Amazones...

According to ancient writers Amazons really existed. They weren’t just a myth and were very desirable and attractive women. The legend says they were very brave, strong and fearless combatants who were governed by a queen; they could have possibly lived in Europe, Asia and America, and developed independently on different continents. This matriarchal civilization was courageous and bold, but never cruel. They risked their lives to save the lives of others and always fought with dignity.

Venice, Italy...

Venice, Italy, known also as the Queen of the Adriatic, is believed to have been founded by the Romans in the 1st century. The city was built on a salt marshland at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea, and it is rich in architectural marvels. The real magic of Venice comes from its mysterious and narrow cobbled streets; its ancient bridges and appealing constructions. With more than 150 canals, Venice is connected by 409 bridges and has about 3000 alleyways on the 117 islands. The city is sinking, and experts say that Venice may sink eight inches in the next 50 years. The average amount of tourists that visits Venice every year is 15 million and no one can say Venice is not a city like one taken from an enchanting fairy tale.

Ancient Perfume Founded

Photo source: photoshoptalent.com

According to the National Geographic, a German research team said in March 2009, that the favorite perfume of a powerful Egyptian queen "may be resurrected from residue found in a 3,500-year-old perfume bottle". The bottle was found in the queen’s tomb with some other of her possessions with a hieroglyph of her name. The research group believes the perfume may be re-created within a year when they identify the substance. So we all are going to know how an Egyptian queen smelled, and even smell like her!

The Oldest Footprints

According to a scientist report in the journal Science, the oldest human footprints have been uncovered in Kenya. Its believed that the footprints found in Northern Kenya, may have about 1.5 million years old; Scientists note that they were possible made by an ancient human relative, "Homo erectus, a species that lived in Africa long before our species, Homo sapiens". The footprints were compared with modern humans and they are pretty much similar to ours. "These new prints confirm that the human pattern of walking was established nearly two million years ago," says Professor Chris Stringer, human origins expert at Natural History Museum and a "valuable information, since we still lack well-preserved foot skeletons of the species concerned, Homo erectus."

The Sahara Desert

The Sahara Desert is the largest and hottest desert in the world with a temperature that ranges between 30 and 50 degrees. It occupies most of Northern Africa and it is over 9,000,000 square kilometers. In ancient times, The Sahara Desert was a much wetter place than it is today and it was home for dinosaurs and some people who lived on the edge of the desert. Today, people still live there, especially Egyptians, and some nomades. There are also a few species of animals such camels and goats, the Saharan cheetah, the sand vipers, monitor lizards and scorpions. According to scientists, the Sahara shrinks and grows; they say that in the early 1980s, "The Saharas Southern edge expanded into the Sahel, a dry band that separates the desert from the savanna. But by the mid-1980s this area was green and wet again. Wonderful fossils of dinosaurs like Afrovenator, Jobaria, and Ouranosaurus, have been found in the desert.

Cupid

Cupid, that mischievous winged boy that feels pleasure every time his arrow traverses the heart of his victims—to make them fall in love, is believed to be responsible for the craziness of love. This cute and magical child is the symbol of romance and is known as the son of Venus. The legend says that Cupid has two kinds of arrows, the golden one which represents true love, and the leaden one which represents desire and passion. According to a mythological tale, Venus was playing with his son when one of his arrows scratched her; the result made the goddess fall crazily in love with Adonis, the first man she saw after receiving the wound.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is known as a national heroin of France who was born in 1412 and died in 1431. She was only seventeen years old when she led the French army to several victories against the English. Joan believed she had visions from God that told her to recover her homeland from English domination; because of that she was later captured, tried and convicted of heresy by an English-controlled church. She was nineteen when the church decided to burn her at the stake. Twenty four years later, Joan of Arc’s case was reviewed and she was found innocent. The Catholic church decided then to canonized her.

