British Museum

    Located in Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, the British Museum houses a vast collection of world art and artifacts and is free to all visitors. The British Museum's remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture, and it has more than 7 million objects, so it would probably take a week to see everything.

    Over 6 million visitors every year experience the collection, including world-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies.

    Admission and opening times

    Free, open daily 10:00 to 17:30.

    Open until 20:30 on Fridays, except Good Friday.

    Closed on 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

    Large luggage, suitcases and cabin baggage

    For everyone's safety, all bags, packages and personal items may be searched before entry. Wheeled cases and large items of luggage are not allowed on British Museum for safety and security reasons. Storage for luggage is available at major rail stations, including Euston, King's Cross and Charing Cross.

    Membership

    Membership allows you to discover 2 million years of human history with free unlimited entry to special exhibitions, an exclusive discount offer on magazine subscription and many more benefits.

    Individual membership: £74

    Under 26 membership: £54

    Young friends (ages 8-15): £25

    Shops

    The Museum has four shops where you can buy books, souvenirs, and family gifts.

    A company in San Francisco, California, has found a way to turn used plastic bottles into women's shoes.

    Every day, millions of Americans drink water and other liquids from plastic bottles. More than 60 million of them are thrown away each day. Many of the plastic bottles end up in landfills or are burned with other waste products.

    A San Francisco start-up company called Rothy's, however, turns this plastic waste into environmentally friendly shoes. Roth Martin is the company's co-founder. He explains how they turn plastic into soft material for women's feet. They take the plastic, clean it, and break it down into small pieces. Then they press them through a device that makes soft fibers. Those fibers are then combined together. This is done by a 3D machine. It is designed to reduce waste while making the shoes. The knitted stuff and the inner part of the shoe are then attached to the shoe's outer part, called the sole (鞋底). This outer sole is also made from environmentally friendly material: responsibly sourced no-carbon rubber.

    Rothy's shoes are sold online. They are flat shoes, with either a rounded or pointed toe. They come in different colors and designs. They cost either $ 125 or $ 145 per pair, depending on the design. After American actress Gwyneth Paltrow discovered them last year, the demand for the shoes grew. Martin says there is no shortage of material to fill that demand. “We're not going to run out of water bottles any time soon. So we have a limitless supply of material, and I think that is a good sign for our future.” When the environmentally friendly shoes wear out, customers can return them at no cost to a company that uses the recycled materials to make other products.

    For now, the shoes are only available to be shipped in the United States. However, the company says it will add international shipping in the near future.

    With Disney parks recently raising their ticket prices to $89 now is the perfect time to start thinking about smaller, regional theme parks. Here are four theme parks where the daily price of adult admission is under $50.

    Luna Park, Coney Island, NY.

    How much you spend in enjoying Luna Park really depends on which rides you choose to go on. For anyone as indecisive as I am, stick with the $29 four-hour Unlimited Luna Park Ride Wristband or the $39 Ride and Play package, a four-hour unlimited ride wristband that comes with a $20 game card.

    Dorney Park, Allentown, PA.

    Dorney Park is a popular theme park located about an hour outside of Philadelphia. Kids love Planet Snoopy, a fun area with attractions centered around the lovable Snoopy. Adult tickets are available online for $39.99 (or at the gate for $49.99) and kids are $27.99 online or ($29.99 at the gate). You can also buy a Starlight Admission ($27.99 online or at the gate), good for visits between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. during the summer months when the park is open late, or from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. when the park closes earlier.

    Knotts Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA.

    Home to some of the country's craziest rides, Knotts Berry Farm also has calmer, more family-friendly rides. Ages 12-61 get in for $39.99 when tickets are bought online, while children ages 3-11 and adults over 62 pay $26.99.

    Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Sitting on the warm beaches of Santa Cruz — about 90 minutes south of San Francisco — the Boardwalk is home to big roller coasters, mini-golf, enough food and games to keep people of all ages busy. The best part? An all-day unlimited rides wristband is only $31.95.

    Throughout history scientists have risked their health and their lives in their search for the truth.

    Sir Issac Newton, the seventeenth century scientist was very smart, but that didn't stop him from doing some pretty stupid things. In his laboratory in Cambridge, he often did the strangest experiments. Once, while testing how light passes through lenses (晶状体), he put a long needle into his eye, pushed it to the back, and then moved it around just to see what would happen. Luckily, there was no lasting bad effect. On another occasion, he stared at the sun, for as long as he could bear, to discover what effect this would have on his sight. To escape suffering permanent damage, he had to spend some days in a dark room before his eyes recovered.

    In the 1750s, the Swedish chemist Karl Scheele, was the first person to find a way to produce phosphorus (磷) He, in fact, discovered eight more chemical elements, including Chlorine (氯), though he didn't get any place for them. He was a very clever scientist, but he had a strange habit of tasting a little of every substance he studied. This risky practice finally caught up with him. In 1786, he was found dead in his laboratory, surrounded by a large number of dangerous chemicals, any of which might have been responsible for his death.

    Eugene Shoemaker was a respected geologist, he spent a large part of his life studying craters (陨石坑), and how they were formed, and later the research into the comments of the plane Jupiter. In 1997, he and his wife were in the Australian desert, where they went every year search for places where comets (彗星) might have hit the earth. While driving in the Tanam desert, one of the most open places in the world, another vehicle rushed into them, and Shoe maker died on the spot. Some of his ashes (骨灰) were sent to the moon by the Lunar Prospect or, a spacecraft, and he is the only person who has this honor.

    Have you eaten too much over the holidays? You should try fidgeting for a while. Those around you might not like it, but scratching (moving your nails (指甲) against a part of your body) and twitching (moving suddenly and quickly when you don't want to) is an important way of burning up calories (卡路里).

    American researchers have found that some people's squirming (continuously turn your body when nervous) and wigging (move in small movements, especially from side to side) equals (等于) several miles of slow running each day.

    The scientists, based at the National Institute of Health's laboratory in Phenix, Arizona, are studying why some people get fat and other stay slim.

    In one study 177 people each spent 24 hours in a room in the institute where the amount (量) of energy is measured by their oxygen and carbon dioxide (二氧化碳) levels. By the end of the day, some people had burned up 800 calories in toe-tapping, (moving the front part of your foot up and down) finger-drumming (hitting your fingers continuously and lightly against something hard) and other nervous habits. However, others had burned up only 100 calories.

    The researchers found that slim（苗条的）women fidget more than fat women, but there was no significant difference in men. Heavy people burn up more energy when they fidget than do thin people.

    When Boris left school, he could not find a job. He tried hard and he wrote letters to many companies until he could not afford to buy any more stamps. Boris began to lose his confidence, then depressed. Still he went on trying and still he failed. He began to think that he had no future at all.

    "Why don't you start your own business?" one of his uncles told him. "The world is a money­locker. You'd better find a way of opening it."

    "But what can I do?"

    "Get out and have a look round." advised his uncle. "See what people want; then give it to them, and they will pay for it."

    Boris began to cycle around the town and found a suitable piece of waste ground in the end. Then he set up his business as a cycle repairer. He worked hard, made friends with his customers and gradually managed to win his good fame. A few months later, he found that he had more work than he could deal with by himself. He found a number of empty shops but they were all no good: in the wrong position, too expensive or with some other problems. But at long last, he managed to find an empty shop in a new place where there were plenty of customers but no competition.

    Boris and his assistant taught themselves how to repair motor­cycles. Slowly but surely the profits increased and the business developed. At last, Boris had managed to open the money­locker and found bank notes and gold coins inside.