Say WOW

Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

 
Sonny Bono Statue in Palm Springs, California
In an alcove next to the steps to the elevated concourse of Palm Springs Airport is a bust of singer, songwriter, Congressman, and Mayor Salvatore Phillip “Sonny” Bono. After a successful music career with ex-wife Cher, Bono faded from the public eye, with only sporadic appearances in television and movies. He decided to enter politics, after experiencing firsthand frustration with the local bureaucracy. In 1988, Bono ran as a Republican for Mayor of Palm Springs, California, winning easily with...

Read More

Hotel Energy Solution: Save Money and The...
The right hotel energy solution is a major concern for any hotel business. Rising energy costs can dramatically affect your bottom line. In addition, today’s eco-minded travelers are increasingly concerned with the impact of their stay on the environment. In this article, you’ll learn how your hotel business can reduce costs, attract more guests, and The post Hotel Energy Solution: Save Money and The Planet appeared first on Revfine.com.

Read More

Boeing 727 Crash Experiment in Mexicali, Mexico
At around 10 a.m. on the morning of April 27, 2012, silence in the vast and empty Laguna Salada desert was shattered as a Boeing 727 slammed into the ground. The impact tore the cockpit apart and debris flew across the sandy landscape. Then, just as quick as it started, the eerie silence of the desert descended on the wreckage. A few miles away, observing the crash, a team of scientists erupted with applause. They had successfully pulled off...

Read More

 
The Smallest Wild Cat in the Americas...
The animal world is full of harbingers of doom—at least, according to superstitions. From the Tower of London’s ravens (whose departure would signal the fall of an entire nation) to the average black cat crossing your unlucky path, plenty of critters warn of woe. In Ominous Animals, we explore the lore—and the science—behind these finned, furry, and feathered messengers of impending calamity. A tiny spotted feline, often smaller than the average house cat, with a bushy tail and big...

Read More

Crypt of San Sebastiano's Church in...
The construction of San Sebastiano’s Church (aka Tempio Leon Battista Alberti) began in 1460 under the supervision of Leon Battista Alberti, a famous polymath who also invented Western cryptography, a claim he shares with Johannes Trithemius. The works had been commissioned by the Marquis Ludovico II Gonzaga, and the church, which was consecrated in 1529, underwent numerous renovations and alterations through the following centuries. San Sebastiano’s Church consists of two floors. The layout of the upper floor recalls the...

Read More

For the Love of Fear
Vicki Bååth, a 45-year-old teacher from Gamleby, Sweden, begins to panic as the room closes slowly in around her. Literally. The walls inflate, squeezing her from both directions. Strobe lights flash and some more-than-eerie laughs of children come from every direction. Soon Bååth reaches her limit, and yells “Stop it! Stop it!”—but the walls don’t stop. Finally, she gives in. “Peak fear!” she cries, and she is swiftly pulled out of the closing walls. After a breath, and a...

Read More

 
Jomfruspringet (The Virgin Leap) in Odense, Denmark
Legend has it that one night during the tumultuous years of 1657-1660, when Sweden occupied parts of Denmark, a local maiden named Karen Jørnsdatter faced a harrowing ordeal as drunken and lecherous Swedish soldiers pursued her through the streets of Odense. Seeking refuge to protect her honor, Karen fled up the bell tower of St. Canute’s Cathedral. However, her relentless pursuers followed her up the stairs, leaving Karen with no choice but to leap from a tower window, meeting...

Read More

Gentle Monster in Incheon, South Korea
Korea is known for its horror movies and eerie writings, and almost as an homage to this genre, these spider twins spread an eerie charm across Incheon airport. The statues take the shape of a pair of strange oily spiders, which seem to be rolling balls of dirt around. Their lumpy exterior is reminiscent of some kind of Lovecraftian horror. The spiders are specifically designed to evoke a primal fear, which they do excellently, as both adults and children...

Read More

Sanderson Station in Sanderson, Texas
This Amtrak station is nothing more than a platform, a parking lot, and a locked corkboard full of sun-faded Amtrak posters, but it’s a must-see for any railroad enthusiast.  Sanderson Station sees very few passengers—a total of just 198 in 2022—but it’s a cool sight that’s less than a mile from US 90. Definitely worth the stop, if only to say that you’ve been there.

Read More

 
Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona
Historic Bisbee, Arizona is bustling, with a renewed emphasis on art, wellness, and tourism, but in many ways, it remains a living ghost town of its heyday. At the turn of the century, Bisbee was organized around the copper industry, with stories of massive wealth and exploitation. If you are looking for a place to stay and reckon with the ghosts of the past, there’s no better option than the putatively haunted Copper Queen Hotel. This Victorian-era hotel is...

Read More

Montour Preserve Fossil Pit in Danville, Pennsylvania
Located In rural Danville, Pennsylvania, the Montour Preserve was dedicated as a nature area in 1972. When parking areas were being built for the preserve, part of a hillside was dug out to use as fill. The hillside consisted of shale from the Mahantango Formation. This rock is rich in Devonian-era marine fossils, from an era when Pennsylvania was covered by a warm, shallow sea. When this fossil-rich shale was discovered, The Montour Fossil Pit was established. The dug-out...

Read More

Matz Farmstead Ruins in Cross Plains, Wisconsin
First settled in 1840, Cross Plains, Wisconsin is a small town approximately 15 miles west of Madison, the state capital city. A 1920 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal described the town as “nestled in a narrow valley, hemmed in by frowning bluffs.” Situated atop part of these frowning bluffs are the remnants of the Matz Farmstead, which consists of two desolate stone structures, the only remains of German-born settler Friedrich Matz’s built legacy. Located in the Dane County...

Read More

 
Longstreet Cemetery in Ozark, Alabama
When the U.S. Army decided to move helicopter operations to Alabama in August 1942 they built a new base, Fort Rucker, now Fort Novosel. But there was a problem. People had settled here a hundred years earlier and over time buried a number of loved ones in cemeteries near their settlements.   To show respect to those buried there, the federal government and Holman Funeral Home worked together to move the cemeteries to Ebenezer Baptist Church, which was founded in...

Read More

Ritualcravt in Wheat Ridge, Colorado
Ritualcravt has been a unique hub for the witchcraft community in Colorado since 2015. The storefront is run by a coven of House Witches who work in a wide variety of folk magic traditions. They curate one of the largest collections of ritual tools, metaphysical wares, occult objects, oddities, rarities, and apothecary goods; as well as a massive library of books on folk magic topics. They are also home to Ritualcravt School, which offers classes and workshops on witchcraft...

Read More

Sator Square in Brusaporto, Italy
Along the wall enclosing the remains of a castle is an unusual stone. It is squared-shaped, and it bears a grid with the following words readable both horizontally and vertically: SATOR, AREPO, TENET, OPERA, and ROTAS.  These words can be read backwards, so that SATOR is ROTAS written backwards, AREPO is OPERA written backwards, and TENET, being at the middle of the five-letter square, is a palindrome itself. Another feature of this stone is that the initials of these...

Read More