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Marine Day, Japan
Marine Day, Japan
Today, we"re floating across the waves, following the ocean currents to Japan. Marine Day—海の日, Umi no Hi in Japanese—is celebrated on the third Monday in July. Japan has 14,125 islands and has over 18,400 miles of coastline, so it"s no wonder the sea plays such a key role in its culture. It provides much of the country"s food and is vital for trading and communicating with other nations.Desktop Version
National Aviation Day
National Aviation Day
Established in 1939 to honor Orville Wright"s birthday, National Aviation Day kicks off a week-long celebration of America"s long history of flight. Pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright designed, built, and flew the world"s first engine-powered airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. America"s love of flight, however, goes all the way back to 1793, when President George Washington watched a hot air balloon launch in Philadelphia.Desktop Version
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Time is of the essence today: The second Sunday of March marks the start of daylight saving time. At 2 AM the clocks sprang forward one hour, meaning there will be an extra hour of daylight this evening. While Benjamin Franklin is often credited with inventing daylight saving, the first real proposal for changing the clocks came in 1895 from New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, who valued having more daylight so he could collect insects after work.Desktop Version
Rice terraces of Mù Cang Chải, Yên Bái province, Vietnam
Rice terraces of Mù Cang Chải, Yên Bái province, Vietnam
Amid the rolling hills of northern Vietnam"s Yên Bái province, the rice terraces of Mù Cang Chải district are a mosaic of agricultural excellence. The Hmong people, an ethnic minority who migrated here from China in the 19th century, have meticulously carved these cascading hills for generations. Mù Cang Chải boasts approximately 5,500 acres of terraced rice fields, which flood with water between September and October, reflecting the surrounding mountains and sky. Visitors can also indulge in Vietnamese dishes and colorful souvenirs at the local markets or climb to the peak of La Pan Tan village to enjoy views of this stunning landscape.Desktop Version
Splügen Pass, Switzerland
Splügen Pass, Switzerland
With their twists and turns, record heights, and breathtaking vistas, mountain roads are not for the faint-hearted. Pictured here is the historic Splügen Pass, which winds its way through the Lepontine Alps, on the border of Switzerland and Italy. Although its modern version was built between 1818-1823, the Splügen Pass existed in some form as far back as Roman times. At 6,936 feet high, it is one of the highest paved roads in Europe, with 51 marked hairpin bends. It is closed in winter but, if spectacular mountainside views and picturesque lakes tickle your fancy, you can enjoy this ascent between June and mid-October. Have we "peaked" your interest yet?Desktop Version
Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
Striking appearance, strong presence, and impressive antlers—meet the red deer, photographed in the ancient forests of Glen Affric, one of Scotland"s most beautiful valleys. Found across Europe, Asia, and parts of North Africa, this species is Britain"s largest land mammal and an integral part of the Caledonian pinewoods, Scotland"s coniferous forests. From featuring in cave art found throughout Europe to medieval hunting traditions, red deer have always held a special place in the human imagination. In many parts of the world, their image is synonymous with the wild, free spirit of nature. Glen Affric, with its lochs, moorlands, and mountains, provides the perfect habitat for these magnificent creatures. This national nature reserve is also popular with hikers, climbers, and nature enthusiasts.Desktop Version
European beech forest, Belgium
European beech forest, Belgium
Beech trees are pretty amazing. There are several species worldwide, but the European beech steals the spotlight in much of Europe. With its smooth gray bark, short trunk, and sweeping branches, this tree is a standout in Belgium"s forests, as shown in today"s image. It grows in temperate regions and prefers well-drained, fertile soils, taking up to 30 years to mature. Not only do these 160-foot-tall trees dominate the landscape, but their wood is also used to make some of the sturdiest furniture, flooring, and even kitchen tools.Desktop Version
Anniversary of the British Museum
Anniversary of the British Museum
January 15, 1759, marked the opening of a place that would become the pride of London, a hub of global history, and a keeper of countless stories: the British Museum. For the first time, a national museum flung its doors wide open, offering free access to knowledge and culture for all. The story begins with Sir Hans Sloane, an Anglo-Irish physician and avid collector. His collection of more than 71,000 items, ranging from books and manuscripts to botanical samples and antiquities, formed the museum"s foundation. Fast-forward nearly 266 years, and the museum houses more than 8 million objects, the largest collection of artifacts in the world, although only about 1% of the collection is currently on display. Its treasures span continents and millennia, from the Rosetta Stone—key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs—to the Parthenon Marbles, the Benin Bronzes, and samurai armor.Desktop Version
Tassili n’Ajjer, Sahara, Algeria
Tassili n’Ajjer, Sahara, Algeria
