In 1842, British engineers William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow received a patent for a flying machine. Unlike previous attempts made with gliders and hot-air balloons, Henson’s and Stringfellow’s invention was unique because it was the first attempt to move towards powered flight. Just six years later, the world’s first steam powered airplane took flight. Remarkably, this happened more th
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Published News » Amazing Pics
John Stringfellow And The World's First Powered Flight
Posted by runbholarun 1 day 20 hours ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)Horizontal Collaboration: Sleeping With The Enemy
Posted by runbholarun 1 day 20 hours ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
The historic D-Day landing by Allied forces on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, marked the beginning of a crucial phase in World War II—the liberation of France and the rest of Western Europe. In the aftermath of the storming of the beaches, a wave of jubilation, relief, and hope surged through the liberated towns and villages as Allied troops and resistance fighters swept across France,
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The Osoaviakhim-1 Disaster
Posted by runbholarun 1 day 20 hours ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
Between 1930 and 1932, Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard made more than two dozen trips to the upper atmosphere using a balloon of his design. These flights to the stratosphere ignited a renewed interest in ballooning, which had been overshadowed by the emergence of a newer form of exploration—airplanes. Piccard’s accomplishment garnered international attention, prompting both the United States and
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Dhunge Dhara: Nepal’s 1,600-Year-Old Drinking Water Fountains
Posted by runbholarun 1 day 20 hours ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
The tiny country of Nepal, nestled between India and Tibet, boasts of a very robust drinking water supply system that dates back to at least the 5th century. Among its most striking features are the intricate stone fountains known as dhunge dhara or hiti, fashioned in the likeness of the mythical makara—a legendary sea creature in Hindu mythology. While these dhunge dharas may lack the grandeur o
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Da Shuhua: Fireworks of Molten Iron
Posted by runbholarun 15 days ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
For five centuries, the inhabitants of Nuanquan village in Yu County, in the northwestern reaches of Hebei province, China, have marked the Lunar New Year with a remarkable pyrotechnic tradition. Adorned in wide-brimmed straw hats and sheepskin jackets, local blacksmiths engage in a mesmerizing spectacle, flinging ladle after ladle of molten iron against a towering brick wall. Upon impact, the mo
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Olivier Levasseur’s Lost Treasure
Posted by runbholarun 15 days ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
On the 7th of July 1730, the notorious French pirate, Olivier Levasseur, faced his final moments on the scaffold. His crimes, which had instilled fear across the high seas for over fifteen years, had finally caught up with him. However, it was his brazen looting of the Portuguese great galleon Nossa Senhora do Cabo that sealed his fate. The ship was carrying the Bishop of Goa and the Viceroy of P
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Xerxes Canal
Posted by runbholarun 15 days ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
The Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece, that juts into the Aegean Sea for some 50 kilometers, was once bisected by a canal a hundred feet wide. The canal was built by king Xerxes I of Persia in the 5th century BC as part of the preparations for his intended invasion of Greece in 480 BC. The motivation behind this monumental earth-moving project stemmed from the disastrous experience of Persia
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The Killer Whales of Eden
Posted by runbholarun 15 days ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
The Thaua people, who reside around Twofold Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, share a special bond with killer whales or orcas, which they call beowas. “We consider beowas to be our brothers,” writes Thaua historian Steven Holmes in a study published in Journal of Heredity in December 2023. According to Thaua beliefs, when a member of their community passes away, they are rein
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Nerodimka River Bifurcation
Posted by runbholarun 15 days ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
The Nerodimka river in the Nerodime region of Kosovo is the only river in Europe that drains into two different seas, a phenomenon known as bifurcation. The left branch flows into the Black Sea, and the right branch flows into the Aegean Sea. The Nerodimka River originates as Golema Reka in the Nerodimka mountain range, forming from two primary tributaries, Golema (Velika) Reka and Mala Reka, wh
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Antimony Pill: The Everlasting Pill
Posted by runbholarun 15 days ago (http://www.amusingplanet.com)
Antimony—the soft, lustrous gray metal—has many industrial uses such as in the preparation of flame-retarding compounds and in the manufacture of alloys. The metal and its compounds has also been used since ancient times for various medical treatment. The ancient Egyptians, for instance, used grounded stibnite, a mineral containing antimony, as eyeliner and mascara due to its blackish color. Over
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