The mysterious Shell Grotto is an ornate subterranean passageway in Margate, Kent where almost all the surface area of the walls and roof is covered in mosaics created entirely of seashells. Taking up 2,000 square feet of mosaic, or 4.6 million shells, it was discovered in 1835 but its age remains unknown.
A website for the Shell Grotto details the mystery:
“In 1835 Mr James Newlove lowered his young son Joshua into a hole in the ground that had appeared during the digging of a duck pond. Joshua emerged describing tunnels covered with shells. He had discovered the Shell Grotto; 70ft of winding underground passages leading to an oblong chamber, its walls decorated with strange symbols mosaiced in millions of shells. Is it an ancient pagan temple? A meeting place for some secret cult? Nobody can explain who built this amazing place, or why, or when, but since its discovery visitors from all over the world have been intrigued by the beautiful mosaic and the unsolved mystery.”
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The Shell Grotto is on Grotto Hill, Margate, Kent, around five minutes’ walk from the seafront and a 20-minute walk from Margate Station (direct trains from London Victoria, Charing Cross and London Bridge). Open every day from Good Friday to Halloween from 10am-5pm, in the winter The Shell Grotto is open weekends only from 11am-4pm and is closed Christmas and New Year.
Admission prices are £3.00 for adults, £2.50 for seniors and students, £1.50 for children or £8 for a family ticket (two adults and two children). Children aged three and under are free.
Thinking of a celebration for surviving eight decades on the planet, one might turn to images of a rest home and trying to cram that many candles on a cake. Not for Pat Moorehead, a California resident who set the world’s record for the most skydives by an 80-year-old Sunday, 80 skydives in one day.
The event was a promotional fund raising effort in support of constructing a National Skydiving Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia, charged with recognizing and promoting the sport of skydiving through public education and awareness.
On Saturday, Moorehead, with over 6,100 jumps to his credit (his wife has 2,700 or so), made 14 practice jumps and explained how it would go on Sunday.
“Each jump should take no more than five minutes,” Moorehead told Patch.com, explaining that his team removes his parachute on landing then quickly outfit him with another pack before he jumps back in the plane that takes him to 2,200 feet for his next dive.
In spite of rainy, cloudy weather the octogenarian completed the 80 jumps in less than 7 hours. Aided by his wife and volunteers that included riggers, cameramen, a pilot, and a doctor on standby, the attempt went smoothly without missing a beat.
Appropriately, it all happened at Skydive Elsinore, the longest running skydiving operation in North America where Morehead made his first jump in 1969.
Will he be back for his 90th birthday? Maybe. The oldest skydiver on record, Frank Moody, age 101, made a tandem jump on June 6, 2004.
There’s a time and a place for mushy foods. Not having to chew comes in handy when you’ve had your wisdom teeth pulled, your jaw wired shut or you’ve misplaced your dentures. Beyond that, the sensation of chewing is part of the enjoyment of eating. People want to feel something hearty and substantial in their mouths (that’s what she said). Here at SkyMall Monday headquarters, we start each day with a bowl of cereal. We typically opt for Cheerios or Raisin Bran, because we believe in the healing power of fiber. We used to eat a lot of Special K, but those flakes quickly turn into porridge after about 15 seconds submerged in milk. Thankfully, SkyMall has a way to keep cereal crunchy no matter how long we take to eat it. Forget everything you know about bowls, because from now on you’ll be eating out of the Obol.
Separate but equal isn’t appropriate when it comes to education. But sometimes, separating things makes sense. The Obol keeps your cereal dry and allows you to introduce small amounts of it into the milk only when you’re ready. Just like how sometimes you want to keep your hot side hot and your cool side cool, there are times when you want to keep your soup away from your crackers. Now, thanks to the Obol’s two sections, you can segregate all of your snacks. Plus, it’s design is intended to allow you to hold your bowl rather than just leaving it on the table. All the better for quickly shoveling food into your gullet.
Think that cereal doesn’t really get soggy that fast? Believe that your plates and bowls should stay on the table so that you’re not eating like an animal? Well, while you enjoy your gruel, we’ll be chewing on the product description:
Keep the crunch in your breakfast munch with the original Crispy Bowl. The patented Swoop n Scoop feature makes every bite crispy. Easy to hold, textured non-slip grip and rim makes it easy to eat anywhere — in bed or watching a movie.
There’s nothing better than starting your day listening to your partner keep the crunch in their breakfast munch while eating next to you in bed. Good morning, lover!
Lest you think that this is just a gimmick, these videos should prove that the Obol is as essential as a spoon.
Her Obol paid for itself in less than a month? I’ve had a spork on layaway for a year and a half!
Wait, why’d they leave their cereal in the kitchen? I thought the Obol was perfect for eating in bed.
