Iceland is the safest country in the world to live in. It has a really low crime rate and is home to only 356,991 Icelanders. But that’s not the only thing that makes this country unique. There, not only can you witness astounding natural beauty, but you might be amazed by other curiosities as well, like babies napping outside in the cold and weirdly shaped traffic lights.
The name of the country itself hints that the climate there is not very warm. And this is where all of its charm is hiding: it’s like the Snow Queen looking at you with her cold piercing eyes. And you can spend ages looking at this country: the waterfalls, the rocks, the volcanos, the beaches with black sand, and 8 months a year when you can see the Northern Lights. All these things make Iceland a country from a parallel reality that anyone would love to go to, at least for a little vacay.
Stress at work, student loans, household chores... Oh, stress and anxiety follow us around every corner. And it would be so great to just have free reign and make the whole neighborhood hear our loud “AHHHHH!” Instead we have to control ourselves, even if the desire to unload all of our negativity continues to grow. And in this situation Iceland can come to our aid.
Iceland is an amazing country that will remain in your memory forever after just one visit. Its unique picturesque nature, national cuisine, and the hospitality of its people will make you fall in love with this Nordic country. It has everything you need if you like an active vacation or a peaceful rest on the beach.
What crowns the pyramids of Egypt? How does Iceland create its unique “volcano bread”? Where can you witness the world’s rarest phenomenon? The pursuit of these answers not only energizes us but also sparks dreams, making us feel like pioneers. Our natural curiosity pushes us to explore the mysteries of ourselves and the fascinating world around us.
It happened in Iceland on Friday, March 19, 2021 at 8:45 PM. About 20 miles southwest of the capital, molten rock suddenly burst through the surface from below. Bright lava fountains then lit up the night sky. A volcano in this valley finally woke up after almost 800 years of sleeping soundly...We divide volcanoes into 3 categories: active, dormant, or extinct. Around 1,900 of them around the globe are considered active. That means they’ve erupted in the recent past and will likely do it again in the possible near future. Dormant volcanoes haven’t popped off for a long time, but they still may in the future. You could say they’re sort of sleeping. As for extinct ones, those guys haven’t done anything in more than a million years!
Massive tsunamis, destructive tornadoes, giant meteorites, devastating earthquakes. Ooh, better have insurance. But all these are minor natural disasters compared with the eruption of a volcano. Some volcanoes can destroy a city, as it was with Pompeii. Or some islands in the Pacific Ocean. But there’s a dangerous type of eruption that can destroy all life on the planet. This type is called “flood basalt.”
The world’s largest waterfall is tucked away underwater! The Denmark Strait cataract is located between Iceland and Greenland. If you suddenly grew fish gills allowing you to comfortably breathe underwater, you’d be able to see a breathtaking series of waterfalls. They begin at 2,000 feet under the surface and then drop for about two miles — down to a depth of 10,000 feet.
You walk along the beach one day, and in the distance, you see something. What? Is that a person made of plastic? You can’t believe it! It’s a giant Lego man!
Octopuses have 3 hearts. Two of them pump blood to the gills while the bigger heart circulates blood to the rest of their body. They also have 9 brains. There’s the large central one. But also, each of their 8 arms has a mini-brain of its own, which is why they can act independently. Since each arm has its own brain, the central brain only sends a higher-level signal to the arm. Things like “move to that nearby crevice, there might be a crab hiding inside”. In the case of humans, the brain would guide and take control of each movement of our legs and arms. And with an octopus, arms act almost independently on their way to the crevice. It also tastes and feels with the suction cups on it. Since their arms are so independent, an octopus doesn’t actually know where they are unless it sees them. The human body has an ability called proprioception. Thanks to it, we know where our arm is even if we hold it, let’s say, behind our back.
We are used to seeing Vikings as they are portrayed in movies: unkempt, unwashed, and very harsh. However, in reality, they were perhaps the most well-groomed people of their time. Ancient Scandinavians loved to bathe, kept their clothes clean, and would not have minded visiting a barber shop if they had one.
You find yourself at a food fair in Iceland when you see it for the first time: volcano bread! You eat a slice, and oddly enough, it actually tastes good! Unsure of how this works, you check out the baking process. Hm. Is this kitchen really strange looking, or is it just me?
Arrgh, they keep coming out of nowhere. Mosquitoes are among the most common insects globally, with over 2,500 species buzzing, annoying and biting people. It seems like you can’t escape their silent presence, and their incognito nibbles wherever you go. However, there is one place you can go where you don’t have to sleep under a protective net or keep bug spray next to you. Drum roll, please.... Ta-da! Iceland.
Picture the food chain as this huge dinner table, where every critter has its place. The problem is, they’re also available for grabs on the menu! We’ve got all sorts of living beings out there, from teensy-weensy algae to enormous blue whales, and they all have one thing in common — they need food to survive. The way every creature manages to survive is because of this never-ending movement of nutrients in nature. Take the grass we walk on: it’s like a self-sufficient chef who cooks up its own meals using sunlight.
There are many miles of undiscovered areas beneath the crust we can’t even come close to. Scientists found what appears to be underground mountains buried inside the mantle. Our planet is divided into 3 layers — the crust, the mantle, and the core. The crust is where 8 billion people, trillions of trees, and millions of animals live and thrive. There are also different types of crusts in the land and the ocean. The oceanic crust contains unique rocks and is denser than the land crust. We all see how the Earth is divided and color-coded to show the crust, mantle, and core in textbooks. But there are also special layers in between that not everyone talks about.
