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It s time for spring
It s time for spring
This 40-foot sundial stands atop the Parnidis Dune, one of the scenic highlights of the Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared by Lithuania and Russia. Built in 1995, the sundial was damaged by a hurricane a few years later and rebuilt in 2011. It accurately tells time by creating shadows on the steps, with notches for hours and half hours, as well as months, equinoxes, and solstices.Desktop Version
A circular celebration
A circular celebration
It"s Pi Day, the day we celebrate the mathematical constant π. This day was chosen because today"s date, March 14, expressed numerically, 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 circles that make up this bridge we"re looking at here in Copenhagen. (Who said math wasn"t useful in the real world?) Many people mark the day with activities based around mathematics—and most also serve pie. We can"t think of a more delicious way to study geometry.Desktop Version
What are these creatures?
What are these creatures?
No, this isn"t a still image from a sci-fi space opera. We"re offshore of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, watching a Glaucus atlanticus, aka "sea swallow" or "blue sea dragon," snack on the poisonous tentacles of a Porpita porpita, aka "blue button." At the tips of the blue button"s tentacles are stinging cells called nematocysts, but the venom doesn"t deter the sea swallow. Instead, once the sea swallow ingests the blue button"s poison, it stores the venom in the tips of its own feather-like fingers called papillae. Would-be predators should think twice before biting the sea swallow. The poison concentrated in its papillae can kill a predator in seconds. If you come across either of these creatures washed ashore, don"t touch! While the stings aren"t deadly to humans, they can cause skin irritation.Desktop Version
Oymyakon, Russia
Oymyakon, Russia
Oymyakon, Russia, is one of a few places claiming to be the coldest spot in the Northern Hemisphere, a northern "Pole of Cold." Centuries of evolving meteorological technology means some historic cold temperatures are considered more accurate than others. The record for ultimate cold is a hot debate.Desktop Version
Working for that cliffside view
Working for that cliffside view
Maine"s Acadia National Park serves up spectacular views at most every turn. But the park"s Otter Cliffs on Mount Desert Island offer the adventurous among us a chance to take in the picturesque Atlantic shoreline from the edge of a sheer granite wall. Rising some 60 feet above the crashing waves below, the cliffs are shown here at low tide—when the tide is up, that ledge at the bottom is completely submerged.Desktop Version
Henningsvær Stadion, Norway
Henningsvær Stadion, Norway
If you want to take in a soccer game and the grandiose beauty of the Norwegian Sea at the same time, this place is pitch perfect. Squeezed into a small Norwegian fishing village, it"s fair to say that Henningsvær Stadion"s grounds will probably never host a UEFA Champions League. But, while it lacks stands for spectators, there"s still plenty of atmosphere to soak up in this striking location. Those who play here do so surrounded by the sound of waves, seabirds, and the smells of salt air and cod, drying on the racks surrounding the pitch.Desktop Version
One for the books
One for the books
Today is the kickoff to the 20th Library of Congress National Book Festival, and for the first time it will be held entirely online. Nearly 120 authors, including Colson Whitehead, John Grisham, Ann Patchett, Walter Mosley, and Tomi Adeyemi, will appear on virtual stages to discuss the written word from September 25-27.Desktop Version
Why you should thank a nurse today
Why you should thank a nurse today
Artist Tristan Eaton created this mural, "Now & Forever," as part of a big thank you to nurses and other medical personnel during National Nurses Week last year in New York City. At the time, the city was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and an army of nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff delivered critical care under dire conditions. Now a year later, nurses continue their vital work of providing care for the residents of New York and everywhere else. National Nurses Week is observed annually from May 6-12 to honor the crucial role that nurses play in health care—as if we needed any reminder of that after the year we"ve had. Still, we invite everyone to thank a nurse this week for their skill, professionalism, grit, and warmth. Our debt to them is deep.Desktop Version
A learning garden
A learning garden
Today we’re at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire, England. The gardens have gone through many changes since 1931, when Beatrix Havergal and Avice Sanders first began turning the grounds of a country house into an educational public garden. (Waterperry grew much-needed produce during World War II.) The gardening school at Waterperry closed in 1971, and now the land is owned and operated by the School of Economic Science, which uses some of the buildings for study projects and retreats. Waterperry is a wonderful example of classic English gardening. Visitors can stroll through the aromatic knot garden seen on our homepage today, or explore other parts of the gardens, including orchards, a nursery, and a museum.Desktop Version
