Human Environment
Public and private places and buildings, including cities, monuments, parks and reservations
360-Year-Old Advertisement Extolls Coffee’s Virtues
An advertisement issued by some brilliant London entrepreneurs may well be the first coffee ad ever.
July 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Year Ahead in Archival Films
A guide to the movies being preserved now that will be available in future months
July 17, 2012 |
By Daniel Eagan
Americans Are Really Bad At Living Green But Aren’t Too Upset About It
Americans are “most confident that their individual actions can help the environment,” while simultaneously, “trailing the rest of the world in sustainable behavior.”
July 13, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Blame Your Chicken Dinner for That Persistant Urinary Tract Infection
E. coli, the most common cause of urinary tract infections, has been growing resistant to antibiotics, and chickens may be to blame.
July 12, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
A Short Walking Tour of New York’s Lower East Side
In the 1860’s the Lower East Side was deluged in a wave of immigrants from Germany; known as Klein Deutschland, it had the 5th largest German-speaking population among cities in the world at the time
July 11, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Hungry? Pull Over. Here’s Your Guide to the Best Bets of Roadside Foraging
All along the roadways of America—and the world—there's figs, avocados and wild berries ripe for the picking
July 10, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
The Louvre Museum Is Having a Baby!
This December the French town of Lens will be welcoming a new branch museum of the Louvre
July 05, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Fitness Afar: Great Places to Hang Out at the Bar
Going abroad needn’t mean going flabby—determined globe-trotters can find pull-up bars and other outdoor gymnastics equipment in some of the most unexpected places.
July 03, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Science Answers Age-Old Question, Should We Live to Work or Work to Live?
It’s summer time, and the temptation to skip the office and head to the pool is intoxicating. If only each and every day could be spent lazing under an umbrella rather than toiling away in pursuit of the next paycheck. But according to NatCen Social Research, a British independent social resaerch center, it’s precisely the [...]
July 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
A Trio of French Colonial Sites in Hanoi
In Vietnam's capital city you can still find many wonderful examples of French colonial architecture, including St. Joseph's Cathedral, the Opera House and the luxurious Hotel Metropole
July 03, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Wrecked Rivers of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ Teem With Life Once More
“The river sweats / Oil and tar / The barges drift / With the turning tide,” wrote T. S. Eliot in an ode to the River Thames in The Wasteland. Indeed, oil and tar and other industrial pollutants for years plagued Britain’s rivers, from the “Great Stink” of 1858 when human waste choked London’s Thames [...]
July 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Vice Presidents That History Forgot
The U.S. vice presidency has been filled by a rogues gallery of mediocrities, criminals and even corpses
July 2012 |
By Tony Horwitz
Quite Likely the Worst Job Ever
The remarkable work of a pioneering British journalist provides us with a window into the lives of the men who made their living from combing for treasures in London's sewers
June 29, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance
Her claim of being "the Heiress to $15,000" was just one of the many falsehoods that carried Cassie Chadwick from city to city and bounced check to bounced check
June 27, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Bacteria, Plants Turn Garbage Dump into Beautiful Park
Thanks to the help of some hungry bacteria and plants, a 150-foot high garbage dump in Colombia is being transformed into a public park. The microbes and greens are neutralizing the contaminated soil, sucking up heavy metals and feasting on chemicals. Wired’s Olivia Solon describes how the project got off the ground: A team from [...]
June 27, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Hunt for a Bottle of Asturias Cider and the Stories of More Drinks From Northern Spain
In this part of Europe, a glass of rioja is nice, but nothing beats apple cider, a way of life
June 27, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
The Greatest Globe on Earth
Now kept at the American Geographical Society in New York, the globe is precious not for its age or beauty, but for the explorers who signed it
June 25, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Beautiful Dinosaurs Ripped From Time
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles has beautiful dinosaur displays, but what do the exhibits tell us about your connection to Triceratops and kin?
June 22, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
For a Happy Hotel Experience, Take the Middle Road
Neither too luxurious nor too austere, mid-range inns are often a great choice for travelers. Here are some of my favorites in Europe, Mexico and Morocco
June 18, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
430 Square Foot Apartment Isn’t Too Small for Indoor/Outdoor Shower
Living in a tiny space often means taking risks with design. An architect convinced Rui Miguel and Sonia Lopez, who live in a 430 square foot apartment, that to connect with the outside world, they should cut a hole in the roof. Disguised as part of a rooftop planter, the hole feeds directly into their [...]
June 18, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
