Month: September 2016

High waves, violent winds, and extreme droughts can wreak terrible destruction—but they can also uncover amazing treasures. Severe weather has exposed Mayan hieroglyphics, medieval skeletons, ancient footprints, and much more. Here are 15 remarkable things revealed by weather.

1. THE OLDEST HUMAN FOOTPRINTS OUTSIDE OF AFRICA

In 2013, strong storms and erosion at Happisburgh, England cleared away sand and revealed curious depressions in mud. Archaeologists determined that they were human footprints—the oldest ever found outside of Africa. These people who made the footprints belonged to a different species of Homo than our own, and they lived between 1 million and 0.78 million years ago.

2. A CIVIL WAR SHIP—AND A BOTTLE OF TERRIBLE WINE

During the U.S. Civil War, President Lincoln ordered a blockade around southern ports to stop goods from passing through. The Confederacy responded with blockade runners, ships helmed by daring captains who ran cotton, medicine, ammunition, and other goods through the blockade.

The Mary Celestia was one such vessel. It served in this role for only two years before it hit a reef and sank. In recent years, severe hurricanes have stripped away sand from the wreck, and they’ve exposed all sorts of interesting archaeological artifacts—including a sealed bottle of wine. Was the vino still drinkable? Experts sipped it and declared that it mostly tasted like sludgy seawater with notes of … gasoline. Eww.

3. A MEDIEVAL SKELETON HANGING FROM TREE ROOTS

In 2015, a tempest in Collooney, Ireland toppled a huge beech tree—and hoisted half of a skeleton into the air. The bones belonged to an early medieval man who met a violent death from some sort of sharp blade. When the beech tree was toppled last year, the roots popped up from the soil, carrying the top half of the skeleton with them.

4. A PREHISTORIC FOREST

Wild weather at Cardigan Bay in Wales periodically strips away sand and uncovers an unusual sight: an ancient forest of tree stumps. In 2014 an especially powerful set of storms exposed much of the forest, giving us amazing views of the ancient trees, which died over 4500 years ago as sea levels rose and salt water inundated the land. Archaeologists also found a wooden walkway dating to between 3000 and 4000 years ago; perhaps the local people built it in an attempt to deal with rising seas.

5. THE WRECK OF A COAL SCHOONER—PROBABLY

When Hurricane Sandy blew through New York state’s Fire Island, it exposed the hull of a large ship. Experts believe—though they can’t confirm—that this vessel is the Bessie White, a Canadian coal schooner. The ship ran aground in 1919 or 1922 after it became lost in heavy fog. Fortunately, the naval disaster didn’t claim any lives. The whole crew survived, including the ship’s cat.

6. UNEXPLODED SHELLS FROM WORLD WAR II

Explosives from past wars can still be found in our seas, and bad weather sometimes washes them ashore. In 2012, for example, crews in New Jersey found two unexploded shells while combing the beach after Superstorm Sandy. And in 2014, the Royal Navy was called in to examine a shell on a beach in Devon, England.

7. A CALIFORNIA “SIN SHIP”

In the 1920s and 30s, you could evade the law and gamble to your heart’s content on “sin ships” off the California coast. Many of these vessels had once been used for honest work—some had belonged to the military—but they were rebuilt for drinking, gambling, and partying.

The Monte Carlo, a former oil tanker, was one such vessel. As a sin ship, it hosted such illustrious visitors as Mae West and Clark Gable. But on New Year’s Eve in 1936, a tremendous gale arose and the ship broke free of its moorings. Luckily, there were only two caretakers aboard, and they were safely rescued.

The ship washed up on the beach at Coronado the next day, New Year’s Day, and it still lies buried in the sand. But every now and then, storms remove enough sediment and it reappears. This past winter, El Nino storms gave beachgoers an impressive view of the wreckage— and a chance to stand where Hollywood stars once partied the night away.

8. IRON AGE SKELETONS

Rough weather battered Shetland in Scotland during the 2012-2013 holiday season. It caused a cliff collapse that exposed a grisly sight: human remains. Archaeologists and police were quick to the scene—but it soon became apparent that the remains were a little too old for a homicide investigation. The bones dated from perhaps 2000 years ago. Unfortunately, a further cliff collapse reburied the site, laying the bodies to rest once again.

9. A NEOLITHIC TOWN

In 1850, a tremendous squall hit the Orkney Isles in northern Scotland. It stripped grass and dirt from a large, lumpy knoll known as Skerrabra—and revealed something amazing. The knoll was actually an ancient town. This settlement, known as Skara Brae, dated back to 3200-2200 BCE. It gave archaeologists a glimpse into Scotland’s remarkable ancient past: Skara Brae’s inhabitants raised sheep and cows, feasted on now-extinct great auks, and slept on beds filled with heather.

10. A HUGE WOODEN STEAMBOAT

The steamboat Montana, built in 1882, was the largest ship that ever traveled on the Missouri River. But she lasted just two years before she struck an underground tree and was sunk. During a severe 2012 drought, water levels in the Missouri dropped low enough to expose the enormous wreck.

11. A GIGANTIC ANCIENT POT

In 2015, a storm’s powerful waves uncovered a nearly 5-foot-tall pot at Palmahim Beach National Park in Israel. Dating from between 300 and 500 CE, the vessel contained artifacts such as an incense pipe and an oil flask. Why would anybody make a piece of pottery as tall as a person? The ancient Romans used these containers, called dolia, to store food and drink.

