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National Geographic

A LONG JOURNEY HOME

Monday, April 17, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn what it means to farm the seas, travel along Odysseus’ ancient journey ... and bathe with elephants in mud. Plus, happy International Bat Appreciation Day.

Odysseus illustrated

GHIGO ROLI/ALBUM

Waylaid by an angry god, Odysseus spent years trying to get home. The legendary Greek character used wiles and trickery, as did the Norse figure Loki, to get out of many a jam en route.

Would his wife maintain her hope that he is still alive—and hold off suitors? What does the tale tell us about narrative—and actual ancient Greek history?

Read the full story here.

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Penelope, Odysseus' wife, illustrated

PETER NAHUM AT THE LEICESTER GALLERIES, LONDON/BRIDGEMAN/ACI

Using their wiles: Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, delays the suitors’ attentions by pretending to weave a shroud, visible on a loom (above). At top, Odysseus intoxicates and then blinds the one-eyed monster Cyclops. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

capabaras are popular on social media

PHOTOGRAPH BY LEONARDO FERNANDEZ VILORIA, REUTERS

Axolotls and capybaras (pictured above) are TikTok famous—and here's why that could be a problem

5 ways that elephants thrive

‘Pickleball is for everyone’: Inside America’s fastest growing sport

Can gum infections trigger arthritis?

Eat these foods to keep your brain strong and healthy

South Africa sent thousands of lion skeletons to Asia—what does that mean?

Here’s what we know about a deadly fungus that’s swept through hospitals

See how Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan around the world

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Net pens in Panama

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN J. SKERRY, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Farming the seas: Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic organisms like clams, seaweed, and salmon, is a centuries-old method to get seafood to the table. Today, over 50% of the world’s seafood is farmed. And despite its simple definition, the techniques used are vast—and ever-changing (above, diamond-shaped fish cages in Panama). Here’s everything you need to know about what it means to farm the seas.

WHAT IS AQUACULTURE?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A gif of a bat

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK THIESSEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Seeing with sound: Real life bats are more like superheroes than you may think—and they’ve evolved for over 50 million years to do so. Some examples: bats can be infected with deadly viruses and not get sick, have the longest lifespan of any other mammal relative to their body size, and bounce high-frequency sounds off objects and listen for their echoes to calculate the distance, size, and shape of objects. (Above, a bat in flight catches a moth.)

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Elephants take a mud bath

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL NICHOLS, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

A century of elephants: The first National Geographic elephant story was published in 1906 by Eliza Scidmore—and the magazine has captured these iconic creatures ever since. Like the photo above, where elephants partake in daily mud baths, a key component to elephant hygiene.

Related: Nat Geo Explorer Dominique Gonçalves helps restore human-elephant coexistence in Mozambique
And: Elephants learn to live with us—can we learn to live with them?

100 YEARS OF ELEPHANTS

Today’s soundtrack: Long Journey Home, Billy Strings

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. Want to let us know your thoughts? Send away: [email protected]. Happy trails!

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