Category Archives: Structures, History and Countries

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

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Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Ten Random Facts’ birthday!

The legend of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

  • The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is a legendary, and possibly mythical, garden part of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
  • The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are said to have had large pillars and a number of tiers and terraced levels, and the translation from the Greek and Latin words to describe the garden, more accurately use the word ‘overhanging’  rather than the literally ‘hanging’  garden which is depicted in the garden’s name.
  • The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the only Wonder of the Ancient World that does not have a proven location.
  • According to Greek texts, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is depicted as a lush garden of exotic foliage and wildlife, with man-made waterfalls.
  • It has been historically believed that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located at the ancient city of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar II, although there is no Babylonian evidence.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Picture, Art, Artist's Impression, Mythical, Ten Random Facts, Australia  By Maarten van Heemskerck, 16th century engraving
Image courtesy of Carla216/Flickr

  • There are many theories of the location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, with a lot of evidence supporting the ‘Hanging Gardens of Nineveh’ theory, and if this is true, the gardens would have been owned by King Sennacherib.
  • Some believe that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were destroyed in an earthquake, although many others believe erosion and conquest were the destruction factors.
  • It is believed that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built in the 6th or 7th century BC.
  • Historians believe that walls of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were 24 metres (80 feet) in height, approximately the height of  five storey building, and were made from a type of brick.
  • The height of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon would have required a significant irrigation system, that has been described as an amazing engineering feat.
Bibliography:
12 Key Facts and Legends about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 2010, Ancient World Wonders, <http://ancientworldwonders.com/12-facts-about-the-hanging-gardens-of-babylon.html>
Kyrstek L, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 2010, Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, <http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm>

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Christ the Redeemer Statue

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Christ the Redeemer Statue

The statue of the amazing Christ the Redeemer.

  • Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ, in the art deco style, with his arms open symbolising peace, and is located on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the statue’s Portuguese name is ‘Cristo Redentor’.
  • Christ the Redeemer is believed to be the largest art deco statue and is the fifth largest Jesus statue on earth, seeing approximately 1 million visitors every year, and was deemed one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
  • Christ the Redeemer statue is 30 metres (98 feet) in height, standing on an 8 metre (26 feet) high podium, with arms spread 28 metres (92 feet) wide.
  • The material used to make Christ the Redeemer statue was 635 tonnes (700 tons) of concrete, reinforcements, and small 3 cm triangular soapstone tiles from Sweden and was in made in separate pieces and put together on site.
  • In the mid 1850s, it was proposed that a religious statue be built on Corcovado Mountain, but the idea was dismissed, and it wasn’t until the 1920s that a proposal was put forward by the Catholic Circle of Rio de Janeiro to build a religious statue, and accepted, and the design that was settled upon was Christ the Redeemer.
Christ the redeemer statue, Looking up, Arms Out, Jesus Christ, Brazil, Rio de Janerio, Free Digital Photos, Ten Random Facts
The Redeemer
Image courtesy of Zole4/ Free Digital Photos
  • Christ the Redeemer statue took 9 years to build, from 1922 to 1931, and was designed and engineered by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and sculpted by Paul Landowski, a Polish-Frenchman.
  • At the time of construction, Christ the Redeemer would have cost approximately $250,000 USD to build, which would equate to about $3.2 million USD in 2013.
  • In 2008, Christ the Redeemer was struck by lightning in an intense lightning storm, leading to a large, four month restoration project  in 2010, costing $4 million USD.
  • In celebration of Christ the Redeemer’s 75th anniversary in 2006, a chapel was built at the base of the statue.
  • In 2010, during the restoration process, the head and an arm of Christ the Redeemer was the subject of graffiti, which was said to be done by a house painter, and the act was declared ‘a crime against the nation’.
Bibliography:
Christ the Redeemer (Statue), 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_Redeemer_(statue)>
Christ the Redeemer Statue – 1 of 7 New Wonders of the World (45 Inspiring Pics), 2011, Love these Pics, <http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/04/christ-the-redeemer-statue-1-of-7-new-wonders-of-the-world-45-inspiring-pics/>

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Ngorongoro Crater

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Ngorongoro Crater

‘The Garden of Eden’ – Ngorongoro Crater.

  • Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera, a cooking pot shaped collapsed volcano, in the world, with a crater 259 square kilometres (100 square miles) in area and with walls 600 meters (1970 feet) in height.
  • Ngorongoro Crater is situated in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, Africa.
  • It is believed that the Ngorongoro Crater volcano was originally taller than, or as high as Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest mountains in the world.
  • Ngorongoro Crater is host to approximately 30,000 to 40,000 birds and animals, most notably some stunning pink flamingos and the rare black rhino.
  • In the centre of the Ngorongoro Crater is a salt-water lake by the name of ‘Makat’ or ‘Magadi’, and to the east of the crater is a spring named Ngoitokitok Spring.

Beautiful, Sharp, Colour, Lush, River, Africa, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Ngorongoro Crater
Image courtesy of William Warby/Flickr
  • The Ngorongoro Crater sees approximately 450,000 tourists a year, who are required to be accompanied by a guide and a permit.
  • ‘Ngorongoro Crater’ is also known as the ‘Garden of Eden’, due to the crater’s beauty and it being a paradise for animals.
  • Many significant fossils have been found in the area surrounding the Ngorongoro Crater, some of which can be found in a nearby museum, and burial mounds have been found in the crater itself.
  • Ngorongoro Crater became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, as part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which also includes two other craters.
  • A native African tribe, Masaii, can be found in the area of the Ngorongoro Crater, and the crater has the highest density of lions in the world.

 

Bibliography:
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, 2013, UNESCO World Heritage, <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39>
 Ngorongoro Crater, n.d., Base Camp Tanzania, <http://www.basecamptanzania.com/NP_NgorongoroCrater.htm>

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United States of America

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United States of America

The world power: the United States of America.

  • The  ‘United States of America’ is also known as the ‘USA’, ‘US’, ‘U.S.A’, ‘U.S’, the ‘United States’ and ‘the States’ and covers an area of 9.83 million square kilometres (3.79 million square miles), making it the fourth largest country.
  • The United States of America became a nation on July 4, 1776, known as Independence Day, and is a republic of 50 states located in central America and north west America.
  • The capital of the United States of America is Washington DC, which is also the home of the White House and the president.
  • The United States of America is one of the most multicultural countries, with a population of over 315 million people, ranking it third in the world, and over 70% of the population are white Americans, and two thirds of the adult population is either overweight or obese.
  • In 2013, the United States of America was the wealthiest country in the world, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of over $16 trillion, the highest in the world, and more than a third of world’s wealth is own by Americans.

USA, US, United States, Road Map, Whole, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Map of the USA
Image courtesy of Breki74/Flickr
  • The United States of America has been involved in numerous wars, and one of the most significant wars in its history was the American Civil War in 1861 to 1865, which was based on the issue of slavery and killed approximately 620,000 soldiers.
  • The United States of America has many geographical structures and national parks and over 400 mammals, 500 reptiles and 750 birds, make the US their home, as well as 91,000 species of insects and 17,000 species of plants.
  • The United States of America is the largest importer in the world and ranks as the second largest exporter, with China, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Japan being all major traders, and the country is also the second largest carbon dioxide producer.
  • Cars are the main form of personal transport in the United States of America, and the country caters for motorists with its 13 million roads which include some of the longest in the world.
  • The United States of America has won more than double the number of medals than any other country, throughout the history of the Summer Olympic Games.
Bibliography:
United States of America, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States>
United States of America Country Profile, 2012, BBC, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1217752.stm>

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Keukenhof

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Keukenhof

Keukenhof is breathtaking.

