Tag Archives: Smithsonian

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Film & Movies, Memories & History, Politics, Science & Health, Television

Smithsonian Artifacts That Tell the Story of 9/11 | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian Magazine

From a Pentagon rescuer’s uniform to a Flight 93 crew log, these objects commemorate the 20th anniversary of a national tragedy

By Meilan Solly, SMITHSONIANMAG.COM | Sept. 8, 2021, 8:43 a.m.

Screenshot…

Following the tragedies that took place on September 11, 2001, curators at the Smithsonian Institution recognized the urgency of documenting this unprecedented moment in American history.

After Congress designated the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as the official repository for all related objects, photographs and documents, staff focused their attention on three areas: the attacks themselves, first responders and recovery efforts.

As time passed, curators expanded their purview to include the nation’s response to the tragedy, recording 9/11’s reverberations across the country. “This effectively put a net over the story, covering what happened on that day, then plus one month, plus one year,” says Cedric Yeh, curator of the museum’s National September 11 Collection.

“But [this net] had a lot of holes. I don’t mean holes in the curators’ work, but [rather], there were areas not covered because it was impossible to cover the entirety of the story.”

Source: Smithsonian Artifacts That Tell the Story of 9/11 | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian Magazine

Science & Health

Why Ecologists Are Haunted by the Rapid Growth of Ghost Forests | Science | Smithsonian Magazine

A study in North Carolina of dying trees may represent a foreboding preview of what
may come to coastal ecosystems worldwide

By Jim Morrison, smithsonianmag.com, May 17, 2021

Google Earth image of a healthy forest on the lower right and a ghost forest full of dead trees on the left. (Emily Ury)

For years, Emily Ury traversed North Carolina’s coastal roads, studying patches of skeletal trees slain by rising seas that scientists call “ghost forests.”

Killed by intruding saltwater along the Atlantic Coast, they are previews of the dire fate other forests face worldwide.

Related Content Haunting ‘Ghost Forest’ Resurrected in New York City

Ury knew that ghost forests were expanding in the region, but only when she began looking down from above using Google Earth did she realize how extensive they were.

“I found so many dead forests,” says Ury, an ecologist at Duke University and co-author of a paper on the rapid deforestation of the North Carolina coast published last month in the journal Ecological Applications. “They were everywhere.”

Source: Why Ecologists Are Haunted by the Rapid Growth of Ghost Forests | Science | Smithsonian Magazine

Memories & History, Politics, Science & Health

50 Things We’ve Learned About Earth Since 1970 | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian Magazine

On April 22, 1970, Americans pledged environmental action for the planet. Here’s what scientists and we, the global community, have done since

By Smithsonian magazine

SMITHSONIANMAG.COM | April 22, 2020, 7:20 a.m

Image from Age of Humans: Microplastics infiltrate the food chain as animals inadvertently consume plastics. Tiny deep ocean filter feeders have been found with microplastics in their bodies, as have fish, birds, humans and other animals. (Luis Acosta / AFP via Getty Images)

When Gaylord Nelson stepped up to the podium in April 1970, his voice rang with powerful purpose. The Wisconsin senator set forth a challenge for America—a call to arms that he declared a “big concept”: a day for environmental action that would go beyond just picking up litter.“

Winning the environmental war is a whole lot tougher than winning any other war in history,” he said. “Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.”

–Gaylord Nelson

In the half-century since concerned people all across the United States took steps to repair a world rife with pollution, litter, ecological devastation, political apathy and wildlife on the brink, great strides have been made and major setbacks have been recorded. An estimated 20 million Americans volunteered their time and energy to live up to Nelson’s goal. Inspired by man-made disasters like the burning of Ohio’s Cuyahoga River and an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, environmentalists of the day pushed the nation and the world to recognize the damage they were inflicting on the planet and to change course. Social justice lawyers and urban city planners took up the hard effort of bringing this vision to the impoverished, the hungry and the discriminated.

Source: 50 Things We’ve Learned About Earth Since 1970 | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian Magazine

Food & Drink, Science & Health

How to Germinate Seeds for Your Garden Using an Instant Pot | Innovation | Smithsonian Magazine

Hack your way to planting success with the popular kitchen appliance

By Lindsay Campbell, Modern Farmer

smithsonianmag.com
April 12, 2021

Paper packets are filled with pea seeds. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

In recent years, the Instant Pot has soared in popularity as a one-stop shop for pressure-cooking, sautéing, steaming and boiling.

Its multi-uses have made it a useful appliance to easily prepare anything from rice to pot-roast. But one lesser-known function of this kitchen gadget is that it can serve as a reliable incubator for germinating garden seeds.

Source: How to Germinate Seeds for Your Garden Using an Instant Pot | Innovation | Smithsonian Magazine

Memories & History, Music, Pleasures, Science & Health, Travel

Listening to Nature Gives You a Real Rocky Mountain High | Science | Smithsonian Magazine

Sounds like birdsong and flowing water may alleviate stress, help lower blood pressure and lead to feelings of tranquility

A creek runs by moss-covered rocks not far From Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park. Researchers have found that listening to natural sounds like running water may benefit human health. (Naphat Photography via Getty Images)

By Brian Handwerk, smithsonianmag.com
April 5, 2021

Miles away from the nearest road in Colorado’s Wheeler Geologic Area, the problem of noise pollution hit home for conservation biologist Rachel Buxton.

‘It was a gorgeous, remote valley, and then a plane flew over and you could hear the noise for ages as it reverberated in the valley,” she says. “I remember thinking, ‘wow, this is a really pervasive issue.’”

Buxton teamed up with researchers from the National Park Service and Colorado State University to author a 2019 study documenting manmade noise in U.S. national parks.

SmithsonianMag · Birds Singing at Dawn in Rocky Mountain National Park

The study was part of a growing pile of research exploring noise’s negative impacts on animals and humans alike. Noise makes it hard for animals to find food and mates and can lead humans to suffer stress, high blood pressure and other ailments.

Source: Listening to Nature Gives You a Real Rocky Mountain High | Science | Smithsonian Magazine

Arts & Humanities, Books & Reading, Film & Movies, Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Science & Health

Eight of Literature’s Most Powerful Inventions—and the Neuroscience Behind How They Work | Innovation | Smithsonian Magazine

These reoccuring story elements have proven effects on our imagination, our emotions and other parts of our psyche

By Angus Fletcher, smithsonianmag.com
March 10, 2021

What if literature was an invention for making us happier and healthier? (wenjin chen/Getty Images)

Shortly after 335 B.C., within a newly built library tucked just east of Athens’ limestone city walls, a free-thinking Greek polymath by the name of Aristotle gathered up an armful of old theater scripts. As he pored over their delicate papyrus in the amber flicker of a sesame lamp, he was struck by a revolutionary idea: What if literature was an invention for making us happier and healthier? The idea made intuitive sense; when people felt bored, or unhappy, or at a loss for meaning, they frequently turned to plays or poetry. And afterwards, they often reported feeling better. But what could be the secret to literature’s feel-better power? What hidden nuts-and-bolts conveyed its psychological benefits?

After carefully investigating the matter, Aristotle inked a short treatise that became known as the Poetics. In it, he proposed that literature was more than a single invention; it was many inventions, each constructed from an innovative use of story. Story includes the countless varieties of plot and character—and it also includes the equally various narrators that give each literary work its distinct style or voice. Those story elements, Aristotle hypothesized, could plug into our imagination, our emotions, and other parts of our psyche, troubleshooting and even improving our mental function.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/eight-literatures-most-powerful-inventions-and-neuroscience-behind-how-they-work-180977168/