Who really owns these looted treasures?

February 23, 2023
by RJ Hamster

SOME STOLEN MASTERPIECES ARE ON THEIR WAY BACK

Thursday, February 23, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we examine the dangers of living near a railroad, look at the move to return looted masterpieces, see three ways Jimmy Carter helped the world, learn how to take care of your aging brain … and track down the mysterious author of the beloved ‘Rainbow Bridge.’ Plus, one lucky owl!

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD BARNES

Bit by bit it’s happening. Jaw-dropping masterpieces cajoled or stolen from conquered lands are being returned from U.S. and European museums to their rightful places.

Anticipating more returns, the countries of origins are building museums to house their long-lost treasures. Stuffy Western museums that resisted giving back the loot for decades—saying the world needs a place to trace all of its treasures—are switching tactics.

Will the trickle turn into a flood? Will these U.S. and European museums without some treasures be less inviting? Will the returning masterpieces entice tourists to new lands?

Read the full story here.

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The real throne: At top, Sultan Nabil Njoya of Cameroon’s Bamum people sits on a replica of a throne commissioned by his great-grandfather. Germans took the real one in 1908. Above, Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, which has returned the remains of Australian Aboriginals and is discussing repatriation with groups in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. Read more.

Map: The lands that colonizers controlled in 1914

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY EDNA CLYNE-REKHY

She was 19. Her beloved Lab (pictured above) had died. Edna Clyne-Rekhy wrote ‘Rainbow Bridge,’ a poem that has soothed grieving pet-owners worldwide.

What will be Jimmy Carter’s legacy? Here are 3 ways he changed the world for the better.

See the face of a 1,300-year-old man

Why healthy brains lead to longer lives. Here’s how to make them stronger.

A marvel: About 1,000 whales congregating off Antarctica, the most seen by humans in a century

The mystery of a massive Roman amphitheater hidden in the heart of London

Doctors are developing a way to detect cancer using only blood samples

The leader was all powerful. But one mistake unraveled his empire.

This fleet of swift, fierce ships once ruled the Mediterranean

What’s the difference in freezing eggs for social vs. medical reasons?

How a break-in at the Central Park Zoo changed the life of an owl called Flaco

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY CREATIVE TOUCH IMAGING LTD./NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

Beyond toxic explosions: Fiery crashes with towering smoke clouds dominate the headlines, but studies suggest that trains carry health costs even when they don’t derail. The sound and vibrations raise stress, and heightened cortisol levels can lead to various health problems, Nat Geo reports. (Pictured above, a passenger train swirling through Thiruvananthapuram, India, in 2019.)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CRAIG CUTLER

Folded beauty: Origami artist and physicist Robert J. Lang folded both of these cranes out of single uncut squares of paper. Most early origami models were fairly simple, like the traditional crane in the left image. The complexity of the crane on the right—from spindly limbs to feathered wings—was once thought to be nearly impossible. But Lang designed the paper bird during concepts from a computer problem. Origami is driving futuristic technologies as well, Nat Geo reports.

ART TO SCIENCE

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID GUTTENFELDER

‘The lake is the boss’: It’s been called the Mount Everest of freshwater boating. So when Nat Geo Explorer David Guttenfelder and two others set out to kayak around Lake Superior’s wild Apostle Islands, nature had other plans. “I was impressed by the lake’s incredible power,” Guttenfelder tells Nat Geo. His photographs capture the lake’s shoreline carved by ice, wind, and waves (like above on Sand Island).

A DANGEROUS KAYAK QUEST

Today’s soundtrack: Ibo Lele (Dreams Come True), RAM

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard and Jen Tse. Let us know what you think and send us story ideas here. Thanks for reading!

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RJ Hamster

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Who really owns these looted treasures?

Who really owns these looted treasures?

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