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HowStuffWorks clears a trail for world explorers and armchair travelers alike.
Does it seem like the sun keeps busting out solar flares? Well, that’s because it does keep busting out solar flares. It did it a couple of days ago, and you’ll recall the flare headed for Earth in early March. According to Wired, the reason for all these flare-ups is that the sun has entered into an “active phase” of its 11-year weather cycle. Active equals explosive.
The good news is that when the sun burps out solar flares that head for Earth, like it did in March 2012, it stirs up the auroras to vibrant greens and blues like you haven’t seen in, well, at least 11 years.
I assume that if you’re a fan of The Coolest Stuff on the Planet, you’re a fan of traveling. I find it hard to believe that there are any people out there that don’t like to travel, but I know there are. That’s probably a discussion better left for another blog entirely, though.
Big Money — Literally — on Yap Island
by Amanda Arnold | April 12, 2012
On a tiny Pacific island called Yap, coins aren’t the kind of thing that jingle around in your pockets. They’re the kind of thing you prop up against your house.
The huge coins, called “rai,” are made of limestone and can range from 1 to 12 feet in diameter. In fact, some coins are so heavy — a large one can weigh thousands of pounds — that they’re virtually impossible to move.
On April 1, 2012, artists gathered in Tottori, Japan, to construct sand castles that look an awful lot like the city of London.
The sculptures are meant to honor the 2012 Summer Olympic Games; therefore they represent Great Britain’s greatest icons — from William Shakespeare and the Tower of London to the London taxi and the imperial guards. The sand art exhibit will be open to the public at the Tottori Sand Dunes on April 14, 2012 and will remain through January 2013.
I’ve had several friends visit Vietnam, and it’s definitely on my short list of places to visit. The country has a storied history and beautiful scenery. One of those stunning locations is Ha Long Bay. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site with about 2,000 limestone cliffs that have formed over millions of years.
This is pretty cool: The folks at NASA compiled a bunch of data they collected on ocean currents (between June 2005 and December 2007) to create a very artistic image of Earth — one that looks a whole lot like Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
One of the frustrating things about travel is you often don’t get a good sense of the place you’re actually visiting on your typical 7-10 day jaunt. Having experienced that myself, I’ve found an easy way to get a taste of local life is to do something very ordinary – the kind of thing I would do at home but wouldn’t usually bother to do on vacation.
White Horses Carved into England’s Hillsides
by Amanda Arnold | March 28, 2012
In southern England, pry up the green, green grass and you’ll find white chalk beneath. That’s how white horses came to be carved into hillsides.
The oldest white horse, Uffington, was carved in about 1200 B.C. It’s 374 feet (110 meters) long with a rather abstract and beautiful physique, and is most easily viewed from the air.
Several years ago, a friend and I treated ourselves to a trip to Holland and Germany as reward for graduating from culinary school. My favorite experiences were in Amsterdam. We were in the thick of things during Queen’s Day, which is the national celebration of the birthday of the Queen Mother — but it’s really just an excuse to party all across Holland! We toured the famous canals, The Red Light District and of course Amsterdam’s amazing flower markets.
Most historians agree these concentric circles were created by the ancient Incas to test out potential new crops for the Empire. Each terraced level has its own microclimate, marked by a certain range of temperatures, exposure to wind and humidity levels.
Not only that, but the rings also look awfully cool — from the sky and from the ground — so these days they attract tourists like you and me.
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