Some Countries Follow a Logic No One Else Understands

a mega drought might hit Australia soon and this isn't just about a couple of dry seasons we're talking about 20 years of little or no rain while Australia could be facing the longest and most devastating drought since official records began the rest of the world might struggle to buy bread flour or cereals energy prices are likely to spike globally and neighboring countries like New Zealand Indonesia and Malaysia must be prepared to receive Australians directly affected by the lack of water to truly understand how severe this situation could become we should first examine past disasters first off Australia is no stranger to droughts and this phenomenon can happen across their entire territory from 2017 to 2019 the southeast part of the country went through what they called the tinderbox drought this was a severe bone dry event where the cooler months saw only about half the usual rainfall parts of Australia became so dry that wildfires were a constant threat crops failed and water was scarce this drought was also thought to have contributed to the Black Summer Fire disaster by the end of 2019 bush fires were raging across the country on a scale never seen before with people describing them as rivers of lava flowing down from treetops the losses were staggering the tourist industry alone took a hit of $2.8 billion and over 7,000 jobs disappeared as a result of this difficult period the tinderbox drought was a big reminder of what Australia might face in the future that's why it's so important to understand what happened in the past to get a full picture of a possible 20-year mega drought but there is one problem even though droughts are relatively common in Australia the rainfall data available until today isn't enough for researchers to predict the future and our records only go back to around 1900 so experts decided to study tree rings to uncover missing environmental data if you look at a tree stump you'll notice concentric rings on its surface as trees grow they form new rings and the thickness of these rings depends on how much water they get during a mega drought the rings appear thinner because the trees don't have much water unfortunately these natural records usually only go back a few hundred years and it only tells us about specific local conditions not the situation across all of Australia so experts turned to computer models to simulate how Earth's climate changed from the year 850 to 2000 this approach helped them to paint a picture of when mega droughts might have occurred in Australia and how to predict what might happen in the future but what they were really interested in was whether the human factor might be making this scenario worse over the years and if we are somehow intensifying these dry periods so are we to blame for these mega droughts the short answer is we're not sure yet on one hand dry periods in Australia do seem to last longer than they did before factories and machines became common on the other hand they don't seem to be getting more intense or happening more often than before industrial times this means a drought lasting 20 years might not be directly linked to human activities actually this kind of phenomenon is just a normal part of how rainfall changes in Australia over time this is backed up by evidence from ice cores which suggests that a 39-year drought hit eastern Australia around 800 years ago what makes it all so fascinating is that there isn't just one cause for this phenomenon i mean there is no single mechanism that explains all cases of mega droughts it happens because the right combination of ocean and atmospheric conditions come together and you end up with a drought and just by random chance you might have periods where there are 100yearlong droughts despite what many people think mega droughts are not geographically isolated they have occurred on every continent except Antarctica over the past 2,000 years and are often linked to natural events for instance mega droughts in North America and southwest South America were driven by El Nino where the Pacific Ocean near the equator gets warmer than usual disturbing normal weather patterns they are not rare events either in fact the US Southwest has been experiencing a mega drought since 2000 it's being considered the driest period in 1,200 years for the region major reservoirs like Lake Meade and Lake Powell are at low levels heat waves are hitting cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas harder than ever and wildfires are happening more frequently as the land gets drier now let's think about the future even though we have a very recent and concrete example from the US research can't exactly predict how a 20-year mega drought would play out in Australia usually such events show up mainly as reduced rainfall and snowfall but in most areas the increase in drought risk will be caused by a warmer more aid atmosphere so the ground will probably look parched and cracked rivers and lakes will likely shrink and the sky will be relentlessly clear and blue with barely a cloud in sight farmers might struggle to grow crops making grocery prices rise worldwide things like bread flour and cereals may become scarcer as Australia supplies about 13% of global wheat exports coal mines might be affected as they depend on water for extraction washing and processing that might drive up power costs for industries around the world which could be passed on to consumers impacting global growth and inflation as cities might face water shortages Australians will likely find new ways to conserve every drop or maybe move to New Zealand or Southeast Asia now you're probably thinking when is this big event going to happen honestly it's really hard to predict exactly mega droughts can happen every 150 to 1,000 years but experts think Australia should be ready for one to happen in the next 10 years or so and this possibly should be taken seriously this phenomenon has been known to contribute to the collapse of entire civilizations take the Acadians of Mesopotamia who built the world's first empire more than 4,000 years ago studies of moisture at the ruins of Aadian cities suggest that they experienced a massive drought lasting 300 years and this may have led to their collapse a similar thing happened to the Assyrian Empire which existed over 2,700 years ago in what is now northern Iraq for years it was a real mystery why they left their capital of Nineveh and never returned but recent studies of a stellagmite in the Kunaba cave revealed that the rise and fall of the empire coincided with a wet period followed by a 125- year long mega drought because they were very dependent on seasonal rain for agriculture this dry period made their life much harder even though experts now believe they probably left because of the dryness the question of where they went is still a mystery so yep mega droughts may have played a role in the collapse of great civilizations in the past but on the positive side we've come a long way since then and recent climate technologies can help us prepare for events like this now that we know a 20-year mega drought is very much possible and might happen soon Australia has some time to get ready for it developing strong water management plans to mitigate the severe impacts of a mega drought is more than necessary and it's also important to create community support networks to provide emotional and financial support to people particularly farmers who are more affected directly by this event if initiatives like these emerge in the coming years those 20 years of drought could be less intense than most people might expect that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side most of Europe's skyscrapers are concentrated in five cities those are London Frankfurt Paris Moscow and Istanbul but even combined all these places have fewer skyscrapers than New York City alone for a building to be considered a modern skyscraper it has to be about 490 ft high which means it should have at least 40 to 50 stories a story is simply one floor of a building with an average of 14 ft from floor to ceiling if you had visited the US just before the 1870s you'd have found only one skyscraper the home insurance business in Chicago was the world's first high-rise building with 10 floors wow in Europe the first skyscrapers appeared in Moscow they were called the seven sisters but they were built only in the mid 1900s north America started to construct more and more high-rise buildings it happened because cities were getting too populated every piece of land was too valuable new York skyline is so famous you'd probably recognize it even if you've never been to this city before it's the same for Paris but could you imagine the Eiffel Tower surrounded or even blocked by skyscrapers it would surely lose some of its magic la Defants District is where you'll find skyscrapers in Paris this way they don't interfere with the romantic and touristic scenery of the city in London things are done a bit differently some of it skyscrapers have unusual shapes one of such constructions is the Girkin if you get stuck in this building you'd really be in a pickle another interestingly shaped skyscraper is the Shard there's one more nicknamed the Cheese Grater these are not their official names of course but they do make sense if you look at the shape of these buildings but it's not some random architectural concept the reason the skyscrapers are shaped like this is not to obscure St paul's Cathedral by the way the top of this monumental construction is visible even from King Henry VII's mount and that's a great distance away anyway there are also other sites like the Tower of London and the Palace of Westminster they have their own viewpoints so not to ruin London skyline it's not allowed to build anything that would block these monuments most European cities already existed when the US started to build its first skyscrapers that's why they didn't have much space to fit in giant buildings evenly zoned cities were the result of their steady growth throughout the years for example in Lisbon there's a viewpoint in Eduardo Setmo Park from that point you can see all the park and the river if suddenly there was a bunch of 490 ft tall buildings standing around this gorgeous view would be totally ruined you wouldn't see the iconic avenue and forget the river instead there are buildings like Lisbon many other cities in Europe don't want skyscrapers to spoil their cultural heritage take Germany most of their skyscrapers are in Frankfurt in other cities they'd rather protect and restore the buildings that are already standing and even if let's say Berlin wanted to home some skyscrapers it wouldn't be able to do it in any case its soil just wouldn't allow it put a skyscraper there and it'll sink constructing a foundation for a very tall building in Berlin would mean investing a lot of money the soil's too sandy and soft but what if you ignored all the cultural heritage and still decided to fill a European city like Prague with skyscrapers first you'd have to demolish a lot of what already exists there this would lead to an angry crowd of people complaining that the city they know and love is gone brussels has experienced this to a certain extent there's even a term for this phenomenon brusselization simply put it means not caring where you place new high-rise buildings here is fine oh sprout one over there too hey we could call them Brussels sprouts or not but in most cases city authorities don't want new constructions to change the historical appearance of the place some large European cities might even follow France's example and choose a separate district a place just for skyscrapers the Burj Khalifa which is more than 2,700 ft high is the tallest building in the world it wasn't an easy feat to construct it the skyscraper took 6 years to build and folks say it was worth the effort the construction is so tall you can see it from 60 m away on a clear day the tallest building in Europe is only half that size the lock to center in St petersburg is a bit more than 1,500 ft tall well the question is if skyscrapers are so tall why don't they get knocked over by wind their structure from the very foundation to the highest point of the building is the answer take the Burj Khalifa please the soil where the skyscraper is built isn't ideal so beneath the 110,000 ton concrete foundation of this massive construction there are 192 piles driven to a depth of more than 160 ft thanks to the friction between the concrete and soil these piles don't move at all creating a solid foundation but most skyscrapers are built on bedrock because it barely shifts their frames are made of steel if you looked at a skyscraper without its external structure woo all you'd see would be a bunch of steel beams the taller the building the more the winds affect it taming them is one of the biggest challenges skyscrapers have to tackle imagine you're on one of the top floors of a skyscraper suddenly a strong gust of wind hits the building the entire construction starts wobbling and you can feel it even inside you might even get knocked over if you don't grab onto something to avoid such a situation most skyscrapers have a pendulum-like structure inside it absorbs some of the wind's force this thing is called a tuned mass damper the mechanism acts as a counterwe when the skyscraper gets hit by the wind it's the tuned mass damper that moves instead of the building some high-rise constructions don't need this pendulum the Shard for example deals with the wind with the help of its tapered shape and Shanghai Tower uses its 120° twist both skyscrapers have incredibly smart structures that's why they don't get too wobbly when the wind hits them the Shard doesn't have a tuned mass damper whatsoever and the one in Shanghai Tower only serves as a tourist attraction before a building's design is finalized it normally undergoes a wind tunnel test a model city is built and tested with this new super tall edition when the experts turn the wind on it simulates real life conditions let's say the model skyscraper breaks under the wind's pressure during the test then the chances are it's going to tumble over in real life too winds up there can be so strong that things like wind turbines have become a thing the Bahrain World Center has three of them right in the middle of the building but there are some others strata SE1 for example has wind turbines at the top there's a phenomenon called the downdraft effect it's accelerated winds near the skyscraper when a powerful gust of wind hits a high-rise building it gets pushed upward around the sides of the construction and down toward the street that's why if you're passing by a particularly tall building on a windy day you might have to force your way around but let's say several square cornered skyscrapers are built next to each other then they're likely to channel the wind through the streets this can create many hurricanes on especially windy days a study once examined 100 tallest buildings that were about to be dismantled by their owners it turned out most of them had an average lifespan of a mere 42 years but some of them can last much longer for example the Temple Court building is still standing to this day at 150 ft it's a bit smaller than others but it's already seen 100 winners throughout its life now the first thing that comes to mind when you think of getting rid of a building is dust debris and deafening noise but things aren't quite as dramatic as that for most skyscrapers when you want it gone you take it apart bit by bit this process starts from the top and goes all the way down to the bottom voila the building is slowly disappearing in front of your eyes abracadabra that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side hey there quick question what is the capital of Japan if you said Tokyo then you got it right tokyo is one of the most modern and colorful cities in Japan but for over a thousand years Kyoto occupied that place yeah I know the names are similar but while Tokyo is the futuristic center of Japan Kyoto is one of the most traditional and historical cities in Japan it's known as Japan's cultural capital let's play a game of spot the difference here are two photos the first one is from Tokyo and the second one is from Kyoto can you tell what is the main difference between both hold that thought for one more second here are two more pictures the first one is from Asakusa a neighborhood in Tokyo while the second one is from Kyoto what would you say is the main difference here well you can probably guess where I'm headed if you didn't figure it out I'll spell it out for you the main difference is in the colors if you've ever had a chance to travel around a bit you probably noticed how cities have certain color themes like Rome is terracotta and Paris varies in tones of gray and sepia looking at these images one can see that Tokyo is bright electric and looks even a bit chaotic and coyoto is monochromatic and gives the impression of being calmer and more peaceful it's fascinating to see that what causes this distinction between both cities has to do with a certain landscape law you see in 2007 Kedo passed a new law prohibiting colorful street signs the law also wanted to standardize overall constructions to make the city look more homogeneous since Kyoto was Japan's capital city for such an extended period of time it was built using traditional fune architecture and principles that's why so many of the buildings have that traditional Asian shape to them the one with the curvy ceiling like you see in the Mulan movie sure this style is very far from what modern architects are doing today if you take a look at Tokyo you'd see glass skyscrapers rather than these old buildings but that's all part of a bigger plan set in motion by something called the Myako landscape guidelines the municipality's main argument to pass the law was that Kyoto was losing its unique landscape due to Japan's modernization if Kyoto were to follow in Japan's footsteps and build humongous skyscrapers citizens would lose their view of the three mountains that surround the city and let's face it nobody would want that to happen plus it's nice that you can go to different cities in Japan and notice that they are unique in their own way if the landscape law was to be effective in all of Japan we wouldn't get to see architectural marbles such as the Tokyo Skytree and the Asahi Flame Building now take a look at the Akihabara District in Tokyo it is known as one of Japan's most modern neighborhoods it's filled with top-notch technology at every corner and yes it's also filled with signs everywhere if we compare it with Keyoto after the passing of the new law the first thing that would have to go are the rooftop signs oh and flashing and moving lights are also illegal there now this Kyoto Starbucks also illustrates what I'm talking about if you were strolling along the bucolic streets of Kyoto's countryside searching for a place to get a cappuccino you'd miss this coffee shop completely i think we can agree that the traditional Starbucks logo was made to call attention with that crown siren-like creature supported by a very green background in other places in Japan it still looks like this but in Kyoto the brand went above and beyond to respect the new guidelines and produce this beautiful wooden logo and a little plaque that says "This building has lattes." Yes indeed there are multiple examples like this in Kyoto the 7-Eleven doesn't have its traditional red orange and green stripes its logo was changed to black and white you can think that's dull but I think we can agree to disagree it looks perfect when you look at its surroundings oh and what about McDonald's the world's most famous burger franchise it kept its yellow logo but took the red out of the background in terms of the color palette allowed the law uses the monthsel color system to determine which chroma levels are acceptable usually the faded version of strong colors like red black green and so on are accepted now imagine if they adopted a Wes Anderson palette it would look like a toy city that's for sure at first vendors and shopkeepers felt disturbed by the new law they didn't understand why they had to change their branding for the sake of some aesthetic the city was trying to preserve but with time they not only came to terms with the new law but could already see the benefits of it for their brand success you see this helped turn Kyoto into an even bigger tourist attraction tourists felt like they were traveling in time sort of some tourists even like to dress up in traditional kimonos and walk around like geishes the municipality also began an award system to compensate the shops and brands that had done their homework well of course the camouflage Starbucks won an award back in 2018 as did Sagawa a major delivery company in Japan back in 2012 it's not only shops that needed to adjust to the new guidelines things such as vending machines and post offices also needed to be toned down again the idea is to make the city more visually coherent and they sure help now what happens if you don't follow the rules well the people who chose to ignore the landscape law can spend up to one year in jail or pay a huge fine we can also compare the differences inside Kyoto itself around the city center the landscape law is less strict so you'll find taller buildings and even bigger and more colorful signs but as you leave the center and move towards smaller cities in the countryside the law is much more strict it's especially strict around the UNESCO heritage sites in case you're not aware there are 17 heritage sites in Keyoto yep that's a lot but that's what makes Kyoto so unique now welcome to the neighborhood of Pontolo this neighborhood is a good example of how the landscape lot changed the city's mood over the years ponto is a cute alleyway in Keyoto that spans over several blocks if you look at this Google Street image from 2009 and this one from 2023 you'll see clear differences for starters the huge sign at the entrance of the alleyway is gone and so are the wires hanging from the tops of the shops the pavement was redone and the big store signs disappeared it's much cleaner at night the alleyway turned into the perfect spot for atmospheric dining since its legislation decided to rule over the type of lighting allowed in the neighborhood this is what it looks like at nighttime hey you fancy grabbing some sushi h I can't help thinking that this landscape law contributed a lot to Japan's minimalist architecture although images like these ones in Tokyo are far from the idea we have of this minimalist aesthetic Coyoto falls right into place with it how about we take a quick look inside one of these establishments the Starbucks we mentioned earlier also invested in turning its interior design local it's the first ever Starbucks where you can drink tea on a tatami floor you can sit cross-legged like many Japanese people do and enjoy a delicious hot beverage i must say I quite like the new Kyoto how about you that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side all right let's go on a world tour i'll show you the most curious things internet users have found across the globe little things light up cultures like nothing else let's start in a wonderland world Asia first stop India the country that will soon surpass China and will become the most populated country in the world this right here is a street where many training and coaching centers are located now in some states of India people still widely follow a sustainable tradition of serving meals on banana leaves a kind Redditor shared what a typical meal looks like another user commented that it is also common across the world in Puerto Rico this right here is a regular day in Sri Lanka fishing tic Tacs are so expensive in Sri Lanka that little packs of eight pieces are a thing in China some malls have a husband storage women can leave their husbands there so that the boys can enjoy video games while their wives are shopping it spares women from a lot of whining now this is a McDonald's located in an old newspaper stand even manholes are a work of art in Asia here's one example a dragon art spotted by a user in Wooi China turns out in China eggs are sold in mesh bags and of course Asia has a bunch of snacks with unusual flavors they even have cucumber flavored chips this guy went to get a coffee in Singapore and got it in a bag turns out it's quite common in Southeast Asia also they take ice cream sandwiches there quite literally in Singapore thing is they put ice cream between actual toasts the Redditor confirms that it's weirdly delicious would you dare to try here's a first look at a city in Japan a Redditor shared a beautiful photo made at night in Yokohama other internet users shared that they felt very safe there even when walking at night and this is a photo of a snowfall i didn't know that in Japan they get that much snow turns out many toilets there have sinks on top of them the dirty water after you washed your hands is used to flush which save Japan millions of gallons of water they also collect rain water and then use it to wash the roads the water in the street canal in Japan is so clean that fish swim there in Japan many manholes are beautifully ornated too and several users shared some of them these are Japanese rice fields and this is one of the designs in their cans a Redditor spotted a tiny house somewhere in Japan i wish I could have had the tour they have driverless KFC trucks roaming the street and selling you food turns out the Japanese don't have signatures instead each person has a personal stamp that they use to sign documents and this is a photo of a night bus i wish every country's public transport was this cozy and comfortable one Redditor went to see the White Temple in Thailand you see the buildings there are so stunning that even the toilet looks like this this is a mobile 7-Eleven in Thailand in Vietnam tour guides can row with their feet only this Redditor has proof and now we're off to Australia some buses there have special stands for the passenger surfboards since we like traffic lights today I can't but show you this one it features Mary Poppins and it's installed in Queensland the hometown of PL Travers the author of Mary Poppins the next country on today's tour is New Zealand look at this urban wonder a new apartment building built over an older house also the citizens of New Zealand enjoy a unique lemonade drink Coca-Cola produces just for them what a VIP treatment now let's move across the Pacific Ocean to North America we start in the second biggest country in the world Canada one of the most common stereotypes about Canada is that they