Supermodels Christy Turlington and Stephanie Seymour, 1993.

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At 58, and later well into his sixties, Leo Tolstoy made three journeys on foot from Moscow to Yasnaya Polyana—each spanning over 200 kilometers, completed in just five to six days.

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Anji Bridge — the oldest preserved bridge in China. Believed to have been built around 605 AD. Height: 7.3 m.

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Abel Bikila, the first Ethiopian runner to win Olympic gold, sprints barefoot through the streets of Rome in 1960, leaving his competitors behind

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"Flood in the Bois de Boulogne in 1421" by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912).

In 1421, the Netherlands was struck by a devastating flood. Seventy-two villages were submerged, and around ten thousand people lost their lives.

According to legend—later inspiring the painting’s scene—after the disaster, survivors found a cradle washed ashore. A cat, soaked and trembling, leapt frantically from edge to edge inside. They moved to rescue the animal, only to discover, to their astonishment, an infant sleeping peacefully beneath it. Later, they realized the cat's movements had kept the cradle balanced, preventing it from capsizing.

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A life-sized sculptural composition of sumo wrestlers from 1890. On display at the Museum of Modern Art in Kumamoto, Japan.

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The phrase "Not worth the candle"

At its core, this expression comes from a card game term — meaning the stakes are so low that even a win wouldn't cover the cost of the candles needed to light the playing table.

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Crew of an American B-36 bomber in Arctic gear

Greenland, 1951

🤩 Historian’s Diary

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Crew of a self-propelled howitzer Msta-S preparing shells for the next strike on Chechen militant positions, Second Chechen War.

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In the Russian Empire, blasphemy was punishable by complete loss of civil rights and up to 15 years of hard labor 😶

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At the officer commissioning ceremony for graduates of the flight school in Kamenz, Saxony. East Germany. 1988.

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Сундук Мертвеца — не сундук вовсе, а остров в Карибском море. В начале XVIII века пиратский капитан Эдвард Тич высажил там 15 мятежников, оставив им лишь бутылку рома. Те выжили — и спустя месяц вернулись на корабль. Именно им моряки посвятили свою песню.

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Actor Andrey Mironov and composer Raimonds Pauls at the "Blue Light" show, 1983

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Stanley Matthews was named England's best footballer multiple times and once earned the title of Europe’s finest player.

Throughout his entire career, which lasted until he was 50, he never received a red or even a yellow card—never once sent off or cautioned.

At his farewell match, Queen Elizabeth II personally conferred knighthood upon him, making him the first footballer ever to be so honored.

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the only home we have. We stormed it for nothing… None of us will return to Germany, unless a miracle happens. And I no longer believe in miracles. Time has shifted to the Russians' side.

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Children playing with stacks of money during a period of hyperinflation. Germany, 1922

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Knights Templar (French: templiers — "temple knights") were a military religious order founded in 1119 on the Holy Land by a small group of knights led by Hugues de Payens, shortly after the First Crusade.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the order grew immensely wealthy, acquiring vast estates not only in the Crusader states across Palestine and Syria, but also throughout Europe. Granted extensive religious and legal privileges by the Pope—directly overseeing the order—as well as by various monarchs across Europe, the Templars operated under unique autonomy on royal territories where they held land and property. While often serving as the military backbone of Crusader states in the East, their original, stated mission at founding was the protection of Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.

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The face of the Statue of Liberty during construction, 1885.

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Soldiers of the Mexican Revolution, 1911.

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Russians may come across as simple-minded, bold, or even foolish—but one can only pray for those who stand in their way.

© Winston Churchill

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There’s a monument on the Moon.

Made of aluminum, it’s a small figure in a spacesuit, left as a memorial for fallen astronauts and cosmonauts. Engraved on it are the names of 14 individuals who lost their lives in space exploration—among them, Yuri Gagarin.

The Apollo 15 crew placed it on the lunar surface in 1971, a silent tribute in the stillness of space.

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