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"This hurts the heart": Days of our Lives star's shock death at just 50

<p><em>General Hospital</em> and <em>Days of Our Lives</em> star Tyler Christopher has passed away at the age of 50 after a "cardiac event". The shocking news was confirmed by his <em>General Hospital </em>co-star, Maurice Benard, who expressed his deep sorrow and heartfelt tribute to his friend on social media.</p> <p>In an emotional Instagram post, Benard shared, "It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Christopher. Tyler passed away this morning following a cardiac event in his San Diego apartment."</p> <p>He went on to describe Tyler as a "truly talented individual" who illuminated the screen with every performance, bringing joy to his devoted fans. He was not only a gifted actor but also a kind and compassionate soul who touched the lives of those who knew him.</p> <p>Benard also highlighted Christopher's advocacy for mental health and substance use treatment. Tyler was open about his personal struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol, using his platform to raise awareness and provide support to others facing similar challenges. His candour in addressing these issues endeared him to many and further solidified his legacy as an actor and an advocate.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzFJiUXPyRK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzFJiUXPyRK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Maurice Benard (@mauricebenard)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The news of Christopher's passing resonated deeply with his fans and colleagues. Messages of love and support flooded social media, with one fan expressing, "This hurts the heart. I loved him on <em>General Hospital</em>. Sending love and prayers to his family and friends."</p> <p>The outpouring of grief from the public underscores the significant impact he had on the entertainment industry and his audience.</p> <p>Christopher is of course best known for his iconic roles as Nikolas Cassadine on <em>General Hospital</em> and Stefan DiMera on <em>Days of Our Lives</em>. His captivating performances and versatility as an actor made him a beloved figure in the world of daytime television.</p> <p>Tyler leaves behind two children from his previous marriage to reporter Brienne Pedigo. He was previously married to actress Eva Longoria from 2002 to 2004. In recent years, he appeared in the TV movie <em>Ice Storm</em> and featured in <em>Thor: God of Thunder</em> in 2022, demonstrating his enduring talent and commitment to his craft.</p> <p>The actor received recognition for his exceptional work, earning five Daytime Emmy nominations during his tenure on <em>General Hospital</em>. His dedication to his roles and his ability to connect with his characters and the audience was evident in his numerous accolades.</p> <p>Despite his professional success, Christopher faced personal challenges. In 2019, he was placed under the guardianship of his sister due to an accident and internal bleeding during an episode of "alcohol withdrawal". This period of his life was marked by legal and personal struggles. In May, he was arrested for "public intoxication". He also alleged that his sister had "used his finances" while serving as his guardian, a claim she vehemently denied. The guardianship ended in 2021, marking a challenging chapter in his life.</p> <p>Christopher will be remembered not only for his remarkable contributions to the entertainment industry but also for his courage in addressing his personal battles and advocating for those who needed a voice.</p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

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‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds’: who was atom bomb pioneer Robert Oppenheimer?

