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☆ An 11,000-year-old statue of a man holding his penis could reveal secrets about a mysterious Neolithic culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A 7.5-foot-tall statue of a man clutching his penis with both hands was uncovered in an ancient site. AdvertisementAdvertisementArchaeologists have uncovered an 11,000-year-old statue of a man clutching his penis — a discovery that could shed new light on a mysterious Neolithic culture. The Urfa man, a 6.2-foot-tall statue of a man seeming to protect his erect penis with both hands, was notably found nearby. Urfa man, also known as the Balikligol statue, is shown in at Archeology Museum in Sanliurfa on February 22, 2023. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe statue guards its mysterious meaningIt's not clear what the statue was meant to represent and how it fits within this mysterious Neolithic culture.

Persons: —, OZAN KOSE, Necmi Karul, Karahan, Gobekli, Esber, Sean Thomas, Thomas, Karul, Benjamin Arbuckle, Klaus Schmidt, Schmidt, Lee Clare, Clare, Ted Banning, Banning, Arbuckle Organizations: Service, Getty, Istanbul University, Agence France Presse, UNESCO, Archeology Museum, Anadolu Agency, The Spectator, AFP, University of North, Chapel, Smithsonian Magazine, Archaeological Institute, BBC, University of Toronto Locations: Karahan Tepe, Turkey, Karahantepe, Sanliurfa, AFP, Syria, Turkiye, Asia, University of North Carolina, Gobekli Tepe, Karahan, Gobekli

☆ Fall equinox: Why the first day of fall isn’t as equal as you might think
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

If you reside in the Northern Hemisphere, you know it as the fall equinox (or autumnal equinox). Technically, your location on the globe also determines the local time and even the date you experience the fall equinox. Here are the answers to some fall equinox questions:Where does the word ‘equinox’ come from? From the CNN Fast Facts file: The term equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning “equality between day and night.”Precisely when will the fall equinox happen? Ryan K. W. Lai/ShutterstockAll around the world, the fall equinox has weaved its way into our cultures and celebrations.

Persons: There’s, King Mindaugas, Bridge, Mindaugas Kulbis, Louis, what’s, ” Allison Chinchar, ”, ” Chinchar, Chinchar, It’s, Primrose, Aaron Chown, Hagar Qim, Chichén, El Castillo, Jantar, Ryan K, Arif Hudaverdi Yaman Organizations: CNN, Northern, Mexico City, Seattle, NASA, Northern Hemisphere, Autumnal, Coto Japanese Academy, Anadolu Agency, • Locations: Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, King, Vilnius, Lithuania, Montreal, Richmond , Virginia, St, Mexico, Amsterdam, Split, Croatia, Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Pole, London, United Kingdom, Malta, Yucatán, El, New Delhi, India, Victoria, Great Britain, Japan, Shintoism, Quito, Ecuador, Cairo, Egypt, Helsinki, Finland

☆ A Welsh man uploaded a Facebook video of himself destroying 4,500 year-old rock art. Now, he will get 4 months in prison as officials say the Bronze Age artifact is 'lost forever.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The sandstone, located in South Wales, featured 4,500 year-old "cup marks" and was being studied. He received a $5,500 fine and 4-month prison sentence, according to the BBC. 52-year-old Julian Baker filmed himself excavating and destroying a 4,500 year-old stone relic and uploaded the video to Facebook. "Significant archaeological information has been lost forever," a Cadw spokesperson told the BBC. "We welcome the court's decision in this case, the first we have submitted under section 28 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979," the CADW spokesperson told the BBC.

Persons: Julian Baker, Baker Organizations: BBC, Service, Facebook, Cadw, Welsh Locations: South Wales, Wall, Silicon, Cardiff, Wales, England

☆ Opinion | The Case for Tourism
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Agnes Callard, a University of Chicago philosopher, infuriated various portions of the internet in June with an essay making the case against travel. Though really it was the case against tourism, since Callard exempted many forms of travel — for work or study, for personal or political reasons or charitable service — from her critique. The traveler departs confident that she will come back with the same basic interests, political beliefs and living arrangements. So I refrained from any comment on her thesis, assuming — like every other self-deluded tourist — that I would return more enlightened than before. But casting my mind back to that distant prior self, I dimly remember having two reactions to Callard’s essay.

