on those stoned stairs before the bomb disintegrated her body completely. More than eighty thousand people in the entire city lost their lives at the same time as a result of the massive blast.

With temperatures from the bomb flare reaching approximately 1000 to 5000 degrees centigrade, it was very obvious that anything the heat touched would have either melted or turned to ash leaving no trace. The fireball that spread over three kilometers created a mega heat and firestorm that is said to have lasted more than six hours.

Everything in its path was completely destroyed, including humans that were surprisingly wiped off from the surface of the earth within a fraction of seconds. Tens of thousands of lives were lost during one of the worst crimes against humanity in 1945 and the “Human Shadow of Death” still reminds people of the greatest tragedy.

Photograph from Australian War Memorial. (Yoshito, Matsugige Matsushige Mio)

The Human Shadow of Death also known as Human Shadow Etched in Stone is a living example of the level of destruction the two American bombs had done during WW-II. They claimed innocent lives, rendering millions homeless with radiation-exposure disorders that continue to haunt the Japanese to this day.

Other similar distressing shadows left due to the bombings were that of a bicycle on the floor, a permanent whitish shadow of a bridge on the tarred roads, which had melted down, a figure with a walking stick and an outline of a person holding a ladder to name a few.

Though most of the others have faded out with time, the Human Shadow of Death remains more than intact. Years after the War, wind and sun began working their way on the “shadow”, which is dubbed Hito Kage No Ishii in Japanese. Authorities tried to preserve it by placing it in a glass case, fencing it entirely, but that did not work. And so the part of the stone bearing the shadow is now cut off and enclosed in a glass case, well preserved by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

The debate over the shadows of Hiroshima

Years after the shadow was discovered at its site, scientists argued that the woman, who they thought could have been a certain Mitsuno Ochi, was vapourised, since nothing but her outline was left behind. They disputed that is not normal for a human body to vanish into the air without leaving its trace or at least remains, even if the bomb had the potential to raze an entire city.

Renowned radiologist at the Hiroshima University, Professor Masaharu Hoshi, has been studying the effects of radiation on atomic bomb survivors for thirty years now. He stressed that complete vapourisation of a human body, when exposed directly to such high temperatures, in the absence of any barrier between the two, is possible. Medical experts brushed aside his evaporation theory, stating that despite ground temperatures exceeding more than 1000 degrees centigrade, bone fragments or carbonized organ remains could be left behind. The heat did not have the capability of evaporating an entire individual and leaving nothing but shadows.

Although his theory has now been shot down, a long list of questions remains as to what could have happened to the person, who left behind such a haunting image that the world just couldn’t find answers to even after seventy-three years of the catastrophe.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Unit 731: Gruesome Human-Experimentation To Test Biological And Chemical Warfare In Japan During WWII“.

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Obama behind the Resolute desk in the oval office, 2009. (Obama White House / Pete Souza / Flickr)

The White House is one of the most iconic buildings of the world and it is also where the President of The United States resides as well as holds office from. Right from former president William Taft to the current Donald J. Trump, the first men of the country have been holding office right here inside the White House.

And what makes the Oval Office even more special is the large Resolute Desk that forms the main piece of furniture in one of the most powerful offices of the world. But did you know that this centrepiece in the US President’s office is nothing but a ‘tragic’ gift from the British royals? The desk that the US president uses for official purposes comes straight out of an abandoned British ship that had gone to explore the Arctic in the mid-1800s?

History of HMS Resolute

In the year 1810 Thomas Smith Jr. and William Smith, along with their father Thomas Smith Sr., started a shipbuilding business in Newcastle, England. There the Smiths built the HMS Resolute by 1848, which initially went by the name Refuge and was later known as Ptarmigan.

Portrait of Sir John Franklin. (William Derby / Library and Archives Canada)

During this time, not enough territory in the Arctic Circle was explored. By the turn of the nineteenth century, British Royal Navy officer Sir John Franklin left on a voyage in 1845 to explore the Canadian-Arctic passage, also known as the Northwest Passage. But he was never heard from again, nor did his crew members ever return home.

Concerned of their whereabouts, three years later, Her Majesty’s Government sent six ships out to sea to bring back Sir Franklin or any news regarding his location. Out of these six ships, the HMS Resolute, which the British purchased from the Smiths in 1850, was also sent out for Sir Franklin’s rescue.

After the deal went through, HMS Resolute – a barque (meaning it had three or more masts) sailing ship – was remodelled in London and fitted with strong English oak wood, a polar bear figurehead and a central internal heating system to keep the ship warm in the icy Arctic weather. On its maiden voyage, under the flagship of Captain Horatio Thomas Austin, Resolute found Franklin’s winter camp near Beechey Island in the Canadian-Arctic archipelago in 1851.

She returned home bearing Sir Franklin’s tragic news in 1852 and was then placed under the command of Admiral Sir Edward Belcher. She journeyed across the oceans with Sir Edward and it was also with him that the Resolute went on her last trip to the Arctic.

What was the Franklin search expedition?

Sir Edward Belcher was handed over with the dual responsibility of the Arctic Expedition and also the impossible task of finding Sir Franklin and his missing ships. Sir John Franklin had gone to explore the Northwest Passage, but along with his crew, he had starved to death after their ship became icebound in 1846.

After Sir Belcher’s thorough scouring of the seas in the east, west and north did not bear fruit, he turned south, where through the discovery of Sir Franklin’s definitive traces and expedition records, proved that the entire crew had perished. Post this incident, Sir Edward Belcher went on many expeditions of the Arctic, exploring the Northwest Passage, making significant discoveries in the course of time.

Last voyage of HMS Resolute

While on their ocean journey in 1854, Sir Belcher and his crew experienced a very harsh winter, which made living conditions in the Arctic almost inhospitable for humans. Supplies and fuel were quickly running out and ice floes had begun floating closer into the seas. The crew members started suffering from illnesses and were incapable of going farther any longer. It was then that Admiral Edward Belcher took the tough decision to abandon some of his ships, which had slowly started to become icebound. After HMS Resolute got locked in the floe, Sir Belcher ordered his crew to get on board HMS North Star and return safely to England with two relief vessels, abandoning HMS Resolute in the rough Arctic weather.

A year later in 1855, after the thawing of the Arctic floes, HMS Resolute drifted some 1900 kilometres into Baffin Island in Canada, where an American whale-catching vessel named George Henry found her in an abandoned condition. She was taken to Connecticut, where she was refitted and restructured to repair all the damages to its wooden body.

Resolute then sailed to England to be presented to Queen Victoria as a gift of respect and harmony in the year 1856. HMS Resolute later served in the Royal British Navy for twenty long years, never once leaving her home territory. It was finally in the year 1879 that she was no longer of service and was torn apart for her fine oak wood.

The Resolute desk

After the salvage work came through, the Queen ordered that the timbers of the Resolute be used to make three desks – one of which was to be presented to the American President as a token of appreciation. Came to be known as The Resolute Desk then on, it was gifted by Queen Victoria to the nineteenth US President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

Caroline and & Kerry Kennedy hiding inside the Resolute desk. (Harold Sellers / www.jfklibrary.org)

A message was inscribed on the plaque of the desk, along with the Presidential Seal, which adorn the heavy piece of furniture. The Resolute Desk has since then been a part of the White House, serving in various rooms of US presidents. One of its usual places remains the Oval Office, where it serves as the main desk of the US president, from where he carries out most of his official duties. President George H. W. Bush had moved the Resolute Desk in his private study during his tenure once, while President Lyndon Johnson had sent the desk to Boston as an exhibit at the Kennedy Presidential Library.

President Jimmy Carter brought it back into the Oval Office in 1977, where it permanently sat thereafter. Apart from former presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, current US President Donald Trump has been using the presidential desk, which was made from a ship that once travelled to the Arctic for relief and rescue operation.

Close up shot of the Resolute desk. (Obama White House / Pete Souza / Flickr)

A lot of replicas of the Resolute Desk have come to be a part of pop culture recently. But the one in the Oval Office, which in its long and fruitful time was only modified twice to suit the needs of one of the most influential persons in the world, has become one of the most recognized pieces of furniture across the globe.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “HMS Terror: A British Warship That Was Lost for Over 170 Years“.

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Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch railway station sign. (G1MFG / Wikimedia Commons)

Did you know that there exists a place in Wales in the United Kingdom, which has such an unusually long name that it is as good as a tongue twister? Commonly known as Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, this quaint Welsh village, in fact, goes by the name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which is shortened to Llanfairpwll or simply known as Llanfair PG. Colloquially pronounced “Llan-vire-pooll”, there is an interesting story that is associated with the naming of the village.

With a total of fifty-eight characters in one name itself, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll ranks second in the list of long-named places in the world after New Zealand’s Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. The Welsh word Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, in English translates to ‘Saint Mary’s Church in a hollow of white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave’. This translation, in a way, roughly gives away the village’s exact location to newcomers. Not many people, except locals, knew of this place until a weatherman pronounced it right on live television in 2015, grabbing eyeballs from all across the globe. The long name got people interested and (started) talking about a sleepy settlement that is now connected to some of the major cities in the country.

The story behind Llanfairpwllgwyngyll

Locals on the island of Anglesey in Wales believe that an unknown cobbler could have been the person, to give the village its unique name way back in the 1800s. And a tailor corroborated the fact. Llanfairpwllgwyngyll was one of the villages in the United Kingdom, where development first started to spread its wings. Cities were getting connected by railways and roadways and Llanfairpwll was the place where craftsmen moved in to stay and work. During the 1850’s, when railroads were being built across the country to facilitate travel, a committee was put together to help bring in more visitors to the village. These people would in turn, encourage travellers to halt at this place so that it gave a major impetus to their tourism and brought in more revenue. A publicity gimmick worked in favour of the village and the name became its identity.

