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Schwerer Gustav or Hitler’s giant gun was a fearsome weapon of war.

A distinctive feature of artillery of the Second World War were cannons of every increasing size and caliber. One other such weapon was the 914 mm Little David, constructed for the American army. It was intended to be used for attacking Japanese bunkers at the end of WWII. This mortar was the biggest in the world, but it was also never used in combat. The Japanese surrendered before its deployment.

Schwerer Gustav was conceived prior to the beginning of WWII when Hitler demanded its construction as a precursor to the invasion of France. It was to aid the German Army in penetrating the Maginot Line. Its construction missed the invasion of France but it did take part in some actions throughout the war. After years of development and construction, the weapon’s impact on the war was very small in the greater scheme of things. As impressive as the weapon was its fate was far from honorable.

In the following article, we will explore its precursors, conception and birth, lackluster history and ultimate fate during it’s brief, yet explosive life.

Grandfathers of the Schwerer Gustav

Enormous siege guns are nothing new to war. They have been employed in some form or other since the late middle ages. A great example would be the impressive 890mm Tsar Cannon employed by the Russians around 1586. This weapon weighs in at 39 tonnes and could fire rounds of 771 kgs. It is made of bronze and is actually a piece of art. The sheer size of the weapon itself, not to mention its ammunition rendered it somewhat useless in actual battle. It is suggested that the weapon was actually crafted more as a prestige piece than a weapon of war. This gun is currently on display outside the Kremlin along with some ornamental cannon balls.

Tsar Cannon [Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]

The Tsar cannon was not the largest caliber weapon pre 20th century, however. The British built a huge 42-tonne gun that could fire 914 mm exploding shells over 4km. This amazing weapon was called the “Mallet Mortar” and each projectile weighed in at around 1.25 tonnes. The Brits produced only two of these weapons and they were never fired in action. They were test fired of course but never used in anger.

Usage of these canons in the 20th century began with the Big Bertha (also known as the “Fat Bertha”) during World War I. Big Bertha proved its effectiveness against older fortifications by destroying several Belgian and French forts. However, these cannons were almost useless against newer constructions built of concrete reinforced with steel. This led to decreased usage of the 420 mm Big Bertha howitzers.

Mallet’s Mortar [Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]

Stay on target

The German military industry wasn’t discouraged and new grand cannons were developed despite the Big Bertha’s failure. Karl-Gerät, also called Thor (like the Viking thunder god) and Mörser Karl, were developed between 1937 and 1940. These were self-propelled siege cannons that utilized 600 mm wide barrels. They fired projectiles weighing between 1250 and 2170 kilograms. These big guns had relatively short firing ranges of “just” 10 km with the lightest shell, but it was used with varying success between 1941 and 1945.

Railway guns

Although this impressive weapon is termed a railway gun its sheer size severely restricted its movement between deployment. The gun was actually transported in sections and assembled on site. This prevented the piece from being transported assembled. The gun could be broken down into five units. These were the breech ring and block, the barrel in two pieces, the barrel jacket and cradle and trunnions. The rest of the mounting was split lengthwise for movement between battle sites. All components were transported on special flat wagons except for the bogies that could be transported on their own wheels.

True railway guns were a large artillery piece mounted on a specially designed railway wagons. The Krupp group built many such pieces for the German War effort during both world wars and smaller pieces often formed components of armored trains. In general, there is little if no need to dismantle the weapon which can be transported in whole between combat zones.

They are also not a 20th Century invention. The very first gun used in anger was utilized during the American civil war. They involved the use of a banded 32-pounder Brooke Naval Rifle mounted on a flat car and shielded with a sloping casemate. Such weapons were used during the Battle of Savage’s station. Railroad guns also had applications in the French and British Armies during the 19th century.

American civil war railroad gun [Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]

Back to Schwerer Gustav

All well and good but let’s get back to the largest cannon ever used in battle. Schwerer Gustav shell was 800 mm or 80 cm in diameter. This baby was a railway gun developed by the Krupp family company who also developed the Big Bertha cannons in WWI.

It was designed in the 1930’s in order to destroy the strongest defensive facilities of their time – the Maginot Line in France. This defensive line was built by the French along the frontier with Germany and consisted of different obstacles, concrete bunkers and fortifications, and weapons installations. The desired specification was that the cannons should be able to destroy 1-meter thick layers of steel or 7-meter thick walls of reinforced concrete. Fate changed its plans when the war began. The Wehrmacht invaded France by passing through Belgium, thus circumventing the Maginot Line and conquering France without the necessity of destroying the defensive line.

According to Wikipedia, Schwerer Gustav weighed in at around 1350 tonnes and was capable of firing 4.8 metric ton heavy projectiles at a distance of 47 km with a muzzle velocity of 820 m/s. Schwerer Gustav damage was incredible! Although not used to fulfill their initial purpose, the Gustav super cannons were transported to the Eastern front and participated in the Fall Barbarossa (Operation Barbarossa in German). During this operation, the cannon was used for the siege of Sevastopol. After that, it was transported near Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and started preparation for the siege, but the operation was canceled. The gun was sadly later destroyed in order to avoid its capture.

Birth of the Schwerer Gustav

This impressive weapon has its origins during 1935 as part of the Wehrmacht study which examined the kind of armaments needed to penetrate the newly completed defenses of France.

