Skip to main content

Posts

the top 10 Fastest planes in the world

THE TOP 10 FASTEST PLANES 01 Falcon HTV-2 Top speed: 20,920km/h unmanned Lockheed Martin, defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and US Air Force, usa, 2010 developed to test the limits of long-duration hypersonic travel, the Falcon HTV-2 is a rocket-launched, unmanned but fully manoeuvrable plane that’s capable of flying at Mach 20. Not that anything can be remotely described as ‘long-duration’ at these kinds of speed; a plane travelling at more than 20,000 miles an hour would cover the distance between New York City and Los Angeles in around 12 minutes. 02  X-43A Top speed: 12,144km/h unmanned NASA, USA, 2004 03 X-15  Top speed: 7,274km/h Manned us air Force and NASA, USA, 1959 04 X-51 WaveRider Top speed: 6,276km/h unmanned Boeing, USA, 2010 05 SR-71 BlackBird Top speed: 3,540km/h Manned Lockheed, USA, 1964 06 MiG-25 Foxbat Top speed: 3,492km/h Manned Mikoyangurevich, soviet Union, 1964 07 Bell X-2 starbuster Top sp...

Top 10 famous Visionary science-fiction writers

TEN VISIONARY SCIENCE-FICTION WRITERS Saac Asimov  1920–92 Wrote or edited more than 500 influential books Most famous for writing the Foundation series, the russian author is often considered one of the ‘Big Three’ sci-fi writers, along with Heinlein and Clarke. His science-fiction short story Nightfall was voted the best of all time. a crater on Mars is named after Asimov – the highest accolade for a sci-fi writer? Phillip K dick  1928–82 Wrote novels inspiring blade runner and total recall As well as publishing 44 novels, dick also write around 120 short stories. the american author’s works have inspired a string of hit films including blade runner, total recall and Minority Report. Harlan Ellison 1934–present Multi award-winning author and editor this American writer has published more than 1700 short stories, novellas and essays, as well as many film and tV scripts including muchlauded star trek episodes. He’s the only three-time winner of the nebula A...

Top 10 engineering wonders of the modern world

TEN ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD Jiaozhou Bay Bridge Qingdao, China Length: 26,707m The bridge across China’s Jiaozhou Bay is the main section of a complex comprising a 41.58km roadway connecting the districts of Qingdao and Huangdao. Opened in 2011, the world’s longest bridge over water cost £5.5bn to build; its construction required 10,000 workers, 4,50,000 tonnes of steel and 2.3 million m³ of concrete. Trans-Siberian railroad russia Length: 9,289km construction on the world’s longest railway line began in 1891 and, by 1916, had successfully connected moscow in the west with Vladivostock on russia’s east coast, 9,289km away. Burj Khalifa united arab emirates Height: 828m The current tallest building in the world (boasting a full 163 storeys), this iconic skyscraper took 3,30,000 cubic metres of concrete and 39,000 tones of steel to build. the tower also boasts more than 24,000 windows. Millau Viaduct France Length: 2,460m Height: 343m The world’...

Ten rare elements found in our home

TEN RARE ELEMENTS FOUND IN OUR HOME Europium symbol: eu atomic number: 63 used in nuclear reactors as well as low-energy light bulbs and tV sets. Discovered by france’s Éugene-Anatole Demarçay in 1896. Terbium symbol: tb Atomic number: 65 found in lcD screens and solid-state memory devices (including usB drives). swedish chemist carl mosander discovered the soft, malleable and ductile metal in 1843. Lanthanum symbol: la Atomic number: 57 Another of carl mosander’s discoveries, this is one of the metals used in the nickel-metal hydride (nimH) batteries found in some smartphones, laptops and electric cars. Neodymium symbol: nd atomic number: 60 neodymium makes excellent magnets and has been put to use in computer hard drives, stereo speakers and electric motors. it’s also used to colour glass. Yttrium symbol: Y atomic number: 39 yttrium is a metal that can be added to glass to make it heat- and shock-resistant; it is found in many camera lenses. Samarium...

