The Art Of A Samurai Bow | Ancient Japan

Samurai Bow explores the violence, beauty and reverie which surround the Samurai's earliest weapon. With stunning dramatic reconstruction, we reveal the ancient way of the Samurai and explore how the bow could avert wars when put in the hands of a true master.

Featuring Japan's most revered archery teacher Master Ogasawara we visit his mounted archery school and see the students intense training and dedication, then follow Ogasawara's son as he prepares to shoot from a galloping horse in the Yabusame ceremony.

Comparing the Japanese bow to another great war bow, the English Longbow we put them both through scientific tests to examine the specialities of each. Using stunning high speed footage we reveal their power and precision and ask what makes the Yumi so special.

Master craftsmen, martial artists and expert historians combine to tell the story of this noble weapon from its bloody past to its revered standing today in Samurai Bow.

Forgotten History: the Romani (Gypsy) Migration from India to Europe

The Romani (colloquially known as the "Gypsies") are a community of European itinerants with surprising origins in northwest India. In this video, we explore the fascinating histories of two distinct Romani groups: the Roma and the Sinti. From surviving Turkic and Arab invasions, to navigating the complex social worlds of unfamiliar lands in the Middle East and Europe, this is the tale of migrant peoples who made a life for themselves despite extraordinary circumstances.

15 Most Expensive Jewels in the World

Forged over millions of years under intense heat and pressure, conditions have to be absolutely perfect for flawless natural gems to be produced. Collectors are willing to pay astronomical amounts of money for the world's most beautiful and rare jewels. The past 15 years, in particular, have seen prices skyrocket. Join us for today's video, as we look through the top 15 most expensive jewels in the world.

Who were the Mycenaeans? The Real Civilization who fought the Trojan War

The true ancient civilization behind the Trojan war (Illiad and Odessey-the greek heroes Agamemnon, Hector, and Achilles). The Mycenaeans. The history of how they interacted with the bronze age world including the Egyptians, Hittites. From the early days with the Minoans to the Trojan war and sea peoples. rediscover this lost civilization.

The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years

Our DNA holds evidence of a huge, ancient pandemic, one that touched many different species, spanned the globe, and lasted for more than 15 million years. Watch the video to find out more!

Most Ancient Dog Breeds That Still Exist Today!

Check out the most ancient dog breeds that still exist today! This top 10 list of amazing rare dogs explains the history of dogs, starting with some of the oldest dogs that were kept as pets thousands of years ago!

The Most Alien-like Creature Ever Found Left Scientists Puzzled After Its Discovery

French amateur archaeologist, Francis Tully was probably not expecting to stumble upon one of the most alien-looking creature that has ever lived, when he was out on a walk near the banks of Mazon Creek, Illinois, in the year 1955. However, two rocks he found among piles of coal shale, that had cracked open from natural weathering, were hiding something that would leave scientists baffled for the next 60 years.

The fossil he found was holding the shape of a creature that he had never seen before. When Tully took the fossil to The Field Museum of Natural History, the paleontologists were just as puzzled about the extraordinary little creature.

”We could not even decide what phylum to put it in, and that was a serious and embarrassing matter”, wrote E.S. Richardson Jr., the curator of fossil invertebrates at the museum.

Scientists were hoping that once more specimens are found, someone would be able to identify their phylum. Although it didn’t take long for more of them to be found throughout central and western Illinois, and even the museum had a few hundred fossils at that point, scientists still couldn’t agree on what kind of animal this mysterious creature could be. Even more interestingly, the fossil is so unique to the area of Illinois, that it was never-ever found anywhere else.

Almost 10 years passed after its discovery, and the creature still wasn’t formally introduced to the public. This was due to the fact that scientists still weren’t able to find out much more about it. By 1966, Richardson couldn’t stall any longer, so he wrote a paper and officially named the creature what everyone was calling it, anyway. He called it Tullimonstrum gregarium, aka. the Tully monster.

”I was very pleased,” said Francis Tully. ”Darned right.”

Richardson was able to speculate that the Tully monster was quite likely an aquatic animal that lived near the shore of the Sea of Illinois, around 307 million years ago. Their claw-like mouth at the end of a long neck was filled with sharp teeth. All this extended from a slender, torpedo-like body, with eyes growing out of short stalks on the back area. Their body didn’t reach enormous sizes; the largest specimen ever found only reached one foot.

It is believed that the Tully monster used the long proboscis on their head to grasp prey. However, it’s unclear what kind of prey these nasty jaws were hunting for.

