Throughout history women have had to endure horrible things to be deemed beautiful. The ancient tradition of foot binding in China, however, takes the "beauty is pain" concept to a whole new level.
Many people have looked at beautifully decorated silk shoes from China and wondered if they were for a child or a doll. They are surprised to find that these pairs of shoes, some of which are only a little over three inches in length were actually meant to be worn by grown women.
This site provides a less challenging read regarding the practice of foot binding in ancient China, its origins and the impact it had on those who had their feet bound.
Although Venice is composed of islands and canals, the Grand Canal is the only really large one. It's shaped like a backwards letter S, and is approximately two miles long. At its widest point, at the Salute/San Marco (southern) end, it is roughly 350 feet wide; the normal width is about half that.
I found this site to give me alot of information about the grand canal and how the people lived at the time. I would recomend this site to you if you are doing the grand canal.