At the commencement of the Second World War, Hitler was eager to extend his power into western Europe. His ambitions included the annexation of France. Learning from lessons made during the Great War, the French had fortified their border with Germany. The Maginot Line was an impressive barrier of steel and concrete that for all intents and purposes should’ve been impenetrable. This defensive structure dominated French military thinking during the inter-war years. This thinking was its great strength and as it turned out its fatal flaw.

Unable to keep up with modern advancements in warfare, the Maginot line would later prove to be useless when the German launched their blitzkrieg assault on the French through Belgium. This tactic had been honed during the Spanish Civil War and proved devastatingly effective throughout the early stages of the war.

Forging the Schwerer Gustav

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. At the time, the breaching of the line was a possible strategy to adopt and as such Gustav Krupp was approached to provide ballistic data for such a hypothetical weapon. Gustav was a leading German steelworks and armaments manufacturer. This request was met partly as a propaganda stunt and partly as a design exercise. In 1936, Hitler himself visited the factory and again asked Gustav the same question in person.

Krupp was able to provide the Fuhrer with an extensive and accurate answer based on their earlier calculations and assured Hitler that although it would be difficult, it was a distinct possibility. It can be argued that he may have bought into the national socialist movement or was fully aware of non-compliance owing to the fate of Hugo Junker. In either case, Krupp took a gamble and set his design team to work on a concept model for the weapon.

In early 1937, Gustav was in a position to show his designs to Hitler. The project was approved and 10 million Marks were set aside for the project with one request. The gun must be ready by the spring of 1940 for the attack on the Maginot Line.

Missed deadlines aren’t always bad

The weapon’s construction proved even more difficult than first anticipated. The barrels forging was a particularly difficult endeavor. The stipulated deadline came and went without the gun being delivered. As fate would have it, its intended use was superfluous as the German war machine simply outflanked the defensive line of the French. Other than Hitler, German High Command didn’t really miss the lack of this super weapon.

Towards the end of 1940, the barrel was finally ready and was test fired in 1941. The gun’s carriage was also ready for deployment. The entire assembly was taken to the Rugernward range on the Baltic coast for complete assembly and test firing to be witnessed by Hitler himself. On completion, the weapon was given as a present to the German war effort by Gustav and it was named in his honor. Whether this “gift” was out the goodness of his heart or fear for his life will never be known.

Deploying the Schwerer Gustav

Gustav finally went to war during the siege of Sevastopol in July of 1942. The gun’s assembly took a total of three weeks using a workforce of 1,420 men. Fully assembled the weapon was 43 meters long, 7 meters wide with the axis of the barrel a mere 7.5 meters about the track. Bejesus!

The weapon actually required a special four-track section to be laid to put the gun in place. The inner tracks accommodated the bogies with the outer tracks needed for the gun’s actual assembly.

“Various parts of the mounting were then built up on top of the bogies; the barrel was assembled by inserting the rear half into the jacket and then fitting the front half on and locking everything together with a massive junction nut. The barrel was then fitted into the cradle and the whole assembly hoisted up and lowered onto the mounting. After this, the breech ring was fitted to the end of the barrel by another huge nut and the 20-ton breech block slid into place.” – WorldWar2DataBase

Schwerer Gustav firing range

After the labor of love that is the weapon’s assembly, the gun was ready for action. Gustav began its assault on the Soviet fortifications of Sevastopol, lobbing 4.7-tonne high explosive shells deep within the besieged city over a range of some 47 kilometers. The gun could also unleash 7-tonne concrete piercing shells over a range of 37 kilometers away. One such shell was reported as penetrating 100 feet into the earth before detonating in an underground ammunition store. During the siege, around fifty of their shells were unleashed on the city.

After the siege Gustav seems to have trundled out of the sight. It was intended to be used during the siege of Leningrad but the Russians repelled the Germans before the weapon could be prepared. The only other recorded use of Gustav was in 1944 when it fired 30 shells into Warsaw during its aborted uprising, but this might also not be true. Conflicting reports seem to indicate that the rebellion was crushed prior to deployment of the gun.

“After that Gustav vanished. Numerous reports of its discovery in pieces, it’s scrapping, its capture or abandonment have been suggested but none of them standup to very close examination; spare barrels and ammunition were found, but the gun itself was never seen again (Despite some reports that it was found wrecked on its special train by a US army unit in Bavaria at the end of the war). It seems likely that it was simply scrapped sometime during late 1944.” – WorldWar2DataBase

Feeding the gun

A gun of any kind is useless without something to fire. The Schwerer Gustav was no exception. She could accommodate two type of ammunition. High explosive and armor piercing. These shells were monsters in their own right.

The high explosive option had a weight of around 4.7 metric tonnes. They were unleashed with a muzzle velocity of 820 m/s and a maximum range of 48 km. These shells housed around 700kgs of explosive and on impact could create a crater 9.1 meters wide and 9.1 meters deep! Wow!

The armor piercing option was equally as devasting. They were around 3.6 meters long, weighed in at around 7.1 metric tonnes and were lobbed at a muzzle velocity of around 720 m/s. These shells, being heavier had a shorter range of around 38 km and explosive weight of 250 kg. They could penetrate 7 meters of reinforced concrete at maximum elevation. Their main body was made of chrome-nickel steel that was fitted with an aluminum alloy ballistic nose cone.

Dora shell [Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]

Schwerer Gustav and Dora, one or two guns?

Certain sources claim that two of these weapons were built, Gustav and its sister Dora. This may not be true. Some sources claim that German artillery crews had a different idea to the weapon. This was the less honorific nickname of “Dora”. It is for this reason that for many years it was believed there were two of these weapons when in fact they were the same piece.

