Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Mona Lisa” is perhaps the most famous work of art in the world. I’ve never quite understood why, perhaps because of the enigmatic smile? (An artist friend once told me Leonardo used that smile in many of his paintings.) In any event, its fame begs the question, who was the model?
Talk about thinking outside the box! In 1954, Leland W. Sprinkle and his son were visiting Luray Caverns in Virginia. His guide’s explanation of how stalactites could make sounds when tapped gave him an idea. (It was either that or the sound made when his son struck his head on a rock.) Over the next
We’ve made a lot of progress in the last several decades with smoking cessation. Since the 1964 surgeon general’s report on this habit’s dangers, smoking rates have fallen nationwide, with only 15 percent of adults still smoking. Smoking among some groups has plunged 62 percent. But there is a problem. The groups with the greatest
If you live in China, the Internet is tightly controlled. CNN estimates about two million people monitor what people post ( http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/07/world/asia/china-internet-monitors/index.html); other sources say there are 100,000 censors. How obvious is it? The Internet Surveillance Division of the Public Security Bureau in Shenzhen Province actually has two cartoon mascots to remind Internet users that
If you like to watch the heavens, there are some exciting events in the future. First, On August 21, 2017, there will be a total eclipse of the sun. It will pass through 12 states in the U.S. (14 if you count tiny corners of Montana and Iowa), beginning at 9:06 am PDT in Madras,
Did you ever think about how many of our common expressions involve our stomachs? We occasionally talk about “gut-wrenching decisions” and “butterflies in the stomach.” These thoughts are so prevalent that some are beginning to wonder if there isn’t a link between our guts — specifically the trillions of tiny organisms that live there —
Have you ever heard of the EAT Café? The clue is EAT stands for Everyone At the Table. This is a non-profit collaboration of organizations in West Philadelphia, PA, that operates a “pay-what-you-can café that nourishes, educates, and unites community in a welcoming environment.” Here the bill is a shock of a different sort —
Have you ever heard of Henrietta Lacks? In many respects, she was an ordinary woman. Born on August 1, 1920, she gave birth to five children, but only lived 31 years. But she had a profound effect on modern science and, at least indirectly, has saved many lives. The remarkable part of her story began
I guess we’re all supposed to read something this summer. I know it’s pretty much a given that high school students will have a summer reading list, but several of the news programs and publications I follow have been coming out with reading lists of their own. They must assume everyone gets a vacation with
This is a story about how an educator thought outside the box. Each year, Katie Martin-Meurer, an art instructor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, saw something that disturbed her. The students in her three-dimensional design course would simply toss their projects into the trash after they had been graded. What a waste! Her first