A preparatory model of the Imperial State Crown of India worn in 1911 by King George V stands next to original ledgers dating from 1735 in Garrard's flagship store in Mayfair on April 6, 2011 in London, England. Garrard is the world's oldest jewellers having been founded by George Wickes in 1735 and soon after appointed as goldsmith to the Prince of Wales. For over 160 years Garrard held the title of Crown Jeweller, bestowed by Queen Victoria in 1843, Garrard have served six successive monarchs. They have produced several royal crowns as well as the engagement ring presented to Kate Middleton by Prince William and formerly Princess Diana's engagement ring. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Centenarian Sikh runner Fauja Singh poses for pictures after being the first person to officially enter for next year's Edinburgh Marathon on September 1, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. A world record holder, aged 100, Fajua Singh has run seven marathons, all after his 89th birthday. He officially opened the entry process by signing up for his last ever 26 mile event in Edinburgh. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A group of San Bushmen from the Khomani San community practice their hunter-gatherer craft in the Southern Kalahari desert on October 15, 2009 in the Kalahari, South Africa. One of the largest studies of African genetics by an international team from the University of Pennsylvania, published in April 2009, revealed that the San of Southern Africa are the most genetically diverse on earth, and that the San homeland could be the spot where modern humanity began. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Bonhams employee Craig Binns polishes a, 1903 two seater moter car, the world oldest surviving Vauxhall, on November 1, 2012 in London, England. The Car is part of a Veteran Car Sale at Bonhams and is valued at around 80,000 pounds (Photo by Bethany Clarke)

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.

“The most serious health problem in the U.S. today is obesity.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But that pronouncement about obesity’s primacy in the hierarchy of national health problems is not new. Rather, it’s the opening line to a remarkable article published 60 years ago in LIFE magazine. This photographs made by Martha Holmes to illustrate that March 1954 article, titled “The Plague of Overweight.” Photo: Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. (Photo by Martha Holmes/Time & Life Pictures)

Tim Laman is a field biologist and wildlife photojournalist. His pioneering research in the rain forest canopy in Borneo led to a PhD from Harvard and his first National Geographic article in 1997. Since then, he has pursued his passion for exploring wild places and documenting little-known and endangered wildlife by becoming a regular contributor to National Geographic. He has eighteen articles to his credit to date, all of which have had a conservation message. Some have focused on endangered species such as Orangutans or Hornbills, while others, such as a series of articles on Conservation International’s Biodiversity Hotspots, have highlighted regions under intense pressure.

A new species of monkey found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and identified as Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) is seen in this undated photograph from an article published September 12, 2012 in the science journal PLOS One. The monkey was first seen in 2007 by researchers John and Terese Hart of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale Research Project. The finding of C. lomamiensis represents only the second new species of African monkey to be discovered in the past 28 years, according to the research article. (Photo by Hart J. A., Detwiler K. M., Gilbert C. C./Reuters)