FYI July 21, 2020

On This Day

356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
The Temple of Artemis or Artemision (Greek: Ἀρτεμίσιον; Turkish: Artemis Tapınağı), also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (associated with Diana, a Roman goddess). It was located in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey). It was completely rebuilt twice, once after a devastating flood and three hundred years later after an act of arson, and in its final form was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By 401 AD it had been ruined or destroyed.[1] Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain at the site.

The earliest version of the temple (a temenos) antedated the Ionic immigration by many years, and dates to the Bronze Age. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed it to the Amazons. In the 7th century BC, it was destroyed by a flood. Its reconstruction, in more grandiose form, began around 550 BC, under Chersiphron, the Cretan architect, and his son Metagenes. The project was funded by Croesus of Lydia, and took 10 years to complete. This version of the temple was destroyed in 356 BC by Herostratus in an act of arson.

The next, greatest and last form of the temple, funded by the Ephesians themselves, is described in Antipater of Sidon’s list of the world’s Seven Wonders:

I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, “Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand”.[2]

Read more ->

 
 

Born On This Day

1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (d. 1996)
ophie Bledsoe Aberle (née Herrick; July 21, 1896 – October 1996) was an American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist known for her work with Pueblo people. She was one of two women first appointed to the National Science Board.

Read more ->

 
 

FYI

By Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone: Inside David Bowie’s Final Years How Bowie stepped away – and came roaring back.
 
 
 
 
By Tonya Garcia, Market Watch: Coca-Cola plans to cut ‘zombie brands’ from its portfolio
 
 
 
 
By Sophie Lewis, CBS News: Scientists accidentally create the “sturddlefish” — a new fish hybrid from two endangered species
 
 
 
 
The Passive Voice: Wordsworth at 250
 
 
 
 
Atlas Obscura: This is the site of Harriet Tubman’s first stand and more ->
 
 
Gastro Obscura: Whipping up recipes from American historical societies and more ->
 
 
 
 

Ideas

By Oliver R: Hobbit House

 
 
By RefiningDesigning: How to Make 3D Printed Glow in the Dark Wall Decals
 
 

Recipes

By In The Kitchen With Matt: Homemade Hamburger Buns
 
 

Betty Crocker Kitchens: 12 Clever Ways to Spice Up Your Boring Chicken
 
 
By Karishma Kumar: Easy Mango Watermelon Sorbet
 
 
By Jesse Szewczyk, The Kitchn: We Tried 7 Methods for Storing Berries and the Winner Outlasted Them All