HowStuffWorks search at the history and culture of places from all over the world .
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Communism is a complicated , pixilated word . While the strict definition is subject to lots of debate , there is broad agreement on the states call themselves communist today .
ByZach Taras
Monumental statues have been a authentication of human ambition for centuries , stand marvellous as symbols of cultivation , faith and identicalness . The marvelous statue in the existence is no exception — and neither are any of its competitors .
ByMack Hayden
The world ’s most powerful countries regulate world affairs with economic effectiveness , military world power , tech , and cultural influence , driving international insurance policy .
ByDesiree Bowie
If you live in the United States , you ’re probably used to the idea of ethnic multifariousness — which is study to be one the defining feature article of the country — but how does the U.S. heap up against other state in the cosmos in term of diversity ?
Ever wondered how many countries pop with " W " ? Well , mollycoddler alarm : You wo n’t involve many digit to enumerate them .
Statistically , over half of the people reading this article live in a metropolis , with a higher population compactness than rural or suburban field . For instance , New York City has nearly 27,000 people crammed into each square mile ( 2.6 square kilometer ) of terra firma .
ByTalon Homer
Former rural area that start with " O " let in Orange Free State and Oldenburg but these states have since dissolved . There is now one remaining holdout between Asia and Africa : the Sultanate of Oman .
ByMitch Ryan
You ’ve probably heard of the Russian , the Mongol , the Roman , the British and a few other empires . Until reasonably of late , they were all over the post ( literally ) . So , what were the largest empires in chronicle ?
Eurasia is the big continent on Earth , home to a rich tapestry of culture , languages and histories . From the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia to the bustling city of the modern era , the countries of Asia offer a coup d’oeil into the multifariousness of the human beings ’s population .
From the Amazon Rainforest to the Andes Mountains , the fourth - largest continent is a treasure treasure trove of natural wonders and historical site . Let ’s research the state of South America and take a look at what makes each one unequaled .
With the addition of South Sudan as the 195th independent country in 2011 , the world see another chapter in its ever - expanding story .
The African continent is home to a noteworthy array of acculturation , landscapes and histories . This vast land comprises 54 recognized African country , each with its own trenchant identity . Here , we ’ll explore the rural area of Africa , divided into the cardinal region : North Africa , West Africa , Central Africa , East Africa and Southern Africa .
If you were to explore the humans alphabetically , you ’d find 27 country starting with " s " - like Spain , Sweden and South Africa - each with its own fertile history and vivacious culture . But when you get to " tenner , " the map take out a blank ; no countries start with that problematic alphabetic character .
If you are looking at a traditional cosmos map , you wo n’t get an accurate idea of the size of the seven continents ; depicting a orbit onto a flat surface mean that something will terminate up distorted . For that reason , you may not truly understand something like the size of it of the largest continent .
ByYara Simón
With perpetually exchange borders and governments , identify the honest-to-goodness land in the world is catchy study .
BySascha Bos
Uncover the secrets of Grecian fire , ancient warfare ’s legendary weapon system . search its history , theme , and deadly shock .
By HowStuffWorks
The slow Aokigahara Forest has acquired another name , the " suicide forest . " Why has it acquired that reputation and what is being done about it ?
ByDave Roos
An island does n’t necessarily have to be small . You might be surprised by the size of some of these islands on our list . Here are the nine biggest ones .
We can easily picture a group of beard - and - toga geniuses hunched over scroll inside a magnificent colonnaded hall . But what was the literal Library of Alexandria like ? And why do some scholars doubt its existence ?
seem at any vintage map and you ’ll see how a state ’s borders shift . But what reason would a country have for exchange its name ?
ByLauren David
Back in the Cold War flakiness of the fifties , a CIA intelligence officer in the Philippines used the local folklore myth of the blood - sucking aswang to try and scare off communistic Johnny . Did it work ?
For century , Razzouk Tattoo in Jerusalem has provided tattoos to both Pilgrim Father and posers , using hand - carve wooden revenue stamp , some of which are 500 years old .
ByAllison Troutner
Like many thing , chess was n’t forge by one person but rather several the great unwashed . Here ’s a short chronicle of chess .
It ’s hard to sweep through down the sometime urban center in the existence . Some say it ’s Damascus , Syria , while others evoke it ’s Jericho , in the West Bank . So which is older ?
ByPatrick J. Kiger
For hundred , colonizers , missionary and anthropologists have attempted to make contact with the occupier of North Sentinel Island . But outsiders have learned the unvoiced way that , even today , the Sentinelese just want to be depart alone .
