Ball Lightning The stovepipe sharply rattled. Laura looked up and screamed, “Ma! The house is on fire!” A ball of fire was rolling down the stovepipe. It was bigger than Ma’s big ball of yarn. It rolled across the stove and dropped to the floor as Ma sprang up. She snatched up her skirts […]
St. Elmo’s Fire The power of the goddess, having indeed been manifested in previous times, has been abundantly revealed in the present generation. In the midst of the rushing waters it happened that, when there was a hurricane, suddenly a divine lantern was seen shining at the masthead, and as soon as that miraculous light
The Search for Lost Birds It feels like finding a unicorn or a Bigfoot. — John C. Mittermeier Auwo was once a woman. She worked hard all day in her family’s garden, but when she returned home, her family offered her only plain food while they ate dishes made with coconut cream. This went on until,
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Do the Ankole-Watusi The amount of money that he’s spent on this whole darn project between the car and the bull I could’ve had a brand new kitchen. — Rhonda Meyer Americans are most likely familiar with the word “Watusi” thanks to a 1960s dance craze. In 1962, the Orlons scored a number-two hit with The Wah
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The KPK Rescue Situated in northwestern Pakistan, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa contains some gorgeous scenery. Often abbreviated KP or KPK, the province borders Afghanistan and is bisected by the mighty Indus River as it comes down from the Himalayas. The region is home to one of the most famous mountain passages on the globe, the eponymous Khyber Pass. The course
Super Blue Moon Earlier this year, we investigated the many flavors of the moon. Despite the fact that we only see one face of our satellite, we are treated to a plethora of different visuals. We have all the phases, with their crescents, humps (“gibbous moon”), fulls, and quarters. Every once in a while, we’re treated
The Lahaina Banyan Tree In early August 2023, a calamitous series of wildfires erupted across the Hawaiian islands. A cauldron of atmospheric conditions turned the islands into something akin to a bed of kindling. The U.S. Drought Monitor showed a majority of the islands to be abnormally dry, with several areas drifting into legitimate drought. Meteorologists
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The Matterhorn What power must have been required to shatter and to sweep away the missing parts of this pyramid; for we do not see it surrounded by heaps of fragments; one only sees other peaks – themselves rooted to the ground – whose sides, equally rent, indicate an immense mass of débris, of which
Skunk Runs I loathe running without a sporting objective. And, by sporting objective, I don’t mean setting a personal record in the mile or seeing how much distance I can cover before I drop. I can run all day if you add soccer, tennis, basketball, or another game. Without those goals, there are few things
Atlantropa The Strait of Gibraltar is a location of extremes. On a worldwide scale, the stretch that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea is tiny, just eight miles. One might suspect that something of this size might easily fit into the schemes of modern engineering. The world’s longest bridge is over 100 miles long. The Chunnel, connecting