This week in 1837, Michigan became the 26th state in the Union. Michigan is famous for having an upper peninsula and a lower peninsula, but it also has a Lost Peninsula.
It wasn't an actual war, but in the 1980s France and Spain were in a pretty serious dispute over stop signs placed on a road between a little Spanish enclave in southwestern France and the rest of Spain.
Today in 1907 Oklahoma became the 46th state in the Union. Oklahoma's panhandle has a complicated history that includes a time when it was known as “No Man’s Land.”
Today in 1858 Minnesota became the 32nd state in the Union. There's a part of the state that's on the other side of a lake from the rest, which means anyone who wants to drive from the Northwest Angle to the rest of Minnesota has to drive through Canada.
The new 3D printing project called To Grow A Building is working on a method to 3D print the components of structures out of dirt, with the goal of reducing the significant amount of emissions that come from using standard building materials.
For mountaineers, success and safety can depend on good communication. These climbers have their own communication system, which they plan to use in climbing the highest peaks on each continent.
Today in 1863, West Virginia became a state - though back in the 18th Century, there were several efforts to meld this land with parts of Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Maryland and create an entirely different entity called Vandalia or Westsylvania.
It's Geography Awareness Week, so we wanted to find the furthest points in each direction that are part of the United States, along with the geographical center.
The National Geographic Society has recognized a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, on earth. How the oceans got their names - and why we don't think of them as one big ocean, which is what it is - is a long and fascinating story.
