Bing Images archive 2019/03

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  2019-03-01Forward-thinking women of history

  How will you observe Women’s History Month? To get us started, we’re taking a close look at the Boston Women’s Memorial. In the foreground of our homepage photo today, we see a statue of Phillis Wheatley, the first African American woman to publish a book of her own poetry. The statue in the background depicts Abigail Adams, who was so politically and socially active in the early years of the US, that she is referred to as a Founding Mother and sometimes added to the list of Founding Fathers. Adams used her position as the wife of President John Adams to speak out against slavery, and in favor of women’s rights.

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  2019-03-02You won’t see this on Mulberry Street

  We’re celebrating Dr. Seuss Day with a glimpse of Vinicunca, a colorful mountain in the Andes range of Peru. Varied layers of mineral deposits, weathered and oxidized over the years, provide the bright, contrasting striations, inspiring an alternate name for this spot: Rainbow Mountain. We think it looks like the wild environments dreamed up by famed children’s author Dr. Seuss. In particular, it reminds us of his book, ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’: ‘You"re off to Great Places! Today is your Day! Your mountain is waiting. So...Get on your way!’ Do you have a favorite Seuss book?

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  2019-03-03Fin whales: A success story

  Today marks the fifth anniversary of World Wildlife Day, the United Nations-backed celebration of all the animals that share our planet. And this is the first year that World Wildlife Day is focusing on marine life. Fin whales, like the one in our photo today, are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the conservation status rankings. So, they’re threatened by climate change, pollution, shipping, and other concerns, but they’ve bounced back from the brink since the early 1900s, by which time centuries of whaling crews had hunted fin whales to near extinction.

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  2019-03-04The eloquence of elephants

  Okay, this herd of African bush elephants probably doesn’t celebrate National Grammar Day with the rest of us. But scientists are studying the sometimes surprising ways in which African elephants converse—including the ultra-low frequency vocal sounds they make that are imperceptible to humans. These subharmonic ‘rumblings’ vibrate through the ground and can be felt by other elephants on the bottoms of their feet. And who knows, maybe these sounds follow a kind of grammatical structure we don’t yet comprehend. But perhaps we should start by trying to master English grammar.

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  2019-03-05Stompin’ with the Big Chief

  Today’s Bing photo shows Mardi Gras Indians parading at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which generally happens in April or May. But the big day for all the Mardi Gras Indians is today, Fat Tuesday itself.

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  2019-03-06Dreaming of the Tyrrhenian Sea

  Perhaps you’ve been to Rome and Venice and are looking for a new destination to explore in Italy? (Hey, we can dream too.) Consider then the village of Cefalù on the northern coast of the island of Sicily, about 40 miles from Palermo. Over the centuries, the town has been under Greek, Roman, Arab, and Norman rule, all of which have influenced the architecture and culture. Our photo looks across the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea toward the village, with the sun’s rays reflecting off Cefalù Cathedral, the massive church-cum-fortress that dominates the skyline.

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  2019-03-07March of the flowers

  Our photo today captures the blaze of color from California brittlebush, poppies, and a variety of other flowers that signal the arrival of spring to Lost Dutchman State Park, just east of Phoenix, Arizona. March is usually when wildflowers in the Arizona deserts begin to bloom, and Lost Dutchman is a great place to get a dose of the colorful display. If you’re wondering what the name of the park is all about, take our homepage quiz to find out who the Lost Dutchman was…

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  2019-03-08‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’

  Our headline quotes the 2019 theme of International Women’s Day, a UN-sponsored event that champions women’s achievements and calls for more gender parity around the globe. The policewomen on our homepage—from Nepal, Madagascar, and Colombia—were photographed in 2016 at an International Women’s Day celebration in Haiti, where they served as part of a UN peacekeeping mission to help stabilize the government. By having women involved in the mission, organizers were already in the spirit of Women"s Day, as studies show that more diversity leads to better results.

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  2019-03-09Let the harvest begin

  It’s late summer in Argentina—harvest time for the nation’s grape crop. Though mechanical grape harvesters have been available since the 1960s, many wineries still prefer to handpick grapes to ensure gentler handling and a higher-quality grape selection. Both methods seem to work well in Mendoza; the region has become the largest wine producer in Argentina, best known for its high-altitude malbec wines made from grapes grown in the foothills of the Andes. Salud!

