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Fascinating Facts About Gold

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The world’s largest gold bar weighs 250 kg. Gold is edible. Gold has been discovered on every continent on earth. Our bodies contain about 0.2 milligrams of gold, most of it in our blood. Here are some fascinating Facts About Gold that will blow your mind.

Fascinating Facts About Gold

  • Earthquakes turn water into gold.
  • Small traces of gold have been found in the leaves of Eucalyptus trees.
  • More gold is recoverable from a ton of personal computers than from 17 tons of gold ore.
  • Olympic Gold Medals only contain 1.34% of gold.
  • 3 Olympic swimming pools can hold all the gold ever mined in the world.
  • Over 6 milligrams of gold are lost every year from a Wedding Ring just by wearing it.
  • The world’s oceans contain nearly20 million tons of gold.
  • Nearly all of the gold on Earth came from meteorites that bombarded the planet over 200 million years after it
    formed.
  • Carat weight can be 10, 12, 14, 18, 22, or 24. The higher the number, the greater the purity.
  • Compared to other metals, gold is much softer. One can beat 1 gram of gold to a 1 square meter sheet and light would shine through that sheet.
  • Do you know Fascinating Facts About Gold that the world’s first gold vending machine was unveiled in May 2010. Located in an ultra-luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi, the vending machine itself is covered in 24-carat gold.
  • The chemical symbol for gold is Au, which is derived from the Latin word “aurum,” which means “shining dawn.”
  • Do you know Fascinating Facts About Gold that Pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.
  • South Asian jewelry is generally more pure than western jewelry, comprised of 22 carat gold rather than 14 carat.
  • India is the world’s largest consumer of gold
  • Astronaut helmets come equipped with a visor coated with a thin layer of gold. The gold blocks harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun.
  • Gold is the most popular precious metal for investments.
  • The largest gold nugget believed to exist today is the “Hand of Faith,” a 60-pound specimen discovered in
    Victoria, Australia, in October 1980. It is currently on display at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas.

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Top 5 Largest Aircraft in the World

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The
first prize goes fairly to Ukrainian Antonov An-225 Mriya which is acknowledged
to be the world’s largest plane up to date. The plane made its first flight in
1988, on December 21. This really huge thing was built exceptionally for
military purposes, in particular for carrying the Buran orbiter (Russian Space
Shuttle). The developers of An-225 aircraft used a base of An-124 and increased
sufficiently its engine capacity. 6 engines are used in the An-225 instead of 4
in An-124 as well as twin nail. The aircraft is the heaviest up to date: its
maximum takeover weight is more than 640 tons. Today there is only one An-225
in service.
The
second place in top-5 of the world’s largest planes takes Airbus A380F with the
first flight performed just recently, in 2005, April 23. The aircraft places
525 seats and is considered to be the worlds’ largest passenger airplane ever
known and made. This twin deck, high capacity wide body airliner is a really
beautiful and potent thing.
The
third place in the scale of the top-5 goes to Boeing 747-8 which with is length
of about 77 meters is considered to be the longest airliner in the world up to
date. This intercontinental airbus places 467 seats and is a high-capacity
machine offering more payloads, more range and more fuel efficiency.
The
next in the top-5 scale is Boeing 747-400 ER, the one from the family of
Boeings possessing the major development and the most sold one. It has seats
for 524 passengers and features all-new modern interior.
The last place in the top-5 belongs to Ukrainian An-124
Ruslan. Up to this moment Ruslan is considered to be world’s second heaviest
cargo aircraft and the biggest heavy lifter ever made.

 

Surprising facts about Earth’s Ocean

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Water pressure at the deepest point in the earth’s ocean is more than 8 tons per square inch, the equivalent of one person trying to hold 50 jumbo jets.

Surprising facts about Earth’s Ocean.

