Zeus had a large family outside of his marriage to Hera. This enraged Hera, and in order to exact her vengeance, she claimed that their son, Hephaestus, was the result of a virgin birth. This meant that Hephaestus was not descended from Zeus, which infuriated the Thunder god. And he vented his rage on Hephaestus by tossing him off the summit of Mount Olympus.

One of my favorite historic Quebec City facts is that Old Quebec is encircled by defensive city walls that were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

This well-known oil painting by Johannes Vermeer was completed in 1665. It shows a European girl in an exotic dress, an oriental turban, and what appears to be a large pearl earring. The beautiful girl in the painting is thought to be his eldest child Maria, who was also said to be his muse. She appears in other paintings by Johannes and bears an uncanny resemblance to the painting, though this theory has never been proven.

An annual competition for students who are blind, the Braille Institute hosts more than 1,400 students from the U.S. and Canada to test their braille skills. Contestants compete in categories like reading comprehension, proofreading, and spelling. Winners in each age group walk away with monetary prizes – and braille bragging rights for a year.

You've most likely heard of Santorini, Mykonos, and Crete... But did you know that Greece has dozens of more gorgeous islands? Greece is thought to have up to 6,000 islands and islets, with just about 200 of them inhabited.

Starbucks is often known for the music they always have playing in the background of each store. As it turns out, Starbucks is more serious about music than you may have thought. The company actually has its own record label called Hear Music. It was created with Concord Music Group in 2007, and actually includes some pretty huge performers, like Paul McCartney, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell. 

If you download the app, you can find information on what's playing in the store, and sometimes get points for free song downloads.

 

Shintoism, unlike Christianity, does not have a distinct sacred scripture written down since it evolved from folk religion and nature worship in tiny communities. Instead, model literature includes "Kojiki," "Nihon Shoki," "Kogo Shuui," and "Senmyou." These manuscripts are known as Shinten. 

The distance to the moon is measured using a mirror and laser formation on the moon, as well as a telescope on Earth. Because of the moon's elliptical orbit around the Earth, this distance varies, making it critical that such a facility exists.

If the Bible contains the earliest reference to the passport, the origin of the two French words 'passer' + 'port' meaning "to pass through a port" dates from the 15th century. It was also written as a compound word at the time, "passport." From the middle of the 15th century, the compound name "passport" was used to refer to the movement of people after it was first used to authorize the movement of goods. However, it is not certain that the term "port" referred solely to seaports, but rather to the gates of fortified cities.

Only three films in cinema history have won Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Film. "It Happened One Night," directed by Frank Capra, was the first. The other two films were "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975) and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).

This is where the last Machu Picchu truth becomes even more intriguing! Peru has a high level of seismic activity in general, and Machu Picchu is positioned near two fault lines. Knowing this, the Incas developed a variety of strategies to make their structures earthquake-resistant. These featured the previously mentioned ashlar construction, as well as trapezoidal-shaped doors and windows, inward inclining walls, and bracing blocks.

The greatest of these is the Malaspina Glacier which encompasses roughly 2,201 square kilometers. Alaska has the most glaciers in the United States due to its proximity to the Arctic Circle.

Glass is one of the most durable and resilient man-made materials.

In the southeast of Europe is the Republic of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula includes it. In addition to the Black Sea on its eastern border, Bulgaria is bordered by Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Romania to the north, and Turkey, and Greece to the south.

In her teen years, Anne briefly moved away from home to attend a boarding school, and at the age of nineteen, she started working as a governess. She worked as a young governess for several years, and her first book, Agnes Grey, is based on her experiences in this field. The protagonist's tale emphasises the long hours, meagre pay, and cumulative humiliations that characterised one of the only professions available to women.

Selenium is an essential antioxidant for cell metabolism. This antioxidant is typically difficult to locate in meals, but chia seeds are an excellent source.

Despite many years of mining, Wales remains an enormous supplier of natural minerals, providing coal, slate, copper, steel, and other materials to many countries. South Wales used to account for 40% of all coal exported from the United Kingdom.

The best graphite in the nineteenth century came from China. Yellow is associated with royalty and respect in China. American manufacturers began painting their pencils yellow to convey a luxurious, high-quality vibe.

With four Best Actress Oscars to her name, Katharine Hepburn is the actress with the most of them. With a total of 4 awards under his belt, Clint Eastwood is the male actor with the most Oscars; however, he didn't receive any for acting. For Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, he received two Oscars for Best Director as well as two for Best Picture.

It's interesting how they classify game violence — World War II brutality is mild enough to be labelled T, yet modern-day nukes are clearly rated M.

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership among developed nations. However, this does not always imply an increase in crime; Switzerland has about half the number of gun-related deaths as the United States. Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates among all developed nations.

Many Buddhists, believe it or not, possess cars, houses, jewelry, and other items. "Because so many vocal Buddhists in America are practicing monks or wealthy individuals shunning consumerism to go meditate," says Wasserman, "we assume all Buddhists are like that." "Travel to a Buddhist country, and you will not see people abandoning the worldly world, but rather, like other religions, praying to win the lottery or be prosperous," he adds.

In 2017, San Marino was dubbed the "Least Visited Country in Europe," with only 60,000 international tourists.

Here’s an interesting story! Back in 2012, about 125 students got caught cheating on a government class exam. Harvard went on to investigate this scandal, and most of the students caught were made to withdraw from the university. Yale – the arch-nemesis came up with a humorous shirt to wear during a Harvard-Yale football game, it read “Try cheating your way out of this one!” Harsh!