OSU Short History Reflection

I think this was a well put together project with each of the presentations having a good general theme with great specific insights, between medicine and women’s achievements at the university I think we did tOSU proud in unearthing some underappreciated discoveries! I enjoyed researching Dr Hess and his highly touted career at Ohio State and his leadership contributions to the university medical school and the hospital itself. Looking forward to seeing what next years class will look like and contribute.

Three pictures, three words

Explore interests. I’ve always loved natural history museums. While cultural ones are always fun, I feel like there’s just not enough science museums around. I loved that the natural history museum seemed to have every sort of branch, from human biology, animal, or even just pretty rocks, which I love to look at. I think no matter where you go, it’s important to go for what’s interesting to you. Rave scenes, mushrooms, biology, places to take pretty pictures. I think everywhere has something for that.

It works out. This caption is for the fact that, despite all the places and at all the times, it turns out that, for totally different reasons, some of my friends also went to London, at the same time. We met up and had a great time. It just goes to show that you never know how things might work out.

Different but same. This seems simple, but, I like simple differences. Seeing these on the shelves over our usual brands is interesting to me. All the ways big brands can be different, but we all still have chocolate bars near the registers. Kinda odd how we all reach the same ideas, even if it’s not independently.

Brooke’s 3 Pictures, 3 Words

“Worth The Wait”

Pictured above is me, Michael, and Stephen outside of Westminster Abbey during the commonwealth. The Commonwealth was scheduled to start at 3 pm and we got there over 2 hours early. We were able to find a spot up on a hill to see past the news reporters. That day we were able to see Meghan and Harry’s last event as royals! AND OF COURSE, we got to see the all mighty Liz (AKA THE QUEEN). We fangirled and this was a highlight of my trip!

 

“Widen Your Gaze”

When at the Salisbury Cathedral Dr. Albers and I walked around in the Magna Carta part of the Cathedral and really took a step back and looked more in detail of the room itself and all of the glasswork. When looking at the stain glass windows we noticed these white flowers in the borders as well as mixed in through the pictures themselves. Before leaving we realized the tops of the columns in the rooms were in the shape of the flowers on the stain glass windows. It is amazing how intricate historical buildings can be so it is important to widen your gaze and truly see all of where you are at.

 

“Look For Ohio”

On almost every trip I have ever gone on somehow I find something related to Ohio. Whether it be a person from Ohio, an Alumni from OSU, a whole bar related to Ohio State, or block O’s glowing in red at a pub. We thought it was super funny so I thought I would share!

3 Pictures, 3 Words

Buried in (the) Abbey

I couldn’t decide between the previous description or “Gabby in (the) Abbey,” but Westminster Abbey stole my heart! Maybe it was our enthusiastic tour guide, or simply all of the Abbey’s history and glory, but my mind has been buried in the Abbey ever since! I thought it was amazing how many people are literally buried in the Abbey. From notable scientists like Darwin, Hawking, and Newton to amazing writers like Charles Dickens or urban myths like Bloody Mary, the Abbey has them all! I’m just still amazed to this day how one building can hold so much history all in one.

Gimme that Filet-O-Fish

One very important aspect of traveling and experiencing another’s culture is the food. Going into the trip, I became pescatarian for Lent and hadn’t eaten meat (other than fish) for about 2 weeks. Although I was guilty and devoured several meat pies while in London, I was happy to see so many options for pescatarians, vegans, and vegetarians! Although restaurants in the US are becoming more friendly to various dietary restrictions, I felt as if London was ahead of the game and had a lot more to offer. I’ve only recently began exploring different types of fish, and I’m happy to say that I was able to do so with London’s fish n’ chips.

The Little Things

In life, it’s the little things that count. As we can see in the midst of a pandemic, it truly is the little things (like a virus or our day to day actions) that make all the difference. Since we weren’t allowed to go to France, I wasn’t able to use Louis Pasteur and his invention of the rabies vaccine like I was planning to do so for my project. However, I ended up switching my project to the Zoology Museum in London (where this photo was taken), and really enjoyed myself! When you realize that life can be boiled down to something that can be viewed on a microscope slide, you realize that the little things are of much higher importance.

