Author: Ms. R.

There aren’t many animals as iconic, characteristic, and memorable as elephants. Such large and powerful creatures, yet gentle and tranquil. Being able to witness an elephant in person is always a remarkable experience. Most people will probably only see them in places like zoos, but there is a place in the world where one can not only visit the home of elephants but help care for them as well. Founded by Daphne Sheldrick in 1977 in honor of her……

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For nearly three decades, 5 p.m. on a weekday has meant thousands of commuters leaving the World Trade Center Complex and heading down into the warren of transit tunnels below. After the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, those hordes of commuters have never been quite as large, but they have been remembered in a small way thanks to a subway exit left intact from those days. The neighborhood is home to a number of subway……

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The King’s and Queen’s Knots can be found in the grounds of the ancient King’s Park nestled beneath the towering mass of Stirling Castle. This area was Crown property from at least the 1100s. It was the area where Scotland’s royalty took part in activities such as hunting and jousting. King’s Park is first mentioned in 1190, when it was referred to as the “Aulde” park.  This park was enlarged to become the “Neu” park in 1264.  At this……

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This water tower commemorates the invention of the transistor in 1947. The transistor was invented by William Shockley with his assistants John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. Bell Labs immediately recognized how important the transistor was. It was more dependable than the vacuum tube, produced less heat, and was cheaper. AT&T immediately began replacing its vacuum tubes with new devices, allowing clearer conversations with less static, and more dependable components. Early computers like the ENIAC with its 18,000 vacuum tubes……

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The Groningen University Museum is dedicated to preserving the stories behind the research conducted at the four-century-old institution. It is home to a diverse array of natural, scientific, and cultural artifacts, from historical medical devices (including silver blood-letting blades and the earliest x-ray tubes) to a lump of iron once thought to be a holy relic that had fallen from the sky over Siberia (now identified as a meteorite) to the world’s first electric vehicle, built in 1835. The……

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This lookout bridge appears to be a lookout place for the fairytale castle of Ludwig II, oddly enough, the bridge predates the castle by nearly half a century. The MarienBrücke (Maria Bridge) is a steel bridge next to the Neuschwanstein castle. The bridge was first constructed from wood in 1845 by King Maxmillian II of Bavaria and named after his wife who was an avid hiker. The couple’s son later rebuilt the bridge out of steel in 1866, around the……

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The Gespensterwald (“Ghost Forest” in English) is located in Nienhagen in Germany, right next to the Baltic Sea. During the day, the forest are filled with dappled light and the sounds of woodland creatures. But at night, they sometimes look like they’ve been pulled straight from a horror movie. Covering a span of 180 hectares, the forest is an ordinary mixed forest of beech, hornbeam, ash, and oak. Some of the tall trees are nearly 200 years old, and……

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On August 20, 1860, some 15,000 Melburnians assembled to witness the departure of the Victorian Exploring Expedition. The group is better known as the Burke and Wills Expedition, for Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills, who led the 18-man party on a mission to cross the Australian continent from south to north. As the expedition went on, Burke became frustrated with the group’s slow pace. In New South Wales, he left some of the men and supplies behind……

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Just outside the Kentish seaside town of Deal stands the stalwart Walmer Castle, a structure that has borne witness to civil war sieges and political scandals.  The original castle was built around 1540 by the forces of King Henry VIII in response to threats from France and the Holy Roman Empire. It was one in a series of fortified structures constructed along the Kentish coast in the cinque port towns (towns of strategic military and economic importance). These castles……

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No matter where you’re coming from, it takes a long time to get to Conche. Drive up the Viking Trail, a windswept coastal highway, turn right at a random corner on the edge of a ragged forest, and make your way across the entire breadth of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula. Continue to the end of the road, looping down toward this tiny fishing village—population, 170—that feels like it’s sitting right at the edge of the world. There, among the……

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