My Science School

Heart Reef was discovered in 1975 by a local pilot and is now an internationally-recognised attraction of The Whitsundays. This incredible coral formation features on many postcards and brochures promoting The Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef.

Amateur photographers have been amazed to see that their photos look exactly like the professionals! Get your selfie sticks ready; you are about to visit one of the most Instagrammable locations in the world.

Heart Reef in The Whitsundays is a stunning natural composition of coral in the perfect shape of a heart. It is located in Hardy Reef, part of The Whitsundays stretch of Great Barrier Reef.

Heart Reef has been the site of many proposals and declarations of love over the years. If planning on making the ultimate romantic gesture during a scenic flight over this iconic landmark, let your pilot know your plans and they’ll be able to help combine this memorable experience with your momentous occasion.

Credit : The Whitesundays

Picture Credit : Google

Everest tends to hog all the fame, but actually, the entire continent of Asia is full of huge mountains. The top 100 tallest mountains in the world are all in Asia. None of the seven summits - the highest mountains on each continent - are on this list except Everest.

Of the mountains of the world, no other stands taller than Mount Everest. At its highest peak, it reaches into the sky 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) above sea level. The mountain is reported to add to its height by 6 mm (0.25”) every year. In Nepal, Earth’s largest mountain is called “Sagarmatha” and “Chomolungma” in Tibet. Mount Everest borders both nations. Mount Everest is part of the Mahalangur mountain range in Nepal which is home to four of the 6 highest peaks on planet Earth. Mount Everest is part of the continent of Asia and is estimated to be more than 60 million years old.

Mount Everest, the highest mountain in Asia and the world, stands on the crest of the Great Himalayas of southern Asia that lies on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Reaching an elevation of 29,035 feet (8,850 meters), it was first recognized as the highest point on the Earth’s surface by the governmental Survey of India in 1852. Major expeditions up Everest began in the 1920s, but it was not until 1953 that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay—members of an expedition sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club—unquestionably reached its summit. Mystery still surrounds the disappearance in 1924 of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who may have reached the summit before vanishing. Mallory’s body was found at 26,760 feet (8,156 meters) in 1975; Irvine remains missing.

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Scotland has played a part in the development of many sports, such as golf, curling, water polo, and shinty. The modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland, and curling existed in Scotland in the early 16th century. The Highland Games is a multi-sport event which predates athletics events. Events in the Highland Games include throwing a wheat sheaf over a 17-meter bar, tug-o-war, tossing the caber and shifting the stones. In addition to the physical events, there is also dancing and music.

Rugby union is a popular sport in Scotland. The first ever international rugby match was also between England and Scotland which took place on March 27, 1871. Scotland also participated in the first-ever international football match where they played against England on November 30, 1872.

Scotland has a national cricket team, though it is not as popular as it is further south of the border in England. Scotland does not play Test matches, but it is now allowed to play full One Day Internationals, and takes part in the Cricket World Cup, and reached the final tournament in 2007.

Credit : Topend sports 

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Neuschwanstein Castle, German Schloss Neuschwanstein, elaborate castle near Füssen, Germany, built atop a rock ledge over the Pöllat Gorge in the Bavarian Alps by order of Bavaria’s King Louis II (“Mad King Ludwig”). Construction began in 1868 and was never completed.

Louis II spent much of his childhood at Hohenschwangau Castle, a neo-Gothic, medieval-inspired castle elaborately decorated with scenes from legend and poetry. After his accession to the throne in 1864, Louis set out to build a “New Hohenschwangau Castle”—as Neuschwanstein was called until after his death—which he intended to be an even better reproduction of a medieval-style castle in line with his fairy-tale vision of monarchy. The Romanesque designs were drawn by scene painter Christian Jank, and these were translated into architectural plans by Eduard Riedel. In 1874 Riedel was succeeded as chief architect by Georg von Dollmann, who in turn was succeeded by Julius Hofmann in 1886.

In keeping with its romantic design, the castle’s two-story throne room—which still did not contain a throne at the time of Louis’s death—is modeled after a Byzantine basilica; stars decorate its blue vaulted ceiling, which is supported by red porphyry columns. Louis was a patron of Richard Wagner, and wall paintings throughout the castle depict the legends that inspired the composer: the life of Parsifal in the fourth-floor Singers’ Hall; the Tannhäuser saga in the study; and Lohengrin in the great parlour. Despite remaining unfinished, Neuschwanstein Castle became one of the most popular tourist attractions in Europe, receiving about 1.3 million visitors each year. It also served as inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Credit : Britannica

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New York state is America’s top apple grower, after the state of Washington, but New York City’s nickname has nothing to do with fruit production. In fact, the Big Apple moniker first gained popularity in connection with horseracing. Around 1920, New York City newspaper reporter John Fitz Gerald, whose beat was the track, heard African-American stable hands in New Orleans say they were going to “the big apple,” a reference to New York City, whose race tracks were considered big-time venues. Fitz Gerald soon began making mention of the Big Apple in his newspaper columns. In the 1930s, jazz musicians adopted the term to indicate New York City was home to big-league music clubs.

