Tag: Culture

It's almost hard to fathom that the most prolific killer on planet Earth is a microscopic speck far tinier than the smallest bacteria. Yet viruses that infect and destroy bacteria, known as bacteriophages or simply phages, are Earth's most abundant organism with an estimated 10³¹ in number globally.

Christmas Eve 1914 descended towards midnight under bone-chilling skies over Belgium's deadlocked Western Front. For British machine gunner Bruce Bairnsfather hunkering in muddy trenches with the Royal Warwickshires, thoughts drifted homeward across the growling guns.

Paris's iconic Eiffel Tower harbors an intriguing secret - a private apartment built solely for the monument's architect Gustave Eiffel to entertain esteemed guests.

Today high heels bring impressions of female elegance and sexuality. Yet stilettos actually originated in 10th century Persia worn by male horseback warriors, not court ladies. Throughout history, uncomfortable heels denoted wealth and status across genders and cultures from chopines in Venice to lotus shoes in China.

In the remote mountains of Turkey and Nepal, there's a buzz in the air. It's not your average bee activity, though. These bees create a unique kind of honey - a honey so potent it’s earned the nickname "Mad Honey."

At quitting time on March 25, 1911, a spark caught in a scrap bin on the eighth floor of the Asch Building in New York's Greenwich Village. The bin sat in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a bustling garment workshop employing hundreds of immigrant youths.