Space: Mir Space Station

Source image: NASA/Wikicommons

Mir was a space station created by Soviet Union and later by Russia. It existed from 1984 to 23 March 2001. When complete, the station consisted of seven pressurised modules and several unpressurised components. Power was provided by several photovoltaic arrays mounted directly on the modules. The station was maintained at an orbit between 296 km (184 mi) and 421 km (262 mi) altitude and travelled at an average speed of 27,700 km/h (17,200 mph), completing 15.7 orbits per day. When it was retired, it moved towards the Earth and burned in its atmosphere.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Famous Firsts: Nuclear Bomb (16th July 1945)

Source image: US Govt. Defense Threat Reduction Agency/Wikicommons

Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945, as a result of the Manhattan Project. Trinity used an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed "The Gadget". Using the same conceptual design, the Fat Man device was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. The Trinity detonation produced the explosive power of about 20 kilotons of TNT (84 TJ).

Source image: Jack W. Aeby/Wikicommons

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Iguazu Falls, Argentina/Brazil

Source image: SF Brit/Wikicommons (CC BY 2.0)

Iguaçu Falls are a series of massive waterfalls that lie on the border of Argentina 80% and Brazil 20%. It is fed by the Iguaçu River, which flows into the Paraná River. 275 individual waterfalls side by side, some as tall as 269 feet (82 m), make up the falls, though most are around 210 feet (64 m). The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguaçu. It is one of the largest and most famous waterfalls in the world, receiving thousands of visitors each year.

Source image: Martin St-Amant/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Preikestolen, Norway

Source image: Stefan Krause/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Preikestolen or Prekestolen, also known by the English translations of Preacher's Pulpit or Pulpit Rock, is a steep and massive cliff 604 metres (1982 feet) above Lysefjorden, opposite the Kjerag plateau, in Forsand, Ryfylke, Norway. The top of the cliff is approximately 25 by 25 metres (82 by 82 feet), almost flat, and is a famous tourist attraction in Norway. The tourism at the site has been increasing, around 2012, the plateau was each year visited by between 150,000 and 200,000 people who took the 3.8 km (2.4 mi.) hike to Preikestolen, making it one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in Norway.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Taj Mahal

Source image: Yann/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Taj Mahal (Hindi: ताज महल, from Persian/Urdu: تاج محل‎, ultimately from Arabic, "crown of palaces") is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage", becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Untranslatable Word: Waldeinsamkeit

Waldeinsamkeit

German

/ˈvaltʔaɪ̯nzaːmkaɪ̯t/

"vald-ine-zam-kite"

Noun: 1) woodland solitude or the feeling of being alone in the woods, "Waldeinsamkeit, wie liegst du weit!" ("woodland solitude, I rejoice in thee").

Source image: Ngrams/Google (CC BY 3.0)

Fact: Polar Bear Livers are Poisonous

Source image: Ansgar Walk/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0

While liver is often eaten, the vitamin A content of the liver of certain animals—including the polar bear, seal, walrus, moose, and husky—is highly hazardous. This danger has long been known to the Inuit and has been used by Europeans since at least 1597 when Gerrit de Veer wrote in his diary that, while taking refuge in the winter in Nova Zemlya, he and his men became severely ill after eating polar bear liver. The consumption of too much vitamin A can result in a condition known as hypervitaminosis A, with signs of acute toxicity including nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness, blurred vision, and loss of muscular coordination.

source: wikipedia
the science: Rodahl, K. and T. Moore (1943). "The vitamin A content and toxicity of bear and seal liver". Biochemical Journal, vol. 37, pp. 166–168

Oddity: The Elephant of Bastille (1813-1846)

Source image: Aquarelle de Jean-Antoine Alavoine/Wikicommons

The Elephant of the Bastille was a monument in Paris which existed between 1813 and 1846. Originally conceived in 1808 by Napoleon, the colossal statue was intended to be created out of bronze and placed in the Place de la Bastille, but only a plaster full-scale model was built. At 24 m (78 ft) in height the model itself became a recognisable construction and was immortalised by Victor Hugo in his novel Les Misérables (1862) in which it is used as a shelter by the street urchin Gavroche. It was built at the site of the Bastille and although part of the original construction remains, the elephant itself was replaced a few years after the construction of the July Column (1835-40) on the same spot.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Word: Intumescent

intumescent

/ˌɪntʃʊˈmɛs(ə)nt/

"in-tew-meh-scent"

Adjective: 1) (of a coating or sealant) swelling up when heated, thus protecting the material underneath or sealing a gap in the event of a fire, "the building features intumescent fire-retardant paints".

