The Most Remarkable Creations of Man and Nature | Part 3

This extreme beach became famous because a runway of the airport is located right next to it, so landing and departing planes fly just 10–20 meters above the heads of vacationers.

Visitors in the central part of the beach risk injury or even death, since the speed of airflows from jet engines can reach 160 km/h. However, many vacationers do not leave the beach during takeoffs or landings to experience the thrill.

Steinway Tower is an 82-story supertall residential building with a height of 435 meters, standing on a foundation just 32 by 61 meters (about the size of two basketball courts).

The construction of this unusual building was completed in 2021, after nearly 6 years of work. The construction cost amounted to 2 billion USD.

Steinway Tower is the 3rd tallest skyscraper in New York, the 4th tallest building in the United States, and ranks 28th among the tallest buildings in the world (as of 2022).

The Methuselah Pine was discovered in 1953 by botanist Edmund Schulman. In 1958, an article about it was published in National Geographic magazine.

The approximate estimate of the germination time of the seed from which this tree grew is 2831 BC (thus, as of 2022, the approximate age of the tree is 4852 years).

The exact location of the Methuselah Tree is kept secret to prevent vandalism.

More interesting facts about the oldest tree in our article ☛

In the second half of the 19th century, it was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria (also known as the “Fairy Tale King”). The castle was intended to be the Bavarian king’s private retreat but was opened to the public shortly after Ludwig’s death in 1886. Since then, more than 60 million people from all over the world have visited it.

It is no coincidence that Neuschwanstein Castle is considered the most fairytale-like castle. Its walls reflect the magical world of the “Song of the Nibelungs,” medieval legends of Parsifal, Lohengrin, and Tannhäuser, the Holy Grail, Tristan and Isolde... Masters worked long and carefully on every hall and every mural. Every detail here is a true work of art. But for this very reason, the construction progressed very slowly and was not even completed during Ludwig’s lifetime. For example, 14 carpenters worked for 4.5 years solely on the woodcarving of one bedroom.

At the same time, the king had an extraordinary talent for combining fantasy with reality: despite its otherworldly appearance, the castle was equipped with the most advanced technology of its time. The royal apartments featured hot-air central heating, toilets with automatic flushing systems, an electric bell system for summoning servants, and even telephones on several floors!

Having grown in just 20 years, Las Vegas became an oasis in the desert. The city is home to more than a hundred casinos, several thousand gaming pavilions, and many luxurious hotels.

Numerous casinos, hotels, daily concerts, and shows attract tourists from all over the world. Every year, Las Vegas is visited by more than 40 million people.

This wonder of engineering is located in an artificial lake covering more than 12 hectares next to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. It is one of the largest and tallest fountains in the world. Its length is 275 meters, and the jets reach up to 150 meters in height — about the height of a 50-story building. Lights and music bring the fountain to life.

The Dubai Fountain can shoot up to 83 tons of water into the air per second. Its system uses 6600 spotlights and 25 colored projectors. The fountain can create streams of various shapes, and its beams of light can be seen within a 32 km radius.

If the same proportions were applied to a human head, it would become three times larger, and we would look like mutants.

The average human brain weighs 1.6 kg, which is just over 2% of our body weight. An ant’s brain weighs about 0.3 mg. Although the number of neurons in an ant’s brain is only a tiny fraction of those in the human brain, an ant colony is a true superorganism. An average anthill of 40,000 ants has roughly the same number of brain cells as a human.

According to the manufacturer, the Airo car is equipped with a highly efficient air filtration system for particulate matter that can remove pollutants from other vehicles. The fully electric car has both autonomous and driver-controlled modes.

The trunks of these giant trees are wrapped with ferns, vines, and other tropical plants, while their crowns are formed by metal structures. Moreover, these concrete-and-steel structures imitate the life processes of real trees — they use solar energy for some important functions.

At night, these fantastic plants shine thanks to energy-storing photovoltaic panels installed on some of them. Other trees are designed for greenhouse air conditioning and rainwater collection, which supplies fountains and irrigation.