MYSTERIES WONDERS AND AMAZING THINGS OF THE WORLD

SMOKING SCORPION

2019-05-21T00:59:00.002+05:30

To which limit will you go to get high? Some people in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India are using next level smoking methods to get high. They actually smoke dead scorpion. There are different methods which require lot of time and energy to get the scorpion prepared for smoking.

A dead scorpion is dried in the sunlight or burnt on coal. The coal is placed on traditional stove and the scorpion is then allowed to cook until it starts burning. Inhaling the smoke coming out of the fire will make people high. Its the tail that addicts really want because of poisonous venom in it. Some people mix the burnt tail in powder form with tobacco and hashish and roll it in a cigarette paper to smoke.

The state of high for addicts last for almost 10 hours. According to an addict, the first six hours are little painful as the body adjusts to the toxins. But after that the feeling turns into enjoyment and everything in front seems to be dancing.

According to experts, scorpion venom is far more dangerous than other drugs. Effects of smoking scorpion are:

Short and long term memory loss

Sleeping and appetite disorders

State of delusion

Hallucination

THE THINKING TREE

2019-02-26T19:22:00.000+05:30

An ancient olive tree in Puglia, Italy which gives a look of a thinking man. It's called "L'ulivo pensante di Ginosa".

FOOTPRINTS ON MOON

2019-02-02T22:43:00.002+05:30

On 20th July 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on moon for the first time. Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the surface other than the Earth. But for how long will his footprints stay on the surface of moon? The answer is probably as long as the moon itself last. Following are the reasons:

There is no atmosphere on the moon hence no wind erosion
All the water on the surface of moon is frozen and hence no water erosion.
There is no volcanic activity on moon to change the lunar surface.

BALTIC SEA ANOMALY

2019-02-02T19:43:00.001+05:30

Oceans of our planet covers more than 70 percent of its area and most of the oceans are still unexplored. It is estimated that humans have only explored less than 5 percent of the ocean. Much remained to be learned by exploring the remaining parts and to know what mysteries lies beneath deep oceans.

There is a Swedish based team of explores called "Ocean X Team" who describe themselves as treasure hunters and salvage operators. This team is specialized in underwater searches for sunken historic artefacts and antique alcoholic beverages.

In the summer of 2011, Ocean X team was on an expedition in the Baltic sea between Sweden and Finland. The team came back with a blurry but very interesting sonar image of a 60 meters (200 ft) diameter mysterious circular object with prominent and clear features resembling stairways, ramps and other structures which do not seemed to be produced by nature. To further investigate the matter and to get a clearer image, the group revisited the site the following year but according to them some mysterious electric interference prevented their electronic equipment to work properly.

No of possibilities have been predicted such as presence of any German secret war machine during World War II or natural formation due to geographical changes in earth. It had also been claimed that the object could be a UFO or a portal to the other world.

Tree That is Under Arrest

2017-10-19T13:38:00.000+05:30

Source: en.dailypakistan.com.pk

In Landi Kotal, Pakistan, there is a banyan tree that is kept chained to the ground for the sole reason to protect it from escaping. A board is hanging from its branches and this is what you will read when you get close enough:

"I AM UNDER ARREST"

ONE EVENING A BRITISH OFFICER, HEAVILY DRUNK, THOUGHT THAT I WAS MOVING FROM MY ORIGINAL LOCATION AND ORDERED MESS SARGENT TO ARREST ME. SINCE THEN I AM UNDER ARREST.

Source: defence.pk

This incident took place more than a century ago, in 1898, when a British Army officer named James Squid, obviously under the influence of drinking alcohol, thought that the tree was lurching towards him. The officer was so threatened by the tree's attempt that he decided to teach it a lesson. He ordered the mess Sargent to arrest it. The mess Sargent followed the orders and chained the tree.

One rational logic to this ridiculous act is that through this act, the British basically implied to the local tribesmen that if anyone of them dared act against the Raj, they too would be punished and chained in a similar fashion.

Although Indo-Pak Sub-continent gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 but this tree is still waiting for its freedom from chains.

KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

2017-07-28T00:47:00.001+05:30

Continuous increase in population in urban areas is making land a very scarce resource. Japan has used an innovative idea and state of the art technology to build an entire airport on an artificial island.

Kansai airport opened on 4th September 1994. Authorities faced very difficult challenges to keep the structure upright against violent and extreme environmental conditions of Japan. One of the major problems faced by engineers was that the whole structure was sinking by a higher rate as expected at the time of its construction. However, this problem has been solved by the engineers and now the rate of sinking of this mega structure is nominal.

