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THE TRUE FIRST
CIRCUMNAVIGATOR

Thursday, September 1, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we learn who really was the first person to sail the globe, examine orchids, see the impact of the war in Tigray, witness how science survives in Yemen... and discover how animals learn.

A drawing of a man in a feathered hat on a ship

ALBUM/UNIVERSAL IMAGES

Think fast! Who was the first person to sail around the world? If Ferdinand Magellan’s name came to mind, you’d be half right. Magellan started the voyage but didn’t finish it. He died about halfway through, and navigator Juan Sebastian Elcano (shown above in a 1791 engraving) stepped up to lead the crew back to Spain.

History Magazine celebrates the 500th anniversary of Elcano’s achievement and explores why he doesn’t have quite the same name recognition as Magellan—even though Elcano’s the one who got the job done.

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Kites flutter in the breeze

VIDEO BY PUTU SAYOGA AND WAYAN MARTINO

Color and magic return to the skies above Bali (kites shaped like dragons fly at the renewed festival, above)

A master clockmaker reveals the hidden history of time

The consequences of reclaiming land from the sea

Burning Man, a desert spectacle for revelers of all abilities

Africa’s oldest known dinosaur has been unearthed

Why COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed undocumented U.S. immigrants

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAVIER AZNAR, @JAVIER_AZNAR_PHOTOGRAPHY

Naked Man Orchid—Yes, that’s the real nickname for the Orchis italica (above), native to the Mediterranean Basin. Nearly 587,000 people liked this photo on our Instagram page, with several people noticing a resemblance to a certain monster on Stranger Things. What do you see? For fans of the Orchidaceae family, check out new research on the iconic ghost orchid and visit the island where a thousand species bloom.

NEW CLUES IN ORCHID MYSTERY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A portrait of a woman with her face half obscured by a head scarf

PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNSEY ADDARIO

A life of love and war: What does a two-decade-long journey of documenting humanitarian issues around the world look like? See for yourself as the School of Visual Arts in New York honors National Geographic photographer and explorer Lynsey Addario with a mid-career retrospective, opening tomorrow. Addario has worked in more than 70 countries, from Afghanistan to Ethiopia (where she photographed the horrors of the civil war, including survivors of rape like the woman above)—and has been kidnapped twice. Most recently, with support from National Geographic, Addario documented climate change and its disproportionate impact on women and girls.

HEAR FROM LYNSEY ON OVERHEARD

OVERHEARD AT NAT GEO

A woman stands at the base of a tree

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTIN EDSTRÖM

Island wonders: The island of Socotra is a jewel of biodiversity, the so-called Galápagos of the Indian Ocean, and might also hold traces of the earliest humans to leave Africa. One of the island’s wonders is the dragon's blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari, above) which can live a thousand years. Its bright red resin is said to have medicinal properties.

But Socotra is also part of Yemen, a country enduring a horrific civil war. Meet Ella Al-Shamahi, the Nat Geo explorer with a track record of navigating the world’s most hostile hot spots who’s determined to probe the island—and empower its local scientists before it’s too late.

WAR ZONES NEED SCIENCE TOO

IN A FEW WORDS

QUOTE

It’s better that everything is under the ground. The sand is safety.

Sadeq al Salwi, Marib director for the General Organization of Antiquities and Museums in Yemen

Discover how ancient artifacts from Yemen’s past are intertwined with its violent present

LAST GLIMPSE

A meerkat stands with three babies at its feet

PHOTOGRAPH BY THOMAS PESCHAK

Animal teachers: Many species inherit knowledge. In fact, among non-humans, a true teacher is a rare breed with only a handful of species, such as some birds, primates, and insects, making the grade. Meerkats (above) qualify by teaching their young how to safely handle scorpions, a favorite snack. Adults gradually teach pups to remove the stingers from the live arachnids.

This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Heather Kim, Sydney Combs, Allie Yang, Alissa Swango, Amy McKeever, Janey Adams, and Anne Kim-Dannibale. Do you have an idea or a link for the newsletter? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected]. If you want our daily newsletter, sign up here.

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