Iguazú Falls comes from the guarani: y (“water”) and guasu (“great”), literally “the great waters”.
Located in the middle of the tropical forest, on the border between Argentina (80%) and Brazil (20%), national parks have been created.
This set of 275 waterfalls forming a front of approximately three kilometers. All of the waterfalls discharge up to six million liters of water per second.
Due to the drought affecting southern Brazil during the summer of 2021, the volume of water in Iguazú Falls is reduced by 80% compared to normal.
The highest of them, the Garganta del Diablo reaches 80 m in height.
They are among the most impressive in the world.
They were the scene of films such as Furia in Bahia for OSS 117 (1965), Moonraker, film from the James Bond series (1979), Miami Vice: Two Cops in Miami (2006), One Day on Earth (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), OSS 117: Rio No Longer Responds (2009) or even Black Panther by Ryan Coogler (2018).
Blocked between the ocean trench and the Andes mountain range, the Atacama Desert is known to be one of the driest regions on Earth.
Certain areas can in fact be completely deprived of precipitation for more than 50 years.
This natural barrier is made up of active volcanoes reaching 6,000 meters, surrounded by turquoise lagoons, geysers and deep valleys.
The Atacama Desert is renowned for its starry nights due to its location in the intertropical zone, combining extreme drought, altitude and very little light pollution.
Several international astronomical observatories have been established in this “extraterrestrial” desert where NASA tested small vehicles before they went to explore Mars.
The four-wheeled robot called Zoë found colonies of bacteria and lichens on two distinct sites in this desert, which nevertheless has the lowest density of organic activity on Earth.
Mount Roraima is a mountain in South America shared between Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela.
Discovered and explored late in the 19th century, Mount Roraima was not climbed until 1884 by a British expedition.
An account of one of these expeditions largely inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write his adventure novel The Lost World in 1912.
Its highlight is the Maverick Stone. Inside the plateau there are numerous caves and chasms.
The watercourses which run through the plateau and which do not escape directly in the form of waterfalls end up disappearing into the rock through the network of caves
This water which flows from Mount Roraima in the form of waterfalls, such as Salto Roraima, or underground gives rise to numerous streams at its feet, some temporary, others permanent.
To the east of the mountain is the source of the Rio Cotingo, a river flowing into Brazil and a sub-tributary of the Amazon.
Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca city from the 15th century in Peru. The 172 buildings extend approximately 530 meters long and 200 meters wide.
At 2,438 meters above sea level, the ruins straddle the ridge between two peaks: Huayna Picchu, meaning “young mountain” and Machu Picchu, meaning “old mountain” in Quechua.
A masterpiece of Inca architecture, it was abandoned before its construction was completed during the collapse of the Inca Empire. A sacred city forgotten for centuries, the site is said to have hosted the emperor Pachacútec.
It is Huayna Picchu which overlooks the site and which can be seen in most photographs of the city.
Around Huayna Picchu and on both sides of the city flows the Vilcanota-Urubamba river which describes a large arc below a 600 meter cliff.
Torres del Paine National Park is a national park in Chile located between the Andes mountain range and the Patagonian steppe.
Between 3.5 million years ago and 14,000 years ago, glaciations shaped the landscape to remove the upper layers of rock and give the park its current appearance.
Covering an area of 181,414 hectares, its main function is the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic diversity of the Paine massif.
Its surface is characterized by its landscape heterogeneity, where mountains, glaciers, valleys, ponds and large lakes converge.
It takes its name from three emblematic granite formations of the del Paine massif: the Torres (Towers) del Paine.
12 million years ago, in the Miocene, the northward movement of the boundary between the Antarctic plate and the Nazca plate caused the intrusion of a 10 km by 20 km laccolith with a thickness of 2,000 mr.
This intrusion created the heart of the Paine massif. The territory also has some small, older intrusions dating from 29 million years ago.
The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier in Argentina located in Los Glaciares National Park in the province of Santa Cruz.
With a surface area of 250 km2 and a length of 30 kilometers, it is one of the 48 glaciers fed by the southern Patagonian ice field, in the Andes, which Argentina shares with Chile.
Named in honor of the explorer Francisco Moreno who studied this region in the 19th century and contributed to discussions for the delimitation of the border with Chile.
Its height is 170 meters of which 74 meters are above ground, the rest being under the waters of Lake Argentino.
