The Mysterious Ringing Rocks

This is rock music. Literally.

These chime-like sounds come from geological phenomena known as ringing rocks. Physically, they look no different from regular rocks, but it's not until you lightly strike them with a hammer that the rocks reveal their sonic secret.

Also known as sonorous rocks, these audio boulders can be found in various locations inside the 128-acre Ringing Rocks Park in Southeastern Pennsylvania, including Stony Garden in Bucks County, Devil's Race Course in Franklin, and Pottstown in Montgomery.

The most famous among visitors is located in Upper Black Eddy near the Delaware River. Framed by a lush forest and a majestic waterfall, the site features a vast eight-acre field of ringing rocks, with some stacked as high as 10-feet. 

It was here that Dr. J. J. Ott performed for the Buckwampum Historical Society in June 1890, for what is probably the first rock concert in history.

According to Natural History Magazine, Ott "played several musical selections" while accompanied by a brass band. The performance highlighted the natural musicality of the rocks which he assembled into an octave scale.

Since Ott's performance, the site has attracted other musicians looking to compose one-of-a-kind soundscapes using the ringing rocks. Like instrumental percussionist group, Square Peg Round Hole, who recorded an original song using rocks they selected for their similar tonal qualities as their instruments.

Recordists like Philadelphia-based Thomas Rex Beverly also visit the park to take audio recordings of the rocks. He observed that changes in the environment also changed the sound of the rocks. Which means what the rocks sound in summer, isn't the same as they do in winter when layers of snow surround the rocks. The amount of snow also creates significant changes in the pitch of the rocks.

But a more interesting discovery is that, while only 30% of the rocks ring, they generally ring in the tone of B flat. Now, why is that more interesting than finding out the sound produced by the rocks are ultimately site specific, existing in synergy with its surroundings, wherein any incremental change can dramatically affect its acoustics, you might ask? Because B flat is what a supermassive black hole sounds like.

Back in 2003, NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory detected sound waves are coming from a black hole 250 million light years away from Earth. It turns out, it's been humming a B flat that's 57 octaves below middle C for close to 2.5 billion years.

It's out of this world tidbits like this, so to speak, that fuel the wild urban legends surrounding the origins and mechanisms of the ringing rocks. So in 1965 geologist Richard Faas performed numerous lab tests on the rocks to find out if there's a connection between the physical make up of the rocks and their ability to create sound.

What Faas found was an explanation to one of the most widely claimed myths about the ringing rocks. Unlike the stories, the rocks don't lose their ability to make sounds when taken out of the boulder field. They still produce a series of low-frequency sounds, which remain inaudible to the human ears until it's layered with similar low-frequency sounds coming from other ringing rocks. 

But while he was able to debunk one myth, Faas still wasn't able to identify the specific physical evidence that would explain why the rocks ring. So instead of getting answers, all he raised are more questions.

Like, if the rocks were all made from diabase, a volcanic basalt that's high in iron and aluminium content, then why do only a few of the rocks ring? Why aren't the rocks in nearby areas of the field ring as well? And since diabase is the same substance as that of the Earth's crust, does this mean that the Earth is one giant bell?

And how did the boulders even get there in the first place? One theory suggests that when the supercontinent Pangaea shifted some 300 years ago, it caused mountains to erode and the sediments to settle in nearby valleys.

Magma worked its way up to the surface, depositing large amounts of diabase into the soil in the process. Scientists believe that the boulders were created from what they call the freeze-thaw cycle.

Where the water that's permeated the hardened mixture of magma and sediments goes into a loop of freezing and melting, which eventually split the giant rock formation into individual boulders.

This would make for a very satisfying explanation into the mystery of the ringing rocks, if only (1) there were volcanoes in Pennsylvania, and (2) well if it actually cracked its mystery.

But because even extensive scientific studies couldn't provide a definitive explanation on why the rocks ring, speculations of the more peculiar variety abound.

Some think the ringing rocks are surrounded by a bizarre magnetic field, rendering compasses unusable. It's also rumoured to be an ancient ceremonial site used by Native Americans, who used the rocks for their rituals.

Others believe the boulders are pieces of a meteorite that crashed on Earth, and the radiation is why there's no vegetation nor animals that settle in the boulder field.

Of course, we can't talk about the inexplicable without chocking it up to aliens.

Take Stonehenge. The ancient monument has never been a stranger to green space men and conspiracy theorists, even more so now that ringing rocks were discovered on the site.

Researchers from the Royal College of Art under their Landscape & Perception Project (L&P) project discovered that the bluestones (or the inner circle of Stonehenge) share the same musical ability as that of the boulders in Ringing Rocks.

Evidence showed that almost all of the rocks have scuff marks on places where it might have been struck. Proving, that the rocks were specifically chosen for their ability to make ringing sounds.

And by some strange coincidence, it just so happened that the stones were sourced from Preseli Hills, where a village named Maenclochog ̶ which translates to bell or ringing stones ̶ is located. Records show that the townspeople used bluestones as church bells until the 1800s.

To add to the mystery, recent archaeological findings reveal that Stonehenge is part of a complex network of 17 other previously unknown ancient structures including nearby Durrington Walls and Avebury.

Using sophisticated equipment like a ground-penetrating radar and a 3D laser scanner, the pioneering digital mapping project covered an area of 12-square kilometres or the size of 1,250 football fields.

What they discovered was a labyrinth of burial grounds, ritual sites, processional routes, and pre-historic trenches all seemingly converging towards the direction of Stonehenge as its centre.

Following various cultural studies, what links Stonehenge's bluestones and the boulder field in Pennsylvania is that the ringing rocks they're made of are considered sacred across different ancient civilizations. They were thought to contain powerful spirits and may have been used in religious ceremonial practices as a way to speak with the gods.

But no matter how similar the role of ringing rocks around the world are, in the context of history and culture, there's still not one physical characteristic that exists among all of them that could explain why they ring.

And so the mystery continues. Who knows, maybe it really is aliens, and the worlds one rocking intergalactic mixtape?

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Sources:

New Music Video: Square Peg Round Hole at Ringing Rocks, http://www.phillymag.com/ticket/2016/01/20/new-music-video-square-peg-round-hole-at-ringing-rocks/

Watch This Band Create Music on 'Ringing' Boulders, http://mentalfloss.com/article/74267/watch-band-create-music-ringing-boulders

Great Natural Areas in Eastern Pennsylvania, https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=-AGm3Ny_NsgC&lpg=PA123&ots=07EIMk7EUW&dq=Buckwampum%20historical%20society&pg=PA124#v=onepage&q=Buckwampum%20historical%20society&f=false

Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania: A Guide to Natural Places for Individual and Group Outings, https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=yN_G7nSkyFYC&lpg=PA47&ots=IlrR90HLzh&dq=Buckwampum%20historical%20society&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q=Buckwampum%20historical%20society&f=false

Ringing Rocks for wind ensemble and electronics by Thomas Rex Beverly Sound Libraries, https://soundcloud.com/trexbeverly/ringing-rocks-for-wind-ensemble-and-electronics

Have You Heard About B Flat? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7442915

Travel Suggestions: 'Gates Of Hell' And Ringing Rocks Park, http://www.npr.org/2015/08/31/436229354/travel-suggestions-gates-of-hell-and-ringing-rocks-park

The 10 Best Adventures from the New Atlas Obscura Book, https://www.outsideonline.com/2117141/10-best-adventures-new-atlas-obscura-book

There’s No Other Park In America Quite Like This One In Pennsylvania, http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/pennsylvania/ringing-rocks-park-pa/

Strange & Unexplained - Ringing Rocks, http://www.skygaze.com/content/strange/RingingRocks.shtml

The Sonorous Stones of Ringing Rocks Park, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sonorous-stones-ringing-rocks-park

