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Travel means different things to different people. A short flight followed by a taxi transfer to a stylish resort with an inviting pool satisfies many people’s needs. But for those with time to spare and incurable wanderlust, there are plenty of exotic, hard-to-reach destinations that involve a lot more plan­ning than does a long weekend in Phuket. Mobile phone signals aren’t guaranteed in the following places but travel bragging rights definitely are. These destinations even come with their own superlatives. Even in a list of desolate destinations, Pitcairn Island wins by some distance. Best known as the 18th century hiding place of mutineers from the British ship HMS Bounty, no inhabited island is further from a mainland. The British Overseas Territory is barely more accessible today than it was in 1790. Anyone planning to visit from Hong Kong would need to fly to <keyword id="4741" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tokyo">Tokyo</keyword> for a connection to Papeete, in Tahiti, from where there are two four-hour flights a week to Mangareva, in the Gambier Islands. It’s then a 32-hour trip to Pitcairn aboard a supply boat that departs only every three months. A few years ago, officials launched a campaign to encourage people to join the isolated community. Only one person applied. The world’s coldest permanently settled area, Oymyakon shivers in the Siberian permafrost a two-day drive across the Russian <keyword id="101920" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tundra">tundra</keyword> from the nearest airport. Winter in the gold mining town is so frigid that drivers leave their car engines running all day to keep them from seizing up. Students are expected to attend classes unless the mercury falls below minus 52 degrees Celsius (-61.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and newly arrived visitors are reminded that saliva freezes in open mouths, glasses stick to faces and batteries last only a few minutes. Few crops survive in temperatures that can plummet to a bone-chilling minus 70 degrees and locals make do with reindeer meat, raw flesh shaved from frozen fish and ice cubes of horse blood with macaroni. Based on a year-round average temperature of 34.5 degrees Celsius (94.1 degrees Fahrenheit), the Danakil Depression is the hottest place on Earth. The inhospitable desert in northern <keyword id="61936" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</keyword> is also one of the lowest points on the planet, at 125 metres below sea level. Visitors need to tread carefully – the surreal landscape is littered with sulphur springs, geysers, acidic pools, huge salt pans, volcanoes and multicoloured mineral lakes. Amazingly, there is human activity at the “gateway to hell”. More than 700 officially registered salt miners toil in the furnace-like conditions for about US$7 per day. Located in the Bay of Bengal, more than 1,300km (807 miles) off the east coast of India, the Andaman Islands are the peaks of a submerged <keyword id="6439698" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="mountain">mountain</keyword> range. The tropical archipelago boasts pristine beaches, coral reefs and an abundance of wildlife. Of the 572 islands, only about 30 are inhabited, one of which is regarded as the most difficult place to set foot on as it’s home to the world’s most isolated tribe. North Sentinel Island gained notoriety last year when an American tourist was killed by bow and arrow-wielding Sentinelese warriors, having ignored warnings from fisherman not to go ashore. An out-of-the-way settlement in a hard-to-reach country, Ittoqqortoormiit is the remotest inhabited community in the western hemisphere. Weekly flights to this distant corner of Greenland require an onward helicopter transfer to the village, although for a month or two in summer, cruise ships are able to negotiate the ice­berg-infested waters. The 450 inhabitants rely on fishing and hunting (including an annual quota of 35 polar bears) for survival and let off steam by dog sledding and snowmobile camping trips along the banks of Scoresby Sund. The world’s longest fjord serves as a gateway to Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s largest. The luxury resorts of the Maldives are easy enough to reach, usually with a sea­plane or speedboat transfer after a long-haul flight. For something more quirky, book a flight to Gan. From 1941 to 1976, the southernmost island in the archipelago served as a British Navy and <keyword id="113964" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Royal-Air-Force">Royal Air Force</keyword> base. Much of the military infrastructure remains, including the airfield, parade ground, a mildewing art deco cinema and rows of low-rise garrison buildings. The British also built a causeway linking Gan to three neighbouring islands – the resulting 18km (11-mile) road is the longest in the Maldives. The beguiling beauty of Wadi Rum feels older than time. For centuries only nomadic Bedouins were able to survive in the inhospitable desert, situated in the far south of Jordan, the safest country in the Middle East. Then along came charismatic British officer T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia), who