Primodos was a hormone tablet prescribed in the UK from the late 1950s as a quicker alternative to animal-based pregnancy tests. It contained progestogen and oestrogen, the same kind of hormones used in contraceptive pills, and some versions had far higher progestogen doses than modern contraceptives. In 1967 paediatrician Isabel Gal and colleagues reported that 19 of 100 babies born with spina bifida or hydrocephalus had mothers who took hormone pregnancy tests, compared with 4 of 100 healthy babies. Warnings followed slowly, and the drug was only withdrawn in 1977. Bayer, which absorbed the maker Schering, denies any link to birth defects.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.