  • Ocean tides are caused by the Earth rotating while the Moon and Sun’s gravitational pull acts on ocean water.
  • The largest Earth’s ocean is the Pacific Ocean, it covers around 30% of the Earth’s surface.
  • The Pacific Ocean’s name has an original meaning of ‘peaceful sea’.
  • Located to the east of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is the deepest
    known area of Earth’s oceans. It has the deepest point of around 11000 meters (36000 feet).
  • The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by the Pacific Ring of Fire, a large number of active volcanoes.
  • The largest coral reef in the world is located off the Australian coast and is called the Great Barrier Reef.
  • The second largest ocean on Earth is the Atlantic Ocean, it covers over 21% of the Earth’s surface.The Atlantic Ocean’s name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology.
  • The Bermuda Triangle is located in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • Amelia Earhart became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.
  • The third largest ocean on Earth is the Indian Ocean, it covers around 14% of the Earth’s surface.
  • The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world.
  • During winter, the Arctic Ocean is almost completely covered in sea ice.
  • While some disagree on whether it is an ocean or just part of larger earth’s ocean, the Southern Ocean includes the area of water that encircles Antarctica.
  • The Dead Sea is so salty because it is surrounded by a hot desert ,the intense heat causes sea water to evaporate faster ,thus, the large quantity of salt remaining in the sea as a large quantity of water goes into the air.
  • Salt is produced by evaporating sea-water.This is done by flooding lot of sea water in salt pans or salt farms, then evaporation happens due to Sun & salt is left behind by evaporating sea-water.
  • The Red Sea in the Indian Ocean has the saltiest water ,it is also known as the Dead Sea as its water is so salty that nothing can remain alive  in it.
  • Fifty percent of the United States (in terms of our complete legal jurisdiction, which includes ocean
    territory) lies below the ocean.
  • The deep sea is the largest museum on Earth: There are more artifacts and remnants of history in the earth’s ocean than in all of the world’s museums, combined.
  • The longest mountain range in the world is under water. Called the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, this chain of mountains runs through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and into the Indian and Pacific oceans. It runs more than 35,000 miles long, has peaks higher than those in the Alps and it comprises 23 percent of the Earth’s total
    surface.
  • The lowest known point on earth is called Challenger Deep and is located in the Pacific Ocean near Guam in the Philippine Sea and . The depth recorded is 10,920m or 35,827 feet.
  • The Southern Ocean is located around the South Pole across the Antarctic circle in the Southern Hemisphere off Antarctica. The Southern Ocean is the home of Emperor Penguins and Wandering Albatrosses.

 

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The Deadliest Earthquakes of the World

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Tangshan, China

The Tangshan earthquake of 1976 was one of the deadliest earthquakes. It occurred on 28 July 1976 at 3:42 a.m. Beijing local time, and had a magnitude of 7.8 and focal depth of 15 km. It caused serious damage and loss of life in this densely populated industrial city. The number of death toll reported to be approximately 650,000.

Sumatra, Indonesia

The 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit at just before 1 a.m. GMT or 7:58 a.m. local time on 26 December 2004. The earthquake struck 30 km below the surface around 160 km off the Western coast of northern Sumatra. In total 14 countries were affected by the disaster. Indonesia was worst affected, with an estimated 280,000 dead.

Gansu, China

It struck in the evening of the 16 December 1920 in the rural district of Taiyuan near Inner Mongolia was one of the deadliest earthquakes. It registered a 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale. The big earthquake caused rivers to change course and some rivers were dammed; it also sent landslides pouring down mountains. Damages occurred in 7 Chinese provinces and regions and an estimated 200,000 people died in the disaster.

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Tsinghai, China

The earthquake hit at 6:32 a.m. on 22 May 1927. The 7.9 magnitude event had an epicenter near Gulang, Kansu in the Republic of China. It was felt up to 700 km away. In the area of greatest intensity, all cave dwellings and 90% of houses were destroyed an estimated 200,000 people died in the disaster. It was one of the deadliest earthquakes.

Tokyo, Japan

The Great Kanto Earthquake was a massive quake in Japan that originated off the south-west coast of Tokyo in Sagami bay, at 11:58 a.m. on 1 September 1923. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale. An estimated 143,000 people died in the disaster.

Turkmenistan

The Ashgabat earthquake occurred at 2:17 a.m. in the morning on 6 October 1948. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.3 and the epicenter of the earthquake was located near the small village Gara-Gaudin, 25 km southwest of Ashgabat. More than two-thirds of the people were killed by the earthquake (the total number of dead were around 110,000).

