Victorious Ancient Roman Politician "TRUMPET" Donated Symbolic Sundial to Middleclass Hometown Supporters

After winning the election, Marcus Novius Tubula donated this marble sundial to his hometown.

Based on the inscription style, researchers believe it was inscribed ~50 B.C. but seems like an auspicious find, during our election month, a victory trophy of remembrance for "Tubula" or "TRUMPet" in Latin. 

Another interesting note is that this honored hometown was a middle-class one. In other words, "Trumpet" won the hearts of the middle-class citizens and honored their support with a philosophically significant sundial monument, perhaps to remind them of their shared victory. 

Some 2,000 years ago this politician, according to the inscription, paid for this monument and gave it to the city of Interamna Lirenas. It's ~50 miles south of Rome, established in the 4th century B.C. and left for ruin by the 6th century A.D.

This site has been excavating since 2010 and is significant because of its geopolitical situation during the Roman Empire.

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Urban settlement, road network and field systems in the ancient Liri Valley (dark grey = areas over 200 m ASML)

Originally created as a Latin colony (formally independent from Rome, but bound by a close military and political alliance), the town was located at the intersection of two important communication routes: the via Latina (linking Lazio and Campania) and the course of the river Liris (linking the hinterland with the Tyrrhenian coast). Its origins lay in the Romans' military operations against the Samnites, part of their broader process of expansion across central-southern Italy (late 4th - early 3rd c. BC). 

Roman sundial (Interamna Lirenas, Italy) by al506 on Sketchfab

This is a concave limestone sundial with markings measuring hours of the day and for the summer and winter solstices. 

Finds of sundials with inscriptions are quite rare, making this a "special find," emphasizes Alessandro Launaro, co-director the 2017 excavations with Martin Millett, Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge.

Inscribed in Latin on the sundial's base is "Marcus Novius Tubula," and inscriptions along the curved rim tell us that he held the office of Plebeian Tribune and graciously paid for the sundial with his own money.

Significant Sundial Symbolism

Why would a victorious politician put a sundial in his hometown? What does a sundial represent? According to the Oneirokritika of Artemidorus of Daldis, written in the 2nd century AD, which presents ways of interpreting dreams and interpretations of some of them:

“A sundial implies activities, beginnings of business, movements, projects, for those who act carefully regarding time. Thus, seeing a sundial fall or break can be dangerous and bad, especially for those who are ill."

Basically, the sundial is a symbol of time and of our limited time alive. As a symbol of time, it has also been used to encourage something be remembered. In this case of the politician, especially with the inscription giving himself credit, it's probably meant for him to be remembered by his local supporters. 

"The sundial would have represented his way of celebrating his election in his own hometown," says Laurano. "People looking at it to check the time would have been reminded of Tubula's success."

Although it was found at the theater's entrance, some researchers think it was moved from the public forum. However, I think it would make good sense to put a clock with my name on it outside a theater where many people would go for entertainment. Here it may get much more attention and even more appreciation. 

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SOURCES:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/ancient-rome-election-victory-sundial-archaeology/

https://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/interamna-lirenas

http://www.academia.edu/15103372/SYMBOLIC_MEANINGS_OF_SUNDIALS_IN_ANTIQUITY

The 90 Year Old Mummy With NO Sign of Decay

The body of Hambo Lama Itighelov, who was a spiritual leader of Russian Buddhists from 1911 to 1927, was first exhumed from the grave in 1955, at the Lama’s request. When after the third exhumation in 2002 after 75 years since the Lama’s death, his body still showed no signs of decay, medical experts decided to examine the miracle.

The grave contained a wooden box and there was a sitting Buddhist lama in a ‘lotus’ position. His body was preserved as if it were mummified, however it was not. The body was covered with silk clothes and fabric. “Samples taken 75 years after the body had been buried, show that the organics of the skin, hair, and nails of the dead man aren’t any different from that of a living human,” a professor of history at the Russian State University for Humanities, Galina Yershova stated at a press-conference in “Interfax” central office in Moscow, according to Pravda.ru.

“His joints flex, the soft tissues are elastic just like in a living person, and after they opened the box, where the body of the Lama lay for 75 years, there was a very pleasant fragrance,” Yershova was quoted as saying.

Yershova believes this is completely inconsistent with what one would expect of a body that has been buried for 75 years.

The body has become holy for Buddhists in the Russian region of Buryatia, where it now rests in the Ivolgin Buddhist Monastery in the regional capital of Ulan-Ude.

Hambo Lama Itighelov is a real person, well known in Russian history. He studied at the Anninsky Datsan, the Buddhist University in Buryatia. Itighelov got degrees in medicine and philosophy (on the nature of emptiness). He also created an encyclopedia of pharmacology.

In 1911, Itighelov became a Hambo Lama (the head of Buddhist church in Russia). During the period from 1913 to 1917, he opened the first Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg. Itighelov published religious tractates and teachings and united many of the religion’s factions.

He was invited to celebrate the 300-th anniversary of Romanov’s house, and on March 19, 1917, the Russian Tsar Nikolai II gave him St. Stanislav Award.

During the First World War, Itighelov was helping the army with money, clothes and medications. He also had built a set of hospitals where lama doctors helped to cure wounded militants. For his contributions, Itighelov was awarded with St. Anna medal.

In 1926, he warned the Buddhist monks about the coming ‘red’ terror and advised them to flee to Tibet. But he himself never left Russia.

In 1927, Itighelov told lamas that he was preparing to leave this world. He started a meditation and soon was dead.

Itighelov left a testament where he had requested to bury him as he was, sitting in a ‘lotus’ position in the cedar box on a traditional cemetery. There was also a statement, where he asked monks to exhume him after several years.

His will was fulfilled in 1955 and in 1973 respectively, by Buddhist monks. But it was kept in secret, since all kinds of religions were forbidden under the communist rule.

The Soviet Union, under Stalin, repressed most manifestations of religion, executing hundreds of lamas and destroying 46 Buddhist temples and monasteries.

In the years since the Soviet Union collapse, across Russia the Buddhists have begun to thrive again, rebuilding ruined temples that attracted more followers.

On September 11, 2002, seventy five years after Itighelov’s death, the body was for the third time lifted from the earth. This time there was a record of the event: a dozen of witnesses, including two forensic experts and a photographer.

Soon the Lama’s body was transferred to Ivolginsky Datsan (a residence of today’s Hambo Lama), where it was closely examined by monks, scientists and pathologists.

With the permission of the Buddhist clergy, scientists investigated samples of tissues of the “imperishable body”. They compared them with those of living people.

When one of the scientists approached the body, she could clearly feel the warmth of his hands.

Professor Viktor Zvyagin from the Federal Center for Forensic Medicine, examined Itighelov’s body in Ivolginsk last November, and conducted analyses of hair, skin and nail specimens after his return to Moscow. He concluded that Itighelov’s body was in the condition of someone who had died 36 hours ago.

According to the results, the protein structure of the body was not damaged; it was identical to the one of a living person.

Scientists were dumbfounded by the results of the chemical composition of his body. They could not explain the fact that chemical elements in Itighelov’s body were either absent or present in negligibly small quantities.

Two years had passed. Itighelov’s body is now kept in the open air, without any temperature or humidity restrictions.

Nobody understands how the body can stay in this condition.

The official statement was issued about the body – very well preserved, without any signs of decay, muscles and inner tissues, soft joints and skin being intact. It was confirmed that the body was never embalmed or mummified.

“He was 75 years old, and he promised to return to his followers after another 75 years,” Yanzhima Vasilyeva, the director of Itigilov’s Institute, said.

“The most amazing thing is that he was still sitting upright. Scientists say that after two weeks a dead body cannot stay upright on its own,” Vasilyeva continued.

Itighelov’s caretaker Bimbo Lama, stays close to his teacher almost at all times.

Once in a while he changes Itighelov’s clothing, and at that time Lama’s joints become more flexible. Bimbo lama has noted that while changing the clothes, he could smell a fragrance coming from the teacher’s body.

The lamas have dressed the body in a golden robe, with a blue sash laid across his lap. His eyes are closed, his features blurred, though the shape of his face and his nose doubtlessly resemble his picture taken in 1913. His hands remain flexible, his nails perfectly trimmed. His skin is soft. His head is still covered in short-trimmed hair.

According to Professor Yershova, this is the only confirmed and recorded case of the body, imperishable over such a long period of time in the entire world.

Embalming and mummifying is well known among different nations and peoples – Egyptian mummies, Christian Saints, communist leaders and others. Some bodies were found in permafrost, however when they contacted with oxygen atmosphere they perished within several hours.

Lamas from the temple relate many miracles, taking place around the “precious body”. Some people become magically healed upon seeing the body of Hambo Lama.