led an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire from Wadi Rum during the first world war. His description of the other­worldly desert formations and empty landscape as “vast, echoing and God-like” is as accurate today as it was a century ago. Gan, in the Maldives. Photo: Tim Pile The most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, volcanic <keyword id="1046045" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tristan-da-Cunha">Tristan da Cunha</keyword> lies 2,432km (1,511 miles) west of Cape Town. Another British Overseas Territory, the main island is home to 246 residents with nine different surnames. About 400km (249 miles) south and unin­habit­ed except for six weather station personnel, Gough Island is possib­ly the world’s least accessible world heritage site. Appropriately enough, it shares the Unesco designation with Inaccessible Island, 30km (19 miles) southwest of Tristan. The only way of reaching this far-flung South Atlantic bolt-hole is by ship from Cape Town – a seven-day sailing that operates nine times a year. More than six million tourists visited Grand Canyon National Park in 2018 but hidden away in the craggy sandstone formations lies the only village inside the canyon. Supai is the capital of the <keyword id="8232283" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Havasupai">Havasupai</keyword> Indian Reservation and the “people of the blue-green water” inhabit what has been described as the most remote community in the lower 48 states. Despite being just 13km (8 miles) from the nearest road, the only way to reach the settlement and stunning turquoise waterfalls is by helicopter, mule or on foot. Located 480km (298 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, Utqiagvik, <keyword id="20636" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alaska">Alaska</keyword>, is the northernmost town in the United States. When the sun sets in mid-November, it doesn’t rise again for 65 days. There are no roads in or out, so the Iñupiaq Eskimo settlement is accessible only by plane from Anchorage, or barge during the brief summer months. Locals still hunt and fish, but that’s partly because supermarket prices are among the highest in the world.

12 of the most remote travel destinations on Earth, each with its own superlative

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A peculiar 3,000-year-old priestly tomb was unearthed in Peru's Pacopampa archaeological site. </li><li>The remains were found face down and with legs crossed alongside an artifact made of human bone.</li></ul>A peculiar tomb has been unearthed in Peru. Inside the burial chamber, the 3,000-year-old remains of an elite spiritual leader, dubbed the "Prince of Pacopampa," were found face down with legs crossed. While more study is required to determine precisely what significance he held in his ancient civilization, the rationale behind the burial position may have been a precaution to <a style="font-weight: 400;" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-vampire-skeleton-discovered-in-17th-century-graveyard-poland-2022-9">protect against his power in the afterlife,</a> the lead researcher on the project told Insider.But the dig site holds deeper mysteries, still, as the priestly remains were found alongside artifacts believed to have been made of human bone and stamps with symbols that may have belonged to a cult that worshipped predatory animals. "Burials lying on the face are often found in the Andes," the Pacopampa Archaeological Project leader Yuji Seki told Insider. Seki, also an emeritus professor at the National Museum of Ethnology focusing on ancient power formation in the South American mountain range, said the reasoning for body's position "may have been a fear of someone <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/archaeologists-find-vampire-child-padlocked-in-polish-graveyard-2023-8">with powerful abilities</a>, but we don't know for sure."At other archaeological digs, the practice of burying remains in a face-down position has been attributed by researchers as a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recent-science-about-ancient-death-rituals-including-vampire-burial-2022-10">superstitious burial ritual</a> to prevent the recently deceased from returning from the dead, as in the case of a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/medieval-girl-buried-face-down-ankles-tied-return-dead-vampire-2023-8">medieval girl found in England.</a><div type="image" title="A top shot into the gravesite of the Prince of Pacopampa, where a researcher is delicately excavating remains" height="2304" width="3071" msid="103302584" hostid="261" sizebytes="376038"></div>Seki added that the crossed legs are believed to be an intentional gesture of religious significance, as similar stone carvings from the era (3,000 - 50 BCE) depict religious figures in cross-legged poses. The Priest of Pacopampa skeleton was found alone in a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/12-amazing-archaeological-discoveries-of-2022-that-explored-humanitys-past-2022-12">massive gravesite</a> in part of a large-scale archaeological project carried out since 2005 under an academic agreement between the National Museum of Ethnology in Japan and Peru's National University of San Marcos to determine when and why intrasocietal differences emerged in ancient Andean civilizations. "Judging from the extravagant use of space, with only one burial for a large earthen pit, it can be inferred that he was an important person," Seki told Insider. "This tomb has the unusual feature of placing the deceased in the eastern half of the pit and the burial offerings in the western half. After placing the deceased the tomb was filled with soil containing large amounts of carbonized material and ashes, as well as many archaeological artifacts."