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Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

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The real-life disaster that inspired an epic tale of vengeance

It's been said that strange omens appeared in Nantucket the summer the Essex set sail: A comet crossed the skies; a plague of locusts destroyed the crops; and there were reported sightings of "an extraordinary sea animal" resembling a serpent. This is the true story of a doomed whaling voyage, its crew's horrific quest for survival, and the primordial struggle between man and nature.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY BØRGE OUSLAND

Two great explorers set out to investigate the melting Arctic. It almost killed them.

Somewhere near the North Pole, in a small tent staked to a plate of floating ice, Børge Ousland's satellite phone buzzed. It was November 20, 2019, and Ousland, the leading polar explorer of his generation, and adventurer Mike Horn had set out two months earlier with an audacious goal: to ski across the top of the world. It was one of the most daring polar journeys in history—but the men were in trouble.

AN UNTOLD STORY

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER HORREE/ALAMY/ACI

The biggest chariot battle in history nearly ended mighty Egypt

In 1275 B.C., the Hittites looked unstoppable, rolling over enemy after enemy. Then, in a heroic push to regain their former imperial lands in Syria, the great Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II waged war against the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, where he won a resounding victory—at least that's the story the ancient Egyptians heard. Here's the truth.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CIRIL JAZBEC

How Slovenia's monsters came back from the dead

Slovenia's version of Carnival, tied to the Christian holiday of Shrovetide, is a millennia-old tradition that almost didn't survive due to the efforts of disapproving church leaders and, in later years, a socialist regime. Here's how the locals stepped in to save it.

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PAID CONTENT FOR SPAIN TOURISM BOARD

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHIEU PALEY

Charge into the gigantic landscapes of Spain’s central region

Across the plateaus of inland Spain, windmills and geological oddities are reminiscent of the muscular bodies of ancient, looming giants. The “hanging houses” of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Cuenca, along with the enchanted woodlands and plains beyond, offer any wanderer a glorious fairy-tale backdrop to swell their imagination.

QUOTE

Polar bears will eat you if you let them. If you just sit there, they will come and they will eat you. Which is an honest thing. They are hungry.

—Børge Ousland, explorer

From: The untold story of the boldest polar expedition of modern times

PHOTOGRAPH BY BABAK TAFRESHI, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Somewhere along the way, our galaxy got bent

Stretching some 120,000 light-years from tip to tip, the Milky Way is what's known as a spiral galaxy. Four large arms wind around its core, with our sun parked along a minor arm. The galaxy's disk of stars and gas is mostly thin and flat toward the middle. But at roughly the sun's distance from the core, the galaxy begins to bend. And near the edges, it gets kind of sloppy.

THE MILKY WAY IS WARPED

PHOTOGRAPH BY SANNE DE WILDE, NOOR

On the island of the colorblind, paradise has a different hue

Pingelap Atoll, a Micronesian island in the South Pacific, sometimes goes by its other name: the Island of the Colorblind. That's the moniker Oliver Sacks assigned the island in his 1996 book that explored the human brain. This island has a unique genetic history that affects how its people understand color.

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OTHER GREAT READS

Why your life could be part of someone else's game (BBC) ››

This man wants you to rethink everything you know about cows (Atlas Obscura) ››

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