From the Mediterranean coast to the vast Sahara, Algeria in North Africa has a wide variety of landscapes. Today, we"re exploring the area around the Tassili n"Ajjer plateau. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is famed for its rock formations and cave art. More than 15,000 ancient engravings, some dating back 12,000 years, depict scenes of daily life, hunting, and mystical beings.Desktop Version
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Few people in modern history have captured our imagination as much as the famed aviator Amelia Earhart, born on this day in 1897. She was doubly a pioneer of her day, a skilled pilot when flying was a relatively new and daring endeavor, and a woman in a field dominated by men. Earhart"s legend was made, sadly, not as much by her piloting accomplishments as by her sudden disappearance in 1937 when her fame was still ascending. The 39-year-old famously went missing, along with navigator Fred Noonan, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, near Howland Island, while attempting to fly around the world. The official search for Earhart and Noonan lasted 17 days. The US Navy and Coast Guard searched 150,000 square miles of the Pacific, an effort that became the most expensive search in history at the time. Her husband, George Putnam, led a private search in the months that followed. No verified trace of Earhart, Noonan, or the twin-propeller Lockheed Electra plane has ever been found.Desktop Version
Celtic Colours International Festival, Canada
Celtic Colours International Festival, Canada
The Celtic Colours International Festival begins today in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. This festival celebrates the area"s inhabitants, including 19th-century settlers who came from Scotland and Ireland. Because of Cape Breton Island"s isolation and the lack of outside influences, the culture and traditions of these settlers remained particularly strong. Held when the island"s fall colors are most vibrant, the festival has blossomed into a nine-day extravaganza that coincides with the warm red, orange, and yellow autumn foliage.Desktop Version
National Hummingbird Day
National Hummingbird Day
Every first Saturday in September, bird enthusiasts and nature lovers gather to celebrate National Hummingbird Day. This day is dedicated to appreciating these tiny, agile birds and their role as a pollinator in our ecosystem. Hummingbirds are known for their incredible speed; they can flap their wings up to 80 times per second, allowing them to hover in place and even fly backward. Emily Dickinson aptly describes their swift movement: "A Route of Evanescence / With a revolving Wheel—." Their high metabolism requires them to eat constantly, so they spend their days flitting from flower to flower, sipping nectar and catching insects. Fun fact: these birds can remember every flower they"ve visited and how long it will take a flower to refill with nectar.Desktop Version
Brown pelican, San Diego, California
Brown pelican, San Diego, California
Today"s image features the brown pelican, a bird that doesn"t just fly but soars, spots, and dives with unmatched precision. Although it"s the smallest of the eight pelican species worldwide, it"s still a large bird, measuring about 4 feet in length and having a wingspan of 6.5 feet. It"s a marine-dwelling species and can be spotted along the Atlantic coast of the Americas, from New Jersey to the mouth of the Amazon River. On the Pacific coast, it can be spotted from British Columbia all the way to Peru, including a stop at the Galápagos Islands.Desktop Version
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Fancy a walk through the Smokies in Tennessee, seen in today"s image? Spanning over 522,000 acres between North Carolina and Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a treasure trove of natural beauty and biodiversity. Home to more than 19,000 documented species, scientists estimate that tens of thousands more remain undiscovered. Miles of hiking trails wind through the dense woodlands, leading adventurers to cascading waterfalls and scenic overlooks. The park also boasts some of the highest mountains in the eastern United States, including Clingmans Dome, which rises to 6,643 feet. Visitors are often enchanted by the mist that blankets the peaks each morning, giving the park its mystical name. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve.Desktop Version
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
The streets come alive today with a symphony of firecrackers, red lanterns, and cheerful chatter—it"s Chinese New Year. Steeped in thousands of years of tradition, this holiday marks the start of the lunisolar Chinese calendar. One of the most captivating images associated with this festival is the dragon dance, pictured here. Skilled dancers manipulate a long, flexible dragon puppet, bringing it to life with sinuous, undulating movements. The dragon, a symbol of power, dignity, and good fortune, is believed to bring luck to the community, with longer dragons bringing even more prosperity.Desktop Version
Joshua Tree National Park, California
Joshua Tree National Park, California
California"s Joshua Tree National Park has a history that began way before it was made a national monument on August 10, 1936. Located where the Mojave and Colorado Deserts meet, it has been home to various cultures for thousands of years. Its earliest known residents were people from the Pinto Culture, who lived here from 8000 to 4000 BCE. Centuries later, this land was inhabited by the native Cahuilla, Serrano, and Chemehuevi peoples. The park"s namesake, the Joshua tree, grows in a landscape covering 1,242 square miles. Despite their name, they are not really trees, but rather a kind of succulent. Native to southwest US and northern Mexico, they can grow up to 40 feet tall.Desktop Version