It advances about two meters per day (700 meters per year). In some places its thickness reaches 700 meters.
It is located 78 kilometers from El Calafate, in Argentine Patagonia.
Another version of the legend says that the Lavandula Fairy wept, not on her drawing, but directly on the Provençal soil, giving birth to the lavender fields.
Once upon a time there was a pretty fairy with blue eyes and blond hair named Lavandula.
She was looking for a place to settle down after a long journey where she had twirled lightly from the Luberon to the Lure mountain, via Ventoux.
She leafed through the pages of her notebook, where she had drawn the places crossed.
She stopped on the page of Haute Provence, whose then arid and wild landscapes were sad.
So sad that Lavandula began to sob and purple tears streamed down her notebook.
Wanting to dry the tears that had smeared her drawing, she passed her hand. In vain.
This intense purple spread all over the page.
In order to repair this error, Lavandula drew a large section of blue sky above this new landscape, to make forget this everywhere widespread mauve.
The lavender fields were born and since then they have been lighting up Provence!
The village of Mondragon is Mont Dragon, surmounted by its Château du Dragonnet!
The Drac, a winged, amphibian monster, had the face and shoulders of a young man on a reptile body (as described by Frédéric Mistral) and resided in the Rhône.
He went out regularly to feast on the inhabitants, especially the young girls, terrorizing the population by ransoming them.
Tired of undergoing the incessant assaults of the monster, the lord of the village, Guilhem, launched a desperate appeal.
Anyone who managed to kill the beast would receive his daughter Guillemette in marriage and the lordship of the village as a reward.
One day, a valiant knight, Arnaud, presented himself to take up the challenge.
At the cost of an epic fight, Arnaud brought down the beast, marrying Guillemette and becoming the new lord of the village, renamed Mondragon!
In Catalonia, there is a unique tradition called Tió de Nadal, which vulgarly translates to “Christmas log”.
The hollowed-out log comes with a face, legs, and a little red hat, and starting December 8, families “feed” it every night, filling it with gifts and sweets.
They also put a blanket over the log to keep it warm.
On Christmas Eve, the log is placed in the (unlit) fireplace, and family members take turns hitting it with a stick, ordering it to defecate the gifts and sweets, while singing traditional songs.
After the beating, family members reach under the blanket of the log to retrieve the presents.
Would you feel lucky if you found a spider web on your Christmas tree?
Probably not. But Ukrainians associate cobwebs with good omens.
This legend is actually taken from a popular tale, in which a poor family grew a Christmas tree from a pine cone.
The children were excited to decorate it, but the family could not afford decorations.
Sensing the family's desperation, the spiders spun shimmering webs of silk around the tree, which turned to silver and gold when the sun rose in the morning, leaving the family with a beautifully decorated tree.
Even today, Ukrainian families decorate their trees with cobwebs for good luck.
While Australians are surfing, Venezuelans are rollerblading.
This unusual Christmas tradition wants the entire capital of Caracas to go to Christmas mass on rollerblades on Christmas Day.
In fact, vehicles are banned from many areas of the city before 8 a.m.
As if this mode of transportation wasn't weird enough, the night before, kids tie one end of a string to their big toe and hang the other end from their bedroom window, so the roller skaters in passage can amicably pull the string on their way to mass the next morning.
December 6 marks La Quema del Diablo ("The Devil's Pyre" in Spanish).
On this occasion, Guatemalan families light bonfires outside their homes and burn effigies of Satan to cast out evil spirits and celebrate the victory of good over evil.
It used to be that people would take all the trash out of their homes and set it on fire, and some still do, though the majority stick to burning devil-shaped piñatas.
This celebration is accompanied by the traditional donuts and hot fruit punch, and
You probably know the Christmas carols, but you certainly don't know the carolers that show up on your doorstep in Wales.
In December or January, you may open your door to find someone hidden by a sheet adorned with ribbons and bells, holding a real horse skull on a stick, with a few other revelers by their side.
In this quirky Christmas tradition, called Mari Lwyd (“Grey Mare”), the band will sing for you, then challenge you to a battle of rhyming insults in Welsh (called pwnco).
After the competition, participants are usually invited inside to enjoy refreshments.
Speaking of witches, do you know the Italian version of Santa Claus?
