The most outstanding creations of man and nature (part 8)

The old, out-of-the-way town of Yanjin is built along a river, with houses located on both sides of its banks. The limited geographical conditions make the available space in the city very small, and the buildings here are mostly built on stilts.

The city is home to about 63,000 people. The narrowest part of Yanjin is only 30 meters wide, and the widest part of the city is about 300 meters. The city’s buildings are set on high stilts, which act as a precaution against rising water levels during periods of heavy flooding.

Videos of the city regularly go viral due to its uniqueness and the surrounding natural beauty. To get a better look at the narrowest city in the world, watch a high-quality video we’ve selected for you on YouTube. Watch the video ☛

The Dubai Mall is located in what is called “the most prestigious square kilometer in the world,” in the Downtown Dubai district, which is built around the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

Under one roof, it houses 1,200 stores, as well as world-class cultural and entertainment facilities. Among the unique facilities located under the roof of the Dubai Mall is the world’s largest indoor aquarium, where you can see more than 33,000 fish and marine animals, including sharks and rays.

This mall still holds the title of the world’s most visited shopping and leisure destination, attracting more than 65 million visitors annually.

More interesting facts about the world’s largest shopping mall can be found in our article ☛

Male bustards are very large and heavy, growing over 1 meter in length and weighing up to 18 kg.

The bustard is a steppe bird, inhabiting the steppes and semi-deserts of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Northwestern Africa.

Despite being a strong flyer, the bustard prefers to move on the ground. Even in danger, the bird tries to run away first, reaching quite a high speed.

The catastrophic decline in bustard numbers is due to two factors, both related to humans. The first is mass and uncontrolled hunting, which reached its peak in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The second important reason is the conversion of land suitable for bird nesting into farmland: plowing virgin and fallow land, intensive hay mowing, planting shelterbelts, building irrigation systems, roads, and high-voltage power lines.

Bustards, despite their large size, are capable of flying at high speeds and often get injured or killed by air electrical cables, which are laid at the height of their flight. Bustards also sometimes die from collisions with cars.

The bustard is listed in the European Red List, included in the Red Book of Ukraine, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Bonn and Bern Conventions.

At the international level, the protection of bustards is also managed by the “International Bustard Conservation Foundation,” a nonprofit organization operating with the support of the government of Abu Dhabi. The project manages an international network of bustard breeding centers to increase their numbers across their natural range.

The name of this genus of scorpions (Androctonus) is translated from ancient Greek as “man-killer.”

Several pharmaceutical companies even produce antidotes to treat intoxications caused by Androctonus venom.

These scorpions inhabit semi-arid and arid regions of the Middle East and Africa. Scorpions of this genus reach up to 10 cm in length.

Despite the risk of keeping such a dangerous venomous species in captivity, Arabian fat-tailed scorpions are often found in the exotic pet trade. The main diet of the fat-tailed scorpion in captivity consists of cockroaches, grasshoppers, and crickets. However, the fat-tailed scorpion can go without food for months.

Scorpions usually try to kill and eat everything that moves and is smaller than themselves. Fat-tailed scorpions kill their prey by first crushing it with their pincers and then injecting venom from their sting. Once stung, the venom causes paralysis, allowing the scorpion to easily eat it.

In 2022, the Guinness World Records reported the longest horn span (from tip to tip) in the following cattle:

• 323.7 cm — bull named Poncho Via;
• 265.1 cm — cow named 3S Danica;
• 262.5 cm — bull named Cowboy Tuff Chex.

All three were Texas Longhorns.

Texas Longhorns are descendants of the first cattle brought to America by Christopher Columbus and Spanish settlers.

Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloration and can be any color and combination of colors; the most famous is a dark red and white combination.

Due to their inherent docile nature and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained for riding.

The Texas Longhorn has become a common symbol of the state of Texas (USA), especially the University of Texas at Austin, whose mascot it is. In the 21st century, elite pedigree Texas Longhorns can sell at auction for $40,000 or more. The record price of $380,000 was set on March 18, 2017, for the cow 3S Danica with her calf at the Legacy XIII sale in Fort Worth, Texas.

We have also selected a video demonstrating the huge horns of this animal. Watch the video ☛

The Pando tree is a clonal colony of an individual tree — a species of poplar. In essence, it’s an entire poplar forest. However, this forest is a single living organism with identical DNA markers and a massive root system.

This poplar colony grows in the United States, in Utah, in the Fishlake National Forest.

Pando has more than 40,000 stems that die off individually and are replaced by new stems growing from its roots. Individual trunks of this species of poplar typically do not live more than 100–130 years.

More interesting facts about the Pando tree can be found in our article ☛

Dragon bamboo is a giant bushy bamboo found in the Chinese province of Yunnan and in Laos. One plant eventually consists of about 100 stems.

The tallest specimen of dragon bamboo was found in southwestern China, in Yunnan Province, in a man-made bamboo forest in Menghai. This bamboo plant was 46 meters tall.

Each stem of dragon bamboo can reach 36 cm in diameter and weigh up to 450 kg. The thickness of the stem walls reaches 5.8 cm. This bamboo was unknown to science until 1980, although, of course, it has been well known to the inhabitants of Yunnan and Laos for centuries.

During a series of tests conducted at the Long Key fishing camp in Florida, USA, a sailfish swam 91 meters in 3 seconds, equivalent to a speed of 109 km/h.

Sailfish inhabit tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters of all oceans. It penetrates from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.

Sailfish grow very quickly. Young individuals reach 1.5–2 meters in length by the age of one year, and adults grow to a length of 3.5 meters with a mass of about 100 kg.

The sailfish’s distinctive feature is its high, long first dorsal fin, which resembles a sail. During fast swimming, the sail folds and retracts into a special groove on the back. The anal and long pelvic fins are also retracted. When making sharp turns at high speeds, the fins suddenly rise. Sometimes sailfish drift slowly at the water’s surface with the sail fully spread, protruding above the water.

Another feature of sailfish is their long spear-like snout (“spear”), giving them some resemblance to swordfish.

It has been documented that sailfish attack humans in self-defense. A 45-kilogram sailfish struck a woman in the groin with its “spear” when her group tried to catch it.

Don Juan Pond is a shallow, flat-bottomed, hypersaline pond. The size of the lake is 100 meters by 300 meters. The depth is only 10 cm. The area and volume of this lake change over time, and in recent years the pond has shrunk significantly.

The lake was discovered in 1961 and named after the helicopter pilots who first documented it — Don Roe and John Hickey. At the time of the lake’s discovery, the water temperature was -30°C, but there was no ice on it.

Don Juan Pond does not freeze even in winter when the air temperature drops to -53°C.