In Māori culture, the white heron and the huia were not normally eaten but were rare birds treasured for their precious plumes, worn by people of high rank. Although the Huia's range was restricted to the southern North Island, its feathers were valued highly and they were exchanged among tribes for other valuable goods, such as greenstone and shark teeth, or given as tokens of friendship and respect.
The trench watch was a type of watch that came into use by the military during World War I, as pocket watches were not practical in combat. It was a transitional design between pocket watches and wrist watches, incorporating features of both.
Moai statues are massive megaliths on Easter Island. The stone blocks, carved into head-and-torso figures, average 4 meters tall and 14 tons.
The procedures followed to cure the lard date back to the year 1000, and they have been handed down from generation to generation. The maturation takes place in marble tubs placed in caves or in cellars. To give the lard its unique flavour the tubs are rubbed with garlic and the pork lard is immersed in brine. Sea salt is added together with spices and herbs. The procedure must be repeated on each layer. Once the tub is full, it is covered with a wooden lid. The curing time goes from 6 to 10 months.
The first volume of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum was published in Cologne in 1572. The sixth and the final volume appeared in 1617. This great city atlas, edited by Georg Braun and largely engraved by Franz Hogenberg, eventually contained 546 prospects, bird-eye views and map views of cities from all over the world.
The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival is an annual fireworks festival held on the last Saturday in July, over the Sumidagawa near Asakusa. Unlike fireworks displays in other parts of the world, the Sumidagawa Hanabi Taikai is a competition held between rival pyrotechnic groups. Each group tries to out-do the last, and the result is an incredible variety of fireworks, not just in different colors and patterns, but forming shapes as complicated as Doraemon, Pikachu, or kanji.
This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java.
An annual cattle fair that titles to one of the biggest in Asia. Going by the pattern of the stars, the fair takes place on the auspicious dates of Kartik Poornima (full moon day) in the month of November every year. The fair acts as a selling ground of not only cattle, but breeds of dogs, elephants, birds and camels also become part of the attractions.
The peninsula of Araya in northeastern Venezuela, is one of the most arid places on earth. For five hundred years, since its discovery by the Spanish, the region's salt has been exploited manually. A 17th-century fortress built to protect against pirate raids stands as a reminder of the days when salt was worth almost as much as gold and great fortunes were made. This documentary captures the life of the salineros and their back-breaking work in breathtaking images.
Kadupui is a flower that blooms at midnight and dies in the morning.