Year Without a Summer
Missing rings are rare in oak and elm trees - the only recorded instance of a missing ring in oak trees occurred in the year 1816, also known as the Year Without a Summer.
Toynbee tiles
The Toynbee tiles are messages of mysterious origin found embedded in asphalt in about two dozen major cities in the United States and three South American capitals. Since the 1980s, several hundred tiles have been discovered.
Nissan Tama Electric Vehicle
After WWII, oil was very scarce, but electricity was plentiful. For this reason, there was a period when the government promoted the manufacture of electric vehicles. With this encouragement, the "Tama" was introduced and earned a high reputation: in performance tests it succeeded in bettering its catalog specifications with a cruising range of 96.3km and a top speed of 35.2km/h. It was used as a taxi and in similar roles until 1950.
Ice houses
Ice houses originally invented in Persia were buildings used to store ice throughout the year, prior to the invention of the refrigerator. The most common designs involved underground chambers, usually man-made, which were built close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes.
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life.
Palimpsest
A palimpsest is a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.
Klotz
Klotz is a family of violin makers. Members of the Klotz family have made violins in Mittenwald, Germany from the mid-17th century to the present. The Klotz family taught other families of the village the violin trade, and Mittenwald prospered and became well known for its violins.
Iron pillar of Delhi
The iron pillar of Delhi, India is a 7 meter high pillar in the Qutb complex which is notable for the composition of the metals used in its construction. The pillar is 98% pure wrought iron, and is a testament to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian ironsmiths. It has attracted the attention of both archaeologists and metallurgists, as it has withstood corrosion for over 1,600 years in the open air.
Air racing
Air racing is a highly specialized type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a previously estimated time.
Offshore powerboat racing
Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, specially designed ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing. Probably one of the largest, most dangerous, and most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive and elite sport.