Human Environment
Public and private places and buildings, including cities, monuments, parks and reservations
Welcome to Seoul, the City of the Future
The once poor South Korean city has bloomed into a cultural capital with high-profile architecture, top museums and an influential arts scene
November 2012 |
By Tom Downey
The Haunted and the Haunting: Best Places to Visit on Halloween
This Halloween, indulge in the the electric, nerve-zapping thrill of fear, and consider visiting real-life destinations of creepy history and ghostly legends
October 30, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
What If You Replaced All of New York City’s Carbon Dioxide Emissions with Big Blue Bouncy Balls?
Watch New York City get buried under its own carbon emissions
October 26, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Don’t Let the Ear Mites Bite
The New England Journal of Medicine recently posted this horror-inducing video of ear mites crawling around in some poor 70-year-old man's ear
October 24, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Should Americans Travel to the Middle East?
Today the area is often perceived as a murky and dangerous blur on the map. But how unsafe, really, is this area for tourists?
October 23, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Volcanoes: The Top Hotspots of the World
Volcanic landscapes draw countless tourists to rumbling mountains, rivers of lava and boiling geysers. Here are a few of the hottest destinations
October 19, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Sophie Blanchard – The High Flying Frenchwoman Who Revealed the Thrill and Danger of Ballooning
Blanchard was said to be afraid of riding in a carriage, but she became one of the great promoters of human flight
October 18, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
More Wines from Unexpected Places
Good, locally made wines can now be found in such unlikely locales as equatorial Kenya, the Texas Hill Country, and temperate and rainy Japan
October 17, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
City Birds Are Evolving To Be More Flexible and Assertive Than Their Country Cousins
Animals are adapting to life in the big city
October 17, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
This Helmet Knows When You’ve Crashed And Calls for Help
A new helmet, registering the impact of a mini-van's passenger door on your body, has sent out a signal for medical assistance
October 12, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
The Traumatic Birth of the Modern (and Vicious) Political Campaign
When Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California in 1934, new media were marshaled to beat him
October 11, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Four Surprising Places Where Local Wines Thrive
Almost everywhere European explorers went, vineyards grew behind them. Here are a few places tourists might never have known there was wine to taste
October 11, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Elevator Awkwardness Explained
You stand there silently, reach awkwardly past people to push buttons, and immediately end any conversation you were having as soon as a new person comes into the elevator. But why?
October 10, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Where Travelers Go to Pay Their Respects
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is not a fun place to go, yet tourists flock here, and to
other somber sites around the world
October 09, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
What (or Who) Caused the Great Chicago Fire?
The true story behind the myth of Mrs. O'Leary and her cow and how the scapegoating ruined one woman's good name and spawned a folk song that would last for decades
October 04, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Foreclosed Homes in Los Angeles Will Be Transformed Into Parks
L.A. is transforming foreclosed homes into much-needed urban green spaces
October 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Snakes: The Good, the Bad and the Deadly
With venom so potent it can kill a person in just 30 minutes, the black mamba is a snake to avoid—while others are worth learning about before you cast your judgment
October 03, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Health Hazards of the Traveler
Russian scientist Leonid Rogozov was the only doctor within 1,000 miles when, in 1961, he was struck by appendicitis in Antarctica. Fortunately, he had Novocain and a scalpel
September 28, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
The Silence that Preceded China’s Great Leap into Famine
Mao Zedong encouraged critics of his government—and then betrayed them just when their advice might have prevented a calamity
September 26, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
How Bad Is Air Travel for the Environment?
A large passenger jet may consume five gallons of fuel per mile traveled. Is it possible, then, that planes are more efficient than cars?
September 26, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
