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RUSSIAN EMPRESS SEIZED POWER, BUT BROUGHT MODERN CHANGES

Monday, March 20, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn how a Russian empress rose, discover how sharks solved an aquatic mystery ... and meet the woman who saved Egypt’s temples from certain doom. Plus, the start of spring—and Happy Year 1402!

Catherine The Great

JOSEE/LEEMAGE/GETTY

She was a foreigner, a teenage bride who became ruler of all Russia after the mysterious death of her husband.

Against all odds, she held on for 34 years. Her domestic reforms transformed Russia, but she also engaged in the brutal imperialism that Vladimir Putin aped centuries later—annexing Crimea and invading Ukraine.

How did she do it? And what made Catherine (shown above in her coronation portrait) ‘The Great’?

Read the full story here.

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an 1884 painting by Ivan Kuzmich Fyodorov

HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY

Getting Russia smarter: Catherine, who has been portrayed on screen by Marlene Dietrich, Helen Mirren and Elle Fanning, had an enduring passion for knowledge and met with the world’s greatest minds, including Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, shown here in an 1884 painting. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Tiger sharks

PHOTOGRAPH BY CRISTINA MITTERMEIER

These sharks were equipped with cameras—and solved an aquatic mystery (above, a group of non-camera carrying tiger sharks in the Bahamas)

Why the equinox announces the arrival of spring

These are the footsteps of the real Jesus, according to archeologists

See how Nazi U-boats nearly won WWII in these striking maps

Sleep really does control us. Read how.

Avoid these foods to live longer

Meet the woman who helped save Egypt's temples from certain doom

Colon cancer is rising among young adults. Here are signs to watch for.

From scorpions to jellyfish, this is why some animals sting

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

An ‘immortal’ jellyfish

PHOTOGRAPH BY JENNIFER HAYES AND DAVID DOUBILET

Illuminate: Swimming among the creatures of the deep, dark sea, Nat Geo photographer Jennifer Hayes spotted an immortal jellyfish (pictured above) in Anilao, Philippines. One of the animals considered the holy grail for black-water divers, this glowing bell-shaped invertebrate can essentially restart its life when threatened. See other long-living animals here.

Related: These moon jellyfish have superpowers

THEY CAN OUTLIVE US

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Afghan women and children clean and wash clothes

PHOTOGRAPH BY KIANA HAYERI

Joy: Nowruz is a celebration of new life—and a new year. More than 300 million people worldwide marked the start of Year 1402 with spring’s arrival today. (Pictured above, on the eve of Nowruz, Afghan women and children clean and wash clothes and blankets before the holiday.)

Related: The astronomical joy of Nowruz

IN SPRING, IT BEGINS

LAST GLIMPSE

World Water Map interactive

VIDEO BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Where's the water? How much water does an average household consume? How about for agricultural use? Using 40 years of historical data, this interactive World Water Map, created in part by Nat Geo Explorer Marc Bierkens, lets us know—and brings us closer to understanding the global water crisis.

Just type in an address to find the difference between human demand for water and the renewable supply from sources such as rivers, lakes, and aquifers.

Related: Is tap water safe to drink?

Today's soundtrack: Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Patti Smith

Correction: In Friday’s newsletter, we had the wrong ratio of people under 55 being diagnosed with colon cancer. One in five cases of colon cancer are diagnosed in people under 55.

Today's newsletter was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. Have an idea or link to a story you think is right down our alley? Let us know at [email protected]. Happy trails!

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