VIDEO: Rock music, http://scienceline.org/2017/06/video-rock-music-2/

Ringing Rocks, http://www.davidhanauer.com/buckscounty/ringingrocks/

Weird Geology: Ringing Rocks, http://www.unmuseum.org/ringrock.htm

The Ringing Rocks of Pennsylvania – A Famous Geological Oddity, http://www.odditycentral.com/travel/the-ringing-rocks-of-pennsylvania-a-famous-geological-oddity.html

Ringing Rocks Park really rocks, http://www.nj.com/times-sports/index.ssf/2012/07/ringing_rocks_park_really_rock.html

RECORDING THE STRANGE SOUNDS OF RINGING ROCKS:, https://www.asoundeffect.com/ringing-rocks-sounds/

If Rocks Could Sing: The
Ringing Rocks of Bucks Co., http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/Ringing.html

These rocks can sing, http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/02/nation/la-na-ringing-rocks-20110403

Ontario Archaeological Society Arch Notes, http://www.ontarioarchaeology.on.ca/Resources/ArchNotes/anns4-5.pdf

We may have cracked the mystery of Stonehenge, http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170713-why-stonehenge-was-built

Stonehenge secrets revealed by underground map, http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29126854

Are Stonehenge's Boulders Actually Big Bells?, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/are-stonehenges-boulders-actually-big-bells/284239/

RCA Research Team Uncovers Stonehenge's Sonic Secrets, https://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/sonic-stones/

The Secret Behind Stonehenge Mystery: Ringing Rocks, https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2014/03/12/the-secret-behind-stonehenge-mystery-ringing-rocks/#8709f958c6c6

Stonehenge bluestones had acoustic properties, study shows, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-26417976

5 Bizarre Forms of Ancient Taxes

Food. Water. Fuel.

As it is, we already complain about the amount of taxes imposed on our necessities, they might as well charge us for the air we breathe. Not to mention the big chunk taken from our salaries every month, for supposed government funds.

But if you could pause and think about it, we should be grateful. Hundreds of years ago, rulers from different parts of the globe found really interesting, and mostly questionable reasons to raise funds. But we can’t really blame them.

It was a time when countries were almost always at war – either conquering a territory or protecting theirs. And tax provided great money for their militaries.

In this video, we’ll give you the top 5 most bizarre forms of ancient taxes. The following may sound funny now, but our ancestors sure made a lot of money out of them.

#5 — Cowardice Tax in England

Yes, there was no free room for cowards in the ancient times.

Despite the wars waging in different parts of the world today, that is still nothing compared to how life was centuries ago - when the world still revolved in conquest. Back then, the unspoken rule was - conquer or be conquered.

Of course, every invasion needs an army. And territories raised their men to fight. Joining the military was not an option but a requirement. It is a service that vassals owed their lord. And if they couldn’t give it, they had to pay.

Formally known as scutage, the cowardice tax was a sort of shield money for those who are not physically, emotionally, or mentally capable of going to war. It was a great way to extort money from nobles, but a chance that even some lowly citizens grabbed.

The first known form of scutage was established in 12th century England, under the reign of King Henry I.

History records show that it started with King Henry asking for a small amount of payment, which increased year after year, with the growing trend of a money economy.

As it was a practice advantageous to both sides, it easily spread to other European countries like France and Germany, although not as widespread as it was in England.

And by the start of the early 13th century, King John was already collecting scutage 300% more than its original worth. He also imposed payment from knights even in the years when there were no wars at all. This abuse prompted a Magna Carta that prohibits the royal court from imposing scutage without the permission of a great council. And by the 14th century, cowardice tax was officially banned.

#4 — Window Tax in England

In 1696, William III imposed an outrageous tax on houses or any other buildings that had more than 10 windows. The tax increased depending on the number of windows - from the flat rate of two shillings to the maximum of eight shillings.

It was meant to be a progressive tax. The idea was that poor families would have smaller houses and thus fewer windows. They would then be taxed less or none at all. The system actually worked for the rural poor, but it failed miserably for those in urban areas, who had to live in large tenement buildings. These settlements, although occupied by several families, were taxed as one whole house.

Imagine how many windows one tenement building has.

Landlords, who of course did not want to carry the burden of paying the huge amount of window tax, passed the problem to the tenants, who were subjected to higher rent.

In a bid to escape or at least lessen their window taxes, homeowners started constructing buildings with very few windows, or have their existing windows boarded up. To which, the government's answer was to lower the minimum number of windows allowed. The initial minimum of 10 windows became 7 starting 1766.

With the increasing population and decreasing number of windows, insufficient ventilation became a big problem. Medical professionals started complaining that dark and damp environments, especially in huge buildings, are possible sources of some diseases. Living close to each other could also easily cause these diseases to spread.

Their continuous campaigning reaped its reward in 1851. The window tax was finally repealed – 156 years after its creation, to be replaced by the more reasonable and still existing house tax.

#3 — Urine Tax, or Vectigal Urinae in Rome

Pecunia non olet. It was a famous saying in ancient Rome, which basically means “money does not stink.”

Back in 1st century AD, under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, urine was valued for its high ammonia content. It was considered the best weapon against dirt, and was widely used to wash clothes, tan leather, and mind you, to whiten teeth.

Back then, the lower Roman classes would urinate in pots, which were emptied in cesspools. While the higher classes used public bathhouses. Urine was collected from these facilities and recycled in various ways to transform into cleaning ingredients.

Emperor Vespasian, having noticed that a lucrative business has been created out of this practice, imposed a tax on people who bought this urine.

Thus the saying Pecunia non olet. Historians say it became famous after a particular conversation between Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus, who had been complaining about the smelly nature of the tax. They say Vespasian then held a gold coin and asked his son if it smelled. Of course, Titus said no, and to this, the emperor replied, "Yet it comes from urine."

Disgusting as it does sound, Vespasian did earn a lot of money from this practice. Because of his ruthless taxation, he was not only able to bring the Romans out of debt but also left a great sum of money for his successor. He was also able to order the construction of many Roman infrastructures, including the iconic Colosseum.

Until today, Pecunia non olet remains famous, to say that the value of money does not diminish just because it comes from stinky means.

#2 — Breast Tax or Mulakkaram in Kerala, India

There is a very long history of repression against women and the less fortunate around the world. And if you're a poor woman, prepare to have the world on your shoulders. This particular tax in Southern India made them feel very small indeed.

In the early 1800s, the caste system in India was at its most oppressive – so much so that both the men and women of the lower caste were not allowed to cover their chests when meeting members of the upper caste. Back then, clothing was a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and wearing one would have been considered disrespectful against the higher caste.

While the men were able to accept this law grudgingly, it was very disadvantageous for women, who were starting to see the merits of covering their breasts, especially when entering religious temples.

In the book Native Life in Travancore, Samuel Mateer explains how this practice ensured that the higher caste continued to thrive while pushing the lower caste to remain in a never-ending cycle of poverty and scarcity.

But a woman from Alappuzha will forever be remembered for changing the course of history, or at least, for giving women the courage to fight this oppression. Legend has it that this woman, named Nangeli, decided to fight the system at the cost of her life.

One day, when the tax collector arrived at her house to collect Mulakkaram, she laid a plantain leaf as usual. But instead of giving money, she suddenly cut off her breasts, put them on the leaf, and offered it to the shocked tax collector. Nangeli bled to her death, but she left a legacy that has been passed on through generations.

They say it was because of the repression women had to suffer during that time, but Nangeli's story never made it to any history books. However, the women of Kerala never once doubted its validity, and will forever look up to Nangeli as their hero.

#1 — Beard Tax in Russia

Back in the 1700s, Russia was led by a young yet legendary royal, in the name of Peter the Great, well known for leading the modernization of Russia.

In a bid to drag his motherland from its pastoral ancestry, Peter went on a year-long voyage across neighboring European countries, like Britain and the Netherlands, to learn about their relatively advanced military and trade techniques.

