• A number of natural shelters, occupied since early times, can be found in the Matobo Hills. The area also has
  a high concentration of rock art which provides a view of life in the Stone Age.

• The name Zimbabwe was derived from the stone structures of Great Zimbabwe or Dzimbahwe, inscribed on the
  World Heritage List in 1986.

• Crazy Amazing Facts About Zimbabwe is that Great Zimbabwe was built by Shona (Bantu) people between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries.

• Eight birds carved in soapstone have been found during excavations in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.

• During the fourteenth and fifteen centuries, Great Zimbabwe controlled much of the ivory and gold trade in
  the region.

• Stone structures were built in other areas of Zimbabwe such as Khami and Nalatale.

• Crazy Amazing Facts About Zimbabwe is that Artifacts from Europe and China have been found at Khami. Khami, like Great Zimbabwe, became a World
  Heritage sites in 1986.

• The ancient kingdom of Mapungubwe spanned the borders of present-day South Africa, Zimbabwe and
  Botswana. Mapungubwe, added to the World Heritage List in 2003, was the largest kingdom in the sub-continent before it was abandoned in the fourteenth century.

• Portuguese traders visited Zimbabwe in the sixteenth century and were the first Europeans to make contact
  with the region.

• In 1888 the British South African Company gained mineral rights for the area.

• In November 1855 Dr. David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer, and missionary, saw the Victoria Falls for
  the first time. Livingstone named the Falls after the British queen, Victoria.

• The local name for the Victoria Falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”.

• The Victoria Falls became a World Heritage site in 1986.

• Crazy Amazing Facts About Zimbabwe is that Mana Pools National Park on the banks of the Zambezi is the habitat of a large number of wild animals
  including the Nile crocodile.

• At the end of the 1950s, the Zambezi was dammed at Kariba to provide hydroelectric power to Zimbabwe and
  Zambia.

• Lake Kariba on the River Zambezi is one of the world’s largest manmade lakes.

• The Gold Mining Museum, in KweKwe, in the Central Region of Zimbabwe, provides information about
  Zimbabwe’s gold mining industry.

• Between 1953 and 1963 Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi) were members of the Federation of Central Africa.

• African nationalist organizations that campaigned for democracy were banned in Rhodesia (ANC –
  banned 1959, ZAPU – banned 1962, ZANU – banned 1964).
• On 18 April 1980, Zimbabwe became an independent state.
• Crazy Amazing Facts About Zimbabwe is that after independence, Zimbabwe kept ties with Britain through the Commonwealth. Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003.
• In 2002 millions of people in Southern Africa faced food shortages. Countries particularly affected included
  Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia.

• Crazy Amazing Facts About Zimbabwe is that Zimbabwe has a high rate of infection of HIV and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

• The country is facing economic ruin with inflation spiralling out of control, currently topping 100,000%.

• Zimbabwe’s economy is in crisis.

• Poor management, combined with political violence and the impact of Mr. Mugabe’s land reform programme
  contributed to the downturn.

• In recent years, the size of the national economy, or Gross Domestic Product, has fallen while inflation has
  soared.

• Official figures for February 2008 calculate the annual inflation rate at 100,580%, up from 7,600% in July
  2007.

• In 1980, US$1 bought 80 Zimbabwean cents, in early March that figure is about Z$50m. A loaf of bread
  cost Z$7m.

• By contrast, GDP in neighbouring Zambia grew by 6% in 2007 and inflation was running at 9.5% in
  February 2008, according to Zambian government figures.

• Wages are not keeping pace with inflation and barter has become an increasingly common form of trade.

• Agricultural and mineral exports have fallen and much trade is done on the black market.

• The government has taken steps to try to revive the economy, like revaluing the Zimbabwean dollar and imposing strict price controls, but to no avail.

• The price controls have led to shortages, as businesses say they cannot afford to sell goods for less than the
  cost of making them.

• Badly-needed support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been suspended because the government has fallen behind with loan repayments.

• Zimbabwe has a population of 12.3m – with an estimated 1.8m living with HIV/Aids. Largely as a result of
  this, the country has the lowest life expectancy in the world.

• According to WHO figures, men can expect to live to 37 years, and women only 34.

• One of President Mugabe’s biggest achievements has been education. Zimbabwe has the highest literacy rate
  in Africa at 90% of the population.

• However, unemployment is running at about 80%

• In May 2005, the Zimbabwean government began a campaign of forced evictions and demolitions resulting in
  the internal displacement of an estimated 570,000 people, many of whom remain in transit camps and have limited access to assistance.

