Eshima Ohashi Bridge (Most Amazing Bridge In World), Western Chugoku, Japan

Eshima Ohashi Bridge is a rigid-frame bridge in Japan that connects Matsue, Shimane Prefecture and Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture over Nakaumi lake. It was built from 1997 to 2004. It is the largest rigid-frame bridge in Japan and the third largest in the world. Images of the bridge have been widely circulated on the internet, owing to its seemingly steep nature when photographed from a distance with a telephoto lens, but in actuality the Shimane side has a gradient of 6.1% and Tottori side of 5.1%.

 

Eshima Ohashi Bridge replaced the previous drawbridge. Traffic was obstructed often by ships for about 7 to 8 minutes. Also large vehicles over 14 tons were not allowed on the drawbridge. The drawbridge saw 4,000 vehicles a day cross. 

 

 

 

 

Eshima Ohashi Bridge has become a modest tourist attraction in its own right. The bridge spans 1.7 kilometers over Lake Nakaumi, between Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture and Eshima in Shimane Prefecture. Seen from the Shimane side, the bridge looks impossibly steep. However, in reality, the bridge has a gradient of 6.1% on the Shimane side and 5.1% on the Tottori side. The bridge is the largest rigid-frame bridge in Japan and the third largest in the world. It is often referred to as the world's “craziest” or “scariest” bridge.

Large ships pass under the bridge which necessitated its 45-meter height; the slope angle on the Shimane Prefecture Matsue City side is 3.5 degree and the Tottori Prefecture Sakaiminato City side slopes at a 2.9 degree angle. If you’re taking a picture, in order to see the bridge’s famous “sloping up into the sky” effect, it’s recommended you take pictures from the Matsue City side.

The Eshima Ohashi Bridge is also known as “Betabumizaka.” This essentially means “Pedal-to-the-floor Hill” the reason for this name is that unless you push your car’s accelerator pedal all the way down you won’t be able to continue driving up the steep bridge incline. Of course you can also walk up the bridge, and in fact if you’re driving you won’t be able to enjoy the beautiful views at the top of the bridge like you would if you were walking. The bridge’s night scenery is similarly beautiful. 

Tarkhan Dress (World’s Oldest Dress), University College London Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London

The Tarkhan Dress, named for the Tarkhan cemetery south of Cairo in Egypt where it was excavated in 1913, is an over 5000 years old linen garment that was confirmed as the world's oldest piece of women clothing. The dress coded UC28614B is currently in the collection of the University College London (UCL) Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Radiocarbon testing conducted in 2015 by the University of Oxford affirms, with 95% accuracy, that the dress dates from between 3482 and 3102 BCE.

Researchers have confirmed that a 5,000-year-old linen shirt is the world's oldest known woven garment ever found. The dress was excavated at Tarkhan, an ancient Egyptian cemetery dating back to about 3,000 B.C. In 1913, the shirt, which became known as the Tarkhan dress, lay among a pile of textiles recovered from Egypt's First Dynasty cemetery located 50 kilometers south of Cairo. It was discovered only in 1977, among the filthy bundle of cloth pieces during conservation and cleaning work by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The cloth piece was carefully conserved, stitched onto Crepeline (a fine silk material used in textile conservation), and mounted so it could be seen the way it was worn in life.

The Tarkhan dress was sent to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at University College London in the early 1990s after being found in an Egyptian tomb. The linen garment, with V-neck, pleated sleeves and bodice, is understood to be made by a specialized craftsman for a wealthy person.

Alice Stevenson, the museum’s curator, said: “The early date of the Tarkha dress is unsurprising. “Textile fragments made of flax are known from at least Egyptian Neolithic times, while weaving on horizontal looms is evidenced from at least the early fourth millennium.”

Ms Stevenson said that linen garments, like the Tarkhan, are particularly good to radiocarbon date as they consist of flax fibres that grow over a relatively short time.