But when he came back to Russia, he adapted more than just their defense system, but also their fashion sense.

The court celebrated his arrival with a party consist of his most beloved aides and diplomats. Historians say that in the said ball, Peter the Great suddenly pulled out a razor and shaved off his friends’ beards one by one. Such was the court’s respect for the czar that they could only stare in horror at what he was doing.

He then ordered that every man in Russia should shave off his beard, for the reason that the clean-shaven look was what was considered fashionable in Europe at that time.

However, this received a negative reaction from the Russian Orthodox Church, who believed that shaving one’s beard would, in the words of Ivan the Terrible, disfigure the image of man as he was created by God.

This forced Peter the Great to re-consider his actions. Instead of ordering men to imitate his fashion sense, he imposed a yearly beard tax for those who preferred to keep their facial hair. The amount of payment depended on the man's social status. And those who chose to pay received a copper coin with the writing 'tax paid' as proof that they have been granted permission to keep their beard.

Infamous as it was, the beard tax remained in practice until 1772, 47 years after his death.

There you have it, the five most bizarre ancient taxes.

At least now you know that however suffocated you are from all the taxes you have to pay, at least you could freely cover your chest wherever you go, or grow your beard as long as you want to.

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Sources: 

Message to Eagle (Nov. 21, 2016). 10 Most Bizarre Forms of Ancient Taxes: Surprising and Funny. Retrieved from http://www.messagetoeagle.com/10-bizarre-forms-ancient-taxes-surprising-funny/

Handwerk, Brian (April 14, 2016). Feeling Overtaxed? The Romans Would Tax Your Urine. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160414-history-bad-taxes-tax-day/

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Scutage. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/scutage

Medieval Sourcebook: England: The Collection of Scutage, 1159-1195. Retrieved from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/scutage.html

Hill, Bryan (July 12, 2015). Money Does Not Stink: The Urine Tax of Ancient Rome. Retrieved from http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/money-does-not-stink-urine-tax-ancient-rome-003408

The Scribe (June 4, 2007). At Least You Don't Pay Tax Urine. Retrieved from ancientstandard.com/2007/06/04/at-least-you-don't-pay-urine-tax...-1st-c-ad

Unni Nair, Supriya (Aug. 28, 2016). Dress Code Repression: Kerala's History of Breast Tax for Avarna Women. Retrieved from: http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/dress-code-repression-keralas-history-breast-tax-avarna-women-48982

Sebastian, Sheryl (SEpt. 12, 2016). Kerala's Casteist Breast Tax and the Story of Nangeli. Retrieved from https://feminisminindia.com/2016/09/12/kerala-breast-tax-nangeli/

Mancini, Mark (March 29, 2014). The Time Peter the Great Declared War on Facial Hair. Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/55772/time-peter-great-declared-war-facial-hair

Staff of Parliament.UK. Window Tax. Retrieved from http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/towncountry/towns/tyne-and-wear-case-study/about-the-group/housing/window-tax/

Staff of History House. Window Tax. Retrieved from http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/articles/window_tax.html

Insane Things People Have Done Through History to Achieve Eternal Youth

Man is in an endless pursuit to achieve immortality. For as far as mankind’s written history allows us to recall, humanity has always been fascinated in finding ways to extend our lifespan in the hopes of slowing, if not putting a permanent stop, to our body’s inevitable biological aging process. For some, our attempts at prolonging life is limited to the more conventional method of leading a healthy lifestyle by eating nourishing food, exercising and maintaining a positive and tranquil state of mind. 

However, at several points in our past, we find people who have pushed the boundaries of human creativity and imagination in their attempt to gain eternal youth. From a more scientific standpoint that we have today, some of the lengths these individuals had taken during their lifetime to become immortal are not only deemed as completely misguided but could also be regarded as bordering on insanity.  

And so, for this video, let’s enumerate the insane things people have done throughout history to achieve immortality or eternal youth. 

#1 —  Bathing in Sour Donkey Milk

Cleopatra came to be known in history as the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt and is arguably the most famous member of the Ptolemaic dynasty’s royal line. But other than her role in the Roman political conflicts that eventually led to the downfall of the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, she also gained renown for her striking beauty and irresistible allure. As to how she managed to retain her youthful and brilliant glow, Cleopatra regularly bathed in sour donkey milk. In the ancient times, the donkey’s milk was used as some kind of chemical peel, as the lactic acid it contains peels off the topmost layer of the human skin. The queen was also believed to be fascinated with using other means to maintain and enhance her physical appearance such as utilizing crocodile feces as a rudimentary form of makeup foundation. 

#2 — Drinking the Blood of Gladiators

The Romans were very creative when it came to coming up with various and sometimes revolting concoctions in an attempt to improve their health or extend their lifespan. One example of an unpleasant habit that the Romans largely practiced for centuries is drinking the blood of gladiators. As people who fought to the death for a living, gladiators were highly-regarded for their bravery, strength and vitality. And it was believed that those who would want to inherit a gladiator’s power must drink the warrior’s warm blood in order to consume his essence and soul. In fact, some people who suffered from epilepsy at the time considered the blood of gladiators as an effective cure for their affliction. Their blood was such a hot commodity during this era that people would rush down into the arena and sip a vanquished fighter’s blood straight from his arm or throat to absorb his power. There were also concession stands that made a lucrative living by selling the blood of these gladiators while the blood servings were still warm. 

#3 — Consumption of Immortality Pills & Elixirs of Life

The Western world was not the only civilization interested in finding the answer to attaining eternal youth. Imperial China’s history is also filled with tales of men or groups of people who have dedicated much of their life in concocting immortality pills and elixirs of life that would grant ceaseless existence, be it physical or spiritual. Many Chinese alchemists have dared to make their own formulas of pills and elixirs that could supposedly cease and potentially even reverse the process of human aging. These efforts were largely supported by several emperors as well as members of the noble bloodline who hoped death would not be able to take away their power, influence and legacy. 

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, for example, was not just known for being the first ruler to unify China; he was also known for his obsession in finding the key to immortality. He sent people away to look in different parts of his vast empire for a “real” Elixir of Life that would grant him eternal life. He even took immortality pills which were formulated by his alchemists. In the end, the emperor died young at 39 years of age and the most likely cause of his demise was mercury poisoning, perhaps from all the immortality pills he, consumed during his brief life. 

Unfortunately, the dream of living forever was not exclusive to Qin Shi Huang. Many other emperors of China that came after him also regularly consumed immortality pills and drank elixirs which contained toxic substances, and instead of extending their lives, these pills and elixirs only shortened the duration of their respective reigns.

#4 — Self-Mummification

Mummification is the process which involves the intentional or incidental preservation of a deceased’s skin, flesh and organs. But not all mummified bodies were preserved after their death; some people in the past deliberately commenced the preservation of their corporeal body while they were still alive in order to achieve a superior and more enlightened state of being.  

“Sokushinbutsu” is an ascetic practice of Buddhist monks largely performed in Japan which is believed to have started sometime in the 11th century. This extreme Buddhist practice of asceticism involved the shunning of all worldly pleasures to the point that the monks would enter a process of self-mummification even while they were still alive. The Sokushinbutsu requires a period of around 3,000 days up to ten years before the entire process is completed by devoted monks. They would have to follow a very strict diet referred to as “mokujikigyo,” which literally translates to “eating a tree.” This means that the monk could not eat anything more than the seeds and resins that could be gathered in the mountains, and must abstain from eating cereals. Eventually, these monks would fast and meditate for longer periods of time until they completely starve themselves, denying themselves even the consumption of liquids. Even in this weakened condition, they would continue to be in a state of “jhana” or meditation until they die. Their dehydrated bodies would become naturally preserved mummies that are still revered and venerated by many followers of Buddhism. Some people today even still regard these mummified monks as very much alive although their bodies are said to be in a deep meditative trance. 

Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Japan attempted to achieve this extreme form of meditative state, but only 24 monks so far were granted the status of being the “Living Buddha.” Eventually, the practice of Sokushinbutsu was outlawed by the government of Japan in the late 19th century although self-mummification in their culture still endured until the 20th century. At present, however, Sokushinbutsu is no longer an advocated Buddhist practice in the country. 

#5 — Drinking Gold Chloride

Among the most notable cases of people who have pursued eternal youth is that of Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henry II of France. The king’s official wife was Catherine de’ Medici but he found much comfort in having the widow Diane de Poitiers as his companion even though she was 20 years older than him. History books wrote of her youthful appearance and her porcelain-like skin that never seemed to fade even as she grew older. 

King Henry II’s mistress took great lengths to ensure that she maintained her physique. She kept in shape by swimming daily, horseback riding and hunting. However, her beauty secret that ensured permanence of her great white skin is her regular consumption of an elixir which contained a mixture of gold chloride and diethyl ether. This concoction was very popular at French court and was believed at the time to be an effective anti-aging treatment for its ability to harness the power of the sun and transfer it to its drinker. 

However, Diane de Poitiers’s obsession with keeping her youthful beauty came at a great cost, as her desire to look forever young and the remedy she resorted to in order to preserve her appearance was the one that slowly and eventually killed her. At age 66, her daily dose of gold chloride indeed made her look half her actual age, but she is also thought to have succumbed to the secondary effect of the concoction – that is, chronic gold poisoning. 

Even in modern times, man remains engrossed in its quest for eternal youth and prolonging human life. Most people have chosen to stick with more conventional methods such as maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, while others have turned to the breakthroughs of medical science for more radical options that would allow them to enhance their beauty and cling onto their youth for as long as possible. The priorities of modern science, of course, are beyond maintaining a person’s young and beautiful aesthetics. The field of medical science is also fixated with making the human body impervious to deterioration by finding a way to permanently suppress cell death and consequently achieve actual physical immortality. 

There’s no certainty when humanity may successfully unlock the secret to eternal life and perpetual youth, but should the time come that we do become immortals, what do you think would life mean for us then if we consciously know that we can never die? Perhaps that is the bigger mystery we should try and answer first.

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SOURCES:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4577860/Man-s-craziest-attempts-history-cheat-death.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemaic_dynasty
http://hippocratescode.com/epilepsy/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5917027/powdered-mummy-gladiator-blood-and-other-historical-medicines-made-from-human-corpses
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12953616
http://www.allday.com/these-real-people-actually-tried-to-achieve-immortality-2180824159.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_of_Immortality
http://io9.gizmodo.com/7-ways-that-people-died-trying-to-become-immortal-1691947345
http://nifymag.com/the-craziest-things-people-have-ever-done-throughout-history-to-try-and-cheat-death/#.WVcLKoiGPb0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6865939/French-kings-mistress-poisoned-by-gold-elixir.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1236916/Dying-look-good-French-kings-mistress-killed-gold-elixir-youth.html

The Mystery of the Carpathian Sphinx

There are those among us who believe that at certain points in mankind’s forgotten past, there were once thriving ancient civilizations that disappeared from the face of the Earth for reasons unknown. And while this may be very hard to prove now, some think that remnants of these civilizations still linger in different parts of the world and that if we look hard enough, we will find more than sufficient evidence of an ancient legacy far advanced than our own today. 

An example of this supposed evidence can be found in the vicinity of a mysterious rock sculpture found on one of the great plateaus of the Carpathian Mountains of Europe. This stone formation bears a strong resemblance to the world-famous Great Sphinx of Egypt, and perhaps for this very reason, this remarkable rock figure is referred to as the Carpathian Sphinx. 

The Great Sphinx in the Carpathian Mountain Range

The Carpathian Sphinx also referred to as the Romanian Great Sphinx, is considered by conventional science as a natural rock formation found in Bucegi Natural Park in the Bucegi Mountains of Romania, which is also part of the much-larger Carpathian Mountain Range located across six countries in Europe. If you dare to measure it, you’ll find that the sphinx sits on a very high plateau, at an altitude of 7,270 feet or 2,216 meters. 

The Carpathian Sphinx has a height of 8 meters and width of 12 meters. As for its appearance, photographs have shown that from a certain angle, the stone formation looks like an otherworldly being which has a human head with discernible lips and even a chin. The figure also looks like it is wearing a cap and as if its gaze is focused at the sky above. It has also been said that the figure of the sphinx is seen best every 21st of November, around sunset. 

Aside from the Carpathian Sphinx, there are also other fascinating and equally intriguing rock formations and natural caves found in the Bucegi Mountains, which is probably why these mountains have been under the protection of Romanian authorities and are recognized as one of the country’s national parks. Given the various sights to see in this area, it is not at all surprising that the Bucegi Mountains, including the Carpathian Sphinx, are very popular natural tourist attractions in Romania.

The Mysterious Claims About the Carpathian Sphinx & The Bucegi Mountains

In recent years, however, the public’s interest in the Carpathian Sphinx and the Bucegi Mountains is not just limited to their scenic views, but also for various claims that go against our current established conventions and knowledge about our origins and our history. 

One of the most widely-suggested alternative theories is that the Carpathian Sphinx, along with the other rock formations found in these mountains, is actually evidence of extraterrestrial presence, if not an advance ancient civilization, on Earth. And to prevent the public from figuring out the truth that our planet was once home to an advanced and possibly alien civilization in our distant past, there is allegedly a grand scheme or conspiracy to safeguard this close-guarded secret from ever coming out. 

So… what is this big secret that various governments have agreed not to make public knowledge just yet? Well, there’s a theory that within the mountain that the Carpathian Sphinx stands on is a complex network of tunnels believed to be of ancient and even of extraterrestrial origin. This elaborate underground labyrinth purportedly leads to a variety of large rooms containing large tables and chairs as if they were made for people larger than modern-day humans. 

Even more peculiar are the allegations that these rooms contained advanced technology beyond what we are currently capable of, and that this mysterious underground facility was built around 50,000 years ago. 

2009 Book "Transylvania Sunrise" by Radu Cinamar & Peter Moon

From whom did these fascinating claims originate, and why did they start to gain ground in recent years?

Well, talk of an alien civilization having once lived within the Bucegi Mountains sparked with the publication of the book “Transylvanian Sunrise,” which was written by someone named Radu Cinamar and Peter Moon, and was published back in 2009. At the time of its release, this book pretty much “rocked the boat” of the paranormal research community with its declaration that a stunning discovery was supposedly made beneath the Carpathian Sphinx which could significantly alter our current knowledge about mankind’s history and our ancient ancestors.

The book posits that in the early 2000s, the Pentagon found an “anomaly” hidden under the Carpathian Sphinx and within the Bucegi Mountains using satellite technology. What they uncovered was apparently so vital that the Pentagon had to go through the top levels of Freemasonry to ally with “Department Zero” – a classified department of the Romanian Intelligence Service – to make sure that the truth never gets out. 

The story goes back in 2002 when the Pentagon was supposedly using its satellite for military surveillance and geodetic espionage, through which they found a structure inside the tall mountain where the Carpathian Sphinx was located. This hidden facility they detected was no ordinary cave or labyrinth, as the satellite scan showed that the mountain emitted two powerful energy blocks: one was connected to a wall which obstructs access to the tunnel, while another was located at the mountain’s center. The latter’s energy field was also much larger and was shaped like a hemisphere or a dome.