are very polite well a Redditor posted a photo of a Canadian bus saying sorry for being full even the buses are polite there another user found an outdoor toilet but of course dressed for cold weather and one more user shared this photo it was so windy in the town that the grass got blown off as some Redditor commented "I can't own anything the wind tried stealing my grass." One more unusual occurrence a Redditor shared a photo of a huge iceberg passing by now let's move to the US and start in the northern state Alaska these light pillars are reflections of the ice crystals in the sky a resident of Alaska opened the front door after a snowstorm did you know that the US is the homeland of skyscrapers yep the first skyscraper in the world was built in 1885 in Chicago the home insurance building had 10 stories now it's not even close to a skyscraper but that was the start and look what this Redditor found in Seattle it's not unfinished work it's a skyscraper built on top of an 11story pedestal called Reneer Tower this is an abandoned diner somewhere in the California desert here's another interesting photo from a Redditor a Mexican restaurant moved to a building where KFC had been instead of removing the logo they just added a sombrero a mustache and a poncho i say genius since we talked about Mexico let's move there one user shared a pack of toast bread without any crusts and another Redditor showed that potato chips go with a small packet of salsa there here's a Mexican crosswalk the man on it has a dog and a hat and this user shared photos of how his grandma hand painted a toilet in Mexico and this toilet brush holder gives me chills mexico is a whole different world cenotus are caused by erosion in the limestone bedrock and they hold ground and rainwater but this Redditor probably didn't expect to see this wonder right by a Costco store the award for the stadium with the most mesmerizing view probably goes to this one turns out the Bahamas are home to the biggest underwater statue in the world which is called Ocean Atlas here's a photo from a Redditor it's magnificent you can even see a woman sitting on its hand for comparison and here's a curiosity from Bise apparently they sell bag drinking water there it's very common in Central and South America and this user met a grasshopper in Costa Rica the hand is for comparison now I have a question what do Costa Rica and Australia have in common central America is hot the average annual temperature there is 81° F no wonder this taxi in Panama only has controls for cold air okay let's say bye to Central America and see what South America has in store for us and the first store is in Colombia a Redditor shared that in Bogota people are paid for dressing as traffic cones and shaming drivers for parking on the street which makes them move somewhere else having a stroll down the stairs of Brazil doesn't seem easy you can run into trees like this one asia is well known for crazy chocolate flavors but look what this Redditor found in Brazil snickers bars with coconut flavors passion fruit and even caramel and bacon here's a 20 peso bill from Argentina it has Guanakaco on it we still have to move across the Atlantic and visit Europe and Africa see you in the next video that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side when you first see this creature it may seem to you that this is a flying sapphire the blueb banded bee is as beautiful as this gem these flying beetles have turquoise stripes instead of yellow their huge green eyes resemble emeralds in their thin brown wings look like layers of cellophane with engraved patterns appearance is not the only thing that distinguishes them from ordinary bees the blue banded ones are singles they don't move in swarms and don't live in large nests these beetles like settling in small burrows in the soil or crevices and rocks another cool difference between our blue guys and ordinary bees is their unique way of pollination scientists call it buzz pollination the blue bee sits on the flower holds it tightly and begins to shake the whole body it creates a series of small fast vibrations this way the bee also shakes the flower quickly and gently these movements make the pollen move out of the anther then the bee stops and collects all this pollen some scientists think these bees prefer pollinating purple flowers this helps the blue bees blend in with the plant and remain unnoticed by enemies but this theory hasn't been proved yet the blue banded bees mainly inhabit the territory of Australia they are an important element in the agriculture of this country these bees work with tomatoes cranberries eggplants blueberries kiwi and chili peppers ordinary bees can't pollinate most of those plants but their blue relatives can on a global scale more than 8% of plants in the world need to be pollinated through buzz pollination that's why farmers love and protect bluebanded bees so much wasps and bees are very similar in appearance sometimes they can be difficult to tell apart but their lifestyle is totally different bees are quiet beetles that spend all their time pollinating plants collecting nectar from flowers and making honey we can say that bees are small powerful trucks but wasps are racing supercars they are more aggressive much faster and more maneuverable in the air their stings are more painful yes they can also carry pollen from one plant to another and feed on nectar but their main mission is to control the population of insect pests such as aphids in some species of caterpillars according to some estimates wasps manage to get rid of more than 14,000 tons of insects in the UK alone during one summer imagine how much they do all over the world wasps are dangerous beetles but among them there is one kind that is distinguished by its peaceful nature and lifestyle this is the mudb wasp it also has a black and yellow coloring but it looks more elegant a swarm of regular wasps is controlled by the queen but mudbers are solitary creatures they build a small nest of mud in which they live with their children a mudabber will bite only if it's in danger unlike other wasps these insects only use their venom to paralyze spiders flies and caterpillars then they bring them to their nest to feed their children so don't be surprised if you see a large horde of paralyzed spiders inside the nest there can be more than 500 bugs in one nest when little wasps hatch from eggs they immediately begin their feast the most unfriendly wasp species is the hornet they are also wasps but bigger angrier and with an even more painful bite its bite is one of the most dangerous among all insects this critter can grow to be the size of a thumb that's three times as large as a regular bee hornets attack in a huge swarm and pose a great danger to any animal to fight them people wear thick protective suits that resemble space suits but the worst thing is that hornets invade hives and reduce the bee population this can lead to a catastrophe on a planetary scale since bees pollinate more than half of all fruits vegetables grains and nuts in the world look at this big buzzing bumblebee there's something wrong with it it lands on a flower and wait a minute this is not a bumblebee at all it's some kind of green orange beautiful beetle oh now it takes off and looks like a bumblebee again meet the palucid hawk moth thanks to its color and transparent wings it creates the illusion of a bumblebee the wings of most insects serve for thermmorreulation they warm their body other insects have wings that help them fight enemies a butterfly manages to look like a large creature thanks to the pattern on its wings some insects communicate using vibrations created by their wings colored wings have many different purposes but the pollucid hawk moth has transparent wings and their main function is to avoid reflecting sunlight these fastmoving transparent wings practically don't shine in the light and tone down the color of the beetle thanks to this when the moth is flying other insects perceive it as a bumblebee and are afraid to attack it these bumblebee copycats are found in Africa India Southeast Asia and Australia at the beginning of life they are bright green caterpillars that feed on coffee and pomegranate leaves from afar it may seem that a hamster is sitting on the trunk of a tree but this is actually the southern flannel moth it's large and covered with thick fur don't try and pet it if you don't want to go to a hospital there are many poisonous thorns hidden inside this fur coat even a light prick can make you experience lots of unpleasant sensations other insects that pretend to be bees and wasps are hoverflies they look like wasps fly like wasps and imitate a wasp's sting but their coolest ability is copying bee buzzing in reality though hoverflies are fragile harmless creatures their ability to transform into bees is essential for their survival and it works great many animals and insects are afraid to approach these skillful actors but in the entire animal world liar birds get the title of the most talented imitators these small birds with large beautiful tails resembling a liar live in Australia imagine getting lost in a forest far away from a big city suddenly you hear the sound of a chainsaw you don't see people but the sound is getting closer then you hear the clicking of a camera shutter but there are no people with cameras around liar birds create all these sounds thanks to all the complex muscles of their searings they can mimic the sound of almost anything some people heard these birds imitating human speech also they are good forest designers female liar birds build domed nests on the ground in stumps and caves they usually lay one egg there and take care of the baby for the first 6 to 10 weeks let's go down from the sky to the ocean to see other tiny creatures meet blue ringed octopus this little guy looks so small and cute its bright neon color and blue rings are visible from afar the octopus can easily fit in your palm but it's better not to touch it meeting a great white shark may not be as dangerous as encountering this tiny creature it's one of the most treacherous sea inhabitants in the world because of its venom one bite can knock down a huge African elephant the octopus is much more dangerous than a king cobra or a black widow spider because its bite often goes unnoticed you may not feel or see when it stings you and when you realize that something is wrong it may be too late also there's no antidote to the blue ringed octopus's venom the creature salivary glands are home to bacteria that produce this venom the same substance is found in the venom of puffer fish when it enters the human body it paralyzes the entire nervous system the lungs stop contracting to supply the body with oxygen the only good news is that this octopus is unlikely to attack first the last recorded case when this creature charged at people was in the 60s the blue- ringed octopus lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans from the coast of Japan to Australia they spend most of their time in tide pools and coral reefs now we move to the hot sands of the southeastern US states you can find fire ants here outwardly they don't differ much from regular bugs but people call them fire ants because of their bite their poison resembles a flame you're likely to feel the bite sight burning therefore it's better not to touch them and go away before any of these ants crawl into your pants that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side in Mongolia dinosaurs used to live and now there are as many horses as there are people and 10 times as many sheep there it's the emptiest country in the world the capital has been moved 28 times and they even have their own Olympics so Mongolia is located right here on the plateau of Central Asia right north of China it's the 19th country in the world by land area but it only has a bit over 3 million people it's like the population of Los Angeles but having a whole country to themselves if we don't count Greenland Mongolia is the country with the lowest population density it has only two people per half a square mile the United States has 37 well that is if we only count people mongolia has a lot of livestock about 67 million it's 20 times more than the number of people there half of that livestock is sheep yet of all their animals the most prestigious one is the horse there's a traditional saying "A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings." And it explains a lot a person with many horses is considered wealthy but don't picture huge farms with big stables filled with horses in Mongolia having stables is more of an exception horses there roam free outside all year long it costs next to nothing to sustain a horse there because they roam outside and even find food themselves and the country's nature provides them with enough winter is tough because everything is covered in snow but horses can separate grass from snow they get frail by spring due to a lack of food but recover very soon after winter is over a family can have a sacred horse in their herd it wears a blue scarf around its neck and is almost never ridden people there do love their horses and this tender relationship goes centuries back there are many songs stories myths and artwork featuring horses in the Mongolian language there are about 500 words to describe the traits of horses and over 200 words to describe the coat color and pattern alone horses have a spiritual meaning too it's believed that they have spirits that can help the owner and they are also believed to be a transport to heaven so they were often sacrificed after their owner's passing apart from domestic animals the country is home to some endangered species plus back in the day dinosaurs roamed the land the first ever discovered dinosaur egg was found right there today dinosaurs are of course extinct except in the movies but there are snow leopards in Mongolia and those are also rare if you ever do go to this country you must be careful snow leopards are so quiet you won't hear them approaching you they make no sound as they walk but let's get back to geography the climate in Mongolia can be harsh and unpredictable within just one day the temperature can change by 35° F the country doesn't have any access to large bodies of water that's why it's very dry and doesn't get much rain in the south of Mongolia there is a part of one of the coldest deserts on Earth the Gobi Desert only 5% of the desert is covered in sand the rest is bare rock it has rivers small lakes and grasslands but also gold coal and copper so it's not a very typical desert but still a desert rainclouds don't reach there because of the Himalayan range that keeps the area in the shadow the desert is expanding every year because of climate change of course but also because of deforestation and changes in land use the whole country is quite dry with little precipitation and that's why the inhabitants aren't afraid of the desert yes the desert is populated there are people living there they're nomads who are busy with raising cattle nomads are people who don't have a settled home they travel with their animals from place to place following the seasons when they settle somewhere before their next trip they set up a tent that is called a yurt these have been homes in Mongolia for thousands of years and it's amazing that some people still live in them the skeleton of a gird is made of poles which are then covered with layers of felt and waterproof fabric the Mongols are a very welcoming nation overall but the nomads are on a whole other level they don't get guests often and they're always ready to greet someone and give them a taste of traditional horse milk they don't even have bells at the entrance of their girts inviting guests to walk right in of course there are also people who live in cities and villages and have settled homes and they are the majority about 3/4 of the population the biggest city in the country is the capital Ulan Bau almost half of the country's population is concentrated there in just one city even though it's the coldest capital city in the world the average yearly temperature there is 32° F the average temperature in Washington DC is 60° and it's 44 in Ottawa when the city was first founded in the 17th century it was located about 180 mi southwest of the current place then it was moved a little bit 28 times until it finally settled in the current location why well back then most of the population were nomads so the capital city was a mobile settlement too depending on seasons pastures water supplies and many other factors it moved along with its inhabitants now the city is big and settled so maybe it won't be moved again but who knows i know I know i have yet to tell you about the Mongolian Olympic Games the event is called Nadam Festival is an annual festival held in the middle of summer that most Mongolians watch in one form or another the festival has existed for centuries locally the festival is called the three games of men and people compete in three skills that have traditionally been considered three manly skills so what are those three games it's Mongolian wrestling horse racing and archery originally it was just men competing but recently women have started participating in archery and horse racing mongolian wrestling is a folk wrestling style that's been around for thousands of years the depictions of it can be seen on many ancient plates found in the area today it's the most popular sport in the country and Mongolia hosts many international tournaments too so of course there is a wrestling part at the festival and it's the first game the rules are quite simple whoever touches the ground with anything other than a foot loses there are no weight classes no age or time limits so it takes as long as it needs to win and yet they do it with grace match courtesy is important for example if an opponent's clothes get tangled the other one is supposed to stop and help solve the issue even if it means missing a good opportunity to win at the end of the match when one participant is defeated the winner will give them a hand and help them back up on their feet the game starts with either 512 or 1,024 participants who wrestle in pairs every loser is eliminated the game goes on for 9 or 10 rounds depending on the initial number of participants until there is a winner then there's horse racing this is a cross-country long-d distanceance event between 10 to 17 miles depending on the age of the horse up to a thousand horses from all over Mongolia can participate in the competition then in archery people compete in teams of 10 each archer wears traditional clothes and has four arrows to shoot into a wall of woven or wooden cylinders knock one out of the wall and you get points and the team that gets the most points wins you know how they say when in Rome do as the Romans do meaning in Rome you need to make sure your goldfish has a deluxe bowl to live in in Nigeria don't you dare to bring your own wheelbarrow and perish the thought of adding as much mayo as you want to your dish when you're in France yep bands around the world may be surprising to say the least number one you will never see a good old door knob in Vancouver Canada some time ago the city changed its building code to require the use of cool and sleek door levers instead this change is all about making buildings more accessible and easier to use not only new buildings are getting a new makeover even Vancouver's historic city hall had its fancy art deco doorork knobs replaced with shiny gold levers but it's not that you can't legally have it in your house there isn't a team of doorork knob police coming to your house to confiscate your knobs you can keep them as long as you like number two comes with a geoger tip for y'all if you see this chair in the picture it means it's 100% not in Basil Switzerland it's called a monolock chair and it's special you see most objects give away clues about when and where they're from like the shape of electrical outlets or the labels on your shampoo bottle mhm but the monolock is contextf free some people call them one of the world's most perfectly designed objects while others say the homogeneous nature of the chair is disturbing and the real evil of globalization but why is it banned in Basel turns out the authorities just want the city to be pretty and the chair design isn't to their liking right if you want to keep one in your backyard feel free but they've been a big no in public spaces since 2008 three if you are ever thinking of bringing a wheelbarrow to Nigeria I've got some news for you don't even try should you need it for some reason during your stay in Nigeria just buy one there when you arrive the authorities won't let you bring your imported wheelbarrow across the border why well they're all about supporting their own manufacturing industry so they want to give their local wheelbarrow makers a chance to shine at number four we've got China where the authorities decided to put a stop to time travel wait a minute it's not what you think no time travel machine has been invented the ban is on TV shows and movies by the way it's not something new the law was introduced in the early 2010s apparently the big shots in charge want to keep things real and are not too keen on distorting historical events they say some scripts are getting a bit too wild making up myths promoting superstition and disrespecting the country's past five coffee pods they've become super popular because they make brewing coffee so easy but Hamburg Germany doesn't seem to be a fan of those pods around 8 years ago they took a stand by banning plastic coffee pods from authorities offices these little pods are made of various materials making recycling a real challenge while it's true that these coffee capsules can create a lot of problems they're still loved by many in fact they become a big hit in the US and Europe making up a chunk of the coffee market hamburgg is hoping to lead the way in showing people just how wasteful these pods really are number six chewing gum it has been banned in Singapore since 1992 the ban was put in place to stop people from sticking gum in all sorts of weird places like subway doors lock cylinders and elevator buttons yuck but costly train shenanigans were the last draw for the authorities the ban was put in place after some serious gum incidents on the mass rapid transit or MRT trains in the late 80s some mischievous or mischievous pranksters have been gumming up the works on MRT trains by sticking chewing gum on the door sensors that caused a sticky situation and messed up train services and there you have it chewing gum got completely banned now just a note here yep these are gums prescribed for therapeutic or dental reasons and yep they're still allowed also don't get this whole ban wrong it's not illegal to chew gum in Singapore so if you come there as a tourist you can bring in a little gum for personal use if you're traveling just do not stick it under this nice park bench okay what will create you a ton of troubles though is importing and selling chewing gum iceland is number seven in our ban hit parade back in 1994 Rayuik was like "No dogs allowed." It wasn't because they were all about cats it was to stop this nasty tapeworm from spreading the disease was serious business causing all sorts of health problems but don't worry dogs are cool now as long as they follow the rules nowadays in Reikuic it's all about the cats they're everywhere roaming the streets like they you know own the place you can't walk two steps without seeing a furry little friend begging for attention these Reiki kitties are so popular that they even have their own Facebook page people love them and some even carry around treats just in case they come across a friendly feline and since there aren't many threats to cats in Iceland they're thriving eight the Philippines now this one is really weird singing My Way in karaoke bars is sort of banned in this country this seemingly harmless song has been linked to some pretty serious consequences like fist fights and even people's early demise no one knows the exact number of lethal cases caused by this song but there have been at least a handful of incidents in the last 10 years the song's lyrics which can come off as a bit arrogant and prideful seem to rile people up when sung in a not so great way this has led some karaoke bars to unofficially ban the song to prevent any craziness from breaking out nine hey have you heard about Japan's Metabo law it's all about measuring waist sizes to tackle obesity it was introduced in 2008 and the idea was that if companies and local authorities didn't meet the goals they would face financial penalties the Ministry of Health believed this campaign would help prevent various health conditions so every year people aged 40 to 75 had to get their waist measured employers and local authorities needed to make sure at least 65% of people participated the goal was to reduce Japan's obesity rates by 25% by 2015 and if they hadn't made it they would have gotten slapped with a fine did it work well in 2024 there are only 4.5% of people who reportedly have weight issues in Japan number 10 and we're back to Canada so if you catch someone in there counting out pennies in line you can totally have some fun with them legally speaking of course according to the Canadian Currency Act there's a limit to the number of pennies you can use in a transaction 25 to be exact so if someone tries using 26 coins you can play sheriff and send them to coin jail snatch up their pennies as evidence yeah 11 an economiment regulated country here apparently in France they're cracking down on condiments in public schools h they're trying to make meals healthier for students the rule is that you can't just go crazy with mayo ketchup and vinegrett anymore they have to be served according to the dish finally Italy in Rome you can't keep your goldfish in a boring old glass bowl nope that's considered cruel because those little guys need their oxygen flow plus if you keep them in a bowl for too long they might go blind also you can't give away goldfish's prizes the law has a whole subsection about it so if you're planning on bringing a goldfish home from your next trip to Rome make sure you've got a fancy tank ready for them and thank you for watching it all started with the home insurance building that was built in 1885 in Chicago just a 10-story building but it was a revolution at the time and that was the beginning of the era of skyscrapers it was constructed using a revolutionary method the building had an inner skeleton made of steel which allowed the walls to be thinner and the whole structure being higher than ever it stood until 1931 when it was