February 28, 2001

Listener Initiative

Pulse of the Planet wants to know how you observe the changing seasons and special times of year. Give us a call at 1-877-PULSE99, and your story may be featured on Pulse.

February 27, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: The Song

In Basile, LA, when a band of masked Mardi Gras revelers comes to your door, here’s the song they’ll likely be singing.

February 26, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: A Story

A long-time Mardi Gras runner tells one of his favorite stories.

February 23, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: In Disguise

As Cajuns in Louisiana celebrate Mardi Gras this week, revelers disguise themselves and beg for food and money from their neighbors, to support a communal gumbo.

February 22, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: Tickling

There are many ways to celebrate Mardi Gras. In the rural Cajun communities of south Louisiana, it’s organized mayhem.

February 21, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: Biggest Day

When dozens of people in bright costumes, masks and pointy hats are riding around in flatbed trucks raising a ruckus, you can bet you’re in Cajun Louisiana for Mardi Gras.

February 20, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: Feast

Mardi Gras is a holiday with its roots in ancient European traditions. There are good reasons why it happens at this time of year.

February 19, 2001

Cajun Mardi Gras: Elton Run

Most of us know about Mardi Gras from the famous festivities in New Orleans. But in rural Louisiana , Cajuns celebrate the holiday in a style all their own.

February 16, 2001

Particle Physics: Antimatter

In the particle accelerator at Cornell University, they’re simulating the creation of the universe on a very small scale.

February 15, 2001

Particle Physics: Smallest

With the help of a particle accelerator, scientists are hoping to learn about the creation of the universe.

February 14, 2001

Particle Physics

What is the smallest unit of matter making up our world? Thanks to particle physics, the answer to that question keeps getting smaller and smaller.

February 13, 2001

Renaissance Chemist: Appreciating the Differences

Both scientists and artists seek better understanding of the world. The difference lies in the questions they ask and the answers they find.

February 12, 2001

Renaissance Chemist: Ideas of Beauty

Who says there are no more Renaissance Men? Meet a Nobel prize-winning chemist who is also an accomplished poet.

February 9, 2001

Renaissance Chemist

Chemistry doesn’t necessarily mean working with bubbling concoctions and bunsen burners. Some chemists work in the realm of ideas.

February 8, 2001

Tully Ice Harvest: History

These days, if you want ice, you just go to the freezer and get it. But some folks remember when ice was delivered door to door in huge blocks.

February 7, 2001

Tully Ice Harvest : Cutting

At an annual festival in upstate New York, they cut blocks of ice out of a frozen lake and pack them in sawdust. In the summer, they’ll use the ice to make homemade ice cream.

February 6, 2001

Tully Ice Harvest: Prepare

Every year at this time, folks in Tully, New York, harvest ice out of a frozen lake the old-fashioned way, with horsepower and antique tools.

February 5, 2001

The Moon: Ring

If you look into the heavens tonight, you just might see a ring around the moon.

February 2, 2001

Pleiades

For people in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a wonderful time to gaze at the Pleiades, the most visible cluster of stars in the sky.

February 1, 2001

Kartchner Caverns: Clean

Recently opened, Kartchner Caverns is a place where park officials try their hardest to keep the cave clean, which means that the only thing humans leave behind are footprints.