If, for some reason, running 26 miles through London’s rainy streets doesn’t appeal to you (or if you’ve applied to take part but haven’t won a spot in the inexplicably popular race) then maybe you’ll need to travel a bit further to find the right competition.
When people say, “Oh, it’s raining cats and dogs,” you know it’s metaphorical. But having done some research, I’ve found some truly peculiar occasions where things other than rain have fallen from the sky. Here’s a list of my favourites:
According to “conventional” history, powered aircraft have only been around since the beginning of the twentieth century. So, if this is true, why were the Quimbaya civilisation making little model aeroplanes a thousand years ago?
The word “electricity” wasn’t even thought of until the 17th century, but that didn’t stop the ancient Parthians from creating (what some people think are) batteries capable of delivering a small electrical charge.
Sometimes described as an “Asian Stonehenge”, the Plain of Jars is an area in Laos covered in thousands of stone jars. The jars have all been carved out of solid rock and range from one metre high (not terribly impressive) all the way up to three metres high (slightly impressive).
Around the world, horses come in many forms – some are giant, some are stripy, some have Frankie Dettori sitting on their back. Here’s a quick gallop around a few of them:
Ahoy! When someone says the word shark, most people think of an enormous, terrifying, man-eating underwater sea creature… Basically, they’re imagining Jaws. But in fact, sharks come in all shapes, sizes and colours (and some of them are rather cute)!
Like many Buddhist temples, the carvings at Ta Prohm include images of Buddha, of animals from the surrounding jungle and of meditating monks. Unlike many Buddhist temples, these carvings also include an image of a stegosaurus.
26% of Icelanders believe elves definitely exist. Not only that, but a further 80% think there’s a chance they might exist – incredible!
Today is the Chinese New Year and, as well as being an excellent excuse for a takeaway, it means that over a billion people will be setting off fireworks and dressing up as dragons. Obviously there’s a bit more to it than that (there’s the animal thing, for a start), so why not join us as we try to find out everything we can about one of the world’s most popular festivals…