分类必应美图下的文章

莱辛巴赫瀑布，瑞士伯尔尼高地 Reichenbach Falls, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland (© Chris Milne/Alamy)

The scene of a literary crime

Remarkable enough in itself, this 800-foot mountain waterfall is also the site of one of fiction's most enduring showdowns between good and evil. Just outside Meiringen, Switzerland, the Reichenbach Falls are the backdrop for 'The Final Problem'—the 1893 Sherlock Holmes story where, on a precipice near the falls (which in the 19th century gushed with far more power than our recent image shows), the genius detective enters a death duel with the criminal Professor Moriarty. In the end, both men plummet to their presumable doom.

Though the action in 'The Final Problem' was set on May 4th, it's May 22 that's celebrated as Sherlock Holmes Day since it's author Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday. The doctor-turned-author created Holmes with 'A Study in Scarlet' in 1887 and intended to kill off his famous protagonist with 'The Final Problem' to move on with his literary life. Nonetheless, pressure from Doyle's anguished, sleuth-starved public led him to 'resurrect' Holmes (but not Moriarty) a decade later with 'The Adventure of the Empty House.' In all, Doyle issued four novels and over 50 short stories starring Holmes over four decades—and they've inspired countless other books, plays, radio dramas, movies, TV shows, comics, and video games that feature the super-sleuth.

'Strolling the Biltmore,' a painting by Jeff Hanson (© Jeff Hanson Art)

A visionary artist paints his own garden view

If you're seeing brightly colored flowers against a multihued backdrop, you're experiencing something the painter of today's Bing homepage image hasn't fully seen since he was a young boy after a brain tumor damaged his optic nerve. Today, Jeff Hanson is a successful visually impaired artist who only vaguely sees shapes and colors. Although legally blind, he's developed a unique tactile process that helps him feel his compositions by first plastering the canvas with a thick plastic goop. Once that hardens, he uses the plastic ridges to navigate a piece, lending the composition form so he can add his signature vibrant color. He playfully calls each painting 'a sight for sore eyes,' selling his art to appreciators like Warren Buffett, Elton John, and other collectors. Yet, one of the most creative aspects of Hanson's life is the way he's had to develop assistive methods to paint.

The methods Hanson uses are not unlike the wheelchairs, head pointers, closed captions, voice trackers, and a growing number of assistive technologies that empower other people with disabilities. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we're featuring Hanson's painting to observe the ongoing work to make technology accessible for more people around the world. (One way to appreciate this need is to take our quiz without the use of your mouse.)

薰衣草田和蜂箱旁的向日葵地，法国普罗旺斯 Fields of lavender and sunflowers with beehives in Provence, France (© leoks/Shutterstock)

It's World Bee Day

Today we've buzzed to Provence, France, to enjoy this scenic view brought to you by bees. These hard-working insects are key pollinators of flowers, like the nectar-rich lavender seen growing here. Bees are also critical for the pollination of fruits and vegetables—about a third of the food we eat is a result of honeybee pollination. In the US, honeybees, whether tended by beekeepers or living in the wild, pollinate about $20 billion worth of crops every year. That's a lot of gold—and doesn't even include their delicious honey. So today, on World Bee Day, we invite you to stop and smell the flowers and give a nod to the bees that help color our world.

大烟山国家公园中的咆哮溪，田纳西州 Roaring Fork in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (© Paul Hassell/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Loud waters

Roaring Fork may seem like a misnomer for this mountain stream in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. During dry spells, it's an idyllic mountain stream. But Roaring Fork descends 2,500 feet over just two miles—a steep drop down Mount Le Conte. When heavy rains swell the stream, Roaring Fork transforms into a whitewater rush, with the sound of the surging water echoing off the sandstone walls of the mountain.

National Museum of Qatar in Doha, Qatar (© Hasan Zaidi/Shutterstock)

Desert rose of Qatar

International Museum Day brings us to Qatar, a small but wealthy nation on the Arabian Peninsula, surrounded by the waters of the Persian Gulf and bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south. In the capital city of Doha you'll find its National Museum, shown here, which opened in March of 2019. This elaborate building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, who sourced his inspiration from the desert rose crystal. Look closely and amid the futuristic interlocking disks of the new museum you'll see the early 20th-century Old Amiri Palace, once home of the Emir of Qatar, surrounded by a courtyard of palm trees.