<div type="image" title="Archaeologists of the Pacopampa Archaeological Project hold pieces of pottery of a 3,000-year-old tomb which they believe might have honored an elite religious leader in the Andean country some three millennia ago, in Pacopampa, Peru August 26, 2023." height="3456" width="4608" msid="103302585" hostid="261" sizebytes="358722"></div>Among the artifacts buried with the Prince of Pacopampa, and found intentionally placed upside down like the body was, were a bowl embellished with carved lines and a decorated stamp, which would have been dipped in paint and used to adorn the bodies of people in elite social standing with ritualistic symbols."The stamp represents the palms of the hands," Seki said, adding that two additional stamps, representing a feline face and a human frontal face with closed eyes, were also found.He added: "This is the first example of a tomb with three stamps in the Andean region. There are no traces of its use, so it is possible that they were a tool to symbolize the authority of this person. Also, like many elite tombs, it was covered with the red pigment of cinnabar, mainly on the face."In addition to the stamps and pieces of pottery, an artifact believed to be made of human bone was discovered nearby the body.<div type="image" title="An archaeologist of the Pacopampa Archaeological Project works on the site of a 3,000-year-old tomb which they believe might have honored an elite religious leader in the Andean country some three millennia ago, in Pacopampa, Peru August 26, 2023." height="3456" width="4608" msid="103302589" hostid="261" sizebytes="1698380"></div>Initially thought to be a tupu, a traditional Andean pin that would adorn women's blankets, Seki said two small bowls with gently curved sides were later excavated in the immediate vicinity, and it is possible that the bone artifact was used for scooping or stirring items contained in those containers."Judging from the length of the bones, it is possible that human bones were used, and we are currently analyzing the material," Seki said. "Judging from the size of the tomb, as well as the presence of the burial offerings and cinnabar, we believe that it is extremely likely that he was a religious leader."While it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions about the burial rites of the time, Seki said, tombs in the area previously uncovered by the Pacopampa Archaeological Project team have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andean-civilizations-pacopampa-ritual-violence-study-2017-10">shown evidence of "ritual violence."</a><div type="image" title="An archaeologist of the Pacopampa Archaeological Project works on the site of a 3,000-year-old tomb which they believe might have honored an elite religious leader in the Andean country some three millennia ago, in Pacopampa, Peru August 25, 2023." height="3456" width="4608" msid="103302593" hostid="261" sizebytes="1005816"></div>From 2005 to 2015, Seki's team unearthed the remains of 104 people, including 66 adults and 38 children, which date back to periods known as the Middle (1200-800 BCE) and Late (800-500 BCE) Formative Periods.Seven of the adult skeletons, recovered from the same ceremonial platform of the site, showed signs of trauma to the head, limbs, and elbows, Insider previously reported. Most of the injuries found were to the skull and showed signs of healing, implying that individuals who were struck survived, even if the wounds they received were severe.These sorts of injuries "suggest intention and repeated blows to have been the cause, rather than accidents," Seki and his colleagues wrote in a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185421">research paper</a> published in 2017 about the findings."The severe but healed trauma concentrated on the cranium, and without defensive wounds that were found in several cases at Pacopampa appears to have been a result of fierce forces applied under controlled conditions," the research determined.Leaders of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ancient-civilizations-that-were-hiding-in-plain-sight-2023-1">ancient civilization</a> had an affinity for "the cult of predatory animals." They frequently portrayed humans with fierce animal characteristics as representations of the natural power within, according to Seki's research team.While Seki and the Pacopampa Archaeological Project will continue to dig for more information, so far, they have concluded that "these anthropomorphized creatures emphasized the visible role of the high-ranking members of the cult and helped justified the elite's monopoly over life, death, and socioeconomic control through ritual."

