It's the middle of the day and you just can't seem to get out of first gear. And it's not the first time.
What’s making you feel so wiped out? There is a long list of possible reasons, and many of them are things that you can influence. Check out these common culprits for fa tigue and get some pep back in your step.
DOES YOUR LIFESTYLE NEED A TWEAK?
Everyday habits can make a big difference.
"With my patients, I talk about the three pillars of health: sleep, diet, and exer cise," says Theodore Fried man, MD, PhD, chair of medi cine at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.
"If you aren't getting good sleep, it's hard to eat well, and it's hard to exercise. And the same is true the other way around. They're all related."
So try not to short-change yourself on shut-eye. Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Eat a balanced diet of fruits, veg-
If you aren't getting good sleep, it's hard to eat well, and it's hard to exercise. And the same is true the other way around. They're all related.
CONTINUING FROM PAGE 2
gies, and lean protein, and get a regular dose of physical activity.
If you've checked all those boxes and you still drag through your days, it might be time to check possible medical causes of fatigue.
ANEMIA
It's a disorder that makes it hard for your blood to move oxygen around your body. A common type is called "irondeficiency" anemia.
Iron acts like a train car that transports oxygen in your blood. "People with low iron don't have enough cars on their train," Friedman says.
"They're tired, they get diz zy when they stand up, they get brain fog, they get heart palpitations."Your doctor can check you for anemia with a simple blood test.
DIABETES
You don't even realize it, which makes it hard to figure out why you're so sleepy during the day."You don't get into REM -- the sleep that makes you feel best," Shives says.
A device called a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine can help keep your airways open for a solid night's sleep.
MENOPAUSE
If you're a woman who's going through menopause, you may find it hard to get good
Your hormones change a lot at this time, which give you night sweats and hot flashes. That can keep you up at night and leave you dragging during the day.
DEPRESSION
Doctors don't know exactly why it makes people so tired. One likely reason is that your body uses lots of energy to deal with your frequent changes in blood sugar levels. What doctors do know is that fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of diabetes. It has other signs, too. You may feel thirsty and need to go to the bathroom often.
PROBLEMS WITH YOUR THYROID
It's a small, butterfly-shaped gland that sits in your neck.
It makes a hormone that helps control how you use energy. When your thyroid gland is out of whack, you're out of whack.
"People with an underactive thyroid are going to feel tired," Friedman says. "Their cells aren't working well,
Anemia is a disorder that makes it hard for your blood to move oxygen around your body. A common type is called "iron-deficiency" anemia.
they're sluggish, and their reflexes are slow."
Your doctor may test your blood for thyroid hormone to see if it's to blame for your fatigue.
HEART DISEASE
Extreme tiredness is a common symptom of congestive heart failure, which happens when it doesn't pump as well as it should.
If you have it, your fatigue usually gets worse when you
exercise. You might also have swelling in your arms or legs and shortness of breath.
SLEEP APNEA
This disorder keeps you from getting enough oxygen when you sleep, which means you won't get real rest during the night. "The brain notices you're not getting rid of your CO2, and it wakes up really briefly in an alarmed state," says Lisa Shives, MD, director of the Sleep Medicine Center at the University of California, San Diego School of Med-
It robs your brain of the chemicals it needs to work at its best. One of those is serotonin, which helps regulate your internal body clock.
Depression can lower your energy levels and make you feel tired during the day.
You may also find it hard to fall asleep at night, or you might wake up earlier than you want in the morning.
Talk to you doctor if you think you're depressed. Talk therapy and medicine can help. ◙
SOURCE:WEBMD.COM
We know that the ridges on the tips of our fingers form in the womb, beginning around 10 weeks gestation.
By the time a fetus is around 17 weeks, these whimsical, random, totally unique pat terns are fully formed.
This means your fingerprints have been with you since be fore you were born.
FINGERPRINTS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN OUR SENSE OF TOUCH
Research has shown that ridg es in our fingerprints increase our tactile sensitivity.
According to a study pub lished in the Journal of Neu roscience, the ridges of our fingerprints feature finely tuned receptive fields and may help explain the sensitivity of human touch.