Itighelov said before his death that he had left a message to all people on Earth.

“There is a great moral crisis in Russia today,” Vasilyeva said, “Itighelov’s return presents a great opportunity to help people believe.”

A fragment of the interview with Hambo Lama Ayusheyev, the spiritual leader since 1995, has been also demonstrated at the press-conference.

“Many people don’t see what’s obvious,” he said. “Many people won’t understand even if they see him.”

However, there are descriptions of such things in Buddhist texts, but there were no confirmed examples. Well, now it looks like there is one. And that time came to comprehend the Lama’s unspoken message.

“To me, it is the greatest miracle in life,” said Hambo Lama Ayusheyev. “It turns out there are things on which time has no power.”

Deadly Life of a Female Ninja

When we hear the word “ninja,” most of us picture those sword-wielding assassins wearing an all-black garb who are adept at martial arts and the art of stealth. We’ve read about these black-masked warriors in novels and comic books, and we’ve seen some fictionalized versions of them in a lot of movies for the past few decades. And in many of these materials, we’ve learned that a ninja is often a cloaked and masked man who can stealthily infiltrate an enemy’s territory to end the life of a specific target. 

In reality, however, the way of the ninja is not a life solely intended for men, and not all ninjas live in the shadows. Yes, some of these ninja assassins were female, and they often hid in plain sight. These female ninjas were referred to as the “kunoichi,” and while they equaled their male counterparts in terms of combat and stealth skills, they handled their assignments differently from men in several impressive ways.

Defining Ninja, Shinobi, Kunoichi

While the term “ninja” is what became popular among Westerners, written records in feudal Japan refer to these covert agents and mercenary assassins as the “shinobi.” Members of the shinobi clans in Japan were practitioners of ninjutsu, which taught them the strategy and tactics of espionage, infiltration, sabotage, assassination and even guerrilla warfare. They were like the antithesis of the honorable samurai as the ninja’s covert methods of warfare were regarded as irregular and dishonorable. Nevertheless, as spies and assassins, many of the shinobi lost their lives while in the line of duty and usually took on missions from which they were not expected to return alive.  

Medieval Japan was a time during which men dominated society while women were primarily relegated to the sidelines, taking “harmless” roles such as that of a wife, a mistress, or a maid. And so many incorrectly assume that ninja clans were strictly composed of males when the truth was women of that time also worked as covert agents and assassins alongside men although their approach in doing so is not the same as the male shinobi accomplished their missions.

The existence of female ninja warriors is mentioned in the Bansenshukai - a 17th-century book containing knowledge and secrets about ninja training. The Bansenshukai revealed the primary function of a kunoichi, and that is to infiltrate a target’s household by forming intimate relations with members of that clan and gaining their trust. Walking freely inside enemy territory and hiding in plain sight, they usually bided their time in collecting information about their target, but they were also capable of facilitating assassinations if ordered to do so.

Disguises And Tactics Of A Female Ninja

The shinobi knew the importance of using personal strengths to their deadliest advantage. In a world where women were prized for their beauty and were deemed ignorant and harmless, the kunoichi was less likely to arouse suspicion and found it much easier to get close to their targets compared to their male counterparts. The female ninjas used feminine wiles to accomplish their objective and even became concubines and mistresses to mask themselves for long periods of time.

The targets of the shinobi were typically powerful and influential members of the samurai class, which meant that they were heavily guarded and were naturally distrustful of men outside their clan. However, rarely were they as suspicious of the women around them as they were of men. This allowed the kunoichi to disguise themselves as maids, courtesans or as priestesses and go undercover, infiltrating dangerous enemy zones on a broader and more intimate level than male shinobis would have ever been able to achieve.

The kunoichi did not sneak in during moonless nights to steal information or eliminate their targets. A kunoichi was patient and took time to accomplish missions even if the mission took years. Female ninjas rarely attempted to kill their targets right away. First, they worked hard to integrate themselves well into the enemy’s household and to earn the trust of the household's many residents slowly. They gathered intelligence and passed on crucial information to a samurai’s enemies. When the time came to eliminate the target they were monitoring, they did not wait for a male shinobi to finish the job. Their combat skills were just as excellent, and sometimes, their method of execution was even more creative and brutal.

This is why some argue that the kunoichi posed a more serious threat than other members of the shinobi. It was hard to tell if a maid, a priestess or a courtesan was who she said she was since they could pretend to be one for a very long time if they must. And when they were ordered to strike, they did so cunningly when their targets are at their most vulnerable – often in bed and with their pants down. Hence, it is not so surprising that they suffered worse fates than the captured male ninjas when they were caught for committing such intimate betrayals.

Weapons Used By Female Assassins

Beauty and sexuality were the female ninjas’ primary weapons when gaining access to their targets, but they also wielded actual deadly weapons of their own. Considering they had to go to their enemy’s territory unnoticed, they could not bring around with them long swords that would catch people’s attention. Instead, they carried weapons such as dagger-like hairpins, throwing stars, tessen or folding fans with hidden blades, and poison as these items can be inconspicuous while wearing a standard kimono.

Perhaps the iconic weapon of choice used by the kunoichi was the neko-te. The neko-te mimicked Wolverine claws and was made of leather finger sheaths topped with very pointed metal tips. The tiger-like claws of the weapon extended between one and three inches in length and were sharp enough to tear away human flesh. Some of the kunoichis would even douse their neko-te with poison in order to quicken death or worsen pain.

Mochizuki Chiyome: Japan's Most Famous Kunoichi

There is little record available about kunoichis, and Mochizuki Chiyome is probably the only one whose name was solidified in Japan’s ninja history.  Mochizuki Chiyome was a noblewoman from the 16th century and the wife of a samurai warlord. She is credited for setting up an underground network of female spies, which she accomplished by recruiting around 300 female orphans, war victims, and prostitutes.

To the eyes of the locals of Nazu village in the Shinshu region, the noblewoman was merely running an orphanage, but in reality, she trained and managed a very sophisticated group of female espionage operatives and assassins who have infiltrated almost every aspect of the region’s community. These groups of female ninjas put their bodies and lives on the line all in service to the Takeda clan led by the uncle of Chiyome’s late husband, Takeda Shingen.

For reasons unknown, after the death of Shingen in 1573, Chiyome and her league of spies disappeared from Japan’s historical records, and no one knows what happened to the secret group after serving the Takeda clan.

Although we don’t know all the names of the Japanese women who were once among the kunoichi, they were no less important than their male counterparts within the ranks of the shinobi. These deadly female ninjas were highly respected by the men they worked for and those who worked alongside them, and for a time, they were truly a force to be reckoned with in Medieval Japan.

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Sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunoichi
http://www.ninjaencyclopedia.com/reality/kunoichi.html
https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2013/06/kunoichi-female-ninja-spies-medieval-japan-susan-spann
http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/deadly-female-ninja-assassins-used-deception-and-disguise-strike-their-target-021503?nopaging=1
https://www.mysterytribune.com/kunoichi-closer-look-female-ninja-spies-old-japan/

Mysterious 3,000-year-old Female Statue Uncovered In Turkey

For hundreds and thousands of years, sculptures have filled many roles in human history and played an important part in the development of societies and cultures. The earliest known sculpture was likely created to provide aid and luck to hunters. After the rise of civilizations, statues and sculptures were used to represent the form of Gods, and these statues are what the earliest people worshiped. Some ancient kings created portraits of themselves, with the idea that it would make them immortal, and thus, portrait sculpturing was born. In recent times, sculpturing has become a hobby for many people, and sculptures are mostly created either for work and business, or recreational purposes.

Archaeologists at the University of Toronto led an excavation in Southeast Turkey near the Syrian border. From this excavation, they have unearthed a beautifully carved head and a torso of a female figure. The figure appears to be largely intact, but somehow, the face and chest are shown to have been intentionally – and possibly ritually – defaced in antiquity.

CREDIT: Tayinat Archaeological Project

The lower part of the statue is missing, but the remnants of the figurine is made of a reddish basalt stone and measures 1.1 meters long and 0.7 meters wide. The researchers suggested that the full figure would have stood 16 feet high.

For hundreds and thousands of years, sculptures have filled many roles in human history and played an important part in the development of societies and cultures. The earliest known sculpture was likely created to provide aid and luck to hunters. After the rise of civilizations, statues and sculptures were used to represent the form of Gods, and these statues are what the earliest people worshiped. Some ancient kings created portraits of themselves, with idea that it would make them immortal, and thus, portrait sculpturing was born. In recent times, sculpturing has become a hobby for many people, and sculptures are mostly created either for work and business, or recreational purposes.