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/darius-von-guttner-sporzynski-112147">Darius von Guttner Sporzynski</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a></em></p> <p>Robert Oppenheimer is often placed next to Albert Einstein as the 20th century’s most famous physicist.</p> <p>He will forever be the “father of the atomic bomb” after the first nuclear weapon was successfully tested on July 16, 1945 in the New Mexican desert. The event brought to his mind words from a <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/manhattan-project-robert-oppenheimer">Hindu scripture</a>: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.</p> <h2>Who was Robert Oppenheimer?</h2> <p>Born in 1904 in an affluent New York family, Oppenheimer graduated from Harvard majoring in chemistry in 1925.</p> <p>Two years later, he completed his PhD in physics at one of the world’s leading institutions for theoretical physics, the University of Göttingen, Germany. He was 23 and enthusiastic to the point of alienating others.</p> <p>Throughout his life, Oppenheimer would be judged either as an <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Inside_the_Centre/L9wRLVcUI-sC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1">aloof prodigy or an anxious narcissist</a>. Whatever his contradictions as an individual, his eccentricities did not limit his scientific achievements.</p> <p>Before the outbreak of the second world war, Oppenheimer worked at the University of California, Berkeley, and the <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/J_Robert_Oppenheimer_and_the_American_Ce/U12mDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=Robert+Oppenheimer:+A+Life+from+Beginning+to+End&amp;printsec=frontcover">California Institute of Technology</a>. His research concentrated on theoretical astronomy, nuclear physics and quantum field theory.</p> <p>Although he confessed to being uninterested in politics, Oppenheimer openly supported socially progressive ideas. He was concerned with the emergence of antisemitism and fascism. His partner, Kitty Puening, was a left-leaning radical and their social circle included Communist Party members and activists. Later, these associations will mark him as a communist sympathiser.</p> <p>As a researcher, Oppenheimer published and supervised a new generation of doctoral students. One of these was Willis Lamb, who in 1955 was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. The Nobel Prize eluded Oppenheimer three times.</p> <h2>The second world war</h2> <p>Two years after Germany and Soviet Russia attacked Poland, the United States entered WWII. Oppenheimer was recruited to work on the infamous <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-manhattan-project">Manhattan Project</a>. His ideas about chain reaction in an atomic bomb gained recognition among the US defence community. He started his work by assembling a team of experts. Some of them were his students.</p> <p>In 1943, despite his left-wing political views, lack of high-profile career and no experience in managing complex projects, Oppenheimer was appointed director of the <a href="https://about.lanl.gov/oppenheimer/">Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico</a>. He was enthusiastic. He seemed to have “<a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Inside_the_Centre/L9wRLVcUI-sC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=Rabi+%22reserves+of+uncommitted+strength%22&amp;pg=PA670&amp;printsec=frontcover">reserves of uncommitted strength</a>” recalled physicist <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1944/rabi/biographical/">Isidor Isaac Rabi</a>. His task was to develop atomic weapons.</p> <p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Los-Alamos-National-Laboratory">Los Alamos Laboratory</a> expanded rapidly as the project grew in complexity, with the personnel exceeding 6,000. His ability to master the large-scale workforce and channel their energy towards the needs of the project earned him respect.</p> <p>He proved to be more than just an administrator by being involved in the interdisciplinary team across theoretical and experimental stages of the weapons development.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-JWxIVVeV98?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>The nuclear test</h2> <p>On July 16, 1945 the nuclear test, <a href="https://armscontrolcenter.org/quotes-from-trinity-test-observers/">code named Trinity</a>, took place.</p> <p>The first atomic bomb was successfully detonated at 5:29 am in the Jornada del Muerto desert. As his chief assistant, Thomas Farrell, recounted: "There came this tremendous burst of light followed shortly thereafter by the deep growling roar of the explosion."</p> <p>Oppenheimer later <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/J_Robert_Oppenheimer/EoA8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22A+few+people+laughed,+a+few+people+cried,+most+people+were+silent%22&amp;pg=PA44&amp;printsec=frontcover">recalled</a> that “a few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent”. What he knew for sure was that the world would not be the same.</p> <p>It was too late for the atomic bombs to be used against Germany in the war – the Nazis had capitulated on May 8. Instead, US President Harry Truman decided to use the bomb against Germany’s ally, Japan.</p> <p>Shortly after the atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Oppenheimer confronted the US secretary of war, Henry Stimson, demanding that nuclear weapons were banned.</p> <p>Similarly, when speaking with Truman, Oppenheimer talked about his feeling of <a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/07/11/when-truman-titled-a-hollywood-epic-and-then-sabotaged-it/">having blood on his hands</a>. Truman rejected Oppenheimer’s emotional outburst. The responsibility for the use of the atomic bombs, after all, rested with the commander in chief (himself).</p> <p>Truman’s rebuttal did not prevent Oppenheimer from advocating for the establishment of controls on the nuclear arms race.</p> <h2>Arms control</h2> <p>In the postwar years, Oppenheimer settled in Princeton, New Jersey, at the Institute for Advanced Study. He read widely. He collected art and furniture. He learned languages. His well-paid position enabled his pursuit of a deeper understanding of humanity though the examination of ancient scriptures. <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/American_Prometheus/F79LEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=Robert+Oppenheimer:+A+Life+from+Beginning+to+End&amp;printsec=frontcover">He argued</a> for the unity of purpose between the sciences and humanities.</p> <p>Oppenheimer’s patronage supported and encouraged other scientists in their research. But his chief concern was the unavoidable arms race. He advocated for the establishment of an <a href="https://www.iaea.org/about/overview/history">international body that would control the development of nuclear energy</a> and its usage.</p> <p>In 1947, a civilian agency called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Atomic_Energy_Commission">Atomic Energy Commission</a> began its work. Oppenheimer urged strongly for <a href="https://www.iaea.org/about/overview/history">international arms control</a>.</p> <p>The Soviet Union’s first atomic bomb test in August 1949 took the US by surprise and pushed American researchers to develop a hydrogen bomb. The US government hardened its position. In 1952, Truman refused to reappoint Oppenheimer as the adviser to the Atomic Energy Commission.</p> <p>After 1952, Oppenheimer’s advocacy against the first test of the hydrogen bomb resulted in the suspension of his security clearance. The investigation that followed in 1954 exposed Oppenheimer’s past communist ties and culminated in <a href="https://www.history.com/news/father-of-the-atomic-bomb-was-blacklisted-for-opposing-h-bomb">his security clearance being revoked</a>.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uYPbbksJxIg?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>McCarthyism and academic freedom</h2> <p>In the era of Joseph McCarthy’s witch-hunts, his fellow scientists considered Oppenheimer as a martyr of the cause of academic freedom. “In England”, commented Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi turned American pioneer of rocket technology, “<a href="https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/oppenheimer-security-hearing/">Oppenheimer would have been knighted</a>”.</p> <p>After 1954, Oppenheimer did not cease to advocate for freedom in the pursuit of knowledge. He toured internationally with talks about the role of academic freedom unrestrained by political considerations. He argued that the sciences and the humanities are <a href="https://archive.org/details/scienceandthecom007308mbp/page/n7/mode/2up">not separate human endeavours but interlocked and inseparable</a>.</p> <p>Oppenheimer died at the age of 62 on February 18, 1967.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209398/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/darius-von-guttner-sporzynski-112147">Darius von Guttner Sporzynski</a>, Historian, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/now-i-am-become-death-the-destroyer-of-worlds-who-was-atom-bomb-pioneer-robert-oppenheimer-209398">original article</a>.</em></p>

