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BEWARE THE FLAMING HOLE!

Friday, November 17, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we approach a mysterious, otherworldly crater that has been burning for decades, learn about aging from wild baboons, discover plunging sperm counts ... and answer the vanilla-beaver goo question.
Plus, happy National Take a Hike day (and here’s why you should.)

The Gate to Hell was created in the 1950s after a Soviet gas drilling rig fell into an underground cavern. The crater was set on fire shortly afterward and has been burning ever since.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CAROLYN DRAKE, MAGNUM PHOTOS

Methane belches from a 230-foot-wide, 100-foot-deep pit known as the Gate to Hell. It ignited in the 1950s in a remote desert stretch of Central Asia. It looks like a never-extinguished meteor hole containing, well, demons.

How did it begin? Almost certainly a Cold War accident in what was then the Soviet Union.

Can it be stopped? Not, say some experts, without the risk of a massive explosion.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

The "gate to hell" gas crater looks otherworldly

PHOTOGRAPH BY GILES CLARKE, GETTY IMAGES

’Hell’ is popular with tourists: Tens of thousands of people have ventured to his remote desert spot in the past five years to see the giant gas crater—and to camp nearby. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A bust of an older Marcus Aurelius in Carrara marble

SCALA/FLORENCE

How did this Roman emperor handle loss—and try to become a better person? Even today, people are reading his journal. (Above, Marcus Aurelius.)

These are the world’s happiest places

What wild baboons are teaching humans about aging

Debunked: You don’t eat vanilla ice cream that comes from beaver goo

Ketamine can help ease depression, but there are risks

Stunning: Our 2023 Pictures of the Year

Is Niagara Falls even a wonder anymore—or just a manmade hydroelectric spillway?

Why are sperm counts declining worldwide faster than we thought?

COVID screwed up our sleep—but gave us clues to fight insomnia

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Teenagers in a field of wildflowers among ancient Roman ruins

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA FRAZZETTA

Life is a highway: For today’s National Take a Hike Day, we’ve dug back for this image alongside the Appian Way (above), a Roman-era ”superhighway” popular with hikers. There are many reasons to grab your sunscreen and hat and hit the road; here are a few.

GET YOUR BOOTS ON

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Genghis Khan and his wife Börte sit on their thrones before courtiers in this artistic rendering from the book Jami' al Tawarikh (Universal History) by Rashid ad-Din.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

Who helped build the empire with the largest contiguous territory in history? She did. The history books give her husband, Genghis Khan, the credit. But historians are only now recognizing the strong hand of Börte, a vital military and political adviser. She organized the vast Mongol camps, and other women took a greater hand in ruling the empire. Who was Börte—and what took historians so long? (Above, the royal couple on their thrones.)

OVERLOOKED NO MORE

Today’s soundtrack: I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory, Kathleen Edwards

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, and David Beard. We’d love to hear from you: [email protected].

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