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Messina, Italy

Messina earthquake and tsunami of 1908, was one of the deadliest earthquakes and subsequent tsunami devastated southern Italy on 28 December 1908. This most powerful recorded earthquake to hit Europe struck at about 5:20 a.m. Its epicenter was under the Strait of Messina. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2;it killed almost 100,000 people in the disaster.

Kashmir, Pakistan

On 8 October 2005, an earthquake of a 7.6 magnitude shook the Kashmir region, along with sections of Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. The Kashmir earthquake took place shortly after 8:50 a.m., local time and was centered about 12 miles northeast of Muzaffarabad the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. More than 80,000 people perished as a result of the quake.

Gansu, China

The 1932 Changma earthquake occurred on 25 December in Changma, Gansu Province with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 on the surface wave magnitude scale. The quake destroyed 1,167 houses and about 70,000 people were killed. A part of Great Wall Jiayuguan Pass collapsed. Aftershocks lasted as much as half a year.

Quetta, Pakistan

The Quetta earthquake occurred on 31 May 1935 between 2:33 a.m. and 3:40 a.m. which lasted for 3 minutes continuous aftershocks. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.5 Mw. The quake was centered 4 km south-west of Ali Jaan, Balochistan. Approximately 60,000 people died from the impact.

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10 Deadliest Terror Attacks in India

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26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks

The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which lasted for 4 days beginning from 26th November 2008 till 29th November 2008, left 164 people dead and a minimum of 308 injured. 10 Fedayeen Terrorist entered  Mumbai from sea way and started to execute their plan as it was authored by their bosses sitting in Pakistan. One attacker Kasab was arrested and 9 others were killed by police and NSG commandoes.

Mumbai Train Blast

Series of 7 bomb blast in a span of 11 minutes took place in Mumbai local train on 11 July 2006. The explosives had been planted in the 1st class coaches of the trains inside the pressure cooker. After the investigation into the blasts it was found that the Indian Mujahideen, a trained terror attacks outfit, was responsible for it. They claimed 210 lives and almost 715 people injured.

Attack on Akshardham Temple

On 24 September 2002, Akshardham Temple came under terror attacks from Ashraf Ali Mohhamad Farooq and Murtuza Hafiz Yasin with automatic weapons and hand grenades. Both the terrorist were gunned down by NSG Commandoes.  Around 80 people were injured and 31 lost their lives.

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Mumbai Serial Blast

On 12 March 1993, a series of blast took place in Mumbai which had shaken our country with 13 blasts in quick successions. Directed by the underworld leader Dawood Ibrahim, this fatal tragedy was a combined act of the underworld and other Islamic terrorist groups that claimed 250 lives and left 700 injured in a short span of 2 hours.

Delhi Bomb Blast

On 29 September 2005, three consecutive terror attacks at crowded places like Paharganj, Sarojini Market and in a bus created havoc. The three explosions took away 62 innocent people and injured almost 210 people. The Islamic revolutionary Front, an Islamic Terrorist Organization, is said to be the mastermind behind these gruesome attacks.

Jaipur Bomb Blast

On 13 May 2008, Jaipur was hit by a sequence of a synchronized bomb blast in 15 minutes. It left 63 people dead and almost 216 injured. A terrorist group called Indian Mujahideenn took responsibility but Bangladeshi Militant group called the Harkat-Ul-Jihad-al-Islami is also under vigilance.

Assam Bombings

These serial blasts took place on 30th October 2008, in Guwahati, the capital of Assam. There were 18 blasts in different parts of the city leading to death of approximately 81 people; 470 people were injured in the same. Many terrorist groups are still under surveillance and investigations are still going on.

Attack on Indian Parliament

Indian Parliament came under the attack on 13th December, 2001 by 5 terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashakr-e-Taiba. An encounter of 45 minutes left 9 policemen and staff members dead while all the 5 terrorists were killed.

