Showing results by author "iMinds" in All Categories

Learn about the Stockholm Syndrome with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. At first glance, two of the most notorious bank robberies of the 1970s would seem to have nothing in common. They occurred eight months apart, for different motives, on opposite sides of the globe. But these two incidents would prove seminal to the development and understanding of a curious and once controversial psychological condition: the Stockholm Syndrome.

Crop circles are geometric patterns found in agricultural fields, most often in Southern England. They consist of flattened plant stems lying in regular patterns, some of which are highly complex. Crop circles usually appear in fields of wheat, barley, canola and other common crops. Because of their size - hundreds of feet across - crop circles can only be truly appreciated from the air.

Learn about the Tragedy of the Commons with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The Tragedy of the Commons is a situation in which a jointly owned resource is overused or destroyed because each person takes more than they would if the resource was privately owned. With each individual acting independently, the combined pressure on the resource exceeds what is in the interests of the community as a whole.

The Empire State Building towers above the midtown district of New York City. Its solitary spire now stands out on the city skyline, no longer matched by the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. It is once again the tallest building in the city. But it is no longer the tallest in the world, a title it held for an unmatched 40 years. Its quiet elegance reflects the functionality of its form as well as the distinctive Art Deco style. It is a symbol of American commercial ambition and it is a symbol of the American Dream.

Powerful women in Viking helmets, heroic males with incredible voices, and epic themes of life and death -this is opera! Opera is an art form that tells a story through singing, music, dancing and acting. It began in 1597 when an Italian artist, Jacopo Peri, tried to reproduce the ancient Greek dramas. After noticing that the Greeks used music and speech together in these dramas, Peri chose to do the same but with signing.

Learn about the history and geography of China with iMinds. China is a fascinating country where mountains tower over vast plains, deserts collide with lush farmlands, and ancient cultures mix with modern cities. So, if you went to China, where would you start? Well, you might want to pack a big bag because China is actually the 3rd largest country in the world!

Learn about investment traps with an insight into fraudulent Ponzi Schemes with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. A Ponzi scheme is an illegal business practice. Investors are recruited into a Ponzi scheme and offered excellent returns over time for little or no risk. The operator of a Ponzi scheme relies on further recruitment of investors to accumulate funds. Earlier investors are repaid with later investor's money. They have also been described as Pyramid Schemes.

Imagine more than a million litres of water dropping each second from cliffs up to 80 metres, or 262 feet, high. Such an image may seem like an impossibility, but such is the majesty of South America’s Iguazu Falls. More expansive than both the Niagara Falls in North America and the Victoria Falls in Africa, The Iguazu Falls is a network of more than 275 falls covering many acres.

Learn about REM sleep with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. REM is an important component of sleep. But sleep itself is a difficult phenomenon to study, because it is such an insular process. Dreams in particular are highly elusive for the researcher of sleep. As dreaming is a "state of mind", theories concerning it are frustratingly convoluted and highly theory-based, with any advancement unlikely to be supported by hard evidence.

Learn about the science of astronomy with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The human desire to know what we see when we look in the sky is so great that a branch of science has been dedicated to it: astronomy. Astronomy is the study of the material universe outside the earth's atmosphere. Astronomers research and make estimations about our universe and outer space in general.Human beings have been gazing up at the sky since before written history began.

Learn about the history of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London with iMinds Travel's insightful audio knowledge series. The roar of the crowd. The laughter from the stalls. The gentle breeze of a summer's day. All of this and more encompasses you as you watch a performance at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The theatre is situated on the South bank of the Thames River in London. The Globe Theatre that visitors flock to today is actually a replica of the original.

The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp was set up by the U.S. government as a detention facility for "unlawful enemy combatants" captured in the "war on terror". Opened in 2002, it is located on the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Learn about the great rivers of the World with the iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds. Can you guess which is the world's longest river? According to most scientists, it is the Nile, which passes through several African countries, and is 6,695 kilometers long. Some scientists have recently argued that the Amazon in South America is in fact longer. It all depends on where you start your measurements!

It is said that when Joan of Arc was born on January 6 in 1412, the roosters in her village all crowed, even though it was midnight. When Joan was 13 years old, something happened to change her life. She was working in the garden when she thought she saw a bright light coming from the church, and heard someone speaking French in a sweet, low, beautiful voice.

Mount Everest is situated in the Himalayan Mountains, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. It is the tallest mountain in the world, standing roughly 29,029 feet above sea level. Every year, Everest gets taller by about half an inch. This is due to movements in the Earth's crust and two tectonic plates, deep beneath the Earth's surface, pushing together.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is one of the world's most famous conspiracy theories. It is a statement of prejudice and paranoia, a fake historical record and a grand hoax all rolled into one.

Hidden for centuries in the vast Peruvian jungle lies the ancient city of Machu Picchu. It is one of the finest examples of Incan architecture on the continent, preserved and unplundered by the Spanish when they invaded in the sixteenth century. It eluded the Spanish and although it has long been rediscovered, its essence is still shrouded in mystery.

Learn about the science of Wind Power with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Wind power is a limitless, non-polluting resource that currently contributes almost 2% of the world's energy supply. It's the fastest-growing resource market in the world and has become one of the biggest issues in the green movement. Importantly, there is enough of it in the atmosphere to meet the daily global energy demand five times over!

Learn about the history of Doomsday Cults with iMinds insightful knowledge series. A doomsday cult is a quasi-religious group that believe the end of the world is imminent. Doomsday cults are typically led by charismatic messiah-figures, who teach that their cult holds the secret to surviving the apocalypse. More recently the term has come to include cults who carry out acts of violence or terrorism in an attempt to bring about revolutionary change.

Learn about the fascinating life of Henry VIII with iMindsJNR audio learning series for younger minds. Henry VIII has gone down in history as a powerful, passionate English king. In his life, he married six times and fathered three future monarchs. But perhaps most incredibly of all, he changed religion in England forever by establishing the Church of England. Henry was born the second son of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York in 1491.