Author: Ms. R.

At the intersection of Dunhua South Road and Civic Boulevard, you will find a zebra standing with pedestrians at the crosswalk. A traffic signal runs through its body, so you cannot look away as you wait to cross the street. The artwork, titled Time Crosswalk, was completed in 1999. It remains one of Taipei’s oldest and most recognized public art pieces. Many visitors have been surprised by it and taken photos with the zebra’s whimsical bottom. The piece also……

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The town of Angono is widely considered the Art Capital of the Philippines, as it has produced several national artists and is home to many galleries showcasing the artwork of local artists. One such place is the Balaw Balaw Art Gallery and Restaurant. Mr. Perdigon Vocalan lost both of his parents at the young age of four. He took interest in art at a young age with plenty of influences from the budding art scene of Angono. A self-taught……

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While most people are aware of the Lockerbie Air Disaster, not everyone realizes that not all of the victims were passengers on Pam Am Flight 103.  Eleven residents living on Sherwood Crescent were also killed when the wing section of the doomed plane hit number 13 and caused an explosion. The house at number 13 was completely destroyed, killing the two residents. Their bodies, sadly, were never recovered. A family of four was also killed in an explosion at……

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In the quiet town of Hiraizumi in northern Japan, far from the bustling temples of Kyoto or Nara, lies a garden that has remained nearly unchanged for over 800 years. Mōtsū-ji, one of the oldest Tendai temples in Japan, was founded in 850 by the famed monk Ennin, better known in Japan as Jikaku Daishi. The northern Fujiwara lords expanded it, building dozens of halls and pagodas, and hosting hundreds of monks. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Northern……

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Rochester Cathedral is one of the oldest cathedrals in England, founded in 604, and boasts a stunning mix of Norman and Gothic architecture. Its peaceful atmosphere, beautiful medieval crypt, and intricate stone carvings offer a glimpse into over 1,400 years of history. The cathedral is home to the Textus Roffensis, a priceless 12th-century manuscript that contains some of the earliest known English laws and the first written mention of the English Church. Its connection to figures like St. William……

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In Ashe County, located in North Carolina’s far northwestern corner, lies a cemetery with an unusual gravestone. It is an elongated rock, protruding 5.8 feet from the ground and only six and a half inches wide. The story behind the stone involves one of America’s most famous frontiersmen. Daniel Boone lived in North Carolina 24 years before moving to Kentucky. He was a hunting companion of early Ashe resident Thomas Callaway, and had a hunting camp near where he……

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There is an irony in the fact that the oldest intact building in Sin City was originally founded by Mormons. However, long before Las Vegas was known for gambling, it was merely a watering hole on the Old Spanish Trail between New Mexico and California. When Mormons settled in Utah in the 1840s, the trail gained newfound importance connecting them to the nearest seaport. As such, in 1855 they built an adobe (mudbrick) fort at Las Vegas Springs to……

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Until 1928 the people of Vik, Iceland had to travel to travel 2.5 kilometers by foot or horse to the next parish. That April, the people of Vik started their new parish and started raising funds to build this icon of southern Iceland. The master builder of the church was Matthias Einarsson, and in 1943 it was consecrated on October 14th. This church is one of the defining monuments in the Icelandic landscape. As it sits on a hill……

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The Museo di Anatomia Patologica (or the Museum of Pathological Anatomy) in Venice, Italy, comprises only a single room, but nevertheless houses impressive anatomical specimens illustrating disease and disability from the 18th and 19th centuries. Not to be confused with the better-known and much larger Scuola Grande di San Marco next door, the museum houses several unusual and rarely seen specimens, including the taxidermied body of a man who suffered simultaneously from dwarfism, Paget’s disease, and osteogenesis imperfecta. Both……

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William Henry Harrison, despite serving just 30 days in the White House, left a particularly large impact on American history. He became a war hero after defeating Tecumseh and the British in the War of 1812. When running for president, he used his fame to run a grassroots campaign that would influence all successful ones ever since. Before any of that, however, Harrison served as the first territorial governor of Indiana, at the time based in Vincennes, from 1801……

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