A railway crossing at Britannia Bridge and the agricultural lands near Llanedwen and Penmynydd made Llanfairpwll a major commercial centre. This quick growth in development brought in more and more settlers to this village back in the day. It was then that the forgotten shoemaker invented the complex name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which stuck around to this day.

Popularity in modern times

A total of approximately 3,100 citizens living in the village are of the opinion that their village should retain its original name, for their Welsh language is slowly dying out. The retaining of the name would give others a chance to learn their tongue, which easily stands out with its too many syllables and consonants. Although people’s efforts to add the name into the Guinness Book of World Records did not bear fruits, the word has somehow found a place in the prestigious book. In 2002, Llanfairpwll was listed in the Guinness Book of Records and was awarded for being the longest valid domain name in the world.

Other than being a part of pop culture, with celebrities spending a part of their childhood in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, the Welsh village also boasts of a square on the popular board game of Monopoly. With the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, the island of Anglesey became a more popular destination as the couple moved into their home in the islands. As a result, the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll in Anglesey soon started to appear on tourist maps and on Welsh board games too. Also, the train station retains the long form of Llanfairpwll, which makes it the longest named railway station in the whole of UK.

With a rare name that is fifty-eight characters long, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is surely quite a mouthful.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Las Lajas Sanctuary: A Church with a Mysterious Mural Nobody Can Explain“.

Recommended Visit:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll | Wales, United Kingdom

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Artwork of QWERTY keyboard inventor Christopher Latham Sholes. (Fine Art America)

Long before new technology dawned upon us over a century ago, the handwritten material had slowly started to take a backseat. Typewriters, keyboards, keypads all became way too important by the turn of the new century, thus making us dependent on gadgets for doing the writing work for us. But did we ever consider why the keys on our laptops or typewriters were arranged so randomly and unsystematically? Or for that matter, did we even know that there is another keyboard other than the popular QWERTY that claims to simplify the way we type?

Dvorak Simplified Keyboard

An American academician and psychologist Dr. August Dvorak created the layout for a simplified keyboard, along with his brother-in-law William Dealey in the 1930s. Together they patented it under the name “Dvorak Keyboard” in 1936 and claimed that the new interface was easier to use, more efficient and less painful as compared to the standard QWERTY keyboard.

Dr. August was of the opinion that the popular QWERTY layout which a lot of modern operating systems provide in their typing devices today had a lot of issues that needed resolving and hence he came up with his own layout. As per Dr. August, his keyboard layout is a comparatively simpler one, where alphabets are so placed that a user is comfortable typing the most frequently used words on the three rows of the keyboard.

Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. (Wikimedia Commons)

Did he succeed?

Over a period of years, Dr. August began to observe a lot of problems in the standard keyboard, which had come into being way back in the 1870s. He thought that the alphabets were too patchily placed on the layout and were not easy to type into a word. A user would put in enough time and effort to type a common English sentence on a standard layout as compared to his Dvorak keyboard.

He pointed out the flaws in a QWERTY keyboard. He said that the placement of alphabets on a standard keyboard is such that most commonly used words require typing with the left hand only. This made it difficult for right-handed users to get their brain tuned to the standard placement when they first began to learn typewriting.

With his extensive research in language, Dr. August also said that words in the English language needed typing with both hands on a Dvorak layout, thus reducing the pain of using the left hand for most common words. This would automatically reduce the effort and increase the typing speed of an individual, with lesser errors in the process.

In Dvorak Simplified Keyboard the left side of the middle row contains all the vowels, while the right-hand side has common consonants grouped together. The lesser used consonants are on the bottom row and commonly used consonants on the top row, along with mostly used special characters.

A user could also rest his fingers on the middle row, which is not the case with the QWERTY keyboard. This in turn, would be more ergonomically convenient. Dr. August claimed his layout was far superior to the QWERTY layout as it was much easier to learn too. He said it balanced the load between both hands and reduced finger fatigue. He also claimed that the special alphabet placement on his keyboard did not require users to make excess finger and hand movements. The alternate strokes on his layout gave a user’s fingers enough space to play around. Finger movements became more comfortable, making his layout a lot easier to operate. Considering all the advantages of the Dvorak keyboard, Dr. August deemed the QWERTY keyboard a total failure.

The QWERTY layout

The most popular QWERTY keyboard, which was standardized by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1873, was designed and patented by Christopher Latham Sholes, an editor with a Milwaukee newspaper.

Christopher Latham Sholes. (Iles, George (1912). Leading American Inventors. H. Holt and company)

Sholes, who was also a printer and a senator for quite some time, invented the commercially successful typewriter in the year 1868. His first prototype had keys in alphabetical order, which kept jamming on each press, for each word typed. It slowed down the process of typing due to mechanical limitations and so Sholes upgraded his layout and designed the new interface, where keys had a QWERTY arrangement.

This got rid of mechanical constraints and users’ brains became wired to the new layout. But experts in the field argue that Sholes purposely came up with the new arrangement to slow down the typing speed, in order to save the frequent hard taps on the machines. Others counter-argue that to make the machine more efficient, a different typing alternative in the form of QWERTY had to be sought out.

However, in all the QWERTY-versus-Dvorak war, there is no hard evidence, which proves that the latter is a comparatively superior layout. Experts in ergonomics did not find any significant advantage in the Dvorak layout, thus shooting down all of Dr. August’s tall claims. Although the Dvorak layout reduced finger fatigue, it is not easier to learn, since QWERTY had already gained market popularity, quickly making it a hot favourite.

A lot of devices today, allow users to switch between QWERTY and Dvorak, but had Dr. August Dvorak been a bit quick, his simplified layout may have been in use today instead of the favourite QWERTY.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Colossus Computer: A WWII Era Cipher Machine was the First-Ever Programmable Computer“.

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Manfred von Richthofen’s combat aircraft. (Wikimedia Commons)

Wars have never given the world anything positive to harp on. They have only brought out disastrous results with millions of people losing their lives, their countries and their loved ones. But there was something good about WW-I that the world still happens to remember.

The First World War was technologically advanced and employed machines for the first time, with their operators going down in the annals of history. WW-I introduced submarines that could manoeuvre under the sea, tanks that could tread any ground and aircraft that gave a better view from the skies. Amid all this, there’s one name that stands out – Polish-born legendary fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, who went on to become the flying ace to have shot down as many as 80 enemy warplanes in his short career.

Born in a Polish noble family in 1892, the male members of Manfred’s family were termed barons, which also gave him the nickname “Red Baron” later in his professional life. Interested in athletics, gymnastics and hunting since the age of four, Richthofen was sent to train in the military when he was only eleven, after which he joined the Polish cavalry, where he began his military career. Richthofen gradually climbed up the professional ladder and became a lieutenant but his heart lay elsewhere.

In 1914, when the First World War broke out, a 22-year-old Richthofen was serving in an obsolete cavalry unit, working with trench men, where he worked as a dispatch bearer for some time. The unit was soon disbanded and the cadets were assigned to carry out odd tasks. Boredom quickly crept in and Richthofen requested to be transferred to the flying squad, which was relatively newer but was one of the most happening warfare groups at that time. He was assigned task under the bomber unit, but Richthofen didn’t want to stop at that.

Off to a ‘flying’ start

At that time, Germany’s national hero, Oswald Boelcke was mentoring new cadets on flying practices and that was when Richthofen requested to be transferred to his unit, where he would eventually learn to fly a military aircraft and become not just the only flying ace during WW-I but also the deadliest aviator and the most ‘colourful’ of them all.

Once on a train journey, Richthofen impressed Oswald with his eagerness to learn flying and a conversation led the latter to invite the young cadet to join his unit – “Jasta 2” – in 1915. Richthofen had a rough start to his flying career. He struggled at the controls and was a substandard pilot, crashing his aircraft once while learning. But he was a quick learner and under Boelcke’s tutelage, Richthofen flew for two months and stuck to the tactics and manoeuvres his mentor had taught him.

Manfred von Richthofen aka Red Baron. (CJ von Dühren / Nicola Perscheid / Wikimedia Commons)

In April 1916, Richthofen drew first blood over Verdun shooting down a French warplane, which unfortunately did not go in his credits. Post Boelcke’s death in October 1916, which Richthofen was witness to, he was on his own and was even more determined to bring laurels to his guide and dear friend. It was later in September the same year when he shot down a British aircraft near Cambrai in France that got his name etched in the records.

In less than a month, the aviator had successfully registered five victories and qualified as an ace. Richthofen wasn’t a great pilot, but his knowledge of manoeuvres and aerial tactics led him to become one of the greatest aviators of all time.

Although he was more commonly associated with his Fokker Triplane, Richthofen had his majority victories in his Albatross biplane. By early 1917, The Red Baron had completed sixteen kills and was awarded the highest military recognition for flying aces known as the “Pour le Merite” or more informally as “The Blue Max” from the German government.

In the months to follow, he was allowed to start his own unit – “Jasta 11” – and by April 1917, Richthofen had downed more than twenty enemy aircraft, setting an unbreakable record. The numbers only kept going up and by the time May arrived, he was credited with shooting down 52 planes.

Red Baron’s flying circus

The autumn of 1917 was also the first time when he started painting a scarlet-vermillion hue to his aircraft – the Albatross D.III. The term “Red Baron” also originated from the red colour of his fighter plane, which was easy to identify against a bluish-grey sky.

Richthofen was given the task of commanding a larger unit called “Jagdgeschwader 1” or JG1, with four smaller units, which came to be known as the “Flying Circus”, because of the spectacularly bright-coloured fighter planes and their versatility. Their vibrantly-coloured tents and caravans soon became associated with their unit’s name too.