Archaeologists at the University of Toronto led an excavation in Southeast Turkey near the Syrian border. From this excavation, they have unearthed a beautifully carved head and a torso of a female figure. The figure appears to be largely intact, but somehow, the face and chest are shown to have been intentionally – and possibly ritually – defaced in antiquity.

The lower part of the statue is missing, but the remnants of the figurine is made of a reddish basalt stone and measures 1.1 meters long and 0.7 meters wide. The researchers suggested that the full figure would have stood 16 feet high.

Timothy Harrison, a professor from the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto says,

“The statue was found face down in a thick bed of basalt stone chips that included shard-like fragments of her eyes, nose and face, but also fragments of sculptures previously found elsewhere within the gate area. That parts of these monumental sculptures have been found deposited together suggests there may have been an elaborate process of interment or decommissioning as part of their destruction.”

The statue was discovered at the monumental gate complex that could have possibly provided access to the upper citadel Kunulua – later known as Tayinat – the capital of the Iron Age Neo-Hittite Kingdom of Patina (ca. 1000-738 BCE). The site can be located approximately 75 kilometers west of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Credit: Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey

The identity of this female figurine has not yet been determined, but the archaeological team had guesses as to who this statue may have represented. They believe that the statue was a representation of Kubaba, the divine mother of gods of ancient Anatolia. However, this hypothesis is not fully supported because the statue shows stylistic and iconographic hints that the statue represented a human figure. Some researchers also believe that it could be the wife of King Suppiluliuma, or even more intriguingly, a woman named Kupapiyas, who was the wife or mother of Taita, the dynastic founder of ancient Tayinat.

"The discovery of this statue raises the possibility that women played a much more prominent role in the political and religious lives of the early Iron Age communities compared to what existing historical records suggest" says Harrison.

Also, the statue provides valuable insights into the character and sophistication of the indigenous Iron Age cultures that had emerged in the eastern Mediterranean following the collapse of the great civilized power of the Bronze Age. The presence of lions, sphinxes, and colossal human statues at the citadel gateways continued a Bronze Age Hittite tradition that accentuated the symbolic role of space that serves as the boundary zones between the ruling elite and their subjects.

The Tayinat gate complex was destroyed and has been converted into the central courtyard of an Assyrian sacred precinct. Tayinat was then transformed into an Assyrian provincial capital, with a governor and imperial administration.

Every event that occurred in the past played an important role in shaping our society today. With more research, this discovery may have the potential to provide invaluable insight into the lives and sophisticated culture of individuals and communities during the Iron Age.

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Sources:

1. https://phys.org/news/2017-08- archaeologists-uncover- year-old- female-statue.html

2. http://www.heritagedaily.com/2017/08/archaeologists-uncover- 3000-year- old-female- statue-citadel-gate-complex- turkey/116287

3. http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753866

4. https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2002CD/finalprogram/abstract_34786.htm

New Discovery May Solve Mystery of Great Pyramid

The Great Egyptian Pyramids are some of the most mysterious structures on earth and have been the topic of countless debates throughout history. The question of how they were built, when they were built, and who they were built by, and for what purpose they have to this day have garnered endless theories and speculations.

Here’s what we think we know:

Archaeologists believe that the Great Pyramids in Egypt were constructed by the old kingdom society around 2500 BC. They believe that the main purpose of these pyramids was to act as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. That would make sense considering the sheer size of the pyramids. They are huge with the largest, the great pyramid of Giza incorporating around 2.3 million stone blocks, with an average weight of 2.5 to 15 tons each.

But besides what we can measure, the rest of what we think we know about the pyramids are mostly just theories. The fact is, we really don’t know for sure why the pyramids were created, we don’t know who created them, we really don’t know exactly how old they are and we for sure have NO clue how a Bronze Age society that we perceive to be primitive was able to create them.

Not only that, there are a few unbelievable facts about the dimensions of the Great Pyramid in relationship to the earth: Did you know that if you  take the height of the pyramid and multiply it by 43,200 you get the polar radius of earth? Not only that, If you take the base perimeter of the pyramid and multiply it by 43,200 you get the equatorial circumference of the earth. Why 43,200? The number isn't random. It comes from a key motion of the earth called the precession of the earth’s axis. Pyramids were built and encoded with the exact dimensions of the earth at a scale of 1 :43,200.

General agreement on how the pyramids were built: 

It seems that archaeologists generally agree that the granite from the pyramid’s internal chambers was somehow quarried 533 miles south of Giza in Aswan, and the limestones used as casings were from Tura a few miles away, but because these stones were so massive, everyone had varied opinions about how they were transported. Every once in a while, a new theory will come out and claim to solve the mind-boggling mystery of how the pyramids were constructed.

The last big theory was proposed in 2014 by a Dutch engineer who claimed that the stones were transported using sand, water, and a wooden sled.

New finding:

Now, according to a new British documentary called Egypt’s Great Pyramid: The New Evidence, there is apparently new evidence that two tonne blocks of limestone and granite were transported by thousands of laborers along the Nile river in wooden boats held together by ropes. Special canals were also used to bring them to an inland port which was in close proximity to the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The scroll that provided evidence of such a procedure was written by an Egyptian overseer named Merer and is apparently the only first-hand account of how the great pyramid was constructed. In the papyrus scroll found in the seaport Wadi Al-Jar, it is written that Merer and his team of 40 workmen were in charge of using wooden boats along the Nile River to carry 150,000 tonnes of limestone in order to build Pharaoah Khufu's tomb in 2600BC. He explained that the boats were tied together by ropes, which helped to keep them secure.

Besides the scroll, researchers also uncovered a system of canals and a ceremonial boat, which lends truth to what Merer wrote, detailing that his team of 40 skilled workers dug canals to channel the water from the river to the pyramid.

What do you think? Did we just solve one of the greatest mysteries in the world?

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Source: 

http://www.newsweek.com/who-built-ancient-egypts-great-pyramid-hidden-text-holds-clues-thousand-year-670265

10 Warnings the World Ignored that Completely Changed the Course of History

There is a universal law that everyone agrees on: for whatever action, there is always an opposite reaction. This is most true in physics but certainly applies to our daily lives.

Imagine the Butterfly Effect where it is said that, in one part of the world, a butterfly would flap its wings and it would cause a devastating hurricane on the opposite side of the globe. Our actions and the actions of others always have consequences to it, good or bad. It can be Karmic or a kind of domino effect.

In this list, we examine the actions of people who, in recorded history, have completely changed or greatly affected it with the decisions – or indecisions – that they made.

Here are the 10 Warnings That the World ignored that completely changed the course of history!

Number Ten: The Great Depression

Who could ever forget that time when Stock Market crashed and sent the international economy spiraling out of control, leaving thousands of people unemployed and hungry?

Today’s economic recession is nothing compared to the financial meltdown of 1929. It may have been unthinkable back then because of the speed at which the United States economy was accelerating in terms of industry and its economy. However, on September 5th, 1929, one man saw this great crash coming.

Economist Roger Babson delivered a speech where he predicted that an impending economic crash was just around the corner. Unfortunately, the business community, as well as fellow economists, shrugged the warning off claiming it to be impossible. Two months later, over $5 billion was wiped out of the market – an amount, in today’s standards, is beyond calculating.

According to records, Babson had been warning everyone about the crash for years and what it may precipitate and when people started believing in him, it was already far too late.

Number Nine: The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania

In some sense, the sinking of the Lusitania was not unexpected. However, the events that led to this disaster are incredible enough that it lands number nine on this list.

It was at the height of the First World War when the Lusitania was given more than enough warning by the German army to stop anyone in their right mind from sailing straight to their doom. For several weeks, the German army published several advertisements in newspapers including the New York Times warning the entire world of the ship’s numbered days.

In a most brash attempt, the Lusitania set sail from New York to England. Incidentally, news of the ship’s departure sat side by side with the German ad in the New York Times.

As an exercise of caution and to avoid innocent people getting caught in the crossfire, the British government warned the captain of the Lusitania to avoid areas around the British shores where German U-boats have been known to actively patrol; and should the ship pass through those waters, the captain was strongly urged to zigzag his way through. Unfortunately for the passengers of the Lusitania, the captain ignored these warnings and advice from the British government. The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat, taking with it the lives of 1,195 people.

Number Eight: Asbestos Warnings

It may seem trivial to talk about the dangers of asbestos in this list and it would also seem that it may not have had much of an impact around the world as the Great Depression, but this silent killer has slowly claimed hundreds, if not thousands, of lives since it was conceived in the 19th century.

Known for its strength and resistance to fire, asbestos manufacturers have made a fortune selling this product to the public with no regard to its dangerous implications to an individual’s health; and for nearly a century, asbestos has cropped up almost everywhere and has been used for almost anything.

