Shamanism — the practice of entering altered states to interact with spiritual worlds — is found on every inhabited continent.

The international governing body for chess, FIDE, was founded in 1924 and recognizes titles including Grandmaster.

The Portuguese word 'saudade' describes a nostalgic longing for something loved and lost — it has no direct English equivalent.

Free solo climber Alex Honnold climbed El Capitan (900m) in Yosemite without ropes in 3 hours 56 minutes in 2017.

Bach wrote over 1,000 compositions during his lifetime — many were only rediscovered and published after his death.

Manga accounts for about 40% of all printed material sold in Japan.

Globalization has lowered consumer prices but also suppressed wages in some sectors in developed countries.

Celtic mythology featured a world beyond death called the Otherworld — not a punishment but a paradise.

Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 — a first for a songwriter.