10 nasa technologies with earthly applications

Ten nasa technologies with earthly applications Artificial heart pumps Introduced to commercial market: 1998 Patients awaiting heart transplants can be kept alive with a left ventricular assist device (lVAD). smaller than other heart pumps and battery operated, this instrument is based on the fuel pumps used in nAsA’s rocket engines. Memory foam Introduced to commercial market: 1969 in 1966, nAsA contracted aeronautical engineer charles yost to improve aeroplane seating in the hope of providing better crash protection. He came up with memory foam, a material that could absorb high-energy impacts but also provide greater comfort by moulding itself to any object placed upon it. Scratch-resistant lenses Introduced to commercial market: 1983 these evolved from an experiment to improve water purification on spacecraft. the result was a coating that rendered spectacle lenses almost impervious to abrasion. Fire-retardant paint Introduced to commercial market: 1974 the coat...

The top 10 countries with highest Smartphone penetration

Ten countries with highest Smartphone penetration 01 united arab emirates 73.8% of population owns a smartphone 02 South Korea 73% of population owns a smartphone 03 saudi arabia 72.8% of population owns a smartphone 04 Singapore 71.7% of population owns a smartphone 05 norway 67.5% of population owns a smartphone 06 australia 64.6% of population owns a smartphone 07 sweden 63% of population owns a smartphone 08 Hong Kong 62.8% of population owns a smartphone 09 UK 62.2% of population owns a smartphone 10 denmark 59% of population owns a smartphone

10 crucial communication breakthroughs

TEN CRUCIAL COMMUNICATION BREAKTHROUGHS The Alphabet When: 4000-1200BC the ability to record information was arguably most significant breakthrough in human communication after speech. sumerian cuneiform, a pictographic writing system denoting concepts and syllables, evolved around 4000Bc. it was replaced by the Phoenician alphabet comprising characters that represent single sounds. Postal Service 27BC–Ad 14 it’s thought that the Persians were the first to introduce a kind of postal service around 550Bc. But the earliest and bestdocumented evidence of such a system, enabling the public to send written messages, dates from the reign of the roman emperor Augustus. Paper Ad 105 official records credit chinese inventor cai lun with the first production of paper, although archaeological research suggests that paper was being used in the country much earlier than that. Gutenberg press 1450 for centuries, literacy and literature were restricted to religious scholars and weal...

10 sci-fi predictions that came true

10 SCI-FI PREDICTIONS THAT CAME TRUE TELEVISION Predicted by: Mark Twain, From the London Times of 1904, published 1898 the first television was produced in the 1920s, but mark twain had already described the telectroscope that would “make the daily doings of the globe visible to everybody”. TABLET DEVICE Predicted by: Arthur C Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey, published 1968 surfing the internet on a portable device was dreamed up long before the turn of the millennium. in the late 1960s, clarke gave his fictional astronauts ‘newspads’ so they could keep up to date with the goings-on back home. EARPHONES predicted by: ray bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, published 1953 though the personal stereo didn’t appear until 1977, in the early ’50s Bradbury described earphones piping in constant music and talk. SCUBA-DIVING EQUIPMENT predicted by: Jules Verne, twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, published 1870 Verne described a means of breathing underwater using apparatus that, ...

The top ten tallest waterfalls in the world

THE 10 TALLEST WATERFALLS 01 Angel Falls 979m Venezuela 02 Tugela Falls 948m south africa 03 three sisters Falls 914m peru 04 Vinnufallet 865m norway 05 Skorga 864m norway 06 James bruce Falls 840m canada 07 browne Falls 836m new Zealand 08 Kjerrskredfossen 830m norway 09 Waihilau Falls 792m hawaii, usa 10 colonial Creek Falls 783m Washington state, usa

The top ten most largest lakes in the world.

THE 10 LARGEST LAKES 01 Caspian Sea 3,71,000km2 central asia 02 Lake Superior 82,100km2 USA/Canada 03 Lake Victoria 68,800km2 east africa 04 Lake Huron 59,600km2 USA/Canada 5 Lake Michigan 57,800km2 usa 06 Lake Tanganyika 32,900km2 east africa 07 Lake Baikal 31,722km2 russia 08 Great Bear Lake 31,328km2 Canada 09 Lake Malawi (Nyasa) 30,044km2 Malawi/Tanzania/ Mozambique 10 Great Slave Lake 28,568km2 canada

Top ten largest islands in the world

THE 10 LARGEST ISLANDS 01 greenland 2,175,600km2 02 new guinea 7,85,753km2 03 borneo 7,48,168km2 04 Madagascar 5,87,713km2 05 Baffin Island, canada 5,03,944km2 06 sumatra, indonesia 4,43,066km2 07 Honshu, Japan 2,25,800km2 08 Victoria island, canada 2,20,548km2 09 great britain 2,09,331km2 10 ellesmere island, canada 1,96,236km2

