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ALL-POWERFUL ROME?
DON’T BE FOOLED.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we learn about the First Sack of Rome, discover if happier hens = better eggs; explore how a centuries-long cold period changed humanity ... and ask history about the world’s oldest nightmare.

A 19th-century painting by Évariste Vital Luminais depicts an idealized combat scene between Roman and Gallic horsemen.

P. CARTIER/BRIDGEMAN/ACI

“Woe to the vanquished,” haunted Roman ears when the city was sacked by the Gauls (depicted above in Roman battle).

But it wasn't in 476 A.D. This sacking, the first one, came more than 700 years before and challenges notions of just how eternal the Eternal City was anyway.

BARBARIANS AT THE GATE

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

Hens on a farm venturing further from the coop under the cover of a tree

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL GEORGE

How happier hens (pictured above) can help you

The new secret of the world’s heaviest snake

Ultra-processed food isn't just bad for your health—it messes with your mind

Why your bones need more than just Vitamin D

Can your gut be the key to solving chronic fatigue?

Who was Merlin, really?

Long COVID may destroy your ability to exercise

Is a pigeon or a cat a better spy? We actually know.

Want to keep your memory sharp? Here’s what science recommends.

Why is the deadliest form of skin cancer also the most over diagnosed?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

An oil painting depicting people on a frozen river

PHOTOGRAPH BY INCAMERASTOCK, ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

How did humans live during the ‘Little Ice Age’? Extreme weather categorized a period from 1300 to 1850, during which global temperatures cooled by about 1 degree Celsius. Crops froze as well as normally flowing rivers (depicted above) during the period, which some historians attribute to the disappearance of Viking settlements and even the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Just how big was its influence? How did humans evolve to adapt?

A YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Rocky spires known as the Minarets rise above 12,000 feet in the Ansel Adams Wilderness

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER ESSICK

On this day 122 years ago … Photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams was born. A body of work by photographer Peter Essick pays tribute to Adams and the craggy California wilderness named in his honor (pictured above, rocky spires known as the Minarets in the Ansel Adams Wilderness). See the mountains that made the man.

REMEMBERING ANSEL ADAMS

LAST GLIMPSE

A green amulet of hippo goddess Taweret, circa 664-332 B.C., on a black background.

MET/ALBUM

What was the world’s oldest nightmare? Ancient Egyptians viewed dreams as full of messages for the dreamer. In one of the earliest records of dreaming in Egypt, we learn about the ghost of one man’s guilty conscience—and the significance of dreaming in ancient Egyptian society. (Pictured above, an amulet of the hippo goddess Tawaret circa 664-332 B.C., used by ancient Egyptians to watch over themselves and their dreams.)

DREAMS & LETTERS TO THE DEAD

Today’s soundtrack: As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkns

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, and Nishita Naga. Were you forwarded this email or know someone who might want our newsletter? Here’s the signup. See you tomorrow!

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