Public transportation can be a great way to get around a city, whether you’re a regular or a tourist. You’ve probably heard of Tokyo’s legendary rail system, London’s “Tube” and New York’s subway. Here are a few more cities around the world whose transit systems are more than just efficient, they’re a major part of their city’s story. Hong Kong As of 2017, [...]
If you’re a writer, you might have always thought that your mind works in a unique way. Well, science may have proved that to be true. In 2014, German scientist Martin Lotze and his team of researchers studied the brain activity of writers and non-writers as they wrote to compare their brain functions. With the help of fMRI scanners to see which parts [...]
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft is the stuff of legends around Boston, but I only learned the full story when I visited the museum a couple months ago. On March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as Boston police officers entered the museum and stole 13 priceless works of art. They managed it by tricking the security guards into moving away from any alarms, and [...]
At some point, someone told me the schedule for summer vacation in schools was because the farmers had needed their kids home to help with planting and harvesting crops. It wasn’t until I was older that the northern Minnesota tradition of garden planting over Memorial Day weekend began to poke little seed–sized holes in that “fact.” We planted in the spring and harvested [...]
Whenever I took the T (the subway system in Boston), I always tried to sneak a peek at what other commuters were reading. I’d try to read the books’ spines without the other passengers catching me. However, I’ve come to notice that more and more commuters (myself included) are on their phones these days, whether they’re listening to music, texting or updating social [...]
Caves around the world hold untold secrets, and there is much we still do not know. However, intrepid spelunkers, divers and scientists are making great strides in exploring these dark depths, yielding fascinating results. Underwater and underground rivers have been found in caves and beneath the deep, and more information is being found every day. In 2007, British diver Stephen Bogaerts and German [...]
In 2010, Brandon Stanton decided to create a map of New York neighborhoods by photographing 10,000 people and plotting their locations. This project became Humans of New York (HONY). Stanton began to collect quotes and stories from the people he photographed and included them with the pictures. It took HONY eight months to get its first 1,000 likes on Facebook, but by 2012 it was getting about [...]
The recently departed and eminently quotable Yogi Berra once said, “I really didn’t say everything I said.” Turns out he’s not the only one. False or misattributed quotations happen all too frequently—especially on the internet. It’s very easy for these falsities to happen online. If an image, like a meme or an infographic, looks authentic enough, an incorrect quote from Morgan Freeman can be [...]
Have you heard about monthly subscription boxes? It seems like the topic is popping up everywhere. I have several friends and family members signing up to receive a wide range of materials right at their front door each month. And who doesn’t appreciate a good piece of mail, especially when it’s a box full of goodies? These monthly subscription boxes come in all [...]
Raise your hand if you’ve used a typewriter in the past five years. Odds are you haven’t, unless you’re like Tom Hanks, in which case, you’re a passionate collector of the old writing machines. In fact, Tom Hanks is so devoted to typewriters that he created an app with developer Hitcents to capture that old typewriter feel in the digital age. Hanx Writer, [...]