• Operation Murambatsvina (Restore Order) initially targetted high-density shanty towns and moved onto
  settlements on farms in rural areas and urban fringes.

• The ongoing economic crisis has also contributed to the movement of people from their homes in search of a
  better livelihood.

• Figures of the number who have fled are unreliable, but the International Organisation of Migration (IOM)
  estimates about 3.4m Zimbabweans have left their home country, most of them
  heading for South Africa.

• Under colonial laws, much of the country’s best land was reserved for white farmers and anger at this was a
  key factor in the 1970s war of independence, led by Mr. Mugabe.

• In 2000, some 70% of the best land was owned by 4,000 white farmers and Mr. Mugabe speeded up the process of seizing it and redistributing it to blacks.

• But many of the new farmers had little or no experience and no assets to buy seed or fertilizer.

• Some farms were allocated to government ministers or other leading figures in Mr. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.

• Since the redistribution, agricultural production has fallen.

• Government figures show the amount of land planted with key crops like maize, soya and tobacco has fallen.

• The Drought has also contributed to what have been significant shortfalls in food production since 2001.
• Many Zimbabweans survive on just one meal a day. Relief agencies say 25% of Zimbabweans require food aid.

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Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that Kite flying was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution, anyone found flying a kite was sent to jail for up to three years and their kites destroyed. There are 78 rules in kite fighting in Thailand.

Facts About Kites

• Kite flying was banned in Japan in 1760 because too many people preferred to fly kites than work.

• The aeroplane is a development of the kite.

• For centuries kites have been used in wars and battles, for signalling, lifting observers, target practice, as barrage kites, dropping propaganda leaflets etc.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that the Chinese believe that looking at kites high in the sky maintains good eyesight.

• The Chinese believe that when you tilt your head back to look at a kite in the sky your mouth opens slightly, which gets rid of excess body heat giving you a healthy yin-yang balance.

• The Chinese name for a kite is Fen Zheng, which means wind harp. The name is derived from early Chinese kites which used to carry wind musical instruments.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.

• The delta hang glider was a development of flexiwing kite called a Rogallo.

• The first powered aircraft were large box kites with motors fitted to them.

• If a lightweight engine had been invented in Sir George Caleys time he would have beaten the Wright brothers flight by over 150 years.

• Large kites were banned in East Germany because of the possibility of man lifting over the Berlin Wall.

• The fastest crossing of the English Channel towed by kites was 2hrs 30min by a team from Flexifoil International in 1999. They would have done it in 2hrs if the French Coastguards had not stopped them 1/2 a mile from the French coast.

• In China”, that the kite was the most important scientific device to have come to Europe from China.

• When the Japanese were building some of the early temples & shrines they used large kites to lift tiles and other materials to the workmen on the roofs.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that the Russians used kites to tow torpedoes in 1855 with great accuracy.

• The para-gliders that brought back the first space capsules to earth were are the development of the Rogallo Kite invented by Francis Rogallo in 1948. The Rogallo kite was the model for the first hang gliders.

• More adults in the world fly kites than children. In 1826 there used to be a stage coach service between London and Bristol using kites instead of horses.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that there is at least one Kite Festival every weekend of the year in some part of the world.

• There are many indoor Kite Festivals.

• Kites have been used for centuries for fishing.

• Kites are used for bird scaring, forecasting the weather and frightening evil spirits away.

• Approximately 12 people are killed each year in kiting accidents throughout the world.

• It is now thought that the first kites flown over 3000 years ago, were made from leaves.

• In Indonesia leaf kites are still used for fishing.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that Kite flying is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

• The Maori tribes from New Zealand made beautiful birdman kites made from bark cloth
  and leaves.

• Kite flying is popular in most countries except for one or two for example, Iceland and Russia.

• You do not need the wind to fly a kite.

• Each year on the second Sunday of October kite flyers in nearly every country of the World unite and fly a kite to celebrate “ONE SKY ONE WORLD”.

• People were flying kites 1,000years before the paper was invented.

• Kites have been used for thousands of years to lift offerings and give thanks to the Gods for good harvests, fertility, weather, and prosperity.

• There are over 50 million kites sold in the USA every year.

• Alexander Bell, the inventor of the telephone also developed the tetrahedral kite, which was very successfully used for the man carrying.

• In the Orient, kites are given to someone to bring them happiness, good luck, prosperity and cure illness.

