580/701 The Pantheon, the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, remains stable after 1800 years.
The Pantheon in Rome, which features the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, has remained structurally sound for over 1800 years since its reconstruction.
579/701 Matt Damon declined 10% of “Avatar,” missing $250 million earnings.
James Cameron offered Matt Damon a role in “Avatar” with 10% of the profits, which would have earned him over $250 million.
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578/701 Priyanjali Gupta’s AI translates limited ASL to English in real-time.
Priyanjali Gupta, a VIT student, developed an AI model to translate ASL to English in real-time. Her AI model supports basic ASL signs and was built using TensorFlow and transfer learning techniques. The model was inspired by Gupta’s desire to apply her engineering skills in a meaningful way.
577/701 GPS costs $2 million daily, funded by U.S. taxpayers.
GPS, available worldwide at no cost, incurs daily operational expenses of approximately $2 million. This amount, covering satellite launches and maintenance, is financed by American taxpayers.
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576/701 Bhutan, world’s sole carbon-negative country, maintains over 60% forest coverage.
Bhutan is the world’s only carbon-negative country, with its constitution requiring over 60% forest coverage, effectively making it a major carbon sink that sequesters millions of tonnes of CO2 annually.
575/701 Great Attractor massive region pulling galaxies within Laniakea Supercluster towards it.
The “Great Attractor” is a region in space, part of the Laniakea Supercluster, pulling the Milky Way and other galaxies towards it due to its massive gravitational influence.
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574/701 Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Nintendo’s founding both occurred 1889.
Vincent Van Gogh created his iconic painting “The Starry Night” in June 1889, capturing turbulent, swirling skies. In the same year, on September 23, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo in Kyoto, originally as a manufacturer of Hanafuda playing cards. This juxtaposition marks 1889 as a significant year in both art and business.
Chiquinho Scarpa, a Brazilian millionaire, initially claimed he would bury his Bentley to use in the afterlife, inciting considerable public uproar. He later revealed that this was a stunt to promote organ donation, using the shock factor to spotlight how people often overlook the value of donating organs. The stunt coincided with Brazil’s National Organ Donation Week, successfully raising awareness and donor numbers.
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572/701 Chinese farmer self-studies law, wins pollution lawsuit after 16 years.
A Chinese farmer named Wang Enlin, who dropped out of school in third grade, devoted 16 years to self-study of law to challenge a chemical company, Qihua Group, for polluting his village. Wang, unable to afford legal books, bartered corn for reading time in a local bookstore, copying out necessary legal information by hand. With determination, Wang brought a lawsuit against the company, culminating in a court ruling in 2017 that favored his village, ordering the company to clean up the waste and pay compensation. His legal journey was supported by the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims starting in 2007, and despite initial setbacks, his persistence paid off.
571/701 Colombian dog pays with leaf for cookies, delights everyone daily.
After observing customers exchange money for goods, a dog in Colombia began bringing a leaf in his mouth as payment for cookies at a store. The store staff, charmed by this behavior, decided to play along and now accepts the leaf as payment, allowing the dog to ‘buy’ cookies every day.