Persons: Agnes Callard, Walker Percy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Chesterton, Callard, Mona Lisa, ’, Percy Organizations: University of Chicago, Scottish Locations: G.K, France, Britain, Netherlands

☆ Britpop’s Back. But What Happened to Cool Britannia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Alex Marshall | More About Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The comebacks have received euphoric reviews, but they are occurring at a starkly different moment for British pop music, compared with the ’90s. In 1996 Newsweek declared London the world’s coolest city. Instead, news articles about the country’s music scene are more likely to touch on venues shuttering — at a rate of one a week this year, according to the nonprofit Music Venue Trust — or the country’s bands, DJs and rappers struggling to tour abroad after Brexit brought in a tangle of red tape. Local news outlets have also lamented the British government’s cuts to arts funding, and warned about the decline of music teaching in schools. Sitting in his West London recording studio recently, Albarn said some things hadn’t changed since Britpop’s heyday.

Persons: ”, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Harry Styles, Brexit, Albarn, hadn’t, “, ” Chuva Organizations: Newsweek, Yorker, shuttering Locations: United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Europe, London, Britain, West London, Portuguese

☆ Spain's entombed 'Ivory Lady' reveals leadership role of women in antiquity
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Researchers said on Thursday an analysis of tooth enamel showed that the body entombed at the site near Seville was not a man as previously thought, a finding that indicates the leadership role women played in this ancient society that predated the pyramids of Egypt - and perhaps elsewhere. In the British Isles, it is the peak time of Stonehenge, a major megalithic monument and sanctuary," García Sanjuán said. The 'Ivory Lady' reflects all these elements," García Sanjuán said. "This study throws new light on a problem we know preciously little about: the social and political role of women among early complex pre-state societies," García Sanjuán said. The "Ivory Lady" shows that women may have held high leadership positions during the Copper Age, a transitional period between the Stone Age and the more technologically sophisticated Bronze Age.

Persons: Miriam Lucianez Trivino, Leonardo García Sanjuán, Lady, García Sanjuán, Miriam Luciañez, Triviño, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, University of Seville, University of Seville's, University of Seville's Department of, Thomson Locations: Handout, Spain, African, Seville, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iberia, University of Seville's Department, Washington

☆ Archaeologists are stunned by the discovery of 25 'incredibly significant' prehistoric pits dug in straight lines containing ancient animal bones
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Archaeologists recently found straight lines of 25 pits dating to around 8,000 years ago. The Mesolithic pits contain animal bones, including those of an extinct species of cattle. The pits are arranged in straight lines, and a few contain animal bones with marks suggesting people ate them. The arrangement of the pits appears intentional, dug in several straight lines covering an area of up to about 1,600 feet. The researchers at MOLA plan to investigate whether the Bedfordshire pits' arrangement coincides with the solstice or other celestial events.

Persons: —, Joshua Pollard, MOLA, Pollard, Nick Snashall Organizations: Service, Museum of London, Southampton University, Albion Archaeology, Guardian, BBC, Heritage Locations: what's, Bedfordshire, England, Britain, Flint, France, Avebury, Europe

☆ Fact Check-Hole drilled through Georgia Guidestones does not prove flat Earth theory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Seeing the North Star year-round through a hole drilled at eye level in the now-destroyed Georgia Guidestones monument in the United States is not proof that the Earth is flat, even though a video online has made that claim. In July 2022, the Georgia Guidestones, a granite monument erected in 1980 in rural Georgia that some called “America’s Stonehenge,” was torn down by authorities after being heavily vandalized (here). The position of Polaris does not prove that the Earth is stationary or flat. NASA says Polaris sits “more or less directly above Earth’s north pole along our planet’s rotational axis” (here). Being able to see Polaris through a hole drilled at eye level in the now-destroyed Georgia Guidestones monument is not proof that the Earth is flat.

Persons: ”, Read Organizations: North Star, Polaris, Social, Granite Association, NASA, Planetary Institute, West Texas, M University, Georgia, Reuters Locations: Georgia, United States, “

☆ Stonehenge-like 4,000-year-old sanctuary found in the Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old sanctuary made up of ditches and burial mounds in the central Netherlands that they believe may have served a similar purpose to Stonehenge. “This sanctuary must have been a highly significant place where people kept track of special days in the year, performed rituals and buried their dead. Rows of poles stood along pathways used for processions.”While excavating the site in 2017, archaeologists also discovered several graves. The archaeologists took six years to research more than a million excavated objects dating from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. Some of the discoveries will be showcased in a local museum in Tiel and in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN —, Reuters, Zuma Press, Dutch National Museum of Antiquities Locations: Netherlands, England, Tiel, Rotterdam, Iraq, Roman

☆ Summer solstice celebrated, from Stonehenge to Times Square
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

This year's spring was the hottest and second-driest in Spain since records began in 1961, with higher-than-average temperatures likely to continue this summer, the country's environment ministry and weather agency said.

