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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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Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln.

  • Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer and politician born on 12 February, 1809 and was assassinated by an actor, John Wilkes Booth, on 15 April 1865.
  • Abraham Lincoln was the 16th United States President, during 1861 to 1865, being responsible for taking major action in the American Civil war, ending US slavery and improving the US economy.
  • Abraham Lincoln was self-educated and came from an uneducated family, and is commonly ranked the greatest United States president of all time.
  • In 1840, Abraham Lincoln was engaged to his future wife, Mary Todd, however they broke up and did not marry as planned in 1841, but later came back together eventually marrying in late 1842.
  • Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary had four children, although only one survived till adulthood, and the last descendant of Abraham died in 1985.

Abraham Lincoln, Print, Bank Note, Face, US, $5, Ten Random Facts, Free Digital Photos

Lincoln
Image courtesy of Gualberto107/Free Digital Photos
  • A portrait of Abraham Lincoln can be seen on the American penny and $5 note, and he received a patent in 1849, for a boat floating device.
  • Abraham Lincoln has his face sculpted on Mount Rushmore, and has a memorial and a museum dedicated to him.
  • Abraham Lincoln was a well known wrestler in his younger age, and is said to have defeated nearly all of the 300 wrestlers he wrestled against, and he also served in war as a captain and a private during a three month period.
  • Abraham Lincoln was originally a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and later became the Illinois member for the US House of Representatives.
  • Lincoln’s assassins’ brother, Edwin Thomas Booth, saved Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, from a train accident, a few months before Lincoln was assassinated.
Bibliography:
Abraham Lincoln, 2013, Bio, <http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540>
Abraham Lincoln, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln>

 

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Albert Einstein

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Albert Einstein

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein.

  • Albert Einstein was a German Jew who worked in the area of theoretical physics, teaching at many universities as a professor, and amongst other things, discovered the theory of relativity, the law of the photoelectric effect, and the equation: E = mc², meaning ‘energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared’.
  • Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Württemberg, Germany on the 14 March, 1879 and died in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, due to internal bleeding which he refused surgery for, on the 18 April, 1955.
  • Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, as well as a few other awards while he was alive, and has been honoured in numerous ways since his death.
  • When Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, Albert Einstein was touring the United States, and being a Jew he did not return to Germany and took America’s side, as well as eventually learning that he was a German assassination target.
  • Albert Einstein published over 450 documents, with the majority based on the topics of science and physics.

Albert Einstein. Person, Sitting, Thinking, Scientist, Black and White, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Einstein
Image courtesy of Sharon Doaner/Flickr
  • The term ‘Einstein’ has become a dictionary word meaning ‘genius’, due to Albert’s achievements and intellect, and he has been said to be ‘the greatest physicist of all time’.
  • Many believe Albert Einstein was left handed and had trouble speaking which are both incorrect beliefs, and due to his appearance, he has often been a symbol of an absent-minded or crazy scientist.
  • Albert Einstein married Mileva Marić in 1905, with whom he had at least two children by the names of Hans and Eduard, and a mentioned daughter ‘Lieserl’, and later married, Elsa Löwenthal, who was his first and second cousin, in June 1919.
  • Besides Germany and the United States, where he eventually settled, Albert Einstein lectured in and toured various countries around the world, most notably Singapore, Palestine and Japan, with Einstein liking the Japanese people the most.
  • Albert Einstein enjoyed music and learnt to play the violin from 5 years of age, but only gained interest in learning the instrument at 13 years when he heard Mozart’s music.
Bibliography:
Albert Einstein, 2013, Biography, <http://www.biography.com/people/albert-einstein-9285408>
Albert Einstein, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>

Leonardo da Vinci

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Leonardo da Vinci

The greatest inventor, Leonardo da Vinci.

  • Leonardo da Vinci’s full name is Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.
  • Leonardo da Vinci was the son of a lawyer and a peasant woman, and was born on 15 April 1452, in Italy and died at the age of 67 on 2 May 1519 in France.
  • Leonardo da Vinci is known as a ‘polymath’, a person who has significant ability and knowledge in a wide variety of fields, with skills in art, mathematics, engineering and science, such as human anatomy, botany and geology.
  • Leonardo da Vinci became an apprentice under Verrocchio (Andrea di Cione) the artist, at fourteen years of age and became a qualified master artist at the age of 20.
  • Leonardo da Vinci is often thought to be one of the most outstanding painters in history and the most remarkable polymath of all time.