It's actually an ugly but kind old witch called La Befana.
According to legend, the Three Magi would have stopped at her house to ask for directions before visiting the Child Jesus.
They would then have invited Befana to accompany them on their journey, but the witch would have declined the invitation, because of her many household chores to accomplish.
It was only after they left that she would have changed her mind and tried to find them, in vain.
Since then, she rides her broom each night of January 5 (the day before the meeting of the Magi with the Child Jesus).
Just like Santa Claus, La Befana delivers toys to children. Instead of milk and biscuits, the Italians leave him a plate of sausages and broccoli and a glass of wine.
Imagine that this is not an unusual American tradition, but beautiful and very Japanese!
It's no joke: in Japan, the KFC chain is taken by storm every Christmas Eve: it is estimated that 3.5 million Japanese families come there to enjoy fried chicken!
This quirky Christmas tradition came about through a KFC marketing stunt in the 1970s, titled Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii ("Kentucky for Christmas"), based on the absence of any real Christmas traditions in a very minority Christian country.
KFC's Christmas dinner is so popular that many customers order their dinner – which includes fried chicken, cake and champagne – months in advance!
If the Christmas holidays in France are often associated with an increased consumption of chocolates, this is not the case in the city of Oaxaca in Mexico.
Indeed, every December 23, La Noche de Rabanos ("The Night of the Radishes") is celebrated there, a festival during which traders and artisans sell radishes intricately carved to represent nativity scenes, fauna and local architecture, as well as other relevant representations.
The radish carvings are sold as Christmas centerpieces, and the creator of the best radish drawing wins a cash prize.
An unusual Christmas tradition, certainly, but guaranteed without a liver attack.
The legend of Krampus (Germany, Austria, Hungary).
Have you ever heard of Krampus?
In Germany, Austria or Hungary, it is a name that makes people shiver.
And for good reason: Krampus is none other than the diabolical and furry alter-ego of Santa Claus.
According to legend, if Santa Claus brings toys to “nice” children, the Krampus has the mission to punish the children on the “naughty” list.
Most of the time, he is content to scare children with his bestial demeanor, but he is said to throw particularly naughty children into his bag, or chain them in his basket to take them to hell.
It is for this reason that in Austria and neighboring countries, people often dress up as Krampus in early December and roam the streets to scare children.
The shape of the cards has changed over the centuries
Throughout history, players have been able to indulge their passion through very special card games.
And yes, the rectangular and practical card game to carry as we know it today did not always exist in this form.
During the first centuries following the appearance of this game, players had the opportunity to handle much larger cards and even oval, round or even triangular cards.
Invented in England in 1943 by Anthony Pratt and his wife Elva Rosalie Pratt, Cluedo was originally called Murder, and was not quite as we know it today.
At the time, there were 10 characters, including Doctor Lenoir, Mr. Brown, Miss Grey, Mr. Gold and Sergeant Grey, and the absence of Doctor Orchidée and Madame Pervenche.
The syringe and the poker were also part of the weapons in the original game.
The game is actually derived from a very basic trick: playing with traditional cards and grabbing a cork or a lighter when two identical cards appear.
As Tom Vuarchex said; the author of the game, in a video, the drawings are inspired by travel and the totem of a piece of wood that he used during his travels.
It was a 26-year-old American student, John Spinello, who designed the prototype of the game before selling it to the game design company Marvin Glass & Associates
In exchange, the box was to give him $500 and hire him at the end of his studies.
But the rights were transferred to the company Milton Bradley who marketed the game under the name Operation.
Named Mafia in Russia, this game created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986, was first intended to unmask the two spies in the context of Stalin's reign.
Philippe des Pallières and Hervé Marly, who used to play this game adapted by its distribution on the internet, decided to integrate new characters and created a new version.
Today, the Russian version swapped spies for policemen and we chose werewolves.
This time, we are in 1954. Edmond Dujardin is a printer specializing in material for driving schools.
In his Arcachon cellar, he imagines this game whose title refers to the 996 kilometers between Paris and Menton by the National 7, the holiday route.
Seven years earlier, he had created another game, The Highway, where you had to pass your license, complete a course and arrive first at a wedding.
But, in the 1950s, there was La Canasta (The Basket), a card game from Uruguay, itself probably inspired by Touring, born in the United States in 1906.
