Photo by Galen C. Dalrymple, copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved.
There are lots of poisonous snakes in the world, but perhaps the most famous and well known is the cobra. They’re not the deadliest snakes in terms of venom, but they are very large and inject large amounts of toxin, so their bites are very serious and certainly can be fatal without prompt medical attention. When one thinks of Egypt, cobras come to mind. They are often portrayed on the headgear of the pharaoh and other powerful people in ancient Egypt. There are at least three species of cobra in the country.
As we rode along the fields along the edges of the desert, our guide pointed out to us the thorny plants that grew alongside of the farmer’s fields. The reason, he told us, is that the cobras don’t like the thorny plants and they help prevent them from infesting the fields.
Today’s photo was shot at the step pyramid in Saqqara. While we didn’t see any live cobras there, you can seem stone images of them along the left side of the picture, for nearly five thousand years silently watching over those who are visiting the site. While I suspect they were intended to just demonstrate the power of the people buried at the Saqqara necropolis, they may have also served as a warning to those who might be so inclined as to attempt to rob the tombs or disturb the rest of the rulers buried there.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: in 1964, a referee’s call in a soccer match between Peru and Argentina sparked a riot. More than 300 fans were killed and another 500 people were injured in the violent melee that followed at National Stadium in Lima, Peru.
The match was a qualifier for the 1964 Olympics and the Peruvian fans were fiercely cheering on their team with only a few minutes left in a close game. When the referee disallowed an apparent goal for Peru, the stadium went wild. The resulting panic and crowd-control measures taken caused stampedes in which people were crushed and killed.
The extent of this disaster has only been surpassed once. In 1982, 340 people died at a match in Moscow when a late goal caused fans who had exited the game to attempt to return suddenly. Meanwhile, police were forcing people to exit; those caught in the middle were crushed.
Large-scale soccer disasters date back to 1946 when 33 fans were crushed to death in Bolton, England, when overcrowded conditions caused a barrier to collapse onto fans. – The History Channel
TRIVIA FOR TODAY: In one survey, three out of four people admitted to sharing an ice cream cone with their pet.
Twolfgcd's Blog (Galen Dalrymple) 