A massive, 5-foot-long lizard, presumed to be an Asian water monitor, was seen scurrying around a busy road in western Florida recently. “He’s huge,” Renee Aland can be heard saying in video she posted on social media of the lizard. “He’s just strutting across the road. He’s heading to the other side of the road.” … Read more
There is a calm implacability to “In a Violent Nature” that’s deeply unsettling and particularly unpleasant. Yet I was also transfixed: Chris Nash’s direction is so persuasively bold — brazen, really — and bloodcurdlingly coolheaded that his unusual shocker is impossible to dismiss. Gathering routine genre elements — the masked predator, the luckless teenage victims, … Read more
When TWA pilot Eugene John Tallarico started to hand build his home in Montauk in 1976, he knew it would be an experiment. Influenced by the work of Buckminster Fuller and his geodesic dome structures, Tallarico set out to create an ultramodern-meets-cabin-in-the-woods retreat on a woodsy, isolated plot at 54 E. Lake Drive. The result … Read more
Something borrowed, something nude. Nudist couples hoping to celebrate their nuptials au naturel have an open invitation from officials in at least one beautiful Italian coastal destination. Is Benas beach, located halfway up Sardinia’s west coast, is already famous for its tan line-free tanning opportunities. Soon it will also allow nude weddings, according to CNN. … Read more
Take a deep breath before trekking here. Deep in the volcanic mountains of Costa Rica hides a deadly, yet small opening of the Earth that engulfs and kills just about all that enters. Locals in the Alajuela Province call this six-foot-deep and ten-foot-long hell hole — accompanied by warning signs of skulls and crossbones — … Read more
Birds fly over the rainbow — so why can’t you watch your worries fly away, too? A new study from North Carolina State University, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found that bird-watching can help college students improve their mental health. Studies have shown that spending time in nature can boost overall well-being, but … Read more
The secret to beating stress could be as simple as going outside, according to an expert. “The outdoors have so many amazing benefits for us,” general pediatrician Dr. Vanessa Slots told CBS Minnesota station WCCO. “There are a lot of studies that show being in nature — even if it’s just sitting under a tree … Read more
Late in “Evil Does Not Exist,” a man who lives in a rural hamlet an easy drive from Tokyo cuts right to the movie’s haunting urgency. He’s talking to two representatives of a company that’s planning to build a resort in the area that will cover a deer trail. When one suggests that maybe the … Read more
The now dreaded lanternfly season is upon Americans and officials are alerting the public on how to avoid the pesky spotted pest this summer. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) told the country to be on the lookout specifically for spotted lanternfly eggs and to destroy them immediately. Early detection of the annoying bugs’ eggs … Read more
They’re UFOs — unidentified floating objects. Online denizens were left baffled after mysterious blobs were spotted in an Oklahoma lake — with many comparing them to “alien eggs.” The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) highlighted these bizarro objects, which were found in McGee Creek Reservoir, in a Facebook post going viral. A colony of … Read more
Google, where do Americans want to go? The research team at SFT Project analyzed Google search results to determine the most googled tourist attractions in each state over the last year. Overall, Americans were most interested in visiting national parks and outdoor settings filled with nature, with people in 30 states searching for these types of trips more than any other tourist … Read more
Perhaps you’ve wandered through a forest or strolled into a neighborhood park and found tree trunks — and wondered if counting the rings on a trunk is truly a way to know the tree’s age. “Most of us learned as children that the age of a tree could be found by counting its rings,” said … Read more
Don’t worry, these weight loss hacks don’t involve chaining up your fridge or jumping on the treadmill. Want to shed some pounds but hesitant to go on the extremely trendy Ozempic? Not to fear: An internal medicine doctor has outlined several natural ways to mimic this injectable appetite suppressant sans actually taking the shot, which … Read more
If you fall for a tree in the woods, does it make a sound? A self-proclaimed “ecosexual” took nature loving to the extreme after becoming infatuated with an oak tree — which she says fills her with “erotic energy.” “There was an eroticism with something so big and so old holding my back,” Sonja Semyonova, … Read more
This redefines eating on the road. An Oregon woman is making waves online after claiming that she lives outside 24/7 and even eats roadkill because she doesn’t want animals to “die in vain.” “I’m really good at knowing when an animal is fresh,” Manders Barnett, 32, told South West News Service of her literal roadside dining … Read more
KEY WEST, Fla. – The green flash from the Sun is a phenomenon that has been the subject of much debate, with many people dismissing it as just a myth. However, according to NASA, the green flash is a real phenomenon when the Sun sets or rises, and its light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers and amateur skygazers … Read more
If you don’t have time for a relaxing walk through the woods, try a nature video instead. A new study found that watching even a brief video of nature scenes significantly improved the mental health of viewers — especially compared to the effect of watching scenes of urban environments. The researchers focused on late adolescence, … Read more
One in four Americans are planning a trip this fall season to sneak a peek at the changing orange, red and yellow foliage, according to AAA. But for veteran leaf peepers, the crowded byways of the northeast have their cons. There’s, for instance, the familiar traffic jams and the extravagant rates at the inn. Luckily … Read more
Teach a man to eat roadkill you feed him for a lifetime — which may not be long considering his risky diet. Eric Joseph Lewis, 41, spends just $50 a week on store-bought food, opting to forage for wild plants and eat roadkill, instead. Lewis and his girlfriend Jess Russell, 26, spend their days eating … Read more
His Hogwarts house sure wouldn’t be Slytherin. A Florida teenager was praised for wrasslin’ up a massive, 15-foot-6-inch python during his first-ever trip to the state’s southernmost Everglades National Park on Sunday. The reptile-wrangling rock star, 18-year-old Jack Cronin of Fort Meyers, had but one thing to say after impressively capturing the monstrous leviathan. “I … Read more