The nickname later faded from use and wasn’t revived until the early 1970s, as part of a tourism campaign to spiff up New York’s image. At the time, the country’s most populous city was experiencing economic woes and high crime rates. The man credited with creating the ad campaign, Charles Gillett, president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, was a jazz enthusiast who knew that the Big Apple had once been a sobriquet bestowing respect on the city. Pins, T-shirts and other promotional items featuring apples soon proliferated, and visitors were invited to take a bite out of the Big Apple; this time around, the name stuck.

As it happens, long before New York City was nicknamed the Big Apple, it was known briefly as New Orange. In 1673, the Dutch captured New York from the English and dubbed it New Orange in honor of William III of Orange. However, the following year, the city reverted to English control and its former name.

Credit :  History 

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Peaking at the height of 2717 feet, Burj Khalifa stands as the tallest building in the world. Originally, the skyscraper was named Burj Dubai. However, the developers went broke mid-project and were assisted by the ruler of Abu Dhabi, which resulted in the change in name to honour the king. The building contains office space, retail space, residential quarters, and Armani Hotel. The 163-storeyed Burj Khalifa was inaugurated in 2012.

Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, with the exterior completed five years later in 2009. The primary structure is reinforced concrete and some of the structural steel for the building originated from the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin, the former East German parliament. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It is designed to be the centrepiece of large-scale, mixed-use development. The decision to construct the building is based on the government's decision to diversify from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to gain international recognition. The building was originally named Burj Dubai but was renamed in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai money to pay its debts. The building broke numerous height records, including its designation as the tallest building in the world.

Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, whose firm designed the Willis Tower and One World Trade Center. Hyder Consulting was chosen to be the supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited chosen to supervise the architecture of the project. The design is derived from the Islamic architecture of the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra. The Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry is designed to optimize residential and hotel space. A buttressed central core and wings are used to support the height of the building. Although this design was derived from Tower Palace III, the Burj Khalifa's central core houses all vertical transportation with the exception of egress stairs within each of the wings. The structure also features a cladding system which is designed to withstand Dubai's hot summer temperatures. It contains a total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators.

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The running of the bulls (In Spanish encierro or los toros de san Fermin[e]) involves hundreds of people running in front of six bulls and another six steers down an 825-meter (0.51 mile) stretch of narrow streets of a section of the old town of Pamplona.

The runs start with the release of a rocket, after which the bulls and steers are released onto the streets, and the "mozos" or runners start running. The run is a total of 900 yards (2,700 feet) and is only supposed to take about two minutes. The route is clearly marked by barricades that keep the animals from escaping into other parts of the city.

The run leads both the mozos and bulls into a bullring, the site where bull fights take place later in the day. The bulls that run through Pamplona's streets are the same ones that are later killed in the fights.

It's a risky event - 15 people have been killed during the event since 1910 and hundreds are usually injured. So far, three men have been gored by bulls and 1o have been hospitalized in this year's festival.

Mozos who have fallen during the run are not supposed to get up, since there's a higher chance they'll be gored if they do. If the mozos are feeling too threatened by the bulls, they have the option of jumping behind one of the barricades placed along the street for the run.

Credit : Business Insider

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For most of us in the U.S., corned beef and cabbage is synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day. But its association with the holiday isn’t an Irish tradition.  It is a uniquely American tradition, a blending of both history and opportunity.

Corned beef has been around for centuries and has been a staple in many cultures, including most of Europe and the Middle East.  It gets its name from the “corns” or large grains of salt used to cure the meat. Ireland became known for exporting corned beef in the 17th century after British land owners brought cattle into Ireland.  But the Irish people couldn’t afford to eat it themselves.  Their traditional dishes used corned pork instead, and they relied heavily on nutrient-dense potatoes to survive.

In the 18th century, when large numbers of Irish immigrants came to the U.S., they brought with them the idea of beef as a luxury.  So when they found salted beef brisket was cheap in the States, they were quick to replace their traditional “Irish bacon.”  Nutrient-dense cabbage was also readily available and affordable, and a dish combining the two became a staple for working classes across the country.

As St. Patrick’s day evolved into a celebration of Irish heritage and nationality for Irish-Americans, corned beef and cabbage became a holiday tradition for consumers across the nation.

