Geography Archives | PONDERWALL

HOW RUPTURE WITH MAINLAND EUROPE CAUSED BRITAIN TO FALTER FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS

Mainland Europe has always been essential to Britain’s prosperity. When the relationship with Europe is poor, the lot of ordinary Briton is poorer for it.

CAR-FREE PARIS? IT WAS ALREADY A DREAM IN 1790.

Geography, History

Car-free Paris? It was already a dream in 1790 Le Pont-Neuf et la Pompe de la Samaritaine, vue du quai de la Mégisserie, painting by Nicolas Raguenet (circa 1750-1760). Musée Carnavalet Arnaud Exbalin, Université Paris

HOW THE PRETZEL WENT FROM SOFT TO HARD – AND OTHER LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT ONE OF THE WORLD’S FAVORITE SNACKS

Geography

The pretzel, a German food, and one of the fastest-growing snack foods in the world, recently crossed a billion dollars a year in sales.

A DANISH WORD THE WORLD NEEDS TO COMBAT STRESS: PYT

Geography

Pyt doesn’t have an exact English translation. It’s more a cultural concept about cultivating healthy thoughts to deal with stress.

IPCC REPORT PAINTS CATASTROPHIC PICTURE OF MELTING ICE AND RISING SEA LEVELS – AND REALITY MAY BE EVEN WORSE

Geography, Science

Based on almost 7k peer-reviewed research, the report is a cutting-edge crash course in how human-caused climate breakdown is changing our ice and oceans.

HOW SWEDISH LITERATURE REFLECTS THE BENEFITS OF A SHORTER WORKING DAY

Arts, Economics, Geography, Politics

The world should be inspired by Swedish culture, with more fika, more time for leisurely reading about non-work topics, and more lagom towards jobs.

WHY THE GERMAN LANGUAGE HAS SO MANY GREAT WORDS

Geography, Politics

Backpfeifengesicht may join other German words that have found a place in English, like Weltschmerz (world-weariness) and Zeitgeist (spirit of the time).

SOUTH AMERICA’S SECOND-LARGEST FOREST IS ALSO BURNING – AND ‘ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY’ CHARCOAL IS SUBSIDIZING ITS DESTRUCTION

Geography, Politics

The fires raging across the Amazon have captured the world’s attention. Meanwhile, the second-largest forest, Gran Chaco, is disappearing in plain sight.

URBAN FORESTS CAN STORE ALMOST AS MUCH CARBON AS TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

Geography, Science

New study by researchers at University College London shows that pockets of London’s urban jungle store as much carbon per hectare as tropical rainforests.

SUPERBLOCKS: BARCELONA’S CAR-FREE ZONES COULD EXTEND LIVES AND BOOST MENTAL HEALTH

Geography, Politics

Barcelona’s urban superblocks are neighborhoods of nine blocks, where traffic is restricted to major roads, opening up streets to pedestrians.

ANIMATED HISTORY OF POLAND – 1000 YEARS IN 8 MINUTES

Geography, History

This animation takes you through 1000 years of history in about 8 minutes, 140 events that feature 500 characters from different historical periods.

REWILDING: AS FARMLAND AND VILLAGES ARE ABANDONED, FORESTS, WOLVES AND BEARS ARE RETURNING TO EUROPE

Geography

Large parts of Europe have been passively rewilding for decades as people have moved out of rural areas toward urban conglomerations.

HOW QUEBEC GOT 80 PER CENT OF FATHERS TO TAKE PATERNITY LEAVE

Geography

Today, 80 per cent of Quebec fathers stop working when a child arrives so they can help care for their little one for several weeks.

ICELAND LANDSCAPES

Geography

MOUNT ETNA: VOLCANO IS SLIDING TOWARDS THE SEA AND NOW WE KNOW WHY

Geography

Mount Etna slide is caused by gravity, which makes a collapse more likely but we can’t give an indication of when or even if this will actually happen.

HISTORIC TRIP THROUGH CANADIAN SPACE EXPLORATION

Geography, Sidebar

GIETHOORN, THE OTHER VENICE

Geography, Sidebar

The village of Giethoorn, in the Netherlands, has no roads and no cars. The residents either walk or take boats through canals. Situated in the northeastern province of Overijssel, it is famous for its waterways and bicycle trails.