FINGERPRINTS START OUT LIKE HAIR FOLLICLES
According to Headon’s research, fingerprints start out
By the time a fetus is around 17 weeks, these whimsical, random, totally unique patterns are fully formed.
looking like the same patches of cells that will go on to form hair follicles.
But, instead of turning into hair follicles, these cells form ridges patterned in whorls and loops thanks to tiny differences in the expression of the genes responsible for forming skin structures.
FINGERPRINTS FOLLOW THE TURING PATTERN
The arching, looping and whorling fingerprint shapes can be explained in part by a theory proposed by British mathematician Alan Turing.
The differences in gene expression set up what’s known to scientists as a “Turing pattern.” In the 1950s, Turing theorized that “substances made by an embryo’s cells would promote the formation of a structure, but act with opposing substances that suppress the growth of such a structure,” Headon explains.
“By interacting with one another, the promoter and the
opposing suppressor in this scheme can make a pattern that has repeated units with an even spacing between them, like that of our many fingerprint ridges.”
Turin’s theories were limited by the understanding of biology at the time, but that is exactly what Headon and his colleagues found.
“We find these promoter and suppressor molecules produced during fingerprint development in a way that suggests they act as Turing thought (though he did not study or mention fingerprints specifically),” Headon says.
“The Turing pattern is sensitive to random events while the pattern is forming before birth, and this sensitivity to randomness probably plays a big part in making each fingerprint unique.”
FINGERPRINTS ARE THE SAME PHENOMENON AS ZEBRA STRIPES
The Turing pattern that like-
and whorling fingerprint shapes can be explained in part by a theory proposed by British mathematician Alan Turing.
ly creates our fingerprints is also responsible for other patterns occurring in nature, like zebra stripes and leopard spots.
SOME PEOPLE ARE BORN WITHOUT FINGERPRINTS
Called adermatoglyphia, this genetic disorder is extremely rare and causes the failure of ridge formations before birth.
The finger pads of people with adermatoglyphia are entirely flat, but otherwise, people with the condition are healthy. The genetic disorder has only been found in a few families, and it’s not totally understood, Headon says.
FINGERPRINTS MAY HELP PREVENT BLISTERS
Have you noticed that it’s much harder to get a blister on your fingertips or toes?
One theory is that the dermal ridges that make up our fingerprints help prevent blisters.
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Studies suggest that the ridges may allow our skin to stretch and deform more easily, which can protect it from damage—and blisters.
HUMAN FINGERPRINTS ARE UNIQUE TO PRIMATES … AND KOALAS
Monkeys and apes have fingerprints that function similarly to humans.
But the koala, which is a very distant relative of the human, is the only other animal that also has fingerprints that look and act like ours.
FINGERPRINTS
DON’T CHANGE WITH AGE
The koala, which is a very distant relative of the human, is the only other animal that also has fingerprints that look and act like ours.
As you get older, it’s natural for your skin to change with age. But wrinkling doesn’t come for your fingertips, which means you can expect your fingerprints to remain the same as the day they were formed.
THERE ARE THREE MAIN FINGERPRINT PATTERNS
Scientists categorize fingerprint patterns as either a whorl, loop or arch.
The arrangement and placement of them are what make your fingerprints a unique identifier.
And according to science, the patterns are all thanks to genetics, similar to the rarest eye color or the rarest hair color.
FINGERPRINTS WERE ONCE USED TO SEAL CONTRACTS
Entering into an agreement in
ancient Babylon? You could use a fingerprint to seal it.
This suggests people living under the reign of Hammurabi understood the special nature of fingerprints.
OTHER ANIMALS HAVE SIMILAR SKIN PATTERNS
“Other species of animals, like mice, have simpler sets of ridges on their fingers (or digits, to use a more technical term) than climbing animals do,” Headon says.
“Some monkeys use their tails like a fifth limb to help them with climbing, and the skin on the underside of their tail has the same ridges as we have on our palms and soles, though not the more complex arch, loop or whorl swirls found at our fingertips.” ◙
SOURCE: JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE:
The Dead Sea is probably one of the best known water bodies on Earth.
