The Villa Palagonia is a patrician villa in Sicily, Italy. The villa itself, built from 1715 by the architect Tommaso Napoli with the help of Agatino Daidone, is one of the earliest examples of Sicilian Baroque. However, its popularity comes mainly from the statues of monsters with human faces that decorate its garden and its wall, and earned it the nickname of "The Villa of Monsters".
Frederik IX of Denmark was the King of Denmark from 1947 until his death in 1972. As king, Frederik IX was known for his informal and approachable demeanor, earning him the nickname "the people's king." He was beloved by the Danish public for his down-to-earth personality and willingness to engage with ordinary citizens. In addition to his role as monarch, Frederik IX was an accomplished musician and conductor, known for his love of jazz and classical music. He often performed as a jazz pianist and was a patron of the arts, supporting Danish musicians and composers throughout his reign.
Literally translating to platform cedar, daisugi is a 14th- or 15th-century technique that offers an efficient, sustainable, and visually stunning approach to forestry. The method originated in Kyoto and involves pruning the branches of Kitayama cedar so that the remaining shoots grow straight upward from a platform. Rather than harvesting the entire tree for lumber, loggers can fell just the upper portions, leaving the base and root structure intact. Although daisugi mostly is used in gardens or bonsai today, it originally was developed to combat a seedling shortage when the demand for taruki, a type of impeccably straight and knot-free lumber, was high.
Cephalocereus senilis, the old man cactus, is a species of cactus native to Hidalgo and Veracruz in central Mexico. It is threatened in the wild, but widespread propagation and popularity in cultivation have reduced the demand on wild populations.
Abram Petrovich Gannibal was a Russian military engineer, general-in-chief, and nobleman of African origin. Kidnapped and enslaved as a child by Ottomans, Gannibal was smuggled to Russia and presented as a gift to Peter the Great, where he was freed, adopted and raised in the Emperor's court household as his godson.
Fiery Cross Reef is a submerged feature in the South China Sea, situated within the Spratly Islands archipelago. The reef is located approximately 375 kilometers west of Palawan, Philippines, and is claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Over the years, Fiery Cross Reef has been the subject of significant attention due to its strategic location and the contentious territorial disputes surrounding it. China, in particular, has undertaken extensive land reclamation and construction activities on the reef, transforming it into an artificial island.
Shirime is a strange yōkai (supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore) with an eye in the place of his anus. Although Shirime appears to have a very startling appearance, it does not mean to harm people. Its joy comes from scaring people.
Jorge José Emiliano dos Santos was a Brazilian football referee, known for his flamboyant style. He is recognized as an iconic figure in Brazilian football and was one of the first openly gay referees in Brazil.
Fin Fin on Teo the Magic Planet is a 1996 computer game for Windows-based computers made by Fujitsu about a creature that is a hybrid of a bird and a dolphin which the user can communicate with via a microphone which came with the game, as well as with a webcam add-on called the SmartSensor. If he is not fed or paid enough attention, he would sing a sad whistling song or sometimes fly away.
The Hermes 3000 was a lightweight, segment-shifted portable typewriter manufactured by Paillard-Bolex. William Kotzwinkle's 1972 novel was named Hermes 3000 after the machine. During his acceptance speech for "Best Screenplay (Brokeback Mountain)" at the 2006 Golden Globes, author Larry McMurtry specifically mentioned his Hermes 3000, stating: "Most heartfelt, I thank my typewriter. My typewriter is a Hermes 3000, surely one of the noblest instruments of European genius. It has kept me for thirty years out of the dry embrace of the computer". Other notable users of the machine are Sam Shepard, Eugène Ionesco and Stephen Fry. Beat writer Jack Kerouac wrote his final novel, Vanity of Duluoz, on the Hermes 3000 in 1966.