Other sources seem to indicate that there were, in fact, two such weapons built and deployed by the Germans. These sources also indicate that Dora became operational in 1942 and was used in the siege of Stalingrad.

“Wreckages of two gun carriages were documented 80km apart, Dora at Grafenwöhr and Gustav north of Auerbach – by US and Soviet troops respectively.” – Quora

There are some images of captured pieces floating around with American troops posing on top of the barrel, they are compelling but seem to be of a smaller caliber. But they are clearly much smaller and lower caliber than Gustav mega guns, most likely K 12 guns. In either case, the weapons were destroyed by the Germans in March and April of 1945 to prevent their capture.

Interesting applications of the Schwerer Gustav

Germany also had plans of building something that would be described as a “self-propelled fortress”. The project was called Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster and was to be powered by 4 submarine diesel engines. It was planned to be armed with a Schwerer Gustav as the main cannon with two smaller 150 mm howitzers in support. The armament would have also included several 15 mm machine guns for air defense.

The basic concept was for the main gun to be mounted on a self-propelled platform. This was most likely tank tracked legs supported the superstructure. The gun itself would be fixed, making the system technically a self-propelled gun platform rather than a super heavy tank or indeed a fortress.

If built, this beast of war would have totaled 42 meters in length, 18 meters wide and been 7 meters tall. It had a total weight of around 1,500 tonnes. The weapon was proposed on the 23rd June 1942 by the German Ministry of Armaments and realized, at least in concept by Krupp. The project was finally canceled in 1943.

The fate of the great gun(s)

Many conflicting reports and records exist about the late war fate of Hitler’s super guns. Most sources claim that on the 14th April 1945, this great weapon was destroyed before the arrival of the US troops. The Germans “figured” it was better to prevent the weapon’s capture than

Most sources claim that on the 14th April 1945, this great weapon was destroyed before the arrival of the US troops. The Germans “figured” it was better to prevent the weapon’s capture than allow it to be captured by the Allies. Its ruined “carcass” was found on the 22nd April 15 kilometers north of Auerbach and 50 kilometers southwest of Chemnitz. The weapon was apparently studied by Soviet engineers and transferred to Merseburg in the Autumn of the same year. No record of the weapon is known after this time.

Dora, if she existed, is said to have been transferred to Grafenwohr where it was destroyed in late April of 1945. American troops discovered the wreckage sometime after and the debris was scrapped during the 1950s.

Such an inglorious end to this superweapon.

Schwerer Gustav: The final word

The weapon had cost an eye-watering 10 million German marks with the ammunition costs lost to history. For that, the German war machine was rewarded with the demolition of a few Soviet and Polish defenses and one ammunition dump. This hardly seems a fair trade given the cost of the project, much like the Death Star in Star Wars. That may be missing the point, however. Its very existence would have made for great propaganda and morale boost to axis forces. You could also argue that the very hint of the presence of the weapon in a theater of war would have had very powerful psychological effects on enemy troops. But, it most certainly was not a cost-effective weapon.

Venus Williams lost to Elena Dementieva in the 2004 Nasdaq-100 QF

Venus Williams was at the receiving end of many a tirade during the early years of her career over accusations of feigning injuries.

At Indian Wells in 2001, Williams who withdrew ahead of a match against her sister was targeted unfairly while Elena Dementieva called her an actress for taking a medical break in 2004.

Venus Williams, who appeared to injure her ankle in the second set of the Nasdaq-100 Open quarterfinal against Dementieva, eventually lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-7.

https://youtu.be/zq5bD3mHCtk

“After the medical break I was thinking she was a good actress because she was moving so much better than before,” Dementieva stated after the match.

Williams’ grimace after an on-court fall did little to convince her Russian opponent who opined that the California-born player’s movement remained unaffected.

“On her face it looked like she had something very painful, but then she started to move very well,” said Dementieva who lost two points after Williams’ break.

Williams, however, contested Elena Dementieva’s claims vehemently arguing that she clearly twisted her ankle as a result of the fall before taking a nine-minute injury break.

“Maybe I should talk to her. I clearly twisted my ankle and I had issues there. But if that’s the way she feels, that’s fine,” Williams declared.

“These days, to be a champ and to be a winner, you have to play under all circumstances and I think that’s what I did. I just tried to ignore it,” she added.

Elena Dementieva was vocal about the Williams’ sisters on more than one occasion, making startling predictions like she did at the 2001 Indian Wells Open.

“I think Richard will decide who’s going to win tomorrow” – Elena Dementieva after losing to Venus Williams in 2001 Indian Wells QF

Elena Dementieva in action at Indian Wells
Elena Dementieva made the headlines back in 2001 for declaring that Venus Williams’ father Richard would decide the outcome of an upcoming Indian Wells match.

Dementieva made the astonishing assertion after Venus Williams defeated her 6-0, 6-3 to set up a match against sister Serena Williams in the semifinals of the 2001 Indian Wells Open.

“I mean, I don’t know what Richard thinks about it. I think he (Richard) will decide who’s going to win tomorrow. But it looks like Serena because I saw a little bit of this match, she played extremely well. I think she will be in the final,” Dementieva claimed.
Venus Williams was quick to trash Dementieva’s statements, saying rumours were more exciting than the truth.
“No, it’s not a true opinion at all. Everyone makes their own comments. That’s how rumors get started. I guess rumors are more exciting than the truth,” said Williams in response.
As it turned out, Venus Williams pulled out of the Indian Wells semifinal just before the match was scheduled to begin, citing a foot injury.

