Sunday, 29 June 2014

Sport Origins

Sport Origins

Who invented Baseball?

Baseball is a much older game than you think. Medieval manuscripts show games with bats, while a game called baseball appears in a picture published in London in 1744. Baseball is also mentioned in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey, which she began writing in 1798. The game of rounders was first described 30 years later, and this or a similar game was known by the British settlers in America. Abner Doubleday is sometimes said to have invented baseball in 1839, but Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr drew up the games rules in 1845. He founded the first team, the knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York.

When did basketball Start?

The inspiration for basketball have been from the Aztec game ollamalitzli and other ball and hoop game splayed by South American peoples. The modern game was invented  in 1891 by Canadian physical education teacher Dr James A Naismith at the international YMCA college Springfield, Massachusetts. He wanted to find a game that could be played indoor during winter. Peach baskets were orginally used as goals, players have to climb a ladder to fetch the ball after scoring. Then someone hit on the idea of removing the bottom! The baskets were soon replaced by metallic rings with netting.

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Sports Facts

Most watched sporting Event

The 2000 Olympics Games in Sydney was the most watched sporting event ever on television, with 3.7 billion viewers worldwide. 1,159,249 tickets for watching the events live were sold out.

Marathon Sprint!

If an athlete can run a marathon as the same rate as a 100 m sprint, he would finish in 43 minutes. In reality no one has run a marathon in under 2 hours


sports facts

Most Competitors

  • The Boston Marathon centenary race in 1996 attracted a record 38,706 competitors, the most ever for a marathon.
  • The Athens Olympics games (2004) had 11,099 competitors, the most of any Olympics
  • The World's biggest road race is the 12 km Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco, USA. It has been held every year since 1912. The 1988 race had a record 78,769 official entries, but the total number of people taking part was probably about 110,000 many of them in fancy dress.
  • In 1929 the grand national horse race had a record 66 runners, but only 9 reached the finish line.

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

Modern Wonders

The Guggenheim was built in 1997 to the design of Canadian born architect Frank Gehry. It houses a collection of modern art in a striking, ultra modern setting. The structure combines limestone blocks of varied shapes, curved sections covered in panels of titanium and large areas of glass.




Channel Tunnel,England/France

Channel Tunnel, England/France

Modern Wonders

Work on the second longest underwater rail canal in the world began in 1987. It took seven years and 15000 workers to create the 50.45 km tunnel which opened in 1994. The tunnel links Folkestone in England to Sangatte, France.






Sunday, 22 June 2014

Kansai International Airport, Japan

Kansai International Airport, Japan

Modern Wonders

The airport was opened in 1994. It stands on 4 into 1.2 km island which is entirely man made. It was built with 48000 huge blocks, made from the earth excavated by flattening three mountains, and designed to withstand typhoons and earthquaqes. Its terminal building was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano.



Modern Wonders

Deltawerken flood barrier, Netherlands

Modern Wonders

After a disastrous flood in 1953, Engineer Johan Van Veen designed the Delta Project, or Deltawerken. This is a series of interconnected dams that forms a movable sea barrier while preserving the habitat and the sea life within it.




Friday, 20 June 2014

Hoover Dam, USA

Hoover Dam, USA

Modern Wonders

When it was built in 1936, the 221 m (725 ft) high Hoover Dam was the largest in the world. A record 3.63 million cubic meters of concrete were used to make the structure, which controls the flooding of the Colorado river.


Thursday, 19 June 2014

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

The amphitheater was opened in AD 80 with a huge spectacle lasting 80 days. It is oval and measures 48 m (157 ft ) high, 188 m (617 ft) long and 156 m (512 ft ) wide. It could hold up to 50000 and could be flooded for reenactments of sea battles.


The Catacombs of Alexandria, Egypt

The Catacombs of Alexandria, Egypt

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

These Roman tombs beneath the city of Alexandria, Egypt, were discovered in 1900 when a donkey fell into them. The beautifully preserved, carved catacombs had been made in solid rock during the second century AD.