Injury and return

It was in June 1917 that Red Baron’s flying manoeuvres came to a halt when a bullet grazed his skull during warfare. He was sent home where he received a hero’s welcome, with several young women craving for his attention. But soon enough, while in recuperation, Richthofen resumed duty in late October 1917, only to combat nausea and headaches more frequently on the job along with enemy warplanes.

Manfred von Richthofen death

On April 21, 1918, while Red Baron was chasing down a novice Canadian pilot, they drifted into the Allied territory in the village of Vaux-sur-Somme in France, when Canadian Captain Roy Brown shot a .303 bullet, striking Richthofen directly in his chest, puncturing his lungs. He breathed his last while bringing his beloved Fokker to a rough landing.

Military funeral honors of Manfred von Richthofen. (сержант John Alexander)

At the age of 25, Manfred von Richthofen, the flying ace and a national hero, was not only one of the youngest and most respected warfare experts, who stared death in the face, but was also one of the most disciplined leaders the world had ever seen.

His death was greatly mourned across Germany, as the Allied officers lay him to rest in Bertangles amidst full military funeral rites and rifle salutes.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Simo Hayha: World’s Deadliest Sniper with 505 Confirmed Kills“.

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Overtoun bridge during sunset. (© Joe Son of the Rock / Flickr)

Scotland is one nation, which is not just rich in natural beauty and resources but also has a unique identity of its own. Right from the traditional clothes the Scottish people wear to the food they eat, one can never find this kind of exclusivity anywhere in the world. But apart from the many strange things that have become a part of pop culture originating in this country, there is one bizarre happening that has puzzled people worldwide. Not many people know but a bridge in this mysterious country lures dogs to jump to their deaths.

History of Overtoun bridge

Located in Milton in Dumbarton, Scotland, the Overtoun Bridge was built in 1895 by H. E. Milner – one of the most successful landscape architects and civil engineers of the 19^th century- at the behest of John Campbell White, also known as Lord Overtoun. A Category B-listed structure, the ornate yet heavy granite Overtoun Bridge was constructed over the Overtoun Burn creek as an approach road to Overtoun House – the property owned by the Baron.

As the businessman-turned-political-figure bought nearby lands to expand his estate in the late 1890s, he hired Milner’s services to construct a bridge that would make travelling to and fro from his mansion a lot easier.

The mansion across the bridge. (Rosser1954 / Wikimedia Commons)

Incidents on the bridge

But ever since the bridge was constructed, news quickly spread that it was haunted and locals started to believe that it was a hub of paranormal activity. In 1994, a man named Kevin Moy threw his 15-day-old son from the bridge, stating that the child was the Devil incarnate and hence needed to be killed before it could inflict humankind.

The 32-year-old new father also tried to commit suicide by jumping off the bridge but his attempt was thwarted by his wife. When he was taken to the Overtoun House, Moy tried to end his life by slashing his wrists and failed yet again. Though his infant died in a hospital the very next day, he was presented before the court, where the jury acquitted him in the case for being clinically insane and ordered him to be detained in the state hospital. But that was not where the problems began.

Overtoun bridge from below. (© Lairich Rig / geograph.org.uk)

Back in the 1950s and 60s, a bizarre phenomenon rocked the West Dunbartonshire County, as dogs started leaping to their deaths from the top of the Overtoun Bridge. After as many as 50 dogs jumped off the bridge, canine psychologists and animal behavior experts started to look into the matter with deep concern.

One animal behavioral specialist came up with an explanation. Stan Rawlinson said that canines or animals in general, could become depressed but they have no sense of decision-making, hence dogs committing suicide was totally out of the question. He was also of the opinion that since dogs are colour blind, they see the bridge (and every other thing) in a pastel shade, which blends with its surroundings. As a result, dogs cannot gauge where the edge of the bridge is, which could also be one of the reasons for canine casualties. Rawlinson however, stressed on the fact that dogs can sense the occult and that could be one possibility, which led them to take such a drastic step.

Investigations

Local expert Stan Rawlinson’s vague explanations did not suffice other animal behaviorists and they stepped forward to dig deeper into the matter. What came out of their extensive investigations was baffling. Researchers found that dogs were jumping off the bridge on a clear day from the exact same spot and all the dogs belonged to the dolichocephalic breed, meaning they were all long-snouted (like German Shepherd, Scottish Terrier, Doberman).

Dog behavioral consultants summarized that there’s science behind it all. Noted animal behaviorist, Dr. David Sands, offered his insight into the curious case. He said small animals like squirrels, minks and mice that nested under the bridge were letting off a peculiar smell, which stimulated the dogs’ olfactory nerves. As a result, these long-nosed canines, with a strong sense of smell, were lured into hurling themselves off in pursuit of the smaller animals.

He also added that dogs are naturally inquisitive like any other animal, and wanting to peer down the bridge is one of the most logical reasons why they tried to get closer to the edge, resulting in their fall.

But when locals convinced them that minks were never found in the area, they had to start looking for newer angles again. As of now, approximately 600 canines have tried to leap to their tragic end from the century-old Overtoun Bridge, hitting hard 50 feet on the rocky surface below. Eyewitnesses also say that if a dog fails in its first attempt, it returns to the edge to jump for the second time. 

The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is continuously working towards finding the trigger that has led so many canines to meet such a fate, but it has only come to a naught each time. Meanwhile, it has also alerted citizens to keep a strict watch over their pet pooches while crossing the obscure bridge.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Animal Suicide: Do Animals, Like Humans Resort to Ending their Own Lives?“.

Optional Visit:
Overtoun Bridge | West Dunbartonshire, Scotland

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Potash pond near Moab, Utah. (Doc Searls / Flickr)

The Earth is a natural treasure trove. It is replete with resources and it never fails to amaze us. One such gem, hidden in plain sight is the blue potash ponds in the state of Utah in the USA.

At first one wouldn’t notice the odd pond in the red desert, but a quick satellite view on Google Maps will quickly give a hint of the place and why it holds enough importance. It is here in Moab, Utah, that the remarkable cobalt-coloured ponds in the middle of the arid desert give respite to sore eyes and much more.

1963 mine incident

Back in 1963, Texas Sulfur Company first built a plant near Paradox Basin that collected potassium from below the Earth’s surface. An explosion in the underground mines, later in the same year, led to the entrapment of twenty-five miners, out of which eighteen had died.

Eventually, USA’s largest potash-producing company, Intrepid Potash Inc., took over the management of the area and completely replaced the task of manually mining for the naturally-occurring element. The potassium-containing salt or potash was and still is used as a farm fertilizer all over the world.

Potash Ponds: What makes the pool so vibrant?

At the Intrepid mines, which are spread along the Colorado River, potash is pumped to ground levels from underground mines with the help of drilling wells. Hot water from the wells is drained underground, dissolving the potassium, which is then fed to the numerous potash pools above.

Here the highly concentrated potassium-containing salt water or brine is artificially dyed with a striking blue colour so that the sun evaporates it much quicker than it actually does, leaving behind salt crystals and other byproducts. The entire process roughly takes some 300 days to complete, which without the dying process could take a bit longer.

Aerial photo of potash pond next to Colorado river. (Doc Searls / Flickr)

The Paradox Basin has been the biggest source of potassium for over 300 million years now and the 3000-feet deep mines have been dug up for decades to obtain potash. The vibrant shades of blue in the vast solar pools are indicators of the amount of water that has evaporated, separating the potash crystals from its component.

Many other companies have now come up with their own ways to separate the crystalline salt from potassium, but none has the extraordinary azure colour that is seen in the ponds at Moab.

With technological advancement, humans have tried to explore every resource available, resulting in its depletion and potassium is no different. Yet the contrast in the colours of the desert land in Utah and the potash ponds serve as a treat to the eyes, which might stay on for 125 more years to come.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pamukkale: The Cotton Castle in a Mess of Limestone and Healing Waters“.

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Baltic Way: Baltic chain demonstration in Lithuania. (Rimantas Lazdynas / Wikimedia Commons)

Freedom is a relative term. For some it could mean release from oppression; for some it could mean to live their life on their own terms or free will. For many others it could mean freedom from the laws laid down by their country. The latter is precisely the term that led three Baltic countries, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which were occupied by the Soviet Union, to rise against the rule and stand as one.

On August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union entered into a secret, non-aggression pact with Nazi-led Germany. Also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, it was signed in Moscow between Foreign Affairs Ministers Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop of the Soviet Union and Nazi-Germany respectively.

During World War II, as per the highly secret Pact, countries in Eastern and Northern Europe were to be divided between the Soviet Union and Nazi-Germany. Both the powerful nations hoped for territorial and political rearrangements of the smaller countries.

The Soviets began occupying areas that lay close to the Baltic Sea and kept denying the protocols of the existing secret Pact. Till the mid-80s, the Soviet Union was in denial of the covert Nazi-Soviet Pact and continued to occupy the three Baltic States, asserting that they had joined voluntarily.

The Baltic Way

On the 50th anniversary of the Pact, on August 23, 1989, the three Baltic nations decided to call it quits. Having had enough of the secrecy and the Soviet occupation of their areas, people of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania demanded the Soviet Union to go public and come clean on the confidentiality of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty.

They also demanded restitution and independence from the Soviet rule. And so, at around 7 p.m. local time, as a mark of protest, as many as two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined hands together to form a human chain that spanned approximately 670 kilometers.

The citizens of the three Balkan nations came together for a peaceful political demonstration that began in Tallinn – the capital city of Estonia – and made their way through Riga in Latvia to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

Baltic way peaceful demonstration. (Kusurija / Wikimedia Commons)

Known as The Baltic Way or The Chain of Freedom, the peaceful protest was a unique method of expressing public dissent. It united people from three different nations that wanted freedom from one Soviet rule.