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Back to the Future stars reunite

<p>It’s been 37 years since the cinematic masterpiece, Back to the Future part 1, graced our screens. You might be wondering where they are now, although the appropriate question would be, “when the hell are they?”</p> <p>The Back to the Future stars joined up at a fan convention in Portland, USA, and the excitement from fans sighting Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Thomas Wilson used up a lot more energy than 1.21 gigawatts.</p> <p>Last year, Fox and Lloyd came together on stage at Comic-Con in New York in an emotional display, which brought fans in the audience to tears.</p> <p>On stage, Fox said, referring to his co-star Lloyd, “The best part of the movie was working with Chris,” going on to say he was a genius, also revealing there was “immediate chemistry” between the pair.</p> <p>Fox played the iconic Marty McFly in the 1985 movie. Director Robert Zemeckis had originally cast Eric Stolz as Marty, however, due to conflict with his schedule on Family Ties, Stolz couldn’t continue with the project.</p> <p>Stolz started filming in November 1984 but was replaced by early January. Aside from the schedule conflict with Stolz, it was reported that early footage was also underwhelming. Now that’s heavy!</p> <p>Fox officially joined the production in mid-January of 1985.</p> <p>Fox played Marty McFly in all three Back to the Future movies, Great Scott!</p> <p>The fans are on a sweet nostalgia trip seeing the cast back together after over three decades.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Instagram</em></p>

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Seven times people discovered the Americas – and how they got there

