Moscow is often called «white stone». This is due to the fact that during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, the Kremlin was entirely built of white stone. Over time, the old buildings were destroyed, and new ones were erected in their place, but already made of red brick. In order not to spoil the overall appearance, the renovated facades were painted white. In 1947, when Moscow turned 800 years old, Stalin signed a decree that the Kremlin should be completely repainted in red. So it remains in our time.
Nowadays, the value of Manhattan is estimated at about $50 billion. In 1626, Manhattan was purchased from local Indians for only 60 Dutch guilders, which at that time was about $25.
In Brussels, the sculpture «Pissing Mongrel» was installed in the city center in 1998. It is made of life-size bronze. By the way, this statue is not a fountain, unlike other «pissing sculptures». According to the author's idea, the figure of a mongrel [and mongrels are mixed breeds] symbolizes the mixing of cultures of the capital of Belgium, which is observed in Brussels.
Antarctica 53 million years ago was so warm that palm trees grew along its shores. The temperature on the continent then rose above 20 degrees Celsius.
Bioluminescence has captivated scientists and thinkers for a long time — documented mentions of «glowing» animals go back to ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Aristotle studied this phenomenon in detail and was the first to correctly assume that these animals do not use heat at all to produce light. Since then, many living creatures have been discovered [both on land and under water] that have this ability, and each of them is unique. Scientists believe that the ability to glow can be a means of communication in a place devoid of light. According to research, about 76% of all ocean inhabitants have the ability to bioluminescence, although it is not yet known how most of them use it.
Spaniards are famous for their sociability, as well as love to eat delicious food in a big noisy company. In Spanish, there is even a separate word Sobremesa, which means a period of time after a meal that people stay at the table and just talk to those with whom they have just shared this lunch or dinner.
Not all the bright lights that are visible in the night sky are stars. The closest stars to our planet are Proxima Centauri, Bernard's Star, Sirius and others. However, apart from them, planets and comets are also visible.
A giraffe is an animal that does not know how to yawn, unlike many warm- and cold-blooded ones who periodically open their mouths to capture more oxygen. A man yawns about 250,000 times in his life, and a giraffe — not once.
Currently, there are more than 600 million domestic cats in the world — that is, almost every twelfth person has this animal. Russia, Turkey, Canada, America, Saudi Arabia and almost all of Western Europe are the places on the planet where, according to statistics, these pets are preferred over all others.
The Vikings believed that an endless supply of beer was waiting for them in heaven. They believed that when they got to Valhalla [a place that, according to Norse mythology, is a paradise for the fallen and the most worthy warriors], they would find a goat with an endless supply of beer in the udder.