Organised by the national movements of the three countries – Latvian Popular Front of Latvia, Rahvarinne of Estonia and the Sajudis of Lithuania – the living chain was a message to the USSR that its five-decade-long illegal occupation in their nations was about to come to an end.

Not only men but women and children, too, from every nook and cranny of the three countries made their way towards the epicenter of the protest in opposition of the Soviet annexure of their states. Exiled Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians in the cities of Berlin, Melbourne, Stockholm, Toronto, Leningrad and Moscow also stood in solidarity with the two million people that had formed a chain in the capital cities of the three Baltic countries.

Protest in Šiauliai on the same day, with three coffins decorated with national flags placed under Soviet and Nazi flags. (Rimantas Lazdynas / Wikimedia Commons)

The after-effect

The peaceful display of disagreement by such a large number of people from different countries made international news and also gave rise to the term “Singing Revolution”. It was where people of the three Baltic countries (started by the Estonians) held hands and sang patriotic songs all night long in objection.

This unlikely unity pieced together a chain of events that led to the total independence of the three Baltic States in the year 1991. The Chain of Freedom later also helped in Moscow owning up their crimes and rendering the Nazi-Soviet Pact invalid. This helped in freeing the three countries from the Soviet rule two years later. The Baltic Way also served as a precursor to the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, uniting Germany as one.

Aerial photo of the Baltic chain. (National Museum of Lithuania)

Today, one does not get to see such peace and harmony among different nations of the world that come together and stand up for a common cause. The Baltic Way was one such rare example of non-violent political demonstration (another oddity in today’s times), which gave the people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the freedom they deserved from the Communist Soviet Union.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Rejected for Paris, Project Plan Voisin is Accepted Part of World Architecture“.

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Artistic rendering of Gliese 581c discovered before Gliese 581g which was also regarded as a potentially habitable planet in 2007. (Kobol / Celestia)

Recently, a probe has been sent in space that will, for the first time, get a closer look at the Sun’s surface and bring back information related to the massive ball of fire. Anything space-related immediately becomes a hot topic of discussion back on our planet, yet it happens to be one of the most intriguing subjects.

After space explorers discovered the presence of water beneath the surface of Mars a couple of weeks ago, this was not the first time humans found a potential source of life on another planet outside our solar system. However, newer claims could not be completely confirmed and the more-than-a-decade-old discussion of a habitable extrasolar planet might only be a case of wishful thinking.

Ten years ago in 2008, a group of researchers and astrophysicists at the University of California and Carnegie Institution of Washington together came up with an astonishing discovery outside our planetary system. Weighing about three times more than the Earth and falling into a habitable zone, a planet was located approximately 20 light-years away that could possibly sustain life just like the Earth can.

Orbiting a dim red dwarf star, the planet was named “Gliese 581g” or Zarmina (named after the lead discoverer’s wife) by the researchers. The solar system named Gliese 581 is made up of a lesser hot (as compared to the Sun) star, around which four or more planets, including Gliese 581g circle in a gravitationally-locked position.

The lead astronomer Dr. Steven Scott Vogt and co-researcher R. Paul Butler theorized the presence of habitable conditions on Zarmina for more than a decade, which came as good news to many. By the year 2012, more researches confirmed its existing status, but observations and reanalysis put its existence in jeopardy once again in 2014. Now, as recently as 2015, when Dr. Steven Vogt presented some more substantial findings, a consensus was reached that the new planet could still exist in another solar system.

About Gliese 581g

Lying right in the middle of its planetary system, Zarmina has a rocky surface, beneath which there could be the presence of streams of water. It has a dense atmosphere, which could make it possible for life to sustain in hospitable conditions. As per Dr. Vogt’s research findings, the idea of human habitation on Zarmina is too far-fetched for now, but if the planet is potentially habitable, liquid water could possibly be the source of supporting life on its surface.

Comparison between our solar system and Gliese 581 planetary system. Where g indicates Gliese 581g. (Zina Deretsky / National Science Foundation Press Release 10-172)

Gliese 581g has temperatures ranging between minus 24 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius, which is not too hot and not too cold as far as harbouring life matters. The exoplanet orbits its star in a nearly-circular motion in around 37 days and is in a gravitationally-locked position with its parent star. It can be best described as people seeing only one side of the Moon from Earth from any part of the world, while the far side always remains in the dark.

Its surface gravity is 1.1g as compared to the Earth’s, which is 1.7g. Since its parent star is a lot cooler than our Sun, the planets in Gliese 581 are clustered closely together to obtain energy and warmth, so that water can be maintained in its liquid state on its surface.

Doubts over its existence

While researchers from Washington and California were quite positive about their results, which they had gathered from the HIRES or High-Resolution Echelle Spectrometer – an astronomical observatory in Hawaii; research team led by Dr. Michael Mayor of Geneva Observatory maintained that their extensive study did not detect any such exoplanet and thus cast a long shadow of doubt on Gliese 581g’s existence.

Another astronomer Francesco Pepe, who worked on The HARPS or High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher situated in Chile, came up with 6 years of research, which contradicted with Dr. Vogt’s findings, thus questioning his claims of a potentially hospitable extrasolar planet in the already long list. Also, Dr. Mayor suggested that they could only collect data material on planets Gliese 581a, b, c, d and e on their systems, and the proof of Gliese 581g’s existence could never be gathered, thus brushing aside his discovery.

The number of Dr. Vogt’s non-supporters only kept increasing, with many of them presenting their own facts, opposing the lead scientist. A former student of Dr. Vogt, Artie P. Hatzes, currently associated with Thuringia State Observatory in Germany, challenged his mentor’s research, yet had his own doubts. He stated that based on his own findings, there may or may not be a Gliese 581g in the first place, which makes the theory of its habitability almost uncertain.

Another researcher, Rene Andrea from the Max Planck Institute of Astronomy in Germany, also raised questions over Dr. Vogt’s study, stating that when his team ran simulations, they found that Dr. Vogt’s team had incorrectly drawn conclusions regarding Gliese 581g’s circular orbit.

Philip Gregory from the University of British Columbia submitted his papers that hinted at the new solar system having only four planets and ruled out Gliese 581g’s existence altogether. His team also wound up their research mentioning that Gliese 581g may not be a real planet after all.

A postdoctoral research student at Penn State University, Paul Robertson also disregarded Dr. Vogt’s study stating that the presence of Gliese 581g was based on the orbital activity of 581d. He also stated that sunspots sometimes act like planetary signals and that could have altered Dr. Vogt’s findings.

While Dr. Steven Vogt kept defending his celestial investigation, with media and other researchers holding on to the hopes highly, the fate of Gliese 581g, gaining status of a habitable world, is yet to be sealed.

Researchers are keeping a close watch on the skies as more information keeps coming in regarding the newly-found planet, the existence of which has become a matter of dispute. There is still so much to explore in the deep outer space and it is only a matter of time before we get to know whether Gliese 581g makes the cut in the hospitable exoplanet list or not.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “ʻOumuamua: A Mysterious Interstellar Rock Discovered in Our Solar System“.

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Solway Firth Spaceman: The unidentified figure behind five-year-old Elizabeth. (Jim Templeton / Wikimedia Commons)

A photograph is the proof of a memory that a person would want to hold on to forever. It is something that would take him back in time and remind him of the good things that were captured on film at that time. But there was one Englishman, who did not know that a regular photograph he had clicked way back in the 60s, would become one of the most talked about mysteries of the world even after all these decades.

In the summer of 1964, on a bright, sunny morning in May, a Carlisle firefighter named Jim Templeton was out on a picnic trip with his family near the lush green Burgh Marsh, which overlooks Solway Firth, separating England from Scotland in Cumbria. Templeton was a local historian and also had a flair for photography, which he showed off occasionally on his brand new Kodak camera he had bought back then.

While lazing around, he decided to capture a few candid pictures of his five-year-old daughter Elizabeth, who was playing in the grass in the distance. He held up his camera and took photos of his girl wearing a new dress and the family came back home, all happy about the day trip. Little did the Templetons know that when the negatives of the pictures would come back from the photography lab, one of those would have a very mysterious story to tell the world.

The photograph

Jim Templeton went to the lab to get his developed pictures and was taken aback by the technician’s comment on the said photograph. The photo had his daughter Elizabeth sitting in a relaxed pose, flaunting her new dress, while an image of an unidentified figure dressed in a spacesuit, jutted out of her head in the background. It was a clear picture of an obscure figure dressed in a white spacesuit, complete with a white helmet covered with a dark brown visor.

Conspiracy theorists immediately got down to work, floating stories of the presence of UFOs and aliens around us, while researchers began looking for logical answers. The photograph was published in many newspapers of the world, making headlines and it came to be known as the “Solway Spaceman”.

Jim Templeton took the picture to the local police that rubbished his spaceman claims and did not find the photo extraordinary. Kodak Film Company also came forward offering a reward to those who had an explanation, proving the picture was fake; but nobody could ever prove it otherwise. Solway Spaceman became one of the hottest topics of worldwide discussions, which garnered a lot of public interest.

Conspiracy theorists believed that sightings of UFOs were real and that we are surrounded by aliens, invisible to the eye, which Jim Templeton had managed to capture on film accidentally. The fireman appeared on several television shows after the Solway Spaceman image spread quickly across the globe, presenting his side of the story.

Theories behind the Solway Firth Spaceman

In an interview with the BBC, he said that apart from two old men sitting in their car, his daughter Elizabeth and his wife Annie, there was nobody else that could have managed to sneak in the frame, without him noticing. Templeton also stated that during that time, a British medium-range ballistic missile called “Blue Streak” was supposed to be launched from Australia’s Woomera Test Range, which later had to be aborted due to the sighting of two strange-looking men that technicians claimed were similar to the description of the Solway Spaceman in his image.

