David Leveille
Peter Max Revisits His Early Days as a Jewish Refugee
Peter Max was 3-years-old when his family fled Nazi Germany to seek refuge in China along with thousands of other Jews during WWII. Now at age 74, the American pop artist tells The World he’s returned to China for the first time, where along with his daughter Libra, he’s searching out his old neighborhood and some long lost friends.
Massive Art Museum for the Price of a Subway Ticket
The answer to the Geo Quiz is a place often described as the longest and largest art museum in the world. More than 90 public spaces transformed into galleries span over 70 miles of this Scandanavian city. Where is this museum?
Where Does The Platinum In Your Bling Come From?
One country supplies 75 percent of the world’s platinum. Economic geologist Anthony Naldrett details how platinum from its mines at the Bushveld complex ends up in everything from catalytic converters to expensive bling.
Bright Green Hoppers Out On Amsterdam Streets
Amsterdam already has excellent public transportation options ranging from fast trains to canal boats. Now, in addition to buses, taxis, and bicycles, you can catch a ride on a bright green electric scooter called a Hopper.
German Geologist Says Buddhist Statue Made From Ancient Meteorite
German scientists have discovered that 11th century statue of the Buddhist god Vaisravana was made out of a chunk of iron meteorite that slammed into Central Asia some fifteen thousand years ago. The Iron Man statue was found and taken from Tibet by the Nazis in the 1930′s and brought to Germany. Elmar Buchmer, a geologist at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, says he believes it’s the only human figure ever to have been found that is carved out of a meteorite stone.
History Detectives Help Return Soldier’s Diary To Vietnamese Family
A North Vietnamese soldier’s frayed diary that was returned to Vietnam by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta earlier this year, has now been presented to the soldier’s family at a ceremony in their home village in the northern province of Hai Duong, 46 years after the soldier was killed in action in the Vietnam War.
5,000-Year-Old Timber Found Perfectly Preserved in Marsh
A 5000-year-old dense forest of towering black oak trees once covered this eastern region of England. Recently a farmer made a discovery there near Cambridgeshire when his plow hit a massive oak tree buried in the wet soil.
Smuggling Pizza Ingredients Into Canada
For our Geo Quiz we’re trying to track down some pizza rustlers, some cheese pizza rustlers. Police in Southern Ontario are investigating an unusual criminal case that involves some local pizzerias.
Brazil’s Traffic Jams: A Daily Headache
The BBC ‘s Paulo Cabral is in the Brazilian city known for nightmarish traffic jams on the roads and in the sky. Traffic gridlock is getting worse as more and more Brazilians drive. One option available to some commuters: take a helicopter to work.
Hatfields And McCoys Shoot It Up In Transylvania
The series “Hatfields & McCoys,” based on one of the most famous blood feuds in American history, was filmed in Transylvania.
Eggs In Short Supply, Prices Rising
There’s a national shortage of eggs in the country that is the world’s biggest consumer of eggs (350 per person per year). It’s causing prices to rise, and chefs are having to get creative says Patricia Jinich, host of the popular cooking program Pati’s Mexican Table.
Remembering The Russian Lada Classic
The last Lada Classic has rolled out of an assembly plant in a Russian city in the western Urals. The Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ has phased out the popular sedan modeled after the Italian Fiat. The Lada dates back to the Soviet era and like many, Russian American Andre Lukatsky remembers teh Lada Classic fondly.
Poland Discovers 17th Century Looted Art in River
A once sunken treasure emerges in our Geo Quiz. A drought in Central Europe has caused Poland’s longest river to recede near Warsaw, exposing tons of long lost stonework and marble. It was looted from Polish palaces and castles centuries ago during a 1655 Swedish invasion, and ended up at the bottom of the river when the barge hauling it to the port of Gdansk sank.
Extending the Appalachian Trail to Both Sides of the Atlantic
We’re looking for the name of a very long hiking trail for our Geo Quiz, more than 10,000 miles miles long. The trail is a horseshoe-shaped trail that roughly wraps around the North Atlantic Ocean. The path follows along some mountain ranges that share a common geology.
A Long Winter’s Trek Across Antarctica
A team led by British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has announced to do six month ice trek begin from the Russian Antarctic base of Novolazarevskaya, and cross 2,000 miles via the South Pole to McMurdo Station, the US polar research base that looks out toward the Ross Sea. Can you name this partially frozen southern sea that wraps around this coastline of Antarctica?
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