Some Unsolved Mysteries of the World

 Mary Celeste

Mary Celeste, originally named “Amazon” was launched in 1860 at Nova Scotia; Mysteric disappearing of its crew and captain is one of the most fascinating mysteries of all time; the captain of the ship (Benjamin Briggs), his family and ship’s crew all disappeared in straits of Gibralter after leaving for Genoa Italy, carrying 1700 barrels of raw American alcohol.

According to some reports later in 1873, some life boats were found allegedly having bodies of crew of Mary Celeste,there was also an American flag in one of these boats but these bodies were never identified; Mary Celeste was 103 ft tall and it was sold in New York auction for $ 3000.

 

The Taus Hum

Taus Hum is a buzz type of low pitched sound heard in several countries like USA,UK and some parts of Europe; Taos Hum name is derived from the Taos and Hum, Taos is a city of New Mexico and Hum is the sound type; ; people say that it seems that it is described as a sound of distant diesel engine; lot of people have different theories about the origin of this sound but none knows the exact reason of the these sounds.

 

Jack the Ripper

Jack the ripper is the name given to the supposed perpetrator of series of murders in 1888 in London, all the victims of the killer were prostitutes with cut throats and damaged bodies;it is suspected by some experts that actually Prince albert victor ( Member of British royal family) was Jack the ripper ; putting aside all these speculations no one knows who exactly is Jack the Ripper.

 

Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle is a traingled shaped mysterious area situated in North Atlantic ocean; if we look at our history it is full of incidents, in which numerous planes and boats mysteriously disappeared in this area.

Many campaigns were launched to solve this mystery and there are lot of theories about this mystery like bad weather,alien encounters etc but till date no one succeeded to explain the exact reason of these disappearances.

 

Shroud of Turin

According to Roman catholics, Shroud of Turin is a linen clothing having image of Jesus Christ, but carbon dating tests have showed that linen fibres of shroud were grown in middle ages; this linen clothing is still subject of debate among experts and the reality of this clothing is still a mystery.

=INDIAN COINS =

 =INDIAN COINS =

Indian Coins

India won its independence on 15 ^thAugust, 1947. During the period of transition India retained the monetary system and the currency and coinage of the earlier period. While Pakistan introduced a new series of coins in 1948 and notes in 1949, India brought out its distinctive coins on 15^th August, 1950.

Chronologically, the main considerations influencing the coinage policy of Republic India over time have been:

• The incorporation of symbols of sovereignty and indigenous motifs on independence;
• Coinage Reforms with the introduction of the metric system;
• The need felt from time to time to obviate the possibility of the metallic value of coins rising beyond the face value;
• The cost-benefit of coinisation of currency notes

Independent India Issues could broadly be categorised as

The Frozen Series 1947-1950

This represented the currency arrangements during the transition period upto the establishment of the Indian Republic. The Monetary System remained unchanged at One Rupee consisting of 192 pies.

1 Rupee = 16 Annas

1 Anna = 4 Pice

1 Pice = 3 Pies

The Anna Series

This series was introduced on 15^th August, 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The King's Portrait was replaced by the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one Rupee coin. In some ways this symbolised a shift in focus to progress and prosperity. Indian motifs were incorporated on other coins. The monetary system was largely retained unchanged with one Rupee consisting of 16 Annas.

Enomination	Metal	Obverse	Reverse
Rupee One	Nickel
Half Rupee	Nickel
Quarter Rupee	Nickel
Two Anna	Cupro-Nickel
One Anna	Cupro-Nickel
Half Anna	Cupro-Nickel
One Pice	Bronze

The Decimal Series

The move towards decimalisation was afoot for over a century. However, it was in September, 1955 that the Indian Coinage Act was amended for the country to adopt a metric system for coinage. The Act came into force with effect from 1 ^st April, 1957. The rupee remained unchanged in value and nomenclature. It, however, was now divided into 100 'Paisa' instead of 16 Annas or 64 Pice. For public recognition, the new decimal Paisa was termed 'Naya Paisa' till 1 ^st June, 1964 when the term 'Naya' was dropped.

Naya Paisa Series 1957-1964

Enomination	Metal Weight Shape Size	Coin
Rupee One	Nickel 10 gms Circular 28 mm
Fifty Naye Paise	Nickel 5 gms Circular 24 mm
Twenty Five Naye Paise	Nickel 2.5 gms Circular 19 mm
Ten Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel 5 gms Eight Scalloped 23 mm (across scallops)
Five Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel 4 gms Square 22 mm (across corners)
Two Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel 3 gms Eight Scalloped 18 mm (across scallops)
One Naya Paisa	Bronze 1.5 gms Circular 16 mm

With commodity prices rising in the sixties, small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and Aluminium-Bronze were gradually minted in Aluminium. This change commenced with the introduction of the new hexagonal 3 paise coin. A twenty paise coin was introduced in 1968 but did not gain much popularity.

