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THE HUNT FOR AMELIA EARHART

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we find what could be the aviation pioneer’s bones, squeeze through intricate underground caves, visit Canada’s cowboy country ... and avoid summer crowds at these national parks.

Amelia Earhart

PHOTOGRAPH BY SZ PHOTO/BRIDGEMAN/ACI

Coconut crabs can measure up to three feet across and clock in at over nine pounds. The world’s largest inveterate can also drag bones to underground burrows.

Researchers have prowled a Pacific island filled with these crabs because signs point to a crash landing of Amelia Earhart’s plane (pictured above) there. Thirteen human bones already were found at the scene.

A RIDDLE SOLVED?

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a coconut crab

PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIEL SCARLETT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

They eat it all: These omnivorous crabs eat everything from coconuts to other crabs—and decaying animal flesh. Did they have something to do with Earhart’s disappearance? We find out.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBBIE SHONE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

10 national parks to avoid the summer crowds (Above, people explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park)

Aromatherapy can help kids breathe in some mental goodness. Here’s how

AI can help you plan your next trip—if you know how to ask

Who was the first drag queen? Inside the early history of drag balls

We are all mermaids in the womb. Sort of.

Cowboy country in British Columbia: a taste of pioneer days with a ranch stay

Not everyone should be taking multivitamins

What happens when you touch wild baby animals? Here's what you need to know

This 5,200-year-old iceman was murdered

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Lee Berger and his team in South Africa

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRENT STIRTON

Cave of bones: Paleoanthropologist and Nat Geo Explorer Lee Berger had to lose 55 pounds to be able to squeeze through a seven-and-a-half-inch wide chute in an intricate maze of underground caves. He did. And he solved the mysteries of human origins. (Above, Berger, far left, works with his team in South Africa.)

Related: A mysterious human species may have been the first to bury their dead

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO

PHOTO OF THE DAY

reenacted D-Day landing

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID BURNETT

Celebrating D-Day: Seventy-nine years ago, some 13,000 U.S. paratroopers dropped from planes above the French countryside—an event that changed the course of World War II. Above, the landing was reenacted in 2014 near the town of Sainte-Mère-Église.

Related: ‘Top Secret’ maps reveal the massive Allied effort behind D-Day

WHERE D-DAY HAPPENED

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

remains of a tribal leader from the Philippines

PHOTOGRAPH BY GUNTHER DEICHMANN

Inked up: Humans have been getting tattoos for at least 5,200 years—dating back to Ötzi the Iceman. He had many line-like markings thought to have been applied by piercing his skin and adding charcoal dust, Nat Geo reports. Archaeologists have also theorized his tattoos may have been to treat pain or for ritual use—and they’re just one example intriguing ancient markings. (Above, the tattooed remains of a tribal leader from the Philippines who died more than 500 years ago.)

Today’s soundtrack: Amelia, Joni Mitchell

Thanks for reading our newsletter! It was edited and curated by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. We'd love to hear from you: [email protected]. Keep shining!

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