Interesting Facts You Must Know

Your Stomach Secretes Corrosive Acid

There's one dangerous liquid no airport security can confiscate from you: It's in your gut. Your stomach cells secrete hydrochloric acid, a corrosive compound used to treat metals in the industrial world. It can pickle steel, but mucous lining the stomach wall keeps this poisonous liquid safely in the digestive system, breaking down lunch.

Body Position Effects Your Memory

Can't remember your anniversary, hubby? Try getting down on one knee. Memories are highly embodied in our senses. A scent or sound may evoke a distant episode from one's childhood. The connections can be obvious (a bicycle bell makes you remember your old paper route) or inscrutable. A recent study helps decipher some of this embodiment. An article in the January 2007 issue of Cognition reports that episodes from your past are remembered faster and better while in a body position similar to the pose struck during the event.

Bones Break Down to Balance Minerals

In addition to supporting the bag of organs and muscles that is our body, bones help regulate our calcium levels. Bones contain both phosphorus and calcium, the latter of which is needed by muscles and nerves. If the element is in short supply, certain hormones will cause bones to break downeupping calcium levels in the bodyeuntil the appropriate extracellular concentration is reached.

Much Of A Meal Is Food For Thought

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories. To keep our noggin well-stocked with resources, three major cerebral arteries are constantly pumping in oxygen. A blockage or break in one of them starves brain cells of the energy they require to function, impairing the functions controlled by that region. This is a stroke.

Thousands Of Eggs Unused By Ovaries

When a woman reaches her late 40s or early 50s, the monthly menstrual cycle that controls her hormone levels and readies ova for insemination ceases. Her ovaries have been producing less and less estrogen, inciting physical and emotional changes across her body. Her underdeveloped egg follicles begin to fail to release ova as regularly as before. The average adolescent girl has 34,000 underdeveloped egg follicles, although only 350 or so mature during her life (at the rate of about one per month). The unused egg follicles then deteriorate. With no potential pregnancy on the horizon, the brain can stop managing the release of ova.

Puberty Reshapes Brain Structure, Makes for Missed Curfews

We know that hormone-fueled changes in the body are necessary to encourage growth and ready the body for reproduction. But why is adolescence so emotionally unpleasant? Hormones like testosterone actually influence the development of neurons in the brain, and the changes made to brain structure have many behavioral consequences. Expect emotional awkwardness, apathy and poor decision-making skills as regions in the frontal cortex mature.

Cell Hairs Move Mucus

Most cells in our bodies sport hair-like organelles called cilia that help out with a variety of functions, from digestion to hearing. In the nose, cilia help to drain mucus from the nasal cavity down to the throat. Cold weather slows down the draining process, causing a mucus backup that can leave you with snotty sleeves. Swollen nasal membranes or condensation can also cause a stuffed schnozzle.

Big Brains Cause Cramped Mouth

Evolution isn't perfect. If it were, we might have wings instead of wisdom teeth. Sometimes useless features stick around in a species simply because they're not doing much harm. But wisdom teeth weren't always a cash crop for oral surgeons. Long ago, they served as a useful third set of meat-mashing molars. But as our brains grew our jawbone structure changed, leaving us with expensively overcrowded mouths.

The World Laughs With You

Just as watching someone yawn can induce the behavior in yourself, recent evidence suggests that laughter is a social cue for mimicry. Hearing a laugh actually stimulates the brain region associated with facial movements. Mimicry plays an important role in social interaction. Cues like sneezing, laughing, crying and yawning may be ways of creating strong social bonds within a group.

Your Skin Has Four Colours

All skin, without coloring, would appear creamy white. Near-surface blood vessels add a blush of red. A yellow pigment also tints the canvas. Lastly, sepia-toned melanin, created in response to ultraviolet rays, appears black in large amounts. These four hues mix in different proportions to create the skin colors of all the peoples of Earth.

Amazing Fire Waterfall at Yosemite

"Where there is will there is way" This park was gazetted as a national park in 1890. It is world famous for its rugged terrain, waterfall and century-old pine trees. It covers 1200 sq km and the "fire" waterfall of El Capitan is one of the most spectacular of all scenery. The spectacular view of the waterfall is created by the reflection of sunlight hitting the falling water at a specific angle. This rare sight can only be seen at a 2-week period towards the end of Feburary. To photograph this rare event, photographers would often have to wait and endure years of patience in order to capture them. The reason is because its appearance depend on a few natural phenomenons occuring at the same time and luck.

