The Taj Mahal is made of red sandstone and covered in large marble plates. The artisans who contributed to the creation of this world wonder came from a variety of countries and regions, including Central Asia, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. It took them 20 years to complete this historic project, which involved over 20,000 artisans.

The edible leafy tips of beetroots are bursting with vitamin K, which has been associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Your daily requirement is approximately doubled by one cup of raw food.

This may come as a surprise but the Gala was not always held at the Met. Actually, from 1948 until 1971, the Gala took place in different areas around New York City such as Central Park, the Waldorf Astoria, and the Rainbow Room.

In 1760, the Japanese thought flying kites was more fun than working. As a result, the Japanese government outlawed kite flying. During the Cultural Revolution, China also prohibited kite flying. Kites are known as Fen Zheng in Chinese. It's an abbreviation for wind harp. The name comes from the use of kites to transport musical instruments by the Chinese. Furthermore, Chinese people believe that looking at kites in the sky is good for their eyesight.

Long-term lung function reduction can result from exposure to air pollution throughout childhood. Fetuses' growth has also been proven to be impacted by dirty air. The majority of the UK's regions exceed the EU's air pollution regulations. However, according to the government's present plans, it won't be safe to breathe until at least 2020, and 2025 in London.

With a height of 7,434 feet, Bette Peak is Libya's tallest peak. The mountain, also known as Bikku Bitti, is located in southern Libya, near the Chadian-Libyan border. Ginge Fullen and his Chadian guides made the first reported ascent of the Bette Peak in December 2005. Despite this, the mountain's remote position makes access difficult and infrequent.

The other 97.7% are ethnically Chinese. This is because Taiwan was ruled by the Qing Dynasty for 200 years from 1683 to 1895. During this time, the locals were pushed out in the same way native Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders were by Europeans. This isn’t an upbeat Taiwan fact but it’s important to know.

Nowadays, there are just 500,000 indigenous people made up of eight different tribal groups. Sadly, their 26 native languages have become almost extinct. Unemployment rates are high and education levels low. However, since the 80s there has been a bit of a revival and several cities host indigenous cultural events. Will it be enough?

According to studies, consuming grapefruit daily for six weeks marginally lowers systolic blood pressure.

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.

Many times, allergens such as specific flowers, pollens, and even foods can also cause asthma, thus asthma patients should become aware of their own allergic triggers.

Yes, you read that correctly: spider silk is extremely strong. It may appear weak and brittle, but this is only due to its thinness. A spider's web is five times stronger than a strand of steel of the same thickness. A spider web made of strands as thick as a pencil is also thought to be capable of stopping an aeroplane in flight!

The Incas were skilled engineers who were able to construct the complete fortress of Machu Picchu without the use of cement. Instead, they adopted a method known as ashlar, which involves carefully cutting stones such that they lay on top of one another with no gap between them. You couldn't even get a sheet of paper through the stones!

Changes to the screenplay came in so late, according to Matthew Wood, sound editor on The Rise of Skywalker, that he had to visit the house of Adam Driver, who played villain Kylo Ren throughout the last trilogy, to record him delivering a few new and crucial lines in a pretty low-tech setting. "I ended up opening one of his closets where he kept all of his suits, and I simply shoved the suits out of the way and said, 'put your head in here,'" Wood explained on The Week's SoundWorks Collection podcast.

Despite the fact that trumpets aren't as large as the tuba or the trombone, if you stretched out the instrument's densely packed metal tubing, it would measure an impressive 6 1/2 feet.

Even if you are an Indian citizen, you will need an inner line permission to explore Arunachal Pradesh, which enables you to stay for just 15 days.

Pigeons are extremely swift birds, which is why they make excellent messengers. They are also excellent racers due to their speed. Pigeon racing is a surprisingly profitable enterprise, and racing pigeons can be extremely pricey—the most expensive pigeon ever sold was approximately $1,900,000!

The Sun reported on the astrological analysis done by UK Domain on the most recent Forbes list of billionaires. As it happens, Libra claimed the most—an impressive 27 billionaires. "And considering how Libras tend to be organized perfectionists obsessed with balance," the outlet notes, "it'll come as no surprise really."

Though it is often assumed that the Khajuraho temples are rich in sexual and sensual sculptures, only around 10% of these sculptures represent sensuality, with the remainder depicting diverse elements of daily life such as potters and farmers at work, musicians composing, ladies dressing up, and so on.

The 1980s were a prosperous period for Lamborghini, and the company's president at the time, Patrick Mimran, thought the brand should expand. Lamborghini continues to make fantastic engines for boats, but its attempt to manufacture and market a motorbike failed miserably. Boxer Bikes built the Design 90 motorbike, which included a Kawasaki engine. The bike received fifty orders, but only six were manufactured, including ideas. When GM took over Lamborghini, the project was put on hold and eventually abandoned. The last time we saw a Design 90 in the wild, it was auctioned off but failed to achieve its reserve price.

Eczema comes in a variety of forms, and each person is affected by it differently. A qualified diagnosis can guarantee that your course of treatment corresponds to your particular symptoms.

False fruit (accessory fruit) refers to a plant structure that looks like a fruit but is not formed from a flower or flowers. The cashew apple matures into a yellow and/or red structure measuring 5 to 11 cm (2.0-4.3 in) long. It is edible and has a pronounced "sweet" odor and flavor.

No, not an elaborate April Fool. Many cats have lived at the Museum over the years. Perhaps the most famous was Mike, who guarded the main gate between 1909 and 1929. When he died, his obituary appeared in the Evening Standard and TIME magazine. The picture above shows Mike in action.

 

His interviews on the red carpet always brought a certain pizzaz; he talked about fashion like no other and as a fashion man himself held extensive expertise! His Gala days go all the way back to when Vreeland was in charge, so he witnessed so many great looks for years. It will be sad to no longer him have at these events but hopefully guests can feel his fashion fierce energy as they arrive!

You can swallow thousands of microscopic algae by simply swallowing one drop of ocean water. The oceans contain more algae than there are stars in the entire universe.