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  2019-03-10In praise of the pipes

  International Bagpipe Day invites musicians to get out and play their pipes—anywhere, and for anyone. We’re guessing that the distinctive roof of the Sydney Opera House is off-limits to most, but these pipers are members of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, an infantry battalion in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and surely that comes with privileges. It’s commonly believed that bagpipes originated in Scotland, but evidence suggests that the instrument may have first been played in the Middle East some 3,000 years ago. That’s right, the piping tradition predates tartans and kilts.

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  2019-03-11You re feeling sleepy

  If springing forward for daylight saving time has you feeling drowsy, grumpy, or unproductive, then National Napping Day was literally made for you. Created in 1999 by Boston University professor William Anthony, this annual event is observed on the day most Americans are "nap-ready." So, take a cue from this African leopard and find a comfy place to catnap.

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  2019-03-12The otherworldly red river

  The Rio Tinto, in Andalusia, Spain, gets its strange color from dissolving iron deposits in the highly acidic water. Beginning more than 5,000 years ago, this area was mined for gold, silver, and other treasures. And archeological evidence suggests that about 3,000 years ago this may have been the site of King Solomon’s legendary mines. Scientists believe that pollution from the mines contributed to the extreme ecological conditions we see in the Rio Tinto today.

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  2019-03-13A look at Uranus, seventh planet from the sun

  British astronomer William Herschel first observed Uranus on this date in 1781, though the planet didn’t get its name for nearly another 70 years. Uranus was named after the Greek god of the sky—but has become the "butt" of many middle-school jokes. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.) The planet, along with Neptune, is considered an ‘ice giant,’ with most of its mass made up of a hot, dense fluid of ‘icy’ materials including water, methane, and ammonia all hovering above its small, rocky core. It’s the methane that makes the planet appear blue—the chemical compound absorbs red light from the sun and reflects the blue light back into space. Not only is it cold out there, but it’s also a little lonely. Uranus can’t support life as we know it, and the unmanned space probe Voyager 2, which took this photo, is so far the only spacecraft to fly by.

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  2019-03-14Rocky mountain pi

  It’s Pi Day, the day we celebrate the mathematical constant π. This day was chosen since today’s date expressed numerically (in US format) matches the number’s first digits, 3.14. Pi represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It can be used to compute the area and circumference of a circle, such as the crop patterns we"re looking at here in Colorado. (Who said math wasn"t useful in the real world?) Many towns, schools, and museums mark the day with festivities based around mathematics and, of course, serving pie. We can’t think of a more delicious way to study geometry.

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  2019-03-15A plot was afoot

  We"re at the Roman Forum for the ides of March, a day made famous by the assassination of Julius Caesar. While Shakespeare"s Caesar was warned to "beware the ides of March," historians have never attributed the phrase to those who tipped off the actual Caesar about a plot against him. But we do know that before March 15, 44 BCE was over, Caesar was assassinated. Afterward, Rome descended into war, ending the Roman Republic and leading to the rise of the Roman Empire.

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  2019-03-16Quilts as high art

  The high-contrast quilts you see here are just a few of the 651 works that were included in a 2011 exhibit of red and white quilts spanning three centuries at the American Folk Art Museum in NYC. Ever since the Whitney Museum of American Art held a quilt-focused art exhibit back in 1971, quilts have often hung in galleries and museums as artworks rather than folk crafts. For centuries, though, quilts had a much more utilitarian use—warmth. (Of course, their decorative designs added to the pleasure they gave.) Quilting has a long tradition in the United States, going back to colonial times. Quilts were created not only for bedding but also to commemorate special occasions, like a wedding or a new baby. Quilting bees brought out the whole community—including many men—to share the work.

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  2019-03-17St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

  For centuries, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland was not a loud, celebratory holiday, but more of a quiet observance of the feast day on March 17. It didn’t become an official public holiday in Ireland until 1903. Then in 1996, the capital city of Dublin started embracing the way St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the US and other places outside Ireland with large Irish populations: It began hosting a festival that’s become so popular, even government agencies housed in Dublin’s Government Buildings—seen in our photo today—get in on the fun by bathing their building’s façade in green light. A big parade and performances celebrating Irish culture are the order of the day here and at St. Patrick’s festivals throughout the country.