Let the holiday shopping commence
Let the holiday shopping commence
Were you among the crowds camped outside retail stores early this morning, hoping to cash in on Black Friday deals? Perhaps you can even see yourself reflected in these Christmas ornaments hanging in New York City’s Macy’s department store. The day after Thanksgiving is big business for retailers. Last year, 174 million Americans shopped on Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation, presumably moving retailers’ balance sheets from red (losses) to black (profits). But the term ‘Black Friday’ has a darker history. It was originally used to describe a financial crisis in 1869, and later adopted by Philadelphia police to describe post-Thanksgiving chaos at department stores in their city. Retailers later co-opted the phrase ‘Black Friday,’ giving it more positive connotations–a shift toward profitability at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season.Desktop Version
A big place to shop small
A big place to shop small
Small Business Saturday started in 2010 to get shoppers out of the big box stores the day after Black Friday to support local retailers instead. The US is home to more than 30 million small businesses (500 employees or fewer), representing 47 percent of private sector employees. Of course, the concept of patronizing local merchants is nothing new. Here in Marrakesh, Morocco, souks (markets) like this one in Jemaa el-Fnaa Square have long been a big part of daily life, as well as major tourist attractions. During the day, musicians, dancers, and even snake charmers entertain shoppers as they search for crafts, clothing, and other goods. At night, the focus shifts to dining, with dozens of stalls offering different specialties and takes on traditional Moroccan food.Desktop Version
For the love of bikes
For the love of bikes
In honor of World Bicycle Day, we share a bird"s-eye view from Utah of two mountain bikers riding on the Shafer Trail switchbacks of White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park. In 2018, the UN officially recognized "the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the Bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation."Desktop Version
A march toward a dream
A march toward a dream
For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we"re going back to August 28, 1963, to the March on Washington. Among those in the front line of demonstrators are baseball great Jackie Robinson and bus-boycott activist Rosa Parks, both towering figures in the civil rights movement. Later this day, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of a quarter-million protesters packed onto the National Mall. The speech is considered among the best in American history and a defining moment in the fight for civil rights. King was just 34 years old.Desktop Version
The crossroads of empires
The crossroads of empires
Today, we"re 11,000 feet above sea level in the city of Cusco, in the Peruvian Andes. Cusco is considered the historical capital of Peru, a designation that"s even enshrined in the country"s constitution. The city served as a capital for the Incan Empire in the three centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.Desktop Version
Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
Welcome to Chicago, the undisputed home of the blues. If you’re a fan of blues music, make your way here to Millennium Park this weekend for the 36th annual Chicago Blues Festival. Blues music is considered one of America’s greatest contributions to world culture and the progenitor of jazz, R&B, and rock & roll.Desktop Version
Up in the Highlands
Up in the Highlands
There"s a good chance the occupants of that car you can see in this photo, winding along a remote highway in the Highlands of Iceland, won"t encounter any other visitors to this desolate region. Accessible only during the summertime, roads across the Icelandic Highlands pass through mostly uninhabited volcanic desert. Frequent volcanic activity in the area creates a porous topsoil full of chemical compounds that aren"t conducive to plant growth. Besides, much of the rainfall is quickly absorbed so plant life only appears alongside glacial rivers. Despite this seemingly unwelcoming environment, adventurous travelers come to the Highlands every summer to see firsthand an ecosystem so unearthly that NASA conducted training missions here for some of its Apollo astronauts.Desktop Version
A special day for a special cat
A special day for a special cat
With short, limber legs and a long tail, the clouded leopard is perfectly adapted for living in the trees. Flexible ankle joints allow it to descend trunks headfirst, one of only two cat species that can pull this off. A long tail provides stabilizing balance for leaps between trees. Sharp, retractable claws let this jungle climber dangle off branches in all sorts of gravity-defying positions.Desktop Version
What are we looking at?
