GEOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS:

The constraints of physical geography have shaped how human have solved problems of food, shelter, and energy. This image is not a giant beehive. It is a kind of refrigerator/freezer dating back to 400 BC. Developed by the Persians, yakhchals had thick clay walls and a shape that brought in cool air at floor level while venting warmer air out the top. (Interestingly, the same basic engineering principles are now being used to create solar updraft towers: using that warm venting air to turn a turbine.) www.atlasobscura.com/places/yakhchals