Answer: The Mexican-American War helped to fulfill America's "manifest destiny" to expand its territory across the entire North American continent.
The State Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage Museum, one of the most popular art museums in the world, is a home of Russia's art and culture. It houses the world's largest collection of paintings and one of the main attractions in St. Petersburg.
Another surprising fact about this museum is that it keeps cats in its basements to get rid of mice. According to history, the year 1795, the palace's hallways were infested with mice, so Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great ordered to send 13 cats from Chazan - Chazan cats are the best breed to kill cats- to be dispatched to St. Petersburg to kill those pests.
The cats from Saint Catherine the Great's court were actually the descendants of the 13 Chazan cats, which are kept as pets in the Hermitage. And these are the cats you see roaming the halls of the museum.
