The Cretto di Burri is a landscape artwork undertaken by Alberto Burri in 1984 and left unfinished in 1989 (due to lack of funds), based on the old city of Gibellina, Sicily. The original city of Gibellina was completely destroyed in the 1968 Belice earthquake. Gibellina has since been rebuilt, about 20 km from the city's original location.
Palais Bulles is a large house near Cannes, France, that was designed by the Hungarian architect Antti Lovag. It was built for the French industrialist Pierre Bernard, and later bought by the fashion designer Pierre Cardin as a holiday home.
Sarv-e Abarkuh stands as a testament to the enduring beauty and resilience of nature in the arid landscapes of Iran. Located in the Yazd Province, near the town of Abarkuh, this majestic cypress tree is revered as one of the oldest living organisms on Earth, with an estimated age of over 4,000 years.
The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom. The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe, which took place over 46 days in May–July 1812. The auction was eagerly followed by bibliophiles, the high point being the sale on 17 June 1812 of the first dated edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, sold to the Marquis of Blandford for £2,260, the highest price ever given for a book at that time. The Club has had a total of 350 members from its foundation to 2017. The circle has always been an exclusive one, with just one "black ball" (negative vote) being enough to exclude an applicant. Since 1839 the number of members at any one time has been limited to forty.
Phineas P. Gage was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life—effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him (for a time at least) as "no longer Gage".
"Elephant Walk" is a novel penned by Robert Standish, published in 1948. Set against the backdrop of colonial Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), the novel unfolds a tale of love, power, and cultural clash amidst the lush landscapes of a tea plantation. The narrative centers around the arrival of Ruth Wiley, the young and spirited wife of plantation owner John Wiley, to the sprawling tea estate known as Elephant Walk. Ruth finds herself thrust into a world of opulence and privilege, yet also faces the challenges of navigating the complex social dynamics of colonial society. At the heart of the story lies the titular Elephant Walk, a majestic path carved through the jungle by elephants, symbolizing the enduring legacy of British colonialism in Ceylon. The Elephant Walk serves as a metaphor for the clash between tradition and modernity, as well as the tensions between the colonizers and the colonized.
Mike the Headless Chicken was a male Wyandotte chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off, surviving because most of his brain stem remained intact and it did not bleed to death due to a blood clot. After the loss of his head, Mike achieved national fame until his death in March 1947. In Fruita, Colorado, United States, an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" is held in May.
Originally created by Cardinal Mazarin as his personal library in the 17th century, it today has one of the richest collections of rare books and manuscripts in France, and is the oldest public library in the country.
Devil's Island was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islands of French Guiana. Opened in 1852, the Devil's Island system received convicts from the Prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni, who had been deported from all parts of the Second French Empire. It was notorious both for the staff's harsh treatment of detainees and the tropical climate and diseases that contributed to high mortality. The prison system had a death rate of 75 percent at its worst and was finally closed down in 1953. Devil's Island was also notorious for being used for the exile of French political prisoners, with the most famous being Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who had been accused of spying for Germany.
Iceberg towing, a concept proposed in the mid-20th century, involves harnessing massive icebergs from polar regions and towing them to regions facing water shortages. The idea aims to utilize the abundant freshwater reserves locked within icebergs to alleviate drought conditions and provide freshwater resources to areas in need. While theoretically promising, iceberg towing has faced numerous challenges and setbacks, leading to skepticism about its feasibility and effectiveness. Proponents of iceberg towing argue that it offers a potential solution to water scarcity issues by tapping into a vast and renewable freshwater source. The process involves identifying suitable icebergs, towing them using specialized vessels, and allowing them to melt gradually, releasing freshwater into the surrounding environment. However, the practical implementation of iceberg towing has proven to be far more complex and challenging than initially envisioned. One of the main challenges of iceberg towing is the sheer scale and weight of the icebergs involved, which can weigh millions of tons and span several kilometers in length. Towing such massive structures across vast stretches of open ocean requires significant investments in equipment, manpower, and infrastructure. Additionally, there are risks of accidents, collisions, and environmental damage associated with towing icebergs through sensitive marine ecosystems.