A common belief holds that snakes are deaf and can only feel ground vibrations. In fact, snakes can hear sounds carried through the air, although they are less sensitive to high-frequency sounds than humans are. They lack external ears and a middle ear, so their hearing relies on a different system that picks up sound through the jawbone and skull. Their senses of hearing and vibration work together. The misconception persists partly because snakes do respond to ground movement strongly.

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.