Author: Ms. R.

“The Fountain of Faith” is one of two major works created by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles found in the National Memorial Cemetery in Falls Church, Virginia.  This massive, expansive fountain sits in a large courtyard, which contains numerous memorials and consists of 37 figures who are said to evoke specific individuals Milles knew before they died. It was his vision of heaven on earth.  The concept for this complex work of art originated from a request by Robert F. Marlowe,……

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As networks of railroads spread across the United States, engineers were also busy building thousands of dams. Steam locomotives required large amounts of water, and in areas of the arid west, that was often hard to come by. Thus, reservoirs were constructed adjacent to tracks to supply the trains with water. Dams were usually constructed with masonry and large blocks of quarried stone, which was very labor-intensive. Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway engineer Francis H. Bainbridge had an……

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Tucked away in the woods of Durham, New Hampshire, there is a peaceful spot that was once a quiet sanctuary for two college professors. In 1948, Lorus and Margery Milne came to Durham to teach zoology at the University of New Hampshire. Margery hailed from New York and Lorus was a native of Toronto, Ontario. The Milnes were an extraordinary couple. Both traveled the world, sometimes on expeditions for the National Geographic Society. They published more than 50 books……

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The Janiculum, or Gianicolo in Italian, is a wooded park that provides spectacular views over the city of Rome. It is also a monumental park planned around the theme of the short-lived Roman Republic of 1849. This experimental government, which temporarily overthrew Papal authority in Rome, fought for its survival against the French army on the fringes of the Janiculum. The legendary Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi was among the key figures of the Republic’s brief existence. There are 228 busts distributed along the……

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This story was originally published in Wired and appears here as part of our Climate Desk collaboration. Bivouacked in the middle of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf—a five-hour flight from the nearest Antarctic station—nothing comes easy. Even though it was the southern summer, geologist James Smith of the British Antarctic Survey endured nearly three months of freezing temperatures, sleeping in a tent, and eating dehydrated food. The science itself was a hassle: To study the history of the floating shelf,……

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You notice the castles the minute you arrive in Gerbstedt, a quiet little town in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state, an hour’s drive from Leipzig. Elaborately constructed miniature castles, replete with tiny windows, shrubs, and dwellers in historical attire, greet you at different spots around town—outside the supermarket, in front of the church, on people’s front lawns. It’s an open-air museum of sorts spanning the entire area. “I built my first castle in 1949, after the war had ended,” says Günther……

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Picking through overhanging palm leaves and tiptoeing over mangrove roots, the sound of gushing water rumbles into earshot, drowning out the chirp of tropical birds and insects. The rainforest clears, revealing a crystalline rock pool nourished by the white wisps of Pinaisara Falls, Okinawa’s tallest single-drop waterfall. Iriomote, a 110-square-mile island at the southern tip of Japan—closer to Taiwan than Tokyo—is cut off from the mainland by 650 miles of ocean, and doubly fortified by a hilly jungle and……

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A rice cracker notable for its banana-like shape, bakauke is a very popular snack in Japan. It comes in flavors like soy sauce with seaweed, soy sauce and sesame, and mild curry. The cracker was introduced in 1990 by Befco, then known as Kuriyama Beika Co. It quickly became the company’s biggest success, and though a product of Niigata Prefecture—its name means “super hit” or “well received” in the local dialect—it now can be found all across the country. In 2002, the company opened its……

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Located on the central Piazza Maggiore, Palazzo d’Accursio serves as the town hall of the city of Bologna. On its façade, there is a large bronze statue located over the portal. This statue represents Pope Gregorius XIII, who was born in the Italian city and is most known for having commissioned the Gregorian Calendar. The statue was installed in 1580 during the pontificate of Gregorius XIII and dominated the main square unchanged for two centuries. That is until the……

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