National Geographic | Your Weekly Escape

National Geographic

Your Weekly Escape

Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA, JPL

Earth's 'twin' is a fiery hell. But how did Venus get that way—and could we be next?

For billions of years, Venus may have been a temperate blue marble, and, some scientists suspect, may have even been inhabited. Today it smells like rotting eggs, and its raindrops would dissolve flesh. Was it always this way, or is it a planet gone wrong? A flurry of upcoming missions may tell us.

OUR ALIEN SISTER

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER HORREE, ALAMY

She was one of history's most powerful women. You've probably never heard of her.

Begum Samru was a four-foot-eight former courtesan turned mercenary turned queen. She commanded thousands of troops, took a litany of lovers, and dubbed herself Joanna, after Joan of Arc. Yet today she is largely forgotten. Here is the story of her remarkable life.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT CLARK, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Ötzi the Iceman was discovered 30 years ago. Here's what we know about him.

He was murdered in the Alps 5,000 years ago. Naturally mummified, his leathery remains quickly became a global sensation, spawning countless books and documentaries. But decades later, he continues to reveal new details of Neolithic life—and insights into modern health.

THE ICEMAN'S SECRETS

MAP COURTESY DAVID RUMSEY MAP COLLECTION

These charming 19th-century atlases were the Facebook of their day

Nominally they were about who owned which parcel of land. But they turned into something rather different as publishers realized that people would pay to have a short biography or an artist's rendering of their farm, family, or prize pig included for all their neighbors to see.

A PEEK AT RURAL LIFE

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIDGEMAN/ACI

The short, chaotic reign that scandalized Rome

Born in Syria, the emperor who became known as Elagabalus took the throne at the tender age of 14 but ruled for only four years. Read on to see why his hedonism and sacrilege proved to be too much—even for the Roman Empire.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

QUOTE

A Syrian oracle had once warned Elagabalus that he should expect a short life and violent death. ... [He] would wear nothing but Chinese silk next to his skin ... adamant in his wish to die in style.

Juan Pablo Sánchez, writer

From: The short, chaotic reign that scandalized Rome

PHOTOGRAPH BY NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY, ALAMY

A gray whale swam halfway across the world, setting a new record

The 40-foot male traveled from the North Pacific to Namibia, the first sighting of the species in the Southern Hemisphere.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAN WINTERS

From diamonds to rockets, mourning loved ones has never been so high-tech

Throughout history, people have devised elaborate ways to memorialize the dead: the pyramids of Egypt, Europe’s Gothic mausoleums, the Taj Mahal in India. But what some mourners consider meaningful, others would call macabre.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

MORE GREAT READS

The greatest unsolved heist in Irish history (Atlas Obscura) ››

The full moon seems to affect men more than women, and no one is sure why (Salon) ››

Sign up here to receive Your Weekly Escape and/or our daily newsletters—covering History, Environment, Science, Animals, Travel, and Photography news.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

{We'd like to hear from you! Tell us what you think of our emails by sharing your feedback in this short survey.

TAKE THE SURVEY

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.

© 2021 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.