Weekly Snapshot: Blue Marilyn

Welcome to LNGenZ’s round up of the week’s top news stories.

American Artist Warhol’s Painting Sells for Record Price

The classic painting is still turning heads over 50 years later.

Marilyn Monroe was an iconic star in the 1950s and 1960s. An actress and singer, Monroe was widely known and recognized around the world. Recently, a painting of her, created by famous artist Andy Warhol, sold at auction for a record-breaking amount of money. A photograph of the American beauty inspired the painting named Shot Sage Blue Marilyn.

The famous 1964 Warhol painting of Marilyn Monroe sold at auction this month for an unprecedented $195 million! No picture by an American artist has ever sold for that much money. The artwork was sold at a Christie’s auction house in New York.

Christie’s is known for selling luxury items with high price tags. Before the auction took place, Christie’s shared that the artwork is “one of the rarest and most transcendent images in existence.” The buyer, Larry Gagosian, is an American art dealer with galleries across the US, Asia, and Europe. Read more…

 

Scientists Record Never-Before-Heard Whale Call

Over 600 humpback whale sounds were captured.

The oceans and the life within it have captivated scientists for many years. There is so much to explore and learn about the vast waters and the creatures who call them home. Ranked sixth among the largest underwater animals, humpback whales can grow to be about 44 feet long and weigh over 63,000 pounds. Perhaps even more interesting are the sounds they make to communicate with one another. Recently, scientists discovered a new noise coming from humpback whales, and they are trying to figure out precisely what the giant mammals are saying.

A team of researchers from the universities of Stellenbosch (Africa) and Exeter (UK), along with Greenpeace Research Laboratories, recorded more than 600 humpback whale sounds over 11 days. The recordings were captured in the Vema Seamount area of the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of miles west of South Africa. Each of the sounds is categorized into longer “song” calls and shorter “non-song” calls.

One of the recorded calls had never been noticed coming from humpbacks before this study. Read more…

 

Western US Suffering From Harsh Drought

Dry weather is causing problems for farmers and other residents.

The United States is a large country, which means distant regions might be experiencing different weather events at any time. While the northeast has had heavy snow recently, the western part of the nation is experiencing a severe drought.

Droughts are defined as periods of time when an area experiences less precipitation than normal. Precipitation is water falling from the sky – normally this means rain, but it also includes snow, sleet, and hail. While many natural disasters or weather events are sudden – like hurricanes or tornadoes – droughts carry on for a long time and may have no obvious beginning or end. They may be as short as a few weeks, or they could last for years. It can also be hard to figure out the cause of a drought but right now, the US is experiencing La Niña, a climate event that normally leads to dry weather in the southwestern states.

The dry conditions and lack of rain can lead to a range of problems, such as wildfires, failed crops, and a general shortage of water. Read more…