Got a question? Ever wondered about something related to geography? Then ask away here. Every two weeks, Joe Blanton, director of our Research Correspondence division, will post answers to three of the most interesting questions received via e-mail. Unfortunately time constraints preclude individual e-mail responses.
Happy memories...
My grandparents were married at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa, on August 21, 1938. Their names are Reid and Margaret Hamilton. What they didnt realize was that NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC was going to be there the same day to do an
article on the historic church. They asked if it would be all right for them to photograph the wedding. Of course, my grandparents were thrilled with the idea. But they never found out if NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ever ran the article.
Next year will be their 60th wedding anniversary. I would love to be able to present them with either a copy of the article or some information regarding what happened to the pictures. If you can help me, please let me know.
Imagine our surpriseand delightwhen a search of our photo archives turned up a lone glass photographic plate of the wedding party standing out front of the Little Brown Church. Longtime GEOGRAPHIC photographer Joseph Baylor Roberts had been in Nashua that day as part of his coverage for the August 1939 article Iowa, Abiding Place of Plenty. The pictures didnt make it into the article, but one was retained in file. Our lab made up two 8 x 10 prints, which were sent right out to the Hamiltons.
Stories like these always make our day. As do the stories about people who are prompted into action as a result of seeing something in the pages of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. For instance, there is the gentleman who, as a boy, read an article in our February 1928 issue about a fellow who built a boat and then sailed it around the world. Harboring memories of that article for years, the man began construction on his own boat after he retired. Some 24 years later, at the age of 80, he finally set sail for Hawaii. Recently, a longtime member wrote to say, No subscription for me this year! Im going to write my own journal pages as I go wandering around the world so richly presented to me by your magazine. Wish me luck. Ill be back in a few yearsmaybe. Sometimes we hear from folks whove made career choices after reading something in the magazine.
Do you have a similar story? If so, let us know. Were collecting them and well tell you about them at a later date. Just click here to write in.
I am searching for a term used to describe the onion domes on Russian buildings. Did I read that in one of your magazines, or am I just dreaming?
There doesnt seem to be any formal consensus, at least in the English language. (In Russian, its called a kupol-lukovka.) Most references in English to onion domes call them just that. Both the Dictionary of Architecture and Construction and the American Institute of Architects Dictionary of Architectural Terms list entries for onion domes. Many Russian Orthodox church members refer to them as cupolas.
Architecturally, the bulbous accoutrements do fall into the dome category. Russian church buildings descend from Byzantine ancestors, many of which were domed. It may be that the Russian variety eventually took on a more pointed shape to dispel the tons of snow that would otherwise pile up. The onion domes on the famous St. Basils Cathedral in Moscows Red Square are whimsically multi-colored, but those on many other Russian churches are, like their Byzantine cousins, gilded with gold leaf.
Do you have an online article on the origin of bungee jumping, possibly related to the Bunlap tribes of the Pentecost Islands?
Although we dont post articles online, you may want to read South Seas Incredible Land Divers in the January 1955 issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. A nearby library may have a copy. The article tells of the amazing Pentecost Islanders and their ritual diving from towers fashioned of tree branches lashed together with vines. The towers rise to heights as great as 100 feet (30.5 meters). Island men tie the ends of vines around their ankles and leap off headfirst.
In our December 1970 issue, author Kal Muller recounted his own jump in Land Diving With the Pentecost Islanders. Such land diving may well be the precursor of todays bungee jumping. One difference (besides the use of vines instead of bungee cords) is that the islanders heads actually hit the ground. The earth is softened up to lessen the impact, and the vines are carefully measured to ensure that the divers head just caresses the ground without breaking his neck. Do islanders still jump from rickety towers, vines strapped to their ankles? If any of you have been to the Pentecost Islands lately, let me know!
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