Source image: Ngrams/Google (CC BY 3.0)

Famous Firsts: To Reach the South Pole (14th December 1911)

Source image: Olav Bjaaland/Wikicommons

The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Abandoned: Sanzhi UFO Houses

Source image: Carrie Kellenberger/Wikicommons (CC BY 2.0)

The Sanzhi UFO houses (三芝飛碟屋 sānzhī fēidiéwū), also known as the Sanzhi pod houses or Sanzhi Pod City, were a set of abandoned pod-shaped buildings in Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The buildings resembled Futuro houses, some examples of which can be found elsewhere in Taiwan. The site where the buildings were located was owned by Hung Kuo Group.

Source image: Carrie Kellenberger/Wikicommons (CC BY 2.0)

The UFO houses were constructed beginning in 1978. They were intended as a vacation resort in a part of the northern coast adjacent to Tamsui, and were marketed towards U.S. military officers coming from their East Asian postings. However, the project was abandoned in 1980 due to investment losses and several car accident deaths during construction, which is said to have been caused by the unfortuitous act of bisecting the Chinese dragon sculpture located near the resort gates for widening the road to the buildings. As of 2010, all UFO houses have been demolished and the site is in the process of being converted to a commercial seaside resort and water-park.



(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Quote: Max Planck

'A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.'

- Max Planck

Source image: AB Lagrelius & Westphal/Wikicommons

Max Planck (1949) Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, trans. F. Gaynor, New York, pp. 33–34

Wanderlust: Shibam, Yemen

Source image: Jialiang Gao/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Shibam, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, owes its fame to its distinct architecture.The houses of Shibam are all made out of mud brick and about 500 of them are tower houses, which rise 5 to 11 stories high, with each floor having one or two rooms. This architectural style was used in order to protect residents from Bedouin attacks. While Shibam has been in existence for an estimated 1,700 years, most of the city's houses originate from the 16th century. Many, though, have been rebuilt numerous times in the last few centuries.
Shibam is often called "the oldest skyscraper city in the world" or "the Manhattan of the desert", and is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. The city has some of the tallest mud buildings in the world, with some of them over 30 meters (100 feet) high, thus being early high-rise apartment buildings. In order to protect the buildings from rain and erosion, the walls must be routinely maintained by applying fresh layers of mud.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Paro Taktsang, Bhutan

Source image: Gillfoto/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Paro Taktsang is the popular name of Taktsang Palphug Monastery (also known as The Tiger's Nest), a prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and temple complex, located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley, Bhutan. A temple complex was first built in 1692, around the Taktsang Senge Samdup (stag tshang seng ge bsam grub) cave where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours in the 8th century. Padmasambhava is credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan and is the tutelary deity of the country. Today, Paro Taktsang is the best known of the thirteen taktsang or "tiger lair" caves in which he meditated.

(source: wikicommons, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Mendenhall Glacier

Source image: Gillfoto/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Mendenhall Glacier is a glacier about 12 miles (19 km) long located in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles (19 km) from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The glacier and surrounding landscape is protected as the 5,815-acre Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, a federally designated unit of the Tongass National Forest. Access to the area and trails is free. The West Glacier trail also offers the chance to view the ice caves beneath the glacier.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Famous Firsts: Manned Heavier Than Air Flight (1903)

Source image: John T. Daniels/Wikicommons

The Wright Flyer (often retrospectively referred to as Flyer I or 1903 Flyer) is the first successful powered aircraft, designed and built by the Wright brothers. They flew it four times on December 17, 1903, near Kill Devil Hills, about four miles south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S. Today, the airplane is exhibited in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Darvasa Gas Crater

Source image: Tormod Sandtorv/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze (also spelled Darvaza, meaning "gate"), Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. The Door to Hell is noted for its natural gas fire which has been burning continuously since it was lit by Soviet petrochemical scientists in 1971, fed by the rich natural gas deposits in the area. The pungent smell of burning sulfur pervades the area for some distance.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Word: Obstreperous

obstreperous

/əbˈstrɛp(ə)rəs/

"ob-strep-er-ous"

Adjective: 1) Noisy and difficult to control, "the classroom was full of obstreperous children".