Mysterious remains of 3,000-year-old 'Priest of Pacopampa' found buried face down with accessories of human bone

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sơn mài is a traditional <keyword id="803135" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vietnamese">Vietnamese</keyword> form of <keyword id="3541805" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="lacquer">lacquer</keyword> <keyword id="1197" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Painting">painting</keyword>.</li><li>The paint is made with a toxic lacquer harvested from a tree native to Southeast Asia called the Rhus succedanea.</li><li>Along with costly raw materials, these pieces require months of applying several layers of paint and sanding them back.</li></ul>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>. Narrator: Sơn mài is a traditional Vietnamese form of lacquer painting created using a toxic lacquer harvested from one region of the country. It requires months of application and sanding back layers of paint to build up the image. Last year, a sơn mài painting sold at auction for $972,000. So, what makes these paintings so special? And why are they so expensive?Phạm Chính Trung: You never truly know what's underneath a lacquer painting as you are completing it. And so, the process involves the artists sanding the work into shape, slowly revealing the colors, giving the artist a sense of anticipation as he is crossing the finishing line, and artists love that feeling.Narrator: Phạm Chính Trung has dedicated almost 50 years to mastering sơn mài and knows how equally tiring and rewarding the craft can be. It is an <keyword id="1105" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="art">art</keyword> form of incredible value in <keyword id="13486" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vietnam">Vietnam</keyword>ese culture, for both the time and skill it requires and the exclusive natural materials needed to make it. The process of making lacquer paint begins in the forests of Vietnam, where planters collect resin from a toxic wax tree native to Southeast Asia called the Rhus succedanea. Planters must cut into more than 400 trees to retrieve between 1 and 1.5 kilograms of resin.Tạ Thị Thu Hương: The rhus tree is harvested after three years of planting, after which it can be harvested for four to five years. To get the sap, we'll have to start at 4 a.m. Making incisions in the bark, using mussel shells to catch the resin. We collect that resin after three to four hours. Narrator: After harvesting, the lacquer must be removed of any impurities and mixed for several hours before it's suitable for painting. One of the principle features of sơn mài is the depth created by adding several layers of paint and sanding them back. These layers aren't always visible in the finished work but are what differentiate lacquer painting from other common painting styles. With oil painting, artists paint from back to front, painting the landscape first and the details later. The process of lacquer painting is the opposite.Phạm Chính Trung: The two styles are a bit different. Because the sketch and the details are painted over, they can't be seen once the painting is finished but will eventually reappear when it's sanded down. It's nerve-wracking for that reason. It's hard to mess up the picture, but you have to see if you have used the right material. Are the colors in the right shades? Right? Are they intense enough? Your technique shows in those contrasting features. Without it, the painting becomes homogeneous, almost like an oil painting.Narrator: Artists mix natural ingredients to create colors, like eggshells to make white or cinnabar, a toxic ore, for red. In some cases, artists add leaves of silver, sometimes even gold, to create a gentle sheen. These substances can be one of the costliest parts of sơn mài painting.Phạm Chính Trung: The base of cinnabar is mercury. 1 ounce of cinnabar, on the palm of your hand, is just the size of a quail egg, but you can feel the weight. You see - 1 million Vietnamese dongs (~$45) for a tiny bag like this. It's very costly to use, material-wise. Narrator: While the raw materials of the painting may be more expensive than many other styles, the skill and the work of the artist are what set the final value. Along with the immense patience sơn mài requires, each work is unique and unpredictable. That's because painters are never quite sure how the layers will resurface through sanding. This can either increase the value of the work or force an artist to start over.Phạm Chính Trung: Usually, traditional lacquer painters, if they've understood the