Muse

A muse is a word originated from Greek mythology and is referred to each of Zeus daughters. In modern times a muse is someone who inspires an individual to create or design specific art; there are many artists, writers, poets and musicians who have said they have been inspired for a muse; usually their muse is a woman they have been in love with. Nevertheless a muse is not always a human being. A muse can be someone originated from a spiritual world, a painting, or even an imaginary individual or magical person you just invented to make your work of art more creative and special. Read more at mythindex.com

Ann Boleyn

Ann Boleyn was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I and the second wife of Henry VIII. She is remembered as an intelligent and very well educated girl who had a charming personality, was fashionable and had a lively social life. She was accused of witchcraft, treason, incest and adultery and was beheaded in 1536. Since her death, it is said that her ghost appears once in a while in the Green Tower as an elegant woman; other times appears near the place where she was executed, and according to the Green Tower’s guards, her ghost sometimes carries her head.

Tidbit

After eight years of living with no males of the same species, a female blacktip shark named Tidbit, was discovered to be just about ready to give birth to a baby in the Virginian aquarium. Tidbit was taken to have some tests but it died during the tests. The scientists discovered that Tidbit had a pup just about to be born and it was a great surprise for them since Tidbit had been in the aquarium for eight years with no male of the same species. The pub was tested by Damian Chapman, a shark scientist to be sure the baby had no father. The virgin birth is known as "parthenogenesis" and it has been also documented in some fish and amphibians, snakes, birds, and in Komodo dragons.

The Kayan

According to Wikipedia, the Kayan are a "feminine religion that it’s built on a feminine solidarity and a preservation of traditions." They live in Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia. When a girl is five years-old, she starts wearing the neck rings, which are brass coils that are put around her neck; later on, when she is ready for marriage, she has to change it for a longer neck coiling. It is a great celebration because is the starting of her body modification, however it is incredibly painful and it takes months to adjust. Then is when the girl needs to decide if she should stop the tradition and be married into another tribe, or continue with her suffering and honour her tribe by following their rules.

Minerva

Minerva is an owl that was found starving and in a very bad shape after someone reported seeing it seated on a fence for three days. Minerva was suspected of being blind and because of that, it couldn’t hunt or feed itself. Once the veterinary ophthalmologist confirmed Minerva had cataracts, it underwent two hours of eye surgery and was fitted with contact lenses. After the surgery, and making sure Minerva was in a good condition, the medical personnel decided it was time to let it free, so it could hunt by itself; Minerva did it very well.

Teh Glasswing Butterfly

The Glasswing Butterfly is the most exotic and beautiful butterfly species in the world. It is found in South America and its beauty is breathtaking: its wings are as delicate and fine as blown glass or stained glass; they are transparent and you can easily see to the other side through them. According to ecologists, they are a rare tropical gem and it is used to determine ecological changes.

Fish Pedicure

Fish pedicures are getting very popular in the D.C. area thanks to John Ho, who owns the northern Virginia Spa, Yvonne Hair and Nails Salon. John and his wife Yvonne Le have said that more than 5,000 people have tried his innovative idea so far. According to John, anyone who wants to have nice feet, this is the best treatment. The treatment is simple: as the small fish swim in a hot water tub that doesn’t support plants or aquatic life, they would eat whatever food is available, so they devour the dead skin eagerly. Customers may be a little bit intimidated at first, but once they tried it, they just love it! Some say that it has been the best pedicure they ever have had, and some just ended with a big laugh once the fish start doing their job. Ho, who wanted to have something unique to replace the common use of razors to scrape dead skin, came out with this fantastic idea and is now thinking about offering a network of "Doctor Fish Massage" franchises.

The Miraculous Stairs of Chapel of Saint Loretto

The story of the miraculous stairs in the Chapel of Saint Loretto, Santa Fe, Mexico, started in 1850 when the chapel was nearly completed, and the nuns realized that they would need stairs to access the choir loft, 22 feet above. The problem was that as the chapel was so small, there were no way to build stairs without taking too much space, and climbing a ladder would be a great difficulty for the sisters. So, that was when according to the legend, the sisters started a nine day pray to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, seeking an answer to their architectural design dilemma; on the ninth day of the prayers, a man came to the chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months after the beautifully well done circular staircase was completed, the man disappeared without leaving a trace. The legend says it was St. Joseph himself. No one knows for sure who the carpenter was, but the staircase is a wonder: it was build with a wood unknown to the region; there were no nails anywhere and no glue; the stairs have two 360 degree turns and no support of any kind; added to that the designs perplexes experts because the wood and other materials are gorgeous and they are not available from any known local source.

