Rising Region ~ The True Size of Africa

Thanks to MapPorn for revisiting The True Size of Africa!

Giant Leaps ~ Celebrate Past, Ask What's Next?

On 20 July 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong made One Giant Leap For Mankind!

"When the lunar module lands at 4:18 p.m EDT, only 30 seconds of fuel remain. Armstrong radios "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Mission control erupts in celebration as the tension breaks, and a controller tells the crew "You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we're breathing again." [...] At 10:56 p.m. EDT Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin joins him shortly, and offers a simple but powerful description of the lunar surface: "magnificent desolation."

Declaration of Independence ~ Worthy Reading...

Everyone should read the Declaration of Independence...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. [And there's more!]"

Pyrotechnic Injuries ~ All Are Free to Be Stupid...

Vox spotlights research from the Journal of Surgical Research which reveals The people going to the hospital for fireworks injuries are exactly who you think...

"You’ll never guess when these hospitalizations spike. Here are all the hospitalizations from 2006 to 2010 sorted by month..."

"Teenage boys and young men hurt themselves with fireworks way more than everyone else. Men and boys, overall, accounted for 76 percent of all fireworks-related hospital admissions in the study..."