<p>When Columbus landed in 1492, the Americas had been settled for tens of thousands of years. He wasn’t the first person to discover the continent. Instead, his discovery was the last of many discoveries. </p> <p>In all, people found the Americas at least seven different times. For at least six of those, it wasn’t so new after all. The discoverers came by sea and by land, bringing new genes, new languages, new technologies. Some stayed, explored, and built empires. Others went home, and left few hints they’d ever been there.</p> <p>From last to first, here’s the story of how we discovered the Americas.</p> <p><strong>7. Christopher Columbus: AD 1492</strong></p> <p>In 1492, Europeans could reach Asia by the <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/silk-road">Silk Road</a>, or by sailing the Cape Route around the southern tip of Africa. Sailing west from Europe was thought to be impossible. </p> <p>The ancient Greeks had accurately calculated that the circumference of the Earth was <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/152473a0">40,000 km</a>, which put Asia far to the west. But Columbus botched his calculations. An error in unit conversion gave him a circumference of just 30,000 km.</p> <p>This mistake, with other assumptions born of wishful thinking, gave a distance of just <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0025570X.1992.11996024">4,500 km</a> from Europe to Japan. The actual distance is almost 20,000 kilometres.</p> <p>So Columbus’s ships set sail without enough supplies to reach Asia. Fortunately for him, he hit the Americas. Columbus, thinking he’d found the East Indies, called its people “Indios”, or Indians. He ultimately died without realising his mistake. It was the navigator Amerigo Vespucci who realised Columbus had <a href="https://www.livescience.com/42510-amerigo-vespucci.html">found an unknown land</a> and in 1507 the name America was applied in Vespucci’s honour.</p> <p><strong>6. Polynesians: AD 1,200</strong></p> <p>Around 2,500 BC, a seafaring people <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03902-8">sailed from Taiwan</a> to find new lands. They sailed south through the Philippines, east through Melanesia, then out into the vast South Pacific. These people, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Polynesia">Polynesians</a>, were master navigators, reading wind, waves and stars to cross thousands of kilometres of open ocean. </p> <p>Using huge double canoes, the Polynesians <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1586/polynesian-navigation--settlement-of-the-pacific/">settled</a> Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and the Cook Islands. Some went <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1408491111">south to New Zealand</a>, becoming <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10963-017-9110-y">the Maori</a>. Others went east to Tahiti, Hawaii, Easter Island, and the Marquesas. From here, they at last hit South America. Then, having explored most of the Pacific, they gave up exploration and forgot South America entirely.</p> <p>But evidence of this remarkable voyage remained. The South Americans acquired <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0703993104">chickens from Polynesians</a>, while the Polynesians may have picked up <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440307000805">South American sweet potatoes</a>. And they shared more than food. Eastern Polynesians have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2487-2?from=article_link">Native American DNA</a>. Polynesians didn’t just meet Native Americans, they married them.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>5. Norse: AD 1,021</strong></p> <p>According to Viking sagas, around AD 980, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-the-Red">Eric the Red</a>, fierce Viking and cunning salesman, named a vast, icy wasteland “Greenland” to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/iceland-greenland-name-swap">entice people to move there</a>. Then, in AD 986, a boat from Greenland <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/icelanders">spotted the coast of Canada</a>.</p> <p>Around <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03972-8">AD 1,021</a>, Erik’s son Leif established a settlement in Newfoundland. The Vikings struggled with the harsh climate, before war with Native Americans ultimately forced them back to Greenland. These stories were long dismissed as myths, until 1960, when archaeologists dug up the remains of <a href="https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/top-destinations/lanse-aux-meadows">Viking settlements in Newfoundland</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>4. Inuit: AD 900</strong></p> <p>Just before the Vikings, the Inuit people travelled <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">from Siberia to Alaska</a> in skin boats. Hunting whales and seals, living in sod huts and igloos, they were well adapted to the cold Arctic Ocean, and skirted its shores all the way to Greenland. </p> <p>Curiously, their DNA is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">closest to native Alaskans</a>, implying their ancestors colonised Asia from Alaska, then went back to discover the Americas again. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>3. Eskimo-Aleut: 2,000-2,500 BC</strong></p> <p>The Inuit descend from an earlier migration: that of speakers of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eskimo-Aleut-languages">Eskimo-Aleut languages</a>. These are distinct from other Native American languages, and might even be distantly related to Uralic languages such as <a href="https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2010.00239.x">Finnish and Hungarian</a>. </p> <p>This, with DNA evidence, suggests the Eskimo-Aleut was a distinct migration. They came across the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bering-Sea">Bering Sea</a> from present-day Russia to Alaska, perhaps <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00020">4,000-4,500</a> years ago, partly displacing and mixing with earlier migrants: the Na-Dene people. