Monday, November 23, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
A Harrowing Account of What It’s Like to Die From a Snakebite
In 1957, American herpetologist Karl P. Schmidt was bitten by a poisonous boomslang snake. With no anti-venom available—and mistakenly believing he hadn’t received a fatal dose—he proceeded to do what any diligent scientist would do: he kept a detailed diary chronicling the last agonizing hours of his life.
What’s the best way to die?
There are lots of ways to look at the query. Would I want to know when I’m going to die, or be taken by surprise? (I mean, as surprising as such an inevitable event can be.) Would I want to be cognizant, so I can really experience dying as a process? Or might it be better to drowse my way through it?
In the Early 1900s, Robber Barons Bought Dozens of Centuries-Old European Buildings
We had been driving through what felt like one continuous Miami strip mall for almost an hour. Our GPS promised that in a few short minutes we would reach the destination we had traveled some thousand miles to find: a Spanish monastery, from the 12th century, once inhabited by a bevy of monks, moved stone by stone across the ocean, now set in the middle of a swamp-jungle.
Counting the Hours
Time is limited, as we've seen. How do you spend your days? Since 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has sponsored the American Time Use Survey asking thousands of people this question. The Census Bureau conducts the survey.
The Caves of Forgotten Time
When Josie Laures came out of her cave on March 12, 1965, she thought it was February 25. A few days before Antoine Senni came out of his cave, on April 5 that same year, he thought it was February 4.
The two cave explorers emerged from their holes in the French Alps, near Nice, 50 years ago. Each of them set the then-world record for time spent alone in a cave—Laures set the female record at 88 days, and Senni the male record at 126 days—as part of an experiment to see what the effects of extreme isolation and loneliness would be on their bodies and minds.
The two cave explorers emerged from their holes in the French Alps, near Nice, 50 years ago. Each of them set the then-world record for time spent alone in a cave—Laures set the female record at 88 days, and Senni the male record at 126 days—as part of an experiment to see what the effects of extreme isolation and loneliness would be on their bodies and minds.
Wednesday, November 04, 2015
Sunday, November 01, 2015
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