It was just a couple of hours before midnight. Some of the 2,200 passengers of a large luxurious ocean liner were still partying in the beautiful first-class lounges. The rest were asleep in their beds. Some of them — in spacious cabins filled with paintings and decorated with ornate carvings.Others — in tiny rooms below sea level. All of these people had only one thing in common — on that chilly April night, all of them were heading from Southhampton in England to New York City.
When traveling to a foreign country, no matter how safe it is, foreigners should always be extra careful. There are many possible dangers, from keeping their valuables close to their bodies and not drinking too much, to not going to unknown areas. So, the best thing to do is to research the place before visiting. This way, you will be prepared and hopefully be able to avoid scary situations like the people below.
Why do you think right and left matter when it comes to headphones? The sound moves really slowly. The echo is a good example. Try shout at a distant building to hear your voice bouncing back at you with a slight delay. The sounds move slowly enough so the brain can detect the time difference between the sound that arrives at your right and left ear. Even if the difference is minimal, like 10 microseconds. This is something we know as the interaural time difference. If your friend speaks on your right, your brain knows the sound is coming from that side because it takes a little bit longer for the same sound to get to your left ear.
Our planet has many weird places that are just waiting for us to discover their secrets, from a puzzling forest with bent trees to a desert where snow can be seen from time to time. Earth is a vast place with many wonders, and we are happy to show you some of our planet’s top secrets.
We live in a big world, with a myriad of cultures and habits we may find a little strange at first. For instance, in Iceland, Christmas Eve is all about exchanging books and spent reading in a cozy nook with some chocolate. While we all love an iced drink to cool off from the heat in the summer, in some Asian countries, water is nearly always had hot, never mind the weather. The thing is, a lot of these habits have solid scientific backing.
There are many places on our planet that you wouldn’t believe are even real. Amazingly, they were created by nature many centuries ago, and each one of them has something special to share with its visitors.
Whether it’s Japan, Iceland, Maldives, or Australia — this photographer has traveled all over the globe to bring us truly ethereal pictures of Mother Nature. Meet Kristina Makeeva, a talented Moscow-based photographer. With over 1 million followers on Instagram, Makeeva showcases nature in its most beautiful form.
Weird laws, strange decrees — there are many of them around the world. Some legislative acts are relics of the past because it seems that someone simply forgot to delete them, but there are also modern laws that might seem absurd at first glance. How is it possible that one thing is legal in one country and banned in another?
Countries and their cultures are diverse, as are the myths surrounding them. We still tend to believe that we can meet Count Dracula roaming through the hallways of Romanian castles or that French women prefer hairy armpits. However, a thread on Reddit where people were discussing such myths has completely debunked all of these.
Countries like Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland often rank high on lists of countries where people feel the happiest and most satisfied with their lives. For example, these countries have always been in the top ten in the World Happiness Report since it was first published in 2013. This can’t be a coincidence, and there’s definitely something special about them that makes them stand out from the rest of the world.
Judging by which names modern celebrities give to their children, it’s hard to imagine what else can surprise us. For example, Elon Musk and singer Grimes named their son X Æ A-12, while Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter was named Apple. However, in some countries, they believe that certain baby names should be banned and that not all parents’ creative ideas should be encouraged.
Christmas is a time for tradition, family, and food, but this can mean something different in various parts of the world. For example, in South Africa, the main dish is fried caterpillars, whereas, in Greenland, they eat whale skin and fermented sea birds.
Alexander Ladanivskyy, a Ukraine-based photographer and a Depositphotos contributor, has been organizing photo expeditions into the wild for years. He is also a content partner of Discovery and one who speaks up about the dangers of climate change by using travel photography. Alexander’s path in travel photography was unusual: having a special forces background, he started with wedding photography, steam-punk portraits, and futuristic snaps. Soon, Alexander started exploring the nature of the Carpathians and discovered some locations that soon became incredibly popular among local and international photographers. This collection features amazing images taken by Alexander Ladanivskyy (see his full portfolio here) on his journey across Central and Northern Europe.
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We do not always have the opportunity to travel to the places we dream of seeing. Luckily, there are movies that help us escape reality for a moment and explore the world without leaving our home. In these films, the cities and landscapes are the real stars, and they promise to inspire you to plan your next vacation.
Many tourists think that it’s impossible to really get to know a country if you don’t try its national cuisine. However, some of the dishes are so exotic that not everyone is brave enough to try them.
Going on a trip abroad, we naturally expect to come across things and customs that differ from what we’re used to. Some tourists even read forums and guidebooks to prepare in advance. Still, at times, all of us have had travel experiences so weird, they leave us open-mouthed!
If you’re struggling to decide on the perfect place to spend your summer vacation, here’s some good news: the hard work has already been done for you. Travelers from around the world chose the most beautiful countries of the year — and the list includes spots for either beach lovers, fans of hiking, or those craving a big city vibe.
Sometimes parents really want to give their child a rare name, but they aren’t always able to do it. Governments of different countries try to save babies from having awkward situations in the future and even make lists of banned names. However, the criteria vary by country, so for example, in France, you are not allowed to use a curse word to name a child, and in Saudi Arabia, you can’t name a child Queen even though the word itself is okay.
Iceland is an island that can be found in the northern part of the Atlantic ocean. Though the name of the country means the land of ice, in reality the nature there is diverse and magical. But Iceland deserves people’s love not just because of its natural beauty. There are pretty grass roof houses, funny policemen, and cute traffic lights as well.
Every country has its own holiday food traditions. For example, in the US, they always eat turkey on Thanksgiving. Christmas and The New Year is a special time in the cultures of many nations, and every one of them has their own holiday menu.