1st, Is the formation of the waterfall - The water is formed by the melting of snow and ice at the top of the mountain. It melts between the month of December and January and by the end of February there might not have much snow left to melt. 2nd, is the specific angle of the sunray hitting the falling water - The sun's position must be exactly at a particular spot in the sky. This occur only in the month of February and at the short hours of dusk. If it is a day full of clouds or something blocking the sun, you can only take pictures of your own sorry faces on the waterfall. It coincides with the fact that the weather in the National Park at that time of the year is often volatile and unpredictable. It compounds to the difficulty of getting these pictures. Someone did !!! And we all get to see it !!!

Top 10 Mysterious World Landmarks

The world is filled with ancient monuments built by master craftsmen in order to honor everything from kings and presidents to religious figures. And although most of these landmarks have been carefully studied and researched by scientists and historians, some are simply so old, incomplete, or obscure that we still dont know very much about why they were built or what purpose they served. The following are 10 world landmarks that, whether by intention or simply due to the passage of time, continue to baffle the people who study them.

10-     The Cahokia Mounds

Cahokia is the name given to an Indian settlement that exists outside of Collinsville , Illinois . Archeologists estimate that the city was founded sometime around 650 AD, and its complex network of burial grounds and sophisticated landscaping prove that it was once a thriving community. It has been estimated that at its peak the city was home to as many as 40,000 people, which would have made it the most populous settlement in America prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The most notable aspect of Cahokia today are the 80 mounds of earth, some as high as 100 feet, which dot the 2,200-acre site. These helped create a network of plazas throughout the city, and it is believed that important buildings, like the home of the settlements chief, were built on top of them. The site also features a series of wooden posts that archeologists have dubbed woodhenge. The posts are said to mark the solstices and equinoxes, and supposedly figured prominently in the communitys astronomical mythology.

The Mystery

Although scientists are constantly discovering new information about the Cohokia community, the biggest mystery that remains is which modern Indian tribe is descended from the residents of the ancient city, as well as just what it was that caused them to abandon their settlement.

9-     New Garange

Considered to be the oldest and most famous prehistoric site in all of Ireland , Newgrange is a tomb that was built from earth, wood, clay, and stone around 3100 BC, some 1000 years before the construction of the pyramids in Egypt . It consists of a long passage that leads to a cross-shaped chamber that was apparently used as a tomb, as it contains stone basins filled with cremated remains. The most unique feature of Newgrange is its careful and sturdy design, which has helped the structure remain completely waterproof to this day. Most amazing of all, the entrance to the tomb was positioned relative to the sun in such a way that on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the rays from the sun are channeled through the opening and down the nearly 60 foot passageway, where they illuminate the floor of the monuments central room.

The Mystery

Archeologists know Newgrange was used as a tomb, but why and for who still remains a mystery. The painstaking design needed to guarantee that the yearly solstice event occurs suggests that the site was held in high regard, but other than the obvious hypothesis that the sun featured prominently in the mythology of the builders, scientists are at a loss to describe the true reason for Newgranges construction.

8-     The Yonaguni Monument

Of all the famous monuments in Japan , perhaps none is more perplexing than Yonaguni, an underwater rock formation that lies off the coast of the Ryuku Islands . It was discovered in 1987 by a group of divers who were there to observe Hammerhead sharks, and it immediately sparked a huge amount of debate in the Japanese scientific community. The monument is made up of a series of striking rock formations including massive platforms, carved steps, and huge stone pillars that lie at depths of 5-40 meters. There is a triangular formation that has become known as the turtle for its unique shape, as well as a long, straight wall that borders one of the larger platforms. The currents in the area are known for being particularly treacherous, but this has not stopped the Yonaguni monument from becoming one of the most popular diving locations in all of Japan .

