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15 Things We Learned This Week!

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What did you learn this week? Let us know in the comments or at education@ngs.org.

This week, we learned …

… the Mariana Trench is so deep, you can hear earthquakes above you.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, magma burn and earthquake rumble.
Photograph courtesy Pacific Ring of Fire 2004 Expedition. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration; Dr. Bob Embley, NOAA PMEL, Chief Scientist. (CC BY 2.0)

 

… Mongolia is changing all its addresses to three-word phrases. (is.this.future?)

Mongolian neighborhoods like this one (mixing traditional yurt housing with modern plots) will no longer be designated by numbers and streets. For example, the new system would change the address of the US Embassy in Mongolia from:
US Embassy
Denver Street #3
11th Micro-District
Ulaanbaatar 14190
Mongolia
to constants.stuffy.activism
Photograph by Dean Conger, National Geographic

 

… ships are too big.

 

… the problem with professional development.

What’s the problem with our Grosvenor Teacher Fellow professional development program? There’s not more of it.
Photograph by CT Ticknor

 

… the most sophisticated science lab on Earth uses medieval forestry techniques.

Yes, in addition to the largest and coolest science experiments on Earth, CERN also has genuine fairy-tale forests. Elves and quarks, united as they should be.
Photograph by Erwan Le Marrec/ CERN

 

… there are concealed cities in Angkor, a hidden monument in Petra, and the Amber Room may be stashed in a Nazi bunker in Poland.

Angkor Wat is the most famous temple complex of the Khmer culture. CLICK TO VIEW FULL-SIZE!
Illustration by Juan Velasco, National Geographic
The most famous remnant of the Nabatean culture is the iconic “treasury” monument in Petra, Jordan. Photograph by Jodi Cobb, National Geographic
The Russian “Amber Room” was decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. It was looted during World War II. Photograph by Branson DeCou, courtesy University of California at Santa Cruz

 

… McDonald’s is the glue that holds communities together. (Mildly off-color language in the video here.)

 

… punctuation is going out of style, period. Full stop. Don’t tell LL.

 

… interracial friendships decline as kids enter adolescence—and teachers may play a part.

This is a posed photograph.
Photograph courtesy GeoBee

 

… Iceland is turning carbon emissions to stone.

 

… where the International Space Station will go to die.

The oceanic pole of accessibility, the point in the ocean furthest from any landmass, is the earthly home of space capsules and Cthulhu.
Map by Timwi, courtesy Wikimedia. Public domain.

 

… why one African national park might ban animal apps.

Tourists interact with a mountain gorilla. Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic

 

 

… smart birdhouses might improve air quality.

 

… a simple numbers game could make kids better at math.

 

… how (and why) to move a city.