Just in return, the Mille Bornes, in French in the text, works very well in the United States.
Made in France, it has sold nearly 15 million copies.
300 to 400,000 Dujardin Games boxes are still sold each year.
The famous game to form crosswords on squares which bring more or less points is, him, well born from the crisis of 1929.
Alfred Mosher Butts, a New York architect in his thirties with a passion for anagrams (these words made up of the same letters), finds himself unemployed.
Idle, he imagines a game to put his passion for words within everyone's reach. He has the idea of token letters.
To determine the number of each letter and its value according to frequency in English, he analyzes a dictionary and three newspapers including the New York Times.
The game is called Lexiko. He deposited it in 1948, in the United States.
Now called Scrabble, it landed in France in 1955.
It got off to a mixed start, but Club Med activity leaders… gradually introduce holidaymakers to it.
Today, almost all French people (nearly 60% have one, according to its publisher Mattel) know Scrabble.
There is a French federation, a competition, a magazine...
Nearly 150 million Scrabble games have been sold in 121 countries, in 36 languages, including Latin and... Braille.
He would even be at the origin of the Trivial Pursuit.
The genesis of Monopoly is one of the most amazing.
In the midst of the economic crisis, in Philadelphia, south of New York, an unemployed man had cobbled together, on a piece of cardboard, land to buy or rent.
From the start, there was a box for prison, one for making money...
Charles Darrow became the inventor of a game symbolizing capitalism.
The problem is that Charles Darrow copied Elisabeth J. Maggie's game.
When she registered her game in 1904, Elizabeth Magie's objective was to demonstrate the excesses of monopoly.
Cie Parker is going to redeem its rights for a pittance.
Since then, 275 million Monopoly, now owned by Hasbro, have been sold.
The game has several hundred versions in 111 countries in 43 languages.
Since 2009, Monopoly has also been played on screen.
To satisfy your cravings for extreme and unique experiences, head to Asia, as there are plenty of unorthodox activities to do.
Like SkyCycle in the Philippines, where your bike sits on a cable over 18 meters high and travels a distance of 200 meters in the sky.
You can also go to Huashan Mountain for an unforgettable experience by climbing the death trail, where you can touch the clouds and see incredible and impressive panoramas.
The desire to be the best is expressed in everything they do, especially in architecture and money.
For example, there is the 121-meter Liebian Building skyscraper.
But the particularity of the building is an incredible artificial waterfall 108 meters high, the maintenance system of the waterfall alone occupies 4 complete floors of the skyscraper!
Running the waterfall is quite expensive, and the electricity alone costs $116 per hour.
It is for this reason that the waterfall only operates during holidays.
When you're traveling on the subway in Tokyo, walking down the street, or working in a Japanese office, don't be surprised to see people sleeping everywhere.
People are real workaholics and therefore take advantage to take a 30-minute nap during their travels to feel better.
There's even a special name for sleeping on the job.
This is called inemuri and it is considered a sign of dedication to work.
In South Korea, it is forbidden to use colored pens
Indeed, to send greeting cards, thanks, congratulations or birthdays, it is normal to use pens of different colors in order to brighten up the message.
There are different rules that govern cleanliness and order in Asia.
As proof, there are even special shoes for going to the toilet.
It may seem unnecessary at first, but these slippers are used to minimize contact between the dirty bathroom floor and the clean floor of the rest of the apartment.
It may be hard to accept, but there is only one time zone in China, although geographically this country is huge and could include 5 zones – there is only Beijing time!
For those living on the east coast of China, it can be very easy to be in tune with the official time zone.
But people in the western provinces may be uncomfortable.
For example, in Kashgar, the westernmost city in China, you can enjoy sunsets in July until 11 p.m.
In 2022, a new golden ace will appear at the Cannes International Games Festival.
The "Initiated" golden ace which rewards a game that is aimed at an audience accustomed to playing, turning to games with more elaborate mechanisms.
The rules require more attention, the set-up of the game is precise and the games can exceed one hour.
Living Forest is the first to win this award and ushers in a long list of future award-winning games that will follow it.
Throughout its evolution, the world of board games has been able to reinvent itself to celebrate more than 30 years of golden aces and Spiel des Jahres.
Children, beginners, insiders or experts, the world of board games has not finished surprising us.