This hyper saline lake is located in a depression, which is part of the Jordan Rift Valley. With its lake shoreline lying about 426 m below mean sea level (as of June 2012), it is the lowest place on Earth.
The Dead Sea borders Israel, Jordan as well as the West Bank areas, which are under Palestinian control.
Since there is no outlet, the water of the Dead Sea evaporates (approx. 8 Million m³ of water per annum) leaving salt behind. The average salt content of the Dead Sea is approximately 28 %.
In around 1976, the sea level fell below the elevation of an east west ridge, leading to the division of the Dead Sea into two parts, a deep northern basin and a much shallower
The Dead Sea borders Israel, Jordan as well as the West Bank areas.
southern basin.
The sea level of the northern basin has continuously been decreasing since then and the southern basin would have been dried out by now if it wasn’t for the chemical abstraction industry pumping water into it from the northern basin.
Curiously enough, the water level of the southern basin has been rising in recent years. This is due to the deposit of commercially unattractive salts at the bottom of the basin, leading to a rise in the water level.
FLORA AND FAUNA IN THE CATCHMENT AREA
In the surrounding mountains, in the oases, marshes, and in temporary rivulets many plants and animals occur, among them leopards, the antelope species steen-
The water level of the Dead Sea is decreasing at an alarming rate. This development has numerous negative effects.
bok, and the griffon vulture.
The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea basin are among the most important migration routes for the Black and White Stork and many other bird species on their migration route from the breeding areas in Eastern Europe and the Middle East to Africa.
The landscape is characterised by a rock massif. Subtropical vegetation, however, is found in the oasis Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea, where bananas, dates, and grapes are cultivated.
Many bird species are native to this region, among others the Fan-tailed Raven (Corvus rhipidurus), the Brownnecked Raven (Corvus ruficollis), the Dead Sea Sparrow (Passer moabiticus), and the Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti).
The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea basin are among the most important migration routes for the Black and White Stork and many other bird species on their migration route from the breeding areas in Eastern Europe and the Middle East to Africa.
THE DEAD SEA IS DRYING UP
The water level of the Dead Sea is decreasing at an alarming rate. This development has numerous negative effects:
LOSS OF ESTUARINE ECOSYSTEMS & CREATION OF MUDFLATS:
With the receding shore of the Dead Sea, estuarine ecosystems have also begun to disappear. In the last years over 300 km² of sea bed have been exposed and the majority of this area turned into saline mudflats.
LOSS OF ENDEMIC SPECIES:
The decreased inflow of freshwater into the lake resulted in the fact that the salinity of the Dead Sea has increased to such a point that the few life-forms that live in the lake (hypersaline-tolerant bacteria) are at risk.
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The lake might, thus, live up to its name and truly become dead.
DECLINE IN THE GROUNDWATER TABLE:
Groundwater from adjacent aquifers flows seawards to replace the retreating seawater, which leads to a drop in surrounding groundwater levels.
CREATION OF SINKHOLES:
Over 3,000 sinkholes have appeared around the periphery of the Dead Sea.
These sinkholes are underground craters that are formed when subterranean salt layers are dissolved by fresh water following the receding Dead Sea water.
They can collapse at any time without warning and have already destroyed buildings, roads, and agricultural lands.
The sudden appearance of these sinkholes not only hinders development plans, but
With the receding shore of the Dead Sea, estuarine ecosystems have also begun to disappear. In the last years over 300 km² of sea bed have been exposed and the majority of this area turned into saline mudflats.
also poses a threat to any person wandering around in this area.
DECLINE IN TOURISM:
In recent years, there has been a decline in international tourist visits to the Dead Sea, which can be attributed to the decreasing sea water level. Tourism provides thousands of jobs in the Dead Sea basin, which are threatened by the severe environmental degradation of the lake.
CAUSES FOR DEGRADATION
The main reason for the declining sea water level of the Dead Sea is the decreasing inflow of freshwater into the lake, which has reduced from around 1,250 million cubic m/year in 1950 to approximately 260 million cubic m/year in 2010. The Dead Sea’s primary water source used to be the Lower Jordan River.
Of the 1.3 billion cubic meters of water, which would naturally flow in the river, more than 96 % is diverted for agricultural and domestic uses by the neighbouring countries, leaving only a very small amount of water to reach the Dead Sea.