World's 10 largest dessert

THE 10 LARGEST DESERTS 01 antarctic Desert 13,829,430km2 Though it’s largely covered with a thick coat of ice, Antarctica is actually extremely dry. Inner regions receive less than 50mm of precipitation each year – less than the sahara – and some dry valleys experience virtually none at all. 02 arctic 13,726,936km2 03 sahara 9,400,000km2 north africa 04 arabian Desert 2,330,000km2 ara bian peninsula 05 gobi Desert 1,300,000km2 China/Mongolia 06 Kalahari desert 9,00,000km2 Angola/Botswana/ Namibia/ south africa 07 Patagonian Desert 6,70,000km2 Argentina/Chile 08 great Victoria Desert 6,47,000km2 australia 09 syrian Desert 5,20,000km2 Iraq/Jordan/Syria 10 great basin Desert 4,92,000km2 usa

the top 10 most hottest places in the world

THE 10 HOTTEST PLACES 01 dasht-e Lut iran 70.7°C the highest surface temperature officially confirmed on earth was detected by the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (moDis) on nAsA’s Aqua satellite at Gandom Beryan in the Dasht-e lut (lut Desert) between 2003 and 2005. 02 Queensland Outback australia 69.2°C 03 Flaming Mountains Xinjiang, China 66.7°C 04 Al-Aziziyah libya 57.8°C for many years, this temperature (detected in september 1922) was the highest ever recorded. 05 Death Valley usa 56.7℃ 06 Rub’ al Khali (empty Quarter) arabian peninsula 56°C 07 Kebili tunisia 55°C 08 Timbuktu Mali 54°C 09 tirat Zvi israel 53.7°C this temperature was recorded at a kibbutz in June 1942 – at that time, the highest ever documented in Asia. 10 Dallol ethiopia 34.4°C this was the average annual temperature from 1960 to 1966.

The top ten most coldest places in the world.

THE 10 COLDEST PLACES 01 Ridge near Dome Fuji antarctica –93.2°C recorded in August 2010 from a remote sensing satellite. 02 Vostok Station antarctica –89.2°C the lowest groundmonitored temperature, recorded on 21 July 1983 at a russian Antarctic research station. 03 dome Argus antarctica –82.5°C 04 Amundsenscott south pole station antarctica –82.5°C 05 Oymyakon russia –71.2°C the lowest air temperature recorded in the northern hemisphere was detected at this russian village in 1926. 06 Klinck research station greenland –69.4°C 07 north ice greenland –66°C this low was recorded at this British north Greenland expedition research station in 1954. 08 Snag Yukon, Canada –63°C 09 Denali Alaska, USA -59.7°C 10 Verkhoyansk russia –45.4°C

the top ten most deadliest volcanic eruptions

 10 DEADLIEST VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS 01 tambora indonesia erupted: 1815 estimated deaths: 71,000 02 Krakatoa indonesia erupted: 1883 deaths: 36,417 03 Mount Pelée Martinique erupted: 1902 deaths: 29,025 04 nevado del ruiz colombia erupted: 1985 deaths: 25,000 05 unzen Japan erupted: 1792 deaths: 15,000 06 Laki iceland erupted: 1783 deaths: 9,350 07 Santa María guatemala erupted: 1902 Deaths: 6,000 08 indonesia erupted: 1919 deaths: 5,110 09 Galunggung indonesia erupted: 1882 deaths: 4,011 10 Vesuvius italy erupted: Ad 79 deaths: upwards of 3,000

the top 10 most longest rivers in the world

THE 10 LONGEST RIVERS 01 nile 6,695km east and north africa The world’s longest river has two main tributaries: the Blue Nile, rising in ethiopia, and the longer White Nile, emerging from Lake Victoria. Figures for the river’s length vary, as the exact source is still debated; 6,650km and 6,695km are often quoted, but an expedition in 2006 claimed to have reached the true source, and subsequent figures have been as high as 6,853km. Whatever its true length, the Nile – which flows through Uganda (and also possibly the democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, depending on the accepted source), South Sudan, Sudan, ethiopia and egypt on its way to the Mediterranean, is one of the world’s mightiest rivers. 02 amazon 6,516km south america this river discharges 2,00,000m3 of water per second, fed by sources in Bolivia, colombia, ecuador, Peru and Brazil. 03 Yangtze 6,380km china chiang Jiang, a mandarin name for the yangtze, means literally ‘long river’ – it drains a...

