The Horrible Effects of Dengue Fever

Imagine having horrible joint pains, swollen glands, a high fever, and a rash – all at the same time. Then you’ll have an idea of just how horrible the effects of dengue fever are. And with four different strands of the virus running rampant through the tropics and subtropics, it’s no wonder this debilitating sickness is sometimes called “breakbone fever”.

The Spellbinding Tilework Mosaics of Iranian Architecture

Vibrant jewel-like colors, intricate geometric patterns, graceful arches, majestic domes, and delicate latticework. These are some of the features we associate with Iranian (or Persian) architecture, which is undoubtedly some of the most beautiful in the world.

The Bataan Death March in Pictures

To demonstrate their military superiority, the Japanese Army forced horrified Filipino citizens to view the bodies of dead POWs.
The fierce tropical sun beats down on the heads of the men, all of them exhausted, starving and thirsty; many of them sick. They have had no rest breaks for hours. And there is no mercy for those who stumble or collapse. Soldiers shoot or bayonet anybody who can’t keep up and sometimes even those who do. Corpses lie along the road – a grim reminder to all that, at any moment, death may claim them.
The Bataan Death March, which had its 70th anniversary this year, is listed as one of the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII. The list includes several massacres and cases of human experimentation, like those of the infamous Unit 731.

Foraging Chef Introduces Indigenous Swedish Cuisine to the World

Gone are the days when readers eagerly waited for books to cross the pond between Europe and North America. Modern technology has reduced the delay to mere days. An article on Newsweek's website reviewed one Swedish book a week before its launch. Fäviken, by Magnus Nilsson, offers a Scandinavian perspective on food to readers everywhere. More than just a collection of recipes, Fäviken presents an indigenous European sense of nature and history.

The Strange Lunar Beauty of the Algerian Sahara

The Sahara desert: a name that conjures romantic fantasies of shifting sand dunes, palm-lined oases, and hellish visions of vast waterless expanses. It’s a place known as much for its breathtaking beauty as its capacity to kill those foolish enough to get lost in its harsh wilderness. And it’s these two apparent contradictions of the Sahara that seem to be embodied so well here in Algeria.

Backdrop to Reality: The Brilliantly Colored Graffiti Murals of El Salvador

The Central American country of El Salvador is a great place to visit. Not only is the land itself both beautiful and striking, but the culture is fascinating and colorful. There is a flipside to any coin, however, and in El Salvador it is war and crime. With one of the highest murder rates in the Americas and constant problems with gangs, El Salvador has plenty of issues to address. Yet these seemingly contradictory realities offer a compelling backdrop to any visit. And one of the best insights into the light and dark aspects of life in El Salvador is provided by the street art murals found all over the country, from small hamlets in the mountains, to the capital city of San Salvador.

Wing Walkers: Death-Defying Aerial Stunts of 1920s Barnstorming

Up! Down! Flying around
Looping the loop and defying the ground
They're all, frightfully keen
Those magnificent men in their flying machines
They can fly upside down with their feet in the air
They don't think of danger
They really don't care”

So go the lyrics to the song “Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines,” from the movie of the same name. The words aptly describe the aerial exploits of a group of stuntmen and stuntwomen who, during the 1920s, repeatedly risked their lives in a quest for thrills and entertainment; and, at the end of the day, to earn a living.

10 Vintage Nursing Recruitment Posters from WWI (World War I)

 

It's amazing what posters can tell us about the era in which they were produced. World War I saw death and destruction on a scale never seen before, and the governments involved spent considerable energy recruiting people to aid in the war effort. Naturally, nurses were needed as well as soldiers.

Explosion of a Destroyer: Torpedo Sinking a Warship in Pictures

We're really glad there was nobody on board.
The submarine lines up its target and fires the torpedo. First there are only the faint sounds of waves, lapping against the sides of the old destroyer. Then comes the detonation. The ship seems to briefly leap out of the water, then settle, before the explosion sends a billowing column of fragments and water shooting into the air. Soon, though, the ocean is calm again, with only the floating debris of the bow section to suggest there was a warship there in the first place. And before long, this too will sink to the bottom of the ocean. 

The Precarious Human Pyramids of Govinda Sport

A precarious pyramid made of people sways in the street, surrounded by crowds of eager observers. What is going on here?
Govinda, or Dahi Handi, is a sport played in India to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna. In short, a handi (or pot) is hung 20 to 30 feet high in the air on a rope. Silver coins are hung on the rope, and the pot is filled with dahi (yogurt) and dried fruit.

Worlds Within Worlds: Incredible Nano Images Invisible to the Naked Eye

Strange alien looking worlds exist all around us in startling shapes and textures, but we so rarely get to see them. Since 2010, the FEI Electron Microscope Company has held an annual competition to judge the best scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), DualBeam and focused ion beam (FIB) images taken using their equipment. The resulting submissions are diverse – from plant anatomy and synthetically manufactured minerals, to the kind of bacteria shots seen here.

Inspiring New Vertical Farming Designs Bring Cities a Step Forward

Vertical farming is a method for growing crops in multistory buildings. Few consider it a bad idea, but the vertical farming industry continues to progress from an abstract dream to concrete designs, with engineering projects in Sweden and Canada bringing food closer to urban dwellers.
Farmlands may have turned into suburbs near cities, but sky farms allow urbanites to reconnect to their agricultural roots. Take architectural firm Plantagon, which has designed one such sky farm for Linkoping, Sweden.

The Brilliance of Passive Solar Homes

Photo: CalderOliver
Homes designed using the principles of passive solar design can be found everywhere; from architectural masterpieces in grand and isolated locations, to brilliantly quirky designs in typical suburbs. But how do you go about living in one? In fact, what is it that makes a passive solar home what it is?
Although the engineering behind it is quite complex, building a passive solar house can be surprisingly simple and practical. What's more, living in a well-designed solar house can be super-comfortable, and it's a lot more economical than a regular house as consumption of electricity is greatly reduced. And of course this makes it environmentally sustainable as well.