Happy 69th Birthday to a titan of folk music: the multi-instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt. Born in Manitoba to Irish-Scottish ancestry, she fell in love with Celtic music traditions after a trip to Ireland. She learned how to play the Celtic harp and used it on the busk to make money to record her first album. She has sold more than 14 million records worldwide, with each album featuring a mix of different folk music traditions. During her production in the 90s, The Visit and Book of Secrets were certified quadruple platinum in Canada, while The Mask and Mirror reached triple. She has collected many honors for her music from both industry awards, and the country of Canada. LISTEN to her fill the Alhambra with her beautiful voice… (1967)

Amid the scorching/freezing desert of Atacama in Chile, one of South America’s largest botanical storehouses aims to protect both the wild and cultivated heritage of the country’s plant life.

One of England’s poorest coastal towns is filled with “hope and relief” after their last youth center was saved from closure.

The nonprofit Pie Factory Music has been based in Ramsgate, on the coast of Kent, for 13 years. It offers counseling, employment advice, life-skills, creative projects, or just a safe supportive space to make friends, for 8 to 25-year-olds.

A scientist who figured out the secret behind ancient Rome’s self-repairing concrete has recently confirmed his theory at a Pompeii building site where such concrete was in use.

Over the last 25 years, Californian fishing regulations have seen the dramatic recovery of various game fish like sea bass and rockfish to the point where they can be fished sustainably again.

Collectively known as groundfish, these stocks were serially depleted in the 1990s and early 2000s. Fish like ocean perch and bocaccio live close to the sea bed, and fishermen adopted bottom trawling nets that depleted the fish and destroyed their habitat.

An 8-year-old Maryland girl and her dad have made history with an album that’s the musical equivalent of sunshine.

Over the past two years, the city of McKinney, Texas, has significantly improved cardiac arrest survival rates through a coordinated effort between its fire and police departments—and, now, its citizens.

A new video from the Scottish Highlands shows a wild stag walking right up to a hiker, getting so close that his breath fogged up the stunned man’s camera lens.

Two original illustrations for Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book that were lost for over a century have been discovered.

The watercolors had been hanging unrecognized on the walls of a London family home for decades.

80 years ago today, some simple workplace encouragement material was posted on the wall of several Westinghouse Electric factories in Pittsburgh, PA, which became the famous “We Can Do It,” poster. One of the most iconic images in the history of American war propaganda, it was actually meant mainly to increase productivity among existing workers, and is often confused with the Rosie the Riveter series. The badge on the “We Can Do It!” worker’s collar identifies her as a Westinghouse Electric plant floor employee; the pictured red, white, and blue clothing was a subtle call to patriotism, one of the frequent tactics of corporate war production committees. BUT READ what she was actually encouraging… (1942)

A spray-on powder that instantly seals life-threatening wounds could save thousands of lives, say scientists.

The new substance can help prevent excessive bleeding which is the leading cause of death due to injuries in war, according to a study.

While other places go all-out on decorations at Christmas and Halloween, one village called Lover pretty much owns Valentine’s Day.

Dubbed the world’s most romantic village, it has drawn visitors from across the UK to send Valentine’s Day cards with a special postmark.