Posts by Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis

Madeleine Muzdakis is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and a historian of early modern Britain & the Atlantic world. She holds a BA in History and Mathematics from Brown University and an MA in European & Russian Studies from Yale University. Madeleine has worked in archives and museums for years with a particular focus on photography and arts education. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, film photography, and studying law while cuddling with her cat Georgia.
Science
October 27, 2022

Scientists Say Not to Bag Your Raked Leaves This Fall

Soil health is an underrated, yet highly critical, environmental factor. It promotes climate resistance, microbe diversity, and healthy plants and animals. How can you support soil health and protect your local biome? This fall, experts are opposed to bagging up your leaves and disposing them in the trash. By letting your fall leaves strategically decay on the ground, you can nourish your plants and restore the soil's nutrient supplies, while not adding to local landfills.

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Books
October 21, 2022

Read 7,000 Historic Children’s Books for Free in This Online Archive

Children's literature has a rich history. Books written, illustrated, and published for young readers skyrocket in popularity during the 19th century. They have remained a mainstay of the publishing industry ever since. From primers meant to teach spelling and math to fairy tales, these books can tell historians and modern readers a lot about the mores of a given time.

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Science
October 17, 2022

Wax Worms Can Break Down Plastic With Their Saliva

A scientist was tending to her amateur beehives one day when she noticed something strange. She had removed a bunch of wax worms—larvae that live in beehives and feast upon the wax combs—and placed them in a plastic trash bag. Strangely, the bag was now full of holes. “We found it wasn’t only chewing,” Dr. Federica Bertocchini from the Biological Research Centre in Madrid recalls, “it was [chemical breakdown], so that was the beginning of the story.

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Endangered Animals
October 11, 2022

Australia Will Dedicate 30% Of Its Land To Protect Wildlife

The last few years have been devastating for Australian wildlife. The horrific bushfires of 2019 and 2020 killed billions of animals. Through the fires and other causes, the list of threatened or high-risk Australian species has grown at a swift rate since 2016. The new government is confronting the problem with an impressive declaration: 30% of the nation's landmass will be designated for conservation.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.