Serena Williams was booed by the crowd during her title clash against Kim Clijsters since fans believed that Venus Williams’ last-minute withdrawal was manipulated by her father Richard.

The unique hominid ‘likely walked and moved in a way that we do not see in any living species today.’

The calves and thighs of the Australopithecus afarensis were more than twice the size of those of modern humans. Dave Einsel/Getty Images

In late November 1974, the world of archeology changed when scientists discovered Lucy (a nod to a famous Beatles track played over and over at the dig site), a 40-percent complete fossil of a young female Australopithecus afarensis in Ethiopia. This species of ancient hominid was living and walking around on two feet in East Africa 3.7 to 3 million years ago, long before the earliest stone tools were made. While Lucy and her relatives were shorter, more ape-like, and had smaller brains than Homo sapiens, they showed just how long human-like creatures were evolving and strolling about on Earth.

Just recently, scientists uncovered that Lucy, whose remains are housed in a specially constructed safe in the National Museum of Ethiopia, may have been even more like us than we thought—and considerably more muscular in the legs department. According to a new paper published on June 13 in the journal Royal Society Open Science, Lucy could walk around upright just as well as a person.

Previously, paleoanthropologists disagreed on Lucy’s bipedal stance. Some thought she likely waddled around with her back hunched over, not unlike today’s chimpanzees. However, Ashleigh Wiseman, a paleoanthropology research associate at the University of Cambridge, created 3D models of the leg and pelvis muscles of the 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis. After recreating 36 muscles in each of the ancient hominids’ legs, she found that Lucy’s stance was quite similar to humans.

A 3D polygonal model, guided by imaging scan data and muscle scarring, reconstructing the lower limb muscles of the Australopithecus afarensis fossil AL 288-1, known as ‘Lucy’. Credit: Dr Ashleigh Wiseman
Not only could she walk like a Homo sapien, but she was considerably more muscular than us—her calves and thighs were more than twice the size of those of modern humans. Her thighs in particular were made up of 74 percent muscle, compared to the average 50 percent split between fat and muscle in our species today.

This shouldn’t be too surprising, however, given the world ancient hominids lived in. To manage life in East Africa 3 million years ago, Lucy and her cousins would’ve had to roam wooded grasslands, while swiftly switching to climbing forest canopies, Wiseman said in a statement.

“We are now the only animal that can stand upright with straight knees. Lucy’s muscles suggest that she was as proficient at bipedalism as we are, while possibly also being at home in the trees,” Wiseman added. “Lucy likely walked and moved in a way that we do not see in any living species today.”

3D models have previously been used to reconstruct the muscles of other lost species. In fact, Wiseman mentions that the method has helped paleontologists figure out the shockingly slow running speeds of T. rexes. But recreating the builds of our ancestors lets us see how far we’ve come—and how much muscle we’ve lost as our lifestyles have shifted.

“Of course, in the fossil record we are left looking at the bare bones,” Wiseman told CNN. “But muscles animate the body—they allow you to walk, run, jump and even dance. So, if we want to understand how our ancestors moved, we first need to reconstruct their soft tissues.”

“I really started getting serious when I was 7,” Venus Williams told Today at age 10

A young @Venuseswilliams shares how she first fell in love with tennis on TODAY in 1991. #TODAYFlashback pic.twitter.com/KFZGqUu8pk

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 29, 2018

Venus and Serena Williams were seasoned tennis pros before they even finished middle school.

In a resurfaced 1991 interview with Today, shared by the morning show on Wednesday, the young phenoms hit the court in matching outfits.

Venus, then 10, told the Today interviewer of her passion for the sport, explaining, “I think when I was 5 years old, that’s when I think I started liking it a lot.”

“I really started getting serious when I was 7,” continued the preteen athlete. “I think first it was my dad and my mom and my family, going out there to help me and push me.”

The clip noted that Venus’ 9-year-old sister Serena — using a neon racket — was following in her sisters’ footsteps.

Heard offscreen, the athletes’ mother, Oracene Price, said, “Sometimes I feel just like it was destiny, you know, for the both of them. Because my first three girls, they went out, they didn’t take to it. But the last two, they liked it a great deal.”

Venus, now 38, and Serena, now 36, are competing in the U.S. Open this week. Serena has won the grand slam 6 times, and Venus twice.

On Monday night, Serena dominated the court in her women’s singles match against Magda Linette from Poland, advancing to the second round of the tournament. Venus also advanced, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, in her first-round match.

The start of the open hasn’t been all smooth sailing, however. On Saturday, Serena responded after French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli said the catsuit the athlete wore in May to compete in the French Open would “no longer be accepted,” drawing backlash.

Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Williams told reporters at the press conference in video shared by ESPN that “everything’s fine” with the situation, and noted, “Obviously the grand slams have a right to do what they want to do, but I feel like if and when or if they know that some things are for health reasons then there’s no way that they wouldn’t be okay with it.”

In fact, the mom of one joked, she wouldn’t be wearing the catsuit anytime soon, anyhow. Explained Serena, “When it comes to fashion you don’t want to be repeat offender. It’ll be a while before this even has to come up again.”

And on Monday, she did just that, wearing a chic one shoulder dress, a pleated tulle skirt, fishnet stockings and custom sparkly Off-White sneakers to compete.