In addition, water diversion and solar evaporation carried out by mineral extraction companies along the southern basin of the lake have contributed to the decline of the water level.
In addition to the drastic decline of the lake’s water level, domestic and industrial sewage continues to flow into the Dead Sea, damaging the lakes itself as well as the area’s unique ecosystem. In 2006, GNF declared the Dead Sea “Threatened Lake of the Year”, in order to raise awareness about its critical state. ◙
Either way, these long-lasting, commonplace substances are used in everything from water bottles to makeup, stain and water-resistant coatings, nonstick cookware, and more.
They leak into your drinking water, many of the foods you eat, and turn into toxic dust in your home.
These chemicals have been around for over 80 years and serve their purposes well, such as providing stain resistance for your new carpeting or sofa.
But they’re virtually indestructible and can contaminate everything they meet.
More than likely, they’re in your blood and can harm your health – some cancers, immune system suppression, and other diseases may be linked to the substances.
This month, medical journal
these long-lasting, commonplace substances are used in everything from water bottles to makeup, stain and water-resistant coatings, nonstick cookware, and more.
The Lancet released the results of a study linking prenatal phthalate exposure to adverse birth outcomes in the United States.
So, what’s a consumer to do? Is it possible to avoid phthalates, like PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), aka forever chemicals?
“It can feel overwhelming sometimes,” says Erica Cirino, communications manager for the Plastic Pollution Coalition and author of Thicker Than Water.
“On an individual level, you can’t eliminate all of your exposure, but you can minimize it.”
There are signs that times are changing. The FDA announced that U.S. companies will no longer use greaseproofing materials that contain PFAS.
That change means that fastfood wrappers, microwave
CONTINUING FROM PAGE 10
popcorn bags, and pet food bags will no longer contain the harmful chemicals.
The FDA called the move a win for public health and promises to continue researching risk levels.
“PFAS and food go together like oil and water – they don’t. Our lunch shouldn’t be wrapped in toxic chemicals,” Danielle Melgar, an advocate for consumer safety group U.S. PIRG Education Fund, said in a statement.
“When virtually all Americans have PFAS in our bodies and expectant mothers can even pass PFAS to their babies, there’s no time to waste in eliminating ‘forever chemicals’ wherever possible.
We applaud the FDA’s announcement and this critical progress in wiping this absurd threat from our plates.”
YOU ARE
Consider how much seafood you eat. While it’s a nutrition powerhouse and has less environmental impact than beef, shellfish and other types of fish consume high levels of microplastics. Much remains unknown about how much of that gets into the human body when seafood is eaten.
WHAT YOU EAT
One of the first places to take stock of your forever chemical exposure is the food you eat and water you drink.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water, air, fish, and soil all show varying levels of contamination from forever chemicals.
“It’s hubris to think we can dump chemicals into the environment and that they won’t contaminate our food sources,” said Gail Carlson, PhD, director of the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College in Maine.
What is unknown, in many cases, is whether those contamination levels are high enough to harm human health.
But you can find our if your tap water is considered safe, said Tasha Stoiber, PhD, a se-
nior scientist at the Environmental Working Group.
“You can check out our tap water database to see if there are issues in your area,” she said. “If so, we recommend a water filter, either a reverse osmosis filter or carbon filtration system.”
Food is another area to try to limit your forever chemical exposure, and with a few simple steps, you can make a difference. “Look for unpackaged foods, with minimal processing,” Cirino said.
If it’s available and if you can afford it, try buying organic produce.
The products you use for cooking and storing food also count.
Aim for glass over plastic, cast iron or uncoated ceramic ver-
The products you use for cooking and storing food also count. Aim for glass over plastic, cast iron or uncoated ceramic versus nonstick cookware, and as much as possible, cook at home instead of relying on takeout.
sus nonstick cookware, and as much as possible, cook at home instead of relying on takeout.
Testing has uncovered high levels of PFAS in food wrappers for burgers, drinks, and more, which is one reason the FDA worked toward the changes it announced this week.
