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Widest released graphic adventure video game

Appearing on 11 computer platforms and consoles, the original Myst is the most widely released graphic adventure of all time. The game has been ported across generations, made available on the Mac, PC, Amiga, CDi, 3DO, Jaguar, Saturn, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, Pocket PC and Nintendo DS.

Worst avalanche disaster – death toll

An estimated 40,000 – 80,000 men lost their lives during the First World War in the Tyrolean Alps, with avalanches triggered by gunfire. A total of 18,000 Austrian and Italian troops were reported to have been lost in the Dolomite valleys of northern Italy on 13 Dec 1916 in more than 100 snow avalanches. On 31 May 1970, 18,000 people perished when an avalanche hit the village of Yungay, Huascaran, Peru.

World’s most powerful electromagnetic rail gun

Electromagnetic (EM) railguns represent a revolutionary, war fighting capability with the potential to deliver lethal firepower at ranges in excess of 200 nautical miles. An EM gun uses an extremely high current flow to create an electromagnetic force that will propel projectiles at speeds greater than Mach 7.0. On 10 December 2010, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Viriginia, USA, an electromagnetic railgun set a new world record with a 33 megajoule (33 million joules) shot. A single megajoule is approximately the equivalent of Continue reading →

World’s largest tardigrade

Also known as water bears, tardigrades are microscopic eight-limbed invertebrates inhabiting moist environments. The world´s largest tardigrade is Echiniscoides sigismundi, a marine Eurasian species, which can attain a total length of 1.5 mm as a mature adult (unlike most other species, which remain microscopic throughout their lives). However, it can be smaller than 0.05 mm as a freshly-hatched larva.

World Champs Men (Basketball)

Most titles. The most men’s World Championships (instituted 1950) titles is four by Yugoslavia (1970, 1978, 1990 and 1998). USA tied the record for most men’s World Championship titles with four by winning gold in 2010 in Turkey. USA has won gold in 1954, 1986, 1994, and 2010.

Worst marine pollution

A fertilizer factory on Minamata Bay, Kyushu, Japan, deposited mercury waste into the sea between 1953 and 1967.  Up to 20,000 people were affected, 4,500 seriously. 43 people died from the poisoning; another 800 deaths were attributed to mercury poisoning by some sources, while 111 others suffered permanent damage. 

Worst lightning strike disaster – death toll

The highest death toll form a disaster caused by a fatal lightning strike is 91 people, all of whom died when Peruvian airline, LANSA, Flight 508 was struck and crashed into the Amazon rainforest on 24 December 1971. Whilst several of the passengers survived the 3-km (2-mile) drop to earth, only one person, Juliane Koepcke (Germany), was able to leave the crash site to seek help. Having been taught by her father that settlements may be found by tracking along a water source, Koepcke followed Continue reading →