The Mystery

The ongoing debate surrounding Yonaguni centers on one key subject: is the monument a natural phenomenon, or is it man-made? Scientists have long argued that millennia of strong currents and erosion have carved the formations out of the ocean floor, and they point to the fact that the monument is all one piece of solid rock as proof that it was not assembled by a builder. Others, though, point to the many straight edges, square corners and 90-degree angles of the formation as proof that its artificial. They often cite one formation in particular, a section of rock that resembles a crude carving of a human face, as evidence. If they are right, then an even more interesting mystery presents itself: who constructed the Yonaguni Monument , and for what purpose?

7-     The Nazca Lines

The Nazca lines are a series of designs and pictographs carved into the ground in the Nazca Desert , a dry plateau located in Peru . They cover an area of some 50 miles, and were supposedly created between 200 BC and 700 AD by the Nazca Indians, who designed them by scraping away the copper colored rocks of the desert floor to expose the lighter-colored earth beneath. The lines have managed to remain intact for hundreds of years thanks to the regions arid climate, which sees it receive little rain or wind throughout the year. Some of the lines span distances of 600 feet, and they depict everything from simple designs and shapes to characterizations of plants, insects, and animals.

The Mystery

Scientists know who made the Nazca Lines and how they did it, but they still dont know why. The most popular and reasonable hypothesis is that the lines must have figured in the Nazca peoples religious beliefs, and that they made the designs as offerings to the gods, who would ve been able to see them from the heavens. Still, other scientists argue that the lines are evidence of massive looms that the Nazcas used to make textiles, and one investigator has even made the preposterous claim that they are the remnants of ancient airfields used by a vanished, technologically advanced society.

6-     Goseck Circle

One of the most mysterious landmarks in Germany is the Goseck Circle , a monument made out of earth, gravel, and wooden palisades that is regarded as the earliest example of a primitive œsolar observatory. The circle consists of a series of circular ditches surrounded by palisade walls (which have since been reconstructed) that house a raised mound of dirt in the center. The palisades have three openings, or gates, that point southeast, southwest, and north. It is believed that the monument was built around 4900 BC by Neolithic peoples, and that the three openings correspond to the direction from which the sun rises on the winter solstice.

The Mystery

The monuments careful construction has led many scientists to believe that the Goseck Circle was built to serve as some kind of primitive solar or lunar calendar, but its exact use is still a source of debate. Evidence has shown that a so-called œsolar cult was widespread in ancient Europe . This has led to speculation that the Circle was used in some kind of ritual, perhaps even in conjunction with human sacrifice. This hypothesis has yet to be proven, but archeologists have uncovered several human bones, including a headless skeleton, just outside the palisade walls

5-     Sacsayhuaman

Not far from the famous Inca city of Machu Picchu lies Sacsayhuaman, a strange embankment of stone walls located just outside of Cuzco . The series of three walls was assembled from massive 200-ton blocks of rock and limestone, and they are arranged in a zigzag pattern along the hillside. The longest is roughly 1000 feet in length and each stands some fifteen feet tall. The monument is in astonishingly good condition for its age, especially considering the regions propensity for earthquakes, but the tops of the walls are somewhat demolished, as the monument was plundered by the Spanish to build churches in Cuzco . The area surrounding the monument has been found to be the source of several underground catacombs called chincanas, which were supposedly used as connecting passageways to other Inca structures in the area.

The Mystery

Most scientists agree that Sacsayhuaman served as a kind of fortress of barrier wall, but this has been disputed. The strange shape and angles of the wall have led some speculate that it may have had a more symbolic function, one example being that the wall, when seen next to Cuzco from above, forms the shape of the head of a Cougar. Even more mysterious than the monuments use, though, are the methods that were used in its construction. Like most Inca stone works, Sacsayhuaman was built with large stones that fit together so perfectly that not even a sheet of paper can be placed in the gaps between them. Just how the Incas managed such expert placements, or, for that matter, how they managed to transport and lift the heavy hunks of stone, is still not fully known.

