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“The saguaro (scientific name Carnegiea gigantea) is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S. The saguaro blossom is the State Wildflower of Arizona”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Daniel Appel (L), a firefighter with Engine 84 from the Lassen National Forest in California and Mike Hallen, (R), Arizona representative of the National Register of Big Trees, measure the circumference of this Saguaro cactus called the "Grand One," in the Tonto National Forest on July 1, 2005 35 miles north of Phoenix, near Carefree, Arizona. The cactus, estimated to be more than 200 years old, measures a circumference of 7 feet, 10 inches (2.4 meters) and stands 46 feet high (14 meters). The cactus was burned in the Cave Creek Complex fire and may not survive. It was once the largest Saguaro in the world, two others have been found recently that have tied it's measurements. The fire has burned more than 214,000 acres of the Sonoran desert. (Photo by Jeff Topping/Getty Images)
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26 Jul 2011 12:27:00
Sikorsky H-5 helicopters

“Igor Sikorsky (May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972), born Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky was a Russian American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. He designed and flew the world's first multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, the Russky Vityaz in 1913, and the first airliner, Ilya Muromets, in 1914. After immigrating to the United States in 1919, Sikorsky founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923, and developed the first of Pan American Airways' ocean-conquering flying boats in the 1930s. In 1939 Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor configuration used by most helicopters today. Sikorsky would modify the design into the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Westland Sikorsky H-5's, used by British European Airways Helicopters, which fly between London and Birmingham. The Sikorsky H-5, (aka R-5, S-51, HO3S-1, or Horse) (R-5 until 1948; company designation VS-327) is a helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, formerly used by the United States Air Force, and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard (with the designations HO2S and HO3S). (Photo by Harrison /Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 22nd May 1951
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06 Sep 2011 10:18:00
A dead crocodile is seen on Huangsha Seafood Market in Guangzhou, Guandong Province, China, 22 January 2018. Tsukiji Market of China or Huangsha Seafood Market is biggest one in Southern China and one of the biggest in China, as there are literally hundreds of different varieties of fish and seafood scattered throughout the market. Since the proximity of the fish market is so close to the Zhujiang River, it's quite easy for the large fishing vessels and fishermen to unload their fresh catch right at the market, which ensures that the fish and seafood remain fresh. Fish and other seafood are coming there from all around the globe. Seafood Market is full of different kinds of live fish, live shellfish, and live seafood on display in crystal clear tanks and it's common to see 5-star chefs, retailers and expats to source for fresh and high-quality seafood supplies for reasonable prices. While it is a wholesale fish market, since many Guangzhou restaurants and businesses come to purchase their seafood here, the public is welcome to come and even purchase. Many local Chinese have the vendors slice up fresh salmon fillets to take home or carry seafood into one of the nearby specialty restaurants, where they will cook if for them and serve it with vegetables and other side dishes of their choice. One of the biggest attractions for both, tourists and buyers, on market are crocodiles, which are brought there alive in wooden cases with taped jaws so they can?t accidentally bite. They are from crocodile farms from Guangdong, China and from Vietnam. Crocodile meat is popular in most Asian countries and it is consider as delicate one. Crocodiles weight from 10 to 25 kg and bigger ones are about 2 years old. They cost about 70 RMB (8.90 EURO) when bout as whole, or if you buy as parts most expensive and appreciated parts are paws 120 RMB (15.26 EURO) per kg, and tail 100 RMB (12.72 EURO) per kg. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

A dead crocodile is seen on Huangsha Seafood Market in Guangzhou, Guandong Province, China, 22 January 2018. Tsukiji Market of China or Huangsha Seafood Market is biggest one in Southern China and one of the biggest in China, as there are literally hundreds of different varieties of fish and seafood scattered throughout the market. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)
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17 Apr 2020 00:05:00
1924:  Vladimir Ilyich Lenin lying in state in the Kremlin

Photo: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 – 1924) lying in state in the Kremlin. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1924

Important! For the same article in Russian language click here.

Something quite intriguing is happening within Russian-speaking internet during the last few – should you type a fully academic inquiry (at least, according to Russian academic requirements) in national search engines for "Lenin's mausoleum" – the first thing you get (even in top 10 searches) is website pages talking about black magic and occult. Website authors view this construction differently, but unconditionally agree on one thing: the mausoleum of the "leader of the world proletariat” – the essence of a magical artifact, a sort of “energy vampire”. It was built with a certain purpose: to drain the energy out of miserable Soviet citizens on one hand; and to poison the anthroposphere of one-sixth part of the earth with its vibes (the exact territory that was occupied by the former Soviet Union), depriving the Russian people of will to resist on the other hand. Complete nonsense? No doubt. Nevertheless, an intriguing one. Well, probably because some oddities do exist in mausoleum's history. These oddities are the thing we are going to discuss this time. First, let me refresh you memory on the subject.
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16 Oct 2011 11:27:00
A biker poses on his Bousouzoku motorbike at the Dangouzaka rest stop in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, Japan, January 3, 2016. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A biker poses on his Bousouzoku motorbike at the Dangouzaka rest stop in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, Japan, January 3, 2016. Police on Sunday halted a group of about two dozen Bousouzoku bikers who paraded their noisy motorcycles during an annual New Year outing in the Mount Fuji region. This Japanese motorcycle subculture dated back to the 1950s and regularly chafes with the police because of their provocative traffic behaviour and bike customising, that is often deemed illegal. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)
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05 Jan 2016 08:06:00
Former Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin performs a flip while throwing the ceremonial first pitch during a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Former Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin performs a flip while throwing the ceremonial first pitch during a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)
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15 Jul 2017 08:32:00
A man standing on the first cables during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge with the Presidio and San Francisco in the background, San Francisco, California, 1935. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

A man standing on the first cables during the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge with the Presidio and San Francisco in the background, San Francisco, California, 1935. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
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01 Jul 2014 12:46:00
Indigenous people march during the annual Free Earth camp, where they discuss rights, territorial protection and their role in COP30, which will take place for the first time in the Amazon, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)

Indigenous people march during the annual Free Earth camp, where they discuss rights, territorial protection and their role in COP30, which will take place for the first time in the Amazon, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)
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15 Jun 2025 04:21:00