Top ten most famous astronomers

10 FAMOUS ASTRONOMERS galileo galilei 1564–1642 Supported heliocentricism, discovered Jupiter’s moons and developed telescopes Galileo’s support of the copernican heliocentric model saw his ideas investigated by the roman inquisition of 1615. But the italian’s own achievements were formidable, including developing telescopes enabling good views of the milky Way and Jupiter’s moons. eratosthenes 276–194BC Measured the circumference of the earth eratosthenes – born in cyrene, now in libya – used the angle of the noonday sun at different places in egypt to estimate the circumference of earth. His figure was remarkably accurate – in fact, according to some commentators, he was out by less than 2%. William Herschel 1738–1822 Discovered uranus and its moons Born in Germany Herschel moved to england as a teenager. He became famous for discovering uranus and two of its major moons, titania and oberon, as well as two of saturn’s moons. He also discovered infrared radiation. Joha...

top ten immense things in space

10 IMMENSE THINGS IN SPACE 01 Biggest asteroid  ceres 950km diameter (average) Discovered in 1801, ceres makes up a third of the total mass of the asteroid belt between mars and Jupiter. 02 Biggest object in our solar system sun 1,392,000km diameter the yellow dwarf star around which we orbit comprises over 99.8 per cent of the total mass of our solar system. 03 Biggest known planet  GQ Lup b 30 times the radius of Jupiter this huge exoplanet, detected orbiting a star some 457 light-years from earth, may have a mass up to 36 times that of Jupiter and is fiercely hot – possibly 2,650 kelvin. 04 Largest structure in the universe Huge Large Quasar Group (Huge-LQG ) 4 billion light-years across in 2013, an international team detected a chain of some 73 quasars stretching so far that its existence challenges the fundamental cosmological Principle. 05 Biggest black hole   centre of ngc 1277 17 billion solar mass this supermassive black...

the 10 biggest moons in our solar system

10 BIGGEST MOONS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM 01 ganymede radius: 2,631km satellite of: Jupiter 02 titan radius: 2,576km satellite of: saturn 03 callisto radius: 2,410km satellite of: Jupiter 04 io radius: 1,821km satellite of: Jupiter 05 Moon radius: 1,737km satellite of: earth 06 europa radius: 1,561km satellite of: Jupiter 07 triton radius: 1,353km satellite of: Neptune 08 titania Radius: 788km satellite of: uranus 09 rhea Radius: 764km satellite of: saturn 10 oberon radius: 761km Satellite of: uranus

the 10 longest human space flights

 10 LONGEST HUMAN SPACE FLIGHTS 01 Valeri Polyakov russia Mission: Mir Space Station Duration: 437 days 8 January 1994– 22 March 1995. 02 Sergei Avdeyev soviet union Mission: Mir Space Station Duration: 379 days 13 August 1988– 28 August 1989. 03 Vladimir titov & Musa Manarov soviet union mission: mir space station Duration: 365 days 21 December 1987– 21 December 1988. 04 Yuri Romanenko soviet union mission: mir space station Duration: 326 days 6 february 1987– 29 December 1988. 05 Sergei Krikalev Soviet Union/ russia mission: mir space station Duration 312 days 19 may 1991– 25 march 1992. 06 Valeri Polyakov soviet union Mission: Mir Space Station Duration: 240 days 29 August 1988– 7 April 1989. 07 Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov & Oleg Atkov soviet union mission: salyut 7 space station Duration: 237 days 8 february 1984– 2 october 1984. 08 mikhail tyurin & michael lópezAllegria russia & usA mission: international space station Dura...

Top ten firsts in space

10 SPACE FIRSTS First man in orbit Yuri Gagarin Launch date: 12 April 1961 The Russian cosmonaut completed an orbit of earth during his 108-minute spaceflight aboard Vostok I. Being the first human in space, he later explained the experience of weightlessness: “You feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended.” After landing back on earth, Gagarin became an instant celebrity, touring the world to tell the adoring public about his big adventure. It was to be his only mission into space and he died in a plane crash in 1968 during a routine flight. His ashes are buried in the walls of the Kremlin in Moscow. First woman in orbit Valentina Tereshkova  16 June 1963 the russian orbited the earth 48 times during her nearthree-day spell aboard Vostok 6. First space walk Alexey Leonov  18 March 1965 Another russian cosmonaut, leonov undertook a 12-minute period of ‘extravehicular activity’ (space walk) during the Vosk...

