The world is so big that it is generally believed that we live in a bigger, better era, and in most cases it is. However, we have to admit that there are a lot of things in history that always make us surprised and astonished. Whether it is' artificial 'or' pure natural without PS', the following ten photos are enough to make us feel insignificant.
1. Construction of nagarjunasagar dam
In today's prevalence of machinery and automation, with the further development of science and technology, the influence of pure labor is often ignored. Incredibly, the seemingly disorderly wooden scaffolding and honeybee like labor shown in the above image is actually one of the construction fragments of the well planned nagarjunasagar dam, the world's largest stone dam.
Nagarjuna Sagar dam, located in the Krishna river of India, is completely constructed. It is 1.6 km long and 150 m high. When it is built, it is also the largest artificial lake in the world. The dam, hailed as India's first 'modern Temple', means India's less dependence on foreign powers, which many take pride in: at least 50000 people have been involved in the construction of the dam in the 12 years since it was built.
2. Giant vegetable show in Alaska
Have you ever seen cabbages that can't hold a wheelbarrow? Have you ever seen piles of pumpkins collapse because they can't support their own weight? -- these giant vegetables are born with pride, as if the whole growth space is theirs. They want to grow. In a high latitude region such as Matanuska Susitna Valley, giant vegetables are a kind of material heritage, which are strongly protected by local people.
At the Alaska agricultural fair, you can see 210 centimeter (89 inch) gourds, 500 kg (1100 lb) pumpkins, and the world's largest cabbage. The reason why they are so big is because of their special geographical location: there are up to 20 hours of light every day in summer, so as long as the traffic is smooth, these giant vegetables can ensure that people can survive the long winter in Alaska.
3. Semicircular arch in Iraq
This stone arch is undoubtedly a large-scale building in contemporary Iran. It is impressive, but not surprising. But it's unbelievable that the seemingly fragile stone arch is said to be more than 1500 years old, and it still stands.
The modern archaeologist Max & middot; von & middot; Oppenheim confirmed that the arch was actually a stone arch bridge built during the reign of Justinian I in ancient Rome. The wadi al Murr River under the bridge flows through Nineveh province in northern Iraq, bordering what is now Turkey. In the sixth century, the emperor of Damascus built a bridge to prevent the flood in the east of Rome.
Although most of the buildings in Iraq are impressive, this long arch bridge is one of the few buildings in Iraq that were built under the Roman rule but have been well preserved. To this day, it still stands.
4. 'Mark Twain'
This picture was taken in 1891 by a lumberjack who felled the great Redwood of Mark Twain under a tree. In the picture, we can see the Redwood logs with a diameter of three meters (10 feet) piled on a truck. Even so, it is impossible to imagine the size of these giant logs. 'mark Twain 'was cut down and regarded as a booty of man's' conquest' of nature in the western United States. The men, with axes in their hands, stood in a casual manner, as if to say that it was no big deal to cut down such a tree - photos like these formed postcards of that era.
The moment the giant sequoia tree was felled was shocking, after eight days of digging ditches by the loggers responsible for cutting down the 'Mark Twain' Redwood to make sure the tree fell intact. Both ends of the giant tree were sawn off and sent to the museum for collection. The rest were made into fence posts.
5. Big Redwood felled
According to records, the oldest Sequoia / giant redwood in the world is 3500 years old. Because we can only judge the age of a tree by its ring, its age is recorded only after it has died.
California's great redwood is a typical symbol of the United States, and perhaps also impressive are the convoys of trucks hobbled by bigger Redwood logs. On average, each truck carries a full 16500 meters (54000 feet) of original planks.
The redwood forest in California was in the original state of no development until the gold rush of 1850. More than 95% of the old redwood forest was cut down and used for wood production. In history, this place has been swept away by wildfire, leaving no trace. And the redwoods, which have been rooted here for a long time, have gradually formed a symbiotic relationship with the wildfire: the bark of the redwood is highly resistant to fire, so when its competitive population is completely burned down, the Sequoia forest is almost undamaged.
6. Zeppelin remains
Thanks to the Hindenburg crash, zeppelin, which used hydrogen gas bags as power in its early years, is now synonymous with the crash tragedy. In the first World War, Germany built 84 Zeppelin airships, and eventually lost 60. Half of them were destroyed by accident rather than by enemy gunfire.
