Asia

Flies are everywhere we go, literally. It is believed that flies originated in Asia, but these days they live everywhere people live, only excluding Antarctica, and — maybe — a couple of islands. Flies have traveled the oceans following humans, but they never go anywhere alone. In the wilderness and deserts, where humans are absent, you won’t find any flies.

Have you ever noticed how insects seem to get bigger in certain parts of the world? Take Australia and the Amazon rainforest, for example. They’re notorious for having some of the largest and creepiest crawlies around. What’s the deal with these hotspots of insect activity? Warmth plays a part in insect growth, but it’s not the only factor at play. You won’t get bugs that large out in the desert, for instance, despite the heat. The real secret lies in their access to water. In tropical and subtropical environments, there’s usually plenty of moisture to go around, which means a year-round supply of delicious snacks.

It was hot in the tropics. A type of heat unknown to the men aboard the Ninã, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria ships, led by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. It had been months since these men left their home cities in Europe. And until then, Europe was all they knew. They were given a difficult and even dangerous task. Spain hired Columbus to find a New Western Route to Asia. They needed new routes for trading and buying spices. But it was far from a simple job.I mean, crossing the ocean never is. Little did those sailors know that their lives were about to change forever! “Land in sight!”, someone must have shouted on board. But when they finally stepped on that new foreign land, they discovered they were not in Asia. They had landed in the Americas.

I bet that’s not what you imagine when you think of cashews, but a Redditor found them like this in a store in Brazil. It turns out they’re not “true” nuts. Cashews emerge at the tip of a cashew apple. There’s a special word for a fruit with a seed inside — “a drupe.” So, cashews are drupes, just like almonds and pistachios. Brazil is the homeland of cashews. The tree was brought to India by the Portuguese in the middle of the 16th century. And from there, it spread further to Asia and then to West Africa. Today, these regions are the largest producers of cashews. The biggest consumer is the USA — they get 90% of the world’s harvest.

Ever wanted to taste a salad from space? Well, you might be able to one day. Scientists have taken soil from the Moon and successfully grown plants in it! Back in the late 1960s and early 70s, it was the first time in our history we set foot on a surface that wasn’t Earth. During the several trips to the Moon in the Apollo program, astronomers brought back some rocks and soil to study. Some scientists knew it would be a good idea to preserve this soil, stick some seeds in it, and see what would happen. They didn’t do anything at first, aware that decades into the future, they’d have more advanced equipment to conduct these studies. The researchers named the lunar soil “regolith” and used the seeds of a particular plant called blah-bah-blah-baa — you can read it here [Arabidopsis thaliana] which is found in Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa. It’s similar to such veggies as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Yum.

Did you know that the largest living creature on our planet is a mushroom? I know, your first thought was probably a whale or some large tree, like the Sequoia. Surprisingly, if we look at square footage, the largest single living organism is a species of mycelium called Armillaria Ostoyae or the honey mushroom. And you can find it in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest. It stretches across 3 square miles! Not only is it the largest, but it’s also thought to be the oldest organism as well, estimated to be around 8,000 years old! Some scientists believe that mushrooms are intelligent, too. Well, sort of — they don’t have emotions and aren’t actually capable of thinking. But they do have some of the most complex and extensive communication systems in the world.

The year 2022 was rich in amazing discoveries. Let’s have a look at the most impressive of them! The newest of NASA’s rovers, Perseverance, keeps exploring the surface of the Red Planet. Right now, it’s hunting for signs of ancient life in the Jezero crater. That’s a 28-mile-wide impact crater. It was likely once filled with water. While trekking across the crater’s floor, the rover spotted several surprising things. One of them was a weird purple coating on a few rocks. It was strangely similar to rock varnish formed by microbes on our planet.

Poison dart frogs are one of the most toxic species on our planet. They come in a range of bright colors: blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. And that’s not just to show-off! It’s a kinda message to all the predators that might want to come after them — “I’m toxic so you better stay away and don’t try to eat me!”. The golden poison dart frog, for example, has so much poison it could finish 20,000 mice.

Alright. You’re scuba diving in the ocean, watching corals and colorful fish flitting by, when suddenly an enormous shadow appears above you. You look up and see a massive creature approaching you, its mouth a gaping abyss... Relax, just stay still and you’ll be fine.

Ok, so right after being produced, plastic water bottles aren’t the size you buy at the store. Even a gallon water bottle starts its life as a small tube. Later, it gets heated, inflated, and shaped into the bottle you know. Boy, I can relate to the heated and inflated part.

You’re running around the bus station with 20 bags, looking for your bus. You can’t afford to miss it — the next one is leaving next year. Finally, you find the right bus, and meet 19 other passengers you’ll be traveling with through 18 countries for the next 70 days. Whew, is there a bathroom on this thing?The new luxury bus will get on its first 12,500-mile journey from India’s capital New Delhi to London in the United Kingdom in 2021. It’ll be a hop-on/hop-off trip divided into 4 legs across Asia and Europe and operated by an Indian tour company. Each leg will last 12 to 22 days, and you can book them independently. Passengers will get to visit the sights of Southeast Asia, the Great Wall of China, the Silk Road in Central Asia, Gobi Desert, and Europe’s largest cities. Guided tours, meals, and hotel stays will be included in the $20,000 bus fare.

