For the first four decades of competition, the Olympics awarded medals for painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and music, alongside those for athletic competitions. And from 1912 to 1952, juries awarded a total of 151 medals to original works in the fine arts that were inspired by athletic endeavors.
Did you know there are 11,000 species of seaweed and that the seaweed industry is valued at $6 billion a year, with growth expected to double in the next few years? According to Forbes magazine, seaweed products are critical components of goods such as food supplements, fertilizers, medication, and sustainable packaging alternatives to plastic.
Rhubarb is a strange stalk—you can actually hear it grow. “Forced” rhubarb, which is made to mature by placing it in near-total darkness, grows so quickly—sometimes doubling its size in a day—that it makes cracking and popping sounds as it gets bigger.
Photo: J. N. Stuart / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The nation’s largest reservoir, which generates electricity and provides water for 25 million people across tribal lands, farms, and major cities in the American West, has shrunk to 36% of its capacity. A consequence of extreme drought worsened by climate change, Lake Mead’s drawdown is outpacing already concerning projections and is expected to trigger major cuts in water allotments for Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico. As water continues to drain from the lake, a “bathtub ring” of minerals roughly the height of the Statue of Liberty without its base is left along the lake’s shoreline.
Crew members for the 1968 cult classic Night of the Living Dead, shot north of Pittsburgh in 35 mm black-and-white film and on a shoestring budget, used simple props and tricks to create its gory special effects. The blood was Bosco Chocolate Syrup, and the consumed human flesh? Roasted ham donated by a local butcher.
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