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>2. Na-Dene: 3,000-8,000 BC</strong></p> <p>Another group, the Na-Dene, crossed the Bering Sea to Alaska around <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">5,000 years ago</a>, although other studies suggest they settled the Americas as long as <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00020">10,000 years ago</a>. </p> <p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1251-y">DNA from their bones</a> links them not to modern people in the Eskimo-Aleut group, but to Native Americans speaking the Na-Dene language family, such as the <a href="https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/">Navajo</a>, <a href="https://denenation.com/">Dene</a>, <a href="https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/northwest-coast/tlingit">Tlingit</a>, and Apache people. Na-Dene languages are closest to languages <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC25007/">spoken in Siberia</a>, suggesting again that they represent a distinct migration.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>1. First Americans: 16,000-35,000 years ago</strong></p> <p>Almost all Native American tribes – Sioux, Comanche, Iroquois, Cherokee, Aztec, Maya, Quechua, Yanomani, and dozens of others – speak <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Indian-languages">similar languages</a>. That suggests their languages evolved from a common ancestor tongue, spoken by a single tribe entering the Americas long ago. Their descendants’ low genetic diversity suggests this founding tribe was small, maybe <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030193">less than 80 people</a>. </p> <p>How did they get there? Before the last ice age ended 11,700 years ago, so much water was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3083538">locked up in glaciers</a> that sea levels fell. The bottom of the Bering Sea dried out, creating the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1705966114">Bering Land Bridge</a>. America’s first people just walked from Russia to Alaska. But the timing of their migration is controversial.</p> <p>Archaeologists once thought the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clovis-complex">Clovis people</a>, living <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.0704215104">13,000 years ago</a>, were the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-clovis-point-and-the-discovery-of-americas-first-culture-3825828/">first settlers of America</a>. But evidence <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02137-3">now suggests</a> humans arrived in the Americas much earlier. </p> <p>Finds in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1207663?casa_token=i79Z6iFCPuwAAAAA:onB6l4Ih9BSvJY9a6rTuKDjv9pD1_EEaPJlwmjsk1qVgjDcqotjX2jlmzXMg-Kh1fqxMMXLhUeMvIw">Washington</a>, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aba6404">Oregon</a>, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1201855">Texas</a>, the <a href="https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&amp;context=sciaa_staffpub">east coast of the US</a>, and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.1600375">Florida</a> suggest people reached the Americas long before the Clovis people.</p> <p><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7586">Footprints in New Mexico</a> date to 23,000 years ago. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2509-0">Stone tools</a> in a Mexican cave may date to 32,000 years ago. A <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.903795/full">butchered mammoth</a> from Colorado dates to 31,000-38,000 years ago. And traces of fire put <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379118307716">humans in Alaska</a> 32,000 years ago. </p> <p>Some of these dates could be incorrect, but with each new discovery it seems increasingly unlikely that they’re all wrong.</p> <p>An early migration would neatly solve a major mystery. 13,000 years ago, a vast glacier, the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1601077113">Laurentide Ice Sheet</a>, buried Canada in ice up to three kilometres thick. If people arrived in North America then, how did they cross the ice? Southeast Alaska’s rugged coast, full of glaciers and fjords, was likely impassible, and early Americans probably lacked boats. But 30,000 years ago, the ice sheet hadn’t fully formed. </p> <p>Before the ice spread, people could have hunted mammoths and horses east from Alaska into the Northwest Territories, then south through Alberta and Saskatchewan into Montana. Remarkably, humans may have settled the Americas <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94408-w">before western Europe</a>. Yet that might make sense. Alaska’s Arctic is harsh, but Europe had <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02536.x">potentially hostile Neanderthals</a>.</p> <h2>The end of discovery</h2> <p>1492 was the last discovery of the Americas. Following the voyages of Columbus, Magellan, and Cook, the scattered descendants of humanity’s diaspora were finally reunited. Aside from a few <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140804-sad-truth-of-uncontacted-tribes">uncontacted tribes</a>, everywhere was known to everyone. Discovery was impossible.</p> <p>But the story of the Americas’ settlement is still being written, and our understanding is evolving. The Eskimo-Aleut may have been <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1525/aa.1987.89.1.02a00020">two different migrations</a>, not one. Genes <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14895">hint at the possibility</a> of other, early founding populations. And given how little evidence the Polynesians and Norse left of their visits, it’s conceivable there were other migrations, ones of which we have little evidence. </p> <p>There’s so much we don’t know. No one can discover the Americas anymore, but there’s a lot left to discover about their discovery.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-times-people-discovered-the-americas-and-how-they-got-there-188908" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