12. A WHOLE BUNCH OF OIL

Earlier this year, an oil spill hit a beach in Norfolk, England. But no oil tanker had sunk or run aground in the area …. at least, not for 40 years.

In 1978, the Greek oil tanker Eleni V collided with another ship and capsized. It was later blown up by the army. At the time, policy dictated that the ship’s oil should be buried in trenches along the shore. But storms and erosion eventually exposed the oil, coating a mile of coastline in dark glop—nearly four decades after the offending shipwreck.

13. A SHIPWRECK INCLUDING A BODY DELIVERY GONE WRONG

In 1888, the French vessel Jeune Hortense approached the shore at Cornwall, England. It was carrying the body of a Cornish man who had died in France. The crew of four hoped to return the body to its homeland. Unfortunately, the ship ran aground. Fortunately, the crewmembers—and most of the 450 cows onboard—were rescued.

Over time, sand covered the vessel. Now and then, though, wild waves blast away the sediment and expose it, giving visitors a glimpse of the wreck.

14. MAYAN HIEROGLYPHICS

In 2001, a hurricane hit Guatemala and blew away the sediment that had covered a Mayan staircase. But these were no ordinary stairs. They were covered in hieroglyphics [PDF]—and they told a remarkable story of a massive and incredibly bloody regional conflict, complete with a huge pile of skulls.

15. AN UNUSUAL WHALE SKELETON

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused massive beach erosion in Volusia County, Florida. An Orlando couple who were searching for sand dollars made an incredible discovery: the skeleton of a whale that had been buried for decades. But it was no ordinary whale: it was a Gervais’ beaked whale, a member of a group so poorly known and mysterious that we’re still discovering new species even today.

Chances are, you live in a much bigger place than your grandparents did decades ago. Average American home sizes have substantially increased since the early 1900s and have grown especially quickly in the past 50 years. However, data gathered by the real estate site PropertyShark.com shows that not all of the U.S. has grown equally.

The average new homes built across the country in the last six years were 74 percent larger than houses built in 1910, showing a 1000-square-foot increase. And because the number of people in each household is dropping (Shout out to all those single ladies!) that means the average American has more living space than previous generations. The average person in the U.S. has about 957 square feet of living space more than their grandparents—an increase of 211 percent.

Each city has experienced a different pattern of growth in living space, though. Miami began the 20th century with new homes slightly above the U.S. average size, but in the ‘60s, houses started getting smaller. Residential real estate in the city has actually grown in size over the last five years, but it still pales in comparison to the spacious houses of the Miami of 1910. San Antonio, by contrast, has been building bigger and bigger homes for more than a century.

Chicago has managed to largely evade the McMansion trend, although no doubt its suburban homes are a different story. The city’s new homes are only 4 percent larger than its 1910 homes were. Nashville, meanwhile, saw median square footage rise 7 percent from the 1910 level, but that’s not necessarily a great indicator of the city’s housing stock. The Music City has always had larger houses than the national average, and in the ‘90s, its median home size was almost 3000 square feet, compared to 2700 now.

These square footages are averages, so that doesn’t mean that every house built is a giant mansion. It’s also possible that in some of these areas, most new houses built are a reasonable size, but a handful of large developments skews the numbers. Head over to PropertyShark.com to see the interactive data.

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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But if you’re a kid who plans on selling this tangy beverage, it might be a good idea to speak with a lawyer first. In America and elsewhere, ordinary lemonade stands have been a driving force behind everything from world record attempts to life-altering charities. On the other hand, they also have a knack for starting legal controversies. As many city halls can attest, these scuffles often have big repercussions for entire communities. Here’s a look at 15 lemonade stands that—for better or for worse—left a mark on the world at large.

1. TROUBLED STAND INSPIRES BIPARTISANSHIP AND A FRESH “LEMONADE BILL”

Louisiana is synonymous with Mardi Gras parties and Cajun cuisine. In the near future, it might also become the lemonade stand capital of the world. Earlier this year, a Democratic state senator from the Bayou State introduced a bill that would exempt minors from needing to obtain an occupational license before setting up a lemonade stand—so long as the kiddies’ profits don’t exceed $500 per year. The politician says that he was inspired to take action when a child-run stand was cited for not having its paperwork in order. Disgusted by the incident, Democrats and Republicans alike rallied to support young entrepreneurs throughout their state. The proposal—dubbed the “Lemonade Bill” by the press—was unanimously approved in the Louisiana House and Senate, and signed into law on May 27.

2. LEMONADE CONTROVERSY PROMPTS FORT WORTH TO RE-EXAMINE ITS ZONING LAWS

In 1987, three brothers in Fort Worth, Texas, scored a sweet victory. To raise money for their church and fund a family vacation, the boys started a lemonade stand. Things were going well, until a neighbor anonymously complained to city hall about the tiny business. Once these remarks had been filed, zoning officials had no choice but to shut down the operation. A sign that read “closed by city order,” was slapped onto the stand, resulting in a huge public outcry. When asked to justify this decision, public servants claimed that the boys were illegally running a commercial enterprise in a residential area. Fortunately, this setback proved to be temporary. After a week of bad press, the city changed its tune when an overlooked provision in the law was discovered. Since the stand wasn’t open year-round and didn’t sell pre-packaged products, Fort Worth reclassified it as a home-use business. Thus, the children were allowed to re-enter the beverage game. The town’s mayor extended an olive branch by offering them a new venue on his nearby property. They politely turned him down.