Castrati Tradition

Castrati is a historical tradition where young boys were castrated before puberty, in order to not experience the hormonal changes and could keep their childlike voice. The operation was supposed to lower the male voice and the boy would grow up being able to sing with the same voice as a soprano. Unfortunately the choice had to be made when the boy would not be able to choose this option by himself, and many kids were tricked later on by their parents with stories like a pig had eaten their testicles; The boys once castrated, were sent to conservatories were they would have an extensive and overwhelming training. Fortunately this horrendous practice was banned from the papal chapel by Pius X in 1903.

Que crueldad!

Mud Baths

Since ancient times, mud baths has been known as curative for lots of diseases including joints and spine problems, calcification, rheumatisms, muscle fatigue, psoriasis, and stress, among so many others. Mud baths are also known as an elixir of beauty (Cleopatra used Dead Sea black mud) and its components of sulfur, chloride, fluoride and radioactive gases are believed to give you such a relaxed sensation, that you look ten years younger after a bath! To have a mud bath you don’t need to go as far as the natural hot springs or volcanic mud are, look for the spa nearest to where you live and book a nice afternoon to see how you feel after it!

The Star of The Morning

The thick layer of clouds that covered Venus resembles very much the earth’s light fogs. However, it differs in the thickness which creates an impenetrable veil that extends between 45 and 70 km above the surface. The atmosphere is mostly made of carbon dioxide, and the clouds of sulfuric acid; the clouds trap surface heat and creates a temperature of about 470 degrees Celsius (880 degrees Fahrenheit) making it impossible to land on the planet. Nobody would survive more than a few hours. Venus is called the star of the morning or the star of the evening because at sunrise it appears in the east and in the evening it appears in the west. It cannot be seen in the middle of the night.

La Tomatina

Every last Wednesday of August, La Tomatina (Tomatoes fight) starts in Buñol, Valencia, Spain. It is a tradition where thousands of participants come from all over the world to fight in a brutal battle on the streets. The battle is supposed to start when the first person climbs up a greased wooden pole; however if it takes too much time to get to the top, people get impatient and start the tomato fight right away. The pleasure of the fight is pelting and being pelted by tomatoes. Approximately 35,000 tourists come to the tomato fight to enjoy also the paella cooking contest, music festival, parades, dancing and fireworks. There is always limited accommodation for people who want to participate in La Tomatina, so usually they have to stay in Valencia, and travel by bus or train to Buñol about 38 km. Shopkeepers prepare with anticipation by using huge plastic covers on their storefronts, so their stores will be protected from the carnage.

The Baby Hippo and The Tortoise

During the Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004, a baby hippopotamus was orphaned in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya. During a long day trying to rescue the 600 pounds baby hippo, the 1,000 villagers finally saved him by using shark nets; they named him Owen, the same name of the villager who finally tackled the baby hippo during the rescue. Owen was taken to Haller Park, a wildlife sanctuary in Mombasa, Kenya; he was released into a large wooded penned-in area which included a pond and a co-inhabitant, a 700 pound, 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee. Owen immediately felt bonded to Mzee, but the tortoise resisted his approach; Mzee has never shown any affection for other tortoises, monkeys or the antelope in that enclosure, so why would she feel different towards Owen? Surprisingly, over time, Owen gained Mzee’s heart; she finally accepted the young hippo, and Owen started to mimic Mzee, who taught him what to eat and where to sleep. Scientists are surprised not only about the bond of the two animals, but about their unique vocal communication they developed to understand each other. Owen and Mzee are inseparable, and can’t live without each other!

The Black Hole

Contrary to the legend, a black hole is not a scary cosmic vacuum cleaner. It is a specific place of space in which anything can’t escape its pull, even light! An easy way to explain this fact is by knowing that a star is made of gas, and when its fuel exhausts, cannot any longer counteract the inward pull of gravity. Because of that, "the crushing weight of the star’s overlying layers implodes the core and the star digs deeper into the fabric of space-time. Then the star passes through its event horizon and disappears from our universe, forming a singularity of infinite density." In short, a black hole is what remains when a massive star dies, and as many speculators say, it also could be the pathways into other universes. (Source: http://www.pbs.org/)

The Fainting Goat

The fainting goat is a breed of domestic goat that collapses every time it gets too excited or scared. It carries the hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenital which makes the legs rigid and stiff for about ten seconds when they collapse. Older goats learn to spread their legs or lean against something when startled, and often they continue to run about in an awkward, stiff-legged shuffle. Their size is between 43 to 64 centimeters tall, and weigh anywhere from 27 to 75 kilograms. The fainting goat is also named as stiff-leg, nervous, wooden-leg, and scared goat; it is said that it was brought to Tennessee in the early 1800s by a farmer from Nova Scotia. See the fainting goats collapsing at http://www.youtube.com/.

