Over 2.2 Million Zamzam Water Bottles Will Be Distributed during Hajj

Muslims perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
Muslims perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
TT

Over 2.2 Million Zamzam Water Bottles Will Be Distributed during Hajj

Muslims perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
Muslims perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)

The King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s Zamzam Project is ready to prepare more than 2.2 million Zamzam water bottles during this year's Hajj season to meet increasing demand.

General President of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais called for doubling the maximum production capacity of bottled Zamzam water to reach 200,000 bottles per day, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.

He also urged the continued selling of Zamzam water bottles through accredited contractors.

The service aims to achieve the project's mission and is in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to serve Islam and Muslims, stressed Dr. Al-Sudais.

The service seeks to provide Zamzam water to the pilgrims in an easy way. It uses the latest automatic mechanisms throughout the stages of water purification, from the moment it is extracted from the well and until it is bottled at the factory, Dr. Al-Sudais explained.

The water is automatically bottled in healthy and safe packages without any human intervention to preserve the quality and safety of the blessed water provided to the pilgrims.



This Ancient Tadpole Fossil Is the Oldest Ever Discovered

 A fossil of the world's oldest tadpole, which coexisted with dinosaurs in the Middle Jurassic about 165 million years ago, is pictured next to a 3D-printed representation of the tadpole and of a fully developed frog, in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
A fossil of the world's oldest tadpole, which coexisted with dinosaurs in the Middle Jurassic about 165 million years ago, is pictured next to a 3D-printed representation of the tadpole and of a fully developed frog, in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

This Ancient Tadpole Fossil Is the Oldest Ever Discovered

 A fossil of the world's oldest tadpole, which coexisted with dinosaurs in the Middle Jurassic about 165 million years ago, is pictured next to a 3D-printed representation of the tadpole and of a fully developed frog, in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
A fossil of the world's oldest tadpole, which coexisted with dinosaurs in the Middle Jurassic about 165 million years ago, is pictured next to a 3D-printed representation of the tadpole and of a fully developed frog, in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 28, 2024. (Reuters)

Scientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160 million years ago.

The new fossil, found in Argentina, surpasses the previous ancient record holder by about 20 million years.

Imprinted in a slab of sandstone are parts of the tadpole's skull and backbone, along with impressions of its eyes and nerves.

“It's not only the oldest tadpole known, but also the most exquisitely preserved,” said study author Mariana Chuliver, a biologist at Buenos Aires’ Maimonides University.

Researchers know frogs were hopping around as far back as 217 million years ago. But exactly how and when they evolved to begin as tadpoles remains unclear.

This new discovery adds some clarity to that timeline. At about a half foot (16 centimeters) long, the tadpole is a younger version of an extinct giant frog.

“It's starting to help narrow the timeframe in which a frog becomes a frog,” said Ben Kligman, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History who was not involved with the research.

The results were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

The fossil is strikingly similar to the tadpoles of today — even containing remnants of a gill scaffold system that modern-day tadpoles use to sift food particles from water.

That means the amphibians' survival strategy has stayed tried and true for millions of years, helping them outlast several mass extinctions, Kligman said.