TriviaTales & Captures! #29
A voyage through 3 trivia’s, 2 fun facts, 1 photograph.
A newsletter recommending good examples of storytelling across:
3 Trivia
2 Fun Facts, and
1 Photograph.
Let's dive in…
Trivia’s:
1. Geography:
Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished by its characteristic brown (algae)_______ seaweed.
It is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. On the west bounded by the Gulf Stream, on the north by the North Atlantic Current, on the east by the Canary Current, and on the south by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current.
It is also a body of water that has captured the public imagination, and so is seen in a wide variety of literary and artistic works and in popular culture, often portrayed in literature and the media as an area of mystery and depicted in fiction as a dangerous area where ships are mired in weed for centuries, unable to escape.
Name the sea named after _____ (brown Algae).
2. Travel:
In the popular anime series Naruto, there is a significant landmark known as the Hokage Monument (shown in the image), which features the faces of the five Hokages carved into a mountainside.
This monument bears a striking resemblance to a famous real-world landmark located in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the United States, which also features the carved faces of four prominent leaders.
What is the name of the real-world monument that served as the inspiration for the Hokage Monument?
Are you too a Naruto Fan like me? or thinks Naruto changed everything!
Comment below - Who's your absolute favorite character and why? Is it their jutsu, their backstory, or their personality that makes them number one? Let's discuss!
3. Technology:
Tatsuo Horiuchi, a talented Japanese artist has been creating artworks depicting mountains, cherry blossoms, and dense forests, all using a very unconventional tool. He found an unlikely ally in a software that many people use for some other official purpose. This is because it has “more functions and is easier to use” than other painting software. His artworks are often compared with Michelangelo. Example- Image
Name the tool used to create his extraordinary digital art?
Fun Facts:
A Glittering History: The Evolution of Olympic Medals
While the Greeks held the first Olympics in 776 BC, awarding winners with olive wreaths, the modern Olympic movement, re-established in 1896, initially took a different approach to recognizing athletic excellence.
The inaugural modern Olympics in Athens awarded silver medals to first-place finishers and bronze to those in second. Gold, curiously absent, was yet to make its grand entrance.
The 1900 Paris Olympics took an even more unconventional route, forgoing medals altogether in favor of trophies and other prizes. It was as if the Olympic committee was still experimenting with different ways to honor athletes.
It wasn’t until the 1904 St. Louis Olympics that the familiar pattern of gold, silver, and bronze was finally established. This marked a turning point, as the three-tiered medal system provided a clear and standardized way to distinguish the top three performers in each event.
So, the next time you watch an Olympic athlete stand on the podium, take a moment to appreciate the history behind their medal. It’s a tradition that has evolved over time, ultimately becoming a universally recognized symbol of athletic achievement.
Did you know the ancient Greeks invented the world’s first telecommunications device? The hydraulic telegraph, created in the 4th century BC by Aeneas Tacticus, allowed long-distance military messages to be sent across Alexander the Great's empire! Using water-filled containers and floating rods inscribed with pre-arranged messages like “Enemy on sight” or “We need wheat,” operators synchronized their movements to communicate effectively. This ingenious system, detailed in Aeneas’ work and preserved by historian Polybius, shows the incredible ingenuity of ancient Greek technology.
Know more
Photograph of the Day:
Tungnath:
Tungnath Temple is one of the highest Shiva temples in the world and is the highest of the five Panch Kedar temples located in the Rudraprayag district, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Tungnath (literal meaning: Lord of the peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys. It is located at an altitude of 3,680 m (12,073 ft), and just below the peak of Chandrashila. It has a rich legend linked to the Pandavas, heroes of the Mahabharata epic.
According to Hindu history, Shiva and his wife, Parvati both reside in the Himalayas: Shiva resides at Mount Kailash. Parvati is also called Shailaputri, which means 'Daughter of the Mountain'.
The Pandavas defeated Kauravas in the epic Kurukshetra war. They wished to atone for the sins of committing fratricide (gotra hatya) and Brāhmanahatya (killing of Brahmins — the priest class) during the war. Thus, they handed over the reins of their kingdom to their kin and left in search of Shiva and to seek his blessings. First, they went to the holy city of Varanasi (Kashi), believed to be Shiva's favourite city and known for its Kashi Vishwanath Temple. But, Shiva wanted to avoid them as he was deeply incensed by the death and dishonesty at the Kurukshetra war and was, therefore, insensitive to Pandavas' prayers. Therefore, he assumed the form of a bull (Nandi) and hid in the Garhwal region.
As per the Hindu mythology, not finding Shiva in Varanasi, the Pandavas went to Garhwal Himalayas. Bhima, the second of the five Pandava brothers, then standing astride two mountains started to look for Shiva. He saw a bull grazing near Guptakashi (“hidden Kashi” — the name derived from the hiding act of Shiva). Bhima immediately recognized the bull to be Shiva. Bhima caught hold of the bull by its tail and hind legs. But the bull-formed Shiva disappeared into the ground to later reappear in parts, with the hump raising in Kedarnath, the arms appearing in Tungnath, the face showing up at Rudranath, the nabhi (navel) and stomach surfacing in Madhyamaheshwar and the hair appearing in Kalpeshwar. The Pandavas pleased with this reappearance in five different forms, built temples at the five places for venerating and worshipping Shiva. The Pandavas were thus freed from their sins.
A variant of the tale credits Bhima of not only catching the bull, but also stopping it from disappearing. Consequently, the bull was torn asunder into five parts and appeared at five locations in the Kedar Khand of Garhwal region of the Himalayas (The arms in Tungnath, the hump in Kedarnath, the face in Rudranath, the navel in Madhyamaheshwar, and the hair in Kalpeshwar). After building the Panch Kedar Temples, the Pandavas meditated at Kedarnath for salvation, performed yagna (fire sacrifice) and then through the heavenly path called the Mahapanth (also called Swargarohini), attained heaven or salvation. The Panch Kedar Temples are constructed in the North-Indian Himalayan Temple "Katyuri" architecture with the Kedarnath, Tungnath and Madhyamaheshwar temples looking similar.
Legend also states that Rama, meditated at the Chandrashila peak which is close to Tungnath, in India.
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