Locals also asserted that they had sighted a UFO recently. He also told the media house that two government agents had paid him a visit wanting to know about the exact location in the photograph, but later declared that it could have been a practical joke played on him. While none could confirm that his stories were true, experts could also not completely dismiss them as false and the Solway Spaceman debate only kept heating up.

Dr David Clarke, who is an investigative journalist as well as an expert UFO author, stepped forward in 2014 to explain the Solway Spaceman image, giving logical reasons, which professionals agree could have been the only possible and plausible answer to the frequently-asked question bothering the world since 1964.

According to Dr Clarke, Templeton couldn’t have seen his wife walking into the frame because the viewfinder of that particular camera was able to capture only 70% of the actual shot, thus finding her in the photo only after the negative developed. Also, since it was a bright and sunny day, Templeton’s dark-haired wife, who was wearing a pale blue dress on that particular day, was overexposed in the film and appeared to be wearing a white dress, thus making her the Solway Spaceman, everybody talked about for all these years.

Whether the spaceman had actually come from another world and had gate crashed into his family photograph or his stories regarding his meeting with the men from the ministry could never be proved; Jim Templeton’s genuine Solway Spaceman picture proves that some memories truly do live forever.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Everything You Need to Know About Spontaneous Human Combustion“.

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A lithograph of 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. (Parker & Coward, Britain / Royal Society)

We all know that a volcano is a devastating force of nature, which leaves nothing but a trail of destruction in its wake. But did you know that a 135-year-old volcanic eruption in modern-day Indonesia was so catastrophic that almost half the world heard it in dead silence while the other half was caught in its aftereffects? News of tragedy that accompanied the eruption of Krakatoa volcano spread far and wide, making it one of the world’s deadliest volcanic eruptions, with the loudest sound ever heard in human history.

In May 1883, captain of a German warship named Elizabeth reported seeing black ash clouds arising out of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait, which lay between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. In the days that followed, several other eyewitnesses on commercial and chartered vessels reported hearing loud explosions and seeing incandescent clouds over the island.

Locals are believed to have celebrated the natural spectacle of fireworks, until it all came to a halt on August 27, 1883, when Krakatoa entered into a paroxysmal phase and erupted, producing a boom so loud that it not just claimed around 36,000 lives, but also ruptured the eardrums of many that heard it thousands of kilometers away.

A day prior to the ill-fated date, Perbowatan, one of the three cones of the volcano on Krakatoa, began spewing out ash, pumice and steam, which started to develop vents between Danan and Rakata, the other two cones of the volcano. On August 27, the difference of pressure resulted in four huge blasts, expelling volcanic gas, hot magma and debris from inside and a loud explosion tore through the island, which was heard 4800 km away in Perth in southwest Australia and 4600 km away on Rodriguez Island in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The earth-shattering sent shockwaves around the world and the force of the blast was said to be 13000 times greater than the nuclear bomb – Little Boy – dropped on Hiroshima during WW-II.

The aftermath of the explosion

Following the explosion, mountainous tidal waves in the form of tsunamis, as high as 40 meters, began engulfing the 167 coastal villages, quickly killing people that had begun to run towards higher grounds after the volcanic eruption. Ships on voyages near the island were caught in the gigantic waves and eventually sunk to the bottom of the ocean killing many onboard. Thick, black ash clouds blocked out the sun for many weeks and the global temperatures temporarily began to lower as a result. This led to more reddish sunsets while green-blue hues in the sun were observed as far away as in New York.

The volcanic eruption threw ash as far away as 850 kilometers in Singapore and corpses of those that died as a result of tsunamis, floated in the ocean and were discovered as far away as in South Africa. For five days after the explosion, barographs recorded the passage of atmospheric pressure waves bouncing back and forth between Krakatoa and its antipodes as many as seven times. The worldwide devastation that Krakatoa had unleashed became one of the first reported global media events during that time.

Not many know but Norwegian painter Edvard Munch’s famous work of art of 1893 – “The Scream” – is also said to have been inspired by Krakatoa’s tragic events of 1883. Art enthusiasts have debated that the vividly glowing reddish-orange sky above the figure in the foreground describes the artist’s inner angst, astronomers blame it on Krakatoa.

People were largely affected by the volcano almost everywhere in the world, with many hearing its explosions, several others losing their lives and some more seeing its consequences across the globe. The reddish sky in Munch’s painting is also said to be a result of Krakatoa, which was experienced a decade later in Norway too.

Photo of Anak Krakatau taken a week after 2012 eruption. (Buitenzorger / Flickr)

As the islands in Indonesia lie above two tectonic plates, the island nation has witnessed the regular eruption of active volcanoes in the past, but none were as cataclysmic as Krakatoa or Krakatau as local people call it. Almost one-third of the island has been wiped out after the disastrous explosion of 1883 and two-thirds of the island collapsed beneath the sea into an empty magma chamber created after the volcanic activity subsided.

A new island of Anak Krakatoa (dubbed by locals as the Child of Krakatoa) sprung up in 1927 from the caldera that formed after the massive volcano died down, which is also the current site of an active volcano in Indonesia. Though Anak Krakatoa does not pose a threat to the surroundings, it still stands to this day, spewing ash and debris every now and then (last activity recorded in July 2018), reminding us of the horrific events that its predecessor had let loose more than a century ago.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Great Fire of London: The Blaze That Destroyed 80% of England’s Capital“.

Recommended Visit (caution):
Anak Krakatau | Lampung, Indonesia

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Aerial view of Masada, an ancient fortification on top of the mountain. (Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia)

Israel is one country that has always been in the news for whatever reasons. But did you know that long before this Middle Eastern nation appeared on the modern world map, it had a glorious past that has now become an important part of its rich traditional history? Israel is blessed with a long list of tourist attractions, but there’s one place in particular – a world heritage site – which pulls in people from all over the world so that they can get to know more about the site that was discovered as recently as 1838. Called Masada, this tourist spot is not just of great historical significance but is also revered by Jews, whose gallant ancestors are believed to have committed mass suicide here to escape being captured by the Roman troops.

Masada in Israel: Origin of the ancient fortification

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, Masada is an ancient place, situated on top of a remote, rhombus-shaped, high table-mountain, which was converted into a defence stronghold by King Herod-I between 37 and 31 BCE. Masada lies between the Judean Desert and overlooks the Dead Sea, where Herod the Great built luxurious palaces with lavish facilities for himself and reigned for 37 long years on behalf of the Roman Empire. Standing about 1500 feet above the sea level and surrounded by desert land, the entry to the grand desert palace is quite tricky; yet the Romans are said to have breached the walls and gained access into the fortress 2000-years ago, which came to be known as the Siege of Masada.

The Siege of Masada has become an event of great historical value, which was supposedly marked by the mass suicide of Jewish Zealots, where as many as 967 men, women and children gave up their lives, for they believed they would only serve God and none else.

After the fall of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE, the First Jewish-Roman War broke out as a result of anti-taxation protests that lasted from 73 to 74 CE. Roman Emperor Nero ordered notable Jewish figures to be captured, which enraged the Jewish ethnic groups, who rose in rebellion against the crown. They plundered villages and massacred their own kin, who were ready to hold peace talks with the Romans, ultimately trying to prove a point that the land was theirs and those hoping to lay hands on it or those trying to resist, would meet the same fate. Unfortunately, the Romans did manage to besiege Masada eventually, where Zealots and Sicariis had forcefully settled down with their followers, keeping the former away from entering into the strong fortress.

Aerial view of Masada. (Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia)

It is mentioned that when the troops of the Roman Empire gained entry into the Judean province and held approximately 15,000 Jewish people hostage, Eleazar Ben-Yair, the commander of the Sicariis also known as dagger-wielding rebel Jewish groups, fled with his band of followers to Masada, which was considered highly impregnable.

Little did they realize that they had been outnumbered since the Zealots had sided with the Romans to capture the rebellious freedom fighters. When the end was near and the Roman troops had made their way inside Masada, Ben-Yair decided the only other way out was to kill themselves. Since suicide is prohibited in Judaism, he ordered ten men to execute the 967 men, women and children, who were ready to lay down their lives defending the fortress and their honour. The Sicariis set their belongings and storehouses ablaze and resorted to mass suicide instead of getting captured, enslaved or killed by the Romans.

But did they actually commit suicide?

While the people of Israel revere Masada a great deal, others are divided on the happenings and claim it to be a false account. Joseph ben-Matityahu or Josephus Flavius, a Jewish commander, who sided with the Romans later, chronicled the entire Siege of Masada, which historians argue had certain inaccuracies. Not only had he exaggerated about the construction of the fortress but had also misquoted the number of deaths as found at the excavations, carried out in 1963.

Items of daily use were found at the site, which proved there was human settlement in the fortification, but the absence of mortal remains, except for three skeletons inside the palace, pointed out that there was no mass suicide or a siege or a war at all; thus implying Flavius’ accounts were false. Despite the mention of 967 people inside Masada, only 28 bodies were discovered, with three inside the palace and the rest 25 inside a cave. Had there been a war, there should have been all 967 bodies plus or minus, given the weather conditions, wild animals and scavengers, or none at all if the Romans had discarded them or carried them away.

Scholars are also of the opinion that the bodies of men found inside the cave could have been of the Roman soldiers that had died trying to fight for the fortress. While there is not enough evidence of a mass suicide at Masada, the siege and its following events remain shrouded in mystery.