Thank you to all these illustrators, creators, distributors and creators of fun content who bring a common passion to life.
In 1991, the Cannes International Games Festival did not take place.
The edition was postponed due to the Gulf War.
So you won't see a golden ace or game of the year in 1991, because there simply weren't any for obvious security reasons.
This did not prevent the world of games from renewing itself the following year and becoming more and more creative by offering, for example, interactive board games such as Atmosfear.
Also a lot of titles such as junior or youngest golden ace, board game golden ace, joker golden ace, etc.
Prizes that were precise in their selection and which have disappeared over time to become more restricted titles and make the gaming world even more relevant and professional over time.
In 1991, the Saint-Herblain festival appeared, from which the Double 6 was born!
The town of Saint-Herblain, near Nantes, has two toy libraries, and spaces dedicated to games in two media libraries.
It has a gaming policy and has organized a gaming festival since 1991.
Since 2004, the Games Festival which takes place in February lasts 15 days, awards a Public Prize rewarding the family game having received the best votes from a non-professional jury and the public.
In 2012, the Public Prize changed its name to Double 6. It happens that by confusion the Saint-Herblain Games Festival is also called “Double 6” but this is a mistake.
Half of the score is awarded by a jury made up of motivated players, excluding all gaming professionals.
The other half of the score is awarded by the families who discover the games and their rules without any outside help (no explanation by a facilitator: the game must be self-sufficient), in places spread over several points department games.
The rating by the public is based on three criteria: the understandability of the rules, with a rating out of 5 (out of 10 since 2022); the aesthetics of the game hardware, and the game hardware itself, with a rating out of 10; gaming pleasure, with a score out of 15 (out of 20 since 2022).
In chronological order since 2004, we will find the games, Maka Bana, Saboteur, Lost objects, Siam, Le Trésor des Mayas, Wazabi, Dice Town, Boomerang, Takenoko, Noé, The little prince, Abyss, 7 wonders duel, Kingdomino , Twin It, Fertility, Draftosaurus, Top Ten and in 2022 Mot Malin.
In 2016, the Grand Prix and the Jury Prize disappear as the expert golden ace makes its entrance.
The “expert golden ace prize” was then won by Pandemic Legacy, the child golden ace by Maitre Renard and the golden ace, game of the year by Mysterium.
The expert gold ace rewards games for an audience accustomed to more complex game rules and mechanisms.
Among these “expert golden aces”, we find for example games such as Scythe, Terraforming Mars, Detective, Res Arcana, The Crew or even Dune Imperium in 2022.
This golden ace further professionalizes the gaming world, which continues to progress and always offers more novelties and new game concepts.
Even outside of the golden aces, game creators always have a good idea running through their heads, we are not done being surprised. ;)
In 2006, the “children’s game” golden ace appeared.
While Time's up won the golden ace in 2006, game of the year that year, the "children's game" category awarded the best prize to the youngest players.
Rewarding in particular games such as Splash attack from 2006 then later games such as, the night of the magicians, hide sheep, SOS octopus, master fox, dragomino or Bubble stories in 2022.
Some authors and illustrators often find themselves nominated for the as d'or enfants and the Kinderspiel des Jahres, and sometimes even win both prizes with different games such as Marie and Wilfried Fort who in 2019 won the "Kinderspiel des Jahres" with La vallée vikings and the "golden ace child game" in 2018 with Monsieur Wolf.
In 2011, the Spiel des Jahres welcomes a new prize.
The "Kennerspiel des Jahres", game for expert of the year, arrives in 2011 while the Cannes IGF has just added the special jury prize to the golden ace and golden ace child.
Rewarding in particular games such as 7 wonders, Andor, Broom service, Wingspan, Paleo, or in 2022 Living Forest, many of these games are also nominated or even winners of gold ace as well.
The "Kennerspiel des Jahres" rewards the growth and development of the range of board games suitable for connoisseurs.
The IGF will follow this boom in expert games in 2012 with the Grand Prix.
In 2004 and 2005, the "super ace d'or" (replaced by the "ace d'or" in 2003) and the "game of the year" merged to become the current "As d'or, jeu de the year”.
The game les aventuriers du rail then won the gold ace and game of the year for two consecutive years in addition to winning the Spiel des Jahres in 2004.
