Science and Nature
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6.2K6Luther Burbank and the Birth of the Russet Burbank
If you’ve ever enjoyed a McDonald’s French fry, you have Luther Burbank to thank. In the 1800s, potato growers were desperately seeking...
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6.5K2The 1822 Maine Grasshopper Plague
In Maine, a dry summer meant an increase in locusts. In 1822, the conditions set the stage perfectly for the Maine grasshopper...
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5071Williamina Fleming, the Boston Maid Who Discovered the Stars
In the late 1870s, Williamina Fleming was forced to work as a housemaid in Boston. She was pretty, intelligent, pregnant and new...
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6.1K6Champ, the Lake Champlain Lake Monster
Champ, North America’s answer to the Loch Ness monster, has long been a legend around Lake Champlain. He (or she) has spawned...
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7.1K3Edward Hammond Clarke and the Chance for Girls
Education was a hot topic in the 1870s: How much one needed and who should get it. Edward Hammond Clarke sought to...
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4.3K2Six Historic Apple Orchards
Trying to pick six historic apple orchards in New England may be a fool’s errand. As Maine apple expert John Bunker explains,...
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3.8K5The Great 1727 Earthquake and the Wrath of God
Northern New Englanders ran for cover in late October as the 1727 earthquake, more powerful than any they had experienced, shook the...
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3.3K2The History of Indian Summer
Indian summer evolved over the centuries from a pioneer superstition to the poet’s best friend to the meteorologists’ whipping boy. It is...
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11.7K46 Tallest Trees in New England
Once New England was home to the greatest forests and the tallest trees in the world. They were a major attraction for...
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7.7K1The Great Havana Hurricane of 1846
One month after a tropical storm walloped Massachusetts, the Great Havana Hurricane of 1846 blew through New England, flattening factories, collapsing houses,...