Author: Ms. R.

This story was originally published in Wired and appears here as part of our Climate Desk collaboration. Researchers have long debated what the 10-foot-long tooth that erupts from a narwhal’s head is actually for. Perhaps it has something to do with sexual selection, and males with longer horns attract more females. Or maybe the things sense salinity. Or perhaps a narwhal uses its tusk to flush out prey on the ocean bottom. Whatever the purpose, scientists know this for……

Read More

After his hometown turned down his idea of a public course, Minnesota artist Bruce Stillman created a one-of-a-kind artist mini golf experience in his “front yard.” Between 2003 and 2012, Stillman built Big Stone, a 14-hole course on the Minnetrista property a little over 30 minutes west of Minneapolis near Lake Minnetonka. A mix of stone, metal, turf and other semi-organic materials form a course that looks nothing like the tourist town and seaside mini golf courses you might……

Read More

After the War of 1812, several fortifications were proposed to protect Portland‘s harbor. The largest of which was Fort Gorges (pronounced gorgeous). The D-shaped granite fortress, modeled after Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, was constructed from 1858 to 1864. By the time of its completion, the Civil War-era design was completely obsolete, as its cannon holds were far too small for modern guns. After a failed modernization attempt in the 1870s, the fort sat empty and unused for nearly……

Read More

In the middle of this lake grows a group of 32 cypress trees that reach nearly 98 feet (30 meters) in height. The trees in the lake belong to a species of swamp cypress, Taxodium distichum, which naturally grows in North America and around the Gulf of Mexico. These trees were introduced to Russia in the 1930s as an experiment. The grove in the lake was planted between 1934 and 1935. They rooted well in the warm climate and somehow……

Read More

Trevor Crean considers himself a city slicker, but ever since he cofounded Heritage Gardens, a cemetery in Surrey, British Columbia, he’s learned to embrace the land. That’s because Crean, the director, oversees much more than burials. The family-owned and -operated business also has its own beehives, as well as a lush vegetable garden where resident gardener Stan Turner grows brussels sprouts, corn, and kale, as well as butternut and acorn squash, Stardust runner beans, loads of potatoes, and even……

Read More

The area around the city of Shkodër, in northwestern Albania, has been inhabited since antiquity. The first fortification on the hill overlooking the town was constructed by Illyrian tribes as early as the 9th-century BCE. Since then, the area has been conquered by many different peoples and countries. The fort was taken by the Romans in a battle in 168 BCE and later passed down to the Byzantine Empire. After some centuries of local rule, the Venetians took the area……

Read More

Before being sealed from the public, Robber’s Cave had been a notorious hangout for 130 years. Since it was sealed for decades, many had forgotten the 5,600-foot long cave just beneath downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. Yes, people broke in over the years, but recently, the cave reopened for tours and visitors are able to descend several stories to tour its depths.  Every inch of the soft Dakota sandstone walls are covered with names, initials, dates, band names, symbols, and Greek……

Read More