technique and a clear idea of their initial sketch, can be in control of 80% of their idea, 80% of their ideas. The remaining 20% is luck. Accident. Sometimes it can make the painting much better than originally intended or fail the requirements during other times. The artist must start over then. Narrator: Painters must be careful to let each layer fully dry before sanding. Otherwise, colors or designs could be ruined. There's no set amount of time a layer takes to dry, as it largely depends on the weather that day.Phạm Chính Trung: Each time a painting is finished - paintings that use traditional materials always need to dry. They need humidity. Ideally, when indoor humidity is between 70% and 80% the lacquer will dry very quickly. It can't dry on a dry day. It's because of the air humidity. The water vapor in the air is the catalyst for components in the lacquer to connect with one another, resulting in the lacquer drying. If all goes well, it'll dry in a couple of days. If the air is dry, for example, it can take three days for the paint to cure sometimes. To make one lacquer painting, it can take months.Narrator: After weeks of work, pieces are polished with coal powder, which creates the smooth surface and lasting shine of sơn mài. Artists have used lacquer for its glossy finish for thousands of years. One of its best-known applications is Japanese lacquerware -- decorative pieces of furniture, boxes, and dinnerware. But in the early 20th century, Vietnamese artists developed an interest in lacquer painting and created a style unique to the world. Impressive as these works can be, the process is both costly and arduous. And that's why Phạm Chính Trung believes the future of this tradition will depend on finding more artists willing to learn it.Phạm Chính Trung: To maintain it, we need people. Simply relying on the painters who are passionate about it won't work. It won't last. You can't maintain it that way. There needs to be growth. If we only care about finding ways of restoring a tradition when it is gone, it's impossible. Right? How can we? Once it's lost, the line is broken.

Sơn mài is a costly form of lacquer painting in Vietnam. Here's what makes these paintings so expensive

The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Insider Picks</a> team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V52JO0E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_120418_best-coasters-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00V52JO0E&amp;linkId=7ffb03fa17b11d8731b0749fbe690cfb" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a>Enkore/Business Insider</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Coasters protect your furniture from unsightly water rings and they add a hint of fun to your decor.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CKSZ2M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_120418_best-coasters-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B001CKSZ2M&amp;linkId=5b2317eea550b6c0dc4412545ea0d0dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thirstystone Cinnabar Coasters</a> are the best coasters you can buy because they solve the ongoing problem of sweaty drinks that leak all over your furniture. thanks to an attractive sandstone material that also absorbs liquid. </li></ul>I used to believe all coasters were basically the same, functionality-wise. 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Some of them look great, some of them look okay, but all of them protect your favorite pieces of furniture from coffee stains and water rings. <h2>Here are the best coasters you can buy:</h2><ul class="summary-list"><li>Best coasters overall: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CKSZ2M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_120418_best-coasters-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B001CKSZ2M&amp;linkId=5b2317eea550b6c0dc4412545ea0d0dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thirstystone Cinnabar Coaster</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thirstystone-Cinnabar-Coaster-Multicolor-Patterns/dp/B001CKSZ2M?SubscriptionId=AKIAINYWQL7SPW7D7JCA&amp;tag=aboutcom02thespruce-20&amp;linkCode=sp1&amp;camp=2025&amp;creative=165953&amp;creativeASIN=B001CKSZ2M&amp;ascsubtag=4163032%7Cgoogle.com%7C%7C%7C%7C1%7C"></a></li><li>Best dishwasher-safe coasters: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V52JO0E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_120418_best-coasters-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B00V52JO0E&amp;linkId=7ffb03fa17b11d8731b0749fbe690cfb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enkore Set of 6 Coasters</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Enkore-Coasters-Set-Holder-Furniture/dp/B00V52JO0E/ref=zg_bs_498924_15?