The Cannes International Games Festival and the Association Française de Promotion et d’Evaluation des Jeux de Société join their efforts by bringing together the golden ace for the FIJ and the game of the year for the AFPEJS.
The French gaming world then had a single quality label recognized by the profession and capable of seducing the public.
One price so audiences can navigate the ever-changing world of gaming with ease.
In 1989, the Spiel des Jahres welcomed a new prize.
The "Kinderspiel des Jahres", children's game of the year, arrived in 1989 when the Cannes FIJ was in full swing.
Rewarding in particular games such as The Haunted Staircase, The Enchanted Tower, Beware of the Web, The Stone Age Junior, Icecool, Dragomino or The Hill of Wisps in 2022.
The "Kinderspiel des Jahres" rewards the growth and development of the range of board games suitable for children.
Some often find themselves nominated for the Aces d'or enfants and the Kinderspiel des Jahres, and sometimes even win both prizes like Dragomino in 2021 who won both prizes.
The golden super ace was awarded for the first time in February 1988 at the Cannes International Games Festival.
Super Gang is then the first game in a long series of award-winning games for 35 years now!
There were also prizes such as the golden aces of "imagination game", "friendship game", "adventure game", "letter game", "hope gold game", " interactive board game", "benjamin golden ace", "junior golden ace", "innovation", "dice game", "golden ace of the decade", "family game" and " pawn game” to name a few.
The evolutions of the various prizes awarded have followed the evolutions of the world of board games which became particularly rich in the 80s.
In the early 2000s, the prizes were refocused on a smaller number and the jury became even more professional.
Since 1978 in Germany the prize for the game of the year, literally the Spiel des Jahres is awarded.
Each year the prizes are awarded by a jury of specialized journalists to the German and foreign prizes of the previous 12 months.
The notations are made on the idea, the originality, the rules, the playability, the presentation as well as the mechanics of the game.
Nominations announced in May and prizes announced in June.
The Spiel des Jahres awarded special prizes such as "best complex game", "best fantasy game", "best historical adaptation", "most beautiful game" and many more!
They ended up disappearing later in favor of the creation of other awards in the late 80s.
The Sessho-seki stone, which according to Japanese legends “seals” the spirit of a vengeful demon from the outside world, has split in two.
According to Japanese mythology, the Sessho-seki stone, which is actually a large volcanic rock, had the power to instantly kill anyone who touched it.
In short, she is said to be the transmutation of the "demon" known as Tamamo-no-Mae.
According to legends, this demon was believed to have been a beautiful woman whose spirit was possessed by the nine-tailed fox, or kitsune, a spirit known for its tricks and traps.
Known for answering every question posed to her, Tamamo-no-Mae is said to have been part of a plot to seduce and kill Emperor Toba, who fell ill as a result of the plot.
The fox spirit was then exposed and hunted down by two mythological warriors, and then incorporated the Sessho-seki stone as a final obstacle, releasing poisonous gas.
An Italian knight is said to have stuck his sword in a rock in the 12th century.
Today, the sword can still be seen in Tuscany, but is it real? And was that the inspiration for Excalibur and the King Arthur saga?
The town of San Galgano bears the name of its knight, Galgano Guidotti, who lived there as a hermit during the last year of his life.
The story goes that his horse would take no orders from him and when he finally got on his horse he galloped straight to the top of Montesiepi.
Upon arriving in town, he stuck his sword he had used as a knight into a large stone up to the hilt as a symbol of ending his life as a knight.
The sword was actually deemed a fake, with some critics doubting its authenticity.
However, more recent studies from the University of Pavia have proven that the style, shape and material actually date back to the 12th century, between 1100 and 1200.
In Chinese culture, the spirit of a person who drowned, died alone, died in battle, or suffered another death where they were not buried would appear bodily and could only be seen at night. in the light of a torch.
The spirit of an ancestor who wished to report information or give a warning would appear in a dream.
Chinese belief in ghosts was strongly influenced by their practice of ancestor worship and the belief that the deceased continued to exert a powerful influence on people's lives.
The Chinese afterlife was seen as a journey in which the soul had to cross a bridge over an abyss where it was judged.
If the soul was deemed worthy, it continued, stopping at a pavilion to look back one last time at the land of the living, and then drinking a cup of a brew called Mengpo Soup that made one completely forget their previous life.