Kansai international airport is connected to the mainland by a road/railroad bridge, commonly known as Sky Gate Bridge. It is the longest double-decked truss bridge in the world. It has three lanes for automobile traffic and two rail below over nine truss spans.

BOROBUDUR - UNESCO World Heritage Site

2017-07-23T00:00:00.000+05:30

Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist temple which was build in 9th century during the reign of Syailendra dynasty. It is considered to be the world's largest Buddhist temple which makes it one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. Its design and style shows significant Indian architectural influence on the region.

The area covered by this enormous temple is 123 x 123 meters. The monument is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The most amazing thing about this marvelous design is that it was build without using any kind of mortar or cement. The whole structure is build by interlocking carefully designed Lego like blocks which held together without any material.

It is believed that this is the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.

Largest island of the world - GREENLAND

2017-07-19T23:41:00.000+05:30

Greenland island holds two unique records. Besides largest island of the world, it is the country with lowest population density. According to census of 2013, total population of Greenland was found to be about 56,480. Three quarters of the island is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica.

Bridge that connects two continents - BOSPHORUS BRIDGE

2017-07-18T21:37:00.000+05:30

Bosphorus bridge connects the continent of Asia with Europe. This bridge is located in Istanbul, Turkey.

DEEPEST POINT ON EARTH - MARIANA TRENCH

2017-05-24T23:27:00.000+05:30

The deepest known point of planet Earth in Mariana Trench which is located in western Pacific Ocean. The maximum known depth was measured as 10,994 meters (36070 feet) at a small slot-shaped valley in its floor commonly known as Challenger Deep.

At the bottom of the trench water pressure increases to 15,750 psi (1,086 bars) i.e. 1000 times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. This intense pressure increases the density of water by 4.96%. This implies that 95 liters of water at the depth of Mariana Trench would contain the same mass as 100 liters at the surface.

INTERESTING FACTS:

As the Earth in not a perfect sphere, the seafloor of this trench is not closest to the center of the Earth.
If Mount Everest was placed in Mariana Trench, its pinnacle would still be over 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from the surface of water.

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF PILOT FREDERICK VALENTICH

2017-05-03T22:34:00.000+05:30

Frederick Valentich, a 20 years old pilot disappeared while on a 235 kilometers (125 mile) training flight in a light aircraft (Cessna 182L) over Bass Strait in Australia on 21 October 1978.

Valentich communicated to Melbourne Flight Service to report an unidentified aircraft which was following his aircraft at 4,500 feet. He was told by air traffic control that there was no known aircraft flying at that level. Valentich said he could see four bright landing lights but was unable to confirm its type. He reported that it had passed about 1,000 feet overhead and was moving with high speed. He was of the opinion that some other pilot is playing games with him when the unidentified aircraft approached him from the east. Valentich said that aircraft was orbiting above him and that it had a shiny metal surface and a green light on it. Valentich then reported that he was experiencing engine problems. When he was asked to identify the aircraft, Valentich replied, "it is not an aircraft" and after that his transmission was interrupted by unidentified noise described as"metallic, scraping sounds" and then all communications were lost.

One of the proposed explanation is that Valentich became disoriented and was flying upside down. If this was the case, he would have seen his own aircraft's reflection in the water. He would have then crashed into the water.

A retired U.S. Air Force pilot James McGaha and author Joe Nickell proposes that Valentich was inexperienced and was deceived by the illusion of a tilled horizon for which he attempted to compensate and inadvertently put his aircraft into a downward position which is called graveyard spiral which he initially mistook for simple orbiting of the aircraft. The G-forces of a tightening spiral would decrease fuel flow, resulting in the "rough idling" and engine problem as reported by the pilot. McGaha and Nickell also proposed that apparently stationary overhead illuminating lights that he pilot reported were probably the planets Mars, Venus and Mercury, along with the bright star Antares, which would have behaved in a similar way as described by the pilot.

However Ufologists have some extraterrestrials explanations for Valentich's aircraft disappearance. Some individuals reported seeing an erratically moving green light in the sky. On the same day Roy Manifold took pictures of a fast moving object coming out of the water near Cape Otway lighthouse. Though the pictures were not clear enough to identify the object but UFO groups argue that apparently that object was surrounded by a cloud like vapor or exhaust residue.