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=0WTCMNK567N5CHHBQTQQ"></a>Best quirky coasters: <a href="http://uncommongoods.sjv.io/c/196318/483884/8444?subId1=biipgf_120418_best-coasters&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uncommongoods.com%2Fproduct%2Fupcycled-record-coasters%3Bjsessionid%3D96D4E1FECF1A99B826133073FEF78354.ugwebworker10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Record Coasters</a></li><li><a href="https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/record-coasters"></a>Best marble coasters: <a href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/3861930/type/dlg/sid/biipgf_120418_best-coasters/https://www.crateandbarrel.com/set-of-4-marble-coasters/s450401?AID=11825449&amp;SID=74968X1547195X219310c83ae2ec57be0fb389ee3a26ad&amp;si=2617611&amp;aff=cj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crate + Barrel Set of 4 Marble Coasters</a></li><li><a href="https://www.crateandbarrel.com/set-of-4-marble-coasters/s450401?AID=11825449&amp;SID=74968X1547195X219310c83ae2ec57be0fb389ee3a26ad&amp;si=2617611&amp;aff=cj"></a>Best porcelain coasters: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XCP87JX/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_120418_best-coasters-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B06XCP87JX&amp;linkId=ea146f060851e3fde4214eb35378b382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lifver Absorbent Stone Coaster Set</a></li></ul><h3>Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.</h3><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a> Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>. 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The best coasters you can buy

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gr33ndata/5709549321/">Tarek/Flickr (CC)</a>The Temple of Zeus, in Greece.</div></div></div>Google has created a virtual museum.The Californian search giant <a href="https://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/the-new-google-arts-culture-on-exhibit.html">has launched a major overhaul for an unusual app</a>: Google Arts &amp; Culture.Available on both iOS and Android, it contains images of art from thousands of artists, historical images and documents, and virtual tours of culturally significant locations around the world.It's all thrown together in a kind of miscellany, with no obvious utilitarian purpose. Much like a traditional museum, in fact.You can take a "virtual tour" (using Google's Street View tech) of the Sheikhupura Fort in Pakistan, read an article on the history of Brazilian music, or check out a gallery of the works of fifteenth-century painter Andrea Mantegna.And it's now also compatible with Google Cardboard - the company's budget virtual reality headset. You can use it to wander around the Temple of Zeus in Greece, or check out street art in modern Rome.It contains more than 65,000 paintings, nearly 8,000 photos, 19,000 clay objects, 7,000 sculptures, 202 mahogany objects, and four made out in cinnabar, among countless others.One of the most interesting aspects of the app is its "Art Recognizer." It does what it says on the tin, and uses your smartphone's camera to recognise art at certain museums (just the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, England, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, USA, for now) and then provide more information.<a href="https://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/the-new-google-arts-culture-on-exhibit.html">Google says it plans to bring this functionality to more museums as time goes on</a>: "We're planning to roll this out to museums around the world-so stay tuned."It also hints at our ever-more connected future - in which an supplementary digital layer will augment more and more of the real world with additional information and context that can be accessed when required.<h3>Here's a link to <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.cultural&amp;hl=en">the Google Play app store to download it for Android smartphones »</a></h3><h3>And here's <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/arts-culture/id1050970557?mt=8">a link to download it on iOS »</a></h3> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-tricks-do-not-know-share-location-siri-email-2016-6">4 things you didn't know your iPhone could do</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="w0MnNlNDE68IYWTbMymxLcyjjEUWTioI" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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