However, people have been suspicious of the product since the early 1900s because of the high-rate of illnesses that were reported around towns where asbestos was mined and manufactured.

In 1938, due to public alarm, asbestos manufacturers commissioned a study that proved that death by the product was airborne. These same manufacturers at that time swept the undeniable link between asbestos and fatal illnesses under the rug. Saying that there was “no proof” that links asbestos to diseases such as lung cancer, many workers in their factories either suffered horribly from the chemicals or were let go of their companies leaving them impoverished.

Today, even as a great majority of the globe, has banned the use and manufacturing of asbestos, many companies still refuse to compensate their dying employees as they continue to keep a firm stand that there is nothing that connects asbestos to their employees’ illnesses.

Number Seven: The Rwandan Genocide

800,000 Tutsis and Moderate Hutus lost their lives during a bloody ethnic cleansing and massacre that was dubbed as the Rwandan Genocide.

Beginning in April 6th, 1994, the genocide was led by Hutu tribesmen with the objective to attack another local tribe called the Tutsis; however, not only did the Hutu plan to massacre the Tutsis, they also planned a purge of their own tribesmen who were protecting the Tutsis.

It was a Belgian ambassador to Rwanda who uncovered the plot and revealed that the plan had been started since at least two years before. Professor Filip Reyntjens, another Belgian, appeared before the Belgian senate and revealed that the Hutus were assembling and operating Death Squads to carry out the genocide and implicated a Rwandan Army Colonel named Theoneste Bagasora as one of its leaders. Later on, Bagasora was found to have indeed commanded the genocide.

In January 1994, four months before the catastrophic event, General Romeo Dellaire, commander of the UN troops at Rwanda, sent what is now known as the “Genocide Fax” to the United Nations, warning the organization that the Hutus, much like the revelations of the Belgian ambassador and Professor Reyntjens, were planning a large scale attack on the Tutsis as well as their own tribesmen. In the fax, General Dellaire requested for more troops to be sent to the region in order to attack a Hutu arms cache and prevent the massacre from happening. The UN, sadly, ignored the plea and told the general to inform the Rwandan government instead which was filled with the same people and officials planning the genocide.

The same month, General Dellaire was able to seize an arms cache that was placed in the custody of the UN and Rwandan Troops – the same Rwandan troops who were training the Death Squads and bands of rebels who directly took part in the genocide.

Number Six: Fukushima Meltdown

The 2011 earthquake that shook Japan left thousands homeless. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake not only rocked the country but it also brought a giant tsunami that devastated areas near its coastlines. It may seem like it was already the worst thing that could ever happen to Japan. What happened right after, however, was more sinister.

Following the earthquake and the tsunami was the worst nuclear accident in history since Chernobyl that no one ever expected to happen except for one Koji Minoura.

Like a scene from a movie, Minoura was investigating a reference in an ancient poem about a tsunami that happened just northeast of the country. Digging through records and historical texts, Minoura discovered an account about an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands in 869 AD dubbes as the Jogan Event.

Investigating the region in the 1980s, Minoura found evidence that the area was “routinely” destroyed by tsunami every 1000 years and it was already due for another one.

Over the next 20 years, Minoura wrote reports and produced countless studies warning about the inevitable destruction of the Fukushima area. Published in journals and magazines, his articles and research were completely ignored by his peers and by the public.

To this day, the effects Fukushima’s nuclear power plant meltdown spreads and reports and studies have already confirmed that the waters near and surrounding the area have dangerously lethal amounts of radiation that is slowly spreading into the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Number Five: The Kuwait Invasion

The early 1990s saw the rise of soaring oil prices because of unstable political situations in the Middle East and in the morning of August 2nd 1990, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi troops marched into the borders of neighboring Kuwait; an invasion that virtually took overnight with Kuwait not giving much of a fight after its head of state fled into the desert.

It was reported that the plan by Iraq to invade Kuwait had been in the works five years beforehand and was said to be just the first phase of Saddam Hussein’s plan – though futile -to secure Saudi Arabian oil wells in the region.

Ample warning to the US government was given by both the CIA and US Military Intelligence. Unfortunately, the government chose to look the other way and even granted Saddam a $1.2 billion loan days before the lightning invasion. The US government’s refusal to take a stand against Saddam’s plans only gave the dictator more fortitude to proceed with his plans, believing that he had the US on his side.

When the situation spun out of hand and gained the attention of the international community, the US government stepped in but was initially unprepared.

The Iraqi forces were ejected out of Kuwait only after the US-led United Nations contingent landed in Kuwait thus beginning the Gulf War.

Along with 248 UN troops and 25,000 Iragi soldiers, the largest fatality count fell on Iraqi civilians which numbered 100,000 after the war. In the following years after the conflict, a million more Iraqi civilians lost their lives due to sanctions that were placed on Iraq.

Number Four: Wilson’s War

US President Woodrow Wilson may very well have been the catalyst that brought about the devastations of First and Second World Wars, the Rise of Communism in Europe, as well as the Vietnam War.

The events of how the First World War began and how the US played a key part in it is numerous and is a complicated web of scenarios like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book.

When trouble and conflict was already brewing in Europe due to discontent from  different countries and the incompetence of several generals and leaders, President Woodrow Wilson claimed the role of impartial arbiter in order to bring the war, which has already erupted by then, to its conclusion without having to directly send US troops into battle – but when Germany and its allies seem to be getting the upper hand, Wilson and his members of cabinet had to make a decision because they wanted victory to go to Great Britain and France.

After his presidential re-election in 1916, he ordered congress to declare war against Germany a year later despite the fact that Germany or its allied countries were threatening or attacking the United States as well as a large population of the US wanted their government to stay out of the war.

After Germany’s defeat, an armistice was created in 1918. Unfortunately for Wilson and his rhetoric, his idealism was buried by the territorial ambitions of Great Britain and France after decimating Germany and the former Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires; a devastation that drove many European countries into revolution and civil war.

Had Wilson not urged the US congress to declare war against Germany in 1917 and listened to reason, the US may not have assumed the mantle of being the Global Police throughout the remainder of the 20th Century and still continues on to this day. His decision therefore created a domino effect that would cost the lives of millions of people in the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; and not to mention 75-years of Soviet Communist rule over Russia and large parts of Eastern and Central Europe.

Number Three: The Rise of Adolf Hitler

After Germany’s defeat in the First World War, France decided to place a fine on Germany in 1919 that was unimaginably large that, had not the Second World War broken out, the country would be paying it until 2010.

John Maynard Keynes, a British economist, strongly believed that it was the most effective way to get disastrous results. By absolutely crippling the German economy with heavy sanctions, the Allied Nations would no doubt trigger economic collapse on a country that was still reeling from a war.

Keynes therefore lobbied governments and presented them with articles to convince them to rethink their move saying, in almost prophetic words, that if the Allies’ objective is to drive Central Europe into debilitating debt and poverty, then vengeance from the subjugated nations will be reaped through revolutions and conflict.

Believing that Keynes was out of his mind, his pleas and warnings were left in the dust. True to his prediction, the German economy practically evaporated and civil unrest spread like wildfire, opening the doors to extremism – and in a small beer hall, a rejected art student by the name of Adolf Hitler, decided to try his hand in politics; a decision that cost the lives of innocent millions.

Number Two: World War II

The Treaty of Versailles ended the First World War in 1919. Included in the Treaty was a hefty sum of money that the Allied nations imposed on Germany as restitution and, as an ulterior move in the part of the Allies, was a means to make sure that Germany would not have money to declare a war of retribution.

Soon enough, Germany’s economy collapsed and German society was destroyed by inflation and a wave of unemployment.

A handful of people could see how ineffective the conditions of the Treaty were. British economist, John Maynard Keynes, believed the Treaty held no water and was practically dead even before it was signed. Another was a French army commander, Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch.  “This is not peace,” Foch said. “It is an armistice for 20 years.”

Foch’s warning fell on deaf ears and 20 years later, Germany lit the fires that would start the Second World War. Now formidable, the German army – as part of their campaign – invaded Paris and staged attacks in England that would leave the country and most of Europe in ruins until 1945.

Number One: 9/11

In 2012, years after the tragic events of September 11th, the New York Times published the results of an investigation showing that the Bush administration, in 2001, had knowledge of an impending terror attack on American soil.

Far from being caught by surprise, the report states that the US government had known of the attack but chose to be tied up with bureaucracy instead of preventing it from happening.

As early as June 2001, there was already intelligence that Al-Qaeda strikes on the US were imminent. The intelligence was considered a certainty and known by the CIA.

However, politicians in the Pentagon refused to acknowledge the reports and dismissed it as a fabrication by Saddam Hussein, whom the US government were watching closely.

