Learn about the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis and other mysteries in Great Mysteries Series, a new series from English Plus Podcast. A new series that will fire up your imagination and lead you to think about some unanswered questions in science, people, history, religion, myth and more.

If a pig weighed as much as a pickup truck it might look something like a river hippopotamus. A hippopotamus, or hippo, is an animal that lives in Africa. Like a pig, it has a tubby body, big head, and short, thick neck. In fact, the hippopotamus is a distant relative of the pig.

Brave, bold, and brutally successful—he was known as Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Charlemagne is remembered as one of history’s great leaders. This warrior king succeeded in building an empire that united much of Europe.

As a boy, Jean Chrétien was often picked on. A childhood illness left his face partially paralyzed. It also made him deaf in one ear. When he was teased about these things, he would fight back, and sometimes get in trouble.

Imagine you are snorkeling in the warm ocean water around a tropical coral reef. You put on your mask and swim fins. You float around looking at the reef below you. The coral reef looks like strangely shaped rocks sticking up from the ocean floor. Crooked coral that looks like tree limbs twists up from cracks and caves in the reef

Grand tombs and gateways to the afterlife—the pyramids of Egypt are among the world’s most magnificent monuments. Their massive size and simple shape fascinate people.

Do you think of a desert as a hot, dry place where sand stretches as far as you can see? The Sahara in North Africa is like that, but most deserts are not. All deserts are dry, but some deserts are very cold. Plants and animals live in most deserts. People have learned to live in deserts all over the world.

Elizabeth’s parents were disappointed when she was born. They desperately wanted a son. But Elizabeth eventually became one of England’s greatest rulers.

Pyramids and pharaohs, mummies and magic, picture writing on papyrus—ancient Egypt had all this, and much more. Rich, powerful, and peace-loving, this North African kingdom was home to a splendid civilization that lasted 3,000 years, from about 3300 bc to 30 bc.

California is nicknamed the Golden State for a number of reasons. The discovery of gold in 1848 brought wealth and many people to the region. Its green fields turn golden brown in the dry seasons of summer and fall, when little rain falls. Golden poppies dot the fields in spring and summer. California is also famous for its golden sunshine.

Leonardo da Vinci excelled as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. He had endless curiosity. Leonardo wanted to understand how things worked. He wanted to put down on paper what he saw. He left thousands of pages of drawings and notes that recorded his thoughts.

The universe contains everything that exists: Earth, the Sun, the stars, galaxies (collections of billions of stars), and everything else in space. People have wondered how the universe got started for thousands of years. Most scientists now think they have the answer. They think the universe began about 14 billion years ago with a kind of big explosion. They call the explosion the big bang.

He was born in a log cabin and went to school for less than one year. But despite his humble background, Abraham Lincoln became one of the great presidents of the United States. As the 16th president, Lincoln ended slavery and held the nation together during the Civil War, America’s biggest and bloodiest crisis.

Do You Know Season 1 – Artists, Musicians and Writers is all about learning about important people from history and practicing your listening while at it.

Do You Know Season 1 – Artists, Musicians and Writers is all about learning about important people from history and practicing your listening while at it.

Learn about autism, its causes, symptoms and treatments in this new episode from English Plus Podcast. This is the Plus side of English Plus where the focus is on raising awareness on important subjects alongside providing interesting and beneficial listening skills.