The Luna Moth (One Of The Largest Moths In World), North America, United States

The Luna moth (Actias luna) is a Nearcticmoth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly known as giant silk moths. It has lime-green colored wings and a white body. The larvae (caterpillars) are also green. Typically, it has a wingspan of roughly 114 mm (4.5 in), but can exceed 178 mm (7.0 in), making it one of the larger moths in North America. Across Canada, it has one generation per year, with the winged adults appearing in late May or early June, whereas farther south it will have two or even three generations per year, the first appearance as early as March in southern parts of the United States. As defense mechanisms, larvae emit clicks as a warning and also regurgitate intestinal contents, confirmed as having a deterrent effect on a variety of predators. The elongated tails of the hindwings are thought to confuse the echolocation detection used by predatory bats. A parasitic fly deliberately introduced to North America to be a biological control for the invasive species gypsy moth appears to have had a negative impact on Luna moths and other native moths.

 

 

Eggs, attached in small groups to undersides of leaves, are mottled white and brown, slightly oval, and roughly 1.5 millimeters in diameter. Larvae are primarily green, with sparse hairs. The first instar, emerging from the egg, reaches a length of 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in), the second 9–10 mm (0.35–0.39 in), the third 12–16 mm (0.47–0.63 in) and the fourth 23–26 mm (0.91–1.02 in). The fifth (final) instar grows to approximately 70–90 mm (2.8–3.5 in) in length. Small, colorful dots – yellow or magenta – may line the sides of the fourth and fifth instars. The larvae may take on a reddish-brown color just prior to cocooning. Fifth-instar larvae descend to the ground and use silk to bind dead leaves around the cocoon.

The imagoes (winged, sexually mature), often referred to as 'adult moths,' emerge from the pupae with the wings small, crumpled and held close to the body. Over a period of several hours the wings will enlarge to full size. Wingspan is typically 8–11.5 cm (3.1–4.5 in), and in rare instances as much as 17.78 cm (7.00 in). Females and males are similar in size and appearance: green wings, eyespots on both forewings and hind wings, and long, sometimes somewhat twisted tails extending from the back edge of the hindwings. Bodies are white and hairy. Adults have vestigial mouthparts and do not feed. Energy is from fat stores created while a caterpillar. The forward edge of the forewing is dark-colored and thick, tapering in thickness from the thorax to the wing tip. Its color can range from maroon to brown. The eyespots, one per wing, are oval in shape on the forewings and round on the hindwings. Each eyespot can have arcs of black, blue, red, yellow, green or white. The eyespots are thought to confuse potential predators. There are some sex-determined and regional differences in appearance. Females will have a larger abdomen compared to males because it contains 200–400 eggs. Both sexes have antennae, but on the male, much longer and wider. Wing color is blue-green in the north and for the over-wintering generation in the central and southern states; second and third generation wing color has more of a yellow-green tint.

Described and named Phalena plumata caudata by James Petiver in 1700, this was the first North American saturniid to be reported in the insect literature. The initial Latin name, which roughly translates to "brilliant, feather tail", was replaced when Carl Linnaeus described the species in 1758 in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae, and renamed it Phalaena luna, later Actias luna, with luna derived from Luna, the Roman moon goddess. The common name became "Luna moth". Several other North American giant silk moths were also given species names after Roman or Greek mytholog. The Luna moth is found in North America, from east of the Great Plains in the United States – Florida to Maine, and from Saskatchewan eastward through central Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada. Luna moths are also rarely found in Western Europe as vagrant.

 

For More Information- Luna Moth

The Bailong Elevator ( Highest Outdoor Elevator In The world), Zhangjiajie, China

The Bailong Elevator is a glass elevator built onto the side of a huge cliff in the Wulingyuan area of Zhangjiajie, People's Republic of China that is 326 m (1,070 ft) high. It is claimed to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. Construction of the elevator began in October 1999, and it was opened to the public by 2002. The environmental effects of the elevator have been a subject of debate and controversy, as the Wulingyan area was designated a World Heritage Site in 2002. Operations were stopped for 10 months in 2002–2003, reportedly due to safety concerns, not environmental ones. On 16 July 2015, the elevator was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest outdoor lift.

 

The name Bailong means A Hundred Dragons in English. Therefore, Bailong Elevator is also known as Hundred Dragons Elevator. The elevator is located in the World Heritage site Wulingyuan Scenic Area. It took a mere three years to build this architectural marvel! When the proposal of creating such an elevator appeared, the engineers just wanted to help tourists enjoying the scenery in ease and convenient. With the discussion went on, more and more environmental ideas were added. Considering not to upset the natural balance of the neighborhood, half of the elevator was embedded in and half out of the cliff. In order to perfectly “hidden” in the surroundings, all of the elevators were fitted with glass windows. And finally, such a special elevator created. 

