National Geographic | National Geographic

National Geographic

COLD PLUNGE? SHOULD YOU?

Friday, December 29, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we decide whether faddish cold plunges are actually good for you, find ancient Roman gemstones, examine slavery and the U.S. Civil War … and travel to a Swiss watchmaking center (guess which one?)

A man takes an ice bath in an antique tub in Zwolle, Netherlands.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JASPER DOEST, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Proponents swear by it. A bracing swim in the ocean, no matter what time of year. A daily plunge in the ice (above).

Faddish ice baths and start-of-the-year polar plunges, fixtures of local New Year’s news, sound like they would spur your body to activity and health. But before you crack the ice, here’s what you should know.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Gemstones from the site of former Roman baths in Carlisle, England

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNA GIECCO

Ancient Romans lost these priceless gemstones (above)—down a bathhouse drain

How to beat inflammation

Why do we sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on New Year’s Eve?

The myth of the Lost Cause—and why some Americans can't accept that slavery was behind the bloody Civil War

Do you or anyone you know suffer from hoarding disorder? This may help.

What archaeologists can tell us about the real Jesus

What you need to know about holiday heart syndrome

From palm trees to skyscrapers: these wild parrots have found new roosting spots in the city

How did early Islamic medicine advance science?

And ... Nat Geo’s most compelling images of the century (so far)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Is a panda cub fooled by a panda suit? That’s the hope at Wolong’s Hetaoping center, where captive-bred bears training for life in the wild are kept relatively sheltered from human contact, even during a rare hands-on checkup.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AMI VITALE

Adaptation: The adorability of giant pandas has made them many things–including cultural icons. It has also aided efforts to keep the endangered bears from extinction. For the past quarter century, China, which has used the animals as diplomatic chips, also has gone to great lengths (above, a human dressed as a panda on a reserve) to perfect breeding methods and increase their captive population of pandas. Still unanswered: Will these efforts lead to a rise in the native population?

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

Antique watch making tools on display in Switzerland

PHOTOGRAPH BY SERGE PICARD, AGENCE VU/REDUX

Winding you up: This Switzerland watchmaking center has been creating time pieces for centuries (pictured above, watchmaking tools in a local museum). This place is renowned in a watchmaking land for keeping this ultra-complicated craft alive—and ticking. Where are we?

A. Zurich
B. Vallée de Joux
C. Basel
D. Saint-Imier
E. Geneva

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

Today’s soundtrack: Con los años que me quedan, Gloria Estefan

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, Nishita Naga, and David Beard. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup.

Clicking on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply.

This email was sent to: [email protected]. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.

This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036

Stop all types of future commercial email from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences.

Manage all email preferences with the Walt Disney Family of Companies.

© 2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.