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  2019-03-18Next stop, Tofino

  Gray whales migrate between their feeding grounds and breeding grounds each year. North Pacific gray whales wisely spend the winter at their breeding grounds in the warm waters off the Baja California Peninsula. Then, by mid-March, as the whales return north, they pass by the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Tofino, en route to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Tofino, an outdoorsy retreat on Clayoquot Sound, provides a breathtaking backdrop for whale watchers this time of year. After the whales have passed through, the area continues to attract outdoor enthusiasts who are drawn to legendary surfing, hiking, and storm watching along the dramatic coastline.

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  2019-03-19The smoke before the bonfire

  Today marks the fifth, final, fantastic day of this noisy, fire-and-smoke-filled holiday in Valencia, Spain. It"s called Las Fallas (or ‘Las Falles’ in the Valencian spelling), which means ‘torches’ in colloquial translation. While the origins of the festival aren’t entirely clear, the current customs borrow elements of pre-Christian spring festivals, Carnival, and the feast of St. Joseph—which is Father’s Day in this region. Each day of the festival follows a schedule of marching bands in the mornings and fireworks in the afternoon, which is what’s happening in our photo. There are dancers in traditional costumes as well, but the real spectacle comes tonight, as the parade of large, often bawdy wood and papier-mâché figures called ninots are marched through the streets and then added to a huge bonfire to welcome spring.

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  2019-03-20Hello, spring!

  Today’s the first day of spring, otherwise known as the spring equinox. But what is an equinox, exactly? The answer lies in the tilt of the Earth’s axis. When it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere, those of us above the equator are tilted away from the sun, giving us shorter days and longer nights. In summer, we’re tilted toward the sun, so we can enjoy longer days and shorter nights. But the equinox is right in between. It"s the moment during Earth"s annual revolution around the sun when its axis is neither tilting away nor tilting toward the sun, giving everyone on the planet an equal split of day and night. This phenomenon happens twice a year—in March and again in September. For folks in the Northern Hemisphere, today signals a shift toward the long days of summer. But in the Southern Hemisphere, everything"s flipped. It"s the autumnal equinox today—and, yes, winter is coming.

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  2019-03-21The power of the forest

  For International Day of Forests today, we’re looking at a baobab grove in Senegal. The indigenous cultures of sub-Saharan Africa, where baobabs grow wild, have long relied on the trees for a variety of uses. The fruit, seeds, and leaves are all edible, and in Tanzania, the wood pulp is a fermentation ingredient in local beers. Forests of all kinds provide many natural resources that humans use, and sometimes overuse. This year’s theme for International Day of Forests is ‘forests and education’; it’s an effort to get us all thinking about the more abstract benefits of healthy forests. A dense forest can clean both the air and water by pulling carbon compounds and other pollutants out of the ecosystem, and forests greatly reduce erosion.

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  2019-03-22Fresh water on the Silk Road

  No, these aren’t the ruins of an ancient amusement park in Western China. These two water wheels on the Tashkurgan River are part of the irrigation system that helps keep the 13,000 or so residents of Tashkurgan supplied with fresh water even though the region receives less than 3 inches of precipitation each year. That reliable access to fresh water is one of the reasons this area has been inhabited for thousands of years and made it an important stop on the ancient Silk Road trade route. Highlighting the importance of fresh water is the goal of World Water Day, which falls on March 22 every year. This year’s theme is "Leaving no one behind." With over 2.1 billion people living without safe water at home, it’s one of the most ambitious of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

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  2019-03-23What happened to these clouds?

  Today is World Meteorology Day, so we’re high up in the atmosphere, above the clouds, for a satellite view of fallstreak holes. These gaps in the clouds are sometimes called hole-punch clouds. The holes form when supercooled water droplets suddenly freeze—often when a plane flies through the cloud—and then fall, leaving an opening in the formation. Scientists are still gaining new insights on how fallstreak holes form and behave.

