Author: Ms. R.

For the more than two million people that visit Edinburgh every year, it’s an opportunity to explore the many historical sites the city has to offer. Others come for business, while some reunite with friends and family. There are also around 35,000 students who arrive in Edinburgh every year to attend the half dozen universities that make up a third of the city’s population. Towards the end of the 19th-century, Huang Kuan became the first Chinese student to graduate……

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When visitors enter this shop, they are immediately greeted by the owner and the brilliant mind behind Novis Mortem Collective. Novis Mortem is a curiosity shop filled with natural history. Inside the shop is a wide selection of pinned insects such as beetles, jeweled flower mantis, bright blue butterflies, Madagascar sunset moths, and more. Within this mix are also beautiful pieces of handmade jewelry like coffin necklaces and earrings. Most of the items inside were crafted by local Colorado……

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The owner and curator of this private collection, Janusz Parulis amassed this amazing ensemble of everyday items now crammed into this tight space. The collection contains around 20,000 items, which are displayed haphazardly across the museum. However, this unique display adds to the museum’s charm.  Parulis has a personal connection with most of the items found in the museum. A few objects on display are old boots, firemen equipment, a broken gramophone, and old photos. Many of the items were……

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In the late 19th century, life along the shore of Brooklyn’s fetid Gowanus Canal was the stuff of nightmares. The stench emanating from the 1.8-mile-long slash of stagnant water was awful enough to penetrate people’s dreams. Take Stephen Mooney. In 1889, the unwelcome smell shook him from sleep, and compelled him to shut his window and air his grievances. Mooney—a secretary of a local railroad—was one of several people eager to complain about life next to the muck. The……

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Kang Kyung-ja opens the door of her home on the island province of Jeju, South Korea, with a smile on her face. After offering me a cup of barley tea, she unfolds a piece of paper to sing me a song she’s written. Ieodo sana, ieodo sana, ieodo sana Where to go, where to row All aboard to the depths of the sea Where my mother gave birth to me Did she know to dive would be my destiny?……

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Today, these small ruins are all that can be seen of the Carrawburgh Roman Fort.  Mithraism was a Roman religion inspired by the god Mithras, who was originally a Persian warrior god. As the legend goes, Mithras had captured and killed a sacred bull in a cave. Mithraic temples often envoke a gloomy, cave-like atmosphere. The cult of Mithras placed a great emphasis on valor, honor, and military prowess. Soldiers based at Carrawburgh fort would have used this temple as……

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For pioneers who traveled along the path of the Pony Express, the Overland Stage Trail, or the Oregon Trail, a stop in the tiny town of Granger, Wyoming was a must. Granger Station, also known as the Old South Bend Station, was originally built in 1850. It served as a way station for travelers as they made their way over the high plains.  Mark Twain is said to have stopped here for a night on his Overland stagecoach trip west, a……

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On a cloudy day in October, Hinemoana Baker walked into a white room at the Ethnological Museum in southwestern Berlin, dressed in all black. A New Zealand poet and musician, Baker is a descendant of both the island nation’s indigenous Maori people and Europeans. As she entered the room, she began to utter a Karanga, a traditional Maori call, in a poignant, almost weeping sound. Following her were two museum staff, each carrying a paper box. Inside the boxes……

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