Soybeans have become one of the most ubiquitous ingredients in the American diet, often without consumers noticing. Domesticated in China thousands of years ago, the crop reached North America in 1764 when Samuel Bowen brought beans to Savannah, Georgia. Around 1900, USDA researchers collected and tested Chinese varieties for American conditions. The industrial crushing of soybeans in the 1910s separated them into protein-rich meal for livestock and oil for food and industry. Henry Ford promoted soy in cars and foods in the 1930s and 1940s, but consumers mostly accepted it hidden in processed foods. During and after World War II, cheap soybean oil replaced many animal and tropical fats. Today soybean oil is found in dressings, mayonnaise and baked goods, and it is also used in biodiesel.

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.