The ancient civilizations of Greece and China at one point dominated the Western and Eastern world, respectively. Their history was almost completely separate, and they only interacted thanks to merchants along the Silk Road. The story of how this route was initiated is linked with the expansion of the Greeks towards the east, and the…
Author: Stefano Cammisa
The Train of the End of the World
Located at the southern tip of South America, Ushuaia is the capital of the Tierra del Fuego province, in Argentina. The city is located on a bay along the Beagle Channel, which separates Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the largest island in the archipelago, from some minor islands to the south. With a population…
The longest-living organisms on Earth
Animals, plants, and other organisms on Earth have widely different lifespans, as for example many species of insects live just a few days, while some plants can survive for centuries or even millennia. Humans can live longer than most other animals, as many people can reach an age of over 100 years. The oldest person…
Great Zimbabwe: a rich medieval kingdom in Southern Africa
Deep among the hills of Southern Africa, in the modern country of Zimbabwe, lie the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the capital of what was once the richest kingdom of this part of the world. This is known as the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, and from the 13th to the 15th century it ruled over a large…
Talian: the Venetian language spoken in Brazil
Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 85 million people around the world, with 67 million native speakers. Most of these of course live in Italy, where it is spoken by most of the population, and other European countries such as Switzerland and San Marino, where Italian is an official language, as well as…
The weird statues of Prague
Prague is a popular tourist destination, with several historic attractions famous all over the world, like its 15th-century astronomical clock, the iconic Old Town Square, and the medieval Charles Bridge, just to name a few. However, while walking around the city, it’s impossible not to notice various peculiar landmarks. In fact, Prague is populated by…
History of professional wrestling – Chapter 6: professional wrestling today
In the mid 2010s, WWE started moving to a more reality-oriented product, effectively acknowledging that “kayfabe is dead” in wrestling, and fans are well aware of what happens behind the scenes. During this time, WWE kept relying on established wrestlers and returning legends, but also created new stars. Among these were Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns…
History of professional wrestling – Chapter 5: WWE dominance
With the end of both WCW and ECW, WWF was standing on top of the wrestling business, with no competition. After WrestleMania X-Seven, several WCW and ECW wrestlers began appearing on WWF programming, and were depicted as invaders that tried to take over the promotion. They were called The Alliance and were led by Vince…
Why 2024 will see the largest emergence of cicadas in the United States in over 200 years
Cicadas can be found in thousands of different species around the world, and they usually emerge once a year. However, the Magicicada genus of eastern North America is unique, as its species follow a periodical cycle, emerging either every 13 or 17 years. The members of the Magicicada genus spend 99.5% of their lives underground…
History of professional wrestling – Chapter 4: the Monday Night War
After the boom of the 1980s, both WWF and WCW started to decline. WWF was hit with a steroid scandal that saw many of the major stars of the promotion involved. WWF physician Dr. George T. Zahorian was accused of distributing the drugs, and McMahon was also indicted due to his connection with him. The…