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CAN WE HONOR
THESE PIONEERS?

Friday, November 11, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we check our mental health with Rorschach’s ink blot paintings, meet trailblazers who transformed the U.S. Marines, attempt to control a million destructive herbivores, uncover the history of California’s ‘Lone Woman’ … and stand up for the lowly blobfish. Plus, Happy Veterans Day!

A portrait of a seated man wearing medals

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL A. MCCOY

Marines pride themselves on a reputation as the toughest U.S. military branch. They also were the last to integrate.

It wasn’t until 1943 that a training base was established to ready Black Marines—and new efforts are being made to recognize these pioneers. Many of those who followed those recruits are racing to recognize thousands of those pioneers, whose descendants may not know of their families’ pathbreaking role in American history.

“It is an inherent obligation that we identify these individuals,” says James Averhart, Jr., a retired chief warrant officer. “And acknowledge their service.”

Read the full story here.

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

A picture of a person pointing to an old photograph of Marines.

That’s me! Above, Marine veteran George McIvory, 94, points to himself in a photograph taken during his training in North Carolina. At top, Retired Master Sgt. Carroll William Braxton, another pioneering Black recruit, sits for a portrait at the former training camp.

Read more–and watch ABC’s preview of these pioneering Marines here.
Do you have a favorite family member or ancestor who was a veteran? Let us know.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A painting of a woman on an island shielding her eyes from the sun

HOLLI HARMON. HOLLIHARMON.COM

This ‘Lone Woman’ captured a nation's imagination after being found on a California island. Who was she? (Above, an artist imagines the woman on San Nicolas Island.)

How COVID is messing with your sleep—even after you test negative again

How the Titanic is yielding its secrets

Where are the world’s happiest places?

These traditional diets may help you live longer

WWII love letters help daughter find her missing father

Is the blobfish so ugly it's cute?

Why do people lie? Science has the answers.

Mesmerizing pictures reveal the scars of mining

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

A colorful picture made from ink blots

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK THIESSEN, NGM STAFF. RORSCHACH TEST CARD COURTESY MERIT, L.A.

Reassessing the Rorschach test: The 10 ink blots of a century-old personality assessment are probably the “most analyzed paintings of the 20th century,” says a biographer of the Swiss psychiatrist who developed the open-ended test. And our answers to these images are more accurate than you think, Nat Geo reports. What do you see in the image above?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A large boar and several piglets rummage through a trash bag

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANCESCO FOTIA, GETTY IMAGES

Basta! An exasperated Italy has had enough with an estimated one million wild boars snuffling and devouring the landscape—and causing thousands of vehicle accidents. Nat Geo examines out-of-the-box solutions to rid the nation—and Europe—of the bulky beasts (pictured above, in Rome).

ENOUGH WITH THE BOARS?

LAST GLIMPSE

A portrait of a woman

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK THIESSEN

Capturing a solution: Crisis has accompanied Miora Rajaonary since she graduated from photography school in South Africa—on the same day Nelson Mandela died. She mourned deeply, yes; “but it was also the beginning of my new life,” she tells us. News outlets worldwide were hungry for photographers to show South Africa’s reaction, and the National Geographic Explorer went deeper. She is doing the same thing now in her native Madagascar, documenting solutions to a drought-exacerbated food crisis.

We asked, you answered: Thanks to the readers who wrote in after our story on COVID-caused insomnia—and who shared solutions. Wrote Jean Morris, whose sleeping trouble intensified post-COVID: “I try soothing sounds from Alexa, melatonin, and boring TV.” Reader Yulianti Yu also was using melatonin, but says she doesn’t need it now since her insomnia finally has started to wane.

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Sydney Combs, Jen Tse, and Heather Kim. Have an ancestor who distinguished themselves in service to their country? Email [email protected]. Have a great weekend!

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