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Which explorer took the greatest leap into the unknown?
From Silk Road caravans to Antarctic dog sleds, these explorers pushed past the edge of the known world, some for glory, some for trade, some just to see what was out there. Which one's journey actually reshaped how humanity understood the planet?
🏆 Leading: Ibn Battuta (1304–1369): A Moroccan scholar who set out at 21 for a pilgrimage to Mecca, Ibn Battuta kept traveling for nearly 30 years, eventually covering an estimated 75,000 miles, roughly three times the distance Marco Polo is credited with. His journeys took him across North and West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Southeast Asia, and China, often serving as a judge or diplomat along the way thanks to his religious education. He dictated his account, the "Rihla" (meaning "The Journey"), to a scholar named Ibn Juzayy at the order of the Sultan of Morocco, documenting societies, rulers, and customs across the medieval Islamic world and beyond in far greater geographic breadth than any other traveler of his era. Unlike many explorers who sought new trade routes or conquest, Ibn Battuta traveled largely out of curiosity and devotion, and his account remains one of the richest surviving windows into 14th-century global life. (50%)
🥈 Zheng He (1371–1433): A Chinese Muslim eunuch admiral, Zheng He commanded seven massive naval expeditions between 1405 and 1433 under the Ming dynasty, reaching as far as East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia decades before Europe's Age of Exploration began. His fleets were staggering in scale: some accounts describe treasure ships nearly 400 feet long, dwarfing anything Europe would build for another century, crewed by fleets of up to 300 vessels and 27,000 men. The voyages were intended to project Ming power, collect tribute, and establish trade and diplomatic relations rather than conquer territory, and Zheng He brought back exotic goods, foreign envoys, and even a giraffe presented to the Chinese court as a mythical qilin. After his death, China turned inward and dismantled its treasure fleet, leaving Zheng He's expeditions as a striking historical what-if: a naval power capable of global reach that chose to stop reaching. (33%)
🥉 Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521): In 1519, Magellan set out from Spain with five ships and about 270 men, seeking a western route to the Spice Islands. His fleet was the first to cross the Pacific Ocean, an ordeal so long and food-scarce that sailors reportedly ate rat-infested biscuit dust and gnawed on leather rigging to survive. Magellan himself never completed the voyage: he was killed in April 1521 in a battle with local warriors led by Datu Lapu-Lapu on the island of Mactan in the Philippines. Command passed to Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano, who guided the sole surviving ship, the Victoria, back to Spain in September 1522 with just 18 of the original crew, completing history's first circumnavigation of the globe. The voyage proved definitively that the Earth was round and vastly reshaped Europe's understanding of the planet's true size and the ocean's scale. (17%)🌍 🇨🇳 China, 🇸🇬 SingaporePoll as Guest Infographics
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Who is the greatest explorer in history and why?
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View original Remember that a prime motivator for Columbus, a Genoese merchant, was to discover a route to the far east for spices. This was all taking place ...Read more
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View original Which comfort food would you pick to warm up on a rainy day?
Comfort food isn't really about nutrition — it's about nostalgia and that satisfying, heartiness that reminds people of home cooking or childhood. Researchers who study this say the appeal is as much psychological as it is about taste: warm, carb-heavy, familiar dishes trigger genuine feel-good responses. These three are some of the most-craved comfort foods worldwide, each rooted in a different culinary tradition — Italian, Japanese, and American. On a cold, rainy day, which one would actually get you off the couch?
🏆 Leading: Macaroni and cheese — known simply as "mac and cheese," a baked or stovetop dish of pasta smothered in cheese sauce, with roots tracing back to medieval English and Italian cheese-and-pasta casseroles. It became an American household staple in the mid-20th century thanks to boxed packaged mixes, and it's still one of the most-requested childhood comfort foods for adults today. (57%)
🥈 Pizza — an Italian classic that traces back to 16th-century Naples, where flatbread was topped with tomato, cheese, and oil for working-class families. Today it's one of the most popular foods on Earth, with endless regional styles from thin-crust Neapolitan to deep-dish Chicago, and it's the ultimate customizable comfort food — everyone gets their own toppings. (29%)
🥉 Ramen — a Japanese-Chinese fusion noodle dish built on Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a hot broth, usually soy sauce or miso-based, with toppings like sliced pork, nori, bamboo shoots, and scallions. It became a comfort-food staple in Japan after World War II and has since exploded into a global phenomenon with entire restaurants devoted to perfecting a single bowl. (14%)🌍 🇨🇳 ChinaPoll as Guest Infographics
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Similar to hewsay's "Which comfort food would you pick to warm up on a rainy day?"
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# What food just hits different for you on a rainy day? Skip to main contentWhat food just hits different for you on a rainy day? Open menu Open navigationGo to Reddit Home. Sign UpSign up for RedditLog InLog in to Reddit. Expand user menu Open settings menu. # What food just ...
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View original What’s your go-to comfort food when you're having a rough day? And what is your comfort food? What is the best comfort food for a lazy day? What's your go-to comfort food when you need a pick-me-up on a rainy day? What is your go to comfort food? That was the comfort food for ...
quora.com · Quora
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