Let’s see what are the most bizarre and weird facts from history. Wouldn’t it be interesting to read something new and different? It is said that in ancient times in the city of Rome, the emperor wore purple and only he could wear this color. This is because the purple color was made from a dye that was made from a special type of seashell which was very expensive. If an ordinary person, wore purple  his position was doubted and he was viewed as a traitor as he was believed to have got money through other means. Such a person wearing purple was normally imprisoned, and then executed !! Again in the civilization of the Aztecs, the marital status of a person and his hairstyle were related. Yes, shocked? But this is how it was. The hair style  [...]

As the River Hari gurgles down the Ghor Province in the district of Shahrakh, anyone would be enthralled by the sight of the Minaret of Jam. Today a World Heritage Site under the UNESCO, this minaret rising up to 65 meters in height is today a magnificent construction, in Afghanistan, and has mountains on all sides that reach up to a height of around 2,400m. Existing since the 11th century, this has been made of baked bricks. The lovely stucco work and the decoration of glazed tiles, has beautiful bands with calligraphy written on them. The Nashkhi and the kufic forms of geometric patterns of calligraphy have been imbibed here and there are Quranic verses here. Forgotten by the public for many years, it was Sir Thomas HOldich who rediscoverd  [...]

Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, Malta: Coming in next on the list of the oldest temples in the world is Hagar Qim and Mnajdra in Malta. Hagar Qim is a megalithic complex that stands on a cliff of Malta. The temples of Mnajdra are said to be a good 600 meters down the cliff from there. There are three additional megalithic structures that form part of the main temple at Hagar Qim. The largest of these are said to be about 7 meters high and are said to weigh about 20 tons. At Mnajdra, there are three temples which are not connected, but could be called conjoined. The oldest of these were built around 3600 BC. A lot of artifacts collected from here are said to hint in the direction of this structure having been used as a temple. Temple of Seti, Egypt: This  [...]

A temple can be defined as a structure that is reserved specifically for spiritual or religious activities. Through the ages, temples have been built and a lot of newer temples continue to open their doors with every passing year. However, these temples that have made it to the list of the oldest temples in the world have been built around millenniums back and were built by people whose religious practices and beliefs are not even in practice anymore. These buildings are said to be among the older structures built by man. Palace of Knossos, Greece: This structure is located at a distance of about 3 miles from Heraklion. The construction of this structure had to face a lot of hurdles, and took its own sweet time to complete construction. Time  [...]

Triumphal arches are structures that will boast of at least one arched passageway. Most of these were built in honor of an important person. In other cases, they were built in order to commemorate an event that is deemed significant. There is no proof that it was the Romans who began the tradition of building such arches; but truth of the matter is that once the arches became popular, they stuck around as a tradition for quite a bit. Triumphal Arch of Orange: This triumphal arch was built when Augustus was in power. This was built in honor of the Gallic war veterans. Tiberius later reconstructed it to celebrate his victory over the German tribes. The arch is said to contain an inscription that is said to be dedicated to Tiberius and this inscription  [...]

Wind power has for long caught the attention of humans. The sails have put a water-vessel to motion, the crops have been threshed using the power of wind, and the turbines of a windmill have rotated using wind. The next logical step was to use wind to provide for mechanical power. The first windmill was designed and created in the 9th century and was used to grind corn as well as to pump water. The first windmills of Europe made a rather late appearance in the 12th century. They may have been inspired by the Middle East’s vertical-axle windmills. This, however, seems little unlikely given the fact that the Europeans used a different design from that which was seen in the Middle East. Almost all the windmills of Europe were seen to rotate on  [...]

The citizens of America have a St. Patrick’s day to get themselves hammered and binge eat corned beef. The people of Germany get their own Oktoberfest (Not fair, eh!). All said and done, this write up wasn’t meant for anyone to feel sad or like they’ve gotten the sour end of the deal. The truth is we all have our reasons to drink; but isn’t it exciting how the world has been drinking since the Stone Age. Here, we present to you, a list of some of the world’s oldest breweries that might be worth a visit if you have a penchant for these things (Well, who doesn’t!). WEIHENSTEPHAN, Germany (1040) – This might well be the oldest brewery there is standing in the world. It got its licensing done in the City of Freising in the year 1040.  [...]