demolished to build the Bank of America that stands even today that very same year the construction of the Empire State Building in New York was completed the Empire State is as tall as 10 home insurance buildings on top of one another that's the construction progress humanity made in just 46 years the Empire State became the tallest construction in the world and held that status for 39 years now a bit more than a half century later the Empire State Building is ranked 53 on the list of the tallest constructions humanity has climbed way higher the tallest building in the world today is Burj Khalifa located in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates it's 2717 ft tall more than two Empire State buildings on top of one another even though skyscrapers started out in the United States they became tremendously popular in Asia just to put it in perspective around 80% of the skyscrapers that exist in the world are in Asia and in total the continent has over 7,500 skyscrapers the country with the most skyscrapers is China having almost 3,000 of them why do they like skyscrapers so much well Asia has the largest population in the world and their economy is booming so growing high is a perfect solution to fit as many people as possible in its cities but close to China there's also India having almost the same population still they have 10 times fewer skyscrapers with their number being a bit over 200 and most of them being located in Mumbai so why doesn't India build skyscrapers if it's such a great way to accommodate people turns out the country strictly regulates the construction saying that it's due to health and safety you see there's quite a popular urban theory that big structures that accommodate a lot of people lead to higher population density more anonymity in the city and lower safety in the territory so India is trying to avoid it by building low the problem is that when a city can't accommodate everyone who wants to live there the cities start growing horizontally one more thing is that the land and the apartments are very expensive due to their scarcity so very few people can afford it this way India has started to loosen the restrictions recently and is now slowly allowing to build a bit higher 34 skyscrapers are now under construction do you know what other place in the world refuses to build skyscrapers too europe new York alone has more skyscrapers than all of Europe combined there are just 250 skyscrapers in Europe and half of them are in just three cities europe has a whole different reason to resist tall buildings the history of skyscrapers goes back to just a bit over a 100 years ago to the 20th century USA the USA is quite a young country and the cities are still being built from scratch there is a lot of available land when the United States were being built many European cities had already been around for dozens of centuries there's not much more room for construction and no one has any desire to take down the coliseum and put some fancy skyscraper there instead there was also no practical reason for changing things the driving force of Asian and American skyscrapers is the booming population of the cities also Europeans are very protective of their city skylines the story comes to Brussels the capital of Belgium which even got the term Brusselization in the 1960s there were no zoning regulations and some buildings in Brussels were demolished to make room for more modern buildings to develop business districts uncontrollable construction started and modern buildings were built in random places around Brussels they had no cultural or historical value and they didn't fit in the city architecture at all messing up the city's image many architects and people protested and new laws were introduced restricting the demolition of buildings of historical importance and taking construction under control other European countries learned from Belgium's mistakes populations across Europe still dislike modern structures many cities adopted zoning regulations and building a fancy glass skyscraper in Europe isn't that easy still cities with big financial centers like London Frankfurt or Istanbul require commercial space so in some cities there are several skyscrapers somewhere outside the historic centers forming separate skyscraper districts rome the capital of Italy and one of the oldest cities in the world rejected skyscrapers completely stating that no high-rise will ever appear there also have you noticed that most skyscrapers are made of glass turns out the choice is not random at all and there are several reasons to favor glass in their construction the first one is that glass can be pressed in every shape possible so the skyscraper can no longer be just a plain boring vertical tower as before but all of these fancy designs we have around the world now the second reason is that glass is a very thin material the walls are thinner and the floors are bigger providing more inner space unlike in the prehome insurance building times glass is also transparent glass reduces the need for electrical lighting inside the building so it's also very cost effective even more glass is temperature and therefore weather resistant and finally it just looks posh fancy and modern so theoretically skyscrapers maximize urban space accommodate more people and reduce energy use in practice everything is a bit less efficient skyscrapers have more space between them than lower buildings so that already means more land used than we imagined also around 40% of a skyscraper's floor space isn't accommodated because it's used for elevator shafts and emergency egress every additional floor adds less floor space than the previous one as for the energy skyscrapers still require a lot of heat and cooling and we shouldn't forget about the energy elevators use okay let's find out what are the countries with the biggest number of skyscrapers in the world i'll give you the top 15 as of September 2022 so number 15 is Panama with 66 skyscrapers there number 14 with 67 skyscrapers is Turkey 13th place goes to Singapore they have 95 skyscrapers then there goes India with 112 of them quite a few of those were built in recent years so that's a big jump they made next up 122 skyscrapers in the Philippines thailand opens the top 10 with 125 skyscrapers canada surpasses it a bit having 126 eighth place goes to Indonesia which has 129 australia is home to 141 of them and gets seventh place level up now we're talking 266 and it's Malaysia japan beats it by just five and opens the top five number four is no surprise another Asian country it's South Korea with 276 skyscrapers the United Arab Emirates make it to the top three with 314 buildings now we all know the two countries with the biggest number of skyscrapers if you've been attentive today yes the second place goes to the founding father of skyscrapers the United States of America they have 859 of them that's a big jump from third place but there's an even bigger one with 2,976 skyscrapers the first place goes to China nine countries in the top 15 are Asian three countries are from the Americas one in the Middle East one in Europe and one in Australia that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side if you've ever wondered what it feels like to walk on diamonds head straight to the town of Nerdlingan in Germany it seems like a typical fairy tale village with cute houses and red roofs but its walls and streets are actually studded with over 72,000 diamonds you'll need a microscope to see them but they're definitely there when the first people came to live here somewhere around the 9th century CE they were positive they were settling down in a volcanic crater they didn't know the stone they were using for construction was embedded with millions of tiny diamonds and the origins of the crater were out of this world an asteroid slightly larger than half a mile in diameter hit our planet around 14.5 million years ago in what is now Bavaria and left a crater 16 m wide the bedrock was under such intense heat and pressure that the bubbles of carbon inside transformed into tiny diamonds at a concentration like nowhere else in the world the locals didn't pay attention to their houses built of what was left of that asteroid impact shimmering on sunrise then in the 1960s two geologists arrived from the USA studied the landscape from a distance and noticed it didn't look exactly like a volcanic crater after further research they realized their theory that the crater was shaped from above and not from below proved right they even had to change school books after the discovery not to mislead the students once the word of the crater had spread NASA got interested in it and sent their Apollo 14 and Apollo 16 astronauts to visit it to learn about what kind of rocks they'd find in space and which of them were worth bringing home a moon rock that arrived with one of the missions is now on display at the local museum and astronauts still visit the place the locals though are so used to living among diamonds they don't even find it special the Australian town of Kubber Pedi is known as the Opal capital of the world and exists completely underground the town even has the first four-star underground hotel in the world the reason people settled in this area was to work at an opal mine back in the day the miners could hardly survive under the burning desert sun so someone decided to put a tent directly into the mine then it turned into a home now Coober Pey has around 200 residents from different countries about 30 shops an opal gallery museums a bar and other buildings and is a popular tourist attraction the town of Manawi Nebraska in the USA has a mayor a clerk a treasurer a librarian a tavernkeeper and a bartender yet the population is officially just one elsie Eer has been doing all those jobs paying taxes to herself and voting herself for mayor since 2004 back in the 1930s Manawi had a population of 150 people grocery shops and restaurants when farming conditions got worse people started leaving family by family until it went down to one person if you feel like saving some money on house construction look up some property in the Spanish town of Centennel de lasagas 3,000 residents live under and into the sides of the Kadis Mountains and use them as natural walls and ceilings the first settlers moved in here back in prehistoric times the rocks keep the houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter neft Dashler in Azerbaijan was built as an oil platform in 1940 directly in the Caspian Sea once they discovered rich oil deposits it started growing and is now made up of a network of platforms with around 5,000 people working and living here the town has apartments bridges a library a community center and even a movie theater the Japanese village of Nagoro has an unofficial second name the Scarecrow Village the last children were born here over 20 years ago it officially has less than 50 residents but it feels complete thanks to 350 life-siz human dolls when a local lady came back here in 2000 to look after her aging father she saw the empty streets shops and schools to change that she and her friends started making cute dolls to replace the residents the entire town of Whittier Alaska lives under one roof of a 14-story building of a former barracks that's around 220 people who live here all year round plus all the shops a police station a post office a hospital and a church the locals are mostly working in commercial fishing recreation and tourism or for the state ferry and railroad the idea behind having everyone and everything in one place is to save money on heating in the always cold climate and let the people do all their business inside this way they don't have to face the unbearably strong winds there's a town in Spalbard Norway called Lungerbayan where the sun sets on October 25th and doesn't rise again for the next 4 months when it rises again in spring the locals gather on the step of an old hospital at 12:15 to welcome the sun and celebrate its return then it doesn't set for over 4 months it happens because of the way the Earth is tilted on its axis the sun only rises and sets once each year at the north and south poles lungerbayan is the northernmost town in the world so it gets affected by that its residents occasionally see polar bears and reindeer in the streets and get around on snowmobiles the Italian village of Viganella was built right at the bottom of a deep valley and on the wrong side of the mountains they cast huge shadows and deprived the village of the sun for the entire winter the locals used to live like that for centuries until one engineer decided to build a large mirror high on the opposite slope of the mountain it's operated by a computer and reflects light on the central square of Viganella for at least 6 hours a day during the darkest months santa Cruz delis Lorte in Colombia is one of the world's most crowded islands with around 600 residents in a 2 and 1/2 acre area fishermen built this island on a coral platform over a century ago they chose it because of its beautiful location and the absence of mosquitoes the families of the original settlers were growing and most of them never left the island you'll only find people with six different last names living here when the family needs extra space they just add an extra floor to one of around 100 homes in town now it has a school shops a church and one restaurant there is no traffic since the streets aren't wide enough for cars or trucks and the distances are perfectly walkable no one on the island locks their doors because everyone knows each other and there hasn't been a single crime another place where people don't lock their doors is the Shauni Shingapore village in India in fact local homes and even shops don't have front doors keys and locks but locals never feel unsafe residents believe their village is under the protection of Lord Shaunie who will punish anyone who tries to steal something a legend says that around 300 years ago after heavy rain and flooding the locals found a huge rock the same night Lord Shaunie appeared in the dreams of the village head and promised to protect the village if they kept the rock in the village unsheltered the deity would live on the rock and oversee the village once the first bank opened in the village they added a glass entrance and a barely visible electromagnetic lock with a remote control to respect the tradition if you're looking for the most relaxed place in the world check out the villages in Florida you can't move here unless there is at least one person over 55 in your home and you'd have to leave behind any family members under 19 the most popular means of transportation in the villages is a golf cart there are all sorts of free fun activities for the residents so it's far from boring now before somebody gets married in India they get a thorough shall we say snooping sometimes without even being aware of that there are pre-matrimonial detective agencies in India that provide services of private investigators there are also spit inspectors these people also known as nuisance detectors catch and give fines to those who litter or spit in public one more profession you aren't likely to meet anywhere else is an ear cleaner so the process of removing ear wax requires some traditional instruments they don't use Q-tips we're so used to their instruments are called the steel needle some cotton and a pinser yikes the ear cleaner rolls some cotton around the needle so it looks like a Q-tip and the clients have their ears clean ear cleaners usually can be found somewhere in the city center around monuments or at a local market this profession is rare and exotic in today's India but it used to be quite common in this country your dream may come true and you'll get paid for sliding down a water slide the professions called water slide tester and these people have to control if the slides are both safe and fun usually these people work in various hotels and spend most of their time in planes traveling from one resort to another there's a village where locals have no locks on doors not a single house there has one even public toilets have no locks or doors only a curtain thank you it might seem somewhat reckless but in fact it's one of the safest places out there the locals lean a wooden stick against the door just to keep the stray dogs out of their houses the only police station opened there only in 2015 and still there are no complaints even the local bank has no lock it's officially the only bank in the world that's never locked when the locals are out of town they don't ask the neighbors to look after their houses and they're not afraid to leave valuables money and jewelry without hiding them vegetarian dishes are quite popular in India between 15 and 30% of the whole country's population are vegetarian some people tend to eat fish only and never eat any land animals many large food chains famous for yummy meat dishes even provide a whole new vegetarian menu for India cutlery isn't really required for many traditional Indian dishes they say that mouthwatering curry tastes even better if eaten with the fingers now I would assume that you'd want to eat the fingers separately but hey just thinking out loud here there's also a wide range of crazy traditional dishes but there's one called Okay let's just put it on the screen thanks it's made from potatoes which are pretty common for Indian food the exotic part is that the potatoes in the dish are actually extra old even more they're rotten and there's a bunch of traditional spices it's just a side dish you'll need to choose the main course samosas are another traditional Indian dish made of potatoes they're deep fried and look like dumplings and they're both a side dish and a main course now if you love sugar don't forget to thank India for it it was first extracted and refined there about 2,500 years ago then the Chinese picked up the technique and it spread all over the world another thing you should be grateful to India for is shampoo the very first version was made from dried herbs some extracts and water soap berries and soap nuts were widespread in India so this component was a perfect match for the shampoo formula it's probably because of the right shampoos that most Indians have absolutely stunning hair and cool hairstyles by the way in India it's possible to cut clients hair with fire it's not that widespread though only one barber is said to do it first they sprinkle the hair with some flammable powder then they light it up and literally set the hair on fire while the hair is burning the stylist creates the right shape with the help of two combs he says the fire helps fix the hair right he also claims to have at least 15 clients each day who come to get this very cut he sure makes it look like it's a singe to do if you like holidays India is the destination for you indians have about a thousand various festivals and events sometimes people even celebrate the first hair cutting or who knows hair burning all of the local celebrations are totally worth seeing holly is the festival of colors and people consider it to mark the beginning of spring it starts at the end of February and finishes in March it involves the famous powder throwing so don't wear that brand new white shirt to the festival diwali is the celebration of lights that last 5 days people give gifts to each other usually sweets and light thousands of candles and oil lamps no other country in the world has that many celebrations india holds a lot of world records too the largest sundial in the world is located in the town of Jaipur it's a tower 90 ft tall it's made of polished stone and looks like an architectural masterpiece the shadow of this sund dial moves at about 2 and 1/2 in per minute so you can see the time literally moved there another longest thing in India are nails according to the Guinness World Records the longest fingernails ever belong to an Indian man they're almost as long as a London double-decker bus he cut them off back in 2018 but before the total length of all his fingernails had reached 358 in there's also a record for the quantity of movies produced per year in 2018 1,813 new movies were filmed in India the quantity is so impressive that if you wanted to watch all the movies made in the country in 2018 and you watched a movie per day you'd still be watching them today in 2021 north Sentinel Island which is a part of India is probably the world's most remote place since nobody can visit it strangers aren't welcome there the locals are quite introverted and would always reject any contact from outside no ship is allowed to come closer than five nautical miles and special people always patrol the area it's one of the very few places in the world that has no modern civilization recently the island's been open to the researchers but tourists still can't visit it several years ago two frogs got married in one coastal town named Udipe it was done to encourage the rainfall it was too hot over 120° F both animals had unique outfits for this occasion and the bride even had a tow ring the two frogs were sent off on a honeymoon to Manipala and were released there sadly each of these guys had to go their own way a couple of months later because the locals had to stop the downpour that started soon after their wedding somehow there are not four but six seasons overall here according to the north west and central Indian calendars Indian spring is in March and April next comes summer also known as hot season it starts in May and finishes in June it's also one of the marriage seasons next comes monsoon also known as rainy season it starts after the summer solstice usually in July and lasts throughout August next comes fall which spreads from late September to mid November after fall they have a pre-winter or simply cool season the real winter or cold season starts in January and goes on until February in fact there are many more other calendars in India but all of them have six seasons with slight differences the Statue of Unity is actually twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty reaching 600 ft it was open to the public only about 2 years ago back in 2018 the statue consists of five parts but only three of them are accessible to visitors the first part starts at the statue base and finishes at the shins this zone has three levels and includes the exhibition area a garden and a museum the second part reaches up the statue's thighs the third one has a viewing spot at a height of 500 ft the fourth part is the maintenance area and visitors can't get there finally the fifth one comprises the shoulders and head in the first 11 days after its opening almost 130,000 tourists came to see this colossal statue that's more than the population of the capital of Kansas Topeka apparently a whole lot of people showed up to Peeka at this statue yeah pun intended so when you're driving you get a green light everywhere except Japan the traffic light is actually blue there the problem is purely linguistic old Japanese had the same word AO for blue and green even though modern Japanese has a separate word for green the linguists objected and the government left the AO color for the traffic light it's technically green but it's the bluest shade possible so we perceive it as blue if you ever travel across Japan you'll definitely see norin fabric hangings that look like curtains before the entrance to restaurants and stores you can tell if the store is open just looking at the norin if they're hung at the doors it means this place is open if there are no curtains sorry the place isn't working look for another one the name of the place is usually written across the nor the dirtier it is the better just kidding the Japanese say that if this curtain's dirty it means there are a lot of customers that constantly touch the Nord when they enter japanese are very punctual and in this country everything's on time no matter if it's people who need to come to a meeting or public transport the trains are so punctual that if they have a minute's delay the company will provide you with a special certificate to prove to your boss your lateness wasn't your fault there are some drawbacks about Japanese trains though some cars in Tokyo Metro are so packed sometimes that Metro staff aka professional pushers come to help people squeeze into that train they literally shove people onto busy trains and help the passengers travel safely japanese people seem to be obsessed with glasses well there doesn't seem to be any specific explanation for this one they just do it for pleasure sunglasses as well as regular glasses can be an integral part of your look as a cool accessory anyway they're usually a prescription and most people wear them because of short-sightedness the public toilet experience may be a challenge for you but not if you're in Japan there's always music in the bathrooms midday is quite a regular thing for this country too the toilets look high tech and they really are in fact over 80% of Japanese households have a bedday toilet not only are they super sanitary but they also save water using only one gallon per flush in regular toilets it takes about 3 gall if you're an introvert and love traveling alone Japan is a top destination for you in this country it's totally okay to eat out enjoying your own company for introverts who may feel lonely now and again there are special cafes that feature cuddling services in some restaurants in Japan water is free which is no real surprise the surprise comes when you're offered some free tea waiters usually bring you some traditional tea while you're waiting for your order another unusual thing about Japanese restaurants is that you're not supposed to leave tips people can even take offense if you do so good service is considered to be a standard and it's already included in your order so hey enjoy your meal talking about Japanese food and I'm getting hungry chopsticks are probably the first thing that comes to your mind still a real Japanese dining experience has more ways of eating you're not going to look impolite if you literally drink your miso soup right from the bowl if the bowl is somewhat bigger than the one from IO and the broth has noodles and other ingredients don't be afraid to slurp this ramen away japanese are cool with slurping there's one food hack for a Japanese meal if you struggle a lot with chopsticks especially eating rice bring the bowl closer to your mouth if the plate is pretty large it's not recommended to pick it up if you still struggle it's okay to ask for a spoon unless the place you're dining in is traditional and expensive eating fruit in Japan can be quite expensive some fruit are exported from far away which explains the price local farmers do their best