The strange thing about lemmings is the way they, apparently, commit mass suicide. These grey or reddish-brown rodents look like mice, but are slightly larger. They live in large areas of the northern world, including Alaska, north-west Canada and Scandinavia. But, in fact, only the Scandinavian lemmings stampede in such a suicidal manner. Now and then thousands of them travel …

‘Dralion’ is an entertainment show produced by Montreal-based company Cirque du Soleil Inc, well known for its circus-based dance dramas. The show ‘Dralion’, which has already toured different parts of the world, is currently located at Sydney and been seen by seven million people. It’s main theme is to project human life as an integral part of nature, and, specifically, …

This is a bridge across Hangzhou Bay off the eastern coast of China. It links the municipalities of Shanghai and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. It’s the longest transoceanic bridge in the world although it does not have the longest cable-stayed main span. The bridge is 36 km long with six expressway lanes in two directions. The construction started on June …

The greatest number of jumps achieved is 177737, Gary Stewart at Huntington Beach, California, USA on 25-26 May 1992. Ashrita Furman of Jamaica, New York, USA set a distance record of 24.125 km 14.99 miles in 5 hr 33 min on 25 May 1991 in Seoul, South Korea

Whitley Council, also called Joint Industrial Council, in Great Britain, any of the bodies made up of representatives of labour and management for the promotion of better industrial relations. An original series of councils, named for J.H. Whitley, chairman of the investigatory committee (1916–19) who recommended their formation, were first instituted as a means of remedying industrial unrest. Many of …

In India, Gujarat and Rajasthan had excess production as compared to local consumption of milk. In 1970, the National Dairy Development Board initiated activities like building veterinary centres, milk chilling centres, processing plants and strengthened the milk cooperative movement based on Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL). This was done through Operation Flood, with aid from the Food and Agriculture Organisation …

Most birds build their nests of twigs, grass, feathers and bracken. Some prefer ready-made nest sites like tree holes, which they then line with a soft bedding material for the young chicks. The western magpie, however, a bird of Australia and New Zealand prefers to use rather more robust materials. It is particularly fond of pieces of metal, such as …

The War of the Pacific is a war that took place in the western region of South America from 1879 to 1884. The war was fought between Chile and Peru on one side with Bolivia on the other side. The war is also called Saltpeter War (Saltpeter is a mineral) because the main reason of the war was to win …

The Tate is an art gallery originally titled the National Gallery of British Art. It is situated on Millbank in Pimlico, London. It was founded in 1897 by Henry Tate with money earned from his sugar refineries. It was initially a collection of British art, concentrating on the works of Victorian painters. It later expanded to include foreign art and …

In freestyle motocross, when the rider is in the air, it is termed `Big Air’. Superman seat-grab is considered a regular trick in which, when the rider is in the air (18 m is the minimum suitable height for performing this trick), puts one hand on the handle bar and other grabs the seat of the bike, and extends the …