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Unusual

Unusual

Brave soldier, man of letters, publisher, first Grand Master of Neapolitan Masonry

Raimondo di Sangro Prince of Sansevero (Torremaggiore 1710 – Naples 1771) was an original exponent of the first European Enlightenment. A brave soldier, man of letters, publisher, first Grand Master of Neapolitan Masonry, he was – more than anything else – a prolific and enterprising inventor and patron. In the underground laboratories of his palace,…

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Plead the Fifth (freedom)

You might have heard (recently) of the concept of Fifth Freedom flights.  It may sound like a bad action film, but its principles are fairly straightforward and, to be honest, a bit boring.  But, as you'll see in the video, below, in practice it can bring some benefits. Click here to see part one. In…

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The sunlight zone

Do you consider yourself as deep?  Full of meaning?  Sometimes unfathomable? Well, you have nothing on the Mariana Trench.  Most of us have heard of it, but probably know very little about it.  And is worth knowing about. The Trench sits like a crescent-shaped dent in the floor of the Pacific Ocean, extending over 1500…

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Fantastic new island property. Buy now! Won’t last!

Scientists have discovered a new island off the coast of Greenland, which they say is the world’s northernmost point of land and was revealed by shifting pack ice. “It was not our intention to discover a new island,” polar explorer and head of the Arctic station research facility in Greenland, Morten Rasch, said of the find last month.…

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Big birds

Chernobyl: Accidental Wildlife Sanctuary The accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in complete abandonment of a huge territory in Belarus as well as land on the Ukrainian side, creating the largest ever experiment as to what nature does when people leave. 30 years later the area is the nearest that Europe has to a…

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Mule love this

Yes, really - the village sounds like something from a 19th-century storybook, however, it seems to be reality. In fact, Clovelly has been named one of England’s most beautiful villages! The ancient fishing village is uniquely special due to its traditional architecture, donkeys and views over the Bristol Channel, which attract endless tourists. You can…

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Tubular dwells

The tube houses of Hanoi  Narrow residential houses, known as ‘nha ong’ in Vietnamese or ‘tube houses’, found in an urban area of Hanoi. Tall, thin and brightly colored, Hanoi's "tube houses" dominate the city's streets as 9 million people compete for space in Vietnam's bustling capital. Although Vietnam saw a number of villas and…

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Ahh . . . go climb a tree

The pandemic has inspired many  to jump into nature. Over the last 360 days, we have attempted new nature activities like kayaking and spelunking, sought out remote hideaways, and found inner peace on long hikes. Maybe we even hugged (or spoke to) a few trees, because we were just so elated to be out of…

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Jeronimo Ødger

Europeans generally like being with each other, visiting each other's countries, and sharing all that it means to be European. But, as you know, it wasn't always like this.  There were headlong battles over land, domains and royalty.  These conflicts left scars. But it isn't what you may think.  In fact, there is a day in August…

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Don’t call me Junior!

If there is one movie franchise that EVERYONE loves (in addition to Star Wars, of course) it's Indiana Jones.  Chances are good that - if you're a certain age - you got your first glimpse of Morocco or Petra via those classics. But, did you know that the films were influenced by a living human being…

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Ground control to ground control

Airbus jet has landed in Welsh field.  There were no problems.  You can sleep in it, as visions of heroics dance in your head. Situated in picturesque Tenby in Wales, UK, the Apple Camping grounds are the perfect place for those who can't keep their feet on the ground. Not only is there an Airbus…

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In my day, things weren’t like this

You think your job is tough?  Think the boss asks too much?   Well, suffer this poor guy, who works for Japanese Rail.  This almost looks like a joke at first.  But it's not.  They are deadly serious and that is something to reckon with. No wonder Japan is admired in so many ways.  But, don't mess up! See…

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Which way to the Shire?

If you're lucky, you live near trees.  And if you're even more lucky, those trees will be plentiful. But, if you're really lucky, you might be able to find a rare habitat, one that would make Frodo feel at home - a tree tunnel:  high or low canopies of the trees that create a nature-made…

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Welcome to Korean Air. Please ignore the missiles.

... but don't worry....yet. Korean Air announced a cooperative initiative for research with Seoul National University and the Korean Air Force to understand the options for launching missiles and orbital vehicles from a Boeing 747 jet. The airline has already started reviewing all technological abilities, operating costs, and how the selected 747 can be equipped…

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