• The modern ram air parachute and para-gliders were developed from a parafoil kite invented by the American kite maker Domina Jalbert in 1963.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that Baden-Powell (the brother of the founder of the scout movement) did lots of successful experiment with man-lifting kites.

• Samuel Franklin Cody who invented the Cody man-lifting kite system was the first man to cross the English Channel towed by kites in 1903.

• In 1908 Samuel Franklin Cody was the first man in England to build and fly a powered aircraft, (a large box kite fitted with a small engine). Samuel Franklin Cody was the first man in England to be killed in a powered aircraft accident – 1913.

• In 1901 Marconi used a Hexagon kite to transmit the first radio signals across the Atlantic, the kite line was used as the aeriel.

• Do you know Interesting Fun Facts about Kites is that Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was electricity.

• Lawrence Hargrave was an English man who immigrated to Australia where he invented the box kite in 1893.

• In 1847, a young boy won a competition to fly and land a kite on the other side of the Niagara River. They
  then used the kite line to pull larger cables over the river, enabling them to start work on building the first railway bridge between Canada and the USA.

• Some Japanese kites weigh over 2 tons.

• Kites have been used in many sea rescues.
• The smallest kite in the world which actually flies is 5mm high.

• The largest number of kites flown on a single line is 11,284, this record is held by a Japanese kite maker.

• The longest kite in the world is 1034 metres (3394 ft).

• The largest kite in the world is the Megabite 55 x 22 metres (630sq metres).

• The fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120 mph. (193 km/h).

• The record for the highest single kite flown is 3801 metres (12,471ft).

• The world record for the longest ‘kite fly’ is 180 hours.

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Shocking Facts About Acid Rain You Never Knew

• The term was coined in 1872 by the Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith (1817–1884) to describe the acidic precipitation in Manchester, England.
• Acid rain can also be produced from volcanic eruptions, burning coal and even rotting plant life.

• Acid rain cannot rot your skin. It usually doesn’t taste or smell any different than normal rain.

• The sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that creates acid rain can cause diseases such as cancer, asthma, and even heart disease. It’s a concern in the air, but not in the rain itself.

• The acid in acid rain can damage a car’s paint job, but it won’t melt the car.

• Acid rain can actually kill a forest. The acid rain can kill the leaves on the trees by cutting off their light and nutrient supply. It also changes the acidity in the soil, making it impossible for trees and other plant life to grow. It also poisons the soil and plant life.

• When acid rain lands in the water such as streams, lakes and rivers, it changes the pH and makes the water toxic to the fish and other life in the water.

• Facts About Acid Rain you never knew is that entire lakes have been declared dead because of acid rain.

• Acid rain has a pH of 4.3 while pure water is perfectly balanced at 7.

• Acid rain has the same approximate pH as vinegar and orange juice.

• Rain is not the only type of precipitation that can be called acid rain. Snow, fog, and even dust can contain the same damaging toxins as acid rain.

• Acid rain can be neutralized the same way as the acid can be. In some environments, acid rain is more problematic. For instance, Eastern Canada lacks a natural alkalinity. Lime is able to neutralize the acid, but there is no lime in the ground in some areas and because of this the acid rain is able to do more damage.

• Sulfur dioxide, which is a major contributor to acid rain, is produced by burning fossil fuels and it is a by-product of many industrial processes.

• Facts About Acid Rain you never knew is that a large amount of the acid rain that reaches Canada is the result of emissions in the United States.

• Nitrogen oxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is produced by the exhaust from vehicles, from furnaces and other equipment. A large amount of Canada’s nitrogen oxide emissions originates in the United States.

• Despite major efforts to decrease acid rain, it is still killing lakes and aquatic life. 95,000 lakes in North America have been damaged by acid rain.

• In high-acid environments, lake waters grow unnaturally clear, as plankton and other types of microscopic
  life succumb. The reproduction of aquatic animals is hindered or stopped. Then, too, aluminum and other metals, normally found in harmless compounds, are released from the soil in toxic forms. The aluminum attacks the gills of fish, making breathing difficult. They literally suffocate.

• Facts About Acid Rain you never knew is that Coal is also the source of a worse culprit, sulfur dioxide, which makes up the other 70 percent of acid rain. The annual discharge of these gasses into North American skies is 60 million tons. The atmosphere is becoming a garbage dump.

• In North America, 30 percent of acid rain is caused by nitric oxides-half of which comes from motor vehicle
  exhausts. The other half comes from the burning of fossil fuels, by electric utilities and other industries.

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