 

 

Usually, hiking from the bottom of Yuanjiajie to its top needs about 2 hours so, Bailong Elevator is an attraction itself. Besides, it is also a time-saving way for you to get up or down the hill. Bailong Elevator is very magnificent. The total height of it is 335 meters (1099 feet), of which the running height is 326 meters (1069 feet). 154 meters (505 feet) of the total height is in the mountain wells and the rest of 172 meters (564 feet) was composed of steel derrick and other components. The Elevator includes three exposure sightseeing elevators running parallelly. Each elevator can take 64 passengers every time and the speed is 3 m / s (the speed has been accelerated to 5m / s since 2013). If the three elevators run simultaneously, the amount of one-way passengers will reach 4,000 per hour.

The construction of Bailong Elevator can allow people to “go sightseeing up the mountain during the day, stay down the mountain at night in one day". So it provides convenience in transportation for visitors. Moreover, passengers can appreciate peerless scenery in the elevator, including World Bridge of Yuanjiajie, Wulong village and Yangjiajie etc. The elevator integrates Mount Tianzi, Yuanjiajie, Jinbian Stream as a single entity, solving traffic bottlenecks problem in this scenic spot which bothers the visitors for many years.

Dubai Miracle Garden, Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Dubai Miracle Garden is a flower garden located in the district of Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The garden was launched on Valentine's Day in 2013. The garden occupies over 72,000 square metres (780,000 sq ft), making it the world's largest natural flower garden featuring over 50 million flowers and 250 million plants. In April 2015, the garden was awarded the Moselle Award for New Garden Experiences of the year by the Garden Tourism Award 2015.

The concept of the first miracle garden project was formed under an agreement between Dubailand and the Dubai Properties Group destination. The project development was done under an agreement with Akar Landscaping and Agriculture Company, led by Jordanian businessman Abdel Naser Rahhal. The cost of the project was estimated at AED 40 million (US$11 million). Phase one of the project was completed and opened in February 2013 which consisted of 21,000 sq. ft. outdoor facility including vertical and horizontal landscaping design where each of them have their own design. The development of phase one took two months and required 400 workers. Phase two of the project was initiated in mid-June 2013 and was completed in October, where it involved the 70 percent expansion of the 21,000 sq ft and construction of the 850,000 sq ft multistory car park, which increased the total area of the garden to 2 million sq ft. Phase two development also included the addition of the floral clock, the butterfly garden, retail stores and mosques.

 

 

The Dubai Miracle Garden operates from October to April and remains closed from May to September due to high temperatures with an average of 40 °C (104 °F), which is not conducive for flower viewing. The flowers are maintained by re-use of treated wastewater through drip irrigation method with an average amount of 757,082 litres (166,535 imperial gallons; 200,000 US gallons) of water per day. According to the officials of Dubai Miracle Garden, the Dubai municipality retreats the grey water of the city and sends it directly to the garden. The garden again re-filters the water and converts it to a very high quality water for its usage at the garden. The garden is only watered after the closing hours at night. In 2015 Dubai Miracle Garden opened the Dubai Butterfly Garden, the world’s largest and the region’s first indoor butterfly garden and sanctuary for over 15,000 butterflies from 26 species.

As part of a licensing deal between the Dubai Miracle Garden and The Walt Disney Company, a topiary of Mickey Mouse was unveiled in February 2018. Flower structures of Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, and Huey, Dewey, and Louie were installed later that year. The Dubai Miracle garden has so far made 3 Guinness World Records. In 2013; the Dubai Miracle garden was declared as the world's largest vertical garden. Currently; an Airbus A380 flower structure in the garden is listed by Guinness World Records as the biggest flower structure in the world. The 18 metres (59 ft) topiary of Mickey Mouse, which weighs almost 35 tonnes, is the tallest topiary supported sculpture in the world.

A scene of a Bollywood film Hamari Adhuri Kahani, starring Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan, was shot in the garden. The director, Mohit Suri, stated that though Dubai was generally known for its high-tech buildings and modern landscapes, he wanted to romanticise it and show its softer side.

 

For More Information - The Dubai Miracle Garden