In ancient Rome, ghosts appeared in certain predictable ways and, usually, at certain times of the night
This phenomenon was known to the Romans as mirabilia (wonders or miracles) and included talking beasts, impossibly large female spirits, visions of gods, and ghosts.
Among the most famous of these mirabilia is the tale by Pliny the Younger (61-115 CE) which tells the story of the philosopher Athenodorus who comes to Athens and hears of a haunted house which goes cheap because everyone is afraid of the ghost that haunts him.
Athenodorus rents the house, and that night hears the rattling of the chains and wakes to find a man in his room beckoning him to get up and come with him.
Athenodorus follows the ghost to a place in the courtyard of the house where the spirit suddenly disappears.
The next day, Athenodorus asks the magistrate of the city to dig up the place where they find the remains of a man entwined in chains.
The body is buried with all the proper rites, and the house is no longer haunted.
This story is typical of a "haunting" in which a spirit appears to seek redress for a wrong. Improper burial of the dead – or lack of a grave – was believed to be the main reason for the return of a spirit from beyond.
In Rouffach, we celebrate the festival of… witches every year.
It must be said that this commune of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace, has a long history with witches.
The witch's sauerkraut is not like the others.
Gourmet friends, lovers of smoked bacon, knacks (Strasbourg sausages) and thick shanks, if you have a vigorous fork and an appetite as wide as the imagination, get ready to commit this sin of good food which consists of coming and guzzling at the Haxakessel ("the witch's cauldron"), a pretty table in the center of Rouffach, where the walls are decorated with hooked-nosed dolls flying on broomsticks...
The mistress of the house will serve you her famous haxasurkrut: the witch's sauerkraut.
At the table next door, regulars will explain to you that this specialty combining fermented cabbage, charcuterie and spaetzel (Alsatian noodles) actually comes from the depths of time: in all the family pots, we have always decorated this way what is called "the sauerkraut of the next day", these inevitable leftovers from the day before which remind us that in Alsace we often have eyes bigger than our stomachs.
In Crete is the island of King Minos, the labyrinth of the Minotaur built by Daedalus; it was indeed on the order of this king that it was built, in order to lock up there the monstrous creature born of the love of Queen Pasiphae and a bull.
Etymologically, the word would derive from the Greek term labrys which designates an axe, more exactly a double ax like those of which we found reproductions engraved in stone at Knossos.
Archaeological research carried out in Crete on the Minoan palaces, in particular that of Knossos, indeed reveals extensive constructions, the overall plan of which is complex.
The myth of the Labyrinth could only be a transposition of this architectural complexity.
A quarry located near Gortyn, called Labyrinth and mentioned by different authors since the Middle Ages, is also sometimes considered by them as the site of the mythological labyrinth.
According to legend, only three people managed to get out of the Labyrinth: Daedalus, Icarus and Theseus.
A green valley, planted with olive trees and oaks, where cows graze, at the edge of the Sardelle stream.
Country sweetness in Corsica. Anyone who enters here can only be disturbed by the serenity of the place.
And then, suddenly, at a bend in the path, a strange appearance: thirteen granite statues with human shapes...
First there is, seeming to stand guard, the imposing “Filitosa V”, massive, square, with a well-drawn spine, unequivocally carrying a sword and a dagger.
Then, at the top of a hill, a series of seven monoliths lined up like an army, including "Filitosa VI", with a stern look, wearing a hemispherical helmet, and "Filitosa IX", with a sculpted face, a disturbing realism.
Further, below, arranged in an arc, five statues stiff as spears, terribly expressive.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are certainly the most mysterious wonder of the world.
Their existence is still debated and if the unanswered questions remain, the fascination is intact.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are, with the Pyramid of Cheops, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the gold and ivory statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Tomb of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Their construction would date back to the 6th century BC and they would be the work of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon.
The latter, who devoted a large part of his reign to the embellishment of Babylon, would have created these gardens to please his wife, nostalgic for the green mountains of Media, a region in northwestern Iran from which she originated.
Lush gardens overlooking the city Diodorus of Sicily, Strabo, Ctesias of Cnide, Clitarch, Berosus many Greek and Roman authors left descriptions of the hanging gardens of Babylon.
Few, however, have seen them, and most of these writings are reported stories.
The kingdom of Cantre'r Gwaelod lives on the blurry line between fact and fiction.