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Fun facts about The Sound of Music

<p dir="ltr"><em>The Sound of Music</em> is that film you can watch over and over again without getting bored.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 1965 American musical drama stands out thanks to its loving cast, the phenomenal soundtrack and storyline.</p> <p dir="ltr">Starring the beloved Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, here are five fun facts you did not know about the movie. </p> <ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Julie Andrews almost wasn’t cast as Maria</p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Richard Rodgers said that Julie Andrews would be perfect for the role of Maria but no one else agreed.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was only after the crew saw Mary Poppins that they noticed how everybody loved her. </p> <ol start="2"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Julie Andrews kept falling over on the mountain</p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">The opening scene where Maria is dancing on the mountain saw Julie Andrews fall multiple times thanks to the helicopter hovering above. </p> <p dir="ltr">“This was a jet helicopter,” Andrews said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“And the downdraft from those jets was so strong that every time … the helicopter circled around me and the downdraft just flattened me into the grass. And I mean flattened. It was fine for a couple of takes, but after that you begin to get just a little bit angry… And I really tried. I mean, I braced myself, I thought, ‘It’s not going to get me this time.’ And every single time, I bit the dust.”</p> <ol start="3"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Christopher Plummer hated the movie</p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Our beloved Captain von Trapp hated the film to the point where he actually called it “The Sound of Mucus”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Because it was so awful and sentimental and gooey,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“You had to work terribly hard to try and infuse some minuscule bit of humor into it.” </p> <p dir="ltr">Because he hated the film so much, Plummer would sit eating and drinking in excess which caused him to gain so much weight. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the DVD commentary, Plummer also confessed that he was in fact drunk during the filming of the music festival. </p> <ol start="4"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Young Gretl was traumatised during the boat scene</p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">In the scene where Maria had taken the von Trapp kids out to town and were spotted by the Captain in the boat outside their home traumatised young Gretl.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gretl did not know how to swim and therefore it was agreed that Maria would fall forward when the boat flipped. </p> <p dir="ltr">When the boat flipped, Maria instead fell backwards which saw Gretl struggle and inhale a lot of water. She eventually vomited on the actress that played Louisa. </p> <ol start="5"> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Friedrich grew 15cm during filming </p> </li> </ol> <p dir="ltr">Nicholas Hammond played Friedrich and grew an incredible 15cm during filming.</p> <p dir="ltr">Because he was supposed to appear shorter than Liesl but taller than Louisa - at the start of the film Hammond had lifts on his shoes and by the end of it they were gone. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Pinterest</em></p>

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Christopher Walken destroys $20million Banksy artwork