3. STAND OWNERSHIP TEACHES FUTURE BILLIONAIRE THE WAYS OF CAPITALISM

With a net worth of more than $66 billion, one of America’s most famous investors is easily one of the wealthiest men alive. In his youth, the Omaha native did what budding entrepreneurs often do: open a lemonade stand. But unlike most kids, this future businessman recognized the value of a good location. The child noticed that more pedestrians walked past a friend’s house than his own home—and so he arranged to build the stand on his pal’s lawn.

4. PLUCKY BROOKLYNITE HELPS TURN THE LEMONADE STAND INTO AN AMERICAN INSTITUTION

Historians don’t know where, when, or by whom the first lemonade stand was established. However, one journalist is often credited with popularizing the concept. Born in the Netherlands, Edward Bok (1863-1930) immigrated with his family to Brooklyn, New York as a boy. By the time he passed away, Bok had achieved national fame as the longtime editor of a women’s lifestyle periodical, and was a vocal women’s suffrage advocate. In 1921, his autobiography was released. The book was a huge critical success and even won a major literary prize. Inside, the author reviews his childhood business ventures. Bok claimed that, as a boy, he used to make money during the summer months by selling ice water on Brooklyn’s muggy streets. When competitors started to peddle their own ice water, Bok wrote, he upped the ante by squeezing “half a dozen lemons into each pail of water.” Then, he’d add some sugar and shout “Lemonade, three cents a glass!” Today, it’s believed that this published anecdote helped inspire a generation of kids to follow suit.

5. FLORIDA TOWN DRAGGED INTO THE LIMELIGHT BY LEMONADE STANDOFF

Naples, Florida, got some unwanted press in 2003. It all began when a neighborhood dispute resulted in the hasty closure of a six-year-old’s lemonade stand. The girl’s parents elected to shut down her business after their next-door neighbor informed the police that it was operating without a permit. A local station picked up the story and before long, pundits on national television were weighing in. The girl received several hundred dollars’ worth of unsolicited donations from sympathizers; meanwhile, the girl’s neighbor was given something else to complain about. Angry passersby took to pelting her house with lemons.  As a result of the brouhaha, Naples considered some new beverage policies. But by a margin of three votes, the city council rejected a proposed law that would have required all lemonade stands to obtain a business license.

6. HIGH-PROFILE LEMONADE STAND BECOMES A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ISSUE

When one American president ran for our country’s highest office in 1976, his daughter kept herself busy with a lemonade stand. Then just eight years old, the girl (and one of her friends) set up shop just outside of the family residence, where thirsty journalists made for reliable customers. At one point, a reporter lightheartedly told the candidate that members of the press ought to receive a discount. The candidate’s response? “Reporters should pay double.”

7. TURF WAR LEADS TO HISTORIC “MERGER”

A sausage stand owner in Salem, Massachusetts, faced some stiff competition in 2005. That summer, two local boys began selling homemade lemonade on his turf. Since the professional vendor also sold this citrusy beverage, conflict was inevitable. The sausage man asked Salem’s finest to talk the kids into relocating. Instead, the officers shut down the children’s lemonade business because neither boy had purchased a $2200 vendor’s license. But the story didn’t end there. Hoping to make peace, the mayor of Salem negotiated a special arrangement between the two rival parties. In what was described as a “corporate merger,” the salesman allowed the boys to sell lemonade under his own license as sub-contractors—at least until the school year started.

8. CANADIAN AGENCY APOLOGIZES AFTER TERMINATING STAND

In July 2016, Canada’s National Capital Commission (NCC) found itself in hot water when it closed an Ottawa lemonade stand that was owned and operated by two little girls. The entrepreneurs were sisters—just five and seven years old—who’d been saving dough so they could attend summer camp. In order to take advantage of a public road’s foot traffic, the girls opened up on NCC-regulated land. An officer promptly informed their parents that if the sisters didn’t take their business elsewhere, they’d be fined. What followed was a public opinion battle that the NCC couldn’t possibly win. The commission formally apologized and issued the girls a special permit that allowed them to re-open the stand. In return, the girls donated all of their profits to charity, as per the NCC’s request.

9. CHILD-RUN STAND RAISES RELIEF FUNDS FOR HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIMS

In 2006, an 11-year-old humanitarian came up with one delicious way to raise funds for the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief effort. Determined to help out, the boy and his family rented some space at a merchants’ market near their Kyle, Texas, home. There, the whole gang opened up a charity lemonade stand that generated $540 for the American Red Cross over the course of a single weekend.

10. VOCAL GRANDMOTHER ADVOCATES LEMONADE REFORM

For a $5 fee, anyone can set up his or her own lemonade stand within the city limits of Okmulgee, Oklahoma. But this wasn’t always the case. In June 2016, a local seven-year-old tried getting one off the ground but was told to cease operations by a police officer. That’s when her grandmother took action. When the woman complained to city hall, officials put the current, business-friendly lemonade legislation in place. 