亨宁斯韦尔渔村的体育场，挪威诺尔兰郡 Fishing village of Henningsvær with Henningsvær Idrettslag Stadion, Nordland, Norway (© Viktor Posnov/Alamy)

My my, it's Syttende Mai

Home to only about 500 folks, the far-flung village of Henningsvær, Norway, is recognized for its historic charm and as part of the Lofoten archipelago's important cod fishery. And thanks to the recent boom in drone photography, the Arctic hamlet with the unlikely soccer field has come to be regarded among the most scenic on Earth. The Henningsvær Idrettslag Stadion (in our photo's lower right) lies at Henningsvær's southern tip, on flat ground hewn out of the rocky outcrop. Look closely at the hills around the stadium and you'll see wooden racks for drying cod—a reminder that even though there's space for fun on these tiny islets, the business of fishing is still very much a key part of life here.

We're visiting Norway today because it's May 17, or Syttende Mai, to Norwegians and observant Midwesterners. It's the date in 1814 when the Norwegian national assembly enacted the nation's constitution—one of Europe's earliest. Though Norway would be paired with Sweden under a common crown until 1905, the document declared the self-direction of Norway's people, many of whom now celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day's dawning with a traditional salmon-and-eggs breakfast—and maybe a glass or two of champagne.

南奥索峰的Lac d'Ayous小屋，法国 Lac d'Ayous hut with Midi d'Ossau mountain, France (© Eneko Aldaz/Offset by Shutterstock)

Beautiful lake in the Pyrenees mountains

The Ayous lakes are a marvel here. Nestled in the heart of the Pyrenees, this set of six lakes provide an unparalleled environment for hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers. In this uncertain times, hiking is not necessarily a top priority, but hope is allowed, nothing prevents us from dreaming of what we will do next. In today's image, we can see the southern peak of Ossau, whose highest point is 2884 meters above sea level, and Lake Ayous, also called Lake Roumassot. Lake Ayous covers an area of 5.1 hectares and can reach a depth of 16 meters in some places.

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从Toroweap Overlook俯瞰大峡谷和科罗拉多河，亚利桑那州大峡谷国家公园 Grand Canyon and Colorado River from Toroweap Overlook, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (© Matteo Colombo Travel Photo/Shutterstock)

The last thing seen by Wile E. Coyote

We'd say, 'Don't look down,' but that'd kind of be missing the point: Verticality is what put Toroweap Overlook on the map. Situated on the Grand Canyon's elevated north rim, it offers an unmatched view down a sheer 3,000-foot drop straight to the Colorado riverbed.

It's just one of the payoffs for those who take the road less traveled to the remote North Rim—only about 10% of park visitors. Since the 'other side' is about 1,000 feet higher on average than the touristy South Rim, its climate is chillier and given to harsher weather, so it is typically open only from today, May 15, to October 15.

以阿贡火山为背景Sidemen山谷中的稻田，印度尼西亚巴厘岛 Rice fields in the Sidemen Valley, with Mount Agung in the background, Bali, Indonesia (© Jon Arnold/Danita Delimont)

Green fields of grain

We're looking down on the lush fields of the Sidemen Valley, sitting in the shadow of Bali's tallest mountain, Mount Agung. In May, this Indonesian province marks the end of the harvest season of a key staple—rice. Towns and villages are decorated with colorful flags, and farmers erect shrines to Dewi Sri, the rice goddess. Small, handmade straw dolls depicting the goddess are left here and there in further tribute. Before 'social distancing' entered the global vocabulary, people came together to share traditional food and indulge in fun and games, like water buffalo races through the streets. This year, to be sure, the celebrations will be more subdued, more private, though the gratitude for a bountiful harvest, we suspect, just as deeply felt.

大提顿国家公园中的Old Patriarch Tree，怀俄明州 The Old Patriarch Tree of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (© George Sanker/Minden Pictures)

A tree amid the Tetons

This limber pine standing alone in the sage brush flats has a name—Old Patriarch. A favorite subject of nature photographers in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, Old Patriarch is thought to be more than a thousand years old. The 'Cathedral Group' of the Teton Mountains forms a breathtaking backdrop, bursting up from the valley floor below and stretching dramatically to the soaring peaks. The national park spreads out below the spires for 310,000 acres, creating a home for extraordinary wildlife, pristine lakes, and alpine terrain. Sounds like the Old Patriarch has found quite a home for himself.

Commonly found in the Rocky Mountains, limber pines are known to stand the test of time—literally. Some people estimate Old Patriarch to be more than a thousand years old. The 'Cathedral Group' of the Teton Mountains forms a breathtaking backdrop, bursting up from the valley floor below and stretching dramatically to the soaring peaks. The national park spreads out below the spires for 310,000 acres, creating a home for extraordinary wildlife, pristine lakes, and alpine terrain. Sounds like the Old Patriarch has found quite a home for himself.