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The Colosseum, attributed to Robert Eaton, c. 1855.
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Monumental Mistakes

2023:

Fitness instructor carves his girlfriend’s name into the Colosseum.

c. 1850:

Thompson of Sunderland makes his mark on Pompey’s pillar.

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Lapham's Daily

Lewis H. Lapham | 1935-2024

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Energy

Volume XV, Number 2 | winter 2024

Miscellany

Among some species of North American fireflies, females lie in wait for light emitted by males drifting above. A 2022 study found that 96 percent of male fireflies preferred to attempt mating in darkness. No mating occurred in bright artificial light, under which the researchers observed “males crawling directly past or even over females without initiating mating stage one.” The fireflies were “waiting to mate in dimmer conditions,” a New York Times article suggested, “essentially waiting for a night that never comes.”

I care. I care about it all. It takes too much energy not to care.

—Lorraine Hansberry, 1965

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