The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

This was a defensive wall built to protect china from its warlike nrihbhours to the north.It was built in stages after 220 BC,using a huge labor force of as many as 300,000 workers. The main part is 3460 km long and wide enough for an army to march along it ten abreast.



Wednesday, 18 June 2014

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), Istanbul, Turkey, was originally built in AD 360 by the emperor Constantius. It was later rebuilt as one of the finest Churches, with many mosaic and ornate details. In 1453 the church was converted into an Islamic mosque


The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanking, China

The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanking, China

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

The Porcelain Pagoda was built in about 1412 by emperor Yung lo. It was an eight sided structure covered in glazed tiles, and soared to 79m (260ft). It was destroyed during a rebellion in 1853.


Leaning Tower of Pisa

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

Building began on the Bell Tower of Pisa Cathedral, Italy, in 1173. Soon the foundations began to sink on one side.The design was adjusted, but the time the tower has reached its full height of 55m (179ft ) it was leaning sharply. The tilt increased over the centuries and it is amazing that the 14000 tonne structure is still standing



Stonehenge

Stonehenge

The Seven Wonders of the medieval world

The circle of huge stones was built in stages from about 3000 BC. The origin of the stones, how they were transported and the purpose of the site remain a mystery. It was possibly some sort of ancient observatory.


The Seven Wonders of the Medieval world


People have never been able to agree with the Seven wonders of the medieval world, and this is one of the several lists that have been made.It includes the leaning tower of Pisa.In 2007 , an organisation produced the new list of seven wonders, according to a voting system, that included the Colosseum and the great wall of China,Taj Mahal India, Chichen Itza,Mexico, Machu pichhu, Peru, Petra, Jordan and the statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, which was completed as recently as 1931.

The Pharos of Alexandria


The Pharos of Alexandria

The seven Wonders of the ancient world

This was a lighthouse off the coast of the city of Alexandria. Work started on it in about 299 BC and it took about 20 years to build. It was 124 m (407 ft) tall – the tallest lighthouse house ever made. It was damaged by earthquakes and in 1375 toppled into the sea. A few remains have been found.



The Colossus of Rhodes


The Colossus of Rhodes

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world

The huge statue of Helios stood in Rhodes harbor, Greece. In 305-304 BC warrior king demetrius poliorcetes attacked the city of Rhodes. When he abandoned his siege, the people built the giant statue as an offering to the god Helios. It took twelve years to build and stood 33m (110 ft) high, but in 226 BC it was destroyed by an earthquake.


The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus


The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world

This was the tomb of Persian ruler Mausolus, who ruled [art of the Persian empire from 377 to 353 BC. Halicarnassus (modern-day bodrum) in Turkey was his capital. After his death his widow built this magnificent tomb, which measured 102 by 242 m (344 x 794 ft) and was 43 m (140 ft) high. It was damaged by an earthquake and demolished in 1522. The word mausoleum has come to mean any great tomb.



The Temple of Artemis


The Temple of Artemis

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Turkey, was built to honor the Greek goddess of hunting and nature. The temple was completed in 550 BC. It was the largest of all ancient Greek buildings and measured 114 by 55 m (375 x 180 ft). Archaeologists have found the foundations and some columns of this ancient wonders.





The Statue of Zeus at Olympia


The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world

This was an enormous statue of the Greek god, carved by the sculptor Phidias. It was inside the Temple of Zeus, built about 466-456 BC. The statue was 13 m (43 ft) high and one of the largest indoor sculptures ever made. Today little remains of the temple and nothing of the statue.


Ruins


The hanging gardens of Babylon


The hanging gardens of Babylon

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world

The legendary gardens of King Nebuchadnessar II may not have existed. Some people believe they were created in about 600 BC in Babylon, 88 km (55 miles) south of present day Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. “Hanging” suggests that they were a serious of terraces made of bricks, some glazed and brightly colored.





Ruins

The Great Pyramid of Giza



The Great Pyramid of Giza

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt.It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.  Initially at 146.5 meters (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. It was made as a tomb for King Khufu, who ruled Egypt from about 2551 to 2528 BC, and is the largest stone structures ever built. It covers an area the size of 200 tennis courts.