4-     The Eastern Island Moai

One of the most iconic series of monuments in the Pacific islands is the Moai, a group of huge statues of exaggerated human figures that are found only on the small, isolated island of Rapa Nui , or Easter Island . The Moai were carved sometime between 1250 and 1500 AD by the islands earliest inhabitants, and are believed to depict the peoples ancestors, who in their culture were held in the same regard as deities. The Moai were chiseled and carved from tuff, a volcanic rock that is prevalent on the island, and they all feature the same characteristics of an oversized head, broad nose, and a mysterious, indecipherable facial expression. Scientists have determined that as many as 887 of the statues were originally carved, but years of infighting among the islands clans led to many being destroyed. Today, only 394 are still standing, the largest of which is 30 feet tall and weighs over 70 tons.

The Mystery

While there is a fairly solid consensus on why the Moai were erected, how the islanders did it is still up for debate. The average Moai weighs several tons, and for years scientists were at a loss to describe how the monuments were transported from Rano Raraku, where most of them were constructed, to their various locations around the island. In recent years, the most popular theory is that the builders used wooden sleds and log rollers to move the Moai, an answer that would also explain how the once verdant island became almost totally barren due to deforestation.

3-     The Georgia Guidestones

While most of the mysterious monuments on this list only became that way as centuries passed, the Georgia Guidestones, also known as American Stonehenge, are one landmark that was always intended to be an enigma. The monument, which consists of four monolithic slabs of granite that support a single capstone, was commissioned in 1979 by a man who went by the pseudonym of R.C. Christian. A local mason carefully crafted it so that one slot in the stones is aligned with the sun on the solstices and equinoxes, and one small hole is always pointed in the direction of the North Star. Most interesting, though, are the inscriptions on the slabs, which an accompanying plaque describes as œthe guidestones to an Age of Reason. In eight different languages, the slabs offer a strange ten-point plan to ensure peace on Earth that includes vague proclamations like œprize truth“beauty“love“seeking harmony with the infinite, to very specific commands like œmaintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature. Comments like this one have made the Guidestones one of the most controversial landmarks in the United States, and they have long been protested and even vandalized by groups that would like to see them demolished.

The Mystery

For all their controversy, very little is known about who built the Guidestones or what their true purpose is. R.C. Christian claimed he represented an independent organization when he commissioned the landmark, but neither he nor his group has spoken up since its construction. Since the monument was built during the height of the Cold War, one popular theory about the groups intentions is that the Guidestones were to serve as a primer for how to rebuild society in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

2-     The Great Shinx of Gaza

Sphinxes are massive stone statues that depict the body of a reclining lion with the head and face of a human. The figures are found all over the world in different forms, but they are most commonly linked with Egypt , which features the most famous example in the form of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Incredibly, the statue is carved out of one monolithic piece of rock, and at 240 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 66 feet tall, it is considered to be the biggest monument of its kind in the world. Historians largely accept the function of the Sphinx to have been that of a symbolic guardian, since the statues were strategically placed around important structures like temples, tombs, and pyramids. The Great Sphinx of Giza appears to be no different. It stands adjacent to the pyramid of the pharaoh Khafra, and most archeologists believe that it is his face that is depicted on that of the statue.

The Mystery

Despite its reputation as one of the most famous monuments of antiquity, there is still very little known about the Great Sphinx of Giza. Egyptologists might have a small understanding of why the statue was built, but when, how, and by who is still shrouded in mystery. The pharaoh Khafra is the main suspect, which would date the structure back to around 2500 BC, but other scientists have argued that evidence of water erosion of the statue suggests that it is much older and perhaps even predated the dynastic era of the Egyptians. This theory has few modern adherents, but if true it would mean the Great Sphinx of Giza is even more mysterious than previously believed.

1-     The Stonehenge

Of all the worlds famous monuments, none has gained as much of a reputation for pure, simple mystery as Stonehenge . Stonehenge has been inspiring debate among scholars, scientists, and historians since the Middle Ages. Located in the English countryside, the landmark is believed to date back to 2500 BC, and consists of several mammoth pieces of rock arranged and piled on top of one another in what appears at first to be a random design. The site is surrounded by a small, circular ditch, and is flanked by burial mounds on all sides. Although the rock formations that still remain are undoubtedly impressive, it is thought that the modern version of Stonehenge is only a small remnant of a much larger monument that was damaged with the passing of time, and it is largely believed that the building process was so extensive that it could have lasted on and off for anywhere from 1500 to 7000 years.