When you do get takeout, transfer those foods to your own plates as quickly as possible so that you reduce the time your meals are exposed to the harmful chemicals.
Finally, consider how much seafood you eat. While it’s a nutrition powerhouse and has less environmental impact than beef, shellfish and other types of fish consume high levels of microplastics.
Clothing is another source of forever chemical exposure, particularly in outdoor gear. Think Gore-Tex coatings, for instance – wonderful for keeping rain and snow out but, until recently, loaded with PFAS.
The brand has announced its intent to stop using the chemicals, but it’s important to do some homework on any of the brands you wear.
Much remains unknown about how much of that gets into the human body when seafood is eaten.
“It’s like the advice we give pregnant women when it comes to seafood and mercury,” Carlson said.
“We walk the line by saying seafood has many health advantages, but it also contains chemicals and mercury.”
When it comes to food and water, there’s no avoiding forever chemicals entirely, and you still need to nourish your body.
Aim to strike a balance between reduction and healthy nutrition, the experts said.
IN YOUR HOME
Beyond food and water sources, you can also reduce forever chemicals in your home by making wise purchases.
“If you’re buying new furniture or adding new flooring, opt for wood floors” and avoid products with stainresistant coatings,” Stoiber said.
“PFAS don’t stay in textiles, and over time those coatings break down and shed into house dust, which is how you’re exposed to them.” Be sure to dust and vacuum frequently, she said, to reduce that dust.
Clothing is another source of
forever chemical exposure, particularly in outdoor gear.
Think Gore-Tex coatings, for instance – wonderful for keeping rain and snow out but, until recently, loaded with PFAS.
The brand has announced its intent to stop using the chemicals, but it’s important to do some homework on any of the brands you wear.
Opt for natural fabrics like wool and cotton, where possible, and learn if your pieces have any special coatings on them.
Products like cosmetics, personal care items, and even dental floss also contain their
share of forever chemicals.
With increasing public demand for their removal, some brands are offering alternatives, so shop with that in mind. ◙
So much of our lives are oriented towards other humans instead of animals. But learning animal facts can help people understand the species with whom we share this world.
Understanding can be followed by respect, as well as compassion for the plight many animals face today. Understanding animals can result in people’s behavior being modified, and greater action being taken to reduce harm to animals.
Below are some facts about animals—and a couple of popular myths, debunked.
WHAT ARE THE SIX TYPES OF ANIMALS?
There are six categories of animals on planet Earth. Human beings belong to the mammalian family, which is characterized by a warmblooded metabolism, having some form of fur or hair, and giving birth to live young who are then fed milk.
Next up are birds, who are also warm-blooded, but are covered in feathers rather than hair, which help many
Understanding animals can result in people’s behavior being modified, and greater action being taken to reduce harm to animals.
species to take flight. Evolved from dinosaurs, birds are highly vocal and give birth to eggs.
Reptiles are cold-blooded and scale-covered and are the group that roamed the earth as dinosaurs for hundreds of millions of years. There are four types of reptiles: lizards, turtles and tortoises, snakes, and crocodiles, and alligators. All lay leathery eggs and rely on the sun to provide warmth.
Amphibians are semi-aquatic animals who must always remain moist, either by sitting in a body of water such as a pond or lake, or retaining moisture in their bodies, as toads do.
Fish generally always remain in the water, whether fresh, brackish, or salt. Instead of lungs, fish breathe through gills, enabling them to absorb oxygen contained in the water itself. Note that some animals who spend their lives in the ocean—such as whales and dolphins—are not fish, but mammals, since they breathe air with lungs and provide milk for their young. Last but not least are inver-
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tebrates, which means animals who lack backbones and internal skeletons. This is a highly varied category of animal. It includes insects (whose skeletons are on the outside of their bodies), arthropods (those with a segmented exoskeleton, such as crustaceans), worms, sea animals like octopuses, and sponges, and others.
HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE THERE IN THE WORLD?
While it’s extremely difficult to say how many animals are alive in the world at any given moment, there are other more concrete estimates that can help paint the picture of the wild world. Altogether, there are approximately 1.2 million known species of animals—though this number may be far greater since scientists estimate there are thousands of species that remain undiscovered. Out of the known species, roughly 5000 are mammals, close to 10,000 are birds, and nearly 1 million are insects.