A species of millipede made musical headlines this year! Yep, you heard that right, it’s called the Taylor Swift millipede as was recently discovered in 2022. The scientists behind this finding are said to have named this little critter after the famous singer. They became really attached to her music in their younger years and thought it was a nice homage. The Taylor Swift millipede joins the list of 16 similar creatures found in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States.

There is a lot of beauty in this world, and we all have eyes to see it. But sometimes, the eyes of a talented photographer can show us fascinating new angles of the world’s wonders. Japanese photographer Ryosuke Kosuge shows the fascinating simplicity, symmetry, and elegance of Asia through his lens, and we couldn’t be more shocked by the results.

It’s not easy to ascend to the peaks of the Hollywood Hills and become a well-known celebrity. However, the path upward is open to everyone and you don’t necessarily have to be the most handsome to get there. On the contrary, actors who possess peculiar appearances and charisma tend to be the most memorable anyway.

In numerous countries around the world, toilet hygiene practices diverge significantly from the common use of toilet paper. A fascinating example of this can be found in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and India, where traditional bathrooms often feature a wide, scoop-like plastic implement, known as a “dipper,” which is utilized for personal hygiene. But that’s not all; in Japan, they’ve taken toilet innovation to a whole new level with the development of specialized toilets featuring cleansing seats that offer an experience akin to a bidet.Diving deeper into this intriguing phenomenon, one can’t help but wonder what drives these alternative practices in Asia, and it turns out there’s a multitude of reasons, both cultural and medical, that shed light on this unique approach to personal hygiene.Culturally, many of these practices are deeply rooted in tradition and local customs. In countries like India, for instance, the use of water instead of toilet paper can be traced back centuries, as it aligns with the principles of cleanliness and purity outlined in ancient texts. Similarly, in Indonesia and the Philippines, the practice of using a dipper and water is not only practical but also culturally significant, reflecting a connection to the environment and a holistic approach to hygiene.Moreover, medical considerations play a pivotal role in the preference for water-based hygiene methods. In regions where certain waterborne diseases are more prevalent, such as Southeast Asia, the use of water for cleaning is seen as a safer and more effective way to prevent contamination and maintain personal health. The feeling of cleanliness and freshness that water provides can also be psychologically reassuring, contributing to its popularity.Additionally, the invention of advanced toilet technology, like the aforementioned Japanese cleansing seats, has further bolstered the adoption of alternative methods. These innovations not only provide a luxurious and efficient cleansing experience but also align with Japan’s penchant for cutting-edge technology.

We may have seen many people with these sun-kissed shades of hair on the silver screen, but in reality, blondes are a lot less common than that. Famous blondes such as Marilyn Monroe, Gwen Stefani, and Reese Witherspoon were not actually born with those luscious locks of golden hair. But there’s just something about being blonde that makes powerful women opt to bleach their hair to a lighter shade.

The Mayan civilization is one of the most amazing, mysterious, and at the same time one of the most attractive populations who have ever lived on our planet. The peculiarities of this civilization attract scientists and ordinary people, as it left many questions that have been waiting for answers for centuries. And the smartest people in the world are still racking their brains, trying to figure out their secrets.

Around the world, people just have their own way of doing things. So it comes as no surprise that certain things that you don’t normally pay attention to, even simple things you do when going to a restaurant or going shopping, might actually be considered offensive or strange somewhere else. In fact, some things that you might find offensive, like yelling or throwing a tantrum in public, might actually be considered polite or normal in another country.

Everyone knows the basic rules of how to behave in restaurants: don’t speak with your mouth full, use the right cutlery, don’t sit in the aisle. Most people follow these rules. But there are also some local customs that can confuse even the most experienced travelers.

When going on a trip, you can’t prepare for everything. Even if you carefully read all the forums and travel guides, it doesn’t mean you won’t get into some funny or awkward situations like, for example, when you want to pay for something but they don’t take cash, or when you wear a green Panama hat and people start laughing at you. They might also ask you some uncomfortable questions, such as “How often do you take a bath?” or “Do you eat too much?”

While we usually use no more than 30 different spices in the kitchen, there are more than 100 types of them in the world. And many of them are not just herbs — for example, sesame grows in pods, saffron is the stamen of a flower, and black pepper can be found on a liana!

Despite the fact that plague pandemics appeared in both the Middle Ages and in the modern world, the fiercest and most destructive was the one that ravaged Europe in the 14th century, killing a third of the European population of that time — about 25 million people! But it didn’t just bring on death: after the end of the pandemic, Europe started to change so significantly that the consequences of those events still have an impact on our lives today.

Experienced tourists know that it’s really hard to predict everything when it comes to traveling. Some hotels use different tricks to make their apartments look bigger and some puzzle us with their inventions, whether they’re placing hidden cameras, installing transparent bathrooms, and so on. Fortunately, Internet users shared recommendations that can help us stay away from unpleasant situations while being far away from home.

Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea have been at the top position of education ratings according to the estimations of PISA. 15-year-old students from the East often show better performance in math, reading, and science than other students from around the world. Raising a talented and successful child who respects their elders, their culture, and is a well-rounded good person is the main goal in Eastern countries. But how do these countries achieve this?