The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).
After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States, the emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack.
The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.
The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.
It is believed that in a small town in North Eastern part of India (Jatinga) birds commit suicide in a particular 1.5 km long and around 200 meters wide strip of field area.
These birds are not suicidal since their behavior may be attributed to heavy rains and floods and submergence of their natural habitat in the surrounding areas. Also the local villagers light torches which attract the birds migrating at night. They then clobber them to death with bamboo poles and eat them!
1- The honey bee has been around 30 millions of years.
2- There are over 12000 species of bees.
3- Bees have two stomachs - one stomach for eating and the other special stomach is for storing nectar collected from flowers or water so that they can carry it back to their hive.
4- Worker bees are the smallest bees in the colony.
5- Bees cannot recognize the color red.
6- The honey bee's wings stroke incredibly fast, about 200 beats per second, thus making their famous, distinctive buzz. A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.
7- Honey bees communicate with one another by "dancing".
8- Do you know that Queen bees lay nearly 1500 eggs a day and live for up to 2 years?
9- The queen is the only sexually developed female in the hive.
10- In the course of her lifetime, a worker bee will produce 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey.
11- A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen.
12- It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
1- The elephant is the only animal with four knees.
2- Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.
3- Elephants typically reach puberty at thirteen or fourteen years of age.
4- Elephants flap their ears to keep cool.
5- They may live seventy years or possibly more.
6- Elephants cry, play, have incredible memories, and laugh!
7- Elephants are sensitive fellow animals where if a baby complains, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it.
8- Elephants use their feet to listen, they can pick up sub-sonic rumblings made by other elephants, through vibrations in the ground.
9- Elephants grieve at a loss of a stillborn baby, a family member, and in many cases other elephants.
10- Elephants don't drink with their trunks, but use them as "tools" to drink with. This is accomplished by filling the trunk with water and then using it as a hose to pour it into the elephant's mouth.
11- Elephants have greeting ceremonies when a friend that has been away for some time returns to the group.
12- Elephants spend up to 16-18 hours per day eating.
1- Lions are the only social cats, living in groups called prides.
2- Lion is known as the king of beasts for his bravery and fighting skills!
3- The lion has the smallest heart of all beasts of prey.
4- The sense of smell of a lion is so sharp that it can not only tell if prey is nearby, but also ascertain how long ago it was in the area
5- After eating, a thirsty lion may drink for as long as 20 minutes.
6- Lions in the wild live for around 12 years.
7- Female lions do most of the hunting.
8- Lion cubs are born with grayish spots that fade by the time they are 3 months old.
9- A lion's roar can be heard up to 5 miles away.
10- Lions spend most of their day resting as they hunt during the night hours until dawn.
11- The heaviest lion on record weighed an amazing 375 kg (826 lb)
1- The ostrich is a member of the ratite family of birds.
2- The ostrich is the biggest known bird in the whole world.
3- This large bird can't fly though although it has big wings.
4- An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
5- Ostrich is the fastest two-legged runner in the whole world
6- It kicks forward. Seems strange?
7- It is said that the ostrich can even outrun a deer that is galloping in full speed!
8- The female ostrich has an extraordinary ability to spot her own eggs even when they get mixed up with eggs of other females in their collective nest.
9- Ostriches skeletons and fossils have been found which date back over 120 million years; ostriches are a true dinosaur.
10- Ostriches cannot fly.
11- Ostriches can run up to 70km/hr(40 mph) and can outpace most pursuers, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas.
12- Ostrich's egg weigh is 3 1/2 pounds.
13- Ostriches stick their heads in the sand to look for water.
1- Cow is a member of the Bovidae family and is a part of the subfamily Bovinae.
2- A cow has 206 bones.
3- Cow is One of the most common animals in the world, found in almost all the countries.
4- Cows can drink up to 35 gallons of water a day.
5- A cow usually spends 6-7 hours in day eating cud and around 8 hours on chewing it.
6- Did you know that most cows produce more milk when they listen to classical music?
7- A cow stands up and sits down about 14 times a day.
8- A cow produces around 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.
9- Cows, like my granny, do not have upper teeth.
10- Cows do not bite grass; rather they curl their tongue around it.
