Why 40% Of Vietnamese People Have The Same Last Name
The 14 most popular last names in Vietnam account for well over 90 percent of the population. The 14 most popular last names in the US? Fewer than 6 percent. In Vietnam, the most popular last name is Nguyen.
Canada’s Secret Beach That Will Transport You To The Tropics
Ontario’s Big Sandy Bay has a hidden sandy beach that will give you exotic vibes. Located on Wolfe Island, Big Sandy Bay is just a boat ride away from Kingston, and it has a secret swimming paradise.
Flat 13: Facing Down Apartheid
This is the story of the apartment in downtown Johannesburg that, between the late 1940s and early 1960s, became a hub of resistance against apartheid.
Young Girls Force-Fed For Marriage In Mauritania
Some Mauritanian communities believe that the fatter girls look the wealthier and more attractive they appear to men. Sahar Zand meets the families force feeding their young girls a 9,000 calorie-a-day diet during a brutal “feeding season” in Mauritania.
The Parents Raising Their Kids On The Road
What is it like to raise your kids on the road? Two families describe how they changed their children’s lives by showing them the world, while a mum-to-be explains why she plans to do just that with her six-month-old baby.
Work, Protest And Play On The Streets Of Hackney
During the 1970s and first half of the 80s photographer Neil Martinson recorded the lives of those who lived and worked in Hackney, east London. At that time, children still played in the street and on old bomb sites yet to be developed.
What’s It Like To Be Among The First To Motorbike In Jordan?
Riding along the Desert Highway, northwest of the famed Wadi Rum on a large-bore, high-powered motorcycle was a joy afforded only by Jordanian royalty for nearly four decades.
Muslims Of Early America
Muslims came to America more than a century before Protestants, and in great numbers. How was their history forgotten? Not just the language of Islam, but the religion itself likely arrived in America in 1492, more than 20 years before Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door, igniting the Protestant reformation.
The Junk Art King Of Zambia
Frederick Phiri is the junk-art king of central Africa: At just 22, he’s started to earn an international reputation for being able to make intricate and elegant sculptures from scrap metal found in his community.
The Problem With Being A Long-Term Expat
People on long-term foreign assignments often find it hard to adjust once they return home. Many leave their company within a few years, and some leave the country entirely. Long absences can play havoc with a person’s sense of identity, a feeling that is intensified by the length of time away and how often they visit home.
How Scientists Imagined And Built An Undersea Utopia For Humans
During the late 1960s many believed revolutionary social and political change was imminent, and Jacques Cousteau was no exception. Soon there would be “undersea parliaments and new nations,” he wrote; “poets, architects, and painters would be needed to give expression” to this “new world.”
The Forgotten Story Of Pure Hell, America’s First Black Punk Band
When it comes to the history of punk music, there are few bands who have been as overlooked as Pure Hell. The four-piece lived with the New York Dolls and played with Sid Vicious, but they’ve been largely written out of cultural history.
How Netflix Turned Bill Clinton’s Impeachment Into A Growth Hack
The reason we might all be using Netflix today could have a lot to do with a marketing stunt involving the grand jury testimony that got Bill Clinton impeached. Netflix’s wild bet on political scandal succeeded in almost every single way a story like this possibly could.
In Japan’s Vanishing Rural Towns, Newcomers Are Wanted
Kanna-machi is living on borrowed time. It’s set to be among the first municipal victims of Japan’s demographic trajectory. The phenomenon is called shoushikoureika—the combined effects of an aging population, anemic birthrate, and surging demand for social services.
How The U.S. Betrayed The Marshall Islands, Kindling The Next Nuclear Disaster
Between 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 67 nuclear bombs on, in and above the Marshall Islands — vaporizing whole islands, carving craters into its shallow lagoons and exiling hundreds of people from their homes.
Revisiting The Infamous, Twisted, Now-Defunct Presidential Fitness Test
Way back in the 1950s, an Austro-Hungarian physical educator named Dr. Hans Kraus developed a 90-second fitness evaluation with his colleague Sonja Weber of the New York Presbyterian Hospital. It involved a series of six different movements which tested for basic strength and flexibility.
Welcome To The Monkey House
Between the end of the Korean War and the early 1990s, more than one million Korean women were caught up in a state-controlled prostitution industry that was blessed at the highest levels by the U.S. military. They worked in special zones surrounding U.S. bases—areas licensed by the South Korean government.
What Fruits And Vegetables Looked Like Before Humans Intervened
The fruits and vegetables we know and love are a lot more complicated than you’d think. They didn’t always look like they do. In fact, it took decades of human intervention to transform them into the delicious, nutrient-rich morsels they are today.
How ‘Taco Friday’ Became A Swedish Tradition
Fredagsmys, or Cozy Friday, is a beloved Swedish tradition. Across the Scandinavian country, families stay home on Friday night, watch TV, and eat Tex-Mex-style tacos. This dinner choice is so common that, for most Swedes, Cozy Friday is also Taco Fredag, or Taco Friday.
The 30 Year-Old Airline That’s Never Flown
Back in 1989, a guy by the name of Igor Dmitrovsky filed the paperwork to incorporate a small little business in the state of New York. This company would enter the metal cylinder organism transport business under the name Baltia Airlines. The airline was to fly from New York, US to St Petersburg, USSR.
How We’ll Forget John Lennon
The report, “The universal decay of collective memory and attention,” concludes that people and things are kept alive through “oral communication” from about five to 30 years. They then pass into written and online records, where they experience a slower, longer decline.