My personal Investigation

• There have been controversies about the origin of the name 'Cochin'. Some people attribute the name to the Malayalam word 'Kochazhi' or 'Small Sea', while others think Cochin was named after China when traders from the court of Kublai Khan of China, visited Cochin and gave it the name of their homeland. The local people refer to Cochin as Kochi, and this is the city's official name today.

• At the beginning of the 20th century a modern port with dry docks and ship repair yards was constructed, and Willingdon Island (connecting Fort Cochin with Ernakulam and other townships by a Rail Bridge and road) was built from the dredging of the harbor's inner channels.

• The earliest known ruling dynasty of Cochin was the Cheras, who had their capital at Cranganore (modern day Kodungallur).

• This port city was, as the ancient Italian traveler Pliny called it, the "primus emporium India" or the major gateway of India, the position Mumbai enjoys today.

• St. Thomas, an apostle of Christ brought Christianity here as early as 52 CE.

• St Thomas established the first church in India at Malayatoor, 35 kilometers from present day Cochin City.

• Malik ibn Dinar introduced Islam here even before it had been firmly established in all Arabia.

• The first mosque in India is at Kodungallur, on the roadside of National Highway 17.

• In fact, the last Chera King, Cheruman Perumal, embraced Islam, proceeded to Makkah on pilgrimage, and died there His grave still exists in Salalah, Oman.

• The geographical layout Cochin city as we know it today traces back to the great flood of 1341 CE, caused by a tsunami triggered by a gigantic undersea volcanic eruption. During this year the river Periyar flooded like never before (or after), and changed its course. The hitherto flourishing port of Cranganore silted up from the mud up-stream.

• A 15th century Italian traveler, Nicolo Conti remarked - "China is a good place to make money, and Cochin to spend it at".

• Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut in 1498.

• Legend holds that the Jews first settled in India during the time of King Solomon, when there was trade in teak, ivory, spices and peacocks between the Land of Israel and the Malabar Coast, where Cochin is located.

What we have not tamed yet and will not be taming in the near future, in the world is the ancient species of microbes that are spread all around us. Just in the last year there have been reports of 24 different types of flues. The UN have let out notices of the huge threat that mankind may face due to the microbes. With the modern day irregular life style, it will just get worse..

For over 200 years plague raged in the Mediterranean countries and claimed lives of at least 45 million people

Nobody knows when plague appeared. Experts say that plague pestholes still exist in remote parts of Central Asia and some South African countries, Namibia, Angola and South African Republic. And supposedly, the disease had its sources right on these territories. Long ago researchers determined that the plague bacillus lives in organisms of wild rodents and is carried by fleas. But it was just in the mid-1980s that researchers managed to say how an epidemic breaks out. As it turned out, plague pandemic breaks out because of drought. Hungry, weak and diseased rodents abandon their native places in search of food and thus spread plague over vast territories. Sooner or later they reach human habitation. Fleas infected with plague bacilli cling to domestic rodents for which plague turns to be fatal. Then, fleas jump on dogs, cats and humans.

This exchange of the infection is particularly dangerous for people. Just few percent of diseased people survived in the epochs when mankind knew no insecticides or antibiotics. It is believed that the first plague epidemic that left reliable evidence broke out in the 12th century B.C. Old Testament mentions mice that spoiled the ground.

Another plague epidemic gripped all countries of the civilized world and thus was called a pandemic; it came to the Upper Nile from Central Africa in 541. The plague killed thousands of people and reached Alexandria of Egypt, a busy port where tens of merchant vessels dropped anchor every day. Alexandria granaries were packed with grain and certainly there were flocks of rats. This fact predetermined the history of Europe for many centuries ahead. For less than a year plague reached Constantinople where 10,000 people died every day at the epidemic peak. Plague made the Byzantine Empire vulnerable to aggressive neighbors and became the reason of its subsequent extinction.

For over 200 years plague raged in the Mediterranean countries and claimed lives of at least 45 million people. Fourteen outbursts of plague on vast territories were registered over the period. But then plague mysteriously disappeared all of a sudden. So, when plague reappeared in 1346 people did not remember the fatal disease and believed they were facing the doomsday.

The movie 2012 was pretty amazing and scientific. But in order to make a movie and to make people believe of it as a movie, many facts and scientific explanations was made hidden. This topic deals with the global warming that may lead to a flood or something like that was shown in the movie.

Humans are the worst threat to themselves. On the path of our development we have left behind many scars, on planet Earth. When we consider this as a threat we have a lot to worry about. But the threat that we are creating for ourself is far beyond imagination. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the Atomic Bomb, when he saw the worst effects that it can bring to the world, repented about his findings. He blamed himself as the "Destroyer of worlds".

The following is a list of nations that have admitted the possession of nuclear weapons, and the approximate number of warheads under their control. This list is informally known in global politics as the "Nuclear Club".

United States - 10,640

Russia - 8,600

People's Republic of China - 400

France - 350

United Kingdom - 200

India - 60-90

Pakistan - 24-48

What are the immediate and lingering effects of a nuclear blast?

Nuclear explosions produce both immediate and delayed destructive effects. Immediate effects (blast and shockwave, radiation) are produced and cause significant destruction within seconds or minutes of a nuclear detonation. The delayed and lingering effects (radioactive fallout and other possible environmental contamination) inflict damage over an extended period ranging from hours to centuries.

(The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of strategic port city, Nagasaki, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 60,000 feet (18 km) above the epicenter.)

The missile or method of deployment would be detonated slightly above the ground, to extend the shockwave over the desired target, and maximize the bombs effect. The first chain of events would be the heat and extreme light, scorching everything for a few mile radius (depending on the size) in nearly 20,000°F flames. The air itself would literally be sucked up, and seem to catch fire. Seconds after the initial impact, the shockwave would follow. This would level buildings, homes, and throw cars around like paper in the wind. Imagine having a hurricane made of fire, trees discintigrate in the hot wind, and structures crumble like dust. The shockwave would be so powerful that the air would not be able to absorb it all. Some energy would create an EMP

(Electro-Magnetic Pulse) that would destroy electrical circuits miles from ground zero, perhaps even knocking out orbiting satellites.

After the explosion itself, anyone on the edge of the explosion (who were lucky enough to survive) would have melted flesh and severe burns, the skin would literally fall off the bone. Anyone who had seen the blast from such a distance would have permanent loss of vision.

In the days, weeks and months to follow, anyone exposed to the area around ground zero would begin to suffer the effects of radiation and nuclear fallout. It would - and has been an awful sight to see.