Publishing houses print a limited quantity of press copies (or ARCs/galleys) to send to reviewers such as Kirkus as well as their press contacts. These unfinished copies are costly to produce, but their function is to generate publicity. Keeping this in mind, presses are usually eager to send out early copies, especially when they receive polite, professional emails from reputable sources! 

The quality of Persian rugs' construction is one of their best qualities; hand-knotted rugs are of the highest caliber. They are not only strong and durable, but they also have a lovely appearance. The rug can withstand heavy foot traffic and still maintain its high quality because each stand is hand-knotted.

The Newark Scientific Association investigated "The Kentucky Meat Shower" meat and discovered that it contained lung tissue from either a horse or an infant (both organ structures are quite similar), muscle tissue, and cartilage.

Palm trees are revered religious symbols. The people of Jerusalem greeted a triumphant Jesus just one week before his death and resurrection in the Bible, a tradition that is now known and celebrated as Palm Sunday, the week before Easter. Palms appear numerous times in both the Bible and the Quran. Palms are associated with peace and abundance in Judaism.

It was at a party in Cambridge that Plath met her eventual husband, poet Ted Hughes. On June 16th, 1956, Plath married Hughes, paying homage to the day on which James Joyce's Ulysses takes place. Unfortunately, the writers' marriage was tumultuous and painful and recently discovered letters reveal that Hughes abused Plath.

Our smartphones may be an important part of our everyday lives. Still, this handy technology may be hiding a not-so-great surprise after all. A study of mobile phones used by secondary school pupils found that they were significantly infected with potentially dangerous germs. According to experts, cell phones, in fact, contain 10 times more germs than most toilet seats.

Hoelun, their mother, reprimanded Temujin and his brother Qasar for killing Behtar. Nevertheless, Behtar's mother Sochigel and brother Belgutai continue to reside with Genghis Khan's family despite Behtar's murder. Belgutai later rose to the rank of general in Genghis Khan's imperial court.

Did you know that the longest river in the world is located in Egypt? The Nile River cuts through Egypt and about 95 percent of the population of Egypt resides along the Nile River. With much of the country being occupied by desert, this fact about Egypt isn’t all that surprising. 90 percent of Egypt is made up of desert and the River Nile divides that desert.

The ancient Egyptians divided Egypt into two lands, the desert, and the Nile Valley. Contrary to what you would think, upper Egypt is located in the South and Lower Egypt is north. That is because the Nile flows north towards the Mediterranean Sea.

It's okay to choose a salicylic acid-containing toner if your skin tends to be oilier. Aloe vera-based solutions work like magic to balance oil production or eliminate excess oil because it has calming characteristics and smoothens your skin as well. It helps to maintain a consistent ph balance and refines your pores.

A lady may be barred from doing housekeeping if she has any colour from the bridal mendhi (henna) on her hands. Indian weddings are frequently colourful multi-day events that might run anywhere from three days to a week. The celebrations begin with the Ganesh puja, which is usually a private event with the couple and their close families to honour good fortune, followed by the mendhi ceremony the next day, during which henna patterns are painted on the bride and her female friends and family. The sangeet—a musical night to greet all the wedding guests—is usually held that evening, with the main ceremony and celebration taking place on the third day.

Each gold-plated Oscar award costs $500 to make and weighs around 8 and a half pounds. Chicago-based company R.S. Owens starts manufacturing the Oscar statuettes one year in advance of the show. 

Players were never able to advance the ball. Instead, each player was required to toss it from where he caught it. The first team credited with advancing the ball by dribbling did so at Yale in 1897, and the official allowed for dribbling, initially only one per possession, was implemented four years later. The slam dunk, another major basketball technique, was outlawed from the 1967-1968 season until the 1976-1977 season.

This fun fact about the Netherlands may entice beer-lovers to visit – they have the largest pub in all of Europe. 

The Drie Gezusters (Three Sisters) pub in Groningen holds the title of the biggest pub on the continent and is a national heritage site. We hope it’s also got the most bathrooms of all the pubs in Europe!

 

The pan shot, also known as the panorama shot, was invented in 1987, when panning cameras were first used in film production. Cameras used to be stationary, so you had to move the entire camera and tripod to get any movement. This was a significant step forward in filmmaking and cinematography as an art form.

Raw materials can be utilized to create kaleidoscopes. Pebbles and colorful stones will typically reflect good colorful shapes.

Moon Knight possesses Khonshu's powers, but he can only utilize them at night under the moon's influence. While this has altered throughout time, Moon Knight initially only had his boosted power under the moon's light, and he weakened significantly at other times. This also meant that he was at his most powerful under a full moon. He could lift 1,000 pounds while the new moon was out, which meant the moon was not visible but was still there. Then, as the month progressed to the full moon, he would acquire strength and be able to lift to 4,000 pounds.

Perhaps he is the king (or queen) of diplomatic blunders. When Wonder Woman was illegally detained by the Department of Metahuman Affairs, Hippolyta devised a plan to invade Washington, D.C. and murder everyone in sight. Sure, it was a Circe manipulation plot, but that was a little far-fetched! In fact, the series was panned for its violent and gruesome nature – after all, it's not every day that DC fans read about Amazons murdering innocent children in Washington.

Ladakh is home to a specialist in the creation of fake glaciers. Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer, saw a little brook had frozen beneath the trees. Soon after, he became involved in waster shed development and built more than 15 artificial glaciers. His longest glacier was over 1000 feet long and could support a whole settlement of 900 people.

When hot lava cools down quickly after being ejected from a volcano, obsidian, a sort of natural glass, can develop.

This is an unfortunate fact because many of us have been told the opposite and have tried to cut it far too frequently. However, it is important to remember that split ends prevent our hair from growing, which means that we must cut them as soon as they appear.

The concept of mindfulness, or living in the now and paying attention to what is going on around you, is often connected with Buddhism, however, the word itself may not accurately reflect the meaning intended. "Most Buddhist experts think that the term "mindfulness" is a severe mistranslation of the word "sati," explains Crystal Beckwith, a Reiki practitioner and energy coach. "In reality, Buddhism is about an empty mind; sati is best described as mindfulness." Learn how to be more attentive in your everyday life.

Travelers know the confusion when arriving in a country that’s in a different time zone. You tend to either gain or lose a few hours. Myanmar is a little different. Rather than adjusting their clock to correspond with the gain or loss of a whole hour, like most countries, they do it with 30-minute intervals. The official time zone is GMT +6.30. Very few countries in the world do it in this way making Myanmar somewhat unique.

Bhutan's monarchy has always strictly limited outside influences in order to protect the nation's uniqueness from the crowning of the first king in 1907. Because of its small size and fragile situation, the country considers maintaining sovereignty essential. Bhutan first opened its doors to foreign tourists in 1974, the year it was recognized as a country by the United Nations.

Knowing that there was a "year without summer" two centuries ago can make you enjoy our pleasant, bright weather a little more, according to USA Today. The entire world witnessed a dip in temperature as well as other winter-like circumstances, such as snow in June and frost in August, in 1816 following a huge volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia that produced enough dust, ash, and sulfur dioxide to partially veil the Earth's atmosphere.