The Mystery

Stonehenge has become renowned for puzzling even the most brilliant researchers, and over the years the many gaps in the history of its construction, the nature of its use, and the true identity of its builders have become known as The Mystery of Stonehenge. The Neolithic people who built the monument left behind no written records, so scientists can only base their theories on the meager evidence that exists at the site. This has led to wild speculation that the monument was left by aliens, or that it was built by some eons-old society of technologically advanced super-humans. All craziness aside, the most common explanation remains that Stonehenge served as some kind of graveyard monument that played a role in the builders version of the afterlife, a claim that is backed up by its proximity to several hundred burial mounds. Yet another theory suggests that the site was a place for spiritual healing and the worship of long dead ancestors.

24 MOST EXPENSIVE

Most Expensive Cigar
Gurkha Black Dragon
Price: $1,150 each

Gurkha Cigars Black Dragon cigars were introduced in 2006, according to cigar.com. The cigars are hand-crafted in Honduras and come in a box made of carved camel bone and brass. Gurkha Cigars produced only five chests of 100 cigars, each chest priced at $115,000, and only one chest remains. A new and less expensive version of the Black Dragon was released in 2007.

Most Expensive Champagne
Heidsieck Monopole Champagne 1907
Price: $35,000

In 1997, a search team uncovered a ship that sank in the Baltic Sea containing
valuable cargo, including 2,000 bottles of Heidsieck Monopole Champagne.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow claimed 10 of the bottles and made them
available for sale in 2008. According to the hotel’s spokesperson,
Sergey Logvinov, the first bottle sold within the first month to a Russian collector.
A few bottles are still available for purchase. 

Most Expensive Hotel Room
Royal Penthouse Suite, Hotel President Wilson in Geneva
Price: $65,000 per night

This palatial suite, which occupies an entire floor of the hotel and measures
18,083 square feet, has 10 rooms and seven bathrooms. It was renovated in
January 2009 to add a new private fitness area, according to a spokesperson.

Most Expensive Bicycle
Aurumania Gold Bike Crystal Edition
Price: $114,464

Scandinavian design company Aurumania made only 10 of these
hand-crafted, 24-carat gold-plated bicycles. Each is decorated with
600 Swarovski crystals. According to Chief Executive Bo Franch-Mærkedahl,
this bike was originally conceived as a show piece but quickly attracted
interest from buyers. The firm, founded in September 2008, has sold five
units to buyers in the U.K., Dubai, Russia, Italy, and most recently, Australia.
He adds that four of the clients also bought a matching gold-plated wall rack.

Most Expensive Golf Club
Long-Nose Putter Stamped “A.D.,” attributed to Andrew Dickson
Price: $181,000

An “A.D.” stamp on this circa 18th century, long-nose putter is attributed
to Andrew Dickson, the oldest known clubmaker to mark his clubs.
He is said to have served as a caddy to the Duke of York as a young
boy, according to Sotheby’s. This item was estimated to sell for
$200,000 to $300,000 but fetched $181,000 in a Sotheby’s auction 
in New York in 2007.

Most Expensive Wine
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992
Price: $500,000

This sale is left off many lists because the proceeds went to charity,
but Screaming Eagle’s $500,000, six-liter bottle of cab holds the top
spot for the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. It was purchased
at the Napa Valley Wine Auction in 2000 by Chase Bailey, a former
Cisco Systems executive, reported Time magazine.

Most Expensive Chess Set
Chess Set by Charles Hollander
Price: $600,000

Jeweler Charles Hollander’s Royal Diamond Chess (shown in photo),
priced at half a million dollars, is often cited as the world’s most expensive,
but Hollander tells Bloomberg Businessweek that the first of his seven
chess sets, which made their debut about 10 years ago, quietly sold for
$600,000 just after launching. The set was studded with 320 carats of black
and white diamonds and two kilograms of 14 carat white gold. Hollander
says he presented the unnamed piece at the Basel Jewelry Show and sold
it within the first hour to a Russian collector. Hollander has made seven luxury
chess sets, all designed by Bernard Maquin, and has moved all but one.
Another set, called the Jewel Royale chess set, by U.K. jeweler Boodles,
was valued at $9.8 million but has not yet sold.

