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Calostoma cinnabarinum

Calostoma cinnabarinum is a species of gasteroid fungus in the family Sclerodermataceae. Commonly called the stalked puffball-in-aspic or gelatinous stalked puffball, it is the species most commonly associated with genus Calostoma. The fruit body has a layer of yellowish jelly surrounding a spherical bright red head atop a spongy red or yellowish brown stalk. The innermost layer of the head, called the gleba, contains clear or slightly yellowish elliptical spores. The spore surface features a pattern of small pits, producing a net-like appearance. In eastern North America, Central America, northeastern South America, and East Asia, it grows on the ground in deciduous forests, where it forms a symbiotic relationship with oak roots. Despite its appearance and common name, C. cinnabarinum is not related to some other stalked puffballs, true puffballs, earthstars, or stinkhorns, though during its complex taxonomic history it has at various times been confused with each of those groups. It is typically considered inedible, but is eaten or used in folk medicine in some areas. (Full article...)

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Higginbotham with Gibraltar in 2014
Higginbotham with Gibraltar in 2014

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Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson in 2014
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson

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April 8: Gudi Padwa and Ugadi in various parts of India (2016)

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

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Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley

The works of Joseph Priestley include contributions in the fields of philosophy, political theory, and education. A British natural philosopher and Dissenting clergyman, Priestley is best known for his discovery, simultaneously with Antoine Lavoisier, of oxygen gas. A member of marginalized religious groups throughout his life and a proponent of what was called "rational Dissent," he advocated religious toleration and equal rights for Dissenters. Priestley argued for extensive civil rights in works such as Essay on the First Principles of Government, believing that individuals could bring about progress and eventually the Millennium; he was the foremost British expounder of providentialism. Priestley made significant contributions to education, publishing, among other things, The Rudiments of English Grammar, a seminal work on English grammar. Throughout his life, Priestley was also known as a natural philosopher. His scientific reputation rested on his writings on electricity, his invention of soda water, and his discovery of 10 previously unknown "Airs" (gases), that he reported about from 1774–1786 in a giant book of 6 volumes: Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. (Full list...)

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Aqueduct of Segovia

The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman aqueduct located in Segovia, Spain, that transports water from the Rio Frio. It is thought to have been constructed during the 1st century CE. One of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula, the aqueduct is considered a symbol of Segovia and is present on the city's coat of arms.

Photograph: Bernard Gagnon

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