According to USDA’s Market News, part of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), St. Patrick’s Day was the the single largest promotional period for beef brisket cuts in 2012.   Prices were 21% lower, on average, than they were during the rest of the year.  A full third of supermarket ads promoting corned beef were in the Northeast, with the Southeast (primarily Florida) coming in second.

St. Patrick’s Day is also the biggest holiday for fresh, green cabbage consumption in the U.S., with New Year’s Day running a distant second.  In 2012, St. Patrick’s Day supermarket ads had cabbage for 47% less than the average price for the rest of the year.  By comparison, at New Year’s, the price was only 22% less than the yearly average.

Whether you’re one of the 34.5 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry or not, as you celebrate the holiday this weekend, you may be honoring two traditions from those early Irish immigrants: corned beef and cabbage... and good, affordable ingredients.

Credit : USDA

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The U.S. Navy had lobbied that the bridge be painted in blue and yellow stripes to increase its visibility. But when the steel arrived in San Francisco painted in a burnt red hue as primer, the consulting architect decided the color was both highly visible—and more pleasing to the eye. The bridge's color is officially called international orange. 

Before you is one of the most notable places in the world where art and engineering meet -- the majestic span of the Golden Gate Bridge. But in 1916, when San Francisco officials started considering a bridge across the bay, many thought a bridge at this location would be impossible. It was too wide for a beam bridge, too deep for a cantilever or truss bridge, and the strong winds might destroy a suspension bridge. But when bridge engineer Joseph Strauss was asked if he could build it, his answer was an emphatic, yes!

Work started with Strauss' design team, who created the beautiful art deco bridge that complements the dramatic setting.
The International Orange paint color was even developed to fit the location. Over four years, hundreds of construction workers built the bridge, completing it in 1937. The daunting project included setting underwater footings in 100 feet of water, constructing the 746-foot high towers, spinning 80,000 miles of wire to create the suspension cables, and building the road deck 220 feet above the water.

Today this 4200-foot long international icon is being retrofitted to withstand a magnitude 8 plus earthquake, preserving it for future generations.

Credit : National Park Service 

Picture Credit : Google

China is the largest country located entirely within Asia, covering over 3.7 million square miles. The greater part of the country is mountainous. Its principal ranges are the Tien Shan, the Kunlun chain, and the Trans-Himalaya. In the southwest is Tibet, which China annexed in 1950. The Gobi Desert lies to the north. China proper consists of three great river systems: the Yellow River (Huang He), 2,109 mi (5,464 km) long; the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), the third-longest river in the world at 2,432 mi (6,300 km); and the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang), 848 mi (2,197 km) long. It has an extensive coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

Since 1949, China has been constituted as the People's Republic of China, and is officially a unitary one-party socialist republic. Although the country openly promotes Communism, the ideology of China is "socialism with Chinese characteristics"; after leadership of the country passed from Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping, the country thoroughly revised its Marxist-Leninist policies to suit the material conditions of China. This has resulted in subsequent leaders of the country expounding their own takes on communism, such as Deng Xiaoping Theory and Xi Jinping Thought. The country abandoned the Soviet model, and instead pursued the idea that, per Classical Marxist thought, they country needed to improve its economy and markets before it could pursue egalitarian communism. The country has invited more and more market influence, and has been the world's fastest growing economy for decades. 

As a unitary one-party system, the governing party (the Communist Party of China) handles all government functions. Elections are held only for members of the Local People's Congress, who in turn vote for members of the legislative groups above them, such that only prominent legislators elect the members of the National People's Congress. Although other parties are allowed some representation at the local level, the dominance of the Communist Party is written into the Chinese constitution. Regional party leaders exercise substantial authority, which further decentralizes the governing process.

Credit : Infoplease 

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Petra is filled with spectacular tombs, monuments, and houses that were carved into the sandstone  cliffs. These elaborate structures were chiseled by hand out of the rose-red rocks, then covered with stucco and painted bright colors.

The people of Petra liked to show off their wealth and hired master builders to create these masterpieces. Starting from the top down, builders chiseled the detailed designs by hand right into the sandstone cliffs. The design of the massive columns, grand staircases, and classical statues show the influence of contact with Greece and Rome.

Winding roads, stairways, and water channels were also cut along the natural curves of cliffs and canyons.

But the most breathtaking "road" in the city wasn't carved by humans. The Siq , the narrow, winding gorge that led into Petra, is a natural wonder.

