Erin Blakemore

Erin Blakemore

 

Erin Blakemore is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist. Her work has appeared in publications like The Washington Post, TIME, mental_floss, Popular Science and JSTOR Daily. Learn more at erinblakemore.com.

Flashing lights embedded in the ground make crossing and texting safer in Augsburg.

A German City Installed Traffic Lights For Texters

In Augsburg, distracted smartphone users don't have to look up to stay safe

For one hour on May 7, silence will reign at a British supermarket.

A British Store Will Go Quiet For Customers With Autism

Shh—people are shopping

The now-closed Fisk Generating Station in Chicago was once a triumph of engineering and considered one of the more efficient coal-fired plants in the country. Now, though, coal-fired plants like this one are looked on as dirty emitters of carbon dioxide--but CO2 is not the only greenhouse gas worth worrying about.

When it Comes to Greenhouse Gases, CO2 Isn’t the Only Game in Town

Carbon dioxide rightly gets the attention in the climate change debate. But here are four more gases that can wreck our atmosphere.

Builders work on the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement arch in April 2016. Once complete, the massive arch will be slid over the reactor's current concrete sarcophagus.

Thirty Years Later, a Gigantic Arch Is Set to Cover Chernobyl

The New Safe Confinement is one of history’s most ambitious engineering projects—and it comes not a moment too soon

This “Sweaty” Billboard Kills Mosquitoes

Gross gimmick or Zika-fighting innovation?

This bed bug has favorite colors, too.

Bed Bugs Are Picky About Certain Colors

But don’t buy new sheets just yet

A rainbow can be spotted in the mists of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with an exploration of the planet's most colorful places?

Celebrate Earth Day With a Rainbow of Spectacular Photos

Nature's palette is unparalleled

Prince designed and used this 1989 custom-made Yellow-cloud electric guitar, built by the Minneapolis firm Knut-Koupee. It features his personal symbol at the top and on the side of the fingerboard.

Beyond Raspberry Berets: What Prince Left Behind

From portraits to guitars, The Artist’s legacy lives on at the Smithsonian

A whiff of formaldehyde makes Damien Hirst's art even more controversial.

Damien Hirst's Artworks May Leak Formaldehyde Gas

Where does art end and hazard begin?

Melani, a 15-year-old Sumatran tiger, was rescued from the Surabaya Zoo in 2013 after becoming ill due to tainted meat. However, she died the year later. Rama, another Sumatran tiger at the zoo, died this week of heart failure.

How Indonesia’s “Death Zoo” Got Its Grisly Reputation

Will Rama the tiger’s demise prompt action at a zoo known for its filthy, overcrowded conditions?

Los Angeles: City of Angels...and smog.

More Than Half of All Americans Breathe Polluted Air

166 million people a year are exposed to air that’s too dangerous to breathe

Basta Ya! (Enough!) was a community bilingual newspaper published in San Francisco, California from 1969 to about 1973.

Read Almost 150 Years' Worth of Mexican-American Journalism

History is in the headlines at the Historic Mexican and Mexican American Press Collection

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake decimated entire cities in northern Ecuador.

Help First Responders in Ecuador Without Leaving Your Desk

Scour satellite imagery of earthquake-stricken areas to help aid agencies decide where to go next

Organizers hope a new mini golf course will start a conversation about how gentrification affects Los Angeles' poorest residents.

Los Angeles’ Skid Row Is Getting a Golf Course

It’s a hole-in-one for performers with a point to make about gentrification

This silk satin, lace and whalebone corset gave an 1890s lady her hourglass figure and tiny waist.

A New Exhibition Is All About Underwear

From a queen's drawers to David Beckham's briefs, The Victoria and Albert Museum gets "Undressed"

Six miles to Racetrack, a million miles from civilization—except for the tea.

Death Valley Has a Secret Shrine to…Tea

Take a kettle, leave a kettle at this remote junction

Your Body Could One Day Be a Computer Display

Forget screen time—a new technology is all about skin time

Boat or floating farm forest? Swale is both.

New York’s Newest Urban Farm Floats

A barge bursting with vegetables takes to the water this summer

At least the scent of despair comes in a pretty bottle.

This Perfume Smells Like the Apocalypse

Artists bottled blood and thunder to capture the heady scent of the end times

"Prague, Czechia" has a ring to it, doesn't it?

The Czech Republic Wants to Change Its Name

Welcome to “Czechia”

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