WHAT IS THE MOST POPULAR WILD ANIMAL?
It depends on what is meant by the word “popular.” Going strictly by numbers of living animals, those species who are farmed would be most popular, with chickens topping this list: in 2019 there were an estimated 25.9 billion chickens in the world, all being raised for human consumption (for both meat and eggs).
If popularity denotes charisma, the answer becomes quite different. One study analyzed twenty animals considered the most beautiful, impressive, or otherwise
By sheer numbers, no other animal in the world is more deadly than Homo sapiens.
valued, with species such as pandas, polar bears, and elephants making the list. Coming out ahead of all others, though, is—drumroll please… the tiger.
WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE WORLD?
Sharks and grizzly bears are species that easily come to mind when imagining the world’s most dangerous animals. But this is a serious misconception.
humble mosquito, due to the transmission of diseases such as malaria.
HOW MANY ANIMALS ARE KILLED EACH DAY?
Some 3 billion animals are thought to be killed for food each day, most of them at sea.
If this number seems mindbogglingly excessive, that’s because it is. Of course, it’s natural for many animals— including humans—to be born and die each day. Life is sustained through the death of others, be they plant or animals others. But human beings—particularly those in wealthy nations—kill many more animals than is necessary for survival.
By sheer numbers, no other animal in the world is more deadly than Homo sapiens. When industrial animal agriculture (including fishing), habitat destruction, and pollution are all taken into account, humans emerge as the most dangerous animal to other species. And we are deadly to our own species as well, with homicides making up roughly half a million deaths per year. The only animal that kills more humans than humans do is the
The number of land animals killed for food annually is over 70 billion (check out more of our stats and charts here). Sea animals are even more difficult to count, since many statistics on fisheries are given by the ton, rather than counting individuals. One study put the number at around 2 trillion per year— and this excludes a number of other causes of death including bycatch, which can account for nearly half the total catch of some species. Add to this about 100 million animals killed per year in laboratories, on fur farms, and through hunting, as well as those who die from plastic pollution in the oceans, and the numbers become even more unfathomable.
Unfortunately, this data illustrates that the predominant relationship between humans and animals is that of killing. ◙ SOURCE: ENCYCLOPAEDIA
Five centuries after Leonar do da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa (1503–19), the portrait hangs behind bulletproof glass within the Louvre Mu seum and draws thousands of jostling spectators each day.
It is the most famous paint ing in the world, and yet, when viewers manage to see the artwork up close, they are likely to be baffled by the small subdued portrait of an ordinary woman.
She’s dressed modestly in a translucent veil, dark robes, and no jewelry. Much has been said about her smile and gaze, but viewers still might wonder what all the fuss is about.
The Mona Lisa’s fame is the result of many chance circumstances combined with the painting’s inherent appeal. There is no doubt that the Mona Lisa is a very good painting. It was highly regarded even as Leonardo worked on it, and his contemporaries copied the then novel threequarter pose.
The writer Giorgio Vasari later extolled Leonardo’s ability to closely imitate nature. Indeed, the Mona Lisa is a very realistic portrait.
Along with the mysteries of the sitter’s identity and her enigmatic look, the reason for the work’s popularity is one of its many conundrums. Although many theories have attempted to pinpoint one reason for the art piece’s celebrity, the most compelling arguments insist that there is no one explanation.
The Mona Lisa’s fame is the result of many chance circumstances combined with the painting’s inherent appeal.
The subject’s softly sculptural face shows Leonardo’s skillful handling of sfumato, an artistic technique that uses subtle gradations of light and shadow to model form, and shows his understanding of the skull beneath the skin.
The delicately painted veil, the finely wrought tresses, and the careful rendering of folded fabric reveal Leonardo’s studied observations and inexhaustible patience. And, although the sitter’s steady gaze and restrained smile were not regarded as myste-
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rious until the 19th century, viewers today can appreciate her equivocal expression.
Leonardo painted a complex figure that is very much like a complicated human.
Many scholars, however, point out that the excellent quality of the Mona Lisa was not enough by itself to make the painting a celebrity. There are, after all, many good paintings.
