When a New Yorker is dropped in the middle of the Amazon and only eats fruit and yucca for weeks, the temptation to eat adorable animals becomes unavoidable. So says Redditor and UWS resident Aaron, who posted photos of his journey to Peru to prove that he in fact "begrudgingly ate such natural wonders as armadillo, turtle, crocodile, toucan," and yes, "a f*cking sloth." He describes the taste as "one of the few absolutely disgusting animals we ate. It was really, really tough, and there really wasn't that much meat." Also, the sloth in the photo above holding a human hand (not Aaron's) is alive, but wouldn't be for much longer. more ›

Have you ever laid down in the grass and found yourself in a staring-contest with the stars, wondering what Superman, Silver Surfer and Jeebus see when they fly over the Earth? Now you can get an idea in the very cool time lapse video below. Over 600 photos were taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbited the planet at night. The video, assembled by science educator James Drake, begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America—you can see cities lit up like Lite-Bright pushpins and flashing blue storms—before entering daylight near Antarctica. more ›

A Guyana-bound plane that departed from JFK airport yesterday carrying 140 people crashed and broke into two pieces around 1 a.m. this morning, seriously injuring four, but miraculously caused no deaths. A woman on the plane said there was a loud noise as the plane landed, and everyone began screaming. "It was terror," she told a Guyanese news outfit, "I was praying to Jesus." more ›

A Brooklyn woman who had traveled down to her home country of Guyana to spread the ashes of her late brother ended up in the throes of an incredible near-death experience along the Corentyne River. For 36-hours, Sherry Haynes clenched onto a 5-gallon bucket after the capsizing of a water taxi that would take the lives of a friend, her sister and in all likelihood her nephew. Besides the bucket, the Crown Heights woman says that a combination of prayer and hopes of seeing her 19 year-old daughter again kept her alive. “I never in my wildest dreams anticipated that this was what I was coming for, for all these funerals," Haynes said. She plans on bringing the bucket back to Brooklyn with her. more ›

We don't have the luxury of forgetting indefinitely because this is not a sustainable proposition. By the time my kids are my age, they're going to look back and say, "You did what with the last drop of fossil fuels? You pushed a watermelon from Chile to your door so that you could eat it out of season? What were you thinking?"

Like the rest of the city yesterday, Brooklyn was recovering from an angry summer squall that shut down the subways and even had its own tornado. more ›

Emergency newswires are reporting that Port Authority cops requested that the Emergency Services Unit hustle over to Laguardia's main terminal this afternoon - and with a cage - because there was a monkey on the loose inside the airport. The animal apparently arrived at Gate B6 on Spirit Airlines' Flight 180. more ›

The Abora 3 itself is “old school” to say the least. Built of 12 tons of bundled reed by the Aymara-Indians in Bolivia, the Abora III was shipped to Liberty Harbor, New Jersey to be prepared by Gorlitz and his crew. more ›

The first class of students will enroll in the fall 2008. John Flynn, the lead curator at the AMNH who recently discovered South America's oldest and best-preserved primate skull and rodent skulls with colleagues, was named Dean of the school. more ›

In less than shocking news, New York City had the worst airport delays in the whole country. Not only are Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports very crowded, bad weather was also a factor making 2006 a record year for airport delays. more ›

Before the house lights dim, ¡El Conquistador! begins with a breezy prologue by the play’s sole live performer, Thaddeus Phillips, who introduces the audience to the quirky world they are about to visit. His story is set in an upscale condo in Bogota, where apartment dwellers are never issued keys to their buildings. Phillips tells us that for security reasons, metropolitan Columbians are usually at the mercy of their doormen who, in ¡El Conquistador! at least, find work to be a constant distraction from their telenovela TV shows. more ›

It's like Canada, but without the metric system. more ›

about a tiny jewel thief and the family who puts him in diapers thinking he's a sweet baby. Awww, isn't it adorable when Marlon smacks Shawn upside the head with a frying pan? more ›

, led by editor Leandro M. Pinto. While we need to brush up on our Portuguese, we have learned that it's the start of winter down there (!!), subway service is being changed because of the World Cup schedule, and there's even a Critical Mass-esque event to promote bicycle and other non-auto means of transport. So, for a quick trip to South America, visit Sampaist. more ›

- David just got back from South America and has been putting up great glacier pictures. Or are those fjiords? And Joe also took a big trip-- to Greenpoint! more ›

Today is Historical Map day at Gothamist-- starting with this great map of the Manhattan Coastline from PBS' Center of the World show. Check out how skinny Manhattan was back in the 1650s! Doesn't it look exactly like South America? We haven't been able to track down any New Amsterdam Google Map Mashups, so we've had to hit the archives: check out the maps at Fordham's library, this cute tour of New Netherland, and our all-time favorite map of New Amsterdam. Does anyone else have any good historic Manhattan maps links? more ›

Guerrilla Girls On Tour more ›

First it was Australia, then it was New Zealand . . . now the next New World wine region to capture the hearts and taste buds of New Yorkers is South America. What makes this region so spectacular for easy to drink, plush, fruity wines is the perfect climate. Grapes get to bask in the warm Latin sun – enjoying a particularly long ripening season. Kind of like the holiday we wish we could take. Rain and frost are non-issues and with plenty water from irrigation those lucky grapes are more spoiled then the tenants of 927 Fifth Avenue. more ›

There’s been much debate about Old World vs. New World wines - which wines are better, the role of tradition, the opportunity for scientific advancements – Gothamist could go on forever, but we will not. To us it’s not a choice and either style can be fabulous based on what we are looking for at any moment in time. What interests us is the back story, the untold story of how the two worlds came together to save wine as we know it today (insert overture to “West Side Story” here). more ›

Some insiders are saying that, while it's really too early to count votes, New York would have to win votes from Central and South America, Asia, and parts of Europe. Why would Europeans vote for New York? Because if Paris wins, hopes of their countries hosting the Summer Games in 2016 are gone. New York is also establishing plans of promoting the "lesser known" sports after the 2012 Games, making use of facilities that would be constructed for the games. more ›