Thread of the world's most beautiful towns and villages at Christmas 🧵

1. Locorotondo, Italy 2. Zermatt, Switzerland

The Gornergrat train makes its way back to the village, with the breathtaking Matterhorn towering in the background.

Biomimicry: the art of imitating nature 🧵

1. B-2 Bomber and a Peregrine Falcon 2. The design of the 500 Series Shinkansen high-speed train mimics the beak of a Kingfisher bird to improve aerodynamics.

Using biomimicry, its kingfisher-inspired front reduced energy consumption by 15%, increased speed by 10%, lowered noise, and improved passenger comfort.

The most beautiful medieval cities on Earth 🧵

1. Siena, Italy 2. Bologna, Italy, has one of the best-preserved medieval historical city centers in the world.

Once among Europe's largest cities, it is known as the "Manhattan of the Middle Ages" for its tower-filled skyline. Today, only 30 of the original 100 towers remain standing.

The most beautiful roads on Earth 🧵

1. Sword road, Iceland 2. The Atlantic Road, Norway

Often referred to as "the most beautiful journey in the world", this road winds like a graceful sea serpent across eight bridges, connecting Kårvåg on Averøya to Vevang on the mainland.

Thread of surreal archaeological discoveries 🧵

1. Dubbed the "flying carpet," this Roman mosaic found in Antakya, Turkey, was so masterfully crafted that it retained its intricate design despite the wave-like distortions caused by earthquakes. 2. Colossal Olmec stone heads

The Olmecs, Mesoamerica’s first major civilization, are thought to have flourished in Veracruz and Tabasco from 1200 to 400 BC, vanishing mysteriously in the 4th century BC.

Thread of extraordinary painting details 🧵

1. The whole table is judging you. Even the cat. 2. "The eyes are the windows to the soul"

Microscope maker Hirox has created a stunning 10-gigapixel panorama of Vermeer’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

You can zoom into the left eye to see the pupil, and then zoom in further to reveal the light source as a few paint blobs.

Art memes - a thread 🧵

1. The introvert life 2. The chair

I used Grok's new image generation model to reinterpret Greek myths and epic poems.

The results are stunning - a thread 🧵

1. Aeneas fleeing the burning city of Troy 2. Prometheus and the Theft of Fire

I asked Grok to generate a marble sculpture of this famous myth.

Interestingly, it incorporated two key elements: the flame in his hands and the chains forged by Hephaestus, with which Zeus bound him to a rock for giving fire to humans.

The most beautiful castles on Earth 🧵

1. St Michael's Mount, Cornwall 2. Château de Pierrefonds, Northern France

This castle was in ruins for more than two centuries when Napoleon I bought it in 1810 for less than 3,000 francs.

In the 19th century, it gained fame as a "romantic ruin" and was later extensively restored under Napoleon III.

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”

A thread on the beauty of traditions 🧵

1. Every December 8, firefighters in Rome honor the Virgin Mary for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception by placing a wreath of flowers on her statue. 2. Every year at Advent, a man dressed in First Republic-era attire lights gas lamps on Charles Bridge at sunset.

Prague has a long history of lamp-lighting, as they have been used to light the city's parks and streets since 1847.

One of the greatest sculptors of all time was born 426 years ago today on December 7, 1598.

A thread on the legendary Gian Lorenzo Bernini

1. The Abduction of Proserpina Crafted when Bernini was only 23 years old, the sculpture portrays the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, the ruler of the underworld.

The lifelike detail of Pluto’s hand gripping her thigh is regarded as one of the most beautiful details in art history.

The genius of Leonardo da Vinci 🧵

1. Château de La Rochefoucauld's staircase This stunning spiral staircase was built in 1520 by Anne de La Rochefoucauld.

The design followed the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, which were given to her by the King of France.

Surreal paleontological discoveries - a thread🧵

1. This nodosaur fossil looks like a dragon 2. Fossilized dinosaur skin

In 2008, a mummified section of Edmontosaurus skin unearthed from Montana's renowned Hell Creek Formation was sold on eBay for $4,000.

What we do in life, echoes in eternity.

Thread of architectural wonders that have withstood the relentless passage of time 🧵

1. Pantheon, Rome (almost 2000 years old) 2. Built from stones weighing between 2.5 and 70 tons each, the Great Pyramid remained the world's tallest man-made structure for thousands of years.

Of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, only the Pyramid, which is also by far the oldest, still remains standing.

Beautiful fashion designs inspired by art 🧵

1. The Palladium Dress by Gianfranco Ferré 2. Elie Saab (2015) - The Water Lily Pond by Claude Monet (1899)

By the 1890s, Monet's financial struggles eased, allowing him to buy Giverny and create his stunning garden.

In a letter he wrote: "I saw that my pond had become enchanted. Since then, I have had no other model."

The most beautiful art galleries on Earth 🧵

1. Galleria Colonna, Rome 2. Galleria Borghese, Rome

Galleria Borghese features some of the most impressive artworks of all time, including Canova’s Paulina Borghese, Bernini’s David, Apollo and Daphne and The Abduction of Proserpina, and Caravaggio’s Boy with a Basket of Fruit.

Our brains love to see patterns in randomness.

A thread on the beauty of Pareidolia 🧵

1. Known as "the thinking tree" by locals, this olive tree in Apulia, Italy, is over 1500 years old. 2. In this breathtaking shot by Davide Basile, the eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily appears to give rise to a Phoenix in the sky.

Thanksgiving photos, paintings and videos and that will take you back in time - a thread🧵

1. Thanksgiving on the front lines of WW2 2. Freedom from Want, Norman Rockwell, 1943

The people in this painting were friends and family of Rockwell from Arlington, Vermont, each photographed separately and later incorporated into the artwork.

Beautiful things from the past 🧵

1. Gold ring from the 1700s adorned with stars and the inscription "Many are thee stars I see yet in my eye no star like thee". 2. An elegant 2,000-year-old Roman shoe found in a well at Saalburg, a fort that once protected the boundary between the Roman Empire and the Germanic territories.

The incomprehensible scale of Space 🧵

1. Perspective is everything. Feel small yet? 2. Earth from Mars

This photo from NASA’s Curiosity rover shows the Earth as seen from the surface of Mars, shining brighter than any star in the Martian night sky.

The beauty of our planet - a thread🧵

1. Road to the Moon by Argiris Karamouzas 2. Once in a lifetime shot by Prasenjeet Yadav.

A green meteor lights up the sky over India.