The unsolved mystery of an ancient wonder

Plus: A toilet that witnessed the birth of America; vintage photos from a 5-year honeymoon; an ancient slingshot.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌    ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  

 

A TOILET THAT WITNESSED AMERICA'S BIRTH VIEW ONLINE

A TOILET THAT WITNESSED AMERICA'S BIRTH

Your Weekly Escape

Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

3D GRAPHIC KAIS JACOB We know where the 7 wonders of the ancient world are—except for one The search for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the most tantalizing quests in Mesopotamian scholarship. Archaeologists are still puzzling over where such gardens may have been located in Babylon, what they might have looked like—and whether they even existed at all. A startling new theory suggests archaeologists have been looking in the wrong place all along. SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

BARBARA LOE COLLECTION, BRIDGEMAN IMAGES How Betsy Ross became an urban legend It's the stuff of elementary school pageants and patriotic legend: In the capital of a new nation at war with its colonial rulers, a widowed seamstress made history when she fashioned the first American flag. Her name was Betsy Ross, and ... stop right there. HERE'S THE REAL STORY

PHOTOGRAPH FROM PHELPS COLLECTION, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ARCHIVES The long, twisted tale of how these vintage photos ended up with National Geographic For the 19th century couple who collected the images, first came love, then marriage, a five-year honeymoon—then a kidnapping and decades of lawsuits contesting a multimillion-dollar inheritance. A SON'S QUEST

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID LIITTSCHWAGER They look like aliens. So why do octopuses remind us so much of ourselves? They change shape and color, and squirt ink. They have the dexterity to unscrew lids from jars. They have three hearts and blue blood. But they also will return your gaze, "as if they're scrutinizing you." SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION What this toilet can tell us about life during the American Revolution Privy pits are an unusual treasure trove for archaeologists. Along with their primary purpose, they often served as mini-garbage dumps in urban areas. And the garbage from this privy pit, dug in 1776 in Philadelphia, provides a unique snapshot of life in the first tumultuous years of the United States. AN ILLEGAL TAVERN?

Livingston Phelps died of heart failure in Switzerland, on April 13, 1960 … [He] might have disappeared into history—and his parents' memory with him—but for the photographs they left behind. READ ON: The long, twisted tale of how these vintage photos ended up with National Geographic

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN REID Ancient weapons were more powerful than you may have thought On a fortified hill in Scotland some 1,900 years ago, a Roman army attacked local warriors by hurling lead bullets from slings that had nearly the stopping power of a modern .44 magnum handgun, according to experiments. The assault seems to have been effective. AN ANCIENT SLINGSHOT

MAP REPRODUCTION COURTESY OF THE NORMAN B. LEVENTHAL MAP CENTER AT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY The map that popularized the word 'gerrymander' The creative redrawing of electoral districts dates back to the earliest days of the country—it's even older than Congress—and the practice is still alive and well today. But the term itself originates with a lopsided election in 1812 for the state Senate in Massachusetts. A 'HORRID MONSTER'

OTHER GREAT READS The 19th-century secret society preserving the history of the West (Atlas Obscura)  ›› The last resident of Monowi, Nebraska (New York Times)  ››

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