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An original Banksy artwork has been painted over by Hollywood royalty Christopher Walken while filming his new TV show. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 78-year-old actor erased the artwork, which is estimated to be worth $20million, as part of a scene of the new comedy drama show </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Outlaws</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The elusive street artist Banksy had painted the images of a rat holding two spray cans specifically for the  upcoming BBC series, which is set in his home city. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, it’s claimed that the mysterious artist had collaborated with the show bosses for the stunt. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The six-part series follows a group of misfits who are tasked with renovating a derelict community centre in Bristol as part of a community service sentence. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A spokesperson for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Outlaws</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> confirmed, “We can confirm that the artwork at the end of <em>The Outlaws</em> was an original Banksy, and that Christopher Walken painted over that artwork during the filming of this scene, ultimately destroying it.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The wrecking of the artwork was seemingly agreed upon by Bristol-native Banksy, who is reportedly a big fan of Christopher Walken, and admired the fact that Stephen Merchant, a fellow Bristonlian, was showcasing the city. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A source told </span><a href="https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/tv/4041091/banksy-artwork-destroyed-outlaws/">The Sun</a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, “The creative team came up with the dream scenario and got in touch with the artist’s representatives in the faint hope that he might help them.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Then they discovered shortly afterwards that he’d been to the location where they were filming and left something behind. They couldn’t believe their luck as he’d painted a giant rat using his hallmark stencilling technique as well as his distinctive signature.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They added, “His only stipulation was that they really did paint over it — and it would be his hero Christopher holding the roller.”  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check out the trailer for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Outlaws</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> below:</span></p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k_-6-hYP7Dk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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Ed Asner dies at age 91

<p>Star of <em>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</em>, Ed Asner, has passed away at age 91. </p> <p>The gruff but charming actor who played old-fashioned journalist Lou Grant on the hit TV show died on August 30th. </p> <p>His family confirmed the news on the actor's Twitter account. </p> <p>They wrote, "We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully."</p> <p>"With a kiss on your head - Goodnight dad."</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you.</p> — Ed Asner (@TheOnlyEdAsner) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheOnlyEdAsner/status/1432034864384000007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>Ed Asner won five of his seven career Primetime Emmys for his role as Lou Grant, which showcased both drama and comedy. </p> <p>He was first cast for the prolific role in 1970, where audiences instantly fell in love with the loveable rogue newsman.</p> <p>He played the role on <em>The Mary Tyler Moore Show</em> for seven years, before moving the character to his own hour-long drama in 1977. </p> <p>In more recent years, Ed became known to younger audiences as the voice of Carl in the Oscar-winning Disney Pixar animated film <em>Up</em>. </p> <p>Ed was cast in several more TV series, <span>including a recurring role on Aaron Sorkin's </span><em>Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.</em></p> <p>On the big screen, he had roles in Oliver Stone's biopic on <em>JFK</em>, and he played Santa in the Christmas classic <em>Elf</em> alongside Will Ferrell.</p> <p>Upon hearing news of the actor's death, tributes from actors and directors all over the world paid their respects online. </p> <p>Don Cheadle, Michael Moore, Josh Gad, Katie Couric and Vincent D'Onofrio were among the celebrities who took to Twitter to share their memories with Ed. </p> <p><em>Image Credits: Getty Images/Shutterstock</em></p>

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Christopher Reeve’s grown up son hopes his parents are proud of him

