Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. The residents of the islands are required to carry gas masks with them at all times, but need not wear them constantly. Raid alarms go off if there is a dramatic increase in the levels of sulfur in the air.
Built in 1913, Grand Central Terminal, in New York City, is the largest train station in the world, in terms of number of platforms. Therefore, it’s only natural that there be various hidden nooks, corners and spaces, such as the network of underground tracks, storage areas and tunnels. Weaved amidst them all is an unlisted train platform, known as Track 61, with a secret entrance and passageway leading to an elevator going straight up to the world-famous Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
Capuchins' Catacombs located in Palermo, Italy, where there are thousands of corpses lined on the walls like paintings. The catacombs date back to the 1599 when the local priests mummified a holy monk for all to see. They wanted to pray to him after death.
A diamond blade is a saw blade which has diamonds fixed on the blade's base to use the diamonds to cut hard or abrasive materials.
The canal was mooted in classical times and an abortive effort was made to build it in the 1st century AD. Construction finally got underway in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that saw the original builders going bankrupt. It was completed in 1893, but due to the canal's narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslips from its sheer walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic anticipated by its operators. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic.
Taki Theodoracopulos is a playboy and journalist.
Prince Aly Khan was a socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, and the third husband of Rita Hayworth. He served as Pakistan's representative to the United Nations, where he became a vice president of the General Assembly.
The son of a Spanish nobleman and a strong willed, English woman who had inherited the fortune of HFC founder Frank Mackey, Alfonso de Portago was not only born to wealth and entitlement, but was fiercely competitive and a superb athlete. Up to the age of 24, his passion was horses, flat track and jumping. He quickly became one of the most successful amateur jockeys in Europe. Auto racing bit him in 1953-54, and he bought himself the proper sportscars (Maserati, OSCA and Ferraris) gaining entry into international events where he attracted the attention of the factory teams. By 1956 Portago was on the Ferrari Formula One team, entrusted with one of the Lancia Ferrari D50s. He fared well and for 1957 there was to be more opportunity, a chance cut short by his death, and that of 15 others in the Mille Miglia.
Trithrinax campestris is a palm that grows in arid, well-drained, rocky soils. Its distinctive features are its compact shape, short green to grayish foliage, and trunk fully hidden by dry dead branches remaining from several previous seasons.
Wasp Knife is a tradename for a large knife that contains a cylinder of compressed gas in the hilt. When stabbing a subject about one cubic foot of gas (or 800 psi) is rapidly injected deep into the wound site. The injected gas causes much more damage than a single knife wound, both from the displacement of internal organs and from the freezing effect of the free expansion of the gas.