Behind the thick red curtains

Rating: G
Content notes: the animation is low effort haha
Artist notes: 'revenge' is what it's called in artfight when you draw art of someone's characters as a response to them drawing art of yours!!! and that's also what i've been doing haha.

Posted by Frank Jacobs

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/america-in-england/

If I should die, think only this of me: / That there’s some corner of a foreign field / That is for ever England.

Did those famous opening lines of “The Soldier”, a sonnet by World War I poet Rupert Brooke, inspire Queen Elizabeth II to do the opposite — gift a piece of England to a foreign country? On May 14, 1965, she did just that. Dedicating a memorial to John F. Kennedy, the Queen formally presented the acre on which it stood to the U.S. — the first and only time a British monarch has ever given a part of the homeland to another nation.

The assassination of U.S. President Kennedy, just 18 months prior, had shocked the world, but perhaps the UK more than most other countries. The president’s father had been U.S. ambassador to Britain from 1938 to 1940, and a young JFK had spent time in the country during that period.

The choice of the memorial’s location — at Runnymede, west of London and close to Windsor — symbolized an even deeper bond between Britain and America. This meadow on the banks of the Thames is where, in 1215, King John sealed the Magna Carta, a document that curbed royal power by the rule of law, laying the groundwork for constitutional democracy. The charter’s effects can be traced all the way to the U.S. Constitution, many centuries later.

That’s why the American Bar Association had already erected a Magna Carta Memorial in 1957. The Kennedy Memorial, unveiled almost 750 years to the day after the signing of Magna Carta, reinforces that transatlantic link.

Inspired by Pilgrim’s Progress, landscape architect Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe designed the Memorial to feel like a “meaningful ascent.” Visitors scale 50 irregular granite steps, one for each U.S. state, and arrive at a seven-ton block of Portland stone.

Chiseled in the rock is the deed of the land: “This acre of English ground was given to the United States of America by the people of Britain in memory of John F. Kennedy.” The text ends with a quote from JFK’s inaugural address: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, or oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.”

Behind the slab stands an American scarlet oak, which turns red in November, the month of Kennedy’s assassination. A path leads to two stone seats — one for the president, the other for his consort — providing a view of the Thames.

All very poignant and symbolic. But is this acre of England truly “forever America”?

The deed is not just etched in stone: Ownership of the land was effectively transferred to the U.S. federal government, and its management is maintained by the Kennedy Memorial trust, which also funds scholarships for UK students to go study in the U.S.

In that practical sense, Kennedy’s acre at Runnymede is American. But only in that sense. The UK retains full sovereignty over the area. The U.S. does not have any extraterritorial privileges regarding the memorial.

Queen Elizabeth’s gift was symbolic, not a legal cession of territory. But as symbols go, it’s a strong one. The dedication was attended not just by JFK’s widow Jackie, their children Caroline and John Jr., and John Sr.’s brothers Robert and Ted, but also by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who accepted the (symbolic) deed on behalf of Lyndon B. Johnson, JFK’s successor as president. The gift thus underscored the vaunted “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain.

But there are no U.S. Marines guarding the perimeter, you don’t need a visa to enter, and anyone born inside the acre does not automatically become an American citizen. As questionable as it is, the Memorial’s status as “American soil” in the middle of England does provide the site dedicated to JFK’s enduring legacy with an added layer of romance. So if you want to think that you can visit the U.S. deep inside Surrey, that most English of counties, who are we to disabuse you of that notion?

Strange Maps #1276

Got a strange map? Let me know at strangemaps@gmail.com.

Follow Strange Maps on X and Facebook.

This article Is this acre in England really American territory? is featured on Big Think.

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/america-in-england/

Our new challenge is:

REVENGE

As always, you can interpret the prompt literally or figuratively, in whatever way works for you.

Each work created for this challenge should be posted as a new entry to the comm. Posting starts now and continues up until the challenge ends at 4pm Pacific Time on Friday, 1 August. No sign-up required.

Mods will tag your work with fandom and challenge. When you've posted entries to three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag, and we'll go back and tag all your previous entries with your name.

All kinds of fanworks in all fandoms are welcome. Please have a look at our guidelines before you play. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a mod. And if you have any suggestions for future challenges, you can leave them in the comments of this post.

Also, keep an eye out for the next ffw_social post, which will go up in the next couple of days. If you haven't joined the ffw_social comm, it's never too late to come and check it out. (Posts are locked, which means you have to join to see them.)