Welsh legend speaks of a long-sunken kingdom known as Cantre'r Gwaelod, once discovered off the rocky shores of Cardigan Bay in the Irish Sea.
Although hard evidence for 'Welsh Atlantis' has been lacking, a new analysis of one of Britain's oldest surviving maps suggests there may be an element of truth to this much-loved myth.
As reported in the journal Atlantic Geology, researchers from Oxford University and Swansea University recently studied the Gough Map, a famous medieval map of Britain, and found that it appears to represent two mysterious islands off the west coast of Wales.
No one knows who made the map, how it was created, or even when it was published, although most current estimates say it was made around the 13th or 14th centuries CE.
Gough's map is a little sketchy on detail (to say the least), but it's one of the first maps to show Britain in a geographically recognizable form.
An integral part of Celtic folklore, the korrigan, a word which means "little dwarf" in Breton, is a mischievous and legendary little being who takes refuge in the moors.
We tell you all about these fairy tale characters!
He plays his tricks at dusk, coming out of his hiding place in the caves or dolmens of Brittany to dance and scare visitors...
The korrigan, from the Breton “korr”, which means “dwarf”, is a puny being, close to the goblin, which is part of Celtic folklore.
Recognizable by its funny appearance – pointed hat, imposing nose and large ears, impressive hair in particular – the korrigan is characterized above all by its very playful side.
Very popular in Brittany, they are the subject of many books, tales and other comic strips, and are the effigy of many shops, cafes and other public places.
Today, many inhabitants and visitors go in search of these mythical creatures by criss-crossing the region, in the footsteps of Breton history.
They are believed to be parallel, but the United States goes further north than you think and the majority of Canadians live along the border, which marks the south of their country.
This means that, at 45 degrees latitude, Seattle is further north than Toronto and Montreal.
As a result, 64% of Canadians live south of Seattle.
Canada owes its name to the French navigator Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), the first European to explore the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the surrounding lands.
In 1534, he left Saint-Malo, where he was born, landed in Gaspé, a city located in the very east of Canada, and took possession of it in the name of the King of France, François 1er.
A year later, Cartier asked directions from two Iroquoians, who then pointed him in the direction of “Kanata”.
In reality, they allude to the village of Stadacona, the current location of Quebec City.
For lack of another name, Cartier then uses the term “Canada” to designate this city and the surrounding territory.
Tomato, potato, squash, bean, corn, peanut, pepper, cocoa, vanilla, pineapple... turkey, all these products were unknown in Europe, Asia and Africa before the discovery of America in 1492, by Christopher Colombus.
Our food memory is very short.
It is often limited to flavors and products discovered in childhood.
If we make an effort, we go back to a "very distant past", that is to say only to the childhood memories of our grandparents.
This is why the cuisine of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th century seems to us to be a cuisine that has always existed, the one that our ancestors have always eaten since "the dawn of time".
Most of us are then very surprised to learn that our famous local products are sometimes a recent invention on a historical scale.
Can you imagine Mediterranean cuisine without tomatoes or zucchini? Savoyard cuisine without potatoes? Indian cuisine without chilli? African cuisine without cassava?
This monumental sculpture is one of the greatest symbols of the United States.
Proudly erected on Liberty Island in New York, it is known throughout the world.
But did you know that it had been offered to the Americans by the French people, as a token of friendship?
The iconic statue was built in France for 9 years before being unveiled to the public on October 28, 1886 to mark the centenary of the declaration of independence of the United States.
It was classified as a national monument in 1924 and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1984.
Its official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World", or in French "La Liberté illuminant le monde".
The Okanagan (in Canada) or Okanogan (in the United States), are a population of Native Americans whose territory of origin extends on both sides of the border between the State of Washington in the United States and the province of British Columbia in Canada.
In their own language the Okanagan call themselves “Syilx”, they are part of the ethnological and linguistic groups called “Interior Salish”.
The traditional territory of the Okanagan people covers an area of approximately 69,000 km2.
Its northern boundary is near Mica Creek, just north of the city of Revelstoke, while it is bounded on the east by Kootenay Lake.
The southern boundary is near Wilbur, Washington, and the western boundary is the Nicola region.
In the United States, the Okanagan population is organized in an official structure called the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation whose constitutional texts were approved by the American federal government on February 26, 1938.
