A small village that spends a quarter of the year in darkness built its own “sun” to reflect light from a nearby mountain.
Viganella, a commune in northern Italy, is surrounded by mountains which leads to sun never touching it over the course of three months every year.
Dr Karan Raj explained how they managed to combat this in a video shared to his TikTok, @dr.karanr.
“This is Viganella – a town plunged into darkness for 90 days between November and February,” he said.
“It's surrounded by mountains and steep valleys which block the sun's rays.
“The lack of sunlight meant the townsfolk experienced falling serotonin levels – the alertness hormone.
“Lack of natural light can have negative impacts on mood, sleep, energy levels and crime rates.”
The village built the 8 meter by 5 metre solid steel sheet back in 2006 at a cost of €100,000 (£67,000 at the time).
And it proved a huge success, with Dr Karan explaining how it gave the village six hours of light a day, allowing people to socialize.
Speaking in 2008, Viganella Mayor Pierfranco Midali said: "The idea behind the project doesn't have a scientific basis, but a human one.
"It comes from a desire to let people socialise in winter when the town shuts down due to the cold and the dark."
Dr Raj's video has since been seen more Ethan 1.9 million times and left viewers amazed.
“Oh wow, that’s really impressive,” one viewer wrote.
Another joked: “All of the UK needs that.”
While a third questioned: “Why build a town there in the first place?”
It is not the first time Dr Raj has blown the minds of his TikTok followers with an explainer video.
Earlier this month, he revealed the chilling story about how severed feet kept washing up on the US and Canadian coastline with their trainers still on.
And he previously explained the truth behind what ashes really are after a cremation.
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