The oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world is the University of Karueein, founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco. The University of Bologna, Italy, was founded in 1088 and is the oldest one in Europe. The Sumerians had scribal schools or É-Dub-ba soon after 3500BC.
Dilong paradoxus, the oldest known ancestor of Tyrannosaurus Rex, lived between 128 and 139 million years ago – some 60-70 million years before T-Rex. It measured some 1.5 m (5 ft) in length, stood on two legs, and had longer arms than T.Rex. There is also evidence that this creature had hair-like protofeathers on its jaw and the tip of its tail. Dilong paradoxus was discovered in the famous fossil beds of Liaoning Province, China, by a team of Chinese and American palaeontologists, and announced
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The oldest male twins ever authenticated were Glen and Dale Moyer (USA), both of whom reached 105. Born on 20 June 1895 they became the oldest living twins on the 23 January 2000. The youngest of four children born to Mahlon and Anna Moyer, Dale is a retired farmer and is 20 minutes older than Glen, a retired teacher. Glen Moyer passed away on 16 April 2001 at the age of 105 years, 9 months 26 days.
Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci were born in northern Italy on 4 Oct 1877 and lived to be 63 years old. They were separate above the waist, but shared an abdomen, pelvis, and two legs. When they were just one month old, they were given by their parents to doctors at the Royal Academy of Medicine in Turin to be studied and exhibited. During the period in which they were exhibited, the Tocci brothers were among the most dramatic and well-known sights in Europe and
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Minna Dora Blöcker, Luise Amalie Stefenerand Bertholdine Alwine Bernecker (neé Hoberg) were born to Ludwig and Henriette Hoberg (all Germany) in Melle, Germany on 31 January 1914 and are currently the oldest living triplets in the world, having celebrated their 91st birthday in 2005.
The oldest age for a tree that has ever been recorded is approximately 5,200 years old. A bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) known as Prometheus was cut down from Mt Wheeler in Nevada, USA in 1963. Although 4,867 rings were counted, the tree was growing in a harsh ennvironment which slowed its development, and thus its actual age is believed to have been approximately 5,200 years old. The ring count was taken at 2.4 m (8 ft) above the base. Prometheus measured 5.1 m (17 ft)
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The world’s oldest colony of genetically identical trees is the stand of Huon pine (Lagarostrobus franklinii) on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The stand is believed to be over 10,500 years old, although no individual tree is that age. The oldest individual trees of this variety are 4,000 years old. In fact any individual tree is unlikely to ever exceed 3-4,000 years old. Please note that reports of a creosote bush found in 1980 in the desert near Palm Springs, California – which
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The oldest touring circus in the world is the Circo Atayde, which opened on August 26 1888 in the Plaza de Toros, Mazatlán, Mexico, and has been run continuously by the Atayde family ever since. Circo Atayde tours regularly under the big top, mostly in Mexico and with forays in other Central American and South American countries. In the winter, it has a Holiday Season in a large sport arena in Mexico City. After some 120 years, it has become an institution in Mexico.
The oldest winner of the Tour de France was Firmin Lambot (Belgium) aged 36 years 4 months in 1922.
The world’s oldest topiary garden is Levens Hall, Cumbria, UK, which has topiary designs that are over 300 years old, with the initial planting and training of them carried out in the 1690s. The shapes include Chess pieces, the Judge’s Wig and the Great Umbrellas. The topiary triming takes many months, using lightweight aluminium scaffolding to reach the higher points. It is usually carried out from late August onwards, once a year. Parts of the Elizabethan Hall itself were built between 1250-1300 and has been
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