11th January 2018
We all know of Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand as one of the first two to climb the world’s highest summit, Mt Everest. He also had another feather on his cap: He was the first person to have reached the three extremes – Mt Everest, the North Pole and the South Pole. Thus, the Three Poles Challenge was born.
23rd September 2016
Cotton gets its name from the Arabic word ‘qutun’, which means fine textile or fabric. Archaeologists have found samples of cotton fabric, as old as 7000 years, at the sites of ancient civilizations, such as Mohenjo Daro, Egypt, and Mexico. Nonetheless, it is difficult to determine the exact period or place when cotton was first used for fabric. Around 2500 BC, Indus Valley civilization had begun cultivating cotton. The oldest cotton balls, discovered in Mexican caves, date back to 5500 BC. Cotton cloths have also been found in graves at ancient burial sites during certain excavations.
23rd June 2016
The pineberry is a mutant form of strawberry, which has white flesh with red seeds. It was discovered by Dutch farmers in France. After six years of cultivation and selection, the commercial varieties were brought under production. Ever since commercial production began, the fruit became a food fad in Britain. However, now it has gone international. Packaged pineberries have become trendy gift items on weddings, birthdays and other occasions in several countries.
3rd June 2016
The first country to issue postage stamps was Great Britain. It issued the first postage stamp on 1 May 1840. These stamps were meant for use only within Great Britain and Ireland, and therefore, functioned almost like local stamps. It is due to this reason that the stamps in Great Britain did not bear the name of the country. With its heritage as the first country that brought postage stamps into use, Great Britain still follows the tradition of printing postage stamps without the country name. The image of the reigning monarch on the stamp marks its identity.