 

Step back in time to ancient China, where a massive tomb complex was built for the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. As you wander through the underground chambers, you stumble upon something unexpected: an army of life-size terracotta warriors, each one unique in its own way.

 

These figures, meticulously crafted over 2,000 years ago, stand in formation, ready for battle. You’re standing in the midst of the Terracotta Army, one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of our time.

But despite decades of research, the mysteries surrounding this incredible find continue to baffle and intrigue experts.

 

In this article, we delve into the enduring mystery of the Terracotta Warriors and the First Emperor’s Tomb, exploring the fascinating history, art, and culture of ancient China.

What was the Terracotta Army?

The Terracotta Army is one of the most famous archaeological discoveries in history.

 

Located near Xi’an in China, this collection of thousands of life-size terracotta figures represents the army that was buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, over 2,000 years ago.

 

The discovery of the Terracotta Army has provided invaluable insight into the art, culture, and history of ancient China.

 

However, despite decades of research, there are still many unanswered questions about this enduring mystery.

Their discovery

The Terracotta Army was discovered by a group of farmers who were digging a well in 1974.

 

They unearthed several clay fragments, which turned out to be parts of a terracotta warrior.

 

The news of this discovery quickly spread, and archaeologists were soon excavating the site.

 

They found a massive underground tomb complex, covering an area of 20 square miles, which was believed to be the final resting place of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/terracotta-warriors-warrior-soldier-16860/

Who was Qin Shi Huang?

Shi Huangdi, also known as Qin Shi Huang, was the first emperor of China. He ruled from 221 BC to 210 BC, during a period known as the Qin dynasty.

 

Shi Huangdi was a powerful and ambitious ruler who conquered and unified the various warring states of China, thereby creating a unified Chinese empire for the first time in history.

 

He is also credited with implementing major administrative, economic, and social reforms, such as standardizing weights and measures, building roads and canals, and establishing a centralized government system.

 

However, his legacy is also controversial, as he was known for his harsh rule and brutal treatment of his enemies, as well as his suppression of intellectual and cultural expression.

The strange burial of the warriors

The Terracotta Army was found in three large pits, each containing thousands of terracotta figures, arranged in battle formation.

 

The figures were highly detailed, with individualized facial features and hairstyles, and were equipped with weapons and armor.

 

It is estimated that there are over 8,000 figures in total, including soldiers, chariots, and horses.

The discovery of the Terracotta Army has shed light on the incredible artistic and engineering skills of the ancient Chinese.

 

The figures were made using a complex production process that involved molding, firing, and painting.

 

It is believed that over 700,000 laborers worked on the tomb complex over a period of 37 years, from 246 BC until the emperor’s death in 210 BC.

Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/china-statues-warriors-terracotta-4366989/

Unanswered questions…

Despite the wealth of information provided by the Terracotta Army, there are still many unanswered questions about the tomb complex and the emperor’s burial.

 

One of the most pressing questions is why the emperor chose to be buried with such a vast army of terracotta figures.

 

Some experts believe that the Terracotta Army was meant to protect the emperor in the afterlife, while others speculate that it was meant to showcase the emperor’s military might and power.

Another mystery surrounding the tomb complex is the identity of the people who created the Terracotta Army.

 

Although the workers who built the tomb complex were likely slaves or prisoners of war, the artisans who created the figures were likely skilled craftsmen.

 

However, no records of the artisans who created the Terracotta Army have been found, and their identities remain a mystery.

Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/terracotta-army-terracotta-warriors-2967852/

The lethal dangers of the tomb

One of the most intriguing mysteries surrounding the Terracotta Army is the emperor’s tomb itself.

 

Although the tomb complex has been extensively excavated, the emperor’s tomb has yet to be fully explored.

 

Experts believe that the tomb may contain a vast array of treasures and artifacts, as well as important historical records.

 

However, the Chinese government has been hesitant to excavate the tomb, citing concerns over the preservation of the site and the potential damage that could be caused by excavation.

In 2012, Chinese archaeologists conducted extensive tests on the tomb complex, including scanning it with advanced imaging technology.

 

They discovered elevated levels of mercury in the soil surrounding the tomb, leading some to believe that the emperor’s tomb may indeed contain rivers of liquid mercury.

 

However, there is currently no direct evidence of this, as the tomb has not been fully excavated due to concerns over preservation and potential damage.

While the potential use of mercury in the tomb is fascinating, it also raises concerns about the environmental and health impacts of such a discovery.

 

Liquid mercury is a highly toxic substance that can have serious health effects if not handled properly, and any excavation of the tomb would need to be conducted with extreme caution and care.

 

Until the tomb is fully explored, the potential use of mercury in the Terracotta Army and the First Emperor’s tomb remains a tantalizing mystery.

The ongoing mystery

Despite the many mysteries surrounding the Terracotta Army and the emperor’s tomb, the discovery remains one of the most significant archaeological finds in history.

 

The Terracotta Army has provided us with valuable insights into the art, culture, and history of ancient China, and has inspired countless researchers and scholars around the world.

 

As we continue to explore this enduring mystery, we may one day uncover the secrets of the first emperor’s tomb and the incredible civilization that created it.

It took more than 11 billion years for the light from galaxy 9io9 to reach Earth.

The orientation of the magnetic field in the distant 9io9 galaxy, seen here when the universe was only 20 percent of its current age and the furthest ever detection of a galaxy’s magnetic field. ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/J. Geach et al.