According to the New York Times’ report, the warnings by the CIA were allegedly downplayed and the agency was practically reduced to begging the President to take notice and take action. It was later on raised to extreme levels of urgency on June 29th, July 9th, July 24th, and August 6th.

With the government’s almost obsessive watch over Iraq and Saddam Hussein and its dismissal of the constant warnings, it therefore resulted in the worst and most deadly terrorist atrocity in the 21st Century committed on American soil only because it decided not to take its intelligence service seriously.

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Sources:

http://listverse.com/2016/05/12/10-ignored-warnings-that-turned-deadly/
http://listverse.com/2013/10/08/10-deadly-warnings-the-world-ignored/
https://fee.org/articles/wilsons-war-how-woodrow-wilsons-great-blunder-led-to-hitler-lenin-stalin-and-world-war-ii/
http://onceuponafact.com/8-deadly-warnings-the-world-ignored/

5 People You May Not Know that Probably Saved Your Life and Changed the World

History has no shortage of people who have greatly contributed to making the world a better place. People like Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, and Alan Turing are but a few of those remarkable human beings that we owe our lives to today.

However, history is not only made by giants. In most cases, the greatest events that have shaped the world involved hundreds of nameless faces that are as heroic as their iconic contemporaries.

So, in today’s list, we are honoring some of those people whom the world has overlooked as we count down to 5 people you may not know that probably saved your life and changed the world!

#5 — Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov

The Cuban Missile Crisis put the world at the precipice of total Nuclear War. When Cuba opened its borders to Soviet ships carrying nuclear armaments, the United States and the rest of the international community held their breath, fearing if we would still be alive the next day.
Many people attribute the abating of the missile crisis to John F Kennedy himself, but the real story behind it was far from what the rest of the world has come to believe. 

In 1962, JFK and Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev stood toe to toe regarding the transit of nuclear weapons to the Caribbean which is why the United States government placed a heavy embargo on Cuba to prevent weapons to come into its shores.

At the center of the conflict area, the USSR sent a B-59 Soviet Foxtrot Class Submarine that was armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons. To prevent the submarine from advancing beyond the embargo line, the US sent 11 destroyers and an aircraft carrier, the USS Randolph.

War should have broken out because the US began to barrage the submarine with depth charges but to fire back in retaliation, the Soviet submarine needed a unanimous launch approval from three on-board officials: Captain Valentin Grogorievitch Savitsky, Political Officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and another officer named Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov.

Savitsky and Semonovich gave the nod to launch the missile and essentially press the button for the Third World War, but Arkhipov convinced the two that it was a bad idea to fire back. Instead, despite protests from Savitsky and Maslennikov, the submarine resurfaced in plain view: a decision that decisively averted the annihilation of the human race.

#4 — Nils Bohlin

You may not know him but Swedish inventor, Nils Bohlin, has saved millions of lives in the past fifty years and continues to do so with a simple solution to the problem of comfort and laziness.
When the automobile was first introduced to the public the idea of seatbelts was non-existent if not completely optional. Though the seatbelt was introduced for mass consumption in 1959, these safety devices were basic lap-belts that did nothing to prevent any internal injury to the driver and passengers.

Back then, seatbelts were mostly employed by professional race car drivers and their design was more on the bulkier, less comfortable side being a four-point harness. While they were much safer than lap-belts, convincing the average Joe to go the extra mile of securing all attachments of the belt was another story. In fact, where they were offered, regular people just flat out refused to use them.

This was a problem, and Bohlin was able to identify it and find a solution to make life-preservation as simple and effective as possible. He ended up with the three-point seatbelt, a safety device that we use to this day and has saved many lives of motorists and their passengers.
To Bohlin, though the problem of overcoming laziness and comfort was a little bit of a hurdle, the solution was so simple that motorists need to only use one hand to fasten their belts and still have a generous amount of comfort while on the road.

Bohlin initially invented the belt for car manufacturer Volvo, but his idea was incredibly ground-breaking and innovative that the company made the patent available to all car manufacturers as a sign of goodwill and interest in public safety.

#3 — Viktor Zhdanov and Donald Henderson

Sometimes the biggest wars ever waged were on a microscopic level. The disease has been the bane of humanity since the beginning of time, and since the inception of the medical sciences, humanity has been waging a relentless battle against pathogens and potentially lethal diseases to this very day.

However, there have been victories where humanity has rid the world of illnesses like polio and dysentery. One of these victories came from an unlikely alliance.

In 1958, USSR Deputy Minister of Health Dr Viktor Zhdanov approached the World Health Assembly with a proposal to create a global effort to finally eradicate smallpox. Since the disease caused by the Variola virus has claimed millions of lives over the decades preceding the 1950s, Zhdanov found it necessary to step up to save lives.

The proposal and initiative, after being presented to the Assembly and the members of the international community, were accepted by the United States and was represented by a physician named Donald Henderson, MD.

The amazing team-up yielded to amazing results and Dr Zhdanov, and Dr Henderson’s efforts paid off when smallpox was essentially rendered extinct through the distribution of information globally and by making the vaccine immediately available to the public.

#2 — Gertrude Elion

The first half of the 20th Century was not a great time for women everywhere. With misogynism still a staple even in civilized society, women have found it difficult to break ground without being side-lined by their male counterparts.

Gertrude Elion was one of the many women who were consistently ignored and doubted by a male-driven society. Despite graduating with honours, she was turned down for scholarships because of her gender. Even after obtaining her Master's Degree in Chemistry, she was constantly turned down any opportunity to work in laboratories and had to accept a less than prestigious job checking frozen fruit for rot and mould.

Her break came when World War II broke out, and the scientific world needed more people in labs and facilities. Landing a job with Dr George Hitchings, she was able to collaborate with him and publish over 200 papers and research.

Even more, Elion and Dr Hitchings were able to pioneer a new and revolutionary way of developing drugs called “rational drug design” that eliminated the risk of putting a person’s life on the line to find out if a drug works properly. By studying the behaviour of pathogens through biochemistry, the pair was able to use the information to create drugs to specifically target a certain kind of disease.

Also employing this technique, Elion was able to invent a variety of drugs that included the first treatment for Leukemia, anti-malarial vaccines, and immune-suppressive agents that are used for delicate organ transplants. Adding to her inventions were antibiotics used to treat meningitis, septicemia, and treatments for urinary and respiratory tract infections.

To top it all off, Elion was first to develop a treatment for viral Herpes that we know as Zovirax.
The world, quite possibly, would still be battling diseases if it weren’t for her scientific research and countless contributions. 

#1 — Rudolf Roessler

During the Second World War, Britain was scrambling to find a way to decode German messages before the next Nazi bombardment over London. When Alan Turing invented the Enigma machine, the tide of the war turned in favour of the British, and they were able to prevent a full-scale Nazi invasion of the already crumbled city.

While that was all well and good for the world, most historical accounts have discounted the Soviet efforts to prevent Nazi incursion spreading eastward. While they may not have their own Enigma device to crack encrypted messages from the enemy, the USSR had a man named Rudolf “Lucy” Roessler working on their side who proved to be much more effective and efficient than England’s Enigma machine.

Roessler was an anti-Fascist German publisher who kept in constant contact with the high ranking rebellious members of the German General Staff while living in Lucerne.

While working on his code-breaking machine, Roessler also communicated with the members a covert radio espionage group called the “Red Orchestra” from the USSR. Through a round-the-clock and tireless work, Roessler was successful in transmitting decoded communique from the Germans to the Kremlin within six hours of interception.

One of Roessler’s greatest victories was his discovery of an offensive against the Kursk Salient called Operation Zitadelle.  After delivering the decoded messages to the Kremlin, Roessler was able to bring victory to the Soviet Union that made the German offensive in the east crashing hard into a brick wall.

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Sources:
http://whatculture.com/science/8-people-you-didnt-know-saved-your-life
http://www.cracked.com/article_18519_6-people-youve-never-heard-who-probably-saved-your-life.html
http://www.craveonline.com/mandatory/1041404-10-people-youve-never-heard-of-who-changed-history#/slide/1

Are Pyramids Proof Of An Ancient Advanced Civilization?

In our modern era, it cannot be denied that the ancient pyramids of Giza have somewhat become the “apple of mankind’s eyes." This is not just because we revel at their distinctiveness as a tourist destination, but mainly because these ancient structures are vestiges of a once-thriving civilization that had a unique history and culture.