11. BEVERAGE-TOUTING ANIMAL LOVER GIVES LOCAL SHELTER A BOOST

Last July, a girl on Long Island raised several hundred dollars for a local animal rescue and adoption center. How’d she do it? With lemonade, of course. One day, the precocious six-year-old told her folks that she wanted to help homeless pets find new families. To accommodate the girl, her parents and neighbors constructed a charming lemonade stand. Upon settling in, the wee activist began to selling off her sugary drinks at 50 cents apiece. Customers were also given flyers promoting the nearby shelter. Thanks to the girl’s profits—plus some free advertising—the organization was able to purchase tracking chips for some 59 animals, all of whom were adopted.

12. MARYLAND COUNTY IGNORES PERMIT LAWS TO HELP LEMONADE STAND CAPITALIZE ON GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

“What happened to the entrepreneurial spirit? I mean this is the American dream.” Such were the protestations of one parent after local government officials closed a lemonade stand that her child had co-founded in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2011, the year the town hosted the U.S. Open Championship. Four business-savvy kids decided to take advantage of the situation by planting a lemonade stand near Congressional Country Club, where the big-time sports event was taking place. It looked like the kids were in for a big score—and then the town bureaucracy got involved. A representative from Montgomery County’s Department of Permitting fined the children $500 for (you guessed it) operating without a permit. As it happens, a TV news team was on hand to film part of this exchange. The resultant backlash from viewers and eyewitnesses was both immediate and unrelenting. By day’s end, the county decided to cancel the fine. Officials also allowed the kids to continue selling their drinks if they’d agree to move the stand two feet away from its previous location, which had bordered a congested street.

13. SOLITARY STAND GIVES BIRTH TO CANCER FOUNDATION

The little girl behind one nationwide charity hadn’t even reached her first birthday when she was diagnosed with childhood cancer. At age four, the heroic girl found a way to fight back, asking her parents to help her set up a lemonade stand that would raise money to help other children who were suffering from cancer. Word spread and, within a single day, she earned an astonishing $2000. Encouraged, she launched a second stand one year later. These inspired copycat establishments from a host of other kids, who also began selling lemonade for cancer relief. Sadly, the young philanthropist passed away in 2004, at just eight years old. But she left an impressive legacy behind: The girl, and those who’d followed her lead, had raised more than $1 million total. The following year, her parents launched an official foundation, dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. To date, the charity has funded more than 650 cancer research projects and raised upwards of $127 million.

14. EUSTIS, FLORIDA, PULLS A 180 ON LEMONADE STAND LEGALITY

On one peculiar day in 2000, a lemonade stand that had been running for years was shut down, only to be hastily re-opened in a matter of hours. The booth was the pride and joy of a local nine-year-old girl, who’d long been selling juicy beverages there. Despite its longevity, a zoning law enforcement official instructed the child to close her stand for reasons unknown. That evening, the girl’s father contacted City Hall to protest. Improbably, the code and zoning commissioner took his side. Without a moment’s hesitation, this high-ranking government employee said that the stand’s forced closure was triggered by “an error in judgment” and that it could be reopened. However, the administrator also insisted that the establishment be moved eight feet away from the nearest roadside.

15. LEMON-LOVERS SET WORLD RECORD

At a 2011 charity fundraiser, community members in Birmingham, Michigan, were encouraged to purchase wooden lemonade stands at a cost of $50 each. Afterwards, 349 of these were merged together into a single, marvelous unit by parents, teachers, and students of the Birmingham Public School District. From end to end, the amalgamated lemonade stand measured 1399 feet and 11 inches long—enough to secure its place in history. Profits from the event were used to support both public schools and an assortment of educational initiatives.

There’s nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold glass of lemonade—but GEICO’s friendly customer service may be a close second. Their agents can help you find an insurance plan that fits your needs and your budget. You may even be able to save by switching.

We might all carry a digital camera around with us all the time, but old-fashioned instant cameras have recently made their way back in the mainstream. From Fujifilm to Polaroid, there are plenty of sleek new ways to print images right on the spot. Now camera manufacturer Leica is getting into the mix with their own line of fancy instant cameras. The Leica Sofort series includes three bold, square cameras that come in blue, white, and orange. Each has a Lecia-designed menu navigation and comes with much-needed accessories like a strap and case. The designs are meant to mimic the feel of a proper film camera, complete with optical viewfinders and retro appearances. There are also four “scene modes”—”party,” “selfie,” “sport,” and “macro.” Leica worked with Fujifilm on their instant film, which comes in color or black and white. All the Leica instant film will also work on a regular Fuji Instax Mini.

The development was first leaked in the most recent issue of Leica Fotografie International (LFI), but will be officially announced tomorrow, and shipping will begin in November. The cameras will be €279 (about $315) and the film will be €12 to €14 (about $14 to $16).

[h/t Design Taxi]

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Humans have been working with birds for thousands of years: We’ve hired them to carry our messages, help us find honey, protect our crops, and even act as spies. So it only makes sense that when the people of the Netherlands began to worry about catching rogue drones, they turned to their avian friends for help. Back in February, we reported that the Dutch police were training eagles to pluck illegal drones from the sky. Now, The Next Web reports, the eagle trial and training program is complete, and the birds are finally taking to the skies.

Dutch police will use the highly skilled eagles to tackle rogue drones that pose a security threat. For instance, if police spot a dangerous-looking drone when a politician is making a public appearance, protocol will be to move the politician safely inside, then release an eagle to take down the robot. After a seven-month training period conducted with help from Guard From Above, Dutch police are now so confident in the abilities of their eagle enforcers, they’ve started purchasing eagle chicks, which they will train from infancy.