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
Get ready to revel—Mardi Gras is here! Also called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the holiday was originally celebrated to live life to the fullest before fasting and giving up other indulgences for Lent. For some, it"s just an excuse to party.Desktop Version
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
These fascinating red hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah are best explored on foot! The park"s hiking trails guide you among the world"s largest collection of hoodoos, which are rock spires formed by erosion. The horseshoe-shaped natural amphitheaters create a surreal landscape that changes with the play of sunlight. The area was initially inhabited by Native American tribes, including the Paiute people. Although there is no evidence of them having lived there permanently, Paiute Indians used the Paunsaugunt Plateau for seasonal hunting and gathering. Designated a national park in 1928, Bryce Canyon is dotted with several viewpoints like Inspiration Point, Yovimpa Point, and Rainbow Point, which offer panoramic vistas of the surrounding topography.Desktop Version
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Welcome to this eco-travelers" paradise in the middle of the Pacific. Situated halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa, the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2001 to conserve, manage, and restore the nation"s fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats.Desktop Version
Anniversary of Pinnacles National Park, California
Anniversary of Pinnacles National Park, California
Jagged pinnacles and spires, monoliths, and unusual caves—welcome to Pinnacles National Park in central California. President Theodore Roosevelt designated the area as a national monument in 1908, and Pinnacles would earn its status as a national park in 2013. As we celebrate the park"s anniversary today, let"s take a moment to appreciate this landscape. Pinnacles owes its formations to an ancient volcanic eruption that occurred 23 million years ago. The fiery beginnings made towering spires, cliffs, and talus caves, which are created by falling boulders wedged into narrow canyons. Over millennia, tectonic forces shifted the landmass northward, leaving the park far from its volcanic birthplace. Talk about a journey!Desktop Version
Happy International Zebra Day!
Happy International Zebra Day!
Celebrate the beauty of zebras on International Zebra Day! These striking animals, known for their unique black and white patterns, are mostly found in the African savanna, stretching from Kenya to South Africa. Of the three zebra species, Grévy"s zebra, plains zebra, and mountain zebra, the Grévy"s zebra is the most endangered, with more than half its population lost in only three decades. While plains zebras are thriving, mountain zebras face significant threats, such as poaching and habitat encroachment. Zebras play an essential role in the ecosystems they live in, coexisting with predators like lions and hyenas while shaping the grasslands they call home.Desktop Version
International Whale Shark Day
International Whale Shark Day
Today we’re celebrating the world"s largest fish, the whale shark. These gentle giants can grow up to 40 feet long, with one reaching a record 61.7 feet. Found in tropical oceans, these filter feeders glide through the water, mouths wide open, straining plankton and small fish. The patterns on their dotted, starry skin are as unique as a human fingerprint. Sadly, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists whale sharks as endangered due to overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change.Desktop Version
Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
Today is a big day for conservation—it"s the anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Passed in the US in 1973, this law was a game-changer, ensuring that economic growth wouldn"t steamroll over species at risk of disappearing forever. For the first time, plants were given protection too, and the focus shifted from merely avoiding extinction to actively helping species recover to the point where they could thrive without protection.Desktop Version
World Theater Day
World Theater Day
Lights on, curtains rise—it"s World Theater Day. Since 1961, this annual event by the International Theater Institute (ITI) has united audiences and artists in a shared appreciation of storytelling, creativity, and culture. Every year, a renowned theater figure is invited by ITI to deliver a message that resonates across the industry. Their words are translated into more than 50 languages and shared with people all over the world. These messages highlight theater"s role in society—be it as a mirror to reality, an agent of change, or a refuge for the imagination. From Shakespeare"s soliloquies to experimental avant-garde productions, theater has continuously evolved while holding onto its core: human connection.Desktop Version
Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
Join us for a pre-Halloween trip to a small Italian town about 60 miles northwest of Rome. We"re taking you to Bomarzo, where a once-forgotten 16th-century garden holds monstrous sculptures that are meant to evoke anything but pleasure. In our photo, "The Mouth of Orcus," a Roman god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths, gives visitors the feeling of being swallowed into the abyss. During a visit to the Parco dei Mostri (Park of the Monsters), as it"s known, you"ll come across other grotesque sights such as a dragon being attacked by lions, a giant shredding a man, and Hannibal"s elephant snatching a Roman soldier.Desktop Version