Author: Ms. R.

At first glance, this structure appears to be an enigma. It’s a bridge between two granite monoliths, an above-ground tunnel, and an aqueduct carrying water over a creek. This structure is actually part of an elaborate water system. The Feather River Canyon is a scenic wonder. Sheer granite slabs rise hundreds of feet above the water. Almost equally impressive are the measures engineers have taken to conquer this rugged terrain. Constructed in 1949, the Cresta Power Dam diverts water……

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During the early 20th-century, several violent and controversial Iron Workers’ Union (IWU) strikes, protests, and a lengthy, but largely victim-free bombing campaign enraged Harrison Grey Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times.  The IWU had a rare stronghold in Los Angeles and the two were on a collision course. In 1910, brothers John and James McNamara were tasked with organizing a bombing of  the newspaper plant. James left a case of dynamite with a detonator in an alley alongside……

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In a Youtube video, entitled A Tale of Two Fritters, Ozoz Sokoh is in her kitchen making both akara, a Nigerian bean fritter, and acarajé, the Brazilian equivalent. As she reviews the ingredients and aromatics—black-eyed peas, Thai and Scotch bonnet peppers for heat, tomatoes, ginger, and orange-red palm oil, it’s easy to see that the two dishes, though from different continents, are obviously related. Sokoh, a food historian born in Nigeria and currently living in Canada, is an expert……

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The county of Norfolk contains the world’s greatest concentration of medieval churches, with over 650. Since some of these churches date from at least half a millennia ago, some have not survived as well as others. In the woods of East Somerton barely stands one such church. St Mary’s church, with its glassless windows, tumbling walls, and a tower in which one can look up into the open sky, is the definition of a romantic ruin. Dating from the……

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Legend has it that during the reign of King Jinheung of Silla, the county magistrate of today’s Goryongpo witnessed an extraordinary sight, ten dragons soared skyward as a sudden storm raged. A bolt of lightning hit one of the dragons, causing it to fall into the sea. This somehow calmed the storm and the county was later named Goryongpo, meaning Nine Dragons’ Beach. Located on the near-easternmost point of Korea facing the Sea of Japan, this eup (town) became home to……

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In the ancient beech forests of Monte Fogliano, a 16th-century holy man, Fra Girolamo Gabrielli from Siena instructed his city’s craftsmen to carve a rock-dwelling from an enormous volcanic boulder. Gabrielli was seeking a place to pray and meditate. He resided in the woods for a few years, from 1525 onwards, before the descent of Landsknecht mercenaries from the Germanic regions of Europe onto Rome. This led to the destruction of the city and interrupted his peaceful, solitary life. According to……

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More than 400 years ago, the coastal community of Patuxet was one of dozens belonging to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, spread across much of what’s now New England. The Wampanoag called the region home for more than 12,000 years, but most history books have reduced them to a footnote. Today, schoolchildren typically learn only that the tribe helped the Pilgrims survive their first year at Plymouth, established where Patuxet once stood. To show their gratitude, the European arrivals invited……

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While this building has been included on lists of the ugliest buildings in the world, it’s still an impressive sight. The building is designed as an inverted steel pyramid that glows burnt orange in the sunlight. Completed in the mid-1980s, this building continues to house Radio and Television of Slovakia, a public broadcasting station. There have been several rumors that claim the shape of the building actually affects energy flow or that the building was modeled after the Great……

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