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Coimbatore Bombings

On 14th February 1998, an Islamist Fundamentalist group Al Ummah conducted a series of 12 bomb blast at 11 different locations. Most of the blasts were planted in Hindus dominating areas due to which victims were Hindus. It left 60 people dead and 200 injured.

Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly Attack

On 1st October 2001, a number of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists attacked the legislative assembly. Three suicide bombers and a car bomb were used to carry out the operation in which 38 people and 3 Fidayeen were killed in this attack.

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Top 10 Major Lakes of the World

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Here is a list of the major lakes of the world, which includes important features and attributes of these lakes viz. its span/size, nature of water (fresh/brackish), countries connected, important bridges over them, depth, economic and commercial importance etc.

Major Lakes of the World

Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan-Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran

First among major lakes of the world is the Caspian Sea. It is the world’s largest enclosed inland water body, with a total surface area of 371,000 sq. km, holding 78,200 cubic km of water by volume. The deepest part of the lake is 1,025 km and the lake has a length of 1,199 km at its longest span, with an average depth of 211 m. The Caspian Sea is popular for its richness in energy wealth, with the discovery of oil fields and large natural gas supplies in the area.

Lake Superior, U.S. – Canada

It is the largest freshwater lake with a surface area of 82,170 sq. km. The lake is about 563 km long, 257 km wide, and approximately 400 m deep. It is the home for about 58 orchid species. It is most important among major lakes of the world.

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Lake Victoria, Tanzania-Uganda

As the tropical lake in the world and the second largest freshwater lake, the Lake Victoria holds the record of being Africa’s largest one. With a surface area of 68,800 sq. km, this is undeniably large but relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 84 m and an average depth of 20 m. , which puts it at third rank among the major lakes of the world.

Lake Huron, U.S.-Canada

It is the world’s fourth largest lake with a surface area of 59,596 sq. km. The lake is 331 km long and 295 km wide. The deepest part of the lake is 229 m and its average depth is 5.9 m. Several economic activities are done in this lake such as lumbering and fishing. There’s also the commercial traffic in iron ore, grain, and limestone which are exported to other locations around Ontario and Michigan.

Lake Michigan, U.S.

It is the world’s fifth largest lake covering a total surface area of 58,000 sq. km. It is 494 km long and 190 km wide and has more than 2,575 km of shoreline. With an average depth of 85 m, the lake can even reach down to 282 m at its deepest point. Lake Michigan was created by glacial movements, and is connected to the ocean by means of man-made waterways and canals such as the Saint Lawrence and Great Lake channels.

Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania-Congo

It is the world’s sixth largest lake covering a surface area of 32,893 sq. km and an average depth of 570 m, with the deepest being 1470 m below surface level. It was formed due to tectonic movements, and has a distance of 677 km at its longest, and a width of around of 50 km at its widest. 350 species of fish can be found here.

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Lake Baikal, Russia

It is the world’s largest ice-free fresh water lake and contains around 20% of world’s total fresh water. It is the world’s seventh largest lake that covers a surface area of 31,500 sq. km. The average depth of the lake is 744.4 m, with its deepest point being 1642 m. It is also known as “Galapagos of Russia” for its isolation and age made it possess the most unusual freshwater faunas.

Great Bear Lake, Canada

It is 320 km long, up to 175 km wide and 413 m deep. It is the eighth largest lake in the world covering a surface area of 31,080 sq. km. The lake has 26 islands within it that covers a combined area of 759.3 sq. km. One major discovery found in the lake is the ore containing radium and uranium called pitchblende.

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Lake Malawi, Malawi-Mozambique-Tanzania

It has a total surface area of 30,044 sq. km, the length of 579 km, and depth of 706 m. The primary inflow for Lake Malawi is the Ruhuhu River and the primary outflow is the Shire River at its southern end. It is famous for being the lake that hosts the highest number of species of fish in the world, including almost 1,000 cichlid species.

Great Slave Lake, Canada

It is 480 km long, ranges 19 to 109 km wide and 614 m deep. It has a surface area of 27,200 sq. km. The Hay River is its primary inflow while the main outflow is the Mackenzie River. The area is important for gold mining. The lake has commercial fisheries.

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