The stream of energy emanating from these two locations inside the mountain made it seem like something extraordinarily valuable is being guarded in this discovered structure. And so, naturally, they decided to investigate further and attempted to reach the tunnel inside the mountain, with the United States military supposedly providing the high-tech machine that would drill through the rocky surface. When they managed to reach the mysterious tunnel found by the Pentagon, they saw a huge stone gate at the end of it. However, before they could get to this gate, their access was impeded by an invisible energy field, which ended up automatically killing those who dared to touch it. 

During this thorough investigation of the area, some of what they found inside include large stone tables that project holographic images; advanced technology that can analyze DNA compatibility of different beings; a library that contains information on a collection of topics, including other intelligent races; and an oversized projection room that could show actual images of various events in mankind’s history. 

The Site of the Carpathian Sphinx as Evidence of an Advanced Ancient Alien Civilization

Compelling details like these make sci-fi thriller novels an interesting read and difficult to put down, which could be one of the reasons why many people dismiss Cinamar and Moon’s book as nothing more than a work of fiction. But for those who are willing to reserve passing judgment so quickly, is it possible that these shocking claims about the Carpathian Sphinx and the Bucegi Mountains could be more than just an elaborate and well-thought-out hoax?

The idea that there was this one-big global conspiracy to prevent disclosing new archaeological finds that could cast doubt on the majority of the things we have been told to hold true does seem to be a bit of an overreach, but it is not the only one to suggest that there is something special about the Bucegi Mountains. 

For example, several centuries ago, Herodotus wrote in the fourth volume of his Histories about the Dacians who once inhabited Romania approximately between 82 BC and 106 AD. These Dacians were worshippers of a god named Zalmoxis, who they believed built his place of residence underground and was living in the cave of a holy mountain located in today’s Bucegi Mountains. This account from Herodotus is further supported by an old legend in Romania about its local deity named Zamolxis who resided inside mountains and would disappear into a secret cave whenever he needed to confer with his seers. 

Of course, just because we brought up Herodotus and local legends does not automatically validate claims that we are being denied the truth that ancient civilizations far advanced than our own existed tens of thousands of years ago and that they could have extraterrestrial origins. But you know what? For me, all this talk about a massive conspiracy theory that supposedly hides the existence of extraterrestrial life and technologically-superior ancient civilizations does not seem all that crazy to me. And while science and logic require more than just a published book as evidence of such claims, there are among us who are already quite convinced that there is definitely something more than meets the eye when it comes to fascinating sites like the Carpathian Sphinx and the Bucegi Mountains. 

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SOURCES:
https://www.amazon.com/Transylvanian-Sunrise-Radu-Cinamar/dp/0967816254
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_(Romania)
http://hiddenfromhumanity.com/Bucegi.pdf
http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/bucegi-mountains-strange-happenings-conspiracies-and-folk-legends-007094?nopaging=1
http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/12/is-there-any-truth-behind-the-bucegi-mountain-discovery/
https://hubpages.com/education/romaniansphinx
https://atlantisrisingmagazine.com/article/enigma-of-the-carpathian-sphinx/
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/historia_humanidad07.htm
https://www.ancient-code.com/an-ancient-library-hidden-beneath-the-sphinx-in-the-bucegi-mountains-a-suppressed-discovery/

The Most Mysterious Ancient Temples Ever Built

Ancient temples are structures that served spiritual or religious purposes for our ancestors who practiced certain old religions like Hinduism or Buddhism. Countless of these ancient temples, which have been built centuries and even thousands of years ago, can be found in different parts of the globe. While these structures are highly-regarded today for their stunning beauty and their cultural significance, there are those among us who see these temples mainly as an enigma.

Some experts in history and archaeology are impressed at the obvious complexity required to build these ancient temples. And considering that they were made at a time when people did not have the luxury, efficiency and precision of modern technology, it is a wonder how our ancestors achieved such a feat that some consider being next to impossible. 

However, aside from the glaring question of how these ancient temples were built, these structures are also a subject of several other mysteries involving their origins, the real and unknown purpose of their construction, and so much more.

And so for this video, let’s talk about five (5) of the most mysterious ancient temples ever built on Earth. 

#1 — The Konark Sun Temple in India

Situated in Orissa, India, this 13th-century Sun Temple is said to have been built by King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty back in 1255 C.E. What’s interesting about this temple complex is that it is constructed to emulate the shape of a massive chariot, and the temple’s 24 elaborately carved wheels which are pulled by seven horses are some of its most distinctive features. These wheels are believed to function as sundials, which can be utilized in the precise and accurate calculation of time through the shadows cast by the wheels’ spokes. 

The majority of the Konark Sun Temple is now in ruins, and local legend asserts that the collapse of the main sanctum was caused by the extraction of the 52-ton magnetized rod located at its center. They also say that this large magnet allowed for the mid-air levitation of the sun temple’s main statue.

#2 — The Temple of the Feathered Serpent Temple in Mexico

This is the third largest pyramid in Teotihuacan, a pre-Columbian cultural complex located in central Mexico. The temple’s construction dates back to 200 AD, and its six-level step pyramid is made from hundreds of sculpted stone blocks and largely features the earliest-known representations of a Mesoamerican “feathered serpent” deity, often associated with the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. 
 
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent Temple is filled with many mysteries, the most notable of which is the discovery of more than a hundred sacrificial burials at the site. It is believed that these victims were sacrificed as a dedication of the temple, and the way the bodies were grouped and buried has been the subject of much speculation. In 2011, researchers from the National University of Mexico also found a tunnel network under the temple, some of which lead to sealed funeral chambers believed to contain the remains of the early rulers of Teotihuacan. Then in 2013, a team of archaeologists found hundreds of gold metallic spheres in two of the chambers beneath the pyramid, but the meaning behind them remains unknown to this day. 

#3 — The Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in India

Situated in Thiruvananthapuram, India, this Hindu temple is dedicated to Vishnu, the “preserver” among the principal deities of Hinduism. It is considered to be the richest Hindu temple on the face of the earth as its underground vaults have been found to contain gold and jewels amounting to around $22 billion.

Out of several vaults, one special vault referred to as “Vault B” remains unopened and is probably the most mysterious chamber in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The entrance to the vault is sealed with an iron door with two large cobra-like structures guarding it. They say that beyond Vault B, there is a hidden inner chamber with walls made of solid gold and is believed to contain undiscovered treasure that could be worth at least $1 trillion. However, many are against opening this vault as doing so without saying the correct mystic chant would purportedly result to the descent of great misfortune upon mankind. 

#4 — The Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Also known as the “Capital Temple,” this temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia was built in dedication to the Hindu deity Vishnu by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century before it eventually transformed into a Buddhist temple. This site is regarded as the largest religious monument on the planet, spanning more than 400 acres and is filled with several buildings including a three-level pyramid with nine towers that exceed 60 meters in height. 

The pyramid is said to represent Mount Meru, a mythical mountain in Hindu mythology believed to be the “home of the gods.” Interestingly, myths about the site also say that the temple was strategically built to be in harmony with the universe, with some suggesting that the Angkor Wat served several astronomical purposes. Another fascinating feature of the Angkor Wat is its numerous depictions of apsaras - or female spirits - and devatas - or lesser deities, with more than 1,796 depictions of devatas found in different parts of the temple. 

These details about the temple complex are some of the reasons why some people cannot shake off the belief that the Angkor Wat is a replication or depiction of a distant world where powerful and enlightened beings that once roamed and ruled the Earth come from.

#5 — The Kailasa Temple in India

Also known as the Kailasanatha Temple, this ancient Hindu temple is one of the 32 structures of the famous Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, India. The temple is also one of the biggest ancient architectural monuments in the world that was carved out of a “megalith” or a single, massive rock. Its construction is generally believed to have been commissioned by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I sometime in the 8th century CE although other experts suggest that the Kailasa temple along with the other structures that make up the Ellora Caves are much older. 