Locations: Spain

☆ Summer solstice celebrations and traditions around the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Summer solstice scienceThe sun sets behind the Oculus transit hub and One World Trade Center in New York City on the summer solstice in 2019. Gary Hershorn/Corbis/Getty ImagesIs summer solstice all over the world? How to celebrate summer solsticeWhat does Stonehenge have to do with the summer solstice? Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat other cultural traditions surround the summer solstice? In India, the birthplace of the ancient practice of yoga, the summer solstice is traditionally celebrated with mass yoga sessions throughout the nation.

Persons: It’s, Ivan Kupala, Gary Hershorn, Hakon Mosvold Larsen, NTB, They’ll, ”, Taylor Ward, “, Petras Malukas Organizations: CNN, Northern, Trade, NASA, Heritage, Getty, United Nations Locations: England, Sweden, Eastern Europe, New York City, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Earthsky.org, Quito, Oslo, Bjorvika, Norway, AFP, Helsinki, Finland, Fairbanks, Alaska, Earth, United States, Japan, Europe, Southwest England, Lithuania, Ukraine, India

☆ Stonehenge-like 4,000-year-old sanctuary discovered in Netherlands
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] An illustration shows what the researchers believe is the 4,000-year-old Stonehenge-like sanctuary that archaeologists have discovered in Tiel, a town in the centre of the Netherlands, in this handout picture obtained on June 21, 2023. Municipality of Tiel/Handout via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, June 21 (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old sanctuary made up of ditches and burial mounds in the central Netherlands that they believe may have served a similar purpose to Stonehenge. While excavating the site in 2017, archaeologists also discovered several graves. The archaeologists took six years to research more than a million excavated objects dating from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. Some of the discoveries will be showcased in a local museum in Tiel and in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities.

Persons: Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, Thomson Locations: Tiel, Netherlands, Handout, REUTERS AMSTERDAM, England, Rotterdam, Iraq, Roman

☆ Opinion | R.I.P., the Sun Triangle
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It was an obtuse triangle whose steepest side pointed directly at the sun at solar noon — the moment in the day when the sun is highest overhead — on the summer solstice. The Sun Triangle, as Spilhaus named it, gave off a Stonehenge vibe to those who knew what it was. People would gather beneath the giant triangle — once described by The New York Times as resembling the head of a pterodactyl — and watch the shadow beneath it shrink as solar noon approached. This year the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice occurred on Wednesday at 10:58 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Solar noon in Manhattan came about two hours later, at 12:57 p.m. (Solar noon jumps ahead an hour on the clock during daylight saving time.

Persons: Athelstan Spilhaus Organizations: Sun, The New York Times Locations: Midtown Manhattan, Americas, Manhattan

☆ When is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere? Find out what it is, and its meaning
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Shayanne Gal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The 2023 summer solstice happens on Wednesday 21 June at 10:58 a.m. It is due to Earth's tilted axis as it orbits around the sun. How the summer solstice worksThe summer solstice is the point when the sun will stay closest to the horizon all day. Shayanne Gal/Business InsiderOn the summer solstice, the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, where the sun rises earlier and sets later, meaning countries will get the longest day of sunlight they will get all year. Why it's so celebratedRussians celebrating the 2015 summer solstice with a bonfire.

Persons: —, Shayanne, Dmitry Feoktistov Organizations: Service, NASA, Cancer, Heritage Locations: China, Sweden

☆ Vintage Glastonbury photos show how much the festival has changed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Martha Alexander | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

(CNN) — The countdown to this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival is on; the stages are built, headliners are on their way and some 200,000 people are expected to attend. -Twenty six-year-old British photographer Paul Misso was there on a dual mission: to drive an RV for his friend, the Oscar-winning actress Julie Christie, and to take pictures of the event. “They just languished in a drawer for decades.”A couple sit in a wildflower meadow at Glastonbury Fair in June 1971. The resulting tome, “In The Vale of Avalon: Glastonbury Festival 1971,” may be more than 50 years after the event, but it serves as both a work of art and a historical document. It’s phenomenal.”“In The Vale of Avalon: Glastonbury Festival 1971” is published by IDEA books and available in a limited run of 1,000 copies at Dover Street Market, London.

Persons: David Bowie, Paul Misso, Oscar, Julie Christie, Nicolas Roeg, Christie, “, ‘, ”, Paul Misso Misso, —, Misso, Peter Neal, Roeg, Jean Shrimpton, David Owen, Twiggy, Paul Misso “, Bill Harkin, ” Misso Organizations: CNN, Glastonbury Fair, Fairport Convention, London School of Printing, wholesomeness, Glastonbury, ”, IDEA, “, Nikon Locations: Glastonbury, London, ”, Avalon, British, Dover, Market

☆ Manhattanhenge is coming to New York City tonight. Here's where to see it best.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Manhattanhenge is happening in New York City on Monday. It's the phenomenon where the setting sun perfectly aligns with the city's street grid. The astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson coined the term. The term Manhattanhenge was coined by the popular astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, a native New Yorker. The Tudor City Overpass in Manhattan and Hunter's Point South Park in Queens are two more scenic spots, he says.

