Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Main

11 Things We Learned This Week

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

This week we learned …

… an American won the Man Booker prize. Congratulations, Paul Beatty!

 

… what wind, currents, and geography tell us about how people first settled Oceania.

Map by David Eccles, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-3.0
Map by David Eccles, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-3.0

 

… the ancient Romans were brutal.

Roman gladiators, like these in a mosaic from the Villa Borghese in Rome, turned war into a game. Photograph by James L. Stanfield, National Geographic  
Roman gladiators, like these in a mosaic from the Villa Borghese in Rome, turned war into a game.
Photograph by James L. Stanfield, National Geographic

 

… what President Obama’s education legacy really is.

 

… the awesome origins of the High Five, just in time for the World Series.

 

… why Russia didn’t become a free-market democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Hey, kids! Remember the USSR? Map by National Geographic, of course
Hey, kids! Remember the USSR?
Map by National Geographic, of course

 

… how this volcano stopped an earthquake in its tracks.

Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and a major tourist attraction on the island of Kyushu. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey
Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and a major tourist attraction on the island of Kyushu.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

 

… we should remember H.G. Wells for his social predictions, not just his scientific ones.

 

… spiders can “tune” their webs.

Much in same way that notes travel along a plucked guitar string, spider silk transmits vibrations in different frequencies, sending information back to the spider. Photograph by James L. Stanfield, National Geographic
Much in same way that notes travel along a plucked guitar string, spider silk transmits vibrations in different frequencies, sending information back to the spider.
Photograph by James L. Stanfield, National Geographic

 

… diamonds are forever, and your data might be, too.

Clever data storage devices? Photograph by Victor R. Boswell, Jr., National Geographic
Clever data storage devices?
Photograph by Victor R. Boswell, Jr., National Geographic

 

… we live in the age of funfetti.

Is there a dessert that wouldn’t be improved with this? Photograph by Tiia Monto, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-SA-3.0
Is there a dessert that wouldn’t be improved with this?
Photograph by Tiia Monto, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-SA-3.0

One thought on “11 Things We Learned This Week”

  1. Pingback: 11 Things We Learned This Week – worldtraveller70

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