American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin (born January 19, 1943, Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.—died October 4, 1970, Los Angeles, California) was an American singer, the premier white female blues vocalist of the 1960s, who dazzled listeners with her fierce and uninhibited musical style. After an unhappy childhood in a middle-class family in southeastern Texas, Joplin attended Lamar State College of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin before dropping out in 1963 to sing folk songs and especially the blues in Texas clubs. After a long sojourn in San Francisco (during which she abused alcohol and amphetamines), she went back to Texas, only to return to San Francisco in 1966 to…
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‘Ghosts’ of the Coal Mines
The human race has long had a love affair with coal. Coal is a fossil fuel that started forming in the Carboniferous Period 359 million to 299 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. Stone and Bronze Age flint axes have been found embedded in coal, evidence that people were using it for fuel long before the Roman invasion. In the 13th century, coal seams were found along shorelines of northern England, and settlers dug them up then followed them inland under cliffs or hills, the earliest beginnings of drift mining. But with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, coal mining exploded, providing fuel for steam engines, transportation, and…
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Vietnamese Mossy Frog.
Cold Moving MossMany reptile and amphibian species have cryptic coloration that allows them to blend into their surroundings. A few species even have textured skin to help them completely disappear into their surroundings. Mossy Frogs are one of the species that combine both cryptic coloration of greens, browns, and reds, with bumpy textured skin to make them one of nature’s best camouflage artists. These semi-aquatic frogs spend the majority of their lives in flooded caves and tree hollows on the walls and in the water. They can also be found along the edges of cold mountain streams blending into the moss and vegetation. HabitatThe Vietnamese Mossy Frog comes from the…
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The Sunken City of Heracleion in Alexandria, Egypt
lot of the ancient world has been either destroyed by mankind or buried by nature. Within the walls built by ancient civilizations exists the missing pieces within ancient history that we need to solve the puzzle about our evolution as humans. The say “History is a Mystery” is what attracts many people to believe that stories from ancient times are only legends. However, from time to time we manage to unveil objects from ancient times which prove that such stories are not legends. The ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion was believed to be the biggest legend out there, until now when archeologist Franck Goddio and his team who have been searching for…
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The 4,000-year-old Al Naslaa Rock
Theories abound about the origin of the Al Naslaa rock formation, but the genesis of this massive geological phenomenon is likely to remain a mystery. Located in Saudi Arabia’s Tayma Oasis — the site of Saudi Arabia’s oldest human settlement — Al Naslaa is comprised of twin sandstone rocks, balanced atop naturally formed pedestals — with a smooth gap running vertically between them, so precise it looks as if it was carved with a laser beam. Scientists can’t explain exactly how the 4,000-year-old geological formation was split down the middle, but the side-by-side boulders — each 20 feet (6 meters) tall — have the additional lure of visible petroglyphs that…
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Items found on the Titanic
Apair of gloves that survived the wreckage A battered pair of white cotton gloves were one of the artifacts found in the Titanic wreckage, and they have since been dubbed some of the “rarest Titanic artifacts ever recovered,” according to USA Today. The gloves have been put on display in various Titanic exhibitions since they were found, but in 2016, they were returned to a conservation facility for permanent retirement. A menu of the ship’s last meal A pocket watch stuck at the time the ship sank The pocket watch of one of the ship’s victims was another artifact found in the Titanic wreckage. As reported by The Telegraph, the rusty watch was owned by passenger John Chapman,…
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A Missing Plane From 1955 Landed After 37 Years
The Mystery Pan Am Flight 914 was a Douglas DC-4 with 57 passengers and six crew members that took off from a New York City airport headed for Miami, Florida. The date was July 2, 1955. The flight was scheduled to last a couple of hours, but it never arrived in Miami. Instead, it showed up, unannounced and invisible to Caracas radar, on March 9, 1985! Voicing his concerns to the tower, the pilot, after a textbook landing, taxied toward the gate, and ground handlers could see the faces of the screaming passengers pressed up against their windows, looking at a fantastic new world. The pilot, for his part, dropped…
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Black Bat Flower
Black Bat Flower, Tacca chantrieri, a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae. Black bat flower, Tacca chantrieri, is a species of flowering plant in the yam family, Dioscoraceae. Tacca chantrieri is an unusual species with black flowers. The flowers are slightly bat-shaped, up to 12 inches, and have long ‘whiskers’ that can grow up to 28 inches. A variety of colors are available, including white and brown, which retain the mustache of the black variety. Tacca chantrierei grows wild in the tropical forest of Yunnan Province, China, where they can grow as tall as 36 inches (~0.91 m). They grow well in well-drained soil and high humidity,…
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beautiful orchid
Rhynchostylis gigantea purple with botch white color blooming in the garden. Orchid is a charming species of Orchid. It belongs to the genus Arundina. This tropical orchid flower is available in several regions such as India, Sri Lanka, China, and Singapore. The other name of the flower is Arundina Graminifolia. The Orchid flowers are light pinkish. The plants are taller. Because of this height, they got the name bamboo orchid. The flower stems will have several flowers at a time. For extended periods flowers are thus present on the stem. That is to say; the flower has a similarity with Cattleya orchid types. The beautiful flowers are available plenty in…