Western entrance inside Masada fortress. (Oren Rozen / Wikimedia)

Masada National Park

But whatever the case accounted in Jewish history, with outsiders refuting the occurrence of the events, Masada National Park, which includes a tour of the hilltop and Masada Museum remain two of the most visited destinations on tourists’ itineraries while on their travel to Israel. Mass suicide or not, Masada still stands tall to tell the tale of the splendid times it had once seen.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Maunsell Forts: The Forts That Tell the Tale of WWII“.

Recommended Visit:
Masada National Park | Israel

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Balut: Freshly cracked opened boiled egg with developing duck embryo. (Shankar s. / Flickr)

Over the centuries, people across the globe have come to develop their own particular delicacies and special street foods that make them different from the rest. Think of a pizza and one immediately knows it is Italian; talk of a baguette and France comes to mind, while a burrito reminds us of Mexican food. But here’s one delicacy called balut, originated in Philippines, which is a gastronome’s delight locally, but is resented by many in most parts of the world for various reasons.

Origin of balut egg

The Chinese are said to have introduced this delicacy in 1885 in the island nation of Philippines. Called maodan in the Chinese language, which roughly translates to ‘hairy egg’, the taste of balut quickly spread to other Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, which began preparing, eating and selling this midnight snack in very large numbers. Balut, which means ‘wrapped’, is generally prepared from duck’s eggs and is not only a healthy and nutritious item of food, but is also considered to be a great aphrodisiac by the locals. A quick look inside the shelled delicacy could be a bit revolting to many; but what is it that actually goes into its preparation that has placed balut on the list of one of the strangest and most disgusting food items in the world?

Preparation of the Filipino delicacy

To begin with, balut is prepared by boiling a partially-fertilized 14 to 21 week-old egg of a mated female mallard duck and served with spices or in soups, which give it a distinctive flavor. A hundred eggs are first placed in a bamboo basket, buried in sand directly under the sun for it to develop or are covered in heated rice husks, which ease in incubating the embryo evenly. Different countries follow different techniques, but the basic remains the same – apply heat. The incubated eggs are checked upon frequently to see if they are damaged in any way or have developed cracks, which can render them useless. After a span of 14 to 16 weeks, the well-preserved eggs are ready to be brought out from under the ground and led straight into the cooking pot.

Peeled boiled balut egg. (Foodienut / Wikimedia Commons)

Boiled with its shell intact, the egg is then served, which has to be eaten by breaking open the hard-boiled outer covering. Seasoning and spices, along with salt, are added to the cracked open balut and consumed the moment it is de-shelled. Sometimes, balut is also boiled and served in its own amniotic fluid, added with a mixture of seasoning and vinegar or chillies. The moment the shell is broken open, the unappealing sight of the fertilized embryo with its beak, claws and feathers in one piece, floating in its amniotic liquid, can easily put anyone off.

The lengthy incubation period and the careful preparation, which includes a combination of flavoured soup and soft meat of the bird, make an economical balut an exceptionally expensive street food in the world. Some properties of the fertilized embryo are also said to up a man’s libido, which makes it a hot favourite among local people. Also, balut is an excellent source of energy, proteins and calcium, which nourishes half of the Filipino population that falls below the poverty line.

Balut served in its amniotic fluid along with vinegar and some spices. (Sspitzer2 / Wikimedia Commons)

Views of locals and welfare organizations regarding it consumption

On the flipside, culturally, the idea of serving balut does not find many takers. As per Filipino-Christian folklore, an evil shape-shifting demon called Aswang, who feasts on unborn fetuses, is believed to resemble a balut. Also, the way the snack is eaten; it stands similar to aswang’s procedure of sucking babies out their mother’s womb, thus believing that consuming balut can turn a man into an aswang. As per Islamic customs too, an animal that has not been slaughtered correctly is forbidden to be eaten, thus striking balut out from the culinary list.

However, there are divided opinions on its consumption according to different cultural and religious beliefs. While the popular snack does have many connoisseurs, certain animal welfare organizations disregard the idea of eating a partially-fertilized duck embryo and consider the practice inhumane.

The humble balut might have gone unnoticed around the world for quite some time now, but the Center for Culinary Arts and Municipality of Pateros in The Philippines joined hands in April 2015 to prepare the world’s largest serving of balut and finally brought it into the limelight, getting an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. The debate surrounding balut’s credibility as a food item might continue for a long while; but it is a given that putting health risks, superstitions and resentments aside, balut will be served as long as the mallard duck keeps laying her eggs.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Madagascar Hissing Cockroach: An Unusual Wild Insect That Has Now Replaced Popular House Pets“.

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Biosphere 2 campus. (Martijn Nijenhuis / Flickr)

The Earth is one amazing planet that is home to a variety of animals, birds, plants and organisms, which live harmoniously with each other. Various natural habitats are spread across all the continents that have their own peculiarity; for example, Antarctica is covered in snow, while Africa is known for its hot deserts. South America stands out for its wet Amazonian rainforests, while Europe is famous for its ancient human history. Wouldn’t you be surprised if we told you that a place called Biosphere 2 housed part of almost every section just mentioned, all under one roof?

Biosphere 2, Arizona

Biosphere 2, also dubbed as “Planet in a bottle” – a huge research facility located in Tucson, Arizona in the United States – is spread across a sprawling 40-acre campus, with at least 7 acres reserved for state-of-the-art research labs, administrative offices, classrooms, housing centres and conference halls. Built between the years 1987 and 1991 and named after the natural biosphere of the Earth, Biosphere 2 was originally constructed as an artificial, enclosed ecological system, which is considered to be the largest, completely self-sufficient, man-made structure to have ever been built.

With its very own coral reef-lined ocean, complete with a variety of fish, a tropical rainforest that had a wide range of trees, savanna grassland, mangroves, a fog desert and an agricultural system, the fully-sealed structure was built as a forerunner to an enclosed space colonization program, which unfortunately did not succeed eventually. 

Ocean and coral reef inside Biosphere 2. (Martijn Nijenhuis / Flickr)

During the first experiment that lasted two years from 1991 to 1993, eight volunteers, including founding members Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter, medical doctor Roy Walford, ecologist Mark Nelson and researchers Sally Silverstone, Abigail Alling, Linda Leigh and Mark Van Thillo, entered Biosphere 2 to test if humans could run their very own world, which had all the facilities at their beck and call. But sadly, the self-sufficient controversial mini-world ran into hot water as soon as the program began.

Another view of the ocean inside the Biosphere 2. (Windell Oskay / Flickr)

The mega glass and steel spaceframe structure, which had an inbuilt oxygen supply in the form of natural ecosystems that were designed inside, it worked like an airtight container with no supply of oxygen from the outside world. The best breeds of livestock were brought in from various parts of the world, which would help the artificial biosphere function similarly to the real one. Trees, to continuously provide oxygen to living things were planted, which would keep the massive bio-dome running smoothly. Special planning and construction techniques took care of the heating and cooling systems of the facility, while accurate engineering went into making sure the enormous glass house functioned perfectly. Despite the best of everything that went into the making of this self-contained world, there came a point when Biosphere 2 had become almost inhabitable, with volunteers desperately wanting to make it outside.

But what had actually gotten wrong?

While some call it a multi-million dollar glorious debacle, Biosphere 2’s failure was a result of a lot of significant technical flaws. Some months inside the facility and volunteers began noticing that oxygen levels had started to dip sharply. Although trees in the savanna and rainforests were taking in all the carbon dioxide from humans and animals, tiny microbes present in the soil in the marshlands were metabolizing and using up oxygen at such a fast rate that hardly anything was left for those on top of the chain. As a result, carbon dioxide was released in high quantities, which the trees couldn’t exchange so quickly. Later with unethical practices, oxygen was pumped in from outside sources, which no longer made Biosphere 2 a miniature self-contained world in the first place.

Also, one of the major reasons for the facility’s failure was the psychological problems that started to creep up between the crew members as days and months passed in isolation. The members were not trained professionals in specific fields and had to make decisions based on consensus. Another major factor was that since they were completely alienated from the outside world, they couldn’t get the expert technical advice they needed to run the biosphere all by themselves. The crew members were not agronomists, who despite bringing in best crop seeds for plantation and food, generate enough to sustain for a long period of time. Some “Biospherians” (as the crew called themselves) were also accused of sneaking into the outside world, citing emergency family issues and bringing back outside items for use, that put the entire Biosphere 2 scheme under heavy scrutiny.

The rain-forest section inside Biosphere 2. (Jesuiseduardo / Wikimedia Commons)

After the first test group returned with little success, a second 10-month-long mission with seven members onboard begun and a lot of technical flaws were rectified, hoping for accomplishment the second time round in 1994. But merely two months into it and the company – Space Biospheres Ventures – which owned and managed Biosphere 2, was dissolved and the mission was abruptly aborted within six months. In December of 1995, Colombia University took up the management of Biosphere 2 and ran it successfully for research purposes for 8 years until 2003, when it ran into legal issues. In 2005, the new owners, Decisions Investments Corporation, put the site up for sale for housing and retail reasons, until Arizona University acquired its ownership, management and research rights in the year 2007.

The savanna grassland section. (Martijn Nijenhuis / Flickr)

Currently, Biosphere 2 pulls in as many as twenty thousand visitors each year and aims at advanced research and understanding of global scientific issues. It also aims at researching more about the Earth and its future by ways of technical and methodological progress. But what remains towards the end is a major technical fiasco, which was originally intended to be a self-sustaining miniature version of the earth, eventually turning into one of the thousands of research facilities that run across the world. Thankfully, Biosphere 2 still remains the biggest artificial vivarium man has ever created.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Amazon Spheres: An Unexpected Rainforest in the Amazon HQ at Seattle“.