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope have detected the magnetic field of a galaxy that is so far away from Earth, that its light has taken more than 11 billion years to get here. With the telescope, we are seeing this galaxy just as it was when our universe was only 2.5 billion years old.

The findings are detailed in a study published September 6 in the journal Nature. Finally seeing this cosmic artifact could give astronomers some vital clues to how the magnetic fields of galaxies like the Milky Way came to be. Magnetic fields are present in many of the universe’s astronomical bodies from stars to planets and up to galaxies.

“Many people might not be aware that our entire galaxy and other galaxies are laced with magnetic fields, spanning tens of thousands of light-years,” study co-author and University of Hertfordshire astrophysicist James Geach said in a statement.

It is not yet fully clear both how early in our universe’s lifetime and how quickly the magnetic fields in galaxies form. To date, astronomers have only mapped magnetic fields in galaxies close to us.

“We actually know very little about how these fields form, despite their being quite fundamental to how galaxies evolve,” study co-author and Stanford University extragalactic astronomer Enrique Lopez Rodriguez said in a statement.

In this new study, the team used data from ALMA and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and discovered a fully formed magnetic field in a distant galaxy. It’s similar in structure to what is observed in nearby galaxies, and while the magnetic field is about 1,000 times weaker than our planet’s magnetic field, it extends over more than 16,000 light-years.

Observing a fully developed magnetic field this early in the history of the universe is an indication that magnetic fields spanning entire galaxies can form pretty quickly, even while younger galaxies are still growing.

According to the team, intense star formation in the universe’s early days may have played a role in accelerating the development of the magnetic fields and that the fields can influence how later generations of stars will eventually form.

These new findings show off the inner workings of galaxies, according to study co-author and ESO astronomer Rob Ivison. “The magnetic fields are linked to the material that is forming new stars,” Ivison said in a statement.

To detect this light, the team searched for light emitted by dust grains in a distant galaxy named 9io9. When a magnetic field is present, galaxies are full of dust trains that tend to align and the light that they emit becomes polarized. When this happens, the light waves oscillate along a preferred direction instead of randomly. When ALMA detected and mapped the more polarized signal coming from galaxy 9io9, it confirmed the presence of a magnetic field in a very distant galaxy for potentially the first time.

“No other telescope could have achieved this,” said Geach.

The team hopes that with this new discovery and future observations of distant magnetic fields, astronomers will get closer to how fundamental components of galaxies form.

Serena sang her older sister’s praises during their recent trip to the Bahamas

Sisterly love!

While on vacation together in the Bahamas, Serena Williams shared an affectionate tribute to her sister, and “soulmate,” Venus Williams.

Reflecting on the bond she shares with the 39-year-old athlete, Serena called Venus her “doubles partner sister soulmate,” as well as “one of my fav sisters.” Alongside the message, Serena, 38, posted a beautiful photo of Venus wearing a green polka dot dress while standing on the beach.

As the two sisters soaked up the sun together earlier this week, they also spent some quality time on a yacht — and making puns!

“Yacht got time?” Venus wrote alongside one video of the pair showing off some of their best moves onboard the vessel. “Yasssssssss,” Serena commented, before going on to post her own dancing video with the same caption over the weekend.

Venus Williams/Instagram

During their sisterly getaway, Serena also posted multiple photos showcasing her stylish new hairstyle: a butt-length ponytail.

“I ain’t got Yacht type,” she wrote alongside one set of images, days before revealing that she’s actually decided to name her mane.

“Morning warmups with Trixie (this ponytail is so EXTRA I had to name her),” Williams captioned another snap, which saw the star showing off her flexibility by standing on one foot while raising the other toward the sky.

Over the summer, Serena reminisced about living with her older sister.

“So I’m at Venus’ house, we lived together our whole lives, we’re not living together now which kinda sucks but it’s life,” Serena said in an Instagram Story video, before cracking a joke about the lack of contents inside her sister’s fridge.

“Nothing’s changed for her,” Serena quipped. “This was our refrigerator for like 20 years … we lived together our whole lives, but as adults for 20 years.”

The famous siblings most recently shared a Florida mansion in Palm Beach Gardens, on land they bought back in 1998 according to Variety.

Andre Sturdivant for Oath

Speaking with Architectural Digest in August, Serena revealed that when they shared a home, Venus — who has her own interior design company — was always mixing things up design-wise.

“It’s so fun because we used to live together, and it was great because I would come home and the house would look different. I would love it, and it was perfect,” Serena said.

Trading compliments, Venus added that her younger sister is “really good at space planning.”

“Before I was doing any of this sort of design, I couldn’t do that,” Venus said. “So, it’s interesting how she has a knack for it and creating spaces and connections. It’s pretty cool.”

 

A dimple in the Atlantic seafloor could be the sign of another impact.

An asteroid splits apart while traveling in space, in an artist’s illustration. NASA/JPL-Caltech

When Africa and South America split apart during the Jurassic, birthing the Atlantic Ocean, the separation left a plateau of shallow ocean off the west coast of Guinea. “All the sediments are very flat, almost like a layer cake,” says Uisdean Nicholson, a marine geologist at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland who studies the region to learn about the birth of the Atlantic.

So in 2017, when Nicholson was examining seismic scans of the region taken by oil and gas exploration vessels, an unexpected feature jumped out: a 5-mile-wide dimple buried deep in the cake.

