Roller coasters have evolved from wooden to steel, with names like Venom and The Dark Knight. The oldest roller coaster in the world is Leap the Dips, built in 1902. The Matterhorn at Disneyland is the granddaddy of steel coasters. Roller coasters are still popular and older ones are being preserved. With names like Venom, […]
The oldest cities in the world are debated due to varying definitions of a city and continuous habitation. However, some contenders include Byblos, Damascus, Varansi, Medinat Al-Fayoum, Gaziantep, Delhi, Hebron, Athens, Luoyang, Arbil, Kirkuk, Adana, Jerusalem, Hama, Luxor/Thebes, Jaffa, and Aleppo. Jericho and Catal Huyuk are also possible contenders. Answering which settlements are the oldest […]
The oldest bridge in Paris, Pont Neuf, was opened in 1607 and designed by King Henry III but built by King Henry IV. It became a major landmark and was financed by a wine tax. The footpaths were new and led to the term “piéton”. It was a prime location for street vendors and open-air […]
Denmark is a progressive nation with strong ties to the past, including the oldest monarchy in Europe and the oldest continuously used national flag in the world. Forbes ranked Denmark as the third happiest country in the world and Copenhagen is known for its urban beaches. Walt Disney drew inspiration from Tivoli Gardens in Denmark […]
Peter Cooper, at 85 years old, was the oldest person to be nominated for US presidency in 1875. He formed the Greenback Party and died at 92. William Jennings Bryan was the youngest nominee at 36, while Ralph Nader and Pat Paulsen ran multiple times but were never elected. The oldest person nominated for the […]
America’s oldest cities are on the East Coast, founded by European settlers in the early 16th century. The Vikings visited but did not settle. St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, is the oldest surviving American city. Jamestown and Plymouth symbolize the new land’s offerings. The oldest American cities on the West Coast are just 300 […]
Bakken, located in Denmark, is the oldest amusement park in the world, dating back to 1583. Originally a place for artists and entrepreneurs to exhibit and sell their goods, it now boasts 32 traditional rides and over 2.5 million visitors annually. The park’s name, Dyrehavsbakken, translates to “the hill of the deer pasture”, and it […]
Lake Compounce, America’s oldest amusement park, opened in 1895 as a small complex. It covers 332 acres and has 40 rides, including four roller coasters. The park also has unique rides, a water park, and Halloween attractions. In 2004, it won the Golden Ticket Award for the best wooden roller coaster in the world. Lake […]
Roller coasters have a long history, dating back to 15th century Russia. The French coined the term “roller coaster” and introduced wheels to the tracks. The oldest roller coaster still in operation is the Leap-the-Dips in Pennsylvania, built in 1902. It is a figure-of-eight “side drag” coaster and was restored in 1997. Roller coasters have […]
The oldest known rocks on Earth are 4.03 billion years old from the Acasta Gneiss in Canada. Other old rocks have been found in Greenland and Australia. Zircons from the Jack Hills in Australia are the oldest rocks at 4.4 billion years old and suggest the oceans may be older than previously thought. Only 7% […]
Stromatolites, layered structures created by photosynthetic bacteria, are the oldest known fossils at 2.74 billion years old. They exist in isolated ecosystems and are considered “living fossils.” Cyanobacteria played a significant role in changing the Earth’s atmosphere by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. The oldest animal fossils date back to 600 million years ago, appearing […]
The oldest land plants, mosses and lichens, appeared 470 million years ago in a desolate landscape. All land plants evolved from green algae, and the earliest plants lacked vascular tissue. Fungi were early allies of land plants, forming symbiotic relationships. The oldest known land plants with vascular tissue date back 425 million years, and the […]
Jupiter is the oldest planet in the Solar System, according to research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Its solid core grew to 20 times the size of Earth in its first million years, and it likely “ate up” much of the debris circling around. Chemical analysis of ancient meteorites helped determine Jupiter’s age and origin. […]
Registration age is established by a government document or circumstantial evidence. Birth certificates are crucial for government services and benefits, but not everyone has one. Disputes can arise when records are wrong or inaccessible. Courts can set an official age if necessary. A registration age can be an official age established by a government document […]
A meteorite that crashed in Australia in 1969 contains interstellar particles that are several billion years older than the sun, making it the oldest material ever found. The Murchison meteorite is unique because it carried the dust intact, and researchers had to dissolve some material to reveal “presolar grains” to determine the age of the […]
The Twitya Formation in Canada contains the oldest known megafossils, dating back 610-600 million years ago, predating the Cambrian Period. The fossils resemble cnidarians and include the iconic Charnia, which existed for 90 million years. The formation also includes simplistic fossils, and the Ediacaran fauna are considered the first experiments in multicellularity. The oldest fossils […]
The Venus of Dolni Vestonice is a 31,000-year-old figurine found in the Czech Republic, depicting a nude woman with large breasts and hips. It is one of several dozen “Venus figurines” of similar age and unknown purpose. The Venus of Brassempouy, found in France, is the earliest known depiction of a human face. Two possible […]
The oldest forms of worship are ancestor worship, shamanism, and animism, dating back to at least 300,000 BC. Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Jainism are the oldest religions still widely practiced. Polytheism, god and goddess worship, and other religions like Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, and mystery cults also have ancient origins. The oldest forms of worship in […]
Jeanne Calment, a French woman, lived to be 122 years and 164 days old, attributing her longevity to olive oil, port wine, and chocolate. She smoked until the age of 117 and was the last person to meet Vincent van Gogh. The majority of supercentenarians are female, and the average life expectancy worldwide is 67.2 […]
The oldest novel is debated, but The Tale of Genji, written in 11th century Japan, is recognized as a novel and has had a significant influence on Japanese literature. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey are also considered forerunners of the modern novel. The novel form emerged in the West in the 15th century, […]