What fascinates most people about the Kailasa Temple is the manner in which it was constructed. Referred to as “vertical excavation,” they say that to build this ancient structure, carvers of the time had to start at the top of the megalith and work their way downward, which is no easy feat, especially when you consider the complexity and scale of the structure. Thousands of tons of rock had to be excavated and carved out, so it is a wonder how this was achieved with the primitive tools available at the time such as hammers, picks and chisels. 

Even if we set aside the consideration that our ancestors may have possessed superior technology, or that these sites may have been built in honor of powerful ancient extraterrestrial beings that once visited the Earth and ruled humanity in the distant past, it cannot be denied these ancient temples are, more importantly, testament to the possibility that our ancestors are truly far more capable of doing amazing things than we give them credit for. 

The Kailasa Temple, the Angkor Wat, and many other ancient structures are immortalized demonstrations of what mankind can achieve when people put together their minds, hearts and hands in working towards the accomplishment of a goal or an ideal that is much bigger than themselves.

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SOURCES:
https://www.ancient-code.com/ancient-engineering-wonders-4-of-the-most-mysterious-ancient-temples-ever-built/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konark_Sun_Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_the_Feathered_Serpent,_Teotihuacan#Burials_at_the_pyramid
http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-archaeology/hundreds-mysterious-spheres-discovered-beneath-temple-mexico-00400
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2015/11/13/a-one-trillion-dollar-hidden-treasure-chamber-is-discovered-at-indias-sree-padmanabhaswam-temple/#41a51b01ba6a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmanabhaswamy_Temple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/mysteries-angkor-wat-00310
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kailasa_temple,_Ellora
https://www.ancient-code.com/10-mind-boggling-images-kailasa-temple-prove-ancient-advanced-technology/

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

7 Thing You Didn't Know About Chinese Tea

In China, tea is more than just a beverage; it is an integral part of the country’s culture and tradition for several millennia. Tea has a lot to do with the development of Chinese society and its economy, and it has been a constant aspect of the Chinese people’s everyday life. The evolution of tea culture has progressed alongside Chinese culture, arguably making it one of the defining spirits of one of the world’s oldest civilizations. 

And so, if you are interested in learning about Chinese tea, here are seven (7) interesting facts you should know about this famous beverage.

Facts About Chinese Tea

#1 — Discovered 5,000 Years Ago in China

According to legend, tea is said to have been discovered in China by someone named Shennong Shi sometime around 2,500 BC. To the Chinese people, Shennong Shi was the “Divine Farmer,” and was regarded as one of the legendary Three Sovereigns of the country. As the first known Chinese herbal doctor, he is also seen by many as the father of Chinese medicine. 

Shennong Shi found a tea tree through his pursuit of collecting various plants and testing them as medicine. When he tasted this particular herb for the first time, he found that consuming tea had positive effects on the human body that could benefit those who needed to improve their health.

#2 — Originally Used as Medicine

Before the 8th century BC, the Chinese people mainly used tea as medicine before it eventually became a daily beverage. Fresh tea leaves were often boiled and consumed because ancient people thought that tea could reduce the human body’s “heat” and improve a person’s eyesight. In fact, until today, white tea, in particular, is still used in northern China as an antipyretic medicine to treat children who suffer from measles and chicken pox. 

#3 — Second Most Consumed Beverage in China After Water

Sometime between 221 BC and 8 AD, tea leaves were processed by pressing them together and shaping them into balls, drying them, and storing them for later use. From time to time, people crushed these ball-shaped tea leaves and mixed them with other herbs for boiling and drinking. Eventually, this practice became a regular habit that transformed tea into a beverage that is enjoyed by many people today from all walks life in different parts of the world. 

Drinking tea has become a huge part of Chinese culture that the country is filled with teahouses where people regularly meet to socialize with friends or discuss business matters with their colleagues over a good cup of tea. This is why it is not so surprising that tea is the national drink in China and that it is among the most consumed beverages in China, second only to water. 

#4 — Oldest Export from China

Not only was China the first to export tea to foreign traders, the country remains to this day as the world’s largest exporter of tea. Chinese tea was traded to various British traders around the end of the Ming Dynasty when several trading posts for foreign merchants were established in the city of Xiamen in Fujian Province. 

Interestingly, the word “tea” in Mandarin Chinese translates to “cha,” but in Fujian Province, the people of Xiamen referred to tea as “tay,” which the British traders spelt as “tea.” While the word “cha” was the first to spread outside of China, it was the term “tea” that gained ground in countries that spoke the English language and eventually to the rest of the world. 

#5 — Several Types of Chinese Tea

In China, tea can be classified into several types, but some of its main varieties include the following: green tea, black tea, white tea, yellow tea, oolong tea, and dark tea.

GREEN TEA is considered as the most popular type of tea and is also the oldest one of them all. It is concocted from fresh shoots of tea plants and is well-known all over the world for its pale color when boiled with water and it's very strong flavor when consumed.

BLACK TEA is the second most-varied type of Chinese tea, and it is known for its aromatic scent as well as its distinctive reddish color. 

WHITE TEA is the uncured and the unfermented version of green tea, and it is indigenous to the Chinese province of Fujian. This type of tea is famous for its lighter color and its tamer taste compared to the other types of Chinese tea available on the market.

YELLOW TEA is made from naturally-dried damp tea leaves, and it is easily identified not just because of its yellowish color but also because of its distinctive aroma. Regarded as premium-quality tea, it was served as a beverage to the many emperors of China as its yellow shade resembled the nation’s imperial color. 

OOLONG TEA, which is also referred to as blue tea, is actually an unfermented tea made from a combination of green tea and red tea. It is popular for its taste as well as its health benefits, particularly in weight loss. 

DARK TEA is a type of fermented tea believed to have originated in the city of Anhua in Hunan Province around the 16th century. The dark tea’s actual process of fermentation entails multiple steps and is different from other main varieties of tea as it is assisted by bacteria. 

#6 — First Tea Monograph is Chinese

The earliest monograph about tea is called The Classic of Tea or “chájīng,” which was written by Lu Yu sometime between 760 CE and 762 CE during the dominance of the Tang Dynasty. The book contains ten chapters about the mythical origins of Chinese tea, the tools used for drying and storing tea leaves, as well as the proper preparation and consumption of tea. The book also discusses the history of tea as mentioned in Chinese literature and historical records. 

#7 — Serving Tea to Elders & Guests Shows Respect

Chinese tea embodies the spirit of respect, which is why in Chinese culture, serving tea to a guest or an elder is deemed as an expression of a person’s respect and gratitude to the one the tea is offered to. This is also why serving tea is common in special events such as birthdays and the spring festival. In celebration of weddings, tea is also served by the bride and groom to their parents as an expression of gratitude for being raised by them. Tea can also be offered as a form of apology to another person and serving it is seen as a sincere display of one’s regret and submission.

Drinking tea is an essential part of the Chinese people’s social life as its regular practice is regarded in their culture as a demonstration of one’s morality and social status. Its importance as a Chinese tradition and the significant role it plays in Asian culture for many centuries have led many people today to regard the process of making tea and the method of drinking it as an art form. And so, tea is not just a staple beverage to the Chinese people, it is a symbol of a more enlightened and more appreciative way of life, which they intend to keep alive for generations to come. 

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Sources:
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-tea/
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-tea/interesting-things-to-learn-about-tea.htm
http://www.chinatravel.com/facts/chinese-tea-culture.htm
http://www.chinawhisper.com/top-10-chinese-tea-facts-you-might-not-know/
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-tea/tea-classification.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Classic_of_Tea
http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/Chinese_tea/2011-08/03/content_23133510.htm

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/

Ancient Sports Too Crazy for the Modern World

Mankind is driven by its innate competitive spirit. We thrive on competition, and we have cultivated our competitive streak and integrated it in our daily lives by creating a healthy and relatively safe platform for it through sports.

