Here’s something Queen Victoria unexpectedly had in common with many of today’s smartphone users: the propensity to shorten words. The queen was an avid diarist and kept a regular journal throughout her reign (1837-1901), so historians have ample evidence to back up this claim. But there’s been a new discovery that has provided further insight […]
A book of Victorian mug shots is now on the third leg of its long life, though it doesn’t possess a history quite as storied as the people whose photographs plaster its 500 pages. Saved from being tossed in a dumpster four decades ago, the ledger covers criminal records from all over England during the […]
Victory Brinker may seem like your average 10-year-old, but her voice can be described as nothing less than extraordinary. At just 7 years old, Victory was named the world’s youngest female opera singer by Guinness World Records, after participating in eight professional performances at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre’s Lights & Legends show in 2019. Victory, […]
A plucky penguin at the New England Aquarium has a new bounce in her step — or should we say her waddle — after being fitted with a pair of custom orthopedic sandals. In 2020, a 24-year-old African penguin named Beach Donkey was diagnosed with pododermatitis, a debilitating and chronic condition common among avian species. Also referred […]
When Connie and Mark Herrick first brought Ripley home, they knew that the tiny calico kitten had a big personality — so big that she would eventually inspire them to capture her adventurous spirit in a series of children’s books. The couple had adopted Ripley, the runt of a litter of kittens abandoned at a […]
Get ready to reset the clocks: The end of daylight saving time is here again. This juncture, which takes place at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 6 in the United States and Canada, marks the moment when time will “fall back” one hour. In other words, we’ll all gain an extra 60 minutes this weekend. […]
’Tis the season for merry decorations, and for those who celebrate Christmas, a tree is arguably one of the most important and iconic holiday trimmings. If you’re in the market for a real tree — and the incredible piney scent it brings to any room — consider cutting down your own from one of the […]
A packet once containing food that sustained the first explorers to successfully summit Mount Everest in 1953 went under the hammer on October 29. The vestige of the triumphant expedition was part of a cache of other mementos owned by late English adventurer, author, and filmmaker Tom Stobart, who served as an official documentarian during […]
When you think of Alaska, a dog sled team trekking across rugged snow-covered terrain may come to mind as an iconic aspect of the state’s larger-than-life identity. As it turns out, it’s simply part of daily life within the vast confines of Denali National Park and Preserve. This past winter kicked off the centennial celebration […]
Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S., stretching over 400 acres and welcoming millions of annual visitors to witness the 3,160 tons of water that flow over the falls every second. If you’ve never visited the magnificent park, located on the border of New York and Ontario, Canada, and teeming […]
Nestled on an island in the South Atlantic Ocean is the South Georgia Museum, one of the most remote museums in the world. There are no passenger flights or ferries to or from Grytviken, South Georgia, so the majority of visitors arrive on a cruise ship or yacht. The island itself only sees about 10,000 […]
If you’ve ever found yourself swaying your hips to a supermarket soundtrack, you understand the power music has to, literally, move us. Now, first-of-its-kind research suggests that humans aren’t the only ones who get “into the groove.” In a new study out of The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), scientists found that rats, like humans, just […]