Top ten most outsized animals in the world

10 OUTSIZED ANIMALS Largest mammal (and largest animal ever)  blue whale Balaenoptera musculus 30m, 170 tonnes Larger than any prehistoric giant, the blue whale would dwarf the largest known dinosaur, Argentinosaurus, which weighed a ‘mere’ 80 tonnes or so. Largest land mammal African elephant Loxodonta africana 7.5m, 6 tonnes Largest reptile saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus    6.7m, 2 tonnes Largest snake green anaconda eunectes murinus  6.6m, 70kg Largest dinosaur Argentinosaurus estimated to be 30-35m long, 80-100 tonnes Largest bird ostrich struthio camelus 2.1-2.8m, 145kg Largest insect goliath beetle Goliathus spp. 60-110mm, 100g Largest fish  Whale shark Rhincodon typus  12.65m, 21.5 tonnes Largest amphibian Chinese giant salamander andrias davidianus 2m, 30kg Largest carnivore  southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina 3m, 4 tonnes

TOP TEN SUPER-FAST ANIMALS IN THE WORLD

10 SUPER FAST ANIMALS Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus 389km/h (fastest recorded) The peregrine regular exceeds 322km/h during stoops (hunting dives) – though doesn’t come close to that speed in level flight. Marine reptile Leatherback sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea 35km/h A teardrop-shaped body gives this reptile a hydrodynamic advantage. land mammal cheetah Acinonyx jubatus 120km/h the fastest land animal on earth can maintain this speed for bursts of no longer than 60 seconds. bird flapping flight White-throated needle `tail Hirundapus caudacutus 169km/h land herbivore Pronghorn Antilocapra americana 88.5km/h this antelope-like creature can maintain speeds of 56km/h for several kilometres. Fish Indo-Pacific sailfish Istiophorus albicans 111km/h the title of fastest fish is hotly disputed; the highest estimates for this species date from the 1920s. insect horsefly Chrysops relictus 145km/h Land raptile Black iguana Ctenosaura similis 34....

TEN LONGEST- LIVED VERTEBRATES

10 LONGEST- LIVED VERTEBRATES 01 Aldabra giant tortoise Aldabrachelys gigantea oldest individual recorded: 255 years Adwaita was a male tortoise reputedly given to Robert Clive in the 18th century. in around 1876 it was transferred to the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, where it lived until its death in 2006. Adwaita’s age cannot be definitively confirmed; the longestlived reptile for which an age has been verified was Tu’i Malila, a radiated tortoise reputedly given to the Tongan royal family by Captain Cook in 1777, and which died in 1965 at the age of 188. 02 Koi fish Cyprinus carpio haematopterus 226 years the oldest-known koi, called Hanako, died in 1977. 03 bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus 211 years 200-year-old spears have been found in some bowheads. 04 tuatara Sphenodon punctatus 115 years old Henry, a tuatara in new Zealand, became a father at the age of 111 in 2009. 05 blue and yellow macaw Ara ararauna 104 years churchill reputedly owned the macaw nam...

Ten weird parasites

10 WEIRD PARASITES eye-inflating flatworm larvae of the greenbanded broodsac fill the eye-stalks of infected snails, making them look (and wriggle) like little caterpillars – luring hunting birds. Zombie-making wasp the female emerald cockroach wasp stings a cockroach’s brain, then lays an egg on its belly – and the wasp larva devours its host from the inside. Tongue-eating louse the sea louse cymothoa exigua feeds on blood from a fish’s tongue till it withers away, then attaches itself to the stump to feed on blood and mucus. eye worm the larvae of the nematode worm loa loa infect human eyes, and can be seen and, more horribly, felt as they squirm across the tissue beneath the cornea. Skin-boiling worm  the guinea worm Dracunculus medinensis grows up to 1m long in humans, causing a burning pain as it emerges through the skin of legs. Head-splitting fungus An ant infected with ophiocordyceps unilateralis climbs to the top of a plant and die. the fung...

