Iceland to Harvard: Give us our skulls back.

RJ Hamster

1 year ago

‘MASTER RACE’ EXPERIMENTS LED TO THEFT

Friday, August 4, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn why Iceland wants its skulls back, figure out why heart attack rates are rising in young adults … and discover a giant prehistoric manatee? Plus, how ancients imagined elephants.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ÍVAR BRYNJÓLFSSON, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ICELAND

The country has a national parliament dating back nearly 1,100 years. It is asking one of the world’s most distinguished universities to return 50-plus skulls of Icelanders spirited away for now-disgraced experiments on a supposed master race.

In short, what is Harvard University doing with these skulls in a basement of a Massachusetts museum? Shouldn’t these skulls be reunited in their homeland with their other remains (one pictured above)? What’s the holdup?

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY CORBIS, GETTY IMAGES

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

ILLUSTRATION BY ALBERTO GENNARI

A giant prehistoric manatee? When first discovered, this whale’s 37-million-year-old fossil bones were so large, experts thought they were boulders. They came from what may have been the heaviest animal that ever lived (depicted above).

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG LECOEUR, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Can you spot it? There’s a camouflaged creature hiding among the coral above. Can you find it, and do you know what it is?
A.
Bargibant’s pygmy seahorse
B. Red-spotted coral crab
C. Spotted moray

CLICK HERE FOR THE ANSWER

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Sandy beaches, coastal charm, and tidal pools in Maine

National Geographic Photographer Acacia Johnson stops in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport to sample the state’s lobster, local culture, and granite coastlines. Follow her journey and learn about Maine’s tide pools, guided tours, and delicious seafood.

ONE GREAT STORY

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN HUET

Record-breaker: Move over, Michael Phelps. Katie Ledecky (above) now has 16 individual world champion titles, topping Phelps’ record with a victory last weekend. How does she do it? Ledecky studies readouts about her nutrition and bloodwork, and reviews video of her technique, which includes a near perfect freestyle stroke, Nat Geo reported in our 2018 story on building better athletes.

GRIT, PERSONIFIED

Today’s soundtrack: Warren Harding, Al Stewart

Happy Friday! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. Feeling friendly? Say hey: hannah.farrow@natgeo.com

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