Recommended Read:
Dreaming the Biosphere: The Theater of All Possibilities | By Rebecca Reider

Recommended Visit:
Biosphere 2 (Science Museum) | Arizona, USA

Fact Analysis:
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Staged photo of Seppuku ritual being performed. (Rev. R. B. Peery / The Gist of Japan)                 

Taking one’s own life or attempting suicide is a criminal offence in many countries; but in the 12th century feudal Japan, in a highly ritualized ceremony, noble military warriors or samurais, as they are known, gave up their lives to protect their honour.

The samurais of Japan are known widely for their agility and their blade-wielding prowess and that is how they committed Seppuku, colloquially known as Hara-kiri – a deadly suicide ritual, which was practised in Japan during the 12th and 18th centuries before it was abolished.

The word Seppuku means cutting of the abdomen, which is borrowed from a mix of Chinese and Japanese terms – setsu and fuku. It was a traditional ritual where a samurai committed suicide by disembowelment.

Back in time, when a noble military man lost in war, he committed Seppuku to avoid the shame that came with the loss and also the torturous execution that could follow, lest he was captured by the enemy.

Honour and loyalty were above all else to Japanese warriors and for the atonement of his defeat, a samurai resorted to the suicide ritual. A warrior committing an act of Seppuku was considered highly honourable, even by warriors in the enemy camp.

The ritual of Seppuku

The fatal practice was carried out in great detail. On the day of the ritual, a samurai was bathed, dressed in spotless, white clothes to prepare for the ritual, before being given a last meal, consisting of his favourite delicacies. A small wooden stool was provided to him, which had a cup of ceremonial drink, some handmade sheaves of paper and writing equipment.

The warrior had to write a poem about death while a kaishakunin, or the assistant (or the wingman in general), prepared his blade to decapitate the samurai, as he embraced death slowly by disembowelling himself. The warrior would then take a sip of the drink and with the help of his sharp tanto (knife), cut his abdomen from left to right, while sitting on his heels with his knees bent. The kaishakunin would then sever the head of the samurai with a single blow of his sword, which would lead the samurai to bleed to death eventually.

It is sometimes said that Seppuku is actually carried out by the kaishakunin, but there have been no facts to corroborate the speculations.

Tanto knife which is used for stomach disembowelment. (Rama / Wikipedia Commons)

As per traditions, Seppuku was also carried out by wives of samurais, who brought disgrace to their kingdom. The women did not employ a kaishakunin; but they would rather tie their knees together and cut off their carotid arteries in a single stroke of a blade, which aided in a quick death and also helped them die way before the enemies came to capture them.

The last true samurai

Saigo Takamori is considered to be one of the greatest warriors in Japanese history and also the last samurai to have ever lived. In 1868, when political revolution dawned upon Japan post the Boshin War, Emperor Meiji took over the reins of the country and Saigo Takamori, despite being a samurai, became his key advisor.

After leading his nation to glory over the years, he settled as a military teacher, training future samurais, until the Battle of Shiroyama required him to fight for his country. With very little left to conquer in the war, Saigo Takamori was injured and that same day, he committed Seppuku, arguably the last true samurai to do so.

Portrait of Saigo Takamori, the last known true samurai. (Edoardo Chiossone / Kinsei Meishi Shashin Vol. 1)

The term Seppuku is also greatly associated with the “Ako Incident” or the suicide of 47 leaderless samurais, the stories of which have become a stuff of legends in Japan. In 1703, a feudal lord named Asano Naganori went to the castle on business. There was a heated argument between Naganori and a senior court official named Kira Yoshinaka over a trivial matter, which led the former to wound the latter in the palace – an act that was considered punishable.

Naganori committed Seppuku and in turn, he had to surrender his lands and at the same time was also deprived of his family. His loyal warriors became ronin or leaderless samurais. To avenge the death of their master and bring back their lost honour, forty-seven of them confronted Yoshinaka, who refused to commit Seppuku. And so, they decapitated him and then committed the ritualistic Seppuku, thus getting immortalized as the 47 ronin.

Although the customary act of Seppuku is completely done away with after feudal system died in Japan, one might still come across curious little incidents of Seppuku, where once in 1970, writer Yukio Mishima, known for his violent novels, performed Seppuku; while in 2001, national Judo gold medalist Isao Inokuma committed the ritualistic suicide after his company ran into major financial losses.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Unit 731: Gruesome Human-Experimentation To Test Biological And Chemical Warfare In Japan During WWII“.

Recommended Read:
Seppuku: A History of Samurai Suicide | By Andrew Rankin

Fact Analysis:
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View of Las Lajas Sanctuary from the side. (Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons)

Also known as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of The Rosary, Las Lajas is considered to be one of the most spectacular churches in all of Latin America. Constructed during the years 1916 and 1949 by staunch worshippers, it was funded by local churchgoers, the neo-Gothic-styled cathedral, built inside a canyon and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is an astonishingly 330-feet-high structure, when measured from the bottom of the valley it stands on.

A 160-feet-long bridge connects the church to the other side of the canyon in the middle of the Guaitara River, which also serves as the entry point for pilgrims, who come from across the globe to catch a glimpse of the magical mural that still hasn’t lost its brilliance over the years.

Situated in the city of Ipiales in Narino, a district bordering between Colombia and Ecuador, the huge shale structure derives its name from the slate-like material, which was used to build the church with. Owing to the sedimentary rock used in building the cathedral, the sanctuary gets its Spanish name – Laja – from the English rock or huge, flat slab. Ever since the cathedral first came into being after its miraculous beginning, Las Lajas has become one of the most favourite tourist destinations in southern Colombia and also a revered place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics around the world.

Front view of the church. (Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons)

Local legend of Las Lajas Sanctuary

According to popular beliefs, in the year 1754, a local tribal woman named Maria Mueses de Quinones was passing through the canyon with her deaf-mute daughter Rosa, when the weather worsened. Caught in the middle of a huge storm, the mother-daughter duo decided to wait out the storm in the cave, when the unexpected happened. To the mother’s surprise, the young, mute girl exclaimed that The Virgin Mary was calling her, pointing to an illuminated vision at the top, inside of the cave.

Maria wanted to keep the holy sighting a deadly secret, until Rosa died of an illness a little later. She decided to take her dead child exactly to the same place where Rosa had first seen the image of Mother Mary to pray for her soul. And as luck had it, the Holy Virgin appeared again and revived Rosa, which was how people got wind of the mystifying place and began thronging it for a single glance.

But the image of Virgin Mary appearing to a human being and reviving her soul was only a part of a greater mystery that has never been unveiled to this day. Locals also believe that a blind man’s eyesight was inexplicably restored after he visited the church in the late 18th century. After Rosa came back from the dead, a shrine was built in honor of Jesus’ mother in the same place, which received canonical coronation (a permission granted or act carried out by the Pope to designate a halo or crown to a holy image of Jesus, Mary or Joseph) in 1952 and later identified by Pope Pius XII as a minor basilica in 1994.

Considering that the stories of Rosa sighting the Blessed Virgin are mere legends and part of folklore, how does one explain the image of the Holy Mother of Jesus behind the altar, holding Her Divine Son in Her arms, flanked by Saint Dominic and Saint Francis on either side, at the end of the church? No valid information is available as to who first drew the striking golden-blue regal illustration of Mary at the altar or whether Maria Mueses de Quinones and her daughter were only a figment of people’s imagination; no one could tell.

A few German geologists tried to look into the mysterious image painted on the wall by taking off some samples of the rock; and to their astonishment, there was no dye or colour or any sort of pigmentation that had gone into drawing the sacred painting; the colourful mural had occurred naturally. While it might take several hundred years to get to the bottom of the facts, The Las Lajas Sanctuary, which holds a secret that might never come to light, is a spectacle one must have on their places-to-visit list.

The ceiling of the central part of the church. (Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons)

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Sagrada Familia: An Unfinished, Colossal Spanish Basilica, Under Construction for More than 136 Years“.

Recommended Visit:
Las Lajas Sanctuary | Colombia

Fact Analysis:
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Seawise Giant leaving Dubai Drydocks. (Auke Visser / Used With Permission)

Ever wondered how huge a ship could be? Well, if a ship couldn’t navigate the English Channel or cross the Egyptian Suez Canal, it ought to be bigger than anything one can ever imagine. Such was the size of the colossal tanker – Seawise Giant – that it could put several other self-proclaimed massive passenger ships or even tankers to shame. It was the biggest man-made ship ever built in human history.

Engineering the biggest ship

As its story goes, construction work on the aptly-named Seawise Giant began in the Oppama shipyard in Kanagawa, Japan in 1974, where it was completed in the year 1979 after five years of hard labour. It is said that an unnamed Greek business tycoon wanted the supertanker built for himself, but when the work on the ship was done, he backed out of the deal.

The ship lay unclaimed for a while, until a Hong Kong-based logistics service provider and container shipping company, Orient Overseas Container Line bought it. It was here that Oppama was given the new name Seawise Giant, which ironically stuck with it forever.

Operation and mishap

The 1500-feet long, 225-feet wide, with a capacity to carry an enormous 564,763 tonnes of weight. Seawise Giant began ferrying huge quantities of crude oil (as much as 4 million barrels) between the Middle Eastern countries and the United States for seven years when tragedy struck her in 1988. Seawise Giant found herself in the midst of the heartbreaking Gulf War that broke out between neighbouring countries Iran and Iraq in the same year when the war was almost nearing its climax.

Anchored in Iran, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi missiles brought down Seawise Giant and the supertanker, which was obviously carrying highly combustible liquid, and caught fire immediately. The massive balls of fire on the huge oil-carrier were difficult to contain and the ship sunk in the shallow waters off the Iranian coast. Unable to salvage the badly-damaged ship from the depths of the sea, it was soon written-off and lost to time.

