LauraKathryn Smith’s eyes shoot open. She lets them adjust to the light before shutting off her alarm. After a few minutes, she slides out of bed and heads for the rooms of her older brother and sister to wake them. … Read more
Orange traffic cones surround a fluorescent yellow-garbed construction worker on NC-12. He raises his hand perpendicular to the roadway, signaling to slow down with a weathered red stop sign. As cars speed past in the left-hand lane, enormous cranes on ocean barges lift heavy beams onto a bridge being built alongside the existing one.
Each June, across North Carolina, the familiar twinkle of fireflies fills the evening sky. Slowly, one by one, these beetles emit a spark of light — a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. They flicker randomly until more and more of them … Read more
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, what is a nearly 500-year-old painting worth? “Portrait of a Young Lady” sat in storage at the Ackland Art Museum since its arrival there in 1968, until UNC art history professor Christoph Brachmann pulled it from the vaults last year. He immediately sensed the possible importance of this piece, thought to be created in 1522 by Barthel Bruyn.
It’s 3 a.m. on a Monday morning. Sweet-smelling steam wafts through a large warehouse in St. Pauls, North Carolina. A vat full of golden kernels bubbles while a nearby machine smashes two stones together, grinding the freshly cooked corn into … Read more
Therefore, let the moon Shine on thee in thy solitary walk; And let the misty mountain-winds be free To blow against thee: and, in after years, When these wild ecstasies shall be matured Into a sober pleasure; when they mind … Read more
As far back as 10,000 years ago, the San Bushmen — some of South Africa’s earliest hunters and gatherers — practiced a cultural tradition of carving images into small boulders. Some, perhaps those new to the craft, would use a … Read more
