The Terracotta Army was discovered by chance by local farmers digging a well in 1974 in Xi'an after remaining underground for more than 2,200 years. This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists to investigate, resulting in the discovery of China's largest archaeological site.

The city's official name, like one of its nicknames, has an intriguing backstory. In the 1920s, a 'Big Apple' was a prize awarded at a horse racing event. Many musicians and journalists began referring to New York as "the ultimate" prize or "the best" because the term meant "the ultimate" prize or "the best." In 1971, the New York Tourism Board adopted The Big Apple as an official nickname in an attempt to boost tourism following some negative press.

Mesopotamia, along with the Nile Valley Civilization in Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization in the Indian subcontinent, and the Yellow River in China, was one of the four riverine civilizations where writing was invented. Around 3400 BC, the Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia invented the cuneiform script. Cuneiform is a Latin word that means "wedge-shaped." Sumerian writing evolved from pictograms to become a full-fledged writing system capable of producing works of literature as well as prayers and laws. Despite not being the oldest example of writing, cuneiform script is regarded as a significant milestone in human history.

With a surface size of 26,300 square miles, the Aral Sea was formerly the world's fourth biggest lake. However, the lake has been rapidly diminishing since the 1960s. The lake is diminishing due to the divergence of the main rivers away from the lake for irrigation projects. As of 1997, roughly 10% of the lake had vanished, leaving only patches of smaller lakes. The majority of the south-eastern lake had already dried up by 2009, while the majority of the southwestern lake had dwindled to become a narrow strip along the old southern sea. NASA images from 2014 showed the eastern section of the old Aral Sea, which had completely dried out and is now known as the Aralkum Desert.

Peppers are delicious, even if most people use them as a spice rather than a food. Cayenne peppers have the ability to promote blood clotting over wounds, which is a little-known fact. Cayenne pepper can be sprinkled into a wound to act as gauze, according to experts. This will assist in halting the bleeding. Eating cayenne pepper can also help to balance blood pressure and promote internal clotting. That is, whether you eat it or apply it directly to the wound, it will help it heal faster.

Everyone knows Lake Superior is vast (it's not called one of the Great Lakes for nothing), but few people realise precisely how big it is. Lake Superior is not only the world's biggest freshwater lake, but it also carries three quadrillion gallons of water. That's enough liquid to submerge North and South America under a foot of water. It's no surprise that Lake Superior has seen so many shipwrecks.

You're probably thinking of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and possibly Pinterest as you consider your social media options. But have you thought about YouTube? Even if you don't consider it a social platform, it drives more engaged traffic than any other social site. Visitors from YouTube stay on sites the longest, visit the most pages, and bounce the least of any social platform referral traffic.

Almost three-quarters of adults with Internet access have at least one social media account, with 52 percent having two or more. This means that your current and potential customers are not only likely to use social media, but they are also likely to use multiple sites.

When Santa Claus travels throughout the world on Christmas Eve, you may be confident that he is legally permitted to operate his sleigh—at least in the United States. The cheerful man in the red suit received his pilot's certificate from Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics William P. MacCracken in 1927.

Among those accompanying the Queen on her journeys is usually the Queen's medical practitioner. The doctor is accountable for knowing where all local hospitals are in the cities that they visit. She also has to transport a large medical bag with a mobile defibrillator and emergency medication. Aside from that, the doctor possesses Queen Elizabeth's own blood bag, which will be used for a transfusion if necessary.

If you go shopping at the Christmas Market in Nuremberg, Germany, you'll be participating in a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Proof of this can be discovered in a little box kept safe by the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. The modest gift is inscribed, "Sent to Regina Susanna Harßdörfferin by Miss Susanna Eleonora Erbsin (or Elbsin) on the occasion of the Christmas Market of 1628."

Not Andamanese or Nicobarese is the most widely spoken language on the islands. Bengali is the most widely spoken language on the islands, followed by Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Andaman Creole Hindi is also widely used as a commercial language in the Andaman Islands.