“It’s a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem,” police spokesman Dennis Janus told AFP during a public demonstration. “The eagles see the drones as prey and intercept them as they are flying, before landing where they feel safe with the drone still in their claws.”

To see one of the impressive take-downs, check out the video below.

[h/t The Next Web]

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Many people who have a passing familiarity with Washington, D.C. know it was originally styled after famous European locales by architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant, then completed by Andrew Ellicott after L’Enfant was given the boot in 1792. Too few tourists and history fans, however, know that the U.S. capital might have been a very different place if not for the surveying work of Benjamin Banneker—a highly accomplished mathematician, astronomer, and scholar who challenged Thomas Jefferson and his peers to recognize African-American achievement when it was right under their noses (and feet).

Benjamin Banneker was born November 9, 1731, in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Robert and Mary Banneker. While scholars still debate almost all the specifics of his background and early life, according to the most popular story, both sides of his family suffered under enslavement in the soon-to-be United States. Although records are scarce, it’s said that Benjamin’s maternal grandmother, a woman named Molly Welsh, was falsely convicted of theft in England and sentenced to indentured servitude in Maryland (not an uncommon practice at the time). After earning her freedom, she rented land in Baltimore County and purchased two slaves to help farm it. Several years later, after the farming operation was established, she freed both men.

One of them, who is said to have been abducted from a royal family in Africa earlier in his life, displayed a keen interest in astronomy and other scientific subjects. He was called Bannake or Bankka, and Molly Welsh married him, violating state law that forbid marriage to slaves. Later, their daughter Mary and her husband—a Guinean man who’d been abducted, enslaved, and then baptized as Robert and freed—chose to adopt the surname Banneker at the time of their own marriage. Just a few years after regaining his freedom, records show that Robert was able to purchase a 100-acre farm (possibly the same one his mother-in-law rented), where his family would live out much of their lives and where his son’s scholarship would bloom.

Benjamin Banneker grew up as one of only 200 free African-Americans among 13,000 whites and 4000 slaves in Baltimore County. His experience with formal instruction was limited to a brief stretch in a one-room, mixed-race Quaker schoolhouse, but he was a keen study from his earliest years. Perhaps with his doting grandmother Molly’s help, he learned to read and soon became especially interested in mathematics and mechanics, often performing calculations and experiments on his own.

Once he was old enough to work on the family farm, Banneker settled into a lifestyle that combined this work with scholarly achievement. After his father’s death when Banneker was 27, he continued running the farm with his mother and sisters. The horses, cows, garden, and multiple beehives he kept enabled a simple, comfortable life for the family, according to one 19th-century account presented to the Maryland Historical Society. Using crop rotation and irrigation techniques that wouldn’t catch on in the U.S. for many decades, he also raised profitable tobacco crops that were sold alongside his produce in the Ellicott family’s store. Taking heed of food shortages during the Revolutionary War, Banneker also swapped tobacco out for wheat to help feed American soldiers.

Throughout his life, Elizabeth Ross Haynes writes, Banneker “found time to study all the books which he could borrow.” He became well-versed in topics throughout the sciences and humanities. The 19th-century account presented to the Maryland Historical Society remembered Banneker as “an acute observer, whose active mind was constantly receiving impulses from what was taking place around him.”

For example, one rather illustrative 1797 journal entry reads:

Standing at my door I heard the discharge of a gun, and in four or five seconds of time, after the discharge, the small shot came rattling about me, one or two of which struck the house; which plainly demonstrates that the velocity of sound is greater than that of a cannon bullet.

Some historians have speculated that Banneker’s many childhood lessons with his grandmother Molly, who may have gained a sophisticated understanding of astronomy from Bannake, could have fostered his particular expertise with the subject. However, it was his prowess with mathematics for which he first became renowned throughout Baltimore County, according to a 1912 article. As word spread of his exceptional skills, far-away scholars began sending Banneker complex mathematical problems, and they continued to do so throughout his life. Banneker reportedly always solved them, often responding in verse and with a fresh problem.

As a young man, Banneker also gained fame and admiration for miles around due to one of his earliest known mechanical feats: building a working clock almost entirely out of wood from scratch. It may have been the first clock ever assembled completely from American parts, according to Haynes (although other historians have since disputed this). Banneker reportedly only had a borrowed pocket watch to use for reference on clockwork mechanisms, while his wooden version contained functioning, carved-to-scale components. The clock continued working until a few days after Banneker’s death, when a fire destroyed his cabin home and many of its contents—clock included.

However, Banneker’s accomplished scholarship remained mostly unknown outside the region until he encountered the Ellicott family. In 1772, the Quaker Ellicotts purchased the land next door to Banneker’s and began building new gristmill facilities there. Banneker’s fascination with the mill’s mechanics made him a frequent visitor to the site. In keeping with Quaker tradition, the similarly scholarly Ellicotts were adamant proponents of racial equality, and they collaborated with Banneker as well as encouraged wider application of—and recognition for—his unique skills.

