From 1934 to 1948, Annie was the ambassador to Fort Collins as the unofficial welcome wagon to train passengers. She was found as a stray by railroad brakeman Chris Demuth. He brought the scrawny dog back to Fort Collins and called her Annie. She was raised at the train depot and beloved by all. When Annie passed away, she was buried in the rail yard. The crew who had looked after her during her greeting duties put up a headstone……
LONDON (AP) — Marcus Willis, the Everyman’s everyman who faced Roger Federer at Centre Court while ranked 772nd in 2016, was back at Wimbledon on Thursday, competing in men’s doubles and hoping he might get to have a bit of a reunion with the now-retired eight-time champion at the All England Club. Willis had not competed at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament since a run to the third round of doubles in 2017 alongside Jay Clarke. They renewed their…
The Samuel “Uncle Sam” statue in Arlington, Massachusetts, honors the man who may have inspired one of the most iconic American symbols. Sam Wilson was a meat packer who supplied the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, had his crates marked with the initials “U.S.” which soldiers jokingly called “Uncle Sam.” This association is said to have led to the bearded, top-hat-wearing figure of Uncle Sam a personification of the American spirit. (Whether this story is actually true……
By the mid-19th century prospectors and geologists had a good idea of what rock types were most likely to host precious metal deposits, and sandstone was not one of them. So when John Kemple reported silver values in sandstone from the Silver Reef area in the late 1860s, his discovery was greeted with disbelief and derision. Even Kemple was unsure of his findings. Not until the mid-1870s did a mining rush get underway, when people finally got around to……
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Officials in a Northern California community cancelled an annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as an estimated 26,000 residents remained displaced by a growing wildfire, while hundreds of firefighters toiled under extreme heat to keep flames from reaching more homes. The Thompson Fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento, near the city of Oroville in Butte County. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be…
Coventry is famous for the legend of Lady Godiva, commemorated by an equestrian statue of her in the city square, but there is another folk story well-known in the area that is represented by a public artwork here. Hailing from the nearby town of Warwick, Sir Guy is a major figure of medieval English folklore, if not as popular as King Arthur or Robin Hood. The core of his story is that this humble cupbearer must prove his valor……
The iron house was built in Belgium in 1892 and is said to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel or one of his associates. The house was built for the then-governor of Mozambique, but the politician never actually used it due to the hot climate. (Another iron house can be found in Iquitos, Peru, also supposedly designed by Eiffel.) Over the years, the iron house has been used for a number of different government offices. Currently, the Ministry of Culture and……
In the center of Pune, there is an old mansion built by Shrimant Bhausaheb Lakshman Jawale. His family was in the profession of dyeing royal clothes, hence he was also known by his sobriquet: Bhausaheb Rangari (rang means “color”). Bhausaheb Rangari was a prominent personality in Pune in that era. When he built his wada (mansion) in 1883, he incorporated a number of secret rooms and mechanisms into his house. There is a secret trap door once used to……
Two paths diverged in yellow wood. Sorry she could not travel both, the hiker grabbed her phone to check the map—only to find zero bars of service. Now what? Well, if she properly anticipated this scenario, she’d just grab a paper map from her backpack and ponder it over a handful of trail mix. But if she didn’t plan for the possibility of getting lost without cell service, she could find herself in a life or death situation. If……
Deep into the Arctic Circle at a latitude of 71°8’2” north, Kinnarodden is the northernmost point of mainland Europe. Unlike the nearby and more celebrated Nordkapp (North Cape) on the island of Magerøya, no car park, famous monument, or expensive café awaits at Kinnarodden. Instead, after a demanding one- to two-day hike across rock fields and scree slopes, you arrive at the northern tip of the European continent, the same latitude as northern Alaska and Siberia, where you are……
Where can you find something green, leafy, and over 2,040 feet long? Look no further than Dawes Arboretum. While there are over 2,000 acres and 15,000 plants to appreciate here, the highlight might just be the massive evergreen hedge that spells out the attraction’s name in 145-foot-tall letters. The eponymous hedge was conceived by the arboretum’s founder, Benam Dawes, and designed by Charles Jones. When the letters were first installed, only “DAWES” was spelled out in hedges. More were added later, leading……
Language is a defining feature of humanity, and for centuries, philosophers and scientists have contemplated its true purpose. We use language to share information and exchange ideas — but is it more than that? Do we use language not just to communicate, but to think? In the June 19 issue of the journal Nature, McGovern Institute for Brain Research neuroscientist Evelina Fedorenko and colleagues argue that we do not. Language, they say, is primarily a tool for communication. Fedorenko……
Thomas Varnish loves his hobbies — knitting, baking, pottery — it’s a long list. His latest interest is analog film photography. A picture with his mother and another with his boyfriend are just a few of Varnish’s favorites. “These moments of human connection are the ones I like,” he says. Varnish’s love of capturing a fleeting moment on film translates to his research when he conducts laser interferometry on plasmas using off-the-shelf cameras. At the Department of Nuclear Science……
In traditional Japanese beliefs, dōsojin is a stele erected on the side of a major road or street as a symbol of some guardian divinity that protects the village, as well as travelers passing by. The deity is sometimes depicted as a pair of man and woman, or as a phallus, but most dōsojin stelae are simple blocks of stone with the inscription “dōsojin.” However, there are numerous regional variants known across Japan. In a town called Naruse in……
This small, colorful constellation of bottles and bedsprings accompanies a painted Ziggy Stardust-esque figure along a low chainlink fence on a quiet residential street just around the corner from the main drag of Truth or Consequences. Blink, and you might miss it, but it’s worth the stop. While the address is on N Broadway, the art fence is on the backside at Sims, across the street from the Healing Waters Plaza. Starting from 417 N Broadway, head west to ……