FLYING FISH

2017-01-23T18:57:00.001+05:30

Fish are suppose to swim inside the water. But there are several species of fish who are gifted with wings like fins which enables the fish to glide for a considerable distance above the surface of water. This unique ability is a natural defense technique used to evade predators. After airborne, flying fish can glide up to 200 meters to escape the predator.

DOLPHINS PREY STRATEGY

2017-01-21T12:37:00.001+05:30

Dolphins are considered to be an intelligent animal. This video shows a remarkable strategy of bottlenose dolphins to hunt their prey. By beating its tail down hard, the dolphin stirs up the shallow silt. And by swimming in a circle it creates a ring of rising mud around a shoal of fish. The contracting rings acts as a net and traps the fish. The fish in effort to escape jump straight into the open mouths of waiting dolphins.

PEEL P50 - The World's Smallest Car

2017-01-03T21:55:00.000+05:30

Stuck in the traffic and want a way out. Here is the world's smallest car for you. Peel P50 was listed in 2010 Guinness book of world records for the smallest production car ever made. This car was originally manufactured from 1962 to 1965 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle on Man. Although it had no reverse gear but a handle at the rear allows the lightweight car to be physically maneuvered.

Source: peelengineering.com

The car was designed for the urban areas and was advertised in the 1960s. It had the seating capacity of one adult and a shopping bag. The vehicle had only one door on its left side. The company produced 50 P50s and out of which 27 are known to still exist. One of those 27 cars was sold for a record US$ 176,000 at a Sotheby's auction in March 2016.

Source: peelengineering.com

Peel Engineering Ltd in England again started manufacturing of the P50 and Trident models from its premises in Sutton-in-Ashfield. This car is very much similar to the original ones but with few amendments in mechanical parts like suspension, steering and drive-train. This car also has a fully functioning reverse gear which allows this car to be the road legal on today's road. The top speed of this car is about 45 km/h (28 mph).

The World's Highest Bridge - DUGE BRIDGE, CHINA

2016-12-31T11:16:00.001+05:30

Image by Jon Fether, Jesus Catalan and Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

State of the art cable styled, the highest bridge ever build on this planet, is opened for traffic in China near Liupanshui on 29 December 2016. The bridge connects the Yunnan province with Guizhou province over the Beipan river. According to state broadcast CCTV this bridge has shortened the time span of travelling from 4 hours to only 1 hour. Deck height of the bridge is 565 meters making it the highest bridge in the world.

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

Image by www.news.cn

Image by Eric Sakowski / HighestBridges.com

OVERTOUN BRIDGE (Suicide Spot for Dogs)

2016-10-23T18:38:00.000+05:30

Suicide spots for humans are very common but there is a bridge near Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland which is well known as a suicide spot for dogs. It has been estimated that around 600 dogs have jumped from the bridge for apparently no reason and more than 50 of them lost their lives after hitting rocks 50 feet below. A warning sign is displayed on the bridge reading "Dangerous bridge – keep your dog on a lead".

To find out any scientific explanation to this phenomenon an animal habitat expert, Dr. David Sands investigates the matter by examining smell, sound and sight factors. After eliminating the chances of any contribution of dog's sense of sight and hearing Dr. David only focused on scent which leads to the discovery of mice, mink and squirrels. In an experiment odours from these animals were released in an open field and ten dogs were unleashed. Out of those ten dogs only two showed no interest towards any of the scents while others went straight for the scents. After the experiment he concluded that although it was not a definitive explanation, the odour from mink urine causes the dogs to jump from the bridge. Not everyone agreed with the theory presented by Dr. David Sands. A local hunter, John Joyce, who has lived in the area for fifty years claimed in 2014 that he is pretty sure there are no minks around here.

There is an human tragedy as well attached to this bridge. In October 1994, 32 year old Kevin Moy was of the opinion that he himself is anti-Christ and his 2 weeks old son has been incarnated by devil. Moy threw his baby from the bridge to his death. He then attempted to commit suicide several time, first by attempting to jump off the bridge.

CARTER OF FIRE (DOOR TO HELL)

2016-03-17T23:16:00.000+05:30

Carter of fire is a very popular tourist attraction in Derweze, Turkmenistan. In 1971 Soviet engineers identified the site as potential oil field site. To access the available oil at the site, engineers set up a drilling rig but they found natural gas instead. The ground beneath the drilling rig and camp collapsed into a wide carter and disappeared. It was expected that poisonous gasses would be dangerous for the nearby towns. The engineers estimated that the gas would burn out within few weeks so they set it on fire. The gasses in the carter continued to burn for more than four decades and are still burning. The gas carter has a total area of five thousands three hundred and fifty square meters which is almost the size of an American football field size.