Although the now-retro rainbow design is undoubtedly Apple's most well-known, the very first Apple logo depicted Sir Isaac Newton seated under a tree with an apple ready to fall on his head. The Newton logo was created by Apple's lesser-known creator Ronald Wayne and was only used briefly in 1976. Its high degree of detail didn't show up well when scaled down and put on a device.

Japan is made up of nearly 7,000 islands. The little island of Okunoshima in the Inland Sea is best-known for its curious, big-eared population. The island was used to test chemical weapons during World War II, and it’s said the test subjects roamed free after the war. Either way, the numbers flourished in a predator-free environment (dogs and cats are banned from entering), and today Okunoshima is a popular spot for cuddle-bunny tourists.

Einstein was not a participant in the Manhattan Project, although he was essential in its inception. German scientists discovered nuclear fission of uranium in the late 1930s, which was a crucial step toward the construction of the atomic bomb. Much of the world's uranium was stored in the Congo, which was then a Belgian territory, so two Hungarian-American physicists called Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner persuaded Einstein to send a letter to his friend, the Queen of Belgium. Instead, Einstein advised writing a letter to a Belgian minister, but a chance meeting with an economist who knew President Roosevelt resulted in a change of heart and a letter that pushed America to begin its own tests.

This one is a bit debatable, as some fans argue that it isn't canon. This is due to the fact that Sonic's entire name was never revealed. Archie Comics, which publishes two separate Sonic comics, published a comic in which Sonic's middle name is Maurice but his first name is never revealed. Sonic's first name is really Ogilvie, according to one of the Archie Comics authors. Fans disagree, claiming that Archie Comics' Sonic isn't actual canon, and that only the video games and Japanese comics are.

There are five UNESCO World Heritage sites in Uzbekistan. Itchan Kala, which boasts more than 250 historic buildings, was one of the last resting spots of caravans in the mediaeval times before crossing the desert to Iran. Itchal Kala was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. Bukhara is a mediaeval city in central Asia located on the famed Silk Road, and it is said to be over 2000 years old, with various structures that are still intact. UNESCO designated the complex as a cultural World Heritage site in 1993. Other attractions in the nation include Samarkand, which is a crossroads of civilizations and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

There are several theories as to how the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs" came to be. One example is that when houses had thatched roofs, pets and other small animals (squirrels, groundhogs, and so on) would nestle into the straw for warmth. When it rained, however, the straw became slick and the animals slid out, giving the impression that it was literally raining cats and dogs.

Kokura, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Niigata, and Kyoto were on the list. Kyoto was spared, according to legend, because US Secretary of War Henry Stimson loved the ancient Japanese capital and had spent his honeymoon there decades before. In its place, Nagasaki was established. On July 25, 1945, the United Kingdom approved the bombing of four Japanese cities: Kokura, Niigata, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.

Did you know that because Russia is so large, it has 11 separate time zones? Despite having 11 time zones, Russia is not the country with the most time zones. Because of all the little islands that make up France, it has the most time zones. While Russia does not have the most time zones, it does have a large number of them. If you opt to travel across Russia, you may suffer from jet lag before ever leaving the country!

Susami is home to the world's deepest underwater mailbox, a fascinating Japan fact. Susami is a popular fishing village in Wakayama Province. In 2002, the town's deepest underwater mailbox was certified by Guinness World Records. Since 1999, the mailbox has gathered over 32,000 pieces of mail at a depth of 30 feet.

North Sentinel Island is home to one of the world's most isolated human populations. The Sentinelese, estimated to number around 300 people, have rejected all contact with the modern world and fired their arrows at anyone who comes within range. They are thought to have descended directly from the first human populations to emerge from Africa, and they have most likely lived in the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years.

Pilots are paid hundreds of dollars per day to stand by during the summer in case it rains and trees require emergency blow-drying. It may appear absurd, but it is worthwhile for farmers who grow the delicate, expensive fruit. The work is hazardous; pilots are frequently injured in orchard crashes.

The French army is the only one in Europe that still employs carrier pigeons. These pigeons, which are housed at Mont Valérien near Paris, can be deployed to carry out broadcasts in the event of a severe disaster.