The Deepest Metro Stations in The World

The average metro train doesn’t go beyond a few stories underground. But sometimes the geology and the geography of the region, such as the presence of rivers and swamps, forces engineers to go deep underground.

Semaphore: The World’s First Telegraph

A Chappe semaphore tower near Saverne, France. Photo credit: Hans-Peter Scholz/Wikimedia

Smoke signals and beacons have been used to relay messages over short distances since ancient times, but the only reliable way to send messages over long distances

The Story of Love Locks

Since the appearance of first padlocks several centuries ago, many myths and legends were created around them and their power to protect things from theft. Such myths were created all around the world, but one of them managed to appeared almost everywhere – myth of love padlocks.

Magical Metro Stations in Naples

Over the past decade, the city of Naples, Italy, has been transforming sections of the subway system into full-fledged art galleries by contemporary artists to make the urban area’s public transport centres more attractive. Under the direction of Achille Bonto Oliva, former director of the Venice Biennale, a total of 14 stations (as of 2014) distributed along the lines 1 and 6 of the Metro network, have been decorated with over 200 works by more than 100 artists and architects such as Alessandro Mendini, Anish Kapoor, Gae Aulenti, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Karim Rashid, and Sol LeWitt.

Possibly the most beautiful of them is the Toledo Metro Station opened in September 2012, and designed by the Spanish firm of architect Oscar Tusquets Blanca. Designed around the theme of water and light, it features two mosaics by South African artist William Kentridge, as well as works by Francesco Clemente, Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, Shirin Nehsat and Oliviero Toscani.

Toledo Metro Station

Abandoned Railway in Paris

The Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture (French for “little belt railway”) was a Parisian railway that, from 1852, was a circular connection between Paris’ main railroad stations within the fortified walls of the city. In a partial state of abandonment since 1934, the tracks (and some stations) still remain along much of its right-of-way, and the future of its yet-undeveloped property is still the subject of much debate.

Antarctica as Seen From Space

This Image Really Puts the Size of Antarctica Into Perspective

Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km2 (5.4 million sq mi), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.