to grow perfect impeccable fruit that's why peaches can cost up to 3,000 yen which is about 300 bucks hey how about a $21 apple yeah rather pricey but it's washed with honey and handpicked to make sure there are no blemishes plus these are one of the world's largest varieties of apples some of them weighing up to 2 lb japanese eat rice anytime no matter if it's breakfast lunch or dinner another incredible fact about their food is that their sweets aren't actually sweet at all all right not sweets but rather desserts traditional Japanese desserts are usually made of chestnuts matcha tea or rice flour they can even cook many desserts such as brownies puddings and chocolate bites using a special type of beans called azuki as the main ingredient people in Japan believe that the dessert is good quality if it's not sweet japanese food is crazy combining a bunch of unusual flavors in regular things hey how about ice cream choose the flavor there are potato miso wasabi soy and many other flavors for those who like it extreme there's even raw horsemeat ice cream m that's really good horse yeah right these tastes are not very common for the Japanese either though some other unusual foods feature hot dogs with noodles instead of sausage or unagi cola yeah it's like eel plus cola and if that's not enough you can also find chocolate chip ramen in Japan you can't beat it japanese always take their shoes off when they enter the house they even have multiple slippers for example toilet slippers don't come inside a Japanese house with your shoes on it's very impolite most cultures usually use handshakes for greetings but in Japan people mostly use boughs for this purpose the more times and the deeper you bow the more respect you show to a person there's a catch though if you bow too deep it could be offensive bows are acceptable everywhere supermarket workplace and even among friends sometimes getting connected working on something on a train can be next to impossible because of the noise level in Japan nothing can distract you on a train so you can even work people usually don't even answer the phone there still the Japanese aren't quiet all the time bars make a big part of the Japanese everyday culture so it's pretty loud there watermelons are round right well not in Japan japanese farmers have a special technique for growing square watermelons they grow it in a special container this way they can fit into a fridge easier some other shapes are available for example the fruit can be triangular or heart-shaped the only drawback is that such fruits are quite pricey turning train seats in Japanese trains are super convenient you can make a square if you travel in a group of friends you can adjust your seat to the direction of the train if you simply don't like your travel companions you can just turn around too you will probably never see a janitor in Japan because students have to clean up the schools by themselves japanese students even serve lunch plus besides a regular school cleaning they will go out now and again and clean up the neighborhood the Japanese never stop inventing and one of their recent innovations is their non-melting ice cream just imagine you casually walk in the scorching sun it's 90° outside and you're enjoying your ice cream not being afraid of staining your shirt the secret ingredient is polyphenol extracted from strawberries that prevents oils and water from separating preserving the ice cream shape in Japan with such an abundance of vending machines you seem to be likely to buy anything you want without ever going to a store vending machines sell everything from food to canned bread yeah it exists super spicy snacks with warning disclaimers on the machine and even toys anyways the Japanese themselves are more likely to grab a quick snack in a store instead of those machines long ago Japanese women would blacken their teeth instead of whitening pitch black objects were a kind of beauty standard to dye the teeth black they would use iron filing dissolved in vinegar plus some tea powder and finally if you want to wish someone a good day in Japan do you say have a bet no probably not behind those huge steel doors is one of the most guarded places on Earth it's known as site R or the Raven Rock Mountain Complex you'll find it in Pennsylvania the construction is 60 stories underground it is said to be a safe place for people in case of a natural or human-made disaster there's not a lot of information online about this mysterious place but what we do know is that it's equipped with 38 communication systems it's obviously not available for visits via Google Earth but you can catch a quick glance at the two gates that face the complex vatican City is one of the most famous enclaves on Earth and it's certainly worth a visit due to its wonderful architecture and vast list of art pieces to check out one place however will always be off limits for visitors the Vatican Secret Archives they have some of the oldest and rarest books on Earth these archives are available only to a limited number of people and since they have been visited by a small number of people so far they also trigger a lot of weird theories for example that there may be books proving there's life outside our planet if you're fascinated by shipwrecks you'll be interested to know that one of the largest wrecks you can see on Google Earth is on North Sentinel Island India it used to be called the SS Jasim it was a Bolivian ferry that sank in the area back in 2003 the reason why people can't visit it physically isn't because of the ship itself but because the island is home to the world's most dangerous tribe we don't really know how many people live there but it was estimated that between 50 to 400 people call this place home and they really don't like tourists no person that tried to reach them survived also to protect them their privacy and their special status the island is closely monitored by the Indian authorities that's mostly because it's believed the locals don't have any immunity to modern diseases so being in contact with foreigners might be dangerous for the trib's people since they've never seen the outer world a huge pink bunny appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the Italian KTO Fava Mountains back in 2005 besides the locals some people stumbled upon it online too they were puzzled by the discovery unfortunately that 200 ft tall bunny is completely gone today you can still find the images of it online though the unusual object was designed by artists from Vienna they encouraged tourists to climb jump or even take a nap on top of the large rabbit the whole purpose of the project was to allow people to experience what it would be like to live as smaller creatures the bunny didn't have any removal date at the time it was placed there and was expected to last at least until 2025 but mother nature had other plans a Japanese artist decided to move back to her little home village named Nagoro but she soon found out that most of her neighbors were moving to bigger cities to deal with loneliness she started putting together scarecrow like dolls or kakashi and placing them all over her garden she didn't stop there though the artist soon began doing the same with many other places in her village creating dolls and placing them as if they were taking part in various human activities these dolls keep moving around too but the woman likes to stay true to her story and insists she doesn't touch them you can see the images of this quirky village on Google Maps this weird portal was discovered via online maps in New Baltimore New York it gave people all sorts of bad dreams with spooky looking buildings and all sorts of blurry figures this area soon became a source for many weird internet theories turns out it was nothing more than a technical issue which resulted in those images being rendered in a distorted manner either way if you look for these images on Google you won't be able to unsee them this cute miniature world map was created by an artist from Denmark he continuously worked on this tedious project from 1944 until 1967 using mostly his hands and just a few tools for moving heavy rocks around he gathered stones at the edge of the water then recreated the map of the world on the surface of this lake during the winter he was able to use a sled to transport larger pieces of rock over the ice and then place them in the perfect position apart from the continents themselves the map also features rivers and lakes as well as some other famous landmarks care to have a look at a sea without any coasts search for the Saraso Sea you'll find it in the northern Atlantic Ocean this weird sea is surrounded by four ocean currents and no dry land at all it got its name from the seaweed that grows there sargasm fingerprints on the lens of a satellite camera you may be tricked into thinking this if you search for the finger maze it's located in the city of Brighton UK and is a large fingerprint created in Hoveve Park it also has a maze at the center it can be really hard and timeconuming to look for wild animals on Google Earth but the geo browser does have a nice feature that can help if you're eager to see hippos and flamingos in their natural habitat try googling animals from above and start scrolling through these images this unique feature can take you from Kenya to Namibia and even all the way to Antarctica where you can see emperor penguins there are some places on Google Maps that for specific reasons aren't available for the online public like the Royal Palace in Amsterdam if you head over there via Google Earth you'll see that everything around the Dutch Royal Palace is still visible like the vegetation and roads but the construction itself is blurred from all angles that's probably because local authorities want to keep the unique views of the palace for the eyes of physical visitors only the same goes for the Tantaco National Park in Chile this one is a privately owned nature reserve that can only be seen on Google Maps from a distance once you reach a certain point the zoom feature stops working some people say that since it's a nature preserve it may be home to some endangered species and extreme measures are taken for their protection you know how a certain brand of fried chicken has a certain kernel on their logo yeah you won't see any of these logos in high resolution on Google Maps that's because the online map uses specific algorithms to detect people's faces and blur them out as you can see it's not always really that accurate it's called Snake Island and the Brazilian authorities prohibit people from visiting it for good reason you'll find the island near the city of Sa Paulo in Brazil it's said to be home to over 4,000 snakes some of the most venomous types of reptiles on Earth call this place home if that's not creepy enough how about that some of them are so dangerous that a small drop of their venom can permanently damage the human skin you can see the shape of the island on Google Earth but the more you zoom in the blurrier it becomes here's another cool thing you can do on Google Earth time travel well at least sort of you won't be able to travel back in time and tell yourself to study more for that tricky exam but you can see certain historical images of places you like you can check if this feature works by looking at the upper left corner of the screen if you can see a small icon with a clock it may allow you to scroll some years back but you can also see how sunlight affects Earth if you turn on the sunlight feature now when you think of Norway things that come to mind are the sun that never sets in the summer unbelievable nature the fact that it's one of the happiest countries in the world even white bears that freely roam in the wild i'm guessing they're happy too already planning your trip to this dream country well don't rush you'll have to review your budget fuel there is 10 to 15% more expensive than in other Western European countries a meal at a cafe for one person will cost at least 30 bucks plus consider yourself lucky if you manage to find a hotel at $100 a night if you Google the most expensive country in the world you'll see this list switzerland which is meanishly expensive the United States duh been there know that luxembourg is not a surprise either and then all of a sudden you see Norway just so you know a family of four would need over four grand a month just to exist in Norway and it doesn't even include rent specialists say that Norway is around 7% more expensive than in the US norway is a bit weird though usually the richest countries have national currencies that are stronger than the US dollar take Swiss Franks for example or the Kuwaiti dinar which is literally the boss when it comes to currencies like one Kuwaiti dinar can snag you $3.25 25 now here's where the mismatch comes the Norwegian Crona is dubbed the weakest currency in the West well how come in the wild world of global currencies the Norwegian Crona used to be a tough player known for smart money moves but surprisingly it is now the weakest currency in the West taking a big hit in the last decade it has fallen hard against the US dollar in euro causing concern for central banks and money folks worldwide the oil price roller coaster is a major factor in the cronis struggle as Norway relies heavily on oil exports but even with oil prices relatively high it remains historically weak against major currencies the weak Norwegian crona is affecting everyday folks too with prices rising on almost everything due to heavy imports inflation is growing leading to interest rate hikes by the Nordisk Bank high interest rates are hurting the housing market and making life more expensive for Norwegian citizens so one of the supposed reasons for why Norway is so expensive might be weak national currency what else is particular about Norway well climate for sure it may be hard to imagine a freezingly cold country plunging into riches it's an imagery we usually see on social media with geo tags Dubai Saudi Arabia or even Kuwait and it makes sense to think now that all the riches are somewhere southward as these places have strong oil-based economies and super strong currencies but in reality better economies in the south are a current trend ever wonder why cold countries seem to be raking in the cash while the hot nations are just hanging out turns out those living in chilly climates had to hustle just to survive winter think building shelter stockpiling food and keeping that fire burning meanwhile those basking in the sunshine had it a little easier with hunting and foraging year round this theory holds true even in the land down under sydney and Melbourne the top dogs in Australia's wealth game also happen to be some of the coldest cities while Darwin the warmest city is lagging behind some might argue that this theory doesn't hold up when we look at ancient civilizations or modern hotspots like tropical Singapore but hey times change and so does wealth generation back in the day it was all about farming but now it's more about industry and innovation so Norway may seem to have been bound to get rich historically and geographically still it's not exactly so norway used to struggle a lot back in the day it faced some tough times with harsh winters and tricky geography they even had famines that pushed families to seek a better life in the US so how did Norway go from rags to riches yep oil and gas played a big role the country is small but it has around 0.31% of all oil reserves in the world but in Norway there's more to the story than just black gold for example the top oil reserve is not some Arabic country but Venezuela which claims up to 20% of the world's liquid gold still Venezuelan's economy is far from stable so it's not all about oil although bested in forest size by other European nations Norway was an unrivaled powerhouse in lumber during the age of sale thanks to its strategic fjord path timber from its inland forests could quickly reach fjordside mills and global markets as railroads unlock larger forest potential in other countries post the 19th century Norway was Europe's timber king bolstered by a worldclass merchant fleet by the 20th century the Norwegian timber wealth coupled with early cooperative societal norms spurred growth across several sectors from agriculture to fishing and banking despite being labeled poor in the 19th century Norway's GDP per capita outshon Eastern and southern European nations the nation's ascendancy continues beyond the discovery of its oil reserves norway is unique with a small population but sprawling land despite its vastness the Nordics are scattered and considered one of the most spacious countries globally much of the North's territory stretches beyond the Arctic Circle offering harsh landscapes with thin top soil covering the bedrock the tough terrain in Norway full of mountains and with a short growing season limits arable land to only 2.2% similar to Yemen the scattered arable land in small valleys makes extensive farming impractical a far cry from the efficient farming in the US with a huge chunk of land and coastlines but a small population Norway makes some serious cash from its reserves plus nature has been pretty kind to Norway with rich fishing grounds hydro power from rivers and power from cold waters and only then comes the little thing called oil the late 50s saw a big discovery that changed everything for Norway's economy fast forward to today and petroleum activities have been a major gamecher for Norway feeding its economic growth and funding its welfare state but Norway didn't just sit back and watch the money flow in they made smart moves like creating a sovereign wealth fund to manage their oil wealth for the long haul the fund sees some big bucks currently standing at 1.7 billion Norwegian kuner or over 160 million US norway uses the interest from this fund to boost its annual budget ensuring top-notch health care education and welfare for its citizens and here's the kicker norway's not resting on its laurels they're investing in sustainable technologies like offshore wind power to secure a bright future beyond oil and gas now Norway may be expensive but it can't compete with the world's costliest place to live Monaco it's almost four times more expensive than the global average so if you're looking to rub elbows with the rich and famous look no further than Monaco with property prices soaring to an average of over $50,000 per square meter in 2022 it's no wonder why this tiny country is a magnet for the Lahi Dah however there's a place that's particularly expensive for tourists and I'm not talking about tourist traps neither Oslo nor Monaco can beat the prices in Well take a second to make your guess ready welcome to Ashkaba Turkmanistan's capital a gallon of milk costs a whopping $15 while a standard internet subscription plan will set you back $168 a month calm down you're not poor it's just an economic glitch the reason for these prices is simple the Turkman national currency exchange rate in relation to dollars is fixed and never changes $1 equals 3.5 and has been so since 2015 local prices in the local currency grew to inflation making it not proportionate to prices in dollars the exchange rate never changes so if you live there such prices don't seem to be extraordinary but if you come with dollars you're in for a pricey trip let me continue my world tour and now we're heading straight to Europe let's start our journey in Greece a place with thousands of years of history even in modern days there are still ancient ruins there that are being carefully preserved and it's an interesting ride the airport of Athens has a built-in museum with ancient artifacts and here's how ancient and modern coexist there here's the view of the Acropolis from the street a Spartan roaming the streets of Greece a Redditor shared a photo of a modern building built right over the ancient ruins the visitors can see the ruins through the glass greece is also very well known for its cats roaming the streets everywhere this Redditor spotted a cat guarding the National Bank of Greece these days everyone is trying to reduce the usage of plastic some use paper straws and some go with glass straws but this cafe in Greece offered to use macaroni as straws i'm not sure if it's stupid or genius another user went to a restaurant in North Macedonia and got baffled when they served slices of pizza on waffles double win a snack and no waste in Romania vending machines seem to be a thing this one for example is a machine with ham and here's a better one a vending machine selling cartons of eggs scrambled eggs probably europe is a place where old neighbors are modern and this combination is mesmerizing i'll show you this Redditor shared a photo of a modern basketball court squeezed between 700-year-old walls in Croatia and here's a photo from inside a grocery store look at these old columns modern problems require modern solutions these traffic lights light up the ground so that people who store their phones could notice when the light changes italy is a work of art with thousands of years of history i have quite a bunch of stuff for you from there some ruins date back thousands of years and a lot of that gets preserved a Redditor shared a photo of a lobby of a hotel that has a glass floor so that the ruins were visible and these are the railing in an Airbnb even street signs are a work of art in Italy look at this one another Redditor shared even more designs this Redditor showed a photo of a supermarket that is located in an old theater in Venice another user added one more photo of that supermarket since we're talking about supermarkets apparently pets are allowed there there are even special carts to carry them cities are centuries old and there are quite a few narrow streets so post vehicles have to adjust to fit them here's one of them some cities have canals or are located on islands so boats are a thing this is a UPS boat at Morirano Island europe is packed with countries the city of Bassel in Switzerland is located right on the border with France and Germany so the airport has three exits you can walk out of it to France Germany or Switzerland let's walk out in Germany look there's a traffic light with a girl walking a camel the reasons are a mystery to me because camels aren't really a German thing but it's cute here's another unique street light featuring Carl Marx a famous German philosopher back to baffling vending machines in Germany you can find vending machines with sausages hamburg is Germany's major port city there's a river that connects it to the North Sea no wonder there's a drive-through McDonald's for a boat look at this design of mineral water that is being sold in the Swiss Alps a Redditor brought a souvenir from France these are baguette shaped pens look at this narrow house in Spain i wonder what it looks like inside but unfortunately the Redditor only shared the exterior in Portugal cell phone towers are disguised as trees and this is a bus that can ride the roads and then turn into a boat a Redditor spotted doors in London that have door knobs in the center this seems super inconvenient but apparently the handle doesn't turn and exists only to pull the door closed and the metal part with the keyhole has a little handle on the bottom of it europe is a historical place this post box bears the mark of a king ruling over a century ago back in the day red telephone boxes were in high demand nowadays when every person has a cell phone or two not so much so telephone boxes are being used in different ways this one for example is now a smartphone repair shop luxembourg is a small but rich country squeezed between France Germany and Belgium and they have baguette vending machines let's move north first to the Netherlands farmers border their fields with a strip of flowers and put up a sign with a QR code where people can pay for picking the flowers and here's just a weird installation spotted by some Redditor in Denmark in Arus a city founded by the Vikings in the 8th century you can find traffic lights with Vikings pictured on them some trash cans in Swedish subways have a separate space for cans homeless people can pick them up and exchange the cans for some cash there's a giant statue of a silver moose in Norway and these are signs on bathroom stalls depicting reindeer apparently Finnish people are as polite as Canadians on the bus they have a button to thank the bus driver also a Redditor spotted a raccoon pattern on a bus seat we all know rocking horses most of you probably had one in your early days well Finnish little people have rocking moose many people come to Iceland hoping to see the northern lights a Redditor had a phone in the hotel which had a special button to wake the guest up when the northern lights appear lithuanians sometimes put fake police cars on the sides of the road to combat road speeding europe has been ruled by kings and queens for centuries even today many countries like the UK the Netherlands Spain Denmark Belgium and some other countries have monarchs so no wonder that there are hundreds of castles scattered across Europe poland doesn't have any monarchs these days but it still has 500 castles here's a warning sign for ghosts next to one of them in Vatzav all landmarks have a model so that visually impaired people could touch and see them too there's also a statue of Darth Vader in one Polish city in reality it's a statue of a Polish magnate who supervised the construction of a port but from time to time locals dress the statue in Lord Vader's costume this sign in Poland specifically prohibits bikes tractors and horses to go on a highway in some places there's a separate line on the sidewalk for people who are walking and staring at their phones and now we travel across the Atlantic to Africa this is Dune 7 in Namibia the seventh biggest dune in the world it's as tall as the Empire State Building an internet user shared this photo someone in Tanzania put a literal penthouse on top of the building i did some research and found out that it's a hotel still doesn't explain the roof but I'm totally buying it maybe it's marketing drivers in Mosamb beek should be careful and watch out for elephants and this is a sign from South Africa watch out for penguins and another one that asks to baboon proof the trash bins so baboons are the raccoons of South Africa trees growing through the roads aren't surprising anymore but this is a palm tree in Morocco growing through multiple balconies a Redditor shared a photo of a runaway horse in Israel returning to the backyard in an urban area urban horse encounters are relatively common in the country a hotel in Turkey served a whole honeycomb for breakfast to this Redditor meet Hula also known