Background:

The oldest and the largest of the Egyptian pyramids found at the vast desert landscape of Giza is the Great Pyramid. Believed to have been built for and by the will of the Pharaoh Khufu at some point during his reign in the 26th century BC, the Great Pyramid withstood the test of time. It was one of the biggest buildings on the face of the earth up until the transition to the twentieth century. Standing today at 455 feet (138 meters), this ancient structure is considered by some to be a unique icon of Egyptian legacy and is also the “last construction standing” among the listed Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

The second pyramid, known as Khafre's pyramid, is widely believed to have been commissioned by Khufu’s son Khafre, whose reign commenced around 2520 BC. The Great Sphinx monument is also located near the Khafre’s pyramid and dates around the same time as his reign, which has led some scholars to believe that the human face of the Sphinx is that of Khafre himself. 

The third pyramid, which is the smallest out of the three principal pyramids of Giza, was supposedly built to serve as the final resting place of Pharaoh Menkaure. It is believed to have been constructed between 2510 and 2490 BC during his rule.   

Proof of Advanced Ancient Technology:

The pyramid complex of Giza is regarded by many to be an impressive feat of engineering, considering mankind’s knowledge about construction and the technology available to the builders of the time were supposedly primitive. Scholars also deem these pyramids as testimonial relics of the “blood, sweat and tears” of tens of thousands of laborers who worked for decades to erect these ancient structures. 

These ancient buildings have continued to stand their ground for the past 4,500 hundred years, an incomparable achievement that has gained the interest and admiration of many. Part of the fascination over these pyramids is rooted in the curiosity over who built them as well as why and how they were built. These questions have opened an avenue of “new-age” discourse in our modern era, with some going so far as to assert that the ancient pyramids of Egypt could be a remnant of a technologically-advanced ancient civilization. Some even believe the pyramids are proof that ancient visitors of extraterrestrial origin once socially interacted with the people of earth. 

Most talk of advanced ancient civilizations and ancient astronauts is put off as pseudoscientific or fantastical speculation, but those who believe that the pyramids of Giza could have been built using advanced ancient technology have arguments that are just too compelling to ignore. 

Here are ten reasons why the pyramids of Giza could be evidence that Egypt’s ancient civilization once possessed advanced technology, which could be alien in origin. 

1. The Size & Weight of the Pyramids & Their Materials. 

One of the arguments raised by those who believe that the pyramids of Giza were built using advanced alien technology is the colossal size and weight of the pyramids and the materials they were built from. 

Building the Great Pyramid, for example, required the quarrying and transportation of 2.3 million stone blocks. Lifting each of these blocks was not exactly effortless either as these stones weighed between 2.5 to 15 tons. 

Archaeologists and researchers have presented theories of how the laborers of that time managed to quarry and transport these blocks from a nearby source to the site where the pyramid was built. However, many insist that these massive stones were nearly impossible to mine, move and lift given the primitive tools of that era. Since the Great Pyramid took at estimated 20 years to complete, it would have taken the laborers only two and half minutes to set each of the pyramid’s insanely-heavy blocks. 

2. The White Limestone Casings of the Great Pyramid. 

While the Great Pyramid is still a magnificent sight to behold, its current appearance today is nothing but a shadow of its former shining beauty. In the distant past, Egyptians referred to the Great Pyramid as “Ikhet,” which, which translates to “Glorious Light.” The Great Pyramid was once shielded with casings made of white-colored and smooth limestone until a disastrous earthquake in 1303 AD led to its untimely uncoupling. Much like mirrors, the pyramid stones reflected sunlight, which made the pyramid glisten like a crystal in the middle of the desert. 

What’s interesting about these reflective stone casings is not just their shape and appearance, but also the source of the material they were made of. Gathering large amounts of flat and polished limestone meant that tons of these stones had to cross the long stretch of the Nile river before they could be used. For some, this leads to the inevitable question of how those who worked in the construction of the pyramid managed to transport heavy and reflective limestone without the guidance of sophisticated knowledge and machinery.  

3. The Elaborate Tunnel Systems Inside the Pyramids of Giza. 

Archaeologists uncover a secret or two hiding beneath the pyramids of Giza from time to time. Prime examples of these discoveries are the elaborate networks of tunnels hidden under the vast desert. There are those who have dared to explore these passageways and the potential rooms or compartments hidden within, but most are still largely unexplored by people of the 21st century. 

What purpose could these tunnels have possibly served? Until we have the chance to excavate and thoroughly investigate these pathways, there’s still no definite answer to this question. Some believe that there could be an underground city beneath the pyramids of Giza and that this buried metropolis could be thousands of years old. 

4.  Strange Heat Anomalies in Several Areas of the Great Pyramid. 

In 2015, an international team of scientists and architects conducted thermal scans of the pyramids in Giza. To their astonishment, they observed “thermal anomalies” in the pyramids and detected high-temperature heat spots in several areas of the Great Pyramid. Mainstream science proposed that empty chambers, internal air currents and the use of varied construction materials were the causes of these anomalies, but believers of ancient advanced civilizations had something completely different in mind.

They believe that the heat spots come from advanced ancient equipment or machinery hidden beneath the pyramids. Some even speculate that the Great Pyramid of Giza could be an antiquated spacecraft built or brought here on the planet by extraterrestrial beings and that the heat anomalies indicate that the alien ship’s engines are ready to ignite after receiving sufficient energy from the sun for the past few thousand years. 

5. Alignment of the Great Pyramid with True North. 

The position of the Great Pyramid and its alignment with the location of true north is one of the more well-known pieces of evidence for the possibility of a technologically-superior ancient civilization. Although built thousands of years ago, the Great Pyramid is regarded by many to be the most accurately-aligned structure on the planet – yes, even more so than our modern-day Meridian Building in London – with a very minimal degree of error of 3/60th. Moreover, this error is not just a mistake in calculation but is explained by the fact that true north shifts as time passes. This means that the Great Pyramid was perfectly aligned at the time it was built. 

How did the ancient Egyptians manage to design and erect the Great Pyramid with such a high level of accuracy? They did not have a compass, so they must have calculated the alignment using sophisticated algorithms. But if they didn’t even have the knowledge and technology to make a compass, how could they have mathematically extrapolated the Great Pyramid’s near-perfect alignment with the cardinal direction of true north? Theories have attempted to answer this mystery, but experts can’t seem to agree on a single explanation. 

5. Alignment of the Pyramids with the Stars of Orion’s Belt. 

According to the Orion Correlation Theory, which was first presented by Robert Bauval back in 1983, the placement of the three main pyramids in the Giza Plateau aligns with the three main stars of Orion’s Belt. This theory also alleges that the whole outline of the Great Sphinx, the pyramid complex in Giza as well as the Nile River reflects the location of the constellations of Leo, Orion’s Belt and the Milky Way galaxy, in that order.

What’s interesting about this theory is its suggestion that the three pyramids of Giza were precisely aligned with the three stars of the Orion’s Belt in 10,500 BC. If true, this would mean that these pyramids were constructed 12,000 years ago and not 4,500 years in the past as mainstream science has led us to believe. 

7. Eight-Sided Design of the Great Pyramid

While it may initially seem like the Great Pyramid of Giza has four sides just like most pyramids, it is the only one to have been built with eight sides and four slightly-concave faces. 

Also worth mentioning is the degree of precision required in forming all eight sides of the pyramid, with each side indented by one degree of a half-degree, which is not an easy thing to do even in modern times. 

Moreover, all sides of the Great Pyramid cannot be easily seen from the ground or even from afar, and are only visible from above. 

As for what purpose the eight-sided design of the Great Pyramid served, some say that it had the structural purpose of keeping the casing stones from loosening, while others suggest that the indentations are nothing more than the incidental consequence of erosion. Of course, there are also those who believe that multiple-sided pyramid served an astronomical purpose or that it could be a communication device between ancient Egyptians and the extraterrestrial beings that guided them in the distant past. 

Based on the seven reasons we have just enumerated, can we conclude that the pyramids in Giza prove that ancient Egyptians once possessed highly advanced technology that may very well have come from extraterrestrial sources? 
Were our ancestors far more capable than we give them credit for? We may never know. 

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Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_the_Ancient_World
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giza_pyramid_complex#Khafre.27s_pyramid_complex
http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/07/who-built-the-pyramids-html
http://listverse.com/2017/06/02/the-pyramids-of-giza-prove-advanced-ancient-technology/
https://exemplore.com/ufos-aliens/Did-Aliens-Build-Pyramids
http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/793767/Pyramids-Giza-how-when-built-ancient-aliens
http://proofofalien.com/top-10-evidences-to-prove-the-aliens-built-the-pyramids/
https://www.ancient-code.com/there-is-an-incredible-lost-underground-city-beneath-the-pyramids-of-giza/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34773856
http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/793767/Pyramids-Giza-how-when-built-ancient-aliens
http://proofofalien.com/top-10-evidences-to-prove-the-aliens-built-the-pyramids/
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/9/29/1242266/-Ancient-Egypt-Misconceptions-About-the-Pyramids
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_correlation_theory
http://unexplained.co/paranormal-articles/facts-that-prove-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-was-built-by-an-advanced-ancient-civilization/9523/
https://ancientexplorers.com/blogs/news/the-pyramid-of-giza-built-by-an-extremely-advanced-ancient-civilization
https://www.ancient-code.com/evidence-of-ancient-advanced-technology-the-great-pyramid-of-giza/

Rama Setu: The Bridge Between Myth and History

source: hindutva.info

Roughly 1500 years old, narrated in 24,000 verses, and told in 480,000 words, the Sanskrit epic Ramayana forms part of the single most significant body of literature in ancient Indian lore—the Itihasa. Along with Ramayana, the Itihasa consists of another Sanskrit epic in Mahabharata and a collection of olden lore and legends in the Puranas.
 