El Che Guevara

Commonly known as "El Ché", he was a physician, politician, writer, military theorist and guerrilla leader. His trip throughout Latin America transformed him when he saw the incredibly poverty; it was then when he came to the conclusion that all that was the result of the monopoly capitalism, neo-colonialism and imperialism, and it was time for him to fight for the equality and fairness of the poor. El Ché later met Fidel Castro in Mexico and joined his 26th of July Movement. In December 1956 he participated in the invasion of Cuba under Castro’s leadership to overthrow U.S. power that previously worked hand in hand with Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. After the victory, el Ché got strong military roles in Cuba for several years, but finally left the country to continue with his ideals in South America. In 1967 when he was captured and executed in the jungle of Bolivia with the help of the CIA, he was already a legend around the world. After his death, his picture above became a symbol of hope and freedom for many worldwide.

Obsolete News About Colombia

It is very annoying that today one is still reading obsolete-negative news about Colombia.

Even when the country is doing very well and the new government has kept the country peaceful and safe (for more than a decade) the media still is "reminding" readers of Colombia’s outdated reputation. By mentioning that Colombia was "notorious for drug trafficking and a corrupt political system", or referring to Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, as "once considered the most-dangerous city in the world…" the media not only is being negative and narrow minded, but ignorant about what is really happening in South America today. It is not productive or healthy to dwell on historical images from the past. What people need to know about Colombia is that it is now a land of opportunity, especially with the recent free trade agreement signed between Colombia and Canada. Writers about Colombia should forget the old beliefs and focus on what is the current truth; that Colombia is a safe and beautiful country to experience. Period.

Sloths

Sloths are the slowest mammal in the world and are found in Central and South America. They are extremely slow-moving, have prominent claws and are the size of a small dog. They spend most of their lives hanging from branches and sleeping upside-down; sloths also have their babies in the trees and even die in them (Dead sloths retain their grip and remain suspended in the air). Sloths very rarely go down to the ground and when they do, they are incredibly slow and motionless. Sloths sleep between fifteen and twenty hours a day and eat at night. Their diet consists of leaves, shoots, and fruit from the trees. They are very silent and can live their whole life in the same tree.

Gypsies

In spite of what common people believe about gypsies, they are very interesting people. For centuries they have been known as nomadic suspicious bands that steal and take advantage of naïve people in order to get what they want. Their bad reputation however, goes back centuries ago, when they had to steal and break the law in order to survive—they were pursued, discriminated against, and even killed because of their resistance to belong or become part of any culture or society. Nevertheless Gypsies are mystical, magical, and colorful people. They are strongly proud of their freedom, they have their own laws and "Tribal Code of Conduct". They have their own language, which has survived and has been passed from generation to generation. They are artists: singers, dancers, fortune tellers, and excellent entertainers. They are found everywhere in the world. It is believed there are over twelve million gypsies living on the outer boundaries of many nations, and always alone, separated from society, but happy and proud of their freedom.

The Vampire Bat

The "vampire bat" contrary to the common beliefs, is not a human blood sucker. Actually it doesn’t like human blood, it feeds only on animals’ blood such as cattle, horses, pigs, and birds, and just makes a tiny bite that the animal never notices. The vampire bat is the only one in this species that needs blood to survive; it needs to consume a few tablespoons every day and uses its sharp teeth to make a tiny cut in the skin of the sleeping animal; the bat then laps up the blood that seeps from the wound. The vampire bat exists in South America and is disappearing at an alarming rate because of the vampire control program—cattle-raising is a growing business there and farmers do not want their animals to be contaminated with rabies, which is the main danger from their bites. Since scientists have discovered that vampire bat saliva is the best form of preventing blood clots, the bats may soon be used to prevent heart attacks and strokes.