as the city of hope this nickname makes total sense since this artificial island is part of the Maldives's big plan to avoid being completely submerged in the near future hulalay was created by placing sand from the seafloor onto a submerged coral platform and it worked this city sits about 6 ft above sea level which means it's twice as high as the Maldives's capital Mallay while more and more people are moving there to live the island was also designed to serve as a temporary evacuation site during dangerous storms and typhoons seells is another gem in the Indian Ocean that's at risk of disappearing unfortunately coastal flooding is becoming a common issue there especially during spring tides and heavy rainfall the problem is that their main island Mahay hosts about 90% of the country's population along the coast it's only about 6 f feet above sea level fiji is the third tropical paradise on our list and it's also a top pick for travelers but this nation is in a tough spot since it's located right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where huge storms can really turn things into chaos take Cyclone Winston it hit Fiji back in 2016 and ended up costing them over a billion dollars in damage so one thing they're doing to protect themselves is planting mangroves along the coast and preserving the ones that already exist these trees are awesome since they help reduce wind speed during cyclone emergencies and also combat erosion by trapping sediments egypt might be in trouble too i mean it's not like the whole country is going to be underwater and we will only see the tips of the pyramids in a few years but things could really change for them as coastal cities are facing a serious risk take Alexandria for instance 45% of its population already lives below sea level if the city is flooded not only will everyone have to move but Egypt in general will suffer a major impact on its fish production in Europe one of the most at risk populations is in the Netherlands where about half the people live in areas below sea level in the future planning a romantic gesture with tulips for your girlfriend could become an impossible mission the Netherlands is responsible for 2/3 of the world's tulip production so if fields are taken over by saltwater it's game over for the blooms but the good news is that the Dutch have centuries of experience dealing with water so knowing how to work with storm barriers and seaw walls can prevent them from a doomsday scenario the risks of rising sea levels probably aren't higher anywhere else than here in Touvalu this island chain located halfway between Australia and Hawaii could be the first state to become uninhabitable its stunning land is only about 9 ft above sea level and just by looking at it on the map you can see how narrow it is in fact the narrowest part in Fongafal is only about 65 ft wide so even before higher tides become a real problem the country's limited farmland could be flooded with salt water the next country on our list is the Philippines this archipelago in Southeast Asia boasts some of the most stunning scenery but it faces the risk of flooding for two reasons first due to rising sea levels and second because of crazy unpredictable weather since 1990 events like cyclones earthquakes and tsunamis have cost the country over $20 billion have you ever heard of Vanuatu this chain of islands spread out between Australia and Fiji could be flooded soon vanuatu was one of the first Pacific nations to relocate an entire community to a safer spot back in 2005 residents living in risky coastal areas of the northern island of Teeua moved to higher ground next up the Marshall Islands a country located in the central Pacific studies show that 40% of the buildings in the capital city Maduro could end up underwater in the future but this country isn't throwing in the towel just yet they've got a game plan they are fortifying the infrastructures of their low-lying airport relocating key buildings to higher ground and putting up seaw walls on rural islands heading south we've got Naru this is actually one of the smallest countries in the world covering just 8.1 square miles today it's home to 10,000 people but it's on the brink of becoming uninhabitable water levels are rising about three times faster there than the global average the Bada Lagoon sparks special concern since it's the only surface freshwater resource and it's located only 16 ft above sea level our next stop in the Pacific Ocean is the Republic of Palao rising sea levels are no joke for them either but protecting their crops especially taro is a priority at this moment about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand lies Samoa and this country is dealing with a unique situation not only is the volume of water increasing there but their land is also sinking you see a couple of strong earthquakes and tsunamis hit Samoa back in 2009 so as the crust bounces back to its original position the overall land surface is actually going down because of this their housing and main infrastructure could take a serious hit especially since all their airports are along the coast let's head to Kiraabas this Pacific nation has a big problem with frequent flooding because most of its people and infrastructure are near the coast apart from the volcanic island of Banaba none of Kiraaba's land is more than 6.5 ft above the ocean to tackle this situation and keep their population safe they had this big idea of making a massive floating platform kind of like the ones oil companies have but the problem is is that it would cost them a fortune as the project is estimated to be around $2 billion if visiting Vietnam is on your bucket list you better hurry up the top 10 things to do there mostly involve cruising to jaw-dropping spots like down to Halong Bay also known as the descending Dragon's Bay but by 2050 the surrounding land over there might be underwater another huge problem Vietnam is facing is that the main rice fields are getting salty and if you're into Vietnamese food you know how important rice is for them right now they're especially concerned about the Meong Delta region being vulnerable after all this is a highly fertile area responsible for most of Vietnam's agricultural output with over 50% of it being yep rice this nation is really putting in the effort to adjust to this new reality they're flushing the rice fields in the Meong Delta with fresh water to get rid of the saltiness our next stop is in the Caribbean Sea granada is an island country but you may know it as the island of spice since its tropical climate is just perfect for cultivating things like nutmeg cinnamon cloves and ginger unfortunately Granada and its incredible fertile soil also face an uncertain future of being submerged let's talk about the last country on our list the Solomon Islands five islands in this archipelago have already vanished beneath the waves and six others are submerged by 20% they include the Nusa Aili Island which was once a hot spot to go to for a picnic in the early 2000s even though the situation is complicated it's important to note that more than 300 of the islands there are inhabited one thing about the Solomon Islands is that it seems like they're always in some kind of recovery mode since the country often gets hit by tropical cyclones and flash floods their population is already working hard to save their homes from the rising seas by building stone walls along the coast planting mangroves and constructing houses in higher areas it was April 10th 1912 richard had just departed from Southampton England aboard the most famous ship of the time dubbed the Unsinkable since he had just witnessed a near collision with the SS City of New York he decided to write to his wife and report the unfortunate and frightening event "my dearest S," he wrote "we got away yesterday after a lot of trouble." Little did he know that a mere 4 days later both his pen and the ship he was on would be lost forever at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean was this some sort of bad omen did Richard actually foresee what was about to happen to the ship he was on in case you haven't figured it out by now Mr richard Gettis was aboard the Titanic on the day that he wrote the letter to his wife on April 14th 1912 the ship seemed to have been lost forever along with it so many secrets and treasures have settled at the bottom of the ocean it took until 1985 for the Titanic's wreck to be finally rediscovered using state-of-the-art sonar technology ever since then they've managed to recover thousands of items from the Titanic and many of them went on display or auction things like jewelry a life jacket a menu from the ship's restaurant or even a sample square of carpet from the first class stateateroom have all captivated the public's attention just like the many stories of the people on board scientists have even tried to come up with strategies to get the Titanic back up altogether to properly study it and stop it from getting more and more damaged at the bottom of the ocean some have suggested filling the wreck with pingpong balls to make it float while others even considered injecting it with 180,000 tons of Vaseline another idea was to use 450,000 tons of liquid nitrogen to trap it in an iceberg that would float to the surface but they eventually had to let go of all these potential strategies since the Titanic is way too fragile to ever be recovered the Titanic may be one of the most interesting ships lying at the bottom of the ocean at least in popular culture but deep sea divers have a lot of other stories to share planes also sometimes find their way to the bottom of the ocean deep sea divers in Aahu Hawaii came across the wreckage of an F4U Corsair plane it seems to have crashed into the ocean in 1946 as it didn't have sufficient fuel if you can dive deep enough you might even stumble upon statues and lost artifacts like those found in the world's only underwater archaeological park off the coast of Naples Italy it features the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Baya the underwater statues found here are breathtaking to say the least in an ironic twist of events some of the equipment we intended to use to get us to the moon was lost at the bottom of the sea for a very long time but how did that happen beginning from the late 1960s and ending in the early '7s many Apollo rockets were launched to orbit the Earth and the Moon when reaching altitudes of about 38 mi the first portion of the spacecraft including the engines needed to separate people thought these components got destroyed or lost forever but were they really in 2012 a team of specialists discovered a bunch of rocket engines 14,000 ft off the coast of Florida they have since gone through a two-year renovation plan and are now on display at Seattle's Museum of Flight can you imagine stumbling upon a whole city underwater back in 2001 a lost city was discovered in the Gulf of Cam off the coast of India some archaeologists believe it to be the oldest city in history by comparison it's almost the size of Manhattan and features massive walls and even plazas they stumbled upon pieces of sculpture artwork and even what looked like ancient wooden furniture believed to date back up to 9,500 years ago and 5,000 years older than any city previously discovered okay how about an underwater river i can't even imagine what that would look like but some deep divers claim to have seen it south of Tulum Mexico is that even possible well not really since the Cenote Angelita Cave is not a true river but a very special type of optical illusion it's formed by a hallowline meaning a cloud of hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of this underwater cave turns out you can actually swim right through this cloud which makes you feel like you're swimming through a flowing body of water not all things discovered underwater are inanimate objects some of them are actually quite scary sea creatures a jellyfish might not be on your list of things to look out for if you can avoid the stings but this giant one also known as a lion's mane jellyfish is the largest known species of its kind in all fairness you'll only uncover it if you happen to dive into the waters of the Arctic northern Atlantic and northern Pacific oceans you surely won't miss it since it stretches across 120 ft from the top to the bottom of its tentacles when it comes to deep sea diving a lot of people are looking to discover some lost treasure one diver was lucky enough to have hit the literal jackpot when he came upon nearly $1 million worth of treasure on the bottom of the seabed that was back in 2015 when this lucky diver was swimming just off the coast of Florida what did he find you might ask well about 51 gold coins 40 ft of gold chain and a rare single coin that was tailored for the king of Spain Philip V speaking of people looking for lost treasures divers also sometimes found pirate ships they discovered one of these pirate shipwrecks in 2015 off the coast of Colombia it dates back to the 18th century the value of this forgotten ship was estimated to be between 4 billion and 17 billion as it contained treasures precious stones gold and countless other really valuable items by comparison a whole island in the Bahamas is up for grabs at $75 million a computer is the last thing you'd ever expect to discover underwater right and this was no regular computer but an ancient one and yet someone stumbled upon it between 1900 and 1901 on the spot of a shipwreck located off one Greek island researchers believe this weird stone contraption to be the earliest form of a computer it was designed to serve many purposes such as predicting astronomical positions and eclipses on the calendar since humanity lost most of the technology used back then it was wonderful to rediscover it so many years later it let us piece together many of the ancient Greeks accomplishments the computer is now at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens should you ever want to check it out in person this has to be one of the most mysterious places on Earth it's called the Mariana Trench and it's the deepest part of the Earth's oceans we really don't know how deep it is since it's so difficult to measure but it's somewhere around 7 mi deep and five times longer than the Grand Canyon they first studied this massive underwater hole back in 1875 using a weighted rope back in 2012 a Canadian film director named James Cameron reached the bottom of the trench in the submersible vessel Deep Sea Challenger some of the most bizarre creatures on the planet call this place their home including the Dumbo octopus the sea cucumber and the goblin shark the Mariana Trench took its name after the nearby Mariana Islands which are named Las Marianas in honor of the Spanish queen Mariana of Austria that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side from tiny islands to giant cities fanning out for dozens of miles you're going to learn about the most densely populated places on Earth it'll make you question the limits of the impossible to what lengths are people ready to go in their search of a better life or simply trying to survive the list of such places includes both Hong Kong and the Maldes the Egyptian city of Tanta and a tiny island in Lake Victoria in Africa let's find out more about how people manage to live there hong Kong has an official population of 7.5 million people and this number is expected to reach 8.5 million by 2041 the density of the city's population is more than 18,000 people per square mile despite a rather low birth rate the population of Hong Kong is on the rise this paradox has an explanation a lot of people immigrate to Hong Kong all the time because of all the opportunities this city offers like various jobs the city has an incredibly high price of land it's one of the main reasons for its high density development people with low and even middle incomes can only afford to live in high-rise buildings and Hong Kong has more than 9,000 of those plus there are more than 300 buildings that are over 490 ft in height it's more than New York Shanghai and Dubai can boast hong Kong's incredible growth as one of the tallest cities in the world has a lot to do with its incredible urban planning at the same time housing is unbelievably expensive in this region median home costs are 18 times the median annual income that's the reason why less fortunate residents live in the so-called coffin houses where apartments are tinier than a standard parking space in the USA take Quarry Bay for example a densely packed neighborhood in eastern Hong Kong and its monster building it's actually not one building but a group of five connected constructions there are more than 2,200 units in these five blocks and rumor has it that it houses around 10,000 people despite such cramped living conditions most Hong Kong's inhabitants have to deal with the city is home to several dozen billionaires look this is half a football field and that's what onethird of Bill Gates's home looks like another example for you two-fifths of the White House these are not random numbers that's the territory of Megano Island located in Lake Victoria between Kenya and Uganda over 100 people live on this tiny piece of land don't you think that those metal tiled roofs make the island look like a huge turtle floating on the water unfortunately because of the island's small size there's barely any vegetation there most of the surface of the island is covered with rocks except for this tiny area it's covered with grass and hosts not more than five shrubs the island is all about fish and fishing the landing point turns into a fish market every day at noon the trade doesn't last long it usually finishes at 2 p.m when the boat leaves the only thing the inhabitants of the island have is fish so every morning they get essential supplies for small businesses from Kenya that's why you can buy everything you need in local stores from food to fishing equipment the inhabitants of the island not only catch fish but also gut them on the rocks and then fry and eat them in cafes yep there are around 13 cafes and bars on the islands where people eat play dice and cook ugali a typical dish made from maze flour back to giant cities and busy streets welcome to Shenzhen the most densely populated city in China this city hosts around 17.5 million people with so many inhabitants the city faces loads of challenges for example overcrowded schools and beaches speaking of the latter some areas even implement a booking system to manage beach crowds the most astonishing thing about this megopous is that it's grown to its current size within a mere 40 years or so it used to be a fishing village but then thanks to the support of the authorities and the city's close proximity to Hong Kong it turned into a bustling financial and economic center these days it has the status of one of the busiest container ports in the world along with Shanghai and Singapore shenzhen also has had the fastest growth in millionaires over the last 10 years 140% such an increase is far greater than in the first tier cities in China including Beijing and Shanghai ilet Abrui is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti and it's one of the most densely populated islands in the world around 500 people living there share an area of a mere 0.4 hectares you might think this is just another fishing village but I let a brewy is more like a factory once you set foot on this island you'll instantly see a maze of alleyways follow them walking past crooked thatch and tarp covered huts and you'll eventually find yourself in the center of town the main landmarks are two concrete buildings and one of them is a store in the middle you'll see a modest town square equipped with two solar street lights one is old and is no longer in use and the other is shiny and new on the island men outnumber women and kids many people are out of town fishing during the day the horizon surrounding the island is dotted with sails and purees the rest remain on the island doing other jobs like repairing boats mending nets and traps and preparing tons of fish for shipment to Haiti and other places as for kids they spend their days swimming our last destination is the Egyptian city of Tanta which is also one of the most densely populated places in the world it has about 70,000 people per square mile just for comparison there are slightly under 30,000 people per square mile in New York the city is located between Cairo and Alexandria it has huge cotton plantations and in 1856 it became a stop on the railway network mostly for exporting the cotton growing in the area to Europe and even though the area around Tonto was mostly fields the settlement turned into a large crowded city in late October the city becomes the center of celebration of the cotton harvest 3 million people come from around the delta and other parts of the Arab world for the colorful 8-day celebration tanta is famous for its sweet candy it's made of gelatin coconut sesame peanuts and chickpeas loads of these sweets are sold during festivals when many Egyptians visit the city no wonder they've been considered a delicacy since the 1800s tata also has a lot of cotton processing factories as well as textile industries plus it's a university town tata University was established in 1972 mallay the capital of the Maldes has a population of more than 200,000 people it means 49,000 people per square mile 80% of the land sits around 4 ft above sea level which means that if part of the islands go underwater people will have to relocate an artificial island that was created to manage waste is getting overburdened in 1997 Ula Mallay another artificial island was built to alleviate dramatic population pressure these days it's already as developed as Mallay the Maldes consists of more than a thousand islands stretching along a 500mile axis all of them are coral islands they grew around the rims of prehistoric undersea volcanoes only 188 islands are inhabited but most of them have fewer than 1,000 residents more and more Maldivians are giving up on island life and moving to the capital city but Mallay is already pressed hard against the limits of human habitation if even more people move there its physical structure would need to be completely reworked the authorities are already surrounding Mallay with sea bridges and artificial islands packed with houses there are bridges in the Indian state of Megallaya that are created entirely of living tree roots the bridges are made up of tangled thick roots that makes them strong enough to hold over 50 people at a time the Kasi and Jantia tribes became masters in the art of growing these insane bridges they need them to cross the streams below with ease some of these bridges are over 180 years old to make them the members of the tribe care for the roots until they grow long enough to reach the opposite bank it can take as long as 10 to 15 years to grow a bridge in the process the roots become tightly entwined with one another this is how the bridges get so strong some of them are over 100 ft long and once a bridge is fully grown it can last over 500 years while some roots decay new ones are continually growing that's why the unusual natural constructions last so long visitors to America's Death Valley National Park were stumped and a little bit scared when they found these highly unusual rocks they appeared to be moving across the sand all by themselves there are many rocks that leave telltale signs in their wake scientists are baffled some of these rocks weigh over 650 lb and some of them have already traveled as much as almost 1,000 ft there are many theories explaining this phenomenon but the most probable one claims that the stones move because of something called an ice shove in the winter parts of the valley fill with water and the rocks at the bottom become frozen and since ice can rise to the top of liquids just like in your favorite soda the rocks slightly lift from the floor and then they scrape the muddy bottom of the lake bed when the summer comes the water evaporates and the ice melts all that's left is the rocks and their mysterious trails volcanoes can not only shoot out burning hot lava they can also fire lightning when volcanoes erupt quickly ash dust rock lava and gases are all released at breakneck speeds this creates so much friction that it causes static electricity to build up and then shoot out in the form of lightning fire tornadoes are also a thing they form when powerful winds hit an already existing fire and drag it upward into a terrifying column the US watches at least one of these insane spectacles once a year or so some of them can reach heights of over 1,000 ft one of the coolest and rarest natural phenomenon ever is a moon bow and yes it's exactly what you think a rainbow around the moon but for this lunar rainbow to appear the conditions must be super precise the moon must be low in the sky the sky must be dark water droplets must be in the air in the opposite direction of the moon it'll also help if the moon will be shining bright as a diamond moon bows occur when moonlight gets reflected off of water droplets in the air the light hits the droplet at an angle that alters its direction there are beaches with glowing water that look as if they come straight out of your favorite sci-fi show these incredible places can be found all over the world from the Malds to Puerto Rico the mysterious glow is caused by tiny marine algae that live under the water's surface they give off a bright light whenever waves and currents move them and beaches start glowing blue green or red every time the tiny algae get agitated take a flight over the emerald woodlands of Western Australia and you'll be surprised to find a series of bubblegum pink lakes if you manage to venture down to the lakes you're in for a treat their waters are completely safe to swim in not only will it make for the perfect Insta Pick but this water also has incredibly high salinity this basically means you'll be able to float on its surface the lakes are surrounded by the deep blue southern ocean some lakes have their trademark color because they're filled with algae that have high levels of a red orange pigment others are likely to contain tiny microorganisms called haloarchia they look red or pink when there's a bunch of them together and there are people who believe that the lakes have this hue because they're full of bright pink prawns light pillars are colorful beams of light that either jet up from Earth towards the sky or shine down from the clouds usually they only occur in cold temperatures as they form when the sunlight gets reflected off of ice crystals floating in the air the higher the crystals are in the air the taller