MAN MADE FRUIT (EDIBLE WATER BOTTLES)

2015-11-02T22:59:00.000+05:30

Sounds very strange, but its true these small water containers can be digested by human stomach.These small packaging are called Ooho and described by its makers as "water you can eat". It is made from calcium chloride and a seaweed derivative called sodium alginate which are totally biodegradable. These bottles like traditional plastic bottles wouldn't cause any pollution and are sustainable in nature. To drink you just have to pierce the membrane and slurp away. To manufacture those bottles, sphere of ice are treated with a liquid form of seaweed derived membrane. After the membrane solidifies and the water melts, a portable and eco-friendly packing of water remains. The production of these bottles are not very expensive and costs only two cents per unit. Because of its sustainable and eco-friendly nature these water bottles will be replacing traditional water bottles in near future.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel

2015-10-03T20:50:00.000+05:30

The bridge that converts into tunnel and goes directly into the water. This wonder of engineering connects the Delmarva Peninsula with Virginia Beach and the Norfolk (Hampton) Roads metropolitan area in U.S state of Virginia.

The bridge–tunnel originally combined 19 kilometers of trestle, two 1.6 kilometers-long tunnels, four artificial islands, four high-level bridges, approximately 3.2 kilometers of causeway, and 8.9 kilometers of approach roads.

1- Lamborghini Veneno

2014-03-02T17:24:00.001+05:30

Price: $4 million

The Lamborghini Veneno is a limited production sports car. It was first exhibited during the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Lamborghini Veneno is a show piece based on the Lamborghini Aventador, and it was built to celebrate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary.

The prototype is finished in grey with an Italian flag vinyl on both sides of the car. The engine is a development of the Aventador's 6.5 L V12 and produces 750 PS / 552 kW / 740 bhp).

Only three production cars were produced, a red, white, and green one. Each of the color representing a colour of the Italian flag. The vehicle which was on display (Car Zero), retained by the factory for the museum. The three production cars cost €3.12 million each, and all the three cars were sold.

Veneno means 'Venom' in Portuguese and Spanish.

10- Royal Towers Bridge Suite, Atlantis, Bahamas

2014-03-01T23:54:00.000+05:30

US$25,000 per night

Atlantis, The Palm is a resort which is build on Dubai's reclaimed artificial island The Palm. This resort opened on 24th September 2008 and is a joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings Limited and Istithmar.

The Royal Towers Bridge Suite of Atlantis, Bahamas is listed at number ten on the World's fifteen Most Expensive Hotel Suites compiled by CNN Go in March 2012.

9- Ritz-Carlton Suite, Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

2014-02-28T09:48:00.000+05:30

US$26,300 per night

The suite is on the 53rd floor with spectacular views of Tokyo city. In the suite, 3300 square feet, you enjoy pure luxury with a comfortable four-poster bed in the bedroom, dining room, personal concierge service, large marble bathroom with Sony BRAVIA 20 inch flat screen television and access to the gym and indoor pool.

The Ritz-Carlton Suite, Tokyo is listed at number nine on the World's fifteen Most Expensive Hotel Suites compiled by CNN Go in March 2012.

8- Villa La Cupola Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome

2014-02-27T23:37:00.000+05:30

US$30,000 per night

The Villa La Cupola Suite, Westin Excelsior, Rome is listed at number eight on the World's fifteen Most Expensive Hotel Suites compiled by CNN Go in March 2012.

7- Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Sardinia, Italy

2014-02-24T19:53:00.002+05:30

US$32,736 per night

The Presidential Suite, Hotel Cala di Volpe, Sardinia, Italy is listed at number seven on the World's fifteen Most Expensive Hotel Suites compiled by CNN Go in March 2012.

6- The Royal Villa, Grand Resort Lagonissi, Athens

2014-02-23T09:53:00.000+05:30

US$34,356 per night

The Royal Villa, Grand Resort Lagonissi, Athens is listed at number six on the World's fifteen Most Expensive Hotel Suites compiled by CNN Go in March 2012.

When feeling more active you can also take advantage of the gym. outdoor heated pool and an indoor pool. There are steam bath and massage room as well.