The Face challenge is now closed. Here are the entries:

Sherlock Holmes (ACD): Fanfic: In The Mirror by smallhobbit
Sealomimi: Art: silly faces by himejoshiheart
MCU: Fanfiction: Facing Things by lucy_roman
S.W.A.T.: Fan Fiction: Face The Future, Together by darkjediqueen
Narnia: Fanfic: to be with you (a wild thing cohabiting) by bluedreaming
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Face Of A Vampire by badly_knitted
Torchwood: Fanfic: Seeking Sympathy by badly_knitted
Women's Soccer RPF: Fanfiction: In Her Arms by infinitum_noctem
Torchwood: Fanfic: Spat in the eye by m_findlow
Original Fiction: Facesiting, The Proper Alpha Love Language by analogbasilisk
Princess: The Hopeful: Fic: bird flight by himejoshiheart
Original Work: Craft: plushie!!!! by himejoshiheart
Greek Myth: Fanfic: Face Your People by drabblewriter
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: One of a Kind by veronyxk84
Pokémon: Fanart: Visage by javert
City of Streamers: Fanfic: there all along by teaotter
Marvel Comics (616): icons: He Knows He's Gorgeous by highlander_ii
Guardian: fic: Behind another face by china_shop

\o/ \o/ \o/

Thank you to everyone who participated! You're now free to post your entries to your journal or wherever else you'd like. If you're archiving on AO3, you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.

Next challenge coming right up.

Title: Behind another face
Fandom: Guardian (TV)
Rating: G-rated
Length: 100 words
Tags: Body-sharing, Complications, Secrets
Summary: Zhang Shi meets Shen Xi.

( Behind another face )

Title: He Knows He's Gorgeous
Fandom: Iron Man comics
Rating: G
Content notes: None apply
Summary: icons of Tony Stark's face from various points across 616 canon.


( He Knows He's Gorgeous )

Title: there all along
Fandom: City of Streamers (mods: you can use the Cdrama tag)
Pairing: Feng Shizhen/Rong Jiashang
Warnings: spoilers for a late plot point
Length: 100 words

Summary: Once it was pointed out, it was obvious.

( Read more... )

Title: Visage
Fandom: Pokémon X&Y
Rating: G
Summary: Where there's smoke...

( Visage )

Title: One of a Kind
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: veronyxk84
Characters/Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word count: 200 (Google Docs)
Spoilers/Setting: Set post series, in an alternate reality where Buffy and Spike are an established couple.
Summary: Spike has contrasting feelings about a special gift he and Buffy received for their wedding.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.

Challenge: #485 Face

—
( READ: One of a Kind/Double drabble )
 

Title: Face Your People
Fandom: Greek Myth
Characters: Apollo/Hyacinthus
Rating: G
Length: 530
Summary: Apollo helps a nervous Hyacinthus as he prepares to face his people for the first time as their new king.
( Read more... )

Rating: G
Summary: A plushie with a rose for a face! THAT'S RIGHT, BABEY. I SEW NOW

( me when it's the 19th and oh no i have to finish this plushie TODAY (and then I finished it today!!) )

Title: bird flight
Fandom: Princess: The Hopeful
Rating: T
Length: 204 words
Content notes: this is what zephy looks like!
Author notes: This is also for rainbowfic haha :3
Summary: Zephy messes around with an airplane pilot for a bit

Title: Spat in the eye
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,385 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 485 - Face
Summary: Ianto is accustomed to less than friendly inmates, though some prove more painful than others.

( Read more... )

Title: In Her Arms
Fandom: Women's Soccer RPF
Pairings: Hope Solo/Kelley O'Hara
Characters: Hope Solo, Kelley O'Hara
Rating: G
Length: 76 words
Summary: Hope breaks down, and Kelley is there to hold her.

( Read more... )

I write RPF and due to sheer stupidity thought a guy (L) was Australian but he's from New Zealand 🤦‍♀️ Is there anyone who could translate these Australianisms (which I really love and got from Home & Away and Neighbours) into New Zealandisms? I don't watch any NZ soaps.#

JUST TO ADD: this is a fun, fluffy story, nothing gritty, angsty or serious. It is only just in the T rating, mainly because of a few dodgy comments. It could pass as G probably but better safe than sorry.