these bright and colorful pillars become they're most common at sunrise and sunset there are hidden caves all over the world that are filled with glowing light this light comes from hundreds of glowworms that have made a cozy home in the caves some of the caves are more than 30 million years old and most of them can be found in New Zealand and Australia the worms themselves don't actually glow but baby worms called larae form silk strings made out of mucus these strings form nets it's these nets that can illuminate the entire cave their purpose is to attract flies and other tasty insects for the glowworms to munch on rainbow trees are 100% a real thing hailing from the Philippines and Indonesia these colorful wonders are called rainbow eucalyptus or rainbow gum the rainbow hues are created by the contrasting colors of old and new bark as the thin surface layers of bark peel away they reveal newer ones with brighter more eye-catching colors the brand new bark is green then it changes to purple then red and finally brown this is because the trees contain a substance called chlorophyll it makes the bark green as each strip of bark ages it loses chlorophyll and slowly changes its color in a desert you can find beautiful and unique roses made entirely of crystals they form when sand particles get trapped and compacted during the rain the quick switch between wet and dry conditions forms the crystals the crystals in turn form a circular series of flat plates this makes them look like intricate rose petals and the whole process of their production is 100% natural next time you're taking a dip in the ocean watch out for water spouts these are basically water tornadoes in the US this crazy weather phenomenon is most common in the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico they often form during storms but can develop on completely calm waters too water spouts appear when two wind gusts blowing from different directions hit each other the collisions make the air move upward and it drags the water along with it too take a look at this looks like a forest right after all there are many individual trees here well it's actually just one giant tree this is the Po Aspen Grove in Utah underneath all that soil there's a hidden network of roots connecting all these trees together all 47,000 of them technically this makes the aspen just one massive tree no one knows how old the po is some people say it's at least 80,000 years old others argue that it's closer to the age of 1 million years hidden in upstate New York there's a mysterious fire that never goes out what's even weirder is that the fire is concealed behind a waterfall the flame is around 8 in tall and it stays lit thanks to a natural gas seep behind the waterfall the rocks around the waterfall shelter the flame meaning it barely ever goes out think of animals that climb trees we've got monkeys cute little sloths koalas and most importantly goats wait what goats in Morocco have taught themselves to climb trees so that they can reach their favorite snack tasty argan fruit and farmers love this too once eaten by the goats argan nuts pass through their digestive tract and farmers collect them these nuts are really useful when they're roasted ground mashed or cold pressed they turn into argan oil it works wonders for hair and can be extremely expensive no surprise farmers are so happy if you're planning a trip across the Atlantic you should prepare for more than just the jetland depending on where you land life in Europe can seem a bit unusual so it's best to do a bit of research before you travel speaking of quirky little differences one of the first things you may notice is the lack of AC hope you like fresh air because central air conditioning isn't everywhere like you might be used to in Europe you might find that someone's flat office or even a full restaurant doesn't have an AC unit that's because some Europeans rely solely on their windows to get a breeze however bigger places like grocery stores and malls usually keep things well ventilated water in European restaurants is not always free either even though this is common practice in the US sure you'll get a fancy glass bottle at most places but you'll also see it on your bill more so if you ask for water be sure to specify if you'd like it still because you might get sparkling water instead forget about getting a glass full of ice water too you might get cold water from the fridge but Europeans don't do the whole tons of ice thing like they do in the US if you enjoy sightseeing on a budget you know how helpful those public toilets can be after walking for hours it's great to stumble upon a bathroom where you can freshen up a bit well you better have the equivalent of 50 cents or so in your pocket because in many European countries you've got to pay to use these public restrooms even fast food restaurants might charge you for the privilege the best workaround is to head to a mall their restrooms are usually free also in the US bathroom stalls often have a gap at the bottom some say this design was chosen for cleaning purposes and accessibility in Europe however stalls tend to reach the floor for more privacy name days are also kind of a big deal in Europe despite not being so popular in the US each day of the year is like a mini birthday celebration for someone with a specific name europeans who follow this tradition see it as a second birthday and even some take it more seriously than their actual birthday even the way we perceive things can be totally different depending on where you're from take a 100-year-old building in Europe that's practically brand new but in the US it's considered old depending on who you ask some Americans might even consider an object that is 200 years old to be ancient europeans reserve this word for something that comes from a time before the Middle Ages however when it comes to distances it's quite the opposite europeans might find driving 100 km or about 60 mi to be a lot while for Americans that's a short trip it does make sense if you think about it though because Europe is way more crowded in fact the entire European Union is only about half the size of the US either way Europeans are always on the move whether it's inside their continent or jetting off somewhere else on the planet it's probably because most European countries are so small by comparison that people grow up thinking it's normal and easy to cross borders all the time even the appliances tend to be different when comparing the two regions take washing machines for instance in Europe most of them only hook up to cold water and they load from the front in the US it's common to have machines that use both hot and cold water and load from the top on that note make sure to research the type of electrical plug used in your European country of choice before traveling you might find you'll need special adapters to be able to use your phone charger or curling iron while on holiday thankfully most hotels are prepared for these issues and can offer adapters on demand free of charge fridges might seem a bit different too that's because tiny ones are the norm in Europe except for large families who invest in bigger fridges and freezers it's not all bad especially if you enjoy sharing groceries with roommates less food wastage and more frequent trips to the store for fresh food might also want to polish your metric system knowledge before heading to Europe too everyone there is using meters gers and Celsius sure people in the US might learn the metric system in school but they stick to the other system for their everyday lives with yards miles pounds and Fahrenheit make sure you also double check dates and times before making any reservations europeans write their dates like day month year while Americans flip it to month day year also in the US the week usually begins on Sunday and wraps up on Saturday but in Europe it starts on Monday and ends on Sunday be on the lookout for the different time format too in some countries if someone says it's 14 that translates to 2:00 in the afternoon even advertising might seem a bit different when you first land in Europe in the US you might see people wandering around in inflatable costumes on the street to promote local business but that's a rare sight in Europe also those massive billboard signs you often see along American highways aren't available in most European countries they're usually against the law because it's believed that drivers should be focused more on the road ahead and such advertising techniques can be too distracting moving on to street names and shopping hours in North America especially the USA it's common to name streets with numbers like Fifth Avenue or 16th Street but if you head over to Europe you'll find that streets usually have actual names in some really rural spots in Europe you might even stumble upon roads with no names at all in Europe there's also a cool tradition of naming roads that connect cities after the city they lead to shopping hours in Europe can be a bit confusing too at times even frustrating you've probably heard of the siesta in Spain with some Mediterranean countries having similar customs it's when shops and businesses take a little afternoon break smaller venues in European cities might close up for lunch breaks or have shorter hours on weekends some might even stay shut altogether on specific days it's best to check out the local schedule if you're planning some retail therapy while traveling in Europe those shopping hours can really affect your plans and how easily you can get your hands on the stuff you need while Americans tend to smile more even to strangers it can seem a bit unusual to people from other countries there's a reason behind it though you see over the years the US became this melting pot with people coming in from all over the globe being friendly and agreeable became crucial to bridge the gaps created by different cultures and languages sometimes it's more helpful to be nice than to be brutally honest tv watching preferences can also seem different in Europe take Norway for example where you'll find this cool concept called slow TV you know how we sometimes zone out in front of a show for hours well Norwegians have turned that into a national sport if you'd like think of it as the visual equivalent of background music none of us get glued to the screen watching hours of wood burning or knitting marathons but you might want to check it out when you need some background entertainment that doesn't demand your full attention speaking of taking things slow you might have also heard about a concept called coug it's this whole way of life up in the Nordic European countries some think these life principles could be the secret to happiness it's about creating a life that's free from annoying or overwhelming stuff it's also about prioritizing your relationships and striving to always have a positive attitude 300,000 people and over 80,000 horses yep that's Iceland the breed they have there is very specific hearty longived and because of it internationally popular these horses can be found in North America and Europe too but they can have certain features people from Iceland don't want their breed to have because of that the Icelanders wanted to avoid mixing their horses with other breeds so they passed a law over 1,000 years ago that said "No horse imports." That's right even if they give you some of their own horses you can't take them back no chewing gum in Singapore vandals used to stick their chewing gum on door sensors or would find some other way to mess with public transportation so the country had to spend around $150,000 annually to clean that it was easier to ban it by law so no gum can be bought sold or blown into bubbles over there um not a good idea to import them either going to Greece good have a safe trip and pick the right shoes ever since 2009 no high heels are allowed at the Acropolis not that Greeks have anything against stilettos but they simply wanted to protect their ancient ruins from damage those pointy things can cause that and the fact that it's not really practical for such terrain anyway in the Italian city of Milan it's illegal to frown in public or at least it was a couple of centuries ago through difficult historical times Milan had to create a way to stand out which is why there was a law requiring people to smile and generally be in a good mood in public places germany has highways where you can drive over 100 mph but if you get crazy with speed and run out of gas while still on a highway you'll pay a nice fine for that are you 1 to two miles away from the gas station and want to get there on foot uh better not that's another fine germans make it your responsibility for filling your car and walking along the highway is not that safe as is leaving your car on the side of the road a Winnie the Pooh t-shirt a that brings back some good old memories well memories are sometimes better left at home since Winnie doesn't wear pants Poland decided to ban this character so you can't have it on your clothes around schools or playgrounds no matter what age you are just in case you ever wake up and decide it's time to do some hiking in Switzerland without your clothes on don't for some unknown reason some travelers made this type of hiking a thing in Switzerland a couple of years ago so Swiss officials kindly ask you to keep your clothes on greetings from New Zealand if you want to spend your Sunday afternoon flying with a rooster in a hot air balloon you might have to find another country to do it because here it's illegal sorry staying in their neighborhood in 1966 there was a law that prevented you from flying a kite in Australia in a public space if that bothered other people luckily 1966 was a long time ago so no one will remember this if you decide to have some flying kite fun in a park hopefully while you're there you can't tie your goat to your vehicle also no dressing as Batman and Robin you don't want to prove to law enforcement you're not actual vigilantes right in some cities taxi drivers must have a bail of hay in their trunks at all times at least they had to until 1980 this law came from the olden days when horses were still all the rage and you can't just fill a horse with fuel now can you moving to the United States now if you're in Washington don't even think about going after Bigfoot they passed a law in 1969 where Bigfoot was proclaimed to be an endangered species so h they didn't say anything about the yeti though in Vermont there used to be a rule prohibiting clothes lines as some people voted against unsightliness of others linen and underwear hanging in everyone's view that's why they made a new regulation you can't forbid people to put up clothes lines one rule against another yep that should work shh can you hear that someone's talking behind this door oh I wonder what they're saying stop right there at least if you're in Oklahoma the law says you can't secretly wander around and accidentally overhear someone's conversation and then repeat or publish it later so if you have anything to share go tell it to the people of Oklahoma your secret is safe there if you ever take a walk in Nevada and then decide to lay down on the sidewalk and take some rest think twice since that's illegal there don't sit either you won't get away with it nuances you know if you're from Baltimore Maryland remember not to bring your lion to the movies i know the big cat wanted to see it badly but rules are rules also while you're there remember a couple of more things you shouldn't violate no saying bad words in public places no eating while swimming in the ocean and no sleeveless shirts in public parks you shouldn't throw bricks onto a highway in Iowa unless you get written permission from the city council well when you think about it it's fair enough if you don't feel like looking at large shiny billboards all over the city go to Hawaii since they banned those in 1920 well definitely not the only reason to visit Hawaii but it's good to know meanwhile other states like Vermont and Maine followed suit and are proud of it one town in Georgia takes eating fried chicken very seriously no fork you eat it with your hands in fact in 2009 a woman who celebrated her 91st birthday in a restaurant was eating chicken with a fork when the police came and told her she was under arrest the lady was later pardoned but careful how you eat your chicken in Georgia what else is there to say speaking of which do you know why the chicken crossed the road i'm not sure but what I do know is that these jokes certainly weren't made up in Georgia since there it's illegal for a chicken to do just that you think silly string is fun well a town in Alabama doesn't agree on that because it says a firm no to keeping using storing selling manufacturing or giving away any kind of snap pops spray string or similar substances yikes also when you're there don't drive blindfolded it's been passed as a law which means they take the phrase "Keep your eyes on the road," quite seriously okay enough is enough no more sleeping in a bathtub donkey something people in Arizona must say to avoid breaking a law in the 1920s local people could see a rancher's donkey in a bathtub carried by a flood the flood was caused because a local dam broke and the tub was abandoned in the rancher's backyard the donkey simply decided to take a nap in it and you know how it goes long day warm afternoon post lunch rest just couldn't help it after they managed to save the animal from the sailing tub the town decided to prohibit donkeys from sleeping in a tub you know just in case in Connecticut a pickle must bounce in order for it to be considered a pickle in the 1940s two men were even arrested for selling pickles that weren't legitimate because they didn't bounce now the question is how exactly does a pickle bounce more from the Meanwhile in Connecticut episode it's illegal to cross a street while walking on your hands oh man that's one of the hardest ones not to break your best friend is having a birthday what could you give her h a spa day voucher tickets to Disneyland dinner at a fancy restaurant a rat well unfortunately a rat is out of the legal game if you're in Montana well you got to respect the law luckily if you're from Florida rats are a completely fine gift at least way better than some bigger animals because while you're there you need to pay parking fees for them camels elephants horses and the rest of the animal crew sorry guys you got to respect the rules oh gravity you heartless so and so well that's what I think when I trip over a stone and fall face down of course I'm not clumsy you know anyway gravity is a constant right something entirely unshakable that we can always rely on in this everchanging world unlike you know love feeling romantic sorry but what if I told you that it's not as honest and clear as you think there are places on our planet where gravity behaves like it's gone crazy and that's why you clicked here so let's take a look magnetic Hill in Lei India there's a stretch of road in India that's been attracting tourists from all over the world it's no different looking from the surrounding landscape and you could easily pass it by without noticing if not for one very unusual and a bit creepy thing if you stop your car on the magnetic hill going up the slope and put it on neutral it'll start crawling upwards eventually reaching the speed of up to 12 mph they say there's some sort of magnetic force at work here that tugs cars up the hill hence the name on top of that even airplanes are said to gain altitude above this place skeptics offer another explanation though it's just the lay of the land that creates an illusion of going upwards well in fact you're moving down the hill and vice versa whatever the truth I'd like to see it for myself would you tell me down in the comments the Crooked Forest Poland near the village of Nova Chernova there's a forest in the depth of which you can find a strangely looking pine tree planted in the 1930s there are 400 trees that sharply twist to the north almost at the roots and then grow upwards in a semicircle although scientists offer different theories about the treere's weird growth nobody can say for sure what made them look like that some say it's people who did it while others believe it's a gravitational anomaly that somehow pushed the trees down the trouble with this version though is that it would have had to stay there for years and that only affected the trees still no certain explanation exists anyways so who knows a waterfall pharaoh Islands ever seen an upward moving waterfall you can have a look at one on the Pharaoh Islands halfway from Iceland to Scotland but if you were expecting me to tell you an unbelievable story about a mysterious force pushing the water up the rock then sorry no such thing here the truth however is quite jaw-dropping anyway the winds in this place are so powerful that they lift the water and throw it back up i guess it was this kind of wind that allowed Mary Poppins to travel on her umbrella sounds good in fact this waterfall is not unique there are several more places on Earth where winds create an illusion of defied gravity for example there's the Kinder River in England that has a waterfall constantly struggling with the wind it's so strong that half of the Cascad's water seems to just fly up without ever touching the bottom of the drop hoover Dam in Nevada USA if you ever get up to the top of the dam which is about 726 ft high you can try a little trick take a bottle of water and pour it over the edge you'll see the water flow up instead of spilling down once again this isn't really any magic or unnatural phenomenon the wind up here is simply too strong for the water to fall just like with the waterfall on the Pharaoh Islands here though it looks even more impressive since you can do it yourself dappy Road South Korea another gravitational anomaly located on a road locals once found out that if you put an empty can or a bottle on the ground it will immediately start rolling uphill unlike other such places in the world though Dabbi Road doesn't just create an illusion when you walk down the slope you don't feel as if you're going up everything's pretty normal but once you put down an object that can roll it will do that in the opposite direction than it should local authorities were quick to get the idea and put a signpost directing curious tourists to the mysterious road golden Rock Burma if you happen to be in Burma these days it's also called Myanmar make sure to visit this well-known site a gold leaf covered boulder sits upon the edge of a cliff and a small pigota is built on top of it the impressive thing about the rock is that it only lightly touches the cliff for support in fact it looks like the boulder will fall any minute now but it has been standing like that for centuries on top of that the pagota built upon it is not really a recent addition so it's quite an unusual sight to see the rock seems to be saying "Gravity I don't care about that stuff." The legend has it that what keeps the boulder in place is a single strand of Buddha's hair well I don't know about that but you can check out the rock for yourself and see that it's not attached to the cliff by anything and yet it's not budged for 2500 years something must be at work here huh stone of Devasco Argentina if there ever was a thing that said "I defy gravity out loud," it's the stone at Devasca the huge 300 ton boulder stands precariously on the edge of a cliff and rocks a little bit from side to side in the wind people even checked it by putting glass bottles under one of its edges they exploded with another movement of the rock unfortunately today you can't see this wonder of nature as it was a century ago in 1912 the boulder suddenly dropped from its perch which it had occupied for literally hundreds of years the people in the nearby town of Tandel were so sad about this event that 95 years later in 2007 they decided to restore the stone well not exactly put it together chip by chip they made a plastic replica of the rock and put it on the same spot and even in the same position so even today coming by Tando you can see its famous balancing boulder more of a symbol now of course because it's no longer rocking and only weighs 9 tons but instantly recognizable nonetheless devil's Tower in Wyoming USA remember this place from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind if not you should go watch it but not right now this place doesn't make you feel like you're witnessing some magic and doesn't really trick gravity right before your eyes sounds almost boring compared with the rest of the sites on my list right but the true mind-blowing feature of Devil's Tower is that scientists can explain how it came to existence in the first place you see it's an 867 ft rock formation with walls so steep they're basically vertical but that isn't even the main thing this piece of stone just rose amid rolling plains of Wyoming with nothing like it for miles and miles around so how is it that such a flat landscape could have suddenly given birth to something so tall theories abound but nobody has the answer yet my theory well perhaps here is where the Earth has a giant Audi belly button well then you come up with a better theory oregon Vortex USA the House of Mystery in Gold Hill Oregon amazes its visitors with gravitydeying effects you can't stand straight there always leaning to the side and having to hold on to something for balance balls roll upwards and there's also a broom that stands perfectly still wherever you put it unlike virtually everything else in the shack the local Native American tribes called this place the forbidden ground even before the house was built there and they avoided approaching it the owners of the shack though decided to turn it into an attraction and they succeeded they created an atmosphere of mystery around the place and spread the news about it in newspapers and later on the internet and voila a perfect anomaly is made in fact it's no more than a curiosity a human-made optical illusion that tricks your eyes and other senses hudson Bay Canada okay we've talked about some pretty ambiguous stuff but now it's time for the real deal the Hudson Bay anomaly this is probably the only place in the world where gravity is indeed lower than anywhere else on the planet even skeptics can't smirk at it because the difference has been measured with precision equipment so does it mean that the gravity here is as low as say on the moon then unfortunately or is it luckily i'm not sure yet the difference is minuscule the exact value is 0.005% or 1200th of a percent you won't be able to feel it even if you try your hardest but it's still there scientists