The above photo was taken in misson, France, in 1918. The enemy's bombing did not cause much damage to the German army, but these huge objects in the air were completely destroyed by the accidental fire. Their huge debris scattered on the land of European countryside, making it a temporary "morgue" for airships. Today, the only ships that can match these giants in size and shape are those that sank to the bottom of the sea. But if they are compared with the largest Zeppelin airship of that time, these 'sea lords' will be dwarfed.
7. Statue of Mount Rushmore
This picture of the president's mountain was taken in the late 1930s, just a few years before the completion of the monument in 1941. In the context of the great depression at that time, the project was unprecedented and unprecedented.
The workers started to work on the mountain, and the huge mountain system must seem so small, just like ants climbing on the dummy. They spent 14 years hammering out the noses and eyebrows of America's greatest presidents.
The workers placed wire ropes and huge winches on top of the building and sent 30 men at a given time to blast and then carve figures on the granite surface of Mount Rushmore. The workers first use explosives to blast out about 8 cm (3 inches) of the outline, and then carve the rest by hand. This is known as the beehive method, in which workers drill a series of tight holes with hand drills, and then tap them with chisels.
The only person who died during the construction of presidential hill was the architect Gutzon Borglum, who died of natural causes six months before the project was completed.
8. American lobster
It is generally believed that lobsters can be as large as a plate, but this is far from the case. Conceptually, they are known to be bigger than the lobster sold at the grocery store, but the lobster in this picture completely overturns the idea that it's too big. Although the lobster in the picture is not the largest on record (all lobsters caught off Nova Scotia weigh up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds)), each claw claw is larger than a boy's body, which once again gives them a reason to avoid the waters of New Jersey, which is shallow and oxygen deficient, and is not suitable for this kind of lobster.
These crayfish, which live deep in the water, are no stranger to the environment of the northeastern United States. The development of American lobster industry is similar to the rise of canning industry in North America. In the mid-19th century, the demand for lobster soared, and the supply rose rapidly to the corresponding point of demand. And the lobster meat in the Northeast quickly overflowed, so it was called 'food for the poor'.
Although lobster farms around the world still capture more than 200000 tons of 'delicacies' each year, the oversupply has been significantly improved.
9. Antarctic snow cruiser
In the 1940s, people's enthusiasm for Antarctic exploration was almost white hot. Driven by the pioneers such as Shackleton, Falcon and Charcot, one after another set foot on the frozen soil, which is rarely visited by people. Every expedition touches the hearts of people all over the world. People can't help but hold their breath and clench their fingers and closely watch the progress of the expedition. Over the years, in order to match people's spirit of exploration, scientists have developed many newer and better technologies to help those brave people better cope with the difficulties in Antarctic exploration.
One of the major innovations is the Antarctic snow cruiser. Designed by Dr. Thomas C. Poulter, a veteran Antarctic Explorer suffering from lung disease, the cruiser deserves to be a milestone marking a new leap in Antarctic exploration technology. Its tires are specially designed to be non slip pattern, to make up for the problem that vehicles can't cross due to the large ice gap in the past.
After several months of research and improvement, the Antarctic snow cruiser landed in the Gulf of Wales on January 15, 1940, and set foot on the snow covered land of Antarctica for the first time. For a brief and glorious moment, it was perched on the permafrost like a ferocious metal penguin. Then, the huge tire broke through layers of snow, only to be trapped in it and unable to move. The explorers dug it out of the snow and started the engine again. It was only a few hundred meters before they went on strike again. At this point, mankind began the most difficult expedition in the Antarctic for several months.
Finally, the expedition decided to simply cover the snow cruiser with wood and use it as a 'glory tent' for the rest of the team. At the beginning of the following year, the expedition left Antarctica, where the snow cruiser was abandoned.
10. Dr. Benson's water lily leaves
Dr. George Frederic bahnson is a man of many talents. He was the most famous physician at that time and participated in the American Civil War as a union marksman. In addition, he successfully cultivated the largest water lily in American history at that time.
He is modest and courteous, has great potential, is outstanding in horticulture, and is sometimes mistaken for "a trace of insanity", but this seemingly strange picture is a great recognition of his talent. In the years after the war, Benson and his wife worked hard to cultivate Victoria