What are we looking at?
On National Poinsettia Day we"re taking an up-close look at a poinsettia leaf. Although many people assume the red, white, pink, purple, or marbled colors are flowers, they"re actually bracts, a type of leaf that aids in reproduction, usually by turning color as the plant develops true flowers. On the poinsettia, the bracts, surrounding small yellow clustered buds called cyathia, flag down pollinators just as flower petals do.Desktop Version
A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
The gunfight that occurred here in Tombstone, Arizona, on this day in 1881 has become the stuff of legend. In a 30-second shootout known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, lawmen Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday faced off against a band of outlaws known as the Cochise County Cowboys. Justice was harsh in the Old West. When the dust had settled, three were dead and several others wounded. But most accounts of the event are wrong about one key detail—the location. The shootout actually took place near C. S. Fly’s Photographic Studio, about six doors west of the corral"s rear entrance. We suppose ‘Gunfight near C. S. Fly’s’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.Desktop Version
Gazing upon Portraits of Change
Gazing upon Portraits of Change
For the start of Women"s History Month, we"ve come to Union Station in Washington, DC, to view a mosaic of historical photographs of thousands of American women who fought to win voting rights. The ratification of the 19th Amendment, on August 18, 1920, finally secured the legal right of women to vote, but this mainly benefited white women. Despite heroic contributions to achieve suffrage, Black, Indigenous, and other women of color continued to face barriers to voting in the form of poll taxes, restrictive local laws, and hostile intimidation. This mosaic, called "Our Story: Portraits of Change," attempts to show a more complex history of the fight for American women"s right to vote.Desktop Version
Taiwan yuhinas in Alishan National Scenic Area
Taiwan yuhinas in Alishan National Scenic Area
The Taiwan yuhina is a chirpy little bird with an eye-catching crest. Found only on the island of Taiwan, they constantly chatter while feeding and sometimes hang upside-down on cherry trees like bats. Birdwatchers can glimpse the small songbirds at Taiwan’s Alishan National Scenic Area, which features postcard-worthy forest trails and picturesque sunrises.Desktop Version
Lake Tai s cherry trees in bloom
Lake Tai s cherry trees in bloom
The tranquil appearance of Lake Tai belies its location within Wuxi, China, a metropolis of 7.5 million people in southern Jiangsu province. A short distance to the east is the megacity of Shanghai. But city life feels a world away here at China"s third-largest freshwater lake. More than 20 miles across in places, Lake Tai provides a needed retreat from urban life, drawing locals and tourists to its picturesque shores.Desktop Version
Manatee Awareness Month
Manatee Awareness Month
Today we wish this gentle giant of Florida"s warm waters a safe and happy Manatee Awareness Month. Closer cousins to elephants than to fellow sea mammals such as whales and dolphins, manatees follow a fully herbivorous diet of sea grasses and other marine plants—so these fish hanging out with our buddy here needn"t fear becoming a manatee"s lunch.Desktop Version
Summer winds down in the Hamptons
Summer winds down in the Hamptons
As summer unofficially wraps up, we"re looking at Reedy Island, an islet that sits in Moneyboque Bay, across from Westhampton Beach on Long Island, New York. The Hamptons is a collection of villages and hamlets with plenty of sandy beachfront that have long been a popular upscale summer destination for New Yorkers looking to escape the city. This year, that migration started early, as city dwellers headed east in the spring in search of space to social distance. In summer, the beaches, of course, are the main attraction, but the area is also known for dining and nightlife (complete with celebrity spotting), wineries, and family-owned farms and farm stands. And the end of summer isn"t all bad news, at least for the local economy. As temperatures cool and crowds (usually) thin out, the farms shift gears to apple cider and pumpkins, and by November, the harvesting of Peconic Bay scallops begins.Desktop Version
India Republic Day
India Republic Day
You might never guess that this ornate, skylit building, with an exterior covered in intricate carvings and artwork, was once a military base. Perched high on a hill above the city of Jodhpur, the colossal Mehrangarh Fort—aka the Citadel of the Sun—was built nearly five centuries before its home country became a democratic republic.Desktop Version