In the coming decades, the classification of the Tully monster became the subject of debates within the scientific community, with many attempts made to assign it to its proper phylum. While some scientists classified it as some sort of soft-bodied invertebrate, such as a slug or snail, others believed that it actually belonged to the group of vertebrates.

In 2016, a team of paleontologists from Yale University believed they had determined what this animal was. They came to the conclusion that it’s a vertebrate, and lamprey could be its closest relative. After examining the fossils with every possible analytical technique, the team concluded that the Tully Monster had gills and a rudimentary backbone that supported its body.

A year later, though, a different team of researchers was conducting their study on the classification of the Tully monster as well, and their results stated quite the opposite. The scientists rejected the identification of the Tully monster as a vertebrate.

Even though we might never be able to conclusively classify the Tully monster, it’s definitely one of the most interesting creatures we’ve ever seen. So much so that in its home state of Illinois it became a huge superstar. In 1989, it was officially designated as the state fossil, and it’s even featured on local U-Haul trucks.

People are still visiting the monster’s former habitat at Mazon Creek in the hopes of finding their own Tully fossil, just as Francis Tully did in 1956.

The Mysterious Serapeum of Egypt (Full Movie)

In the video below we will take a trip to the mysterious location known as the Serapeum. The mysterious stone boxes here are amazing to see and touch. Each weighs somewhere between 75-100 tons depending. How were they moved? How were they cut? What were they used for? The traditional story doesn't seem to hold water once you scrutinize that these boxes were used for burials of symbolic bulls.

The Greatest Speech in History? Alexander the Great & The Opis Mutiny

Alexander the Great is one of the most extraordinary individuals in history. He became king of the fringe Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 336 BC at the age of just 20, and before his death twelve years later, had imposed Macedonian overlordship on Greece, destroyed the mighty Persian Empire and led an army deep into modern Afghanistan and to the Indian frontier.

At Opis he faced a mutiny by his Macedonian troops, angered that he wanted to send some of them home, while appearing to give preference to his new Asian subjects, and adopting many of their customs. Alexander dealt ruthlessly with the ringleaders, before (according to 'The Anabasis' by Roman historian Arrian) making a speech to his army in which he berated his troops for their disloyalty.

The speech, as it has reached us, was no doubt written by Arrian rather than Alexander. His actual words are now impossible to ascertain. But Arrian had access to eyewitness accounts which are now lost (principally Ptolemy and Nearchus), and modern historians generally agree that the speech was a real historical event, and that Arrian gives a good representation of its likely content.

Putting its (contested and debated) value as a historical source to one side, the scene - as it appears in Arrian - is a brilliantly written moment of high drama and emotion, in which Alexander first highlights his debt to his father Philip, before launching into a tirade in which he lists his own astounding achievements and qualities of leadership.

The First Punic War

In the video below we will be analyzing the first Punic war. Watch it to find out more and enjoy!

5 Google Earth Black Sites

The Paracel Islands, also known as the Hoang Sa Archipelago, are a cluster of approximately 130 small islands and coral reefs in the South China Sea, and the location of one of Google Earth’s mysterious black sites.

This place, seen by few human eyes, appears on Google Earth as a series of blurred and blacked out images, for reasons not entirely understood.

The Paracels are also home to the world’s deepest underwater sinkhole, known as Dragon Hole, which appears to have been deliberately scrubbed from Google Earth.

Approximately 1,000 feet deep and referred to by local fishermen as “the eye of the South China Sea”, photographs of Dragon Hole exist despite the lack of satellite imagery. It was, however, only officially revealed by the Chinese government less than a decade ago.

Further adding to the intrigue of this location, legend claims that the Dragon Hole is where the much fabled Monkey King once found his golden cudgel.

Many have sought an explanation for why the site is not visible on Google Earth. Measures such as blurring and blacking out locations are typically reserved for military bases, prisons and areas whose discovery could represent a security threat...

The Last Time the Globe Warmed

Imagine an enormous, lush rainforest teeming with life...in the Arctic. Well, there was a time -- and not too long ago -- when the world warmed more than any human has ever seen.

The history of Brazil - Summary on a Map

In the video below we will explore the history of Brazil, from the first explorations of Portugal at the end of the 15th century, until today. Enjoy!

The Old Testament Told in Only 5 Minutes

This is a brilliant and very quick review of the Old Testament. What's most shocking (but accurate) is the depiction of the fall of Israel and its' people due to disobedience to GOD.