Also, do New Zealanders play keepy uppy? When you bounce a football on your knee and see how many times you can do that without dropping it. A well known British game but maybe it's called something different in New Zealand?

~~~

“G’day mate,” said the Australian. “Sorry, we're playing keepy uppy and the ball got away from us.” He was smirking as he picked up the football.


“Don't be such a flaming galah.” L threw the ball at N.


“Strewth mate, that’s 50 already.”


“Here we are,” said L. “Enjoy, you pair of hoons.”

Title: Seeking Sympathy
Fandom: Torchwood
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 685
Summary: Poor Jack is in the wars, but Ianto isn’t being very sympathetic.
Spoilers: Nada.
Warnings: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 485: Face.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood or any of the characters.

Title: Face Of A Vampire
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Angel.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 400
Spoilers/Setting: Angel.
Summary: Buffy is in shock after discovering that Angel is a vampire.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 485: Face.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.
A/N: Quadruple drabble.

Fandom: Narnia
Rating: G
Length: 100 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: The title is from CHRISTMAS EVE by Liz Berry and After You Died by Deryn Rees-Jones.
Summary: In which Eustace is interrupted while eating breakfast.

( Read more... )

Posted by Frank Jacobs

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/double-ancestry/

“Two souls, alas, dwell in my breast.” Like Goethe’s Doctor Faust, we all have an inner duality. Recent discoveries about the deep past of human evolution reveal that for more than a million years, humanity was divided into two distinct branches. About 300,000 years ago, those estranged cousins reunited. Every one of us carries within our genes the results of that split, and the reunion of those two mystery populations.

The discovery represents a major reversal of the prevailing theory of human evolution, which suggested that modern humans descended from a single ancestral lineage in Africa.

A more detailed family tree for humanity

Studying human evolution is like trying to solve a four-dimensional puzzle, with just a few pieces scattered across the entire world, and across millions of years. The findings, published in Nature Genetics by a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge, are based on a new method called coalescent-based reconstruction of ancient admixture (“cobraa” for short).

Imagine cobraa as a mathematical detective, examining full-genome sequences of modern human DNA to determine how populations intermixed and evolved over time. Astonishingly, simply by analyzing genetic clues from modern humans (rather than by examining any ancient DNA), cobraa can build a more detailed family tree for humanity than ever before — and can do so for other species too, by the way.

Here’s the big takeaway for Homo sapiens: About 1.5 million years ago, our distant ancestors split into two distinct groups, labelled A and B on this graph. Soon after the separation, group A experienced an evolutionary bottleneck: its population shrank radically. This may have been due to climate change, food scarcity, or some other challenge, but at this point, nobody really knows.

Group A eventually recovered and generated evolutionary offshoots; Neanderthals and Denisovans were genetically distinct human populations that evolved from this separate strand of humanity. (Neanderthals were genetically distinct enough to be considered a separate species. Due to a lack of fossils, the jury is still out on the Denisovans.)

That was well before around 300,000 years ago, when Groups A and B reintegrated with each other. However, it is also possible to say that Group A absorbed Group B, as the genetic legacy of Group A in our shared ancestry is approximately 80%, while that of Group B is only about 20%.

Group B genes may have been important

The research suggests that some of the genes contributed by Group B, the minority population, particularly those related to brain function and neural processing, may have played a crucial role in human evolution.

The study also found that genes inherited from Group B were often located away from regions of the genome associated with gene functions, suggesting that they may have been less compatible with the majority of the genetic background. This hints at a process known as purifying selection, where natural selection removes harmful mutations over time.

Sometime before 100,000 years ago, the Khoisan emerged as a distinct population within our species. The Khoisan are the indigenous, pre-Bantu peoples of Southern Africa, composed of two groups: the pastoralist Khoikhoi and the San, hunter-gatherers otherwise known as the Bushmen. About 22,000 years ago, they constituted the bulk of humanity. Today, they number only about 100,000 individuals, and their ancient languages and lifestyles are under threat of extinction.

Over the millennia, genetic exchange between the Khoisan and non-Khoisan populations in Africa has continued. Around 50,000 years ago, humanity sprouted another branch when a small population left Africa. They went on to populate the rest of the world and, in a re-do of the previous merger, they absorbed what remained of the Neanderthal and Denisovan populations, who, according to this graph, contributed about 2% of the DNA of non-African populations.

Applying the cobraa method to chimpanzees, gorillas, dolphins, and bats, the researchers found these species exhibit similar patterns of genetic exchange and reintegration, supporting the idea that few, if any, species evolve in isolated, distinct lineages, and that genetic exchange and reintegration may be the norm rather than the exception.

The researchers hope to refine their methods to account for more gradual genetic exchanges than the sharp splits and reunions suggested by their current model. They also want to relate their findings to discoveries in anthropology, which suggest that early humans may have been more diverse than previously thought.

For more, see the entire article: Trevor Cousins, Aylwyn Scally, Richard Durbin: A structured coalescent model reveals deep ancestral structure shared by all modern humans, in Nature Genetics, 18 March 2025.

Strange Maps #1275

Got a strange map? Let me know at strangemaps@gmail.com.

Follow Strange Maps on X and Facebook.

This article Evolution isn’t a straight line: Modern humans come from 2 ancient lineages is featured on Big Think.

https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/double-ancestry/

While we figure out what to do with the challenge tags, we are continuing our project for combining the oldest fandom tags that have only been used once. As always, this is a rolling project as we mods have time, and we'll post the list each time so that anyone who would like to create a second work for one of these fandoms has the opportunity to save it from our pruning!

For this round, here are some single-use tags that haven't been used since 2019-2020, and how we plan to replace them:

( Read more... )

Title: Face The Future, Together
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: S.W.A.T.
Relationships: Donovan Rocker/Molly Hicks
Tags: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Together they could do it.
Word Count: 3,408

Title: Facing Things
Author: lucy_roman
Rating: Mature
Summary: Tony tries to reassure Bucky
Pairing:Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes
Word Count: 442

( Facing Things )

Fandom: Sealomimi
Rating: G
Artist notes: I drew these while hangin' out w/ my sister n my brother-in-law at my grandma's! they were gonna all be puppy originally but then the marker's tone looked more like mary's skintone than puppy's so i decided to draw mary instead lol
Summary: just. seals making faces ig.

Title: In The Mirror
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: G
Length: 281 words
Summary: Watson contemplates Holmes' and his face.