You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

Kongo Gumi of Japan has been in the building business since 578 A.D. and is the oldest construction company in the world.

[Lee Stewart]

The Pitsa painted panels in Greece are the oldest human paintings not found in caves. The oldest of these panels, found near the Corinthia region, date back to 600 B.C. Most of the examples of this kind of art that have survived are from Egypt and have been preserved by the dry climate.

[Lee Stewart]

Even if something is ancient it can still be useful. The Mycenaean Bridge at Kazarma was built more than 3,000 years ago but is still used by modern Greeks. The arch bridge is an impressive feat of engineering, as it doesn't use any type of adhesive to hold itself together. It was also built with curbs, presumably to keep speeding chariots from falling off.

[Lee Stewart]

Scientists recently discovered that the oldest single tree in the world is 5,067 years old as of the 2017 growing season. The tree is a Bristlecone Pine, found in White Mountains, California. It beats the previous record holder named Methuselah, which is located nearby.

[Lee Stewart]

The country that was home to Picasso and El Greco is also believed to be home to the world's oldest cave paintings. A study by the University of Bristol, based on carbon-dating results in 2012, determined that the prehistoric dots and crimson-hued stencils in a cave on Spain's northern coast are more than 40,000 years old. Archaeologists think Neanderthals could be the oldest painters.

[Lee Stewart]

Found in Krapina, Croatia, in 2015, the oldest jewelry is about 130,000 years old. This prehistoric bling, found at a Neanderthal site, is in the form of a necklace or a bracelet of eagle talons. The claws bear evidence of cut marks and polishing. Scientists believe the jewelry was used for ceremonial purposes.

[Lee Stewart]

When most people hear the word "fossils," they likely think of dinosaurs, but scientists can learn a lot from the fossilized remains of organisms of all sizes. In 2017, researchers announced they had discovered tiny bacteria fossils in layers of quartz found in Canada that are believed to be at least 3.8 billion years old. Scientists believe these fossils can help us learn about the very first lifeforms that took shape after Earth formed.

[Lee Stewart]

The oldest known materials of any kind on the planet are zircon crystals found in western Australia's Jack Hills region that are 4.4 billion years old. Elements in these zircons suggest they came from water-rich, granite-like rocks. The presence of quartz as well as the result of isotopic studies of the materials suggests that continental crust was forming very early in Earth's history and that tectonic activity was occurring as well.

[Lee Stewart]

Central Park, NYC

[Lee Stewart]

Athens, Greece