A closer analysis of the site, led by Nicholson and published today in the journal Science Advances, argues that it’s the crater from a meteor as wide as the Eiffel Tower is tall. If it’s confirmed as a crater, it would have crashed into Earth within a million years of the Chicxulub meteor that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Nicholson hunted for other ways to explain the dimple—escaping methane bubbles, tectonic activity, or a volcano. But none of them quite explained the crater’s size, location, and shape.  So he turned to cosmic impact experts for help. “Probably every week, somebody sends me circles they spotted on Google Earth, or in seismic data,” says Sean Gulick, an expert in meteor strikes at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, and a coauthor on the research. But the dimple, which the team calls the Nadir Crater, passed the tests they threw at it. “Shapes, sizes, even modeling, it’s all fitting,” says Gulick.

To further confirm the explanation, Veronica Bray, a planetary scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson and a member of the team, simulated multiple meteor strikes in different ocean depths. A rock longer than 1,000 feet across, striking the half-mile-deep ocean, created a close approximation to the actual crater. According to the simulation, in the first few seconds after the impact, the rock would have plunged nearly a mile into the ocean floor, vaporizing rocks and water, and sending a tsunami in all directions.

The vibrations from the impact would be so intense that “the rocks or sediment below the seabed become a fluid,” Nicholson says. The rock around the crater would shatter, and “you get this massive vertical column, like you dropped something into a puddle,” he says. “That happens with the water, but it also happens with the rocks below”—leaving a crater with an uplifted mound of solid rock in the middle, like what’s buried under the Guinean seafloor.

Courtesy Veronica Bray.
“The energies involved in this are enormous,” says Gulick. “This is 1000 times the energy of the Tonga eruption. It would generate earthquakes that are magnitude 7.5 or 8.”

Ludovic Ferrière, an impact crater expert from the Natural History Museum Vienna who was not involved in the work, agrees that the shape of the feature is interesting and warrants further investigation—but he’s skeptical of the decision to publish on the basis of seismic images alone. “It’s a very nice proposal,” he says. “”But it’s too preliminary. At the end they may be right, but they may be completely wrong.”

Ferrière—who says that he discussed the crater with Gulick at a bar days before the publication—says that he has found similarly compelling craters.  But, without physical evidence, he doesn’t think they pass scientific scrutiny to publish. “To find the killer in a murder, you need DNA or blood,” he says. The same is true for an impact crater: The only hard evidence of a meteor are the presence of “shocked” minerals that form only under the hammer blow of a cosmic strike, or actual spray from the extraterrestrial object.

Drilling from a ship hundreds of feet into the seafloor itself is the only way to be sure. Yet this creates a chicken-egg problem. The International Ocean Discovery Program, the academic institution best equipped to take a sample—“at a cost of several million dollars,” Nicholson writes over email–would do so only after a peer-reviewed paper confirms that it is a good candidate.

The International Ocean Discovery Program’s ship, which can collect core samples under thousands of feet of water and hundreds more feet of rock, will visit the region in 2023. The team has submitted an application for time with the drill, and hopes to analyze samples from the crater in the next few years.

That drilling will also clarify the age of the proposed crater. Based on cores drilled a little over 100 miles from the proposed crater, the site sits right around the K-PG boundary, the line that marks the mass extinction of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and giant marine reptiles, 65 million years ago. That die-off was caused when the miles-wide Chicxulub meteor smashed into what’s now the Yucatan Peninsula.

But the sound waves the team is relying on in Guinea produce a slightly fuzzy image, which can’t firmly pin down the date. “To the best of our knowledge, we’re at the boundary, but it could be, could be a million years older or younger,” says Nicholson.

If the crater sits right at the boundary, it’s possible that it was caused by a fragment of the Chixculub meteor that broke off on a previous fly-by past Earth, though Gulick thinks this is unlikely. Alternatively, it could have been  part of an asteroid swarm that intercepted our planet over the course of thousands of years. Ferrière, for his part, calls these hypotheses “speculation upon speculation”—without confirmation that the Nadir Crater is actually a crater, he says, “it’s like constructing a big castle of stone on something that is not stable.”

A similarly sized meteor hits Earth roughly every 700,000 years, so even if it’s a crater, it’s  not necessarily connected to the Chicxulub impact. But Gulick says that documented craters are so rare–there are just over 200 confirmed or likely craters on Earth—that to find one within a million years of Chicxulub would be a surprise.

Photo Credit: 1. mdew / HBO / Dreamworks Pictures / MovieStillsDB 2. jeffw616 / HBO / Dreamworks Pictures / MovieStillsDB

Fact and fiction are blended seamlessly in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), which can sometimes make it hard to determine what really happened and what was embellished. While the majority of the story is accurate to the actions of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during the Second World War, there was one scene, in particular, that we were curious about: Richard Winters’ court-martial in the first episode.

We always wondered if the real Maj. Winters stuck it to his captain by requesting the court-martial. As it turns out, he really did.

Court-martial scene in Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers, 2021. (Photo Credit: jeffw616 / HBO / Dreamworks Pictures / MovieStillsDB)

In the premiere episode of Band of Brothers, Capt. Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer) takes disciplinary action against then-1st Lt. Richard Winters (Damian Lewis) for failing to show up on time to inspect the soldiers cleaning the latrines. However, Sobel had switched the time of inspection at the last moment, which Winters was unaware of.

Despite claiming that he’d tried to call him and even had a runner sent to deliver the message, Winters never caught wind of the time change. It’s important to note the home where Winters was staying at the time didn’t have a phone and that a runner never arrived.

