Author: Ms. R.

On June 17, 1864, fireworks were laid out to dry by the superintendent of the Washington Arsenal. The heat of the summer day caused the fireworks to explode into the choking room where workers were filling cartridges with gunpowder. The resulting explosions and fire claimed the lives of 21 women, many of them young Irish immigrants working as the sole providers for their families. Seventeen of these victims are interred at Congressional Cemetery, 15 of them laid to rest……

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Goji berries in beer. Chinese medicinal herbs infused in coffee. Staying up all night, but eating a bowl of bird’s nest soup to feel better. You get the gist. For the last couple of years, a seemingly oxymoronic concept has been adopted by a broad, cross-section of young, urban people in China. “Punk health,” or péngkè yǎngshēng, means pairing a vice with a seemingly healthy ingredient. “People born in the 80s and 90s are almost in their 40s and……

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An unusual slot canyon in tilted limestone beds at a narrows on Pahranagat Wash, a normally dry tributary to the Colorado River system. It’s blocked at the upstream end by Arrow Canyon Dam, a flood-control structure built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Bypassing the dam requires either a technical climb or a lengthy detour, so it’s most straightforward to do an out-and-back from the downstream end. Sources vary, but it’s roughly three miles from the official……

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The Sphinx Hotel is located in the port city of Geelong, the second largest Victorian city. The location has no relation whatsoever to Egypt, so therefore this hotel sits very randomly on the outskirts of town. It’s situated on one of the major trunk roads that lead out of the city, and from the road, this very distinctive Egyptian-themed complex suddenly stands out. It is comprised of a nearly 50 foot high Sphinx, as well as a pyramid and multiple……

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The six-year-long conflict that was World War II colored most aspects of American life. Far from the front lines, its impact reached the kitchen, where a series of mandatory rations left American homes with limited sugar, flour, and animal fat. Recipes for sweet, scrappy cakes abounded in newspapers and baking pamphlets. The cooking guides did double duty of instructing American women on how to make the most of their leaner pantries while also boosting morale. A widely published bedtime……

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Just three minutes from Las Vegas Boulevard is a small, unusual museum. Part exhibition space, part prop house, and part studio for filmmaker and artist Jessica Oreck, the Office of Collecting and Design is a collection of collections. The museum is packed with tiny objects: three-legged animal figurines, incomplete playing card decks, lonely game pieces, boxes that are too small to hold anything, empty picture frames, locks without keys, etc. These bits of often lost, obsolete, or broken miscellany……

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Khao Chi Chan used to be a photogenic rocky outcrop with a Buddhist temple at its base, and it was mainly known to the local community.  In 1996, its status changed.  In commemoration of the King’s golden jubilee, a large image of the Buddha was carved into the face of the rock user laser technology. Most of the carving was done at night to take full advantage of the contrast between the darkness and the light emanating from the……

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The Dun Na Cuaiche Watchtower is a familiar site for those traveling down the A83 through Argyle. Standing high on the hill above the town (248 meters to be exact), it offers breathtaking views over the town and adjacent Loch Fyne. On clear days you can see across to the surrounding mountains and snowy forests. The tower was built as a folly in 1756, by the owners of the land and castle. Its purpose was purely decorative, and its……

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Built between 1979 and 1983, this abandoned missile base combines a pleasant forest hike with urban exploration.  The base was built as a part of the Warsaw Pact to provide defense against air attacks from NATO. It was abandoned around 1996 and the mostly concrete structures are being reclaimed by nature. There are at least 15 buildings and missile storage bunkers remaining. Some are easy to find as you follow the paved paths, and others are hidden in the……

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On a bright, buggy June day, I set off across a Maine river into a preserve called The Hermitage. I was in search of a pine tree claimed by the king of England centuries ago. Snow, mud, and raging water make the preserve impassable at different times of the year, but in early summer the river reached just above my ankle. Ahead of me, on the river’s north bank, sloped a stand of tangled beech, sugar maple, and hemlock—and……

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