🐍 Bush Viper

The bush viper (Atheris squamigera), also known as the green bush viper, is a venomous snake native to the tropical forests of Central and West Africa.

It usually grows to around 40–60 cm in length, although some individuals can exceed 70 cm. Its body is covered with strongly keeled scales, giving it a rough, almost spiky appearance. Its coloration can vary from bright green and yellow to brown or orange, sometimes with several colors combined.

The bush viper is mainly arboreal, spending much of its time in trees and dense vegetation. It is mostly nocturnal and uses its excellent camouflage to remain hidden while waiting for prey. Its diet includes small mammals, frogs, lizards, and birds.

It has a triangular head, vertical pupils, and long movable fangs. Its venom can cause severe pain, swelling, bleeding, and tissue damage, making its bite potentially dangerous to humans.

One of its most fascinating characteristics is its extraordinary camouflage, which allows it to blend almost perfectly with leaves and branches.

The Iguazú Falls are an impressive system of around 275 waterfalls, reaching heights of up to 82 meters, located along the Iguazú River on the border between Argentina (80%) and Brazil (20%). Recognized as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, they offer a breathtaking spectacle surrounded by subtropical rainforest.

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In 1881, Tombstone, Arizona, was a mining town full of saloons, gambling, violence, and armed men. For some time, there had been serious tensions between the Earp brothers — Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan — and a group known as the “Cowboys,” which included Ike and Billy Clanton and Frank and Tom McLaury. On October 26, 1881, the situation finally exploded. Virgil Earp, who was a deputy sheriff, decided to confront several Cowboys who were carrying weapons in town, violating local laws. Wyatt, Morgan, and Doc Holliday went with him. They found the men near the O.K. Corral and ordered them to hand over their weapons. Within seconds, a gunfight began. Around thirty shots were fired, and when the shooting stopped, Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury were dead, while Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday were wounded. Even today, it is still unclear who fired first. The Earps were accused of murder, but the judge ultimately decided that the shooting was justified under the circumstances. However, the conflict was far from over. On December 28, 1881, Virgil Earp was ambushed while walking through Tombstone. Several men shot him, seriously injuring his arm and leaving him permanently disabled. A few months later, on March 18, 1882, the worst tragedy occurred. Morgan Earp was playing billiards with Wyatt in a saloon when an unknown gunman fired through a door or window. Morgan was shot in the back and died shortly afterward. He was only thirty years old. Wyatt, devastated and convinced that the Cowboys were responsible, decided to take justice into his own hands. Together with Doc Holliday and several other men, he organized what became known as the Earp Vendetta Ride. The hunt began in Tucson, where, on March 20, Wyatt and his companions found Frank Stilwell, whom they believed was involved in Morgan’s murder. Stilwell was killed at the railway station. The Earps then continued their hunt across Arizona, pursuing and killing other men they believed were responsible for Morgan’s death. One of them was Curly Bill Brocius, one of the most famous Cowboys, although the exact circumstances of his death are still debated by historians. Eventually, Wyatt Earp and his men left Arizona because their revenge campaign had turned them into wanted men themselves. What had begun as a dispute between armed men had become a personal war filled with shootings, ambushes, and revenge. The story of Tombstone later became one of the most famous legends of the Wild West, although the real events were much more complicated than the movies suggest: the Earps were lawmen, but during the vendetta they chose to go beyond official justice and become judges of their own enemies.

Machu Picchu is one of the most fascinating archaeological sites in the world. Built by the Inca civilization in the 15th century, probably during the reign of Emperor Pachacuti, it is located high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, at about 2,430 meters above sea level. The city includes temples, terraces, houses and sophisticated stone structures, but its exact purpose is still debated. Some historians believe it was a royal estate or a religious center, while others think it had several functions.

Machu Picchu was probably abandoned during the Spanish conquest, although the Spanish never discovered it. It became internationally famous after Hiram Bingham brought attention to the site in 1911. One of its greatest mysteries is how the Incas transported and perfectly fitted the enormous stones without modern machinery. There are also theories that some structures were designed to follow the movements of the Sun and stars. Other, more speculative theories suggest that Machu Picchu had astronomical or even unknown technological purposes. Its hidden location, incredible architecture and mysterious history continue to make Machu Picchu one of the most fascinating places on Earth.

📸 First Photo (Machu Picchu today)

📸 Second Photo (Machu Picchu in the early days after its discovery)

📸 Third Photo (The reconstruction of Machu Picchu in the past)

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A concrete example of dinosaur evolution into modern animals is the relationship between theropod dinosaurs and birds. It is not correct to say that a Tyrannosaurus rex directly turned into a chicken, because chickens did not descend from T. rex, but both belonged to the large theropod group. Over millions of years, some small theropod dinosaurs developed features increasingly similar to those of birds, such as feathers, lightweight bones, wings, and bodies adapted for flight. An important example is Archaeopteryx, which lived about 150 million years ago and had both dinosaur-like features, such as teeth, claws, and a long bony tail, and bird-like features, such as feathers and wings. After the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago, one branch of these dinosaurs survived and continued to evolve into modern birds. For this reason, a chicken can be considered, in an evolutionary sense, a very distant descendant of theropod dinosaurs. 🦖➡️🪶➡️🐦➡️🐔

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Caracalla and Geta ruled together for a very short time, in 211 AD, after the death of their father, Septimius Severus. However, their relationship was terrible: Caracalla was ambitious, impulsive and ruthless, while Geta was considered more diplomatic and interested in culture.

Together, they tried to administer the Roman Empire, but their constant rivalry made cooperation almost impossible. Eventually, Caracalla ordered Geta’s assassination in 211 AD and became the sole emperor.

Caracalla died in 217 AD during a military campaign against the Parthians. He was assassinated by a soldier, probably as part of a conspiracy involving the Praetorian Prefect Macrinus, who became emperor after him.

Valsinni è un piccolo borgo medievale arroccato sulle colline della provincia di Matera. È famoso soprattutto per il Castello di Valsinni, legato alla tragica storia della poetessa Isabella Morra, vissuta nel XVI secolo.

Il paese conserva un'atmosfera antica e suggestiva, con vicoli stretti, case in pietra e panorami sul paesaggio lucano. Oggi Valsinni è conosciuto anche come “Paese della Poesia”, in memoria di Isabella Morra.

It was built during the 19th Dynasty for the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II, probably around the 13th century BC.