Aluminium Series 1964 onwards

 

Enomination	Metal Weight Shape Size	Coin
One Paisa	Aluminium-Magnesium 0.75 gms Square 17 mm (Daigonal)
Two Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 1 gm Scalloped 20 mm (across scallops)
Three Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 1.25 gms Hexagonal 21 mm (Diagonal)
Five Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 1.5 gms Square 22 mm (Diagonal)
Ten Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 2.3 gms Scalloped 26 mm (across scallops)
Twenty Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 2.2 gms Hexagonal 26 mm (diagonal) 24.5 mm (across flats)

Over a period of time, cost benefit considerations led to the gradual discontinuance of 1, 2 and 3 paise coins in the seventies; Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and of one rupee in 1992. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinisation of these denominations in the 1990s.

Contemporary Coins

 

 

Enomination	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Shape
	Cupro-Nickel	9.00 gms	23 mm	Circular
	Cupro-Nickel	6.00 gms	26 mm	Eleven Sided
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	4.85 gms	25 mm	Circular
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	3.79 gms	22 mm	Circular
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	2.83 gms	19 mm	Circular
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	2.00 gms	16 mm	Circular

Most Amazing Places That Look Out of This World

 Our planet Earth has many strange and often beautiful places that retain the power to inspire and mystify. They remind us that even in this age of technical and technological marvels there are still amazing places to be discovered. Here are some of our favorite alien-like landscapes on earth:

1. The Spotted Lake

Spotted Lake is a saline endorheic alkali lake located northwest of Osoyoos in British Columbia and is very highly concentrated with numerous different minerals.

In the summer, most of the water in the lake evaporates leaving behind all the minerals. Large “spots” on the lake appear and depending on the mineral composition at the time, the spots will be different colors. The spots are made mainly of magnesium sulfate, which crystallizes in the summer. Since in the summer, only the minerals in the lake remain, they harden to form natural “walkways” around and between the spots.

Spotted Lake contains some of the highest quantities in the world of magnesium sulfate, calcium and sodium sulphates.

2. The Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim, on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland.

Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the ‘infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn.

The Giant's Causeway is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland.

3. Pamukkale

The strange and weirdly beautiful terraced pools of Pamukkale have been appreciated for over two millennia and yet still remain a little known wonder of the world.

Thousands of years ago earthquakes, which are common in Turkey, created fractures that allowed powerful hot springs to bring water rich in calcium carbonate to the surface. As the water evaporated the chalky material condensed and formed layer-upon-layer of Travertine and thus slowly built up the walls over time in the same way that a stalactite forms in a cave.

Apparently Pammakale means Castle of Cotton but the Greco-Romans built a town above it called Heirapolis – meaning “Holy City” or “Sacred City”. They too recognised it as a rare and important place attributing healing powers to the milky-white waters.

4. McMurdo Dry Valleys 

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of valleys in Antarctica located within Victoria Land west of McMurdo Sound. The terrain looks like something not of this Earth. The region includes many interesting geological features including Lake Vida and the Onyx River, Antarctica's longest river.

The valley's floor occasionally contains a perennially frozen lake with ice several meters thick. It is also one of the world's most extreme deserts Under the ice, in the extremely salty water, live mysterious simple organisms, a subject of on-going research.

Scientists consider the Dry Valleys perhaps an important source of insights into possible extraterrestrial life.

5. Socotra Island

This island simply blows away any notion about what is considered “normal” for a landscape on Earth, you'd be inclined to think you were transported to another planet - or traveled to another era of Earth's history.

Socotra Island, which is part of a group of four islands, has been geographically isolated from mainland Africa for the last 6 or 7 million years. Like the Galapagos Islands, the island is teeming with 700 extremely rare species of flora and fauna, a full 1/3 of which are endemic.

The climate is harsh, hot and dry, and yet - the most amazing plant life thrives there. Situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km from Somalia and 340 km from Yemen, the wide sandy beaches rise to limestone plateaus full of caves (some 7 kilometers in length) and mountains up to 1525 meters high. The trees and plants of this island were preserved thru the long geological isolation, some varieties being 20 million years old.

6. Lencois Maranhenses

Located in the State of Maranhão, on the north shore of Brazil, the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is an area of about 300 square kilometers (155,000 ha) of blinding white dunes and deep blue lagoons, forming one of the most beautiful and unique places in the world. The dunes invade the continent over 50km (31 miles) from the cost, creating a landscape that reminds a white bed sheet, when seen from above.

Lençóis Maranhenses looks like an archetypal desert. In fact it isn't actually a desert. Lying just outside the Amazon basin, the region is subject to a regular rain season during the beginning of the year. The rains cause a peculiar phenomenon: fresh water collects in the valleys between sand dunes, spotting the desert with blue and green lagoons that reach their fullest between July and September.

The area is also surprisingly home to a variety of fish which, despite the almost complete disappearance of the lagoons during the dry season, have their eggs brought from the sea by birds.

7. Rio Tinto

The vast mines of Rio Tinto give a hypnagogic, almost martian landscape. Its growth has consumed not only mountains and valleys but even entire villages.

This river has gained recent scientific interest due to the presence of extremophile aerobic bacteria that dwell in the water. The extreme conditions in the river are analogous to other locations in the solar system thought to contain liquid water, such as subterranean Mars.

Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic (pH 2) and its deep reddish hue. It is metal solvent and surely not human-friendly!