Yams; Masks; Papua New Guinea; Papua New Guinea - social lfie and customs; Abelam (peoples); Abelam (peoples) - social lfie and customs
Yams are an important food source for many indigenous tribes of Papua New Guinea. Men cultivate them and take great care and pride in creating the largest yams. The Abelam peoples hold elaborate yam harvest ceremonies and festivals, during which...
Yoruba (African people); Yoruba (African people) -- Social life and customs; Chairs
In ancient and current Yoruba culture, people of importance are symbolically and physicallly separated from the rest of society. At specific times, the feet of alaase (rulers, priests and initiates) must not be in physical contact with the earth....
Silhouettes; Artists -- Indiana; Women artists -- Indiana; Women artists; Indiana
This silhouette is the work of Helen E. Fisher, Greenwood, Indiana. She traveled throughout the eastern half of the country between 1932-1942 using her tiny scissors to create more than 60,000 "sillies" of children, adults and pets. Her...
Akan (African people); Akan (African people) -- Social life and customs; Ghana; Ghana -- Social life and customs; Stools; Furniture
Personal stools are very important among the Akan peoples of Ghana. Among the Asante (a sub-group of the Akan), there is a very special bond between a person and his/her stool. An Asante proverb states, "There are no secrets between a man and...
Storage jars; Casas Grandes Site (Mexico); Mexico -- Antiquities; Pottery
The site of Casas Grandes (also called Paquimé) lies in the northwestern area of Chihuahua State of Mexico. The settlement was occupied between 700-1450 AD by people who lived between the time periods dominated by the Toltec and the Aztec. The...
According to Greek Mythology, the Trojan War was fought between Greece and Troy. The war started when the Trojan prince Paris abducted Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. Surrendering, the Greek soldiers sailed away and left a wooden horse and one...
Using a little imagination, an unknown railroad hobbyist made this bridge using Carlisle & Finch track between 1900 and 1945. Similar to the company’s No. 57 cast iron bridge, this bridge uses track, wood, electrical wire and paint. The...
Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), 1836-1911; Sullivan, Arthur Seymour, Sir, 1842-1900; Opera; Nineteenth Century; Music; Musical theater; Theaters; Savoy Theatre
Englishmen Sir William Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan joined their talents of librettist (writer of operas) and composer to create fourteen operettas between 1871 and 1896, paving the way for modern musical theater. Their...
This valentine was one example of thousands sold in the 1920s to commemorate the "day of love," February 14th. Valentines may be the first of all greeting cards, dating from the 16th century. By the 1800s there was a large demand for...
This valentine was one example of thousands sold in the 1920s to commemorate the "day of love," February 14th. Valentines may be the first of all greeting cards, dating from the 16th century. By the 1800s there was a large demand for...
Toys; Mechanical toys; Motorcycles; Police; Japan; World War 1939-1945; 1950s; 1960s
This toy was "Made for America," but wasn’t "Made in America". Following World War II, the United States Government actively assisted in the economic recovery of Japan. This toy is one of many made in new factories in Japan...
Rhamphorhynchus was a pterosaur, or flying reptile, whose name means “Beak Snout." Remains of fish have been found in the crop, a pouch in the esophagus in which food is held for later digestion or for regurgitation to nestlings, and stomach...
Currently about 5,000 species of dragonflies and damselflies are known. Experts guess that there are probably between 5,500 and 6,500 species in total. Most temperate-zone (warm in the summer, cold in the winter, and moderate in the spring and...
Petoskey Stones are actually coral that lived during the Devonian Period, about 350 million years ago. This particular species is only found between the areas of Petoskey, Michigan and Traverse City, Michigan. Each “cell” is actually a tube...
Glyptodonts were large, armadillo like mammals that lived between twenty and three million years ago. Originally they had armadillo-like armor, but evolved to have armor fused like a dome with a “helmet” for its head and even armor on its tail!...
This Bacculite is a cephalopod, one of the prehistoric animals related to squid. The shell is straight except at the very tip, where it is curled. Bacculites are usually only between three and six inches long, but some have been found up to six...
A female ostrich can lay between 12 and 15 eggs in a nest. These eggs are the largest eggs in the world, but oddly enough are the smallest eggs in comparison to the size of the adult bird. (Pity the poor kiwi which lays an egg nearly 1/3 the size...
Between 1942 and 1945, during World War II, the U.S. federal government regulated purchases of goods like food and gas. War Ration Books were issued to everyone. Each stamp or coupon authorized the holder to purchase rationed goods in the...
Television; Television -- History; Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano) 1882-1945; Radio Corporation of America
President Franklin D. Roosevelt made history when he gave an opening address at the World’s Fair in New York City in 1939 that was televised to only about 7,000 TVs - the only 7,000 in the world! Thousands of people attending the Fair that year...
This is the upper and lower jaw of the guitarfish. It is common in the American Atlantic ocean from North Carolina to Yucatan, Mexico. The guitarfish is halfway between sharks and rays in body shape. Its body is long and rounded with well developed...