say this anomaly exists because of the ice sheet that covered the area about 10,000 years ago it compressed the rocks so much that they still can't fully recover shifting the gravitational field in Hudson Bay sometime in the future though the gravity will return to normal in this area as well no moonwalk for me then i'm about to introduce you to a place where the laws of physics take a vacation welcome to the mystery spot where you can witness all kinds of implausible things that will leave you scratching your head in disbelief don't worry it's not sorcery or witchcraft it's just some clever optical illusions that mess with your brain and make you question reality back in the day when the Great Depression was hitting hard people needed some fun distractions that's how the entertainment industry gave birth to the concept of mystery spots one of the most famous mystery spots is the one near Santa Cruz California the name is all intrigue and mystique isn't it once you step inside you'll see people standing upright on a slanted floor or at impossible angles on a flat surface you'll see a ball rolling up a ramp defying gravity and logic it's like being in a fun house but without creepy clowns the site is known for its gravitydeying demonstrations which appear to bend the laws of physics both on the short uphill walk and inside the wooden building on the site misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur here these visual illusions include balls rolling uphill and people leaning farther than normally possible without falling down psychologists at Berkeley state that all of the misperceptions stem from the simple fact that the house is slanted at a 20° angle the next stop is again in the USA but this time at Hoover Dam in Nevada here gravity seems to play with us too try this experiment if you ever happen to go there pour water from a bottle over the dam you will witness that instead of going down the water will start flowing upward the reason behind this is a very powerful updraft that the structure of the dam creates in other words the water gets carried upward by the wind this trick is not unique to the dam as there's a reverse waterfall in the Pharaoh Islands it occurs due to a wild weather phenomenon known as an inverted waterfall imagine a gigantic whirlwind of ocean spray swirling up a steep 1,542 ft high rocky cliff so how does this crazy phenomenon happen you ask well it's all thanks to a spiral column of air that rotates near high and steep cliffs creating a mini tornado effect and when the wind hits the edge of the cliff it gets even stronger and picks up coastal water which then splashes up the cliff and creates a massive water and wind funnel apparently these inverted waterfalls can happen in other places too like on the cliffs of Mohare in Ireland the mountains of Iceland and even in the Wuhia falls of Hawaii talk about mother nature showing off her skills ah magnetic hill in Ladic India the ultimate mind-bending road trip destination here you can watch objects and cars roll uphill like they're stuck in some kind of magnetic vortex it's an optical illusion that occurs thanks to the sneaky slopes and general layout of the area the road might look like it's going uphill but it's actually a downhill road in disguise playing tricks on your brain like a mischievous magician you might also see your car moving by itself in the neutral gear no your car isn't haunted it's just basic physics at work even when the engine is off the wheels can still turn thanks to momentum and the subtle slope of the road mount Aragots has a similar story to the magnetic hill of India this one too is like a magnet for thrillsekers and car enthusiasts it's located on the border between Turkey and Armenia it has a reputation for making cars defy gravity people from all over the world visit this mountain to witness the incredible spectacle where a car parked on the slope seems to roll uphill all by itself without any driver behind the wheel there's a nearby river that flows uphill too people who visited this site claim that it's easier to go up than down there number six on the list is the golden boulder from Myanmar the rock looks like it's about to tumble down the hill at any moment but it's not going anywhere it's been sitting there for over 2,500 years the rock is the centerpiece of a stunning pigota that sits on top of it towering 49 ft above the ground according to legend the rock is held in place by none other than a strand of Buddha's hair it's no wonder that this place is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar the rock was chosen by a celestial king who was impressed by a Buddhist monk's incredible aestheticism so he used his supernatural powers to carefully place the rock in its current spot where it looked like the monk's head if that's not enough it's said that only a woman can move the boulder that's why women aren't allowed to touch it so if you're up for an adventure head over to this magnificent rock and pigota and witness this gravitydeying feat for yourself back to the US oregon Vortex is located on Sardine Creek Oregon it's a tourist attraction that's been around since 1930 the owners of the attraction claim that it's some paranormal activity but it's pretty obvious some clever optical illusions are involved legend has it that even before the attraction was built Native Americans in the area warned that this land was forbidden and horses refused to go there but then some gold miners built an assay office there in 1904 and the building ended up sliding to a wonky angle now picture this you're in a cozy spot away from city light pollution staring up at billions of stars putting on a sparkling show above you but if you're lucky enough to be in Marfa Texas you'll get a little something extra mysterious orbs decide to join in on the fun shining bright like a diamond and they've been doing it for over a hundred years but what are these glowing orbs called Marfa lights well everyone has their own theories some people think they're just car lights from the nearby highway but that's no fun others believe that these orbs are actually sentient beings trying to convey some sort of important message to us mere mortals imagine standing at the edge of a stunning lake admiring the picturesque view of a majestic volcano suddenly you hear a loud boom and flames shoot up into the air like a fireworks show gone wild but don't worry it's not an eruption it's just the Kauai Lake and volcano doing its thing this fiery spectacle is caused by a natural phenomenon where sulfuric gases burst through the rocks and ignite upon contact with the outside air the result flames that soar up to 16 ft in height burning blue like the coolest neon lights you've ever seen and if that's not enough the liquid sulfur that streams down the mountain looks like a molten river of electric blue lava it's equal parts terrifying and breathtaking and a sight you won't soon forget speaking of unforgettable things the Rach structure in Moritania has been an eye-catching enigma for astronauts since the dawn of the NASA space program this circular feature in Earth's crust was created by a raised dome that was eroded over time revealing the original flat rock layers as you move from the center of the structure outward you travel back in time as the older rock layers are exposed in the middle this geological phenomenon is made up of sedimentary and ignous rocks and measures 28 mi across from space you can see several faults where the rock layers have shifted and have been pulled apart the right shot structure is situated in the heart of the Sahara Desert there you go this is our version of the top 10 would you add something else to this list right now as I speak from the United States it is the year 2022 you're likely watching in the same year unless this video has now been up for 2 years in which case it's 2024 if so hello from the past but what if you're watching from the year 111 or 4720 am I talking to you from the future or the past i'm confused for example if you're in China in 2022 it is the year 4720 and similarly if in North Korea it's the year 111 not all countries have the same calendar most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar it was established in the 16th century and replaced the Julian calendar let's do a speedy aerial trip around the world and visit some countries that are in different year zones we power through the atmosphere where shall we stop let's start with one of the world's most populous nations China okay hang back a bit so we can see the surrounding countries too as some use the Chinese calendar as well countries such as Mongolia South Korea and Vietnam according to the Chinese lunar year calendar the current year as of February 2022 is actually the year 4720 thousands of years into the future but not really the chronology starts from the date Emperor Wong D started his reign in 2637 B.CE the calendar is cyclic and is based on the astronomical cycles of Jupiter within 60 years Jupiter goes around the sun five times and those are the five elements of the Chinese calendar one circle of Jupiter around the sun takes 12 years these years receive their names from animals 2022 on the Gregorian calendar is the year of the tiger it's not only dates that are measured differently people's ages are also complex the chronology starts from one not zero a newborn is 1 year old from birth their age increases with the coming of a new year but not with their birth date that means that all family members gathering together on New Year's become one year older with the passing of the new year clock that's why the age of an Asian person can be 2 years different from the age of a European person even if they were born on the same day let's go up again we may as well stay in the area let's move south yes to North Korea there they use the Guushe calendar it has been used since July 8th 1997 together with the Gregorian calendar the Guushe calendar begins with the birth of Kim IlSung the founder of North Korea and the eternal president of the country his birth year 1912 became Guushe 1 in the Guushe calendar the calendar was adopted 3 years after the passing of Kiml Sun his year of birth is called year 1 there is no year zero on this calendar this makes the year 2022 year 111 in North Korea when writing dates both calendars are used let's fly up again into the atmosphere and travel west not too far away to the populous country of India the calendar of India was created in 1957 it's based on the Saka era the ancient system of chronology that is widely used in India and Cambodia it's also used in Java and Bali there are also other calendars in India used by different nations and tribes some start the chronology from Krishna's date of passing 3102 B.CE others date it from 1957 specifically March 22 1957 or Shaitra 1 1879 in the Saka era its year zero corresponds to the year 78 in the Julian calendar in 1957 India decided to bring all of the calendars in use into one to create a type of uniformity for the country there were 30 different calendars to consider the Gregorian calendar is the most widely used time to leave India and head west again and across to Saudi Arabia here the chronology starts from Hijra in the first immigration to Medina 622 CE the day here starts at sunset not at midnight the beginning of a month is the day when the crescent moon first appears after the new moon a year is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year months move in relation to seasons those months that were in summer will take place in winter after some time and vice versa so what year is it in Saudi Arabia in 2022 the year there is 1443 let's go across again and narrow in on Iran here things work a little differently as they do in Afghanistan too they use the solar hijri calendar it is also known as the Persian or Iranian calendar it's considered one of the most accurate calendars in the world unlike the Gregorian calendar which follows a set of certain rules to stay in sync with the solar year the solar hydri calendar is based on astronomical observations the year begins at midnight closest to the vernal equinox in Iran it's when the daytime and nighttime are equal in length the first day of the new year is called no ruse let's leave Iran now and head over to Israel a tiny country in comparison here they have their own calendar but like many other places they use it along with the Gregorian one the start of a new day begins precisely when the sun goes below the horizon meaning at sunset this explains why their holiday begins the evening before the first actual day of it the year count began on October 7 3761 B.CE this puts the time currently in the 6th millennium specifically year 5782 the practice was implemented in the 12th century when a philosopher Mymonades established the time frame as the date of creation whipping over to Japan now where there are also two existing calendars the more traditional one based on the years of the Japanese emperor's reigns every emperor gives his period a name the motto of his reign from the year 1989 there had been an era of peace and tranquility the throne belonged to Emperor Akihito the present era Raya formally began on May 1st 2019 when Emperor Akihito's elder son Narroito ascended the throne as the 126th emperor of Japan officially 2022 corresponds to Raya 4 popping across to Thailand now here 2022 is the year 2565 officially Thailand lives according to the lunar calendar in which the chronology starts from a traditional but significant cultural event still they use the Gregorian calendar as well exceptions are often made for visitors from other countries and the dates on goods and documents are written according to this calendar this particular calendar is also used in Sri Lanka Cambodia Laos and Myanmar heading across to Africa and specifically Ethiopia where their calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian one it also has 13 months in a year 12 months have 30 days and the last one is very short just 5 or 6 days depending on whether it is a leap year or not also their day doesn't begin at midnight but at sunrise the Ethiopian calendar is based on the ancient calendar of Alexandria which means they're in the year 2014 during 2022 let's take a closer look at the Gregorian calendar as it's the most widely used it was based closely on the Julian calendar which was created in 46 BC by Julius Caesar the previous Roman calendar was very complicated based on various lunar phases the Julian calendar was designed with Greek mathematicians and astronomers it comprised a normal year of 365 days and a leap year with one extra day every fourth year this makes it a hundth of a day longer than the actual solar year thus for any day from 1901 to 2099 the Julian date is 13 days behind the Gregorian one in other words whatever day it is when you're watching this video subtract 13 days and that's the Julian date the official switch to the Gregorian calendar took place in October 1582 by Pope Gregory I 13th hence the name Gregorian but even this calendar might be a bit off according to modern research scientists say that the events the Gregorian calendar starts its year count with may have happened 4 years earlier so maybe I'm really speaking to you now from year 2018 not 2022 have a headache yet so wherever you are in the world if you happen to be talking to an online friend be careful what you really mean when you say "Let's catch up next year," you could be waiting for a very long time humans are at the top of the food chain but despite this some creatures cause us a lot of trouble and we can't do anything about them look at these flies with red eyes and blue green bodies these are some farmers worst nightmare in the United States of America meet the New World screworm flies these little troublemakers have been munching on livestock from Florida to California for centuries racking up some serious damage to the agricultural scene to combat these pesky flies the US Department of Agriculture dropped a whopping 15 million sterile screwworm larvai from helicopters along the Panama Colombia border there's even a factory in Panama cranking out these sterile larae like it's factory fresh fruit this action sounds weird but it makes a lot of sense the thing is female flies only get one shot at mating in their entire lives so if they happen to mate with a sterile dude that's it no offspring ever this clever trick means healthy screworms can't reproduce when surrounded by sterile pals which keeps their numbers in check but how do we make these male flies sterile in the first place simple a little radiation zap does the trick you throw a bunch of flies in a lab give them a quick spin through an X-ray machine and then drop them from a helicopter into the wild where their relatives are hanging out if screw worms start making a comeback inspectors hop on ATVs and cruise thousands of miles to hunt down any infected animals and stop the spread there's no magic trick to wipe out these parasites completely but the game plan is clear keep the sterile fly drops coming and stay one step ahead of these pesky little critters do you know why it's too dangerous to move animals from one habitat to another there's a possibility that they won't encounter predators in the new area and will become an invasive species that will provoke an ecological disaster here's a simple example in the 30s and the 20th century farmers from Australia faced a serious problem cane beetles were spoiling sugar cane in the northern part of the country insects devoured a huge amount of the harvest and people couldn't stop it they didn't want to spoil the cane with poisonous pesticides so they brought a group of cane toads from South America in the hope that the toads would eat the pests but when these toads found themselves in the reed fields they couldn't reach the bugs as they lived on tall reeds the toads just couldn't jump at such height and get the pests so instead of beetles they began to eat other insects amphibians started multiplying at a tremendous rate the female cane toad can lay about 30,000 eggs at a time after 3 days small tadpoles hatch from the eggs they swim in the water for 20 weeks and then turn into grown-up toads that live from 5 to 10 years millions of jumping animals began taking over the entire northern part of the continent destroying all the biodiversity around leaves grass insects carryon toads ate all this and didn't leave food for other animals the problem was that the toads turned out to be very hardy creatures heat cold rain droughts they can breed anywhere and nothing can stop them but what about other animals australia is full of alligators big birds and other creatures that would love to feast on croaking amphibians yes it's true but any animal that tried to eat these toads didn't survive the problem is that cane toads are venomous there are special glands behind their eyes that produce strong toxins that cause serious health problems in any animal some farmers saw birds falling from the sky after they had swallowed these amphibians more than 80 years have passed since farmers brought 100 cane toads to Australia now there are about 1.5 billion of them they have already covered 386,000 square miles which is about the same area as the states of Texas and Oklahoma combined and so far scientists and biologists haven't come up with an effective way to deal with them people tried to catch them but it was useless even if you catch 98 toads out of 100 next to a small pond the two remaining toads can produce 30,000 eggs per night nature may be able to restore balance when some animals with immunity to toad toxins appear in Australia but at the moment cane toads are unstoppable how can we stop the uncontrolled population of mosquitoes that are dangerous to humans the correct answer is to create 735 million genetically modified mosquitoes and mix these two groups all over the world many species of mosquitoes carry infections that cause serious health problems to humans almost no one likes mosquitoes these buzzing insects prevent us from sleeping and their bites are incredibly itchy many people would probably be happy if these creatures disappeared from the face of the earth and scientists might have found a way to make this wish come true only female mosquitoes bite us because they need food to produce eggs so scientists released genetically modified male mosquitoes with a special protein in their bodies after two mosquitoes come into contact this protein is transmitted from the male to the female and then prevents it from producing offspring all this happens before they age when females begin to bite so females can't create offspring which means they don't need to bite people and animals anymore and the more of such proteins scientists spread the smaller the mosquito population will be it sounds good but about 240,000 people have signed a petition to cancel this experiment many scientists believe that the disappearance of one insect species can lead to a biological catastrophe nature is a complex balanced system where the slightest change can lead to serious problems mosquitoes are a food source for many reptiles and amphibians the extinction of mosquitoes can trigger the disappearance of many species it's like a chain reaction of catastrophes the end of which is unknown nevertheless modified mosquitoes have already been released in Florida and it seems that nothing terrible has happened the good news is that people have fewer health problems after that moreover since 2019 about 1.5 billion mosquitoes have been released worldwide it has saved millions of lives and hasn't disrupted the delicate balance of nature yet recently scientists have released another group of safe mosquitoes in East Africa well let's hope that scientists have everything under control invasive species are not always mosquitoes flies or amphibians these can also be large animals such as feral pigs or super pigs these pigs are a mix of domestic swine and wild boar there are already almost 7 million feral hogs in the south of the USA thanks to people's efforts these animals haven't spread to the north yet but the danger to the northern states comes from Canada pigs were brought there in the 80s to support agriculture but in the early 2000s wild boars lost their popularity they just stayed in the wild and farmers were sure that those animals wouldn't survive the harsh Canadian winter oh how wrong they were wild pigs turned out to be hardy mobile and capable of rapid reproduction these animals dig and tear up the ground eat almost everything they come across and thus take food from other animals by the way other creatures can become their lunch too wild pigs attack mice geese ducks and some species of deer they trample crops grass and flowers and are not afraid of anything they're like natural bulldozers any farm is in danger of extinction if it's in the path of thousands of super pigs and people can't do anything with them the northern states understand that an invasion is imminent so they're preparing for a long battle super pigs love swampy areas with tall grass canadian and American farmers will try to drive them into more open areas and fence those places off the plan is not perfect but it can slow the pigs down and save some time that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side so you want to get as close to the moon as possible without leaving Earth easy hop on a plane to Ecuador and climb Mount Chimberazzo i know it may sound weird but hear me out now Everest is the tallest mountain when you're measuring from sea level but Chimberazzo's Peak is actually the closest spot on Earth to the moon here's the physics behind it mount Everest is over 29,000 ft tall and Chimberazzo is only around 20,000 ft but the secret lies in how far they are from the Earth's core you see Earth is not a perfect sphere it's chubby in the middle and slightly squished at the top and the bottom the chubby part in the middle is called the equator fyi the country Ecuador actually translates to equator in Spanish now you know the mountain we're talking about Chimberazzo is located a few degrees from the equator line so since the squishy sphere is chubbier in the middle part Chimberazzo's peak sticks out farther into space this means that if you hike all the way up to this mountain's peak you'll be a smidge closer to the moon than if you hike all the way up Mount Everest in the North Sea off the coast of England there's a tiny platform bobbing around roughly the size of two tennis courts you might think it's an oil platform but this is Sealand the world's tiniest country the Ruffs Tower platform was built during the first half of the 20th century as a fort to protect English ships jump to the 1960s when a guy named Patty Roy Bates decided to claim this old fort as his own country naming it the Principality of Sealand patty gave his country everything it deserved a national flag currency a constitution stamps and a hoisting swing system that's how you get into the country by the way hoisted all the way up to the upper part of the platform today this micro nation is headed by ruling monarch Michael Bates who is a member of the country's self-proclaimed royalty i know right why wait in line for the British throne the nation has its own fan club who cheer for the country's national soccer club their team competes in international tournaments where they usually play with other tiny nations although Sealand only has one official resident as of right now players from other countries joined to help out their soccer team one of the country's supporters also placed a Sealand flag on top of Mount Everest having your kitchen in one country and your living room in another well this is the daily reality for some locals in Barlay in this town the border between Belgium and the Netherlands doesn't just run along streets it slices right through buildings so to navigate this setup a rule was made that a house's nationality is determined where its front door is located but this solution created its own problems there's a house where the front door is exactly on the border giving it two addresses one in Belgium and one in the Netherlands the owners of this house were given a unique opportunity they could choose which country they'd like to get their utilities from like gas and water and you guessed it they picked the country where the stuff was cheaper in this case Belgium down in Sagal Africa there's a lake that looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie about 18 mi north of the capital Dar you'll find Lake Reba also known as La Rosa this lake is famous for its bright pink water yes it really is pink and you can even take a swim if you're up for it but be prepared the water is super salty one of the saltiest lakes in the world