Source image: Ngrams/Google (CC BY 3.0)

Quote: Richard Feynman

'If an apple is magnified to the size of the earth, then the atoms in the apple are approximately the size of the original apple.'

- Richard P. Feynman

Source image: US Government/Wikicommons

Richard P. Feynman (1964) 'Matter is made of atoms', The Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol. 1, lecture 1: Atoms in Motion, section 1-2, pp. 1-3

Word: Acquiesce

acquiesce

/,akwɪˈɛs/

"ack-we-ess"

Verb: 1) To accept something reluctantly but without protest, "John had no choice but to acquiesce the decision".

Source image: Ngrams/Google (CC BY 3.0)

Wanderlust: Oia, Santorini

Source image: Karol M/Wikicommons (CC BY 2.0)

Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη) is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast of Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Space: LH 95

Source image: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration/Wikicommons

LH 95 is a modestly sized stellar nursery in the Large Magellanic Cloud orbiting the Milky Way. It is related to the HII-region LHA 120-N 64, that is, a region of hydrogen ionized by the bright stars of LH 95. Previously only young bright stars were known in this stellar association. Imaging using the Hubble Space Telescope, however, allowed the identification of more than 2,500 pre–main sequence stars with masses down to about 0.3 solar masses, thereby giving a detailed picture of what a typical stellar association in the LMC looks like.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Quote: Douglas Adams

'If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a nonworking cat.'

- Douglas Adams

Source image: Michael Hughes/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Douglas Adams (2002) The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time. New York: Random House, pp. 135

Space: Crab Nebula

Source image: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)/Wikicommons

The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations M1, NGC 1952, Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus.[5] Corresponding to a bright supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054, the nebula was observed later by John Bevis in 1731. At an apparent magnitude of 8.4, comparable to that of the largest moon of Saturn, it is not visible to the naked eye but can be made out using binoculars under favourable conditions.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Wanderlust: Zion National Park

Source image: Tobias Alt/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Zion National Park is located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Abandoned: Michigan Central Station

Source image: Alberto Duce/Wikicommons (CC BY 3.0)

Michigan Central Station (also known as Michigan Central Depot or MCS), built in mid-1912 through 1913 for the Michigan Central Railroad, was Detroit, Michigan's passenger rail depot from its opening in 1913 after the previous Michigan Central Station burned, until the cessation of Amtrak service on January 6, 1988. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest rail station in the world.

Source image: Albert Duce/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The building is located in the Corktown district of Detroit near the Ambassador Bridge, approximately 1.2 km southwest of downtown Detroit. It is located behind Roosevelt Park, and the Roosevelt Warehouse is adjacent to the east. The city's Roosevelt Park serves as a grand entry way to the station. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Restoration projects and plans have gone as far as the negotiation process, but none has come to fruition. In 2011, work began to remove glass and add new windows.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)

Abandoned: Canfranc International Railway Station

Source image: Alberto Pascual/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0 ES)

Canfranc International Railway Station (Spanish: Estación Internacional de Canfranc) is a former international railway station in the village of Canfranc in the Spanish Pyrenees, at one end of the tunnel which carried the Pau to Canfranc line under the Pyrenees. Opened in 1928, the main building is 240 metres long and has 300 windows and 156 doors. The station's reason for being came to an abrupt halt in 1970 when a train derailment demolished a bridge on the French side of the mountains. The French decided not to rebuild the bridge, the cross border line was closed and never re-opened.

Source image: Juan Carlos Gil/Wikicommons (CC BY-SA 3.0 ES)

The main building has been re-roofed, but is otherwise in a state of disrepair, fenced off and closed to the public except during guided tours in July and August offered via the local tourist office. The remainder of the huge site includes a large locomotive depot, two sheds for the transhipment of freight between French and Spanish trains, various other outbuildings and a large layout of tracks. The site is mostly overgrown, but most of the buildings are largely intact and can be entered.

(source: wikipedia, more images: wikicommons)