External events also contributed to the artwork’s fame. That the painting’s home is the Louvre, one of the world’s most-visited museums, is a fortuitous circumstance that has added to the work’s stature. It arrived at the Louvre via a circuitous path beginning with Francis I, king of France, in whose court Leonardo spent the last years of his life.
The painting became part of the royal collection, and, for centuries after, the portrait was secluded in French palaces until the Revolution claimed the royal collection as the property of the people.
Leonardo painted a complex figure that is very much like a complicated human.
Following a stint in Napoleon’s bedroom, the Mona Lisa was installed in the Louvre Museum at the turn of the 19th century. As patronage of the Louvre grew, so too did recognition of the painting.
The identity of the portrait’s sitter soon became more intriguing. Although many scholars believe that the painting depicts Lisa Gherardini, wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, no records of such a commission from Francesco exist, and the sitter has never been conclusively identified.
The unknown identity has thus lent the figure to whatever characterization people wanted to make of her. During the Romantic era of the 19th century, the simple Florentine housewife who may have been portrayed was transformed into a mysterious seductress.
The French writer Théophile Gautier described her as a “strange being…her gaze promising unknown pleasures,” while others went on
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about her perfidious lips and enchanting smile.
The English author Walter Pa ter went so far as to call her a vampire who “has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave.” The air of mystery that came to sur round the Mona Lisa in the 19th century continues to define the painting and draw speculation.
Meanwhile, the 19th century also mythologized Leonardo as a genius. Throughout the centuries after his death, he was well regarded—but no more so than his esteemed contemporaries Michelangelo and Raphael.
Some scholars have noted, however, that, as interest in the Renaissance grew in the 19th century, Leonardo became more popularly seen not only as a very good painter but also as a great scientist and inventor whose designs prefigured contemporary inventions.
Many of his so-called inventions were later debunked, and his contributions to science and architecture came to be seen as small, but the myth of Leonardo as a genius has continued well into the 21st century, contributing to the Mona Lisa’s popularity.
The writers of the 19th century aroused interest in the Mona Lisa, but the theft of the painting in 1911 and the ensuing media frenzy brought it worldwide attention. When news of the crime broke on August 22 of that year, it caused an immediate sensation.
People flocked to the Louvre to gape at the empty space where the painting had once hung, the museum’s director of paintings resigned, ac-
That the painting’s home is the Louvre, one of the world’s most-visited museums, is a fortuitous circumstance that has added to the work’s stature.
cusations of a hoax splashed across newspapers, and Pablo Picasso was even arrested as a suspect!
Two years later the painting was found in Italy after an art dealer in Florence alerted the local authorities that a man had contacted him about selling it. The man was Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian immigrant to France, who had briefly worked at the Louvre fitting glass on a selection of paintings, including the Mona Lisa.
He and two other workers took the portrait from the wall, hid with it in a closet overnight, and ran off with it in the morning. Unable to sell the painting because of the media attention, Peruggia hid it in the false bottom of a trunk until his capture.
He was tried, convicted, and imprisoned for the theft while the painting toured Italy before it made its triumphant return to the Louvre.
followed suit. As artists distorted, disfigured, and played with reproductions of the Mona Lisa, cartoonists and admen exaggerated her further still.
Over the decades, as technology improved, the painting was endlessly reproduced, sometimes manipulated and sometimes not, so that the sitter’s face became one of the most well known in the world, even to those who had little interest in art.
By then, many French people had come to regard the work as a national treasure that they had lost and recovered.
The Mona Lisa was certainly more famous after the heist, but World War I soon consumed much of the world's attention. Some scholars argue that Marcel Duchamp’s playful defacement of a postcard reproduction in 1919 brought attention back to the Mona Lisa and started a trend that would make the painting one of the most-recognized in the world.
He played against the worship of art when he drew a beard and mustache on the lady’s face and added the acronym L.H.O.O.Q. (meant to evoke a vulgar phrase in French) at the bottom. That act of irreverence caused a small scandal, and other cunning artists recognized that such a gag would bring them attention.