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  2019-03-2430 years after Exxon Valdez

  Thirty years ago today, the largest oil tanker spill in US history occurred here in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Nearly 11 million gallons of oil flowed into the once-pristine waters when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef. The area is so remote that cleanup efforts were delayed, allowing 1,300 miles of shoreline to be contaminated. The US Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that among other casualties, more than 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and 22 orcas were lost. The spill, while devastating, has provided a living laboratory as scientists study how the ecosystem recovers—and doesn’t. Some species and their habitat are still impacted by the spill. There is at least one highlight: Government agencies say the sea otter population here has fully recovered; however, the local subspecies as a whole remains endangered.

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  2019-03-25Greece celebrates its independence

  For Greek Independence Day, we’ve got a sprawling view of Athens, one of the oldest cities in the world and considered the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, and the Olympic Games, among other foundational achievements. While Athens has been inhabited for thousands of years, it became the capital of Greece after the country gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, which started in 1821 and lasted until 1829. Back then, the city was home to about 4,000 people. Today, more than 600,000 people live in Athens, with nearly 4 million in the metro area. Independence Day celebrations in the city start on March 24 with the annual students" parade and continue the following day with a grand parade that features marching bands and a procession of military vehicles.

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  2019-03-26The forecast calls for blooms

  Cherry blossom season in Japan is a beloved tradition that involves family gatherings, festivals, and spending time outdoors. Admiring the ‘sakura’—or cherry blossoms—has been a national pastime for centuries. The custom of enjoying the cherry blossoms is known as ‘hanami,’ and it’s commonly done by picnicking under the flowering branches. For late-night picnics, participants hang paper lanterns in the trees to illuminate the blooms. This image comes from the Meguro River, a popular place for viewing the sakura in Tokyo. Are there cherry trees blooming where you live?

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  2019-03-27Sweet! It’s maple syrup season

  That sweetness in the air is not just the arrival of springtime—maple syrup season has arrived in Quebec. Taps drilled into the maple trees collect oozing sap in buckets like these. The sap is then heated to evaporate excess water, leaving the concentrated sugary syrup—yum. And Canada takes its maple syrup very seriously. Producing about 70 percent of the world’s maple syrup, Quebec even has its own ‘maple syrup cartel,’ which works to keep prices stable and maintains the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. Now, that’s sticky business.

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  2019-03-28Let us introduce you…

  Say hello to the rufous-tailed hummingbird. This female is sitting in her tiny nest. Males look similar—lots of green, just like the females, but they have a bit more glitter on the throat and breast. Both sexes have a reddish-brown (rufous) forked tail—hence the name. Rufous-tailed hummingbirds are found in forests, gardens, and coffee plantations from southern Mexico down into South America, and they play an important role in pollination. Not to be confused with the smaller rufous hummingbird, which migrates through North America, the rufous-tailed is medium-sized and, like most hummingbirds, is very territorial when it comes to protecting its favorite feeding spots.

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  2019-03-29A place called ‘Peace’ in India

  Today we"re visiting Auroville, India, aka "The City of Dawn." In 1968, French-born guru and yogi Mirra Alfassa founded this spiritual community in southern India as a place where people of all races, religions, and nationalities could live together peacefully. Although conceived as a utopia for 50,000, only about 2,800 people from over 50 countries live here today. The golden metallic orb, the Matrimandir, is considered the soul of the city, standing in the center of the 2,000-acre township in an area called "Peace." Silence is maintained inside the sphere. A spiraling ramp leads up to a white-marble, air-conditioned inner chamber designed for one to find one"s consciousness. Reservations required—at least for tourists.

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  2019-03-30Here’s why landmarks are going dark

  Buildings around the world will go dark for 60 minutes this evening in a voluntary event known as Earth Hour. This grassroots effort was started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, by the Australian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (aka World Wildlife Fund), which encouraged Sydneysiders to show their support for climate action. Since then, it’s grown into a global movement to raise awareness of our energy consumption and the effects of climate change on our planet.

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  2019-03-31Celebrating a Paris landmark

  Today we celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower, which doesn’t look a day over 129, if you ask us. The wrought-iron latticework tower is named for French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose firm designed and built the structure. Originally created for the 1889 World’s Fair, the Eiffel Tower was the world"s tallest structure for more than 40 years, until New York’s Chrysler Building edged it out in 1930.