Ramayana is an epic poem that chronicles the story of how Prince Rama rescued his wife Sita from the Demon King Ravana. Despite being considered as deeply meaningful literature, most experts agree that Ramayana is a product of mythology, rather than an artifact of actual history; in most recent years, however, this previously unshaken academic assumption has become the subject of much historical controversy.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER VIDEO

source: ThoughtCo

In Ramayana, the great Hindu poet and sage Valmiki makes a great mention of Rama Setu, a bridge across the ocean that connects India and Sri Lanka. Ramayana tells the story of how Prince Rama was forced into relinquishing his throne as the crowned prince of Ayodhya. Following his dethronement, the former prince, along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, went into exile; the three spent fourteen years traveling across the deep forests of ancient India. As events unfolded, however, all hell broke loose when, in one of their forests journeys, Rama’s wife Sita was abducted by the Ten Headed Demon King Ravana.
 
To get his wife back, Rama gathered a large army that consists of a group of monkey soldiers called the Vanaras. In the story, Rama led his army from the mainland, which is modern day India, into the Island of Lanka, which is modern day Sri Lanka, where Sita has been held captive by the demon king. There, he waged war against the Demon King Ravana; a battle of epic proportions broke out. But in the end, Rama was able to destroy Ravana. The tale concludes with the return of Prince Rama and Sita to their home kingdom of Ayodhya, where the prince was finally crowned as the new king.

In Ramayana, Rama was initially unable to lead his forces of Vanaras across the ocean to the Island of Lanka. As such, the prince sought the help of the Sea God who gave him the precise instructions on how to build a bridge across the ocean; these included seeking the help of the Vanaras in constructing a floating bridge. The Vanara complied to Rama’s request by constructing a causeway made of rocks and boulders. The Vanaras did this by writing Rama’s name onto the stones, rocks, and boulders, and tossing them into the ocean.  It took the Vanaras five day to complete the bridge Rama Setu. Once in place, Rama used the Rama Setu to move his army across the ocean, and into the Island of Lanka.

source: Dr. Rita Louise

Because Ramayana has always been considered a work of fiction rather than an actual record of the past, the Rama Setu or Rama’s Bridge, in turn, was always believed to be a fictional bridge rather than an actual bridge. But in recent years, thanks to advanced satellite imaging technology, NASA has revealed photos of a land formation that appears to have been a causeway of sorts. These strips of land, although broken, appear to have, at some point in the past, extended across the ocean, thus bridging a part of modern day India into modern day Sri Lanka.
 
Today, this land formation is best known as Rama’s Bridge, in reference to the Rama Setu mentioned in the Ramayana. Rama’s Bridge is a long stretch of land connection that consists shoal and sandbank; it bridges the Rameswaram Island in India and the Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. 

Rama’s Bridge extends to 50 kilometers long; and although most of it is submerged underwater, it forms a solid, albeit intermittent, pathway that connects India to Sri Lanka. The records kept in Rameswaram temple indicate that the bridge remained above sea-level and was passable on foot until sometime in the 15th century when it was finally submerged in water by a great storm.

Both the peoples of India and Sri Lanka has long been aware of the existence of the bridge as made apparent by the prominence of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Since time immemorial, the sea that separates India and Sri Lanka has been referred to as Sethusamudram, which directly translates to sea of the bridge. 

People in the West, on the other hand, first heard of Rama’s Bridge through Ibn Khordadbeh, a Persian cartographer who lived in the 9th century. The cartographer made a mention of the bridge in his Book of Roads and Kingdoms; in the book; he called it Set Bandhai, which means Bridge of the Sea. 

In the early 19th century, a British cartographer prepared a map of the area and referred to the bridge as Adam’s Bridge; the name was derived from an Abrahamic-Islamic myth that speaks of Adam falling into a mountain in Sri Lanka and using the bridge to cross to mainland India. 

source: Writer's Block - WordPress.com

A good number of Orthodox Hindus believe that the existence of Rama Setu is in itself an unmistakable and undeniable proof of the Ramayana being a part of actual real-life history. To bolster its perceived historical value, believers have put out historical inscriptions, travel guides, dictionary references, and even old maps that validate the existence of Rama Setu as the same exact bridge featured in Ramayana.  

In 2002, NASA released photographs that show an almost unbroken chain of limestone shoals between the southeastern coast of India and the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka; these photos renewed the mythohistorical interests in Rama’s Bridge. Since then, many mainstream scientists, historians, and academics have repeatedly tried to debunk the pseudo-historical claims that surround the existence of Rama’s Bridge, making it clear that the structure in question wasn’t so much of a man-made bridge but a natural land formation of sorts. 

There remains much debate and conflicting claims on the origin and nature of the structure. Among the most prominent theories offered by mainstream science is that Rama’s Bridge is, in fact, a chain of barrier islands that resulted from the natural process of sand deposition and sedimentation that has occurred over long periods of time. Another explanation offered by mainstream scientists is the possibility that the landmasses of India and Sri Lanka may have been connected at some point in time in the old world, making Rama’s Bridge an ancient shoreline. 

In a rather confusing fashion, various scientific studies offer different definitions on what Rama’s Bridge is; it has been described as a chain of shoals, an extended stretch of coral reefs, a sequence of barrier islands, a sandbar, and a narrow strip of land, among other things. For all the speculations and explanations offered by the mainstream sciences, much of the scientific community has yet to arrive at an acceptable consensus on what Rama’s Bridge is exactly. 

Over the years, modern day scientists, historians, and academic researchers have repeatedly made clear what  Rama’s Bridge is not. Rama’s Bridge was not, at any point in time, a manmade structure; Rama’s Bridge, despite its name, is not the same mythohistorical bridge referenced in Ramayana; and perhaps most importantly, Rama’s Bridge was not constructed by the Vanana’s, nor was it built by any other ancient civilization of magical monkey soldiers 2,500,000 ago, as the Sanskrit epic suggests. But what if. What if we remain open to the possibility, however unlikely, that Rama’s Bridge was, in fact, all of these things? What effect then does it have on us, on sense history, and on our perceived understanding of the world? 

At present, it is widely regarded in the academe that civilized life on the planet began about 4,800 years ago. Scientists, historians, and academic researchers, among others, point to the fact that there is no substantial body of evidence whatsoever that supports the existence of a civilization predating ancient Sumerian and Egyptian societies, both of which are considered to be earliest civilizations in prehistory. 

Experts point out that the absence of evidence supporting the existence of a far older civilization plays directly in favor of the currently accepted timelines of civilizational and cultural development. This is where the growing interest in Rama’s Bridge and Ramayana comes in. 

source: HubPages

According to Hindu tradition, the events that unfolded in Ramayana took place during the Treta Yuga, which is presently considered a mythological period that began 2,165,000 years ago and lasted until 869,000 years ago. If we set aside, any mythical exaggeration alluded to in Ramayana, then assuming the possibility that Rama’s Bridge was, at some level, humanmade would place the structure well outside the accepted timeline; the existence of which would consequently imply the existence of a civilization that far predates ancient Sumerian and Egyptian societies. 

Although Rama is central to the unfolding of events in Ramayana, it is not exactly the crowned Prince of Ayodhya that makes for the most significant variable in the mythohistorical debate that surrounds Rama’s Bridge; It is, in fact, his army of monkey soldiers---The Vanaras. Around 2,500,000 years ago, at very doorstep of the Treta Yuga, human evolution was kick-started by the existence the genus Homo, with the Homo Habilis being the first primates that were able to wield tools. And by about 1,800,000 years ago, Homo Erectus started to walk the Earth. 

Archaeological sites that held the bones of Homo Erectus repeatedly reveal that these early humans coexisted in small communities; they lived in huts; they wore clothes, and they fashioned tools made of stone. Homo Erectus, in other words, showed early signs of a developing civilization---traits previously unheard of in predecessor primate groups. 

