Fairy Circles At this stage, I suppose we could say that fairies are as good an explanation as any. –Professor Greta van Rooyen The Namib, a 1,000-mile desert along Africa’s southwestern coast, is a resplendent sea of sand. Its swaths of towering, classical dunes rival the grandest deserts on the planet. About a hundred […]
The Finger of Death The notion of freezing an enemy with a weapon is a trope often explored in literature and film, perhaps most frequently in the realm of comics. Most famous is Mr. Freeze, portrayed in 1997’s Batman & Robin by Arnold Schwarzenegger, but this character isn’t even DC’s only frosty foe. Captain Cold wields an
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Gates of Hell Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. –Dante Alighieri, Vestibule of Hell, Inferno Dante’s 14th-century The Divine Comedy famously tours three sectors of the afterlife. Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso trace the author’s visit to Hell, Limbo, and Heaven. One of literature’s great lines adorns the gate Dante encounters before entering Hell: “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate.” The literal translation from Italian means
Thorny Devils When it comes to Australia, the first devil that comes to mind is probably the Tasmanian. But there’s a far more populous down-under denizen, one who roams large swaths of the Outback. And, though the Tasmanian devil garnered its name largely thanks to its ethereal vocalizations, many humans find the critter closer to adorable
Mushroom Kayaks “It was just like a psychedelic experience.” –Sam Shoemaker A gorgeous, archipelagic octet dots the Pacific Ocean off the shore of the Southern California Bight, a 430-mile bend stretching from Point Conception to Baja California. Five of the Channel Islands constitute the eponymous National Park, while the US Navy utilizes another two as training
The Gorgonizing Lake “They thought I was absolutely insane—some crazy white guy, coming along offering money for people to basically go on a treasure hunt around the lake for dead birds.” –Nick Brandt In Greek mythology, the primeval sea-god Phorcys and the sea-monster Ceto had six daughters, three of whom were named Euryale, Stheno, and
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Devil Horn Sunrise After many North Americans were treated to a stunning total solar eclipse in 2024, the partial solar eclipse slated to transpire in spring 2025 might have seemed trivial in comparison. While nothing can approximate the experience of totality, this partial eclipse promised something more than the run-of-the-mill crescent. The 29 March event was visible
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Talking to Aliens With Wheat In 1784, a seven-year-old German child began elementary school. During a mathematics lesson, the child’s teacher asked the class to sum all the integers from 1 to 100. As the other students slogged through the calculations, the young Johann announced the answer to his instructor: 5,050. The teacher was astonished. How
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Library Bats In 2013, UNESCO designated the University of Coimbra a World Heritage Site, citing its architecture, culture, tradition, and historical value. This institution lies within the city of the same name, the sixth largest in Portugal. Founded in 1290 in Lisbon and moved to Coimbra in 1537, the university is one of the oldest
Ice Spikes If You love dessert, specifically ice cream You want to control your caloric or macro-nutrient intake You like saving money in the long-run You want to revolutionize your life do yourself a favor and consider purchasing a Ninja Creami. This device can turn nearly any ingredient into ice cream, frozen yogurt, slushies, Italian ice,