Author: Ms. R.

Though he lived and worked in the 18th and 19th centuries, the English physician Edward Jenner might have felt right at home in the culture war currently being fought over COVID-19 vaccines. Sometimes called the “Father of Immunology,” Jenner complained in harsh terms about those who opposed his theories, calling them “those little minded Persons who think everything impossible which does not come within the narrow sphere of their own comprehension.” That particular jab comes from an 1802 letter……

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Shunan Teng’s job can be precarious, since she spends a lot of her time hiking the rocky slopes of southern China. On one hike, she gingerly hoists herself into the branches of a camellia sinensis tree in order to inspect the baby leaves. But it’s all in a day’s work for Teng, an avid tea sommelier and entrepreneur. Teng is on a mission to curate a collection of China’s oldest and most historically acclaimed teas. While the densely packed……

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“People don’t come to Denali and other parks in Alaska to look at bumblebees, but they should,” says Jessica Rykken, entomologist for Denali National Park and Preserve. The “Last Frontier” state may be known for supersized wildlife, from bears to moose, but on a smaller scale, the diversity of bumblebees (or bumble bees, depending on whom you ask) there is unusually high, and powers entire ecosystems. “Bringing in that next generation of plants to provide habitat for caribou or……

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On December 27, 1984, a meteorite was found in the ice field near Allan Hills, a rocky outcrop that protrudes from the blue ice in Victoria Land, East Antarctica. Cosmo-chemical analyses back in the lab revealed a Martian origin. Years later, this meteorite, known as ALH84001, gained popularity as an article published in the journal Science reported structures in the rock and interpreted them as fossilized lifeforms, which, if true, would be the first definitive sign of extraterrestrial life. A media……

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As if ripped from the draft of a lost National Treasure sequel, Times Square Station has a number of fake subway tiles that hide a more sinister design. In August 2017, in the wake of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, New York City had a reckoning with the Confederate memorials scattered across the city.  These vinyl stickers printed with a mosaic design were slapped onto the walls of Times Square Station to cover actual tile designs that closely……

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The Harmon Museum, also sometimes referred to as the Lebanon Museum, is housed in historic Harmon Hall. Built in 1913 as a recreational facility by the real estate mogul and philanthropist William Elmer Harmon, Harmon Hall was donated to the City of Lebanon.  Harmon was born and raised in Lebanon and complained there was no place to play when he was a child. He gave the city Harmon Hall, Harmon Park (he established more than 120 across the country), Harmon Golf Course, and……

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Shortly after Fred Schritt retired from building and racing custom motorcycles, he came across an old vehicle that reminded him of “Mater” from the movie, Cars. He fixed the vehicle up in his own style and renamed it “the Peppermint Kid,” and put it on a post outside the body shop he ran in Grand Island, Nebraska. A Volkswagen-turned-Fokker-Triplane followed, with the Red Baron and Snoopy trying to get each other in their sights. Then another car and another……

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Believed to have been abandoned by British General Edward Braddock in 1755 during the French and Indian War, this cannon was placed here in 1915 at the intersection of two rural dirt roads at what is now the intersection of Braddock and Russell Roads. Braddock was commander-in-chief of the 13 colonies during this conflict. His forces were defeated during a mission to capture Fort Duquesne from the French in what is now Pittsburgh. Braddock died during the Battle of……

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Connecting North Carolina State University’s north and central campuses is a local landmark dedicated to art and expression. In November 1967, the student council allowed students to paint art and messages in one of the pedestrian tunnels running under the train tracks that divide the campus. This would come to be known as the Free Expression Tunnel by students. Students and others are constantly repainting the tunnel and retaining walls at the exit with art, memorials, political slogans, and……

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