The Reading Terminal complex is located in the Market East section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1893, the complex houses a massive trainshed as well as a flourishing market that continues to do business today. At the time of its construction, the terminal’s single-span arched-roof trainshed was one of the largest in the world. Now the world’s oldest structure of its kind, the trainshed has been declared a National Historic Landmark. What is now housed in the trainshed? Discuss
Month: March 2025
Good Friday Earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska (1964)
With a magnitude of 9.2, the earthquake that struck east of Anchorage at rush hour on Good Friday 1964 was one of the strongest ever recorded. About 130 people died, most in the subsequent tsunami, and much of downtown Anchorage was destroyed. The quake’s effects were felt around the world—boats were sunk as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. Within a day, 11 aftershocks measuring 6.0 or higher were reported. In the months after, residents endured thousands of smaller ones. How long did they last? Discuss
Nathaniel Currier (1813)
Before photojournalism rendered illustrations of the news obsolete, Currier printed more than 7,000 lithographs—prints made using a stone block etched with grease to reproduce drawings—that greatly increased the public demand for graphic images. With his partner James Ives, he established outlets across the country, selling high-quality prints of disasters, landscapes, satirical subjects, and domestic scenes. Ives was neither a lithographer nor an artist, so why did Currier make him his partner? Discuss
The Nazca Lines
Aerial exploration of the arid tableland surrounding Peru’s Palpa valley has revealed a remarkable network of geometric and zoomorphic forms etched in the desert floor. Created by the Nazca, a pre-Incan civilization that flourished from about 200 BCE to about 600 CE, the Nazca Lines span about 200 sq mi (500 sq km). The glyphs are only recognizable as coherent figures from the air, but the Nazca never possessed the technology to view them from that vantage point. Why, then, did they create them? Discuss
The Henley Regatta Is Established in England (1839)
Until 1839, the little town of Henley-on-Thames was known primarily as a glass-producing port town. During a town hall meeting that year, Captain Edmund Gardiner proposed holding a regatta, since the growing popularity of rowing could benefit the town. Today, the rowing competition is a world-class competition that draws oarsmen from around the world for five days each summer, with thousands of spectators taking part in its traditions. How did it officially become a “royal” regatta in 1851? Discuss
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794)
Schnorr was a German religious and historical painter and draftsman. As a child, he studied under his father, who was an engraver and painter. In 1817, he went to Rome, where he became associated with the Nazarene movement of painters, who rejected most painting after the Middle Ages and focused primarily on religious subjects for their art. Schnorr is best known for the hundreds of illustrations he created for a pictorial Bible. He also designed the windows of what famous London cathedral? Discuss
Ambergris
Found floating in warm seas or washed up on the shore, ambergris is a solid, waxy substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales. Possessing a sweet, earthy odor, it has been used throughout history as a food flavoring and a material for jewelry, though its primary commercial use has been as a fixative in perfumes. However, because ambergris is quite rare and expensive, many of today’s perfumes use synthetic replacements. What function does ambergris serve within the whale’s digestive tract? Discuss
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Kills 146 (1911)
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a clothing manufacturer that occupied the top three floors of a 10-story building in New York. In 1911, a small fire flared up in a dustbin on the 8th floor and quickly spread. Tragically, a number of doors had been locked by management to prevent theft, and fire truck ladders only reached the 6th floor. Dozens of workers jumped to their deaths to escape the conflagration, while others burned alive. What sweeping safety reforms were prompted by the disaster? Discuss
Mary Flannery O'Connor (1925)
O’Conner was an American writer, considered a master of the short story form and the Southern Gothic style. In stories that reflect her strong Catholic faith, her often grotesque characters are placed in extreme situations that impel them toward redemption. O’Conner spent most of her life on her mother’s farm in Georgia, where she died of lupus at the age of 39. When she was just six years old, she became a minor celebrity for teaching a chicken to do what? Discuss
Kayan Neck Rings
The Kayan are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group known for their unusual tradition of body modification, which consists of coiling lengths of brass around women’s necks. The coils are first applied to young girls when they are approximately five years old, and each coil is replaced with a longer one as the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage. Contrary to popular belief, the neck vertebrae are not actually lengthened. Can wearers remove the rings entirely? Discuss