Author: Ms. R.

Today, Greenwich is generally associated with the prime meridian, but this was not always the case. In fact, before Greenwich, the Ferro meridian was known as the original prime meridian since the times of ancient Greece. The idea of using the westernmost point in the world for the zero meridian is an old concept, with evidence dating back to the days of Ptolemy. This westernmost point was located at the semi-mythical Islands of the Blessed, which was believed to be……

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On the edge of the town of Craven Arms in Shropshire, England, this moated structure was constructed during the 13th-century by a rich wool merchant known as Laurence of Ludlow. Laurence also obtained a license from the king to fortify the manor house by crenelating the walls as a means of protection against marauding Welsh thieves. The design was also a status symbol. In the early 17th-century, the castle was renovated into a more luxurious residence. It was not……

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Oklahoma City-based designer and sculptor Hugh Meade crafted this sculpture dubbed “Intersection Point Zero,” a double intersecting arch of rusted steel and bright aluminum. It was designed as a specific place marker for human concepts such as “logical thinking” and “creativity,” much like the Greenwich Prime Meridian is a globally recognized marker for time. The sculpture was completed in 2017. When a person stands under the arches, they can look up through the small void where the steel and……

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The author’s book of poetry about Malinda Russell, Grimoire, was published in September 2020. From the moment I held the reprint of Mrs. Malinda Russell’s A Domestic Cookbook: Containing A Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen, I was smitten. The 39-page volume is the first known cookbook written by a Black woman: Russell was born in eastern Tennessee to a mother whose family had been freed in Virginia, and, during the Civil War, left behind her pastry……

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Ōya stone is an igneous green tuff renowned for its warm texture and flexibility, famously used by Frank Lloyd Wright to build the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. It was the same material used to create the Venus of Gyoza and is a specialty of Utsunomiya City, quarried in its namesake town of Ōya. The earliest usage of Ōya stone dates back to the 6th-century when it was used to build burial mounds and sarcophagi for local lords. The mass quarrying of……

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Shortly after Greece won independence from the Ottomans, the need to start organized commerce arose quickly. With Nafplio operating as the capital of the new Hellenic State, a new customs house was determined to be a high priority. A facility was constructed to handle the higher level of traffic then entering the port. Records are unclear, but the building is believed to have been designed by famous Greek architect Stamatis Kleanthis. Kleanthis was the Public Engineer of Greece just……

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A short ferry ride east of London, a picturesque lawn welcomes visitors to the sprawling grounds of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. At night, a bright green beam of light projects over the lawn, illuminating the Prime Meridian from the Greenwich Observatory up the hill. Five hundred years ago, this scene looked quite different. Back then, the lawn was a tiltyard, a rectangular field used for jousting and comprised of layered plaster and gravel, topped with sand and……

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