The Saqqara Bird: The Ancient Egyptian Flying Machine

Saqqara Bird" is a small wooden replica of an actual ancient Egyptian flying machine? The Saqqara bird was excavated in 1898 from a tomb of Pa-di-lmen in Sappho in Saqqara, Egypt. It has one prodigious problem and that is its lack of information since its early discovery. Saqqara bird is one of most mysterious objects ever discovered. It is believed that Saqqara bird is 2,200 years old, resembles to modern day airplane with the head of bird. Some people speculate that ancient Egyptians may have understood the processes of aerodynamics and that the Saqqara Bird may have been a scale model of an actual working aircraft or glider of some type. The perfect placement of the wings reveals advanced aerodynamics design. The Saqqara bird is made of sycamore wood, the bird may have been a ceremonial object, a toy, or even some kind of weather vane. The bird is a fun historical footnote, a minor mystery whose true persistence may never be known, but it doesn't represent anything earth-shattering nor does it?

In 1969, the archaeologist Dr. Khalil Messiha was a professor Of Anatomy for the Artist at Helwan University. He was also a member of the Royal Aeromodellar's Club and the Egyptian Aeronautical Club. He was also an amateur student of bird models .During excavating he came upon a wooden object similar to a bird, mere 7 inch wingspan, and this object has baffled archaeologists and researchers for years. The Saqqara bird has eyes, a nose but the wings are not similar to the wings of birds. The wings resemble to modern day jet plane. To the middle of the rump, the wings are bit thicker; it is where the lift up is at the highest point. The wings become thinner to the end and those wings are modeled down and this is the point which proves that the Saqqara bird has advanced aerodynamic design in its construction.

What is also very imperative is that birds have no rudders, they don’t need rudders. The wing is made of one piece of wood, and its span is exactly 18 cms. The part of the body is the thickest 8 millimeters. Then it tapers in thickness towards the tips. There is a Dihedral angle which is somewhat uneven on both sides due to slight distortion of the wood, caused by the passage of time. Messiha claims "The lower part of the tail is broken and flat which I think may be evidence that the tail was attached there. Saqqara Bird has been housed in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo. The Saqqara Bird has a vertical stabilizer which is unlike the generally horizontal shape of a real bird's tail. This fin as "shaped as if the bird had twisted its tail feathers. It is also legless and has wings set at an angle Messiha sees as similar to that of modern aircraft, which he considered an attempt to create aerodynamic lift.

The Saqqara Bird is just a tiny part of the many theories concerning of the prospects of ancient lost technology and, like most debated theories, we’ll maybe never know the real story. It could be a model of an ancient flying machine, it could be nothing more than a little wooden bird, or it could be something in between. Whereas there are several theories as to what this object is, until now no solid conclusion has been offered. The History Channel, as part of its continuing plan to completely discredit itself, ran an episode of the show "Ancient Discoveries" which purported to prove that the Saqqara Bird was capable of flight. However, the most common accepted theory is that the Saqqara Bird is actually a sacred bird that was used as decoration on the masts of ships or a toy model of a bird.

 

 

 

 

 

The Juniper Tree

Juniper or Juniperus are trees what we call red cedar is really a juniper. But many others are shrub like and as such are extremely useful in landscape plantings especially since they will tolerate poor soil. They do well by the seashore as well as in hot dry places, and they cover banks beautifully.

There is great variety in their shape, foliage textures and foliage colors; many make fine specimen plants, and the smaller ones look good in rock gardens, either as accents or tailing down over rocks. The low, spreading junipers make excellent ground covers.

Many varieties of Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) such as the bluish “Hetzii” and the flat topped “Pfitzerana” may grow as tall as 10 feet and just as wide, sending out long, irregular horizontal branches. They are usually misused because people rarely understand how big they will grow; a compact juniper is more appropriate for most landscaping situations.

But given the right space the big ones can be effective. The variety called “Sargent juniper” forms a low, bluish mat. Varieties of common juniper (J. communis) include “Depressa” which grows under 4 feet tall and “Compressa” a little gem of a plant that grows upright with a pointed top and never exceeds 2 feet.

Tam juniper (J. Sabina “Tamariscifolia”) is much used because it forms a low, wide tidy mound of rich green. Varieties of creeping juniper (J. horizontalis) are the most prostrate of all; “Wiltoni” is also called “Blue Rug” forms a blue mat just a few inches high that spreads widely and is excellent for the foreground of a shrub planting or in a rock garden.

“Bar Harbor” is gray green and turns purplish in winter. Andorra juniper (J. H. plumose) is taller than Bar Harbor under 2 feet but also has a fine, purplish winter color. Moreover, Junipers like full sun and a soil that is rather dry, sandy,, well drained and slightly acid. They rarely if ever need feeding.

They should not need much pruning if you have chosen the right juniper for the spot, and they are usually appreciated for the irregularity of their branching patterns. But you can remove awkward hoots in spring or summer, trim recent growth in early spring if more bushiness is needed or cut all of the season’s growth in summer to limit size. Cutting hard to bare wood will not however, produce branching. 
Source: Charismatic Planet

Bridegroom’s Oak: The World’s Most Romantic Postbox

In Germany a 500 year old tree called “The Bridegroom’s Oak” in the Dodauer Forst forest near of Eutin, has its own postal address and actually receives about 5 to 6 letters every day. The letters are sent by love seekers from all over the world, in the hope of someone will read them and write back. In the modern age of dating apps, social media available today, but love seekers still sending letters to this amazing tree, in the hope of finding their love. To sending the letter to charming tree and expecting good fortunate to work would be a really magic. The tree trunk has a circumference of 16 ft, a spread of 98 ft, and a height of 82 ft.

The tree is surrounded by a wooden fence, while the hole is about 9.8 feet off the ground and 1 ft wide. The widespread Bridegroom’s Oak tree growing more than 500 years but became a facilitator of love about hundred years ago, when it found a beautiful love story. A lovely girl named “Minna” fell in love with a young chocolate maker named “Wilhelm”. Both wanted to marry, but girl father was opposed to this relationship, restricted her from seeing the boy. Both didn’t give up, and started exchanging love letters in secret by leaving them in a knothole of Bridegroom’s Oak. Hence, time passes very quickly and her father ultimately came to know about their love letters, but instead of punishing, he decided to let her marry. In June 1891, their wedding took place under the branches of Oak tree that helped them to keep their romance alive.

This love story widespread like a wild fire in Eutin, and soon people start writing romantic letters and leaving them in the tree’s knothole. Therefore, tree has gotten lot of popularity among love birds. So, in 1927, it was already known as “Bräutigamseiche” had become so popular that the Deutsche Post assigned it its own address and postal code, allowing people from all over Germany and even abroad to send in their letters. People all over the world are visiting Bridegroom’s Oak by following one simple rule. They can check all the letters in its knothole, and take with them the one they wish to reply to, but they have to put the others back for other people to find. According to one BBC reports that it has been responsible for at least 100 marriages, as well as many other romantic relationships, but if you’re still not convinced, just ask Karl Heinz Martens, the postman who has been delivering letters to the tree for the last 20 years.