I like any song that opens with, “Put it anywhere.”
The Obol would be way cooler if you could ride it.
The best origin story since Iron Man.
Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.
This Thanksgiving, holiday traditions and messages are going farther than the family dinner table. In fact, they are going all the way to the Middle East as American young adults spending time abroad will be spreading the message of coexistence throughout diverse communities by recreating the Thanksgiving feast from their childhood.
Masa Israel Journey, a project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli Government, sends more than 6,000 young Americans to Israel each year to study, intern, and volunteer, as well as spread a peaceful and harmonious message. Diverse groups of people such as Arabs, Israeli Jews, Palestinians, Europeans, and American peers are all positively affected by the introduction and blending of Thanksgiving traditions.
Some examples of how American young adults have spread their traditions and the message of coexistence include:
Abra Berkowitz, a Boston-native who studied at Masa Israel’s Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, shared a potluck dinner with other students from Jordan, Isreael, the Palestinian Territories, South Africa, Canada, and Australia. A blending of cultures could be seen by a turkey seasoned with zaatar and a side dish of tahini stuffing.
Detroit-born Josh Kanter, who enrolled in Masa Israel’s Career Israel internship program, celebrated Thanksgiving at a Herbrew University-sponsored dinner with other international students from Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala, Israel, and the United States. While there was turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, hummus was also a big hit at the table.
Jessica Simon from Philadelphia, who studied at Masa Israel’s Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, was also volunteering at Jerusalem Open House, the organization that supports LGBT people and their allies in Jerusalem. She planned a Thanksgiving potluck and read from a gay friendly prayer book with Hebrew explanations about Thanksgiving to the Israeli attendees. Because sweet potatoes were not available, Simon substituted them with carrot soup.
“Oh Georgia, take me to your Southlands. I sometimes feel that life has passed me by. Oh Georgia, lead me through your heartlands, I need to see them one more time before I die” -Elton John-
While I’m sure there are more than a handful of world nomads who have already experienced all seven of the new wonders, I can almost guarantee there is no one out there who has been to all seven of the new wonders and has also–get ready for this one–visited all seven of the Natural Wonders of Georgia.
If I had read that statement five days ago while hiking the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon I would have coughed up a good chuckle at the thought. As I stand here on a roadside in northeastern Georgia, however, the hills dripping in red and orange foliage that spills nearly 1,000 ft. down into Tallulah Gorge, I’ve suddenly stopped my chuckling.
One of the state’s aforementioned wonders and the deepest canyon east of the Mississippi River, Tallulah Gorge State Park is best known for a series of six waterfalls that carve through the gorge and erupt into the Talullah River far below. A regional haven for whitewater kayakers, the Tallulah is known for a steep descent where the water drops 500 vertical feet over the course of only half a mile. You can only kayak the Tallulah, however, on days when there is a planned water release, which is an event that only happens six times every year.
Oh, and you also have to be completely out of your mind. Many of the rapids in Tallulah are classified as class V+, and one rapid by the name of Oceana Falls was described to me as simply being “boat-breaking”. Thanks, but I’m fine with sticking to the 20 miles of hiking trails for the time being.
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Speaking of completely crazy, although it’s pleasant enough to take a late autumn stroll through the park, there have been two notable figures in history who thought it would be a better idea to actually walk OVER the park and get a view of the Gorge from directly above.
The first tightrope crossing of Tallulah Gorge took place in 1883 as part of a publicity stunt for a local hotel, and it would be another 87 years before the famed daredevil Karl Wallenda would become the second man to walk over the gorge on a tightly stretched piece of wire. An estimated crowd of 30,000 people gathered around Tallulah Gorge to watch the nimble German do two complete headstands in the middle of his death-defying crossing, and the large towers from where he strung his high wire are still visible in the Gorge today.
Although Wallenda would eventually fall to his death in a tightrope stunt in Puerto Rico 8 years later at the age of 73, his crossing of the Tallulah Gorge still ranks as one of the most notable events to ever take place high up in these Georgia hills. The other, of course, being the filming of the 1972 hillbilly thriller Deliverance, which was filmed and set right here in the gaping Tallulah Gorge.
Tight rope acts and toothless movie characters aside, northeastern Georgia and the towns around Tallulah Gorge are a remarkably agreeable part of the country. After nearly 3,400 miles of driving, I am met with the same sensation I had in Durango of thinking I really could just stay and live here.
Single lane roads. Country stores selling locally made jam. The refreshingly slow pace and community feel of small town America. These are the scenes which inspire me to crawl behind the wheel of a car and drive across the third largest country on the planet. The simple joys of leaving the chaotic drone of the Interstate in favor of winding back roads that lead you to corners of this country you never knew existed.
Corners of this country, like Georgia’s Tullulah Gorge.