Most Expensive Motorcycle
Dodge Tomahawk V10 Superbike
Price: $700,000

The Dodge Tomahawk, a 1,500-lb. motorcycle with four wheels, has a
Dodge Viper’s V10 engine and can go from zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds,
according to Edmunds.com. The top speed is estimated to be more than 300 mph.
The vehicle, which made its debut at the 2003 North American International
Auto Show in Detroit, was reportedly priced at $550,000, but a Dodge spokesperson
confirmed to Bloomberg Businessweek that two units were sold at an even higher $700,000.

Most Expensive Camera
Susse Freres daguerreotype camera
Price: $775,000

A daguerreotype camera designed by Frenchman Susse Freres that
dates back to 1839 sold at the WestLicht Auction in 2007 for €576,000 ($775,000).
It was believed to be the oldest commercially manufactured camera in the world,
reported the Most Expensive Journal. Another daguerreotype camera will be
auctioned in May and is expected to fetch up to $950,000.

Most Expensive Speakers
Transmission Audio Ultimate System
Price: $2 million per pair

With a total of 12 units—four dipole subwoofers, two dipole mid-woofers,
four dipole medium-frequency and high-frequency ribbon panels, and two
dipole high-fidelity super ribbon panels—Transmission Audio’s Ultimate
speaker system is a hefty piece of equipment, spanning 37 feet and
weighing 5 metric tons. All units are made from aircraft aluminum and have
stands in polished red or black granite. The set was introduced in late 2009,
and so far two pairs have been preordered, says Bo Bengtsson, president of
Transmission Audio. None has yet been delivered, as the assembly time is
about six months.

Most Expensive Television
PrestigeHD Supreme Rose Edition by Stuart Hughes
Price: $2.3 million

Swiss luxury television maker PrestigeHD asked Stuart Hughes of
Goldstriker International to design a spectacular piece for the company,
says Hughes. So he took a 55-inch PrestigeHD television and covered
it in 28 kilograms of 18-carat rose gold and 72 diamonds. Alligator skin
was hand sewn into the bezel. This limited edition TV, introduced just this
year, surpasses Hughes’ £1 million television for PrestigeHD, which uses
22-carat yellow gold and 48 diamonds. PrestigeHD CEO Simon M. Troxler
says the company is close to closing its first contract  for the Supreme
Rose Edition and “we are very confident that the limited edition of only three
TVs will be sold out soon.”

Most Expensive Guitar
Fender Stratocaster guitar
Price: $2.7 million

A group of the world’s renowned musicians signed this guitar, auctioned
in Qatar in 2005, to raise funds for tsunami victims, according to a press
release. Signatures include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton,
Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend,
Mark Knopfler, Ray Davis, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Tony Iommi,
Angus & Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore,
Def Leppard, and Bryan Adams. It was bought by Qatar’s royal family
earlier that year, donated back to the charity, and sold again for $2.7 million.

Most Expensive Cell Phone
iPhone 3GS Supreme Rose by Stuart Hughes
Price: $2.97 million

Stuart Hughes—who also designed the most expensive television—
made headlines in 2009 when he crafted a 22-carat gold iPhone
studded with 53 diamonds for an unnamed Australian businessman
for £1.92 million. More recently, he says, he was commissioned to
make an even pricier version of the phone in 18-carat rose gold with
hundreds of diamonds, including a single-cut, 7.1-carat diamond for
the main navigation button.

Most Expensive Piano
Heintzman Crystal Piano
Price: $3.22 million

A nine-foot piano made by Heintzman Piano in Beijing was recently
purchased at auction by a private bidder for a record $3.22 million,
according to a company release.

Most Expensive Domain Name
Insure.com
Price: $16 million

In 2009, California-based Internet marketing firm QuinStreet bought
insure.com for $16 million, setting a new record for the most expensive
domain name. It was previously held by ***.com, which sold in 2006 for
more than $12 million, reported the Guardian.