These ape men, so to speak, literally existed within the Tetra Yuga period.  As such, it might not be too far of a stretch to see the possible connection between today’s accepted history and the cherished mythology in the Ramayana. It’s not too far of a stretch to see the possible connection between these primitive human beings that we know, for a fact, existed in the past, and the Vanaras--builders of the ancient bridge that today rests in the waters of myth, magic, and history. 

5 Horrifying Realities of Daily Life in Medieval Times

History has amazing highlights and the civilizations that helped build the world we know of today have a lot to take credit for. From the monolithic pyramids at Giza to the brilliant and provocative artworks of the Renaissance, you would think that living in any of the centuries when mankind was reaching for the stars is something you would want to witness and participate in, but you may want to think twice about it.

While being a badass knight might sound epic to you or being one of Socrates’ valued students is a high honor, it’s the things that happen in between the knightly duties or the lessons at school that you should take heavily into consideration. Daily life in the Medieval Ages or Ancient Rome isn’t as glammed up to be, and the things we have read in our school’s history books have been, pretty much, filtered down to suit the taste of a general, more wholesome audience. Here are five horrifying realities of daily life in the early centuries of the world!

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER VIDEO

5:  Plumbing Problems

Wikipedia

One of the greatest inventions introduced into human civilization is indoor plumbing. It is something we take extremely for granted on a daily basis. To us, it’s just part of a routine we go through every morning. We sit, we flush, we wash, and once our business is down the drain and off to the sewer system, it is not our business anymore. As they say, out of sight, out of mind. Sadly, the same cannot be said for people living in the days preceding indoor plumbing. Voiding your bowels is an almost non-stop horror movie that you have to live through every waking day and every waking moment of your life.

Take the Ancient Romans for example. You would think that for a civilization that has pioneered a revolutionary system for irrigation through the aqueducts, they would have found a solution to their plumbing problems. At the height of their Empire, the Romans did have a way of meeting the daily demands of bowel movement through a public toilet system. However, there was no sewage management system in place when it comes to dealing with human excrement. The public toilets were also a horror show regarding hygiene, and one would already be risking his health by simply sitting on one of the latrines with pipes that lead directly to a river of poop directly below. Believe it or not, you are even at risk of catching fire using one of these public facilities because of a large amount of methane buildup that’s steaming out of each toilet seat.

The medieval age was no better. In those days, people tried to be innovative and creative regarding getting rid of their offal. Some would dig cesspits and bury their waste, but it would eventually spill over to a neighbor’s yard. One woman named Alice Wade created a sophisticated wooden pipe system that ran underneath her neighbors’ yards and home and led directly to the street where her waste would end up. It was a clever contraption up until it clogged and backed up her neighbors’ sewage and, of course, you can’t fail to notice the accumulation of poop on the street. If you think this is already horrific, most people in those days simply went in the streets or wherever it is that they need to do their business in buildings, public squares, and marketplaces.

Number 4: Traveling Can Be Tricky

Pinterest

Another everyday activity that we can freely do these days is traveling. With the convenience of modern transportation, we can safely move from one place to another no matter the distance. Traveling abroad – or even to a nearby town – back in the day, is a completely different story.
We have all seen the movies where commoners traveled armed only with a walking stick and a rucksack filled with their personal belongings. They would be lucky if they had a horse to ride. One of the most challenging parts of traveling in the ancient world was a safe and clean place to rest. In fact, many travelers had no choice but to sleep out in the open and be vulnerable to the elements and either freeze to death or be attacked by wild animals. Travelling in a group may sound like a logical way to keep safe but you would still run the risk of armed bandits who would not think twice of slitting your throat before running off with your belongings or, in a sudden, ironic twist of fate, run the risk of being robbed and murdered by your companions should conditions become rough.

Ignorance of local customs in a foreign land may also prove to be a problem. Language barriers are the obvious hurdles but in times where political disputes and territorial skirmishes abound, being misinformed of the goings on may land you a one-way ticket to prison – if you’re lucky.

It also goes without saying that food and water can be a problem when you did not plan out your supplies correctly. Food poisoning is rampant especially if you end up foraging and hunting for food that could potentially do more harm to your body than you think. An inn or a monastery are relatively safe places to find lodgings and food to eat, granted that is the elements or bandits did not get to you first. Even the most sophisticated traveling party can be susceptible to the horrors of traveling abroad. Injury and accidents are as common as the air they breathe. In one account in 1190, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I met his untimely death when he drowned crossing the Saleph river during the Third Crusade. I think it’s safe to say that, back then, if you don’t have to go anywhere important, it’s safe to stay at home.

Number 3: No Quarter for the Unemployed

Tudor Place

In any government in any country and any economic system, unemployment is a necessary evil in the cogs of industry and progress. Today, we treat the unemployed humanely and offer help in the form of welfare, career counseling, and many other programs that can help anyone get on their feet and start building a life. I wish the same could be said centuries ago especially in the Medieval Age.

For example, being unemployed in 16th Century England is somewhat considered as a criminal offense. Because the unemployed had to wander and travel from one town to the next looking for any means of income, they would often be seen by law enforcement and other locals as vagrants and are swiftly thrown in jail. Well, the lucky ones at least. More often than not, the unemployed are tied to carts and dragged around town while being flogged and whipped to a bloody pulp. Talk about motivation. However that all changed in 1547 when the flogging law was changed and, instead, a vagrant could have the option of either being branded like cattle or be sold into slavery.

By the time 1600 rolled in, a new set of laws were passed that offered rewards to people who would capture and bring in vagrants. It was, as you can assume, a terrible plan to get the jobless off the streets as most people opted to make this a lucrative form of living by simply tackling and picking up anyone they find sleeping on the streets or suspect of vagrancy.

The government was not at all evil. In some form, they did provide assistance to the poor and the jobless. However, as part of the deal, they will be asked to wear a badge with the letter “P” stitched into it to identify them in a crowd. If an individual refused to wear it, he or she would be fined an equivalent of two weeks’ wages: wages that they did not have in the first place and could not have because they don’t have any form of employment to earn it.

Number 2: Being a Woman is Real, Ridiculously Tough

Crystalinks

The Ancient World, hands down, is brimming with misogyny and testosterone that many societies – except for some that also put women in high regard as their male generals like Sparta – treat the fairer sex as second class citizens and just a means of producing offspring.
A woman’s ordeal in the ancient world begins at birth. In Athens, it was common practice for a couple to leave their new born, a female child exposed to the elements to die.

Rome is no different. Especially in poor families, parents would often choose to raise a son than a daughter saying that a female child is far too burdensome and costs a lot more money to rear. Most families who do have a female infant would opt to kill the child or leave it exposed to the elements instead.The virtue of also keeping your virginity if you were a woman back then was a matter of life and death. An Athenian man who finds out that his unmarried daughter is no longer a virgin will sell her into slavery in the blink of an eye.

Another gruesome story happened in Rome when a priestess of the goddess Vesta lost her virginity before reaching the age of 30. She was promptly buried alive; and in Israel, a woman who lost her virginity before tying the knot could be dragged into the streets and be stoned to death.

Thinking of a dream wedding? Well, if you were living in the days of the Ancient Romans and the early centuries of the Chinese and Japanese empires, you better forget it. Back then, brides were secured by abducting them through invasion, war, and whatever conquest their empires are enterprising on. In some parts of China, the kidnapping of brides was not outlawed until the 1940s. Without kidnapped brides, the Roman Empire would have probably collapsed and crumbled early with accounts of it being told in several legends such as the kidnapping of the Sabine women.

Number 1: Death by Common Cold

HealDove

It goes without saying that the field of medicine is yet to make a revolutionary step forward in the days of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and even the Medieval Ages.

In fact, most deaths that aren’t attributed to illnesses are caused by tiny injuries like cuts and scrapes that, left untreated, led to a severe infection that spread to the vital parts of the body. If a person is lucky, he gets to keep his life but lose an infected limb or two. Among women, childbirth is one of the leading causes of death because of unsanitary practices and environments. An infant is also at high risk of dying due to mishandling and various forms of bacteria present in the surroundings.

Wealth and status are no guarantee to keep you in perfect health. However, history has seen more deaths in crowded urban areas than in far off farmlands. Maybe it is because of the unsanitary conditions of the cities. For one, no one knows where to throw their poop or where to poop. The Black Plague is a result of the lack of upkeep in the cities that has cost millions of lives across Europe. Suffice to say that, with the combination of an overcrowded urban landscape and poor medical information, simply catching the common cold signs you a one way trip to the grave in a matter of days.

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Sources:

http://www.cracked.com/article_22328_5-horrific-old-time-realities-your-history-book-left-out.html

http://listverse.com/2016/11/29/10-horrible-realities-of-being-a-woman-throughout-history/

http://www.historyextra.com/feature/medieval/10-dangers-medieval-period