Mike Pilewski's blog

The path to nirvana

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:34:05 +0100

Heavenly Path is a religious movement in Nepal. Its followers believe their guru was sent by God to show people how to remove pain and suffering from the world. They say peace is a tree with love as its root. Click to find out what the symbol in the picture means.

Back to Agua Prieta

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:14:11 +0100

A group of migrant workers abandon their attempt to cross into the United States near Douglas, Arizona, and head back to the town of Agua Prieta, Mexico, in this photo taken in 2005. This year, they might not even have come. Find out why.

Forgotten specimens

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:28:37 +0100

Professor Lynn Morgan was surprised to find that her college had a collection of human foetuses in its basement. Such collections were once common. Morgan studies society's changing attitudes to ethical questions such as the start of human life. Read more.

On the move in Las Vegas

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:59:27 +0100

Everyone's in motion in this city of lights. Next to the traffic of cars, buses, limousines and vans, a wheelchair user moves down the Las Vegas Strip. How do we talk about getting somewhere using or not using a vehicle? See if you know the answers.

The brakeman

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:18:13 +0100

In Vermont, a brakeman decouples cars on a freight train traveling from Canada to Massachusetts. In North America, a brakeman is someone who couples (puts together) and decouples (separates) train cars. Learn 11 more combinations with the prefix de-.

A clean sweep

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:45:20 +0100

A street cleaner sweeps an area in front of shops in Minsk, Belarus. Our title, "A clean sweep", is a play on words. This woman is certainly making sure that the pavement is clean by sweeping it. But "a clean sweep" is also a useful idiom. Find out what it means.

A metalworker in Nepal

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:02:30 +0100

A metalworker hammers out brass pots in a village in Nepal. Brass is an alloy, or combination, of the metals copper and zinc. The English language contains several idioms using the word "brass". Click to learn them.

"I gave up on living"

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:45:46 +0100

"I was hitchhiking through Nashville, Tennessee, during this terrible blizzard. After freezing for a couple of hours, I gave up on living. No one was going to help me. Right when I closed my eyes, this guy came up and asked, 'Are you cold, boy?'" — Read the rest of the story.

The empty house

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:23:31 +0100

In the desert east of Los Angeles, near the town of Twentynine Palms, lie abandoned houses. They're scattered throughout the landscape for miles: shells of dreams and broken lives. Who slept on this mattress? Where is that person now? Read more.

The deer hunters

Mike Pilewski — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:57:23 +0100

The hunters are out. Our picture, taken in Vermont, shows a store where they go to weigh their kill. The state places limits on what kind of deer may be hunted and when. For example, in Vermont, they may be hunted only between 3 and 11 December of this year.