National Geographic | National Geographic

National Geographic

FROM SCANDAL TO PRIMETIME

Friday, October 7, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we learn the ballroom roots of Dancing with the Stars, watch Vienna’s forbidden dance, meet the historic warriors depicted in The Woman King, visit Italy’s last wild steppe … and hear tales from a tangerine-scented bird love-in.

An illustration of people dancing in gowns

ILLUSTRATION BY FINE ART IMAGES, HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

Who knew the waltz was once scandalous?

The gliding, graceful grande dame of ballroom dancing (shown above in 1870), the waltz freed men and women to fling their arms around each other, a move beyond merely holding hands. Ballroom dancing spread to the masses and morphed from the waltz’s stately ¾ rhythm to the sultry foxtrot, intertwining tango, and exuberant cha cha that viewers watch today on Dancing with the Stars. But how did these dances come about? And how did they spread?

Read the full story.

Please consider getting our full digital report and our magazine by subscribing here.

A picture of a man dancing, seemingly suspended in air a couple feet above and parallel to the ground.

PHOTOGRAPH BY HANS VON NOLDE, AP

The Lindy Hop: The dance style emerged during the Great Depression as a contrast to those sobering times. Pictured above, Lee Moates and Tonita Malau show off their winning moves during a Lindy Hop contest at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom in 1953. Read more—and catch Vienna’s forbidden dance.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A lithograph of a group of women wearing shells and red fabric holding weapons

LOOK AND LEARN/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

The true story behind the warriors featured in The Woman King (depicted above in a 19th-century lithograph)

New x-ray scans have solved a 115-year-old paleontological puzzle

The U.S. treaty that promised the Cherokee people a seat in Congress

How the Lighthouse of Alexandria shone brightly for more than a thousand years

This seabird’s breeding season resembles rowdy, carnal swim parties

Archaeologists searching for Jesus are sifting fact from fiction

A pathbreaking—and accidental—Ice Age discovery

It was America’s first English colony. Then it was gone.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

An aerial picture of ravine.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALESSANDRO GANDOLFI, PARALLELOZERO

Restoring beauty: Wayfarers along the Appian Way passed karst sinkholes and ravines, stone towers, and fields that yielded some of Italy’s best olive oil. When many of its people moved to cities, this corner of Puglia became an alcove for outlaws and an illegal dumping ground. Now, Nat Geo reports, it is experiencing a renaissance (pictured above, an abandoned quarry, cleaned of industrial waste, has been reopened to the public).

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A gif of an octopus on a black background

VIDEO BY @JOELSARTORE, NAT GEO PHOTO ARK

The Octopus Reacher: Despite their excellent eyesight, red octopuses use touch and smell to find food, relying on chemical and texture receptors that line the rims of their suckers. Emerging at night, this species searches the seafloor, crawling in and out of rocky areas to flush out crabs and shrimp. Once prey is secured, the octopus will kill it with venom secreted from salivary glands before cracking the shell with its beak, says photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Joel Sartore. If you, like us, are fascinated by octopus stories, this one may be for you.

NOT ENOUGH OCTOPUS?

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Sydney Combs, Heather Kim, and Jen Tse. Have a favorite nature trip? Let us know! And have a happy weekend.

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.

© 2022 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.