Hillary and Norgay conquer Everest!
Natural EnvironmentsFor years they dreamed of it, for weeks they climbed: On 29 May 1953 at 11.30 a.m., the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reach their ambitious goal: they are the very first to stand on the summit of Mount Everest! Since the beginning of May, a British expedition has been preparing
Altitude record!
Natural EnvironmentsThe Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard and his assistant Paul Kipfer set off on a risky high-altitude flight in the night of 27 May: In a gas balloon they constructed themselves, they reached a flight altitude of over 15 kilometres after a short time. 17 hours later, after a dramatic flight, the balloon and its crew
Largest diamond ever found
Natural EnvironmentsA rough diamond larger than any known diamond on earth was found in a South African mine on Thursday. This record-breaking gemstone weighs in at 3106 carats. It was discovered by Frederick Wells, the mine’s inspector. It happened late in the afternoon during a routine inspection at the Premier Mine near Pretoria. On his tour
Grote Mandränke
Natural EnvironmentsFriesland. In the night of 16 January, the waves crashed more than two metres high over the tops of the dikes. On the coast of North Friesland, 21 dikes broke. The devastating storm surge probably cost thousands of lives. Whole swathes of land and several villages in North and East Frisia were submerged in the
Big-eared Rabbits
Natural EnvironmentsWhen the antelope rabbit sweats, it does so mainly through its ears, which are a good 20 cm long. These giant spoons give off excess heat to the environment. And this is vital for the rodent, because the antelope hare lives in the hot, dry deserts of Arizona and Mexico. It can grow up to
Great discovery
Natural EnvironmentsOn an Arctic expedition, the polar explorer James Clark Ross discovered the magnetic South Pole. His measuring instruments had shown him the way. The magnetic pole is located on the Canadian mainland, about 2300 kilometres from the geographic North Pole. In May 1829, the British polar explorer John Ross and his nephew James Clark Ross