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THIS QUEEN CHALLENGES A MACHO HISTORY

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we meet the most powerful woman in the Viking world, meet this year's best wildlife photographer ... and find out why whales are making hats out of seaweed.

Thyra Dannebod ordering the building of the Danevirke in an illustration.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LOOK AND LEARN, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

Could the most powerful person in the perceived hypermasculine world of the Vikings have been a woman?

That’s one conclusion from a new analysis of an ancient runestone praising Queen Thyra. (The illustration above shows the queen ordering the building of fortifications to defend the kingdom.)

As it turns out, Thyra was a key figure in her own right in the emerging Danish realm of the 10th century, perhaps bigger than her king-husband and her son, a revered nation-builder for whom Bluetooth technology is named.

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Speeding toward a seal, orcas rotate to their sides in unison. The momentum will create a large wave that may be powerful enough to wash the seal off the ice floe.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BERTIE GREGORY

13 stunning photos from this year’s best wildlife photographers. (Above, Nat Geo Explorer Bertie Gregory documents orcas.)

Related: These orcas control the waves to hunt. It’s spine-tingling to watch.

She was Britain’s last witch—and she lived in the 20th century

Are vitamin C supplements overrated?

The U.S. plans to plant a million city trees—the benefits aren’t what you’d expect

What is ‘kelping’? Why whales are making hats out of seaweed

Skunks can lose their stripes—and now we might know why

They disrupted Fashion Week in Paris. Bedbugs are everywhere—and they’re very good at what they do

PHOTO OF THE DAY

In an Istanbul schoolyard a girl and a friend have fun with a gorilla mask.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SABIHA ÇIMEN

Goofing around: We mark today’s International Day of the Girl with a prank: Two schoolkids, one with a gorilla mask, just before running through the hallways to startle their friends.

The image is part of a project by photographer Sabiha Çimen, who visited her former Quran school and others across Turkey.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Warriors prancing with bows and arrows along the island's beaches are a testament to the tribe's defiance of the outside world. This photograph was first published in the July 1975 issue of National Geographic.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RAGHUBIR SINGH, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

They didn’t want to be ‘found’: Some groups don’t want to be connected to society and don’t want strangers from the outside poking around. The 2018 killing of an American missionary by one remote tribe may threaten their existence. That’s a theme of The Mission, a National Geographic Documentary film premiering in theaters this week.

The above photograph, first published in our July 1975 magazine, shows Sentinelese tribesmen on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman archipelago standing firm along shoreline, hoisting bows and arrows.

Related: Meet the first woman to contact one of the world’s most isolated tribes

LEAVE US ALONE!

LAST GLIMPSE

A visitor wearing VR headset experiences walking on the moon at the Shanghai Astronomy Museum on its opening day on July 17, 2021 in Shanghai, China.

PHOTOGRAPH BY YANG JIANZHENG, VCG/GETTY IMAGES

China's museum boom: Since 2020, more than 20 new cultural facilities have been built in cities, town, and even mountain villages. Among the subjects showcased are imperial history, science fiction, and archeology and astronomy.

(Above, a visitor wearing a virtual reality headset experiences walking on the moon at the Shanghai Astronomy Museum.) What else can travelers see at these museums now that China is issuing tourist visas again?

Related: These are the world’s most beautiful museums

Today’s soundtrack: Fault Lines, Amanda Shires

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. Is anyone in your family a little too fascinated with the Roman Empire? Let us know!

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