Mystery: October 23, 2013 Issue [#5956] |
Mystery
This week: The Final Frontier? Edited by: Jeff More Newsletters By This Editor
1. About this Newsletter 2. A Word from our Sponsor 3. Letter from the Editor 4. Editor's Picks 5. A Word from Writing.Com 6. Ask & Answer 7. Removal instructions
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
-- Carl Sagan
Mystery Trivia of the Week: Charlotte Hughes (not to be confused with the British supercentenarian who lived to be nearly 116) is an American writer, New York Times-bestselling and award-winning author, and has written nearly forty books in genres ranging from primarily romance to mystery, humor, horror, and suspense. She was one of the first romance writers to crack the Top 50 on USA Today's list, although she is perhaps best known at this point as Janet Evanovich's co-author on the Max Holt series (Full House, Full Tilt, Full Speed, etc.).
|
ASIN: B004PICKDS |
Product Type: Toys & Games
|
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
|
|
THE FINAL FRONTIER?
As anyone familiar with Star Trek can attest, space is most often considered the "final frontier" in terms of exploration and unsolved mysteries. And there are certainly no shortage of possibilities when it comes to the mysteries of the universe. But for those writers who aren't quite ready to head for the stars in order to explore untold mysteries, fear not... there are plenty of unexplored areas of our own planet as well. If you're looking for an explored territory to write about, consider one of the following frontiers on our planet which still remain largely unexplored:
The Oceans. 72% of the planet's surface is covered by the ocean. That's roughly 140 million square miles of water with an average depth of roughly 12,500 feet, although some places like the Challenger Deep section of the Marianas Trench can reach nearly 36,000 feet, which is deeper than Mt. Everest is tall! There are currently around 230,000 aquatic species accounted for, although some estimates put the total number of unique aquatic organisms at more than 2,000,000 based on the amount of ocean we have left to explore. Just imagine what those murky depths might conceal!
Caves. Like the oceans, underground caves provide an untold number of possibilities just due to the sheer volume of space yet to be explored. While there are no definite estimates of how much cave space there is to explore, some things to keep in mind: Mammoth Cave in the United States has the longest recorded length of any cave system at nearly 400 miles; Voronya Cave in Georgia (the country) is the deepest at more than 7,000 feet; the largest single cave room yet discovered is in Malaysia and measures nearly half a mile long by a quarter-mile wide, with a ceiling height of 260 feet.
The Amazon Rainforest. The Amazon is so large it contains nearly 50% of the world's rainforest region. Its 2.1 million square miles includes land belonging to nine separate nations, and is largely unexplored due to the winding waterways and dense foliage. The Amazon is home to 16,000 different types of trees, 2.5 million insect species, 2,000 birds species, and over 2,200 fish species. Deforestation is a major concern; as it continues, who knows what we might lose - or find - in the process?
Deserts. Taking up about 1/3 of the Earth's land area, deserts remain largely unexplored due to their inhospitable living conditions. But those are some pretty big unexplored areas: the Sahara is 3.5 million square miles; the Arabian desert is 1 million. Even "small" (in comparison) deserts like the Great Basin Desert in North America span nearly 200,000 square miles. Plants and animals living in the extreme temperatures of desert regions have developed some extreme and even bizarre adaptations to the environment. Who knows what else has learned to adapt out there?
Antarctica. 5.4 million square miles of ice at the bottom of our planet. Temperatures can reach -129 degrees Fahrenheit. No permanent human residents. Since 1959, 49 countries have signed a treaty to leave Antarctica an undisturbed place of scientific research; military activity, waste dumping, and nuclear testing are all forbidden. There are a number of subglacial features underneath the icy surface of the continent, including Lake Vostok, the largest of Antarctica's 400+ underground lakes and larger than Lake Michigan. Who knows what lurks in those underground features? Or what designs those other countries that didn't sign the treaty have for our icy seventh continent?
And these are just the large areas of the planet that are largely unexplored. There are also individual mountains, valleys, lakes, and other specific regions and areas that are unexplored. So while space may be the final frontier for the crew of the Starship Enterprise hundreds of years in the future, our planet at present still provides ample unexplored frontiers. And those unexplored frontiers are rife with potential mysteries for your characters to explore!
Until next time,
-- Jeff
|
I encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
I found it especially odd that when I had departed earlier in the morning the path extending from my door to the hallway was clear of any such package. By rough estimation, I figured that my morning swim had taken two or such hours, which left a selective gap for the delivery of the mysterious box. Though, narrowing a definitive timeline regarding itβs placement answered only one, of the myriad of much more important, questions.
Saikyo Condo Hotel had been built adjacent to Hotel Saikyo Resort. It's scheduled to go on sales as a condo hotel for VIP and celebrities who's living in the city. Only a handful people knew about the condo hotel, even though the information such as its prices and the interior weren't disclosed.
"The girl in the mirror was identical to me, but she had a haunted and chilling look to her eyes. Before I understood what was happening, she walked out of the mirror and into my nightmares..."
I will never forget the night it happened. It was an eerie night, and I was relaxing upstairs watching the news. The night report was of a serial killer that escaped from the local prison. He had murdered 27 women. Suddenly there was a loud knocking. I sprang to my feet and crept downstairs, trying to be as quiet as I could. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Suddenly I heard the knocking again, but this time it was much more close and I knew it was coming from the basement.
The bitten down nails tapped eccentrically on a wooden table, the breaths harbored by a pale red-headed girl called attention to a few neighboring customers in the small cafe. They often expressed disinterest once the girl was neither a beauty or busty.
She couldn't calm down, he was there. Watching her, she knew, by the familiar dread creeping up and down her spine; a sensual caress he most likely embedded to lure her out.
John Elderberry smiled as he looked at the pictures of his grandmother's one hundredth birthday party on his digital camera. The last picture took him by surprise. It was not of the party. His grandmother was outside of a train kissing a man who was leaning through a train window. How did this picture get on my camera? And who is the man she's kissing? he wondered.
|
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter! https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
ASIN: B083RZ37SZ |
|
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
|
Feedback from my last newsletter about price tags:
Quick-Quill writes, "Nothing I read "scares" me, I can get into a story and feel the fear in the character but never to the point I have to put the book down, check the closet or hide in another room. If books came with background music I might take pause. I literally will leave the room when the music or sound effects change. Even when reading and I know they shouldn't go down the stairs, open the door, I continue. Why can't I do that when watching a movie. I turn off the sound and close my eyes or plug my ears until my kids say its ok. I don't go to scary, Horror flicks and I wait until the suggested "good one" with great plot are on DVD. I can sit through DEVIL by M. Knight Shayamalan...I don't know why that one isn't scary to me."
Thanks for taking the time to write in!
|
ASIN: B083RZ2C5F |
|
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
This printed copy is for your personal use only. Reproduction
of this work in any other form is not allowed and does violate its copyright. |