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Happy birthday, National Geographic<\/i>. The intrepid magazine turns 125-years-old this month. Yesterday, NPR\u2019s Talk of the Nation<\/i> invited TED speakers Robert Ballard and Sarah Parcak on the air to discuss the notable anniversary.<\/p>\n
Ballard also proved that he has a photographic memory for National Geographic<\/i> issues, telling a caller who described his favorite story that it came out in December 1981.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think about the scale of human populations all over the world and the fact that there’s so much here, really the only way to be able to visualize that is to pull back in space \u2026 It allows us to see hidden temples and tombs and pyramids and even entire settlements,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat satellites help to show us is we’ve actually only found a fraction of a percent of ancient settlements and sites all over the world. \u2026 It’s the most exciting time in history to be an archaeologist.\u201d<\/p>\n Parcak said that, growing up, she kept every National Geographic<\/i> issue that contained images of Egypt. \u201cIt’s both Indiana Jones and National Geographic<\/i> that inspired me to be an Egyptologist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n To hear much more about the magazine — like how its second president, Alexander Graham Bell, caused a scandal when he decided to publish pictures — listen to the full interview on NPR\u2019s website \u00bb\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"http:\/\/images.ted.com\/images\/ted\/42536_240x180.jpg\")
Robert Ballard on exploring the oceans<\/span><\/a>Ballard, who is a National Geographic<\/i> explorer-in-residence, talked about a recent expedition to the Black Sea, where he discovered a very well-preserved shipwreck. Ballard, who gave the TED Talk \u201cOn exploring oceans<\/a>,\u201d told host Neal Conan, \u201cThe deep sea is the largest museum in the world. It has more history in it than all the museums of the world combined.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Sarah](\"http:\/\/images.ted.com\/images\/ted\/de3d8aa4bfe6c55dba2d3a5e60101d6f9ffde7cb_240x180.jpg\")
Sarah Parcak: Archeology from space<\/span><\/a>TED Fellow Sarah Parcak, who gave the talk \u201cArcheology from space<\/a>,\u201d also joined the program to talk about her work as one of National Geographic<\/i>\u2019s emerging explorers.<\/p>\n
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