Taum Sauk Mountain – Missouri’s High Point We do not often associate Missouri with altitude, but we learned the Saint Francois Mountains – a subset of the Ozarks – are an ancient chain of true, geological mountains. The highest point in these old crags is Taum Sauk Mountain. Rising 1,772 feet above sea level, […]
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Saint Francois Mountains Previously, we took a broad look at the physiographic region known as the U.S. Interior Highlands, specifically the Ozarks. Even though we sometimes call the region the Ozark Mountains, it’s actually a dissected plateau. Tectonic activity uplifted the Ozarks as a slab and, over the eons, rivers cut through the rock, forming
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Cheese Cave During our previous investigation, we explored the Cheese Caves, vast underground networks of old limestone quarries that today store, amongst various other things, billions of pounds of cheese. The notion of a “cheese cave” significantly predates these storage spaces. Humans began crafting cheese long before the advent of recorded history. Some historians believe
The Cheese Caves Every so often, a story spreads around the internet about the government, cheese, and caves. The claim regards billions of pounds of government cheese being stored in vast underground networks. While this tale has roots in reality, only portions of it are correct. People of a certain age will recall “government cheese,”
Killdeer Lurings Near my home lies an abandoned tract of farmland. When I moved to the area, the acreage still produced crops, but anyone who passed could see this operation would not last forever. Surrounding all sides of the land were marks of modern urban expansion. A stone’s throw to the north runs a
The Kentucky Meat Shower 3 March 1876. Olympia Springs, Bath County, northeast Kentucky. The farm of Allen Crouch. Just before noon. The farmer’s wife sat on the front porch, making soap. The late-Reconstruction-era day veered from normal into the macabre horror of Edgar Allan Poe as it began to rain. Instead of crop-nourishing water,
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A Big Week for Astrophotography If you’re into space porn, the past week has really been good for you. We’ve followed the James Webb Space Telescope to its new home at a Lagrange Point in the expanse since its launch on Christmas Day 2021. This incredible instrument will soon permit us to peer deeper and
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The Great Migration Elton John famously sings about the “Circle of Life” in The Lion King. The piece speaks generally about the cycle of life and death. The animated feature takes part on the continent of Africa. While John’s melodies emerge from an animated feature, the song is more apropos to its setting than most
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The Relativity Engine “Oh, no! I was wondering who the third one might be!” –Arthur Eddington Amalie Noether, born 23 March 1882 in Erlangen, Germany, was named for her mother and grandmother, but soon insisted on adopting her middle name for everyday usage. Max Noether, Emmy’s father, was an esteemed mathematician, sometimes credited as one
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Earth Day By the late 1960s, most humans realized we needed to become better stewards of our planet. A few major incidents helped spur the epiphany. Woman Crush Wednesday honoree Rachel Carson penned Silent Spring in 1962, alerting the world to the unintended dangers of harsh chemicals. In 1968, the Apollo Program provided a new perspective of