Robert Krulwich

The Love That Dared Not Speak Its Name, Of A Beetle For A Beer Bottle

Robert Krulwich — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:21:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nStp4urqcM

Isn't That King David? Nope, It's Just Dave

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:48:00 +0000

Usually they're naked, ancient and stony. But all of a sudden, they could live next door.

The Paris-based designer Leo Caillard had, as he wrote me, "the idea conception" and took the photographs. Alexis Persani dressed them. (Not actually; it was done on a computer, as you can see here. I know that putting modern clothes on classical sculptures isn't a new idea.

Why Men Die Younger Than Women: The 'Guys Are Fragile' Thesis

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:39:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdIRrmNN_CQ

Why Dolphins Make Us Nervous

Robert Krulwich — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:32:00 +0000

What is it about dolphins? They have very, very big brains, and that makes we humans, whose brains are nothing to sniff at, nervous. We don't know what to make of them.

The latest example: On May 17 in India, the Ministry of Environment and Forests issued an order to all Indian states banning dolphin amusement parks. No leaping out of pools to catch balls, no jumping through hoops.

The Most Dangerous Traffic Circle In The World?

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:22:00 +0000

I've been to New Delhi where traffic is frightening. I've seen pictures of Nairobi and Bangkok, where it's even scarier. But Ho Chi Minh City? The town we used to call Saigon? I don't think I'd put myself in a truck, car, bike or even a Sherman tank in that town. This video opens in the scariest traffic circle I could imagine — actually, it's beyond imagining — where bikes, cars and people seem simultaneously, collectively and individually heading straight at each other (when you look, just count the vehicles and people on collision course; there are at least two or three in every frame).

Watts For Lunch? (Or Why Humans Are Like Light Bulbs)

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:06:00 +0000

There's a new lunch place down the block, so like you do when the menu looks interesting, I walked in and ordered something mysterious, which for me was the "Red Lentil and Edamame Salad," mostly because I can never remember what edamame is, and because that word suggests doing something slightly frightening, like munching accidentally on one's mother.

How Much Energy Am I Eating? Enough To Power A Flashlight?

What arrived was a bowl of lentils, roasted carrots, raisins, mint and (I'm guessing) edamame beans.

The Boomerang Graffito (Or Bad, Bad, Luther B!)

Robert Krulwich — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:40:00 +0000

I was standing in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art the other day, where there's a full-sized Egyptian temple, called Dendur. It's housed under a glass roof ...

And standing there, gazing at profiles of Egyptian nobles etched onto the limestone, I noticed a bunch of what we now call "tags" — basically graffiti, carved by tourists, who back in the early 1800s made a habit of carving their names onto the places they visited. Basically, it's a "Hey, I was here!" thing.

MIT's Magic Bag Of Sand

Robert Krulwich — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:48:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMis7LPZE9M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okciiW26A6c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wShKl0Hbw0

What Did Rachel Carson Hear? The Mystery of the 'Fairy Bell Ringer'

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:46:00 +0000

This is the season of night noises, chirps, buzzes, little cries. The air is telling you, "Things are going on out here," and if you like you can step out onto the porch and do what the writer Rachel Carson did back in 1956: She played a hunting game. The rules were simple: You stand outdoors, near the house. You go quiet. When you hear something interesting, you either: a) take a flashlight and go hunt for it; or b) you don't go anywhere.

Not Winging It, But Ringing It

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 28 May 2013 16:04:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHyTOcfF99o