☆ A world in three islands on the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pavlo Fedykovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea lies a small country made up of three inhabited islands and irresistible allure. Across its three inhabited islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – you’ll find every sun-soaked aspect of the perfect vacation. The solution: Marsaskala, towards the southeastern tip of Malta island. Mellieħa Bay and St. Paul’s BayBugibba is a classic seaside resort town in St. Paul's Bay. The population is a modest two people, there are no cars, and no signs of globalization – just the untouched Mediterranean.

☆ Ancient toilets unearthed in Jerusalem reveal a debilitating and sometimes fatal disease
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Iron Age users of two ancient toilets in Jerusalem were not a healthy bunch, according to an analysis of poop samples from the 2,500-year-old latrines. Ancient poop contains a trove of fascinating informationA stone toilet seat was excavated in 2019 south of Jerusalem in the neighborhood of Armon ha-Natziv. Archaeologists excavating the latrines took samples from sediment in the cesspit beneath each toilet seat. They found one seat south of Jerusalem in the neighborhood of Armon ha-Natziv at a mansion excavated in 2019. Cities such as Jerusalem likely would have been hot spots for disease outbreaks, and illnesses would have spread easily by traders and during military expeditions, according to the study.

☆ 11 ancient sites that are mysteriously aligned with the sun on the winter solstice, in photos.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Archaeologists have found many ancient sites that line up with the winter solstice sun. Here are 11 sites that line up with the winter solstice, and what experts think about them. Newgrange, County Meath, IrelandPeople celebrating the sunrise at Newgrange on the morning of the winter solstice in 2018. ShutterstockOne of the most famous examples of ancient architecture lining up with the winter solstice is in Machu Picchu, Peru. "From the winter solstice the days are longer, which was a metaphor of the rebirth of the deceased," he said.

☆ The incredible true story of the time an astronaut played golf on the moon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

The resulting creation, a Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head, was tucked away in Shepard’s space suit for launch, with a few balls hidden in a sock. “Miles and miles and miles,” the jubilant astronaut remarked as the ball sailed out of his view, swallowed by the infinite blackness of space. What does any of that have to do with an astronaut playing golf on the moon? Saunders believed Shepard’s “miles and miles” remark to have been made tongue-in-cheek, an almost instinctive reflex of his hyper-competitive, “fighter-jock” nature. “We always talk about getting to the moon, landing on the moon, returning back to Earth – that’s how we think of the moon,” Odom said.

☆ How a Disney creator helped edtech startup Paper create an interactive kids' streaming service that's like Peloton — but with math
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Paper Live, a interactive, educational live-streaming platform, launched in September 2022. The streamer is part of remote tutoring service Paper, which partners with school districts. This fall, it premiered Paper Live, a live-streaming service that includes an interactive element — and has a Hollywood-seasoned writer/executive producer at the helm. The newly expanded Paper Live launched around the start of the 2022-2023 academic year in the US. "We're seeing an uptick in not just usage of Paper Live but Paper in general because they're more familiar with the platform," said Cutler.

☆ How edtech startup Paper recruited a Disney creator to build a kids' streaming service that's like Peloton — but with math
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

The fall equinox happens when the sun's warming rays square up perfectly with the earth. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyThursday is this year's fall equinox. This astronomical event, which happens every year, means the day is about as long as the night. How the fall equinox worksIn June and December, the Earth hits its solstices — the longest and shortest days of the year. Matt Cardy/Getty ImageCelebrating equinoxFor some, equinox is more than a day that comes with the return of the pumpkin spice latte.

☆ Europe's severe drought is unearthing ancient artifacts from 'Spanish Stonehenge' to Emperor Nero's bridge
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-17 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Receding water levels due to drought in Europe are unearthing old sites and artifacts. Since early 2022, Europe has experienced an extended period of unusually high temperatures and severe lack of rainfall. From megalithic monuments to ancient bridges, sites and artifacts continue to be unearthed by the 2022 drought in Europe. Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty ImagesIn late July, receding water levels in Spain's Valdecanas reservoir dropped to 28% percent of its capacity, revealing the Dolmen of Guadalperal, dubbed "Spanish Stonehenge," Reuters reported. In June, receding water levels due to the intense drought resurfaced a sunken shipwreck of a World War II-era barge.

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