Most Expensive Ring
Chopard Blue Diamond Ring
Price: $16.26 million

The centerpiece of Chopard Blue Diamond Ring is a 9-carat blue
diamond (in photo) with diamond shoulders. The 18-carat white gold
band is paved with diamonds. It sold overseas in 2007 to a fancy colour
diamond collector, reportedly for $16,260,000, but a Chopard spokesperson
says the estimated value of the ring today is $18,561,310.

Most Expensive Car
1954-55 Mercedes-Benz W196
Price: $24 million

Think a brand-new $1.7 million Bugatti Veyron is expensive?
Try the Mercedes-Benz W196, which won the Grand Prix in 1954 and 1955,
and sold at auction in 1990 for a staggering $24 million. According to
the U.K.’s Times Online Times Online, Mercedes donated the car to
the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the 1980s, which later sold
it for £1.5million to finance a museum renovation. It was again sold in
1990 to a French industrialist for $24 million but changed hands once
more to a German industrialist for less than half that sum.

Most Expensive Watch
Haute Joaillerie Watch from Chopard
Price: $25 million

Chopard’s colorful, glittery timepiece sold in early 2000 for a reported $25 million.
The watch has 201 carats of pink, blue, and white diamonds, including a
15-carat, heart-shaped pink diamond, a 12-carat, heart-shaped blue
diamond, and an 11-carat, heart-shaped white diamond. The hearts
spring open to expose the yellow diamond-studded watch face. The
bracelet has 163 carats of white and yellow pear-shaped diamonds.

Most Expensive Drawing

Raphael’s Head of a Muse

Price: $47.9 million

The most expensive work on paper was sold at auction in December 2009
by Christie’s London. Raphael’s Head of a Muse, a black chalk drawing on paper,
sold for $47,941,095, handily beating the estimate, which ranged from $19.7 million
to $26.3 million.

Most Expensive Sculpture
L’Homme qui marche I (Walking Man I), Alberto Giacometti (1961)
Price: $104.3 million

After only eight minutes of bidding at a Sotheby’s auction in London in
February, this life-size bronze sculpture sold for three times its asking price
to an anonymous telephone bidder, reported the Daily Telegraph. The work not
only set a record price for a Giacometti; it is also the most expensive piece
of art ever to sell at auction. The previous record was held by Picasso’s Boy
with a Pipe, a painting that sold for $104 million.

Most Expensive Painting
Number 5, 1948, Jackson Pollock (1948)
Price: $140 million

Billionaire record and film producer David Geffen reportedly sold the
4-ft. by 8-ft. painting to financier David Martínez in 2006, although neither
commented on the deal, according to an article in The New York Times.

Most Expensive Private Jet
Boeing 747-8 VIP
Price: $295 million

This jet, which has 4,786 square feet of cabin space, is the newest member
of the 747 family and replaces the 747-400. Boeing has sold seven
747-8 VIPs since May 2006 and will start delivering them next year.
While the interior is intended to look less like a plane and more like home,
Boeing does not furnish the jets—customers must hire interior designers,
which can easily add millions of dollars in additional cost, says Boeing
spokesman Bernard Choi. He says the jet probably will not enter service
until after 2012, because the interior has to be put in.

Most Expensive House
Antilla
Price: $1 billion

According to a February report by Property Magazine Property Magazine ,
the most expensive house in the world, named Antilla (in picture above at left),
is in downtown Mumbai, India, and will be the residence of Reliance
Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani. The 27-story, 570-foot-tall tower
has a helipad, a health club, and a six-floor garage that can hold 168 cars.
Each level has gardens. It will be serviced by a staff of 600 people.
Some reports list the price of the house at $2 billion. The architecture
and design firms working on this project, Perkins+Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates,
declined comment.

Most Expensive Yacht
Eclipse
Price: $1.2 billion

This 560-foot-long yacht has two helipads, 11 guest cabins, two swimming pools,
three launch boats, an aquarium, and a minisubmarine that can dive to 50
meters below the ocean surface, according to London’s Daily Mail.
The master bedroom and bridge have bulletproof glass, and the security
system includes missile detection systems that warn of incoming rockets.
The owner Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire who also owns
Britain’s Chelsea Football Club, reportedly fitted the yacht with a laser
system that prevents paparazzi from taking photos.
It was built by Blohm + Voss in Hamburg, Germany