Known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, 40 miles off the coast of southeast India in the Indian Ocean within the Bay of Bengal. Sri Lanka is 25,332 mi², just slightly larger than the US state of West Virginia. Scholars actually believe that Sri Lanka and India were once connected by a land bridge thousands of years ago, but it has since been washed into the ocean.

Buddhism is Sri Lanka's major religion, practiced by over 70% of the population. Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity make up the remainder. If you're looking for one of the most diverse, highest concentration of cultural spots within a small area, look no further than Sri Lanka.

The SS Richard Montgomery is an American warship from the second world war that sunk in the river Thames just outside of London. Her cargo contains 1400 tonnes of dynamite and other explosives. If the ship ever explodes, it will take the city with it. On board is an assortment of more than 9,000 US-made explosives (around 1,400 tones). These include 286 giant 2,000lb ‘blockbuster’ bombs, 4,439 1,000lb devices and more than 2,500 cluster bombs. Cluster bombs would have been transported with their fuses in place, leaving them more prone to accidental detonation.

On February 3rd, 1863 Samuel Clemens used the pen name Mark Twain for the first time in a Virginia City newspaper, the "Territorial Enterprise". Before using the pen name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens had previously used the names “Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass”, “Sieur Louis de Conte”, “John Snook” and just “Josh”.

Groundhogs are the largest species in the squirrel family. Other names for groundhogs include woodchucks, whistle-pigs and land-beavers. On average groundhogs are 20" long with 6-7" tail, and weigh about 6-12 lbs. Their average lifespan in the Wild is 3-6 years.

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The Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is always celebrated on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice. In 2022 this falls on February 1st, when we will usher in the Year of the Water Tiger.

In ancient times, the Chinese legend goes, the Jade Emperor held a race among all the animals. The 12 first animals to cross the finish line would get to be honored forever as the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Tigers are known as a symbol of strength and bravery, and people born in the year of the Tiger are said to have these traits as well. 2022 is going to be a good year for Tigers to get married, fall in love, or get promoted!

STS-107 was the disastrous 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 16 January 2003 and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes, 32 seconds in orbit.

On February 1st, Columbia began re-entry as planned, but the heat shield was compromised due to damage sustained during the initial ascent. The heat of re-entry was free to spread into the damaged portion of the orbiter, ultimately causing its disintegration and the loss of all on board.

Columbia was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in March 1979. Two years later, April 12, 1981, it lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center to become the first shuttle to fly in orbit.

The crew of its final voyage were 3 Mission Specialists; David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, a Payload Specialist and Commander; Ilan Ramon and Michael Anderson, Shuttle Commander; Rick Husband, and Shuttle Pilot; William McCool.

Arlington National Cemetery is the home of a Columbia memorial which is dated and has an outline of a Shuttle.

Laughing synchronizes the brains of both speaker and listener so that they become emotionally attuned. It also relaxes the whole body, even just watching people laugh activates the brain to prepare facial muscles to join in!

The tea bag was invented accidentally when New York merchant Thomas Sullivan sent out tea samples in silk bags and customers put them directly into teapots.

When temperatures dip into the 40s and 30s green iguanas in south Florida fall from the trees.. It's become such a concern that there are falling iguana warnings on the news! Iguanas can grow up to 6ft and 26lbs, so this isn't a small concern!! (3min audio)

January 10th, 1992 - A container ship from Hong Kong was trapped in a terrible storm. As the waves tossed the ship around, 29,000 rubber duckies escaped their container but were reclaimed by Davey Jones. Believed to have been lost at sea, they began washing ashore, and they are still finding land all over the world 30 years later!

Pine cones can stay on tree for more than 10 years before dropping to the ground. We can eat approximately 20 types of pine nuts. They are said to have a buttery taste. They are soft, white seeds found inside pine cones. Pine nuts aren’t usually eaten raw. They are toasted to make them crunchy. Only 20 varieties of pine tree worldwide produce cones with large enough pine nuts for harvesting.

Cats have fewer toes on their back paws. They have five toes on the front, their foreleg. One of these toes is the dewclaw which sits higher up on the foot and does not actually come into contact with the ground. Some cats can have more toes than you can count!

Hudson Bay has less gravity as compared to the rest of the world. You will officially weigh less than you would anywhere else in the world.

Agent 355 was a female spy who worked directly for George Washington during the American Revolution, and was one of the first spies for the United States. Her real identity is still unknown to this day.

The Ozarks are an incredible region of the United States, popularized by tourism and the Netflix series. It's home to a rich history as well as vast and unique population, with interesting local folklore. One such story is that of the Blue Man who is believed to have made this region home.

The speed and the physical characteristics of sound vary with the change in its ambient conditions. Our ears are capable of hearing sound waves which lie in the range between 20 and 20,000 vibrations per second. Sound waves travel through solid matter, such as iron, stone, and steel, must faster than it moves through the air. Let's find out more!

KongThong is located in a beautiful lush region of Meghalaya. It's in this village that a unique language based on music exists. When a child is about to be born, the mother starts preparing a unique tone for her child. No two people have the same tone and is inspired by the sounds of birds and nature. They use this for their whole life to communicate.

The living root bridges of Meghalaya are a wonder of the world. The roots of rubber trees are put into hollow betel nut plant trunks and positioned to grow over rivers. Once to the other side, the roots are fortified and a natural bridge continues to grow!

Meghalaya is home to some of the most gorgeous lakes, hiking trails, mysterious caves and beautiful waterfalls. The state has a flourishing tourism industry, with around 1.28 million annual visitors, and has won the Guinness world record title for the wettest place on Earth with about 11,873 milliliters of rain annually.

Although the Canary Islands are an autonomous region of Spain, they are 62 miles away from Morocco but 1,700 miles from mainland Spain. The island is not named after the wild canary bird, the bird was named after the islands!