“There are over 680 documented species of the sac fungus genus Ophiocordyceps, and one of the best known of these is Ophiocordyceps sinensis, colloquially known as caterpillar fungus. The fungus is known in Tibetan as yartsa gunbu or yatsa gunbu. O. sinensis is known in the West as a medicinal mushroom and its use has a long history in Traditional Chinese medicine as well as Traditional Tibetan medicine. The highly valuable fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected and is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Nomads dig for Chinese caterpillar fungus from a mountain May 25, 2007 in Guide County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Nomads can earn about 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan (about U.S. $260 to $653 ) through their work during the fifty-day Chinese caterpillar fungus gathering season. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

If we asked you to think of your favorite cute animal, you might not immediately list a duck, but when you see this Reddit user and his pet duckling Peeps you may change your mind. Peeps is fuzzy, he’s lovable and he grew up in a beard (really). The man initially bought Peeps as an egg, thinking he was a chicken. He was wrong, but he didn’t care, it turned out to be one of the cutest friendships ever.

In this photo provided by Skydive Chicago, escape artist Anthony Martin falls while handcuffed and locked inside a box after being dropped from an airplane over Ottawa, Ill., Tuesday, August 6, 2013. (Photo by Joe Silva/AP Photo/Courtesy of Skydive Chicago)

Fans dressed in Spider-Man outfits gather at a promotional event for the forthcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming” movie at the Art Science Museum in Singapore on June 7, 2017. The movie will be shown in cinemas around the world from July 5 onwards. (Photo by Toh Ting Wei/AFP Photo)

Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

Ecuador fans ahead of the FIFA World Cup Group A match at the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor on Sunday, November 20, 2022. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Wire Press Association)

A participant wearing a cosplay costume attends the Japan Expo in Marseille, France, February 22, 2019. (Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters)

Female members of the Hammer tribe from the village of Turmi, situated in southern Ethiopia near the Kenyan border, dance as part of a ritual called the “bull jumping ceremony” that takes place during the passage of a young boy to adulthood, in Turmi, Ethiopia, 25 September 2019. (Photo by Stéphanie Lecocq/EPA/EFE)