George Ellicott, a close friend of Banneker’s for decades, was himself a student of astronomy and eagerly shared both his resources and queries with his neighbor. Banneker took great advantage of the borrowed tools and books in performing exquisite astronomical calculations, such as predicting a solar eclipse near-exactly in 1789. He also began building the foundations for several atlases and technical treatises he’d release in the decades before his death. In 1791, George’s cousin, Major Andrew Ellicott, gave Banneker a national stage, after Andrew had gone to George requesting help with a new job. George, being otherwise busy, suggested Banneker’s assistance. The job was surveying land along the Potomac River for what would soon be the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.

The plans for the large city were laid out by French architect and engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who volunteered for service in the American Revolution’s Continental Army and was hired for the project by George Washington in 1791. Before long, however, tensions mounted over its direction and progress of the project, and when L’Enfant was fired in 1792, he took off with the plans in tow.

But according to legend, the plans weren’t actually lost: Banneker and the Ellicotts had worked closely with L’Enfant and his plans while surveying the city’s site. As the University of Massachusetts explains, Banneker had actually committed the plans to memory “[and] was able to reproduce the complete layout—streets, parks, major buildings.” However, the University of Massachusetts also points out that other historians doubt Banneker had any involvement in this part of the survey at all, instead saying that Andrew and his brother were the ones who recreated L’Enfant’s plan. It’s an intriguing myth, but it may only be that.

Yet Banneker’s valuable contributions to the project drew attention, and set the stage for later correspondence with Thomas Jefferson. During the project, the Georgetown Weekly Ledger made public note of Banneker as “an Ethiopian, whose abilities, as a surveyor, and an astronomer, clearly prove that Mr. Jefferson’s concluding that race of men were void of mental endowments, was without foundation.”

In 1791, Banneker had finished his “painstakingly calculated ephemeris,” or table of the position of celestial bodies, which he would publish alongside charts, literature, and humanitarian and political essays in six almanacs with 28 editions in the following six years. Upon its initial completion, he first sent a copy of the ephemeris to then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, along with a famously direct, yet perfectly polite, letter challenging Jefferson’s opinion that African-Americans suffered an innate intellectual disadvantage [PDF]. Among other things, the letter observed:

Sir, I have long been convinced, that if your love for yourselves and for those inestimable laws, which preserved to you the rights of human nature, was founded on sincerity, you could not but be solicitous that every individual … might with you equally enjoy the blessings thereof, neither could you rest satisfied [short of] their promotion from any state of degradation, to which the unjustifiable cruelty and barbarism of men may have reduced them.

Sir, I freely and cheerfully acknowledge that I am of the African race … and it is under a sense of the most profound gratitude to the supreme ruler of the Universe, that I now confess to you, that I am not under the state of tyrannical thraldom, and inhuman captivity to which many of my brethren are doomed, but that I have abundantly tasted of the fruition of those blessings, which proceed from that free and unequalled liberty, with which you are favored, and which, I hope you will willingly allow, you have received from the immediate hand of that being … [and] that the present freedom and tranquility which you enjoy, you have mercifully received, and that it is the peculiar blessing of heaven.

Jefferson’s letter of response the same year was significantly shorter than Banneker’s, and not without traces of the mindset Banneker sought to defeat. But it also documented the scholar’s triumph in gaining some respect for his accomplishments, and in helping to dislodge certain prejudices from the minds of the era’s most learned men.

On August 30, 1791, Jefferson wrote:

SIR,

I THANK you, sincerely, for your letter of the 19th instant, and for the Almanac it contained. No body wishes more than I do, to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren talents equal to those of the other colors of men ; and that the appearance of the want of them, is owing merely to the degraded condition of their existence, both in Africa and America. I can add with truth, that no body wishes more ardently to see a good system commenced, for raising the condition, both of their body and mind, to what it ought to be, as far as the imbecility of their present existence, and other circumstances, which cannot be neglected, will admit.

I have taken the liberty of sending your Almanac to Monsieur de Condozett, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and Member of the Philanthropic Society, because I considered it as a document, to which your whole color had a right for their justification, against the doubts which have been entertained of them.

I am with great esteem, Sir, Your most obedient Humble Servant,

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

The discrimination African-Americans suffered from Jefferson and other bigwigs is well-documented, and Banneker’s brave, considered opposition to it stands forever among his many admirable achievements. The 1854 document A Sketch of the Life of Benjamin Banneker reflected:

He appears to have been the pioneer in the movement in this part of the world, toward the improvement of his race; at a period of our history when the negro occupied almost the lowest possible grade in the scale of human beings, Banneker had struck out for himself a course, hitherto untravelled by men of his class, and had already earned a respectable position amongst men of science.

Records suggest that Banneker also suffered discrimination by lower-profile white Americans, and had his achievements belittled and questioned. Despite the many pushbacks he withstood, however, Banneker remained joyfully curious and generous of spirit throughout his life. According to A Sketch of the Life of Benjamin Banneker, he was able to slough off the bitterness of others in part thanks to his prevailing interest in study. “His equilibrium was seldom disturbed by the petty jealousies and inequalities of temper of the ignorant people,” the book notes, “with whom his situation obliged him frequently to come in contact.”

Benjamin Ellicott, who prepared extensive notes on Banneker’s life for the Maryland Historical Society, remembered him as such in a letter:

Although his mode of life was regular and extremely retired, living alone, having never married,–cooking his own victuals and washing his own clothes, and scarcely ever being absent from home, yet there was nothing misanthropic in his character … [He was known as] kind, generous, hospitable, humane, dignified and pleasant, abounding in information on all the various subjects and incidents of the day; very modest and unassuming, and delighting in society at his own home.