Seawise Giant at sea. (Auke Visser / Used With Permission)

Restoration

While Seawise Giant lay in the ocean bed for a full year, rusting and wasting away, Norway’s Norman International conglomerate toiled hard to bring it afloat once again and give her a new lease of life. Renamed Happy Giant, she was sent to Singapore for repair works, where a whole lot of steel was used to fix her severely damaged body.

She was pressed into service again in 1991, when a Norwegian magnate Jorgen Jahre purchased her and rechristened her Jahre Viking. The gargantuan ship once again began shipping crude oil, working tirelessly for Norway for ten long years. At this point of time, she only had a 40-member crew on her vast deck with Captain Surinder Kumar Mohan at her wheel in command.

Huge in terms of her own weight and the amount of cargo she ferried, Seawise Giant was not an easy ship to steer. She consumed way too much fuel and it was soon becoming an arduous task to navigate her in various important ports, where it was necessary to deliver oil. And so like the proverbial white elephant, she, too, had become a challenge to maintain.

Retirement and dismantling of Seawise Giant

Soon in 2004, Seawise Giant was sold off to the Norwegian First Olsen Tankers company, for which she served as a stationary oil field at Qatar, now under the name Knock Nevis. Her splendid journeys on the ocean had ended and her career as a storage facility for others had only begun. And after six years as an oil field, supplying crude oil to other smaller tankers, in the year 2010, Seawise Giant was withdrawn from service.

Comparison of Seawise Giant (Knock Nevis) with large buildings and ships. (Fosnez / Wikimedia Commons)

It was time for the gigantic ship, which once cut huge waves of the ocean with her sharp bow, to live out the rest of her days off the course and retire. Here she was renamed one last time as Mont, before being transported to the world-renowned ship-breaking yard in Alang in the Indian state of Gujarat. Workers stripped the last part of her metal body and sold it off, thus ending her stellar 30-year-long service as the biggest ship in the whole world.

Though not many people know of Seawise Giant’s rollercoaster ride on the choppy oceans; her 36-tonne heavy anchor remains to narrate her illustrious tale. Touted as the largest anchor in the world, the last piece of evidence of the greatness of Seawise Giant is its anchor, which now finds itself inside the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, soon to become a centerpiece of the establishment, which will tell the stories of the Goliath ship, now down in the pages of history.

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

Recommended Visit:
Hong Kong Maritime Museum | Hong Kong

Fact Analysis:
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Vesna Vulovic, when she worked as a stewardess. (File Photo)

Verna Vulovic cheated death one fine day and lived to tell her horrific tale. She was a Serbian flight attendant, who came hurtling down towards the earth from 33,000 feet above and still survived the deadly fall. Vesna Vulovic was travelling in a plane, which crashed mid-air, killing all people on board, except her. In the year 1985, she was inducted into the Guinness Book Of World Records for uniquely holding the record for the highest fall survived without a parachute.

Born in Belgrade in 1950, the 22-year-old Vesna Vulovic, who was mistaken for another stewardess with the same name, was asked to report on duty on January 26, 1972. The Yugoslav Airlines Douglas DC-9 was flying from Stockholm to Belgrade, with stopovers at Copenhagen in Denmark and Zagreb in Croatia. Vesna, who was in Denmark at that time, got on the scheduled flight from Copenhagen and was the main stewardess onboard. The plane exploded mid-air while flying over Czechoslovakian airspace and came down like a ball of fire. All the people on board lost their lives on impact, except Vesna, who was later found alive in a snow-clad mountain screaming out for help.

The flight attendant was rushed to a hospital, where due to haemorrhage, she slipped into coma and later in a vegetative state. Apart from a broken skull, Vesna had also severely fractured several bones of her vertebral column, her ribs, both her legs and her pelvis. Her injuries were so grave that she was paralyzed below her waist and couldn’t move. She also suffered from memory loss. As months passed, she was flown down to a hospital in Prague, where she began responding to treatment and showed slow signs of recovery.

Cause of aircraft explosion

When investigations of the plane crash began, astounding evidence came to light. Safety investigators believed that a home-made briefcase bomb was the cause of the explosion, which had brought down the plane. It was believed to have been planted by extremists from Croatia, who had gone unnoticed when they carried out the procedure at Copenhagen. They also believed that Vesna was trapped between the catering cart towards the rear end of the fuselage, preventing her from being sucked out of the aircraft. Although the crash was suspected to be a bomb blast mid-air, there were no traces of suspects neither were any arrests made post the investigation.

Vesna Vulovic’s recovery and survivor syndrome 

Vesna made a surprising full-recovery during her retreat in Montenegro, where she was constantly under medical care and her sixteen-month-long period of revival was not easy to come by. The flight attendant later took up a desk job with the same airline company and was never scared to board a plane despite the mishap.

When news agencies contacted her after she was back on her feet, albeit with a limp, which stuck with her till the end of her life; she only recalled waking up in a hospital bed. She admitted that she was struggling with survivor’s guilt and said in an interview that rather than turning to therapy, her interest in religion became more profound, which helped her come out of her shell. Despite having survived miraculously, while her fellow passengers died, she alienated herself from the rest of the world.

During her later years, Vesna actively campaigned for the Democrats and played a major part in getting her country entry into the European Union. She lived the last few years of her life alone after her marriage did not work. She was found dead in her apartment in December 2016, with no official report of the cause.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Juana Maria: The Isolated Woman of the Remote San Nicolas Island“.

Fact Analysis:
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Joseph Bolitho Johns better known as Moondyne Joe. (Alfred Chopin / Fremantle Prison)

When people sit and talk about real-life escape artists that wowed the world, Harry Houdini is probably the only name that immediately comes to mind. An ace illusionist and professional stunt performer, he was known for his sensational escape acts across the globe. But a UK-born man named Moondyne Joe was neither a work of fiction nor was he a professional. He was perhaps one of the rare, peculiar person in the world, who without using any trick, managed to jailbreak as soon as he was put into one. He was one of those men, who could not be contained in a prison for a very long time.

The early life of Moondyne Joe

Moondance Joe was not always Moondyne Joe as we get to hear of him in popular culture today. He was born as Joseph Bolitho Johns sometime in the early 1800s in Cornwall, UK. He had a difficult childhood and lived in utter poverty when he decided to take things unlawfully to end his sufferings. And so in 1848, the legend was born, when a cop stopped a 20-something Johns and his friend William Cross in the dead of one night, taking a stroll on the deserted streets. When they couldn’t come up with answers for walking the streets at 2 in the night, the policeman checked them up and found that the men had in their possession some loaves of bread, a few pieces of cheese and enough bacon and mutton to last for two days. They were taken in for committing theft, when a couple of days later, the exact same amount of food items were reported stolen from a neighbouring house.

Johns was sent to several prisons in the UK, where he had to serve his four-year sentence before being transferred to Western Australia, which during the mid-1800s, was a British colony. Along with a long list of convicts, Johns arrived onboard the Pyrenees in Fremantle, Australia in 1853, where he was issued a conditional parole ticket for his good behaviour. Everyone thought Johns was a changed man, for he worked sincerely for people in the nearby colonies in the Darling Range, which in native tongue was called Moondyne.

Return to crime

It was only in 1861, when he worked as a horse trapper, that he was accused and convicted again for stealing the same horse he tried to trap. Johns was put behind bars, but during the same night, he broke free and rode away on the horse, which was taken in as an evidence of his felony. And not just the animal, he fled with the judge’s brand new saddle and bridle too.

Johns’ criminal escapades only kept piling up one after the other in the years that followed, with him getting in and out of prisons either owing to his good behaviour or his mastery in escaping while still in custody. But the one incident that gave Johns the nickname Moondyne Joe came in the year 1865, when he was accused and put on trial for killing an ox named Bright, for which he was sentenced to serve ten years in jail. Although he pleaded not guilty, he was imprisoned, but yet again, the master artist escaped, for he believed he was wrongfully accused in the case. And as bad luck had it, he was taken in again.

A year later in 1866, Joseph Bolitho Johns, who had now rechristened himself, Moondyne Joe, broke out of his cell and managed to go unnoticed for months with a host of other criminals until the thieving party stole some bedspreads, weapons, ammunition and heavy footwear from a store that got them back to where they belonged – in jail. And it was no ordinary cell this time; it was a concrete cell where air or sunlight could not reach and was an escape-proof prison, from where Moondyne did flee again miraculously. 

It was in the same year when Moondyne Joe first appeared in print that people started to associate a face with an enigmatic name. In the years after it, Moondyne Joe was recaptured several times over after he kept breaking free from jails, where he was put in for several crimes, including escaping from legal custody and many other minor offences.

The ‘escape proof’ cell which Moondyne Joe escaped from. (Ghostieguide / Wikimedia Commons)

While out on parole, the man married a widow and decided to give life one last shot, but as they say, old habits die hard, Moondyne Joe was caught on the wrong side of the law once again after a good two decades. His perplexing story and his mysterious ways of escaping prison cells became stories of popular culture in Australia, while the rest of the world came to sit up and take notice of a man, who managed to baffle the law and lawmakers for several years together.

Although Moondyne Joe died of dementia in 1900 in his seventies, his puzzling tales refuse to die down even to this day. The more one gets to know of his accounts, the lesser it is. Many films have been made on the man, who couldn’t be locked up behind bars or in chains or in solitary confinement and the world is in awe of an escape artist, who despite any trick up his sleeve, like professionals, managed to run away from the long arms of the law, every time he was captured.

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Recommended Read:
1. Moondyne Joe: The Man and the Myth | By Iam Elliot
2. The Ballad of Moondyne Joe | By John Kinsella & Niall Lucy

Recommended Visit:
Fremantle Prison (World Heritage Site) | Australia 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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