Voynich manuscript
The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. The vellum on which it is written has been carbon-dated to the early 15th century (1404–1438), and may have been composed in Northern Italy during the Italian Renaissance.[1][2] The manuscript is named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish book dealer who purchased it in 1912.[3] Some of the pages are missing, but about 240 remain. The Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both World War I and World War II.[4] No one has yet succeeded in deciphering the text, and it has become a famous case in the history of cryptography. The Voynich manuscript was donated by Hans P. Description[edit] Codicology[edit] The manuscript measures 23.5 by 16.2 by 5 centimetres (9.3 by 6.4 by 2.0 in), with hundreds of vellum pages collected into eighteen quires. Text[edit] A page showing characteristics of the text Illustrations[edit]
Phaistos Disc
The Phaistos Disc (also spelled Phaistos Disk, Phaestos Disc) is a disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the Greek island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). It is about 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter and covered on both sides with a spiral of stamped symbols. Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, remain disputed, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology. This unique object is now on display at the archaeological museum of Heraklion. The disc was discovered in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, and features 241 tokens, comprising 45 unique signs, which were apparently made by pressing hieroglyphic "seals" into a disc of soft clay, in a clockwise sequence spiraling toward the disc's center. Discovery Tablet PH-1 It was found in the main cell of an underground "temple depository". Authenticity Dating Typography Signs
Allagash Abductions
The Allagash Abduction is a purported UFO sighting and alien abduction that is alleged to have occurred in 1976. The UFO incidents[edit] The witnesses said the incident started on August 20, 1976, when four men, all in their early-twenties, ventured on a camping trip into the wilderness near Allagash, Maine.[1] The group consisted of twin brothers Jack and Jim Weiner, their friend Charlie Foltz, and their guide, Chuck Rak. They say their first day went by without incident. However, on their second night, they noticed a bright light not far from their campsite which they first passed off as being a helicopter or weather balloon, but later noticed it displayed a strange quality of light. After a short time, Rak noticed the bright light they had seen two nights before in the distance above the tree line. Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot out from the bottom of the craft and it quickly made its way towards the men. The next thing the men knew, they were back on shore at their campsite.
Mount Roraima
Mount Roraima (Spanish: Monte Roraima [ˈmonte roˈɾaima], also known as Tepuy Roraima and Cerro Roraima; Portuguese: Monte Roraima [ˈmõtʃi ʁoˈɾɐ̃jmɐ]) is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America.[4]:156 First described by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its 31 km2 summit area[4]:156 consists on all sides of cliffs rising 400 metres (1,300 ft). The mountain also serves as the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana.[4]:156 Mount Roraima lies on the Guiana Shield in the southeastern corner of Venezuela's 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi) Canaima National Park forming the highest peak of Guyana's Highland Range. The highest point in Guyana and the highest point of the Brazilian state of Roraima lie on the plateau, but Venezuela and Brazil have higher mountains elsewhere. WikiMiniAtlas Flora and fauna[edit] Vegetation on Mount Roraima There are many examples of unique fauna atop Mount Roraima. Culture[edit] Ascents[edit]
Pallas's cat
Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul), also called the manul, is a small wild cat having a broad but patchy distribution in the grasslands and montane steppe of Central Asia. The species is negatively affected by habitat degradation, prey base decline, and hunting, and has therefore been classified as Near Threatened by IUCN since 2002.[2] Pallas’s cat was named after the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas, who first described the species in 1776 under the binomial Felis manul.[3] Characteristics[edit] The ears are set low and wide apart Pallas's cat is about the size of a domestic cat, its body is 46 to 65 cm (18 to 26 in) long and its tail is 21 to 31 cm (8.3 to 12.2 in) long. Distribution and habitat[edit] Pallas's cats are native to the steppe regions of Central Asia, where they inhabit elevations of up to 5,050 m (16,570 ft) in the Tibetan Plateau.[5] They inhabit Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kashmir, and occur across much of western China. Reproduction[edit]
