The Traitorous Eight and The Birth of Silicon Valley

The Traitorous Eight and The Birth of Silicon Valley

Podcast Transcript In 1957, eight young engineers walked away from one of the most important laboratories in America and, in doing so, helped create the modern technology industry.  Their break with a Nobel Prize-winning physicist set off a chain reaction of innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship that transformed a quiet region of California into Silicon Valley.  …

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Rainbows And How They Work

Rainbows And How They Work

Podcast Transcript Few things in nature are as instantly recognizable as a rainbow.  For thousands of years, rainbows have inspired myths, religion, art, and science.  Yet behind those bands of color is an extraordinary interaction between sunlight, water, geometry, and the physics of light itself.  From double rainbows to full circular rainbows seen from aircraft, …

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The Mercury Program

The Mercury Program

Podcast Transcript In the late 1950s, the United States found itself trailing in the Space Race as the Soviet Union achieved one milestone after another.  In response, NASA launched Project Mercury, an ambitious effort to put an American into space using little more than experimental rockets, cramped capsules, and sheer determination.  Explosions, near disasters, and …

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Gary’s Big German World Heritage Adventure

Starting Monday, March 11 I will spend 2-weeks driving around Germany with the goal of exploring 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany, 27 of which I have not previously visited.* I am excited to be doing this trip for several reasons. I love road trips because there is a freedom you have when driving …

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Pilgrimage Church of Wies

Pilgrimage Church of Wies UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription: The sanctuary of Wies, a pilgrimage church miraculously preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and a masterpiece of creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared. The hamlet of Wies, near Steingaden in Bavaria, …

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7 Fascinating Reasons to Visit Croatia

7 Fascinating Reasons to Visit Croatia

This post is sponsored by Goolets, a company specializing in luxury gulet cruises. There are no shortage of beautiful holiday destinations around the world, however, Croatia is a hotspot that only increases in popularity every year. With its rugged mountains, long coastline, and breathtaking blue waters, Croatia is a picture-perfect place to visit. But what …

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Plitvice Lakes National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site #231: Plitvice Lakes National Park

From the World Heritage inscription: Plitvice Lakes National Park contains a series of beautiful lakes, caves, and waterfalls. These have been formed by processes typical of karst landscapes such as the deposition of travertine barriers, creating natural dams. These geological processes continue today. The Plitvice Lakes basin is a geomorphologic formation of biological origin, a …

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Old Town of Corfu

Old Town of Corfu UNESCO World Heritage Site, Greece

From the World Heritage inscription the Old Town of Corfu: Corfu, the first of the Ionian Islands encountered at the entrance to the Adriatic, was annexed to Greece by a group of Eretrians (775-750 BCE). In 734 BCE the Corinthians founded a colony known as Kerkyra to the south of where the Old Town now …

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Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian

Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription: The importance of Diocletian’s Palace far transcends local significance because of its level of preservation and the buildings of succeeding historical periods, starting in the Roman period, which form the very tissue of old Split. The palace is one of the most famous and integral architectural and cultural buildings on …

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