Leonardo, Sketch, Self-Portrait, Realistic, Beard, Old, Flickr, Ten Random Facts, da Vinci

Self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci
Image courtesy of Erik Drost/Flickr
  • Leonardo da Vinci created notable invention concepts for vehicles, such as helicopters and bicycles, calculators and concentrated solar power.
  • On 5 August 1473, Leonardo da Vinci created an artwork named ‘Arno Valley’, with pen and ink mediums and this is his earliest known drawing.
  • Leonardo da Vinci was left handed and mostly wrote in mirror reversed cursive writing, and during his life-time he wrote and recorded 13,000 pages of notes and complex diagrams.
  • Leonardo da Vinci is known as an artist throughout the world for his famous paintings like the ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘The Last Supper’ and the ‘Virgin of the Rocks’.
  • Some of Leonardo da Vinci’s machine designs were physically constructed and tested for a documentary for the Channel Four British television station in 2003.
Bibliography:
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), 2013, BBC, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/da_vinci_leonardo.shtml>
Leonardo da Vinci, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci>

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Michael Jackson

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Michael Jackson

“It’s a thriller, thriller night,” – Thriller, Michael Jackson

  • Michael Jackson’s full name was ‘Michael Joseph (Joe) Jackson’ and he was also known as ‘MJ’ or the ‘King of Pop’.
  • Michael Jackson was a vocalist who sang pop, rock, soul, R&B, funk and disco genres as well as becoming a vocal instrument musician, a song-writer and a popular dancer, inventing moves including the ‘moonwalk’ and the ‘robot’.
  • Michael Jackson was born in United States’ Indiana on 29 August 1958 and died at 50 years of age in Los Angeles, California, during a tour, on the 25 June 2009, and is said to have died by involuntary manslaughter by his personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray.
  • Michael Jackson was lead singer of the family band of five, The Jackson 5, which he joined at the age of five and he became a soloist at age 13, releasing ten albums during his life and travelled the world on tour many times.
  • Michael Jackson’s album Thriller is the biggest selling album ever, with estimations ranging from 51 to 65 million.

Michael Jackson, Sing, Spotlight, stage, Black, Real, Madison Sqaure Garden, 2001, Hair, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Michael Jackson
Image courtesy of Allar Janssen/Flickr

  • Michael Jackson suffered from child abuse, even being whipped, by his father, and Jackson himself was charged with multiple offenses during his lifetime, including child abuse, in mid 1990s and mid 2000s, with both accusations proving false.
  • During the 1980s, Michael Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo, a disease that lightened his dark skin, although some said that Jackson had purposely bleached it, and even though he had nose surgery, others believed he had facial surgeries that were denied by the vocalist.
  • Approximately 31.1 million US residents viewed the memorial of Michael Jackson, which was not far behind the memorial of Lady Princess Diana’s views of an estimated 33.1 million and 40th US President Ronald Reagan’s memorial views of approximately 35.1 million and many websites including Google, Wikipedia and Twitter crashed due to usage amounts around the time of his death.
  • Michael Jackson divorced both of his wives after two years of being married, firstly to Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, and later his dermatologist nurse, Deborah Rowe with whom he had two children, and later on he had a third child born to a surrogate mother.
  • Michael Jackson is estimated to have earned $750 million and won hundreds of awards in his lifetime, most notably 26 American Music Awards and 13 Grammy Awards (US Music Awards) including the tough Grammy Legend and Grammy Lifetime Awards as well as some Guinness World Records.
Bibliography:
Michael Jackson Bibliography, 2013, Bio.com, < http://www.biography.com/people/michael-jackson-38211>
Michael Jackson, 2013, Wikipedia, < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson>

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Michael Jackson Albums

One Direction

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One Direction

‘That’s what makes you beautiful…’ – One Direction

  • One Direction is a boy band quintet, from England and Ireland, that sings pop style music.
  • One Direction has had a combined total of over 22 million albums and singles sold.
  • One Direction is also written as ‘1D’.
  • One Direction was formed in 2010, when the five teenagers entered the singing British television competition, ‘The X Factor’, as a group, after auditioning as soloists and failing to proceed in the competition.
  • The members of One Direction are Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, who were born in the years between 1991-1994, and are all from England except for Niall Horan, who comes from Ireland.

One Thing, Band, Sydney, Australia, Live, Five, All, Casual, serious, Happy, Boys, Horden Pavilion, Moore Park, Friday 13th 2011, Flickr, Free Digital Photos, Concert, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson

One Direction
Image courtesy of Eva Rinaldi/Flickr
  • One Direction has won more than 65 awards and has been nominated for many other music awards.
  • One Direction is so popular, that as of the 16 June, 2013, they have more than 16 million Facebook fans and over 12 million Twitter fans.
  • One Direction gained third place in ‘The X Factor’ finals, and their first album was ‘Up All Night’, while the group’s debut single was ‘What Makes You Beautiful’.
  • One Direction have won two BRIT Awards (British Phonographic Industry Awards), similar to the American Grammy Award, and have gained a position in the Guinness World Records for being the first British group to have their debut album go straight to number one on the US Billboard 200 charts.
  • One Direction completed a solo world tour in 2011-12, and embarked on their second world tour in February 2013, and have another planned for 2014.
Bibligraphy:
One Direction, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Direction>
The Boys, 2012, One Direction, <http://www.onedirectionmusic.com/au/biography/entry/the_one_direction_story3
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