The mighty Incan Empire of South America flourished between 1200 and 1535 AD. They developed drainage systems and canals to expand their crops, and built stone cities atop steep mountains such as Machu Picchu (above) without ever inventing the wheel. Despite their vast achievements, the Incan Empire with its 40,000 manned army was no match for 180 Spanish conquistadors armed with advanced weapons and smallpox.

The Legend of El Dorado

The Legend of El Dorado originates from the Muisca, who lived in the modern country of Colombia from 1000 to 1538 AD. In a ritual ceremony for their goddess, the tribal chief would cover himself in gold dust and jump into a lake as an offering. This spawned the legend of a lost golden city, which led Spanish conquistadors on a wild goose chase to nowhere.

Another Egyptian wonder, the Sphinx of Giza has the body of a lion and the head of a Pharaoh, believed by most to be that of king Khafre. It was carved from soft limestone, and has been slowly falling apart over the years. A popular theory of the missing nose claims Napoleon's soldiers shot it off with a cannon in 1798, but early sketches discovered of the Sphinx without a nose predate Napoleon's rampage.

Yesterday

This television frame grab taken from a news channel on June 10, 2011 shows paramilitary 

KARACHI: Police on Saturday said they were seeking to arrest another four paramilitary personnel over the killing of an unarmed man in a public park.
Two soldiers from the Rangers paramilitary force, Shahid Zafar and Muhammed Afzal, were on Friday remanded into police custody for five days over the killing which was captured on camera and broadcast repeatedly on television.
“We have sent a request to Rangers officials to hand over four of the remaining soldiers seen in the video,” said a senior police investigator on condition of anonymity.
Security forces shot dead Sarfaraz Shah, 22, in Karachi on Wednesday, accusing him of robbery, but his family has demanded justice, insisting he was an innocent student passing the time of day.
Widely viewed footage showed a clean-shaven man wearing black trousers and a navy shirt crying and pleading for his life as a soldier cocks his rifle at his neck, then shoots him twice in the hand and thigh in a local park.
As his blood pours onto the ground, the man begs for help from soldiers — who appear to do nothing but watch — until he falls unconscious.
Police said they had also taken custody of Afsar Khan, a man in plainclothes who dragged the victim over to the paramilitary soldiers and later filed a criminal case, accusing Shah of robbery.
Another local police official said taking custody of the four soldiers was essential to an investigation ordered by the government and the Supreme Court.
A Rangers spokesman said he was unaware that police were seeking custody of the other four soldiers who were at the scene.
“I don’t know about it, but we’ll hand them over if such a request comes our way,” spokesman Bilal Farooq said.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Friday directed the government to remove from their posts Major General Aijaz Chaudhry, head of the paramilitary in Sindh province, and Sindh police chief Fayyaz Leghari.
The victim’s brother Salik Shah, a local reporter, said the family wanted to see everyone involved face justice.