Credit : AMNH

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Great Wall of China, Chinese (Pinyin) Wanli Changcheng or (Wade-Giles romanization) Wan-li Ch’ang-ch’eng (“10,000-Li Long Wall”), extensive bulwark erected in ancient China, one of the largest building-construction projects ever undertaken. The Great Wall actually consists of numerous walls—many of them parallel to each other—built over some two millennia across northern China and southern Mongolia. The most extensive and best-preserved version of the wall dates from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and runs for some 5,500 miles (8,850 km) east to west from Mount Hu near Dandong, southeastern Liaoning province, to Jiayu Pass west of Jiuquan, northwestern Gansu province. This wall often traces the crestlines of hills and mountains as it snakes across the Chinese countryside, and about one-fourth of its length consists solely of natural barriers such as rivers and mountain ridges. Nearly all of the rest (about 70 percent of the total length) is actual constructed wall, with the small remaining stretches constituting ditches or moats. Although lengthy sections of the wall are now in ruins or have disappeared completely, it is still one of the more remarkable structures on Earth. The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Large parts of the fortification system date from the 7th through the 4th century BCE. In the 3rd century BCE Shihuangdi (Qin Shihuang), the first emperor of a united China (under the Qin dynasty), connected a number of existing defensive walls into a single system. Traditionally, the eastern terminus of the wall was considered to be Shanhai Pass (Shanhaiguan) in eastern Hebei province along the coast of the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli), and the wall’s length—without its branches and other secondary sections—was thought to extend for some 4,160 miles (6,700 km). However, government-sponsored investigations that began in the 1990s revealed sections of wall in Liaoning, and aerial and satellite surveillance eventually proved that this wall stretched continuously through much of the province. The greater total length of the Ming wall was announced in 2009.

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El Castillo—in Spanish, “the castle”—looms at the center of Chichén Itzá, a 79-foot pyramid of stone. Also known as the Pyramid of Kukulkán, the structure embodies Mayan myth along with natural astronomical cycles.

The phenomenon that El Castillo is famous for occurs twice each year, at the spring and fall equinoxes. (In fact, the effect is viewable for a week before and after each equinox.) As the equinox sun sets, a play of light and shadow creates the appearance of a snake that gradually undulates down the stairway of the pyramid. This diamond-backed snake is composed of seven or so triangular shadows, cast by the stepped terraces of the pyramid. The sinking sun seems to give life to the sinuous shadows, which make a decidedly snaky pattern on their way down the stairs.

Using the patterns of light and shadow appearing on El Castillo throughout the year, the Maya could easily have tracked the seasons and marked these four annual solar events—the two solstices and two equinoxes. And so it seems the ancient Maya may have used this structure as, among other things, a calendar to signal appropriate times to plant, harvest, and perform ceremonies.

Credit : Exploratorium 

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Christ the Redeemer, Portuguese Cristo Redentor, colossal statue of Jesus Christ at the summit of Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Celebrated in traditional and popular songs, Corcovado towers over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s principal port city. The statue of Christ the Redeemer was completed in 1931 and stands 98 feet (30 metres) tall, its horizontally outstretched arms spanning 92 feet (28 metres). The statue has become emblematic of both the city of Rio de Janeiro and the whole nation of Brazil.

The statue, made of reinforced concrete clad in a mosaic of thousands of triangular soapstone tiles, sits on a square stone pedestal base about 26 feet (8 metres) high, which itself is situated on a deck atop the mountain’s summit. The statue is the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world.

In the 1850s the Vincentian priest Pedro Maria Boss suggested placing a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado to honour Isabel, princess regent of Brazil and the daughter of Emperor Pedro II, although the project was never approved. In 1921 the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro proposed that a statue of Christ be built on the 2,310-foot (704-metre) summit, which, because of its commanding height, would make it visible from anywhere in Rio. Citizens petitioned Pres. Epitácio Pessoa to allow the construction of the statue on Mount Corcovado.

Credit : Britannica

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The gladiator was a fighter of Ancient Rome. The name derives from gladio, the Latin word for the sword used during the fighting. The Colosseum gladiators were usually slaves or prisoners of war, or people condemned for committing some crime.

The duels between gladiators were born in Etruria and were later taken up by the Romans. Their origin is attributable to the munera, or public works created for the sake of the Roman people. The munera gladiatoria were public shows offered by wealthy people on certain occasions. Among these were gladiator games.

Roman gladiators were pro at fighting. The familiae were the groups of gladiators trained by the lanists: in the schools they were taught how to die in the arena. At the entrance to the arena, the competitors went under the Emperor’s gallery and shouted: “Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant” (“Hail, Caesar! Those about to die salute thee”). The defeated gladiator had to know how to die with dignity, the winner instead made him swing his sword in the air before piercing the opponent’s neck. The public expressed their appreciation for the possibility of granting life or death, but the killing of a professional gladiator was rare. The winning gladiator would gain success and well-being, as well as the possibility of obtaining leave after a career of triumphs.

Credit : Ancient and Recent

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