Maya Angelou and Sally Ride to Become First in Series of Women Who Will Be Honored on U.S. Quarters

The United States Mint has announced that Maya Angelou and Sally Ride will be the first two women honored as part of the American Women Quarters Program, which will commemorate the accomplishments and contributions of 20 prominent woman in American history by putting them on the back of quarters, New York Times reports.

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August Complex Fire Is Now Largest in California History

The August Complex Fire has now been determined to be the largest wildfire in California history.

Juneteenth: The 155-Year History of America’s Other Holiday

Today, as demonstrators continue to fight for justice for Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and a growing list of others, the country is getting ready to celebrate the 155th anniversary of a milestone in the liberation of Black people by way of America’s other holiday: Juneteenth.

UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF RACISM IN AMERICA

In a short essay published earlier this week, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch wrote that the recent killing in Minnesota of George Floyd has forced the country to “confront the reality that, despite gains made in the past 50 years, we are still a nation riven by inequality and racial division.”

The Timely Return of the Drive-In Restaurant

For a city that’s still on substantial lockdown, including the suspension of dine-in eating due to COVID-19, San Francisco’s Mel’s Drive-in—at least, its parking lot along Geary Boulevard—is buzzing. Cars occupy many of the restaurant’s parking spaces, each one filled with customers awaiting orders of the burgers, milkshakes and french fries that have made this 1950s-style eatery famous. But there’s something else that has brought them here: the revival of Mel’s carhop service, a once prominent part of its offerings when Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs opened the California restaurant chain’s original location back in 1947. At that time, it was the allure of car-oriented leisure offerings that inspired drive-in restaurants. Today it’s a pandemic.

Nicholas Johnson Becomes Princeton University’s First Black Valedictorian in 274-Year History

Princeton University has announced Nicholas Johnson, a student who majored in operations research and financial engineering, as the school’s first black valedictorian in its 274-year history. Johnson is also pursuing certificates in statistics and machine learning, applied and computational mathematics, and applications of computing.

The Walkman’s Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural Revolution

In 1979, when Sony introduced the Walkman—a 14-ounce cassette player, blue and silver with buttons that made a satisfying chunk when pushed—even the engineers inside Sony weren’t impressed. It wasn’t particularly innovative; cassette players already existed, and so did headphones. Plus, the Walkman could only play back—it couldn’t record. Who was going to want a device like that?

Yung Bleu, Chris Brown & 2 Chainz – Baddest

Paloma Ford ft. Rick Ross – All For Nothing

DaBaby – BALL IF I WANT TO

Migos – why not

WestSideGunn ft. Skyzoo – Rolacks

Migos – Modern Day

The first one

POLAR BEAR ON ICEBERG

Ibis Fight

A little bit of soul

This image of the Soul Nebula (IC 1848) combines 21.1 hours of exposures through Hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen-III, and Sulfur-II filters. This object resides in the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen.

Jellyfish in the ocean of space

Supernova remnant IC 443 has the common name the Jellyfish Nebula, and it lies at the top right of this image. The other, larger, nebula is IC 444. Both objects are in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Terry Hancock from Grand Mesa, Colorado

Seven sisters

The Pleiades (M45) is the most famous star cluster in the sky. It lies 444 light-years away in the constellation Taurus the Bull. The clouds of gas seen in this image are not connected to the stars, but are a dust cloud through which the cluster is passing. Dave Doctor from Las Cruces, New Mexico