Satellite images showing the site of St Elijah’s Monastery in March 2011 and September 2014. DigitalGlobe via AP
1. One of Iraq’s Oldest Christian Sites Destroyed by ISIS
According to satellite photographs published by The Associated Press, the Islamic State destroyed the monastery of St. Elijah, or Dair Mar Elia. It stood for more than 1,400 years near Mosul, Iraq, which was seized by the Islamic State in June 2014. Read more at The New York Times.
2. Go Back in Time with the Replica of the Lascaux Cave Paintings
The Lascaux Cave in France has been closed to the public since 1963, but French artists have finished an accurate reproduction for you to see the world like a Paleolithic cave dweller. Read more at Smithsonian.
3. On This Day: January 17
One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in what was then known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the tenth son of a soap maker, Josiah Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin was intellectually curious about the world and he operated in it as a gentlemanly scientist. He pursued experiments related to electricity, and looked at better ways to make clocks and improve bifocal lenses. In 1752, he had won world-wide fame when he proved that lightning was not an act of God but in fact electricity.
Watch a clip about his scientific achievements from Secrets of the Dead: Ben Franklin’s Bones.
4. Early Egyptian Queen Revealed in 5,000-Year-Old Hieroglyphs
About 60 drawings and hieroglyphic inscriptions have been discovered at a site called Wadi Ameyra in Egypt’s Sinai Desert. Archaeologists say that these symbols were created by mining expeditions sent out by early Egyptian pharaohs about 5,000 years ago. They reveal new information on the ancient kings including a queen named Neith-Hotep. Read more at LiveScience.
5. Titanic Survivor’s Portrait Discovered
An auctioneer is selling a portrait of Titanic survivor, Elsie Bowerman, who was in the same lifeboat with the auctioneer’s own ancestor. Read more at BBC.
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