Top ten longest animal migrations

10 LONGEST ANIMAL MIGRATIONS 01 Arctic tern sterna paradisea 70,900km this small bird – weighing just over 100g – undertakes an incredible twoway migration each year. in August or september each bird leaves its breeding grounds in Greenland and heads south, tracing the coast of either Africa or south America and feeding in the Weddell sea for four or five months before returning to the Arctic for the northern summer. 02 sooty shearwater Puffinus griseus 65,000km these birds follow circular migration routes around the Atlantic and Pacific. 03 Northern elephant seal miroungaangustirostris 21,000km these mammals swim between californian and mexican beaches. 04 Leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea 20,000km one tagged turtle swam from indonesia to the usA across the Pacific. 05 Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae 17,600km Adélis follow the ice edge from breeding colonies to winter feeding grounds. 06 Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae 16,600km the mammal ...

Ten most dangerous animals in the world.

10 DANGEROUS ANIMALS 10 Poison dart frog (phyllobates terribilis)  Human deaths/year: Unknown living in the rainforest of colombia, this frog’s skin is coated with enough batrachotoxins to kill at least ten men. 09 Box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) human deaths: at least 60 since 1883 each of the sea wasp’s tentacles is armed with about 5000 stinging cells. 08 sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)  Human deaths/year: <2 like other bear species, sloth bears don’t predate humans, but chance encounters can result in deaths. 07 Great white shark (carcharodon carcharias)  Human deaths/year: <30 unprovoked shark attacks on humans are extremely rare – and fatalities even rarer. Great white, tiger and bull sharks are responsible for most. 06 lion (panthera leo) Human deaths/year: ≤100 lion attacks on humans often occur during harvests, but rare outbreaks of mass ‘maneating’ also occur. 05 African elephant (Loxodonta africana)  Human deaths...

10 MOST EXTREME MATING PRACTICES

10 EXTREME MATING PRACTICES Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) Applies pink make-up It’s long been known that the characteristic pink hue of flamingos’ feathers is derived from carotenoid pigments in the shrimps and other plankton they eat. but in 2010 scientists discovered that greater flamingos actively apply pigment, secreted from a gland at their rear, to their feathers during preening – and reapply regularly to prevent it from fading in the sun. Anglerfish (ceratioidei) males are parasites, latching onto females and releasing sperm during spawning. Snails & slugs (pulmonata) many land-dwelling hermaphrodite slugs and snails fire ‘love darts’ into prospective mates during courtship. Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) A courting male will urinate over his prospective partner before mating. Bedbug (Cimex lectularius) A male pierces a female’s abdomen for traumatic insemination. Praying mantis (Mantodea) Perhaps 30% of courting male mantids are eaten ...

Top 10 super strong animals

TEN SUPER-STRONG ANIMALS 10 brown bear (ursus arctos) five times as strong as a human Grizzly bears grow to 500kg and over, and prey on large mammals such as moose, elk and even black bears. 09 green anaconda (eunectes murinus)                 constricts at 90psi though figures are debated, the green anaconda is believed to be the world’s largest snake, and has the most powerful squeeze at a reported 90psi. 08 Ox (Bos primigenius) Pulls 150% of own weight the phrase ‘strong as an ox’ is well coined: for millennia oxen have been used for hauling heavy loads and ploughing heavy soil. 07 Asian elephant (elephas maximus) Pulls 170% of own weight But Asian elephants used in the timber industry have hauled logs weighing up to 9 tonnes – nearly twice as heavy as a large male tusker. 06 Tiger (Panthera tigris) lifts double own weight Prey varies across the ranges of the subspecies, but the largest tigers have been known to hu...

10 endangered languages

             Ten endangered languages Kaixána Where: Brazil According to reports from 2006, one named individual spoke this language – though he was 78 years old. patwin Where: USA native to northern california, by 2011 it was assumed that just one person spoke Patwin as their first language. Diahói Where: Brazil Probably fewer than a hundred members of the indigenous people who spoke this language live in southern Amazonas state; a 2006 study estimated that only one actually spoke the Diahói dialect. Apiaka Where: Brazil only a few hundred members of the Apiaká people survive in northern mato Grosso state; having adopted Portuguese, only one person is now believed to speak the language. chaná Where: Argentina/Uruguay in 2005, a man was discovered who spoke at least some words of this language, long believed extinct. Bikya Where: Cameroon in 1986, it was reported that only four people spoke this Bantoid language, only one of t...