London 3 Photos 3 Words

  1. Wake up early
    1. This photo was taken at 6:00 am near Covent Garden. I woke up around 5 am and decided to go for a walk instead of going back to sleep. I found probably the only store open that early and the man working there told me his life story because neither of us had anything better to do. That conversation most likely would not have happened at another time of day because he would have other customers to attend to. I also went to an antiques flea market and talked to some of the people there. It was a unique experience to walk around and watch the city wake up. Although this may not directly relate to the class, we learned that some great things (like the discovery of penicillin) happen by chance. This experience also happened by chance for me. I woke up early without planning it and wandered around without a real idea of what I wanted to do.

2. “Take the boat” -JoCo

2. This photo was taken from the boat on the Thames. JoCo, Kelly, and I took the boat from the London eye to the Greenwich Observatory. Kelly wanted to go to the Observatory to complete her project and I tagged along because it sounded like fun. The boat provided a great view of the city and JoCo provided interesting facts about beheading.

3. Always try asking

3. This photo was taken outside Buckingham Palace after this officer graciously let me pose in his hat. I said in the beginning of the semester that I would try anything once and along with that, I will also ask anything once. I’ve discovered if you are polite and understanding, the worse case is people will say no. In this case, the officer was amused and gladly handed over his hat. “Always try asking” is a relatively new policy for me. It has taken me on some adventures, but it also helps in an academic setting. Whether it’s asking for extra help, asking for a deadline extension, or asking for a recommendation letter, having the courage to try is important. The worse case is a professor says no, but you will never get anything unless you ask.

 

London: 3 Picture 3 Words Reflection

History is Everywhere
There were many times on this trip where I was genuinely mesmerized by the different locations and artifacts we saw. After diving deep into scientific history throughout the course, I was very appreciative of going to the locations of where various discoveries took place. This is a picture of one of the original copies of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin that we got to hold and flip through at the Royal Society. I couldn’t believe that I was holding a book that made such a large impact on society from the time that it was published! From Stonehenge to Flemming to the many contributions from Cambridge, I was thrilled to be surrounded by such important history everywhere we went during the trip.

Tomorrow Never Knows
Once we learned that we would be staying in England for the remainder of the trip due to the rise of Coronavirus cases in France, I was nervous because of the spread of the disease and we weren’t familiar with the details about the remainder of our trip. However, that experience was a great lesson in staying flexible with the plan and making the most of our situation (while being healthy and safe, of course). I really wanted to visit Abbey Road while we were in England, but I didn’t think that I would have enough time based on our original itinerary. After learning that we’d be staying in England for the rest of the week, I was very excited to go see so many of the places that I wanted to visit prior to the trip. It was so great to see the entire group being so flexible and understanding of our situation, as well as making the most of the time that we had left abroad.

Keep on Walking
Some of my favorite experiences from this trip came from spontaneously planned walks around London. That was the best way for me to really dig into the sights and sounds (sometimes smells) of London, which turned into a deep appreciation for the city. During those walks, I would often go in and out of local restaurants, book shops, and record and instrument stores to really immerse myself in the area. This picture was taken while I was walking around Trafalgar Square right before the sunset. I remember looking around and being mesmerized by large statues of lions, the towering Nelson’s Column, and gorgeous buildings with architecture that you don’t see very often in the US, all while the citizens of London carried on with their evening. Moments like that are what I’ll hold onto after the trip and what will keep me coming back to discover more.

London: Three pictures three words

The little things

I got to visit the famous water pump from the third cholera pandemic. Supposedly, this little pump caused the outbreak in London, which I learned was not true. However, the small action of John Snow removing the handle greatly reduced the cases in SoHo. Sometimes small actions have greater impact. I this trip we were constantly telling each other to wash our hands, not to touch the escalators in the tube, and use hand sanitizer (because nature is dirty). We were only asking each other to do small things, but as of 3/27, none of us have gotten sick. This caption also applies to other aspects of the trip. I enjoyed so many of the little things London had to offer. On my adventure to the water pump, I found a book store off the beaten path and just sat in there for awhile.

