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Ocean voyage

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.
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14 Nov 2011 09:11:00
This undated handout photo received from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance on October 28, 2016 shows a adelie penguin jumping onto the ice in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The world's largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after a “momentous” agreement was finally reached on October 28, 2016 with Russia dropping its long-held opposition. A remote and largely pristine stretch of ocean off Antarctica received international protection on Friday, becoming the world's largest marine reserve as a broad coalition of countries came together to protect 598,000 square miles of water. The new marine protected area in the Ross Sea was created by a unanimous decision of the international body that oversees the waters around Antarctica – the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources – and was announced at the commission's annual meeting in Tasmania. The commission comprises 24 countries, including the United States, and the European Union. (Photo by John Weller/AFP Photo/Antarctic Ocean Alliance)

This undated handout photo received from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance on October 28, 2016 shows a adelie penguin jumping onto the ice in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The world's largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after a “momentous” agreement was finally reached on October 28, 2016 with Russia dropping its long-held opposition. (Photo by John Weller/AFP Photo/Antarctic Ocean Alliance)
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29 Oct 2016 11:43:00
Drag Queen Gaypin (R) and her friends attend the three day RuPaul's DragCon, which is billed as the “first convention celebrating drag, queer culture, & self-expression” at the Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 2019. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)

Drag Queen Gaypin (R) and her friends attend the three day RuPaul's DragCon, which is billed as the “first convention celebrating drag, queer culture, & self-expression” at the Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 2019. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)
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28 May 2019 00:07:00
Activists and supporters of Ukrainian nationalist groups light flares during a rally to mark the third anniversary of the Euromaidan Revolution in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, 21 November 2016. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA)

Activists and supporters of Ukrainian nationalist groups light flares during a rally to mark the third anniversary of the Euromaidan Revolution in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, 21 November 2016. About one thousand activists took park in the rally during which they burned tires on the Independence Square, destroyed the Russian bank Sberbank and broke windows in the office of a Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, according to Ukrainian media. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA)
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22 Nov 2016 10:23:00
A protester  throws  a stone towards a burning police bus in front of him, during clashes with police,  in central Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, January 19, 2014. (Photo by Evgeny Feldman/AP Photo)

A protester throws a stone towards a burning police bus in front of him, during clashes with police, in central Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, January 19, 2014. Hundreds of protesters on Sunday clashed with riot police in the center of the Ukrainian capital, after the passage of harsh anti-protest legislation last week seen as part of attempts to quash anti-government demonstrations. The violent scenes further escalated this ex-Soviet republic's political crisis and showed a rift among opposition leaders, one of whom fought bravely to stop the violence, while others condemned the events from afar. (Photo by Evgeny Feldman/AP Photo)
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20 Jan 2014 09:54:00


“The aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth and a special thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out. The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the striped possum. From an ecological point of view the aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker as it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within”. – Wikipedia

Photo: In this handout image from Bristol Zoo is seen the first captive bred aye-aye in the UK named “Kintana” (meaning star in Malagasy) April 15, 2005 at Bristol Zoo Gardens, England. The zoo announced today only the second baby aye-aye to be hand-reared in the world (the first was in Jersey Zoo) and has now made his first public appearance since his birth on 11 February 2005. (Photo by Rob Cousins/Bristol Zoo via Getty Images)
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13 Apr 2011 13:33:00
Australia’s Hannah Fredericks competes in the women’s 200m backstroke heats during the Australian Swimming Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on June 13, 2024. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)

Australia’s Hannah Fredericks competes in the women’s 200m backstroke heats during the Australian Swimming Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre on June 13, 2024. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)
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20 Jun 2024 03:44:00
Daisy Lowe attends day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Edwards/The Sun)

English fashion model Daisy Lowe attends day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Edwards/The Sun)
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21 Jul 2019 00:01:00