The oldest person to ski to both Poles is Norbert H. Kern (Germany, b. 26 July 1940) who skied to the South Pole on 18 January 2007 and the North Pole on 27 April 2007 when he was 66 years 275 days old.

The oldest person to visit the North Pole is Dorothy Davenhill Hirsch (USA; born 11 May 1915) who reached the North Pole aboard the Russian nuclear icebreaker Yamal on 28 August 2004, aged 89 years and 109 days. Dorothy Davenhill Hirsch was 89 years and 109 days when she visited the North Pole.

Major Will Lacy (b. July 17, 1907) of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, went to the North Pole on April 9, 1990 at the age of 82 and the South Pole on December 20, 1991 at the age of 84. On both trips he arrived and left by light aircraft.

Sacred round Mesoamerican calendars ­ that is, those devised by the pre-Columbian cultures of present-day Mexico and Central America ­ continue to be used in one form or another to the present day, having passed from the Olmecs (1500­400 BC) to the Maya (up to AD 900) and then to the Aztecs (up to the 1500s; pictured is an Aztec calendar at the Mexico Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City). The Maya used three inter-locking calendars that created ‘Great Cycles’ of time. The present cycle Continue reading →

Population figures for 2009 reveal that in Japan, the median age – that is, the age at which there are an equal number of people above and below – is a record high of 44.7. In second place is Germany, with a median age of 44.3 years.

The oldest player to score a goal in a Champions League final is Paolo Maldini (Italy, b. 26 June 1968) aged 36 years and 333 days playing for AC Milan against Liverpool on 25 May 2005.

The oldest wrestler to win the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is Vince McMahon (USA) aged 54 years and 21 days on 14 September 1999.

The Djoser Step Pyramid at Saqq?ra, Egypt was constructed by Imhotep (Djoser’s royal architect) c.2630 BC to a height of 62 m 204 ft. Updated 13/12/10: For many years, the Djoser Step Pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt, was considered to be the world’s earliest pyramid, constructed by Pharaoh Djoser’s royal architect, Imhotep, in approximately c.2630 BC. More recently, however, archaeologists have discovered that similar structures were being built at around the same time on the other side of the world. As early as 2700-2600 BC, an Continue reading →

The Romanian pianist Cella Delavrancea (1887–1991) gave her last public recital, receiving six encores, at the age of 103.

The seawater at the bottom of the 3,800 m-deep (12,400 ft) Canada Basin has remained unstirred for perhaps several thousand years. The Basin, which is north of Canada and Alaska, USA, is connected to the Pacific Ocean only by the 70 m-deep (230 ft) Bering Strait and is protected from the influence of the Atlantic Ocean by tall submarine ridges. Many species of life in the depths of the basin are thought to have been isolated from the rest of the oceans for perhaps millions Continue reading →