with salt levels over 40% the pink color comes from a species of tiny algae these algae produce red pigments that reflect sunlight giving the lake its unique shade if you want to see the lake at its brightest pink visit during the dry season from November to June the rain water during other times of the year can wash away some of the color oh by the way there are other pink lakes around the world like Lake Hillier in Western Australia and Lake Nitron in Tanzania so there's a hill that seems to be on fire all the time located in the Arctic region of Canada the smoking hills are a truly unique site on Earth some of the minerals found here are so rare that they've only been spotted on Mars for at least a couple of hundred years the ground here has been smoking continuously at first explorers thought this was due to an active volcano but it turns out the smoke comes from something else the soil in the smoking hills contains sulfur and coal and when these materials mix with oxygen they can spontaneously catch fire and keep on burning but don't get any adventurous ideas about visiting the environment here is extremely harsh there's toxic smoke and the temperatures can be dangerously high so I'd try Orlando new Zealand is famous for its stunning landscapes but it also has a hidden treasure underground deep in some caves in the country's North Island you can find a mesmerizing natural wonder to see it you'll need to go down about 150 ft in a series of dark twisting caves as you go deeper you'll enter complete darkness until you reach the cave ceilings which are lined with tiny glowing creatures these are New Zealand's native glowworms which are the larvae of a special type of fungusnat found only in this country they shine a bright blue light to attract prey if you get a chance to tour these caves it feels like floating through a galaxy with thousands of these living stars sparkling above and their glow reflecting in the water beneath your boat it's an incredible site like stepping into a magical glowing world mexico is home to one of the most amazing caves in the world called the cave of crystals if you think you've seen big crystals before wait until you see these in around 1910 miners in the town of Nika Chihuahua yeah like the dog discovered a cave full of clear selonite crystals but it wasn't until 90 years later that they found an even more incredible cave filled with enormous crystals some as long as 39 ft and weighing up to 55 tons scientists believe that 26 million years ago give or take hot mineral richch water filled this cave allowing these huge crystals to grow the Nika crystals are thought to be the biggest in the world making people standing next to them look teeny in comparison however exploring the cave isn't easy inside temperatures reach 136° F even with protection people can only stay inside for 20 to 30 minutes it's an extraordinary place but not exactly a comfortable one for humans mauritius is famous for its beautiful beaches and clear blue waters but it also has a stunning optical illusion at its southwest corner that looks like an underwater waterfall even though it seems like water is flowing down into the ocean what you're actually seeing is a trick of the light and the seafloor the island is on an ocean shelf that's only about 500 ft deep but just beyond the edge it drops down to 2.5 m deep this drop creates the illusion of a waterfall as currents push sand and particles over the edge making it look like water is cascading down so while it's not a real underwater waterfall it's definitely a cool sight to see from a boat now here's a place that might either give you chills or leave you in awe depending on when you visit near the small town of Graffino in Poland there's a forest of pine trees with a strange twist they're all bent at their bases during the day these trees with their sharp 90° curves look fascinating and even a bit whimsical you might even find a comfortable spot to sit on if you're having a picnic but visit the crooked forest at night and it takes on a whole different vibe a thin layer of fog hangs around making the forest look eerie and a bit spooky plus scientists still don't know why for sure the trees are bent like this so would you prefer to see it in the bright light of day or the mysterious dark of night ooh the world's largest fence spans over 3,100 miles from Queensland to South Australia if stretched out it could easily connect London to New York and if you'd walk next to it you'd need 6 months to complete the journey it wasn't built to safeguard the Australian border why would it since Aussies are just surrounded by water it wasn't meant to protect some important building either its purpose is to keep some animal species away from each other it was back in the late 1800s when Australians started building parts of this fence they wanted to create a barrier separating the lively bustling part of the country where cities like Melbourne and Sydney's thrive from the harsh dry outback they used wooden posts dug deep into the ground linked up with wire mesh standing about 6 ft tall some parts of the fence even have a second electrically charged layer to make sure this fence did its job they added some red and white lights to help guard things even at night a team of over 20 people work full-time to keep things in check here and every year local authorities chip in around $750,000 to keep the construction in shape why all this trouble the main reason was dingoes these gingery wolflike creatures are Australia's largest carnivore mammals and they're also apex predators they were causing a lot of trouble to local farmers especially in southern Queensland where they often go after sheep for the most part the fence has been doing its job okay but it's not foolproof some dingoes still manage to sneak through other times wild camels end up crashing into it that's because Australia has quite a massive camel population roaming around but this man-made solution did more than locals expected they thought there would just be fewer dingoes within the fence but fewer dingoes mean more kangaroos and more kangaroos mean more competition with the sheep for food it's not just the bigger species feeling the squeeze the smaller animals and the greenery also went through changes with all this competition in a smaller space locals noticed less diversity in the plant life and small animals the soil became less nutritious over time affecting plant growth plus the fence acts as a roadblock for animal migration and sea dispersal even the sand dunes are feeling the effects with less grass cover to hold things together when scientists looked at kangaroos on both sides of the fence they noticed that the young pups inside were lighter and tinier on average the outsiders had bigger feet and heads for their age and it wasn't because they were eating a different diet the kangaroos that were stuck sharing the land with dingoes had to bulk up faster to survive on the flip side those inside the fence took it slower because they weren't under the same type of pressure these had to compete with a lot of other creatures for food so a bigger size wasn't a priority anymore researchers are still not sure if this difference is a quick fix or a long-term gene adaptation what about domesticating dingoes wouldn't that help many think dingoes were once pets in Australia but it's not known for sure these days they're pretty wild just like wolves hyenas or coyotes most of them don't need packs to survive and are solitary hunters with sharp instincts built in so taming them isn't going to be easy still taking down the construction is not an option for now australians are so strict when it comes to making sure dingoes are kept away that they even put laws in place for people who mess up with the fence leaving a crossing gate open can put people behind bars for up to 3 months damaging the fence can cost people 6 months worth of their freedom it wasn't the first time Australians thought a fence could help with animal issues before they needed it for dingoes they experienced a serious bunny invasion cute as they are rabbits were damaging the land used for farming so locals thought of a three-part fence the first one stretched all the way from Ravensthorp in the south to Paru Station on the Pilbara coast it was over,00 m long making it the longest unbroken fence globally at the time all these bunny problems could have been traced back to a man named Thomas Austin back in 1859 when he first came to the land down under he thought it would be a good idea to release a few rabbits into the wild thinking it would add a bit of charm to the place but since rabbits aren't native to Australia they didn't have any natural predators at the time they're also pretty adaptive creatures needing just some grass for feeding they reproduce at astonishing speeds too a mama rabbit can have four litters a year with as many as five bunnies each pretty soon their numbers boomed by the late 1880s the bunnies had caused so much damage that local authorities came up with a proposal they'd offer the equivalent of almost $2 million today to anyone who could come up with a solution to this long-eared problem nobody claimed the prize but a commission did gather a bit over a decade later and came up with the fence idea maintaining those fences was complicated they had inspectors keeping an eye with each one responsible for a stretch about 500 m long there were also these boundary riders patrolling smaller sections using bikes at first then switching to camels or using camels to haul buggies they even tried using cars at one point but they couldn't handle the rough terrain and constantly had punctured tires in terms of its effectiveness well by 1902 rabbits were already hanging out on the wrong side of the fence that's why 4 years later they put up another one it worked for a while so much so that the local authorities didn't bother helping out farmers past that second fence with rabbit netting loans those caught between the two fences however still had a rough time dealing with rabbit trouble soon enough rabbits spread even over fence number two and it was clear the solution didn't work in some areas even while the fences were being built those sneaky bunnies found their way past them to this day the rabbit population still sometimes puts the Australian officials through rough times the dingo fence may be the longest one but it's not the weirdest the aquarium fence in Turkey might take that prize this 164 ft aquarium fence was built to make sure the expensive villa's ocean view would be visible from every one of its levels these days it gathers a lot of tourists from all over the world eager to see the variety of fish it contains and even the octopuses putting up a see-through structure wasn't hard the real challenge was connecting the aquafence to the Aian Sea through a buried pipeline stretching across 13,000 ft of land this ensures water constantly flows keeping the aquarium clean and the fish happy to make sure no one damages the delicate fence or steals any of the fish or two the owner also invested in security he installed a network of 17 cameras equipped with facial recognition visitors are free to look and take pictures but step too close and you're likely to trigger alarms another one of those weird fences is New Zealand's bra fence if you ever find yourself through central Otago you might stumble upon a fence adorned with bras of all kinds of shapes sizes and patterns its story takes us back to 1999 when people in the area found four bras mysteriously hanging on the fence near Cardona Valley Road some were a bit surprised but then others started adding their bras to the decor some more bras appeared and it became a must-see spot for tourists its popularity was so high that at times it caused traffic problems in the area that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then give the video a like and share it with your friends or if you want more just click on these videos and stay on the bright side this area might just be the most important spot in America right now as it is worth over $1 trillion there's something incredibly valuable hidden right here at the Pass and it is going to shake things up not just in Nevada but in the US economy and its global relations the McDermott Caldera is a massive area about 28 mi long by 22 mi wide stretching across northern Nevada and southern Oregon it's in Humboldt County a quiet rural place with just one main city that's going to change a lot in the next 5 to 10 years that's because they found white gold there we're talking about lithium and to explain why this metal is so important we need a scale on one side we place a chunk of lithium and on the other an apple what do you think will happen if both have the same volume the scale is going to tip toward the apple that's because lithium is super light its density is about 0.3 o per in which makes it the lightest solid you can find at room temperature lithium is also extremely reactive that means it combines with other elements very easily and it can catch fire just as easily mix it with water fire expose it to air yep fire again but when you combine its lightness with its high reactivity you get a material that's perfect for batteries like the one powering your smartphone laptop or even your electric car nevada's been hiding this treasure for about 16 million years the McDermott Caldera used to be a volcanic hot spot spewing molten rock and creating a huge lake filled with mineralrich waters over time that lake dried up leaving behind thick layers of clay loaded with lithium right now Thecker Pass Mine is sitting on one of the biggest untapped lithium reserves in the world worth about 1.5 trillion if everything goes as planned they expect it to produce about 40,000 tons of high quality lithium a year and that's enough to make batteries for up to 800,000 electric cars like I mentioned earlier this metal is the backbone of modern batteries and with the world racing toward green energy the demand for lithium is skyrocketing since 2020 its price has gone up more than 10 times making it the most expensive battery metal in the world that means it's way more expensive than magnesium nickel cobalt and other materials used in rechargeable batteries right now we're using about 1.16 million tons of lithium per year and roughly 85% of it goes into making batteries mostly for cars between 2030 and 2040 experts think we will need to double the money we're putting into production from $94 billion to $188 billion at the same time investment in batteries will jump by over 200% reaching $686 billion finally by 2050 the demand for lithium is expected to be more than 10 times higher than what we're producing now sorry I know that's a lot of numbers but I just want to show how important that Pass will be for the whole world this mine is going to be key to keeping everything running i mean literally since most of the future demand will be for things like cars electric bikes scooters and renewable energy storage nevada could also be the epicenter of a global energy revolution with the US aiming to cut pollution by 50% by 2030 a big part of that is replacing gas powered vehicles with electric ones and to make that happen America is going to need a whole lot more lithium than it's producing right now nowadays most of the metal used in the United States come from countries like Chile and Argentina so if America wants to be a leader in this market it really needs to invest more and more in projects like Theer Pass but there's another challenge finding lithium in a mine is one thing but refining it is another story just like diamonds are carefully cut and shaped to bring out their sparkle and sold in rings and necklaces something similar needs to be done with lithium the raw material that comes from the mines has to be refined into a pure form that can actually be used in things like batteries and China pretty much dominates this part of the market and they're responsible for about 75% of global lithium ion battery production in other words it doesn't matter if a country finds this powerful metal on its land it will probably still need China to help refine it so the US is eager to strengthen its supply chain in fact they're so excited about this possibility that authorities have invested over $2 billion in loans into the Nevada project because of that Faker Pass could make the US a leader in lithium production worldwide if their estimates are right the McDermott Caldera could hold nearly half of the world's known lithium reserves it would almost double the reserves found in Bolivia's salt flats for example which used to hold a record for the world's largest deposit this discovery is about to change Humbult County for good those quiet streets surrounded by nature will never feel the same again the mine will need about 2,000 workers who will probably move there from other cities those workers will need houses hospitals schools for their kids and all the necessary services do you see how it's like a ripple effect for every person hired to work on the project during construction six more people will get hired in the state to support them faker Pass is also going to have a huge impact on the economy not just in Nevada but all across the country people expect the mine to be active for 35 years and each year it's expected to generate over $2 billion but here's the thing in the Pass they'll be extracting lithium from clay and this process has never been done on such a huge scale before so it's kind of a hit or miss but if it works it could completely change the industry big question who's interested in all this well we've got three big companies eyeing the lithium market in the US first there's Exxon Mobile the oil giant wants to start producing lithium by 2027 and they have plans to become the top supplier for electric vehicles by 2030 then there's General Motors the company behind big car brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac they're so interested in this business that they agreed to pay $625 million for a 38% stake in Theer Pass and finally Tesla in 2023 they started building a factory in Texas to process lithium it's all part of their plan to handle more of their supply chain themselves now that you know how important lithium is you might be wondering what if we run out well that could happen since it comes from mining and just like gold is a finite resource but that doesn't mean we'd have to give up smartphones or electric cars if we ever run out of this metal we'd probably find new ways to produce batteries in fact some experts think thermal batteries could be the next big thing they store extra energy from renewable resources like wind or solar power which are very cheap so they represent a new way of storing energy at a small fraction of the cost nowadays they're primarily used for powering the production of steel cement and chemicals thermal batteries are also being used to heat and cool large buildings however more and more projects are focusing on bringing this technology into private spaces like houses and apartments experts are optimistic that initiatives like these could make thermal batteries as well known as electric batteries and they might soon become a regular part of our daily lives so it turns out that you can't drive between South America and North America and there's a simple reason for that there are no roads connecting the two continents not even a rudimentary one technically you could try your luck crossing on foot but let me tell you that would be a huge huge mistake the region that connects the two continents is called the Darian Gap it stretches across southern Panama's Darian Province and the northern part of Colombia the only land route there is is a 60-mile jungle trek crossing it can take anywhere from 3 to 10 days it depends on weather conditions how much you're carrying and honestly just pure luck chance plays a big role here because this isn't some chill relaxing nature walk it's a harsh extreme environment known for being completely isolated and one of the most dangerous places on Earth still people seem to forget that and go there anyway every year the number of people crossing just keeps growing in 2014 fewer than 10,000 people crossed the gap in 2023 that number increased to 520,000 now you might be wondering what are so many people doing in the middle of the two American continents risking all that danger well that's because the Darian Gap has become a route for refugees migrating to North America but to get there they face all kinds of dangers from insect bites and infections to serious fractures we're talking about a no man's land since there are no police stations immigrants must also watch out for thieves along the way they have no choice but to rely on and support each other most people start the crossing with at least a tent or tarp rain boots water and some food but these things get heavy fast and people normally can't carry enough supplies for the entire journey at some point people start drinking river water to avoid dehydration but the water's full of bacteria and dirt so it causes intestinal issues and if things get serious there's no medical help there to make this whole scenario even worse the temperatures are brutal often hitting over 95° F now a small subset of people who venture through the Darian Gap are hardcore adventurers and travelers looking for a survival experience in the jungle but this region is no place for a relaxing vacation a group of tourists who went there in 2023 ended up getting jungle rot a fungus that affects the feet the situation got so bad that a woman had to be carried out by the group on the last day because she couldn't walk no matter how prepared people are for the Darian gap in the end survival mostly comes down to luck out there travelers won't find cities with solid infrastructure where they can crash at a hotel and gear up for the next day in some spots they might stumble across basic camps right in the jungle these camps might offer wooden platforms for tents bucket showers toilets and even plates of chicken and rice but it all comes at a price wi-fi for example might cost $2 an hour and that seems like a pretty good deal considering there's no cell phone service on the trail they pretty much lose all contact with the outside world now picture a dense rainforest with steep muddy terrain the hiking trail is littered with boulders and tangled with vines like nature's own trip wires it climbs sharply over a mountain becoming a serious challenge even for someone in good physical shape the area also gets constant heavy rainfall which can lead to landslides flash flooding and extremely muddy conditions the situation gets so intense that even the t-shirts and faces of those who make the crossing end up covered in mud they'll also have to cross a lot of fastmoving rivers a Venezuelan dad who recently went through the area with his two kids said their sneakers ripped apart on the very first day that's how powerful the rivers can be and they're deep too sometimes the water reaches all the way up to their shoulders but the dangers in that area aren't recent for centuries the Darian Gap was thought to be impossible to cross the first Europeans who ventured into Latin America saw it as kind of a jungle training school they totally knew about his dangers but still many adventurers tried to make the crossing in the years that followed in 1854 for example an expedition disappeared for 49 days in the jungle battling starvation and exhaustion then again in 1870 a group of 100 men set out to cross it even though they were wellprepared and carried cuttingedge equipment for the time they still suffered tremendously during the journey they had to rely on incredible resilience to survive the challenge over the years people who ventured in often ended up passing away from hunger thirst and even drowning in rivers they also face the risk of being attacked by dangerous animals like jaguars white lip peckeries and the ferdons a fast irritable snake that is one of the most venomous out there the area is also swarming with mosquitoes which can spread serious health problems leaning against trees to rest can also be risky this jungle is full of spiked chunga palm trees which are covered in long black spines up to 8 in long unfortunately for us these spines are covered in all sorts of bacteria just brush against a chunga and you could end up with infected wounds and yet another danger is getting lost in the dense forest and never finding your way back to safety these days though this risk is a lot lower some people have mentioned color-coded markers that help guide travelers and keep them from going the wrong way if they see blue or green fabric tied to trees it means keep walking but if they spot red fabric that's a sign they're going the wrong way and need to turn around quickly since there are so many dangers why not just build a road through the Darian Gap while it might seem like a good idea building a road connecting Panama and Colombia isn't really that simple the Darian Gap has a humid climate tough terrain and constant rainfall which means any attempt to build a functional road would be highly challenging and super expensive even though there have been previous attempts to fill in the gap see there's a huge road system called the Pan-American Highway which stretches all the way from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina nowadays this highway hits a roadblock right at the Darian Gap but it wasn't supposed to be like this as the original idea was for the road to go through there leaders from Latin American countries tried to make this plan happen in the 70s and then again in the '9s but a lot of people were against it mainly because they wanted to protect the local communities and the rainforest since the Darian Gap is mostly untouched by humans it's one of the most biodiverse places on the planet it's believed that one in five species are endemic to the region meaning they only exist in that specific area like the Darian pocket gopher and the slatty slender mouseum a road would have really damaged the ecosystem in the area so the plans were scrapped eventually an alternative was created to travel by sea at least two companies started a ferry service connecting the two countries however the business wasn't profitable and they ended up shutting down not long ago Panama decided to close the Darian Gap route now they're sealed off with barbed wire fencing it might just be a matter of time before other routes are created but if you are an adventurer looking to visit South America it's probably not best to wait for that traveling by plane to Colombia will always be a much safer option that's it for today so hey if you pacified your curiosity then follow us.