While modern sports have been finetuned in such a way that the possibility of getting seriously injured has significantly been reduced as time went by, it cannot be denied that these physical activities still pose some danger to those who engage in them. But that degree of danger is nothing compared to the many sports and games from our ancient past that no longer exist today. And as much as many of us enjoy a little risk in exchange for some adrenaline-fueled exhilaration, some of these ancient sports were too bloody, violent and just utterly insane by modern standards that they died out over time as they required the loss of life and limb of most of their players all for the sake of entertainment.

And so, for this video, here are eight (8) ancient sports that are just too crazy for the modern world.

#1 — Pitz

Also known as the Mesoamerican Ballgame, this sport dates back to 1400 BCE and was played by the pre-Columbian inhabitants of ancient Mesoamerica. The game is said to be similar to that of racquetball and the players’ objective was to keep a solid, heavy ball in play though vertical stone rings were introduced later on. The sport is brutal as it inflicted serious injuries on the players that left them perpetually bruised and may have possibly killed some of them. Even worse, the sport also had ritual aspects which required the human sacrifice of the losing team and the decapitation of its members, particularly the captain.

#2 — Venatio

Translated in English, this Roman sport means “The Hunt” and it was a popular form of gladiatorial combat and a source entertainment in Rome around 54 A.D. It entailed a team of slaves facing off against the “Beast of Carthage,” which equated to 20 aggressive elephants charging at the competitors at full speed. The players only had around 2% chances of surviving the whole ordeal, and needless to say, the game was very violent and resulted to the deaths of countless humans and elephants alike.

#3 — Cretan Bull Leaping

From the name itself, you could probably already tell that this coming-of-age sport from the island of Crete in Greece involved young men jumping over speeding bulls. To the ancient Cretans, successfully leaping over a bull marked a boy’s transition into manhood, but sadly, some of these boys never got to grow up as adults as their miscalculated attempts at bull leaping often led to their untimely demise. Some were lucky and survived the experience with serious injuries, but others were extremely lucky and potentially heaven-blessed since they successfully made the jump relatively unscathed.

#4 — Pankration

We credit the Ancient Greeks for many things and one of them is probably the development of what is arguably the first known mixed martial art sport on the face of the Earth - Pankration. It’s a combination of striking and wrestling and quite similar with modern-day MMA tournaments. However, this ancient Greek combat sport didn’t have weight divisions, time limits and rests in-between rounds. The rule was simple - almost anything was allowed and the fighting didn’t end until someone surrendered. Interestingly, while the fighting can be brutal and almost deadly, competitors were not allowed to kill their opponents. Doing so resulted to a loss as it meant that the other contestant had a stronger warrior spirit for refusing to quit.

#5 — Skin Pulling

Known as the Viking’s version of the game tug of war, it had the same rules as the classic sport we play today although with a few minor details that made it one of the Vikings’ favorite pastimes. First of all, the Vikings did not pull a rope; they pulled on animal hides which were tied together. And second of all, the Vikings made the game even more interesting by holding the tournaments over open pits of fire. Losing was more than just an unsavory option as the team that got dragged into the burning pit faced a very gruesome and fiery end.

#6 — Chariot Racing

If you’ve watched the 1959 film classic “Ben-Hur,” then you probably recall the iconic “chariot race” scene from the movie and saw how violent and dangerous this ancient sport could get. Chariot racing was a popular event during the thriving civilizations of the Ancient Greeks, Romans and the Byzantine Empire. Charioteers of the time were paid handsomely and enjoyed considerable fame. However, they also lived relatively short lives as chariot racing did not have strict rules to follow and contestants could do anything they wanted to prevent their opponents from finishing the race. They could ram against other chariots to destroy them and even use weapons to slaughter the horses so the other charioteers would crash.

#7 — The Fisherman’s Joust

A very popular aquatic combat sport in ancient Egypt, the Fisherman’s Joust had a simple principle: two teams on their respective boats would venture into the crocodile-infested waters of the Nile and attempt to knock off their opponents from their boats using paddles or long poles. Hitting each other senselessly could get very brutal but that wasn’t the only life-threatening situation that contestants would encounter in playing this sport. If they ended up falling into the water, they would be lucky to swim their way back to dry land but before they could, they risked getting eaten alive by the crocodiles, hippos and other beastly creatures that were lurking in the waters.

#8 — Naumachia

This ancient Roman sport in English literally means “naval combat,” and it’s essentially the staging of naval battles in which the objective of the contestants involved is to destroy the opponent’s fleet of ships and kill all of its crew, which were made up of prisoners. The competitions did not take place at open sea but were held in specially-designed man-made basins that in some cases included various sea creatures. The earliest recorded event of Naumachia was organized by Julius Caesar in 46 BC in celebration of his military accomplishments. However, the largest recorded event of this violent sport was arranged by Emperor Claudius in 52 AD and took place at Fucine Lake. This naval battle involved the participation of 100 vessels and around 19,000 men.  

We cannot deny that our ancient ancestors were capable of coming up with ingenious ways to push the limits of what the human body could achieve while entertaining themselves at the same time. But these ancient sports eventually died out with the passage of time and with good reason. In the world we live in today, we no longer welcome the idea of forcing people into participating in bloody and deadly games for the sake of mass entertainment. But that doesn’t mean we are not capable of finding fun and interesting ways to amuse ourselves. We enjoy dangerous sports too just as much as our ancestors once did, only we no longer think athletes must lose their lives and their limbs for us to deem modern sports events to be worth our while.

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SOURCES:

http://listverse.com/2014/02/06/10-ancient-sports-that-are-completely-terrifying/

http://www.cracked.com/article/180_6-ancient-sports-too-awesome-modern-world/

http://iluvesports.com/ancient-sports-too-awesome-for-the-modern-world/

http://www.themost10.com/crazy-ancient-sports/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venatio

http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/pankration-deadly-martial-art-form-ancient-greece-005221?nopaging=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tug_of_war

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot_racing#Roman_era

http://healthandfitnesshistory.com/ancient-sports/egyptian-fisherman-jousting-water-jousting/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naumachia

The Real Man Behind the Iron Mask

Around the time of King Louis XIV’s reign in France in the 17th century, there is a story of a mysterious man who had spent many years trapped behind the walls of several French prisons, including the Bastille as well as the Fortress of Pignerol. No one knew who he was or why he was put in jail. Over the centuries that passed, some even argued that no one had even seen his face as this enigmatic prisoner had never spent a day of his life in prison without donning a black velvet mask that hid his true identity. 

This unidentified inmate of several French prisons has been the subject of a variety of tales and legends, particularly in the written works of the likes of Alexandre Dumas and Voltaire, who actually popularized the idea that the prisoner’s mask was crafted from iron. And while the story of an imprisoned man wearing an iron mask seems one of fiction than fact, many historians are in agreement that such a man did exist in France several hundred years ago. 

If this masked prisoner was indeed real, who was he and why did he have to wear a black mask? Over the years, dozens of potential personalities have been presented as the real man behind the iron mask, but experts have had a hard time universally agreeing on a single individual that could be his actual hidden identity. 

And so for this video, we will explore some of these suggested personalities, speculated or real, and assess the likelihood of each one as the potential true identity of the legendary “Man in the Iron Mask.” 

The Story of the Man Behind the Iron Mask

“L’Homme au Masque de Fer,” which in English translates to “The Man in the Iron Mask,” is arguably the most famous prisoner in French history. The earliest known record of this unidentified prisoner dates all the way back to July 1669.  In a letter from the Marquis de Louvois to Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, the governor of the prison of Pignerol at the time, the minister mentioned that a prisoner named “Eustache Dauger” was going to be arriving the following month or so. The prison’s governor was told to make the necessary preparations for the prisoner’s arrival, and that Saint-Mars will be the one to oversee the immediate needs of the inmate by visiting only once a day. It was also mentioned in the letter that if the man said anything else apart from his daily needs, he would be executed. Louvois also noted that Dauger did not require a lot of attending to as he was “only a valet.”