  • Keukenhof is also known as the ‘Garden of Europe’, and the word ‘Keukenhof’ can be translated to ‘kitchen garden’ in Dutch, in reference to the herbs that used to be gathered in the area for the castle kitchen.
  • Keukenhof is the largest flower garden on Earth, with approximately seven million bulbs covering an area of 32 hectares (79 acres).
  • Keukenhof is located in Lisse, in the Netherlands in an area known as ‘Duin- en Bollenstreek’ which translates to ‘Dune and Bulb Region’, known for its floral industry.
  • Keukenhof is only ever open to the public for  8 weeks in a year from mid-March to mid-May, with the flower-viewing peak in mid-April.
  • Keukenhof was originally a place for hunting in the 1400s, and the Mayor of Lisse organised the first Keukenhof exhibit in 1949.
Keukenhof, garden, flower, tulip, Holland, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
Keukenhof
Image courtesy of Bertknot/Flickr
  •  The Keukenhof gardens are directly opposite a building known as ‘Keukenhof Castle’, which was built in 1642.
  • Keukenhof was designed in the 1800s, by the landscaper Jan David Zocher and his son, for the Baron and Baroness van Pallandt the owners of the property and the castle at the time, all of which is now owned by a charitable foundation.
  • Keukenhof has competitions for the best flowers grown by exhibitors, with awards like tulip awards and rose awards.
  • Many visitors to Keukenhof search for large rows of a certain flower, which can be see in some of the surrounding areas, which they do not find in the garden, but instead find patterns and pictures created with flower bulbs.
  • The flowers and bulbs featured in Keukenhof can be bought, with much of the garden dug up and replanted yearly.
Bibliography:
Garrison L, Keukenhof Gardens – Dutch Spring Gardens near Amsterdam, 2013, About.com, <http://cruises.about.com/cs/europe/a/keukenhof.htm>
Keukenhof, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keukenhof>
History of Keukenhof, 2013, Keukenhof Holland, <http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/5/history-of-keukenhof.html>

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Tokyo

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Tokyo

Not a city, but a metropolis.  Do you want to see a real metropolis? Go to Tokyo!

  • Tokyo means ‘Eastern Capital’ in Japanese, but has been officially known as ‘Tokyo Metropolis’ or ‘Tokyo-to’ in Japanese since 1943, although it was originally known as Edo, a small fishing community, being renamed as ‘Tokyo’ in 1868.
  • Tokyo is the capital of Japan, located on Honshu, in the south-eastern part the largest and main island of Japan, and has been the home of the Japanese emperor, his family and his Imperial Palace since the 1800s.
  • In 2011, Tokyo had a population of over 13.1 million residents in the metropolis with the 23 special wards or ‘cities’ containing 9 million of the total population.
  • In 2008, Tokyo had a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$1,479 trillion, making it the wealthiest city in the world.
  • Tokyo was the host of the 1964 Summer Olympic Games, and will be hosting the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, while sumo, judo, karate, baseball and tennis are among the popular sports in the metropolis.

Tokyo, Panorama, Japan, City, Bird, Overveiw, Tower, Flickr, Ten Random Facts

Tokyo
Image courtesy of Sebastien Batardy/Flickr
  • Tokyo was the victim of a major earthquake, the Great Kantō Earthquake in 1923, and the bombing of Tokyo in World War II (1944-45) destroying half the city, with 140,000 and 75,000 to 200,000 fatalities respectively.
  • In 2011, Tokyo’s Skytree became the second tallest structure and the tallest tower in the world, and the city has numerous high rise buildings and apartments to cater for the densely populated area.
  • Tokyo is said to be the cleanest city in the world, and the metropolis covers an area of 2,187 square kilometres (844 square miles) and contains 26 cities, 8 villages and 23 wards.
  • Tokyo has a comprehensive train and subway system which is the major form of public transport there, with monorails and buses being second.
  • Tokyo is an urban heat island, explaining increases of temperature over the years, which the government is helping to reduce by planting thousands of trees during its ten year project which will be complete in 2016.
Bibliography:
TOKYO – 9 FACTS ABOUT THE MOST FASCINATING AND BIZARRE CITY IN THE WORLD, 2013, Just One Way Ticket, <http://www.justonewayticket.com/2013/02/19/tokyo-9-facts/>
Tokyo, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo>
Tokyo Outline, 2012, Go Tokyo, <http://www.gotokyo.org/en/tourists/info/info_basic.html#01>

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