For decades after, other artists, notably Andy Warhol,
A tour of the painting to the United States in 1963 and to Japan in 1974 elevated it to celebrity status. The Mona Lisa traveled to the United States in no less than a firstclass cabin on an ocean liner and drew about 40,000 people a day to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., during the portrait’s six-week stay.
Large crowds greeted the portrait in Japan about ten years later. What’s more, as travel has become increasingly affordable since the late 20th century, more and more individuals have been able to visit Paris and pay their respects in person, contributing to the unyielding crowds of today.
Although the Mona Lisa is undoubtedly good art, there is no single reason for its celebrity. Rather, it is hundreds of circumstances—from its fortuitous arrival at the Louvre to the mythmaking of the 19th century to the endless reproductions of the 20th and 21st centuries—that have all worked together with the painting’s inherent appeal to make the Mona Lisa the world’s most famous painting ever. ◙ SOURCE:
Generally, when we think of colossal structures created by humans, the Great Wall of China or the pyramids of Giza are the first to come to mind. However, there is a modern construction that, although not as famous, surpasses these old constructions in a unique aspect: its visibility in space.
This is the so-called Almería Plastic Sea, in southern Spain. It is vast expanse of greenhouses, which covers more than 40.000 hectares, is so large that it is the only human construction visible from space.
But few know about this incredible white spot on the edge of the Mediterranean. How did it come about? What is it made of? What is its environmental impact?
The history of Sea of Plastic construction dates back to the 1960s, when Spanish farmers were looking for a way to grow out-of-season fruit and vegetables in an arid climate with little rain. The province of Almería in southeastern Spain has some of the driest conditions in Europe.
The history of Sea of Plastic construction dates back to the 1960s, when Spanish farmers were looking for a way to grow out-of-season fruit and vegetables in an arid climate with little rain. The province of Almería in southeastern Spain has some of the driest conditions in Europe. But this area has access to groundwater and plenty of sunshine.
So, farmers thought of a clever solution: building greenhouses covered in plastic.
WHAT ARE GREENHOUSES
Greenhouses are a relatively new phenomenon. In the 1950s, Campo de Dalías, a region located on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, was covered mainly by bush vegetation, pastures and some small plots of seasonal crops growing outdoors.
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here, farmers began experimenting in the 1950s and 1960s, adding layers of sand along with a plastic mulch, initially to protect the soil and plants from damaging winds and salty groundwater. They soon realized that growing crops under plastic was much more productive than growing crops outdoors because the soil maintained more heat and retained more moisture.
The innovation proved to be a resounding success. The greenhouses created a perfect microclimate for cultivation, protecting the plants from wind, sea salt and frost. Furthermore, plastic allowed better control of temperature, humidity and light, optimizing crop growth. Thus, the sea of plastic quickly became an economic engine for the region. Today, Almería is one of the main fruit and vegetable producers in Europe. Thanks to this impressive structure of hundreds of “stalls”, it sup-
Currently, Almería's greenhouses produce between 2,5 million and 3,5 million tons of fruit and vegetables per year, enough to become an important source of out-of-season tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and melons for inhabitants throughout the Europe.
plies markets across the continent and even beyond.
Currently, Almería's greenhouses produce between 2,5 million and 3,5 million tons of fruit and vegetables per year, enough to become an important source of out-of-season tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and melons for inhabitants throughout the Europe.
According to estimates published by NASA, Almería's greenhouses now cover more than 40.000 hectares, almost the entire Campo de Dalías. They also extended to neighboring areas. The greenhouses cover such a large area that they probably even caused a localized cooling effect, since the white roofs reflect a sub-
stantial amount of sunlight.
The environmental impact of the Almería Plastic Sea
The construction of the Almería Plastic Sea is not without criticism. The extensive use of materials needed for greenhouse roofs has generated environmental concerns, such as soil and water pollution from plastic waste, loss of biodiversity and the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere.
Aware of these challenges, farmers, authorities and environmental organizations have been working for years to make greenhouse construction more sustainable, with new techniques to reduce the use of plastic, such as the use of degradable bioplastics and the reuse of materials.
Furthermore, more sustainable agricultural practices are being encouraged, such as organic farming and efficient water management. ◙