Snow Falling in the Desert, Lakes Within Lakes,… Here are 10 incredible facts about famous wonders that you might find hard to believe actually exist.
Most of us think of deserts as the hottest places on Earth, where snow is an unseen phenomenon. However, the truth is that it has happened before. Snow can indeed fall in the desert, and this white spectacle can even be seen from space. (Image: Shutterstock)
As children, we probably overlooked an interesting detail from the show SpongeBob SquarePants, which featured underwater beaches. Now as adults, it may seem absurd, but the fact below might surprise you. There are indeed real-life underwater lakes, known as brine pools, which can have extremely high salinity. Combined with other factors, this water concentration is toxic to most animal species, including humans. Only a few creatures can endure the harsh conditions to live in or near them. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
The Danakil Depression is also known as the “Gateway to Hell” on Earth, as its surface resembles another planet. This salt desert is located in Ethiopia and is often regarded as the hottest place on Earth. It features a unique landscape formed by the drift of tectonic plates and contains volcanoes, salt lakes, and lava lakes. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
This volcanic complex is located in Indonesia. At night, seeing blue flames flowing down the island of Java is a common sight in this area. This intense blue color is formed by the combustion of sulfuric gas. Some may mistakenly think the flowing material is blue lava. (Image: © Muhammad Rofiul Haq / Wikimedia Commons, © CC BY-SA 4.0)
It’s hard to imagine that the Sphinx of Giza once stood in a lush green paradise. However, if the Sahara Desert’s environment had not changed, this could have been a reality. Scientists believe that this vast desert was once a tropical rainforest, home to incredible wildlife such as hippos. The sudden shift in the ecosystem was due to changes in the Earth’s axial tilt. Research suggests that a green Sahara Desert could occur again in the future. (Image: Shutterstock)
When visiting Chichén Itzá in Mexico, you can stand at the base of the El Castillo Pyramid and clap to hear the sound echo like a bird call. It’s the sound of a Quetzal bird echoing all around. It remains unclear whether the architects intended to design the pyramid to create this sound, but it is still an astonishing sight. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Due to damage to the structure of Machu Picchu, it is believed that the city endured several earthquakes while being constructed. This is why we see a change in construction methods—from interlocking carved stones to stacked uncarved stones like those in the image. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Some lucky people in Iceland can enjoy a nature-given oven, as they can bake bread in volcanic soil. This unique method has been a part of Icelandic life for generations. They utilize the heat emitted from underground hot springs to bake bread. After preparing the dough, they place it in a pot and bury it in the ground near the hot spring, waiting to emerge with delicious volcanic bread. (Image: East News)
This forest is located in Poland, and in addition to regular pine trees, it features several trees that distinctly form a J shape. No one truly knows how these trees came to have this shape; some have tried to attribute unusual theories to them. Some believe the trees were buried under heavy snow when they first started growing, causing their trunks to bend. However, this hypothesis may be incorrect, as there are surrounding pine trees in the area that have normal shapes. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Recently, the mask of Tutankhamun—an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty—was damaged by staff at a museum. It remains unclear exactly what happened, but the beard on the mask was completely broken. In attempts to repair it, someone reattached the beard, but when they tried to remove excess glue, the beard was scratched. This was a significant damage to this valuable artifact. (Image: East News)
