As you read this, the forces of nature, war, and human stupidity are conspiring across the globe to wipe out some superbly important stuff. These things define our shared history or simply enrich the world around us, and if we continue on our current course, they will soon be gone forever. 10The Majority Of Human Languages Languages like English, Spanish, Russian, and Mandarin are spoken by millions—if not billions—of people....
It turns out that nearly every culture around the world has its own version of a Great Flood story. Most have an element of magic and mythology tied into their stories, while others are simply portraying the flood as factual history. 10 Great Flood In China In 1920 BC China, the story of their great flood didn’t engulf the entire planet. But for the people living in Lajia in the northwestern Qinghai province, it probably seemed that way....
SEE ALSO: 10 Truly Disgusting Facts About Ancient Roman Life That’s more or less what happened to Rome, and the aftermath was pure chaos. The fall of their empire sent the European world spiraling into a dark age that took centuries to escape. If we take them time to learn from their history, we’ll see some eerie parallels with our own. And if history really does repeat itself, we’ll get a pretty good idea of what’s to come next....
SEE ALSO: 10 Secret Cities Kept Hidden From The Public That’s, of course, if you dig in a bit deeper and realize that there are many relatively-unknown facts around Area 51 that have been hidden in the back pages of search results. If we take our eyes off all the aliens and weather modification stuff for a minute, we’d realize that those facts are every bit as interesting as the most far-fetched conspiracy theories around it....
Brassica oleracea is a species of leafy vegetable which we know in many different forms. It has been bred into a number of different subspecies, each with its own morphology and taste. Imagine sitting down to a meal of steamed broccoli, baked cauliflower, fried kale and cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Every single one of these vegetables, despite looking and tasting different, is Brassica oleracea. Broccoli has been bred to accentuate the inner part whilst cabbage has been bred for its leaves....
In this fascinating list, we discover long lost temples, solve a war-time mystery, explore the myth of Easter Island, as well as unearth ancient settlements, a giant statue, and evidence of the oldest recorded solar eclipse. 10Giant Colossus Unearthed under Slums of Cairo According to Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities, Khaled Alnani, 2017 has been “a year of archaeological discoveries,” especially after a stagnation period following the 2011 Arab Spring protests....
Authorities closely monitor the research and development of new drugs to ensure they are as safe as possible and that doctors, pharmacists, and patients are aware of any possible side effects. But knowing that a drug is effective is not the same as knowing exactly how it works. The body is a complex mechanism that we still don’t fully understand. Here are 10 medicines that work, but we don’t know why....
This week was one marked by just how little seemed to be changing, in the US and UK at least. In Washington, the longest government shutdown in history continued to extend its record, with no end in sight. Meanwhile, Britain stumbled through yet another highly significant Brexit crisis that somehow managed to change absolutely nothing. Elsewhere, we had our usual mix of violence and misery, plus a strange record broken....
In light of the planet’s possible atomic devastation, everything else seemed strangely insignificant. We’ll fill you in on what was happening elsewhere first, but it was hard to ignore the fact that we may be living through the buildup to the biggest conflict in decades. 10 Israel Began Investigating Its Prime Minister For Fraud Only one person has held the office of Israeli Prime Minister longer than Benjamin Netanyahu: David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel and a founding member of the Jewish state....
Nevertheless, we’d be wise not to let our guard down when dealing with radiation. Sure, you’ve heard of Chernobyl and Fukushima, but as long as you’re not near a nuclear power plant, you probably don’t need to worry about being accidentally irradiated . . . right? Not necessarily. Here are 10 radiation accidents that you probably haven’t heard of. They all happened within the last 30 years, and some of them might have been right in your own backyard....
Fans want and need to express their gratitude and admiration to the celebrities they idolize for how they’ve impacted their lives. They want to be near them in hopes some of their fairy dust rubs off on them. Many celebrities adore their fans right back. And sometimes, a celebrity unexpectedly turns the tables on a fan by doing something to surprise their adoring fans. Here are ten moments celebrities surprised their fans....
10Agloe, New York To protect their work from copyright infringement, it’s not uncommon for cartographers to put fake locations or landmarks—known as paper towns, trap streets, or Mountweazels—on their maps. If the inventor of such a place sees it on someone else’s map, they know their work was ripped off. Most of these copyright traps go unnoticed by the general public, but occasionally, these fictitious places take on a life of their own....
10 Far and Away Nicole Kidman and her first husband Tom Cruise co-starred in three very different films together, including Days of Thunder, Far and Away, and Eyes Wide Shut. While there are several powerful scenes between the two in the erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut, they are dominated by Kidman, who has some very meaty monologues. Watch this video on YouTube However, the scenes are much more balanced in the 1992 historical romance epic Far and Away....
Sometimes, detective work is a waiting game—for breakthroughs in technology or that one witness to come forward who can crack the case wide open. Unfortunately for these 10 people, life was cut short and their families were left with questions that went unanswered for years. 10 Sheila And Katherine Lyon The year was 1975. Sheila and Katherine Lyon were supposed to meet friends for a day of fun in a shopping mall in Maryland....
10Zhou Zhenshang In China in 1997, 48-year-old Zhou Zhenshang disappeared after a public and physical argument with Zhou Zuohai (no relation) over a woman. Although police were immediately suspicious, Zuohai was not placed under arrest until 1999, when a headless body believed to be the victim was found. Tried for murder and convicted in 2003 after already being behind bars for three years, Zuohai lost hope as his wife moved on, marrying another man and adopting children....
But what happens when artists release or compose music that is completely silent? How is it possible to gain meaning from these pieces? To answer that question, here are ten silent musical compositions and why their silence gives them artistic or historical value. 10 John Cage, “4’33″” Possibly the most famous silent composition, avant-garde composer John Cage created “4’33″” in 1952. Originally performed by David Tudor on August 29 of that year, the transitions between the three movements of the piece were marked by the opening and closing of a piano lid....
The Washington Monument was initially planned shortly after George Washington died, in 1799. But plans were interrupted by the War of 1812 and a lack of funding. In 1833, the Washington National Monument Society was formed to raise money to build the memorial. The winning design was submitted by Robert Mills, an architect from Charleston, South Carolina. For cost reasons, only the obelisk from his proposed Greco-Roman temple-like edifice was approved....
Stoner rock (also called stoner metal, or occasionally desert rock) is a rock sub genre originating in California, especially in the Palm Desert area. It is a unique blend of psychedelic music from the 1960s, heavy metal and doom metal from the 1970s, and grunge and sludge metal from the 1980s and ’90s. While it has enjoyed some mainstream success in the past decade with Queens of the Stone Age (who choose to refer to their music as either “desert rock” or “robot rock”, possibly to distance themselves from the “stoner” label), most stoner rock bands remain underground....
Through the decades, many a pub has had its name honored by Guinness World Records for being the tiniest, the longest temporary bar, or the largest—like the Offshore Rooftop & Bar at Chicago’s Navy Pier in Illinois, USA. Although pubs don’t need to break records to be cool as these ten clearly show. 10 Squeeze into a Small One in the UK Because they are so small, there are sometimes not more than a mention or a photo available of the world’s tiniest bars....
10Deaf Robber Can’t Hear Alarm In August 1995, Klaus Schmidt tried to rob a bank in Berlin by walking in with a pistol and demanding money. So far, this is pretty standard for a bank heist. However, as the robbery progressed, the bank employees noticed that the criminal was acting rather strangely. At one point, one of them asked the robber if he needed a bag, and he replied, “You’re damn right it’s a real gun!...