Given Banneker’s wide-ranging interests and enthusiasm, then, it is perhaps fitting that a variety of parks, schools, awards, streets, businesses, and other public and private institutions and facilities all bear his name today. Admirers can learn about the accomplished scholar at Benjamin Banneker Park and Memorial in Washington, D.C., for example, or at Baltimore, Maryland’s Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum. Others can choose to follow in his footsteps by exploring their passions and hobbies at community centers named for Banneker in Washington, D.C., Bloomington, Indiana, and Catonsville, Maryland. It seems possible, however, that the man himself might have been most fond of—or, at least, a very frequent visitor to—Maryland’s own Banneker Planetarium.

Header images via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

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It’s hard to make a living as an artist, and as rents rise and arts jobs dwindle, creatives from New York to New Delhi are being priced out of their homes and studios. But at least one city is trying to change that. CityLab reports that London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Deputy Mayor for Culture Justine Simons are trying to make London affordable for artists again by developing “Creative Enterprise Zones.”

Khan and Simons are still settling on specific plans for the creative zones, but they may establish subsidized live-work spaces for lower income artists and creatives, or make certain studio complexes off limits to residential developers. Simons is also reportedly considering a plan to help more established artists purchase their own studios, in particular by helping them navigate a labyrinthine loan application system that can be particularly challenging for those without full-time jobs. 

Simons tells The Evening Standard that artists in London earn, on average, £10,000 ($13,300) annually—well below what’s considered a living wage. Simons and Khan believe the key to preserving London’s thriving arts community is as simple as ensuring artists can afford to live there. Neighborhoods like Hackney Wick and Southeastern Peckham, which have long had a high concentration of artists, are becoming increasingly pricey—in part because the artists, themselves, have made them “cool.”

“At the moment artists and creative people are like the advance party—they find the stranger, weird places that no one sees much value in, they bring them to life, the area becomes valuable and then they are priced out of the market,” Simons told The Evening Standard. “What we want to create is an area where creative people can put down roots and that would be a creative enterprise zone. That’s working with local authorities, developers with the creative community and residents. It’s putting a spotlight and a ring around an area.”

[h/t CityLab]

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Many of the most prominent people in the world once belonged to an exclusive college society, from President Theodore Roosevelt to former British Prime Minister David Cameron. Some of these societies, based at the top universities, meet to debate issues of the day, while others focus on the literary, the philanthropic, fine dining, or hell-raising. One thing they all have in common: secrecy. Discovering the details of what goes on in their meetings or how to gain membership is fiendishly difficult, but what we know about 10 of the most exclusive college secret societies in the world is summarized below.

1. SEVEN SOCIETY, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA // GRAFFITI AND PHILANTHROPY

The Seven Society of University of Virginia is so secretive that very little is known about its history, activities, or membership. It was rumored to have been established around 1905, when eight students made plans to get together for two tables of bridge but only seven turned up. It was probably originally based on a Masonic system, and its visibility is maintained by daubing the society’s symbol on college buildings.

Over the years a number of very generous gifts have been donated by the society (often revealed in theatrical fashion). For example, during the commencement address in 1947, a small explosion interrupted the proceedings and all assembled were surprised to see a check for $177,777.77 float dramatically to the ground. The amount was used to create a fund to help bail out any faculty member or student who found themselves in financial difficulties. Members of the Seven Society are only revealed on their death; at one time, a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a seven was always placed at their grave.

2. THE BULLINGDON CLUB, OXFORD UNIVERSITY // DRUNKENNESS AND VANDALISM

One of the most notorious, riotous, and exclusive of the college secret societies in the United Kingdom is the Bullingdon Club of Oxford University, which was founded around 1780. Its members are selected from the aristocracy and the most prominent banking, business, and political families in Britain. Former members have gone on to form a network of individuals in the top seats of power.

With such a successful alumni one might think that the Bullingdon must be an intellectual society, but it is far more concerned with fine dining. The club meets regularly for elaborate dinners and it has been alleged that many of these affairs have ended with restaurants being trashed, mischief being made, and the police being called. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron, former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, and former Mayor of London Boris Johnson have been dogged by a famous photo of them all dressed up in their bow-ties and tails for a group photo of Bullingdon Club members in 1987—such was the toxicity of the photograph that it has been withdrawn from use as the politicians struggled to distance themselves from the hell-raising society.

It is rumored that the initiation ceremony is to have your dorm room ransacked by fellow members, and tales abound of drunkenness, vandalism, and strippers (perhaps unsurprisingly, women are not allowed in the club). Despite its bawdy reputation former members of this exclusive club have gone on to great things, perhaps proving that a misspent youth is no barrier to success.

3. SKULL AND BONES, YALE // PRESTIGIOUS POLITICAL ALUMNI

One of the most famous (and infamous) secret college societies in the U.S. is the Skull and Bones at Yale. Previous alumni include such notables as George Bush senior, George W. Bush, and John Kerry. Established in 1832, the very secretive society has just 15 senior members at any one time, who they meet twice a week in their windowless private meeting room known as “The Tomb.” Each year 15 new members are chosen to join the select club, and it is rumored new members each receive $15,000 and a grandfather clock. Prominent families often make up much of the membership and the subsequent success—both politically and in business—indicates the prestige and level of exclusivity that membership bestows. Many legends surround the group, the most famous perhaps being that in 1918 a team of Bonesmen (allegedly including Prescott Bush, father of George H. W. Bush) stationed near Fort Sill, Oklahoma dug up the skull of Apache leader Geronimo (who died there in 1909 after years as a prisoner of war) and took it back to their HQ as a trophy.