<p>The son of the late actor Christopher Reeve has written an emotional letter to his 13-year-old self about the “lowest point” in his life.</p> <p>Will Reeve, 26, wrote his vulnerable thoughts for <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/note-to-self-will-reeve/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">CBS</span></strong></a>’s series ‘Note to Self: Inspiring Words From Inspiring People’.</p> <p>The sports journalist lost both of his parents at a young age after his famous dad died in 2004 and his mum, Dana Reeve, died less than two years later from lung cancer.</p> <p>Will told his younger self that in all his life, there is “no obstacle greater” than learning to move through life without his parents.</p> <p>While he admits that he still doesn’t have it all figured out, he said that his focus is to live a life that will make his parents proud.</p> <p>Read his full letter here:</p> <p><em>Dear Will,</em></p> <p><em>I've got good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad, because you always need to know exactly what's going on, no matter what. That won't change, by the way. The bad news is: You're at the lowest point of your life. You're in a hospital room in New York City, and you've just said your final goodbye to Mom.</em></p> <p><em>You're 13. She's 44. Lung cancer. Never smoked. Gone, just like Dad, who died a year-and-a-half ago, which at the time was the lowest you had been. Now you're at a new bottom and you're terrified and confused and just so sad.</em></p> <p><em>But! Here's the good news: this is the low point. There's nowhere to go but up, and that's exactly where you're headed.</em></p> <p><em>You will always remember the good stuff. Dad in the driveway teaching you how to ride a bike just by telling you what to do, you trusting him so fully that you just do it. Mom's singing voice filling the air with sweetness at home and in the car to school.</em></p> <p><em>How lucky are you that in her final moments, when she finally had to accept that she was dying, Mom knew where to put you? She signed you over to the Pucci's, your next-door neighbors, your second family and now your adoptive family. You'll move in with them and love them as fiercely and fully as they love you.</em></p> <p><em>There will be times when you will feel lost. You will feel insecure, less about the braces and bad haircut you have now and more about the choices you make, the direction of your career, missteps in relationships and social settings, but don't worry.</em></p> <p><em>You'll keep playing sports and singing in musicals and you'll get good grades and make great friends and you'll feel encouraged, supported and loved.</em></p> <p><em>You love to write and it will be essential at your dream job, reporting and anchoring at ESPN, where you promised mom and dad you would work one day. When you get that call, you'll want to call them and tell them the great news and of course, you can't, but you know that they already know.</em></p> <p><em>To millions of people, they embody love and loyalty, commitment and courage, perseverance and hope. You'll make them proud by honoring your family name, not by using it for special treatment but by living a life worthy of its legacy.</em></p> <p><em>Some days, like when you join the board of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, you'll feel like you're doing a great job. Other times, like when your work-play balance gets a little too skewed toward fun, or you're lazy or rude or selfish, you'll feel nothing but shame.</em></p> <p><em>It sounds simple and clichéd, but just be you. Because you are what will make mom and dad most proud. Every moment you spent with them, they were preparing you for a life without them. You have their values and Mom's eyes and Dad's smile.</em></p> <p><em>I want you to know that we do not have all of this figured out. But you know that in the years ahead, you will face no obstacle greater than the one you are starting to overcome right now, and no matter which way your journey leads, mom and dad will be there with you every step of the way. How lucky are you?</em></p> <p><em>Sincerely, Will</em></p>

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Late actor Christopher Reeve's son is the spitting image of his father

<p><span>The son of late actor Christopher Reeve has made an appearance at an event in New York and fans were shocked over his resemblance to his dad.</span></p> <p><span>Twenty-five-year-old Will made an appearance at the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Gala in New York on Thursday.</span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span><img width="500" height="413" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7264816/1_500x413.jpg" alt="1 (49)"/><br /></span></p> <p><span>Also attending the charity event included Will’s half-brother Matthew, 37, and actress Glenn Close, who was a presenter during the night.</span></p> <p><span>Will was all smiles at the fundraiser for the foundation, which is a non-profit organisation aimed to improve the quality of life for people living with paralysis.</span></p> <p><span>Actor Jerry O’Connell, who hosted the event, told </span><em><span>PEOPLE</span></em><span>, “I first got involved because I met Will Reeve, who’s Christopher Reeve’s son, and I was just so taken with what a well-mannered young man he was. Last year he said, ‘Would you come host this evening that we have?’ And I have to tell you, I honestly didn’t know much about the foundation.”</span></p> <p><span>Will not only looks like his father but is also pursuing acting.</span></p> <p><span>Will appeared alongside Glenn Close in the 1997 TV Movie </span><em><span>In The Gloaming</span></em><span> and appeared in </span><em><span>The Brooke Ellison Story</span></em><span>.</span></p> <p><span>Will was 3 years old when his father was left paralysed in 1995 and was just 11 when he died in 2004. Two years later, his mother Dana died of lung cancer at 44.</span></p> <p><span>What do you think of Will's resemblance to his famous father? Tell us in the comments below. </span></p>

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