Five Bullets 4.14.23
This week: Titanic, Benjamin Ferencz, Global Music Vault & more
Hello and welcome back to Circles In Space for Five Bullet Friday, where each Friday I share some interesting stuff I collected during the week.
If you’re new to Circles In Space, I wrote a bit about myself and the process of creating this newsletter.
Good morning all! It’s another warm 80°F day here in New York City. Summer feels like it’s arrived early though it looks like tomorrow will be back to the 60s.
This week Substack released it’s Notes feature. Accessible through the Substack App, Notes is similar to a social media feed where writers and readers can post short form content. I’ve been checking it out over the past few days and am enjoying the discussions and discovering new publications to follow. I plan to continue using Notes so if you’re interested, you can download the app below!
This week’s bullets:
On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic, the largest ocean liner in its day, set sail on its maiden voyage. Five days later on April 15, 1912 Titanic was at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after striking an iceberg. Over 1,500 passengers perished. As a young boy, the Titanic completely captured my imagination (along with ancient Egypt and space travel) and I recall watching footage of underwater robots exploring Titanic’s submerged hull. Recently I learned that Robert Ballard’s 1985 mission which discovered the final resting place of Titanic was funded by a secret U.S. Navy mission to investigate two sunken nuclear submarines. Currently open in NYC, the Titanic Exhibition includes cabin recreations, recovered relics, and oral history from survivors.
Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials, passed away last week at the age of 103. Ferencz’s first trial as a young lawyer was the Einsatzgruppen case during the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal at the end of World War Two. Ferencz remained involved in international law into his later years and was an advocate for an international criminal court. Ferencz tells his story in an interview with 60 Minutes.
The Global Music Vault (GMV) aims to collect and preserve the world’s music just in case there’s a natural disaster or other catastrophe (nuclear war). Like the Global Seed Vault and the Arctic World Archive, the GMV will be housed under the ice in Svalbard, Norway. The music data will be stored on small squares of quartz glass.The GMV’s goal is to offer the music business a safe place to house their archives as well as to preserve international cultural heritage.
Army veteran Will Robinson started hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016 as a way to overcome his PTSD, anxiety and depression. In 2019, he completed thru-hiking’s Triple Crown and has logged over 11,000 miles. Robinson says the trail gives him space to think and work through things and that the physical act of walking - putting one foot in front of the other - is healing.
The Lyrid Meteor Shower will be visible next week. The meteor shower, observed for 2700 years, is the first shower of the year and is usually visible from April 16 until April 25 and most visible on April 21st and 22nd. So find a spot with minimal light pollution, get out your telescopes and take a look!