4. ORDER OF GIMGHOUL, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA // CREEPY …

One of the spookiest college secret societies is the Order of Gimghoul, created in 1889 for students of the University of North Carolina. The society was originally called the Order of Droomgole after the mysterious disappearance of Peter Droomgole, who vanished from campus in 1833 after losing a duel with a love rival, but the name was later changed to Gimghoul because it sounded more sinister. The all-male Order of Gimghoul has its headquarters in a spooky castle on campus and is said to have its basis in Arthurian traditions of chivalry and honor. But with its creepy castle, fondness for satanic iconography, and veil of secrecy, the society’s reputation is more likely to send shivers down your spine than conjure images of noble knights.

5. FLAT HAT CLUB, WILLIAM AND MARY // AMERICA’S FIRST COLLEGE SECRET SOCIETY

The F.H.C. club, also known as the Flat Hat Club—although its initials are thought to actually stand for its stated aim of “fraternitas, humanitas et cognito” (brotherhood, humanity and knowledge)—was established way back in the 1750s and is thought to be America’s first secret college society. Thomas Jefferson was famously a member of the club in the 1760s, although he was said to have remarked that he felt the society served “no useful object.” Membership of the society lapsed during the Revolutionary War but has reportedly since been revived twice: in 1916 and again in 1972.

6. THE CORPS HANNOVERA GOTTINGEN, GEORG AUGUST UNIVERSITY, GERMANY // ACADEMIC FENCERS

The Corps Hannovera Göttingen was established in 1809 for the gathering of students from Hanover, Germany, and has since grown into a network of groups based on the principles of academic fencing (also known as mensur). Mensur is distinct from the sport of fencing in that despite the wielding of weapons it is perceived as an intellectual discipline for developing good character. Practitioners of mensur face each other with protection around their eyes, bodies, and necks, and aim for the unprotected areas of the face; it’s thought that this noble style of dueling breeds superior powers of concentration and scars to the face are worn like a badge of honor. The German Corps, like American Secret Societies, likes to keep details of their meetings private, but it is known that these all-male groups are formed from the upper classes and remain an exclusive and elusive membership. The most famous member of the Corps Hanover was Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck, who was an enthusiastic member of the dueling club.

7. PORCELLIAN CLUB, HARVARD // ALL-MALE CLUB

This exclusive finals club was established in the 1790s and is named after the Latin for “pig,” since their first meeting included a hog roast. As with many of these elite college societies, only those from the “right” families can secure membership. Alumni includes: President Theodore Roosevelt, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., yachtsman Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, polo player Thomas Hitchcock Jr. and the Winklevoss twins. Members often wear neckties adorned with a pig’s head to signal their membership of the club and their headquarters is nicknamed the “Old Barn.” The Porcellian was thrust into the news in April 2016 after the rigidly all-male society refused to allow female members, somewhat bizarrely claiming that allowing female members could increase “the potential for sexual misconduct.”

8. THE APOSTLES, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY // LITERARY GREATS AND SPIES

The Apostles are a secret society dedicated to intellectual debate on ethics, morals, and religion. They were established in around 1820 by George Tomlinson, who later went on to be Bishop of Gibraltar, and they gained their name because the organization was founded with 12 members. Over their history, the Apostles have included some of the foremost thinkers of the day and membership is generally made up from the elite students from King’s, Trinity, and St John’s Colleges in Cambridge, UK. The famous Bloomsbury group, which went on to shape the intellectual climate of the early 20th century, had its roots in membership of the Apostles, with Leonard Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, and Lytton Strachey all doing their time in the club.

The Apostles gained notoriety during the Cold War when it was discovered that three Russian spies from the infamous “Cambridge Five”—Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—were Apostles. To become an Apostle, a potential recruit must be nominated by an existing Apostle, and they only gain membership once members have unanimously agreed on them (the select group has welcomed female members since 1970). All Apostles must swear a secret oath and sign their names in a leather-bound book, which contains the signatures of all previous members and is the most treasured possession of the exclusive club.

9. THE CADAVER SOCIETY, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY // BLACK CLOAKS AND SKULL MASKS

Cloaked in secrecy, very little concrete is known about the Cadaver Society of Washington and Lee University, but the rumors of this secret society are so intriguing it deserves a mention. It is thought that members of the Cadaver Society are mostly pre-med students with the best grade averages and they are said to wander the campus at night, dressed in black, their faces covered with skull masks as they scrawl the sign of the society (a skull and the letter “C”) around the place.

Certainly the graffiti is one of the most tangible signs of this clandestine group, but the society is also visible through its philanthropy: in 1988 the Cadavers reportedly gave $150,000 to the university to renovate the frat houses. Perhaps the most alluring rumor about the Cadavers is that they travel around campus via a series of secret tunnels, and one of the more far-fetched stories says that the Cadavers are a branch of the mother of all secret societies—the Illuminati.