While the name of the mysterious inmate was revealed in the letter as Eustache Dauger, no one knew for certain if this was his real name or was just a made-up name to ensure that his true identity stays never gets revealed. Much of the fascination over this individual largely stems from the rumor that his face had to be covered with a black velvet or an iron mask at all times while he was in jail, which naturally sparked the public’s interest and consequently gave rise to many theories and stories about who Dauger was.  It was also a wonder to many people how grave his crimes must have been that he was placed in a prison meant for those deemed to be an embarrassment to the state and why his jailers took extensive precautions to keep him imprisoned for more than three decades of his life in almost complete isolation.   

The interesting tale of the man who was forced to wear an iron mask at all times led to various speculations, which were explored in works authored by the likes of Voltaire in “Le siècle de Louis XIV” and Alexandre Dumas in “The Vicomte de Bragelonne.” For example, some believed that the masked prisoner was nothing more than just a lowly servant who probably saw something he should not have seen, or whose physical appearance displeased the king. There were those, however, who believed that there was so much more to the identity of this prisoner, going so far as to claim that he was someone of royal blood whose face had to remain unseen as he bore a strong resemblance to another individual already in power at the time. 

Illegitimate Half-Brother or Twin Brother of King Louis XIV

One of the popular theories about the lineage of the masked prisoner was initially suggested by Voltaire, who claimed that “The Man in the Iron Mask” was the older, illegitimate half-brother of King Louis XIV, and was the son of Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin. Dumas worked on a similar theory in his book but with one substantial change: the prisoner was not just the half-brother of King Louis XIV but was his older identical twin, making him the legitimate king of France. As the story goes, the king’s brother had to be kept hidden as his existence would raise a serious and chaotic issue about succession. But since a prince with royal blood is not allowed to be killed, he had to spend the rest of his days in prison while wearing a mask the entire time to hide his striking resemblance with the reigning king.  

Real Father of King Louis XIV

There was also a suggestion that the imprisoned man in the iron mask was actually the biological father of King Louis XIV. According to this particular theory, Louis XIV’s miraculous birth came at a time when Louis XIII was already very old, sickly and possibly impotent, which implies that he may not have been capable of fathering a child at the time that Louis XIV’s was conceived. 

Before the birth of Louis XIV, the heir presumptive to the throne of France was Gaston d’Orléans, the brother of King Louis XIII. Neither the king nor the queen was fond of Gaston. The queen, in particular, did not see it as in her best interests to allow Gaston’s ambition to ascend as the next king as she knew he would surely suppress her influence and power. And so, through the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu, the king’s minister and an enemy of Gaston d’Orléans, a substitute was selected to impregnate the queen and father an heir to the throne in the king’s stead. 

After escaping to the Americas, this substitute supposedly returned to France in the 1660s and tried to extort money in exchange for keeping the secret that he was King Louis XIV’s real father. To protect the legitimacy of Louis XIV’s claim to the throne, the man was immediately arrested. However, out of respect for his biological father, the king allegedly could not bring himself to order the man’s execution and have chosen comfortable imprisonment as a more suitable punishment instead. 

General Vivien de Bulonde

Another theory about the true identity of “The Man in the Iron Mask” came from the Great Cipher of Louis XIV, which was decrypted by Etienne Bazeries of the French Army’s cryptographic department around the 1890s. One of the decoded messages mentioned of a prisoner named General Vivien de Bulonde, who supposedly angered the king for his cowardice during the siege of Cuneo back in 1691. Out of fear of the approaching troops from Austria, de Bulonde ordered the hasty withdrawal of the army, leaving behind supplies and injured soldiers in the process. This enraged the king, who ordered the general’s arrest and imprisonment at the fortress of Pignerol.

It is difficult to determine whether Bulonde really was the iron-masked inmate especially since Bulonde’s arrest was not a secret and was actually reported in the newspaper around that time. Moreover, his death has been recorded to have taken place in 1709, which is six years later than the reported death of the masked prisoner in 1703. 

Count Ercole Antonio Mattioli

Another famous candidate believed to be “The Man in the Iron Mask” was Count Ercole Antonio Mattioli, an Italian diplomat, and minister of Ferdinand Charles, the Duke of Mantua. Mattioli was entrusted in securing the sale of the fortified town of Casale in 1678. However, after he secured his earnings from the agreement, Mattioli betrayed France by leaking the details of the treaty to the country’s Spanish enemies, which thwarted France’s plans to successfully occupy the town. Infuriated over Mattioli’s treachery, the king ordered for Mattioli’s abduction and was subsequently imprisoned in Pignerol in April 1679. 

Because the masked man is known to have been buried under the name “Marchioly,” this led many to believe that Mattioli and “The Man in the Iron Mask” are the same. However, it is generally agreed on by many experts that Mattioli passed away in Îles Sainte-Marguerite back in April 1694, several years before the death of Eustache Dauger. 

Eustache Dauger de Cavoye

One of the more compelling theories about the identity of “The Man in the Iron Mask” is that Eustache Dauger is actually Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, the son of a captain who served as one of Cardinal Richelieu’s guards. Born in 1637, Eustache joined the royal army but was forced to resign his commission in disgrace after he ended up killing a young page boy during a drunken brawl. During his incarceration, Eustache supposedly complained of how he was treated in prison in 1678, and the king subsequently issued an edict that he was no longer permitted to speak to anybody unless in the presence of a priest.

While Eustache Dauger De Cavoye seemed like the most likely candidate to be “The Man in the Iron Mask,” evidence has emerged that Dauger De Cavoye met his demise in the Prison Saint-Lazare in the 1680s, several years before the death of the famous Eustache Dauger in Îles Sainte-Marguerite in 1703.

Perhaps the most recent theory about the identity of the masked prisoner in 17th-century France is presented by Paul Sonnino, a history professor at UC Santa Barbara, in his 2016 book, “The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask: A Historical Detective Story.” According to Sonnino’s book, Dauger was, in fact, the valet of the treasurer of Cardinal Mazarin, a principal minister in France during the early life of Louis XIV.  Mazarin amassed a huge fortune during his lifetime, which led the valet to believe that some of the minister’s money may have been stolen from the previous king and queen of England. When he was arrested, he was warned not to reveal his real identity to anyone unless he wanted to be executed immediately. 

When “The Man in the Iron Mask” passed away on November 19, 1703, at the Îles Sainte-Marguerite and was buried the following day with the name “Marchioly,” all his possessions in his cell, including his furniture and clothing, were all burned. Everything he owned that were made of metal was melted down. And the walls of his cell were scraped clean, leaving no trace of the inmate that once spent many years of his life in confinement and isolation.

With so many theories on who he really was and speculations on whether or not he was actually guilty of a crime worthy of lifetime incarceration, we may never really know the reason why this famous prisoner had to wear an iron mask while in almost complete isolation in prison. For all we know, Eustache Dauger was just an ordinary citizen who slighted the king and had the unusual punishment of having to wear a mask while living the remainder of his life inside a cell. It probably never even crossed his mind that his life of incarceration would be a subject of intrigue and mystery that managed to capture the interest of countless people even until today.
 

SOURCES:
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-was-the-man-in-the-iron-mask
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_the_Iron_Mask
http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/016743/mystery-unmasked
https://www.livescience.com/54669-man-in-the-iron-mask-identified.html
http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/story-man-iron-mask-002419?nopaging=1
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/10/real-man-iron-mask/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/how-a-cryptoanalyst-discovered-the-identity-of-the-man-1581576707
http://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/the-real-man-in-the-iron-mask-dies-in-prison/
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/05/the-mysterious-man-in-the-iron-mask-is-finally-unmasked/