 

All roads lead

The first couple of days on the trip, I didn’t really know how to navigate. Kelly and I ate at the Dog and Duck ONE time. And the rest of the trip, if we were walking around, we would always end up across the street from this pub. This made me believe the phrase “all roads lead to Rome” is actually “all roads lead to the dog and duck”. But as I kept winding up near this pub, I realized how many things are actually near the Dog and Duck (still don’t know why its famous). John Snow’s first private practice is actually next to this pub. His water pump is two blocks away.

 

Larger than life

The one thing I wanted to do in London was see & Juliet, the story of what would Juliet do lived. And I loved this show. However, during intermission, I got the news that we would be staying in London and didn’t know when our flight was. I kept hearing people say that what was happening, the cancelations, the uncertainty, was out of a sci fi movie. That the situation was larger than life. However, if the trip to France wasn’t canceled, I never would’ve seen stone henge, Cambridge, or Alexander Fleming’s laboratory. We took a chance in the face of a bad situation, like Juliet, and the had an amazing time.

London 3 Word Reflection

Visit the greenhouses!

I took this photo at the entrance to the Palm House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I’m a sucker for greenhouses / botanical gardens in general in Kew is probably the coolest one I’ve ever visited. I’ve been wanting to go there ever since I was a child and it exceeded my high expectations. I spent 3 hours there and wasn’t able to see all of the greenhouses, or really much of the grounds, in that time. The palm house was probably the coolest part of Kew for me. It was cold and rainy when I went so it would have been worth it for the climate alone, but all of the rare and odd plants made it even more worth it. The cycad in the foreground of the picture is 245 years old, making it 1 year older than the USA and also the oldest living potted plant in the world. Seeing that right when I walked in was pretty awe-inspiring.

I also visited the greenhouses at the Cambridge Botanic Garden, the Chelsea Physic Garden, and Darwin’s greenhouse at Down House. All of those were also very worth seeing. They were unique in their own ways, but seeing the commonalities to all of these Victorian greenhouses also helped me imagine what botany might have been like in England in the 19th century.

No Sheep Worrying!

These sheep were watching me as I walked along Darwin’s “thinking path” at Down House. The woods there are in a very different state than they would have been in Darwin’s time, but it was still very cool and humbling to be able to retrace his steps. It was a bit “meta” to be thinking about Darwin thinking there. I’ll admit I didn’t come up with anything as brilliant as “descent with modification” on my walk.

The caption here refers to a sign near the entrance advising visitors not to “worry” sheep. There wasn’t an explanation of what that meant, and I assumed it was telling people not to harass the sheep. I Googled “sheep worrying” later and found out it was actually telling people not to let their dogs harass the sheep. Definitely a very English thing to call it.

Jar of Moles?

Why is there a jar of moles? No idea. I saw this in person at the Grant Museum of Zoology and there was no further information about this than the label in the photo. I visited the Grant and also the University Museum of Zoology at Cambridge, and would highly recommend visiting both. They contained a lot of really interesting and rare zoological specimens. A lot of mounted skeletons, stuffed birds, and very confusing jars of things in formaldehyde or alcohol. Both contained multiple specimens of the extinct thylacine, or “marsupial lion”, from Australia. It was really cool to see their bones in person, but also a bit depressing when you consider that hunting thylacines for museum collections would have played a role in their extinction. I’d still really recommend visiting both zoological museums though.

London, London, and London Highlights

Location: Abbey Road
Always look right

A lot of us on this trip not only have a passion for science and its history, but we also have a fascination with London’s musical past. Having the opportunity to visit one of music’s greatest landmarks was incredible (except for the busy road we happened to be on!). This picture turned out great, but like anywhere else in England, you have to look  right instead of left before you cross – something we finally got used to right before we returned to the US!

Location: Stonehenge
Explore our history

The whole purpose of this trip was to explore our scientific history. Going to museums and exploring London was absolutely amazing, but having the opportunity to see one of the greatest wonders of the world took it to a whole new level. I thoroughly enjoyed the extra moments we were able to experience through the extension of our stay in London!

Location: The Eagle
Take every opportunity

This picture was taken inside The Eagle, which, to us science nerds, created an unmatched level of excitation and awe. How many other people have been to the bar where Watson and Crick were regulars?? Being able to go to Cambridge and be in the environment where so many of the greats started out was something we wouldn’t have been able to do if we left London on Wednesday; we truly made the best of our situation and took every opportunity to learn more and gain incredible experiences!