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Apr 9 7 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Once a year, a full heart appears in this tomb.

A breathtaking mausoleum born from a sculptor’s deep sorrow for his late wife 🧵 Image
This is the final resting place of Léonce Evrard and his wife (1850-1916) at the Cimetière de Laeken in Brussels.

During the summer solstice, and a few days before and after June 21, sunlight streams through the roof, casting a heart-shaped pattern inside the burial chapel. Image
Evrard, a marble sculptor renowned for his expertise in stone ornaments, was profoundly affected by the passing of his wife, Louise Flignot.

As a tribute to their love, he commissioned this unique mausoleum in her memory, a symbol that transcends the boundaries of death. Image
The chapel, designed by architect Georges de Larabrie, is a neoclassical hexagonal structure featuring a statue of a grieving woman sculpted by Pierre Theunis.

It is said that this unique and extraordinarily poetic light display was not part of the original design... Image
This symbol of eternal love reminded me of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116:

"Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."Image
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Laurence Olivier recites Sonnet 116

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More from @JamesLucasIT

Jun 28
Rare footage of extinct animals - a thread 🧵

1. Restored video of the last Tasmanian tiger, a species that became extinct in 1936.
2. Lonesome George, 2006

"Lonesome George" was the last Pinta Island Tortoise.

He died in 2012 at the age of 102 and in his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world. Image
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Jun 26
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2. Calcata Vecchia is a medieval gem perched on volcanic rock in the heart of Italy.

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The vibrant colors of the houses on this island were deliberately chosen for a practical purpose: to help fishermen navigate through dense fog by making their homes highly visible and easily recognizable. Image
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Jun 25
Places on Earth that don't look real 🧵

1. Alaska has the clearest waters in the world

2. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

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3. This isn’t a painting.

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Jun 24
The real size of things - a thread🧵

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Jun 23
When the ocean looks like outer space 🧵

1. A whale shark moving through bioluminescent algae looks like it’s flying across the universe

2. "Ad Astra" by Andrea Michelutti

Captured off the coast of Trieste, Italy, this photograph features a jellyfish positioned against the sun, creating a celestial effect reminiscent of a spacecraft journeying "to the stars." Image
3. The deeper the camera goes, the more the ocean looks like space.

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That spot is over 2 kilometers deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

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Jun 22
The beauty of Earth seen from above 🧵

1. Looking down into a volcanic eruption

2. Rainbow from a plane

Rainbows are caused by the reflection, refraction, and dispersion of sunlight in water droplets, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.

"Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life." (Lord Byron) Image
3. A sunset as seen above the clouds

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