Sobel proceeds to punish Winters for the minor infraction, giving him a choice and saying, “So, your options are quite simple, lieutenant. Punishment for your offenses will be denial of a 48-hour pass for 60 days. Or, you may initiate a letter of appeal and request a trial by court-martial.”

Sobel even tries to offer Winters some kind of understanding, telling him to take the punishment, as “you spend your weekends on base anyway.” Instead, the first lieutenant replies, “I request trial by court-martial,” before saluting his captain and leaving him in a stunned silence.

Is there any truth behind the scene?

Maj. Richard Winters. (Photo Credit: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the miniseries, Herbert Sobel serves as an early antagonist who’s determined to keep Richard Winters down. His character is portrayed as one who cares more for how his men served as a reflection of himself, rather than his leadership and their wellbeing, and Band of Brothers suggests he was extremely strict and malicious during their training.

It seems it got most of Sobel’s character correct, as well as the court-martial scene. In a book by Erik Dorr about Winters, a copy of Sobel’s reprimand and Winters’ signature for requesting a trial by court-martial proves the petty interaction did, in fact, occur in real life.

As the book upon which the series is based includes the memories of surviving members of the Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Sobel really was as petty and harsh as Band of Brothers makes him out to be. Most of the real Easy Company disliked him, which is why what happened next, while shocking, isn’t entirely unbelievable.

Easy Company turned against Herbert Sobel

Capt. Herbert Sobel. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)
After Richard Winters’ court-martial, the men of Easy Company began to turn on Herbert Sobel. Soon after, their faith in him disappeared completely. Without Winters, who was performing administrative duties outside of the company during his court-martial, the paratroopers took matters into their own hands.

“A band of sergeants mutinied against Sobel, writing a letter to Col. Sink indicating their unwillingness [to] serve under the captain,” Erik Dorr wrote. “Risking their own futures, the men unleashed a verbal volley undermining Sobel’s authority and abilities. Several of the sergeants were accordingly punished for insubordination.

“Realizing how sour the situation was, Sink at last transferred the captain from Easy Company that February.”

Dorr quoted one of the paratroopers, Tech. Sgt. Donald Malarkey, as having said, “Winters quietly orchestrated the deal to force Sobel out. Not for his selfish gain, mind you; that wasn’t Winters’s style. He was among the most selfless men I’ve ever had the privilege of serving with. No, he did it for the good of the men. He did it to save their lives.”

The Chiefs tight end was captured tossing the Ravens kicker’s equipment out of the way for Patrick Mahomes

Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes; Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. PHOTO: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES; SCOTT TAETSCH/GETTY IMAGES

Travis Kelce is addressing the headline-making pregame squabble he and Patrick Mahomes had with Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.

On Wednesday’s episode of New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, the Chiefs tight end, 34, shared his side of the story about the what happened before Sunday’s AFC Championship game when he tossed some of Tucker’s equipment off the field.

“Everybody talked about it, everybody had videos on it, it was all over Twitter,” Jason, 36, said as he introduced the topic before admitting that people were texting him throughout the game about it.

“I love how I’m getting painted as the bad guy for this,” Travis said of how the moment was interpreted. “Oh you’re definitely getting painted as the bad guy,” Jason agreed.

According to Travis, Tucker, 34, broke the “unwritten rule” that you “don’t interfere” with what the opposing team is doing during warmups before a game.

“For those of you that don’t know what happens in pregames, the Ravens have their side of the field and the Chiefs have our side of the field,” he explained. “It’s always — if you’re trying to go onto the other team’s designated area, you kinda stay out of their way.”

Travis continued, “If you wanna be a f—— d— about it, you keep your helmet and your football and your f—— kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up.”

Jason said that where Tucker had left his equipment was “actually kinda dangerous” for Mahomes, 28, before Travis added, “If you’re not gonna pick that up, I’ll happily move that for you.”

Travis Kelce talks to Patrick Mahomes before their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 20, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.DAVID EULITT/GETTY IMAGES

The Philadelphia Eagles center said that the Ravens kicker “knew what he was doing,” and Travis then addressed Tucker’s comments on the incident – he told reporters on Monday that he thought it was “all just some gamesmanship, all in good fun.”

“Justin came out and he said it was more of a joking gesture … and I get it, he was kinda winking at me, being a d— about it, trying to get under the skin,” Travis said. “I get it, but me and Pat… We’ve been having the same mentality for this game all week long, man. And it was a, ‘You gotta go in there and have the right mind frame. Have the right mindset.’ And we just weren’t in a joking mood. We were ready to get after it.”

Travis concluded, “So Justin, sorry if we took it to a level that you didn’t think it’d get to. But if you’re gonna be a d—, I promise you, I can one-up you every time.”

Patrick Mahomes Tweets Gif from The Hangover After He and the Chiefs Score Spot in 2024 Super Bowl in Vegas

After breaking down the pre-game moment, the brothers both took the time to give credit where credit’s due for Tucker, who Jason called a “legendary kicker.”

“Arguably the best we’ve ever seen in the NFL, man,” Travis said.

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The Chiefs victory on Sunday finalized the matchup for Feb. 11’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, which will see the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.

On New Heights, Travis said that heading to the big game this year feels “a bit sweeter” than last year.

“This road to where we are now has been more of a challenge which means you have to overcome more which means it kinda means a little bit more,” he told his brother. “This one meant a lot, man.”