Author: Ms. R.

Sewer lamps, such as this one, were invented after The Great Stink of 1858.  During this event, London‘s sewers created an incredibly foul stench, one so bad that even the House of Commons was aware of the issue. The curtains of the House of Commons were supposedly soaked in chloride in an unsuccessful attempt to keep out the smell.  It was said that the smell was so bad that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli was seen running……

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Cengiz Özek sits at his desk in the dimly lit back office of his shadow theater near Taksim Square in central Istanbul. The theater is one of the last in operation in the city. He holds a piece of camel leather, a transparent sheet of paper with some sketches on it, and a small cutter. In front of him, lining a small recess on the wall, are bottles of pigment that he will use to create a tasvir, or……

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In the North Devon resort town of Ilfracombe stands an unusual sculpture, created by the often-controversial contemporary artist Damien Hirst. Standing 66.4 feet tall, Verity depicts a naked pregnant woman holding up a sword toward the sky and carrying the scales of justice. On the other side her internal anatomy is fully exposed, from the intricate muscular system to the fetus in her womb. Half of her head is a grinning skull and the skins on her limbs are peeling……

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Farmer Kristyn Leach wants to talk about her delicious harvest from last year. “Progress is good,” she tells me. As it happens, that’s a huge understatement. Kitazawa Seed Company, the retailer that sells Leach’s heirloom seed varieties, reports that sales are up tenfold. “Her seeds are just flying out the door. It’s pretty phenomenal,” says Maya Shiroyama, Kitazawa’s owner. “When she drops off her seeds, within a few days, we have to reorder.” But this was no overnight success…….

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On Washington State’s Protection Island, Marty Bluewater stands alone. A colony of gulls swoop and squawk around the sandy bluffs where he looks out to the sea, watching tufted puffins bob in the water in search of fish to feed their young. His morning music is the sound of waves crashing onto the beach below, where harbor seals stretch out under the sun. Bluewater is the only human resident of the roughly 400-acre island, which became a wildlife refuge……

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A stone’s throw from the Dickie Bird statue, also crafted by local sculptor Graham Ibbeson, is the tribute to the 1866 Oaks colliery disaster. The incident claimed the lives of 361 miners when firedamp caused huge explosions in the shafts. The sculpture depicts a woman carrying a child after hearing news of the explosions. Coal flows from her back, a reference to the fossil fuel being the backbone of the industry. Around the edges of the sculpture, a miner works……

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Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press to Europe after tinkering with the Chinese invention towards the middle of the 15th-century. It would take several more decades before this revolutionary mechanism found its way to the British Isles. It wouldn’t be until the 1500s when the city of York got its first printing press. The street of Stonegate was the designated area for print-shops and book stores. Like many businesses at that time, a wooden effigy or signpost would be……

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Surrounded by crumbling walls and a sprawling English park, the Rusovce Mansion is a decaying example of neoclassical architecture. There are records of a castle at this location dating back to 1266, but today visitors to the area will only see this once-glorious white mansion constructed between 1840 and 1906. Part of the foundation of the building dates back to the 16th-century. Several royal families once called the mansion home prior to World War II. During the conflict, the mansion……

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